Page 104 of The Rented Bride

“Ace,” Trent said, “Maria is married and her husband’s upstairs.”

Ace shrugged. “That’s like a thousand miles away.” He made space for her next to him. “Let’s get cooking.”

Cassie grasped Trent’s arm. “Darling,” she said in a too-sweet voice, “we need to talk.”

Trent nodded. “I know, but this isn’t the right time. I need a moment.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but Trent turned on his heel and hurried from the room. He jogged down the hallway, reached the servants’ stairs and took them two at a time to the third floor. He strode down the hall and paused at the door to his grandfather’s bedroom. Swallowing hard, he rested his hand on the knob, then entered. He stared at the bed. Emotions clogged his throat. His grandfather’s favorite blanket lay neatly across the bed and the pillows, as if he’d never been there. Trent’s chest tightened. He walked to the ottoman and sat across from the chair where his grandfather had spent most of his time in the last month.

“Granddad, you were right. I love her.” He stared at the chair, certain his grandfather could hear him. “Of course, I screwed up. Too much time in the boardroom…and always the wrong woman in the bedroom, until now.” He gave a low laugh. “But I’m going to fix it. I’m going to make her believe in me. I know you would approve.”

Trent jumped to his feet and hurried to the walk-in closet. He went to the far corner, pushed aside the clothes to reveal a tall, thick safe. He turned the dial left to three, right twenty-nine, and one full revolution to the number one, then twisted the handle. The door opened. On a small shelf at the top of the safe sat a small velvet box. He picked up the box and opened it. A simple Celtic braided gold band with sapphires embedded in the braids lay on satin. I

t hadn’t occurred to Trent to give Lindsey the ring his grandfather had given his grandmother. Lindsay would never have been satisfied with anything but the large rock he put on Cassie’s finger. Trent smiled. No wonder his grandfather had figured out Cassie was a rented bride. When Trent slipped this ring on her finger there would be no doubt she was truly his wife.

***

What the hell was Trent up to? Did he think he was saving her from having to tell her family the truth? There was no easy way out of this mess.

Cassie’s mother had Ace fetching the different foods she needed to prepare lunch. No one would miss her. Cassie slipped from the kitchen and started down the hallway. Where had Trent gone? Meg came into view up ahead and—Cassie cursed—Sophia walked alongside her.

“Cassie, we were looking for you.” Meg approached. “I love your family.”

“This place is massive,” Sophia said. “How do you keep from getting lost?”

“I’ll let you know when I stop getting lost,” Cassie said.

She discerned the shrewd light that entered Sophia’s eyes, and realized her cousin knew something was up. Trent emerged from the stairway up ahead.

“Excuse me,” Cassie said. “I need to talk to Trent.” She hurried past them and met Trent halfway down the hallway.

She grabbed his arm. “This can’t go on. We need to talk.”

“Agreed. Why were you leaving?”

“You know perfectly well why I was leaving. You paid me—you even gave me a nice bonus. The job was done.”

“That doesn’t explain why you would rush out without saying goodbye. Customary business practice is to shake hands and part amicably.”

“Really? I think we did a little more than shake hands. What more would I need to do?”

“Okay, I have lousy timing,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes. I’m going to fix those mistakes. Give me those rings.”

She stared.

“You didn’t want them in the first place,” he said.

She wrenched the rings from her finger.

“I hurt you when I gave you another woman’s ring,” he said.

Anger flared. “I wasn’t hurt. I just thought it was in bad taste. But you don’t have to worry, I’ll give you back your precious rings.” She thrust her hand forward, the rings resting on her palm.

Trent seized her hand. The rings tumbled to the floor, but his gaze held hers as he slowly dropped to one knee.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“What I should have done in Miami.” He slipped his family ring on her trembling finger.