“What?” He got up and moved toward her. “For God’s sake…what are you talking about?” When he reached the door Diane moved out of his way.
He passed through the doorway and his heart fell to the floor.
Ginny.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NICK STOOD THERE STARING AT GINNY for at least two minutes, but it seemed like forever that the silence lingered on.
After dragging his heart up off the floor, Nick said with a measure of anger, “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here!”
“Nickie…” She cooed his name in a sugary-sweet tone, sauntering toward him.
Nick backed up, like she’d burn him if she got too close. But she kept coming. “Where the hell is my money?” he demanded, blocking the doorway to his office.
She took on a pained expression, and said without remorse, “I spent it.” She kept coming.
Nick stiffened. “You cleaned me out.” He raked his hand through his hair and stomped into the office. “You spent it all? What’s it been….three weeks?”
Ginny closed the door and let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t get all sanctimonious with me, Nick Matthews.” She dropped down onto the couch against the far left wall and crossed her legs. “You married that cute little bank account within two weeks of me dumping you.”
Nick’s anger seethed out in a growl. “You did not dump me. That suggests you called it off. You didn’t. You simply left me standing at the altar, looking like a fool.”
“Oh, Nickie…don’t be so melodramatic.” She scoffed. “You and me, we’re cut from the same cloth.”
“No, we’re not.”
“Oh, yes, my love, yes we are.” She pushed herself up and went to him, standing between him and his desk. Why she did that, he had no idea, but he followed her, wanting to keep his eye on her every move. Even though she no longer had legal access to his bank accounts, he didn’t trust her.
“I knew you couldn’t get over me quickly enough to fall in love and marry someone else, two weeks after our wedding was supposed to have taken place.” She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips.
The shock of it all crippled him for a few seconds, and stopped him from immediately shoving her off him. Which is what anyone in full possession of their faculties would’ve done.
First horror, then hurt and humiliation coursed through Lecie as she stood there watching some woman kissing Nick. After a second or two, she summoned her pride and eased the door shut as quietly as she’d opened it.
The image of them kissing bounced around inside her head looking for a place to land, but found none. It just kept knocking everything else aside. She saw or thought of nothing but the two of them locked together.
She felt faint, and grabbed the wall for support. Keri passed by. “Keri…?” she said her name weaker than she’d intended.
Keri stopped at her side. “Hey, Lecie…it’s great to see you again.”
“Likewise.” Lecie pointed to the wall separating them from Nick’s office, and asked as if it was no big deal, “Who’s Nick in with?”
She shook her head. “I heard somebody say Ginny was here.” Her otherwise pretty face twisted into a vile expression.
“I see.” Lecie struggled to remain calm. “Maybe I’ll just come back later.” She stepped away from Nick’s office door and looked over her shoulder. “Keri…” she said and waited for the girl, who’d already gone on her way, to turn back around. Once she did, Lecie added, “No need to mention that I was here.” Lecie forced a smile and moved on.
Of course, Ginny was back, breezed through Lecie’s thoughts as she pushed open the front door and headed outside. She blew out a breath that was half frustration, half disbelief. Lecie had been afraid of this from the beginning, but that didn’t make it any easier to handle now.
Quietly, she chastised herself for ever thinking she stood a chance against Ginny.
Oh, well… This whole marriage thing had been a good idea, as far as thwarting Papa’s deportation plans, but Ginny was back in the picture now.
Lecie might as well go home and pack her bags.
Once Nick regained his senses, he pried Ginny off of him and wiped his mouth, wanting to get rid of any lingering remnants of her kiss—which now he found utterly disgusting. He stuck his finger in her face, and said, “Don’t do that again.”
“Come on, Nickie…”
“Stop calling me that!” He hated it when she called him that. Made him feel weak. He wasn’t weak. Not anymore.
She ignored him, saying, “Don’t you see? You’ve hit the jackpot.” There was a little too much excitement in her eyes, her face, her tone. “She should be worth a nice payout.”
Pay-out? What the hell was she talking about? Nick had a feeling he was going to find out.
“Think about it…” She gave an encouraging nod. “You can get enough money out of her to set us up nicely.”
Was Nick hearing her correctly? Was she suggesting what he thought she was? No. It couldn’t be so. Surely, he’d misheard her. “Come again?”
“You and me, Nickie. We can be together,” she said urgently. “And she can provide the way.”
Nick’s entire body filled with contempt. It started at his feet and didn’t stop even when it reached the top of his head. It just kept coming. The contempt. Contempt for Ginny. And it poured out with his single-word inquiry, “What?”
“Oh, good Lord, Nickie!” She huffed. “We need money. Lots of it. You can get it from her.”
“One second,” he said, much calmer than before. He took her by the arm, near the elbow, escorted her from his office and through the dining room. Opening the front door, he said, “Don’t ever come back here again.” He nudged her outside and pointed an accusatory forefinger at her. “Next time, I call the police.”
“You can’t have me arrested.” She snorted. “You gave me access to your bank accounts.”
“And that was my mistake.” He nodded. “One I’ve rectified.” He sucked in a breath. “I also had a restraining order issued against you. You’re not to come near me, my wife, or Hang Ten.” He paused to let that sink in, then flashed her a smile. “Don’t believe I’ll call ’em? Try me.”
Lecie stormed into the house and dropped her keys on the table in the foyer. She went into the living room to plop down on the couch, ready to give herself a good cry. She wished Deidra were here. She’d know what to do.