The Counterfeit Bride Read online

  “Lynda, I love you guys, but you do tend to exaggerate. I know some men look at me, but mostly because they think I’m goofy, with my freaky red hair, skin that doesn’t tan, and big blotches of freckles,” Cassidy smiled. “I’m an anomaly, especially in Texas.”

  “Honey, I swear to on my sacred Harley, I have seen gay men staring at you and wondering if they stood a shot, at least for one night,” Lynda laughed.

  “Out of the room, before you make me as crazy as you three old coots.” Cassidy was still laughing as she prepared for her long awaited shower. Too bad she didn’t have enough time for a bath, but she knew if she rested in warm water, sleep would overtake her. At least her lavender and mint soap should refresh her. Hopefully it would wake her up and keep her alert. She wouldn’t put anything past those people. Thinking about them raised her stress level, so she thought of home and her son. She would not think about that gorgeous groom and wonder what he and Jules had been up to while her duplicitous cousin pretended to be Cassiopeia.

  Chapter 4

  “Thank you for allowing me to wait up here, away from the crowds, Mr. Ambassador.” Theron had been met upon his arrival at the American Embassy by the Ambassador’s PA. The small reception room he had been installed in gave him a clear view of the street. After refusing the offer of refreshments, Theron positioned himself at the window to wait and watch.

  Alone.

  He had spent all of ten minutes in splendid solitude before Adam Shift, the ambassador, walked in and took the liberty of patting Theron on the shoulder. “Son, I don’t know what kind of scam artist that young woman is, but I guarantee she will not show up here today. She probably thought that Kirios Dolmides would immediately pull a roll of money out of his pocket and pay her off so the wedding could continue without further interruption.”

  Theron chose not to comment. When the Ambassador received no reply to the conversational gambit he tried another track, “Those are the type of people that give all Americans a bad name. Look at the press frenzy out there. She must have contacted them out of spite when she didn’t receive an immediate payoff. She is quite a gambler if she believes a man of Costas Dolmides stature would deign to take her seriously. The Dolmides family are not coming, are they? You were sent as an emissary, in case she had the nerve to follow through.”

  “You are correct, Costa will not come. Like you, he does not believe the girl will have the nerve to appear here today.” Theron shrugged, dislodging the Ambassador’s hand. He found strangers touching him distasteful. Theos, the Dolmides had a lot to answer for. He was in this humiliating situation because of Costas Domides and his manipulations.

  “We were all shocked when the priest refused to continue the ceremony. We were sure after the little gold digger left you would find her papers were faulty and continue with the ceremony,” the Ambassador continued.

  “The wedding could not continue once its legality was put in doubt.” If the Ambassador knew how relieved Theron was to have a reprieve, he would spread it all over Europe. The man was as gossipy as the fishwives down in the marketplace. He had met Adam Shift many times, at various functions and had never truly appreciated what a bore he was until now. This was private business. Personal business and yet this highly exalted representative of a major world power was trying to pry personal information out of him. The Ambassador’s persistence made the fishwives look like amateurs.

  Movement on the street drew Theron’s attention. He leaned forward, but still remained out of shutter range. The paparazzi did not swarm on the people walking down the street, they still mulled around the entrance. It must not be the young woman from the church.

  Theron checked the gold Rolex on his wrist, an engagement gift from Cassiopeia. A bit ostentatious for his taste, but she had been so exuberant when she presented it to him he had to wear the damn thing. It felt like a slave bracelet rather than a fine time piece.

  The intruder was late. Theron started to turn away from the window, but his blood heated. She was out there. He could feel her presence. He looked more closely at two couples walking down the street toward the embassy. Two large men dressed in suits flanked a small sprite, while an Amazon in a trouser suit led the way. The little one danced down the street in a yellow dress that flared with her movements. A big straw hat hid her face from view and not a wisp of golden-red hair showed. She teetered on very high, very thin heels, like a child dressing in her mother’s clothes. Theron knew by the sudden rush of his blood that the little sprite was the pyrotechnia mikros.

  Theron was glad she had shown up. It would save him the trouble of finding her to wring her neck. Whatever the scheme she and her cohorts were working, she must be made to see how important the merger was. She had to publicly renounce the ludicrous statements she had made that morning in church. He would assure her that no charges would be brought. He would not allow her to spend time in a Greek prison. Locked in his bedroom, yes. Prison, no.

  Costas had been the one to insist on this farce of a wedding before he would sign the merger. He wanted an heir of his bloodline to inherit the island and the company. Costas would not foist a false bride on him. Blood ties were too important to a man like Dolmides.

  It was really too bad the little firecracker was a con woman. He would far rather spend the honeymoon with her exploding in his arms than with the overdone confection he was being forced to marry.

  The group disappeared from his sight as the marines at the gate allowed the group to enter the embassy. Soon the matter would be settled and he would have to get back to the business of getting married. Perhaps he should pay her to continue the charade; there still might be a chance his legal team could find a way to push forward the merger without the handicap of marriage being involved.

  His thoughts were interrupted when the door in back of him opened.

  “Thank you, sir. Y’all been so kind to help us. I am sure an important man such as yourself has more pressing matters to do than to show li’l ole me around.”

  Theron turned to find the imposter gushing at a man. A man who was not him.

  “I can’t believe that the personal assistant to the Ambassador himself has taken time out of his busy day to help us. It is so refreshing to meet a gentleman like you.” The little flirt lowered her eyes and peered at the man through long, lustrous lashes. The PA reminded Theron of a worm; a slimy, balding worm. The woman’s true colors showed as she flirted with the low level employee. She would have done better to save the flirtatiousness for him and not waste it on the worm. She could not be very intelligent.

  “Yes, Harris, it is amazing how you can find time to conduct guided tours,” the Ambassador snapped.

  “Anything to help our citizens, Mr. Ambassador,” the blushing PA said with a cheeky grin. The shock on Adam Shift’s face was clear to see, and confirmed the usually sober Michael Harris had never spoken to the Ambassador in such a manner before.

  The sprite turned to the Ambassador with a smile that dazzled. “You are the Ambassador. Please forgive me, sir. I never would have guessed you were the Ambassador. I always thought Ambassadors were stodgy old men. I didn’t think the President would trust such a virile young man in such an important position.” Theron watched in amazement as the alleged Cassiopeia batted her thick eyelashes at the middle aged Ambassador. She apparently liked her men short and hair challenged. “You must be really smart to have such an important position at such a young age.” Adam Shift suddenly stood an inch taller as he sucked in his paunch.

  Theron couldn’t blame the Ambassador for his response; he himself had been exposed to the power of those violet eyes just that morning, but she wasn’t going to draw him in now. The woman had to learn that scam artists, no matter how attractively they were packaged, could not win with a man of superior intellect.

  She turned her glowing eyes from the Ambassador to Theron. He buttoned his suit jacket with a casual air, in the hope no one noticed his constricted appendage pressing against his zipper. Even though he knew she was p
laying a game to blackmail money out of him and the Dolmides, he could not deny his physical attraction to her. It was a very good thing he was an ethical man, or else he would give into her sexual advances and still ensure she never received a penny for her efforts.

  “Ah,” she said holding her hand out to him. “The groom is here. I wasn’t sure you would be, but it is a wonderful idea. It’s always best to oversee your own problems. I don’t imagine after this morning you would want to trust it to anyone else, especially a Dolmides.”

  He watched the gentle sway of her hips as she walked over to the window and gazed at the street below. “I see Mommy and Daddy haven’t arrived. I hope they can get through all the paparazzi out there.”

  “How did you get through them so easily?” Theron’s natural skepticism asserted itself. “Did you promise them an exclusive?”

  She chuckled “I didn’t have to promise anyone, anythin’. They were lookin’ for the wild cowgirl from the church. They didn’t spare me a glance.”

  “Do not bother to dissemble, pyrotechnia mikros, you are the only reason they are out there,” Theron growled.

  The pink tip of the imposter’s tongue moved from the center of her top lip to the corner and stayed there for a moment, distracting Theron. “They may be outside because of the tizzy I caused this morning, but from all the stuff I Googled on you, I’d say they are here because you’re involved. That circus outside doesn’t care a fig about a li’l ole gal like me. They only care about the act in the center ring, and that would be you, cowboy.”

  Theron forced his gaze back to her eyes and braced himself for their impact. “Do not argue with me, they are here for you.”

  “You’re probably right,” Cassidy sighed, “but unfortunately for them, they don’t know what I look like. They were looking for a li’l ole country gal wearing boots and a cowgirl hat. They certainly didn’t expect this.” She did a ballerina spin causing the bottom of the skirt to flare over her luscious knees. A delightful portion of thigh peaked his interest. “How much longer before Mumsy and Daddy arrive?” Her voice drew his attention back to the conversation.

  “Kelley and Costa will not be here.” He walked over to the door and held it open. He looked directly at the bemused spectator. “Mr. Ambassador.”

  The Ambassador looked at Theron, cleared his throat, and gave a slight bow over the hand of the radiant young woman before he walked sedately through the door. He looked to the three people who had accompanied her and waited with the door open.

  “You may close the door. My friends are staying.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “They are my friends, my lawyer, and my bodyguards.”

  Theron quietly closed the door tight.

  Cassidy watched as the Greek God approached her. She retreated to the safety of her rock solid friends. She didn’t know the man, except for the tidbits she was able to glean from the internet; but even a blind ninny would know Theron Christofides was dangerous just from the energy he exuded.

  Her parents weren’t coming. All her life she had tried to imagine meeting them and now she had, but there were no loving words, no warm hugs; just rejection and a refusal to face the truth. Cassidy carefully drew in a calming breath, straightened her slight shoulders, and firmed her chin, which showed a distressing tendency to wobble.

  “Our business here is through.” She was proud her voice came out without the slightest hint of a tremor. If she could get out of there without falling flat on her face she would consider that a graceful exit. She didn’t trust the skinny heels on her stupid shoes to hold her. She really wished she had worn her boots. She tilted her head in order to look into his fathomless black eyes, and held her hand out. “Goodbye, Mr. Christofides.”

  He raised a satanically slanted eyebrow at her. “Surely you do not mean to leave without negotiating a settlement.”

  Cassidy raised her own perfectly shaped brow at him. “Why on earth would I need to negotiate a settlement? All I wanted to do was stop the wedding, and I was successful at that.”

  The look on his face was priceless. He looked stunned. She waited for a snort to erupt from his classical nostrils, but apparently he was too elegant to snort like common folk. “If you do not plan to negotiate, then why are you here?”

  She widened her eyes innocently. “I’m here as a courtesy.” Southern molasses warmed her voice, in an effort to melt the ice in his. “If a strange woman appeared out of nowhere claiming to be my daughter, while another strange woman stood at the altar also claiming to be the same daughter, I would want to know the truth.” She broke eye contact with him and twirled around. “I don’t see them here, so obviously they don’t really care who their daughter is. All you titans of industry really care about is having someone obedient to follow the script. I guess any actor, or should I say, any Cassiopeia, will do.”

  Cassidy watched in fascination as the muscle on the side of his jaw twitched. “Dolmides is aware of who you are. Your mother, Patricia, explained all about how her daughter Julia, that would be you, ran away from home at the age of fifteen with a man. He was a Hell’s Angel and they were terrified for you, but there was nothing they could do to get you back.” His disparaging eyes burned over Cassidy’s body. His lip curled as his expression showed exactly how he thought she had survived all those years on the back of a Harley. Or was that on her back?

  Anger tightened Cassidy’s vocal cords. She despised hypocrites. What had he done to get all his riches? Could it be more morally reprehensible than anything she had to do to survive? Had he ever had to fight for his food? Had he ever had to fight to protect his virtue?

  She wanted nothing more than to wipe that supercilious smirk off his face. Her muscles tightened in preparation, until a movement in her peripheral vision stopped her. Lynda had grabbed both Ari and Moose by their belts. They must have been about to defend her and Lynda had to prevent them from tearing the Greek to pieces. It served as a reminder that she was civilized, barely, and civilized people used their brains, not their fists to show their superiority over foes.

  Cassidy forced an amused expression on her face, hoping the blood that had rushed to her head wasn’t clashing too badly with her hair. She took the big straw hat off and let her coppery tresses fall around her face and waist. The action allowed her to take a few calming breaths without allowing her adversary to see just how badly he had shaken her. There was no way she would allow this cockatrice to think he was getting to her.

  His status had changed from hunk to Dolmides flunky.

  “It’s wonderful to see alcohol hasn’t destroyed all Aunt Patsy’s brain cells. She actually got some of that story right.” Cassidy crossed the room and gracefully lowered herself into a delicate Louis the Fourteenth chair. She watched his eyes drop to her legs when the sound of one nylon clad leg crossed over the other in the silent room. The action caused her skirt to part at the bottom button, mid-way up her thigh, and fall on each side of her legs. The demure dress? No longer demure.

  “Perhaps your friends would be more comfortable waiting downstairs while we talk business,” Theron suggested in a silky voice.

  Cassidy placed her hat on the table at her elbow. She folded her hands on her lap, the way her precious Grammie had taught her. After she was sure the Greek was looking directly into her eyes she said, “My associates will remain where they are, but thank you for your concern. However, you seem to be under a mistaken impression. You and I have no business to discuss. Any business there might have been was strictly between me and my parents. Their failure to appear has negated any further obligation I may have felt.”

  “It is imperative that the wedding take place immediately.”

  The violet tip of her finger tapped against her pursed lips “Ah, now I understand. You got Cousin Julia pregnant. You are sure it’s your baby, right? While it is commendable that you want to marry her and give the child your name, why on earth must the bride use mine to accomplish the deed?”

  The large man sank down on the chai
r opposite Cassidy. He appeared to be at ease. His attention focused on Cassidy. “How much do you want?”

  Lush lashes blinked at him; a smile frozen on her lips. “Excuse me?”

  “How much money do you want to drop this silly claim? “You are not Cassiopeia Dolmides. Kelley is sure you are not her daughter, and who would know better than the mother?” He asked harshly.

  Her eyes narrowed to slits. The melodious Texas drawl was buried deep below hard Yankee permafrost. “First of all, I do not claim to be Cassiopeia Dolmides. I am Cassiopeia Flynn. Check my birth certificate. I was born Cassiopeia Flynn and I will die Cassiopeia Flynn. Dear old daddy refused to give me his name at my birth, but apparently now, when it is for his convenience, my name has suddenly been transformed to Dolmides. No thank you. It’s too late to save me from all the school yard name calling. Secondly, how would Kelley Flynn know who her daughter is? Since she has never laid eyes on the child since the day the baby was born. She sent the baby away to Grammie, Kelley’s mother, the same day as it was born. Today was the first time she has seen me since that day. Thirdly, I do not need, nor do I want, your money.”

  “Obviously, Julia, you have been privy to all the family secrets. It is only to be expected that you would trot them out now to try to bolster your case. However, once you leave here the offer of a settlement is off the table. Mud slinging at the family, through the tabloids or otherwise, will not earn you enough money to protect you from the combined wrath of both the Dolmides and the Christofides families.” His smooth voice really irritated her.

  Cassidy rose from the chair.

  Over the years she had faced a lot of name calling. Small New England towns do not forgive illegitimate births. The parents, in order to show their superiority, sneered about Cassidy’s dubious status. They were delighted to rub Old Lady Flynn’s nose in her daughter’s dirty laundry every time they encountered the product of the dirty laundry. Their little darlings joined in and jeered and leered. When Cassidy grew into a teen and began to develop curves, many of the fathers began to leer too. Then there were the suggestive remarks; some became very touchy feely with their hands. If not for Rico, terrible things would have happened to her.