The Wedding Wager

by Regina Duke

  Marry a man she didn’t know.

  All the hustle and bustle around her dropped away as she realized what those words meant. But she was desperate. And so was he. They were a perfect match, in equally desperate financial straits.

  A patron came panting through the door and the small breeze sent her napkin fluttering to the floor. Megan realized she’d been daydreaming. How long had she been sitting here? Darn! Still no watch.

  “Excuse me, do you have the time?” She asked the woman behind the counter.

  “On the wall,” she said.

  Megan looked around and saw the clock. It was the same pattern as the wallpaper, so she forgave herself for missing it.

  Eight o’clock! She needed to get back.

  Thirty minutes later she felt winded as she entered the hotel lobby and pressed the call button for the express elevator. Once inside, she pressed the up button, but nothing happened. She pressed a second time, a third time, but still nothing.

  Frowning, she approached the registration desk.

  “Excuse me,” she said. “I’m staying on the 35th floor but the elevator doesn’t seem to be working.”

  The maroon-coated employee eyed her up and down. “Thirty-fifth floor? That’s Mr. Wake’s suite.”

  Megan nodded. “Yes. I’m his fiancée.”

  “Oh? Just run your room key through the slot, then press UP.”

  “But I—” Megan stopped herself. She was supposed to be a rich man’s fiancée, soon to be bride. She pulled herself up to her full height of five-eleven. “I seem to have left my room key behind. Would you mind?”

  “One moment.” Maroon Coat was still not convinced, but looked more helpful. He picked up the phone and after a moment, spoke. “Mr. Wake? There’s a young woman down here who claims to be your fiancée. She says—. Oh, I see. Yes, sir, I’ll send her right up.” He put the phone down and almost bowed as he spoke to Megan. “Right this way, ma’am.”

  Megan tossed her hair, suppressed a smile, and followed him to the elevator. He slid a key card, then handed it to her before the doors closed. After they slid shut, Megan laughed out loud.

  When the doors opened again, her laughter died on her lips.

  Kevin Wake was furious.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I was worried sick!”

  Megan clutched her purse against her chest. “I’m fine. I went for a walk. I left a note.”

  “Where?!” He spread his arms and turned at the waist to indicate no note in his general vicinity.

  Megan pointed at the bar, irritation sharpening her tone. “Did you look on the bar? Where the paper and pens happen to be?”

  Kevin put his hands on his hips. “I hadn’t gotten that far yet. Did anybody see you? What am I saying? The whole freaking world saw you!”

  Megan turned a hand over. “You didn’t say anything about staying invisible. Besides, so what if people saw me? They don’t know who I am! They don’t know why I’m here. What’s the problem?”

  Jeffrey Wong stood up from the sofa and a room service tray covered with croissants and coffee cups and two carafes.

  “He was worried that one of his father’s spies might have seen you.”

  Kevin shot Jeffrey a warning look, and Jeff put his chauffeur’s cap on and saluted.

  Megan laughed.

  Kevin snorted.

  Megan said, “You are really quite attractive when you’re angry. But if you do this often, I may think twice about signing that prenup.”

  Kevin took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “This is too big a deal to take chances that my old man might have people keeping an eye on me, and that includes you now as well.”

  Megan moved coolly past him and into the big room. As if he had asked about her well being, she said, “I’m doing much better, thank you. The walk in the fresh air did me a lot of good. And I was not approached by anyone.”

  “Not followed?”

  Megan tossed her bag on the sofa and turned her hands out in a question. “I was supposed to be on the lookout for someone following me? You need to communicate more fully, Mr. Wake. Oh, sorry, fiancé Kevin. Anything else I should know? Do you have an old girlfriend who might be pissed off because I’m marrying you? Do you owe money to the Mafia? Are you in the Witness Protection program?”

  “Very funny,” said Kevin, mollified.

  “No, seriously. You are the most paranoid person I ever met. Should I be giving you back your thousand dollars and getting out while the getting is good?”

  “No, please. Stay,” said Kevin. “You’re right. I am paranoid. I just lost it when I couldn’t find you this morning.”

  “You were asleep when I left. Do we need to write that into the agreement? Me telling you my every move? If that’s part of the job, I’ll do what I have to do.”

  A cell phone rang.

  Megan said, “Don’t look at me. No phone, remember?”

  “Not mine either,” said Kevin.

  Jeffrey patted his pockets. “Sorry, it’s me. Excuse me, Mr. Wake. I have to take this call.” He slipped away in the direction of his room.

  Kevin said, “We’ll get you a cell phone today. It’s on my list.” He glanced at his watch. “Patrick will be here soon. Then we can get this show on the road.”

  Megan decided the fireworks were over. She poured herself a cup of coffee. It was lukewarm, but she didn’t care. “Are we flying to your summer place in the morning?”

  “Jeffrey will be flying. You and I will be driving.”

  Megan felt her insides twisting at the thought. “There’s something I have to tell you,” she said. “I hope it’s not a deal breaker.”

  “Go on.”

  “Ever since my accident, the idea of getting behind the wheel of a car terrifies me. Sweaty palms, butterflies. In fact, more like stampeding ibexes.”

  Kevin laughed out loud. “Oh, I’m sorry. But, ibexes? Where did that come from?”

  “I watched a lot of nature shows in the hospital.”

  “Well, don’t worry. I’ll do the driving. Er, you still have a valid license, don’t you?”

  Megan frowned. “Yes, I do. It’s good for another year. But I don’t understand why we don’t fly. You’re rich. Don’t you have a private plane?”

  Kevin’s good cheer faded. “My father has a private jet. We are driving to Colorado. As soon as we get there, we should get our marriage license.”

  “Driving to Colorado? The two of us? Without Jeffrey?”

  Kevin’s features twisted in a question. “You are about to sign a prenup agreement to marry me, but you’re worried about us traveling together for a couple of days?”

  Megan tossed her hair. “Well, if we’re going to be traveling together, maybe we should get married in Reno on the way. Then we can legally register as man and wife, and add more ammunition to this war you’re waging with your father.” And I can rest assured that our agreement takes effect without waiting until the end of the month!

  Kevin looked thoughtful. “That might be a good idea. In fact, that’s a very good idea.”

  The elevator pinged on the other side of the door.

  “Patrick’s a few minutes early. That’s good. We have a lot to do today.”

  Jeffrey emerged from the other room. “Shall I get the limo ready?”

  “Not yet,” said Kevin. “Patrick’s here. We’ll need you as a witness for the prenup.”

  The next hour was a blur of legalese and signatures. Megan got through it only because she could finally see Kevin’s promise to pay off her medical bills in black and white, with his signature and initials on every page. The first leg of her mission was accomplished.

  When they were done and Patrick had left, Kevin sent Jeffrey to prepare the limo.

  Megan spent a few minutes in her room, freshening up. She couldn’t get the worry about driving to Colorado out of her mind. It sounded like a very long trip, and she wasn’t sure her leg could tolerate it. She would try to talk to Kevin a
bout it again. When she returned to the great room, Kevin was on the phone. Megan entertained herself by nibbling at a croissant.

  Kevin hung up. “They’re ready for us at the bank. Um, they’re going to expect me to walk in with my fiancée. Are you up to faking some affection?”

  Megan smiled brightly. “Would you like me to cling? Or just stare at you adoringly from arm’s length?”

  Kevin chuckled. “Let’s play it by ear.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  FOR ONCE, KEVIN was grateful for his mother’s wealth and connections. The bank president was circumspect and obsequious. He asked no questions, except to request Kevin’s identification and the information required to retrieve his safe deposit box.

  Alone in the little room with Megan at his side, Kevin opened the long box and set aside a small stack of thousand dollar bills in order to retrieve four bundles of hundreds.

  Megan’s eyes widened. “I’ve never seen a thousand dollar bill,” she whispered.

  “You don’t have to whisper.”

  Megan pulled her shoulders up around her ears. “It just feels so reverential in here.”

  Kevin grunted. “It’s sort of a banker’s holy room,” he quipped.

  “Grover Cleveland? People would remember him better if he were on a common bill. Like Ben Franklin on the hundred. Oh, those are pretty and new.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Why are the thousands old looking?”

  “Because the treasury doesn’t issue them anymore. These are still legal tender, but they’re not new bills.”

  “So how much cash is this?” she asked, nodding at the crisp new hundreds.

  “Forty thousand. I need pocket money.”

  His impression of Megan improved with each passing hour. If forty thousand in cash impressed her, she didn’t say so. Nor did she ask what he needed it for. She was dignified and attractive. In fact, she was very attractive, and even in her casual capris and sleeveless top, she drew stares from other men. Kevin enjoyed that.

  With a couple thousand in cash in his wallet and the rest in his brief case, he enjoyed their next stop on 4th Avenue, where they chose her phone.

  “Something simple will do,” said Megan.

  “No, it won’t.” He addressed the salesman. “I’d like my fiancée to have the top of the line model, voice assistant, GPS, everything you’ve got. And can we sync it to mine?” He laid his iPhone on the counter. “Sort of a romantic gesture,” he added. “The monthly billing will be added to my account, but I’ll pay cash for the phone.”

  “No problem,” said the salesman. “Would you like to browse the accessories?”

  An hour later they were back in the limo. Megan was as excited as a little girl facing a tower of birthday presents as she tapped app after app on her iPhone screen.

  “It’s a camera, too! And a video recorder! Oh, there’s a notepad. And look! You can even use it as a phone!”

  Kevin laughed. “Don’t tell me. You could never afford a smartphone.”

  “Never. Believe it or not, I spent my first two years at college using the computer labs for typing up my papers because it took me a while to save the money for a laptop.”

  “Wow. I am impressed.” And a little embarrassed, he thought to himself, wondering what she would think when she met his eight-year-old brother and saw the collection of techno gadgets he had already acquired.

  Megan waved his comment away. “Impressed by poverty? Really? Poor people are not impressed by it, believe me.”

  “Well, maybe by your thriftiness, then, and your resolve to wait until you saved enough money.”

  Megan tilted her head to one side. “Okay. You can be impressed by that, because frankly, so was I.” She smiled. “I just didn’t want to grab one of those credit cards on campus and end up in debt before I graduated.”

  “Ah, yes. You abhor debt. That’s why you’re here.” His tone was pleasant with a touch of tease.

  “Well, I must say, so far this job has great benefits.” She beamed with delight at her new phone.

  Kevin pulled a soft drink from the mini fridge as Jeffrey maneuvered through traffic. He offered one to Megan and she accepted.

  “By the way,” said Kevin, “I think it would be wise if we stopped referring to this as your job. You don’t want to slip up when you’re around my family. And of course, taking my paranoia into account, we don’t want any eavesdroppers to hear you refer to me as your employer. Okay?”

  Megan nodded agreeably. “Okay. Good idea.” She made her excited-little-girl face again. “Love has its benefits.” She giggled.

  Kevin smiled. Ever since the prenup was signed, Megan had begun to relax, and as she relaxed, her expressions became less guarded. He found her happy face extremely attractive, and he found himself wondering what he could do next to ensure that he would see it again soon.

  “It’s almost three o’clock. Would you like to pick a restaurant?”

  “Oh! I know it’s totally touristy, but I never got to go before my accident. Could we spend a little time at the Pike Place Market? If we’re leaving tomorrow, who knows when I’ll get back, and the only thing I’ve seen in Seattle is the inside of a hospital. I’m sure we can find a snack there.”

  Kevin grinned. “Why not?” He pressed the switch to talk to Jeffrey. “Megan would like to see the Pike Street Market,” he said. “Would you drop us off at 1st and Pike?”

  As they emerged from the limo, Kevin instructed Jeffrey to return in two hours. “We’ll be ready for a quiet ride by then,” he added to Megan. “And the Market closes at five on Sundays.”

  “Oh, I’m so excited!”

  Kevin couldn’t help but admire the handsome picture their reflections offered in passing shop windows. His six-foot-four frame usually meant he stood out from a crowd, but with Megan on his arm, the crowd parted for them. Her face was alight with touristy joy, and he found himself seeing the Market through her eyes and experiencing it as if for the first time.

  “Use your phone and take some pictures,” said Kevin.

  “That’s a great idea,” said Megan. She held the phone up, pressed the camera app, and stared with a frown at the screen. “What do I press to take a picture?”

  Kevin angled to stand behind her and gave instructions over her shoulder. “There, that’s it. Just press right there.”

  She did so.

  Kevin cleared his throat. “You just took a picture of your feet. It helps if you aim the camera at something not so easy to carry around with you.”

  “Very funny,” said Megan. “At least I can say my feet were at Pike Place Market.”

  “Try again.”

  Megan clicked off a series of photos in a circle. Then she said, “Oh, we need someone to take a picture of us together.”

  Kevin touched another spot on the screen and Megan was looking at her own face. She shrieked with delight.

  “Here, you do it! My arms aren’t long enough.”

  Kevin took the phone and held up up in front of them, centered their images and made sure to include the Public Market sign right over their heads.

  “That’s perfect,” said Megan.

  The aroma of fish and saltwater from Elliot Bay permeated everything. Before they moved on to the food vendors, Megan bought herself a couple of post cards and a plastic key ring shaped like a salmon.

  “I need a tee shirt!” she cried as they rounded a corner into yet another gift shop. “The gaudier, the better.”

  Kevin picked out a pink girl’s tee with Pike Place Market emblazoned across the front. “How’s this?’

  “Perfect!” She sighed happily. “Okay, we can eat now. I have now officially been there, done that, and—”

  Kevin joined her in the chorus, “—bought the tee shirt!”

  They laughed together and Megan leaned into him and looked up into his eyes with genuine affection.

  The moment was over too soon for Kevin. But he made a mental note of yet another expression of Megan’s that he w
anted to experience again.

  They were pulling into the hotel parking garage when he realized he’d forgotten to check out her hospital story.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  MEGAN RUSHED AHEAD of Kevin into the suite and down the hall to her room.

  “Be back soon!”

  She didn’t want to be any more specific than that. Fiancée or not, sometimes a girl just needed privacy.

  A few minutes later, she collapsed on her bed and let the day’s events do reruns through her mind. The iPhone was a delight. She picked it up and reviewed the photos they had taken. When she got to the one that Kevin had taken of the two of them, her breath caught in her throat.

  Megan’s first thought was, what a lovely couple. Then in an instant, she realized that she was part of that couple and Kevin was devastatingly handsome! Was it because he was so photogenic? Or was it because he seemed to be having as good a time as she was at the Market? His smile lit up the little screen, dimmed only by her own. They really did look like a couple in love.

  Odd that a man of his wealth and standing did not zip around the country on a private plane. She could understand that he didn’t want to use his father’s jet, but he was a big boy. He could buy his own. Couldn’t he?

  Megan sat up on the edge of the bed. Maybe she should ask him about that. And there was another matter that needed addressing. She had purchased clothes, but had no luggage to pack them in. She’d better tell him soon, because he expected them to leave in the morning.

  She left her room quietly, her footfalls muffled by the thick carpet and headed toward the great room. The sound of Kevin’s voice raised in anger gave her pause, and she stopped to listen from the hallway.

  “I’m doing the best I can,” he grouched. “And you need to stop calling me. You know what the lawyers will make of that. I’m handling it!”

  He snapped the phone shut.

  Jeffrey said, “She’s just trying to help.”

  “I know, but talking to her makes me crazy. Things were humming along so smoothly. Then she calls, and everything falls apart.”

  “Oh, really? You were living in a one-room apartment, barely keeping body and soul together. That’s what you call humming along? I call it running away from reality. Holing up. Hiding out.”