4

DAPHNE

Daphne wandered aimlessly through the city streets, not caring where her feet took her as long as it put distance between her and Martino Global. Her mind swam as she tried to sort through her unexpected emotions.

She reminded herself she had no right to feel anything in this situation. She had been hired to do a job. She chided herself for having any emotional investment. If she was a waitress, she wouldn’t be emotionally attached to her work. However, this circumstance seemed quite different.

Her mind replayed the scene she’d witnessed before she fled from Colin’s office. How long had she expected him not to seek wife number six? Or mistress number whatever?

She’d married him to improve his image. She was his fifth wife. He had a history of failed relationships. She couldn’t trust him even if she wanted to. Thank goodness they’d only married for a contract.

She stopped her aimless roaming and glanced around herself. She’d managed to wander to Riverview Park. With its sprawling oaks and the gentle murmur of the river, it could provide a quiet spot a world away from Martino Global for her mind to clear. The scent of damp earth and fall leaves mingled in the air, echoing her internal turmoil.

Once she’d managed to get a hold of herself, she could call a cab to go back to the house.

She couldn’t go back now. She still had too many emotions threatening to boil over. She had to work to bury those feelings and do her job.

She pulled her phone from her purse, glancing at the time. Below the clock, a missed call notification glared back at her. Colin.

She shook her head at it. Not now, she thought. A conversation while the confusion and raw emotion still threaded its way through her could ruin everything. She closed her eyes, cursing herself for misreading the cues. She’d never been very good with them.

Her phone rang again, startling her and quickening her pulse. She blew out a long breath as she spotted her sister’s name on the caller ID.

With a shaky hand, she rubbed at her forehead, trying to decide if she should answer or not. She didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment, but she worried that may seem suspicious, that somehow her sister, over one thousand miles away, would figure out what was happening when she couldn’t even admit it to herself.

She swiped to answer it. “Hey, sis,” she said, forcing her voice to sound cheery. It came out hollow.

“Hey, Juju…what’s wrong?”

Daphne slid her eyes closed as thunder rumbled in the distance. “Nothing, you just caught me…running, literally.”

“From?”

Everything my life has become, her mind silently answered. “Thunderstorm’s coming. And I’m out getting lunch. I didn’t bring an umbrella, so I’m trying to beat the weather.”

“You really need to get better about these things.”

“I know, I know. I’ve just…never been very good with that stuff.”

“I remember. Like the time you came home soaking wet. You left your umbrella and your purse at the bookstore.”

Daphne heaved a breath as she recalled the night Alicia referred to. She’d been running away from someone then, too. She closed her eyes, unwilling to relive that turmoil in the midst of this upset. “Yep, I remember.”

“Hey, are you okay? You sound awful.”

Daphne bit into her lower lip and shook her head. She couldn’t give in to this. She’d be smarter going forward. “Yeah, I’m okay. My mind’s just somewhere else.”

“Buried in your latest book?”

“Yep,” Daphne said with a soft chuckle.

“Well, the reason I’m calling is because I have some news…and a request.”

Some of the sting of her situation melted, replaced with curiosity and concern from her sister’s tone. “What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just that at the last minute, Ethan got selected for that national police chief’s conference.”

Daphne’s lips curled at the edges. “Oh, that’s great. Tell him congratulations for me.”

“Well, you can tell him yourself. It’s in New Orleans. I was hoping you two could connect at some point.”

Daphne scoffed softly. “So that he can report back that I’m still alive and well?”

“Something like that. I worry about you. Down there in that big city all alone.”

She’d never felt more alone than she did right now, but she wasn’t going to admit that to her sister. She’d kept her current circumstances a secret, and she had no intention of letting on. “I’m fine. And yes, of course, I’d love to grab a cup of coffee, or lunch, or dinner, or whatever he has time for. I’m not sure what the conference schedule is.”

“Great,” Alicia said. “I’ll let him know. He’s on a flight right now, so he’ll probably text you tonight once he’s settled and gets his bearings.”

“Perfect. It’s too bad you couldn’t come, too.”

“Someone has to stay in Harbor Cove and make sure Mrs. Kline’s cat can get out of that tree.”

The reminder of the nature of small-town life brought a genuine laugh from Daphne. “Well, good luck with that. I’ll make sure Ethan is well taken care of while he’s in the big city.”

“Thanks, Juju. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Daphne hung up the phone as a breeze rustled her hair. How would she manage this? She’d take a cab. She’d figure it out.

Before she could nail down the details, her phone rang again. This time James’s name appeared on her screen. He must have returned to Martino Global to pick her up. Her shoulders slumped. She hated pulling other people into this fight. James was just trying to do his job.

She swiped to answer the call. “Hi, James.”

“Mrs. Martino, did we get our wires crossed on the time?”

Her heart skipped a beat as she struggled to come up with a story. “No, I’m so sorry. Colin…was busy and we had to change plans. I just came to the park to wait and must have lost track of the time. I’m so sorry, I’ll hurry back.” She rose from her seat on the bench. He must not have spoken to Colin. The coast must be clear.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I can come pick you up, just tell me where you are.”

“Riverside Park. And only if it’s not too much trouble. I can easily walk back.”

“Riverside Park. Got it. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, thanks so much, James.” She settled back into the bench’s wooden seat as she waited for him to arrive.

Within minutes, the sleek car pulled up, and James popped out from behind the wheel. Daphne smiled at him until he opened the back door and someone else climbed from the back. Colin.

He’d used James to find her. She braced herself for whatever was coming with the flowers he carried.

“Thank you, James.” He turned his attention to her. “Daphne, you’re really a hard woman to get a hold of.”

She didn’t answer him, her hands glued together as she struggled to keep a handle on any emotions that may spill over.

He closed the distance between them. “We need to talk.”

She needed to let him know he didn’t owe her anything. They didn’t need to play this game. “We don’t–” she started, but he guided her back to the bench.

“We do. It’s a misunderstanding. What you saw…it wasn’t what it seemed. She made advances, I was pushing back. That’s all.”

She processed the statement, though given their situation, she didn’t need to know what was or wasn’t going on. And she wasn’t certain she could believe him anyway. After four wives, he was likely well-versed in explaining situations away. “Okay.”

He lowered his chin, searching her face. “Are you…okay, I mean? You left so quickly.”

She flicked her gaze to her lap, not able to look into those eyes that seemed so well-versed in pretending to care. Well, whatever he wanted to pretend, she couldn’t do it. And she had no business meddling in his private affairs, nor making demands. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

He huffed out a sharp laugh, his features pinching. “No, you weren’t. That’s my point. You shouldn’t have left. She means nothing to me. In fact, I fired her already. It was totally inappropriate behavior.”

He must have been concerned about how it looked to have his new wife race from the office. She hadn’t considered that. Had she let him down in terms of what he expected from her with the contract? “I’m not sure that’s the image you want right now, but it’s your call.”

“Well, it’s not just the image I’m concerned with,” he answered. “And I’m very sorry about what happened.”

He thrust the flowers forward toward her. “These are for you. As an apology, along with…” He dug into his breast pocket and withdrew the long velvet box. “This.”

He snapped it open, allowing the sun to glint off of the sapphire and diamond bracelet.

Daphne’s heart sank at the sight, and she pulled her hand away. She imagined his former wives would have flung their arms around his neck and forgiven everything. Instead, he’d confirmed her worst suspicions. He didn’t want her understanding. He wanted her silence. And he was willing to buy it any way he could.

“I hope you like it,” he added.

She shook her head, not in answer to his latest statement, but more to dismiss the entire situation. She didn’t want or need expensive gifts. Her silence had already been bought when she’d signed the contract in what may have been the single biggest mistake of her life.

She closed the box and pushed it back toward him. “I don’t–“

“If you don’t like it, I can get you something else. This reminded me of your eyes.”

“No–“

“Daphne, please. I promise nothing happened. And I didn’t want anything to happen.”

She fluttered her eyelashes. She had to get hold of this conversation before it spiraled further. “I told you in the office. You don’t owe me anything. No explanations or…” Her eyes fell on the velvet box. “Gifts. It’s not my business.” She flicked her gaze to her lap, her hands tightening around each other.

“But…”

“Colin, I understand this arrangement. I don’t have any say in your private business or your life. Again, I’m not certain it’s a good idea given that new image you’re trying to project, but it’s not my business.” A light breeze ruffled her hair as storm clouds built on the horizon, and she slicked a lock of it behind her ear before grabbing the compass necklace hanging around her neck, her mind flitting to another man who was no longer her business.

Colin stared at her for a moment. She flicked her gaze to the dark clouds building. “It looks like the storm’s coming faster than anyone anticipated. We should go.”

She rose from her seat, but he remained on the bench for another moment before he stood slowly, stuffing the box into his breast pocket. She imagined he was likely annoyed with her over her behavior.

He slid his hand down his tie before he ran it through his hair. “Uh, we still need to discuss the dinner party tonight. Can we at least go to lunch to do that?”

His words seemed harsh, and she swallowed hard. If they had this much bitterness between them over a misunderstanding, how would they make it through the dinner party, let alone the next several months?

She pressed her lips together, feeling obligated though she preferred to slink back to her room and lose herself in her manuscript. “Yes, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

He let his gaze fall to the ground. “I think it’s best if we’re on the same page for this. It’s too big of a night for any misunderstandings.”

She forced a smile onto her lips and nodded, doing her best to put the incident behind her. She’d told him what she believed was right. She’d have to stuff down any lingering emotions and live up to every word she said. And to do that, she’d have to put on a fake face and pretend everything was okay when she felt anything but.

“Because right now, it feels like we’re reading from two entirely different books,” Colin said as they strode to the car.

Daphne climbed into the backseat and kept her attention trained on the window. His biting statement struck at her core. Maybe even their professional relationship had been a mistake.