Judith Stacy – The Hired Husband (страница 1)
“You said you’d stay,” she told him.
“Until my job was done. This is what I do, Rachel. I figure out a recovery plan, then move on.”
Her heart raced. “But you can’t just abandon us.”
“I’ve done all here that I can do.”
“This puts me right back where I started. I don’t know anyone capable of taking over the business,” Rachel said. “I don’t know who to turn to, who to trust. There must be some way I can get you to stay. I’ll increase your fee.”
Mitch pushed out of the chair. “That’s not how I work.”
“I’ll double it again. Triple it.”
“No.”
She squeezed her hands into fists. “There must be some way I can get you to stay. Something I can do. Something I can say.”
“Say you’ll marry me.”
Praise for Judith Stacy
The Nanny
“One of the most entertaining and sweetly satisfying tales I’ve had the pleasure to encounter.”
—The Romance Reader
The Blushing Bride
“Lovable characters that grab your heartstrings…a fun read all the way.”
—Rendezvous
The Dreammaker
“A delightful story of the triumph of love.”
—Rendezvous
The Hired Husband
Judith Stacy
To:
David—For always being my friend, no matter what Judy and Stacy—For having the courage to walk your own paths
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Prologue
Los Angeles, 1897
“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The minister closed his Bible. “You may kiss the bride.”
Rachel Branford glared up at her new husband. “If you even think about kissing me, Mitch Kincade, I swear I’ll bite your lip off.”
She stomped away.
Mitch stood at the altar watching his bride storm past the rows of empty pews, her quick footsteps echoing through the silent church. Back stiff, dark hair drawn in a severe knot beneath her hat, she wore her least favorite dress—she’d made a point of telling him so, the one time she’d spoken to him this morning.
The woman could throw a blanket of frost over everything around her, no doubt about it.
And still, he wanted her.
Even if she couldn’t stand him.