Secondhand Bride (The Almost Wives Club Book 2)

by Nancy Warren

  “Why would you drive me around all day?”

  He gestured to the food on his plate. “Why would you bring me a sandwich?”

  She knew he had her. “Okay, you can drive me to school.”

  “Good. Now, that buys you fifteen minutes for a break and time to eat something.”

  He thought she might argue with him or refuse, but again she nodded and walked back behind the counter. A minute later she reappeared through the door she’d passed through when she started her shift, minus her apron, and carrying an identical sandwich to his. Plus her own glass of water.

  She sat down across from him, and he immediately shut the lid on his laptop so he had a clear view of her.

  “It looks like the work’s going well.”

  He felt tired, creatively drained, and yet still filled with ideas. It was an incredible feeling. “I can’t even tell you how amazing this is. I was stuck. Banging my head against a brick wall without realizing that the reason there was a brick wall in front of me is because I’d gone off the path, and left the road.”

  She swallowed her first bite of sandwich. Sipped water. “So, you’re back on the road?”

  “It’s like I was lost in some dark twisting path and emerged onto a freeway and a Porsche Carrera was sitting there with the engine running and the driver’s door open and I jumped in, put the pedal to the floor and started flying. That’s how it feels.”

  “So it’s going well then,” she said, teasing him now.

  He chomped into his sandwich, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s going great,” he mumbled around his food.

  They were both obviously hungry so they ate in silence for a few moments. Then he asked the question that had been bothering him since this morning. “Why don’t you know how to drive?”

  She sucked a dab of mayonnaise off the end of her finger. He knew she didn’t mean it to be a sexy or provocative gesture, but his lizard brain didn’t know that and responded.

  “Honestly, I don’t really know. I wanted to learn how to drive, I guess, but when I was a teenager my mother was always busy working or out doing something. And I was busy too. Obviously, she couldn’t afford to send me to driver training school, and she didn’t have time to teach me. After a while I gave up… I’m not very good at sticking with things.”

  In fact, he was beginning to believe that it wasn’t so much she who gave up as other people who let her down. “Would you still like to learn?”

  She placed the last of her sandwich crusts on the plate. For some reason, he found it endearing she didn’t eat her crusts. Especially as an identical collection of crafts decorated his own plate. “Learn to drive?”

  “Yeah.”

  She took a sip of water and a moment to think over what he’d asked her. “Yes, yes I would. It’s inconvenient as hell taking the bus everywhere. Plus, if I end up having kids, it would sure be easier if I had a driver’s license.” She took another sip of water. “And a car.”

  “I’m sure the Van Hoffendams will make certain you get a car.”

  She shrugged in answer.

  “I’ll teach you.”

  She was so shocked at his word that she choked on her drink. She coughed and spluttered and drank down more water. “You will teach me to drive?”

  He was also shocked by his words, but he liked the idea of teaching Ashley Carnarvon how to drive. “Yes, I will. In case you’re wondering, I am an excellent driver.”

  “I know you’re a good driver. You drove me here today.”

  “I can also tell you that I have never had a speeding ticket,” though he had talked himself out of a couple, “and I’ve never had an accident.”

  She wrinkled her nose and her diamond stud winked. “What car would I learn on?”

  “My car.”

  She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table, “Your car? Not that fancy convertible you drove me here in. Isn’t it a Lamborghini or something?”

  “Ferrari. It’s the only car I own.”

  “But… But, that car must be worth a fortune.”

  “So what? If you think you’ll become a better driver learning on some crappy ancient beater, I can assure you that you won’t.”

  “No, of course not. But if I have an accident in some crappy ancient beater I won’t feel as guilty.”

  “Okay, here’s your first driving lesson. And we’re going to have it right here at the table in the coffee shop.” He put on what he hoped was a very professorial expression. “Never ever imagine that you’re going to have an accident. Put the whole idea out of your head. If you are going to think about yourself driving, you will picture yourself in complete control of your vehicle, a fine road warrior.”

  She glanced at her watch and rose, collecting their dishes from the table. “I need to get back to work. You’ll be back at three?”

  “Yes. And I’ll tell you right now: one of the best things about learning to drive is that you won’t have to rely on other people to show up on time. You will be independent.”

  “If I can ever afford a car.”

  “Well, a driver’s license gets you one step closer to having a car. So, will you let me teach you?”

  The dishes and glassware rattled slightly as she shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”

  In fact, he didn’t need to return to the coffee shop by three o’clock. He never left. The final two hours of her shift could have been five minutes for all he knew. He was in the zone—that magical place where writing was effortless and ideas tumbled around his head like bingo balls and all he had to do was reach in and grasp them. Because he didn’t want to be a complete table hog and cost this fine establishment money, he ordered another coffee that he didn’t really want, and bought six brownies out of the display case. He bought the brownies from another server, since Ashley was busy, and had her pack them in a bag. He’d take them home and snack on them tonight.

  When she came to rouse him at three o’clock he was ridiculously pleased with himself. “I have to thank you,” he said, “I had a fantastic day working here.” He glanced around. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s great creative energy in here.”

  Chapter Eleven

  THEY WALKED OUT TOGETHER and got into the gorgeous convertible once more. Ashley had enjoyed watching Ben today as he’d worked. It was funny, but she could tell the moment he got lost in the story. It was as though he went somewhere else. He probably had no idea how cute he looked when he was in the middle of writing.

  He was a ridiculously fast typist, and she could tell when he was really in the zone because his fingers absolutely flew across the keyboard. He also interacted with his laptop, so if she hadn’t known he was a sought-after screenwriter, she could be forgiven for thinking he was a little crazy. He nodded once in a while, which looked, from the outside, as though he were agreeing with something the laptop had said to him. Sometimes his lips moved. She suspected he was trying out lines of dialogue. A lot of the writers who came in here plugged in to music while they worked, but she noticed that he didn’t do that. Anyway, her shift had certainly passed more quickly with Ben around.

  She had felt nervous this morning when he showed up at her place with her shoe from the night before. She knew that both of them were remembering that strange moment of the almost-kiss.

  She could beat herself up all day for letting herself be attracted to the guest in the pool house, but what was the point? She’d been attracted to him since she was fifteen years old. A decade had not made him less interesting or less gorgeous. In fact, the decade had brought him success as a writer, screen credits, a certain polish and sophistication, and, of course, he’d filled out. His face had a few interesting lines, his eyes showed more experience, and when he looked at her she got the feeling that he knew all about pleasing women.

  The thought sent a shiver across her skin, so she had to ask him to repeat whatever he’d just said.

  “I asked you what time you have to be at school.”

  “What is it with you
and my schedule?”

  “I took a few minutes to go online using your coffee shop’s excellent free Wi-Fi and discovered that the DMV is open until five o’clock tonight. I thought we might drive over there so you can get your learner’s permit.”

  She stared at him. “You really don’t let grass grow, do you.”

  “Look, I want to make a deal with you. I will teach you to drive. In return, I would really appreciate it if you would read over the scenes that involve the cop’s wife in my script.”

  It was a novel experience for her to be listened to at all, never mind have her opinion solicited by a successful young screenwriter. “Wow. That’s some deal. You really want me to read your script?”

  “I do. As you made me realize so painfully, I don’t understand women as well as I like to think I do. Plus, I kept casting Vanessa Moore in the role, which isn’t good as I seriously looked forward to killing off her character.”

  “You need to cast someone else.”

  He sent her a glance that was hard to interpret. “Already have. Will you take the deal?”

  Oh, what the hell? It was a pain not knowing how to drive and here was a golden opportunity for her to learn. She nodded. “You have a deal.”

  ***

  Ashley wasn’t prepared when Ben handed her the keys to his car the next morning. She’d come for her usual morning swim, and when she finished, he came out of the pool house with two mugs of coffee. Heaven.

  She put her palm out instinctively when he passed something to her, and only after the bundle of keys hit her palm did she realize what he was doing. She glanced up at him, startled. “Today?”

  “Right now, if you like. Come on, don’t be chicken. You want to learn to drive, and I want to teach you. There is no time like the present.”

  She stared down at the keys, winking at her as though daring her to take a chance. “I’m scared.”

  “If you’re more scared of driving than of shooting live weapons, you’re crazy.”

  A sudden grin lit her face. “Okay. But I have to shower and change first.”

  Naturally , She was nervous. When she got behind the wheel of the expensive convertible, she wondered how this adventure was going to turn out. She took her time adjusting the seat and mirrors.

  Ben sat beside her, calm and unflappable. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said.

  She imagined herself preparing to shoot something. She took a deep steadying breath, reminded herself that millions of people all over the world had driver’s licenses, started the engine, and carefully reversed. Luckily, there were lots of secluded roads in the area. After an hour or so her confidence grew. She could drive in a straight line. She could brake. She could turn right. She could turn left. She could back up. She even attempted a little parallel parking. Ben offered a little advice, a few tips, and mostly quiet support. When she pulled back in to his parking space in front of the pool house she felt filled with pride at her accomplishment.

  “Thank you,” she said and leaned across the seat and threw her arms around Ben in an enthusiastic and completely spontaneous hug. She felt the full impact of his body as he hugged her back. How strong he was, how muscular the arms that wrapped around her for just a second too long. Then she pulled back, laughing. “That was so incredible.”

  “I knew you could do it. You’re a good driver. I had a feeling you would be.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Anyone who can walk into what they think is a dangerous situation involving a psycho and a gun and act as cool as you did is not going have any trouble driving—even in LA.”

  She passed him the keys and got out, still laughing. Only then did she notice Eric. He was sitting on a rock wall that gave him a view of the pool house, and he was watching her.

  “Eric! What are you doing here?” She felt an odd anxiety in her belly, as though she’d been caught doing something wrong, when she knew she hadn’t.

  “I came over here to see if you wanted to hang out. Your mom told me you were out driving with Ben here.” He rose slowly from the wall and ambled toward them.

  “Ben is teaching me how to drive.” She hated the sound of her own voice, all chirpy and fake.

  He slid a slow glance between the two of them. “I can teach you to drive.” There was an undertone of menace in his voice and she felt Ben bristle as he took a couple of steps toward Eric. This was ridiculous. She wasn’t going to have a couple of grown men fight over her. Not that the idea didn’t hold a certain appeal. She’d never been fought over before.

  However, she preferred to fight her own battles. She walked right up to Eric putting her back to Ben. “Then why didn’t you? You’ve known that I wanted to learn how to drive since I was sixteen years old. You have your own car. You never once offered to teach me.”

  He gazed down at her. “And you never asked.”

  It was true, she hadn’t. “Well, my lesson is over for today. Do you still want to do something?”

  Eric seemed like he was thinking about making a big deal out of this and then she could almost see the moment he decided it was too much effort. He shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”

  She heard the electronic click behind her as Ben locked the car. The next thing she heard was the pool house door opening and then shutting behind him.

  “So, what do you want to do?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Go to the beach maybe? We could take a Frisbee down, raid your mom’s fridge for beer.”

  He always did this. He showed up at her place, or called her to come over to his with some vague plan that usually involved mooching food or drink off one of their parents. She’d never minded it before, but now that she was contemplating spending her entire life with this guy, she was starting to look at him with a more critical eye.

  “Shouldn’t you be studying for your stockbroker’s exams or something?”

  He leaned closer, “would you quit busting my balls all the time?”

  “Sorry. You said when we got engaged that you’d find a job.”

  “And I will.” He kicked a pebble with his foot. “My Dad’s been talking to me about joining his company.”

  “Wow. Will you join your dad’s firm?” He’d always said he’d rather dig ditches.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” He kicked another pebble. “Sometimes it all seems kind of intense, you know? Getting married, getting a real job with a suit and tie and stuff? The whole thing’s kind of stressing me out.”

  She understood how he felt. Normally she never would’ve nagged him about getting a job. But now she saw herself falling into the role of wife. The more she thought about it the more she wondered how well they really knew each other. She took a breath and said, “We did kind of rush into this. I mean the engagement and everything. It’s all happened so fast. But it’s our life. We can take some more time if you want.”

  His gaze flew up to meet hers and she thought she saw panic cross his face. “No.” Then he moved closer, giving her the charming look that always made her toes curl. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about me?” He kissed her softly before she had a chance to speak. And he bumped his body up flush against hers, kissing her more deeply. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her, laughing, toward the beach.

  She was lounging on the sand with Eric when her cell phone went. They were sharing a beer, though she’d made him go to the store and buy his own rather than raid her mother’s fridge. She checked her call display and saw a local number, one she didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

  “Hi Ashley, this is Tasmine. We met at your engagement party the other night.”

  She knew exactly who Tasmine was; what she didn’t know was how she’d got hold of her number. She certainly hadn’t given it to her mother-in-law’s choice of bridesmaid. “Hi, Tasmine,” she let the surprise sound in her voice, and while holding the phone to her ear, glanced at Eric with her eyebrows raised. His mother didn’t have her cell phone number either. The only way Tasmine could have got her number was from Eric. />
  He sent her his most innocent look, the one he usually wore when he pulled one of his pranks, and she shook her head at him.

  “I hope you don’t mind me calling you of the blue like this, but I was wondering if we could get together and talk about the wedding.”

  “Wow, you’re keen.”

  “I’ve just been involved in enough weddings to know how important it is to nail down the basics as soon as possible. I am really good with details, I thought I might bring a binder with me of a wedding that was similar to yours, and you could see if there’s anything you like.”

  “You have binders?”

  A burst of laughter met her question, “I did warn you, I am very organized.”

  “Well, now’s a good time. Would you like to come over here?”

  Eric started shaking his head violently and waving his hands: No, no, no! She ignored him.

  If Eric was going to give her number to pushy bridesmaids, he could remain by her side while said pushing bridesmaid arrived at her house with binders.

  “Absolutely. Now would be great.”

  She gave the woman directions and told her that she’d meet her at the cottage.”

  She ended the call and glared at Eric. “You gave my phone number to Tasmine and didn’t bother to tell me?”

  He played dumb. “My mom asked me for your number. I didn’t know what it was for.”

  “And you didn’t ask why she wanted it?” Or was he really that dumb?

  “Figured it was for wedding stuff.”

  “Well, your mother pushed this bridesmaid on me. She’s some kind of distant cousin of yours and she said you used to play together as kids.”

  “It’s a pretty big family. I don’t remember every kid I played with in the sandbox.”

  “Well, Tasmine remembered you. I think she had a crush on you when you were kids.”

  “Happens to all the girls,” he teased. A shadow fell across her face as he leaned over her. “But you’re the one I chose,” he said, all low and sexy.