Justin read the letter a third time, committing the details to memory before picking up a silver lighter engraved with his name from the desktop. He didn’t smoke, but it had been a gift from a sponsor, back when he’d been a big name on the poker scene. With a practiced twist of his wrist, he flipped it open and lit it. He held the flame to the corner of the page, then watched, fascinated as flames licked up the paper until all that was left was the corner between his fingers. Not wanting to be burned, he dropped what remained into a sparkling glass ashtray kept for visitors and watched as the letter disappeared into smoke and ash. There. No one could find out how he’d come to be engaged to Ms. Rockfort. Not that he planned to be engaged for long.

Turning, Justin lifted the lid on the computer that sat on one side of his polished mahogany desk and opened an incognito tab, so his search would disappear when he was done. He typed her name in the search bar. Hannah Rockfort. The name sounded sophisticated and cultured enough to be real and somehow vaguely familiar. While he waited for the results he double checked the date. As he’d thought, today was July 6^th. His bride would land in less than forty-eight hours. The search finished. The top results were news stories from a few months earlier. He opened a couple and skimmed them. It looked like Hannah had recently lost her parents, and fiancé, a James Wallace. Now he knew why her name had sounded familiar, he remembered seeing the story on the news. It had been a short piece, maybe thirty seconds then gone. Not enough for him to pay much attention. His chest ached remembering the loss of his own parents, several years before.

Justin frowned.

If she’d recently lost her fiancé, whose first name Justin wasn’t familiar with but the family name was well known, then why was she looking to get married so quickly? Diamond Bridal Agency was more than a little expensive, but from his research and their guarantee of satisfaction, he believed it was worth the exorbitant fee. He looked at the computer screen again. Was Hannah in this for the money? Or did she have something to hide?

His main requirement for the Diamond Bridal Agency was someone who could get him into the elite social structure of people like the Wallace family. The Wallace’s were very well known. The family had a couple senators, even a presidential candidate, though he hadn’t won. Justin had extended invitations to several of them, but had been snubbed. He needed an in. From the photos of the tall slender brunette that captions claimed was his bride to be, with members of the Wallace family, including her fiancé at the time, she would fit the bill and more. Hannah wasn’t the kind of woman he was normally attracted to, but there was something about her that called to him. It made him want to pull her close, tell her it would be okay and protect her against any more hurt.

Justin spent longer than he wanted to admit flipping through and finding photograph after photograph of Hannah that stretched back several years. They weren’t all flattering, and several appeared to have been taken without her knowledge, but damned if she didn’t look great in every shot. He skimmed through them once more then made himself close the browser, removing all evidence of the search, and closed the computer.

It didn’t matter how attractive he found her, at least not right now. His bride was going to be here in two days and there were things he needed to get done first.

Reaching over, he hit the button on the desk phone to ring his assistant.

“Yes, Mr. Scarborough?” Garret’s voice came across the speaker.

“I need to see you, bring your tablet.” Justin frowned as he considered everything that needed to be done.

“Just a moment, sir.”

A click told him Garrett had hung up and would be in momentarily. Justin spun his chair until he faced the glass wall that overlooked the city.

He loved this view. It reminded him of how hard he’d worked and how far he’d come from that dusty little town in New Mexico. From being just another kid from the wrong side of the tracks. A faint squeak alerted him to the office door opening. He’d thought about having it oiled, but opted against it. He liked the warning when someone came in. He caught the faint scent of coffee and knew that Garrett had brought a fresh cup in with him. Justin rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck, but didn’t turn away from the glass just yet.

“I brought you a fresh coffee, sir. What else do you need?”

Justin sighed and turned away from the city stretching out thirty floors below. “I need a party planned. A big one.”

“All right.” Garrett scribbled a couple of notes on the iPad he carried. “When?”

“Next week if possible, no later than the week after.”

“Occasion? Theme?”

“No theme, the occasion is a surprise, but I want everything upscale. Not flashy and Hollywood, or sequins and Vegas. I want gold, pearls, and London style.” He narrowed his eyes and focused on Garrett for a moment. “Do you understand what I mean?”

“I think so, sir. Who are we inviting?”

“Everyone from the Vanderbilts to the Rockefellers. Don’t forget Hurst to Kennedy. I don’t care if they’re east coast, west coast or anywhere in between, if they’re considered American society, invite them. Does that give you a better idea of what I have in mind?”

“It does.” Garrett tapped several times on the tablet in his hand. “What about entertainment? Do you have any preferences?”

“No, whatever is appropriate. I’ll leave that up to you.”

“Food?”

“Again, upscale, but the details are up to you.”

“Do you want a sit-down dinner or just waiters with hors d’oeurves?”

“Start later, maybe around seven so most will have eaten and serve finger foods. That will help keep the budget down a bit.” He might have billions, but he hadn’t acquired it by spending as much as he earned. It only made sense to conserve where he could.

“And where?”

“The ballroom here. There’s no need to spend money renting a place when we have one we can use free.”

Garrett nodded, hitting the screen several more times.

“The ballroom is booked for a conference all next week, but it’s open on the sixteenth.” He looked up at Justin.

“The sixteenth it is then. Make sure you add it to my calendar as well.”

“Yes, sir. Anything else?”

“That’s all for now. Thank you, Garrett.” Justin went to the leather sofa on the wall across from his desk and sat, dropping his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. He’d been yearning to be accepted by the people that mattered for a long time. Now it was in his grasp. But that wasn’t all. He kept seeing Hannah’s sweet face, her innocent eyes, and wondering why she would sign on to be a mail order bride. What would push a girl that far?