Bachelor's Bought Bride (10 page)

Or at least she used to be.

Before dreams she’d never known she had all came true—and then fell apart within a week in the most cruel and hurtful way possible. Pain stabbed her chest, goading her into action.

She looked up from her sautéed shrimp. “Gavin, when exactly did you know you’d fallen in love with me?”

A tiny frown appeared on his forehead. “Hmm, what an interesting question.”

“Was it when you first saw me, in that frumpy gray dress with no makeup and my wild-haystack hair?” She maintained a pleasant expression. “When I was so nervous I could hardly speak?”

He cocked his head. “No, I don’t think it was right then.”

“So why did you ask me to dance?”

“Why not?”

“Well—” she swallowed “—it’s just that men usually only ask me to dance when they’re interested in my money.” She leveled a serious gaze at him. “I’m used to that. Somehow it all seemed different with you.”

“Because it was different with me. I’m attracted to you, not your wealth.” He took a sip of champagne. For a split second she thought she saw a flicker of unease cross his chiseled features. “I’m attracted to you for who you are.”

Hurt welled inside Bree. How could he maintain a pleasant expression while telling such outright lies?

“But you were more attracted to me once I…changed my image.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” A cute, rueful grin tugged at his
mouth. “Okay, maybe I would. You really are a knockout when you dress the part, Bree.”

“I know that now. Though I really should give Elle all the credit. She’s the one who transformed me from a frizzy-haired wallflower into the belle of the ball. Quite the fairy godmother, really. And I even got the handsome prince in the end, too.”

Gavin frowned. “Elle transformed you? What is she up to? Ever since Brock told me she’s the spy, I know there’s far more to her than meets the eye. You should be careful around her. Who knows what she was trying to get out of you. You didn’t give her any financial information, did you?”

“Of course not.”
No, we wouldn’t want her getting her hands on the money you want for yourself.
Tears welled inside her, but she held them back. Not yet. There’d be plenty of time for crying later. “But I did like her. And trust her. I’m a trusting person, or at least I used to be.” Her voice cracked.

“She’s broken your trust?”

Bree drew in a slow, steady breath. “Not her. Someone else.”

Gavin frowned. “Who?” He leaned forward. “Just tell me and I’ll go sort them out. I don’t want anyone hurting your feelings.” His gray eyes fixed on her face with probing intensity.

“You.”

The single word fell from her lips and hung in the air for a moment.

Gavin’s frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”

“No? Maybe you’d understand if I mentioned a certain number with six zeros.”

He put his fork down on the tablecloth, still staring straight at her, and shoved a hand through his dark hair.

“I overheard a message my father left on your machine, thanking you for taking me off his hands—for a sizeable price, of course, since obviously no one would want to be stuck with me for nothing.” Her voice rattled with the tears that wanted to come, but she forced herself to stay steady.

“He offered to help me start my own business. It’s a simple investment on his part.” He had the decency to look alarmed.

“Don’t lie to me.” She raised her voice. “I heard what he said. He was surprised you managed to seduce me into it so quickly. Usually I’m more sensible than that.” She pulled her wedding and engagement rings from her finger, struggling to get them over her knuckle. “I’ve had plenty of men sniffing around my money and pretending to like me, so usually I can spot them a mile off. You were different, though. Far better looking, for one thing.”

She took a final glance at his fine, handsome face. The kind of face she could have happily photographed and kissed for a lifetime—if it weren’t the face of a scheming traitor.

“I am different. I’m not interested in your money.”

“You took it, though, didn’t you?”

“Your father’s money.” His voice was gruff. “Yes, I took it. Because I wanted to start my own business. I’d been waiting a long time and suffered some financial setbacks that made it impossible until your father offered me the chance—”

“To take advantage of a going-out-of-business sale on his spinster daughter.” She blinked back tears. “Now
I know why you were in such a rush to get married. Why you didn’t want a long engagement with an announcement in the papers, or even a real wedding. None of that was important to you because it wasn’t about our marriage—or us—at all. It was all about money. Well, I’m not here to be given away, even with a million dollars.” Her voice rang out, shattering the hushed refinement of the exclusive restaurant as she rose to her feet and threw the rings at him. They bounced across the tablecloth and disappeared as her chair crashed to the wood floor.

She rushed for the door, bumping into a table on the way and almost dragging the tablecloth with her, unsteady in her high heels. Panting, tears now running down her cheeks, she shoved her way out the door and ran for the fire stairs, clattering down until she reached street level.

Gavin wasn’t behind her. Had she hoped he’d rush after her, try to convince her it was all a big mistake? She should have known better.

Their fairy-tale romance was a farce and the broken pieces of her dreams could never be put back together again.

It was almost completely dark when she reached the street, and she stayed in the shadows away from the streetlamps until she got to her car, parked two blocks away. Her hands shook as she fumbled in her bag for the keys, but Ali and Faith greeted her with mewing and purrs. “I’m here, ladies. We’re making our escape together.”

She settled into the cold leather seat and started the engine. Something tight gripped her heart as she pulled
out into the late rush-hour traffic and headed for the freeway.

It was over.

With any luck, she’d never see Gavin again. Maybe one day she’d even forget him.

No. She’d never forget him. How could she forget someone who had tricked her into pledging her whole life to him?

How could she forget the firm warmth of his arms around her? The powerful touch of his fingers on her skin, or the soft enticement of his kiss?

“Damn him!” She pounded her fist on the wheel. Why did he have to introduce her to pleasures she’d never dared hope for? He should pay for that.

He would. She knew he would. Even if there wasn’t a big scandal.

Her father would be sure to ask for the money back. He wasn’t going to pay a million dollars for a marriage that had lasted less than a month. Elliott Kincannon was far too shrewd an investor for that.

No. Gavin would have to pay it all back, his business would fold and soon he’d be begging Brock Maddox to take him back.

Guilt speared through her, and she cursed herself for it. Deep down she still wanted him to succeed and be happy. And why not? That’s the kind of sucker she was.

She let out a howl of anguish, spilling her pain into the night air.

What a fool she’d been, to think someone could love her for herself.

G
avin’s gaze followed the rings as they bounced across the tablecloth, onto the floor. Slightly dazed, he ducked down and groped on the floor to retrieve them. Bree’s angry words rattled in his skull.

Yes—there it was—the triple diamond his grandmother had left him. He palmed it and sat up, relieved.

“Bree—”

She’d gone. He scanned the room, but she seemed to have vanished into the understated decor. He stood, ring still clutched in his hand.

“Can I help you, sir?” A waiter hurried over.

“Where did she go?”

“Your companion?”

“Yes!” Glancing about, he saw only the faces of strangers.

“I’m afraid I didn’t see.” He leaned closer. “Perhaps she’s in the ladies’.”

Gavin frowned. “I don’t think so. I’d better pay the check.” Urgency prickled under his skin.

“The entrées won’t be a minute, sir.”

“No, but…I have to go.” People were staring. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three fifties. Hopefully that would cover it.

Damn, the other ring. He got down on the floor and peered around at the polished wood. The engraved gold band inscribed with both their initials sat quietly near a table leg. He snatched it up and pocketed it before climbing to his feet.

“Is there a problem, sir?” The maître d’ approached, concern written on his dark brow.

“No problem at all. Just that something’s come up.” He cleared his throat. He could feel the curious stares and hear the whispered innuendo of the guests around him. He slid the crisp bills into the hand of the maître d’ and murmured, “Keep the change.”

Still stunned and not quite sure what was happening, he marched for the door. Out on the street he looked both ways. No sign of her. A cold fist of anxiety clenched in his gut. Why was she so upset? Was it really such a big deal that he’d accepted an…investment from her dad?

He shoved a hand through his hair. Of course it was a big deal. She thought he’d married her
just
for the money.

Guilt soaked through him, with a chaser of shame. It had seemed like a happy chain of events, leading to a favorable outcome for everyone involved. But he’d lost perspective on how it had all started.

How would her dad react? Gavin wondered if Elliott
Kincannon knew she’d found out. Maybe he could talk her out of causing a big scandal. That wouldn’t be good for any of them.

And if she broke off the marriage, Kincannon might demand the one million dollars back.

Gavin stopped dead still, right in the middle of the road. A car swerved around him and he leaped to the sidewalk. He’d already spent a good chunk of the money on the lease for the new offices. And given a deposit to the contractor renovating the conference room. The money wasn’t even his to give back anymore.

He marched through the lamp-lit streets. The apartment wasn’t far, so he hadn’t bothered with the car. He and Bree enjoyed their evening strolls after they went out to dinner or a gallery opening. She knew a lot about the city’s architecture and history, and was always pointing out interesting nooks and crannies he’d never noticed before. The city had really come alive for him since he’d met Bree.

A pang of regret stung his chest. How awful that she’d found out like this. He could just picture her overhearing that message. She must have been devastated. If only he could find her and explain that he really did care about her and not about the money.

The elevator seemed to move like molasses on the way up to the apartment. What if she was already gone by the time he got there? He’d have to track her down at her father’s house and he didn’t relish seeing the old man’s face if there was a whiff of scandal in the air. Still, no need to panic, he’d find her, tell her he really loved her, and everything would be okay. He hoped.

He knocked on the door. It was her home too, now. He didn’t want to barge in if she was crying.

No answer. He slid his key in the lock and opened the door softly.

“Bree?”

The apartment was dark. He flicked on a light and waited for the sleek shadow of Bree’s friendlier cat to appear, but nothing moved. “Faith? Where are you, Ali?”

Dread settled over him like a cold morning fog. The cats were gone, too. She couldn’t possibly have had time to come back and get them already, so she must have taken them with her. He strode to her closet and flung it open. To his surprise, he found it still filled with her clothes, most of them new, some with the tags still hanging on them.

So she wasn’t gone for good. Unless she had planned to abandon her new look along with him.

A nasty feeling goaded him back out the door and into the parking garage. He needed to get to the Kincannon mansion and win her back. And he needed to get there before the old man heard about their public breakup from someone else.

Usually a slow driver, Bree fought an urge to speed on the freeway. The lights of cars in the opposite lane danced like fireflies in the darkness, dazzling her and adding to her confused state of mind. She slowed down as a light mist of rain blurred the windshield and her phone rang.

Probably Gavin. She wasn’t going to answer it. She let it ring and go to voice mail. Then it started ringing again. Again she let it go to voice mail. But the ringing continued and Ali started to mew in protest.

“It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll pull over and I’ll tell that
jerk to stop bothering us.” She pulled into a gas station and picked up the call, which was probably the sixth in succession.

“Stop calling me, I don’t want to—”

“Bree, it’s me, Elle.”

She stiffened. “What do you want?” It came out just as rude as she intended. Now that she knew Elle was some kind of corporate traitor, she saw her new “friend” in an entirely different light. “Are you going to tell Gavin where I’m going?”

She’d told Elle her escape plan after the party. Before she’d learned about Elle’s darker side.

“I still think you should rethink this whole thing.” She heard Elle draw breath. “When are you planning to leave?”

“I’m already gone.” She said it with grim satisfaction. “I’m on the road right now.”

“Still going to Napa?”

“I’m really regretting telling you my plans since I’ve learned you’re a spy.”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend you’re innocent. Brock’s detective found out.”

Elle was silent on the other end of the call.

“And I’m still wondering if Gavin asked you to give me a makeover so I’d look better on his arm when he married me for money.” She was proud of her steady voice.

“He had nothing to do with it. I swear. I do agree that it’s a bit mercenary of him to take money from your father, but he’s a guy, you know?”

“Well, I don’t need one, then. I got along just fine without a man until now. And I’m getting rid of these
damned green contact lenses, too.” She popped the left one from her eye and tossed it into the backseat. Uh-oh. The world was blurry—which seemed appropriate, but made driving dangerous.

She reached into the glove compartment and was relieved to find her familiar old pair of spare glasses. The second contact hit the floor and she pushed the thick frames up the bridge of her nose. “I think a lot of the
improvements
I’ve made in my life lately were anything but. And what were you thinking, getting involved with Brock Maddox? It’s bad enough that he’s your boss, but you’re spying on him, as well?”

“It’s complicated.” Elle’s voice was barely a whisper. “I wish I could explain, but—”

“Save it. I’ve got enough problems of my own.” She shoved a hand into her tangled curls. “The worst part is, I feel guilty.” She could hardly believe she wanted to share her feelings with Elle after all she now knew, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

“Why?”

“Because I’m ruining Gavin’s pretty little dream-come-true plan to open his own agency. My dad will take the money back and it will all fall apart.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Gavin. He’ll land on his feet. These big shots always do.”

“You sound experienced in this area.”

“Trust me, I am. What are you going to do?”

“No idea.” And even if she did know, she wouldn’t tell Elle. Here she thought she’d found a new best friend—they’d had so much fun together—and she’d turned out to be even more of a dark horse than her husband.

Husband. What a concept.

“The first thing I’m going to do is have the marriage
revoked or annulled or declared null and void—or whatever you do after a quickie wedding. I can’t be the first whirlwind bride in California to have woken up in the morning and wondered what hit her.”

“I still think you’re wrong to give up on Gavin.”

“Elle, a man marrying me for money is exactly what I’ve dreaded since I was a kid. It’s not something I can forgive.”

“I guess we all have our issues.”

“Too right.”

“Just don’t forget to leave the conditioner in your hair.” She could hear a hint of humor in Elle’s voice. “It makes a big difference, doesn’t it?”

“I admit it does. Has it made me happier?” She let out a snort of laughter. “I think I was better off frizzy. And on that note, I have an escape to make and two hungry cats to feed.”

She hung up the phone before Elle could protest and switched it off. Not that Gavin had called. He probably didn’t even care enough to come after her. He was probably out there trying to figure out how to save the money—since that’s all he really wanted in the first place. He was likely over at her old house right now, glad-handing her father and attempting to turn things around. Who knew? Maybe it would even work. She’d always mattered less than money to her own father, who made no secret of it.

Bree pushed a stray tear from her cheek and wiped a sudden fog off her glasses before she pulled back onto the freeway. At least up in Napa she’d be away from everything and everyone, and could figure out what to do next. Maybe she’d move right away from San Francisco. Everyone here would be laughing at her once
word got out. It was bad enough before, being a dumpy heiress. But to be one who got tricked into marrying a gold digger…well, that was more than she could handle. Perhaps she’d just go live in the hills as a hermit.

Hermits could have cats, couldn’t they?

Gavin parked his car down the road from the Kincannon house. He could see lights on in the ground-floor windows, but the upper ones, where Bree had lived, were dark. Still, maybe she was downstairs, talking to her father.

He approached the carved front door of the mansion. His muscles burned with the urge to hold her. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t as bad as she thought, that he really cared about her and not the money.

The door opened with a creak, and he was oddly surprised to see Elliott Kincannon himself behind it, dressed in a dark smoking jacket, like the nineteenth-century aristocrats he obviously modeled himself on.

“Ah, Gavin.” He waved him inside. “How are things with Bree?”

So he didn’t know.

“Not so good, I’m afraid.” Gavin straightened his back. “She found out about our…arrangement.”

“Upset, was she?” Elliott Kincannon led him into the front hallway, over the black-and-white marble floor, past polished wood columns and gleaming oil portraits. “I’m sure she’ll recover.”

Gavin drew a deep breath. The old man’s uncaring attitude irked him. Then he grew angry with himself. Hadn’t he also assumed he’d quickly find her and talk her around? Now he couldn’t even find her. Panic surged inside him. “Is she here?”

“Here?” Elliott Kincannon swiveled on his heel and raised a brow. “Of course not. She lives with you now. I’d imagine she’s ensconced in your palace in the sky.”

Gavin frowned at the odd reference to his apartment. No doubt those who owned mansions looked down on those who didn’t—even if they knew them to be millionaires.

“We were having dinner at Iago’s, and then she told me she’d found out the truth and she took off. She was really upset.” Gavin shoved his hands into his pockets. He suddenly hated standing there talking, wasting time. Bree could be headed anywhere.

Kincannon’s stare hardened. “She waltzed out of Iago’s? I hope she didn’t make a scene.”

“She threw her rings at me.” Gavin took dark satisfaction in telling him this—Kincannon’s cold nonchalance was getting under his skin. “Then she stormed out of the restaurant.”

Bree’s father looked appalled. “People must have seen.”

“I’m sure they did.”

“Word could get out. The family name might be dragged into the press.”

Heaven forbid. How had Bree survived the first twenty-nine years of her life with this man?

“I hoped she’d be at the apartment, but she’s gone and so are the cats. I thought she might be here.”

“Well, she isn’t. And she’d be most unwelcome if she turned up here. A married woman belongs with her husband. You must find her immediately before a scandal starts.”

“I’m trying. Do you have any idea where she might
have gone?” A sense of urgency built in his chest. The thought of Bree, out there somewhere, upset and angry and hurting, grew inside him like a hot, uncomfortable flame. “Where does she usually go to get away?”

“Bree never goes anywhere.” Kincannon knocked back a tumbler of golden liquid. “Just sits up there with her cats or putters about doing her little charity jobs. That’s why I had to go out and hunt her down a husband myself. She was nearly thirty. People were talking.”

“Bree’s a very special woman.” Gavin bristled with indignation at this man’s dismissive attitude toward the woman he loved.

Yes, loved. There was no other word to describe the powerful surge of emotion rolling through him.

“Find her and smooth things over before the social pages get wind of this. I can just imagine the gossip if people think I paid to have my own daughter married off.”

“Even though you did.” Cold fury lashed inside Gavin. He felt like taking the million dollars and throwing it back in this man’s expressionless, hard face.

But now wasn’t the time for that. He had to find Bree before she got too far away. With her unlimited means, she could get on a plane to anywhere in the world. And then how would he track her down?