Linda Varner - Make-Believe Husband

“Did you read the small print?”

Jessi bristled. “I read the whole thing.”

“Then you recall that you promised to pay that percentage whether or not you held up your end of the employment bargain.”

“No....”

“Oh yes. I believe that particular clause was in the middle of the thing, surrounded by several whereas-es and wherefores.”

Slowly Jessi raised her gaze to Gabe, who grimaced an apology, though the fault was clearly her own. “I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Neither do I, so why don’t we just go on as planned? In time you’ll get used to the lie.”

“Never.”

He digested that, his face solemn and thoughtful. “Maybe if we found an alternative solution to your moral dilemma...”

“There is one?”

“Yes. Admittedly it is a bit radical given the length of our acquaintance, but no more than this marriage of ours. And, thanks to that marriage, it would be both morally and legally acceptable.”

Jessi frowned, a little leery of his double talk. “Just what does this solution entail?”

“Consummation.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sex. You and me. Tonight. So what if we have our sequence of events a little reversed? At least we’ll be experienced lovers when we look ol’ August in the eye Monday. That beats the heck out of inexperienced liars, don’t you think?”

“Get real.” The nerve of the man to think she’d sleep with the likes of him! Never mind her earlier admiration for his good looks. He did not light her fire. And the only reason she now grabbed her wine glass and gulped down the chilled liquid was to keep from punching him out.

“I take it that’s a no.”

Jessi glared at him over the rim of her glass. “That’s a ‘don’t even think about it.’”

He accepted rejection with an easy shrug. “I’d be less than normal if I never thought about it. You are one classy lady—the kind that gets a man’s attention and keeps it,”

“I can’t believe you’re saying this to me. Why, it’s sexual harassment, that’s what it is.”

“We’re married, for crying out loud!”

“In name only, remember? As far as I’m concerned, this is a business partnership, nothing more. I don’t want to hear about your fantasies.”

“Hmm, well, I’d love to hear about yours...but I won’t press for details beyond asking what it is about me that makes my solution to your dilemma unacceptable.”

Jessi’s jaw dropped. “I don’t love you.”

Gabe considered that. “So you’re an old-fashioned girl, huh?”

“You’re damn right, mister...only I prefer to call it traditional. Sex is not something I take lightly. And I’d never sleep with some man just because I found him attractive.”

“Are you saying you find me attractive?”

Well hell. “N-no.”

“Then you’re saying you don’t find me attractive.”

“No.”

He huffed his impatience. “Do you or do you not find me the least bit attractive?”

“What an ego!” Jessi exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the table. “What difference does it make when I already told you I have no intentions of consummating this fictional marriage?”

“I just like to know where I stand, that’s all. Is that too much to ask?”

“Frankly, yes.”

“Oh, come on, Jessi. You said you’re always honest. Be honest with me now. Is there anything that you like about me...anything at all?”

Jessi, who could easily think of thousands of things, fumbled for an answer that wouldn’t further encourage this pointless, embarrassing conversation. “You have a nice smile.”

“That’s all?”

“And pretty blue eyes.”

“Nothing else?”

“You love your nephew.”

He sighed. “Well, that’s a start, I guess.”

A start? “No, that’s the finish. Now I don’t want to hear another word about this, okay? Work relations will be strained, if not impossible, if you’re constantly coming on to me.”

“Work relations? Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about wanting to back out?”

“No. I still want to back out. As I now see it, however, I really have no choice but to go through with this thing. If I don’t, I’ll not only have to find a way to pay my creditors, I’ll have to find a way to pay Elaina, too.” She sighed. “The fact is, I need August Taylor’s money, and I need it bad.”

“So do I, and speaking of which...you do realize you’re going to have to waste some of your hard-earned cash on an annulment...?”

Jessi frowned. “Actually, I figured we’d split the costs of that.”

“And so we will, if there are any.”

“What do you mean ‘if there are any’? No legal proceeding is cheap, Gabe.” She gave him a hopeful smile. “Unless you have a lawyer friend...?”

“No lawyer friend, just an idea.”

“Oh no,” Jessi groaned. “Another one?”

Gabe glared at her, clearly affronted.

“Sorry,” she murmured, instantly contrite. “What’s your idea?”

“We forget about filing the license on Monday. If there’s no legal marriage, then there’s no need for an annulment.”

Jessi caught her breath at the simplicity, the sheer perfection of his idea. “And if there’s not another split on your record, then your chances of getting Ryder are that much better....” She spoke to herself more than to Gabe, so the impact of her words caught her by surprise.

“My God....” Her new husband paled and stared at her, his eyes huge with shock. “Would you believe this is the first time I’d even thought about how our break up might affect the adoption proceedings?”

“But if we never file, there will be no annulment because in the eyes of the law, there has been no marriage.” They exchanged a long, speculative look during which neither said a word. Then Gabe held out his left hand, palm upward. In it lay the ring.

Jessi stared at it for a moment without moving. To accept the ring meant she accepted the terms of their partnership, and the deceit that went with it, once and for all. What do I do...what do I do...?

“Please? For Ryder’s sake?” The words were whisper-soft and shimmied down her spine.

Jessi sucked in a fortifying breath and reached for the ring, only to find her wrist captured in his right hand again. With a smile that could only be called tender, he slipped the bejeweled band back on her finger.

The amethyst caught the light and flashed a rainbow on the wine glass. The colors were as brilliant and bold as ever, blinding her to consequences once again.

Chapter Three

Gabe Dillard couldn’t remember when he’d seen a more colorful autumn. The brilliantly golden aspen trees lining the dirt path down which he now drove contrasted sharply to a gray California sky. God, how he wished Ryder were along to share the joy.

Gabe shifted his gaze from the asphalt to Jessi’s petite daughter, Anna Kate, who sat between the two of them on the seat of his four-wheel drive truck. He took note of the child’s attire—faded denim overalls, bright purple T-shirt, polka-dotted sneakers—and smiled to himself. With her mother’s violet eyes and a riotous mass of long, copper-colored hair, Anna Kate appeared custom made for eyelet and patent leather. Oddly enough, she’d proved to be a tomboy to the nth degree, a fact discovered Sunday, when they spent the day together to get to know one another.

Anna Kate had accepted him easily, thank God, and called him “Daddy G”—a name of her creation. But in spite of their smooth sailing so far, he half wished the red-haired charmer hadn’t come along on the trip. Children were so very honest. She could easily jeopardize their charade.

But Jessi had sworn that Anna Kate was special, a natural actress who adored pretending. It helped that the child had apparently begged for a new daddy for ages. And though Jessi had made it plain to her daughter that Gabe was nothing more than a daddy-on-loan who would one day be gone again, he couldn’t help but wonder about the impact their parting a few weeks from now would have on her.