The Wanted Bride (A Contemporary Romance) Read online

  “When did you want me to tell you? In the middle of my first or second orgasm?”

  He glared at her. “You could have told me when you were talking about the wedding.”

  “Yes, I could have, but I wanted to be with you, and I was afraid if I told you the truth, you would act like you’re acting now. Plus I wanted to call my father today and tell him where I was, clear my name and then come to you a woman with nothing to hide any longer.”

  Matt held up his hand. “Now it’s too late. I want you out of my sister’s house. I want you out of town. We’re finished.”

  He turned and walked away, leaving her standing in the street feeling like her heart had just been run over by a tractor-trailer. For a moment she swayed, letting the pain his words caused roll over her.

  If only she’d confessed the night before. If only she’d told him the truth.

  She glanced toward the restaurant windows to see Fran, Jesse, and the other patrons staring out the window at her. When she looked over at them, they hastily drew the curtains closed.

  How could she go back in there and face them?

  She looked down the street to see an ugly green Hummer coming towards her. Sitting behind the steering wheel was her father. But the worst thing was that in the passenger seat next to him sat none other than Carter.

  “Oh God, not now!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Valerie!” her father called, stepping out of the Hummer. “I’ve been worried sick.”

  There was silence as she tried to assess her emotions. Seeing him brought a lump to her throat, but then Carter stepped out of the vehicle wearing his two-thousand-dollar suit, and she went cold.

  “Dad,” she said, her voice chilly and rising at the sight of Carter. Was he here to take her back to Dallas and charge her with arson?

  Carter strode toward her, his face beaming. “Darling, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  She felt her insides twist into a knot, and she resisted the urge to punch the jerk.

  “Carter,” she said, her voice colder than a north wind blowing off the Rockies.

  “I feared you were dead,” her father said, anger in his voice.

  “I’m not,” she responded as she pulled her shoulders back, suddenly needing this confrontation. “Why are you here? How did you find me?”

  “The sheriff contacted the private investigator we had looking for you,” her father answered.

  “Honey,” Carter said soothingly. “Everything is going to be okay. Blair lost the baby. Now there is nothing to stop us from being together.”

  Valerie recoiled, feeling like a large toad had just slimed her. She wanted to sucker punch the loser. “And you think that makes everything all right?”

  She couldn’t keep the amazement out of her voice. How stupid did he think she was? “I don’t know how to make this any clearer to you, so listen up. We are never going to be man and wife or anything else. You can jump back into the lizard mobile and head back to Texas.”

  She turned her back on Carter and faced her father, anger spilling from her, “And if you don’t approve, then you’re out of my life, too.”

  Her father’s eyes widened in shock, and he stared at Valerie as if he’d never seen her before.

  “All I want is your happiness,” her father replied.

  “Honey,” Carter drawled like he’d just come in from West Texas where the land was hot and the days were slow. “It was a mistake.”

  “Stop!” she commanded. “Your penis landing in Blair’s vagina is not a mistake. Now climb back in that car before my fist damages your pretty boy face.”

  This time she could tell Carter was finally starting to get the message. His eyes widened as if she’d grown an extra head.

  “I came all this way to tell you we could be together.” Carter puffed up at the finality of her announcement, indignity in his stance. “You burned my car. My beautiful Corvette! If we’re not getting married, then I expect you to replace my car, or I’m pressing charges.”

  Valerie strode to within inches of him. Sarcasm seemed to explode from within her. “You’re an ass. You cheated on me. But, you’re right. After I left the church, it stalled in downtown Dallas, and I did everyone a favor, I torched the car instead of you.”

  There was silence for a moment as the two men stared at her as if she were an alien.

  For the first time in her life, she felt in control. Nothing Carter said or did could ever hurt her again. Like a prize-winning boxer, she was ready to deal the knockout punch. “I know several very good lawyers. I want a jury trial with as many women jurors as I can get. Of course, I will be counter-suing you to pay for the ruined dress, the caterer, the florist, the church, and every other little detail in the wedding that your infidelity ended. Oh, and don’t forget the personal humiliation I experienced. I’m sure that will get me a couple of hundred thousand.”

  Stunned, Carter stared at her. “What’s happened to you? You’re different.”

  He was right. She was different. She was more self- confident, self-assured, and she didn’t need her father to take care of her any longer. She could manage on her own.

  “The mountain air cleared my head. I’m no longer blinded by you. I see life a lot differently now,” she replied.

  Her father stepped forward. “Get in the car, Carter. You won’t be pressing charges against my daughter. I think she’s made a very good argument. I’ll contact every newspaper in the country to make a laughing stock out of you if you even mention pressing charges again.”

  The younger man strode back to the Hummer, his back rigid. He crawled back into the monstrous vehicle.

  Her father waited patiently until Carter was in the SUV and turned nervously to face her. “I don’t know what to say, except that I love you and sometimes I’m blind in my love and need to make sure that you have the best of everything.”

  She wanted to forgive him, but the memory of his betrayal still stung.

  “Daddy, I tried to tell you, but you didn’t want to hear that Carter was cheating. Then you brought him here today. That’s not exactly how to get back on my good side.”

  Her father closed his eyes and pursed his lips before opening them again. “I brought Carter here because I wanted to give you the opportunity to tell him how you felt. To give you some kind of closure. I thought you might enjoy telling him off.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, Valerie. Sometimes your old man is an idiot. I was stunned by his cheating. I couldn’t believe he would want Blair over my very beautiful daughter. After you told me, I went searching for you to tell you he didn’t deserve my little girl. I didn’t want you to marry him, but you had already left. I screwed up as a parent. I’m sorry.”

  The steel band around her heart snapped, and she fell into his arms. He wanted to give her closure. He was apologizing. He had uttered the words ‘I’m sorry,’ and she felt tears in her eyes. “Oh Daddy, Carter wasn’t the best.”

  “I know that now. It’s just that he came from a very prestigious family. I ignored his faults because I thought you loved him.”

  She smiled and hugged her father. “I thought if I married Carter, it would make you happy. I wanted you to love me, and then when I told you about his cheating, you seemed to want the wedding to go on.”

  “Valerie, I love you, and I want the best for you. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This insensitive jerk was cheating on my beautiful daughter. Later, I realized I’d been an ass. I should have kicked him to the curb along with his snooty family the moment you told me.”

  She smiled at the image and squeezed her father tighter. “Oh God, Daddy, it’s good to see you.”

  He released her and looked into her eyes. “Let’s take you home.”

  She leaned back and thought of going home to her old room, her car, and her life. Was that what she really wanted? No, what she wanted was in this small town, across the street and down several blocks.

  “I’ll send you to that spa you love so much. You can take
one of your girlfriends with you,” he promised her.

  But it didn’t feel right. It wouldn’t make her happy.

  Valerie shook her head. “You’ve spoiled me something terrible, and I never realized how much until I came here.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I like living here. I’m happy, though I would like to be able to get into my bank accounts again. Eventually, I’d like to come home and get my car.”

  “You want to stay here?” he asked in shock.

  “Yes,” she said, certain that she didn’t want to return to Dallas.

  “I’m surprised.” He laughed. “When I saw you weren’t taking money out of your trust fund, I feared the worst. If you want to live here, I’ll understand. I’ll miss you. Can we call each other again?”

  She swiped a tear that she didn’t realize was there. “Oh, yes. I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Me, too. Can I come back to see you soon?”

  “Anytime, Daddy, anytime. Just don’t bring Carter.”

  Her father hugged her to him again like he would never let her go. “Always remember, I love you, Valerie. You’re my little girl, and I love you with all my heart. Next time I’ll listen.”

  “Next time, I’ll be more certain before I walk down the aisle,” Valerie assured her father. She smiled as an image of Matt waiting for her in the front of the church flashed into her mind.

  “Call me, sweetheart,” he said and walked back to the big green Hummer.

  “I will.”

  “I love you,” he said and climbed in.

  She waved good-bye, relieved that the ugliness from the past was taken care of. Now was there any hope for her and Matt?

  #

  Matt sat in front of his sister, brooding. In the last two weeks they had argued more than when they were children. She had, in no uncertain terms, told him she was not kicking Valerie out. She had taken Valerie’s side, and that rankled him big-time.

  He was only here to see his niece and nephew, except they were napping. So he sat with his sister, the two of them barely speaking.

  “So, when are you going to forgive Valerie?” she asked.

  “Who said anything about Valerie?”

  “I did.”

  “I don’t want to talk about her.” What was the point? They would never agree, and it would only lead to another argument.

  “Too bad. I do.” She said in a voice he’d only heard her use with her children. “You’ve sulked around here long enough.”

  Matt glanced at his stubborn sister and could see in her eyes that same determinedness that sometimes got him in trouble. He didn’t need this.

  “So, you were right about her. She wasn’t who she said she was,” McKenzie told him, folding her children’s clothes while she talked.

  He didn’t say anything, knowing it would be better to just let her speak her mind. Then he would leave. His heart was bruised enough without his sister using it for a punching bag.

  “Haven’t you noticed the change in her since she got off that bus? Those first few weeks she was more skittish than a mother with a newborn baby. But over the weeks, she relaxed. The shadows disappeared from beneath her eyes, and she began to trust us. So do you think, after everything she’s been through, that she wanted to lie to you?”

  Why did no one understand his side? Why did it seem like all the women were backing Valerie, and the men just gave him pitying looks. “She could have told me the truth before I found out.”

  “And then what?” McKenzie asked, her voice rising.

  He sipped his coffee. Could he just hit the rewind button and repeat his usual spiel? “Then I could have helped her.”

  “How did you find out who she really was?”

  This was a new question and one he really didn’t want to explore with his sister. He glanced at her to see if there was any chance he could mislead her and encountered her steely-eyed stare. Nope, she was on this like a bear on honey.

  “Jesse ran her fingerprints.”

  “Nice,” she drew the word out to let him experience her displeasure. “While she was lying to you, you were going behind her back to find out her real identity.” His sister raised her voice. “And you don’t see a problem with your behavior?”

  “After the fire in Fran’s kitchen, Jesse ran her prints, and then he came to me with the information.”

  “Jesse decided to run the fingerprints on his own?” she asked. “With no encouragement from you?”

  He sighed. If he didn’t come clean, she would soon learn on her own. “Yes, he did it on his own.”

  “You hesitated. Why?”

  He took a deep breath, feeling like he was nine instead of thirty-five. “Because he told me he was doing it, and I wanted to know the results.”

  “And you knew that was wrong, didn’t you?” she said. “Did you ever ask Valerie why she lied?”

  “I know why.”

  “So you lied and she lied. Seems to me you both have some explaining to do. Nothing is ever just one person’s fault in a relationship.”

  “Lying about who she is seems a lot worse than me trying to protect my family by finding out who was staying with you and the children.”

  “Please! Don’t kid yourself into thinking you were doing this for us. You wanted to check out her background.”

  This was why he didn’t want to have this discussion with his sister. He couldn’t win. He knew he was wrong.

  “You keep saying that you want a wife and family, but your actions don’t fit with your words. You say one thing, and then you act the opposite way. Being married is more than just having someone to come home to. There are sacrifices, doing things for the other person, wanting the best for them, putting your own needs aside, and that’s before the children come along.”

  He stared at her, listening, though he didn’t want to, feeling like she’d reached down inside his gut and was twisting it in an iron grip.

  “But most of all you have to forgive your partner and love her despite her faults. So, do the female population a favor. Until you learn forgiveness, don’t get married. We don’t need another divorce in the family.”

  Matt felt like he’d been bitch-slapped. And part of him knew that his sister spoke the truth, even if he didn’t want to acknowledge that fact.

  He pushed back the chair, needing to get out of there before he said something he regretted. Without a word, he walked out the door, letting it slam behind him.

  #

  A week passed, and Valerie made sure everyone in town knew her real name. She even did an interview for the local weekly paper, telling them the story of how she’d arrived on the bus, a brokenhearted bride wanted for torching her fiancé’s car.

  She kept hoping that Matt would come to the café, but he seemed to have disappeared. She no longer worked for him. He’d sent her a note saying her services were no longer required. She kept hoping that he would see she’d only done what she had to at the time to protect herself.

  But obviously it didn’t matter. Everyone else in town thought her situation was funny, had laughed and teased her about being the “Wanted” Bride. Everyone but Matt.

  Even Jesse had held out the olive branch and apologized for sending off her prints and contacting her father.

  But none of them mattered. The only person she cared about held onto his anger like a shield and refused to come see her.

  “You still moping around here?” Fran asked her late one afternoon as the last of the lunch crowd lingered over their meals.

  “I’m not moping.”

  “The hell you aren’t.”

  Valerie stood up and faced Fran. “Well, what do you want me to do? I can’t change the situation.”

  The older woman laughed and shook her head. “You don’t give yourself any credit. You stepped off that bus a scared, spoilt little girl, and I’ve watched you change and grow into a confident young woman.”

  “I was hardly a little girl. Spoiled, accustomed to the best, and scared, yes, but I was doing my best to hi
de that fear.”

  “Well you suck at being an actress. You didn’t fool anyone,” Fran declared, her hands on her hips.

  “Maybe not, but I was determined not to go back to my father.”

  “And you did make it on your own.”

  Valerie nodded. “Only because you helped me.”

  “Hmm, I gave you a job and found you a place to live, but the rest was up to you.”

  “True. And I’m going to miss coming here every day.”

  The older woman’s forehead creased in a frown. “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, if I decide to stay, I’m thinking about opening up my own boutique. A women’s shop with a small tea room.”

  Fran’s shoulders slumped. “A tea room? What for?”

  “Atmosphere. It will provide the boutique a unique setting.”

  “So, you’re going to stay here in town?”

  Valerie pursed her lips, her head and her heart in conflict. “I don’t know. I want to. I like it here, but I don’t know how much more I can take of Matt not speaking to me. He won’t even come out to see his sister if he knows I’m there.”

  “He’s a stubborn one.”

  “It’s been three weeks. I should have gone home with my father. I guess I should buy a bus ticket and go home.”

  “And do what?” Fran asked. “Go back to the life that made you miserable?”

  “And this isn’t? Knowing you love someone and he can’t forgive you. That’s miserable.”

  “Give it some time, Valerie. He’s been hurt, too.”

  She sighed and leaned against the mop handle in her hands. “I know I lied. I know I hurt him because he didn’t know who I was, but he has to realize that I didn’t like keeping the truth from him. I felt like I had to. For that matter, I didn’t like keeping the truth from you or McKenzie.”

  “I know. But Matt is an all-or-nothing kind of guy.”

  “He was the one all fired up about us getting to know one another. I tried to resist him. I really did. It was never done to hurt him. I lied to protect me.”

  There was silence. “Damn. I really screwed this up, didn’t I, Fran?”

  “It’s a mess.”