by Lisa Wells
She wasn’t sure, but she bet there were a limited number of times one’s heart could be broken before it became permanently disfigured.
What she told Covey about why he was her Mr. Wrong wasn’t the whole truth. Not that she lied to deceive him. She just couldn’t tell him the truth, because she had no clear idea what the truth was.
She declared him rather publicly to be her Mr. Wrong. It was time to put it in black and white—what made him wrong for her. She needed a visual of his faults to take the place of all of his finer, manly points.
Making a list took longer than she expected. Every flaw had a silver lining which tempted her to put it on the pro side.
On the pro side, she came up with many marriageable qualities—handsome, funny, sexually adept, intelligent, kind, sexually adept.
On the con side was his playboy persona and his views that marriage came with arrangements. He’d actually offered her an open marriage? That definitely had playboy written all over it. Twenty-four hours ago, the con’s would have included his good ol’ boy mentality. But, that had disappeared, and in its place was an intelligent man.
Playboy? There was no silver lining there. Definite con.
Money would have also been an issue in her original declaration of him being wrong. Not money exactly, but ambition. She needed a man with ambition. She thought when she chose him, he didn’t have any. If he was wealthy, well he must have, unless he inherited the money. She wasn’t sure where to place that on the list for now. Did he have ambition?
Country versus city life was nowhere on the list, yet. Did she really care where she lived?
Yes. No.
As long as she was with the man she loved, she could make it work anywhere. Except maybe Alaska. Cold weather wasn’t her favorite thing.
With her list in hand, it was easy to see that the cons did outweigh the pros on paper. That should be comforting. That should make it easy to keep him away from her heart. She would have it laminated at the first opportunity and keep it close by during their entire marriage.
Will it be enough to protect my heart?
As long as she remembered that he hated marriage for himself, it should enable her to keep him at a distance.
What kind of man hates marriage? Definite character flaw. Did he also hate children?
Then, just to be sure, she did a list of the pros and cons for playing the part of his wife.
Chapter 24
Those who were in the audience and saw the two of them on stage wouldn’t be surprised to hear news of Lacey and Covey extending their Dibs Date.
However, engagement ring shopping in Dallas, five days after meeting, would have surprised the majority of them. Lacey’s public declaration that she chose her Mr. Wrong had been authentic. Believable.
Yet, that is exactly what Covey and Lacey were doing. It was Tuesday morning and they were sitting at an elegant table in Tiffany & Co. A jeweler laid before them a display of beautiful rings in all sizes and shapes, each elegantly displayed on black velvet. Cut, clarity, carat, and color were all exquisite in the selection presented to them.
“Do you have any mood rings?” Covey asked the jeweler bringing a smile to Lacey’s face.
The man stood up and looked down his nose at Covey. “Excuse me. Did you say mood rings?”
Covey lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, that’s what I said.”
The man looked at him with horror on his face. “Sir, I’m sorry, but I do not know what a mood ring is.”
Covey chuckled. “Well then, I guess that means you don’t have any. That’s too bad. I would have paid good money for one.”
The man’s face turned purple. “Would you like for me to check about getting you one?”
“No, thank you. Would you mind giving us some privacy?” Covey asked.
The man frowned, obviously quite perplexed by the request for a mood ring. “Certainly, Mr. James. What ever you wish.”
“He knows your name,” Lacey whispered. They hadn’t given their names. Was Covey a regular at Tiffany’s? It was a swanky shop. Not one she’d ever frequented.
Covey turned to Lacey and grabbed her left hand. He picked up a ring and slid it on. “Yes, he knows my name. What do you think of this one?”
Lacey looked at the two carat, square cut diamond. When she looked back up at Covey, he was wearing an I want to please you puppy dog look on his face.
She grimaced. “Well, it’s not a mood ring, but it’s quite beautiful. Unfortunately, it’s not me. It’s rather garish, don’t you think?” Hideous was another word that came to mind.
“No?” He looked disappointed. “I thought you would want the largest one available?”
Lacey laughed. They knew so little of each other. How were they going to pull this scam off? “Then you thought wrong. We’re not really getting married forever. Let’s keep it simple,” she whispered.
“That’s nice of you to suggest, but my family would be instantly suspicious. They’re well aware of my style when it comes to jewelry. And, we are really getting married, even if it’s not forever.”
Lacey groaned silently. “You have a jewelry style?” No wonder the guy knows your name.
“Actually, it’s more of a jewelry history than a style.”
“I’m listening.”
“I like to buy women little trinkets as going away gifts when the party is over.”
Lacey raised her eyebrows in disdain. The man really deserved disdain. Unfortunately, she couldn’t keep the smile from twitching her lips at his boyish charm. You are so wrong for me. What was I worried about my heart for?
He picked up another ring to scrutinize. “It wouldn’t be fitting for one of those trinkets to have been bigger than the ring I placed on my bride’s hand.” He put the ring back in its spot.
“You do have a point.” Lacey looked at the rings for real. She wanted something completely different from the one Marty had given her. She’d hawked it and given the money to charity under his name. There was no way she was going to let him turn around and give it to the bimbo. She wished she’d been there to see his face when he got the thank you card for such a large donation to the humane society for cats. He hated cats.
“I’m glad you understand. You’ll need to pick out a diamond that is befitting the bride of Covey Grant-James, III. “
Lacey’s head snapped up. “The third? Grant?” she replied in a low voice. That was a name she recognized. You said rich. Not filthy, bastard rich.
“Yes. Do you like this one?” He pointed to another garish ring.
Lacey ignored the question. “As in CJ III, the music mogul? As in, the man whose name appeared on the Forbes list of richest men in America the same week his album went to number one?” she asked.
He nodded and Lacey gasped. She swallowed with difficulty and found her voice. “You’re kidding. No way are you that CJ.”
He shrugged minimizing the whole announcement. “Way,” he answered in a surfer’s voice. “I’m glad to know you’ve actually heard of my music.”
“Why are you just now telling me this?” Her voice rose causing the jeweler to look at them questioningly. She didn’t care. She looked at Covey in dazed exasperation.
Covey placed a finger across her lips. “Shush, you’re causing the jeweler undue concern. I told you I was wealthy.”
Lacey resisted the urge to bite it off and removed the finger from her lips. “Well, that’s a bit of an understatement don’t you think.”
“Not really. Does it change anything?” His brown eyes darkened as he held her gaze.
She stared at him in astonishment. “Dammit. Of course it does. You were on a dating show? The gossip columns will have a field day when the show airs. Our marriage, our annulment, nothing will be quiet.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of the story headlines to come,” he replied with heavy irony.
Lacey closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it. “This is ridiculous. Things like this do not happen to people like me.” She stabbed a
finger at his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me who you…” She suddenly stopped talking and visibly relaxed. She looked around the store. “Where are the cameras? This is a joke, right?”
“It’s not a joke. And, I didn’t tell you because I liked the fact you were enjoying my company with no idea if I had money or not. With no preconceived notion of the man you were seducing.”
“This complicates everything.” Lacey started twirling her hair with her finger. He didn’t graduate in the bottom of his class. He was a freakin’ Yale graduate.
“Why?” A shadow of annoyance crossed his face.
“Because when we divorce, it’s going to make headline news. I’ll never be able to keep it anonymous from my hometown. Every male I date in the future will find out I was married to you.”
“So?”
“So?” she snapped. “So, when men find out I was married to the legendary CJ III, they won’t ask me out.”
He looked at her, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.
“Don’t you get it? They will think that if you weren’t good enough for me, no way will they be good enough for me with their average bank accounts and average reputation with the women.”
“Are you saying I’m above average?”
“Shut up,” she snapped.
Unperturbed by her rancor, he countered. “I’ll make it worth your while. You can keep the rings, plus I’ll pay you for your time.”
“Covey these rings start at.” She stopped talking and threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t even know how much they are. There’s no price on any of them. But, I can tell just by looking at them, each one of them could buy several homes. I can’t accept that kind of gift. Besides, I’m doing this for your grandmother not your money. I don’t even like you that much.”
He ignored her words. “How about this ring? It’s simple and yet elegant.”
Lacey started twirling her hair again. It was a beautiful ring. The jeweler had called it the Etoile Solitaire. She bit her lip and tried to work through this latest bit of news.
“You’re impossible to argue with.” The engagement ring he was showing her had a wide silver band with a large solitaire diamond inlaid into its band. The wedding band was a smaller silver band with round diamonds set in an asymmetrical pattern all around the band. It was a breathtakingly beautiful combination of rings.
“I love it. Are you sure you want to spend that much?” However that much is. Lacey couldn’t believe she was actually going to go through with the charade.
“Lacey, stop asking me about money. I have more than I know what to do with. This is the ring I would choose if left to my own devices to pick one out for you.”
She sighed. “Me too. I love it.”
Covey snapped his fingers and got the jeweler’s attention. “Ron, we’ll take this ring.”
Ron nodded his head and gathered the discarded rings from the table. “It’s a beautiful ring, Sir.”
“I would like to see a selection of necklaces and earrings that would complement the ring.”
The jeweler smiled. “Of course. I’ll be but a moment.”
Lacey started to protest. But, what would be the use?
She would leave all of the jewelry behind when she went back home, and he could return it or give it away to his next mistress.
****
“Why do we need to go shopping for clothes?” Lacey asked when he later pulled into a parking lot of what looked like an exclusive woman’s boutique. “I packed plenty of clothes. That is why we stopped by my place isn’t it, Covey? For me to get my things. Or was that just a ploy on your part to do me in my own bed? I know you’re trying to get all the sex you can out of me before we say ‘I do’ this afternoon.”
Covey reached over and ruffled her hair. “There are two reasons why we need to shop for clothes. One, I want to spoil you.”
“You mean other than sexually? Because, you definitely know how to spoil me sexually.”
“Good. The other reason is, as my wife, you’ll be attending several different formal functions.”
“Formal, as in long gowns?” Lacey did her best to smooth her hair back into place as she digested this piece of information.
“Yes. Plus, I would like to buy you some riding gear so, if you want, I can teach you how to ride while we’re married.”
“I’ve always wanted to learn to ride horses. Can we start tomorrow with my first lesson?”
“Yes. And the formal functions? Are you comfortable with attending them?”
“Do we get to dance?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m there. I do dance you know?”
His smile warmed her insides. “So, I’ve heard. But, I must warn you. The dances are rather tame, no stripping allowed,” he said, giving her a somber expression.
“Shoot, that’s the kind of dance I do best.”
“You say that, yet, you’ve never danced for me.”
“I thought I’d save it for a wedding gift.”
Covey sighed and shook his head in regret. “You’re saving that and swallowing for your husband. He’s going to be one lucky bastard.”
By the end of the trip, she was the proud owner of several pairs of boots, a couple different cowboy hats, riding outfits, and three designer gowns, as well as gloves, jeans, and sweaters. Covey was the owner of a new cowboy hat.
“Are you ready to meet the family?” he asked. “We’ll drive to my house after we get married, and I’ll make arrangements for everyone to meet you.”
“Not really. Are they going to like me?”
He looked at her as if he was trying to see her through the eyes of his family. “Yes. They’re going to love you.”
“How are we going to break the news?” They were sitting in a restaurant eating lunch. Lacey was exhausted. She glanced down at the ring on her hand and smiled. She held it up and admired it in the sunlight. She imagined for a moment, standing in a church with him beside her saying their I do’s.
For some reason, the image was clearer than she had expected it to be. Would his brothers and Grandmother approve of her?
“You like it, don’t you,” he stated, bringing her out of her daydream.
“Are you kidding, what girl wouldn’t like it?”
“I’m glad it pleases you. You’re beautiful when you smile that dreamy smile.”
Lacey looked down at the table cloth to break the moment of intimacy. “When we’re done, I’ll give it back to you, and if you respect me as a person, you’ll take it back.”
“We’ll talk about it when the time comes. For now, let’s talk about our story.”
“Okay. But, I’m serious about giving it back.” He was so vague about how they would end their marriage.
He ignored her words. “Let’s make up a falling in love story to tell my family when they ask us for a blow-by-blow on how this happened so suddenly?”
Lacey took a bite of her hamburger and chewed it slowly thinking about the question. “We’ll say it was love at first sight,” she replied, before taking another bite of the burger.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Hell yes. “No,” she mumbled with her mouth full.
A momentary frown crossed his face before it was erased. “Me either.” He nodded his head like he was trying to convince himself of his own words. “We’ll have to claim we do. What do we say when they ask us why we jumped into marriage? I have to warn you, my grandmother’s not shy. She’ll ask you a hundred questions until she’s satisfied that this is for real.”
“Then, you’ll tell her we did it for her. You wanted her to see you married to the woman of your dreams and that is why we are moving so fast.”
“That just might work. Tell me you love me,” Covey instructed.
“Excuse me?” Lacey took a sip of her soda to wash down the fries. Could she say ‘I love you’ to a man and not mean it?
“You’ve got to practice saying it?”
“Why?”
“So,
it’ll sound more natural when you do it in front of my family.”
His reason was viable, but it was nerve racking to say those three words to him. “In that case, you go first,” she countered.
“It’s not a trick. You’re safe.” His hand reached out and wiped some ketchup from her lips. “We’re in a nostrings-attached arrangement. Just like you wanted.”
She raised her eyebrows and waited while her heart tried to jump out of her chest. “Just say it,” she whispered.
“Lacey Valentine, your husky voice lassoed my heart, your incredible personality knocked me off my feet, and your superior lovemaking skills finished me off. I love you darling, for life and beyond.”
Lacey couldn’t control the tears that sprang, without warning, to her eyes. With the back of her hand, she wiped them away. “You idiot, that was beautiful. How could you waste it on a falsehood? You should have saved that for the woman who truly does steal your heart.”
“How do you know I won’t repeat it when the time’s right?” Covey laughed at the evil expression she gave him. “Stop stalling. It’s your turn.”
“Covey James.” She placed one hand over her heart to add emphasis to her speech. “You are the man I never knew I wanted. I love you for opening my eyes to the beauty of the things that are wrong with you. I love you.” She ignored the taunt in her head. It was wrong. She didn’t love him. He was her Mr. Wrong.
Covey tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “That was pretty damn good yourself. I almost believed you,” he said with a strange look in his eyes.
“Then, I’d say we’re ready to try it on for size in front of your family.” Of course, he almost believed her. She’d almost believed herself. Damn, I’m a good actress.
Chapter 25
Covey opened the truck door. “Mrs. James, when we get home, I’m going to devour you all night long. Do you have a problem with my plan?”
“Good try. You know we’re not having sex. That was our agreement. Stop trying to trick me into forgetting it.”
Covey slid into the truck and refused to analyze the lighthearted joy he’d felt since Lacey walked into his life and said I do. He told himself, he was enjoying the freedom of knowing if he was wrong and, it wasn’t love, there was a built in escape? In the mean time, his grandmother would be happy. The world gave him the perfect marriage.