Greed and a Mistress Read online

  “Which was?”

  “Julie Ann Ashford, naturally.”

  Josh gulped. “You didn’t?”

  “Well, if I am to marry a man, I said, the least I can do is tell him the truth.”

  “So you told him you were Julie Ann?”

  “I might have. I was so upset I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t deny it.”

  “I see. So when he looks up Julie Ann Ashford on the internet, he’ll find out she killed her husband.”

  Natalie smirked. “You know, I bet he will. I looked her up myself and she got out of prison on a technicality last year. Know what else?”

  “What?”

  “She has her hands over her face in the picture so he won’t be able to tell it’s not me.”

  Josh chuckled... and then laughed...and then roared with laughter.

  “People are staring,” she whispered. Her cousin didn’t seem to mind and soon she was grinning too. After he calmed down, she said, “He was supposed to call so we could make dinner plans, but do you know what? He didn’t call.”

  “How rude of him.”

  She sarcastically said, “My heart is broken.” Suddenly, the salmon looked a lot more inviting, so she finally took a bite.

  “There’s always the bartender,” Josh teased.

  Natalie shook her head. “The bartender is flat out of luck. I have vowed never to date again.”

  “Not ever?”

  “Not ever!”

  “I’ve got five bucks that says you’ll be married and deliriously happy by this time next year.”

  “I’ll take that bet.” She practically devoured the rest of her dinner and ignored the look of approval on the face of a cousin who constantly complained about her not eating enough. Full, content, and relaxed, Natalie paid for dinner and then they left the restaurant.

  “Let me guess,” he said as they walked across the street to catch the trolley. “There is no food at home this time either.”

  “I forgot to order it.”

  “Well then, a stop at the store might be nice. There’s something in the air here that makes me ravenously hungry in the mornings.”

  BY THE TIME THEY GOT out of the store, each of them had three bags of groceries to carry. At home, Josh helped her put them away and then went back to look at the beautiful flickering city lights again. “She’s out there somewhere,” he muttered.

  Natalie again went to stand beside him. “You really are worried about her.”

  “I am. The princess is in trouble and I can’t stay to help her.”

  “She might be one of the homeless, and if she is, I’ll never find her. They sleep in places I don’t dare go at night.”

  “But you are going to try, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You knew I would before you came.”

  “Yes, I did.” He slipped his arm around her and let her lay her head on his shoulder. “There’s a message on your cellphone.”

  “I know.”

  “From Stewart?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Want me to listen to it for you?”

  “No, I want to delete it and never hear his voice again.”

  “But you didn’t delete it,” said Josh.

  “I know. I keep thinking he might have something important to say, but I know there is nothing he can possibly say to justify what he tried to do.”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” Josh left her side, walked to the kitchen island, picked up her phone, and touched the message. Josh listened, deleted the message, and put the phone down. “He wants the ring back.”

  Her sorrow rapidly turned to anger. “Of course he does!” She tightly folded her arms and turned to face her cousin. “All day I’ve been thinking about the signs of his dishonesty. They were there all along but I chose not to notice. Talk about naive.”

  Josh wandered back to the sofa. “So, love truly is blind?”

  “In my case it is. When will I ever learn?”

  “At least you know what love feels like. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m even normal.”

  “You’re too particular,” she said as she once more joined him on the sofa. “You have a critical eye and no one can measure up to your idea of the perfect woman. Sometimes your first impression is a wrong one, you know. Remember Heather Sheldon? She was beautiful, fun, caring and would have jumped at the chance to marry you.”

  “She was twenty years older than me.”

  Natalie looked away. “There is that, I guess. How about Carol...what was her name?”

  “Grover.”

  “Right. What was wrong with her?”

  Josh stared at the ceiling, “Let me count the ways.”

  She giggled and then decided to change the subject. “Chess?”

  “At this hour?”

  “It’s not even ten.”

  “It’s not even ten in Seattle. Where I come from, it is way after midnight.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Okay, you go to bed and I’ll watch a movie.”

  “Fine, but don’t watch a tear-jerker. Watch something where the bad guys get blown up. I refuse to be seen walking around town with a girl who has eyes so puffy they won’t even open.”

  Natalie huffed, pointed toward the bedrooms, and then grinned when he put his head down and dutifully went off to bed.

  Long after he was gone, she sat on the sofa hugging the throw pillow and aimlessly looking out the window at the city lights. It hurt to think about the honeymoon they planned to take in Canada until she realized she probably would have ended up paying for it. That realization made her feel a little bit better. She had her heart set on taking a train all the way across Canada, but she could do that any time she wanted. Maybe Josh could take a week off and go with her.

  “That would be fun,” she said out loud.

  “You still talk to yourself?” Josh asked.

  When she turned to look, he was standing in the doorway wearing his same old tattered pajamas. “All authors do it. It comes with the profession.”

  “Go to bed, Natalie. We have a princess to find.”

  “Okay, I’m going.” She got up, turned off the light, blew him a kiss and just as she closed the door to her room, he closed the door to his.

  (End of sample chapter.)

  Pick up your copy of The Dead Letters today!

  More Marti Talbott Books

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  To discover free Marti Talbott books and more historical novels filled with castles and kings, love and war, triumph and tribulation - click here.

  Follow Clan MacGreagor through multiple generations beginning with The Viking where it all began, The Highlanders and their struggle to survive, Marblestone Mansion and the duke who simply could not get rid of his scandalous duchess, and still more historical stories in The Lost MacGreagor Books. Then check out Marti’s contemporary romance/mysteries in Missing Heiress, Greed and a Mistress, The Dead Letters, and The Locked Room. Other books include the Carson Series, Leanna, (a short story), and Seattle Quake 9.2.

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  Also by Marti Talbott

  A Love Story

  The Dead Letters

  The Locked Room

  Love and Suspicion

  Carson Series

  Broken Pledge

  The Promise

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 1

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 2

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 3

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 4

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 5

  Betrothed

  The Golden Sword, Book 7

  Abducted, Book 8

  A Time of Madness

  Triplets

  Secrets

  Choices

  Ill-Fate
d Love

  The Other Side of the River

  Marti Talbott's Highlander Omnibus, Books 1 - 3

  Leanna: A Clean Highlander Short Story

  Scandalous Duchess Series

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 1

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 2

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 3

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 4

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 5

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 6

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 7

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 8

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 9

  Marblestone Mansion, Book 10

  Marblestone Mansion, (Omnibus, Books 1 - 3)

  The Lost MacGreagor Books

  Beloved Ruins, Book 1

  Beloved Lies, Book 2

  Beloved Secrets. Book 3

  Beloved Vows, Book 4

  The Viking Series

  The Viking

  The Viking's Daughter

  The Viking's Son

  The Viking's Bride

  The Viking's Honor

  Viking Blood

  The Unwanted Bride

  The Wheeler Triplets

  Ondrea

  Yvette

  Adison

  The Wheeler Triplets Box Set

  Standalone

  Seattle Quake 9.2

  Missing Heiress

  Greed and a Mistress

  Watch for more at Marti Talbott’s site.

  About the Author

  Marti Talbott (www.martitalbott.com) is the author of over 40 books, all of which are written without profanity and sex scenes. She lives in Seattle, is retired and has two children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The MacGreagor family saga begins with The Viking Series and continues in Marti Talbott’s Highlander’s Series, Marblestone Mansion, the Scandalous Duchess series, and ends with The Lost MacGreagor books. Her mystery books include Seattle Quake 9.2, Missing Heiress, Greed and a Mistress, The Locked Room, and The Dead Letters. Other books include The Promise and Broken Pledge.

  Read more at Marti Talbott’s site.