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The Husband She Never Knew
By Cynthia Thomason Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.
Copyright © 2004 Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.
All right reserved. ISBN: 0-373-71180-8
Chapter One
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.
* * *
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.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Husband She Never Knew by Cynthia Thomason Copyright © 2004 by Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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