The Millionaire Claims His Wife
“Annie...”
“What?” She swung around and faced him. “It wouldn’t work,” she said flatly. “Not for you, not for me—not for anybody else.”
“Who else? Nobody’d need to know.”
Annie drew herself up. “What about your fiancée?”
“My...?”
“Janet Pendleton. How would you explain it to her?”
Chase frowned. Another lie, coming back to bite him in the tail. “Well,” he said, “well, I’d just tell her—I’d say...” His eyes focused on Annie’s. “I’ll tell her whatever it is you’d tell your pansy poet.”
Annie flushed. “That’s one thing about you, Chase Cooper. You always did have a way with words. I thought I told you, Milton is a professor at the college.”
“He’s a limp-wristed twit, and I’ll bet anything you’re taking one of his dumb courses. What is it this time? How To Speak Sixteenth-Century English In A Twenty-First Century World? Fifty Ways To Turn Simple Thoughts Into Total Obfuscation?”
“Obfuscation,” Annie said, batting her lashes. “I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not. How can you be so gullible? Flocking to dumb courses given by jerks with too many initials after their names...”
“You have a lot of initials after your name, Mr. Cooper. But, of course, you’re not a jerk.”
“You’re damn right, I’m not. At least I’ve got some calluses on my hands. I know the meaning of honest labor.”
“Sorry, Chase. You’ve lost the right to use that word. ‘Honest’ does not apply, after the whopper you told our daughter.”
“Is that how you met him?”
“Who?”
“Hoffman. Am I right? Did you take a course he taught?”
“Milton is a Shakespearean scholar with an outstanding reputation.”
“In what? Seducing married women?”
Annie’s eyes flashed. “I am not a married woman. Yes, I took a course he taught and yes, he writes poetry. Beautiful poetry, which I’m sure is beyond your comprehension. Unfortunately, since I know it’ll disappoint you to hear this, Milton is not gay.”
Chase folded his arms over his chest. “I suppose you speak from personal experience,” he said, and felt his stomach clench.
Annie barely hesitated. Why worry about telling a lie to the master of the art? “Of course,” she said, with a little smile.
Chase’s jaw tightened. This was a moment for some cleverly sarcastic remark. Unfortunately, his mind was a blank. No, that wasn’t true. It had filled with an image of Annie in Hoffman’s arms, of his fist connecting with Hoffman’s narrow jaw.
“How nice for you both,” he said coldly.
Annie tossed her head. “We think so.”
“So, when’s the big day?”
“What big...?” She swallowed. “You mean, the wedding?” She shrugged and mentally crossed her fingers. “We, ah, we haven’t set an actual date yet. And you?”
“And me, what?”
“When are you and Janet tying the knot?”
Knot was right. Chase could feel the noose, slipping around his throat.
“Soon.”
“This summer?”
“It depends. I’ve got this project starting in Seattle.”
“And, of course, that comes first.”
“It’s an important job, Annie.”
“I’m sure it is. And I’m sure Janet understands that.”
“She does, yes. She knows it takes twenty hours out of a twenty-four-hour day to take a firm like the one my old man left me to the top.”
“Better her than me.”
“You’re damned right!”
They glared at each other, both of them remembering—just in case it had slipped their minds—how glad they were not to be living with each other anymore, and then Chase turned away.
“I’ve got a plane to catch,” he said.
“That’s it. Just take off. Turn your back on the mess you made.”
“Dammit, what would you like me to do? I’m due in Seattle for a site inspection tomorrow afternoon. Hell, what am I talking about?” Frowning, he pushed back the sleeve of his sweater and checked his watch. “It’s this afternoon.”
“Run away,” Annie said coldly, folding her arms, “before we’ve even finished talking or found a solution to the problem you created.”
“Fine. You want to talk? You can drive me to my hotel so I can pick up my things. Then you can drive me to the airport.”
Fifteen minutes to his hotel, Annie thought, eyeing him narrowly, and then forty more to Bradley Airport. One hour, more or less. Surely she could survive that much time in his company if it meant they might come up with a plan.