The Wedding Wager

by Regina Duke

  Megan sat and examined her plate. The bleu cheese burger and salad she’d requested awaited her. “Oh, this looks wonderful!”

  Kevin suppressed a smile. “I love it when women enjoy their food.”

  Megan took her first bite and her eyes rolled in ecstasy. Around a mouthful of burger she mumbled, “Wommmberful.”

  Kevin laughed. “Good. I hope mine is that delicious.” He cut into his steak.

  Jeffrey cleared his throat.

  “Yes, Jeffrey?”

  “If you don’t need me, sir, I’ll retire for the evening.”

  “Certainly. Thanks for your help today.”

  Megan dabbed at her lips with her serviette. “Mmmm, yes, Jeffrey, thank you so much. I could not have handled all that shopping without you.”

  Jeffrey smiled at her. “You’re welcome.” He gave her a brisk nod and retreated to an area at the back of the suite.

  Megan looked puzzled. “Where is Jeffrey’s dinner?”

  “In his room.”

  “But shouldn’t he eat out here with us?”

  Kevin sipped at a glass of wine. “That’s not how it works,” he said. “Servants do not eat with the family.”

  “Oh.” Megan concentrated on her plate. She was glad this marriage thing was just a job, because she wasn’t sure she could ever really marry a man who maintained such rigid class distinctions. Her disapproval floated in the air.

  Kevin sighed. “Look, Megan, you will be going to the summer place in preparation for our wedding. It’s important that you know how things work. Jeffrey and I have shared many meals together. But when it comes to my parents and the way they live, don’t be shocked when you see the servants retiring to another room for meals. Except for when they’re serving, of course.”

  “Of course.” Megan tried to say it with a straight face, but she couldn’t. She burst out laughing. “Sorry. This will take some getting used to.”

  After a while, Kevin said, “You never told me why you were in the hospital for so long. Even with serious injuries, don’t they shove people out the front door as soon as they can?”

  “Is it important?”

  “Well, actually, it’s a great cover story for why I haven’t brought you to meet the parents sooner. I thought we could just go with the hospital thing as a reason why they don’t know anything about you yet.”

  “That makes sense,” said Megan. “The fewer lies we have to tell, the simpler this will be. I told you I was in a car accident. My injuries were serious and required surgery. The worst was a broken femur. It got infected, and I was on intravenous antibiotics for a very long time. Every time they thought we’d beat the infection and they took me off the IV, the darn thing would recur. I don’t know if it was the same one or different every time. It didn’t matter. They couldn’t release me until that was cleared up. I would begin my physical therapy, then be so weakened by the infections that we had to start over.”

  “Sounds awful.”

  “It was. But the staff was very kind to me. Nurses are God’s angels on earth. I don’t think I would have survived it all if they hadn’t been so kind.”

  Kevin lifted the lid on another large platter on the table. “Care for dessert?”

  Megan’s eyes lit up. “Is that bowl filled with whipped cream?”

  “I like to spoon it on my chocolate cake,” said Kevin. “Or perhaps you would prefer the Napoleon? Or the sorbet? Or the mousse?”

  “Is the Napoleon that pastry that looks like it’s wearing a uniform?”

  “I never thought of it that way, but the icing does look a bit formal, doesn’t it? Here.” He handed her the plate with the Napoleon on it.

  “And whipped cream,” said Megan. “Pretty please.”

  Kevin smiled and spooned a large dollop of whipped cream on the pastry. “More?”

  “Just a smidge more. Oh, a bigger smidge.”

  Kevin laughed and handed her the spoon. “Help yourself. Coffee?”

  “Is it decaf? I need to sleep tonight.”

  “Decaf it is.”

  “Then definitely, coffee.” Megan smiled back at him. Maybe this job wouldn’t be too terrible after all. “So the whole ad in the paper for a personal assistant was just to meet women who might fit the bill as a fiancée?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I take it I fill it, since I’m here and you had the prenup papers drawn up.”

  “Oh, yes, the job is yours.” His earlier doubts returned and he cleared his throat. “I suppose if I needed to verify that you spent the last six months in the hospital, I would be able to do that?”

  “For a man looking for a woman desperate enough to pretend to be your wife, you seem quite suspicious. But yes, if you like, we can drop in on the staff at the hospital tomorrow and I’ll introduce you all around. Feel better?”

  Kevin settled back in his chair. “Yes, actually, I do.”

  Megan leaned across the table and stared into his eyes. “Do I look that deceitful?”

  “You do not look deceitful at all, but then again, the best deceivers never look deceitful.”

  Megan gave a little moue. “Good point.” She hummed with delight around another mouthful of dessert. “Mmmmm, this is so delicious.”

  Kevin wagged his brows at her. “There are a couple more selections here if you’d like to try them.”

  Megan held up a hand. “This is the richest and most delicious food I’ve had in months. Maybe ever. Hospital food earns its reputation for bland pap, you know. But I couldn’t eat another bite.”

  Kevin drained his coffee cup. “In that case, would you feel up to reading the prenup?”

  “Straight to business,” said Megan. “I like that. Where is it?”

  “On the bar. I had the lawyer keep it to three pages.”

  Megan rose and perched on a leather stool at the bar. She read silently through the document. Then she picked up a pen and began to make notes on a cocktail napkin.

  Kevin watched her and let his mind wander. There was an old wives’ tale that said women who enjoyed their food the way Megan did also enjoyed other activities with equal relish. He was wondering if that might be the case with her. She was certainly easy on the eyes, even in a state of fatigue. The linen suit she was wearing emphasized her long lean legs. The sound of her voice shattered his reverie.

  “This document is totally unacceptable!”

  CHAPTER NINE

  IN THREE STRIDES, Kevin was beside her. “What’s the problem? My lawyer and I worked for hours this afternoon getting this ready.”

  “But there is no mention of your promise to pay my medical bills!”

  “As your husband, I would naturally do that.”

  “So you say now. But after we’re among your family? And they remind you that these were bills incurred before we married? I’m sorry, I know I’m being paranoid, but the weight of this debt is crippling to me. I worked my way through college. I even worked two jobs at a time so I wouldn’t have to take out loans. I took an extra year to finish because of my work schedule. And then just as I was about to start my new life, this accident wiped out everything I owned and took me out of the running for the new job I had lined up. All my hard work, for nothing. I’ve been shoved into a pit of debt through no fault of my own.” Her voice broke.

  Kevin grabbed a cocktail napkin and dabbed at her eyes. “Hey, hey, no need for tears. I’m a man of my word. This really worries you, doesn’t it?”

  Megan snuffled into the napkin and wiped the saltwater off her face. “I know to a rich man like you, this is no big deal. But for working stiffs like me and my parents, it feels like the end of the world. I haven’t even started my life and I’m burdened with this huge obligation! My car insurance paid out to its limit, but those blasted infections wouldn’t go away.”

  “There is always bankruptcy.”

  Megan’s eyes flashed with fire. “Oh, really? Just like that? Marry me, Megan, to help me inherit my fortune, and when I don’t need you any more, y
ou can crawl away and declare bankruptcy and have that haunt your future credit line for seven years? No, thank you!”

  Kevin was taken aback. “Seven years?”

  “Yes! The hospital billing office started calling me for money three months ago. They dialed my hospital room number and told me they were taking me to collections because I hadn’t paid anything on my bills yet. The floor nurse had to get on the phone and raise a ruckus and tell them to leave me alone at least until I was discharged.”

  The tears threatened to start again, but Kevin slipped an arm around her shoulders.

  “Let’s write an addendum,” he offered. “Let’s do it right now. You start. Here, let me get you some paper.” He retrieved his briefcase and popped it open. Out came pens and a legal pad. “I’ll call my lawyer and let him know we’ll be faxing some changes tonight.”

  Megan’s color was better now, although her hand shook as she pressed pen to paper.

  “By the way, I should put your cell phone number in my phone,” said Kevin.

  “Don’t have one anymore. Destroyed in the crash, and I didn’t have an income to pay the bills anyway.”

  “Wow. Okay, that’s on our list of things to do. Get you a new phone.” He moved away to the windows to place his call.

  A moment later, he was once again at Megan’s side. “He hadn’t even left for the day yet. Remind me to never become a lawyer.”

  Megan rewarded him with a muted laugh. “Here’s what I have so far. What do you think?”

  Kevin read her addition and nodded. “That should do it. A tidy promise to cover pre-existing medical bills. Let’s both initial it. That’s what Patrick said we should do if we’re faxing it. Then he’ll come by in the morning with the final version and we can sign it for real.” He noticed she had written a separate paragraph on another sheet of paper. “What’s this?”

  Megan said, “I was hoping it would be all right if I included a weekly allowance for myself. I hate not having pocket money.”

  “You just put down $1,000. Don’t you mean, one thousand a week?”

  Megan looked horrified. “No! I was thinking of the thousand you already gave me. It turns out Jeffrey used your credit card for everything, so I still have that money in my bag. If we call it an allowance, I’ll have cash and I won’t feel so broke or dependent.”

  Kevin looked grim. “That is ridiculous. You—”

  “Fine,” snapped Megan. She was so tired, she couldn’t take anymore. “I knew this whole thing was too good to be true.” She slipped off the stool and went to retrieve her purse. Vibrating with fatigue, she pulled out the money and slapped it on the counter. “Here. And here’s forty toward the linen suit I’m wearing. You’ll have to wait for the rest on the suit because I need something to wear to job interviews.”

  Kevin grabbed her wrist, then immediately loosened his grip when she winced. “Would you wait just a second? Hear me out!”

  Megan stood staring at his hand clamped around her wrist. Since she couldn’t flee without cutting her arm off at the elbow, she took a calming breath and said, “I’m listening.”

  “I was about to say, a thousand dollars is ridiculous. You should get at least that much every week. In fact, you should get at least what I pay my chauffeur.” He jotted a number on a napkin.

  Megan’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

  Kevin let go of her wrist. He knew he was probably just fueling her blackmail fires, but she was so convincing about not wanting to feel broke and dependent. He hated that feeling. More than once during the years he’d been away from his family, he’d wanted to dig into his allowance money. Now that he had to use that money to secure his future from his father’s greed, he was feeling generous.

  “How do you want it? Check? Cash? Direct deposit to a bank account?”

  “I closed out my old one before my move. I don’t have one at the moment.”

  “Not a problem. We’ll deal in cash for the time being. Now put your partial payment back in your purse. Anything else we should add or delete from this document?”

  Megan shook her head, feeling a bit sheepish after leaping to a wrong conclusion. “No. The rest seems okay.”

  “Fine. I’ll fax this to Patrick.”

  Megan drooped with exhaustion.

  “If we’re all done, I really need to lie down,” she said. “Are we traveling tomorrow or will we be staying here another night?”

  Kevin tilted his head back and checked the ceiling as if his personal calendar were up there. “Let’s see. Lawyer, safe deposit box at the bank...”

  “On a Sunday?”

  Kevin shrugged. “Why not? I arranged for the bank president to meet us there. It helps that he’s a personal friend of my mother’s. She helped him get his position, in fact. Is that such an unusual favor?”

  Megan’s brows shot skyward. “Not for the rich, I guess. What else is on the agenda?”

  “That should do it.” Mentally, he added, Hospital, just to make sure you don’t work for my father. “And today is the twenty-third?” He shook his head in frustration. “We may have to stay here another day.”

  Megan’s mood brightened. “Okay by me. Good night. Oh, what time do you need me in the morning?”

  “I’m not sure. I was expecting Patrick around ten a.m.”

  “All right, then.” She picked up her purse with her thousand dollar installment and headed down the hall to her room. She didn’t know if she could trust Kevin or not. But for the moment, she couldn’t think of any options.

  The rich really are different, she thought. How nice it must be to throw money around like that!

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sunday, June 24

  MEGAN WOKE UP with a start. She lay still, wondering what woke her. She looked at the clock by the bed. The digital readout said five thirty. Where was the nurse with her medication?

  Then she remembered. She wasn’t in the hospital anymore. She was lying in a very comfortable bed in a luxury suite at a posh hotel, and she was about to hire on as a bride for Kevin Wake, member of the one per cent.

  Well, she bought that newspaper because she needed a job. And now she would have one. As soon as the prenup was signed.

  But a prenup was just a piece of paper without a marriage. Without that, she didn’t have anything. Not even a job.

  That thought destroyed any hope of falling back to sleep. She threw off the covers and headed for the shower.

  She picked out a pair of pastel blue capris and a matching sleeveless top. She’d chosen them because the color made her eyes even bluer, and because shorts were out of the question because of the scar on her leg. It was too fresh and she was too sensitive about it to hazard the stares she might get. Sport socks and white running shoes made her feel almost normal. She stood in the middle of the room and looked around.

  She forced herself not to make the bed. That’s what the hotel hired maids for.

  That thought made her feel deliciously naughty. Then she laughed at herself as she went ahead and made it anyway.

  She’d been too tired the night before to pull her purchases out of their bags. She set about doing that, knowing she would have to pack them up again soon. She got everything put away in the closet and the drawers, and once again she was standing in the middle of the room, looking around. It was only six thirty in the morning, and the lawyer wouldn’t come until ten.

  All of a sudden, she felt giddy. She was free of the hospital at last! If everything went according to plan, she would soon be free of the medical bills as well. And she had a thousand dollars cash in her purse. She glanced at the clock again. Then she felt her wrist. She had no idea what had happened to her watch. Maybe it flew off in the accident. Maybe it got lost during one of the room changes at the hospital. No matter. She now had the money to replace it. And sunglasses! She needed sunglasses. She gathered her bag and tiptoed out of her room.

  The wall of windows was curtained for the moment, leaving the big room dimly lit. For the first time, it looke
d no more special than any hotel room. It needed that expansive view to provide the sense of elegance and luxury. She moved quietly the length of the room. Two other sets of double doors were visible along a corridor on the other side of the suite. Undoubtedly one was to Kevin’s room and one was for the chauffeur.

  No one stirred.

  Her stomach rumbled. A quick search of the well supplied bar revealed a sparkling chrome toaster but no bread or bagels.

  That was all the excuse she needed. She scribbled a note at the bar on the bottom of the page where she’d made suggestions for the prenup to let Kevin know she was out. The door to the private elevator was closed. She opened it carefully and pulled it silently shut behind her. Then she pushed the call button for the elevator. The doors opened at once. Suppressing a giggle, she got in and hit the button for the lobby.

  She was hungry, but not just for food. When she got to the lobby, things were quiet. It was only six-forty on a Sunday morning. Outside, Monday’s rush hour traffic was just a promise. She couldn’t stay inside. She had to walk! She moved through the revolving doors and took a deep breath on the sidewalk. The brisk morning air was a delight. She was smack dab in the heart of the city! She didn’t have to breakfast in the hotel. She would walk until she saw a place that appealed to her.

  Thirty minutes later, she found herself peering through a window at a cute little pastry shop with ice cream parlor chairs and tables, and a clientele dressed for the weekend and exercise, having a coffee before running their miles or unwinding afterward.

  With a secret smile, she joined them. She picked out a chocolate chip bagel and ordered a small coffee to go with it. Sitting in the little bakery and watching non-medical personnel going about their day filled her with joy. Once again she was overwhelmed with gratitude at having come out of the hospital a whole person.

  And then the memory of the bills and the billing office tried to sour her experience. But she wouldn’t let them. She pushed those thoughts away. She was already taking care of her situation. She had made a tough decision to marry a man she knew nothing about so she could put her life in order.