Free Ryan's Bride by Maggie James

and wasn’t thinking clearly. Now I see there must be some substance to your explanation, and I’d like to hear it again, if you don’t mind.”
    She regarded him coldly. “Well, I do mind. You tried to…to rape me.” She hated the feel of the word in her mouth and uttered it quickly, harshly.
    “I know my drinking isn’t an excuse, but it’s a reason, and…please…” He stood, and she moved closer to the open door. “If what you say is true, then I’m the world’s biggest idiot, and I apologize. And you have to believe me when I say that Ryan does not own a bordello. And if he asked you to marry him, he must have meant it.”
    “You said he’s supposed to marry someone else.”
    “Not officially. And I was apt to say anything, the state I was in, but this has been very sobering, believe me.”
    Angele had smelled hard liquor on his breath, and she allowed that it had to be difficult for anyone to believe Ryan would want to marry her, looking as she did. But if his cousin was telling the truth, then she could start to believe once more that Ryan’s intentions were real.
    As for his cousin, she would try very, very hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had naturally believed the worst, but it was important to get along with Ryan’s family.
    “Could we just start over?” Corbett asked with a nervous smile.
    Her nod of consent was anything but enthusiastic, yet it was enough for Corbett. The little twit was too stupid to realize he would never be her friend, but he had to make her believe otherwise. Because, if what she claimed was true—as he had begun to fear—then her days were sadly numbered. He was not about to risk losing his good life at BelleRose.
    Angele was regarding him warily. “What do you mean when you say Ryan was not officially supposed to marry someone else?”
    If Ryan married her, Corbett knew she would eventually hear about Denise. Then she would be angry with him for lying, and it was best to gain her confidence till he figured out a way to get rid of her. “Well, it’s a situation where everyone thought they would marry one day.” He saw no reason to divulge that Denise had turned Ryan down. That was none of her business, and Denise hadn’t meant it, anyway.
    Angele relaxed a little. She recalled Ryan saying Corbett’s wife was French. That meant her cousin probably was also, and maybe that was why Ryan had been interested in her.
    Still, she was nagged by uneasiness, and, deciding there was nothing else to be discussed, she wanted to get away from him. “My room should be ready by now, and I need to start dressing for dinner. Ryan should be back soon.”
    “Do you know where he went? I haven’t seen him all day.”
    “He just said he had some business to take care of.”
    “Well, I can go find out about your room.”
    Angele was grateful. After all, she did not relish walking into the lobby still looking like gutter trash. “That would be nice, thank you.”
    He turned and slammed right into Ryan.
    “Corbett, what are you doing here?”
    Corbett looked to Angele, wondering if she was going to start screaming about what he had done, then breathed a sigh of relief when she spoke up. “He was looking for you, and it’s a good thing he knocked when he did. Otherwise, I’d still be sleeping. I guess I was more tired than I realized.”
    “Yes, she was dead to the world, Ryan,” Corbett eagerly confirmed. “I had to practically knock the door down. We’ve just been talking, that’s all. Getting acquainted.”
    “She told you why she was here?” Ryan’s mouth was a thin line.
    “Yes, and I have to say it came as quite a surprise.”
    “I’m sorry,” Angele leaped to say. “I know you probably wanted to tell him yourself, but I had to explain myself.”
    “Yes, I suppose you did.”
    “And I told him how grateful I am for your getting me out of jail.”
    Ryan looked as though he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole.
    Corbett’s eyes were