“I’m on it. Now, go shower,” she said, shooing him in the direction of their bathroom.
He hesitated.
“Are you okay?” Imogene asked, moving to his side quickly.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said before kissing her again.
“She’ll pull through this, Valentin. They’re going to look after her.”
She gave him a small smile, then hurried from the room. By the time he was showered she had a light breakfast and coffee ready. She was nowhere to be seen and he assumed she’d gone to shower in her old bathroom. He realized he was right on the money when she reentered the kitchen, ready to leave.
“I’ve never known a woman to get ready as quickly as you do,” he said, his eyes roaming her appreciatively.
“As someone who has always loved her sleep, it was a matter of necessity. Otherwise, I’d arrive everywhere looking like a hag.”
“Hag? Impossible, but I appreciate it. Shall we go?”
“Yes, I called Anton. He’ll be waiting downstairs. I thought it would be easier than using a cab.”
“Good thinking.”
When Anton dropped them off at the hospital they went straight up to the ICU. A nurse at the station directed them to Alice’s room. The tension gripping Valentin’s body eased when he saw his grandmother propped up in her bed. Yes, she was still seriously ill, but there was a fire in her eyes that he recognized immediately.
“You took your time.”
Her voice was weak but he heard the indomitable spirit that underpinned everything that Alice Horvath was and every decision she’d made her entire life.
“We’re here now,” he replied, choosing not to point out that it was still ridiculously early. “How about you tell us what you need to say so you can get better again.”
She snorted inelegantly. “Better. There’s nothing wrong with me that some good news wouldn’t cure. Have you got some good news for me?” Alice looked from one of them to the other. “Well?”
“If you mean have we sorted things out after last night,” Imogene said, coming forward and gently taking his grandmother’s hand, “then, yes, we have.”
“And that woman? Did you get rid of her?”
Valentin bit back the instinctive urge to defend Carla. After all, he’d worked with her for a long time, both here and in Africa. But, he reminded himself, she didn’t deserve his loyalty. She’d done her level best to drive his only love away from him. Not once, but twice.
“Yes, she’s gone,” he said simply.
Alice looked at him. “She’s not pregnant, is she?”
“If she is, it certainly isn’t my child,” he reassured her.
“Last night, when I saw her home, Carla admitted to me that she lied about being pregnant,” Imogene informed them both.
“Good.” Alice nodded, then turned her gaze back on Imogene. “And you, you’ve decided to stay with this grandson of mine?”
“Since I’m lucky enough that he can forgive me for believing someone else over him, yes, I am.”
“Good,” she said again.
“Nagy, stop beating around the bush. What is it that you wanted to tell us?” Valentin pressed.
“I’m not beating around the bush at all, I’m merely ascertaining what the situation is between you two today. I trust you are both equally invested in your marriage now?”
Valentin and Imogene exchanged a glance and in her eyes he could see her love for him reflected clearly.
“Yes, we are,” he said firmly.
Alice drew in a deep breath. “Thank goodness, because what I have to tell you two may come as a shock.”
That got both their attention.
“In fact,” Alice continued, her voice getting stronger now. “One day you might even see the humor in the situation. All I can say is that it was a good thing neither of you married anyone else after Africa.”
“And why not?” Valentin pressed.
“Because it would have been bigamy.”
Imogene gasped in shock. “Bigamy? But how? I signed the divorce papers. My lawyer was instructed to send them to Valentin immediately and to file them appropriately on their return.”
“I signed the papers. Against my better judgment, I have to say. But I did it because it was clear to me that you wanted out. I sent them back to your lawyer immediately.” Valentin looked at his grandmother. “Get to the point, Nagy. Why would it have been bigamy when we did everything we needed to?”
“The papers were never filed,” she said with a smile of genuine satisfaction on her pale face. “I’m only sorry it’s taken this long to get confirmation of it. We instigated an investigation before your marriage but with communication between the two countries being slow, at best, we decided to take the risk of going ahead before we got confirmation back from Africa. You were both convinced you were free to marry again and, since you were marrying each other, I didn’t see the harm.
“Imogene’s lawyer was apparently involved in several fraudulent activities with a local warlord. Once that was discovered he was shut down. It seems several local businessmen were angered by his involvement and before another law firm could retrieve the active files being held at his office, the building was firebombed and burned to the ground. All client information and documents were destroyed.”
She looked tired now, but relieved she’d finally managed to tell them the news.
“You mean to say we’ve been married all along?” Imogene asked incredulously.
“Just think of the Port Ludlow ceremony as an affirmation of your vows,” Alice said, her voice growing weaker again.
“You know what this means?” Valentin said, reaching for Imogene’s hand and raising it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. “We get to celebrate two anniversaries.”
“For the rest of our lives,” Imogene affirmed and reached up to kiss him.
* * *
Alice lay in her bed and looked at the happy couple standing beside her and smiled. Not everyone would agree she’d done the right thing pairing them, but she knew, to the depths of her soul, that they belonged together. Always had, always would. They hadn’t had the smoothest path to their current happiness but she knew herself that sometimes the hardest road led to the greatest joys. And now that whatever troubles had kept these two apart had been resolved, it had only served to make them stronger than before.
“Mrs. Horvath? Are you ready to sign the consent forms now?”
There was that dratted woman again with her blasted clipboard. “If I must,” she acceded.
“Nagy, you must. We want you better again. You still have Galen’s wedding to plan,” Valentin reminded her as he bent to kiss her on the cheek.
A smile crept across Alice’s face. Yes, thank heavens for Galen. He would be her focus now. She could go into this operation, no matter how much it terrified her, secure in the knowledge that she’d effected yet another successful match made in marriage. And when she was well again—and after she was done with Galen—she had plenty more grandchildren to take care of.
Everyone deserved happiness. Everyone deserved a lifetime of love. And it was up to her to make sure they had it.
* * *
If you loved Valentin and Imogene,
don’t miss Galen’s story
by USA TODAY bestselling author
Yvonne Lindsay.
Available April 2019
from Harlequin Desire.
Keep reading for an excerpt from At the CEO’s Pleasure by Yahrah St. John
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At the CEO’s Pleasure
by Yahrah St. John
One
Ayden Stewart stared out at the Austin city skyline from the fiftieth floor of Stewart Investments. It had taken him fifteen years since graduating from Harvard to build his company, but at thirty-six, he’d finally achieved his goal. And he’d done it all on his own. Without the help of his father, Henry Stewart, a rich man who’d never bothered to acknowledge his eldest son’s existence, not after his second wife had given him two heirs for his own company, Stewart Technologies. It was just as well. He’d long ago stopped looking for love and acceptance from his old man.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in.” His office door opened and his assistant, Carolyn Foster, walked in. The statuesque blonde wore pregnancy well; barely a baby bump could be seen in the smart attire she wore.
“Do you have a minute?”
“Of course,” Ayden responded, moving away from the window. “What can I do for you?”
“I have some not so pleasant news to deliver,” Carolyn said.
“Oh, yeah? Whatever it is, just give it to me straight, no chaser.”
“Very well...” She paused for several beats. “I won’t be coming back after my maternity leave in a few months.”
“Excuse me?” This couldn’t be happening to him again.
“I’m sorry, Ayden—really, I am—but my husband and I have been trying for some time to start a family. And, well, I just want to enjoy the time with our first child because I’m not sure when we might have another.”
Carolyn would make a fantastic mother because she was already putting her child first. It made Ayden think of the only person who’d ever cared one iota about him, who was gone, taken away too soon. His mother Lillian Stewart-Johnson, God rest her soul, had passed away several years ago from a heart attack. He suspected his mother’s illness had been caused by years of stress and abuse at the hands of his stepfather Jack Johnson. Jack was a habitual smoker and a mean drunk.
Ayden had focused hard on his studies, so he could get the hell out of the house. And he’d been lucky. In junior high, his teachers recognized his high IQ and had helped Ayden receive a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in the East. From there, his grades helped him get into Harvard and he’d never looked back.
Growing up, Ayden had developed a thick skin. He’d had to in order to live in the Johnson household, and not just because of the bruises, but because of the lack of love or affection. He’d learned he didn’t need either. If he hadn’t met his roommate, Luke Williams, in boarding school in the ninth grade, who knows how long Ayden would have gone without any real feelings. Ayden’s goal had been to save his mama from working two jobs to support Jack’s pack-and-bottle-a-day habit, but it had been useless. By the time he’d finally started making enough money, his mother was gone and he was all alone in the world except for Luke, his closest friend. Why had his mother let men bully her all her life? First, Henry had intimidated her into a small settlement, cutting her out of her rightful shares in Stewart Technologies. Then, Jack spent the little money she had received. Why hadn’t she fought for the child support she was entitled to?
“I imagine there’s nothing I could do to change your mind?” Ayden inquired. He knew it was a long shot, but he couldn’t understand why anyone would throw away a good-paying job in order to stay home and change poopy diapers. Carolyn’s departure was going to leave him in quite a pickle. One he hadn’t been in since a certain uptight but beautiful assistant had left him five years ago.
“No, there isn’t,” Carolyn said, “but we can find a replacement. You always said you never thought you’d find someone as good as Maya and look what happened—you hired me.”
He would never forget the day, ten years ago, when Maya Richardson had walked through his door looking for a job. She’d been a godsend, helping Ayden grow Stewart Investments into the company it was today. Thinking of her brought a smile to Ayden’s face. How could it not? Not only was she the best assistant he’d ever had, Maya had fascinated him. Utterly and completely. Maya had hidden an exceptional figure beneath professional clothing and kept her hair in a tight bun. But Ayden had often wondered what it would be like to throw her over his desk and muss her up. Five years ago, he hadn’t gone quite that far, but he had crossed a boundary.
Maya had been devastated over her breakup with her boyfriend. She’d come to him for comfort, and, instead, Ayden had made love to her. Years of wondering what it would be like to be with Maya had erupted into a passionate encounter. Their one night together had been so explosive the next morning Ayden had needed to take a step back to regain his perspective. He’d had to put up his guard; otherwise, he would have hurt her badly. He thought he’d been doing the right thing, but Maya hadn’t thought so. In retrospect, Ayden wished he’d never given in to temptation. But he had, and he’d lost a damn good assistant. Maya had quit, and Ayden hadn’t seen or heard from her since.
Shaking his head, Ayden strode to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing the recruiter who’d helped him find Carolyn. He wasn’t looking forward to this process. It had taken a long time to find and train Carolyn. Before her, Ayden had dealt with several candidates walking into his office thinking they could ensnare him.
No, he had someone else in mind. A hardworking, dedicated professional who could read his mind without him saying a word and who knew how to handle a situation in his absence. Someone who knew about the big client he’d always wanted to capture but never could attain. She also had a penchant for numbers and research like no one he’d ever seen, not even Carolyn.
Ayden knew exactly who he wanted. He just needed to find out where she’d escaped to.
* * *
“Aren’t you tired yet?” Callie Lewis asked Maya Richardson after they’d jogged nearly five miles in the muggy San Antonio weather. They’d met up at 6:00 a.m. after Maya had stumbled out of bed, placed her shoulder-length black hair in a ponytail, and put on her favorite sports tank with built-in bra and running shorts.
“No. Not yet.” Maya hazarded a glance at Callie. Her friend was five foot two and nearly two hundred pounds, and had been following an intense exercise routine to lose weight. She’d already lost fifty pounds and Maya was trying to encourage her. They’d been best friends ever since Callie had defended Maya from bullies in the fifth grade, so Callie’s well-being was important to her.
“Well, I need to stop a sec,” Callie paused midstride. She limped over to a nearby bench and began a series of stretches.
“Okay, no problem.” Maya jogged in place while she stretched.
“What’s got you all riled up?” Callie asked. “You’ve been on edge for a couple of days.”
Maya stopped jogging and stood st
ill. She’d been trying to outrun the past, which was impossible, but she was giving it the old college try. “I received an invitation from Raven and Thomas for Nysha’s baptism.”
“You received what?” Callie’s brown eyes grew large with amazement.
“You heard me.”
“I just can’t believe your sister and that sleazy husband of hers had the nerve to send it. Not after what they did to you.”
Maya shrugged. It had been five long years since she’d felt the sting of Raven’s betrayal with her boyfriend, Thomas. If anyone had told her that her baby sister would steal her man and marry him, she would have called them a liar. Maya and Raven had always been so close. When their father had left their mother, it had broken up their family, leaving her mom Sophia alone to support them. It hadn’t been easy especially because her mother favored Raven.
“How can you be silent about this?”
“Because... I’ve made my peace, Callie,” Maya replied. “I had to. They got married, for Christ’s sake. I didn’t have much choice.”
“You didn’t go to their wedding.”
“How could I? Back then it was all too fresh.”
“Including what happened between you and Ayden?”
Maya rolled her eyes. “Let’s not talk about him, okay?”
“Why not? If I recall what you said back then, it was the best sex you’d ever had in your life,” Callie said, making air quotes. “Yet after your night with him and his failure to acknowledge what happened, you quit your dream job.”
Maya sighed heavily. She wished she’d kept that secret to herself. Five years ago, for better or for worse, her life had changed. She’d accepted it and moved on.
She began running in place again. “C’mon, my muscles are starting to tense up. We have to finish our run.”
“You go on ahead,” Callie stated. “I’m going to sit this one out. I’ll call you later.”
“Sure thing.” Maya jogged off in the opposite direction. As she did, she thought back to that horrible night.
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