I felt him standing over me, but I kept my eyes closed, secretly hoping he would stay. He didn’t, and when I opened my eyes, I saw his back just before he disappeared from the room. I couldn’t understand what was so repulsive about me that he would run away every time. What was he so afraid of when he was the one who had requested a bride? Still, he did say this was only business, but I didn’t think it would remain this way. I had to work my charms if I was going to win Raymond over, and I needed to for my family’s sake. I had already bought personal items for them on two occasions, and had bought some additional medicine for Teresa. She has been doing better since; Mom said the cough wasn’t as bad anymore. I had given Mom some money too, and although she had reservations about how I was getting it, she needed the cash.

I rolled over and stared at the ceiling until my eyes burned, and the next thing I knew, the sun was stealing in through the blinds I had forgotten to close. I groaned and curled up on the other side of the bed, away from the warming linen. I remembered I needed to see Raymond, so I flung the covers back and shot out of bed. I almost tripped over myself on the way to the bathroom, and I took great pains in looking my best.

I bit my lower lip as I held up a pale blue chiffon blouse and twisted and turned in front of the mirror. It would go well with the white shorts I had bought the week before, and in short order, I was fully dressed—hair fluffed, skin oiled, and lips a fiery shade of red. He wouldn’t be able to resist me!

With an air of satisfaction, I left the room and went in search of him. It was a Sunday, so I knew I’d most likely find him in the pool house or on the back patio overlooking the garden. For someone with so much pent-up anger, it was strange that he relished serenity. If I had to make a guess, I’d say he’d most likely be found at a derby or a bull fight.

I found him in the pool house. My heart did a flip flop when I saw the outline of his head, the shimmering water beyond occupying his every thought. I cleared my throat when I got closer, and he stared ahead like he didn’t hear me. It wasn’t until I touched him and he jumped that I realized he hadn’t.

“Oh, Anna,” he said, and wiped his hand down his face. He looked behind me, like he expected to see something else. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

I was nervous, and I could hardly hear him speak over the pounding of my heart that echoed in my ears. I pulled up the pool chair next to him and sat down. He didn’t look at me. My heart hammered even more, and I anticipated him chasing me off. I twiddled my thumbs and looked around uncomfortably, all but forgetting the plan I had drafted earlier. This was not seductive in the slightest. Not when he didn’t notice me even in short shorts and a flimsy blouse.

“Any particular reason you’re here?” he asked flatly and turned to his right to sip the lemonade resting on the small glass table.

I sucked in a lungful of air and sat upright. “Actually, yes. I want to talk about us.” He gave me a weird look. “Not really us,” I corrected myself. “I know there is really no us, which we should be talking about. I don’t get you.”

“What’s not to get?” He still didn’t look at me.

“I know what you said at the beginning of all of this, but—”

“Then you shouldn’t have any questions now. Have I breached our contract in any way?”

Contract! I hated the word and the way he said it. “Is it always going to be like this, Raymond? I feel like your secretary. We haven’t even…gotten close.” The last words came out shakily, and his eyes darted to mine.

“Anna, this is the way I want it. That’s what I asked for.” His eyes pierced mine, like he wanted me to bend to his will, but I didn’t want to back down.

“I know, but why did you want it like this?” I tried to search his eyes but he looked away. Quickly.

“Just because!” he snapped and pushed his chair back like he was ready to leave.

I grabbed his forearm. “Wait!” I cried, and he sneered at me. I didn’t withdraw, and I felt him tense under my grip. “Just give me a few minutes. I don’t ask for much.”

He calmed a little and plopped back into the chair. He raked his fingers through his thin layer of black hair that curled at the ends. He looked like he wanted to say something, and I waited, but his words needed help coming out.

“I don’t get it. You’re handsome, you’re rich, you…you have a nice body,” I told him. “I’m sure a lot of women would die to be with you, but you don’t seem interested. What’s the problem?”

I knew it had to be deeper than just me—I wasn’t that loathsome or he wouldn’t have chosen me to be his bride.

“It’s merely one of those things,” was his reply. “I’m too busy for relationships and I needed a wife, so…” he shrugged his shoulders and indicated me, “here you are.”

“Yeah, I get that, but do you really want to go on like this? Because at this rate, you’ll need several brides,” I dared to say.

He looked confused. “Why is that?”

“Because you’ll get tired of people you don’t need,” I replied, like the answer was blatant yet eluded him.

“I need you,” he told me, and his face softened, just for a second.

I smiled inwardly, feeling like I had accomplished some great feat. I had broken the great Raymond Jameson, and I deserved an award. Feeling brave, I leaned over and touched his hand. His eyes followed my movement and settled on my hand resting on his. His hand twitched, and I could tell we weren’t quite out of the woods yet. I was sure of it when he removed his hand.

“It doesn’t have to be so hard. You don’t have to be afraid of me.” I stood. I could feel his eyes on me as I left the pool house, feeling a little more confident over my semi-victory.

He was different over the next few days. He smiled more. He talked more, and just when I thought it wouldn’t be possible, I noticed the fluttering of my heart each time I glimpsed him and knew I was falling for him. Now, like him, I wanted to run away from the feelings, but that was not an option. I took comfort in the assumption that he felt even a fraction of what I now felt for him.

We were at breakfast one morning, something I’d twisted his arm into doing more often, when we heard a commotion at the front door and a loud banging.

“What the—” Raymond uttered and wiped the napkin across his mouth. “Excuse me.” He pushed the chair back, and his lower half was still suspended in the air in his bid to stand when a woman appeared in the dining room with Grace scurrying behind her. Grace looked apologetic, but Raymond only nodded at her before she did the same and hurried off. The quickness with which Grace left gave me the impression she didn’t want to be in this woman’s company any longer than she had to.

The intruder’s face was harsh and cold, and her eyes immediately found mine and held them under her piercing gaze. Is this one of the women vying for his attention? Did she come here to make a scene? Does she know who I am?

I stared at her, not because I wanted to but because she held me like her prisoner. It was hard not to notice that her eyes were familiar, and when Raymond looked at me and sat again slowly, I realized the eyes were like his. This could be none other than his mother, and the realization made me nervous all over again.

He didn’t talk much about her, and when he did, it was brief and in the same manner he visited any relationship in his life—business-like. Despite the nervousness, I was curious about this woman in the white suit piped with royal blue around the sleeves, a military countenance, and eyes that cut right through me.

She looked me over like a piece of leftover meat and sneered. “So,” she began as she started taking off her satin gloves, curiously worn though the weather was warm, “this is my daughter-in-law.” She said it begrudgingly, and her mouth contorted like the words left a bitter aftertaste on her tongue.

“Mom, not now,” Raymond said and slapped his napkin onto the table. I had lost my appetite, as he seemed to have. I leaned back against the chair and clasped my hands in my lap.

“Why not now?” she asked and pulled a chair out. “We’re all here.”

Raymond grunted and wiped his hand down his face. “And you couldn’t have called?”

“You won’t take my calls, and I had to see the woman who was stupid enough to be your bride.”

Now I was offended, and the parts of me I had tried so hard to suppress rose to the surface. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

My reaction shocked both her and Raymond. “Oh, this one has a mouth on her.” She chortled.

“You know,” I began and snickered, maybe in a vain attempt to quell the rising tide building inside me, “I can understand why he doesn’t talk to you much. You haven’t been here five minutes and—”

“How dare you speak to me like that, you—”

“Mom!” Raymond jumped in as my mouth opened to spew some choice words. “That’s enough.” He shot me a warning look, and my mouth clamped shut. I folded my arms across my chest as he scraped the chair back and stood.

“At least she’s pretty,” she added before she stood. “Not that it will make a difference. As long as she can give you a son, then she will do—”

“Mom!” Raymond barked again, and he grabbed her elbow and tugged her away.

I watched as they disappeared and noticed how heavily my heart pounded. No wonder Raymond was so standoffish. One of the stipulations of the contract was that I have his children – give him an heir – but suddenly I was anxious that once I had, I would no longer be useful to him. I grew more nervous as I sat, waiting for the proverbial hammer to drop.

“This is stupid,” I muttered and pushed the chair back. I didn’t expect Raymond to return, and I wasn’t sure what other crap she was shoving down his throat. He gave me the impression he could handle her, but after witnessing their little spat, I gathered he had to defend himself to her a lot.

I wanted to know what was going on. I glanced around, and when I didn’t see anyone, I snuck over to the office where I thought they would be. They weren’t there. I checked the back patio, the sun room, the balcony, and even the garden, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I was flustered by the time I gave up searching and was on my way to my room when I heard voices from the side entrance off the sitting room—one of the many places I hadn’t bothered to look.

The two reappeared, and I froze as I felt like I had been caught snooping. Her face was hardened and so was his. It frightened me to see him so hard, and as I watched, he walked past like I wasn’t even there. He followed her to the door, and shortly afterward, he returned.

“Raymond, what was—” I began, but I didn’t get a chance to finish my question.

“Not now, Anna,” he cut me off abruptly.

I was taken aback. “No, you will not walk away from me this time,” I insisted as I trailed after him. “Was that your mother?”

He stopped in his tracks and I almost ran into him. “It doesn’t concern you,” he said dryly.

“It doesn’t concern—what do you mean, it doesn’t concern me?” I asked incredulously.

He sighed and his shoulders sank as if under an invisible weight. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this right now.”

And he walked away, leaving me to wonder about the unsteady nature of our relationship and the deeper rift that had been caused by a single visit from his mother. I didn’t know for sure what had happened to him in the past, or what she had said to him now, but it was clear to me that, whatever was going on with him, it had everything to do with his mother.