His Pretend Wife by Lisette Belisle

Author:Lisette Belisle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2003-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Some miracles happen overnight.

Some take longer.

It took Abby less than half an hour to realize bingo was not Jack’s game. He looked restless. Edgy. On second thought, that was typical of Jack.

Nevertheless, she was enjoying herself.

The recreation room was large, cozily furnished with sofas, tables and chairs and occupied by a mixed group of patients. The youth from across the hall— Theo—had immediately attached himself to Jack.

They’d found a table. An elderly woman named Delia had joined them. They were midway through the third game when the teenage boy said excitedly, “Jack, you won!”

Jack looked down at his game card. “I did?”

After glancing up at the call numbers posted on the board, Abby leaned over to place a red marker on the winning row on his card. “They just called number N-sixty-three.” Her voice trailed off when he moved abruptly.

His shoulder brushed her breast. At the contact, he looked up, his eyes dark. They were almost nose-to-nose, mouth-to-mouth. His eyes darted to her lips. Abby felt her breath catch in her throat.

“Do we have a winner?” The announcer’s jovial voice pulled them apart. He repeated the numbers.

With a glum face, Theo looked at his losing card. “Some guys have all the luck.”

The elderly woman peered over her wire-framed bifocals. “Theo, it’s beginner’s luck. Your turn will come.”

The boy brightened. “So, pick a prize, Jack.”

Given a choice between perfumed bath beads, aftershave, or a box of stationary, Jack opted for the lavender bath beads—for which he got a lot of teasing.

With his face reddening, he presented the pastel beribboned bottle to Abby. He apologized, as if he already regretted the gallant gesture, small though it might seem to anyone who didn’t know their situation. “I know it’s not what you’re used to.”

Refusing to let anything spoil the moment, Abby hugged it to her, along with another small victory. She’d managed to drag Jack out of his solitude. While the bingo game wasn’t a roaring success, it wasn’t a dismal failure either.

She glanced down at the bath beads. “This is lovely.”

“How sweet.” Delia took the words out of Abby’s mouth.

When Jack shrugged it off, Abby suspected no one had ever applied that description to him in his entire life. Maybe Jack Slade wasn’t so tough. Maybe there was a chink in his armor.

With their audience looking on, Abby took a deep breath, leaned over and kissed him. Wasn’t that expected of a wife when accepting a gift from her husband? However, to her surprise, Jack kissed her back. The warm pressure, gently exploring, threw her into confusion. She pulled back hastily, turning away, afraid he’d see the yearning in her eyes. The pitfalls of their situation felt insurmountable. What did it matter if Jack was sweet—or tough? Their time together had limits. It wouldn’t be wise to pretend anything else.

The game continued.

At one point, the subject got around to an inescapable topic. Delia looked at Jack. “What are you in for?” She made it sound like a prison term—which was close.

“A logging accident.

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