A Wife by Accident (6 page)

•

Gary heard her voice and stepped from his bedroom and walked toward the hall. He was just getting ready to take a shower and was still grinning because of the plush towels and new supply of toiletries he’d found in his bathroom. He’d mostly made due with his collection of miniature samples from hotels ever since the house’s construction had wrapped up.

“I’m right here,” he called out as he rounded the corner. Gary stood only a few feet away from her and ran his fingers through his hair.

Hayely
said quietly, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She glanced down at the bar of bay rum soap in his hand. “Glad you found things. I didn’t know which cabinet to put them in.”

Gary felt himself smile again. “Why, Mrs. Tarleton, I had no idea you’d gone so far above and beyond the call of duty,” he murmured. “Fancy soaps even.”

“I’m just earning my bonus.”

“The cooking alone would have done that.”

“I cook because I enjoy it.”

“Not because I do?” A smile played at the corner of his lips.

“It’s a side-effect that couldn’t be helped.”
Hayely
smiled.
Or at least threatened to.

“If you’re wondering,” Gary said, “I hope I’m keeping up my end of the bargain, too. I’ve been pleased—more than pleased with how you’ve held up yours. You’ve proven yourself to be an intelligent, attractive woman. You had a talent or two hidden away that I hadn’t suspected and—I’m trying to say you’re an asset.”

A furrow crossed
Hayely’s
brow and as such an “attractive woman” he worried she might make a snappy comeback about sexual harassment in the workplace. She looked with widened eyes at the man in front of her.

“You said I’ve ‘proven’ myself. But what was your first impression of me, Gary? I want the honest truth. Did you think I looked frumpy?
Unattractive?
Dimwitted?”

Gary’s low laughter subsided into a chuckle as he ran his hand along his chin. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’ve never seen any woman less frumpy. The day we met I wasn’t thinking of anything other than a means to an end. It’s inexcusable. I apologize.”

Hayely’s
hand fluttered to her mouth. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I don’t know why I even let myself ask that. I shouldn’t have. Bottled insecurities tend to push their container’s cork skyrocketing at the strangest times.”

Gary studied her eyes, full of a subsiding emotion that looked like splinters of crystal. He thought strangely about reaching out to smooth back her hair,
then
thought the better of it. She might take it the wrong way. There would be no right way to take it.

“It must have been bothering you,” he said at length. “Whoever gave you the idea you were unattractive?”

“Something petty I overheard today. And all the things you said that day I ran into you.”

“As I said, my mind was on my problems that day. Did I mention I’m often stupid and inept around women?” he asked with a low chuckle.

“This is a really inappropriate conversation,”
Hayely
said with a start. “I think being in this house together makes things seem more casual than they are sometimes.”

Gary nodded. “I’m sure that’s it. But before we go back to strictly business, let me say this.
Hayely
, you look like a modern-day 1940s movie star without the ego. The way you dress, the way you carry yourself.” He paused and looked at her expression closely. “That’s all.”

“I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better.” She closed her eyes as if some great tragedy had befallen her and then quickly opened them again.

“Don’t mention it.” Gary cleared his throat. “Now what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to ask about my room. You can move my things into whichever one you like. I have to tell you I’m hoping for one with a fireplace and a nice view of the grounds, though. Since I’ve got to live here, might as well make it good.”

“You’re not going to fight me on this?” he asked.

“What would be the point? You’re the boss.”

Gary watched until she disappeared down the winding staircase, her stocking feet making no noise at all. He shook his head silently.

He’d avoided complications that might interfere with his focus on the company like a contagious disease all his life. So how was it that he suddenly had a shopping, decorating, cooking, laughing woman living in his home? How was it that he’d become so bent on keeping a childhood promise that he’d blocked everything else from his mind? Still, he had to go through with the plan. He hoped
Hayely
understood and didn’t loathe him for it.

“You’re getting soft, Tarleton,” he said to himself before he turned to go take that shower.

Chapter Four

Hayely
had never considered it possible that she could be more miserable outside her father’s house than in it. In the span of a month, she’d turned her life into a giant disaster and didn’t know exactly how to go about correcting the situation.

She thought she might even be missing Gary some—probably caving in under the stress at work and the sheer emptiness of the big stone house while he was away. Charlie stopped by to check on her from time to time, but after a full week and then two had passed, she found herself straining her neck toward the door at every sound.

Soon after Gary had gone out of town, the much-anticipated shipment of furniture had arrived all the way from Vermont and
Hayely
couldn’t wait to show it off.

The den looked like something from a hundred years ago with its heavy mahogany wood and rich brown leather. The desk and chair she’d chosen for Gary simply oozed understated power. A rug twisted with muted colors rested between the furniture legs and the hardwood floor below. With a painting of the English countryside she’d particularly liked and a plant or two,
Hayely
called that room complete and moved her efforts fully to the master bedroom.

When Gary returned he would find a giant bed with four posts carved of mahogany in the same style as his desk downstairs in the den. Those gauzy, cream-colored curtains she’d envisioned were in place, as was the rest of the bedroom furniture. She even painted the walls a dark cream and hung a large, medieval-looking tapestry full of reds and blues against one of them as a finishing touch.

Then her attention turned toward her own room. Why the movers had instructed her things delivered to the bedroom next to Gary’s was beyond her. Surely he wouldn’t have requested such an arrangement, but then, it was the second largest bedroom. The location was probably her fault—she realized it when she walked into the room. There in the corner was her own stone fireplace, just as she’d requested.

As night fell, she started a small fire and curled up in front of the hearth with a book. She pulled her comforter off the bed and smoothed it out underneath her for some cushioning. Some thick, plush carpeting was definitely in order.

Hayely’s
mind wandered from the novel in her hand as she stared off into the hypnotic flames. What would she do with herself in just five months? If office work wasn’t her calling, then what was? The only time she was truly content was when she was working in this house for Gary. But that would all end soon—too soon. Six months rang out like a harsh jail sentence at first, but now she almost dreaded the end of that time.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts and so very tired from the day’s work that she didn’t hear the sound of a car arriving in the winding driveway outside.

•

The yellow cab slipped through the rain and turned its wheels against the circular curb near the front door. Gary stepped out of the taxi, tipped the driver and pulled his luggage inside. From the silence that met him, he assumed Charlie had returned to his own house and
Hayely
was probably asleep upstairs.

“Anybody home?”
He kept his voice low just in case.

Charlie rose from the kitchen table as his boss entered the room. “Good trip?”

Gary nodded and looked around the transformed kitchen and out into the formal dining room. “You really ought to just move in, too. You practically live here anyway.” He paused and took in the changes around him. “She’s made quite a bit of progress, hasn’t she?”

Charlie nodded in return. “So what did Mr.
Bellmark
have to say?”

“He nearly confirmed that the children’s home is up for sale. He has plans for it, but he hasn’t confided in me what they are. It’s hard to believe that the time has come already. Did you know he’s almost eighty-years-old now?”

Charlie shook his head. “I haven’t seen him in years. Seems like a lifetime ago. Any luck convincing him to let you buy it from him?”

Gary chuckled low in his throat. “I don’t think he believed me when I told him I wasn’t going to let anyone bulldoze the place.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. You were just ten years old then.”

Gary gave Charlie a surly look that told him he couldn’t comprehend why his being a boy at the time should make a hair of difference.

Charlie smiled, stretching a few freckles across his cheeks. “Ah, I forget the great Gary Tarleton was never a mere boy.”

“Absolutely right.”
Gary thrust his hands into his pockets. “But the stubborn old guy is staying true to his word, too. He says he’d rather see it demolished than let someone disreputable get his hands on it.”

“Did you tell him about
Hayely
?”

“Of course.
I made it a casual, personal visit. But Charlie, we’re not even close to convincing him. You know, I didn’t even have a picture of my own wife in my wallet to show him when he asked.”

“This is getting complicated.”

Gary ran his hand along a new five o’clock shadow. What he wanted of
Hayely
had ballooned far above his original intentions. There was no way they could hide their marriage from the public and make it convincing at the same time. Even a media campaign would be to his advantage. If he’d had a real wedding, he’d bet photographers would have been all over it. But whatever benefited him would probably hurt
Hayely
more, and after hearing what she’d said in the kitchen, he didn’t want to make things worse if he could help it.

Gary smiled to himself. “I’ve got an assignment for you tomorrow, Charlie.”

“Just say the word.”

“I want you to go out and buy a black—no,
a silver
BMW. Get one of those really expensive retro-designed models with the red leather interior. If I know her taste, she’ll like that.”

“It’s for
Hayely
? You like her, I think.” Charlie grinned broadly.

“I couldn’t stand to have a good employee seen in that mess, much less one who’s supposed to be my wife. When I pulled into the driveway and saw her car parked there—the bumper is falling off, she’s got the hood held down with a piece of wire, and every time she drives off to work it takes ten minutes for the exhaust cloud to leave. And did you see the patch of rust holding the trunk on? It’s not even safe.”

“So, in other words, you like her,” he pressed.

Gary sighed.
“Yeah.
She’s a good person.”

“You’re married to her. It wouldn’t be all that hard to make the relationship—”

“Don’t push your luck, Charlie.” He shot his friend what was supposed to be a quelling look. “I’m off to bed.”

Gary walked up the stairs, clunk after clunk. He’d forgotten to take his shoes off in the foyer and his boots weighed heavily with every step. Charlie was really rotten for bringing up the subject. The more he got to know
Hayely
, the guiltier he felt about their contract. And now Charlie had put ideas into head that had no business being there.

The door to her room was most of the way open in front of him, so he placed his hand flat against it and pushed it back farther.
Hayely
was stretched out on her side in front of the red glow of the dying embers covering the bottom of her fireplace. From the way her head was rested against one outstretched arm, Gary knew she’d fallen asleep.

Oh so quietly, he tugged another blanket off of her bed and stretched it out over her. As he tiptoed from the room, her drowsily slurred voice stopped him.

“You’re home,” she said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he answered softly.

Hayely
sat up underneath the blanket. “You don’t need to whisper. I’m already awake.”

Gary walked back to her and sat down with her on the floor. Her face, softened by sleep, was flushed from the heat of the fire and just looking at her stirred something protective inside him.

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes and no. I met with the man I told you about—Mr.
Bellmark
.”

“Ah.
The one holding the power over your promise.”

“That would be him, yes. I’m afraid our work might be for nothing. Our ruse isn’t fooling him a bit,” Gary said with a shake of his head.