“Ryder Justice.”
Justice!Casey took it as a sign.Justice was exactly what she’d been searching for.
“You swear you are free to marry?”
He nodded.
“My grandfather always said his handshake was as good as his word,” Casey said, and offered her hand.
Without pause, Ryder enfolded it within the breadth of his own and once again, Casey felt herself being swallowed whole.Her gaze centered on their hands entwined and she had a sudden image of their bodies in similar positions.She bit her lip and stifled a shudder.Now was not the time to get queasy.She had an empire to save.
“Come with me,” she said shortly.“We have a little over twenty-four hours to get blood tests, apply for a license, and find a justice of the peace.”
At the mention of haste, his gaze instinctively drifted toward her belly partially concealed beneath the loose-fitting dress.
Once, being an unwed mother might have horrified Casey.Now she wished that was all she was facing.
“Wrong guess, Mr.Justice.It’s just that I’ve got myself in a race with the devil, and I don’t like to lose.”
Ryder followed without comment.He’d been on a first-name basis with the old hound himself for some time now.He never thought to consider the fact that the devil was giving someone else a hard time as well.
The room erupted into a roar as they stepped outside, and Casey found herself all but running toward her car.Only after she slid behind the wheel and locked them in did she feel safe.And then she glanced toward the man beside her and knew she was fooling herself.
His presence dwarfed the sports car’s interior.He scooted the seat as far back as it would go and still his knees were up against the dash.The duffel bag he’d had on his shoulders was now between his feet, and Casey imagined she could hear the rhythmic thud of his heartbeat as he turned a cool, calculating gaze her way.
“Buckle up, Mr.Justice.”
He reached for the seat belt out of reflex, then gave Casey another longer, calculating look.
“I have a question,” he said.
Casey’s heart dropped.Please stranger, don’t back out on me now.
“I have one for you, too,” she said quickly.
“Ladies first.”
She almost smiled.“Do you have a home?Do you have a job?”
His expression blanked, and Casey would have sworn she saw pain on his face before he answered.
“I don’t have an address or a job.Does it matter?”
She thought fast, remembering the conditions of the will.She had to live in her husband’s residence and under his protection.This was good news.It was something she could control.
“Do you have a driver’s license?”she asked.
He nodded.
“Good, then you’re hired.”
He cocked an eyebrow as Casey started the car.
“Exactly what have I been hired to do?”
“You’re going to be the new chauffeur for the Ruban family.You… I mean… we… will live in the apartment over the garage on Delaney’s…I mean, on my estate.”
Ryder frowned.“Lady, I have to ask.Why marry a stranger?”
