“He was close to the truth,” Chester said gravely. “Max shouldn't have told you anything. Then again, you shouldn't have kissed that toad Hugh.”
“I know,” I said miserably. “I wish I hadn't. I wish it every day. Every hour.”
“And Max. He knows about this?”
I shook my head.
Chester looked at me curiously. “Seems to me you're taking quite a risk here telling me. Right before you get married. Seems to me I could go talk to Max and cause quite a lot of trouble.”
“You could,” I agreed. “And I wouldn't blame you if you did.”
“Oh, I think you would. I think I would.” Chester smiled.
“Really?” I asked nervously.
Chester sighed. “Okay, here's how I see this. You've come clean for the sake of your mother. Your mother lied to protect you. Max told his future wife about a business deal and has no idea about any of this. And as for me …”
“Yes?”
“Well, looks like you're offering me a second chance with the woman I love. Which means I'd be a damn fool if I didn't act grateful.”
“You would?” I barely dared ask the question.
“Yes, I would. Let's not forget that you orchestrated the best launch of a financial fund in the history of advertising.” He grinned. “I'd be even more a damn fool if I put another wedge between Jarvis and Milton Advertising, don't you think?”
I gulped. “So you're not going to tell Max?”
“Seems to me there's nothing to tell.” Chester winked. “A kiss ain't nothing in my book.”
“But he doesn't know … it was me. I was the leak.”
“Hugh was the leak,” Chester said firmly. “He's the lowlife, Jess, not you. And you've learned from your mistake, right?”
I nodded firmly. “God yes. Completely. Completely and utterly.” And I had. I knew that one day, in the distant future, I would come clean with Max about the Hugh debacle. But not now. Now I just wanted to marry the man I loved.
“So then there's just one last thing to do, isn't there?”
“There is?” I looked up at him tentatively. He held out his arm.
“Get you married,” he said. “You'd better call your friend Helen back.”
“ ’S all right, I was here all along listening,” Helen said, appearing through a door. She shrugged helplessly. “Couldn't help it.”
I laughed. “Okay then. We're ready?”
“Ready,” Helen confirmed. “Jessica Wild, let's turn you into Jessica Wainwright.”
“Wild Wainwright.” I smiled. “Wild Wainwright?” Helen asked interestedly. I nodded and grinned. “I'm always going to be a little bit wild, after all …”
GEMMA TOWNLEY is the author of The Importance of Being Married, When in Rome …, Little White Lies, Learning Curves, and The Hopeless Romantic's Handbook. She lives in London with her husband, Mark, and son, Atticus.
A Wild Affair is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are the products of the author's imagination
or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original
Copyright © 2009 by Gemma Townley
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books,
an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks
of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Townley, Gemma.
A wild affair: a novel/Gemma Townley.
p. cm.
“A Ballantine Books trade paperback original.”
eISBN: 978-0-345-51532-2
1. Chick lit. I. Title.
PR6120.O96W55 2009
823′.92—dc22 2009005867
www.ballantinebooks.com
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