More Than a Convenient Bride

by Michelle Celmer

  “I’m not. I’m married to you, and until that changes I’m not seeing anyone else.”

  “I was just going to say, you should try to keep it on the down low.”

  Was she giving him permission to cheat on her? Did she really believe he would put her citizenship in jeopardy? Not to mention her dignity. And his own. And their friendship. What sort of man did she think he was? “It’s not going to happen. Not now, not ever. I don’t find her even remotely attractive.”

  “You can’t deny that she’s beautiful.”

  On the outside maybe. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s nothing more than the mother of my patient. That’s as far as it goes now, or ever will go. Amelia and I had our shot and she blew it. She doesn’t get a second chance.”

  “I think she’s really changed.”

  Somehow he doubted that. Amelia liked to manipulate, and she was good at it. He didn’t doubt that she was manipulating Julie. Julie’s instincts when judging a person’s character had never been stellar, but she’d had Luc around a good majority of the past six years to give her guidance. She’d always listened to him before. Why not now? “Are you that eager to get rid of me?”

  “Of course not,” she said, laying her hand on his arm. Her skin was soft and warm. Whenever she touched him, something happened, something deep down inside of him shifted. He’d never been with a woman who could excite him the way she did, or frustrate him, while at the same time making him feel more at peace than he ever had in his life.

  “I just want you to be happy,” she said.

  “Then, please trust me when I say to stay away from her. That will make me happy.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s not the person you think she is.” Julie was too trusting, too nice to see Amelia for what she really was. Amelia would chew her up and spit her back out without batting an eyelash.

  “We’ll see,” Julie told him, as if she knew something he didn’t. Some significant piece to the puzzle that hadn’t yet fallen into place.

  Chumming up to him was one thing, but why would Amelia befriend Julie? What did she possibly stand to gain? Or was she just screwing with his head, hoping to cause chaos? Anything to make herself the center of attention.

  “What do you think of cats?” Julie asked, and the abrupt change of subject threw him for a second.

  “I think they’re delicious. Why?”

  She laughed, and it was truly like music to his ears. He liked making her happy, seeing her smile.

  “I’m being serious. Do you like them?”

  “I don’t dislike them. We had several at the ranch when I was growing up. But they were always more of my mother’s thing.”

  She frowned. “Oh.”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “The shelter is filled beyond capacity, and I’ve never actually had a pet, so I thought maybe a kitten...but it sounds like it would be a bad idea.”

  “Why not a dog? I like dogs.”

  “Let’s be honest. Neither of us has the time for a dog. Our schedules are just too busy.”

  He couldn’t deny that. “You’re right. But a cat?” He made a sour face. “They’re so...sneaky.”

  “Never mind. Like I said, it was just a thought.”

  She sure didn’t put up much of a fight.

  He shrugged apologetically and said, “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay,” she said, forcing a smile. And not a very convincing one. “I’ve gone this long without one. When I get my own place I’ll have to find a pet-friendly apartment this time.”

  Though he knew it was inevitable, the thought of her eventually moving out didn’t sit well with him. He liked having her there, knowing that she was just across the hall if he needed her, or if she needed him. Though he would much rather she be a permanent addition to his bed, even if all they intended to do was sleep. He’d gently suggested on more than one occasion that she stay the night in his room, but she never would. Their wedding night had been the only exception.

  “I’m used to sleeping alone,” she’d explained, but he had the feeling it was more than that. He just wasn’t sure what. He’d begun to wonder if this friends with benefits deal they had going was a little more complicated than either had expected. Aside from the sex, their relationship hadn’t changed, so why did everything feel so...different? Was he falling in love with her? For real? And if he was, what next? Did he take the chance and tell her? If she didn’t share those feelings, he knew it would only drive her away.

  That wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

  Twelve

  Julie believed Amelia when she said she only wanted to talk to Luc, but she seemed to be the only one in town who did.

  “Everyone hates me,” she told Julie that Friday, while they shared lunch in the hospital cafeteria. When Tommy slept, which was quite often due to the heavy dose of pain meds that he was on, Amelia would sometimes sneak away and visit Julie. She was the only friend Amelia had in town, and though they were an unlikely pair all things considered, they had quite a bit in common.

  “I’m sure no one hates you,” Julie said, though she, too, noticed Amelia getting the cold shoulder and more than a few suspicious looks. “Luc is a respected member of the community. People are just very protective of him.”

  “I noticed,” Amelia said, moving her food around her plate, but not really eating much. With her son’s surgery scheduled soon she was understandably edgy. “I’m getting sick of hospital food, so I went to the diner last night. But I got so many dirty looks I had to leave. Even the waitress gave me the cold shoulder. I had them wrap my food up and I took it back to the hospital to eat.”

  Julie hated that people would treat her that way when they didn’t even know the full story. Didn’t even know Amelia. Did no one care that she had a sick child? Why couldn’t they cut her a little slack? “If they knew you like I do, they wouldn’t act that way.”

  “They don’t want to know me,” she said. “I can see now that coming here was a mistake. After the surgery, as soon as Tommy is stable enough to be moved, I’m going back to Houston. I’m as big a joke there as I am here, but at least there I don’t get sneered at every time I walk down the street. They’re kind enough to do it behind my back. The poor little debutante with the sick kid whose husband couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

  Julie cringed. “Ouch.”

  “I know. And my parents hold me personally responsible for tarnishing our family reputation.”

  That was just wrong, but Julie knew from experience how unreasonable parents could be. “How is your husband cheating on you your fault?”

  “Oh, they didn’t care about the cheating. That’s just what husbands do, apparently.”

  “According to who?”

  “Houston high society.”

  “That’s crazy,” Julie said.

  “At first Tom, my ex, was very discreet, but I knew something was up. He’d work lots of late nights and went on weekend business trips. I fooled myself into thinking that I was imagining things. I was used to men fawning all over me. I was young and beautiful and rich, and I knew it. It was a blow to my pride to think that my husband, the man who was supposed to worship the ground I walked on, would stray.

  “I was sure that fatherhood would settle him down.”

  “Did it?”

  She shook her head. “It only seemed to push him further away. Tom was never there for our son, not even when he was an infant. Even less after he was diagnosed. All the money and status in the world wasn’t worth my baby being treated that way.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I got really, really angry. Then I said enough is enough and divorced him.”

  Julie admired any woman who had the courage to stand up for herself in the face of adversity.

  �
��For what it’s worth, I never would have had the guts to do what you did,” Julie said.

  “Humiliation is one hell of a motivator.”

  Julie told Amelia about her abusive ex, and how long it took her to screw up the courage to walk away. “He completely shredded my self-esteem. I was weak and pathetic.”

  “You were doing the best you could with the skills you learned growing up.”

  “That’s just the thing. I never learned how to defend myself.”

  “That’s my point. You were totally ill equipped to deal with the situation, but you still got away. You prevailed.”

  “Not as soon as I should have.”

  “Julie, I stayed for over four years.”

  “But you were married with a son. There was nothing keeping me from leaving. Nothing but my own cowardice.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Amelia said. “You’re one of the bravest people I know.”

  For a second Julie was sure that she was joking. Brave? Her? “How could you possibly think that?”

  “Look at all the extraordinary things you’ve done. You’ve traveled all over the world helping people. You ventured off on your own and turned a terrible situation into something really good. That takes guts.”

  Julie had never really thought of it like that before. “I guess so.”

  “As crazy as my parents drive me, my mother especially, the idea of completely cutting them from my life is terrifying. I think about it all the time, but I could never actually do it. Despite everything, their opinion still matters to me. You don’t seem to let anyone else’s opinions color your judgment. If you did, you sure wouldn’t be sitting here with me. The town pariah. I thought talking to Luc’s friends and the people in town might give me some insight into how to relate to him. To make him listen to me. Maybe find some common ground. All I’ve managed to do is make a whole bunch of enemies.”

  “What those people think shouldn’t matter to you. You know your intentions were good. That’s all that’s important.”

  A frown furrowed her brow. “I guess.”

  After lunch Julie went back to her office, feeling bad for Amelia. She believed it would be in Amelia’s and Luc’s best interest to talk, to settle the past so they could both move forward, but if Luc refused, there wasn’t much Julie could do about it.

  Or could she?

  She wasn’t duplicitous by nature, but if the situation called for it, and she truly believed it could benefit Luc, even she could be a little creative.

  * * *

  A few hours later Julie’s phone rang and she was surprised to see Elizabeth’s number on the screen. Her first thought was that it was her nurse and something was terribly wrong. And if she was calling Julie, Luc must have been unreachable. But when she answered it was Elizabeth’s voice, and she sounded just fine.

  “Something arrived for you today,” she told Julie. “Can you get away from work? You should probably come home and open it.”

  It was an odd request, to say the least. “Who is it from?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think it might be perishable.”

  It was probably something from her sister, who had finally called Julie to congratulate her on her “pseudowedding”—Jennifer’s exact words. She’d probably sent chocolates or a fruit basket. “Can’t you just stick it in the fridge for now?”

  “It wouldn’t fit.”

  “Can you open it for me and tell me what it is?”

  “I wouldn’t feel right opening someone else’s package,” she said. “You should come home.”

  Julie looked at the pile of transcripts from the interviews she’d conducted with spinal patients, and had been hoping to review that afternoon, but for whatever reason her coming home now was important to Elizabeth, and that was good enough for her. “Let me finish up what I’m doing, then I’ll come home. Give me thirty minutes.”

  “See you soon!”

  That was a little strange, but, okay. She finished what she’d been working on and headed home, surprised to find Luc’s Beamer in the garage next to his mother’s van. What was he doing home so early?

  Julie let herself into the house, hung her keys on the rack next to the door and called, “I’m home.”

  “In here!” Elizabeth called back from the vicinity of the living room. When Julie got there, she saw Elizabeth in her chair, and Luc sitting close by on the sofa. He was dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt, and next to him on the cushion was a brown cardboard box. It was around eighteen square inches and from what she could see, unmarked. The top wasn’t sealed, either. Nor did it look like it ever had been. It would have been pretty easy for anyone to peek inside.

  “You’re home early,” she said.

  “I am,” he agreed, wearing what she could only describe as a sly smile. “I had a few things to take care of this afternoon.”

  There was a weird vibe in the room. A feeling of expectation. She looked from him to his mother. “Is everything okay?”

  “Fine,” he said. So why were they looking at her that way? As if something was about to happen.

  “So is that it?” she asked, nodding to the box.

  “That’s it,” Elizabeth said. “Open it.”

  Julie eyed it warily. Was something going to explode or jump out at her? Was this some sort of gag gift? Because it sure didn’t look as if had been shipped there.

  “Come on,” Luc said, sliding the box closer to himself to give her room to sit. If it were something volatile he probably wouldn’t do that. Right? Of course, if he were the type of man to give his wife a box of some volatile substance, she wouldn’t be married to him.

  She sat gingerly on the edge of the cushion. He slid the box to her, and feeling a little nervous still, she reached for the top. She tested the weight of it, and it was definitely too light to be a fruit basket. Bracing herself, she lifted the flaps, sure she was in for a shock. And boy, did she get one when she looked inside. Curled up in the bottom of the box, on a hospital baby blanket, lay a sleeping ball of fluffy, snow-white fur with an itty-bitty pink nose and black tipped ears.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s a kitten!” she said, but by their smiles, it was clear that they both knew exactly what was inside the box. “Did you do this?” she asked Luc.

  “My mom and I went to the shelter today.”

  “But...you said—”

  “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t let you have a cat?” he asked.

  Actually, she had. He’d said no, and in her world, no meant no. “But I thought you didn’t like cats.”

  “I said I didn’t dislike them. Would I rather have a dog, yes, but as you said, we don’t have the time.”

  “It would probably be best if I watch him for you while you both work,” Elizabeth said. “Until he gets bigger and knows his way around the house.”

  “He?” Julie said, lifting him gently from the box. He was so small and fragile looking. As she cuddled him in her palms, he blinked his little eyes open and looked right at her, making a soft mewling sound, as if he was saying hello.

  “He is a very special kitten,” Luc said. “One that no one else wanted.”

  Who in their right mind wouldn’t want this adorable little ball of fluff? “Is there something wrong with him? Is he sick?”

  “He’s blind,” Luc said. He moved the box out of the way so he could scoot closer. “I guess it’s common in white cats. There were a dozen or so other kittens available, but Megan said the little ones go fast. I knew you would want an animal who really needed a good home. We looked at the older cats first, then Megan told me about this little guy. The second I saw him I knew he was perfect.”

  “He is perfect,” Julie said, rubbing her cheek against the softness of his fur, and he started to purr. A surprisingly loud purr to be coming out of something so
small. “He’s just so tiny and sweet. I love him.”

  “There’s the added bonus of him not jumping up on things,” Luc said, rubbing the kitten under the chin with his index finger. “Since he wouldn’t know where to jump.”

  “He really can’t see anything?”

  “Megan said he won’t respond to visual stimulation. Otherwise he’s perfectly healthy. He’ll need shots eventually, but that’s about it.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Eight weeks.”

  He was wide-awake now and fussing to get free, so she set him down on her lap, but he didn’t stay there long. He sniffed around the sofa cushions for a few seconds, then leaned way over the edge, and before she could grab him, toppled over and landed on his back on the rug.

  “Oh no!” she said, reaching for him, thinking he might be hurt, but he got up on his feet, shook it off and started sniffing around the coffee table leg. “Resilient little thing, isn’t he?”

  “What will you name him?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’d like to get to know him a little better before I give him a name.”

  The nurse came in the room looking for Elizabeth. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for your PT.”

  “Already?” Elizabeth said with a sigh. To keep the circulation moving in her legs she had a daily physical therapy session. “It can wait a while.”

  Luc shot her a look. “Mother.”

  “Fine, fine, I’ll go,” she mumbled, wheeling her chair from the room.

  “So you like him?” Luc asked, even though it was pretty darned obvious.

  “He’s adorable.”

  “His litter pan and food are in the utility room. I wasn’t sure where you would want to keep them.”

  “In my room for now, I guess.” She scooped the kitten up before he could get far, but he didn’t want to be held and struggled to get free. She set him back on the floor and watched him sniff around. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  “And I know just how you can thank me,” he said his lips tipping up in a sly grin. She knew that look, and what it meant. And she was more than happy to oblige.