Kiss an Angel(5)

Her eyes filled with tears. She’d loved her mother desperately, and despite Lani’s selfishness, her endless demands, and her constant need to be reassured that she hadn’t lost her beauty, she knew Lani had loved her, too.

The more guilt Daisy had felt about the unexpected freedom Lani’s death had given her, the more money she’d spent, not only on herself but on any of Lani’s old friends who were down on their luck. When her creditors’ threats had grown ominous, she’d written more checks to hold them off, not knowing or caring that she didn’t have enough money to cover them.

Max found out about her extravagant spending the same day a warrant was issued for her arrest. Reality crashed in, and she realized the enormity of what she’d done. She’d begged her father to lend her the money to hold off her creditors, promising to pay him back as soon as she got on her feet.

That was when he’d resorted to blackmail. It was high time she grew up, he told her, and if she wanted to stay out of jail, she was going to put an end to her extravagance and do as he said.

In crisp, uncompromising tones, he had dictated his terms. She would marry the man he chose for her as soon as he could arrange it. Furthermore, she would promise to stay married to him for six months, serving as an obedient and dutiful wife during that time. Only at the end of the six months would she be free to divorce and benefit from a trust fund he would set up for her, a trust fund he would control. If she was frugal, she would be able to live in relative comfort off the interest for the rest of her life.

“You’re not serious!” she’d exclaimed when she had finally recovered her powers of speech. “People don’t arrange marriages any more.”

“I’ve never been more serious. If you don’t agree to this marriage, you’ll go to jail. And if you can’t stay married for six months, you’ll never see another penny from me.”

Three days later, he had presented her future bridegroom without mentioning a word about his background or occupation, merely giving her an admonition: “He’s going to teach you something about life. For now, that’s all you need to know.”

They crossed the Triborough Bridge, and she realized they’d be at La Guardia soon, which meant she couldn’t wait any longer to broach the subject they needed to discuss. Out of habit, she withdrew a slim gold compact from her purse to make certain everything was as it should be. Reassured, she closed it with a snap and put it away.

“Excuse me, Mr. Markov.”

He didn’t respond.

She cleared her throat. “Mr. Markov? Alex? I think we need to talk.”

The lids over those pale amber eyes drifted open. “About what?”

Despite her tension, she smiled. “We’re total strangers who’ve just gotten married. I think that gives us a few things to discuss.”

“If you want to pick out names for our children, angel face, I think I’ll pass.”

So he did have a sense of humor after all, if only a cynical one. “I mean that we should talk about how we’re going to get through the next six months before we can file for divorce.”

“I figure we’ll just take it day by day.” He paused. “Night by night.”

Her skin prickled, and she told herself not to be foolish. He’d made a perfectly innocent remark, and she’d merely imagined that husky undertone of sexual innuendo. She fixed a bright smile on her face.

“I have a plan; a simple one, really.”

“Oh?”

“If you’ll give me a check for half of what my father is paying you to marry me—and I think you’ll agree that’s only fair—the two of us can go our separate ways and end this awkwardness.”

An expression of amusement flickered across those granite features of his. “What awkwardness are you talking about?”

She should have known from her experiences with her mother’s lovers that a man this good-looking wasn’t going to be blessed with brains. “The awkwardness of finding ourselves married to a stranger.”

“We’ll get to know each other pretty well, I imagine.” Again that husky undertone. “And I don’t think the two of us going our separate ways is what Max had in mind. As I remember it, we’re supposed to live together and play husband and wife.”

“That’s just like my father. He’s a little dictatorial when it comes to running other people’s lives. The beauty of my plan is that he’ll never know that we haven’t been living together. As long as we don’t set up housekeeping in Manhattan, where he can walk in on us, he won’t have any idea what we’re doing.”

“We’re definitely not setting up housekeeping in Manhattan.”

He wasn’t being as cooperative as she’d hoped, but she was enough of an optimist to believe he only needed a little more persuasion. “I know my plan will work.”

“Let me get this straight. You expect me to hand over half of what Max is giving me to marry you?”

“How much is that, by the way?”

“Not nearly enough,” he muttered.

She’d never had to haggle, and she didn’t like doing it now, but she couldn’t see that she had a choice. “If you think about it, I’m sure you’ll realize that’s equitable. After all, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be getting any money at all.”