Fortune's Vengeful Groom

Two

“Here are the books you requested, ma’am.” Ivy Woodhouse, the Fortunes’ chef, handed Eliza three cookbooks as she sat in the great room just off the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t need my help for that special meal you’re cooking tonight?”

Eliza glanced up at Ivy. “No, but thank you for the offer. I plan on doing this myself,” she said.

Even if it kills me, she thought. She couldn’t risk having the cook or anyone else around when Reese came over tonight. “In fact, since my father and Patricia won’t be home this evening, why don’t you take the night off.”

Ivy’s brows rose in surprise and she paused briefly before answering. “Thank you. Shall I set the table for you, miss?”

“I’ll take care of it. Enjoy the night off, Ivy,” she said as the cook thanked her again and left the room.

Eliza leaned back against the sofa, planning her dinner outside on the veranda, where no one would bother them. She remembered the chills she’d experienced last night when Reese had joined her on the hotel terrace. Most of what she’d felt had little to do with the weather. She’d been shocked and then angered by his appearance, which she believed was the exact reaction he’d wanted from her. He’d made her darn uncomfortable last night.

Now she had the chance to return the favor. If she could make Reese uncomfortable enough, maybe the evening would end quickly. She’d be willing to endure a slight frost to get rid of Reese. His presence here in Sioux Falls made her jumpy, but having him show up at her home tonight could surely do her in.

As luck would have it, her father and stepmother had dinner plans this evening. As for the rest of the family…hopefully they wouldn’t make an appearance, either.

Eliza opened a cookbook and began flipping pages.

Her father took a seat in his wide velvet-tufted wing chair, facing her. “Good morning, honey.”

Eliza lifted her face and smiled. “Hi, Dad.”

Nash Fortune, never one to miss a sign, sent a worried look her way. “Tired today?”

“Not really,” she said, telling a little fib. She’d spent a restless night worrying about what Reese’s appearance in Sioux Falls might mean, and she feared the lying would only continue.

“You worked very hard last night, Eliza. The fund-raiser was a huge success. And, as a father, I couldn’t be more proud of what you managed to accomplish.”

“Thanks, Dad, but it wasn’t all me. I had a great deal of help and—”

“And you’re the one with the ideas, the guts to pull it together, to make it all work, right down to the final dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s. I understand you’ve outdone yourself this year, bringing in more money than the museum had ever hoped.”

“Yes, I’m happy we raised the funds they needed for the repairs.”

“The gentleman who bid on your dinner put you over the top.”

Eliza slammed the cookbook closed, took a deep breath, then nodded.

“Do you know who he is? Where he’s from?”

Eliza’s heart raced with dread and she cursed Reese for putting her in this position. Her mind fumbled around for just the right words. “Montana, I believe. He’s passing through Sioux Falls.”

“Just passing through?” Her father scratched his head, then furrowed his brows in a gesture Eliza knew so well. When Nash Fortune wasn’t buying something, he couldn’t hide the expression on his face. His instincts were usually right on, but the man didn’t have a poker face. “Why would he donate so much money if he had no stock in Sioux Falls? No one I questioned seemed to know.”

Eliza clenched her teeth. Her father had asked people about Reese Parker? “It’s a good tax deduction,” she said, keeping her comments noncommittal, “and a wonderful cause, Dad. Maybe he’s generous by nature.”

He didn’t seem convinced. “I suppose. Too bad I won’t be meeting him tonight. Patricia’s been a little down lately, so I thought a romantic dinner for two at her favorite restaurant would help lift her spirits.”

“Patricia mentioned that you wouldn’t be home tonight for dinner. I think she’s excited about some alone time with you.”

Eliza envied the love her father and Patricia shared. He was devoted to her. And after losing Elizabeth—Eliza’s mother—early in life, he’d rebounded with a disastrous marriage to Trina Watters before finding true love again with Patricia. Eliza had once thought she’d found that same kind of love, but nothing with Reese had worked out as she’d hoped.

Her father glanced down at the cookbook still in her lap. “So what kind of fabulous meal are you planning for tonight?”

“Don’t say fabulous and meal in the same sentence when you’re talking about me. I’ll be lucky if I don’t poison the man.”

Now, there’s a thought.

Her father’s lips twitched, but he didn’t comment any further. Nash Fortune was a wonderful husband to his wife and a caring father to Eliza, but he never showed her much outward affection. She knew her father loved her, but he’d also held high expectations for all his children. Case, Creed and Eliza all did their best never to disappoint him. They’d wanted his approval as much as his love. But Blake and Skylar, her half brother and half sister, were a different matter.

And now, with Reese Parker on the scene, the truth of her six-year secret marriage might hurt her family, disappoint her father and splash unfavorable headlines in the newspapers about the Fortune name.

Eliza shoved that thought aside and instead focused on something else. “Was my mother a good cook?”

Her father stared off for a moment as if reliving another time in his life. When he spoke, his voice broke with a certain reverence mingled with pain. “Your mother was good at everything she did….”

Eliza listened carefully, noting the momentary win-some look on her father’s face. It was an expression she’d seldom witnessed.

“Except cooking,” he finished.

She released an amused sigh. “Oh, Dad, really? I take after her?”

He looked into her eyes. “She was smart and dedicated to what she believed in, pretty as a picture—and couldn’t cook worth a darn. Yes, you take after her.”

Eliza had heard some of these things before, but she never minded hearing them again. It made her feel closer to a mother she’d never known. She’d wanted so much to know the kind of unconditional love that she’d seen among her girlfriends with their mothers.

“I loved her dearly, Eliza. You know that.”

She nodded. “I do know that.”

Her father stood, then and placed a rare but much-needed kiss to her forehead. “Good. And, honey, no matter what you cook tonight, if the man is a real gentleman, he’ll eat it without complaint.”

“Except the man isn’t a gentleman,” Eliza said to Nicole over the phone hours later. “And the weather gods aren’t cooperating, either. A light mist is falling. We can’t eat out on the veranda as I’d hoped.”

“So why not use the dining room?”

“No, I can’t do that. Family. Patricia and my dad will be gone, but I can’t chance anyone else popping into the house and overhearing our conversation. I’ve set everything up in my design studio. If the rain stops, then we can go out onto the veranda.”

Her gaze traveled around her beloved room, where she’d spend hours dreaming up designs and wishing that one day she could open her own studio. She realized suddenly—and perhaps too late—how the room appeared. In an effort to conceal the mess, she’d arranged beautiful lengths of silk and satin cloths, draping them over bolts of fabric, design charts, spools of thread and ribbon. With soft lighting, her work area hidden and colorful material flowing in an array of delicacy, she’d unintentionally created a dining area that one might conceive as seductive.

“I think this might be a mistake, Nic,” she said slowly, trying to calm her impending panic.

“You’ll do fine, Lizzie. You always do. Just keep your head up, your mind on something else and you’ll get through this evening.”

That had always been her problem with Reese. Whenever he was in the room, she couldn’t focus on anything but him. She’d met him right after watching the rodeo and walked up to him in a meet-’n’-greet line to shake his hand. He’d held on to her hand a little longer than the other cowboys had and looked deeply into her eyes with a certain sweet promise, then released her to shake the next person’s hand. She’d been fascinated, transfixed in the moment—and disappointed when she’d left the rodeo without seeing him again.

So when he slid in the seat right next to her that night at her hotel bar, she’d been captivated by his slow and easy manner, quick wit and undeniable sex appeal. She’d fallen hard for Reese Parker, and she’d realized right then, that what she’d felt for Warren Keyes wasn’t love at all. She’d dismissed her feelings for him quite easily after meeting Reese.

She’d had the real thing with Reese—or so she believed. And when he’d betrayed her, her world had crumbled apart.

“Thanks, Nic. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She’d never regret telling her dear friend the truth. She’d been a godsend today, coaching her through the cooking and giving her moral support.

“So, are you wearing a knockout dress?” Nic asked.

“No, just a plain black cocktail dress with simple lines. I don’t really care how I look to Reese.”

Nic sighed. “Eliza,” she said, taking a serious tone, “you were married to him. I mean, you’re still married to him. A woman who’s been placed in your situation would surely want the man to eat crow…at least for a little while.”

“It’s not crow, Nic. It’s pot roast. You helped me with the recipe, remember?”

“Is that a joke coming from my worried friend? Maybe there’s hope for you after all. Besides, I know that black dress you’re talking about. And it’s killer on you. You could make a burlap sack look great with your figure.”

Eliza closed her eyes briefly, wondering if Nicole had a point. After all, why had she chosen Reese’s favorite meal to serve unless a small part of her wanted him to see what he’d missed out on these past years. A small part of her wanted him to recognize that he’d thrown away an abiding love. Maybe she had chosen a dress, though conservative in design with a high neckline and a decent hemline, that seemed to set off her curves. With Eliza’s body, unless she truly did choose a sack to wear, she could hardly conceal her womanly form.

When the doorbell rang, she froze. I need more time, she thought. I’m not ready for this. “He’s here,” she breathed into the phone.

“Eliza, keep your cool. Be honest with him. And whatever you do, don’t…”

“What, Nic? Don’t what?”

“Don’t fall for the guy again.”

“Not a chance. I’m immune to his charm now. I’ve learned my lesson with Reese Parker.”

She clung dearly to those thoughts as she descended the stairs and greeted her estranged husband.

Reese Parker stood outside the Fortune estate, barely containing his temper. The last time he’d been here, he’d been effectively tossed off the property. Now he was an invited guest. Hell, not exactly. It had cost him to get this invitation, but it would be well worth the money paid to see Eliza’s reaction when she learned the truth about him. She’d toyed with his affections in the past, then cast him aside. Reese would only give her a dose of her own medicine.

He rang the doorbell, and when the door opened, he was surprised to find a nervous Eliza standing there instead of one of the staff. “Still keeping secrets, darlin’?”

Her chin jutted up, angling her nose in the air, but she couldn’t conceal the rosy color flaming her cheeks. “I thought we could be civil to one another tonight.”

Think again, he wanted to say, but she did have a point. Nothing would get settled if they couldn’t stand to look at each other all evening.

Although looking at Eliza had never been his problem. She’d captured his attention from the moment they’d met. Tonight, she dressed in a classy black dress that attempted to hide a body he’d tried damn hard to forget. With blond hair caressing her shoulders and those soft blue eyes—glaring at him right now—Reese remembered her all too well, in and out of her clothes.

He stepped inside and handed her a bottle of Dom Pérignon.

A faint smile crossed her lips when she glanced at the bottle he’d given her.

When I make my first million, we’ll celebrate with Dom Pérignon.

Reese had always wanted the best for her, no matter the cost, and now that he could afford it, he knew the champagne would taste bitter to them both.

“I keep my promises,” he said quietly.

Eliza nearly dropped the bottle she held. “Except the most important promise of all,” she said, handing him back the champagne. “Dinner is waiting.”

Reese set the bottle down on an entry table and arched his brows. He hadn’t really wanted to drink champagne with her. No, his intention was to make a point, and he wasn’t entirely sure he’d succeeded.

Eliza led him up a wide winding staircase to the second floor. It irritated him to no end the pains she took in order to keep their marriage a secret. She’d probably arranged for the entire family, as well as the staff, to be gone this evening. Fine by him. He wasn’t overly fond of the Fortunes anyway, from the little Eliza had shared with him about her family. And now she was tucking them both away somewhere on the second floor.

“You have a dining room up here?”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “We need privacy. We’ll dine in my studio.”

“Ah, worried that your father or brother might stumble upon the domestic scene? Wonder what they’d say to see you actually dining with your husband?”

“Shhh. Please, Reese. Keep your voice down.”

Reese clammed up, but not to ease her distress. His plan of action called for charm and wit, not anger. He’d had six years to stew and now he’d have to control his boiling point.

He followed her into a large room that appeared welcoming and warm, a room that clearly wasn’t ordinarily used for dining. Yet she had a table set beautifully with all the finery he’d have expected from a Fortune and she’d obviously gone to some trouble to conceal a work area using drapes of material. Reese felt himself relaxing some. “This is nice.”

Eliza shut the door behind them, then let out a deep sigh of relief. “We can talk in here without…”

Reese raised his brows. “Without?”

“Interruption. Would you like to have a seat?”

So formal, he thought. Had she forgotten how it’d been with them? The laughter, the sweet promises, making love anywhere and everywhere, including the backseat of his truck. Reese shoved aside an image of Eliza straddling him on a chair not too unlike the one she so properly offered him just now. She’d been beautifully naked, gripping him tight and rocking that chair for all it was worth.

He removed his jacket and loosened his tie.

Eliza approached, coming up close enough for him to catch a whiff of her scent. The familiar exotic perfume teased his nostrils, bringing back even more memories. She still wore the same fragrance that had lingered on his clothes for weeks after she’d gone.

“I’ll take that,” she said, reaching for his suit coat.

He handed her the jacket and sat down. Within a few moments, she joined him at the small round table. When she uncovered the dishes, he glanced down at the meal, then lifted his gaze back up to her. “Pot roast and all the fixings.”

“Yes,” she said, meeting his eyes as though meeting some sort of challenge, as well.

Reese studied her for a second, while something fierce slammed into his gut. She remembered. Damn her. They’d had a good thing, and she’d destroyed it—and him, nearly—when she’d walked out of their marriage. Well, he was here to set things straight. He tempered his anger with the knowledge that he would do just that. Then he’d be gone.

Reese took a bite of the roast and nodded. “This is very good.”

Eliza’s lips trembled into a little smile. “Thank you. I, uh…my cooking ability hasn’t improved much, but I’m happy with the results.”

Reese swallowed and leaned back in his seat. “Are you saying you cooked this meal?”

She nodded. “It was a huge donation, Reese.”

“So you figured you owed me? You figured—”

“I’d do the same for anyone who made a bid,” she said in a rushed breath. “It’s only right.”

Too bad his wife had a slanted view of what was right or not. She’d honored her pledge to cook a meal for a hefty donation, but she hadn’t the decency to tell him to his face that she’d missed the good life and was leaving him high and dry six years ago. Reese let her comment drop for the time being.

He scanned the room again, this time with discerning eyes, noting the objects partially hidden behind draped fabrics. “So what is this place?”

Eliza’s eyes brightened for the first time tonight. “It’s my studio. I do interior design. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed.”

“Are you in business?”

She shook her head. “No. Maybe someday,” she said on a wistful note. “I’ve decorated the third floor of the estate. And I use my talent for charitable events at times.”

Reese forked another mouthful and chewed thoughtfully, wondering about Eliza’s life. Didn’t sound as though she lived on the edge anymore. The Eliza he’d known had been part risk taker, part sexy bed partner. She’d been carefree and happy—or so he had thought until he’d realized that he had been her entertainment that one summer.

Now she spent her time raising money for good causes, but it seemed, from the light that sparked in her eyes just then, that she wasn’t pursuing her true passion. He’d noted the longing on her face when she’d let down her guard.

He glanced at her full plate. “Not hungry?”

She lifted a quick smile to him and picked up her fork, ready to stab the meat. Then she lowered the fork down none too gently. “Reese, why’d you make such a large donation last night?”

He smiled. “Because I can.”

Eliza’s blue gaze met his. He’d always thought she had the prettiest eyes. That hadn’t changed, only now he knew what kind of deceit those eyes could conceal.

“How can you? What’s changed in your life?”

“I told you one day I’d strike oil, darlin’.”

She slumped back in her seat, stunned. “You mean…you did it? You actually…I never thought…”

“That was the problem, wasn’t it? You never believed in me. You never thought I’d fulfill my dream. All you saw was a silver-buckled rodeo cowboy without a dime in his pocket.” His tone turned gruff. “But after you left, I made it my mission in life. I partnered up with my brother Garrett. We pooled our resources. With his business sense and my gut instincts we struck oil after two years. Now Parker Explorations is a successful wildcatting company in Montana.”

“You own your own company?”

Judging by the look of awe on her face, she appeared truly surprised. Reese had wanted that reaction from her, but now it seemed that her lack of faith in him achieving his goals just irritated him even more. He’d wanted to shock her and rub his success in her face to gain well-deserved satisfaction. He’d done all that, but it wasn’t enough, damn it. “Let me get this straight. You married a rodeo cowboy from Montana and never in your wildest dreams did you think I’d amount to anything. I had no money, and that just wasn’t good enough for you. After our little summer fling, you got tired of playing the penniless wife and headed for home. I get that now. But you should have stuck around. My company is one of the fastest growing in Montana, and now I’m finally setting down roots. I’m staying in one place for a change and building my own estate just outside of Bozeman. So let’s just call our marriage what it really was—a foolish notion. Or how did you say it in your note? A mistake.”

Eliza blinked, then stared at him as if he’d gone raving mad. “Reese! What are you talking about? I didn’t run out on you because of money. And I certainly wouldn’t have married you if I hadn’t lo—”

“Hadn’t what, Eliza?” he probed, shoving his plate away and leaning in with elbows braced on the table.

She hesitated for a moment and then on a long-winded sigh finished, “Hadn’t thought it would last forever. I’d planned on staying married, but you…you were the one who made that impossible. How could you think I’d stay in a marriage to a man who’d been unfaithful? After less than three months together, Reese! I’d trusted you. And you, you…”

Reese tossed his napkin onto the table and bolted out of his seat. “What?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I was never unfaithful.”

Eliza sat perfectly still in her seat and spoke slowly. “I’m not a fool, Reese. But apparently you thought I was. That last night, when I left you to go home for my father’s surprise birthday party, I came back to our hotel room unexpectedly and saw her.”

Completely baffled, he asked, “Saw…who?”

“The rodeo queen. Suzette, SueBelle, Sue…something. She was in our bed. Our bed!”

Reese slumped back into his chair as faded memories came back and he recalled that night. He’d kissed Eliza goodbye in front of the hotel, hoping she’d go home and finally have the courage to tell her family about him and their marriage. He’d met up with a friend from the rodeo named Cody Pierce and together they’d gone to the bar for a drink. Aside from missing his wife already, he’d had an event that next day so he’d decided one drink would have to be it. “Her name was Susanna.”

Eliza nodded scornfully. “So you don’t deny it?”

“Damn straight, I deny it. I never touched that woman. No, that’s not true. I did touch her….”

Eliza’s expression blackened.

He was so damn angry with her right now that he didn’t give a damn what she thought, but he hated being accused of something falsely. “I was at the bar with Cody that night. You remember him. He’s the big, good-looking bull rider who always managed to flirt with you.”

Eliza opened her mouth to respond but clamped her lips together, apparently deciding against it.

“We spotted Susanna in the corner, drinking herself into oblivion. She was really wasted. It seemed her younger brother had gotten in a bad car wreck and she couldn’t catch a flight out of town until the morning. She was pretty upset and then announced that she’d drive herself all the way to Texas if she had to. When she stood up to leave, she would have collapsed if Cody hadn’t caught her. We both knew if we left her, she’d do something stupid. Since you were gone anyway, we put her in my bed, talked to her awhile and waited until she fell asleep. I bunked with Cody that night.”

“Sounds like a good story,” Eliza said bitterly, “except when I entered the room, she called out your name.”

“And did I go to her? Did you see me? Hell, no. Because I wasn’t there. It was after midnight when we finally got her to sleep. And when I went to check on her just after dawn the next day, she was already gone. She couldn’t have spent more than a few hours in our room. I was never alone with her.”

“But…but I thought…I came back so unexpectedly, and when I saw her…I assumed—”

“I know what you assumed,” Reese said, barely managing to contain his hurt and anger. He’d given Eliza everything he had to give, but still she hadn’t trusted in him. She’d instantly thought the worst, without even bothering to stay and confront him to get to the truth. “Did you really think I’d be unfaithful to you? Where were you for those three months we had together? Didn’t you know how I felt about you?”

Eliza closed her eyes slowly, her face void of expression.

“What brought you back that night, anyway?”

She opened her eyes, the pretty blue tarnished with regret. “My…my father took ill. It was nothing serious, but Patricia decided to postpone the party. And I was so happy to come home to you that night that I rushed inside that room and then…saw her there.”

“So you wrote me a note.”

She stiffened and then sank her hand into her hair. “Yes. But first I ran. I couldn’t help it. I had to get away. I came back just before dawn after crying my eyes out in my car. I decided to leave the note with the front desk clerk.”