The Husband She Never Knew

“Does a man need a reason for wanting to see his wife?”

“He does when that wife is engaged to marry another man,” Vicki replied.

Jamie froze. “He’s proposed?”

“Well, no, not yet…” Vicki admitted. “But it wouldn’t be fair to let you think that this relationship, or whatever it is that we shared for twenty-four hours, would ever amount to anything more than a night in a storm. You can’t possibly believe this so-called marriage of ours is real.”

“But it is. Otherwise you wouldn’t need a divorce to end it.”

Vicki exhaled her frustration in a long sigh. “Yes, it’s real legally. But certainly not emotionally. We’re two completely different people. We live completely different lifestyles. We have different goals. We enjoy different things.”

“We both enjoyed kissing each other.” Jamie’s green eyes sparkled.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” Vicki insisted. “I’m attracted to another man. I’m going to marry another man as soon as you—”

“Yeah, I know. As soon as I sign the papers. And—” Jamie held back a grin “—as soon as he asks you…”

Dear Reader,

This book is about mistakes. Not the little social blunders that make us blush for a moment and are soon forgotten. No, this story is about a really big whopper, the kind we can only reveal to our best friend because if the rest of the world knew, we would suffer immeasurable humiliation.

Maybe you’ve suffered through one or two lapses in judgment in your life. I know I have, and a couple of those mistakes have come back to haunt me. But maybe you were one of the lucky ones—maybe fate exercised its fickle mastery over your future and saved you from the transgressions of your youth.

In this book you will meet Vicki Sorenson and experience the one big blunder from her past. Will it ultimately ruin her life or will it turn out to be one of those rare sublime moments of serendipity?

I love to hear from readers. You can write to me at P.O. Box 550068, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33355, e-mail me at [e-mail] or visit my Web site at www.cynthiathomason.com.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Thomason

The Husband She Never Knew

Cynthia Thomason

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my talented brother, Doug, and his charming wife, Sal.

From different continents—

like the hero and heroine of this book—

they prove that second-chance love can be glorious.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PROLOGUE

Orlando, Florida, 1990

VICKI SORENSON parked her ancient Ford Pinto a half block from the Orlando courthouse and stepped into the sweltering humidity. She plucked her blouse away from her damp back and pressed her lips together to blend the two quick swipes of Watermelon Ice she’d just applied in the rearview mirror. To make sure no lipstick had stuck on her teeth, she ran her tongue over them. A girl shouldn’t have lipstick on her teeth on her wedding day.

She walked toward the courthouse, her shoulder bag thumping against her hip with each step. Kenny Corcoran, the short-order cook from the Orange Blossom Diner where she worked waved from the top of the stairs. At least there was some measure of comfort in seeing the friend who’d masterminded this plan today.

And then she had her first glimpse of the man she’d come to meet. The man she would marry just as soon as they could sign their names to the license and get an appointment with a justice of the peace. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she reached the first step. This man, this Jamie Malone, seemed to fill the courthouse entrance. Energy fairly radiated from him, and kept him in perpetual motion, arching his spine, rubbing the back of his neck, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Kenny twirled his hand in a hurry-up gesture. “Come on, Vicki. We’ve got a few minutes. You two can get acquainted.”

Get acquainted. What a ridiculous thing to suggest to a bride and groom, but that was exactly what Vicki and Jamie needed to do if they were to have any hope of convincing immigration officials that this marriage was legitimate. She stopped two steps shy of Jamie Malone and resisted the urge to run. She had to remember why she was doing this, why she couldn’t back out now.

Kenny, a shadowy figure himself with connections to a secret society of Irish brethren, introduced her. Jamie Malone smiled and extended his hand. She grasped it as she climbed the two steps, whereupon she noticed that he topped her five foot six by several inches. His fingers were long and lean, like the rest of him. Grease stains darkened his nails, though he appeared clean and freshly shaven. He was a workingman, this Irish immigrant, who needed a green card to stay in the United States.

“Hello, miss,” he said. “It’s a fine thing you’re doin’ today. You’re probably savin’ my sorry ass from a Belfast jail, you know.”

She stared at Jamie a long moment and realized her ears were appraising him as much as her eyes were. His accented English, lilting and lyrical, flowed like the thick, damp waves of hair he’d tried to tame in a strip of leather at his nape.

“Don’t thank me, Mr. Malone,” she said. “I have my reasons for agreeing to this, and you know what they are.”

His smile stayed in place, despite her curt response. “Indeed I do, miss.” He patted the pocket of his plaid shirt. “I have the cash right here. But you’ll not begrudge me the chance to express my gratitude. I can’t imagine a thing like this would be easy for a girl.”

“No, it’s not,” she admitted. But at twenty-one Vicki found it hard to imagine that this one impulsive decision could affect the rest of her life. People got out of marriages all the time. Her biggest concern was seeing that wad of bills transferred from Jamie’s shirt to her pocketbook and not getting caught by the immigration officials. The rest would work itself out in time.

“Well, then, let’s go,” Kenny urged. “Jamie, hold her hand. And smile, both of you. It’s your wedding day.” He opened the courthouse door and let the soon-to-be newlyweds precede him inside.

CHAPTER ONE

Fort Lauderdale, 2003

VICTORIA SORENSON wasn’t about to let the fact that she was a married woman spoil this night’s celebration—not when she’d seen her husband of thirteen years for perhaps only ninety minutes in total. And not when she was anticipating becoming engaged to the man of her dreams in two weeks.

Louise Duncan leaned forward and looked at Vicki with unmasked skepticism. “Okay, Vic,” she said, “that sparkle in your eye is about to blind me. What are we toasting?”

Vicki refilled her friend’s wineglass with the better-than-average merlot she’d chosen for this occasion and smiled at her across the white linen tablecloth. “It’s that obvious?”

Louise speared another piece of shrimp scampi and lifted her fork to her mouth. “This isn’t a fast-food joint, my friend. This is a table with an ocean view at one of Fort Lauderdale’s trendiest restaurants, and you’re picking up the check. It isn’t my birthday, so what’s up?”

Enjoying the advantage of having information someone else didn’t, Vicki folded her hands on the table and grinned at the woman who’d been her best friend for fifteen years. “Guess.”

Louise smirked, a gesture she’d mastered to perfection. “I’ll keep guessing as long as you keep buying the wine.”

Vicki laughed, knowing she couldn’t prolong the suspense another minute. “Graham’s going to propose. I just know it.”

Louise dropped her fork against the side of her china plate and gaped at Vicki. “Wow. That might have been my fiftieth guess. Do you think he’s gotten the approval of all those people on the Townsend library walls?”

“I have Graham’s approval, which is what really matters,” Vicki answered. She tucked a strand of recently highlighted tawny hair behind her ear. “And he says I’ve progressed from probationary to acceptable on the Townsend-acquaintance meter.”

“That must be a relief,” Louise said with her usual sarcasm.

“It is, for Graham’s sake,” Vicki admitted. She knew it was important to him that his parents accept her as a member of the Townsend family tree, and it looked as if they finally had. Graham’s Massachusetts pedigree had always been more of a problem than a blessing for Vicki. She’d constantly struggled to make Graham’s relatives appreciate her better qualities, such as her work ethic and ambition, and pay less attention to her Midwestern immigrant background.

“What are you going to do about kids?” Louise asked. “Have you told him your reservations about having children?”

“Not yet, but I will.” It was definitely a topic Vicki would have to deal with, and soon. There was nothing essentially wrong with the idea of being a mother. She knew that lots of women handled the job very well. But she doubted she herself would ever be a good mother. How could she when her role models, her own parents, used guilt and the threat of retribution as their primary child-rearing tools? Plus, Nils and Clara Sorenson had never shown the least delight in any aspect of maintaining a family. They viewed their responsibilities as parents as just another burden in a life of constant drudgery.

“I’m sure Graham and I can come to a compromise on the matter of children,” she said when she realized Louise was still waiting for an explanation.

Louise laughed. “Oh, honey, you can’t make a compromise when it comes to kids. They’re either here or they aren’t. I don’t see much middle ground.”

Louise dunked a bread stick into her wine and nibbled on her newly pink creation. “But enough about that. What exactly makes you think Graham’s going to propose?”

Grateful to steer the conversation away from kids, Vicki said, “He’s been dropping obvious hints. Last night we were talking about my shop opening in two weeks and he said, ‘That’s going to be a really big night for you.’”

“And?”

“And he said he was proud of me and he hoped our relationship lasted a long, long time.”

“Well, Vic, he is your antique importer. Are you sure he wasn’t referring to a successful business relationship?”

Vicki let a smug expression precede her answer. “I’m quite sure, my cynical friend, and you will be, too, when I tell you that last night I distinctly remember leaving my amethyst ring on the coffee table.” Vicki wiggled her left hand at Louise. “The one I always wear on the third finger of this hand. When Graham left late last night the ring was gone. This afternoon he came by with a silly excuse about losing his business-card holder in the couch cushions. When he left, the ring was back on the coffee table.”

Louise nodded slowly. “Ah. The old steal-the-ring-to-get-the-size ploy.”

“Exactly. Now do you believe me?”

“Okay, now I believe you. So in two weeks you’re going to be the proprietor of one of the most fashionable new shops on Las Olas Boulevard, and you just might have a Townsend-family diamond glittering on your ring finger.”

Vicki laughed. “I don’t know if the in-laws will actually sacrifice a diamond for me, but I’ll be happy with a brand-new modest one.” She didn’t even try to squelch the tremor of delight that rippled through her. “After a year and a half, Lulu, it’s finally all coming together.”

Louise patted her hand fondly. “I’m happy for you, Vic, honestly.” Oddly, Louise’s expression did not reflect that happiness. “Look, I hope you’ll forgive me,” she said, “but somebody’s got to point out the one little complication that you’ve avoided for thirteen years.”

Vicki knew what was coming and was relieved that Louise had brought it up. “You’re right,” she said. “I should have handled the problem of Jamie Malone years ago, but until Graham, Jamie hadn’t been a concern in my life.”

Louise peered over the edge of her wine glass. “I’d call him more than a concern now, Vic. You can’t begin a life with your second husband until you’ve done something about the first one.”

Louise was right about that. And maybe she had avoided the man she’d married for cash after she’d moved to Florida. By the time she met Jamie, she’d used up her small savings and dropped out of college at the end of her junior year. Even after getting the money from Jamie, her life had been a constant struggle to survive on her own, and she hadn’t had time to clear up past mistakes.

It wasn’t until she discovered she had a knack for buying and selling antiques that her life finally got easier. She supported herself with enough profit left over each month to send money to her parents in Indiana. The gesture eased her guilt about leaving her family in financial straits while allowing her to keep a promise to herself never to go back to her humble, oppressive roots.

“You’re thinking about your parents again, aren’t you,” Louise said.

A ramshackle farmhouse on the edge of an Indiana cornfield left Vicki’s mind as Louise brought her back to the present. “Yeah, I was. I know you think I used my family as an excuse for letting those years slip away without taking care of my situation with Jamie Malone.”

Louise sighed and attempted a smile. “I know you did, Vic, and I also know how hard you’ve worked to make a life for yourself away from your miserable, freeloading parents…”

The first hint of anger ignited in Vicki. “Don’t start, Louise,” she warned, feeling an irrational need to defend parents who probably didn’t deserve it.

“Okay, sorry. But if Graham pops the question, what are you going to do about Malone?”

“That’s where you come in,” Vicki said.

“I was afraid of that.”

“Come on, Louise, you’re not just my best friend. You’re also my lawyer. And I need your advice now more than I ever have. You’ve got to get me out of this.”

Louise’s smirk was back. “You should have asked for my advice thirteen years ago when you did this stupid thing.”

Vicki rolled her eyes. “You weren’t a lawyer then. And besides, I needed that money desperately.”

Louise shook her head in frustration. “Yeah, I know. There was a drought in Indiana. The barn roof was falling in. Daddy needed false teeth—”

“Stop it, Louise. I’ve told you I felt obligated.”

Louise pressed her lips together. “Okay, honey, I know all about your big heart. But to put it more kindly this time, I’ve seen your parents take advantage of you over and over again, and what you did thirteen years ago went beyond what anyone should expect from you.”

“Be fair, Louise. They didn’t know how I got that money.”

“True, but do you honestly think they would have cared?”

That hurt, but Vicki had to admit the truth in her friend’s words. Louise had a gift for seeing the simple facts, pleasant or not. It was an ability that Vicki had never really developed. Even now she still couldn’t judge her parents from an objective viewpoint. They were her parents, after all.

“Besides,” Louise continued, “you could have gotten into big trouble. Malone was a stranger to you!”

“No, he wasn’t. Not exactly. He was the friend of a friend.”

“But you knew he was a criminal.”

“He wasn’t a criminal!” Vicki was tired of defending herself over this issue. Louise would never comprehend Vicki’s motives for what she’d done that day, and why should she? Louise was the daughter of a pair of Orlando obstetricians who’d never demanded more of her than passing grades and weekly phone calls. But Vicki needed Louise’s help desperately, so she tried once more to make her understand about Jamie Malone. “He left Ireland to avoid going to prison. He was innocent of any wrongdoing. It was a family-loyalty thing. I told you all this years ago.”

“Yeah, I know,” Louise drawled without enthusiasm. “The poor guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Exactly.”

“So what do you want from me?”

“Get me a divorce. Or an annulment. Or make a case for abandonment. Whatever it takes. But do it quickly and quietly. When I get a ring in two weeks, I want to wear it as the respectable single woman the Townsends and Graham think I am.”

“This won’t be easy, you know that,” Louise said.

“I know, but I’m putting my future in your hands.”

Louise sighed. “Okay, our best chance is a divorce for the reason of abandonment. You’ll have to run a newspaper ad for four consecutive weeks in the county of his last-known address. After that, you’ll file papers with our court, and then you’ll wait a prescribed amount of time for Mr. Malone to come forward. If he doesn’t, and if the judge feels you have truly exhausted all reasonable efforts to locate him, he’ll grant a divorce on the grounds of abandonment.”

Vicki fought her escalating panic. “Four weeks? A prescribed amount of time? Lulu, I just told you I have to have this taken care of in two weeks.”

Louise narrowed her eyes and spoke in low tones. “And that’s not all. Your name will be in the newspaper, as will his, so you’d better hope that the issue of his green card and your fraudulent marriage in Orlando doesn’t ring a bell with an overzealous immigration official.”

Being accused of defrauding the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service after all these years was enough to turn Vicki’s blood to ice. And if Graham’s family saw her name in the paper and investigated her background, they would do everything in their power to keep Vicki from becoming a Townsend. She didn’t even want to think about Graham’s reaction. She loved him, but he could be extremely opinionated about issues of respectability.

“You’re scaring me, Louise,” she said. “Surely there must be a statute of limitations on this sort of thing.”

“I don’t know, but even if there is and even if you get away with a clean divorce, it could be a very long and expensive process. Remember, Malone’s in absentia. You’re shouldering all the expenses.”

Vicki pictured her dwindling savings account, and desperation crept into her voice. “I don’t have a lot of money, but time is the most important issue. The process you described takes too long. What else can I do?”

Louise drummed her fingers on the table while she considered Vicki’s question. Finally she said, “It’s a long shot, but you actually might be able to find this guy and get him to sign uncontested divorce papers. That way, you see him one time, he signs, you’re divorced in a Broward County court, and it’s over like any other failed marriage with no assets, liabilities or children to argue over.”

There was a ray of hope, after all. “So how do I find him?”

“Our firm uses a reliable detective agency. They claim they can find anybody. I can have an investigator call you.”

Vicki poured another inch of wine into Louise’s glass. “You’re an angel, Lulu. I’ll owe you big time.”

Louise arched her trim black eyebrows. “You bet you will.”

AT NINE O’CLOCK Monday morning Vicki met with her contractor and discussed the final decorative details for her shop. While they talked, a painter stenciled “Tea and Antiquities” in old-English script on the panels of the leaded-glass windows.

Vicki was pleased with the transformation of the two-thousand-square-foot store. After investing her life savings into this prime location of old-name insurance companies, law offices and upscale retail shops, she nervously anticipated the grand opening of Tea and Antiquities in twelve days. She hoped her shop would attract customers because of its originality. It was the only store on the street that offered the comfort and refinement of an English tearoom with the eye appeal of antiques she and Graham had personally selected.

The contractor had just left when Vicki’s phone rang. She crossed to a mahogany Chippendale desk to answer it. “Tea and Antiquities.”

“Miss Sorenson?”

She didn’t recognize the male voice. “Yes.”

“This is Russell Weaver from Insider Investigations. I got a call from Louise Duncan this morning advising me that you have a need for our services.”

Vicki set both elbows on the desk. Thank goodness. Louise hadn’t forgotten. “That’s right, Mr. Weaver. I need you to locate someone for me as quickly as possible.”

“A former husband, is that right?”

Louise had obviously tried to be discreet, and Vicki saw no reason to correct the misconception by calling Malone her current husband. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“The man’s name?”

“Jamie Malone.”

“Last known address?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Occupation?” Weaver asked questions as if following a script.

Unfortunately Vicki didn’t know her lines. “I’m not positive of that, either. I think he used to work as a carpenter.” She felt incredibly foolish. Certainly any woman would know more about a former husband.

“He changed jobs a lot,” she said to cover her ignorance and tried to overlook the snort of skepticism that came from the earpiece. “I haven’t seen him in thirteen years.”

“His age?”

Vicki let out a breath of relief. She knew this one. There was four years’ difference in their ages. “He’s thirty-eight.”

Mr. Weaver asked a few other pertinent questions to which Vicki responded with embarrassing ambiguity. Finally with a knowing smugness, he said, “Do you happen to have a description of your former husband, Miss Sorenson?”

“Well, of course.” That was truly an honest answer. How could she forget seeing Jamie Malone for the first time on the steps of the Orlando courthouse? Her knees had been knocking. Her palms had been sweating. She’d been trembling like the last leaf in a windstorm on the day she’d agreed to marry him for the generous sum of five thousand dollars.

Besides his physical characteristics, which were still clear in her mind, she remembered the underlying brashness of the man—a trait that was intimidating to a shy twenty-one-year-old farm girl who only wanted to get the disagreeable task over with and collect her money. Even Jamie’s quick smile and misplaced attempt at charm hadn’t put her at ease.

She gave the detective a description of the way Jamie had looked thirteen years ago. Then, grateful that Mr. Weaver didn’t ask more personal questions, she acknowledged his promise to call with information as soon as he had any.

That call came in the early afternoon of the same day.

“You’ve found Jamie Malone already?” Vicki asked.

“Sure have.”

“How did you do that so quickly?”

The detective chuckled. “I’d like to tell you that I used some ultraspecialized procedure known only to the investigative trade, but the truth is, I found him on the Internet.”

Vicki couldn’t contain her surprise. “You’re kidding!”

“Actually I found J.D. Malone. I had to do some further searches to ensure that he was our man, but everything checked out. Turns out your ex is an artist living in a little town in North Carolina.”

Vicki’s first reaction was to declare that she wasn’t paying $150 an hour for this ridiculous, unfounded information. The Jamie Malone who’d persisted in invading her memory the past few hours could hardly be an artist. “Oh, no, Mr. Weaver,” she said. “You must be mistaken.”

“Nope. No mistake here. This is definitely the man you’re looking for.” He read off a grocery list of Jamie’s past. “James Dillon Malone came from Ireland in 1988. Lived a year in Rhode Island on a work visa. Then moved to Florida where his visa was due to expire.” The detective cleared his throat before introducing his next factual detail. “And then it seems his immigration problems were miraculously over, Miss Sorenson. He got his green card after marrying you in 1990.”