Strange Bedfellow

By Janet Dailey

A Rhode Island widow’s recent engagement is threatened by the shocking return of her husband in this romance from the New York Times–bestselling author.

Dina Chandler has been to hell and back. Two-and-a-half years ago, her tempestuous marriage to Blake Chandler ended abruptly when his plane disappeared in the South American jungle. With no one else to take the helm, the lovely, grief-stricken widow found herself in charge of the vast Chandler hotel empire. Through it all, Blake’s old friend, Chet Stanton, had been her rock.
 
The Newport air kisses Dina’s hair with salt as she says farewell to Blake’s old sailboat. She isn’t much of a sailor and—now that she’s engaged to Chet—Dina feels it’s time to let go. But when Dina arrives home, she thinks she’s seen a ghost. Always hot-tempered, Blake’s ordeal has utterly stripped him of his former sophistication, and he’s furious to find his return marred by Dina’s engagement. Terrified of the man whose bed she once shared, Dina must now choose between her new love and a savage stranger.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497615434

Janet Dailey

Janet Dailey (1944–2013) published her first book in 1976. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 100 novels and became one of the top-selling female authors in the world, with 300 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to recreate a time and a place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues in her stories. You can learn more about Janet at JanetDailey.com.

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Janet Dailey's Americana Series

Dangerous Masquerade (Alabama)

Northern Magic (Alaska)

Sonora Sundown (Arizona)

Valley Of the Vapours (Arkansas)

Fire And Ice (California)

After the Storm (Colorado)

Difficult Decision (Connecticut)

The Matchmakers (Delaware)

Southern Nights (Florida)

Night Of The Cotillion (Georgia)

Kona Winds (Hawaii)

The Travelling Kind (Idaho)

A Lyon's Share (Illinois)

The Indy Man (Indiana)

The Homeplace (Iowa)

The Mating Season (Kansas)

Bluegrass King (Kentucky)

The Bride Of The Delta Queen (Louisiana)

Summer Mahogany (Maine)

Bed Of Grass (Maryland)

That Boston Man (Massachusetts)

Enemy In Camp (Michigan)

Giant Of Mesabi (Minnesota)

A Tradition Of Pride (Mississippi)

Show Me (Missouri)

Big Sky Country (Montana)

Boss Man From Ogallala (Nebraska)

Reilly's Woman (Nevada)

Heart Of Stone (New Hampshire)

One Of The Boys (New Jersey)

Land Of Enchantment (New Mexico)

Beware Of The Stranger (New York)

That Carolina Summer (North Carolina)

Lord Of the High Lonesome (North Dakota)

The Widow And The Wastrel (Ohio)

Six White Horses (Oklahoma)

To Tell The Truth (Oregon)

The Thawing Of Mara (Pennsylvania)

Strange Bedfellow (Rhode Island)

Low Country Liar (South Carolina)

Dakota Dreamin' (South Dakota)

Sentimental Journey (Tennessee)

Savage Land (Texas)

A Land Called Deseret (Utah)

Green Mountain Man (Vermont)

Tidewater Lover (Virginia)

For Mike's Sake (Washington)

Wild And Wonderful (West Virginia)

With A Little Luck (Wisconsin)

Darling Jenny (Wyoming)

Other Janet Dailey Titles You Might Enjoy

American Dreams

Aspen Gold

Fiesta San Antonio

For Bitter Or Worse

The Great Alone

Heiress

The Ivory Cane

Legacies

Masquerade

The Master Fiddler

No Quarter Asked

Rivals

Something Extra

Sweet Promise

Tangled Vines

Introduction

Introducing JANET DAILEY AMERICANA. Every novel in this collection is your passport to a romantic tour of the United States through time-honored favorites by America's First Lady of romance fiction. Each of the fifty novels is set in a different state, researched by Janet and her husband, Bill. For the Daileys it was an odyssey of discovery. For you, it's the journey of a lifetime.

Preface

When I first started writing back in the Seventies, my husband Bill and I were retired and traveling all over the States with our home—a 34’ travel trailer—in tow. That's when Bill came up with the great idea of my writing a romance novel set in each one of our fifty states. It was an idea I ultimately accomplished before switching to mainstream fiction and hitting all the international bestseller lists.

As we were preparing to reissue these early titles, I initially planned to update them all—modernize them, so to speak, and bring them into the new high-tech age. Then I realized I couldn't do that successfully any more than I could take a dress from the Seventies and redesign it into one that would look as if it were made yesterday. That's when I saw that the true charm of these novels is their look back on another time and another age. Over the years, they have become historical novels, however recent the history. When you read them yourself, I know you will feel the same.

So, enjoy, and happy reading to all!

Chapter One

THE AIR WAS CLEAR and the moon over Rhode Island was new, but there was a tangle of cobwebs in her mind. Dina Chandler couldn't seem to think her way out of the confusion. She shut her ears to the voices quietly celebrating in other parts of the house and stared out the window.

A shudder passed through her. It couldn't have been from the night's chill, since the house was comfortably heated. Her blue eyes slid to her arms, crossed in front of her, hugging her middle. Perhaps it was the cold weight of the precious metal around her finger.

Dina turned from the window. Her restless gaze swept the library, noting all that was familiar. Interrupting the dark, richly paneled sides of the room was a wall of bookshelves, floor to ceiling. A myriad of deeply toned bindings formed rows of muted rainbows. A sofa covered in antique velvet faced the fireplace, flanked by two chairs upholstered in a complementing patterned fabric. In a corner of the room stood a mahogany desk, its top neat and orderly.

The door to the library opened and Dina turned. Her hair shimmered in the dim light, a paler gold than the ring on her finger. A pang of regret raced through her that her solitude had been broken, followed by a twinge of remorse that she had felt the need to be alone at this time.

Closing the door, Chet Stanton walked toward her, smiling despite the faintly puzzled gleam in his eyes.

So this is where you've got to, he murmured, an unspoken question behind the indulgent tone.

Yes, Dina nodded, unaware of the sigh in her voice, or how forced her smile looked.

As he came closer, her gaze made a detached inspection of him. Like hers, his coloring was fair, sandy blond hair falling rakishly across his forehead, always seeming to invite fingers to push it back in place. His eyes were a smoke blue as opposed to the brilliant shade of hers.

At thirty-six, he was twelve years her senior, a contemporary of Blake's, but there was a boyish air about him that was an integral part of his charm. In fact, it was with Blake that Dina had first met Chet. The cobwebs spun around that thought to block it out. Slim and supple, Chet was only a few inches taller than she was in her heels.

He stopped in front of her, his intent gaze studying her expressionless face. Dina was unconscious of how totally she masked her inner turmoil. As his hands settled lightly on her shoulders, she was passive under his touch.

What are you doing in here? Chet cocked his head slightly to the side, his gaze still probing.

I was thinking.

That's forbidden. His hands slid around her and Dina yielded to his undemanding embrace, uncrossing her arms to spread them across his chest.

Why not? His shoulder had become a familiar resting place for her head, used often in the last two and a half years. Her eyes closed at the feathery caress of his lips over her temple and cheek.

You should be in the living room noisily celebrating with the others, he told her in mock reproof.

Dina laughed softly in her throat. They're not ‘noisily’ celebrating. They don't ‘noisily’ do anything, whether it's rejoice or grieve.

Perhaps not, he conceded. But even a restrained celebration should have the engaged couple in attendance, namely you and me. Not just me alone.

I know, she sighed.

His shoulder wasn't as comfortable as it had seemed. Dina turned out of his unresisting embrace, nerves stretching taut again as the niggling sense of unease and confusion wouldn't leave. Her troubled gaze searched the night's darkness beyond the windowpanes as if expecting to find the answer there.

With her back turned to him, she felt Chet resting his hands on either side of her neck, where the contracted cords were hard bands of tension.

Relax, honey. You've let yourself get all strung up again. His supple fingers began working their magic, gently kneading the coiled muscles in her neck and shoulders.

I can't help it. A frown puckered her forehead despite the pleasant manipulations of his hands. I simply don't know if I'm doing the right thing.

Of course you are.

Am I? A corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile, self-mocking and skeptical. I don't know how I let you talk me into this engagement.

"Me? Talk you into it? Chet laughed, his warm breath fanning the silver blond strands of her hair. You make it sound as if I twisted your arm, and I'd never do that. You're much too beautiful to risk damaging."

Flatterer! But Dina felt old, old beyond her years.

It got me you.

And I know I agreed willingly to this engagement, she admitted.

Willingly but hesitantly, added Chet, continuing the slow and relaxing massage of her shoulders and neck.

I wasn't sure. And I still don't know if I'm sure.

I didn't rush you into a decision. I gave you all the time you wanted because I understand why you felt you needed it, he reasoned. And there won't be any marriage until you set the date. Our agreement is a little more than a trial engagement.

I know. Her voice was flat. Dina didn't find the necessary reassurance in his words.

Look— Chet turned her to face him —I was Blake's best friend.

Yes, Dina thought. He had been Blake's right arm; now he was hers. Always there, ready to support her decision, coaxing a smile when her spirits were low and the will to go on had faded.

So I know what kind of man your husband was, he continued. I'm not trying to take his place. As a matter of fact, I don't want to take his place any more than I want you to take his ring from your finger.

His remark drew her gaze to the intertwining gold band and diamond solitaire on the third finger of her left hand. The interlocking rings had been joined by a third, a diamond floret designed to complement the first pair. It was Chet's engagement ring to her.

He curved a finger under her chin to lift it. All that I'm hoping is that with a little more patience and persistence I can carve some room in your heart to care for me.

I do, Chet, Dina stated. Without you, I don't know how I would have made it through those months when Blake was missing—when we didn't know if he was alive or dead. And when we were notified that he'd been kil—

The rest of her words were silenced by his firm kiss. Then he gathered her into his arms to hold her close, molding her slenderly curved shape to his lean, muscular body.

His mouth was near her temple, moving against her silken hair as he spoke. That's in the past. You have to forget it.

I can't. There was a negative movement of her head against his. I keep remembering the way I argued with Blake before he left on that South American trip, she sighed. He wanted me to go to the airport with him, but I refused. Another sigh came from her lips, tinged with anger and regret. Our quarrels were always over such petty things, things that seem so stupid now.

The strong vying with the strong. Chet lifted his head to gaze at the rueful light in her eyes. I'm partial to strong-minded women.

His teasing words provoked the smile he sought. I suppose I have to admit to being that, don't I?

A fire smoldered in his look, burning away the teasing light. And I love you for being strong, Dina. His hand slid to the small of her back. And I love you for being all woman.

Then his mouth was seeking hers again in a kiss that was warm and passionate. She submitted to his ardor, gradually responding in kind, reveling in the gentle caress of his hands that remained short of intimate. Chet never demanded more from her than she was willing to give. His understanding restraint endeared him to her, making her heart swell with quiet happiness.

When he lifted his head, Dina nestled into the crook of his arm, resting her cheek against his shoulder, smiling with tender pleasure. That lock of hair, the color of sun-bleached sand, was across his forehead. She gave in to the impulse to brush it back with the rest, knowing it would spring forward the instant it was done. Which it did.

Feel better? His fingers returned the caress by tracing the curve of her cheekbone.

Mmm.

What were you thinking about when I came in?

Her hand slid to his shirt, smoothing the collar.

I don't know. I guess I was wishing.

Wishing what?

Dina paused. She didn't know what she had been wishing. Finally she said, That we hadn't told the others about our engagement, that we'd kept it to ourselves for a while. I wish we weren't having this engagement party.

It's just family and friends. There's been no official announcement made, Chet reminded her.

I know. She usually had no difficulty in expressing herself, but the uncertainty of her own thoughts made it impossible.

Something was bothering her, but she didn't know what it was. It wasn't as if she hadn't waited a proper time before deciding to marry again. It had been two and a half years since Blake had disappeared and a little more than a year since the South American authorities had notified her that they had found the plane wreckage and there had been no survivors.

And it wasn't as if she didn't love Chet, although not in the same tumultuous way she had loved Blake. This was a quieter and gentler emotion, and probably deeper.

Darling— his smile was infinitely patient —we couldn't keep our engagement from our family and friends. They need time, too, to get adjusted to the idea that you soon won't be Mrs. Blake Chandler.

That's true, Dina acknowledged. It was not an idea that could be implanted overnight.

The door to the library opened, and an older woman dressed in black was framed in its jamb. An indulgent smile curved her mouth as she spied the embracing pair. Dina stiffened for an instant in Chet's arms, then forced herself to relax.

We've been wondering where the two of you had gone, the woman chided them. It's time you came back to the party and received some of the toasts being made.

We'll be there in a minute, Mother Chandler, Dina replied to the woman who was Blake's mother, her mother-in-law.

Norma Chandler was the epitome of a society matron, belonging to all the right garden clubs and fund-raising organizations for charity. Her role in life had always been the traditional one, centered around her home and family. With both husband and son dead, she clung to Dina as her family and to her home as security.

"If you don't, I'm afraid the party will move in here, and there's hardly enough room for them

Reviews for Strange Bedfellow

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to throttle the h repeatedly. she was so annoying to me. I felt sorry for the H

[d-fbuser-129818930 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Ok