A Wife by Accident (16 page)

An ache had begun in the center of her and she felt as if something vast had gone missing there. But that was ridiculous. If anything, she was closer to where she wanted to be than before,
wasn’t
she? Maybe she would miss what Gary and his home had come to symbolize for her. He represented all the possibilities of all the things she wanted. It would be natural to miss that influence when it was gone.

Mrs.
Bellmark
tucked the album under her arm and they all walked to the front door together. “It’s really been wonderful visiting with you,” she said warmly. “See you early tomorrow then?”

Hayely
nodded and responded with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Yes, tomorrow at the office.”

Mr.
Bellmark
shook Gary’s hand and gave
Hayely
a quick hug. “Take care of him,” he instructed and turned to Gary. “And you take care of her. She’s one of a kind.”

Mr.
Bellmark’s
kindness was nearly
Hayely’s
undoing. “Excuse me, but I just remembered something I have to check,” she said and turned to leave before the
Bellmarks
could see the tears that threatened. “See you tomorrow morning,” she called out.

Hayely
walked quickly from the foyer and headed for Gary’s den, the only room she could think of far enough away and insulated enough to hide the sound of her sobs from the departing guests. Suddenly and so unexpectedly, a wave of dark emotion nearly drowned her.
Babies?
She couldn’t think of starting a family, couldn’t consider the laughter of small children in the big house,
especially
couldn’t let herself imagine a child with Gary’s perfect cheekbones and her silver eyes. She wasn’t acting any better than a schoolgirl writing her boyfriend’s name after hers in her diary.

She was full of ridiculous thoughts. She and Gary weren’t even romantically involved. A family life like that might never be hers. She suddenly thought of her arrangement with Gary and regretted it bitterly as the tears started to flow in earnest. No love, no real job, no real life, she thought. It was as if everything she’d ever wanted was always an inch away from her fingertips and she could never cross that tiny distance to grasp it.

•

Following discretely behind after a few minutes, Gary stepped into his den and reached back to lock the door behind him without taking his eyes off
Hayely
. He’d sent the
Bellmarks
on their way out to spend the evening at one of those luxury hotels they’d seen in a brochure, but not before Gary knew they’d sensed
Hayely’s
distress.

“What’s going on? I can’t begin to understand what’s happening inside that head of yours. You haven’t acted the same for a couple days now.
Not since the Banquet for sure.”

Hayely’s
eyes glowed like hot mercury. “Why do you even care, Gary?
Really.
This is all just a big game to you anyway.”

He studied her distraught face for a moment. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“This arrangement.
This fake, hateful, horrible marriage.
I thought I was strong. I thought I could agree to your terms. But I’m not doing very well at being professional. My feelings get in the way and it’s terrible.”

Gary’s eyes swam with confusion. “You hate me. You regret marrying me,” he stated flatly.

Of course she did, he thought. How could he have expected her to completely brush aside the way he’d forced her to marry him in the first place? He’d planned on talking to her ever since that look passed between them at the Banquet. He’d thought he’d sensed the spark of something real. But mostly it seemed he’d been a fool to think he could overcome such a bad start in so little time.

“No, you big burly—architect,” she spat when no insult would come quickly enough to mind. “What I regret,” she said miserably, “is that I’m just a six-month convenience you’re getting too used to, that’s all.”

“Just a convenience?”
At least she didn’t say she hated him. There was a chance still. Gary wanted to tell her that the agreement they’d signed was meaning less to him by the day and she was meaning more. How much more, he didn’t know. But he wanted to find out.

And
Hayely
wanted to ask him if he had any idea how painful it is pretending for the entire world that she had something she didn’t.

Instead they stood silently looking at one another.

“You just don’t understand,” she said.

Gary gathered
Hayely
into his arms. He was at a loss where such emotion was concerned, when a woman cried as if her heart were snapping in half. The time had come. He had to make sure she understood how he felt about her, make it clear how unbelievably stunning she had grown in his eyes.

“
Hayely
, I have to tell you something.”

“I know. I’m terribly unprofessional. I’ve heard it before.” She sniffled against his sleeve and then straightened. “What?”

“I do understand. I want you to stay past the six months.”

Her silver eyes glimmered. “I’ve heard that song before, too.”

“Ah hell.”
Gary pulled her close up against his broad chest. “Just stay.”

Hayely
wiped the remaining tears away, her eyes still bright. “You like me.”

A touch of crimson stained his cheeks and he nodded.

“How much?” she asked.

With his hand resting gently on her cheek, he lowered his lips to hers. He caressed her softly at first and she gasped as his kiss invited her to open her heart to him.

Hayely
was energized beyond reason. Never, never in her controlled life had a man’s kiss sent her reeling into oblivion. She couldn’t even pull a coherent protest together.

She stood up on her toes to reach him and twined her hands into his hair. The thought that she was kissing Gary Tarleton, her boss, crossed her mind but she didn’t think to move away. She didn’t think at all with his lips pressed against hers.

•

Gary had been kissed by women, many women whose touches stopped him cold almost instantly. He’d sensed the greed, the ulterior motives in them. But all he felt in
Hayely’s
kiss was unbridled yearning. What he wouldn’t give to do more. But there were limits, and this was all too new. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss.

“Why, Mrs. Tarleton, I had no idea.” He put his hands around her waist and held her at arms’ length before she pulled loose and walked backward out of the room.
Smiling.

Chapter Eight

If Charlie thought Gary and
Hayely
had feelings for one another the day the photographer had come to the garden, it paled in comparison to what he saw when he went into work.

By the time Charlie walked in,
Hayely
had already dropped off a plate full of peanut butter cookies and brownies in the break room and taken an expedited tour of their corporate headquarters. She jumped shyly from her seat on the corner of Gary’s desk when Charlie opened the door.

“Hi,” she said. “We got here early today.”

Hayely
mentally gave herself a swift kick for stating the obvious out of embarrassment. Could anyone sense the change between them? She glanced quickly at Gary, scanning for some hint from him and couldn’t see anything specific that would give them away. She wasn’t sure what she was worried about. After all, it had only been a kiss.

Charlie looked at Gary, thinking that his friend had traveled back ten years into his youth overnight. “So I see.”

“Well,”
Hayely
pressed, “how was the big date with Carla?” She was caught between her own personal elation and wanting to hear his news.

Charlie smiled brightly, his eyes fairly glowing. “She’s really great. We had the best time together. So,” he said deliberately changing the subject, “what do you think of our humble workplace?”

“It’s huge. I’d imagined you and Gary sitting on cardboard boxes with plywood for desks. I thought I’d see nails all over the floors, hardhats on the walls and a telephone covered with greasy fingerprints.
Nothing like this.”

Charlie smiled. He still suspected that
Hayely
didn’t fully comprehend exactly who Gary was or the extent of his empire. How could she? She hadn’t been exposed fully to Gary’s world yet. Truth was
,
they had existed much the way she described when Gary first started the business a decade before. But as revenue crept up high into the millions and was now nearly past that, the headquarters had gradually transformed out of necessity into a shining, modern office building.

Gary rested his hand on
Hayely’s
knee as if it belonged there permanently. “We take up the biggest skyscraper in town now. It’s amazing. And you should see our other offices. I designed most of them myself and even helped build a couple of them with my own two hands. That’s the best. And that’s why Charlie here is so amazing. While I’m out playing in the dirt, he keeps things running right here. That’s a luxury few company owners can afford these days.”

Hayely
couldn’t imagine she had ever truly thought Charlie was just a personal assistant, because she was growing some suspicions after having looked at his big office. “What’s your title exactly?”

He ran a hand over his wayward red hair. “I guess it’s COO, if you want to get technical.”

Hayely
laughed. “Typical. I should know by now how you two downplay everything.”

The intercom on Gary’s desk buzzed an abrupt interruption. “I’ll be right out,” he answered into the phone and then announced, “The
Bellmarks
are in the reception area.”

Together the three of them strolled down the carpeted halls to greet the couple, dressed impeccably for the occasion. Gone were Mrs.
Bellmark’s
jeans and sweatshirt and in their place was a navy blue suit of obvious quality. Even Mr.
Bellmark
wore a suit and tie complete with polished black shoes instead of his brown cowboy boots.

“The only time we get to wear these monkey suits is when we visit an office or go to church,” they informed
Hayely
. “And today’s the day for business talk.”

With Gary’s fingers entwined in hers,
Hayely
took the lead on her second tour of the day. “Can you believe this?” She stopped and opened a door to the break room. “Gary even has a place where his employees can take naps at lunch.” The room next to the one that held all the coffee and doughnuts boasted a row of cots with heavy curtains that could be pulled around for privacy.

Charlie cleared his throat. “I think the benefits are more important than that even.
Full medical, dental, vision, three weeks of vacation per year.
Oh, and after every five years of service, Gary sends employees on a paid, three-month sabbatical.”

“Generous, my boy,” Mr.
Bellmark
acknowledged with a nod. “I’ve taught you well.” He gave a merry wink up at the much larger man.

Hayely
felt Gary tense slightly. She may have been mentally reliving the previous evening, but Mr.
Bellmark’s
answer about the boy’s home, she was certain, was the only thing on Gary’s mind at the moment.

Hayely
couldn’t resist, “He’s set up an intern program with scholarships for local kids, too. Ten students get a full ride each year if they’re lucky.” Gary’s grip on her fingers was nearly painful and she squeezed back to let him know it.

“They’re bragging,” Gary said quietly.

“It’s good that those around you show such love and loyalty. Even the receptionist sang your praises when we told her who we were. That tells me much about the man you’ve become,” Mr.
Bellmark
said as he patted Gary hard on the back. “I think we both know that Hilda and I aren’t here at your office to tour the break room pastry selection, though. Think we could go to your office and shut the door behind us for a little while?”

In silence, the five of them made their way down the hall back to Gary’s big corner office with its enormous glass view of the city stretched out far below. They gathered around a small, oval table and pulled their chairs up tightly against it. No one said a word until a young woman with a red suit and pleasant smile set a pitcher of water with several clear glasses on the table and closed the door with a click behind her. All at once, everyone around the table exhaled and sat up taller.

“I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just get straight to the point, my boy. I’m not going to sell you the children’s home.” Mr.
Bellmark
drew in a ragged breath and poured himself a shaky glass of water.

Hayely
watched Gary’s face as the words slowly registered their grim meaning. Though he didn’t move a muscle, it seemed to her that some spark of life drained from his expression. More even than her own hurt, she hated to sense his. Arrogance and unsociable behavior she could handle—but not Gary’s pain, never that. He didn’t deserve it.