His Queen of Hearts. Roxann Delaney
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been enemies even before that. Four generations, to be exact. “I’ve known him a long time,” he answered, unwilling to say more until he was sure that she wasn’t involved in something unlawful.
And something in the “was” about loving J.R. still bothered him. “If you knew about his…uh, unfaithfulness before the wedding, why didn’t you just call it off then?”
Placing her hands in her lap, she linked them tightly together and lowered her head. “I don’t know. Janelle, one of my bridesmaids, phoned me the morning before to tell me the news. I was so confused and hadn’t had much sleep. I didn’t really know what to do until the last minute.” She looked up at him and sighed. “There had been signs, but I ignored them.”
“What signs?”
“Well, for one thing, he was impatient about the wedding date. He wanted to get married sooner than I had chosen. We finally convinced him that anything sooner would mean a shoddy wedding, and Mama wouldn’t stand for that. Then he started acting strange as the wedding drew closer.”
“In what way?”
“He…hovered, wanting to spend every second with me. He would get upset if we hit a snag in the wedding plans. He stopped caring about the wedding plans after a while, when he had been very involved in them in the beginning.” She sighed, and her eyes filled with tears again. “I should’ve done something then. At least asked him what the problem was. But I excused it as pre-wedding jitters and continued with the wedding plans.” She paused for a moment, looking down at her hands, still clenched in her lap. “But it’s obvious there was something going on with Prissy, even then. Maybe he swept her off her feet like he had me. I don’t know. And then there was Mama and Oak Hill Grove.”
He shook his head, trying to make sense of it. “Oak Hill Grove is your home?”
She breathed a long sigh. “Yes. You see, it’s been in the Charpentier family for years. It was passed down from my great-great-grandfather Charpentier to his son, to his son, and then to Mama when she married, because she has no brothers. But it’s so old, and expenses and taxes have been so high and—” she lowered her head and shook it “—and Mama isn’t very good with money. She went through what little bit Daddy left her, years ago.”
Stunned, Dev stared at her. “You were marrying him for his money?”
He heard her sniff before she looked at him. “No, not at all. In fact, Mama and I made plans when we knew I would be getting married and moving into my own home. She would sell Oak Hill Grove, pay off the debts and move to a nice apartment.”
Remembering what J.R. had done to others and nearly done to his oldest brother’s wife before they married, Dev asked the only thing on his mind. “Was there oil on the land?”
“Oil? Why, no. We had it surveyed two years ago. Mama was hoping there might be. It would’ve been the answer to our prayers. But there isn’t. Why do you ask?”
This was his chance to tell her how J.R. was no good, but he hesitated. “An answer to your difficulties maybe?”
“It would have been,” she agreed with another sniff. “No one knows how bad things have become for us. Mama insisted that we always put up a good front. Even the cousins don’t have any idea. Somehow, we’ve been able to fool everyone.”
“And James didn’t know this, either?”
“Oh, mercy, no! I never breathed a word to him. Why would I? There was no reason to. We had everything worked out. Our financial problems would be solved and still be our secret.”
Dev got to his feet, turning to hide his smile. It would’ve served J.R. right if the wedding had occurred. In addition to his questionable real estate practices and other business ventures, the man owed a small fortune to enough casinos and money sharks across the country to keep him running for years. He was obviously hoping he could get his hands on the Albright’s money and family name to hold off some of his debtors until he could find a way to pay them off, if not have enough money from the marriage to do it all. People were on to his oil schemes in Oklahoma and Texas. Probably Louisiana, too. Dev knew J.R. had tried his marriage scheme on at least one other unsuspecting woman. Carly didn’t know how lucky she was that her prospective groom had committed his indiscretion.
That wasn’t the problem now. Dev was convinced J.R. still didn’t know the truth and would come looking for Carly. But Dev couldn’t keep her here against her will. If she stayed of her own free will—and he would see that it was—all he had to do was wait and play out the hand to the last card. Even if she moved on, J.R. would still come looking for her at the casino.
Carly pushed away from the table and stood to walk to the windows. “Would you tell me about James?” she asked, turning back to look at Dev. “You seem to know him well.”
Dev wasn’t sure if it would be better or worse for her to hear the truth. He didn’t know her well enough to assess how much damage it could cause. But she deserved to know as much as he felt he could reveal.
“You’re not the only woman he’s conned,” he admitted. “My older brother’s wife, Ellie, had a similar experience with him.”
Carly’s eyes widened. “Did she marry him?”
“No, it didn’t come to that. But he had learned there was oil on land that she and her brothers owned. He was trying to buy it, and when he couldn’t, because her brothers refused to sell, proposing marriage was his next step. As it turned out, Ellie didn’t fall for it. But from what I know, it was a close call for her.”
“Oh, my!” she whispered, her face pale.
Dev hurried to her side and reached out to steady her, afraid she was going to faint. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice breathless, “but I had no idea…” She looked up at him, adding a smile. “I can’t thank you enough for telling me.”
Fearing he might have caused more damage, he decided to change the subject, hoping that doing so, she might have time to come to terms with all that had happened. “What size do you wear?”
Surprised by his question, Carly forgot her own questions. When his one-eyed gaze roamed from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, she shivered. Mercy goodness! If he could make her feel that warm by looking at her with one eye, how hot would she get if he had two?
“Eight,” she managed to answer. “Why?”
When he released her but didn’t answer, she watched him cross the room and pick up the phone. He punched a number on the keypad and waited. “Janet, can you bring me up a size eight swimsuit? No, just pick a pretty one and have it sent up to my quarters. Thanks.”
Carly wondered just who this man was who had come to her aid when she had needed it the most. “Are you going to tell me where we are?” she asked when he had finished the call.
“You’re in Shreveport, sugar. And this is The Devil’s Den, the biggest hotel and casino in the area.”
“And we’re in your…?” she asked.
“My suite.”
“And I suppose you own this place?”
“All seventy-five-thousand square feet of it. How old are you?”
“I’m old enough to gamble, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Her warmth went up another notch when he smiled at her. “You won’t mind not participating, will you?” he asked.
“I’ve never been in a casino, but—”
They were interrupted by the door buzzer, and he went to answer it. He didn’t open the door wide enough for her to see anything, but she heard him thank whoever it was, and then he turned to her with a beautiful aqua swimsuit on a hanger.
“There’s a nice pool downstairs,” he said, walking back to the table. “I thought you