Golden Chances (Borrowed Brides 1)

“All right!” she yelled at him, losing control. “All right, I admit it. I lied to you. I deceived you. I betrayed your trust. I let you believe I was something I wasn’t. Is that what you want to hear?” Tears formed in her eyes, then rolled down her cheeks. She ruthlessly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

Reese placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into the warmth of his wide chest. “What I want to hear,” he said gently, “is why.”

Faith pulled away from him. “The reason doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

“Why?” She turned on him. “Because you can’t stand the thought of a liar and a cheat giving birth to your child? Isn’t that all you really care about? Your contract? Your child? Your way?” She whirled around and raced to the safety of the bedroom. She slammed the door, then turned the key in the lock.

Reese stared at the bedroom door. “Faith, open the door.”

There was no answer. He rattled the knob. The door was locked. He wanted to break it down. He longed to kick the damn door in, grab Faith, throw her down on the floor and make hot, sweet love to her. That was what he wanted to do, what he needed to do to ease the throbbing ache in his groin.

So why the hell didn’t he do it?

Because, he reminded himself, there was a better way to get Faith’s attention, an easier way. There was no need to break down a perfectly good door. He had Joy.

Reese walked to the door of the pink bedroom. Joy was sitting on the floor playing with her dolls. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Hello. You wanna play dolls with me?” She looked so hopeful, he couldn’t resist.

He smiled back. “Sure, sprite, why not?”

Lured by the sound of their laughter, Faith found them playing dolls several hours later.

Reese was sitting on the floor, his jacket discarded, his brocade vest unbuttoned, a licorice stick clamped in the corner of his mouth. Joy sat across from him at the little table. A black ring surrounded her pink mouth and there were traces of the sticky, black candy on her hands as well. Her two dolls occupied the other chairs.

At first glance, they appeared to be having an afternoon tea party, but closer inspection revealed a very different kind of entertainment. A deck of cards lay in the center of the miniature table and a pair of cards lay face up in front of each player—Reese, Joy, and the two dolls. A stack of copper pennies stood in front of Joy.

“Hit me again,” Joy ordered, squealing with delight as Reese flipped another card in her direction. “Hit them, too!” She pointed to the dolls.

Reese threw back his head and roared with laughter, then dutifully tossed a card in front of each doll.

“Did we win? Do we get another penny?”

“Yep, you win again.” Reese shook his head. “Dealer loses. The house pays a penny. You’re quite a cardsharp, sprite.”

“Pay us a penny.” Joy bobbed up and down in her chair. “We won.”

Reese stuck his hand in his vest pocket and extracted three more shiny pennies. “Next time, we play for licorice sticks, sprite. If I keep giving you pennies, I’ll be broke.”

“Are you actually teaching her

to play cards?” Faith asked from the doorway. “To gamble?”

Reese removed the candy stick from his mouth, broke off a piece from the end, and offered it to Faith. He grinned unashamedly. She sounded so shocked, so outraged. “Well, actually, I’m teaching her how to cheat.”

“Cheat?” Faith moved closer and snatched the licorice out of his hand.

“You’re welcome,” Reese drawled. “She’s quite good at cheating.” He handed Joy a penny, then placed one in front of each doll. “She’s greedy, too. Must be a family trait.”

Faith narrowed her eyes at him and drew in a breath before she realized his brown eyes were sparkling with laughter. He was deliberately trying to make her lose her temper. “Joy can’t read. How can she cheat?”

“She hasn’t lost a hand, yet.” He raised one eyebrow. “Of course, I’ve dealt all the cards.”

“Of course,” Faith agreed, fascinated by this side of Reese.

“And I stacked the deck,” he added.