A TEMPORARY MARRIAGE: PART ONE (AVALON BAY ROMANCE SERIES Book 1) (3 page)

“I was born here, but live in Manhattan now, but my mom and aunt live here. They own the Lighthouse Café.”

“Oh, are you Cassie?”

“That’s me,” she said.

“Your mother talks about you so much. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jacqueline Young,” she said, holding out her hand, which Cassie gladly shook.

“Nice to meet you, too, Jacqueline.”

“Are these for your mom’s birthday?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Indeed, but please don’t tell her,” Cassie said.

“Never, but I know she’ll love them.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen her looking at them in the window before,” Jacqueline confessed. “You must know your mother’s tastes well.”

The two began talking about business and Cassie felt she’d met her rival in someone passionate about what they did. Jacqueline clearly loved her store and everything about the arts, the way Cassie loved everything about boutique hotels and what made them distinct.

“Well, here you go,” Jacqueline said, handing over a small bag with a beautifully wrapped present in it.

“Thanks so much. It was a pleasure to meet you, Jacqueline. Hopefully I’ll see you around.”

“That would be great. Stop in any time, just to chat or whatever,” she said with a smile.

It was noon already when Cassie left the shop. She had to hurry because she wanted to shower and primp a little for this interesting lunch meeting at what was clearly a high end restaurant.

Dressed in a simple but elegant blue, short V-necked dress and a white linen jacket and some low heeled sandals, she appraised herself in the mirror and put a splash of her navy blue mascara on to make her blue eyes pop just a bit more. “There we go,” she said softly.

Then she took off and went to her rental car and programmed Delfino’s address into it and made her way to the outskirts of town. She felt strangely nervous, curious about seeing Richard, whom she hadn’t seen or talked to since she was fourteen. They’d always gotten along well enough and she’d always had a soft spot for him because he seemed so self conscious about his acne, and all those other things that made teenagers feel awkward. It’d be interesting to see if he’d become an architect like he said, or even if he was married. Her aunt Maggie surely didn’t talk like he was married, though.

Now that she’d arrived at the restaurant, she suddenly felt nervous, but also hungry. Her stomach growled as the subtle scent of amazing, made from scratch, Italian food lingered in the air.

As Cassie walked into the restaurant, she immediately spotted a man dressed in a smart gray business suit up by the bar. He was glancing at his watch. “Excuse me,” she said to the hostess, “I’m supposed to meet Philip Grady.”

She pointed to him at the bar, just as he turned around to look at her. Perhaps he’d heard her.

“Hi, Philip,” she said, walking over. “I’m Cassie, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Cassie, so good of you to come,” he said as he bent to lightly kiss her cheek. “Unfortunately, Richard is not here yet. He had some kind of problem on one of his construction sites, but he’ll be here shortly.”

“Ah, so I have you all to myself for a little while,” she smiled. “Lucky me.”

“No, lucky me,” he said, matching her lightly flirtatious banter.

“Drink?” He asked.

“A glass of Chardonnay, please.”

Philip ordered her wine and pulled out a bar stool for her.

“I’ll admit, I’m bursting with curiosity as to what this is all about,” Cassie said forthrightly. She saw no point in pretending that she wasn’t.

“Well, that discussion had better wait until Richard arrives.”

“I always thought he wanted to be an architect, not a builder,” Cassie said.

“Well, he did study architecture, but he also runs the ranch and builds homes.”

“That must take a tremendous amount of time,” Cassie commented. She was impressed with the work ethic he must have, without even meeting him as an adult yet.

“Yes, and he’s one of the best.”

“He’s not married, I hear.” As she said it she couldn’t help but notice an uncomfortable look spread across Philip’s face.

“No, not yet. But tell me about you and Manhattan.”

Cassie began talking to Philip about her life in Manhattan and added amusing anecdotes about her job in the hotel. They were so busy in their conversation they failed to notice Richard enter the restaurant.

***

Richard Gallagher had not had a good day. He’d been up most of the night with one of his horses suffering from a difficult breech birth. This had been followed by problems with builders on one of his condominium projects. And on top of all that there was the stress about the will and his grandfather’s odd wishes. How on earth could he persuade someone to accept such a mad proposal, especially when he didn’t desire to be married, either?

As he hurried into Delfino’s, already thirty minutes late, he immediately spotted Philip seated at the bar looking relaxed and all too happy with a woman with a mane of golden blonde hair, and long killer legs. Good God, was that Cassie? If it was, she’s changed from the gangly girl he’d remembered. In a way, he wished she’d be ugly because it would make the whole idea of the proposal less ludicrous if she wasn’t a woman with options—lots of options.

As he stood staring at them, Philip spotted him and waved. When Cassie turned her head, she saw a man standing just inside the entrance to the restaurant and watched a transformed God walk toward her, clad in skintight jeans and long feline strides. There were no signs of an acne faced teenager in her sights. She was conscious of her heart quickening and she moistened her suddenly dry lips.

Reaching the bar, he stood next to her and looked at her. She watched a smile spread across his face. “Cassie, how wonderful to see you after all this time.” Then he bent down to kiss her lightly on the cheek.

She stood up, giving him a hug, both out of instinct and a crazy desire to touch him. “Richard, it’s been so long,” she said. She could smell his tangy after shave, and the male scent of him invaded her senses. Being twenty-eight, she’d dated a number of men, but she never remembered having these sensations, not even with her old college boyfriend Marcus.
Now I know what Aunt Maggie meant
, she thought.

“You must allow me to apologize for being so late.”

“No need, Richard. Philip explained you had some problems and he’s been keeping me quite entertained.”

“I bet he has,” Richard said.

Cassie smiled, but before anything else could be said, the maitre d’ came over and asked them if they were ready to move to their table.

“Yes, I believe we are,” Philip said. “Cassie, Richard, shall we?” He got up and extended his arm out.

Cassie was still standing and Richard offered her his arm, which she was glad to take.

“Allow me,” he said in a rugged, but smooth tone.

She was taken aback by the energy from his touch, yet again. It was so powerful and everything about his tall frame next to her 5’7” was exciting.

Cassie was seated between the two men at a circular table with crisp white cloths, real silverware, crystal glasses in front of a large window that had uninterrupted views of the small deserted cove below and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean beyond.

“Richard, I am so sorry for your loss. Your grandfather was a special man,” Cassie said turning to Richard. “I really liked him a lot.”

“Thank you,” he replied, looking uncomfortable with the sentiment. Cassie couldn’t help but notice this and it made her both puzzled and nervous.

“I’m glad that I got a chance to see him last time I was here. It was a really great conversation. Just as spirited as I remembered him being as a kid,” Cassie said. She felt the need to talk and Richard seemed quite tongue tied—something she did recall from his mannerisms as a kid.

She watched Richard, his arms resting on the table in front of him; the sleeves on his shirt were turned back to slightly below his elbows, revealing tanned muscled forearms lightly dusted with dark hair. His tanned face boasted a flawlessly straight aristocratic nose, high cheekbones, lips that were sensual and full and a square sturdy chin, with a small cleft in its center. Feeling her eyes on him, he faced her and smiled. God, he is devastating, she mused.

The waiter brought their menus and a bottle of Cabernet and they all decided what they were going to feast on, agreeing to share an antipasto misto appetizer and a seafood platter for the lunch that came with various pastas, roasted vegetables, and bread.

Cassie couldn’t help but notice the way Richard and Philip kept glancing at each other. She looked at the two, waiting for them to take the lead. After all, they were the ones who’d felt the meeting was necessary, not her. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that it was a bonus to be there because Richard was absolutely gorgeous.

“We might as well dive into the business of the will and get that out of the way,” Philip said. “Afterward, we can relax and enjoy the meal.”

“Great,” Cassie said. She looked over to Richard, who was playing with the edge of his napkin and taking deep breaths. She thought he might just start hyperventilating.

“As I mentioned on the phone, Cassie, Mr. Gallagher spoke extremely highly of you.” Philip paused for a moment, glancing momentarily at Richard, before turning his attention back to Cassie and clearing his throat. When he continued to talk, his voice was unsteady. “Yes, so as I was saying, Cassie, Mr. Gallagher liked you and admired you, rather a lot, actually. So much so that he thought it would be a very good idea for you to marry Richard.”

Cassie, who had just taken another sip of her wine, almost spat it out. “Excuse me, what?” she cried, and turned to face Richard, who had quite the miserable look on his face.

“Mr. Gallagher would like the two of you to get married,” Philip said. His words were direct, but Cassie’s mind was jumbled.

“I don’t understand.”

“After Mr. Gallagher ran into you on your last visit here, he stopped by my office the following day and added a provision to his will. Richard will only inherit the Gallagher ranch if the two of you get married within four months of his death.”

Cassie was speechless and realized she was gripping her wineglass so tightly she was in danger of snapping the slender crystal stem.

No wonder Philip was so flustered and Richard seemed so nervous. If they hadn’t been that way she’d have thought it was a joke, but they were serious.

“This is ludicrous. Why would he do that?” she said, as startled by the thought of marriage as she would be if a shark was coming at her, jaws wide open.

Philip looked at Richard, who explained. “My grandfather has been on my back since I was twenty-six to settle down and start a family. When I turned thirty, five months ago and still didn’t have a steady girlfriend, he really started putting the pressure on me. I’ve had many girlfriends over the years, but no one serious since college.”

“What happened to her?” Cassie asked, not even sure why it was relevant, but she was treading, trying to buy some time to process what Philip had said.

Richard was quiet for a while and looked into his wine glass as he answered. “She cheated on me. And I guess I’ve never really trusted a woman since, and to be honest I have no interest in getting married or having children, and grandfather knew it.”

Cassie sensed his vulnerability about this and she felt so bad for him. He’d lost his parents and siblings at such a young age and all he’d had left was his grandfather. Then his grandfather did this…wow, it must be so difficult.

“Okay, but why me?”

“He knew we used to get along and he always liked you,” Richard said, his voice drained of any emotion.

“We were kids,” Cassie protested.  “I don’t mean to sound rude, but why on earth would I agree to this?”

“It’s really not that bad,” Philip said. “You only have to stay married for a year. If you want out after that, there’s no problem.”

“But I live and work in Manhattan. My life isn’t here. I somehow doubt your Gramps meant a long distance marriage,” she said. It was an attempt to bring some humor into the situation, which was definitely humorless.

“No, that wouldn’t work,” Philip replied seriously. He reached for his briefcase and produced a copy of the will from a manila folder within it and flipped to a page that was marked by a small Post-it note.

Cassie could only watch and she felt numb, suddenly not as hungry as she had been. She stared at her glass of wine, feeling like she’d like to drink it all down quickly, as if it would help her process this.

“According to Mr. Gallagher’s instructions, you need to marry within the next three and a half months, and live together under the same roof as husband and wife for a year after that—and in Avalon Bay.”

“Seems rather foolish now, but here I was thinking he’d left me some small trinket to remember him by. This is insane,” Cassie said flabbergasted. “He was quite the matchmaker, wasn’t he?”

“It’s a lot to take in,” Philip sympathized. “Richard was equally shocked when I broke the news to him.”

She looked at Richard and felt so confused. He was scrumptious, sure, but she didn’t know him. Getting married for the first time was supposed to be a big deal—for more than the wedding, also because you were in love. She admitted lust, but love, no, she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry,” Richard said. “Honestly, Cassie, I knew nothing about this until this past week.”

“I’m flattered that he considered me so highly, but it’s a bit puzzling, too. Even if I was open to it, I’m not in a position to put my life on hold for the next year. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that.”

“I understand completely,” Richard said. “I don’t blame you at all, Cassie. It is madness, and you clearly are not mad.”

“And you?”

“I don’t really know,” Richard confessed.

That moment was the first time that she thought that Richard may actually want to marry her. Of course he wanted the money, but wow, what a price to pay.

Cassie was saved by the waiter bringing food and thankful for the silent reprieve as they all enjoyed the antipasto misto. However, when the waiter removed the plates, Philip was ready to talk again. “There’s more to this. What you decide to do could affect others.”

This remark caused Cassie to put her glass down and pay close attention. “How so?”

“The Gallagher ranch and its subsidiaries is the largest employer in the town and surrounding area. Most are locals with family here. I believe your Uncle William is among them. There is a sizable bank account that goes with the ranch and there’s money in it for operating costs, payroll and other emergencies. But if Richard doesn’t inherit the ranch, he won’t have access to the bank account and no way to meet the payroll.”

“That’s terrible!” Something was off kilter, though. Cassie believed that Richard was a wealthy man in his own right. She was about to ask this, when Richard spoke up, almost as if he knew what was passing through her mind.

“All of my money is tied up in the ranch and my construction company,” he explained. “Last year, I took out a personal line of credit to expand the construction company. I’m maxed out. If I don’t inherit I’ll be ruined right along with everyone else.”

The look on Richard’s face tugged at her emotions and she wanted to help, she really did, but this? It really was too much to take in and a tremendous burden. She felt her hands shaking from all the adrenaline rushing through her as she processed the scenario, which was movie worthy.

“The bank won’t approve releasing additional funds until the matter of ownership is made clear,” Philip said.