When he’d seen a marquis diamond advertised as part of a “take a chance on romance” promotion, David had taken it as a sign. He’d pop the question and give Lauren the ring during the Las Vegas trip.
But instead, the diamond had ended up on Christy’s hand. One minute they were sitting in the lounge laughing about his need for a wife and her need for a husband and the next thing he knew they were flipping a coin—heads they married, tails they walked away. It had started out as a joke. Now the joke was on him.
He’d married a woman just like his mother. A woman so focused on her career that her family would always come second. A woman who could never give him the kind of home life he craved.
He would have asked himself how it had happened, but David already knew the answer. Whenever he and Christy got together electricity sizzled in the air. They were like two magnets fighting to keep a distance but drawn to each other by an unseen force.
David raked his fingers through his hair. He’d had more sense when he was eighteen. At least then he’d walked away from her. Now, thanks to one reckless impulse, she was his wife. For the moment, anyway.
“I know it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Christy sat back against the vinyl seat of the restaurant booth and pushed the food around the plate with a fork. “But right now I haven’t a clue what we were thinking.”
“Didn’t you tell me your publicist thought being married would be a big boost to your career?” David gazed at her over the top of his coffee cup.
Christy frowned at his emphasis on the word career. He made it sound like a dirty word. “That’s true, but I’d told him I wasn’t going to marry just to get better tour sponsors.”
She could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe her, but she didn’t waste her breath trying to convince him.
David set his cup on the table and folded his hands. “Knowing the chemistry between us, if I had it to do over again, when I saw you in that lobby I’d have walked the other way. I’m guessing you’d do the same.”
Christy slowly nodded. She wished she’d never set eyes on David Warner. Or that wedding chapel.
“But what’s done is done,” David said. “The only question that matters is, where do we go from here?”
The same doubts and fears that she could hear in his voice were fluttering like a thousand crazy butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t want to be married any more than he did, but she didn’t want to make a second mistake by rushing into divorce, either. “We could try to make it work?”
David stared at his coffee cup for a long moment before heaving a resigned sigh. “The way I look at it, if we split now, not only will your career suffer but I’ll lose my chance to take over Warner Enterprises. Granddad won’t sign the company over until I’ve been married a year. So we don’t have much choice except to stay together.”
“I have to agree with you,” Christy said. Her analytical side appreciated his straightforward, no-nonsense approach. But the romantic part of her wished he’d tempered what he’d said with a few sweet words of reassurance. She shoved the regret aside. “What happens now?”
“I suggest we take it a step at a time,” he said. “The first step is for you to get reacquainted with my family. You can do that over dinner tonight.”
“Tonight?” Christy’s voice, normally rich and full, came out in a high-pitched squeak.
“They have to find out sometime.” David lifted the cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip.
“Any thoughts on how we’re going to explain this sudden marriage?” She lifted a brow and tried to mimic his cool composure.
“Leave that to me,” David said. “I’ll think of something.”
“You’d better come up with something quick,” Christy said. “I’ve never been good at ‘winging it.”’
She brushed back a strand of hair with a shaky hand. Her life was spiraling out of control and she couldn’t seem to stop the nosedive.
As if he could read her thoughts, David’s expression softened. “It will be okay. I promise.”
He leaned across the table and took her hand, touching her for the first time since they’d made love.
Christy shivered. She wanted to pull away, but she couldn’t make herself break the contact.
A smile tipped David’s lips and he gently turned her hand over, massaging her palm with his thumb. A languid warmth filled her limbs and Christy suddenly realized that her response to this man had nothing to do with reason and everything to do with how he made her feel.
He looked up and met her gaze. His eyes darkened. Without saying a word, David brought her hand to his lips.
Her heart picked up speed.
“Christy Fairchild?” a feminine voice shrieked in her ear. “Is that you?”
Christy jerked back.
A tall woman in a purple jogging suit stood beside the table. Everything about the woman was angular—from her long pointy nails to her stiletto sandals. Even her chin veered to a V. But her smile was contagious, and once Christy’s heart slowed to a regular rhythm she couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’m Alice Hudkins,” the woman said.
Christy lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug.
“I was in your ‘Together Forever’ workshop at the convention center,” Alice said. “I was the one who asked the question about trial separations.”
“Of course.” The fog cleared for a moment and Christy had a vague recollection of a woman in fuchsia frantically waving her hand. “I remember now. You were seated to the left of the stage.”
“That’s right.” The woman smiled in relief.
“I’m glad you stopped by,” Christy said.
At any other time Christy would have enjoyed visiting with one of her fans. But now, though she tried to be cordial, she hoped the woman would get the hint that she and David wanted to be left alone.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Bright with curiosity, the woman’s gaze shifted to David.
Christy groaned to herself. Alice clearly wasn’t going to fade away. At least, not until she’d gotten her introduction. Should Christy take the big step and make it official or pass David off as just a friend?
The man at her side had no such qualms.
“David Warner.” He stood and extended his hand, flashing the woman a dazzling smile. “Christy’s husband.”
“You’re married?” The woman’s smile widened.
Christy swallowed hard and nodded. “As of last night.”
“I knew it,” the woman said triumphantly. “I told my sister that there was something special between you two.”
David’s dimple flashed.
Alice giggled like a giddy schoolgirl. “You seemed so calm at the seminar. I can’t believe you had a wedding in the works. And I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
Though her words were directed to Christy, her gaze remained on David.
“Christy wanted to say something at the seminar, but I thought it would be more romantic if it was our little secret.” David leaned over and took Christy’s hand again, lifting it to his lips. “Don’t you agree?”