The Billionaire's Secrets (32 page)

Gaelan
nodded and handed Marcus his empty glass. "On second thought," he said, reaching for the glass again. "Pour me another one. Maybe this is all Chloe needs."
Gaelan
took the drink. It didn't seem like Chloe to behave this way, but then maybe it was to be expected. She was about to marry a man she had only known
for
two months, not
to mention one with a six-year-
old child. Maybe panic was the most sensible reaction a woman could have in this situation. "How much time do I have?"

Marcus looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes. Ren
é
e wants you
ready to go
in
half an hour
."

"Okay, I'll be back."

Gaelan
took the stairs at the end of the hall two at a time and knocked on Chloe's door. "It's me, Chloe." There was no answer, and again he felt that pang of fear. Perhaps Marcus was
wrong. Maybe it was more serious than a case of nerves. He tried the door. It was unlocked, and he opened it slowly to let himself in, closing it softly behind him.

He looked around the room, taking in the wedding dress still hanging on the wardrobe. Ren
é
e said it was bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding. He had laughed but gone along with tradition.
Until now.

He didn't see her at first. But then he noticed a pair of
stockinged
feet protruding over the arm of the couch facing the fireplace.  She must have fallen asleep. After all, she should be dressed by now, ready to go downstairs. He approached the couch slowly, not wanting to startle her when she sat up.

Gaelan
froze. He couldn't believe his eyes. This must be a nightmare.

"How sweet," she said. It was a voice he never thought he'd hear again. "I could use a drink about now."

Gaelan
dropped the glass. It bounced on the carpet, and scotch splattered the hem of his pants. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"It's nice you still recognise me after all these years." She leaned over and picked up the glass at
Gaelan
's
feet.
"Shame about the drink
though.
First time I've ever seen you waste good scotch."

"You're supposed to be…" He stopped. Really he wasn't totally surprised. He had somehow suspected this all along. It was why he had hired those private detectives. It was why he had called Italy last week. But when it turned out not to be
her,
and the private detectives had turned up nothing…
. he too
had finally accepted Colleen had died in the fall from the cliff.

"I know. I know. I also know it caused quite a stir. Did the
billionaire
kill his wife? Drive her to suicide? Or was it an accident after all?"

"Why the hell did you do it?"

"What?" she said innocently, getting up from the
couch.

"Stage your own death. That’
s what you did, isn't it?"

"Something
like
that - I am an actress after all. Besides, I couldn't let Bowen get his hands on the money. You know what they say about a fool and his money being soon parted. And I always thought leaving before the divorce was final might come in handy one day."

She was standing very close to him, and yet
Gaelan
felt as if the whole thing
weren’t
real. It wasn't that he
wished Colleen
was
dead, but he sure hadn't cared ever to see her again. Especially on the day he was marrying the woman he loved.

"Where's Chloe?" he demanded, not wanting to spend another moment with this woman. "No wonder she wants to speak to me. I take it you've introduced yourself, and she's now wondering what the hell is going on."

Colleen lifted one of her
shoulders in an elegant shrug. "I don't think Chloe wants to speak to you."

"She told Kathryn she wanted to speak to me, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't know what little game you're playing by being here today, but I have every intention of marrying Chloe in the next hour."

"I don't know if that's possible. Can you marry Chloe when you're still married to me?"

Gaelan
felt himself nearly blinded with anger. He had never struck anyone in his life, let alone a woman, but he felt dangerously close to it now. "
You…,” he
started to say but
couldn’t finish. What could
one
possibly call
someone this conniving and evil?
“
Don't even think of interfering in my wedding," he
finished
in a low voice.

"You know that part in the wedding when the minister asks if anyone
objects?
I figure that's my cue."  She smiled coldly.

Gaelan
had no idea what to do now about the ceremony. If he went forward with it, was he committing bigamy? Plus he had no idea how to stop Colleen from carrying out her threat. And if he was upset, he couldn't imagine what Chloe must be going through right now. God knows what Colleen told her. He grabbed Colleen by the arms, shuddering at the touch of fur and the thin arms underneath. "Where is she, Colleen?"

"I don't know, darling. She didn't tell me where she was going. She did put on her coat though."

Gaelan
let go of her arms abruptly, and they dropped limply to her sides. He turned and strode for the door. He opened it, looking over his shoulder at this woman he hadn't seen in four years. A woman he had once been married to.
The mother of
Sophia
.
She had made his life a misery once before, and he'd be damned if he'd let her do it again. "You stay here - I'm not done with you yet!"

He slammed the door behind him and ran back downstairs to his office.

"Thank heavens you're back!
" Ren
é
e said, leaping up from the couch. Ren
é
e, Marcus, and Kathryn gathered around
Gaelan
.

"Is everything okay?" Kathryn asked anxiously.

Gaelan
shut
the door behind him, leaning
against it for a moment as if to regain his strength.
“
Okay is hardly the word I'd use," he said.

They listened in stunned silence as he quickly filled them in. When he finished, no one spoke.

"I should have told Chloe I suspected Colleen might still be alive,"
Gaelan
said finally.

Marcus was the first to recover. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It was only a
hunch
. And God knows you paid enough private detectives to try and locate her."

Gaelan
straightened up. "You're right." This was definitely a time for action and
not
for wallowing in past mistakes. The most critical thing was to find Chloe as soon as possible. He turned to Renee. "This is going to take major damage control. You're really going to earn your fee on this one, Ren
é
e. First, I want you to find Chloe's parents. Tell them that Chloe has gone for a walk
,
and I've gone to look for her. Let them stay here in the office and assure them I'm doing everything I can to find her."
Gaelan
strode back and forth in front of the fireplace, his brow furrowed as he took control of the situation.
"Then I want you to find Windy. She's pretty level-headed
. G
et her to stay with Chloe's parents."

He turned to Kathryn. "Can you please help Ren
é
e on this?"

Kathryn nodded earnestly.

"
Sophia
is with Windy,"
Gaelan
continued.
“
She'll need to be told something. Keep it simple. Then get Windy to call her nephew. He has a puppy for
Sophia
at his h
ouse. Have him bring it over now. T
hat should keep her distracted."

He stopped pacing for a moment. "Ren
é
e, you're going to have to make some sort of announcement to the guests."

"What do you want me to tell them?" Ren
é
e said desperately. "This is a little out of my league."

"Tell them there's a delay because of the weather. We're waiting for someone - they don't need to know it's the bride. Get the orchestra to play. Get the caterers to bring out food and set up the bar. That should keep everyone happy until I know one way or another whether I'm getting married today."