Lawful Wife (Eternal Bachelors Club)

by Folsom, Tina

  His eyes scanned the doors along the corridor as he hurried in the direction of the elevator. Finally he saw what he was looking for: the men’s room. He dove into it and was relieved to find it empty. No sounds came from the three stalls.

  Daniel remained at the door, keeping it ajar so he could spy into the corridor. He didn’t have to wait long. Moments later Claire Heart walked past the door in hasty steps, heading for the elevator. When he heard the elevator ping, he counted to five, then stepped back into the hallway, his eyes immediately scanning the area near the elevators. Claire was gone.

  Relieved, he walked back in the direction of her office, adrenalin pumping through his veins. He’d never in his life done anything illegal, but he had no choice today. He needed to find out who the reporter’s source was. He felt like a burglar when he slid back into Claire’s office and walked around her desk. With one eye he scanned the pages of her day planner, with the other he watched the door.

  The annotations in Miss Heart’s calendar were cryptic. She used lots of abbreviations, and the names of her sources, or whomever she met with, were only initials. Clearly, she wanted to make sure that if this date book fell into the wrong hands, she wouldn’t reveal the names of her confidential sources.

  Daniel worked backwards, knowing that no reporter sat on a juicy story for very long. Claire would have to have met her source sometime within the last two weeks. It would have given her enough time to verify whatever evidence had been presented to her. Evidence? He huffed. There was no evidence. Whatever Claire had received was fabricated. Daniel would find the source and prove that the claims were a lie.

  With determination, he read each and every entry for the last two weeks, when he suddenly stumbled over initials that triggered a memory in him. A suitcase with the initials AH engraved on the lock appeared before his mind’s eye. He’d seen that suitcase so many times, had in fact carried it often.

  The entry was on the tenth of the month at two thirty in the afternoon and read: AH re: DS cg.

  He could only interpret this to mean: Audrey Hawkins regarding Daniel Sinclair, call girl.

  Who else could it be? It had to be Audrey! She was the only one who still held such a deep grudge against him that she would try to destroy his happiness with Sabrina. He and Audrey had once been an item. With Audrey being the quintessential socialite, he’d once thought that they were the perfect couple. After all, they both belonged to the same upper class circles of New York. But for all her beauty and obvious charms, he’d never truly been in love with Audrey and had often traded dinner and sex with her for late-night business meetings.

  Their breakup had been inevitable, though the way it had happened had surprised even Daniel: he’d found Audrey fucking his attorney. Daniel had broken it off right there and then and fired his attorney in the same instant. But Audrey hadn’t given up so easily.

  When she’d followed him on a business trip to San Francisco in the hope of winning him back, she’d discovered him with Sabrina. Things had gotten ugly and nearly destroyed his already-shaky beginnings with Sabrina. And it appeared now that Audrey was still not done. She was still trying to destroy his relationship with Sabrina.

  But he wouldn’t let her succeed.

  Daniel charged out of the office, not caring if anybody saw him now. He’d gotten the information he needed. Nobody could stop him now.

  Outside, he rushed to where he’d parked his car and sped away.

  He could of course call Audrey on the phone, but what would be the point? She wouldn’t pick up the phone when she recognized the number. Besides, he wanted to confront her in person, because it was much easier to intimidate her face-to-face.

  During the entire drive to her midtown co-op, rage tore through him. He’d thought that after the last confrontation with Audrey, which had nearly destroyed his relationship with Sabrina, she would have finally given up. However, it appeared that Audrey wasn’t done with her games.

  The doorman in Audrey’s building called up to her apartment and then allowed him to ride upstairs. If Audrey was trying to pull the same seduction scene she’d tried on him once before, then she would get a nasty surprise. He wasn’t susceptible to her charms anymore. He hadn’t been for a long time.

  At the door to her apartment, Daniel was greeted by Audrey’s housekeeper, Betty. Her face lit up when she saw him. He liked the older woman and felt sorry for her that she had to work for somebody like Audrey, who couldn’t possibly be a pleasant employer.

  “Oh, Mr. Sinclair, how nice to see you again!”

  He forced himself to be civil to her. After all, it wasn’t her fault that her employer was devious and heartless. “Hi, Betty. It’s nice to see you, too. I’m here to see Audrey. It’s important.”

  “I’m sorry, but she’s not here.”

  “Not here?” He stepped past Betty, entering the foyer that opened up to a large sunken living room. He cast a look around, but the room was empty and looking just as gaudy as ever. He’d never shared Audrey’s taste for over-the-top extravagance.

  Behind him, Betty closed the door. “Did she know you were coming? She must have forgotten. I’m afraid she left rather abruptly two days ago.”

  He turned to Betty. “Where to?”

  The housekeeper shrugged. “She said she was going on a trip, that she needed some time to sort things out. But she didn’t mention where to. And I know better than to ask. You know Miss Audrey.”

  Of course he did. He knew exactly what she was like.

  Daniel pulled his cell phone from his pocket and found her number. The phone rang several times before it went to voicemail. He didn’t bother leaving a message and simply disconnected the call with a curse.

  He caught Betty’s concerned look when he looked up.

  “Is she in some sort of trouble?”

  “She will be once I find her,” Daniel ground out.

  4

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Holly asked.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.” Sabrina laughed. “Now go.” She shooed Holly away.

  “Okay. Call us as soon as you’re finished with the pianist and we’ll meet up.” Holly gave Sabrina a hug, and then turned to Raffaela. “Ready?”

  Raffaela nodded and looked at Sabrina. “We can stay and help you if you want us to.”

  Sabrina rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way. “It doesn’t take three of us to go over the music arrangements. The pianist and I can handle it just fine. You two go shopping or whatever it is you plan to do.”

  “You know me too well.” Holly winked and looped her arm through Raffaela’s.

  She felt a bit guilty about leaving Sabrina to deal with the music on her own, but Raffaela had asked for Holly’s help and since it involved shopping, she simply couldn’t resist.

  Once outside and out of earshot of Sabrina, Holly addressed Raffaela, “So, do you have any idea what you’d like to get for Sabrina?”

  “No.” Raffaela sighed. “I want to get her a special wedding gift, something personal and heartfelt, but I really have no idea what to get her.” She laughed. “That’s why I brought you along, so you could help me pick something out. You know her much better than I do.”

  Holly smiled. “I’m sure we can find something.”

  She opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat of Raffaela’s car. Raffaela pulled out of the driveway and headed toward East Hampton. Raffaela had told her earlier that Montauk didn’t have much to offer in terms of shopping, and that they would have more of a selection in East Hampton.

  “I’m so grateful to you and Tim for introducing them,” Raffaela started. “I’ve never seen my son so happy.”

  Holly smiled wistfully. If only Raffaela knew under what circumstances her son had met Sabrina, she would probably not thank her as enthusiastically. Most likely she’d be appalled. Horrified. Maybe even disgusted. Just as well that she didn’t know what she, Holly, did for a living.

  “We thought they would be good together. And they
are.”

  Raffaela chuckled. “Yes, they are so cute together. It reminds me of when James and I met. We were just as much in love as those two. So how about you, Holly? Do you have anybody special?”

  Holly looked out of the window as they drove along Montauk Highway. Windswept dunes interspersed with beautiful houses farther back from the highway caught her eye. Would she one day live in a house like that? She doubted it. After all, she didn’t lead the kind of respectable life these people did. Her life was so different. For the first time she wondered whether it was time to make a change, to stop what she was doing and turn her back on it.

  “I?” Holly laughed to cover up her feelings of longing for a relationship. “There are too many fabulous guys out there. Who can make a choice and pick one? It’s like an endless buffet. There are so many goodies that in the end you don’t know what to eat.”

  Raffaela laughed out loud. “You’re so funny, Holly! But you’re right. You’re still young. You should play the field and not settle for the first guy who comes along.” She leaned closer. “With your looks you can get anybody you want.”

  Holly smiled. “That’s very nice of you to say.”

  Certainly, her looks had made her one of the most requested girls at Misty’s escort service. She could command a high price for her services. But was the price that Holly had to pay getting too high? Was she wasting her best years in an occupation that would eventually lead into a dead end? She knew that none of the clients she met as an escort would ever look at her as marriage material. Because she wasn’t. She wasn’t respectable. What she did wasn’t only illegal in most states, it was considered indecent. And no man in his right mind would ever consider a relationship with somebody like her.

  While not all assignments at the escort agency involved sex, many of them did. What man would pay the price her boss charged for just an evening of conversation? And even though Holly had the right to refuse a guy and back out of an assignment if she found the man in question distasteful, she couldn’t play this get-out-of-jail-free card every time—eventually Misty would fire her, because only bookings involving sex brought in the big bucks.

  Sometimes Holly enjoyed her sexual encounters with the men who hired her, but it happened less and less that she felt good about what she did. If she didn’t get out of it while she still could, she knew what would eventually happen. She would have wasted her best years. And she would end up alone.

  “So what do you say?”

  Holly snapped her head back to Raffaela, realizing that she had tuned out while wallowing in her thoughts. “Hmm?”

  “The jewelry store. I figured we’d go there first.”

  “Jewelry is always a great idea,” Holly agreed and looked around.

  They had reached downtown East Hampton. Raffaela pulled into a parking spot along the street and turned off the engine. “We’re here.”

  “This is really quaint!” Holly exclaimed as she sauntered from the car.

  Downtown East Hampton wasn’t large. In fact, it consisted of merely a main street lined by several shops and a few side streets. Surprisingly classy boutiques stood next to local eateries and Mom-and-Pop stores. Clearly, the rich New Yorkers who spent their summers in the Hamptons didn’t want to get withdrawal symptoms from shopping while they vacationed here.

  Holly took it all in. It looked so different from San Francisco and the West Coast. Almost as if cut out from a picture book. To her surprise, she liked it. It gave her a feeling of home, of warmth and belonging. She shook off the thought. Obviously, dealing with Sabrina’s wedding was making her soft when she was the toughest cookie out there. Sentimentality wasn’t her game. She was direct and practical. Not girly and emotional, despite what her blonde model looks might suggest.

  “This way,” Raffaela instructed and walked along the sidewalk.

  Holly joined her, walking alongside her until they reached a small jewelry store. Raffaela entered amidst a soothing chime sounding overhead. As Holly entered the small store behind her, she glanced around. The room they stood in was tiny, and the display cases were filled with what looked like antique jewelry. Heirlooms from estate sales, she assumed. It appeared that the store specialized in old pieces.

  Holly cast Raffaela a curious glance. She’d expected Sabrina’s future mother-in-law to go to a fancy jewelry store and buy her something pretty but ordinary. But by the looks of it, Raffaela had put more thought into it than Holly had expected.

  While the man behind the counter was talking to a customer, he quickly nodded to them, apparently recognizing Raffaela.

  “This is an unusual place,” Holly whispered to Raffaela, not wanting to speak too loudly, because somehow she felt as if she were intruding in somebody’s living room, so welcoming and inviting was the store.

  Raffaela smiled. “It’s been here forever.”

  Then she dug into the bottom of her purse and pulled out a tiny, black velvet bag. She opened it and took out a sparkling green emerald, holding it up to show it to Holly. Holly had always thought of emeralds being rather murky, but this one sparkled brighter than she’d ever seen an emerald sparkle.

  “It belonged to Daniel’s grandmother. It was the stone in her wedding band. She loved Daniel. In her will she passed it on to me for safekeeping until I could pass it on to Daniel’s wife. How do you think we should have it set?”

  Holly stared at the precious gem. “It’s so beautiful. Just like Sabrina’s eyes,” she whispered with awe. “I think a necklace would do it most justice.”

  “You don’t think it’s too impersonal?”

  “No, not at all. Once you tell Sabrina the story behind it, it will bring her to tears. I guarantee it.”

  “A necklace it is.”

  They had to wait for another few minutes until the store’s owner was available to serve them.

  “Good morning, Mr. Anderson.”

  The man nodded and smiled broadly at the two of them. “Mrs. Sinclair. So nice to see you again.” He inclined his head toward Holly. “Ma’am. How may I help you two pretty ladies?”

  Raffaela chuckled. “You charmer!” She placed the gemstone onto the velvet cushion on the counter in front of Mr. Anderson. “I’d like to have this stone set into a necklace for my future daughter-in-law. Do you think that’s possible?”

  “Anything is possible.” He lifted the stone and inspected it closely. “Beautiful. An exceptional clarity. I would suggest white gold with it. Or platinum.” He looked up. “I could make you a beautiful design with this.”

  “I’m afraid we don’t have time to have something designed. The wedding is in ten days.”

  “Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “In that case, let’s have a look through the collection and see what necklace would benefit from a stone like this.” He waved them both to another display case along the wall.

  In it, antique necklaces rubbed shoulders with sets of earrings and brooches. Holly stared at the jewelry. Every single piece was beautifully crafted and unique.

  “This one!” Raffaela pointed to a necklace with delicate gold swirls, in the center of which small sparkling diamonds sat. The center of the piece housed a ruby.

  “Good choice, Mrs. Sinclair.” Mr. Anderson lifted the lid and took out the necklace. “I think all I’ll need to do is replace the center with a slightly larger setting to accommodate the emerald. I can have it ready in four days, five maximum.”

  Raffaela turned to Holly. “What do you think?”

  Holly smiled back at her. “She’ll love it.”

  When they stepped out of the shop a short while later, Holly turned to Raffaela. “I can’t possibly top your present for Sabrina, but I figured I’d get her something for the honeymoon. I was thinking lingerie.”

  Raffaela chuckled. “You mean a present for Daniel?”

  Holly laughed. “Well, if you put it that way, a present for both of them.”

  “I know just the place. There’s an adorable little boutique at the end o
f the block. I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for in there.”

  They walked to the lingerie store and entered. Holly looked around, surprised by how large it was. Apparently the residents of this sleepy town were into their nightly entertainment in order to keep a place like this in business. “Wow. This place is great.”

  “I knew you’d like it.”

  Holly looked around with an open mouth. This was like her personal heaven. She loved lingerie, always had, even before she’d become an escort and having beautiful lingerie had become a necessity. Maybe she would not only buy Sabrina something nice, but also get something for herself. After all, she couldn’t let an opportunity like this pass her by.

  Stopping at a display of long, silk negligees, Holly browsed through them then reached for one and pulled it out. A soft pink negligee reaching to mid-thigh and held up by spaghetti straps had Sabrina’s name all over it. It was classy, elegant, yet sexy. It looked like it had been tailored specifically for Sabrina’s body.

  “Raffaela, look. This is it.” She turned to show it to Raffaela.

  “Oh, Holly, that’s perfect.” Raffaela clapped her hands, a huge smile taking over her face.

  “Sold! Now, I just need to find something for myself. It would be a shame not to.” But before she could turn to the next display, a woman turned to them.

  “Raffaela? Wow! What a surprise to see you here!”

  “Linda,” Raffaela greeted her with a rather tight smile, which surprised Holly, since she’d never seen her being unfriendly to anybody. Yet Holly could instantly feel that Raffaela didn’t care for the woman she’d called Linda. “How nice to see you.”

  When Linda cast a curious glance over Holly, Raffaela continued, “Linda this is Holly, Sabrina’s best friend and maid of honor. Holly, this is Linda Boyd, a family friend.”

  “Nice to meet you, Linda.” Holly extended her hand and was greeted with a stiff smile and a weak shake, while the woman continued to look her up and down as if inspecting a cheap garment.