Ruth and Lucas Read online

  Lucas felt white-hot anger in that moment. I would like nothing more than to teach this man a lesson, but that would jeopardize Ruth's reputation, I can't do that. He forced himself to calm down, even smiling at the man.

  “I find it odd that you seem to suddenly know so much about your daughter. Don't you have your own family to take care of? The one that you abandoned her for? I'm sure that they're wondering where you are.”

  The man's hand tightened around the glass. "I didn't come here to talk about my family, I want to know what you're going to do about your soon-to-be wife's little problem. I would be more than happy to inform everyone about the woman you're marrying."

  Lucas chuckled. “Let's cut to the chase, why don't we? How much do you want? I'm afraid that I don't have my checkbook with me now, but I'll have my secretary send you the money once you give me your banking details."

  “A tidy sum of five hundred thousand will do me well. A rich man like yourself should find that amount to be small change in the light of your billions, right?”

  This was daylight robbery, and the man knew that well enough. However, no amount was too big to secure Ruth's happiness. I won't let this man destroy her life again.

  "Fine, I'll have my secretary transfer the money first thing on Monday morning. I would do it myself, but it's my wedding day and we'll be leaving for our honeymoon later on."

  The man walked to an open writing pad on the table, writing down what had to be his details. He tore the sheet off and handed it to Lucas.

  “These are my banking details as well as my number.” He took out his phone. “Now, give me your number to reach you whenever I want to.”

  "Why would you need to reach me when you'll have your money?"

  “It's just to make sure that you do what you said, because if you don't I won't be responsible for my daughter's downfall, you will be.”

  Lucas closed his eyes for a second. He's blackmailing me, what kind of a man is he? Easy—no man at all. When he opened them, he knew that they showed the contempt he had for the man.

  “Fine, if you think it's necessary. But do you give me your word that you'll leave this place and never bother Ruth again?”

  The man held his palm up. “Scout's honor, Mr. Ross.”

  Lucas gave him his office number; there was no way that he would give the snake his personal number. What if Ruth was to answer his phone and hear her father on the end of the line? That would hurt her!

  "I need you to leave now, go out the back way so Ruth never has to see you. She doesn't deserve what you did to her, and to make matters worse, you only came back into her life to take something away from her again. How do you live with yourself?"

  “Easy peasy, Mr. Ross.” The man downed the rest of his whiskey, slamming the glass on the table. “Well, that's that. Pleasure speaking to you, Mr. Ross, you've been a real help. Give my regards to my daughter.”

  Lucas didn't answer him as he walked the older man to the door. It was a good thing that Ruth was on the opposite side of the hotel, she wouldn't see her father, but he didn't want to take a chance. The man needed to leave through the back door, just like he left his daughter for the love of his new family. When Lucas was rid of the man, he searched for his phone. He still wanted to talk to Ruth just to find out how she was doing.

  She can never find out that her father was here.

  *****

  One of the bridesmaids gave her her bouquet, a fragrant aroma that encircled her. The white roses were particularly beautiful along with the pink-tipped peonies.

  “At least Maureen was right in this, if not anything else.”

  Ruth had managed to cancel the white doves, peacocks, ice sculpture, and swans before the wedding, but there was no telling what the woman had snuck past her.

  “Guess I'll just have to see later.”

  Ruth took in a deep breath when the butterflies in her belly started up again. I'm getting married today! I wonder how Lucas feels? Maybe I should give him a call. Her phone rang in her hand, startling her.

  “Sheesh, talk about perfect timing. Hello?”

  “Hey, Ruth,” said Lucas. “How are you?”

  She enjoyed hearing his voice, and as she hadn't heard it at all yesterday it was a welcome surprise.

  “Good, a little nervous, and you?”

  “Yeah, I'm a bit nervous as well, but I'm ready to walk down that aisle. What about you?”

  “Me too, although it all seems so surreal. Are we really doing this? Are we actually getting married today?”

  He laughed. “My sentiments exactly. Maybe it'll be more real once we're in front of the pastor.”

  “I hope that I don't do anything embarrassing like faint or something.”

  Ruth could just imagine the photos that would end up in gossip magazines: Ross Bride Faints on Wedding Day.

  “Don't worry. Even if you do, I'll be there to catch you.”

  She smiled. “I'm counting on that.”

  Ruth stood in front of Lucas, fighting her tears. Why am I crying? It's not like I'm getting married because I love him! Maybe it was just because weddings made her weepy in general. But hearing him say his vows was doing something to her.

  “I, Lucas Ross, take you, Ruth Matthews, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

  Murmurs started as soon as her name was said, but she kept her eyes on his. He'd told her not to look anywhere else but at him, to forget about everyone else. What kind of a man is he? I've never met anyone as considerate as he is, and although we have no feelings besides friendship between us, he's taking all the steps necessary to make me feel like his wife. He doesn't have to do it, but he genuinely wants to. I doubt that George would have done the same thing, and I loved him. It's just so odd when you take a step back and look at the situation. There's no way that I could have foreseen this happening to me. Ruth gasped at the sheer size of the ring that Lucas slipped onto her finger. He never said anything about getting something like this, he just told me that he would take care of the rings. There was no way that she could wear a rock this big every day! Before she knew it, it was her turn to say her vows to him. Ruth looked him in the eyes as she repeated after the pastor, feeling a stirring within her. The words felt real to her, they weren't just words being spoken for the sake of it. I need to rein myself in before I make a fool of myself. She trembled as she slid the ring onto his finger, overcome with emotion as she did so.

  “Now, by the powers invested in me,” declared the pastor, “you may kiss your wife.”

  We didn't discuss what we would do here. Will he kiss my cheek? Lucas lifted his eyebrows playfully, making her giggle. He pulled her in closer, dipping her backward slightly. Ruth searched his eyes, trying to gauge if he was doing this for show. When she found herself sinking into his green eyes, she felt out of her depth. As he came nearer and nearer, she seemed to forget about the business deal and focused only on what was happening right now. Lucas finally kissed her, an immediate shock to her senses. The tingling started on her lips, traveling all the way to the tips of her toes like a cozy fire. As he pulled away, it wasn't the first time that she realized that she was in trouble. I don't think that I thought this through enough. It looked like she wasn't the only one feeling that way, judging by the frown on his face. He seems just as confused and surprised as I feel, I hope that this doesn't change things for us. I'm not looking for anything more than a friendship, there's no way a relationship could work between us. Lucas took her hand and led her into the crowd, his face grave as the guests cheered them on. After this surprising moment, Ruth had no idea what the future held in store for them. Please, I don't want anything complicated, just pure friendship, that's all I can handle. Falling in love with Lucas would be her biggest mistake to date, and she was determined not to do it. Now, if only this tingling and warm fuzzy feeling would leave me alone.

  Chapter 7

  Ruth flipped through her wedding album with a touch of sadness. She knew that she was behaving ridiculously, but she couldn't hel
p but miss that day.

  “Lucas had been far more attentive then, and although I know that he's busy, it's almost like I no longer exist in his life.”

  She shouldn't be complaining as their marriage was nothing but an arrangement, but that didn't mean that they couldn't spend a little time together. Also, a honeymoon was a time for bonding, even if theirs was but a friendship. They should have gotten to know each other better rather than him spending most of that time on his phone or laptop. Didn't the future of their deal depend on how well they were able to pretend that they were a married couple in love? Instead, Ruth had found herself wandering the island alone, going snorkelling, swimming, and trying to do as many activities as the island offered to keep her mind off his strange attitude. She'd hoped that they would address what had happened at the wedding, their unexpected reaction to each other during their vows and the kiss at the end. At first, she thought that ignoring it would be best, but she soon realized that having such a significant reaction couldn't be ignored, as it made everything between them awkward.

  “How can I forget the emotion I experienced that day? If I had given myself over to the moment, I would have been in big trouble.”

  But hadn't she done so in some way? What about the kiss they'd shared? That had been real to her, no one could have faked it. Maybe Lucas is running away from it? He doesn't seem like the type of man who would ignore anything on a physical level, he's more likely to pursue it. There had been an undeniable chemistry between them, and people had commented on how in love they'd looked that day.

  "I'm not saying that I want to be with the guy, but I don't want there to be an elephant in the room every time we see each other."

  If they could just talk about it and get over it, she was sure that things would improve between them. Now, it seemed like everything had been put on hold, even their growing friendship.

  “If I'm going to be married to the guy for a couple of years, then we need to establish a good relationship.”

  Why was she the only one to worry about this? Lucas had also carried the same opinion, saying that it was best to have a good relationship with each other to ensure the success of their plan. After all, they were fooling everyone in their lives, no one but them knew that their marriage was fake.

  “To keep up all this falsity, we need to know each other well, just like a real couple would. I'm not saying that I want to be best friends with the guy, but I need to know enough about him to be able to come across as his wife when people question me.”

  So far, she'd been able to avoid any personal questions about Lucas that she couldn't answer for the simple fact that she didn't know all that much about him. How was he faring when it came to questions about her? Lucas seemed like the kind of guy who would wing it, but there was only so much a person could lie about before the truth came out all on its own.

  "Then we'll be left doing damage control. If something goes wrong, I'm going to blame him."

  It didn't feel right to be left at home for most of the day while he buried himself with work every day. She was also busy with her own business, but that didn't mean that she couldn't take time out of her day to spend with him.

  “He's the one who said that he enjoyed my company, but he spends all of his days and most of his nights at work.”

  And hadn't he said that he preferred to keep his work life separate from his home life?

  “He lied about that as well, because he's bringing his work home and shutting himself up in his room.”

  The servants didn't know that they were only pretending to be a couple in love, they weren't privy to their business deal. They just assumed that there was trouble in paradise. Ruth had overheard some of them one day in the kitchen, discussing how he hardly spent any time with his new wife. They were pitying her, and it was all his fault.

  “The whole point of me getting married was to stop the pitying looks, right? But it looks like I would have been better off alone.”

  In all honesty, she'd decided to get married to help him out more than to help herself. Ruth understood how vital the family company was to him, so she'd pretty much sacrificed her freedom for his happiness. It had seemed like the right thing to do, especially as he'd promised her so many things.

  “I guess that he got what he wanted, now he's focusing on the company.”

  Ruth couldn't help but feel used by him, it was't like she was asking for a whole lot! Consideration for her feelings wasn't a lot to ask for, not in the slightest.

  “I'm considerate toward him, aren't I?”

  Ruth closed their wedding album, putting it away in her desk drawer. Maybe she was too sensitive? Didn't people say that once the honeymoon was over that things went back to normal, and it was up to the couple to make that standard work for them?

  “It might not of a good thing to address what happened that day, what good will come of it?”

  Lucas probably didn't see things the way that she did; it could all have been an act for him. He was a great actor, she just wasn't as good as him.

  “Maybe he was so good that he fooled me as well and I'm just reading into something that isn't there.”

  In that case, it was a good thing that he wasn't around for discussions or she might have made a fool of herself. These feelings she was having were troubling enough as it were, and him not being here was a blessing in disguise. Ruth knew herself well; if Lucas were to spend more time with her, her troubling feelings might begin to grow, and then she would truly be in trouble.

  "So why am I an idiot by wanting him to spend more time with me? It's a suicide mission!"

  Their deal would soon turn into a one-sided relationship, a living nightmare for her. Ruth had begun to realize that she was a sucker for punishment, and it probably stemmed from her father. In some psychological way, she was probably trying to make up for her father's absence in her life by latching onto other men. Ruth had first done it with George by putting all her trust and love in him, expecting him to love her back, and now she was attempting to do it with Lucas. Ruth had taken a lot from George, his side comments about how he wanted her to physically change, how she hadn't been devoted enough to him, that she wasn't on his level yet despite being as well-known as he was if not more. She could now recognize his behavior for what it was, a selfish man who'd cared more about his image than her. George had also had insecurities, but he'd hidden them well under the guise of being a confident and self-made man.

  “I had been the stupid one who put everything into our relationship, thinking that I had found the man who wouldn't leave me like my father did.”

  How wrong she'd been! Eventually, Lucas would leave her as well, so she couldn't afford to become attached to him.

  “But if we're just friends, then surely we can remain friends even after the divorce?”

  Who was she kidding? Remain friends after the divorce? They came from two different worlds!

  “Mrs. Ross?”

  Ruth jerked in her chair, nearly toppling over. Her hands shot out to grab her desk, steadying herself. When had the maid come into the room? The pretty woman stood on the other side of her desk, a small smile on her face. Ruth composed herself as best as she could without making it obvious, but there was no coming back from nearly falling off a chair.

  “Yes, Amber?”

  “Mrs. Woodrow would like to know what you would like for dinner today. Will Mr. Ross be joining you?”

  Why did it feel as though the woman were taking a dig at her in some way? Ruth didn't like the maid, not because she was pretty, but her attitude left much to be desired. It wasn't obvious enough to have just anyone pick up on it, but she had a feeling that the woman didn't respect her as she should. Ruth was ready to fire her, but she would probably come across as being a jealous wife if she did so. Didn't she discuss the whole thing about having a pretty maid in the house? But Lucas had just laughed it off.

  “Maybe he's accustomed to having pretty maids work for him, their eyes following him around whenever he's arou
nd them.”

  “Sorry, Ma'am?”

  Oh, had she said that out loud? “Nothing, I was just talking to myself. Please tell Mrs Woodrow that she can cook anything she likes, I'm not craving anything in particular today.”

  Amber nodded and left, her eyes haughty and knowing. Would be nice if she could stop looking at my husband with those knowing eyes. Ruth had caught Amber doing just that, and when the woman could see that she'd been caught out, she would only shrug and smile before walking away. It was one thing to admire, and quite another thing to blatantly show interest in your boss, especially in front of his wife. Lucas hadn't noticed a thing yet and she wasn't about to say anything either. Ruth was determined to not come across as the paranoid wife who believed that everyone was after her husband, even if they likely were.

  “Lucas seems to get better with age, coupled with his billionaire status, and every woman must be after him.”

  But she was the one married to him, even if it was just a business deal. He married me because he didn't want a woman to make demands on him, he trusts me to keep this relationship professional. And that was what she was going to do. Ruth decided that the best medicine to cure how she was feeling about Lucas was to do just as he was doing.

  “I'll throw myself into my work as well, I am much busier after all.”

  And yet despite her busy schedule, she would have made time to see him. There was no longer much point to thinking about the situation, she would just have to find solace in her work. The good thing was that she enjoyed what she did, there was no difficulty in throwing herself into her work and being consumed by it. Wasn't that what she used to do before she'd met George? Her career had come first then, but when George had come along, she'd put him first, before even herself. When their relationship had affected her career, she hadn't been worried, but when his betrayal had affected it, it had become another story altogether. It was time that she became the self-reliant woman she'd always been, the woman her mother had raised her to be.