The Wanted Bride (A Contemporary Romance)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  “I have requisitioned the paperwork from his attorney, and we should have that any day now.”

  The front room had a desk with a flat-screen computer monitor swimming amongst the scattered papers and files. Valerie thought of her father’s desk in his office on the twenty-second floor of the Trammel Crow Center in downtown Dallas. The gleaming mahogany of his desk never looked like this.

  At the thought of her father, sadness swept through her, and she quickly pushed the thought away. Regardless of what had happened, she missed him.

  A stack of papers with a big accordion file folder on top had a sticky note that said, “file.” She picked up the papers and began to put them in the appropriate slots by the clients’ last names. The stack included everything from divorces to wills, and even a few civil suits.

  By the time Matt hung up the phone and turned around to speak to her, she had the stack all sorted and ready to file away.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m sorting your filing.”

  “How do you know how I like it filed?”

  “Well, most offices file by the client’s last name. Is your method different?” she asked.

  He frowned at her. “No. I’m surprised you knew what to do.”

  “Filing doesn’t take a degree in astrophysics.”

  He gazed at her, and she warmed under his perusal, his green eyes dancing with laughter.

  “Where are the files kept?” she asked, needing him to stop staring at her like she was a ripe peach ready for the plucking.

  “Let me show you around,” he said.

  He took her through the house. “The front room is where I receive clients. The back of the house is where I live. I turned one of the bedrooms into my file room.”

  She followed him down a hall into the kitchen, which had a small den on the back of the room. A rock fireplace sat in the middle of the wall, with bookshelves on either side. A plasma television occupied a central spot with a pit group in the middle of the room. There was a warm, cozy feeling about the room, and she liked his taste in furniture.

  Another hall off the kitchen led to the back of the house. “The file room is down the hall here and across from it is the guest room, and then my bedroom is at the end.”

  “I won’t go past the file room,” she said.

  “You will if you want to go to the restroom,” he responded.

  “You’ve got a point.”

  They entered the filing room, where cabinets lined the walls. Folders were stacked two feet high on each cabinet, waiting to be replaced.

  She glanced at him in disapproval. “So who has done your filing?”

  “Well…let’s just say that I’m not always very good at putting files back.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “When I decided to move from Denver, I never expected to do much work here in this little town, but I’ve been surprised at the business I’ve received.”

  “Do you travel to Denver much?”

  “Oh yeah. Whenever I have a trial going on. I’ve got one coming up in the next two months, so I’ll be traveling back and forth.”

  Great. When it came time to leave town, she could disappear while he was gone. Maybe she’d go to Canada or maybe New York. Anywhere but Dallas, Texas.

  “I need you to sign a confidentiality agreement,” he told her.

  She couldn’t contain the duh expression from appearing on her face. How dumb did he think she was? No, he didn’t know that she’d grown up around lawyers, but anyone with a pea-size brain would know to keep their mouth shut about what they saw or heard in an attorney’s office.

  “The only thing I talk about in the café is the weather and the specials of the day.”

  “Good. Keep it that way, but I still need the signed document.”

  She shrugged. “Not a problem.” She glanced around the office, willing herself to begin the decluttering process. A mountain of filing awaited her, and she still had to prove to him that she wasn’t a total idiot. “Where do you want me to begin?”

  “See what you can do on the filing today, and we’ll go from there.”

  The phone rang, and he glanced down at the caller ID on the receiver he held in his hand. “I need to get this. Are you going to be okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She shooed him out the door, ready for him to take his sweet-smelling self out of her sight. Why did she notice the tempting aroma that came from his big frame? It was an alluring smell, and she didn’t need the distraction.

  He answered the phone. She fished out her ear buds from her iPod nano and wedged them into her ears. She needed a diversion from the handsome lawyer. She hit the Play button.

  #

  An hour later, Matt peeked in the door and felt like a giant fist slammed into his chest. He couldn’t breathe. Valerie was bent over, her sexy little derriere in the air as she twisted and danced while she put folders into the file drawers. The jeans she wore curved around her buttocks and danced enticingly before him.

  She rose, shook her hair, and sang to the music. Her voice was on key as she sang, unaware of him watching her. She picked up another stack of file folders and began to shake her hips while she put them in the cabinet.

  He’d never seen anyone dance and sing while filing. And it gave a whole new meaning to working. He stepped into the room, intent upon touching her to let her know he was there. She whirled around and slammed right into him, her soft breasts snug against his chest.

  He wanted to groan, while she gasped in fright.

  “Geez, Louise, you could let a girl know you were there.”

  “I was trying to, but you were obviously into your work.”

  She hit the Stop button on her iPod and pulled the ear buds from her ears.

  “I don’t do dull, and filing is dull, so I found a way to make it more fun.”

  He smiled, wanting to join in her fun. “I see that. I’m getting worried that maybe I should take out workers’ comp insurance, in case you throw your backside out.”

  She grinned. “My backside is perfectly fine.”

  Oh God, she could say that again. He might need to take out insurance on himself if he had to watch her dancing much more. How was he going to take seeing her each day? And now she stood less than a foot away from him. He could smell her hair. Without thinking, he reached out and brushed a strand that was on her cheek away from her face. Her skin was soft and her blue eyes dilated.

  The gesture seemed intimate, and he swallowed to regain his composure.

  He took a step back, needing space. “I came by to check on you, but you seem to be doing just fine without me, so I’ll let you get back to it.”

  She didn’t say anything, but put the ear plugs back in her ears, hit the play button and picked up another stack of files.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe he should hire someone else. Maybe he should just take her right here on the floor and get it out of his system.

  He groaned quietly and returned to his desk. Twenty hours a week with Valerie. Twenty hours a week of her long legs and cute rear end swaying around his office. Twenty hours of the sweet smells of lilacs and roses drifting through the office just might be the death of him.

  Chapter Six

  Three weeks passed with Valerie working in the office four days a week. Matt anticipated her every afternoon, when she would walk over from the café immediately after the lunch rush. Matt kept her busy until time for the supper crowd. Of course, a rush in this small town was anything more than ten customers at a time. And lately, much to Matt’s disgust, the café seemed to draw every male within fifty miles or farther.

  In the time they’d spent together, he had learned very little about her other than she liked to listen to pop music and she tried to make everything fun. She could turn the most mundane task into something that kept her entertained. He’d watched her do the hip-hop file dance, the type-a-page-and-twirl-in-her-chair routine, the research smash, and boogie-woogi
e cleanup.

  All of which left him a might edgy and more than a little aroused. Nothing could be more exciting than to watch a woman dance when she didn’t think anyone was watching her. And Valerie did a lot of dancing, moving, swaying, and shaking, which left him using more than his normal amount of cold water in winter.

  They spoke only about business, and he had determined that the iPod constantly in her ear was a defensive wall to keep boundaries between them. She couldn’t hear him, and therefore they didn’t talk. Soon, very soon, he was going to burst through that wall to the other side.

  After the first week, he’d realized Valerie knew what she was doing and wondered if she had some sort of law background. She didn’t bother him with the normal newbie questions. When she had to admit to needing a response from him, her questions were technical and precise. More knowledgeable than the average person who’d never been around the law.

  Matt knew he had misjudged this woman badly, and that surprised him. In the past he’d always read people very well, but Valerie had somehow slid beneath his radar. She was definitely not what he expected. And the changes she created in his office were those of an individual who knew how a law practice operated. Now there was organized chaos instead of a disorganized mess. Files were in their proper location, and she’d even created a checkout system. That way she knew whenever he had a file, just like in his office in downtown Denver.

  Every day he feared he was becoming a little more dependent on her, and the walls of doubt he’d erected about her were crumbling.

  He strode over to her desk and tapped her on the shoulder.

  “How’s it going?” he asked when she looked up from the monitor.

  “Great. I should be finished in ten minutes.”

  “Good. Are you going back to the café tonight?”

  “Yes, I’ve got to help Fran.”

  He gazed at her as she sat behind the desk he’d bought for her, wanting to know more about her, wanting her to open up to him, tell him who she was.

  She returned to typing, and he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He sat on top of her desk in her direct line of her sight, where she was unable to avoid him.

  Her brows raised in a quizzical expression, partly annoyance, partly curiosity.

  “Is there something else you need?”

  He tilted his head and studied her, wondering how he could get her to open up to him. What were the right things to say to Valerie Brown that would unlock her hidden secrets?

  “That first night you were in town, was your wallet stolen on that bus?”

  She bit her lip and glanced at her keyboard before she looked back up at him.

  “Yes.”

  “So that’s why you stayed in town.”

  “Yes.”

  He shook his head. “I guess that answers my question about why you’re here. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She smiled. “It was none of your business.”

  He chuckled, his insides tightening as he realized she was a tougher witness than anyone he’d ever cross-examined on a witness stand.

  “Okay,” he said, wondering how she’d respond to his next question. “Who did you work for before you came to Springtown?”

  She smiled and slowly pulled her iPod earbuds from her ear. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

  For a moment he was silent, hoping she would offer the information, but she wasn’t giving anything away.

  Staring into the sapphire depths of her eyes, he wanted to get lost in them, but wanted to know more about this woman. “Somewhere there’s a lawyer who is missing his office help. Really, I can tell you have law office experience.”

  Her fingers paused on the keyboard, and she studied him for a moment. “I put myself through college as a lawyer’s secretary.”

  “How long did you work for him?” he asked, thinking finally they were getting somewhere. “What was his name?”

  “He was from the law office of TMI.”

  It took him about thirty seconds to realize she wasn’t going to answer. “I’ve never heard of the law firm of Too Much Information. Are they large or small?”

  She ignored him.

  “What’s the big deal about telling me where you worked?”

  “Nothing, except that it drives you crazy and gives me an air of mystery,” she said, her voice teasing. “And I prefer to remain secretive.”

  Grinning, he admitted, “You’re right, it does. I guess your mom and dad were pleased that you graduated college.”

  She turned and gave him a long stare, her brows furrowing as if she couldn’t believe his audacity. “Do I need to bring the lamp over and let you shine it in my face, or are you going to start pulling my fingernails out if I don’t answer your questions?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back, and surveyed her with his best drop-your-defenses smile. She was such a sassy little thing, and that challenged him. “I just wanted to know more about you. You drop in here on a bus, yet you obviously have skills and are an educated, bright young woman.”

  “Maybe I’m an environmentalist? Riding a bus, saving the planet with fewer emissions. Or maybe I’m just into making money. If I’m so bright, when do I get a raise?”

  He laughed, knowing she had a quick mind with a comeback for everything. She parried very well with words, and it kind of excited him. Verbal sparring with her left him feeling upbeat, stimulated, and ready for the next challenge. But what did it do for her?

  She gazed at him, her blue eyes twinkling. “Does this mean you no longer think I’m going to rob your sister blind?”

  “I was only trying to protect McKenzie.” He seriously wanted her to realize he’d protect McKenzie and the children at any cost.

  After working with her every day, he didn’t worry about her trustworthiness anymore, but he remained curious as to her background. She seemed such a mystery, and he was intrigued enough to want to know more.

  “Oh, so now it’s safe to steal the silver.”

  He shook his head at her. “Ha ha! I don’t think McKenzie has any silver.”

  “Too bad” A fake disappointed frown settled on her face. “There’s no room in my suitcase for nasty silver I don’t want or need.”

  The thought of her leaving suddenly sent his spirits plummeting. He didn’t want her to leave, and the realization shocked him. Somehow during the last three weeks, he’d fallen under the same spell as everyone else. She had managed to get under his skin, and though he’d tried to resist, he liked her.

  “Are you planning on going somewhere?” he asked, trying not to appear anxious. He’d just gotten his office somewhat organized, his work at least tolerable, and he didn’t want to lose her help. Not to mention how much he enjoyed spending time with her.

  Who was he kidding? He didn’t want her to go.

  “Not now. Someday, but not now,” she said matter-of-factly. “But I am taking the day off on Monday.”

  He frowned, afraid suddenly of her leaving town and never seeing her again. “Why?”

  “I’ve worked nonstop for a month, and I think it’s time to go play.” She smiled. “The ski resort is having a play day for the town. Half-price tickets for residents of Springtown.”

  “Oh,” he said. He hadn’t gone skiing at all this season. There was too much work and not enough time. “Where did you learn how to ski?”

  She started to respond, and then her lips curved into a smile as she realized his tactic. “You must be a very good lawyer.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you have a way of prying without the person realizing what you’re doing.”

  “Maybe,” he admitted. “But I’d like to know more about you.”

  “Why should I tell you more? You have never told me anything about you.”

  “What do you want to know? I was born in Denver. When I was eight, McKenzie was born, and my dad left us a year later. My mother struggled to support us. When I was eighteen, I went to the University of C
olorado on scholarship. Soon after, I attended Southern Methodist University law school in Dallas, and when I graduated from there, I came back to Denver and went to work for the largest liability law office in the state.”

  “That’s a brief synopsis counselor, but you didn’t tell me how the divorce of your parents affected you. You must have been an overprotective brother even then since you are today. No wives, no girlfriends? You didn’t tell me about you, Matt.”

  He took a deep breath and tried to switch the subject. “So what about you?”

  His breath caught the smell of spring, and his pulse quickened as she shook her long blonde hair away from her face. “Okay. I was born to Jeff and Mabel Brown in Phoenix, Arizona. My parents died in a car accident when I was eighteen. I attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and graduated last year. And here I am.”

  “You didn’t really tell me any personal information either.”

  She smiled knowingly, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “No, I didn’t.”

  He wanted to press her further, but knew that in doing so, he would only make her more resistant. And what would he do with the information anyway? He’d promised Jesse to drop the matter, and he had every intention of doing so. Yet that tiny voice inside him wanted him to continue to learn about this girl. There was something about her that didn’t fit the profile she gave, and he was curious as to why.

  They sat awkwardly, each waiting for the other to say something but neither one budging.

  Wanting to test her, he said, “I heard the Jayhawks have a really good football team this year.”

  She shook her head at him. “And I hear SMU is rebuilding its team.”

  Anyone who followed football knew that the Arizona team wasn’t the Jayhawks. The University of Kansas was the Jayhawks. Did she just let the slip go, or had she really not graduated from Arizona?

  He watched her trying to determine if she’d lied about the university. “Actually I follow Colorado more than I do SMU.”

  “Did you like living in Dallas?” she asked.

  “It was all right. A little too hot for my comfort, but the city itself was nice.”

  “How about Tucson? Did you like living there?” he asked her, needing more information from her.