“One.”
“One? But you said… I heard on the news—”
“Yours was the only one I took seriously.”
His words were sweet and soft and precisely what she needed. She rewarded him by throwing her arms around his neck and directing his mouth to hers. Their kisses were slow and lazy and pleasurable.
Chase wasn’t ready to leave for another hour. He needed to finish up some last-minute details with the answering service and the billboard company. After that, she lingered with him on the front porch for ten minutes, neither of them eager to separate even for a few hours.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised. “Where would you like to have dinner?”
Lesley smiled. “Are you in the mood for another hamburger and a rematch at the golf course?”
“You’re on.”
Lesley stood on the porch until his car was out of sight. She glanced at her watch and realized that in twenty-four hours they’d be married.
The house felt empty without Chase. In fact, not just her house but her whole life felt different now that she was marrying him.
She showered and changed clothes, and was packing her suitcase when the doorbell chimed. Her steps were eager as she ran across the living room. Chase could come in without the formality of waiting for her to answer the door. She should have said as much.
Her smile bright, she opened the door.
“Hello, Lesley.”
Her heart, which had seemed light only seconds before, plummeted like a deadweight to the pit of her stomach.
“Hello, Tony.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Lesley, oh, Lesley.” Tony’s hands reached for hers, gripping them tightly. “You don’t have any idea how good it is to see you again. I’ve been desperate to talk to you. Why didn’t you return my calls?”
The immediate attraction was there, the way it had always been. That shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. Lesley had hoped that when she saw Tony again, she wouldn’t experience this terrible need.
She jerked her hands free.
“Lesley.” Tony’s eyes widened with hurt disbelief.
“I didn’t return your calls for a reason. We don’t have anything to discuss.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Lesley, my love—”
“I’m not your love.”
“But you are,” he said in a hurt-little-boy manner. “You’ll always be my love…you always have been.”
“You’re married to April.” He obviously needed to be reminded of that, and so did she. The strength of her love for him, despite his marital status, was nearly over-whelming. All the feelings she’d struggled to vanquish threatened her now.
“I know…I know.” He sounded sad and uncertain, a combination that never failed to touch her heart. Part of her longed to invite him into her home and listen to his troubles, but she dared not and knew it.
“I’m making a new life for myself,” she insisted, steeling herself against the pleading in his eyes. “I’ve given notice to the school and to my landlord.”
“A new life? One without me?”
“Yes. Please, Tony, just leave.” She stepped back, intending to close the door, but he placed his foot over the threshold, blocking her attempt.
“I can’t,” he said. “Not until I’ve talked to you.”
“Tony, please.” This was so much harder than she’d imagined it would be. He must have sensed that because he edged closer.
“Tony.” Her voice shook with the force of her desperation. “We have nothing to say to each other.”
“Lesley.”
Chase’s voice sounded like an angel’s harp. She was so grateful he’d arrived that she nearly burst into tears.
“Chase,” she said, breaking away from Tony and rushing forward. She must have appeared desperate, but she didn’t care. Chase was her one link to sanity and she held on to him with both hands.
“What’s going on here?” Tony demanded. “Who is this man?”
“Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing,” Chase said stiffly.
“I’m Tony Field.”
Lesley felt Chase stiffen as soon as he recognized the name. He reacted by placing his arm possessively around Lesley’s shoulders and pulling her closer to his side.
“Who is this man?” Tony asked again.
Lesley opened her mouth to explain, but before she could utter a single word, Chase spoke.
“Lesley and I are going to be married.”
“Married?” Tony laughed as if he’d just heard a good joke. “You can’t be serious.”
“We’re dead serious,” Chase responded.
“Lesley?” Tony looked at her, clearly expecting her to deny it.
“It’s true,” she said with as much conviction as she could manage.
“That’s ridiculous. You’ve never mentioned anyone named Chase and I know for a fact that you weren’t dating him before school was out. Isn’t this rather sudden?”
“Not in the least,” Chase said as if they’d been involved for years.
“Lesley?”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about my fiancée,” Chase said, smiling down at her.
It was all Lesley could do not to tell them both to stop playing these ridiculous games. Tony regarded her with a tormented expression, as though he was the loyal one and she’d betrayed him. Chase wasn’t any better. The full plumage of his male pride was fanned out in opulent display.
“You can’t possibly be marrying this man,” Tony said, ignoring Chase and concentrating on her instead.
“I already said I was.” She hated the way her voice quavered. Chase didn’t seem pleased with the lack of enthusiasm in her trembling response, but that couldn’t be helped.
“The ceremony’s tomorrow evening,” Chase added.
“Lesley, you don’t love this man,” Tony continued, his gaze burning into hers.
“You don’t know that,” Chase challenged.
“I do know it. Lesley loves me. Tell him, sweetheart. You’d be doing us both a grave disservice if you didn’t tell him the truth.”
Lesley could see no reason to confess the obvious. “I’m marrying Chase.”
“But you love me,” Tony insisted, his voice agitated. She noticed that he clenched his fists at his sides as if his temper was about to explode. He’d fight for her if necessary, he seemed to be saying.
“You’re already married,” Chase told Tony with evident delight.
Tony turned to Lesley once more, ignoring Chase. “Marrying April was a mistake. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. If only you’d returned my calls… I love you, Lesley. I have for years. I don’t know what came over me.… I can see now that April and I were never right for each other. I’ve been miserable without you.”
“You don’t need to listen to this,” Chase hissed in her ear. He tried to steer her past Tony and toward the front door, but she was rooted to the spot and unable to move.
“You’ve got to listen,” Tony pleaded, “before you ruin both our lives.”
“Where’s April now?” Chase asked.
“She left me.”
“You’re lying.” Chase’s voice was tight with barely restrained anger. “You said she was visiting her mother for a week.”
“She phoned and told me she’s not coming back. She knows I love Lesley and she can’t live with that anymore. It’s a blessing to us all.”
“If you believe him,” Chase said to Lesley, “there’s a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in buying.”
“I’m telling you the truth,” Tony insisted. “I should never have married April. It was a mistake on both our parts. April knows how I feel about you. She’s always known. I can’t go on pretending anymore. April can’t, either. That’s why she went to visit her mother and why she’s decided not to come back.”
“I’m marrying Chase.” Her voice wavered, but not her certainty. She couldn’t trust Tony, couldn’t believe him. Chase was right
about that. He’d lied to her before, and the experience had taught her painful but valuable lessons.
“Lesley, don’t,” Tony cried. “I’m pleading with you. Don’t do something you’ll regret the rest of our lives. I made a terrible mistake. Don’t compound it by making another.”
“She doesn’t believe you any more than I do,” Chase said calmly.
“The least you can do is have the decency to give us some privacy,” Tony shouted, frustrated and short-tempered.
“Not on your life.”
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” Tony shouted. “Because Lesley loves me and you know it. You think if you can keep her from listening to me, she’ll go through with the wedding, but you’re wrong. She doesn’t need you, not when she’s got me.”
“But she hasn’t got you. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you again—you’re married.”
As he was talking, Tony stepped closer to Chase, his stance challenging.
Chase dropped his arm from Lesley’s shoulders and moved toward Tony. The two men were practically chest to chest. It wouldn’t take much for the situation to erupt into a brawl.
“Stop it, both of you!” Lesley yelled. She was surprised none of the neighbors were out yet to watch the show. “This is ridiculous.”
“You love me,” Tony said. “You can’t marry this…this barbarian.”
“Just watch her,” Chase returned with a wide smile.
“I’m not doing anything until both of you stop behaving like six-year-olds,” Lesley said. “I can’t believe either one of you would resort to this childish behavior.”
“I’ll divorce April,” Tony promised. “I swear by everything I hold dear that I’ll get her out of my life.”
“I’d think a husband would hold his wife dear,” Chase said. “Apparently that isn’t so. Your vows meant nothing the first time. What makes you so sure they’ll mean any more on a second go-round?”
“I’m trying to be as civil as I can,” Tony muttered, “but if you want to fight this out, fine.”
“Anytime,” Chase said, grinning broadly as if he welcomed the confrontation, “anyplace.”
“Fine.”
They were chest to chest once more.
Lesley managed to wedge herself between them and braced a hand against each of their chests. “I think you should go,” she said to Tony. It was useless to try to discuss anything now. She wanted to believe him, but Chase was right. The first message Tony had left claimed that April was away for a week visiting her mother. He hadn’t said a word about his marriage being a mistake or that he still cared for her.
“I’m not leaving you, not when you’re making the biggest mistake of your life,” Tony told her. “I already said I’d divorce April. What more do you want me to do? The marriage was a mistake from the first! What else can I do? Tell me, Lesley, tell me and I’ll do whatever it takes to make amends to you.”
“I believe the lady asked you to leave,” Chase said with the same easy grace. “That’s all she wants from you. Get out of her life.”
“No.”
“It’ll give me a good deal of pleasure to assist you.”
The next thing she knew, Chase had grabbed Tony’s arm and steered him toward his parked car.
Lesley stood on the porch, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she watched the unpleasant scene. She was furious and didn’t know who with—Chase or Tony. Both had behaved like children fighting on the playground. Neither of them had shown any maturity in dealing with an awkward situation.
The two men exchanged a few words at Tony’s vehicle and it looked for a moment as if a fistfight was about to erupt. In the end, Tony climbed inside his car and drove away.
Lesley was pacing her living room when Chase entered the house. “How could you?” she demanded.
“How could I what? Treat lover boy the way he deserved, you mean?”
“You weren’t any better than he was! I expected more from you, Chase. The least you could’ve done was…was be civil about the whole thing. Instead you acted like a jealous lover.” She continued pacing. Her anger had created an energy within her that couldn’t be ignored.
“Did you want to talk to him alone?”
“No.”
“Then what did you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Something different than strong-arming him.”
“You sound like you wanted to invite him in for tea and then sit around discussing this like civilized adults.”
“Yes!” she cried. “That would’ve been better than a shouting match on my front porch. The two of you behaved as though I was a prize baseball card you both wanted. Tony had traded me away and now he wants me back and you weren’t about to see that happen.”
Chase went still. “Is that what you wanted?” he asked. “To be handed back to Tony?”
“No, of course it isn’t!”
“He can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“He’s the one who ended the relationship, not me. It’s over, Chase.”
Chase walked to the window and stared outside. He didn’t speak for a long time and seemed to be weighing his thoughts.
“You…you told me once that you had a problem with a woman playing one man against another,” she said. “I’m not doing that, Chase. I wouldn’t. You’re the man I’m marrying, not Tony.”
“You love him,” Chase said, turning to face her, “although he doesn’t deserve your devotion. You could have lied to me about your feelings, but you haven’t and I’m grateful.”
“I don’t trust Tony,” she said, “but I trust you.”
“You might not trust him, but you want to believe him, don’t you?”
“I…I don’t know. It doesn’t matter if I do, does it? I’ve already agreed to marry you, and I’m not backing out.” She refused to do to Chase what Tony had done to her. She wouldn’t push him aside in favor of Tony’s promises. Chase was right; Tony had always been a sore loser, no matter what the stakes.
Chase said nothing for several minutes. “The choice is yours,” he finally said, “and I’ll abide by whatever you decide. I want you, Lesley. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m surprised by how much I desire you. If you agree to marry me, I promise you I’ll do my best to be a good husband.”
“You make it sound like I haven’t made up my mind. I’ve already told you—and Tony—that I have. I’m going through with the wedding.”
“It isn’t too late to call it off.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked, forcing a laugh.
“Because you’re in love with Tony,” Chase answered with dark, sober eyes focused on her. “Think about this very carefully,” he advised and walked to her door.
“You’re leaving?” She was afraid Tony would return and she didn’t know what she’d do if Chase wasn’t there to buffer his effect on her.
“Will you call me in the morning?” he asked. He didn’t need to explain what he expected to hear. That was obvious. If she was willing to go through with the ceremony, she needed to let him know.
“I can tell you that right now,” she said, folding her hands in an effort to keep from reaching for him.
“You might feel differently later.”
“I won’t. I promise you I won’t.” The desperate quality of her voice was all the answer he seemed to need.
He came over to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her into his arms. “I shouldn’t touch you, but I can’t make myself leave without kissing you goodbye. Forgive me for that, Lesley.” His last words were whispered as he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was filled with a longing and a hunger that left her breathless and yearning for more.
He expelled his breath, then turned and walked away.
Lesley watched him go and had the feeling she might never see him again.
Her knees were trembling and she sank onto the sofa and hid her face in her hands.
He’d lost her, Chase told himself as he unlocked the door to his
hotel suite. He could’ve taken the advantage and run with it. At first he thought he’d do exactly that. Tony wasn’t right for Lesley—anyone could see it.
Okay, he believed it so strongly because he wanted her for himself. Maybe the jerk was good for Lesley, although Chase couldn’t see it.
Chase suspected Tony would string her along for years. He’d promise to divorce April but there’d be complications. There were always complications in cases like this, and Lesley would be completely disheartened by the time Tony was free. If he ever followed through on his promises. Chase knew exactly whose interests Tony was serving, and those were his own.
Tony might have some genuine affection for Lesley, but he didn’t really love her. He couldn’t possibly, otherwise he’d never put her through this agony.
Then again, Chase’s own intentions weren’t exactly pure, either. He needed a wife and he wanted Lesley. It didn’t matter to him that she was in love with another man; all that mattered was her willingness to marry him and live with him in Alaska.
If there was a law against selfishness, he’d be swinging by his neck, right next to Tony.
So he’d done the only thing he could and still live with himself in the weeks to come. This business of being honorable was hard, much harder than he’d realized.
He’d given Lesley both the freedom and the privacy to make whatever choice she wanted. He wouldn’t stand in her way, judge or condemn her if she decided not to go through with their marriage.
He was about to lose the wife he wanted, and nobility didn’t offer much compensation.
All he had to do was wait until she’d made up her mind. He had the distinct feeling that this was going to be a long night.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” Lesley wailed to her no-nonsense neighbor.
“You’re right. It shouldn’t,” Daisy agreed. She stood next to Lesley’s refrigerator, one hand on her hip. “Look at it this way. You could let Chase go back to Alaska alone and spend the next year or two being lied to, manipulated and emotionally abused by a jerk. Or,” she added with a lazy smile, “you could marry a terrific man who adores you.”
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