“Think about it, Jack. It would be a strictly business relationship,” she continued. “Everything would stay just as it is now, including our sleeping arrangements.” She hoped the blush she felt inside didn’t show on her cheeks. “The only difference would be the picture we present outside this house—as a happily married couple raising the boys in a two-parent home.”
“That’s a crazy idea,” he said, but she couldn’t help but see the hope that leaped into his eyes. “Isn’t it?” he added.
“There’s absolutely nothing questionable in my past, and raising children has been my job. No judge could look at me and the way I have lived my life so far and deem me unacceptable as a stepmother to the boys.”
“But why would you want to do that?” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “What’s in it for you, Marisa?”
“I’ll get to raise Mick and David. Jack, I’ve fallen in love with your boys. I care about them. After all they’ve been through, they need a stable life, and I can help provide that for them. I wouldn’t just be doing this for you but I’d be doing it for myself as well.”
“But what about Patrick?”
“I told you that we were just casually dating. It’s nothing serious,” she replied.
“He didn’t look like it was just casual for him.” Jack took a sip of his coffee, his gaze not leaving hers over the rim of his mug.
“That doesn’t matter. This is my choice, Jack.” She’d thought about it all night and throughout the day. There was a part of her that knew it was an insane idea, but there was a bigger part of her that somehow felt it was right.
He lowered his cup to the table. “Marisa, you’re bright and you’re beautiful. Why would you want to get yourself involved in this kind of a relationship? Why not marry some man and raise kids of your own?”
Her heart squeezed painfully at the question. She looked down at the top of the table, unable to look at him as she revisited the most painful time in her past.
“I was a junior in college when I met a guy named Tom, and we started a wild, passionate relationship.” Her throat grew dry as she thought of those nights with Tom—not because of any residual desire but rather because she’d been such a fool.
“I was crazy about him, and I thought he was crazy about me. I didn’t realize I was nothing more than a booty call for him.” This time she felt the heat that filled her cheeks. “I found out just how little I meant to him when I discovered I was pregnant and he told me I was on my own.”
Jack’s only response was a tightening of his jaw. “It was okay,” she hurriedly added. “Even though the pregnancy was unplanned and Tom had disappeared, I was thrilled to be pregnant, and I wanted the baby desperately.”
The knot of pain in her chest expanded, squeezing out the breath in her lungs. “I didn’t tell my parents. I didn’t tell anyone about my condition except Aunt Rita. I was going to tell my parents once I had it figured out how to continue college and be a single parent.” A lump rose to her throat. “To be honest, I was afraid they’d try to talk me into getting an abortion, and that was something I’d never consider.”
She halted, unable to go on for a moment as her heart shattered all over again. Tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall. She’d cried enough tears to fill the ocean when she’d been going through the trauma.
Jack reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. He said nothing but waited for her to gain her composure.
The warmth of his hand, big and strong around hers, helped and she drew a deep, tremulous breath. “I was just beginning my sixth month when I started to bleed and then miscarried. I was devastated, but even more devastating than that was when the doctor told me in order to save my life they had to do a complete hysterectomy.”
“God, Marisa, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for you,” he said. His features were filled with compassion.
She pulled her hand from his and instead wrapped her arms around herself. “Thanks, but now surely you understand why I’m willing to do this. I’m never going to have my own babies, Jack. I’m never going to have a family of my own.” She swallowed hard. “So if you agree to this business arrangement we erase one of the strikes against you and I get to be a mommy to Mick and David.”
She knew what she was proposing sounded impulsive, especially given the short time she’d known Jack and the boys. But she couldn’t help but follow her heart, and her heart was telling her that this was where she belonged…at least for now.
He shoved a strand of his dark hair off his forehead with the back of his hand. “I need to think about this,” he finally said. “I mean, this is all happening so fast.”
“Of course,” she agreed. She immediately got up from the table. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She left him seated at the table, staring out the window into the dark of night. She had no idea if he’d agree to her plan or not. It was out of her hands.
As she got ready for bed she thought of the offer she’d just made to Jack. She wasn’t sure when it had first blossomed in her head, but the moment it had she’d embraced it.
It made a crazy kind of sense. She could live in a loveless, passionless marriage if the payoff was being able to raise Mick and David. What she didn’t know was if Jack was willing to make the same kind of sacrifice.
There was no question that there was a smoldering desire between her and Jack, but she wouldn’t complicate matters by diving headfirst into something wild and hot and dangerous.
She fell asleep almost immediately and dreamed of Jack. In her dreams they were making love, and she awakened the next morning feeling restless and edgy.
After showering and dressing for the day, she remained in her room until it was late enough for her to call Patrick. Whether Jack agreed to her plan or not, she’d decided to call it quits with the handsome accountant.
She’d been comfortable dating Patrick because he didn’t inspire great passion in her. Jack inspired passion, but she didn’t intend to follow through on it. She was putting her heart far more at risk by offering to be Jack’s wife, but as she thought of the two precious boys, she thought the risk was worth it.
Besides, it wasn’t really fair to continue seeing Patrick knowing that they had no future together. Eventually Patrick would want to get married and have children, and that was something she would never be able to give him. It was time to cut him loose so he could find the woman who would be his future.
He answered his phone on the second ring, obviously identifying her cell phone number from caller ID.
“What a pleasant surprise,” he exclaimed. “I was just getting ready for work and thinking about you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too,” she replied. She hated the fact that she was going to hurt him. But better to hurt him now in the early stages of their relationship than later.
“Patrick, you’re a wonderful man and someday you’re going to make some woman very happy,” she began.
“Why do I get the feeling this call is a kiss-off?”
Marisa sighed. “Because I guess it is. Patrick, I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with you, but I’m not in a place in my life right now to want a relationship. I’m focused on my work here and two little boys who need me.”
“Have I done something to offend you?” he asked quietly.
“No, not at all,” she hurriedly replied. “This is about me, Patrick, not about you. I just think it would be better if we stopped seeing one another.”
“You know that’s not what I want,” he replied in a husky voice. “But I can’t do anything but respect your decision. You know where to find me if you ever need anything.”
“I do—and thanks.” She was grateful it hadn’t gotten messy and was rather surprised that it had been so easy. She hung up and went into the dining room, where Jack was already seated at the table.
“Good morning,” she said and tried not to notice how handsome he looked in a short-sleeved blue shirt and his wor
n jeans.
The aroma of frying bacon came from the kitchen along with the faint noise of the small television.
Marisa sat next to him and a wave of heat shot through her as she caught the scent of shaving cream and minty soap that wafted from him. Yes, she felt desire for Jack, but she reminded herself that it was an emotion that caused more grief than pleasure.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“Like a baby.”
“Change your mind about what you proposed to me?”
She studied his features, trying to discern what he was thinking, but his face was schooled into an enigmatic mask that made it impossible to see into his mind. “No, I still think it’s a viable plan.”
At that moment she heard the sound of childish laughter and knew the boys were awake. “I’ll be right back,” she said.
It took her only minutes to wash and dress Mick and David and then get them buckled into their booster seats at the table.
By that time Betty had served breakfast and they all began to eat. Jack ate for a few minutes in silence, then put his fork down and looked at her once again.
“What happens if we go through with it and Harold manages to get custody of the boys anyway?” he asked.
“Then we divorce,” she replied. “Quick and easy—no harm, no foul.” She’d once held the idea that when she married it would be forever, that she would be with the man she chose to exchange vows with for the rest of her natural life. But fate had changed her expectations.
“You know we’re both more than a little bit crazy to even be contemplating this.” His gray eyes studied her thoughtfully. “I’m still not sure why you’d be willing to do this for me.”
“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Mick and David, and I’m doing it for me,” she replied. The last thing she wanted was for Jack to know that there was a small piece of her heart that belonged just a little bit to him. She didn’t even want to access that place herself.
Strictly business, she told herself even as the thought of Jack’s lips against hers created a small ball of warmth in the pit of her stomach.
“You have anything special planned for this afternoon?” he asked.
Her heart seemed to skip a beat. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Then why don’t we get dressed up and head down to the license office, then visit one of the tacky wedding chapels Las Vegas has to offer?”
Now was the time for her to change her mind, she thought. Maybe it was crazy; perhaps she hadn’t considered all the ramifications.
“M’ssa, look!” David said. He grinned at her as he balanced a piece of round oat cereal on the end of his nose.
“Marisa, look, I can do it, too,” Mick said and dug into his cereal bowl.
As always, her heart filled her chest at their antics. Yes, this whole scheme was probably crazy, and she was positive she hadn’t completely thought it all through. But she turned to Jack and smiled.
“Just tell me what time to be ready,” she said, knowing that she had just made a decision that would forever change her life. It could be a wonderfully positive change or it could leave her utterly desolate for the second time in her life.
Harold Rothchild had many things that he regretted about his life. At the moment there was only one regret on his mind as he gazed at the gorgeous blond trophy wife seated opposite him at the long mahogany dining room table.
He’d found her incredibly sexy when he’d initially met her and truth be told she’d stroked his ego by appearing to be crazy about him. They hadn’t been seeing each other for long when she’d told him she thought she was pregnant. Impulsively he’d married her and regretted it ever since.
The pregnancy had yielded a son who was now five years old. Unfortunately the bloom had definitely worn off the marriage.
It hadn’t taken Harold long to be bored—bored to tears with his young wife who could only have meaningful discussions about who had worn what to which charity function and what designer was having a tremendous sale.
It was enough to make a man think fondly of the wife he’d divorced. Anna had been a good wife and had tried to be a good mother to the three girls he’d brought into the marriage. And he’d come to love Anna’s daughter, Silver, as if she were his own. Lately he’d been thinking more and more about his second wife.
He focused his attention back on the financial section of the morning newspaper.
No matter how bad the economy got, people still loved to gamble. Business had never been better at the casino as people blew their money on the chance of hitting it big.
Still, he found his concentration wandering from finances to family matters. He wondered if things would have been different for Candace if his first wife, June, hadn’t died.
Candace had been a handful from the moment of her birth. Wild and impetuous, beautiful and troubled, but Harold would always believe that the reason for her murder had been that damned diamond ring.
The Tears of the Quetzal, so named for the resplendent Quetzal bird of Mexico. Like the bird, the diamond had possessed magnificent colors of golds and greens and deeper hues of blue and violet. His stomach muscles clenched with tension as he thought of the diamond.
It had been found in one of his father’s diamond mines, and Harold would never forget that day—it was burned into his head and occasionally gave him nightmares that awakened him in the middle of the night.
He knew the legend attached to the ring, that it had special powers and would bring love to anyone who came into contact with it.
It was a charming little legend, but Harold knew the truth. He knew that until the ring was back in his possession, it had the potential to wreak havoc on his family. Candace’s murder had only been the first of a string of tragedies waiting to happen.
Only Harold knew the true story, that from the moment the diamond had been found it had been bathed in blood. And he got up every morning and went to bed every night terrified by what might happen next.
Chapter 8
The chapel was gaudy, like so much of what Las Vegas had to offer. Jack suddenly wished he had picked another place to exchange vows with Marisa. She deserved better than this.
Marisa looked positively stunning in a pale-pink sundress that was cinched at her slender waist and emphasized the lush fullness of her breasts and hips.
She stood just inside the door with the boys on either side of her while Jack made the necessary arrangements for the ceremony.
There were a dozen wedding packages to pick from when it came to the actual ceremony. Aware that this was nothing but a business deal, he picked one that would let her carry a nosegay of roses but had fewer of the romantic accoutrements.
The minister had the scent of booze clinging to him, and the witness would be a paid stranger. It all felt slightly seedy.
Jack would have walked out but it was already after five and the boys had forgone their nap and were now getting cranky.
He also didn’t want to give himself too much time to think, too much opportunity to let reason take over. He had no idea if this was a mistake or not, but he told himself that if it gave him an edge in a custody battle, then it couldn’t be a mistake.
Still, he realized that Marisa should be wearing a white gown of ribbons and lace, and she should be exchanging vows with a man she loved beyond reason.
He wore a suit and tie for the occasion, but he had a feeling he also wore the expression of a deer caught in the headlights.
With the arrangements made and the ceremony paid for, he walked back to where she stood. “Last chance to bail,” he said.
She smiled, but the gesture looked slightly forced. “I’m not going anywhere until this is done.” She picked up David in her arms, and the toddler wrapped his arms around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder. “Let’s just get it finished. The boys are getting hungry and tired.”
It took fifteen minutes for Marisa to become Mrs. Jack Cortland. She held David during the brief ceremony, and Jack h
eld Mick.
She only seemed to get emotional once and that was when Jack slipped his mother’s wedding ring onto her finger. He’d never given it to Candace, who he’d known would have laughed at the small size of the diamond.
At the end of the ceremony the minister clapped Jack on the back as he walked them out of the chapel and told him he’d always been a big fan of Creation.
Thankfully there were no paparazzi hanging around outside so he didn’t have to worry about their wedding becoming a tabloid story.
“I told Betty before we left that we’d be dining out tonight,” Jack said as the four of them stepped outside the small chapel. “I thought we could grab a bite at one of the casino buffets or restaurants.” He would have never attempted a meal out with the kids before Marisa had arrived and worked her magic with them.
“That’s fine, although a restaurant would probably be easier than a buffet with the boys,” she replied. David was no longer in her arms but at her side. She held his hand in hers, and in her other hand she clutched the bouquet of pink roses that had come with the wedding ceremony.
It was over a quiet dinner that Jack explained to the boys that Marisa was going to be their new mommy. David seemed to take it all in stride, but Mick looked at her worriedly.
“If you’re our new mommy, does that mean you’re going to go away?” he asked. His big blue eyes held far too much worry for a little boy.
“No, honey. I don’t plan on going away,” she replied. “Hopefully we’re all going to be together for a very long time.”
That seemed to satisfy Mick, who turned his concentration on dipping his French fries into the ocean of ketchup that pooled on his plate.
Marisa was unusually quiet during the meal. Jack watched her easy, loving interaction with David and Mick, and that eased the faint uncertainty that somehow they had made a mistake.
He wasn’t worried about the mistake affecting him in a negative way. He’d made enough mistakes in his life to fill a book and had managed to survive them all.
But, he worried about Marisa. She might believe she was in this scheme wholeheartedly now, but how long could a woman exist happily in a loveless situation with just the comfort of two little boys?
5 Minutes to Marriage Page 8