Summer Brides: Bride Wanted / Hasty Wedding. Debbie Macomber

over her. He wanted her and was growing impatient. Her heart pounded with dread and some other emotion. Regret? Perhaps…yearning?

      “Please don’t look at me like that,” she begged. It seemed as if his eyes were about to devour her. He wanted her to know how much he longed to make love to her. The memory of his kisses returned to haunt her and she tried to dispel the image before it took root in her mind and her heart.

      “You’re very beautiful.”

      She’d heard those meaningless words before. Beauty was fleeting and counted for little of real value in life. Being outwardly attractive hadn’t made her a better judge of character. It didn’t do one iota of good as far as her grandmother’s health was concerned. If anything, it had been a curse, because it attracted the wrong kind of man.

      “This makes you sad?”

      She shrugged. “Beauty means nothing.”

      “You are wise to recognize that.”

      “Then why do you mention it?”

      “Because you were not beautiful, not in the same way, when we first met. It’s only recently that I’ve come to appreciate that you are a real woman.”

      A real woman. Julia nearly laughed aloud. “This is what makes being married to you and not sleeping with you so difficult. Have you reconsidered yet, my love? Come with me, share my bed.”

      “I…can’t, please don’t ask me.” Her response was immediate. Tossing the pillow aside, she leapt to her feet, needing to escape. “Good night, Alek.”

      He didn’t answer and she didn’t look back as she rushed to her room. Her heart was roaring in her ears when she reached the bed. Not for the first time she felt like the fox in an English hunt, and the baying of the hounds was closing in on her.

      “Julia.”

      She nearly fell off the bed when she looked up and found Alek framed in her doorway. Her breath froze in her lungs.

      “Someday you won’t run from me.”

      “I wasn’t running from you.” It was a lie and they both knew it, yet Julia persisted in claiming otherwise.

      His smile was more than a little cocky. “Someday you will come to me voluntarily.”

      She wasn’t going to argue with him. He watched her closely in the muted moonlight and she studied him with equal intensity. She suddenly realized her top had inched up and exposed her breasts. Furiously she tugged it down, glaring at him as though he’d purposely arranged the immodest display.

      He smiled roguishly at her. “As I said earlier, you are very beautiful.” Then he turned and left.

      After a sleepless, frustrating night, Julia was in no mood to deal with a long list of complicated problems. Virginia, her middle-aged assistant, looked apologetic when Julia arrived at the office early the next morning.

      “Please get my brother on the line when you can,” Julia said. Her mind was made up. She wanted out of this farce of a marriage.

      “He’s already called for you.” Virginia hugged a file folder against her chest. “He asked that you call him the moment you got here.”

      Julia reached for her phone and punched out the extension. Jerry answered on the first ring. “Come down to my office,” he said impatiently.

      “Now?”

      “Right now.”

      “What’s wrong?”

      “You’ll find out soon enough.”

      This morning was quickly going from bad to worse, much like her life. She paused, catching herself. Her thoughts hadn’t always been this negative. When had it started? The wedding? No, she decided—long before then. Three years before… She wondered why she was so aware of it now.

      She rounded the corner that led to the suite of offices her brother occupied on the floor below her own.

      “Jerry, what’s this all about?” she asked before she noticed Alek. She halted when she saw her husband sitting in one of the visitor’s chairs, waiting for her.

      “Sit down.” Her brother motioned toward Alek.

      Julia did as he asked. Jerry paced back and forth behind his desk. “I was contacted this morning by the Immigration people. I knew this would happen, I just didn’t expect it to be quite so soon.”

      “We’re being investigated?” Alek murmured.

      Jerry nodded. “The two of you are going to have to convince them you’re madly in love. Do you think you can do it?”

      Julia saw that he focused his gaze on her. “Ah…”

      “Yes,” Alek responded without hesitation.

      “Julia, what about you?”

      “Ah…” She’d never been good with pretense.

      “She’ll convince them.” Alek revealed far more confidence in her than she had in herself. “It won’t take much effort.” He reached for her hand, gripping it in his own. “All we need is a little practice, isn’t that right, Julia?”

       Five

      Only seconds earlier Julia had decided she wanted to end this charade of a marriage, no matter what the price. Just when it seemed that very thing was about to happen, she discovered herself willing to do whatever was necessary to keep their relationship intact.

      Counseling. That was what she needed, Julia thought. Intensive counseling. She wasn’t an indecisive woman; that would be a death knell for someone in her position. Generally she knew what she wanted and went after it with a determination that left everyone in her wake shaking their heads in wonder.

      It was Aleksandr who managed to discomfit and confuse her. It was Alek who made her feel as though she was walking through quicksand.

      “Julia?” Jerry turned the full force of his attention on her. “Can you do it?”

      Both men were studying her. Could she pretend to be in love with Alek? Pretend her happiness hinged on spending the rest of her life with him? Could she?

      “I…I don’t know.”

      “Shall I repeat what’s at stake here?” Jerry muttered.

      It wasn’t necessary; he’d gone over the consequences of their actions when he’d proposed the idea of marrying Alek in the first place. The government did much more than frown upon such unions. There was the possibility of jail time if they weren’t able to persuade the Immigration department of their sincerity.

      “Julia knows,” Alek assured Jerry calmly. “Isn’t that right?”

      She lowered her eyes. “I’m fully aware of what could happen.”

      “That’s fine and dandy, but can you be convincing enough to satisfy the Immigration people?” Jerry demanded.

      She nodded slowly, thoughtfully. It wasn’t just a question of being able to pull this off with the finesse required; it also meant lowering her guard, opening her heart to the truth. She was attracted to him, both physically and emotionally. Otherwise she wouldn’t have participated in or enjoyed the few times they’d kissed. The most important factor wasn’t her ability to fool Immigration, but resurrecting the shield protecting her against the pull she felt toward Alek.

      To complicate matters, the attachment she felt was growing stronger every day. She often found herself thinking about him. Hard as it was to admit, Julia had discovered she enjoyed his company and looked forward to the short time they spent together in the evenings.

      “You’re sure?” Jerry asked, sounding as if he thought she was anything but.

      “Positive,”