The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (36 page)

“The one who left him at the altar?”

Kaya did a double take. “Adam told you about
her?”

With her finger, Tashi made little circles in
the condensation on the side of her glass. “Just that he was left
standing at the altar. He didn’t mention her name.”

Michelle combed her red-tipped fingers
through her short crop of black hair. “That’s because her name is
not worth mentioning. But yes, that was her.”

“You must tell Adam that she approached you,”
Kaya said, her face clouding with uneasiness. “You don’t want her
to become another Victoria.”

The looks the women exchanged sent disturbing
quakes rumbling through Tashi. “Who’s Victoria?” she asked
Kaya.

“A woman from Bryce’s past,” she answered in
a dismal voice. She placed a hand on Tashi’s arm. “I don’t want to
spoil our appetites by talking about her. Just promise you’ll let
Adam know about your encounter with Claire.”

“Okay. I’ll tell him,” Tashi promised even
though her mind was congested with confusion and questions.

“How did Claire know who you were, anyway?”
Shaina asked. “As far as I know the news of your marriage hasn’t
hit the local media yet.”

“She heard it from her sister who was at
Little Erik’s birthday party on Saturday.”

“Remind me to cross Penelope Forsythe off my
list of invitees,” Michelle said. “Why did she approach you? What
did she want?”

“She wanted to know if Adam has told me that
he loves me.” Tashi’s voice dropped in volume and so did her gaze
as three pairs of eyes pierced her. “A weird question, I know.”

“Has he?” Kaya’s tone was rife with
interest.

“No. It’s not that kind of marriage.” Tashi
felt as if she could be truthful with these women. It was part of
learning to make herself vulnerable to people she felt cared about
her. They’d earned her trust after the way they just chased off
Claire, her new nemesis. She would take a thousand Claires over one
vicious mobster any day.

“And what is
that
kind of marriage?”
Shaina, who was sitting directly across from Tashi, placed her
elbows on the table and made a bridge with her hands to support her
chin.

Tashi shrugged. “We didn’t marry for love. He
married me to—” Tashi stopped in midsentence. She’d given Adam
permission to talk to the men about New York and Agent Dawson, but
he’d warned her not to say anything to the ladies about that night
or about her bodyguards. The less they knew, the safer they would
all be. She shrugged again. “It’s a temporary marriage. He’s
helping me with something. That’s why he isn’t wearing a wedding
ring.” Her last statement was a half-truth.

The women laughed and high-fived each other
like high school girls at a lunch table.

“Why is it so funny?” Tashi frowned at
them.

Kaya threw her arm around her shoulders.
“We’re not laughing at you, Tashi, but ever since we met you, we
were wondering what adjective bride you were.”

“Adjective bride? What do you mean?”

Michelle reached over and picked up Tashi’s
glass. “May I?”

“Go ahead.”

Michelle took a few sips, passed it to Shania
for her sips, who passed it to Kaya for hers, who placed it back in
front of Tashi. Tashi took the last sip, then refilled the glass,
emptying the bottle. She loved having friends to share things with,
even simple things like a glass of sparkling water.

“It’s like this,” Michelle said, finally.
“None of our husbands married us for love.”

“Well, that’s what they thought.” Shaina
stroked her long black hair and tucked some strands behind her
ears.

“No, it’s what they told us,” Kaya corrected
her.

Michelle cleared her throat. “I was Erik’s
Secret Bride.”

“Bryce’s Reluctant Bride.” Kaya raised her
hand.

“Massimo’s Fugitive Bride,” Shaina finished
with an animated grin. “We’ll explain the adjectives later,” she
added as if reading Tashi’s next question.

“Then I guess I’m Adam’s Temporary Bride.”
Tashi chuckled along with the ladies, finally comprehending the
source of their humor.

From the corners of her eyes, Tashi noticed
the family of four on her right vacating their table, and just as
quickly as she’d grabbed this one, two women who looked to be in
their mid-thirties slid into the chairs while the busboy cleaned it
off. One of the women gave her a flash of white teeth—somewhere
between a fake smile and a leer.

“I would go out on a limb and guess that
these ladies are your friends.” Gina’s voice drew Tashi’s attention
back to her table. “I mean, you guys are laughing and everything,
not like the one who left.”

She glanced up at the girl. “Yes, Gina. These
ladies are my friends, and they’re staying.”

“Oh, thank God.” Gina pulled her pad from her
apron pocket. “Have you had a chance to look at the menus yet?”

“We’re regulars,” Kaya informed her.

“And unfortunately, I’m new. This is my third
day.”

“You’re doing fine,” Michelle assured her.
“We’ll make it easy for you since we already know what we want.
We’ll start out with sparkling water like our
friend
.” She
gave Tashi a wide grin of camaraderie.

They made their orders and as soon as the
waitress left, Kaya said, “There’s nothing temporary about your
marriage to Adam, Tashi. If he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t have
married you.”

“But he hasn’t told me. It’s like Claire
said.” Tashi kept her voice low, hoping her neighbors didn’t hear
her statement over the music.

Shaina reached across the table and patted
Tashi’s hand. “As
we
said, none of our husbands married us
for love. They’re unconventional men, who marry unconventional
women for unconventional reasons. But deep down inside, they know
it’s for love and they know it’s forever when they’re exchanging
their vows.”

“He was about to exchange vows with Claire,
ten years ago. He apparently loved her. The fact that she’s the one
who called it off suggests that he didn’t think marrying her at the
time was a mistake.”

Tashi had to think logically, now that her
friends had shed light on her husband’s possible state of mind when
he entered this temporary marriage with her. He’d told Tashi that
he felt lucky Claire had jilted him, but what if she wanted him
back? Is that why Kaya had given her that morbid warning? Had
Victoria tried to steal Bryce back from her? With worrying about
people trying to kill her, the last thing Tashi needed was Adam’s
jealous ex breathing down her neck. Kaya was right to suggest that
she let Adam know about Claire. But what if he thought she was the
jealous one who couldn’t deal with the women from his past?

Gina brought out three bottles of sparkling
water and glasses of ice. She promised that their orders would be
out shortly, before she moved on to the neighboring table. Tashi
felt uneasy about the women, but since they seemed to be ignoring
her, she pushed her misgivings aside. She’d been living in paranoia
way too long.
I’m safe with Adam
, she told herself.

“From what Massimo told me, it was Uncle
Alessandro who was pressuring Adam back then.” Shaina resumed the
conversation. “He wanted grandchildren. He didn’t care if his son
was miserable. Adam was young and malleable ten years ago, and he
was willing to sacrifice his happiness to make his father happy.
Believe me, if he loved Claire, she would be sitting where you’re
sitting right now.”

“And what a catastrophe that would have
been.” Kaya wrinkled her nose and shook her head, causing her long
brown curls to sweep back and forth across her bare shoulders.

“Can you imagine us suffering through lunch,
and playtime, and our once-a-month get-together with her?” Shaina
shivered as if she’d walked into a blast of frigid air.

One thing that was explicitly clear to Tashi
was that these women did not like Claire.

“She would not have lasted that long.”
Michelle spoke with dazzling firmness as she smiled at Tashi.
“Bottom line is, if Adam didn’t love you and intend to make your
marriage permanent, you wouldn’t be sitting here with us.”

“She’s right,” Shaina concurred. “So, please
put Claire Forsythe, and
temporary
out of your mind, cousin.
You’re here to stay.”

Shaina’s words perked up Tashi’s spirit.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll forget about Claire. On a different note, I
propose a toast to new friends and family.”

They picked up their glasses, and Michelle
said, “To friendship, and love, and children. Speaking of which—”
She ruffled her lips. “I’m pregnant again.”

“Michelle! Both Shaina and Kaya screamed.
Shaina threw her arms about her, and Kaya rushed around the table
to hug her.

Tashi felt a deep pang in the core of her
womb. Thankfully, her moan was lost in the joyful screams. “How far
along are you?” she asked Michelle, wondering if their babies would
be born around the same time. She had no proof, yet, but deep in
her heart and her soul, she just knew she was pregnant with Adam’s
baby.

“Just a month. I promised Erik seven
children, and he means to pull every one of them out of me.” She
chuckled. “Actually, I love it. I love being pregnant. I love the
thought of a new life growing inside me. And pregnant sex is so
awesome, especially in the last trimester.”

“I know, girl. It’s like your body comes
alive at the slightest touch, and you become this quivering ball of
nerves.” Kaya’s eyes turned a deeper shade of brown as she
obviously reminisced about making love with her husband.

“It’s not just that.” Shaina’s eyes sparkled
with intimate memories. “When I was pregnant with Aria, Massimo’s
lovemaking became so intense that it scared me at times. It was as
if he was trying to touch his child inside me. My God, it was so
thrilling. And I swear, since we got the okay to start making love
again, it’s been better than before. But,” she added, “I’m not
ready to have another baby. Mass and I want to devote quality time
to Aria before she has to share us with a sibling. Maybe in a
couple years.”

“Same here. My twins are only seventeen
months, and between them and my nephew and nieces, it will be a
couple years before Bryce and I even think about making another
baby.” Kaya turned to Tashi. “What about you and Adam? Are you guys
planning on starting a family anytime soon?”

Tashi felt a fluttering in her belly, but she
fought the urge to rub it. “Well, Adam and I just got married, and
we haven’t discussed children.” Which wasn’t really a lie. They’d
discussed birth control, but not children.

“Are you using protection?” Michelle asked
quite bluntly.

“No.”

“Then you’ve discussed it. You might be
pregnant already. You know they have tests that will tell you as
early as a week after conception.”

“They do? I thought you had to wait to miss
your period.”

“No, girl. How early will you know?”

Tashi puckered her lips. “Well, I had my
period about two weeks ago, and we made love on Friday for the
first time, so maybe by the end of this week. Friday or Saturday, I
guess.”

“I’ll give you Dr. Welsh’s contact info.
She’s Erik’s partner. She’s great. She delivered Kaya’s twins, and
Aria. You’ll love her,” Shaina promised.

“Okay, thank you.” Tashi’s heart beat with
anticipation as she pictured the look on Adam’s face when she told
him she was going to have his baby. She hoped it would be a look of
pure joy, and not disdain.
Did you trap him by getting
pregnant
? Claire’s insolent question rang in her head, but she
forced it away. Adam had already admitted that he didn’t regret
them not using protection before their marriage, and he hadn’t
suggested that they start after it.
So there
.

“Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could all get
pregnant at the same time and drive our husbands crazy when they
have to deal with our mood swings and our bizarre cravings?” Kaya
asked.

Shaina laughed. “They wouldn’t have each
other to complain to because they’d all be going through the same
crap at the same time.”

“I like that,” Michelle said. “It’s
definitely something we should aim for in a few years. “I’ll
probably be on baby number four by then.”

They agreed, and toasted their plan, and then
their orders arrived. As they ate their gourmet salads and grilled
seafood and pasta dishes, Tashi learned a lot more about her new
family and friends. Bryce and Kaya had recently moved into their
new estate on Mount Reservoir, just a few acres away from the
Andreas Estate. In fact, they were all living on the mountain now,
while Erik and Bryce’s parents had, respectively, taken up
residence in the lake houses their children had vacated.

She also learned about the stories behind
each bride’s ‘adjectives’. Shaina’s, she thought, was downright
hilarious, especially because of Massimo’s past reputation with
women. Tashi felt even closer to Shaina when she learned they’d
both lived in New York around the same time.

She also learned about Michelle’s career as a
New York Times
bestselling author, her charity—Children of
the Future Foundation—a home that took in disadvantaged children
and that had recently opened up in the neighboring town of
Evergreen. Michelle managed the organization of her foundation.
Kaya, an interior decorator, had designed the interior. Also a
gourmet cook, she managed the kitchen staff that prepared three
free meals a day. Shaina, a math teacher, facilitated a free
tutoring service to anyone who came through the doors. Upon hearing
that Tashi studied photography, they asked for her assistance with
photos for local, national, and international media.

When they asked about her past and how she
ended up in Granite Falls, she told them half the truth: that she
was from Ohio, had gone to study photography in New York and that
she’d come to Granite Falls on the suggestions of a friend to
photograph the beautiful landscapes since nature was her focus in
college. She told them how she and Adam met at Mountainview Café,
and the night he crept through her bedroom window to rescue her,
then took her back to Andreas Estate to take care of her. And now
that she had Adam, and new friends, she had reasons to stay.