Read Online A Wife by Accident by Victoria Ashe - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Victoria Ashe
Ads: Link
to specially design something for you by Wednesday night, but we can alter anything you’d like,” Carla offered hopefully.
Dress after dress, Hayely tried them all on until at last she and Carla found the perfect design. Just as the decision was made, the bell over the door told them Gary had returned to reclaim his wife.
“ Hayely Tarleton, just you wait until your husband sees this dress—sees you and that cute little figure of yours shown off in this dress,” Carla whispered with a contagious excitement. “He won’t even notice the rest of the party.”
“You have to promise not to show it to him. I want it to be a surprise.” She couldn’t wait to see the look on Gary’s face when he saw the dress she’d chosen. She only hoped it would live up to his expectations—that she would.
Carla splayed her long fingers out over her heart. “Oh, it’s so romantic. I wish I had a nice man to be romantic for.” On impulse she gave Hayely a quick hug. “You’re going to do great. And if you ever need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask for me. Good luck.”
Hayely thanked her and signed the credit card slip while trying not to look too closely at the obscene total printed on it. Good luck? She had the feeling she was going to need it.
Chapter Five
Monday morning started with its usual amount of chaos. For the first time, Hayely left her wedding band securely on her finger. She’d been careful to take it off and hide it in the zipper compartment of her purse before work each day. But she knew she had to tell the human resources department about her marriage, and just seeing the ring on her finger brought Gary’s confident voice of reassurance to mind. They’d laughed all the way home from the boutique the day before just from imagining the reaction their news was sure to get.
Hayely locked the big front doors of the house and tugged on them for good measure. She’d hurried getting ready for work that morning, but found she had missed Gary by an hour or two. He always left so early. She wanted to get to the office as soon as possible anyway. As self-defense, she’d begun sending Kathy a good morning greeting via e-mail so that the time of day marked plainly on the printout would show she’d come in early. Hayely could only imagine what Kathy’s new tactics would be once she caught on to Hayely’s job-preservation strategy.
As she stepped down into the circular driveway, she froze. She scanned the curb up and down, but her old rattletrap car was nowhere to be seen. Had someone stolen it? Mistaken it for junk and towed it? Her mind reeled. The only vehicle left in the place was a shiny new BMW parked where her poor car used to be. She wondered where the car could have come from—it didn’t look like something Gary would drive. He would barely fit inside it!
A bit of white paper flapping from under the windshield wiper caught her attention and she walked hesitantly toward the car. Its silver paint sparkled in the morning sunlight. She could imagine someone driving in it high along winding ocean cliffs with the water churning far below. If she had a car like this, she’d put the top down and tie a long silk scarf around her neck just to feel it blow along softly around her.
She sighed, pulled out the note and read it aloud. “ Hayely ,” it began in Gary’s handwriting, “I want you to have this car. Call it a job perk. The keys are in the ignition.”
Hayely folded up the note calmly and stuffed it into her purse. Then she pulled open the car door with a giggle and jumped inside. The smell of new leather surrounded her as she ran her hand over the seats. New red leather. “Wow,” she said to herself , “the seats are even heated.”
And then another thought struck her. He’d gotten rid of her real car. The irritation from that notion sent tiny stabs through her insides. She’d scraped together the five-hundred-dollar down payment to buy that car on her own, and then eked
Dress after dress, Hayely tried them all on until at last she and Carla found the perfect design. Just as the decision was made, the bell over the door told them Gary had returned to reclaim his wife.
“ Hayely Tarleton, just you wait until your husband sees this dress—sees you and that cute little figure of yours shown off in this dress,” Carla whispered with a contagious excitement. “He won’t even notice the rest of the party.”
“You have to promise not to show it to him. I want it to be a surprise.” She couldn’t wait to see the look on Gary’s face when he saw the dress she’d chosen. She only hoped it would live up to his expectations—that she would.
Carla splayed her long fingers out over her heart. “Oh, it’s so romantic. I wish I had a nice man to be romantic for.” On impulse she gave Hayely a quick hug. “You’re going to do great. And if you ever need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask for me. Good luck.”
Hayely thanked her and signed the credit card slip while trying not to look too closely at the obscene total printed on it. Good luck? She had the feeling she was going to need it.
Chapter Five
Monday morning started with its usual amount of chaos. For the first time, Hayely left her wedding band securely on her finger. She’d been careful to take it off and hide it in the zipper compartment of her purse before work each day. But she knew she had to tell the human resources department about her marriage, and just seeing the ring on her finger brought Gary’s confident voice of reassurance to mind. They’d laughed all the way home from the boutique the day before just from imagining the reaction their news was sure to get.
Hayely locked the big front doors of the house and tugged on them for good measure. She’d hurried getting ready for work that morning, but found she had missed Gary by an hour or two. He always left so early. She wanted to get to the office as soon as possible anyway. As self-defense, she’d begun sending Kathy a good morning greeting via e-mail so that the time of day marked plainly on the printout would show she’d come in early. Hayely could only imagine what Kathy’s new tactics would be once she caught on to Hayely’s job-preservation strategy.
As she stepped down into the circular driveway, she froze. She scanned the curb up and down, but her old rattletrap car was nowhere to be seen. Had someone stolen it? Mistaken it for junk and towed it? Her mind reeled. The only vehicle left in the place was a shiny new BMW parked where her poor car used to be. She wondered where the car could have come from—it didn’t look like something Gary would drive. He would barely fit inside it!
A bit of white paper flapping from under the windshield wiper caught her attention and she walked hesitantly toward the car. Its silver paint sparkled in the morning sunlight. She could imagine someone driving in it high along winding ocean cliffs with the water churning far below. If she had a car like this, she’d put the top down and tie a long silk scarf around her neck just to feel it blow along softly around her.
She sighed, pulled out the note and read it aloud. “ Hayely ,” it began in Gary’s handwriting, “I want you to have this car. Call it a job perk. The keys are in the ignition.”
Hayely folded up the note calmly and stuffed it into her purse. Then she pulled open the car door with a giggle and jumped inside. The smell of new leather surrounded her as she ran her hand over the seats. New red leather. “Wow,” she said to herself , “the seats are even heated.”
And then another thought struck her. He’d gotten rid of her real car. The irritation from that notion sent tiny stabs through her insides. She’d scraped together the five-hundred-dollar down payment to buy that car on her own, and then eked
Similar Books
