“I think she’s okay, Thomas.”
“But what if she’s not? What if this is all a setup? Do you have to marry her, for God’s sake?” His tone was incredulous. “Maybe if you offered her more money?”
“She wouldn’t take two million.”
“She—” Alec heard Thomas Long swallow hard on that one. “My God! How much more does she want?”
“She says she doesn’t want money. She wants the land. I believe, in her mind, she’s telling the truth. She honestly thinks she can pull this off and make me back down. Unfortunately for her, I’ve committed to building this entertainment complex. The investors are already on board. I’m down several million and we haven’t yet poured the first foundation. There is no turning back at this point.”
“How about we try to find other land alternatives. I could put out some feelers...”
“A friend who specializes in real estate spent almost a year doing just that. I originally wanted to build in the East. He checked land possibilities within a hundred-mile radius of every major city near a natural waterway from New York to Florida. We encountered zoning restrictions, municipal politics, arbitrary city codes, small town gluttony. He found a two-thousand-acre tract just outside Cincinnati, but the deed was in probate. There was a five-thousand-acre tract in Virginia, but it was so far removed from civilization I didn’t want to take the chance it might be too far.
“This location is perfect. A little farther west than I initially wanted, but it’s actually working out even better than the original plan. It’s centrally located in the US, only fifty miles from the Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport and it borders the Red River.”
Alec had already purchased land directly across the state line in Oklahoma and had most of the permits for that side of the river. “I’ve spent weeks restructuring blueprints to meet local building codes, obtaining land surveys for two states and finally have received a clearance from the EPA over some near-extinct bird they thought nested nearby. I refuse to spend any more time or money trying to find equivalent land just so Ms. Hardin can continue to raise her cows. Give me a few days, a couple of weeks at best, and I’ll have her out of here.”
“Okay.” There was a moment of silence while Thomas, no doubt, regrouped. “What about a prenup? You’re potentially handing this woman a key to a very large door. Your bank accounts alone...” Thomas paused. “I’ll have a basic agreement drawn up and sent to you in—”
“No thanks, Thomas.”
“No? Alec—”
“We’ve already had this discussion. She refused.”
Another stunned silence. “Then don’t marry her. Let her have the damn land. Even considering how much you’ve sunk into the project, it isn’t worth a fraction of your other holdings. Alec—”
“Thomas, look, I appreciate your concern. But I honestly feel if it should come down to a divorce petition for any of my current assets, the bizarre reason for the marriage—my being forced to take this route in order to regain the use of my own land—would supersede any claim.”
“But we can’t know that for sure.”
How could he explain to Thomas his gut instinct said this would not be a problem? There was something about Shea Hardin, some glimmer of truth deep in those blue eyes. Nothing he’d seen gave him any reason to suspect she wanted any more than her ranch.
“I don’t intend to remain married for one millisecond longer than absolutely necessary. In less time than it would take to battle this out, I intend to have her bags packed and be helping little Miss Tradition out the door. Then a simple annulment, give her something for her trouble, and it’s done.”
He’d been challenged by opponents a lot tougher than Shea Hardin and had come out on top. He grimaced at his own expression. Hell, in truth, on top of her was exactly where he wanted to be. He sensed the blood congregate in his loins at the mental picture and cursed his weakness. He had to keep his focus on the reason he was here and stop letting his imagination run wild.
Alec intentionally changed the subject. “I need you to call Valturego. See if he’s ready to sign the contract for the construction of his casino. I’ll contact him when I get back in the office.”
“I’ll call as soon as we’re finished,” Thomas promised. “But, Alec, back to the prenup thing—”
“Did Rolston sign the revised contract?”
Thomas grudgingly took the hint and began explaining the outcome of his meeting with the banker.
When their business concluded, Alec tossed his cell on the bed in the small motel room and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. After six. He probably should start getting ready.
The last time he’d taken vows, there had been more than fifteen hundred invited guests—some he’d known, most he hadn’t. The planning had gone on for months. The fragrance from thousands of flowers had permeated the air, almost overwhelming the guests who’d gathered in the enormous church. He could remember the aura of hushed excitement that had filled the large sanctuary in anticipation of the spectacle to come.
Sondra had wanted it all and she had been relentless in making her desires come true. In hindsight, he should have seen what was coming. He should have picked up on the clues. She’d loved to party and her actions had made him suspect she’d crossed the line as far as using drugs. But he hadn’t been able to prove it, had never found any evidence, and he’d never known about the other man until the day he came home and found the note. No excuses. No apologies. A strange woman waiting outside his door handed him a baby and said it was his. Suddenly he was alone with an infant son. A month later, Alec learned she’d died of an overdose. The man she’d left him to be with supposedly had provided the pills.
In the years since, the anger over her betrayal had diminished, but the lesson she’d taught him about trust had reshaped his character and would always be foremost in his mind. He’d sworn he would never again make the mistake of marrying. Anyone. For any reason. For almost five years, he’d kept that resolution. But in less than an hour, he would once again stand in front of a minister and make a pledge to love, honor and obey, and this time to a woman he knew nothing about.
Shea Hardin was a total perplexity. She didn’t fit into any mold he’d ever come across. At first, he’d believed she was one of the members of Gold Diggers Anonymous he frequently encountered. But if those initial suspicions were correct, she was better than average at setting a trap, because he’d certainly taken the bait. She came across as completely sincere, candid and unwavering in her determination to keep the land.
She was a walking contradiction—intelligent yet naive, beautiful but unsophisticated, sexy as hell yet seemingly innocent. She looked fragile, sensitive, as though her poise and conviction could easily be shattered. But after today, he had the solid impression she was about as fragile as an oak tree, her temper as controlled as a glass vile of nitroglycerin.
She challenged him. She fascinated him.
And she had the most amazing blue eyes he’d ever seen.
Then there was her mouth—full lips that could give a man all kinds of grief, all kinds of pleasure. He’d almost kissed her in the attorney’s office, drawing back at the last minute
