Page 4 of The Hunted Wife

He wondered why. What had happened to cause her to do that? He would consider that another day as he picked up the suitcase. “You can follow me as far as the bottom of the ranch road. Or driveway some would call it. I’m not one of them.”

“I’ll keep my rental car. I just never know when I’ll need to have a car available to me.”

“That’s fine. I have to get gas before we head to the courthouse and then home.”

She smiled.

He swore the sun was suddenly brighter, except they were still inside. He shook his head, willing his vision to be normal again. Although he wondered if it ever would. All she needed to do was smile and he was a goner. It would be interesting to see how his brothers take to Millie and, more importantly, how Millie would react to his brothers.

Millie must have lost her darn mind. Marrying a complete stranger. She should definitely have her head examined.

But she really didn’t have a choice. Adam presented the perfect escape, though he didn’t know that. Ricard Sokolov would never find her on an out-of-the-way ranch in the mountains outside Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

I mean, really, how bad could it be?

Chapter 2

Millie couldn’t believe she was actually marrying a man she met less than an hour ago. But she knew that Sokolov was here, in Steamboat, because she’d seen his brigadier, Viktor, driving around town. She needed to hide, the sooner the better and what safer place than in the mountains?

They found a judge out of court, and he was willing to marry them.

Adam gave her the bouquet of roses he bought at the grocery store.

She held them now to get married. Millie buried her nose in the flowers, but as with most roses now days, there was no scent. Holding them also hid the fact her hands were shaking like crazy. She hadn’t used her real name, which would make the marriage invalid. But the guilt she felt about lying to Adam was less than the fear of being discovered by Ricard. He would kill her to get the flash drive back, plus he was her fiancé. Would he kill her or marry her? Either way would solve his problem for the immediate future, but if he killed her, her father would kill him in revenge, despite what she’d done.

Judge Hardy was a middle-aged man whose brown hair was balding on top. He wore a gray suit rather than his robe for the ceremony.

Adam wore a red plaid flannel shirt and jeans. He’d combed his dark brown hair back from his face which only emphasized the square cut of his jaw and the color of his deep blue eyes.

Millie was in her soft baby blue sweater dress, which though pretty, definitely not what she expected to be wearing for her wedding day.

The judge cleared his throat. “Shall we begin? Do you Adam Sullivan take this woman, Millie Watson, to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

Adam smiled down at Millie. “I do.”

Judge Hardy turned toward Millie and smiled. “Now, do you, Millie Watson, take this man, Adam Sullivan, to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

She smiled at Adam. “I do.” Her voice was clear and strong.

“Do you have rings to exchange?”

Millie shook her head no.

“No, Your Honor, we’ll get those at a later date.”

“Very well then, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The judge crossed his hands in front of him and grinned at the couple.

Adam cupped Millie’s face, then lowered his head and took her lips with his.

The kiss started gentle, but he took it deeper.

Millie’s pulse raced as she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, fisting the front of Adam’s shirt in her left hand, the flowers in her right hand and hung on for dear life.

“Ahem.” The judge cleared his throat.

Adam and Millie broke apart.

He grinned and put his arm around Millie’s shoulders.