Hazardous Husband

by Christine Scott

  “Lily, don’t you dare walk out on me now. Lily—” He watched with openmouthed astonishment as she strode away without a backward glance.

  * * *

  “I love him.”

  Lily handed the dark-haired woman a tissue.

  The young woman dabbed at the tears streaming down her face, then blew her nose. “But I barely know him. He swept me off my feet. We rushed into an engagement, planned the ceremony, then found out we weren’t compatible.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready to cancel the wedding? Maybe you should give yourself more time,” Lily suggested.

  “More time?” The woman shook her head. “You don’t understand. He wants us to live with his mother...permanently. He’s thirty years old and hasn’t moved out of his mother’s house.” New tears burst through. “I want a man, not a momma’s boy.”

  Lily sat back in her chair, wondering what else could go wrong today. She’d left Eric and his wrecked car twenty minutes ago, and now this. A bride-to-be coming in to cancel her wedding cake didn’t happen often, but when it did Lily felt the same way—sympathetic, yet terribly helpless.

  She sensed a kindred spirit in this heartbroken woman. She knew how it felt to be disillusioned by love. Of course, her situation had been slightly different. She’d lost her husband’s love when he’d died in a plane crash. But if it hadn’t been for love in the first place, she’d never have had to suffer the pain following his death.

  No love, no pain.

  That had been her motto for the past three years. A creed that had served her well. Until recently, that is. Now she was beginning to think that no love meant no life.

  She blamed Eric for her vacillation. Her chest tightened, swelling with rapidly rising panic. She’d thought having a baby would fill the void in her life. But Eric had made her realize she needed so much more.

  When she’d left him in the parking lot, she’d told him she never wanted to see him again. But if Eric walked into the bakery right now, she would have a hard time turning him away. Lily gave a disgusted sigh. One look into his brown eyes and she’d be putty in his hands.

  “If only I’d waited before saying yes to his marriage proposal,” the bride-to-be moaned, drawing Lily out of her pensive thoughts. “I might have saved both of us a lot of trouble.”

  Lily nodded, realizing this was a lesson for her to keep in mind, as well. “This may be painful right now, but in the long run, you should be thankful you found out his true nature before the wedding. Think what might have happened if you’d discovered it after you were married.”

  “Yeah, me, Hank and Sylvia would be living happily ever after,” the woman muttered. “Just one big, happy family.”

  Lily bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling.

  The bell chimed as the bakery door opened, catching Lily’s attention. With his shirt sleeves rolled up and the knot on his tie loosened, Eric entered the bakery, looking angry. After a quick glance around the showroom, he zeroed in on her.

  Lily’s heart pounded. Her legs trembled as she got up, ending the conversation with the young woman. Lily ushered her out the door with a sympathetic goodbye, then turned to Eric.

  He stood at the counter, watching her. His gaze traveled the length of her body, his brown eyes searing her like a fiery touch.

  A spark of inner heat caught and smoldered inside her, threatening to burn out of control. She drew in a steadying breath, shaken by the sudden impact of these feelings. For Eric’s sake, and her own, she couldn’t allow him to know how much he affected her.

  “How’s your car?” she asked, hoping to sound casual. But she heard the strained pitch of her voice.

  “The tow truck arrived a few minutes ago. The mechanic driving the truck doesn’t think it’s totaled. But it’s going to be in the shop for a while.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I told you, if it wasn’t for you—”

  “I know, if it wasn’t for me, you’d have been in that car, not standing on the sidewalk. But we both know the truth. I’m to blame, Eric.”

  He scowled, seemingly ready to argue. But to her surprise, the frown lines eased. A smile touched his lips.

  “You’re right. The accident was all your fault, Lily.”

  “What?”

  “You’ll just have to make it up to me.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Now what was he up to? “Exactly how am I supposed to do that?”

  “I need a ride home to shower and change before I can go to work.”

  Lily surveyed him with a critical eye. Grease marks smudged his arms and shirt. His pants, which normally hung in sharp creases, were wrinkled and mussed. He wasn’t lying. He appeared to have spent the past half an hour crawling under his car.

  “Would you like for me to call you a taxi?” she asked, smiling sweetly.

  “No,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “I want you to drive me.”

  Alone in a car with Eric. Alone with him in his home. She fought a rising tide of panic as she considered his request. She wasn’t a weak-willed woman. She could handle a few moments alone with Eric without giving in to temptation. She would take him home, say goodbye, then never see him again.

  Lily felt Eric watching her, waiting for her answer. Squaring her shoulders, she faced him with more determination than she actually felt. “You win, counselor. Since the accident was my fault, I’ll give you a ride home. But that’s as far as my obligation goes. After that, we don’t see each other again. Is that understood?”

  Eric’s lips curved into a smile.

  Lily felt her confidence slip. For a man who’d been firmly rejected, Eric looked and acted like a man who’d been given the upper hand.

  Chapter Nine

  “Do you think you could drive a little faster?”

  Lily drew in a calming breath before answering. “Eric, you’re the one who asked me for a ride. I’m just making sure you get home safe and sound.”

  “I could’ve walked faster.”

  Refusing to be pulled into a confrontation, Lily bit down the angry retort that rested on the tip of her tongue. She narrowed a glance at Eric. His face was drawn into a scowl. His eyes were dark like thunder.

  Eric had been spoiling for a fight since they’d left the bakery. Once they were alone in her Volvo, he tried to convince her that her curse had nothing to do with his accident. But Lily had stood her ground. She’d remained steadfast in her belief that she’d been to blame for the accident.

  Eric had been grumbling ever since.

  Lily flicked on her blinker and slowly turned onto Eric’s street. He lived in Paradise Valley, an affluent community outside of Phoenix, which had large, sprawling homes, neatly landscaped lots and a premium view of Camelback Mountain, a rocky mountain shaped like a camel.

  Eric’s move from his condo to a house last spring had surprised her. Especially since the house had four bedrooms, a big backyard and a family-sized pool. At the time, Lily had thought the house a tad large for a bachelor who had no intention of filling it with children.

  She recalled his unexpected marriage proposal, and she sighed. Lately Eric seemed full of surprises.

  She pulled the car into his driveway.

  Eric swung open his door and got out.

  Lily hesitated.

  “You are coming in, aren’t you?” he asked, peering at her from the open door.

  She gripped the steering wheel. “You asked for a ride home. You didn’t say anything about coming inside.”

  “How am I supposed to get to work? I don’t have a car.”

  “I’m not your chauffeur, Eric.” Her voice remained calm in the wake of his rising temper. “Call a taxi, rent a car—”

  “I will as soon as I get to work,” he said through clenched teeth. “Now, are you coming inside or not?”

  Lily noted the determined look on his face. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She was tired of arguing. With a resigned sigh,
she turned off the ignition and got out of the car.

  Palm fronds rustled in the quiet desert wind as she followed Eric to the front door. The sound reminded her of the clicking of disapproving tongues.

  Click, click, click.

  The intuitive voice in the back of her mind told her to turn around, get back into her car and drive away as fast as she could...before it was too late.

  Lily pushed the thought away. She was acting like a person with a guilty conscience, when she’d done nothing wrong. She stole a glance at the wide strength of Eric’s back and the tapering lines of his waist.

  Click, click, click.

  Oh, no. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

  Not yet, anyway.

  A cool air-conditioned draft met her at the doorway, washing against her flushed skin. Lily shivered as she stepped into the foyer. The rooms were dark and still. Wooden shutters covered the windows, protecting the furnishings against the damaging rays of sunlight.

  To the left was the living room. To the right, the dining room. Both rooms stood empty. Months ago, Eric had told her he intended to buy furniture for the rooms. Obviously he hadn’t found the time. The empty rooms gave the house an uninhabited, lonely feel.

  “I won’t be long,” Eric said, his tone curt as he headed down the hall to his bedroom.

  “I could use a drink,” Lily called after him.

  “You know where the kitchen is,” he answered, not bothering to look back.

  Lily watched his long-legged strides eat up the carpeted floor. He disappeared into his bedroom and slammed the door, making it perfectly clear he was still angry.

  Grumbling her frustration, Lily strode into the galley-style kitchen. She shot an irritable glance around the room. Her grandmother always said you could tell a lot about a man by the way he lived. Eric’s kitchen appeared shiny and unused. She peered into the oven. Just as she had suspected, it was as spotless as a showroom sample.

  The refrigerator, however, showed some signs of life. A quick inventory turned up a six-pack of imported beer with one bottle missing, a milk carton with an expiration date that had passed and a sol-itary orange collecting mold in the fruit drawer. She wrinkled her nose disdainfully. Evidently Eric didn’t spend much time eating at home.

  Her anger waned as her nurturing instincts kicked in. No man should live on take-out food from restaurants. Eric should have home-cooked meals and milk that wouldn’t make him sick when he drank it. She smiled at the irony. All these weeks he’d been trying to convince her she needed him. When in truth, Eric needed someone to take care of him.

  She closed the refrigerator door. Then she heard the crash of breaking glass. It took a moment for her to realize the sound hadn’t come from inside the refrigerator. It had come from the opposite end of the house—from the bedroom. Imagining the worst, Lily sped from the kitchen and followed a muffled trail of expletives to Eric.

  She hurried through his bedroom and caught a fleeting glance at the unmade king-size bed. Curbing the sensual fantasies racing through her mind, she reminded herself of her mission—checking on Eric’s well-being. She found him in the master bathroom.

  Undaunted by his scowling face, Lily scanned his body from head to toe, checking for damage. He was still dressed, but his unbuttoned shirt hung loose around his shoulders, revealing a matting of dark hair, the hard curves of his chest and the flat planes of his stomach. He looked sexy, handsome and, thankfully, unhurt.

  The tension melted from her muscles. She went limp with relief, collapsing against the doorframe. Assured by his obvious good health, she noticed for the first time that he stood in a circle of shattered glass. “What in the world happened?”

  “The mirror over the medicine cabinet broke,” he muttered. He averted his eyes, not meeting her gaze.

  “A broken mirror,” she murmured thoughtfully. “Seven years bad luck.”

  He released a breath through clenched teeth, making an impatient whistling sound. “Don’t start that again. I don’t want to hear a word about curses or bad luck.”

  Lily squatted, picking up a chunk of broken mirror. “I don’t have to say a word. It’s obvious.” She held up the jagged piece, staring into it as though it were a looking glass and she could see the future. A future marked with pain and unhappiness. “Someone or something is trying to warn us. We shouldn’t be together.”

  “The only warning that mirror is giving is to cool my temper.” He glared at her. “It didn’t spontaneously leap from the wall, Lily. The mirror fell when I slammed my fist against the medicine cabinet. Your curse has nothing to do with it.”

  If his admission was meant to comfort her, it failed miserably. She felt worse. Her heart thudded painfully against her chest as she envisioned Eric angry and lashing out. The taut lines of Eric’s face still echoed his anger and frustration.

  Hot tears pressed against her eyes as she thought of what they were doing to each other. The pain. The anger. The frustration in wanting something they couldn’t have. Somehow she had to stop the roller-coaster ride of emotions that they found themselves on before it was too late.

  Still holding the broken glass, Lily stood. “Why can’t you just accept it, Eric?”

  “Accept what?” He stepped toward her, glass crunching beneath his feet.

  Lily sucked in a sharp breath. She couldn’t think clearly when he was near. Her mind and body warred in opposing directions, one urging her to walk away, the other wanting to stay. She back-stepped until she came up against the doorframe. “You have to accept the fact that I can’t marry you.”

  Silently she chastised herself for her weak-sounding answer. She’d said—can’t.

  Not won’t.

  Not I don’t want to.

  Can’t. As in, if circumstances were different, she would.

  “I’ll never accept that.” He closed the distance between them.

  Her grip tightened reflexively on the glass. Flinching, she dropped it.

  Eric stood before her. Without a word, he took her hand and cradled it in his. Their eyes met and held. She told herself to move, but she couldn’t muster the strength.

  His gaze dropped to her hand. A drop of blood clung to a small cut on her palm. He drew in a ragged breath before raising her hand to his lips.

  Lily shuddered as she felt the feathery touch of his tongue, the gentle sucking of his mouth on her wound. “Eric...don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” he murmured, his lips still against her palm. “Don’t try to make the pain go away?”

  He was talking about much more than just the cut on her hand. She wondered if he’d read her mind. Could he feel the pain in her heart, as well?

  “Eric, please—”

  “Please you,” he said, nestling her hand against his cheek.

  His skin felt warm and rough, with just the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow.

  “Be with you. That’s all I want. Don’t shut me out, Lily. Not now.”

  She fought the shock wave of sensations his touch erupted inside her. “Eric, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

  “Wrong. I know exactly what I’m getting into, broken mirrors, wrecked cars, curses and all. None of those things has stopped me from wanting you. From wanting to marry you.”

  Lily sighed.

  “I do want to marry you, Lily,” he insisted. “Not because I have a guilty conscience to soothe. Or because I think you need someone to take care of you. But because I want to be with you.”

  She closed her eyes, steeling herself against the enticement of his voice. She felt the burn of unshed tears. Tears had been her constant companion since becoming pregnant. When she was happy, she cried. When she was tired, she cried. Now, when her heart felt as though it were being torn in two, she wanted to cry.

  “Look at me, Lily.”

  She opened her eyes, her vision blurring. He stood before her, looking so strong and handsome, yet so terribly vulnerable.

  “All I’m asking is for you to give me a chanc
e. You think I’m poor husband material. I’ll admit, I have a weakness for things that are fast and expensive. After my dad died my family was dirt poor. There were so many things we needed but couldn’t afford. I swore when I grew up I’d never live that way again. And for the most part I haven’t. But there’s one thing I’ve learned in these past few months—having money can’t buy you happiness. Being with you, Lily, would make me happy.”

  “Don’t you understand? I’m afraid—” Her voice broke.

  He cupped her chin in his palm, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’re afraid it won’t last. I can understand that. I haven’t had much luck with long-term relationships.”

  He took a deep breath as though preparing himself for a difficult task. She waited, curiosity keeping her silent.

  “There’s something I think you should know, Lily. Before I met you, when I first got out of law school, I was engaged.”

  She stared at him, stunned by his admission. She hadn’t known what to expect, but this...nothing could have surprised her more.

  Eric continued, his voice husky with emotion, “I was young and thought I was in love. Cynthia, that was her name, was rich and cultured. She represented everything that had been missing in my life. At first she found my impoverished background fascinating. But it didn’t take long before the reality of marrying a struggling lawyer became too much for her.” He released a harsh breath, averting his gaze. “She broke off our engagement when she found someone else, someone with a bigger bank account.”

  Her heart went out to him. “Oh, Eric...”

  He brushed away her sympathy with an impatient shake of his head. “My heart recovered. But my pride took a hell of a beating. All these years I’ve been preaching the virtues of bachelorhood, when the truth is, the thought of making another commitment has me shaking in my shoes. I’m tired of being scared, Lily. I’m not going to let fear take away our chance at being together.”

  Lily leaned her head against the doorframe, her mind reeling with this new insight into Eric’s life. All the years she’d known him, she’d believed him to be a charming womanizer. In truth, he was a man who’d been hurt deeply and was protecting his wounded pride. He’d taken a risk in asking her to marry him; she understood that now. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. The thought of causing him more pain made her feel even worse.