Just the Husband She Chose

by Karen Rose Smith

  Hunter hadn’t stopped by his parents’ house lately. He’d spent a few days with them in January while he was recuperating from the accident that had brought him face-to-face with Slade. But since then, between working late and business trips—“I’ll stop in over the weekend and see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks, Hunter. And you’ll let me know?”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  After he said goodbye to Jolene, he stood and crossed to the windows and looked down onto the busy Denver street.

  For the past five years, he’d concentrated on nothing but work. He’d been determined to make his law practice a success. He’d worked to find his place in the world. He’d worked to forget about Eve.

  And now she was in Denver asking him to marry her.

  This would be a business arrangement, she’d said.

  Hunter thought about all the years Larry had purposefully shut him out. He thought about his feelings of separateness from the rest of the family and how he’d taken back the Coleburn name when he was twenty-one. He thought about being reunited with his twin brother, and Slade’s marriage shortly after. He thought about how happy Slade and his wife Emily seemed to be.

  What if he told Eve that a business arrangement wasn’t enough, that he wanted a family instead? She might fly right back to Savannah. But if her inheritance meant enough to her, perhaps she wouldn’t.

  Tomorrow night he’d find out.

  When Eve stepped into Denver’s poshest apartment building, the uniformed security guard asked her name. She gave it, and then he asked her for a photo ID. After she showed him her driver’s license, he smiled and handed her what looked like a magnetic hotel-room key, explaining it was for the penthouse suite. She had to insert it in the elevator to be able to reach the top floor.

  Eve had known luxury in her life, but it was an old-fashioned, country kind of luxury that came from generations of Ruskins who’d left behind not only their wealth, but items they treasured. She didn’t care about her father’s money. She earned a modest salary working at the art gallery and that was all she required. But her father had known there were treasures in his estate that she wouldn’t want to part with—her mother’s jewelry, items in the house that held memories of her mother and her childhood. Of course, she also appreciated his collection of paintings. They were one of the reasons she’d majored in art history in college. But she knew Hunter appreciated them as well. And if he helped her save the rest, she’d be happy.

  Happy.

  It was a word with a wispy definition. One you could never quite grasp. She didn’t know why her father had done this to her, but she suspected his lawyer knew. After he’d read the will, the elderly man had patted her on the shoulder and said she would understand in time.

  She understood only that she couldn’t lose her past, her roots, her last memories of both her parents. If she had reminders of them, she could hold on to those memories more securely.

  As the elevator ascended to the twentieth floor, Eve straightened her short turquoise jacket, brushing a piece of lint from the matching linen dress underneath. Her stomach had been topsy-turvy all day, and she reminded herself that she was scared. What if Hunter said no? What if Hunter said yes?

  Taking a deep calming breath, she stepped out of the elevator when it stopped and pressed the bell on Hunter’s doorjamb. She was fifteen minutes early. The door didn’t open immediately and Eve wondered if Hunter had gotten tied up at his office, if he’d tried to reach her and she hadn’t gotten the message.

  After what seemed like an interminable wait, Hunter opened the door and a soft gasp escaped her lips. He was wearing black jogging shorts and running shoes and nothing else. The breadth of his shoulders, all of that tanned, taut skin, the black curling hair running down the center of his chest, made her breathless and she couldn’t seem to find her voice.

  “You’re early,” he said, neither critically nor enthusiastically. “I was hoping to finish my workout before you arrived. Come on in. I’ll get a quick shower, then we can talk.”

  When he dropped back a pace so she could enter, their gazes locked. There was an electric awareness there. They’d once made passionate love, and the images shimmered between them like tangible ghosts. Hunter’s scent was like an intoxicating wave, and the virile power of his body beckoned to her.

  Breaking eye contact, she moved into his apartment.

  Forcing herself to concentrate on her surroundings, she found sleek dark pine, brass, navy-and-green plaids on the sofa and a comfortable-looking armchair. Deep green draped the windows, framing the magnificent view of the city. The carpet was also deep green with flecks of navy. Lights from other buildings twinkled in the April dusk and Eve supposed that at night the view was as impressive as the New York skyline.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” Hunter said politely. “I’ll only be ten minutes.”

  Then he disappeared down a hall, and a few moments later she heard a shower running. Imagining his hair slick and wet, his body naked… Shaking the image away, she crossed to the entertainment center and studied his collection of CD’s, remembering he liked the sultry sound of jazz. They’d gone to a jazz club in Savannah one night.

  Less than ten minutes later, Hunter returned to the living room wearing a tan polo shirt and khaki slacks with loafers. Even though he was dressed now, he was still disturbingly male.

  Approaching her, he stopped only a few inches away. “You know, don’t you, that if I consent to this marriage, it will be everything your father didn’t want for you. He wanted a man with a pedigree. I don’t have one. Worse than that, I was probably a bastard. No father was named on my birth certificate. You come from a line of blue bloods. All I have from whoever my ancestors were is the Coleburn name.”

  There was pain in Hunter’s eyes as he admitted what he saw as truth.

  “I don’t care about any of that,” she responded with certainty.

  “No, what you care about is finally rebelling against your father and not losing your inheritance.”

  “I’m not rebelling.”

  “Then why not choose a man from your father’s country-club set?” Hunter fired back.

  “Because I don’t know any of them.” The word know as it was defined in the biblical sense rang between them.

  His brows rose as if he didn’t believe her. “Who escorted you to your father’s parties, to the theater, to the doings at the ‘club’?”

  When she was nineteen, all of those things were part of her life. Since Hunter and her miscarriage, she’d cut them out. “Father didn’t entertain much the past few years. I’ve spent my time working at a museum and helping in the pediatrics ward at the hospital.” Hunter’s blue gaze was so penetrating she thought he might be able to see the corner of her heart where she’d secreted away her feelings for him.

  “Before I give you an answer to the question you posed yesterday, you’ll have to consent to an experiment.”

  She took a shallow breath. “What kind of experiment?”

  His voice went low as he murmured, “This.” His arms surrounded her and before she could blink, he’d set his lips on hers.

  Magic.

  Hunter Coleburn’s kiss was as magical and fantastic as she’d remembered it. His lips were firm and hot…so expert…so coaxing. Chaste pressure gave way to his tongue parting her lips. He swept her into erotic sensations with a stroke and a thrust and a thorough exploration that sent flashes of heat throughout her body. She couldn’t think. She could only feel…and want…and remember.

  As abruptly as he’d begun the kiss, he ended it and stepped back.

  Opening her eyes, she found her balance on her high heels and clasped her hands in front of her to still their trembling.

  “If I consent to marry you, I have a few conditions,” he stated as if the kiss had never happened.

  Finding her voice, she asked, “And they are…?”

  “We would have a real marriage and live in Denver.”

  A r
eal marriage. To him that meant… From the look in his eyes she knew what that meant—sharing a bed. And if she moved to Denver, she’d have to sell her family home. But if she didn’t marry Hunter, it would be sold anyway.

  “And I’d like to start a family as soon as possible,” he added.

  He wanted a family. That thought made her heart swell with an ache that had been there since her miscarriage. She should tell him about the pregnancy and miscarriage, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she felt some emotional connection to him again. Before she’d come to Denver, she’d had a thorough checkup with the doctor who had treated her after she’d lost their baby. As he had five years ago, he’d told her once more that there was no reason she couldn’t get pregnant again and have healthy children.

  Hunter’s jaw had set firmly as she thought about his conditions, and his voice was almost bitter now as he studied her. “I know you’re not an impulsive woman, Eve. If you need to think about it—”

  Once before she’d had too many doubts, and her confusion had cost her a life with Hunter. She’d come to him, and she wasn’t going to hesitate this time. She was going to take a risk.

  “I don’t need to think about it. I accept your conditions.” Was that relief in his eyes? Maybe something more?

  “Well, then,” he concluded, “why don’t we move you in tonight?”

  Chapter Two

  “You want me to move in tonight?” Eve asked, stunned.

  “Is there any reason why you shouldn’t?”

  Hunter himself had been surprised when he’d said the words. Yet if he and Eve were going to get married, they might as well get used to being around each other. As he’d thought about the idea of marriage and having a family of his own, accepting her proposal had made more and more sense. Along with the desire that ran rampant whenever he was in the same room with her was the sense of completing something that had never been finished.

  “Do you expect me to…?” She stopped, her cheeks reddening. “I mean, where will I stay?”

  “I have a guest room. As I said, I want this to be a real marriage. But we can wait till our wedding night to consummate it.”

  She didn’t seem to know what to say to that. She looked nineteen again, unsure, and he wondered if she regretted ever coming to him.

  “Having second thoughts?” he had to ask. Maybe he shouldn’t have made his acceptance sound so cut-and-dried. But looking at her, still wanting her with the fiery need he’d experienced five years ago, he realized the pain of her refusal had never diminished. He wouldn’t let himself step into the quicksand of caring too much again.

  “No, I’m not having second thoughts. I just…I guess I didn’t expect things to happen so fast. I thought we might take some time to get to know each other again.”

  “I knew you once, Eve, and I don’t think people change that much in the course of a lifetime. If you intend to marry to resolve your legal tangle, then it’s best we don’t wait.”

  She looked as if she was debating with herself. “I have to return to Savannah to sort through my father’s belongings and put the house on the market.”

  He remembered how she’d loved that house, how tradition and roots were as important to her as they were to her father. Selling her family home was going to be difficult for her. “My schedule’s flexible for the next few weeks. Let’s go pick up your things, then we can discuss how we want to go about the arrangements.”

  “I only have a suitcase and a garment bag, Hunter. I can get them myself.”

  In spite of what he believed about people changing, he could see some differences in Eve. She was still a Southern beauty, but she wasn’t a protected, sheltered young woman any longer. She’d always had spirit, but now it shone more clearly in her beautiful gray eyes. “All right. While you’re gone, I’ll call my real estate agent and ask her to fax me some listings.”

  “Listings?”

  “Sure. The city’s been fine, but I’ve been thinking about buying a house.”

  “Maybe you should wait.”

  “Until…?”

  Her hands floated in front of her. “At least until after we’re married.”

  “It won’t hurt to look. It might take us a while to find what we want.”

  He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off hers, and the desire to pull her into his arms again was so strong he could taste it. But he remembered her doubts so many years ago, her refusal to marry him and build a life with him. She’d proposed a business arrangement to secure her inheritance. Marrying him was simply a means to an end. He’d better remember that.

  Moving away from her, he went to the phone on the table beside the sofa. “I’ll call Fred and tell him to give you a permanent key to the penthouse when you come back with your bags. He’ll have someone waiting at the curb to help you with them.”

  She looked as if she wanted to protest, but she didn’t. Instead, she picked up her purse lying on the coffee table and went to the door. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

  He nodded.

  When the door closed behind her, he raked his hand through his hair. He’d put at least twenty-four hours of analysis into this decision.

  It was the right one.

  Hunter called his real estate agent. She told him she’d gather information on listings tonight and fax them in the morning.

  Then he paced.

  What if Eve changed her mind? Even though this was her idea, she might not have thought about all the repercussions. And with his conditions… Dammit, he wanted a family, a family where he truly belonged.

  When he and Slade had reunited, he’d known he’d found a true bond. But after wandering for most of his life, Slade had found a home on a ranch in Montana with Emily, her son, Mark, and her newborn daughter, Amanda. When Hunter had flown out for Slade and Emily’s wedding, he had seen Slade with Mark and realized how much he wanted children of his own. Any child of his would know he was special. He’d always know he was cherished. He would always know he belonged.

  Crossing to the windows, Hunter looked down on the city, now almost dark. Eve had come to him with a business arrangement. Why him? Why hadn’t she married Jerry Livingston, a man handpicked by her father? Livingston had been one of the main reasons she’d refused Hunter.

  A corporate attorney himself, Emory Ruskin had summoned Hunter, a specialist in international law, to his home in Savannah to deal with a client who wanted to buy a German-based business. Ruskin had hired Hunter only because he was less expensive than well-known firms who provided the same service.

  One evening after Hunter had been out with Eve, Ruskin had called him to his den. Once there, in no uncertain terms he’d told Hunter that he’d be announcing his daughter’s engagement to Livingston at Christmas, and she’d have everything he dreamed of for her. He’d planned his daughter’s life, and he didn’t want anyone tampering with those plans. Eve would show Hunter around the city, but if he had anything else in mind, he should get it out of his head.

  Hunter had never liked taking orders or accepting ultimatums, and after he and Eve couldn’t contain their desire and had made love, he’d asked her to fly away with him and marry him. But she’d been trained by her father and trained well. Emory Ruskin had set her course and her dreams for her, and she hadn’t been strong enough or cared enough to break free of the tentacles that bound her.

  Over the years, Hunter had tried to put her out of his head. He’d dated plenty of women, as well as bedded them, but he’d never gotten Eve out of his system. His experimental kiss had proved all the fire was still there. Now, besides the fire and physical satisfaction, he’d have the hope of children.

  He was still staring out the window when his doorbell rang. Opening his door, he found Eve and a young man who did odd jobs around the building. He motioned them inside. “Did Fred give you the key?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Then you don’t have to ring the bell.” He motioned to the young man. “You can put the bags in here.” After t
ipping the boy handsomely, he found Eve standing at the windows, looking out.

  “This is a wonderful view,” she said softly. “Are you sure you want to give it up?”

  “I’m ready to trade the sky and city lights for the sky and trees and space.”

  He thought about joining her at the windows, but he knew if he did, the twinkling lights and dark sky might create an intimacy she wasn’t ready for. Maybe he wasn’t, either. So he gestured to the sofa. “Let’s talk about the wedding. I’d like to get married here in Denver. Is that a problem?”

  He waited until she came over and sat, then he lowered himself beside her.

  “It’s not a problem. I don’t have any relatives in Savannah, just a few friends.”

  “A few?” Again he remembered Ruskin’s circle…the calls Eve had taken while he’d stayed at the house. She’d been a social butterfly.

  “Yes, a few. But I can see them when I return to Savannah. I know your family is here.”

  “Would you like to use a justice of the peace or a minister?” Hunter asked.

  “I know it’s short notice, but I’d prefer a minister and a church.”

  He tilted his head and studied her. A minister would mean she would be taking their ceremony seriously. “I’ll see what I can do. I’d like to keep it small. There are a few friends and colleagues besides family I should invite. We’ll have a reception afterward.”

  “Can that be arranged so quickly?” she asked.

  “Anything can be arranged if you know the right people.”

  “Hunter, about the expenses. My inheritance is tied up until after we marry. I’ll be glad to compensate you for half of everything then.”

  “Your inheritance is your money, Eve. I don’t need it or want it. I’ll take care of the wedding and the reception. We can fly to Savannah afterward. Do you think a week will be enough there?”

  “If it’s not and you need to return to Denver, I can stay longer.”

  He frowned, thinking of the next few weeks and the basis he’d be laying for their marriage. “Then we’d better look for a house in the next few days. Can you think of anything we haven’t covered?”