April Fool Bride

by Joan Reeves

  She bore no resemblance to the too-thin wild child with the too-short, too-curly red hair, and diffident manner. His body stirred as he looked at her pouting crimson lips. Knowing her past, he could only imagine how talented that mouth must now be. Unwelcome desire kicked him in the gut. Actually, the kick was farther south. He wasn't just surprised by his body's reaction, he was shocked. He didn't want to be excited by the woman whose impetuosity had paved his road to ruin. "What do you want, Maddie?"

  Immediately, he noticed that her green eyes no longer revealed every thought that flitted through her brain. In fact, her eyes revealed nothing.

  "Hello, Jake. Could I come in please?"

  Her voice affected him like a caress. He was glad of the baggy sweatshirt that hid his rising interest. He might not be able to control his body's elemental response to her, but that didn't mean he had to act on the unwanted desire she stirred in him. He was old enough, and controlled enough, not to let his little brain do his thinking for him. Wasn't he?

  Jake hardened his heart to compensate for the effect she had on him. He held the door wide and made a mocking bow. "Be my guest."

  Maddie flinched at his sarcasm. She'd thought she was prepared for him. She wasn't. But she entered his apartment anyway.

  New York in March might be cold, but the outside temperature couldn't compare to the frigid expression in Jake's midnight blue eyes. She used to moon over his beautiful eyes. Graciella said his eyes were like his father's. Jake's eyes had always made her think of the deepest part of the ocean. They still reminded her of the ocean. Like the one around Antarctica. No warmth or friendliness shone in their dark blue depths.

  Jake shut the door behind her. For a moment, they stared at each other. Then he said, "I was just about to have coffee. Come to the kitchen."

  He turned and walked away, and Maddie hurried after him, draping the scarf loosely around her neck, pulling off her gloves and tucking them into the coat pockets.

  He was almost twenty-eight now. The years had brought changes in Jake. All of them good. He'd grown into his height and was muscled in ways that affected her respiration. She wanted to ignore the pulse that suddenly beat low in her…She inhaled sharply and banished that thought before it was formed. She couldn't afford to think about the way he made her feel. About how her breasts suddenly felt hot. Heavy with need. But neither could she stop looking at him and appreciating his body. Broad shoulders. Heavy muscles. Was there anything sexier than snug jeans on a man's shapely behind? She suspected that if he removed his shirt, his stomach would have the requisite six-pack.

  Too late, she realized her gaze was locked on his body, and she'd been standing in his kitchen staring at him for several seconds.

  Jake leaned against a black granite counter, arms folded. His face was alight with amusement as he watched her take his measure. "Like what you see?"

  Maddie wheeled and walked around the kitchen. "Yes. This is a great kitchen. Do you cook?" Without waiting for a response, she rushed on. "What a wonderful farm table and chairs." She stroked a hand over the distressed wood. "I love the rustic look contrasted against the contemporary walnut cabinets." She waved a hand at the end wall. "Someone was smart to leave the wall of exposed brick, and that arrangement of black-framed photographs is genius."

  Jake went about the business of setting the coffeemaker up. "I assume you're here for some purpose other than to discuss my decorating skills."

  Maddie fell silent as she studied the photographs. Several showed Jake and other men, all in desert camouflage fatigues. Another of Jake with his mother was identical to the one Graciella had on an end table. In another, a beautiful dark-haired woman laughed as she stood between Jake and another man. The same brunette beauty laughed up at Jake in a picture with the Eifel Tower in the background. Jealousy hit Maddie right between the eyes. Who was she? Someone special?

  Maddie looked askance at him, committing every detail of his appearance to memory. His thick, black hair was short, not military short, but short like a male model. She wanted to slide her fingers through the dark strands. She fisted her hands in her coat pockets.

  He needed a shave, but the shadow of a beard just made him look like a bad boy magnet. He looked as cold and uncompromising as the black granite countertop. Unfortunately, his forbidding countenance didn't negate his sex appeal. She knew she was being stupid, but she couldn't stop thinking about how it would feel to slide her hands over his skin. To press her body to his. How pathetic was she to have carried a torch for him for all these years?

  She was older now. She'd had sex. Lots of sex. She could finally acknowledge that fact without the guilt and self-derision that once accompanied such a stark truth. How ironic was it that she'd never made love with the only man she'd ever really wanted? The one man she still dreamed about. And, if he agreed to her plan, the one man that she would never have.

  The coffeemaker suddenly hissed and wheezed and the aroma of coffee filled the air. Jake turned his attention on her. "Take your coat off if you want."

  My, his tone was so gracious, Maddie thought sarcastically. "No. I think I'll keep it."

  "Suit yourself." He waved a hand at the chairs. "Have a seat."

  She did. Jake filled two heavy diner-style mugs and placed one in front of her.

  He carried his coffee to the chair across from her. He blew on the aromatic coffee and sipped. Then he fixed her with a probing gaze. "Okay, Red. Why are you here?"

  Chapter 3

  Red. A lump formed in her throat. Jake was the only one who'd ever called her that. A small smile pulled at her mouth, and warmth dissipated some of her chill. The old nickname brought back some of the happiest memories of childhood. Before she'd ruined everything.

  She wished she hadn't come. She should have just waited until she turned thirty-five when her trust fund would be hers without any strings attached. She could have a perfectly fine life with an allowance doled out month after month by the trustee of her father's estate. Her stepmother Constance. As distasteful as that was, she could live with it.

  The faces of the women and children who were depending on her rose in her mind. Yes, she could have a fine life, but what about them? She'd made a promise. She'd worked hard to be the kind of woman who kept her promises. The kind of woman with integrity.

  "Earth to Maddie?"

  Startled, Maddie looked up, into his dark blue eyes. Rational and calm, she reminded herself. "Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment."

  Jake sipped his coffee and waited.

  "In the photograph of you in Paris, who's the woman?" Maddie asked.

  Jake smiled. "She's none of your business."

  Maddie blushed. She shouldn't have given in to her curiosity. Was the woman his lover? Jake had always had girls chasing him. She should have known that it wouldn't be any different now that he was a man. If anything he was more appealing than ever. Or maybe it was that she was now a woman and saw him with a woman's eyes instead of the eyes of a teenage girl desperate to give him all the love her lonely heart possessed. She had no right to be jealous, but that didn't make the envy vanish. If he was involved, that could complicate matters. But wouldn't Graciella have said something if Jake wasn't available?

  Jake drummed his fingers on the table. "I've got a busy day planned. If you've got something on your mind other than talking about the good old days, then get to it."

  The scorn in his voice brought her crashing back. "Right. I have something I'd like to discuss with you." The good old days. To her, they had been good when she was with him. She'd been fourteen when she'd fallen in love with him that rainy afternoon. She'd been weeping. Jake had held her. Her father had died the month before, and she'd learned that Constance planned to ship her to boarding school. No one in the world cared about her except for Jake and Graciella, and now she was to be ripped from them. She'd made Jake promise that he would always be her friend.

  Resolutely, she shoved the memory away. "I heard you lost your job. I want to offer you an em
ployment opportunity. It's a bit unorthodox but very lucrative."

  Jake yawned and stretched lazily as if bored. "Employment opportunity? That sounds like every job scam on the internet." He sipped his coffee. "I think I'll pass."

  "But you haven't heard what it is. I can offer a salary commensurate with what you earned in the past."

  Jake frowned. "Really. You know how much I earned in the past?"

  "Well, not exactly, but your mom gave me a ballpark idea so I don't think you'll be insulted by the salary."

  "You discussed this with my mom?" Jake studied her over the rim of his mug.

  The intensity of his gaze disconcerted her. "Well, not exactly. Not in so many details." A year or so ago, Graciella had joked about getting Jake to rescue her in exactly this way. With that seed planted, Maddie hadn't been able to think about anything else. "We talked in the most general terms. You know she has always kept me posted on what you're doing."

  She could tell that surprised him.

  "I had no idea you and Mom were still close. She never mentions you now."

  Once, she and Jake had been close too. He'd been her best friend, rescuing her from countless scrapes, and keeping her beneath Constance's radar. That rainy day she'd been weeping in his arms, she hadn't been able to see past a bleak, lonely future. Jake's arms made her feel safe. Then, in the next instant, everything had changed. At least for her. She'd looked into his eyes and realized that what she felt for Graciella's son went beyond friendship. Even though she was only fourteen, intuition told her she was in love with Jake Becker. Somehow she knew, even then, that the love she felt was one she'd carry to the grave. Just as she knew that seventeen-year-old Jake did not feel the same way. She knew that he would go off to college and forget all about her.

  "Okay, I'll admit I'm curious. Tell me about this opportunity."

  Maddie wouldn't make the mistake she'd made that long-ago night, proclaiming her love to him. She couldn't afford to be stupid this time. She pulled her coat tighter, chilled by the thought that he might be in love with that woman in the photo.

  "Cold?"

  "No. I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out how to begin."

  "Well, Red, the best way is usually at the beginning."

  A tide of color rose to stain her cheeks. "Right. At the beginning."

  "Why are you so nervous?" Jake suddenly asked.

  "I'm not nervous." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

  That soft husky sound cut through his resistance. He waited patiently while she gathered her nerve. He was good at waiting. Snipers had to be. Guys like him did a lot of waiting. Waiting on a roof top with the long gun for an insurgent to come out of hiding. Always waiting. Waiting taught a man a lot. How to be patient. How to analyze a situation with detachment. How to weigh the risk versus the reward in taking a shot and revealing his hiding place. That same watchful waiting paid off when he began trading. Then his ability to analyze served him well when he'd started buying companies on the verge of bankruptcy and turning them around. He and his two remaining buddies made a good team.

  "Your Mom told me you lost your job. That's why I'm here."

  That surprised him. Why had his mom said that? And why had that lie brought Maddie to his doorstep?

  "I hope you'll listen to my proposition. No." She waved her hands in dismissal. "Not a proposition. Definitely not. This is a job, and it will pay well. As well as your annual salary at your last job. Plus a bonus when the year is over."

  This was bizarre. He didn't know what was going on, but he was intrigued. Jake waited for Maddie's green gaze to come back to him. She seemed fixated on the photo of him and Danny's wife. "A year, huh? You're offering me a job that lasts only a year?"

  "Well, it's not really a job as one usually thinks of a job. It's more of a special project. But, it pays well. Very well." Hurriedly, she added, "With an expense account of course."

  Jake decided to play along. "How about a signing bonus?''

  "Oh. A signing bonus. I guess that can be arranged."

  What the hell was going on and what did his mother have to do with it? He watched as Maddie picked up the coffee mug. Her hands shook. She set the mug down. He realized she hadn't taken a single sip of the strong black coffee.

  "Jake, just tell me yes or no."

  Jake smiled. He didn't understand why Maddie would seek him out after nine years, but he sure as hell was interested. Not in some bogus job, but in why she was offering it to him. "What about health and dental?"

  Maddie's green eyes jerked to meet his gaze. "What about it?"

  "Well, does the job offer health and dental insurance? Dental checkups are very important. And vision. I probably need to get my eyes checked. And let's not forget the importance of a retirement savings account."

  Maddie blushed. For a moment when she met his eyes, he saw a flash of irritation in her green gaze. Then it was gone.

  Maddie drew herself up. Quietly, she said, "I promise that you'll receive a full benefit package equal to what you'd get with corporate employment. Since the employment will last only a year, and you won't be able to look for another job until this project is brought to a close, I'll make it worth your while. Really I will."

  Jake had no idea what was going on in that rich girl brain of hers, but whatever it was, it was definitely intriguing. And so was Maddie. He'd thought she would be easy to read, but she wasn't. She had secrets. He could see that in her carefully blank eyes. She wasn't conventionally pretty, but her face was arresting. Striking. He studied her mouth, and his pulse quickened. Wow. That mouth gave him ideas. The wrong kind of ideas. Was that why he was prolonging their encounter?

  His eyes met Maddie's and held her gaze. "Okay. Tell me more. Who do I have to kill for this great financial opportunity?"

  "Oh, it's nothing like that," Maddie answered in a rush. "You just have to marry me."

  Chapter 4

  Jake nearly choked on his coffee. He coughed repeatedly, hoping he wouldn't cough up a lung. Finally, in a strangled voice, he managed to speak. "Don't say something like that to a man when he's having his morning coffee."

  Maddie rose and slapped him on his back. Harder than necessary. The jerk. He'd been sticking it to her for the entire conversation until she'd finally caught on. "I'm offering you a great opportunity. Money enough to tide you over and make you comfortable when you do go job hunting in a year."

  Jake rolled his eyes. "Hell. I didn't realize this was a real job interview."

  "It's not an interview," she said tightly. "Since you're the only candidate for the job, this is an offer."

  "Then we need to negotiate salary and benefits some more."

  Maddie pursed her lips. He was really beginning to annoy her. "Why? What I offered is more than fair."

  "I don't know. It takes a lot of guts for a man to marry Mad Maddie."

  She felt as if he'd slapped her. In a quiet, deadly voice, she said, "Don't call me that. Ever."

  Jake's smile mocked her. "Not so fond of your nickname, huh?"

  When she just stared, stone-faced, he chuckled. "Look, Red, I may be, uh, unemployed, but I'm not so desperate that I'll marry a woman for money. Especially not you."

  Maddie flinched. "What's wrong with me?"

  Jake rose and returned to the coffeemaker and refilled his mug. In an offhand voice, he said, "What's right with you?"

  Maddie lifted her chin. She refused to let him see how his softly uttered words cut her to the quick. She was accustomed to the rest of the world believing the garbage that had been written about her and regurgitated every time it was a slow news day. She'd thought Jake would be different. She pulled herself together as she'd done so many times in the past. "My twenty-fifth birthday is the first of April. I have to be married by midnight of that day so I can receive my trust fund. If I'm not married before April first ends, my trust continues to be managed by the trustee. I'll have to wait another ten years for it."

  "Ah, now I see why you're so interested in buy
ing a husband. But, you're the Quinn heiress. I figured you had already banked those millions. Or is it billions?"

  When she didn't reply, Jake pointedly asked, "What's your trust fund worth, Red?"

  After a brief hesitation, Maddie shrugged. "Currently, somewhere in the neighborhood of eighty million."

  Jake whistled. "Now that's a very nice neighborhood. But why rush to get married? I'd bet my last nickel that you still get to live the same affluent lifestyle you've always lived. Right? You probably have your own little McMansion until you get that monstrous pile of gray stone in River Oaks. You've probably never worked for anything in your entire life."

  "Don't you mean my entire useless life?" Maddie plastered a bright smile on her face that told the world she didn't give a damn what anyone thought about her. But the sad truth was that Jake's opinion did matter. She took a deep breath. It didn't matter. She wouldn't let it matter. Jake was the only man she could trust not to try to fleece her for every dollar. If nothing else, his mother would guarantee his good behavior. "You don't have to like me, Jake. I don't think I particularly like you. You just have to marry me, and I'll damn well make it worth your while."

  Let him think whatever the hell he wanted to think. She forced her voice to be light and faintly mocking. "To answer your question, yes, I receive an allowance from the trustee, and it's enough to keep me in thousand-dollar shoes and the occasional designer dress not to mention the odd bauble or two from a jewelry store." As if she actually spent it on useless things like that.

  Jake's expression told her that he'd bought it hook, line, and sinker. "So who's the trustee?"

  "I'm surprised you have to ask. Of course, it's my wonderful stepmother."

  Jake smacked his forehead. "Old Connie, the ice queen? I can see the problem. I wouldn't want to be under that woman's thumb either."

  So Maddie wanted to stick it to Constance Quinn? Now that was an idea he could support. He studied Maddie, his gaze probing for the secrets that simmered beneath the calm depths of her green eyes. She didn't fidget beneath his scrutiny. Heat built inside him. What would she be like if she lost that reserve? What would it take to turn that frost into steam heat? What would her mouth feel like beneath his? For a moment, he almost forgot that she was nothing but a spoiled rich bimbo. He turned a lazy smile designed to irritate on her. "What are you willing to pay me to be your kept man?"