His Secret Vow

Chapter Six

The next day passed quietly. Too quietly. Melody kept checking the windows, but the man with the newspaper was gone. She tried to distract herself by decorating the apartment more, even hanging up some of the photos she'd printed of her and Emma.

She was arranging pillows on the couch when there was a knock at the door. Through the peephole, she saw a beautiful woman with perfect red hair and a designer suit.

"Hello?" Melody called through the door.

"Is Ryan home? I'm Vanessa, his... friend."

Something about the pause before "friend" made Melody suspicious. "He's traveling."

"Oh. You must be the new cleaning lady. Could you let me in? I left something here."

"I'm not the cleaning lady."

"Personal assistant?"

"Wife, actually."

The silence that followed was deafening. Then Vanessa laughed, but it wasn't a nice laugh.

"Wife? Ryan got married? That's impossible."

"Well, it happened, so it's very possible."

"Open the door. I want to see you."

"No thanks. Stranger danger and all that."

"I'm not a stranger. Ryan and I have been together for two years."

Melody's stomach dropped. "Together?"

"On and off. He always comes back to me. This marriage thing is probably just for business. Did he tell you it was for business?"

Melody didn't answer, but her silence was enough.

Vanessa laughed again. "Oh honey. You're just a convenience. A paper wife. Ryan isn't capable of real feelings. Trust me, I've tried to thaw that ice for years. In six months, he'll divorce you and come back to me. He always does."

"Go away," Melody said, her voice shaking.

"Ask him about me when he gets back. Ask him about Venice, about the pearls he bought me, about the promises he made. You'll see."

Melody heard footsteps walking away. She slid down the door and sat on the floor, feeling stupid and used and angry all at once.

Her phone rang. It was Ryan.

"The security system alerted me someone was at the door," he said.

"Your girlfriend Vanessa stopped by," Melody said coldly.

Silence.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"She said you've been together for two years."

"We dated briefly. It ended a year ago."

"She seems to think differently."

"Vanessa thinks many things that aren't true."

"Like me being just a paper wife?"

Another pause. "You are my legal wife."

"That's not a denial."

"What do you want me to say, Melody? We got married for practical reasons. We both know this."

The words hurt more than they should have. "Right. Of course. Silly me for forgetting I'm just a convenience."

"That's not what I meant"

"I have to go. Enjoy your business trip."

She hung up and turned off the phone, then had a good cry into one of the decorative pillows she'd bought. This was what she got for marrying a stranger. This was what she got for thinking maybe, just maybe, there could be something more.

At midnight, there was a knock at the door. Through the peephole, she saw Ryan, looking tired and rumpled.

"I know you're there," he said to the door. "I can see your shadow under the door."

"Go away."

"I canceled a twenty-million-dollar acquisition to come back here."

"Twenty million?! Are you insane?"

"Apparently. Open the door, Melody."

She opened it partly, keeping the chain on. "What?"

Ryan looked exhausted. His perfect hair was messy, his tie was gone, and his suit was wrinkled. He looked more human than she'd ever seen him.

"Vanessa is my ex. We dated because our families thought it was a good match. She's the daughter of a business associate. I ended it when I realized she was more interested in my money than me."

"Why is she still coming around?"

"Because she can't accept that I'm not interested. I've told her repeatedly, but she doesn't listen."

"She said you bought her pearls."

"Her father asked me to, for her birthday. It was a business courtesy, nothing more."

"She said you made promises."

"The only promise I made was to consider her father's merger proposal. I didn't."

Melody studied his tired face. "Why did you really come back?"

"Because you hung up on me. You've never hung up on me before."

"I've only known you for four days!"

"Still." He ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier. "Can I come in? I've been traveling for fourteen hours and I'm very tired."

She undid the chain and let him in. He immediately sat on the couch like his legs couldn't hold him anymore.

"You really gave up a twenty-million-dollar deal?" she asked.

"It was only worth twenty million if I stayed for the full negotiations. I left after the first day."

"That's crazy."

"Yes, you mentioned that already." He looked at her with those gray eyes. "Vanessa means nothing to me. You need to know that."

"Why?"

"Because you're my wife."

"Your paper wife."

"No." He stood up, swaying slightly. "You're my wife. Paper or not, that means something to me. It means I protect you, provide for you, and don't let ex-girlfriends upset you."

"You can't control what upsets me."

"But I can come back when you're upset."

Melody felt that warm flutter again. "You should sleep. You look terrible."

"Thank you. That's exactly what every man wants to hear."

Was that... was Ryan making a joke?

"Guest room is ready," she said.

He nodded and headed down the hall, then paused. "Melody?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not good at this. At relationships. At people. But I'm trying."

Before she could respond, he went into the guest room and closed the door.

Melody stood in the living room for a long time, thinking. He

r ice prince husband had flown back twice now when she needed him. Maybe there was more to Ryan Cross than cold efficiency and scheduled meetings.

Maybe, just maybe, this crazy marriage might turn into something real after all.