Billionaire Unmasked(63)

“You better find her, and you better be ready to grovel.”

Jason had never groveled before, but he was willing to do it now. “I’m ready. Call me and let me know what you find out from your brothers.” He disconnected his cell and jammed it back into the pocket of his jeans.

A plaintive animal cry came from the door, and Jason looked down to see Daisy twined around his ankles. He picked her up, but the feline still continued to mewl pitifully.

“You’re worried too, aren’t you?” he asked Daisy, trying to calm the cat by stroking her head, to no avail. “I know exactly how you feel, girl, and I’ll find her.”

With Daisy back on the floor, Jason tore through the door determinedly, not bothering to lock it behind him.



“Did you know?” Hope asked Tate, furious. She’d been flying high about she and Jason staying together one moment, and the next she’d been devastated. After she’d found the receipt on the bedroom floor for their rings, she was positive that Jason had come to Vegas intentionally to seek her out and marry her.

She’d hiked to Tate’s so-called cabin and confronted him; he’d said that he’d flown her and Jason back home. At the time, she’d thought nothing of it because it was perfectly reasonable that Tate had business there, too. Now, she had little doubt that Tate had been there only because Jason needed his help.

Tate frowned. “He didn’t tell you. I thought he came clean with everything.”

“Why don’t you tell me? Obviously Jason isn’t talking,” she snapped back at him as she seated herself in one of the chairs at Tate’s kitchen table.

As usual, Tate flipped his chair backwards and sat across from her. “What do you know?” He looked irritated but resigned.

“I thought he married me when he was drunk. I thought he was there on business and we met completely by accident. I found the receipt for the rings, and it was dated the day before he came to Vegas, and it was from a jewelry store here in Rocky Springs. Why?” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“We planned everything here,” Tate admitted. “Jason was here for the charity ball, and he found out you were getting married. He was desperate to separate you from the guy you were marrying. We made a plan and executed it the next day.”

Hope gritted her teeth, hating the cold way Tate had of explaining what they’d done. “So you just didn’t fly us back? You were there at the wedding, weren’t you?” She was sure of it.

“I was one of the witnesses,” Tate replied flatly. “You would have found out eventually because I signed the certificate that went to the courthouse.”

Tears sprung into Hope’s eyes as she looked across the table at the man who had always been a hero to her. Not only had Jason betrayed her, but so had Tate. “So his plan was to get me married, screw up my engagement and then screw me out of his system.” She swiped a tear from her cheek angrily. “Why, Tate? Why would you do that when you knew he was just going to dump me later?”

“First of all, I didn’t know it was you until we met up for the wedding. Second, Sutherland had no plans of dumping you. The guy was sickeningly crazy about you, always has been. And you were crazy about him, too. Maybe you were drunk, but you weren’t unwilling. You looked…happy. I hadn’t quite worked out the fake fiancé thing yet, and I didn’t want you marrying somebody who would make you miserable either. You deserve to be happy.”

“You really thought I’d be happy in a wedding-by-mistake with a man who didn’t love me?” she asked him tearfully.

“Oh, he loves you. And you love him, too. Think, Hope. Maybe he’s afraid to tell you, but was everything that’s happened between you a deception? I don’t know Sutherland that well, but I know he spends a hell of a lot of time trying to manage funds for a very large, joint charity for abused women. He was here for a charity ball to help raise money for that organization, willing to make a fool of himself by being auctioned off and be the date of any female who had deep pockets. Maybe he has fucked up with you. But I’m pretty certain he would have told you everything. I think he was afraid of losing you.”

“He’s never told me he loves me,” Hope said forlornly. “He just said he wanted to stay together, make our marriage real.”

“Did you tell him?” Tate volleyed back at her. “Everything he’s done is because the poor guy was desperate. Do you really think he’d do what he did for any other reason? It’s not like he needs to get a woman drunk to have her. But he wanted you, and he wanted you to be his wife.”