Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee, Crystal Posey Read Free Book Online Page B

by his thirty-sixth birthday. One cousin would get a portion of the estate, a small allowance to Blake’s mother and sister, and the rest to charity.”
    “That’s cold. The dad didn’t make it so his own wife could stay in the home she’d made hers for years?”
    “I guess not.”
    Eliza sat forward. “What an ass.”
    “Blake told me that a title without the estate is like a king without a country. The royalty thing boggles my mind.”
    Samantha’s cell phone buzzed beside her. Blake’s name popped up on the screen. A wave of excitement rode up her back. “Hey,” she answered.
    “I wanted to reach you before you went to bed.” He sounded tired and the background noise made it difficult to hear him.
    “And I thought you’d be at twenty thousand feet. Where are you?”
    “I was delayed in New York . I’ll be leaving here within the hour.” Their day had started out early and it seemed his wasn’t going to end any time soon. Samantha actually felt sorry for him.
    “Listen, the media is nuts here. I thought we should give a press release sooner than later, maybe get them off my back,” Samantha suggested.
    “Are you okay? They aren’t harassing you are they?” Worry etched his voice.
    “No, I’m—”
    “I wish you’d stay at my house.”
    “We’ve gone over this. I’m fine here. People will buy a slow turnover in my life.” She heard a PA talking about flights. “How does this sound… Mr. and Mrs. Harrison would like you to respect their privacy while they adjust to their rapidly changing lives. Their courtship and subsequent wedding was as unexpected to these two as it will be to the world. A pending reception is being planned where details of their love match will be revealed.”
    “Love match?” It was the only thing Blake questioned.
    “That does sound hokey. I’ll think of something else.”
    Blake laughed. “The only other thing you need to change is our names.”
    “What?”
    His voice was cutting out.
    “Yeah, it needs to read, Lord and Lady Harrison, the Duke and Duchess of Albany . Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll call in the morning. Call Carter or Neil if you need anything.” Then the line went dead.
    A shiver of dread fell on her like a curtain falling on a stage. “Oh. My. God.”
    “What?” Eliza stopped shoveling popcorn in her mouth and stared at Samantha with wide eyes.
    “I’m in over my head.” Duchess! She truly was a duchess. The weight of the title choked out all other thoughts.
    ****
    “You haven’t used the credit cards.” These were the first words out of Blake’s mouth three days later.
    Samantha was jogging on the beach with a Bluetooth snug in her ear. The media had lightened up at the front door, but the calls kept coming. She decided to give Eliza some much-deserved time off and escaped her townhouse as often as possible.
    “Hello to you, too.” She slowed her pace so she could manage a conversation.
    “You sound out of breath, what are you doing?”
    “Jogging.”
    “Oh.” He sounded surprised. “What’s that noise?”
    “The wind. I’m at the beach.” She dodged a few rocks and continued her run.
    “Is that safe? Is someone with you?”
    She laughed. “Yes, it’s safe, Detective Dan, and no, no one is with me.” Although she teased him, she enjoyed his concern. Sam couldn’t remember a time when someone cared if she walked alone. “I’m sure you didn’t call for details about my exercise routine. What’s up?”
    “I wanted to make sure you’d filled out the forms for your passport.”
    “Spent six hours at the social security office on Tuesday. Name change, passport, the whole deal. I asked them to rush, but they said it would take a minimum of ten business days.”
    The cool morning air and fog wet the edges of her hair and plastered it to her face as she ran. She loved this time of day. The beach had a splattering of joggers and a dozen surfers at the point. She made it to the beach at least once a week to run. At