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CHAPTER THREE
To MyLong-Lost Bride,
It’s taken a full year before I could sit down and write this letter to you. Iwas so sure, so certain you’d be at the Anniversary Ball. Iwaited for you. Waited until dawn broke through the night sky. And then Ileft.
I’m not even sure why I’m writing this. Maybe it’s my way of saying goodbye. Maybe it’s because I never know when to let go. And I confess, Irarely give up. What did I tell you on the balcony that night? Fight until you’re unconscious or the other fella gives up. Well, I’m not out, yet. And I won’t have won this particular fight until you’re in my arms again.
I sold the property I’d bought for us and I’m back wrangling. The ironic thing is, Imade a ton of money off the sale. Even your brother would be impressed. Ah, hell. What does it matter? There’s only one thing I care about.
Damn it, wife. Why weren’t you there? Where have you gone and how do I find you again? Or was what we shared pure fantasy? Maybe it was just a dream, afoolish fairy tale. And perhaps I’m the biggest fool of all for still believing.
Shayne. Sweetheart. My Forever Love. Where areyou?
Chaz jerked as though he’d been sucker-punched. “Shayne!”
“I can explain,” she began as Ella made a hasty retreat.
He grabbed the mask and yanked it from her head, flinging it across the room. The elaborate confection caught the moonlight as it soared through the air, glittering with soft radiance while the bells clattered in nervous panic. It hit the floor with discordant finality, sliding into a tangle of painful silence.
Light from the hallway had revealed a lamp on a bedside table, and he fumbled for the switch. Seventy-five watts of incandescent power stabbed through the room with punishing swiftness, darting into every corner and across every object, includingher.
Never before had she felt so naked. Without her mask, she lay in the middle of the bed still flushed and replete from Chaz’s lovemaking, her every thought and expression totally exposed to his unforgiving gaze. She snatched at the bedcover to hide herself. Fortunately, his attention remained fixed on her face, overlooking another of her secrets, asecret that would have been revealed if he’d paid closer attention.
The unnatural calm stretched into an unbearable minute, the tension as punishing as the light. Then he swore, the words harsh and crude, stealing the lingering traces of sweetness from theroom.
“It was a trick!” He erupted from the bed. “From the beginning you and your brother have made a fool of me.”
“No, Chaz.” She held out her hand in supplication. “Please. Let me explain.”
“What’s to explain?” He prowled the room, his nudity making his rage all the more unnerving. “Big brother ripped us apart nine years ago. And now, for some damn reason he’s decided to thrust us together again. The master puppeteer yanking the strings.”
“That was my fault. You were the only man I ever loved and—”
He approached the bed, magnificent in his rage. “And so now I’m good enough for him? Now that I have property and a home and money, I’m an acceptable husband for his sister?”
“He didn’t know you had those things. Ididn’t know.”
“He had me investigated, Shayne. There’s no other explanation.” He snatched his trousers from the floor and thrust his legs into them. “That explains both the ticket and your presence. Well, thanks, but no thanks. Ihad my strings chopped off by the Beaumonts before. Iwon’t allow it to happen again.”
So history would repeat itself. Once more she’d share a single night with the man who’d captured her heart all those years ago. And once more, she’d lose love. No. No! She’d been passive for too long, afraid for more years than she could count. And what had it gotten her? She swept from the bed, wrapping the cover around herself like a sarong. Her hair tumbled in a wild tangle about her shoulders, but she didn’t care. She faced him down, anger and determination burning within.
“You’re not leaving without me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Shayne.”
“You promised.”
“Only because I didn’t know who you were.”
She had to convince him, no matter what it took. It was their only chance at happiness—achance he needed as desperately as she, whether he realized it yet, or not. “You came for a wife. Or had you forgotten that minor detail. There’s not enough time to find someone else.”
“There’s time.” He thrust his arms into his dress shirt, shoving the tails into his trousers. It hung open, revealing the bronzed chest she’d taken such delight in kissing less than an hour ago. Ashudder ran through her at the memory. “There may not be a lot of choices, but it’s not morning, yet.”
“You’re going to walk away from what we just shared?”
“As much as I appreciate your generous sacrifice—”
“Don’t!” The pain was so intense she swayed with it. “Don’t tarnish what happened in that bed. Leave if you want. But don’t destroy something so miraculous on your way out.”
