With the instinct of a child who knows where she is loved, she turned to Joshua Bass and his wife, Matilda.The butler and the cook.The kitchen became the center of her universe.In Tilly Bass’s loving arms, she learned to trust and love again.On Joshua’s shoulders, she saw the world in which she lived from a new and different angle, and in doing so, learned not to be afraid of reaching for the stars.They became the surrogate parents she had needed, and now, twenty years later, they were the anchors that kept her life on a straight and honorable path.
And while Tilly and Joshua nurtured and loved her, at thirteen years old, Casey suddenly became the focus of Delaney Ruban’s world.He had looked up one day and realized that he wasn’t getting any younger, and since Casey was his son’s only child, she was, of course, to be his heir.
He looked for the child he’d all but ignored and found a girl on the brink of womanhood.Elated that she’d grown up so well without much of his effort, he decided that it was time she branched out past the familiarity of her school, her friends and Tilly Bass’s kitchen.
And so it began.The treat of accompanying him on business trips became the first step in a lifelong education.Before long, Casey was spending all of her summers with him at his office.At first, she blossomed under his tutoring.Her grandfather had never given her anything but presents, and now he was sharing his time with her.It took the better part of Casey’s teenage years before she realized Delaney’s reasons for spending time with her were selfish.Someone must step into his shoes when he was gone.He’d decided it would be Casey.
And now, at twenty-six, Casey was about to become CEO of a multimillion-dollar corporation with holdings in everything from cotton mills to racehorses.Thanks to the last ten years of Delaney’s coaching, she was more than up to the task.
A low murmur of indistinguishable voices hummed behind her like a worn-out motor, rising and falling with the advent of each new person to enter the room.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.It wasn’t the job that daunted her.It was those who were gathering.They were the ones who would be waiting for her to fail.
Someone else touched her on the shoulder.She looked up.It was her sister, Erica.
“Nice dress, Casey darling.”Erica’s eyes glittered sharply as she fingered the fabric.“I suppose it has a silver lining, too.Just like your life.”
“Erica, really,” Eudora Deathridge said, and gave her eldest granddaughter a none-too-gentle nudge as they moved past Casey to take their seats.
Casey let the comment roll off her shoulders, and as the women passed by her Eudora squeezed Casey’s arm.It was nothing new.Miles and Erica had begrudged Casey everything from the day she was born—from being a Ruban, to being the one Delaney had chosen to follow in his footsteps.In all their lives, they had shared a mother, but little else.
Lash Marlow cleared his throat, well aware that the sound added to the building tension.“I believe we are all here now.Shall we begin?”
Casey’s pulse accelerated.She gripped the arms of the chair, focusing on the man behind the desk and was struck by an odd, almost satisfied smile on Lash’s face.Reluctantly, she accepted the fact that he was privy to secrets about their lives she wished he did not know.It made her feel vulnerable, and vulnerability was a weakness Rubans were not allowed to feel.She watched as Marlow shifted in his seat and straightened the papers in front of him.It was the will.Delaney’s will.
Fresh tears spiked her lashes as she struggled with composure, trying to come to terms with the fact that Delaney was dead.He’d been such a large and vital man that overlooking his age had been simple.But nature had not been as kind.Despite his ebullient personality and lust for life, the past eighty-two years had taken their toll.And no matter how hard he had tried to ignore the inevitable, he had failed.
Ultimately, Lash began to read and Casey’s mind wandered, only now and then tuning in on his voice as it droned into the ominous quiet of the room.Once in a while a low murmur of voices became noticeable behind her, and she supposed Miles and Erica were voicing their opinions of the bequeathals being read.
“And to my beloved granddaughter, Casey Dee Ruban…”
Casey shook off the fugue in which she’d been hanging and focused.
“…the bulk of my estate and the home in which she’s been residing since her parents’ death, as well as the controlling reins of Ruban Enterprises.But to inherit…”
Startled, her gaze slid from the papers in Lash’s hands to his face.What did he mean… to inherit?Have mercy, what has Delaney done?
“To qualify for the entire aforementioned inheritance, my granddaughter, Casey Dee Ruban, must marry within forty-eight hours of the reading of my will, and must live with her husband, in his residence and under his protection, for the duration of at least one year, or she will forfeit her birthright.If she chooses not to adhere to my last request, then the bulk of my estate will be deeded to my step-grandchildren, Miles and Erica Dunn.”
Casey stood.Rage, coupled with a shock she couldn’t deny made her shake, but the tremor never reached her voice.She looked at Lash: at his cool, handsome face, his blond, wavy hair, his pale green eyes.Her eyes darkened as she leaned forward, bracing herself against his desk.
“Surely I cannot be held to this!”
To his credit.Lash’s gaze never wavered.“I’m sorry, Casey.I know this must come as a shock, but I can assure you it’s legal.Your grandfather was of sound mind and body when this was written.I tried to talk him out of such an unreasonable clause, but…”
When Lash shrugged, as if to say it was out of his hands, she looked away.
Someone choked in the back of the room.Casey didn’t have to look to know that it was probably Miles, reveling in his unexpected windfall.
A red haze swam before her eyes and she willed herself not to faint.Marry?She hadn’t seriously dated a man in over five years.The only man who persisted in being a part of her life was…
She looked up.The expression on Lash’s face was too calm, almost expectant.How long had he known about this?Even worse, what had he and Delaney planned?
She swayed, staggered by the idea of being bound to Lash Marlow by law, as well as in the eyes of God, even for so much as a year.
Lash stood.His voice was low, his touch solicitous as he tried to take her in his arms.
“Casey, I’m here.Let me help you—”
She stepped back.The selfish glitter in Lash’s eyes was too obvious to ignore.
