The Surrogate Husband Read online

  “Call their cells.”

  When he glanced over his shoulder at her, he realized she’d already gotten dressed in black knee-length leggings and a half tank top that stopped above her belly with a sheer white jacket over it. She dug in a clear zipper-bag and picked out a dozen gold bangles and several pairs of earrings. Her style was like no other woman he’d ever seen, yet she always appeared as if she could be in a fashion show.

  “Neither of them have cell phones.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “You’re kidding?”

  He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “No, I’m not kidding. They don’t get along well with much technology.” They were probably working in their backyard, which they did almost every Saturday.

  If he kept calling, maybe he could reach them the second they went inside. In his mind’s eye, his mother walked into her kitchen and saw the blinking red light on the answering machine.

  He shuddered.

  As close as he was to his folks, they’d feel completely betrayed if they thought for an instant that there was a woman in his life he was serious about, someone they hadn’t even met. His mom would probably have a heart attack if she played Bev’s message.

  “Tell them a friend was playing a joke on you,” Lucy said.

  “Yeah, maybe that’ll work.” Her suggestion was as good as any he’d thought of in the minutes since Bev had dropped her little bomb.

  “What are we going to do?” She toed on a pair of strappy black sandals. “Maybe you could say you have a family emergency and have to go back to Miami this afternoon. Then you can take your folks out of town, hide out in the Keys for a couple days until Bev is gone.”

  Did she want to get rid of him? His chest tightened. Although he’d made love to her all night, he still hadn’t gotten his fill of her. He wanted to be with her for the rest of the weekend, to fulfill all those fantasies he’d been having about her for so long.

  “I could ride back to the city with Mom, Jack, and Niki after Uncle Alan’s wedding.” Leaning in to the mirror, she applied black mascara to her lashes. “What do you think?”

  I think I can’t bear to give up a moment with you.

  “I promised to be here for your uncle’s wedding. Takes more than a ninety-pound old lady to scare me off.” He tried his parents again.

  “Hello?” his father said through the phone.

  “Hey, Pop.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “What the hell is going on, Dex? Some woman left us a message that you’re going to renew your wedding vows Tuesday evening. What wedding vows?”

  His head throbbed. “Ignore that. It’s a friend of mine messing around with me.”

  “Well that’s not what it sounded like. This woman sounded quite elderly and very serious. Is there something you want to tell me?”

  Lucy touched his arm. He glanced at her and found something new in her eyes—the sort of deep concern one reserves for loved ones. So he hadn’t imagined that she’d been different last night, more tender. He swallowed hard as he kissed the top of her head then gave her a thumbs-up to reassure her.

  “Dex?” his father said, his voice hoarse.

  “It’s a prank, Pop. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Are you sure? You’re not marrying someone, are you?”

  He tried for a lighthearted chuckle. “I’m not even dating anyone.”

  His dad let out a relieved sigh. “Glad to hear that. I thought your mother was going to keel over when she heard the news. Please tell your friends not to do that to us again.”

  He rubbed his temple. “I will. Sorry.”

  “By the way, did you ever get a chance to research that bond fund? I’m hoping we can recoup some of the money we lost with another investment. Don’t have much time, but I’ll work as long as I have to. Until I’m seventy-five or seventy-eight. Besides, what would I do if I didn’t come to work every day? Probably drive your poor mother and grandmother crazy.”

  Although his dad laughed, Dex swallowed the lump in his throat and sank into a chair. As soon as the merger went through, his father wouldn’t have to worry about his retirement accounts anymore, and he’d be able to retire when he’d originally planned. “Let’s discuss it over dinner next Sunday, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Lucy strode into the closet.

  Unless Johnny found out about her. No telling what the man would do if he learned about Dex’s relationship with her. But how could he? Soon as they left Lake Okeechobee, Lucy would go right back to being one of his most important clients, nothing more. “It’ll all work out.”

  “I sure hope you’re right.”

  His father sighed, and Dex imagined that worried expression he knew so well, especially lately.

  He hung up then faced Lucy. “I got them squared away.”

  She gave him a tight smile. “Thank goodness.”

  “Now all we have to do is get the idea of our wedding reception out of your aunt’s head.”

  “You make that sound like a piece of cake. You don’t know her, Dex. She’s always been hell on wheels when she makes up her mind about something. Wheels with no brakes. The last thing in the world I ever want is to get married.” She wrapped her arms around her body.

  His skin felt suddenly tighter. “First of all, this is only a vow renewal ceremony, not an actual wedding. But is the notion of marrying me that awful?”

  She paced the floor. “The notion of being that tied to anyone makes me cringe. I mean, you’re a great guy, a wonderful guy, but I’ve seen up close and personal that a marriage can become a living hell. Even an engagement. What are we going to do? Geez, I’d rather pole vault across the Grand Canyon than go through with this.”

  He laughed as he closed the distance between them and drew her into his arms. “We’ll fix this. I promise. But you probably wouldn’t hesitate to do that pole-vaulting stunt.”

  She shrugged. “Probably not literally across the Grand Canyon, but something a bit more reasonable. Sure, why not? I like living on the edge.”

  Grabbing her hand, he hauled her to a stop. “Why do you love to flirt with danger?”

  She folded her arms over her chest and glanced away. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Maybe I need to prove to myself that I’m tough enough.”

  “For whom?”

  She met his stare with glistening eyes. Muscles around her jaw quivered. “My father? I don’t know. When he hit Mom back then, I couldn’t protect her. But now I would.”

  His gut squeezed. Pulling her into his arms, he held her tight. “Of course you would. Remember that you were only a kid when that happened. All the fast bikes and extreme sports in the world can’t bring you back there for a do-over.”

  She nodded against his chest. Damn it, he didn’t want to end things with her. There had to be a way, even if it meant backing out of the merger. Which would cost him a fortune. There’d be legal fees since he’d already signed the contract with JM Bass. But if he cancelled the deal, his parents’ retirement would remain at the level it was now, less than what they needed. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to help them after everything they’d done for him.

  The other option was to keep his relationship with Lucy on the down low, which wasn’t fair to her. Besides, Lucy had made it very clear she wasn’t interested in anything after they returned to Miami, despite the electric chemistry they shared.

  If he asked her to take her business elsewhere and Johnny found out after the fact that they were dating, he’d be furious. Knowing Johnny, he might even ask Dex to resign from the board and leave all his clients behind, which would leave him with nothing.

  No, Johnny could never find out about his relationship with Lucy.

  But he wanted her in his life, and not just as a friend or client. Now that he’d had a taste, he only wanted more.

  First, he had to somehow fix things for Lucy with her aunt. “Let’s go downstairs and find Bev,” he said. “She might be a formidable lady, but she can’t force us to have a wedding ceremony.”<
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  Instead of the savvy woman of the world he’d always seen before, he glimpsed a girl seeking his assurance. He wanted to protect her with every fiber of his being.

  Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her long and slow, tasted the sweetness of her tongue. When he finally pulled away, he took a good look at her. Her lips were red and glossy from his kiss, but he still saw her vulnerability. And he knew her better than he ever had before. Lucy wouldn’t relax until they’d stopped her aunt from planning their trip down the aisle. But strangely, the notion wasn’t nearly as unpleasant for him as it apparently was for her.

  They headed downstairs, hand in hand, a united front. At least on the surface.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Lucy gestured toward the parlor. “I heard her voice.” She stayed a pace behind him as they walked into the room.

  And found Bev sprawled on the floor. A young guy dressed in blue scrubs kneeled next to her.

  Lucy gasped and ran over. “Aunt Bev, what happened? Is she okay?”

  The man helped Bev sit up. “I think so.” He got her onto the couch then checked her over.

  “My shoe caught on the carpet.” Bev pointed to the edge of the Persian rug. A small purple bruise was already forming on her left cheek.

  Lucy sat beside her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Bev patted her hand. “I’ll be okay. When you’re my age, this sort of thing happens so easily. I’m always only a stumble away from the grave.” She laughed but Lucy didn’t.

  Jonathan came into the room with Logan. “What happened?”

  Bev told him about her fall but assured him she was fine.

  Logan climbed into Lucy’s lap.

  Her aunt smiled at the boy. “You’re going to see two weddings for the price of one, young man. Your cousin Lucy is going to marry Dex again. But this time we’ll all get to be here for it. Maybe they’ll let you be the best man.”

  The child stared up at Lucy. “Can I, Lucy? Please, please?”

  Misery etched lines around her mouth as she turned her gaze on Dex. But in a split second she put on a fake smile for Logan.

  “Can’t refuse that boy anything.” Bev winked at her then grinned at Dex. “Just wait until you two have kids.”

  He wanted to say something—anything to stop the giant snowball of their deception from gaining momentum.

  “Please, Lucy? Can I be the best man?” Logan begged.

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “That decision really belongs to the groom, not the bride.” Bev stared at Dex. “Well, Dex?”

  He yanked at his collar, which suddenly felt way too restrictive. “Sure you can.”

  Lucy turned pale. Her pallor made him wonder for a moment if she was going to pass out. But she didn’t. She just sat there like an alabaster statue, frozen in misery.

  Apparently they were walking down the aisle in a couple days.

  …

  “I can’t believe this has gone this far.” Lucy stared out over the lawn as she and Dex strolled in the garden after lunch. The whole surrogate husband situation had snowballed out of control. Now she was being coerced into a wedding ceremony with a man she had no intention of marrying, regardless that he’d given her the best orgasms of her life.

  A few workmen mowed the grass and trimmed bushes and trees in preparation for her uncle’s wedding the following day, which reminded her that her own fake nuptials were fast approaching. “Seeing my aunt on the floor…” She drew a calming breath. “Well, it brought home to me why my mother first made up her story. And then when Logan chimed in… But we can’t go through with this. Maybe you could have an accounting emergency.”

  “An accounting emergency? I doubt she’d believe that.” He squeezed her hand. “I promised you I’d get us out of it, and I will.”

  “We’ll have to take the minister aside and speak to him, tell him we’re not in this for real,” Lucy said. “We don’t have a marriage license, because we didn’t have a first wedding. And we can’t really get married now. It wouldn’t be legal without the proper paperwork.” A weight lifted off her.

  He shook his head. “That’s not the point. Of course it wouldn’t be legal. But we can’t ask a man of God to jeopardize his career or his conscience by lying. Look at the ripple effect this ruse is causing. If we refuse to go through with the vow renewal, that’ll really ramp up your aunt’s suspicions. It’s time you and your mother told Bev the truth.”

  She considered his point for a fraction of a second, then set her hands on her hips. “No, we have to try. We’ve taken it too far to back out now.”

  “I don’t know, Lucy.”

  “I know. It’ll be fine. Trust me.”

  “You really think a minister is going to lie for us?” As he scrubbed a hand over his face, she was reminded how his whiskers had felt on her skin last night.

  She squashed the kernel of renewed arousal. There were more important things to think about than her own hyped-up libido. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about the minister. I suppose we can’t knock him out, tie him up in the closet and throw in an imposter minister like they would in a B movie, huh?”

  He frowned. “Don’t think so.”

  “Fine, I’ll think of something, a reason why we can’t have the minister perform a vow renewal.” She scratched her head, racking her brain. “I should have known that even pretending to be married was going to be the death of me.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Marriage can be a wonderful thing. My parents are still content after more than thirty years. And your mother and Jack seem happy. Your Aunt Bev says she was. You can’t let your parents’ marriage sour you on the entire institution.”

  “Why are you always so damn optimistic?” But she knew the answer to both questions. She’d had a terrible childhood with a man who’d terrorized everyone in their family. Dex had grown up the center of his parents’ world, loved and cared for in every way. Made sense that his outlook was a lot rosier than hers.

  “Why are you so damn pessimistic?” He paced back and forth. “Not every man is an asshole. If you persist in your distrust of my entire gender, you’ll find yourself old and alone someday.”

  “To tell you the truth, I’d rather be old and alone than old and controlled.” Which was part of the reason she wasn’t even considering continuing the romantic part of their relationship past the weekend. Nope. It had never even crossed her mind. Not even when he’d been making love to her, turning her on and pleasuring her as if he lived inside her head. No, absolutely not. Someone as organized as Dex was a controlling time-bomb waiting to go off. She was sure of it.

  “There you two are.” Bev’s shaky voice sounded far away yet too close for comfort.

  Lucy found her aunt hanging on to the arm of a gray-haired man in a cheap black suit. “Here we are.” She pasted on a smile as the pair slowly made their way toward them from the back porch.

  “That must be the minister,” Dex said against her ear.

  Lucy kept her voice barely above a whisper and tried not to frown. “No worries. I’ve got this. It just came to me.”

  He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I have every faith in you.”

  Despite her rising anxiety, another emotion still lurked nearby—desire. How could she want the man so much after having him all night? Like some insatiable hunger.

  “Reverend James, this is my grand-niece, Lucy and her husband, Dex.” Aunt Bev pointed at them.

  The minister offered his hand to Dex who shook with him. “Nice to meet you.”

  Lucy did the same. “I understand that my aunt’s asked you to officiate for us on Tuesday evening in Miami.” She stood taller. “Unfortunately there won’t be any vow renewal. My husband and I won’t be having a ceremony after all.”

  “What?” Aunt Bev wobbled but the minister had her arm.

  She shook her head. “My aunt doesn’t know this, Reverend James, but I’m…a Buddhist.”

  A stunned silence fell ove
r them. Finally the minister smiled. “I hope you’ll give me an opportunity to change your mind about that.”

  Aunt Bev pursed her lips. “Reverend, can’t you still marry them? Or, re-marry them, as it were. Like a notary public would.”

  He glanced at Lucy before facing Bev. “No, I’m sorry. I won’t.”

  Bev sighed. “Oh for heaven’s sake. A Buddhist?”

  Lucy nodded. “And Dex’s parents aren’t able to make it back to town. They’d never forgive us if we went ahead and had a second ceremony without them. So you see, it just won’t work.”

  She exhaled and felt some of the tension in her neck and shoulders ease. At least they’d dodged that bullet. With any luck, things would go smoothly for the luau later and during her uncle’s wedding tomorrow. But with sixty-five more people showing up in the morning, anything could happen.

  …

  Lucy woke for the third time that night and glanced across the bed at Dex. Maybe she shouldn’t have drunk that third glass of wine at dinner. Perhaps the problem was that she couldn’t shut off her brain. Or her heart. This would be her last night with Dex. Despite her vow to return things to the way they’d been before, once they went back to Miami, she was going to miss him.

  Turning onto her side, she studied his profile as he slept. It shouldn’t bother her so much that she wouldn’t get to lie next to him ever again. What they shared had developed into more than friendship, more than sex.

  She’d gotten to know him on a deeper level, and she’d connected with him more than she ever thought she would. All of her attempts to shove him away hadn’t worked.

  Even so, the idea of continuing what they’d started had her breaking out in a cold sweat. She was used to good-byes.

  She thought about all the friends she’d had as a kid. Every time her family had moved, she’d promised herself she wasn’t going to get close to anyone in their new town, but each time, she had. And when the orders would come to leave, it was as if someone ripped out her heart.