She didn’t regret asking the question, though. Ten years was a long time for a man as attractive as he was to stay unattached. She was curious. But when she got his response it stopped her cold.
“I was.”
She gasped. “You was…I mean, you were? You were married?”
He nodded and gave her a smile that seemed full of regret. “Yes, a long time ago.”
“Did she…pass away?” He looked so sad that she had no doubt he’d lost someone he’d loved dearly. As unfair as it was the thought made her heart hurt. The green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly head.
“No, nothing like that.” He shook his head. “She lives on, and very comfortably I might add.”
“You’re divorced, then.”
He sighed. “A more accurate word is annulled.”
“What happened?”
He looked away then he tightened his lips. “The marriage lasted all of three days.” He sighed. “I was stupid. I started dating a woman I met at a business conference. Only two months into the relationship she announced she was pregnant.”
He'd spluttered when Claudia had given him the news and she’d laughed at his shock. “Those things happen sometimes, Drake,” she’d told him. Of course he knew that, but they’d used protection. But, then again, condoms weren’t one hundred percent protection. She’d insisted they get married within the next month. She wanted to be married before her pregnancy became obvious. He hadn’t objected.
As Meg watched Drake as he told his story she could see his face grow rigid and there was a bitter twist to his mouth. She could tell that what was to come would not be good.
“We left the next day for our honeymoon,” he said. “The south of France, her choice. I didn’t really care.”
“We booked the presidential suite in the grandest hotel, La Belle Provence. The day after we arrived I got out of bed fairly early and told her I was going for a jog to work off some of my jetlag and wake myself up. She just groaned and rolled over and went back to sleep.” Drake drew in a deep breath then exhaled slowly. “At least, that was what I thought.”
Meg frowned. That sounded ominous. She was dying to know what happened next but when he fell silent she did not push. He needed to tell his story in his own time.
“It wasn’t till I got down to the lobby that I realized I’d left my cell phone.” Drake was not looking at Meg now. He stared straight ahead as he spoke, looking as if he’d been transported back in time. “I was quiet, going back into the suite. I didn’t want to wake her. I’d just grabbed the phone from the coffee table when I thought I heard voices coming from the bedroom. I decided to check."
His jaw tightened and he spoke through clenched teeth as he said the next words. “She was on the phone, talking about how she’d ‘bagged’ me with a fake pregnancy. Said she was going to wait another week or two before telling me about the miscarriage. Of course, she was going to make that up, too.”
“Oh, my God.” Meg’s hand flew to her mouth. How could a woman be so devious?
“Apparently, it had all been a set-up. The whirlwind romance, the rushed marriage. She’d targeted me long before I even knew she existed. Based on the rest of the conversation it seemed the plan had been in place for over a year.”
Drake shook his head. “I got rid of her so fast she didn’t know what hit her.” Then he laughed and the sound was harsh and bitter. “That’s the last time I’ll let a woman make a fool out of me.” He snorted. “Pregnancy. I fell for the age-old trick.” He shook his head again then to Meg’s relief, he chuckled. “Let’s hope that now that I’m the ripe old age of thirty-four I won’t fall for a stupid trick like that again.”
She laughed with him but inside she was pained by what he’d gone through. The nerve of that woman, to try to trap him with a baby. In this case, a fake one. Some women would stop at nothing to trap a rich man into marriage.
Trying to lighten the mood, she decided to change the subject. “I started writing chapter one this week. It’s going great.”
As she’d expected, his face brightened. “Good. I’m looking forward to seeing your first draft.”
“We’re still a couple of months away from a full draft but I’m happy with the way it started off. It’s really flowing.”
“Great.”
“I’m depicting you like the urban version of the swashbuckling cowboy of the wild west.”
“What?”
“You’re the one who said I should add excitement to your boring life. Well, I’m doing that.” She was smiling now.
“I don’t know…” he said, putting his hand to his chin. “Do you really think-”
“Got you.” She burst out laughing. “You’re so gullible.”
By this time he was laughing, too. “My one major flaw. I need to work on that.”
After that, the tension dissipated and it was as if Drake had never brought up the sensitive subject of his disaster marriage at the hands of a femme fatale. They fell into comfortable conversation and lost track of time so that when Jessie burst into the waiting lounge with the rest of her group in tow they looked at each other, surprised.
“Has it been forty-five minutes already?” Meg couldn’t help asking.
“Guess so,” Drake said, then opened his arms as Jessie ran toward him.
She hopped onto his lap as if she’d been doing that all her life then whipped a toy out of her pocket. “Look what I got. A baby dinosaur.” She reached over and shook the green soft toy under Meg’s nose. “Here, Mommy, I’ll let you play with it first.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” Meg took it and smiled her gratitude.
“Hey, didn’t you bring me anything?” Drake put on a sad face and even added a pout.
Meg had to laugh. He was actually a good actor. Move over, Brad Pitt.