Some scandals even money cant hide;so these men had marriage on their minds!
Society Wives: Secret Lives
Three heart-warming romances from three
favourite Mills & Boon authors!
Society Wives: Secret Lives
The Rags-To-Riches Wife
Metsy Hingle
The Soon-To-Be-Disinherited Wife
Jennifer Greene
The One-Week Wife
Patricia Kay
www.millsandboon.co.uk
The Rags-To-Riches Wife
Metsy Hingle
About the Author
METSY HINGLE is the award-winning, bestselling author of series and single-title romantic suspense novels. Known for creating powerful and passionate stories, Metsys own life reads like the plot of a romance novelfrom her early years in a New Orleans orphanage and foster care, to her long, happy marriage to her husband, Jim, and the rearing of their four children. She recently traded in her business suits and fast-paced life in the hotel and public-relations arena to pursue writing full-time. Metsy loves hearing from readers. For a free bookmark, write to Metsy at PO Box 3224, Covington, LA 70433, USA, or visit her website at www.metsyhingle.com.
For Melissa MJ Jeglinski.
A very special lady, an even more special friend.
Prologue
Coming tonight had been a mistake. She didnt belong here, Lily Miller told herself as she stood at the door of the ballroom and stared at the elegantly dressed men and women. From the looks of the crowd and the amount of diamonds on display, every member of Eastwick, Connecticut society had turned out for the black-and-white ball. And she certainly didnt belong with them.
She should leave now before she started crying and made a fool of herself. But she couldnt leave yetnot without telling Bunny Baldwin. After all, it had been Bunny who had insisted Lily attend the masquerade ball in the first place. Bunny had even gone to the trouble of providing her with a proper gown to wear to the fund-raising event.
Remembering the gown, Lily smoothed the skirt with her gloved fingertips. The strapless black confection with the tulle petticoat was the most beautiful thing shed ever seen. It was a dress for a princess. Only she wasnt a princess. She was no onenot even someones daughter. Fighting back tears, Lily tried not to think of the detectives phone call an hour ago, informing her that hed hit another dead end in the search for her mother.
Face it, Lily. If the woman had wanted you, she never would have left you in that church all those years ago. Its time to stop wasting time and money searching for someone who doesnt want you, who never wanted you.
Dance with me.
Lily blinked, then found herself staring up into the blue eyes of a tall, dark-haired stranger. He was dressed in a tuxedo and wearing a black mask, and for a moment she wondered whether he was real or if she had imagined him. Pardon?
Come dance with me, he said and extended his hand.
Thank you, but Im not
How can you say no when theyre playing our song?
Our song? Lily repeated and recognized the first chords of Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera. How can we have a song when we dont even know one another?
Why dont we change that? he said and, taking her hand, he led her to the dance floor.
Lily didnt resist. And the moment he took her into his arms, it was as though a magical web engulfed her. All the pain seemed to dissolve. All she could see were those unwavering blue eyes, looking at her as though she were the only person in the world. All she could feel was the warmth of his body pressed against hers, the heat of his breath on her neck. There was something exciting yet safe about the masks. With the mask, she wasnt unwanted, unloved Lily Miller. With the mask, she was a woman who was desired, a woman for whom there was no past, no future, only now.
One dance spun into another and another and another still. And when he led her outdoors onto the terrace and kissed her, she didnt feel the chill in the air. All she felt was the strength of his arms, the hunger in his kiss.
Its almost midnight. The ball will be over soon, he whispered.
I know.
I dont want the night to end.
Neither do I, she admitted and he kissed her again. He tasted of champagne. He tasted of desire and every nerve in her body sang beneath the feel of his mouth.
Then dont let it, he told her. Reaching into his pocket, he removed a hotel key card. Im staying in the hotel tonight. Room 503. Meet me.
Nervous, Lily reached for the gold locket at her throat, the disc bearing the initial L, that shed been wearing when the nun had found her in the church. Only the locket wasnt there. Shed taken it off after the detectives call, she remembered. And for the first time in her life she didnt have her locket to hold on to, to remind her that she was reliable, sensible Lily Miller.
Will you come? he asked.
Taking the key card, she said, Yes.
One
Her secret was safe, Lily Miller reminded herself again as she stared past the sea of mourners to the casket. A crack of thunder sounded overhead and clouds darkened the Eastwick skyline, causing the mid-May temperatures to dip below the fifty-degree mark.
Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust, the minister began.
Tears welled in Lilys eyes and she reached into her coat pocket to retrieve a tissue. Dabbing at her eyes, she thought of the woman she had come to mournLucinda Bunny Baldwin, the darling of Eastwick, Connecticut, society, the editor of the titillating Eastwick Social Diary and the woman who, oddly enough, had been her friend. How was it possible that she was dead, the victim of a heart attack at age fifty-two?
Lily thought back to the last time she had seen Bunnyonly two days ago. She had been so vibrant, all excited about some juicy new tidbit of gossip that, no doubt, would have appeared in one of her upcoming issues of the Diary.
We commend the soul of our sister, Lucinda, to You, Lord, the minister continued.
Guilt tugged at Lily as she remembered Bunnys knowing looks during the past few months. It had been because of those knowing looks that Lily had tried to avoid crossing paths with the other woman for weeks now. But two days ago her luck had run out. Bunny had arrived early for the Eastwick Cares board meeting and she had been unable to avoid her any longer. When Bunny had started to question her about the night of the black-and-white ball, shed realized that Bunny had figured out the truth, that she knew her secret. Lily had even feared that it was her secret that Bunny planned to expose in the pages of the Diary. She had been prepared to beg Bunny not to say or print anything, only shed never gotten the chance. The other board members of Eastwick Cares had begun to arrive and shed been forced to leave or risk being seen by Jack Cartwright. Yet, as shed hurried away, she had wished for some way to ensure Bunnys silenceat least until she could decide what to do.
Be careful what you wish for.
The old adage popped into Lilys head. She had gotten her wish. She had wanted Bunnys silence and now she had it. Her secret was safe. But at what cost? Overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, Lily squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.
May she live on in Your presence, O Lord, the minister prayed.
Opening her eyes, Lily focused her attention once again on the minister and the service being conducted at the front of the gravesite. In Your mercy and love, forgive whatever sins she may have committed
Lily shifted her gaze to the woman standing to the ministers right, quietly crying into her handkerchief. She recognized her immediatelyAbby Talbot, Bunnys daughter. She noted the tall, intense-looking man with his arm around Abby and assumed it was Abbys husband, Luke. She had never met the man, but according to Bunny he traveled a great deal, something that had bothered Bunny. Lily studied Abby. Though she had met her only once, she had liked the other woman. In truth, she had been taken aback by the pretty blond socialites warmth. She hadnt expected someone of Abby Talbots social standing to be so welcoming to someone who lacked not only money and a pedigree, but any family whatsoever. Yet, Abby had treated her as an equal. A wave of compassion engulfed Lily as she witnessed the young womans grief. Shed known from Bunnys comments that the two of them had been close. She couldnt even begin to imagine Abbys pain at losing her mother so suddenly.
Thinking of Abbys loss brought home her own. She had lost a friend. While she and Bunny might not have been bosom buddies, and while she had never understood the older womans penchant for gossip, the two of them had been friends. And that friendship had been born out of their shared desire to help the underprivileged. Bunny had been fervent in her support of Eastwick Cares with both her time and her money.
But she hadnt limited her generosity to those who fell under the umbrella of the non-profit agency on whose board she served. No, Bunny had extended that generosity to Lily. She had treated her with kindness, and not just as an employee of Eastwick Cares. In many ways, shed treated her almost like a daughter or, at the very least, a special friend. No one else had ever come closer to making Lily feel like a fairytale princess. Certainly not when shed been a child shuffling in and out of the foster-care system. Then again, she hadnt exactly believed in fairy tales, Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. By the age of six, she had learned that life wasnt anything like the fairy tales. And while most of the families who took her in were kind, she wasnt a part of their family. She didnt belong. She never had. It was a lesson shed learned quickly. As a result, she had never expected things like fancy clothes or party dresses. Those were for dreamers and silly young girls. She had never been either of those things.
But for some inexplicable reason Bunny Baldwin had been determined to have the grown-up Lily Miller experience the fantasy shed never known as a girlattending a party all dressed up in a beautiful gown and feeling as though she belonged. Bunny hadnt chosen just any party. Shed chosen Eastwick Cares major fund-raiserthe black-and-white ball.
As if it had been only yesterday, Lilys thoughts drifted back to that day last December when Bunny had marched into her office and proclaimed that she had to attend the ball. All Lilys protests had fallen on deaf ears. Bunny had insisted that her employment as a counselor for the agency required she be there to assist at the event. That had obviously been one of Bunnys white liesas Lily had discovered within ten minutes of her arrival at the ball. For some reason, Bunny Baldwin had cast herself in the role of fairy godmother to Lilys Cinderella. It was the only explanation for the society doyenne tricking her into attending the event and even presenting her with an elegant gown to wear. Oh, Bunny had claimed the dress was something that shed found in the back of her closet. But she had recognized the quality of the beautiful black gown, Lily admitted, though it wasnt until she was in the powder room the evening of the ball that she had learned from one of the other women that the gown she was wearing was a vintage Dior.
Another bellow of thunder sounded overhead, jarring Lily from her memories. As the weather continued to deteriorate, Lily huddled in her coat and instinctively placed a hand on her stomach. She should leave now, she told herself. She had already taken a risk just by going to the church, she reasoned. Why push her luck? Every member of Eastwick society had turned out to pay their respects. And the Cartwright family certainly ranked among the citys elite. No doubt Jack Cartwright had been there among the hundreds of mourners who had filled the church. For all she knew, he was among the small throng who had gathered at the cemetery for the burial. So far, she had managed to avoid him. But what if he saw her? What if Jack recognized her as the mystery woman he had slept with the night of the ball?
Even now, more than five months after the masked ball, she couldnt believe her behavior had been so out of character. But then, she had hardly been herself that evening, Lily reminded herself. Just thinking about that day and how great her expectations had been when shed awakened that morning sent another pang of disappointment through her.
She should have known better than to get her hopes up. If she had learned nothing else in her twenty-seven years it was never to expect something simply because she wanted it. Doing so had proven time and again to be a surefire path to disappointment. Yet, she had done just that. She had been so sure that this time it would be different. The detective shed hired finally had a solid lead. She had believed that at long last she would have the answers shed been searching for most of her lifewho she was, where had she come from, why had she been left at the church all those years ago. Most importantly, she had believed she would finally know the identity of the woman whose soft voice and gentle hands were the only memories she had of her origins.
Only the lead hadnt panned out. She hadnt learned anything more about who she was or why she had been abandoned in the church with only a note saying her name was Lily and a gold locket around her neck. Lily reached for the locket that, once more, was on a chain around her neck. She closed her fingers around it and felt the familiar sting of disappointment. She had been more than disappointed that night. She had been devastated. Hitting another dead end when shed believed she was so close had left her reeling.
She should never had gone to the ball that nightnot in the emotional state shed been in, Lily realized with the wisdom that comes with hindsight. But she hadnt wanted to disappoint Bunny after she had gone to the trouble of providing her with the gown. Nor had Lily wanted to jeopardize her job by failing to show up. So she had goneonly to discover she wasnt needed after all. Then, just when she had been about to leave, he was standing in front of herthe tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed strangerasking her to dance. She had needed something, anything to block out the ache that consumed her. And once she was in his arms, all the pain, all the anguish of disappointment had faded.
There had been only him. The strength of his arms. The warmth of his smile. The feel of his mouth on hers. For one night, she had ceased to be sensible, dependable, predictable Lily Miller who had never done anything remotely reckless in her life. For one night, she had allowed herself to experience passion instead of just reading about it. For one night, she had followed her heart instead of her head. And because she had, she was pregnant and expecting Jack Cartwrights child.