Alex straightened his jacket and tugged his sleeve back in place. “What does it matter now? If you had wanted to be in touch with me, if you truly hadn’t received my letters, you still could have gotten my address from my parents. They stayed on Indian Lakes for the first few months after I left.”
“I couldn’t talk to your parents. They felt I was to blame for you giving up your plans for college and going into the Navy. As more time went by without word from you, I figured you regretted that decision and blamed me too. It might surprise you to know that I’ve also made sacrifices.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Alex sneered. “We both made sacrifices. You gave up your virginity and I gave up my freedom for a few years because of it. Sounds fair to me.”
“You did what you wanted to do. I didn’t want you to go. If you’ll recall, I begged you to stay.”
Alex grabbed his car keys and wallet from his desk drawer and slammed it shut. “And then you didn’t want me to come back. Isn’t that why I never heard from you?”
“Don’t expect me to feel sorry for you.” Lacey spread her arms and turned in a circle to indicate the entire room, maybe the entire world. “You have it all, Alex. What more could you possibly want?”
Alex’s face turned to cold stone. He was silent for several seconds. “I need to get out of here,” he finally said. “Take a ride with me.”
“Why should I go anywhere with you?” Lacey asked.
“The more important questions are, how badly do you want that land, and what are you willing to do to keep it?”
Chapter Two
The heat radiated off the asphalt in waves and, even though the inside of his BMW was air conditioned, the blood in Alex’s veins simmered. His body acted like a divining rod to Lacey still. He needed to get himself under control.
How dare she accuse him of leaving her behind? She had no idea how desperately he’d wanted her, needed her, during the worst, most lonely, and painful time of his life.
So, she thought he had it all, couldn’t want more. Well, he could want a hell of a lot more. He was a man who took what he wanted without apology. She’d soon find that out. He might be making the biggest mistake of his life, but she’d be the one to suffer this time. He’d tie her down, and then walk away, just the way she’d accused him. This time their parting would be on his terms.
He didn’t have the need for a woman like he had as a boy, but he knew how to make a woman want him. He’d fill her with desire in every way possible. Then he’d walk. That’s all he would need to put the memory of her behind him once and for all.
He’d resisted glancing at Lacey for as long as he could. She had barely changed over the last thirteen years. Her hair had been cut into a soft angle that didn’t quite touch her shoulders, but it was still the color of a bright, new penny. Her makeup was light and natural. The freckles on her nose were still evident. Her eyes were the same clear, aqua blue. And her soft lips were the thing fantasies were made from.
How many men had acted out their fantasies with her? It shouldn’t matter; he’d had other women but it did, and the thought made his blood hit the boiling point. If he didn’t distract himself, he’d wreck his car.
“I noticed you still use your maiden name. Didn’t you ever get married?”
The sudden question seemed to startle Lacey and she blinked a few times. “Some women keep their maiden names and some take them back after a divorce.”
Evasive, he should have expected as much. A sneer touched the corner of his lips. “So, which are you, Lacey, the modern bride or the bitter divorcée?”
“Neither,” she admitted.
“You’ve never married then?”
“I could have. I simply chose not to.”
“I’m not surprised. Was I the first on a list of discarded lovers?” Was that a look of regret on her pretty face? Surely not. She’d made her choice.
After a moment of silence, Lacey returned his question, “What about you, Alex? Is there a Mrs. Benson somewhere, past or present?”
“Nope, never married,” Alex replied. “Women tell me I have trust issues. Can you imagine that?”
Alex was still curious. “Is there anyone special in your life now, a fiancé, a boyfriend, a girlfriend?”
Lacey glared at him. “My work doesn’t give me much time for a social life.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I usually work from sunup to sundown and I travel a lot. My so-called relationships have a short shelf life.” Why had he admitted that? He turned into a parking lot and slipped into a spot near a large, brick building.
“I hope your business won’t take long here. I want to be home before dark.”
Exiting the cool car, they met a wall of stifling heat. “It shouldn’t take long.” Alex walked to her side of the car and took her arm. He’d decided what trap would have the most impact. “You have identification with you, I hope.”
Lacey’s gaze snapped to the Orange County Courthouse sign. Her eyes widened. “Are you planning to have me evicted from my house? If so, you’re in the wrong county. And no matter where you go, you’ll be in for one hell of a fight.”
“What do I look like, Lacey, some kind of villain? I promise I won’t tie you to any railroad tracks. We’re simply here to apply for our marriage license.”
“Our what? You’ve got to be kidding!” Lacey tried to pull her arm away, but his grip tightened. “I wouldn’t marry you now if hounds from hell were nipping at my heels.”
“Maybe you won’t have to.” Alex reasoned. “If you can come up with the money for the property by the end of a month, you’re off the hook. If not, you’ll have to be my wife to keep the place.”
“That’s all you’re giving me? One month, thirty lousy days?” She tried to pull away from him and failed again. “You know I won’t be able to get that kind of money in that short time. This is extortion, plain and simple. You are a villain, you asshole!”
“Maybe you’re right. Those railroad tracks are sounding pretty damn good right now.” Alex couldn’t hold back a grin. “You know, you’re really kind of cute when you curse. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you do it.”
Alex started tugging her toward the courthouse steps, but Lacey dug in her heels and made the task twice as hard.
“You know this won’t work,” she said. “We don’t even know each other anymore. Why are you doing this to me?”
Alex stopped and glared down at her. “There was a time when this was all either of us wanted. Do you find the idea of being my wife that repulsive now, Lacey?”
Lacey straightened and pushed her hair out of her face. “You don’t understand. I have a lot of responsibilities. More than you can imagine. I couldn’t be a good wife for anyone. Dammit, I wouldn’t even know how to be married.”
The sincere sound in her voice and the pleading look in her eyes made Alex soften slightly. “Does anyone start out knowing how to be married? I don’t think so. They stumble through it together and figure it out.”
“You’re talking about people who love each other, Alex. That’s not us, not anymore.”
She looked so sad, it softened him up a little more. It had been a shock, seeing her today, touching her, hearing her voice. This plan wasn’t only about punishing her for the past. He needed time to sort through the myriad of emotions bombarding him. In the meantime, he couldn’t let her slip through his fingers.
“Here’s the deal. We’ll only see each other on occasional weekends. You’ll live on Indian Lakes and I’ll stay here. Can you handle that in exchange for your precious home? A very large and somewhat expensive piece of property, I might add. It would just be a part-time marriage, but a marriage none the less. I’d expect you to be loyal to me, only me. That’s the deal if you want to keep your home sweet home.”
Lacey gave a frustrated sigh. “How long would you expect this arrangement to last?”
Shit, was she already planning the divorce? It seemed she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. His heart hardened right back to the way it had started. “We’ll spend time together until I get bored, which probably won’t take long, but I won’t allow a divorce for thirteen years. I figure that’s how much time you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you a single second,” Lacey retorted.
“Do you want the property or not?”
If Lacey ground her teeth any harder, she’d crack a molar. “The property would belong to me, free and clear, I’d hold the deed to the entire place?”
“You’d still have to pay the property tax and insurance every year, but yeah. I can have a prenuptial agreement drawn up first thing Monday morning.”
Lacey looked around and then shook her head. “I don’t know how I’d manage to come here on weekends. My grandfather is watching the place now, but he’s not as strong as he used to be. Besides that, my truck is on its last legs.”
“You’d only need to be here if I have any kind of social engagement, otherwise, I can come to Indian Lakes. It’d be nice to get away from the city once in a while.”
“Where would you stay in Indian Lakes?”
Alex released her. He stepped back and crossed his arms. “With my wife, of course. You’ve got ten seconds to decide if that’s going to be you. If not, you’d better go home and start packing.”
Lacey made another deep sigh. “Let’s get this over with then.”
Alex followed his blushing bride up the stone steps.
At the clerk’s desk, they were given family law booklets to read, how romantic. Then, they were directed to the waiting area.
Alex sat on hard plastic chair against the wall. Lacey chose a chair three seats away.
A young woman sitting catty-cornered from Lacey leaned forward to get her attention. “This has got to be the most exciting day of my life,” she said breathlessly. “My fiancé and I took the premarital prep course so we could get married right away. Is that what the two of you did?”
“No.” Lacey smiled. “I didn’t expect to be here at all, but my ex-boyfriend is blackmailing me, so here I am.”
Alex listened, but didn’t look up from his booklet. “Lacey, behave,” he said in a bored tone. “Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you have to spoil it for everyone.”
The young woman looked confused and a little alarmed, but she quickly recovered when a clerk called her name.
After forty long minutes, it was Alex and Lacey’s turn to stand at the glass-partitioned counter. A middle-aged woman with half glasses, a pencil in her hair, and a jaded expression pushed a form through a slot under the glass. “Fill this out and return it with both of your picture IDs, please.”
Alex was amused by the way Lacey blocked his view while she filled out her half of the form. He made a point of reading every word she’d written before completing his half. The questions were generic and nothing he didn’t already know about her.
“Did the two of you take the premarital preparation course within the last thirty days?” the clerk asked.
“No,” Alex answered. “We just ran into each other this afternoon.”
The clerk rolled her eyes, as though she’d heard that line a hundred times before. “It’ll cost ninety-three-fifty, and then you’ll have a three-day waiting period.”
“Do you really think that’s long enough?” Lacey said. “This is a big step, and I could use a few more months to think about it.”
“I hear that U-Haul has great local rates.” Alex peeled a hundred dollar bill from his money clip and slid it through the window slot. He turned to Lacey. “You can keep the change. Apply it toward your moving expenses.”
The ride back to his office building was silent as before, but somehow seemed more so. It wasn’t because he didn’t know what to say. There just didn’t seem to be anything left to say.
Alex parked in the same choice spot he’d left earlier and shut off the ignition. He walked around to the passenger side and opened Lacey’s door.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked again.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Alex smirked. “Retribution.”
Alex cringed when Lacey slammed the door of his treasured BMW and strode to the next island in the lot. She stopped beside an older than dirt Ford pickup with more primer than paint and rust holes along the bottom the size of baseballs.
Alex rushed to catch up to her. “You can’t be serious,” He looked the truck over.
“Hey, this happens to be an antique.” Lacey seemed truly offended. “It just needs a little fixing up. I admit it’s not pretty, but what do you expect from a farm truck?”
“I expect you to be able to make it home without having to add three quarts of oil.”
“Seriously, Alex, I’ll be fine. I’ve been driving this thing forever.”
“You, and how many others before you?” Alex pulled a business card from his breast pocket. “Call me when you get home. Just so I know that
Old Rusty
got you there safely.”
Lacey snatched the card from his fingers. “Whatever, I really need to get on the road. Granddad is going to be furious that I’m so late.” She turned and opened the creaky driver’s door.
“What, no kiss good-bye?”
“Now you’re the one who’s not serious.” Alex spun her around and trapped her against the side of the truck bed. Impulsively, he took her mouth in a deep, bone-melting kiss. He didn’t know why he did it, but he realized that he’d wanted to, since the moment he saw her standing in his office. It was still a natural, primal instinct to press his body to hers and find a way inside. As much as he hated her, his body still craved her. From the desperate little whine she emitted as she leaned close, he suspected Lacey’s body might still remember his as well.
His hands roamed down her narrow back and pressed her closer. Her smell, her taste, her warmth…were even better than he remembered. He tried to relieve the throbbing tension in his groin by rubbing against her soft belly.
The feel of his hard length must have brought Lacey to her senses. She pulled away touching her fingers to her lips and looking stunned. “We can’t do this. I’m not ready for this.”
He’d been foolish to go so far, but Alex was an expert at covering his thoughts and feelings. He grinned and winked before he walked away. “Gotcha.”
Chapter Three
“What took you so damned long to get back? It’s nearly dark outside.”
Clarence Carlyle slowly lifted himself out of the rocking chair in Lacey’s living room. He looked older every day with thin, gray hair, and dull, lifeless eyes. His hands were covered with liver spots and the veins stood out on them. His lined face held a permanent scowl. How long had it been since the man felt the urge to smile?