A Marriage Between Friends

As Vince approached, his gaze drifted over her.

“You, too.” She didn’t have to tell Vince he looked better than great. He probably knew it. She could imagine the babes roaming Vegas fell regularly at his feet.

He held her immobile with his dark gaze as he continued to narrow the gap between them. She could barely remember her own name, much less his. She wanted to put up her guard, but she couldn’t lift a finger. And her feet…her feet weren’t moving either.

He wasn’t stopping. Her heart thudded against her chest.

Long arms reached for her. Settled on her shoulders and drew her to him.

Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t…

Dear Reader,

I first met Vince in Count on Love. He was angry and impetuous, and caused a lot of grief to my other characters—a bad boy in need of his comeuppance! I fell in love and began devising his romantic demise. But he was a bad boy and didn’t want to be tamed; not by me, not by his grandfather and certainly not by his long-lost wife, Jill.

And Jill? Jill is so used to staying the course—alone—that having an overbearing man around (much less an overbearing husband!) who interferes with every aspect of her life and makes her feel things she’d resolved never to feel again…well, it’s not right. She’s determined to thwart Vince at every turn, even if she and Vince were friends in school before she let him talk her into a marriage they never got around to consummating.

I hope you enjoy Jill and Vince’s journey. I love to hear from readers, either via snail mail, P.O. Box 150, Denair, CA 95316, or at my Web site, www.MelindaCurtis.com, which is full of fun trivia and monthly contests.

Happy reading!

Melinda Curtis

A Marriage Between Friends

Melinda Curtis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melinda Curtis lives in Northern California with her husband, three kids, two Labradors, two cats and a circle of friendly neighbors who eagerly weigh in on everything from the best way to cut your lawn to the best haircut for a fourth grader—just what good friends are for!

To the patient ones in my life—my dh, my cat and

my editor. Good things come to those who wait!

And to the dreamers in my life—

Mason, Colby and Chelsea. It’s good to dream big.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

THE THING ABOUT RELYING only on yourself was that you had no one else to blame when things went wrong.

Vince Patrizio downshifted his Porsche 911 and hugged another hairpin turn in the California gold country. This bend in the road didn’t bring Railroad Stop into view, either. Why am I not surprised?

His GPS didn’t work in the uncharted territory at the foot of the mountains and he was unable to get a solid signal on his cell phone. He was late, lost and about to lose an important deal, one that would most likely cost him his inheritance.

Vince cursed and shifted into a higher gear, the force cocooning him deeper into the cradle of fine German leather that felt as welcoming as a well-paid stripper’s back-room embrace. The car shot over a sharp rise, startling a deer next to the road. Luckily the doe ran away and down into a ravine, instead of into Vince’s path.

He took a deep breath and slowed the car. It was a beautiful early-September afternoon and the narrow ribbon of road beckoned, promising he’d end up somewhere, if not exactly where he wanted to be.

The story of my life.

He’d always been a runner-up, never a winner. Born to wealth but part of a dysfunctional family, left by his wife on their wedding night, what would Vince do but screw up if faced with success and happiness?

That was his grandfather talking. Because of a card game, his grandfather had agreed to stake Vince, but only if he could put a deal together in a year. Aldo Patrizio expected Vince to fail. And for ten months Vince had been doing just that.

Vince cursed again. He jammed his foot down on the accelerator and attacked another turn.

Red lights flashed in his rearview mirror. A siren screamed.

“Now that’s par for the course,” Vince mumbled as he coasted into one more curve before pulling over onto the narrow shoulder beneath an ancient oak tree, hoping the sheriff was as good at giving directions as he was speeding tickets.

“THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.” Jill Tatum Patrizio had never been so happy to raise her gavel. Railroad Stop was safe.

“No!” Arnie Eagle grabbed the mayor’s symbol of power mid-stroke, his tan fingers brushing hers.

Instinctively Jill let go of the gavel, relinquishing it to her political rival.

Why did a man’s touch still rattle her after all this time?

Laughter rippled through the standing-room-only crowd at the community center, bringing Jill back to the present. Her cheeks heated. She stood and stepped back from the old warped table.

The city councilman’s gaze remained fixed speculatively on Jill even as he said, “We’re still waiting for our guest speaker.”

That was where Jill had him. Arnie couldn’t say they were still waiting for the tribe’s venture capitalist to show up. That would be admitting a conflict of interest with his position on the city council.

More than aware of some three hundred Railroad Stop residents and her own son watching them, Jill lifted her chin and connected with Arnie’s hard gaze. She would never support a casino in this isolated town. Railroad Stop was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else and it was impossible not to feel at ease.

“I’m sorry, Arnie,” she said. “We’ve rearranged the city council’s agenda for you twice already. This town needs us to act to revive our economy. Since the Amador Tribal Council still lacks financing for its casino, the gated-vacation-home project will most likely garner our support. This meeting is over.”

Voices filled the air. People rose to their feet. Arnie’s Native American cronies began to circle him, but Jill could still feel his eyes on her. Other attendees stood and chatted or ambled out to clog the aisles. It seemed everyone but Jill was reluctant to leave, an indicator that Jill’s phone would ring off the hook with calls from citizens both for and against the casino come Monday morning.

Eager to make an exit, Jill managed to reach Teddy, her ten-year-old son, and Edda Mae, her former boss and mentor. They inched their way through the throng. Edda Mae tapped a woman’s shoulder with a sun-mottled, wrinkled hand and asked if they could squeeze past her. They were halfway up the side aisle and still had the rear of the room to cross.

“I would’ve liked to hear what Arnie’s man had to say,” Edna Mae said.

“Not me,” Teddy piped up. “Grown-up speeches are boring, especially Mom’s integer speech.”

“That’s integrity,” Jill corrected, edging around a particularly large gentleman engrossed in a heated discussion about the merits of a casino versus a vacation subdivision. “Don’t knock it. That’s what got me elected.”

“You were the only one who ran,” Edda Mae said.

“That doesn’t mean no one else cares,” Jill grumbled, bumped from behind by someone.

There was a commotion at the exit doors.

“Either Arnie’s man finally arrived,” Edda Mae said, “or the Staitin brothers picked a fight again.”

Jill wasn’t sure which was worse.

ALDO PATRIZIO wasn’t listening. The conference room at the Sicilian in Las Vegas was full of pompous men in designer suits who thought their college degrees made them more qualified to run a luxury casino than the man in his eighties who’d founded it in the first place. At least when his grandson, Vince, sat at this table, there had been some interesting ideas and a man with backbone to present them.

Che peccato. It was a shame that after Vince returned from Iraq they’d shouted themselves into a corner neither was willing to back out of.

Aldo snorted and the suit currently babbling in front of a projection screen froze in midsentence. When the man resumed, he spoke louder, as if Aldo had trouble hearing him. Aldo could hear just fine. He just didn’t want to listen to people who’d barely cut their teeth in the gambling business try to tell him what to do. What he did want was to pass the reins of the Sicilian to his grandson and spend more time with his beloved Rosalie.

Instead, Vince was off trying to prove himself by brokering a deal—a deal that had seemed important to both of them ten months ago—while Aldo had to sit and suffer through meetings with MBAs (Masters of Baloney, Advanced).

“In conclusion—”

Good, they were almost done.

“Our analysis has shown that independent casinos fail over time if not infused with a good deal of capital.”

Aldo narrowed his eyes at the audacity of the speaker, who cleared his throat and continued, “Therefore, we recommend that the Sicilian formulate exit strategies from current partnerships, such as the ones with the Tatums, that we cease efforts to enter the Native American gaming segment, and that we seriously reconsider recent buyout offers from two different casino magnates.”

“Enough!” Aldo slapped his palm on the mahogany table and glared at his chief financial officer. “What is our occupancy rate?”

The man rotated his chin as if his tie was too tight. “Over ninety-eight percent.”

“How do our room rates compare to others along The Strip?”

“We charge five percent more on average.”

“And our restaurants. Do we still have five-star ratings at all of them?”

Heads bobbed silently around the room. A bigger collection of jamooks he’d never seen.

“And our casino profits, are they also above average?”

More nodding heads.

“Then why would I want to sell?” Aldo slapped the table again for good measure.

When no one answered, Aldo stood, willing his old knees to hold up as he nailed each traitor with his glare. “I pay you to bring my vision to life, not to create a new one.”

Next thing you knew they’d be declaring him incompetent and trying to take over the control of his casino!

“IT’S HIM.”

“He’s here.”

Vince stood in the open doorway only a moment before arms pulled him into the packed community center like fans welcoming a rock star.

This is good. This is better than good.

“Let him through,” a man bellowed from the front of the large, ancient hall.

“The town council meeting is over,” said someone from the far side of the room. It was impossible to see who it was in the sea of faces or, over the noise, make out more than that the speaker was a woman.

“Then we’ll call a meeting of the Amador Tribal Council. I hereby call this meeting to order.” A man with distinguished gray in the dark hair at his temples took up a position behind the front table. With the strong features and bronze skin, he had to be the tribal chairman, Arnie Eagle. Vince had spoken with him several times about providing the bulk of the financing for a casino.

Chairs scraped and banged as people fought for a seat. A few men hurried to fill the spots at the table while others moved to stand behind them.

Pausing only to tug his starched cuffs farther down his wrists, Vince pasted on his warmest smile and walked to the podium.

“Good evening. I apologize for being late. My name is Vince Patrizio.”

Someone in the crowd made a strangled noise. Chairs creaked and he heard his last name muttered throughout the room.

A nugget of his prior conversation with Arnie returned.

“Are you related to—”

“Yes.” Vince hurriedly cut off the chairman’s question during their initial phone call, assuming that Arnie wanted to know if he was related to Aldo Patrizio, the self-made tycoon.

Vince needed to find out if his grandfather’s name was an advantage or a deal breaker. Meanwhile, his smile never faltered. “I may have been invited here at the request of the tribal council, but I hope that when I’m through most of you will see the benefits of a casino in Railroad Stop. Indulge me for a moment as I recap the advantages of having such a facility in your area.”

Off to his right, someone scoffed, someone Vince would have to deal with soon, just not in front of such a large audience.

Vince spoke briefly of job opportunities, the tax dollars that would go to improving roads and schools, as well as the fact that Railroad Stop could control how big the casino would be. Vince hoped for big. “Raising a family, paying the bills and building a community all take hard work and vision. I encourage you to talk amongst yourselves, to foster healthy debates like this one.”

“You haven’t invited us to debate you. Big companies don’t usually care about small facilities.” A woman’s voice. From the right wall. Heckler Central.

There were several murmurs of assent.

Who was this woman? Vince couldn’t tell. And he wouldn’t validate her remarks by acknowledging them. It didn’t matter. The time for discussion would come later, after he’d created a platform of enthusiasm and support.

Vince continued as if uninterrupted. “If you feel a casino built to represent the character and heritage of the area will help bring to life the vision you have for Railroad Stop’s future, I’ll be happy to help you achieve that.”

His comments were met with a healthy dose of applause, but Vince wasn’t fooled. Deliberately, he turned to his right, preparing a friendly smile for the vocal naysayer he needed to win over. As if on cue, all the others in the crowd angled their heads toward one woman as well, unwittingly pointing her out.

Despite the mutinous expression on her face, she avoided his gaze. She wore flannel and blue jeans like most of the crowd, but that didn’t hide her polish. She wore the casual clothes with style.

A vein throbbed in Vince’s forehead. It wasn’t his grandfather the murmuring crowd had been thinking about.

The tremble of Jill’s auburn ponytail gave away that his wife wasn’t happy to see him.

The feeling was mutual.

“HE’S GOT OUR last name.” Teddy bobbed and weaved in front of Jill as he tried to catch a glimpse of Vince. “Why is that?”

It could have been Jill’s imagination that everyone within five feet of her stopped talking and leaned closer, anxiously awaiting her answer, but it wasn’t, which was why she chose to ignore her son’s question. Several townspeople were already streaming down the aisle with eyes on Jill. And those that weren’t had Vince in their sights. The crush of inquisitive people forced Jill, Teddy and Edda Mae back down to the front of the hall, toward her husband. It was easy to pretend in the chaos that she couldn’t hear anyone’s questions directed her way.

“Is he your man?” Edda Mae asked, the tanned skin around her eyes wrinkled, more than usual with the width of her hopeful smile. “I bet he’s come to claim you.”

“If he wanted to, Vince would have come after me years ago.” Jill’s limbs trembled.

In the eleven years they’d been married Vince had become a shadow of her own making, always with her but never truly there. Silent and malleable, her image of Vince had been perfect for Jill. Until the real man showed up supporting the wrong cause.

And flashing his pearly whites at Arnie.

“Time to go, Teddy.” Jill nudged his shoulder.

The crowd at the front of the hall parted to let them through. And why wouldn’t they? Jill was providing enough fodder for a year’s worth of gossip. And now she had to pass within arm’s reach of Vince to leave.

“Are you going to ask him why we have the same last name?” Teddy spun about and grabbed her arm, tilting his head up so that Jill could see the impish grin on his face.

“No.”

“Can I?”

“No.” Jill gently turned her son around and continued working her way toward the exit. The last time she’d seen her husband he’d been asleep on the couch in the house her parents had given them as a wedding gift and she’d been tiptoeing out the door. He’d never asked for an explanation for her departure and she’d never offered one.

Jill was now close enough to take in Vince’s crisp haircut, the fine thread count of his jacket as it stretched across his broad shoulders, and the smile that had melted more than one girl’s heart. At least his leather shoes had a layer of dust on them. Otherwise he’d have been fashionably spotless, whereas she looked dowdy in her worn jeans and shirt.

Vince was listening intently to the council chairman, Arnie Eagle. He wouldn’t even notice her leaving. It was probably her imagination that he’d recognized her at all.

As Jill drew even with Vince’s shoulder, she couldn’t resist saying half under her breath, “I won’t let you build a casino here.”

Vince held up a hand, stopping Arnie midsentence—no small feat—and turned to Jill, his dark gaze commanding. “We’ll discuss that—and more—later.”

Teddy’s eyes were as big as saucers.

“Ohhh,” Edda Mae sighed as if this was a scene in one of her beloved romance novels.

Without a word, Jill made her escape. It wasn’t until her hand hesitated with the key in the ignition that she realized she’d nodded her assent.

“YOU’VE BEEN very patient.” With the rolling gait of a veteran horseman, Arnie escorted Vince out, his flashlight illuminating the dirt road.

“Everyone deserves their questions answered,” Vince said. Arnie didn’t realize that nothing was ruining this one for Vince, not potholed roads or long-lost wives who tossed down the gauntlet without so much as a how’ve you been.

“But you’re probably anxious to see your family,” Arnie said, unable to hide his curiosity.

Vince bit back a bitter laugh. Jill wasn’t family. He knew she’d settled in Railroad Stop. But he hadn’t expected her to treat him as if he’d been the one who left.

“I’ve got four of our tribal-council members behind this project. Our vote is just a formality if your offer is fair.” Arnie’s voice dragged Vince’s attention back.

He smiled. Vince was willing to take a chance on Arnie. A graduate of Stanford, Arnie had made a respectable fortune selling his interest in a dot.com before the industry busted. Even if the casino venture wasn’t a sure thing, Arnie and his colleagues had conducted an environmental-impact study last year and hired an architect to draw up plans. They were further down the path than any other tribe Vince had contacted recently, and his best bet.

“Then comes the challenge,” Arnie said. “Getting Railroad Stop to agree. We’ll have one more town meeting and then the city council makes a recommendation and the citizens vote. If it weren’t for our mayor, I’d say we’d have a really good chance.”

At least now Vince knew what, or rather, who, was priority number one. “Leave the mayor to me.”

Arnie chuckled. “I plan to.”

Before Vince had a chance to ask Arnie more about the mayor they reached his car.

“Is this fancy rig yours?” Arnie stopped and bathed Vince’s black Porsche in the beam of his flashlight. “You’ll need four-wheel drive come November.”

“Not very practical for up here, is it?” Vince allowed, not that he planned to drive anything else but the sleek bullet. Venture capitalists had to look successful. Appearances were everything. “Can you give me directions to the nearest hotel?” It was best to get that business over with early so he could focus on the mayor. He would check in and then head over to Jill’s.

“There are no hotels in Railroad Stop. You could drive about forty-five minutes down the mountain to Mokelumne Hill, but there’s a storm brewing and it’s going to get nasty.” Arnie paused, watching Vince carefully as he said, “You should probably just head on over to Shady Oak. Jill bought the place from Edda Mae last spring. She’s got enough beds to spare, I’m guessing.”

Vince’s thumb paused on the car remote. “I thought you said there were no hotels in town.”

“Jill doesn’t run a hotel. She turned the Shady Oak from a kids’ camp into a fancy corporate retreat. Thought you’d know that, seeing as how you two are married.” Arnie’s gaze was speculative in the gloom.

What else didn’t Vince know about his wife? Maybe it was time to update her background check.

When Vince remained silent, Arnie cleared his throat. “You want me to tell you how to get to Shady Oak? That land we put into federal trust for the casino is in the valley below her place.”

Vince almost refused the offer of directions. And then he remembered that Railroad Stop didn’t register on his GPS.

CHAPTER TWO

“HOW’S THIS?” Teddy asked, rocking back on his heels to survey his work, a paintbrush in each hand. He had an artistic bent and instead of choosing a plain color for the background of the signs Jill planned to post against the casino, her son had created psychedelic bursts with the purple and green paint left over from the last time they’d decorated his room.

“Brilliant,” Jill said. “Just a few more and we’ll call it a night.”

They worked on the uphill side of Shady Oak’s garage underneath a floodlight. Jill had been cutting plywood into two-foot-by-three-foot pieces with a cordless skill saw while Teddy worked his magic. The eye-catching swirls of color would contrast perfectly with the important message Jill planned to spray-paint with stenciled block letters in red—NO CASINO!

She returned her saw to its case and then propped up the last two boards against the garage wall, taking another look at Teddy’s artwork, while her mind wandered. She, the daughter of casino owners, was opposing a casino. Jill could picture the worried look in her mother’s eyes, her father’s disapproving frown, and Vince’s face…

For years she’d recalled Vince’s youthful features fondly, but those images had been shattered tonight by a strong jaw, a suit he hadn’t bought off the rack, and his corporate stance. Once she’d recovered from the shock of his arrival, it had been easy to see through his words, to see that he’d become one of them—someone like her parents and his grandfather. Vince planned to milk the heart out of Railroad Stop, turning it into a miniature Vegas.

When Jill left Las Vegas eleven years ago, she’d wanted to find a place where she could feel safe, where she could take people at their word. On a sweltering Saturday, less than a week later, she’d gotten a flat tire in Railroad Stop. Edda Mae had taken one look at Jill, wilting while she waited for her car, and herded her into Bernie’s Burger Joint. In no time the older woman had pried the pertinent facts out of Jill, told her a story about one of her Native American ancestors and convinced Jill that running away never solved anything. Jill had gone to work for Edda Mae at Shady Oak the next day.

Edda Mae was the mother figure Jill had always longed for, and for the most part, Railroad Stop embraced Jill. After Teddy was born she stayed on, unable to curb her overactive imagination when it came to Shady Oak. Jill was still her parents’ daughter and the hospitality industry was in her blood. Where others might have seen a hopeless money pit, Jill had envisioned charming success. When Edda Mae was ready to retire, Jill took out an exorbitantly scary loan cosigned by her parents and employee became employer.

“So.” Teddy crouched over one of the last two boards and began creating a curvy purple road. He was a gangly kid, all knobby elbows and knees, an aficionado of bad jokes, but he was her pride and joy. “Who is he?”