Secretly Matched Read online

  Good grief! Why were her legs weakening – along with her better judgment? If the other woman was gone, there was no reason to keep kissing this man like they were the last two people on earth and they were going to die tomorrow. And heavens... why did he smell so good?

  Finally, Rayne heard the other woman sigh in defeat.

  “Fine. It was nice to meet you anyway, Calvin Gates.”

  Rayne’s mind screeched to a halt. Calvin Gates? Her day had just turned from bad to worse.

  TWO

  Calvin hadn’t meant to kiss the woman in the elevator the second time, but the way her blue-eyed gaze had roamed over his face and come to rest on his mouth made him think she was attracted to him. It was nearly impossible not to let his imagination run wild while staring into her eyes. The elevator woman was made for kissing, and he hoped she’d want to spend more time with him outside of the elevator.

  He’d heard Rona walk away, but he just couldn’t stop kissing the beautiful woman in his arms. Except that her body suddenly stiffened. When the elevator doors finally closed, the woman shoved her hands against his chest and tore her mouth away from his. She gave him an accusing glare.

  “You’re Calvin Gates?” she gasped.

  “Hey, I’m sorry about what just happened. Rona has been following me for days, and she doesn’t get the hint that I don’t want to go out with her.” He shrugged. “I figured if she saw me kissing another woman—”

  “You are Calvin Gates?” the woman repeated, putting more emphasis on his name.

  “Uh, yeah.” He paused, watching the shocked expression on her face turn to embarrassment, and then to anger. “And you are?”

  She huffed and folded her arms. “I’m Rayne Kennedy.”

  Slowly, he nodded in acknowledgment, even though the name didn’t sound familiar. “It’s nice to meet you, Rayne. As I’d said, I’m really sorry—”

  “You don’t know me?” she asked as her gaze narrowed on him.

  “No. Should I?”

  “Yes, you should!”

  He scratched his chin. “I’m sorry, but—”

  “The name Kennedy isn’t familiar to you?”

  As he thought about it, he recalled his father making snide remarks about some guy named Max Kennedy. Apparently, his father considered Max a cheat and a menace to society. Max had owned a bunch of hotels and was wealthy. Calvin’s father was also wealthy because he owned stocks in Apple and some pharmaceutical companies as well as some stores overseas.

  “I don’t know him personally,” Calvin said, “but my father knew a guy named Max Kennedy.”

  She nodded. “That’s my father.”

  “Oh.” Calvin stared at the confused woman. Why did he care about some guy his father knew? And why was this woman so upset about it?

  After a few seconds of silence passed, the elevator doors opened. She stepped to the doors and blocked them from closing. The way she peered at him made him wonder if she expected him to do something. He wouldn’t mind kissing her again, but he doubted that’s what she was thinking.

  Uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. “It was nice meeting you, Rayne Kennedy. Give your father my regards”

  Her expression became unreadable and she shook her head. “My father died a week ago.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “And when I met with his lawyer, Mr. Lee Parry, I discovered there was a clause in my father’s will that kept me from receiving my inheritance right away.”

  Calvin didn’t know why she was telling him this, but the stern look on her face and the roughness of her voice made him think he needed to hear this for some odd reason. “That’s terrible.”

  She chuckled lightly without smiling. “Oh, there’s more.”

  She didn’t look very happy, and he was sure she hated that the elevator doors kept bumping into her, wanting to close. He pointed toward the lobby. “Would you like to talk about it more over a drink? There’s a coffee shop just around the corner.”

  Her eyebrows lifted in surprise before she nodded. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  He left the elevator and walked outside the building with her. She kept glancing his way, but it wasn’t out of interest. He had the feeling she was expecting him to say something. So maybe, he should continue the conversation.

  “Was your father very sick when he died?”

  “He had cancer.” The anger on her face was replaced with sorrow. “He’d had cancer for about two years. As much as I prayed for his full recovery, I knew God wanted him more.”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that.” He studied her pretty eyes that misted over slightly. But then she inhaled deeply, and her stubborn appearance returned.

  “Thank you. I appreciate your concern.” Her eyebrow arched. “How is your father?”

  “Alive and well, I’m afraid.”

  A smirk tugged on her mouth. “You’re afraid?”

  “Yes, only because my father has dementia and every month it gets worse. He forgets everything, and whenever I visit him, it takes him an hour to remember me... and that’s what happens on good days, which don’t happen very often anymore.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible. I’ve never known anyone who has had that disease.”

  Calvin nodded. “It’s really hard for the family. Father is in a nursing home right now, but I really hate to see him there.”

  “Where is your mother?”

  “My parents divorced when I was twelve. Mom lives in Paris with her new husband, so of course, she doesn’t care about my father losing his mind.”

  Rayne touched his arm. This time when she frowned, it was genuine. “I’m truly sorry to hear that.”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  “You have younger brothers and sisters, don’t you?”

  “Yes. We’re scattered all over the United States. I’m the closest one to our father, though.”

  They reached the coffee shop and he opened the door for her. A small grin touched her face as she gave him that I’m impressed look. He held back from chuckling.

  He ordered drinks for both of them before they found a small table to sit. He pulled out her chair, and once again, she gave him the I’m impressed look. This time, he smiled widely.

  “You know,” he began, “I feel awful because I don’t know that much about your family, but you seem to know about mine. All I know is that our fathers used to be friends before we were born.”

  She laughed softly and shook her head. “Well, I suppose they had been friends at one time. They were friends even a few years after we were born.”

  “They were? You wouldn’t know it from the stories my father used to tell about Max Kennedy.”

  “Yes, and the stories my father had told me about your father.”

  “So, Rayne,” he leaned his elbows on the table, “what are you doing with your life now?”

  “I’m actually a fashion designer.”

  “Really?” He scanned his gaze over her and realized that she spoke the truth. That was why she looked so darn good. “Is this dress one of your creations?”

  “It is.” She linked her fingers and placed them on the edge of the table. “I don’t have a huge name in the business, but I have my own little shop and a website, of course.”

  “How many people work for you?”

  “Ten.”

  He smiled and gave her the I’m impressed look. She chuckled.

  Their drinks came and he sipped his, watching from over the rim as she took a sip from hers. He’d guess her to be in her mid-twenties. She was a very stylish woman, but that wasn’t why she was gorgeous. It was difficult to tear his gaze away from her amazing blue eyes, and if it wasn’t her eyes keeping him spellbound, it was her heart-shaped lips and the memory of kissing them.

  She brushed her fingers across a lock of her light-brown hair that had fallen over her cheek, and he noticed the diamond ring. It didn’t surprise him that she was taken, but it did surprise him that the diamo
nd was so small. Then again, maybe she didn’t like flashy jewelry.

  He motioned to her ring. “I see you’re engaged.”

  Her shoulders stiffened, and the stern expression she’d been wearing since she’d learned his name had returned. He actually liked her smile better.

  “Yes, I’m engaged.”

  “Oh, yeah... so about that kiss.” Calvin cringed. “Will your fiancé understand? I swear I wasn’t trying to hit on you. I was just trying to get Rona to stop hitting on me.”

  “I’ll make him understand. Or, I just won’t tell him.”

  “That might be the best thing. I don’t want my mistake to get you into trouble with your boyfriend.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.” She sighed and her shoulders drooped. “We have enough stress as it is. We were hoping to have a wedding sometime this summer, but because of my father’s will, the wedding will have to be postponed.”

  Now he remembered why he’d brought her to the coffee shop. She was going to tell him something important about her father’s will. “That’s right. You were saying that there was a clause in the will that kept you from your inheritance?”

  “Yes... the clause.” She took another sip of her drink and set it on the table. “Calvin, did your father talk about my dad and when they used to be friends?”

  Silently, he sipped his drink as his mind tried to dig through his past memories of his father. “Dad only mentioned Max Kennedy a couple of times that I remember. I recall him saying something about them being close friends, but then something happened to make them hate each other.”

  “At least you remember more than I do. I don’t think my father said anything about being friends with your father, but I know they were.” She reached into her beaded purse and pulled out a folded document. She placed it on the table between them and slowly opened it.

  He leaned over to see what she was trying to show him.

  “Apparently,” she continued, “twenty years ago your father and my father signed an agreement – a legal agreement in front of a lawyer and witnesses. I wish I knew what those two were thinking... or maybe they’d been drinking too much. Who knows, but the end result is that they have ruined people’s lives.”

  Calvin lifted his gaze to hers. Worried lines creased her forehead and around her mouth, but he still found her very pretty. “They did? Whose lives did they ruin?”

  “Mine and my fiancé’s and you and your fiancée’s.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t have a fiancée.”

  “You do now.” She pointed to the contract. “Because according to this document, I am your fiancée.” She inhaled deeply and released it fast. “Calvin Gates, whether you like it or not, we have to get married and stay that way for one whole year.” She offered him a razor-sharp smile. “So, tell me, when should we plan the big event?”

  THREE

  Rehearsing how Rayne was going to tell Calvin didn’t turn out the way she’d wanted. For one, he wasn’t supposed to be so good-looking. And secondly, his smoldering green eyes were not supposed to make her breathless. Oh, and she didn’t even want to think about that kiss...

  “What?” His voice lifted and he snatched the papers away from her and skimmed over them.

  As he read, color disappeared from his face. She understood that helpless feeling all too well since she’d been feeling like a sinking ship since she’d left Mr. Parry’s office.

  “No, this can’t be right.” He shook his head and read over the papers again.

  She waited in silence as she drank her caramel cappuccino. Because he was a lawyer, she prayed the Lord would help Calvin find a way out of this since the Almighty hadn’t given her any brilliant ideas. But as the seconds passed by and Calvin’s expression turned desperate, her gut twisted. There was no way out.

  Sighing, he set the papers down and leaned back in his chair. He stared at his black coffee as his mouth tightened into a straight line.

  “What’s the verdict, counselor?” she asked softly.

  He lifted his gaze to her and shook his head. “It doesn’t look good.”

  “Is it legal and binding?”

  “Yes, unfortunately.”

  “But,” she leaned on the table, pleading with her eyes, “can’t we fight it? Can’t we get it overturned?”

  “If we could prove they were drinking heavily at the time, or that they were both on medication that made them not think clearly, then yes, we could probably get it overturned.” He sighed. “But my father has made so many business deals in his life and succeeded, that I doubt the judge will think this was a fluke.”

  Her throat tightened as panic filled her. “Same with my father. He’s been too successful to prove that he had a faulty contract drawn up.”

  Calvin drummed his fingers on the table. “So, are you going to marry your boyfriend and not worry about the contract?”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “Why should I have to forfeit my inheritance? I’m the only child of Max and Ruth Kennedy. I deserve my inheritance.” She flipped her hand his way. “Why can’t you give up your rights? You’re a lawyer, and I’m sure you’re making good money by now. Besides, you’d be sharing your inheritance with brothers and sisters, so I’m sure it’s not that much.”

  “Ha!” He rolled his eyes. “Then you have no clue how much money my father is worth.” He folded his arms and glared at her.

  “So then, what are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” he snapped.

  “We have to get married, don’t we?” she asked with a catch in her throat. “That’s the only way we are going to receive our inheritances.”

  “Let me think on this. There’s got to be another way.” His breathing was labored, and his nostrils flared. A vein on his neck pulsed, testifying to his anger.

  “Okay. I’ve had a few days to think of a way out, and I’ve come up blank. Hopefully, you’ll have more luck since you’re a lawyer.”

  “Fine. I’ll call you when I’ve figured it out.”

  She opened her purse again and pulled out one of her business cards. “Here.” She slid it on the table toward him. “Call me.”

  He nodded but didn’t say anything.

  After finishing her drink, she pushed away from the table and stood. His eyes didn’t meet hers, so she left and walked out of the building. With each step she took toward her car, her hopes of a normal marriage to Eddie sank farther down into her chest.

  She knew the outcome just like she knew the sun would rise tomorrow. Plain and simple, if she and Calvin wanted their well-deserved inheritances, they would have to live together for a whole year as husband and wife.

  But she wasn’t going to like it!

  CALVIN PACED HIS CONDO, his mind swirling with a feeling he’d never experienced before. Never had he been as helpless as he was right now. Everything in his life so far was going great – a successful career, a nice condo, even a nice car, and faithful friends who made his world interesting. He knew he’d eventually settle down, marry and have a few kids with the most beautiful woman in the world, but that wasn’t going to happen for several more years.

  He passed his cell phone lying on the counter, and he glared at it. Call me! He needed answers, and since he couldn’t get them from his father, there was only one other person who might help. If only the woman who’d given birth to him would call him back.

  Karen Hutchins, formerly known as Mrs. Jack Gates, had only held the title of his mother for twelve years, but even during those years, she’d never acted like a true mother. Calvin had seen the way his friends’ mothers had treated their sons, and Calvin wished his mother had cared enough about him to show a little love by attending his football games or wanting to take pictures of his first date and first high school dance. It would have been nice if she’d been just a little upset when he’d had been given detention after school by the substitute teacher for continuing to burp out loud during class, even when he’d been asked several times to stop.

  When his
father announced to the children that their mother had run off with a famous painter from Paris, Calvin had felt no emotion. In fact, it had felt like an older sister had moved away from the family. His younger siblings hadn’t cared, either. Their housekeeper was more of a mother to them than Karen.

  The phone buzzed and he jumped toward it, quickly picking it up. “Mo... um, Karen?”

  “Hello, Calvin.”

  The woman’s voice on the other end sounded so foreign that he wondered if it was his mother or not. But caller ID told him it was her.

  “I got your message,” she continued. “What’s wrong? You sounded so panicked.”

  “I need to know something. It’s really important that you tell me.” Calvin didn’t know why he added the important part. It’s not like she cared about him.

  “What is it?”

  “About twenty years ago, my father and Max Kennedy signed a contract that their firstborn children would have to marry in order to get an inheritance.” He took a steady breath. “You were still married to Dad during this time, and I was hoping you’d remember why he would do something like that to his own child.”

  If it had been his mother who’d signed the contract, Calvin wouldn’t have batted an eye. His mother had always been selfish. But not his father. Jack Gates loved his children.

  “Ohhh...” she chuckled, “the marriage contract. Yes, I remember when those two idiots signed that.”

  Calvin clutched the phone tightly against his ear. “Why? Why would they play with my life – and Max’s daughter’s life – that way?”

  “Both Jack and Max were in the early stages of their money-making careers. They loved competing against each other. They’d made a bet on a company and they’d both lost a lot of money. I was upset and had accused your father of taking away your inheritance, and I’m sure Max’s wife chewed him out just as badly. The two men started arguing about anything and everything. Soon, the argument turned toward their children. Your father thought he had the best child in the world, and Max thought the sun rose and set on his precious daughter.” She huffed. “It was pathetic the way both of them gushed over their children.”