by Kadie Scott
Rusty punched her hand in the air, though the move had Mischief dancing to the side.
“Come back out here, Rusty,” the announcer invited.
She wheeled the horse and entered the arena, waving to the crowd to acknowledge her accomplishment, her face lit with a smile that made her glow, and Will’s heart stuttered at the sight.
Damn, she was gorgeous.
A sudden need to see her smile like that because of him gripped him. What would that be like?
Rusty, still grinning, trotted out of the arena. Spotting him, she directed Mischief his way. “Did you see?” she called.
Will laughed. “Hard to miss.”
She stopped where he waited. In a burst of elation, she jumped off the back of the horse and threw her arms around Will in a hug. He hesitated only a fraction of a second before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in tight. Lord, she smelled good—horses and strawberries and leather and hay.
She was practically vibrating in his arms. She pulled back, though she didn’t drop her arms. “That was amazing.” Her red ponytail swung as she shook her head, dark eyes glittering.
You were amazing. “Yes, it was,” he limited himself to saying.
She laughed, and again his heart tripped up, bouncing around inside his chest. “The horse had something to do with it,” she said.
“Marry me.” Damn. He’d gone and done it again. “Let’s partner up. I know it’ll work.”
Instead of frowning, Rusty quieted in his arms. “You mean it?”
He quirked his lips in a half smile. “I’ve asked you twice, already.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, and seemed to hold her breath.
“Rusty?” he prodded.
“Yes.” She opened her eyes and blinked like she was surprised at herself.
Will searched her expression. “Yes, you’ll marry me?”
She nodded. “I guess we’re both crazy.”
What would she do if he kissed her right now?
“That was a good ride.”
Rusty froze in his arms at the sound of the male voice behind her. Will glanced up to find Garrett Walker approaching them, his leathery face set in his customary brooding expression.
A glance down showed every spark of happiness and shock and whatever else had been staring him in the face seconds ago had been sucked out of the woman he still held. Instead of vibrating with exhilaration, Rusty tensed beneath his hands. She seemed to school her features before turning, and Will reluctantly let her go, dropping his arms to his sides.
“Thanks, Dad,” she said.
“So…” Garrett flicked a glance between them before zeroing in on Rusty. “You’re working for High Hill Ranch now?”
“Yes.” A wealth of emotion in that one word, at least as far as Will was concerned. Too much for him to pinpoint exact ones.
“You know what that means,” Garrett said.
Will frowned, his hands tightening on her hips. Was that a threat?
“Actually, Dad, you can congratulate us.” Rusty slipped her hand into Will’s, and he was shocked to find her trembling. He tightened his grip, trying to give her support through that physical connection.
She took a deep breath. “Will and I just got engaged.”
Chapter Seven
This was hands down the dumbest thing she’d ever done in her life. She was marrying a man she hardly knew—a good man who didn’t deserve to be mixed up in this, just to thwart her dad. Meanwhile, her father appeared to be in hog heaven.
Well, not at first. At first, he’d looked at her cockeyed, spat on the ground, and declared the engagement bullshit.
But Will’d taken offense to that. “We’re getting married at the justice of the peace tomorrow, sir. And Rusty’s coming home with me.”
Home. With Will. That sounded way too good.
Still, the words had taken some of the wind out of dear old Dad’s sails. Not to mention stealing some breath from her own lungs. She’d stood beside Will undaunted. A united front.
To which her father had declared he’d give the bride away himself.
Dammit.
Not only that, he’d insisted on more than a “hole-in-the-wall affair” as he put it. Her father, the stingiest man alive, had insisted on bringing Doris, their housekeeper who’d practically raised Rusty, down to help Rusty find an appropriate dress, as well as ponying up for a reception.
She’d protested.
He’d insisted.
Will and Rusty had given in, eventually. He’d decided not to invite his family as they’d all have to fly up at short notice, and not having enough time to get their large extended family there too. Instead, he’d asked that they do another short ceremony and reception in Texas for them. A reason her father seemed to swallow.
Now, here she stood, hair curled and the sides pinned back from her face, makeup perfect, and a gorgeous dress. Her father had insisted, and fate had decided to step in and lend an unwanted hand, because she’d found the perfect one.
Pink. Strapless and floor length with layered organza in white with pale pink flowers pattered on some of the layers. It had an empire waist. The top crisscrossed her breasts, making her look more buxom than she was thanks to the sweetheart neckline.
Guess all those years shoving the fact that I was a woman down Dad’s throat paid off. Even she had to admit she’d never felt lovelier.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom at the justice of the peace, where she’d insisted on getting ready, and did her best not to cry. Though Doris would think them happy tears. In actual fact, her heart ached with the knowledge this should be her wedding dress, worn on the day she walked down the aisle to a man she loved.
Not this… sham.
“You look so beautiful.” Doris sniffled behind her. Then she frowned. “Are you sure—”
“I’m sure.” Rusty even tried a smile.
Poor Doris, mother hen that she’d always been, didn’t believe Rusty wasn’t doing this for the reasons she was. The woman was too keen and knew Rusty too well. She’d been asking that over and over since she got here to help get things ready for the wedding and reception.
“Huh.” Doris grunted. “I guess if a man looked at me the way Will looks at you, I’d be pretty sure too.”
Rusty spun around to face her. “Oh? And how does he look at me?”
Doris gave one of her no-nonsense frowns. “You know how, young lady.”
“Nope. Tell me.”
That earned her an eye roll. “Like he wants to spend all day in bed with you.” She gave Rusty’s behind a swat, shooing her out of the door. “Don’t keep him waiting.”
Did he look at her that way? They’d kissed, and she’d certainly been aware of… something… a tension between them.
But that didn’t mean he felt it too. He was in this for what it would bring him in the end—a solid partnership with one of the biggest rodeo stock providers in the country. Just good business. An odd way to go about it, granted, but that was all she was to Will. Just like every other man in her life, this had nothing to do with her as a person for him. Even if he was nice about it.
Outside the judge’s chambers, she found her father standing in the hallway, tugging at his bow tie. An actual bow tie and a suit. The man must’ve lost his mind.
“Can’t stand these contraptions,” he muttered.
“You’re the one who wanted a fancy wedding,” she pointed out.
He didn’t respond, merely shoved a bouquet at her. She flicked a glance at his stalwart face before taking it.
The flowers were gorgeous. Pink peonies and roses mixed with white narcissus and pearl-centered stephanotis. “Thank you, Dad,” she murmured softly.
He shoved his hands in his suit pockets. “They’re not from me.”
Of course they weren’t. She’d been an idiot to think they might be. Why she allowed the fission of disappointment any room inside her heart, she’d never know.
“Doris?”
she asked.
“No. They’re from your groom.”
Disappointment abated in the face of something lighter, sweeter. Scarier.
Will had thought to provide her a wedding bouquet? And, by the looks of the flowers, had picked them out himself. Or at least told the florist that pink needed to be involved. She tried to trap a smile behind her lips, but failed.
“Better not keep the man waiting,” her father grumbled now.
To her surprise, he offered her his arm. She took it and stared up at him a long moment, searching his familiar, craggy face.
He opened his mouth, as though something nice or kind might come out of it, but only closed it and reached for the door handle.
Again, disappointment seeped through her. But then she stepped forward, and her gaze went inexorably to the man standing in front of the judge’s bench. A man who was marrying her because he was that kind of guy.
Yes, they had a deal. But Williams Hill wasn’t the type to do something this big just for himself. Some part of her knew, without a doubt, this was for her.
And she had no idea how she felt about that.
Will—all fancy in a rented gray suit—turned from the judge to face her, and stilled.
Oh God. What’s he thinking? Is he going to run?
Then he smiled—his handsome face with the sexy cleft chin and crooked nose somehow familiar to her in a way that made her heart stutter—and her soul settled. He was sticking this out. For better or worse, they were in this thing together.
Her father handed her over to Will, and Rusty had to laugh. She reached out and tweaked his tie. “Pink?”
He grinned. “Turned out to be a wise choice.” He glanced down at her dress.
She giggled. Nervous laughter, but that was okay. Nerves were normal for any bride. No one would be the wiser.
“You ready?” Will murmured.
She looked into his incredible blue eyes. Steady blue eyes that reflected back only easy confidence in the crazy thing they were about to do.
Rusty nodded. “Yes.”
With a nod, Will turned to the judge who waited, smiling. “We’re ready, sir.”
The rest of the short, sweet ceremony passed in a bit of a blur. Rusty assumed she said and did everything right, because suddenly there was a solid platinum ring on her finger and the judge was pronouncing that Will could kiss his bride.
She hadn’t thought about that bit. But the quick moment of panic melted away as Will took her face between his hands and claimed her lips in the sweetest kiss—warm, and beautiful, and hot. She wanted to lean into him, and just float away.
Forget the others.
Forget the deal.
Forget this wasn’t even reality.
But he broke it off, blue eyes twinkling at her. Had he guessed how affected she’d been? That would be embarrassing.
“Ladies and gentleman,” the judge announced, “I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Williams and Ruth Hill.”
Blinking to clear her hazy mind, Rusty hooked her arm through Will’s—or did he do that for her—and reached for her bouquet which Doris held. They walked out of the chamber, followed by her father, Doris, the hands, and a few friends of the family her father had invited who’d been able to come at short notice.
I’m married. I married Will.
Reception time. Ugh.
Doris had managed to find a hotel with a small reception room not already booked, and able to accommodate a party their size with one day’s notice.
Hours of pinning a fake smile to her lips and pretending to be madly in love—because why else would she be marrying this hastily—for an audience that included the most mistrustful man on the planet. Sure he was happy she was getting married, but no doubt he already suspected her of doing so just to get her inheritance. His Machiavellian mind had to be spinning with ways to manipulate the situation further. Any sign of weakness or doubt between her and Will would be exploited.
Good times.
Will bustled her into the cab of his truck, which he’d obviously had detailed because it sparkled inside and out and smelled of leather oil. Guilt piled on. He was doing way too much for her with all this.
As soon as he pulled away, he glanced at her. “Am I allowed to tell you how beautiful you look?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Better not. I’ll think you mean it.”
“I do.”
Her heart did a fair imitation of a bucking bronco at the words and the way his voice went all gruff.
Rusty cleared her throat and gave her heart stern instructions to quit that immediately. “Please don’t. We shouldn’t muddy the waters with…” She looked out her window, shaking her head.
He reached down and squeezed her hand, which rested on the console between them. “I get it. No messy emotions.”
She blew out a relieved breath. “Exactly.”
He nodded, and released her hand, which, contrarily, she didn’t want him to do. “We might have to keep up the charade for the reception.”
“True. But we’ll know that’s all for show.”
Yup. All for show. They were on the same page. She should be relieved. So why was she facing a weird kind of disappointment?
He pulled up outside the hotel where her father had arranged a private room for their reception. “Ready?” Will asked.
She leaned over to look out his window and scrunched up her face. “Guess we’d better get this over with.”
*
Get it over with was right.
He and Rusty paused in the hallway outside the Lovebird suite. Inside the small room, the twenty-five-or-so folks who’d been in the judge’s chambers gathered. Several larger tables with white cloths, set for a sit-down meal, were spaced around the room. And a DJ was set up in the corner playing soft music.
“Your dad went all out,” he said.
“Uh-huh.” The dubious note to her voice made him wonder at her thoughts.
Will eyed a single, round table intimately set for two situated at the front of the room. “Looks like they reserved us some seating,” he murmured.
Rusty gave a soft snort. “On the downside, we’ll be stared at while we eat. But on the plus side, we won’t have to talk to anyone.”
Will grinned. “You’re all silver linings today. Guess we’d better practice our goo-goo eyes.”
She tilted her chin at a haughty angle. “I don’t goo-goo.”
Will heaved an exaggerated sigh. “So I’ll be goo-gooing all by myself? What’ll people think?”
“You married me after knowing me a handful of weeks. I’d say they already have an idea that you’ve lost your mind.”
“Or found the perfect woman.” The second the words left his mouth he wanted to pull them back in. Because that was something a real groom would say, and damned if he knew what he was. But a real groom wasn’t it.
“Will your family be upset that they missed all this?” she asked.
“We’ll probably have to set up a similar run through when we get back to Texas. Mom will feel better when we tell her your dad surprised us with it.”
She tipped her chin to eye him. “You’d lie to them?”
“It’s not entirely a lie. He may have given us a day or two to get stuff set up, but it was still a surprise.”
She shook her head. “I took you for one of those Boy Scout, never-tell-a-lie types.”
“The Aggie motto. Never lie, cheat, or steal,” he said.
“Hmmm… just elaborate, collaborate, and borrow. Right?”
Will tipped his head back and laughed. “Where’d you pick that up?”
“I lived with Garrett Walker,” came the dry answer.
But Will’s laughter had brought notice from their guests. At some unseen signal, the DJ suddenly hushed the sound and came over the speakers. “Introducing the bride and groom. Mr. and Mrs. Will and Rusty Hill.”
They were bustled into the room and Will shook hands and received hugs and kisses on his cheek as Rusty was separated from him t
o do the same.
One of the first to shake his hand was Garrett Walker. “You’re a good man, Son. Proud to have you in the family.”
“Thanks.” What else could he say to that? Something like, how the hell would you know, probably wouldn’t look good right at this moment.
Garrett tightened his grip, pulling Will in closer. “I expect a baby announcement from the two of you before the year is out, of course.”
Shock fried Will’s ability to speak. Did her dad just say that? He had to mean it as a thing people said at weddings, right? Before Will could open his mouth, Walker clapped him on the back. “Let’s enjoy the party.”
For a guy supposedly fighting serious illness, his new father-in-law certainly seemed optimistic that he’d still be around. Will gave himself a mental smack. Rusty’s suspicions when it came to her father were starting to color his own opinion. He should give the man the benefit of the doubt. For now.
Will was passed onto another friend of the Walkers, then another, and then another. Meanwhile, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Rusty, who was ahead of him moving through the room.
His bride was stunning. He’d almost laughed when the doors to the chamber had opened to reveal her there in a softly pink dress.
He’d got the flowers right, at least, and his tie.
But mostly, he’d had to force himself to remember how to breathe, because she was about the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. All her gloriously red hair curled and pulled away from her face, and the feminine gown floating around her body. And the way she’d looked at him—like he was her anchor in a stormy sea.
“He’s a better man than I am, taking her on,” one of Garrett’s hands muttered.
But Will overheard it. He clenched his jaw around a smile as he talked to a little old lady who was a neighbor of the Walkers, but what he really wanted to do was clock the guy.
Instead, as soon as he’d finished polite chatting Mrs. Stephens, he turned around. “I must be a better man than you, because she’s amazing.” He paused, satisfied at how the other man’s mouth dropped open before he scowled. “Actually,” Will continued. “What I am is damn lucky she picked me.”
