Crash and Burn (6 page)

“Divina didn’t marry Hank,” Grace said, flopping on the ancient couch.

Confusion flickered across her mother’s face. “The invitations?”

“No. Divina is married. Just not to Hank.” Grace told the whole story again, starting with the wedding in Vegas, Stone’s unwillingness to admit his mistake and Grace being gullible enough to move in to keep them from killing one another.

“Have you seen the morning paper?” her father asked.

Grace was confused at the change of topic. What did the paper have to do with Divina and her marriage?

“I don’t understand. I was trying to tell you that Divina has created a problem for herself and you want to go over current events?”

Grace’s father rifled around in the papers on the table next to him. Among the empty peanut butter cracker wrappers, old mail and bundles of magazine offers for health and beauty aids, medical supplies and stretchy-waist pants, he pulled out a newspaper rolled in half. “Here, see for yourself. We looked twice at it. It says Divina is this guy’s new wife, but the picture…”

Grace gasped as she unfolded the paper. On the front page, above the fold, was a picture of Stone leaning over her. They were obviously kissing. How could she not remember this? She stared at the picture closer. She was wearing the shirt she’d worn yesterday when she’d been drunk on wine. Had Stone seen this picture? That explained why he’d been acting so weird at breakfast. The little shit.

She slammed the paper back on the table, rattling the glasses left from breakfast. She pursed her lips to keep from saying exactly what she thought of the rat bastard. He kissed her and she didn’t even remember the event. Wait. That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She couldn’t believe he’d had the audacity to kiss her. He was married to her sister. Now he’d devised a way to strong-arm her into helping them deceive the press. One photo was all it took.

She looked at the expectant faces of her parents. “That’s me, but I don’t know how they took the picture, because I never kissed Stone Adams.”

“Well, dear. I know kissing,” her mother said. “That’s kissing. You have your arm around his neck too. Is this the man Divina married?” Her mother looked up from the picture. “And, if he’s married to your sister, then why was he kissing you?”

“If that isn’t the twelve-million-dollar question,” Grace muttered.

Chapter 4

Grace knew there was no way to explain it, and with a circulation of over 100,000 papers, many, many people would see her kissing Stone Adams. Sure, it didn’t have her name in the caption, but anyone who knew her or the family knew for certain Divina wasn’t the one in the picture.

“Are you sure you should be living in their house?” Grace’s father asked.

“Yes, you know the saying, ‘What God has joined, let no man put asunder,’” her mother quoted.

Grace huffed and scowled at them. “I was not trying to take Divina’s new husband away from her. She doesn’t like him anyway, so I don’t know what the fuss is about.”

So what if he was better built than Hank, made oodles of money and made her heart skip a beat when he got too close. Looking at the grainy color photo in the paper, she felt her stomach flip over. The thought of him kissing her while she slept gave her goosebumps. An intimate moment caught on film, his firm lips touching hers, insistent and exploratory. She almost wished she remembered Stone Adams kissing her.

* * * *

Stone brought the paper with him when he met with Walt at his agent’s office. Even though it was Sunday, the office was buzzing with purpose. Walt’s secretary nodded at Stone and gestured to the large wooden door. When Stone knocked and entered the spacious office on the fourteenth floor, which looked out over the ocean, Walt was already holding up his copy of the newspaper.

“How’d you get her to do it?” Walt asked.

“I didn’t,” Stone said, shaking hands with his old friend. “That’s not my wife.”

“Excuse me? You were out with another woman? Already? Are you insane?” he bellowed.

Stone crossed his arms. “I was home. I wasn’t out scamming for a woman. Look, man. The whole situation sucks. Divina hates me, her fiance hates me–with good reason, I might add–and my new sister-in-law can’t stand me, but for some reason I can’t get her out of my head.”

“So you kissed her? Is this your sister-in-law?” Walt was standing now, moving toward Stone on the other side of the desk.

Stone took a step back and slumped into the leather chair. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t expect the damn paparazzi to show up at the house, that’s for sure. I also know she wouldn’t have kissed me if she hadn’t been semi-drunk and asleep.”

Walt slapped his forehead and shook his head.

“I know. Stupid.”

“Who knows this is not your wife?”

“I don’t know. Anyone friends with the two sisters knows that that’s not Divina,” he said pointing to the paper Walt still clutched in his hands.

“Your sponsors and fans don’t know,” Walt said. Stone watched the gears turn in Walt’s head as he schemed. “No one has to tell them. You talk to...what’s her name?”

“Grace.”

“Grace, oh, perfect. You talk to Grace and convince her it’s in both of your best interests to play this out. She can be Divina Adams for a few, six months or so, then you guys can break up and, within a year, you’re divorced from her sister. The sponsor is willing to make this worth your while. After hearing about the wedding, they are offering an extra five million for a few print ads and a couple of talk shows. You convince Grace she’s helping her sister out of this mess and provide a hefty compensation package, how can she turn it down?”

Stone’s stomach churned. He should have taken that antacid pill the doc prescribed. “I don’t know. She doesn’t seem open to the idea of helping me.”

“Make her see it’s a good thing. Tell her the perks of being married to a guy like you.”

“You mean having strange men take pictures of your intimate moments through your living room window? She’ll fall all over me like some lovestruck teenager.”

It was Walt’s turn to cross his arms. “You’re a charmer, good-looking and loaded. Give her presents, woo her. I know you know how to. You snap your fingers and girls come running.”

Everything Walt said was true–on the other hand, the way he said it showed how he truly felt. Stone had known about Walt’s jealousy since almost day one of their relationship. As long as Walt was getting his cut from the winnings, the money part was covered, but as far as the women, Walt was on his own. Stone was going to have to take Walt’s advice.

It would be a challenge. He’d already spoken with Grace and she didn’t want to be his pretend bride for one day. How would he convince her she’d like it for six months, not to mention a year? His profession was high profile, high energy. Everything Grace was not.

His fans would eat her alive, especially the women. He hated to think of the things they would tell Grace, the things they would say.

“I’ll talk to her again, but I can’t promise anything. Nothing. Grace isn’t the type of woman who hangs out at the track. She’s probably never even seen a race.”

“Shower her with gifts and offer her money. Make her see,” Walt said.

Stone nodded. If he started spending money and time on Grace, what would spoiled-brat Divina do? Would she freak out or want him to spend the same amount on her, the real wife. He cringed at the thought. He wished he was better at the courting thing. He didn’t need to take the time, usually. Women knew what to expect for him and he delivered. Sex–dirty, hot, sweaty sex. Sometimes he called them, most times he didn’t.

The first press conference was scheduled for Friday, the day before his next race. The sponsors were looking for quality pre-race publicity. He had his work cut out for him. He’d pray she missed today’s paper at least until he got to her.

Copies of the daily paper were on the coffee table, kitchen table, counter and even on the sink in the bathroom when Stone arrived home that afternoon. The television was tuned into an entertainment news channel. Grace sat in the middle of the couch with her feet up on the wooden table in front of her.

“Hi, Grace,” he said sheepishly. “You’ve seen the paper, I gather?”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with innocence. “What? Was there something in the paper I should have seen?”

“I can explain.” He slid up next to her on the couch, careful they didn’t touch.

“I’m sure there’s some brilliant explanation why I’m on the front page of the paper, why eight reporters have called to speak to Divina and why you were kissing me and I have no recollection of the incident. I can’t wait to hear it.”

The pressure ground his stomach. He closed his eyes to block out the view of her doe eyes that changed suddenly to pierce him.

“I...” he started. “It... Well, when I got home–” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “You were sleeping on the couch. Snoring like a lumberjack,” he added, gaining confidence. “I’m not going to lie. I find you a challenge. You’re beautiful, sweet and you were sleeping. I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t know those reporters followed me home. When I kissed you I–” He fell silent. How was he going to explain why he kissed her? By telling her he was drawn to her, or if he’d met her first, he might have married
her
.

“So you took advantage of an intoxicated female for your public gain?”

“Grace, I swear I didn’t know they were out there. How do you think this makes me look, kissing my sister-in-law, not my wife?”

She crossed her arms. “It makes you look like a snake. And as far as everyone other than my family knows, I’m your wife. Pictures tell a story. So was that your plan? You think I’ll go along with your deception because everyone will assume I’m Divina?”

He shrugged. It sounded so sordid when she said it.

“It would never work,” she said, leaning back into the sofa cushions. “Too many people know our family, know me. You’re crazy.”

“Do the people who know you know your sister?” The wheels in his head started spinning.

“Nope, we’ve lead separate lives. You know how hard it was to explain to my parents why I was kissing my sister’s husband? That’s a conversation I never intended on having with my elderly parents.”

“Elderly? Aren’t they in their sixties?”

“So? They don’t watch Maury or Jerry Springer. They don’t get domestic craziness. They are wholesome, Christian people.”

She wasn’t getting where he was going with his thoughts. “Stop talking.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just listen to me, please. This is important. My career is on the line here. My sponsors think you’re my wife. They saw the picture and are excited about a new wholesome ad campaign. They want to meet you.”

“You mean they want to meet Divina.”

He gave her a pleading look. “Walt said I should offer you money, gifts, trips. In other words, bribe you to–”

“How much?” she asked.

“What?” His tires slid sideways like in a race and suddenly he had no control.

“How much money did Walt tell you to offer me?”

Warning signs started pinging in his head. “I don’t think he gave a specific amount.”

“How much are you willing to give me?”

“You’d do it for money?” Was it that easy? He calculated in his head.

She smiled serenely at him. “How much, Stone? How much is my companionship worth to you?” Her eyes narrowed.

He swallowed. “A million,” he said softly. He’d have to scrounge to come up with that kind of money, but Walt had said to do anything to get Grace on board.

He watched her eyes widen in surprise then narrow back down. “You’re offering me a million dollars to pretend to be my sister and your wife for the racing season?”

“Actually, it’s for a whole year,” he added, hanging his head and scuffing his shoe on the porch floor.

“Can you believe the newspapers? So much for truth in journalism,” Divina said, entering the living room carrying a newspaper. She looked up from the stack of mail. Her gaze slid from him to Grace and back. “What’s going on here? Did I interrupt something?”

“No,” Grace said flatly, standing and pushing by him. “I’ve got a headache.”

Stone closed his eyes again.
Good timing, Divina.

“Was it something I said?” Divina asked him.

“No.” He watched Grace for a minute then turned his attention back to his wife. “How was your day, dear?”

“Don’t
dear
me, Stone. I’ve seen the papers, saw the news and heard about your kiss on the radio. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I have a wife and she won’t help me.”

Divina shook her head and stepped over him, alighting on the couch. “You can’t get her to do what you want with blackmail. It doesn’t work. Well, emotional blackmail, maybe.” She was thoughtful. “I can’t have her running around as me indefinitely. I thought this was only supposed to be for one race. What’s this year crap?”

“Are you going to step up and agree to the contact we both made? Are you going to play yourself in this charade? Or are you going to live this crazy life and go on with your wedding to the dish mop.”