A Wife by Accident

by Victoria Ashe

  Gary smiled to himself. “I’ve got an assignment for you tomorrow, Charlie.”

  “Just say the word.”

  “I want you to go out and buy a black—no, a silver BMW. Get one of those really expensive retro-designed models with the red leather interior. If I know her taste, she’ll like that.”

  “It’s for Hayely? You like her, I think.” Charlie grinned broadly.

  “I couldn’t stand to have a good employee seen in that mess, much less one who’s supposed to be my wife. When I pulled into the driveway and saw her car parked there—the bumper is falling off, she’s got the hood held down with a piece of wire, and every time she drives off to work it takes ten minutes for the exhaust cloud to leave. And did you see the patch of rust holding the trunk on? It’s not even safe.”

  “So, in other words, you like her,” he pressed.

  Gary sighed. “Yeah. She’s a good person.”

  “You’re married to her. It wouldn’t be all that hard to make the relationship—”

  “Don’t push your luck, Charlie.” He shot his friend what was supposed to be a quelling look. “I’m off to bed.”

  Gary walked up the stairs, clunk after clunk. He’d forgotten to take his shoes off in the foyer and his boots weighed heavily with every step. Charlie was really rotten for bringing up the subject. The more he got to know Hayely, the guiltier he felt about their contract. And now Charlie had put ideas into head that had no business being there.

  The door to her room was most of the way open in front of him, so he placed his hand flat against it and pushed it back farther. Hayely was stretched out on her side in front of the red glow of the dying embers covering the bottom of her fireplace. From the way her head was rested against one outstretched arm, Gary knew she’d fallen asleep.

  Oh so quietly, he tugged another blanket off of her bed and stretched it out over her. As he tiptoed from the room, her drowsily slurred voice stopped him.

  “You’re home,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he answered softly.

  Hayely sat up underneath the blanket. “You don’t need to whisper. I’m already awake.”

  Gary walked back to her and sat down with her on the floor. Her face, softened by sleep, was flushed from the heat of the fire and just looking at her stirred something protective inside him.

  “Did you have a good trip?”

  “Yes and no. I met with the man I told you about—Mr. Bellmark.”

  “Ah. The one holding the power over your promise.”

  “That would be him, yes. I’m afraid our work might be for nothing. Our ruse isn’t fooling him a bit,” Gary said with a shake of his head.

  “What happened?”

  “The cagey old buzzard asked to see a wedding picture, and I didn’t have one in my wallet. Most husbands would.”

  “I see.”

  “Hayely, this isn’t going to work. With our current arrangement, he’s never going to believe we’ve created a home together. I can’t ask any more of you than you’ve already given.”

  “I know what I said. But I was angry and a little stunned that night.” Hayely rested her hand briefly on his arm. “You should let me be the one who decides what I’m willing to give.”

  Gary looked at her with no little surprise on his face. “Alright then. We would have to spend a lot of time together to make it convincing. We’d have to get photos taken together. We’d have to be seen around town and leak the news of our nuptials. And in five or so more months, we’d have to face the music when the gossip about our divorce spreads like wildfire. Does that sound like any fun to you?”

  Hayely returned Gary’s gaze thoughtfully and began to fold the blanket. She already told him she planned to resign from her job and would have to move out after the arrangement was over anyway. If she moved out of state, which she’d considered, she wouldn’t have to deal with any of the fallout—not the way he would.

  “I think I could consider doing all those things. But, what happens when your Mr. Bellmark comes to visit and I haven’t a clue as to why he’s visiting?”

  Gary tapped his fingertip against his bottom lip. Telling her about his promise would take one of the greatest leaps of faith he’d ever made. There wasn’t another soul who knew of his past other than Charlie and the Bellmarks. As a man who had used words sparingly up until now, he wasn’t even sure he was capable of let such critical ones flow.

  “You’re right,” he acknowledged slowly. “But I have to believe you’ll take what I say to the grave. I’m—very private.”

  She made the sign of a cross over her heart with her finger. “Your secret is my secret.”

  Gary drew in a breath and continued in a voice that sounded more like a rumble. “I met Charlie about twenty years ago at a small, privately run orphanage in Maine. We grew up together there.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “I was told they’d drowned in a boating accident, but I never knew for sure. I just remember getting tossed from place to place until I landed there with Mr. and Mrs. Bellmark. They were absolutely incredible. Those two treated all of us—all forty-five of us—as if we were their own natural children. They never even forgot a birthday.”

  “I wish you’d told me some of this earlier. You’ve come a long way, Gary Tarleton. I can’t imagine most people achieving what you have.”

  “They just haven’t been given the proper chance, which is where my promise comes in. When I was about ten, I got dressed up in my best Sunday clothes and marched into Mr. Bellmark’s office. I told him that I was never going to let his home for boys end up like the others. I promised that I’d do whatever it took to make sure the orphans who lived there always had it the best, always learned what a family was the way he and his wife had taught us.”

  “So where do I figure into all of this?”

  “Mr. Bellmark made a promise to me, too. He said he would see the place bulldozed when he died rather than let some typical state-trained social worker touch a hand to it. He told me that if I grew up honorably, made a strong marriage, and could pass the right values on to the children, then he’d consider letting me try to live up to my promise.”

  Hayely thought for a moment. “But isn’t it dishonest tricking him into thinking something about you that isn’t true?”

  Gary’s gaze felt steadily more intense. “But, I have the value system, Hayely. And someday I’ll have the family I want for real. It just hasn’t happened for me yet.” He hung his head for a moment and ran his hand over his chin. “And I know a very kind, stable, religious local couple there who can’t have children of their own. They would love nothing more than to move in and run the place. They remind me so much of Mr. and Mrs. Bellmark that it’s scary. I have the money to put those kids through school, all the way to their doctorates if they want. Mr. Bellmark used to take us all every Sunday to this old church down the road. I can pay to keep a pastor there and repair the building when it’s necessary. I—”

  “Ok already. You’ve won me over.” Hayely was afraid she’d have to put her hand over his mouth to cut him off. She laughed brightly.

  Gary stood quickly and Hayely rose to stand beside him. He’d said more in the last five minutes with Hayely than he had to all the women in his past combined. And it felt wonderful.

  She judged his mood with a glance. “I’m glad you feel better.” She looked up at him, her shining eyes explaining silently that his elation was contagious. She was genuinely happy simply because he was.

  Gary caught his breath as he looked at her for much longer than ever intended. He bent and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, wanting to linger and not quite daring.

  “Must be a friendly office you’ve got.” Hayely blushed in spite of her efforts to sound collected.

  “I got carried away.” He quickly walked toward the door. “You’re easy to get carried away with, Mrs. Tarleton.”

  “Knock off the ‘Mrs. Tarleton’ b
it, will you?” she teased. “You know, I think a real wife would be your undoing. And that would be a good thing.”

  Gary closed her door tightly behind him as he left her room and then forced his feet to move forward until the urge to kiss her had passed.

  •

  Charlie grinned as he lounged lazily on the back porch swing. The photographer had positioned Gary and Hayely in front of a fountain for the next round of pictures. He’d lost count of how many rolls of film she’d already gone through.

  “No, it doesn’t look right from here. I think they should sit closer. Hold hands maybe.” Charlie pretended not to catch the sinister glare Gary gave him when the lady with the fancy camera wasn’t looking. He chuckled to himself when she suggested the couple do exactly as Charlie had suggested.

  “And wouldn’t it be great,” he called out, “to get one of them kissing. It would be so romantic.”

  But from watching Gary and Hayely, no one would suspect they weren’t looking at a real husband and wife. They certainly had their act down to a fine scientific study of romance. Each time Gary looked down into Hayely’s eyes, the two seemed to get stuck there until the photographer laughed and bent them into a new pose.

  And then there was the unique fact that Hayely’s bare knee seemed to draw Gary’s rough hand to it like a magnet of sorts. Sometimes Hayely would place her own hand over his and fidget with his wedding band while it rested on her leg. Did either of them notice what they were doing? Charlie wondered.

  “And that does it,” the photographer finished. “I can have these developed by the end of the week if that works for you.”

  “Fine. Thank you.” Gary said in typically gruff fashion, then nodded for Charlie to see the woman to her car. Hayely gave Gary an exasperated look as if he’d been horrible somehow. “What? Don’t know her, don’t care to chat with her any more than I need to.”

  “You could at least put a full sentence together for the woman. She did come here on really, really short notice after all. Not to mention on her day off.”

  Gary shot Hayely a sidelong glance. “Going to keep me civilized are you, Mrs. Tarleton?”

  “Mr. Tarleton, I don’t think it’s possible.” Hayely laughed out loud, the sound of it mixing with the bubbling water in the fountain behind them. “Besides, I thought you were going to quit calling me that.”

  When she awoke that morning, she’d wondered if things might be tense between her and Gary. She worried if he was the type to feel embarrassment at the slightest revealed feeling. He might treat her like a leper because she’d been the one to witness the inner workings of Gary Tarleton, unsociable tycoon extraordinaire.

  But as always, all it took was one rolling word from his soothing voice and the touch of his hand brushing her elbow, and she felt completely at home in the world. It was odd how someone so seemingly reticent had that effect on people, on her.

  Gary placed his hand protectively on Hayely’s shoulder as she walked up the porch steps. She’d lost track of how many times he’d come close to walking back into her room that night. To apologize? To see if she would have let him kiss her? She didn’t know. His hand had been on that doorknob a hundred times, but he’d turned around and walked away just one time more than that.

  The possibility of creating a stable family for real had just never seemed in the cards for him, had it? She guessed there’d been too many women with ulterior motives, no one who could draw him away from the office.

  Hayely looked skeptically up at Gary. He’d fallen into one of his long silences on the way into the house, and she was too scared of his answer to offer a penny for his thoughts.

  “Where should we go today?” he asked.

  “Go?” she asked as he turned and headed for the front of the house instead.

  “No time like the present for getting those rumors flying. If we start today, we’ll have a good bit of gossip coverage before the Chamber of Commerce banquet on Wednesday night.”

  “What banquet is that?” She ran to catch him.

  “I’ve had a dozen different invitations from women to the banquet already and here I am, married to the only one who has never even heard of it.”

  “Life’s funny, ain’t it?” she asked.

  “The banquet is the biggest event this spring. Maybe all year even. The annual awards ceremony is always held at it, and just about every major business in the state sends someone to attend.”

  “Is it very formal?” Hayely had left her evening gowns in a box somewhere in the back of her parents’ garage. She’d never imagined she might have a use for them anytime soon.

  “Fairly.” He was glad he’d parked in the driveway last time instead of pulling into the garage.

  “Gary, I don’t have anything to wear. I don’t want people to see you with me looking like I’ve dressed out of a thrift store.” She felt tears threaten to sting her eyes. Why on earth had she let Kathy’s cruel words bother her so? Days later, they still hurt.

  Gary was thoroughly taken aback by her reaction. “Hey. What’s that look for? Seems to me we’ve just found our excuse to go out on the town. I think a few boutiques are probably open on Sunday.”

  Hayely wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. “I’d love to go shopping. Can I get shoes, too?”

  Gary laughed outright. “I’m sure you have fifty pairs in your closet and none of them will do.” He held open the door to his big truck for her and watched as she climbed high up inside.

  “You have a truck,” she stated flatly as he shut the driver’s side door.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Why? It’s a long walk to work.”

  She smiled in spite of herself. “I mean most people with a house like yours would be trying to prove something. I imagined a garage littered with Ferraris and Porches.”

  “I never understood those pretentious types either. You know, the types who run out and buy useless, expensive watches.”

  His sense of humor charmed her. “My father probably has a fraction of the money you do and he drives a Rolls Royce. But he wouldn’t spend that much money on a watch I don’t think.”

  “If he’s that well off, why couldn’t you have just called him and asked for a loan when you stepped on my watch?” He shrugged and adjusted the rearview mirror.

  “My father is convinced I need to do one specific thing and be with one specific kind of man. I can’t stand the men he approves of and the thing he wants me to do bores me to tears, and vice versa. I’d rather be poor and happy than—don’t even make me start thinking about it—indebted.”

  “Why not be rich and happy?” Gary shoved the truck into gear and rolled out of the driveway.

  “Life’s not always a fairy tale, you know.”

  “Well,” he said, “for today we’ll both be rich and happy then. We’ll find a stunning gown for you, drink caramel lattes until we’re sick, and come home to a good night’s sleep in a warm house. Can’t do much better than that.”

  “You make life sound like one big carnival.” Hayely rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. “Too bad I have to go into the office tomorrow.”

  •

  Gary stopped talking as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He’d been out on too many sites lately. He wasn’t even presentable in his current state and he’d just had pictures taken. At least Hayely looked good. The new distress in her voice bothered him and his gaze shifted back to her.

  “Still think you’ll get fired when they find out you’re married?” He sounded unconcerned, but he wasn’t. He felt he needed to watch Kathy Mark closely for some reason, and he never ignored his instincts.

  Hayely nodded. “They’re just looking for something to call my trustworthiness into question. They’ll say I was deceptive or something along those lines. Let’s not talk about it anymore. It’s not your problem to deal with. I’m handling it.”

  Gary grasped the steering wheel tighter. A couple weeks or so ago, he’d hired one of Kathy Ma
rk’s former employees, and the grateful man had painted him a vivid picture of the woman a few days later. In fact, it had taken his new employee days to stop flinching like a beaten dog every time a supervisor so much as spoke to him. The thought of someone treating Hayely the way he suspected she was being treated made Gary clench his teeth. Darn if Kathy Mark was going to get a shred of business tossed her way after that.

  “I’ve heard about that Mark woman,” he said at last. “Just let me know if she gives you too much trouble. And by the way, that watch was going to be a birthday gift for Charlie.”

  “Knowing you now, that makes sense.” She noticed that the only piece of jewelry on him was his wedding band. He didn’t wear a watch very often either.

  The truck’s big engine pulled them effortlessly down the freeway and off an exit to a line of expensive clothing stores not far from downtown.

  Gary jumped out of the truck, his heavy boots hitting the pavement in a well-practiced motion as he strode around to open Hayely’s door. He paused for a moment with his hands resting lightly on her waist and looked up at her tense face.

  “You’d be the prettiest woman at the party even if you showed up in your paint-splattered sweatpants,” he said loudly.

  Hayely placed her hands on his shoulders and let him swing her down from the truck. “Charlie said you were charming when you wanted to be. Anyone watching would think we’re really an item. You’re good, boss.” She winked mysteriously at him.

  That familiar and much-too-serious expression crossed Gary’s face. For a moment he looked extremely solemn. Was she genuinely flirting with him? Usually when women spoke to him with that tone, it was just before they asked for something. Years of conditioning threatened to kick in. Of course she wasn’t flirting. Hayely knew where the line was and she hadn’t seemed tempted to cross it.