Lawful Wife (Eternal Bachelors Club)

by Folsom, Tina

  “Likewise,” Linda said, immediately turning her attention back to Raffaela. “I’m surprised to see you out shopping. I thought for sure you’d be too busy with everything else.”

  “We’re shopping for the wedding, actually,” Raffaela responded calmly.

  Linda’s plastic smile never faded as she leaned closer as if wanting to impart a secret without being overheard. “Uh, yes. Speaking of the wedding, isn’t this whole thing just awful? People can be so nasty at times.”

  “What do you mean?” Raffaela looked at Linda in confusion. “My son is getting married. And there’s nothing awful about that.”

  Linda shook her head. “Of course not, but that article in the paper today, the one about Sabrina . . . I was shocked when I read it. Of course, I don’t believe a word of it.”

  “I’m afraid we didn’t get the paper this morning, so I’m not sure what article you’re talking about.”

  Holly could hear the edge in Raffaela’s voice.

  “Oh.” Linda put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to look surprised. “You mean . . . you don’t know about the article in the New York Times? Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to bring it up. I’m sorry.”

  “Linda, what is this about?”

  “Gosh, Raffaela, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be the one giving you bad news. I just assumed you knew, because it’s all everyone is talking about all morning. I’m sure it’s all a big mistake. I mean it can’t be true.” She put her hand on Raffaela’s forearm. “Listen, just forget about it. I’m so sorry.”

  Then she turned abruptly and left the store, leaving Raffaela standing with a frown on her face. Holly turned to Raffaela. When their gazes met, Raffaela said, “I need to buy a newspaper.”

  Holly nodded numbly. Something was wrong. She tossed the negligee back on the display case and took Raffaela’s arm. “Let’s get to the bottom of this.”

  As they walked outside and headed for the next newspaper stand, Holly glanced at Raffaela.

  “I know Linda is a family friend, but I don’t like that woman very much.”

  “Not many people do. She’s a gossip. I’ve tried to keep her at a distance since Daniel’s breakup with Audrey, but in a place like the Hamptons, that’s not always so easy.”

  “What does Linda have to do with Daniel’s breakup with Audrey?”

  “Linda and Audrey are close.”

  Holly’s stomach lurched. A friend of Audrey’s was delivering bad news about Sabrina? What were the odds of that being a coincidence?

  At the newsstand, Raffaela dropped several coins into the box and snatched a copy of the New York Times from it. Holly followed her as she headed for the car, unlocking it and getting in, before unfolding the paper.

  She handed Holly half the sections. “You check these parts, I’ll check the others.”

  Hastily Holly flipped through section after section, scanning the headlines and looking at every picture, when she suddenly heard Raffaela gasp.

  Holly whirled her head to her and instantly noticed how her face had paled, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.

  “Raffaela? What is it?” Holly peered at the spot Raffaela was staring at. Her eyes focused, and her breath caught in her chest. “Oh my god!”

  This couldn’t be happening!

  “Promise me not to tell Sabrina about any of this. I have to talk to Daniel first,” Raffaela said.

  Holly nodded, full of guilt. If she hadn’t come up with this harebrained idea of letting Sabrina pretend to be an escort, this would never have happened.

  5

  Over the hands-free system in his car, he heard the phone ring twice, until his attorney Elliott Langdon answered. “Daniel?”

  “Elliott, listen, something happened. I need you to do something for me and—”

  “I was expecting your call. Let me guess: you want to sue the New York Times?” Elliott interrupted.

  “Then you know what’s going on.” At least it meant that he didn’t have to launch into lengthy explanations about the article.

  “I nearly choked on my toast this morning. I’m assuming it’s all fabrication?”

  “Yes. I’ve already spoken to the reporter, Claire Heart.”

  “What’s she got?”

  “She wouldn’t reveal it, but I figured out who her source is.”

  “Who?”

  “Audrey Hawkins.”

  He heard Elliott whistle through his teeth. “Not giving up, is she? Well, in that case, let’s get to Audrey and force her to give us what she has.”

  Daniel sighed. “Tried that already. She’s disappeared. She knew I’d find out and come after her.”

  “In that case, I’ll start with the legal counsel of the New York Times. I know one of the attorneys on their team. Let me talk to him and see what I can find out.”

  “Good, but don’t make any waves yet. I don’t want to launch a lawsuit before the wedding. It would cause too much attention.” And it would mean that Sabrina would find out for certain.

  “No worries, I know how to handle this.”

  “Thanks, Elliott. In the meantime, I’ll try to find Audrey. Knowing her, she didn’t go far. She would want to be around to enjoy the chaos she created.”

  “Sounds like her. I’ll call you when I know more.”

  “Thanks.”

  Daniel disconnected the call and concentrated on traffic.

  He’d already called several of her friends and acquaintances, asking them about Audrey’s whereabouts, but nobody had heard of her. All claimed that they didn’t know where she was.

  On the drive to the Hamptons, he continued to make phone call after phone call, but none of their mutual acquaintances had seen her.

  By the time Daniel pulled into the driveway of his parents’ house, he was exhausted. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

  Daniel got out of his car, shut the door and locked the car. It was early evening, and the sun was just starting to set. A walk along the beach with Sabrina, watching the sun go down, would be just what he needed to calm his nerves.

  Before Daniel could put his key into the front door, it was opened from the inside. Both his parents stood in the entrance, their faces masks of worry. His stomach clenched. Something had happened.

  “Mom, Dad. What’s going on? Is Sabrina all right?” he asked, darting looks past them into the house. It was unusually quiet.

  His mother nodded. “Tim and Holly took Sabrina for a walk on the beach.”

  “So we might talk without Sabrina overhearing us,” his father added cryptically.

  Panic and dread collided inside him. “What’s going on?”

  His parents motioned him inside, ushering him into his father’s study, which was located off the foyer. Only when his father had closed the door behind him, did he speak again.

  “This is serious, Daniel.”

  Daniel raked his hand through his hair. As if he didn’t have enough problems already.

  “I ran into Linda Boyd today,” his mother started. “She told me about the article in the New York Times.”

  Shit!

  If Linda knew, then everyone knew. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to keep the article a secret for long.

  He let out a sigh.

  “So you know about the article,” his mother continued.

  “Is it true? Is Sabrina a call girl?” his father asked.

  “No, of course not.” Daniel glared at his father. “Sabrina is a respectable woman! She’s not a call girl!”

  “Then why would the paper run a story like that?”

  “I don’t know.” Daniel sighed. “That’s why I went to the city today. To try and find out. I talked to that gossip columnist, Claire Heart.”

  “And? Is she going to retract the story?” his mother pressed. Her tone and her eyes were hopeful.

  He hated to disappoint her. “No. She claims she has solid evidence. And she wouldn’t give up her source.”

  “But what proof can there be when Sabrina
isn’t a call girl? How can they print something like that? No editor in his right mind would let a reporter get away with that. They must have some sort of evidence,” his father insisted.

  “They have nothing, because there’s nothing they can possibly know.”

  His father narrowed his eyes. “What are you not telling us?”

  Daniel took a few deep breaths. Maybe it was time to come clean. His father was a reasonable man with a bright head on his shoulders. He wouldn’t condemn him and Sabrina for what they’d done.

  “The source is Audrey,” he bit out. “I found an entry in the reporter’s day planner, confirming that she met with Audrey just a few days ago.”

  “You found it in her day planner?” his father asked with a raised eyebrow. “Did you do something illegal?”

  Daniel shrugged. “Dad, I don’t think trespassing is my biggest problem right now. Besides, nobody saw me.”

  His mother slapped a hand over her mouth, choking back a gasp, while his father, a pragmatist at heart, shrugged.

  “Sit down, son, and tell us what Audrey could possibly have told the reporter to make her believe that Sabrina is a call girl,” his father demanded.

  Daniel sank into the leather couch, and his mother sat down beside him. His father remained standing, leaning back against his desk.

  This was one conversation he’d hoped never to have with his parents. He’d promised Sabrina that they would never find out. But it was better his parents found out the truth rather than assume things even worse. Because Sabrina was no call girl.

  “Tim and Holly really did set us up. That is the truth, but it didn’t happen the way we told you.”

  “What do you mean?” Raffaela touched Daniel’s forearm. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it.

  “As you know, right before I left for San Francisco, I caught Audrey in bed with Judd, my attorney. I broke it off with her right there and then. On my way to the airport I called Tim and asked him to . . . ” He hesitated. Could anything be more embarrassing than having to admit to his parents that he wanted to hire an escort?

  “You asked him to do what?” his mother asked.

  “I asked him to find me an escort service.”

  “Oh, Danny!” His mother pressed her hand against her chest, clearly shocked. “An escort service? Why? You’re better than that!”

  “I know. But, I had a big reception to attend, and I didn’t want to go alone. You both know how I hate those social events where every gold-digging socialite tries to dig her claws into me. And after what happened with Audrey, I didn’t want to spend the evening fending off women like her. So, I hired an escort to go with me.” He shoved his hand through his already messy hair. “I made it very clear to Tim that I only wanted her to pretend to be my girlfriend so that those single women at the reception stayed away from me.”

  “And Tim sent you Sabrina? You mean Sabrina really was an escort?” his father asked.

  “Yes. No!” He stared into his parents’ confused faces. “Tim sent me Sabrina, but she was pretending to be an escort. It’s complicated.” How could he tell the story without revealing that Holly was in fact an escort? He couldn’t betray her confidence like that.

  “I don’t understand. Why would Sabrina pretend that she’s an escort?”

  “Tim first wanted to set me up on a blind date. I told him no blind dates. I was done with women for a while. I didn’t want another messy relationship. So I guess Tim and Holly figured that they’d get me to go out with Sabrina nevertheless. So they concocted this whole elaborate scheme and told Sabrina to pretend to be an escort. But that it was really kind of a blind date.” Well, it wasn’t the entire truth, but it was close enough to the truth.

  “I liked Sabrina from the moment I met her. Hell, I paid to see her again the next night. We fell in love.” Daniel shook his head. “It was all very confusing at the beginning. But the point I’m trying to make here is that Sabrina is not a call girl. She never was.”

  “I’m not sure what to say.” His father stood and went to the mini bar in the corner. He poured himself a drink and took a sip.

  “I still don’t understand how Audrey fits into all of this. Obviously this was a private arrangement between Tim and Holly. No escort agency was involved. They were just playing,” Raffaela said, her forehead furrowed.

  “Audrey didn’t handle the breakup well. She convinced herself that I was going to take her back. So she showed up at my hotel room in San Francisco when Sabrina and I were . . . ” He glanced at his father who seemed to understand instantly. He didn’t have to spell it out. “I don’t know how Audrey could have found out that Sabrina was pretending to be an escort. The only people who knew were Tim, Holly, Sabrina, and myself. She must have been suspicious when she found me and Sabrina together in the hotel room two days after our breakup. I guess she figured for me to find somebody so quickly, she would have to be a call girl.”

  Daniel huffed. “Hell, it’s not the first time that she’s tried to sabotage my relationship with Sabrina. Audrey is an insanely jealous woman and she can’t accept the fact that I’m going to marry Sabrina. Audrey knows I’d never come back to her, so she’s out for revenge. I don’t know how she managed to convince the reporter of her lies, but she must have fabricated something. And I’m going to find out what it is.”

  “How are you going to do that?” his mother asked.

  “I went to Audrey’s apartment to confront her, but her housekeeper told me that Audrey left a couple of days ago, and she doesn’t know where to or when she’ll be back. But I’m going to find her.”

  “Even if you find Audrey, do you really think she’ll just confess to lying?” his father asked.

  “Of course not, but I’ll find a way to force her to admit to her lies. In the meantime I’m going to threatened to sue the paper for libel. I’ve already spoken to my attorney on the drive home. He’s contacting legal counsel at the New York Times and will be threatening them with a lawsuit.”

  “You realize that this will get messy, right? There will be no way to keep this from Sabrina,” his father cautioned.

  “Which is why I’m not going to pursue any lawsuit until after the wedding. And no one is going to tell her either,” he said, looking first at his father then at his mother. “I don’t want anything to ruin Sabrina’s wedding day. She deserves a dream wedding. And I’m going to deliver it.”

  “Agreed. Sabrina doesn’t need to know,” his mother said with a nod. “Holly promised me to not tell her anything either.”

  “Holly knows about the article?” Daniel asked. “Shit.” Not that he didn’t trust Holly, because he did, but the more people knew the more likely it was that somebody would slip up.

  “She was with me when Linda alerted me to the article.”

  His father placed a gentle, reassuring hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m sorry we jumped to conclusions about Sabrina. We’ll do whatever we can to make sure she doesn’t find out.”

  “With Linda knowing about the article, soon all of the Hamptons will know, even those who don’t read the New York Times. Do you know what that means? Your reputation, Dad,” Daniel prompted, looking up at him.

  “What about my reputation?”

  “This scandal will rub off on you and Mom. Your reputation—”

  “—can withstand the storm,” his father claimed.

  His mother smiled up at her husband. “This wedding will come off as planned and everything will be perfect.”

  Daniel smiled, more for his mother’s benefit than his own. He just hoped she was right, because not marrying Sabrina wasn’t an option.

  6

  “Is it just me or does it seem like today went on forever?” Sabrina asked as she climbed into bed next to Daniel.

  He reached out and draped his arm across her stomach, pulling her tight to his body. Sabrina sighed when he nuzzled his face against her neck.

  “It did go on forever.” He kissed her neck, making her shiver pleasantly despite
the warmth in the room. “And I know why.”

  “Tell me.”

  Against her back she felt his chest and bare stomach. Like always, Daniel slept in the nude.

  “It’s because we spent the day apart.”

  “Did you take care of everything you needed to in New York today?” she asked.

  He nodded and brought his mouth to her neck again, pressing a soft kiss onto it. “I’ve done as much as I could.” Then he sighed. “How was your day?”

  “I went over the music arrangements with the pianist. I think we’ve covered everything. I wish you could have been there. He had some wonderful suggestions, and at times I had a hard time deciding.”

  Daniel brushed a strand of her hair behind her shoulder. His fingers grazed over her skin, then gently stroked down her arm to her elbow and forearm until she felt his fingers lace with hers.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. But I’ll help you with anything you want tomorrow.”

  “You’re so sweet! But tomorrow I have the dress fitting with Holly, and I’m afraid you can’t come to that, and afterward I’ll have to go and find a present for Holly. Without her. So maybe you and Tim can entertain her while I go shopping?”

  “A present for Holly?”

  “Yes, it’s customary for the bride to give her bridesmaid a gift. Don’t you know anything about weddings?” She chuckled and turned onto her back to look at him.

  He made a comical face and threw up one hand. “Hey, it’s my first!”

  Sabrina slapped a playful hand against his chest, laughing. “And it had better be your last too!”

  His eyes twinkled. “I promise!”

  Her heart skipped a beat and her laughing subsided when she noticed the heated desire in his eyes. She’d never before in her life felt so loved.

  “I love you,” he murmured, his face serious all of a sudden, his eyes locking with hers as if he wanted to tell her something important. “It would kill me if I lost you.”

  At his strange words she felt her forehead furrow. “Why would you lose me?”

  His hand came up to cup her nape, his thumb stroking over her cheek as he bent over her, shifting his body so he was hovering over her. “I need you so much.”