She realized he was waiting for an answer. “Yes.” Her voice was barely audible, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Daniel pulled the ring from his pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. Although it didn’t weigh much, wearing it she suddenly felt the gravity of the situation.
She and Daniel were engaged.
Daniel stood and scooped Hailey into his arms. “Ready to go?”
Brittany blinked at the quick change in his attitude. It was as if they’d been filming a movie and someone had yelled “cut.” The emotional atmosphere had dissipated, and he was on to the next thing, leaving her off balance.
But why was she suddenly so disconcerted? She’d known all along this was a business-arrangement marriage. She shouldn’t expect love or romance, even with the marriage proposal. Besides, she hadn’t been expecting one until he’d gotten down on his knee.
Telling herself to snap out of it, she rose, grabbed her purse and then pasted on a smile. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
* * *
Brittany twisted the engagement ring on her finger, turning the stone to the inside against her palm before turning it back the right way with the sapphire back on top. She’d been fiddling with her ring the entire ride to her parents’ home. From the way she was behaving, you would think she was the one about to try to convince her soon-to-be in-laws that she was good enough to marry their child and not the other way around.
“You want to stop that? You’re making me nervous.” Daniel had been doing his best to maintain a calm facade, but his stomach, which had been bubbling since this morning, had started churning wildly as the day passed. Now it felt as if he had a volcano inside him. But since Brittany was clearly stressed about the meeting, he’d done his best to appear confident.
When she looked at him, a question on her face, he was struck once again by her beauty. With clear, light brown skin and large brown eyes and kissable lips, she could easily be on the cover of a fashion magazine. When they’d initially met, he’d tried to ignore her sexy, willowy body and her stunning good looks, but hadn’t been successful. He had even less chance of ignoring her beauty now that he’d trashed his policy of not becoming personally involved with women he did business with. They were going to be married even if in name only.
“What am I doing?”
“You’re playing with your ring.”
“Sorry.” She placed her hands in her lap and spread her fingers. “This entire situation feels a little bit surreal. I can’t believe that we’re actually pretending to be engaged.”
“Stop right there. We aren’t pretending to be engaged. We are engaged. And we’re going to be getting married in two weeks.”
They’d managed to snag DJ’s Deluxe’s private party room for that date. Ordinarily, getting reservations on such short notice was nearly impossible, but Daniel had money and money opened otherwise closed doors. The wedding would be lavish yet intimate. Daniel had wanted to leave the details to Brittany, but she’d insisted on his involvement, pointing out that he was the one who wanted to get married.
“You know what I mean,” she said.
“I do. But you can’t slip up like that. If anyone ever suspects that we aren’t really in love, it could be detrimental to my case.”
“I know. You’re right.”
“Do you like the ring?” he asked.
She sighed and held her left hand in front of her. “Too much. It is so beautiful.”
Knowing she was pleased made it worth every penny. Not that he cared about the money. “They did a good job.”
“I still can’t believe he made it in a few days.”
Brittany and Daniel had returned to the jewelry store at the appointed time to select the jewels for the ring.
Mr. Rossi had showed them a selection of sapphires ranging in size from one to six carats. Brittany had looked longingly at the stones before asking if he had any smaller ones. The shocked look on the jeweler’s face would have been comical if Daniel hadn’t known he was wearing a similar one. He’d told the other man that while his fiancée was reluctant to spend his money, he didn’t share her reticence.
Daniel had chosen a four-and-a-half-carat sapphire and another two carats in diamonds to complete the design. He’d picked up the ring that morning—by himself. He hadn’t wanted her to know it cost six figures. Besides, he’d wanted her to be surprised when she saw it.
He’d been unexpectedly jittery when he’d arrived at her condo earlier that afternoon. Even Hailey’s happy chatter in the car hadn’t been enough to calm his nerves. When the door had swung open and Hailey had seen Brittany, she’d squealed with delight and lunged for her. Brittany had scooped the baby into her arms and kissed her chubby cheeks then smiled at him. His heart had leaped with joy at the sight of the two of them together. After he’d stepped inside, Brittany had settled Hailey on the floor with her toys.
He’d taken Brittany gently by the arm and led her to the couch. Then he’d taken her hand into his. Her fingers had trembled and, admitting to feeling a bit more emotional that he’d expected as he’d proposed, told himself, This isn’t real.
The ring had fit perfectly. She’d gasped audibly before pulling her hand away from his. He hadn’t wanted to release her and had struggled not to reach out and take hold of her hand again. The longing he’d felt to renew the contact had surprised him and was enough to have him jumping to his feet.
They’d left her condo shortly thereafter to go to her parents’ house.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about the Brandt relatives he was about to meet. “Tell me about your family.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything. Pretend like we were dating and you’re sharing stories about how you grew up. Tell me things you would tell your fiancé. The last thing I want is for your family to have doubts about our relationship. I want them to believe we’re in love. Or have you changed your mind about letting them in on our secret?”
“No. My parents are traditional. They believe in the sanctity of marriage. They were high school sweethearts and got married when they were twenty-one. If I tell them this marriage is only pretend, they wouldn’t approve.”
She clasped her hands and shifted toward him in her seat. “My father is the superintendent of the Sunday school and my mother sings in the choir. They’re very close.”
“Yeah, I’m picking up on that.”
“They work together, so they spend just about every minute of every day with each other. They own a dry-cleaning business. They started out with one and now own fifteen locations throughout Montana.”
“That had to take a lot of work.”
“Yes. And while they were building the business, I was tasked with caring for my four younger brothers and sisters.”
Her voice was dry and he might have heard a hint of bitterness. Did she resent her siblings? He’d give anything to have Jane back in his life. Taking care of her daughter was a joy and privilege. Clearly, Brittany didn’t look at family the same way he did. Maybe he didn’t know her as well as he’d thought. For that reason alone, he needed to remember that this was a fake relationship and that he had to take control of his physical attraction to her.
Brittany directed him to turn at the next corner and then into the third driveway on the left. The house was well kept and the lawn immaculate. Once they were out of the car, Brittany turned to him. “Thanks for doing this. I know meeting my family isn’t part of our deal, but it’s important to me.”
“If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me.” She smiled at him and the pleasure in her expression made his blood race. Hadn’t he just told himself to keep a tight rein on his desire? “Besides, whirlwind romance or not, it would look really strange if I didn’t meet your family before the wedding.”
Her smile vanished. “Y
ou’re right. We don’t want to do anything that would make the judge suspicious.”
He replayed his words in his mind and couldn’t think of anything he’d said that would account for the change in her attitude. Perhaps she was just nervous. He was.
They climbed the stairs together and then Brittany rang the doorbell. She didn’t wait for anyone to answer the bell, but opened the door and stepped inside. Deciding that it would be odd not to follow suit, he stepped inside, too.
The delicious aroma of greens and candied yams filled the air and his mouth began to water. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had authentic soul food. Definitely not since he’d moved to Montana. His cook had received training at the best school in the country and had studied in France, but the man couldn’t make spaghetti casserole to save his life. As much as Daniel enjoyed fancy food, there was nothing like fried turkey and baked macaroni and cheese to make a man feel good.
“We’re here,” Brittany called.
“Hi. Did Amanda come with you?” a woman asked, stepping into the room. It only took one look for Daniel to identify her as Brittany’s mother.
“No. I brought someone else. Two ‘someones’ actually.” Brittany sounded a bit nervous and he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She smiled at him and his heart squeezed in response.
“I see.” Brittany’s mother looked at Daniel, who was holding Hailey in his arms, and then back to Brittany. “And who have we here?”
“Mom, this is Daniel Dubois and this little sweetheart is Hailey.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Brandt.”
“Call me Mallory.”
Before Daniel could respond, two black Labs bounded into the room and Brittany bent to greet each of them.
“Baba,” Hailey exclaimed, kicking her legs in an attempt to get down.
“Are they friendly?” Daniel asked Mallory.
“Yes.”
Daniel was considering the best way to deal with the Labs when an enormous dog thundered into the room, knocking into a floor lamp, which teetered momentarily.
“Do not tell me Lucas brought that gigantic mutt of his,” Brittany said.
“Hey, don’t insult my baby,” a man said, coming into the room. “You’ll hurt his feelings.”
“I’ll hurt more than that if he drools on me. I still can’t believe Daphne let you rescue a mastiff, of all things. She should have given you a cat.” Brittany made a mental note to speak to her friend, who ran the Happy Hearts Animal Rescue shelter, the next time she saw her.
“I’m a dog man. Besides, Flash is my baby, aren’t you, girl?”
“You’re a mess,” Brittany said, but with great affection.
“Hi. I’m Lucas, Brittany’s brother,” he said, offering his hand to Daniel.
“Daniel.”
They shook and Lucas turned around and yelled over his shoulder, “Brittany brought a man with her. And a baby.”
“What are you, the town crier?” Brittany grumbled, and her brother only laughed.
In the blink of an eye, the rest of Brittany’s family filled the room. An older gentleman elbowed his way to the front. “Give the man some space. You’ll likely scare him off crowding around him like that.” When he reached Daniel, he smiled and held out his hand. “I’m Phillip Brandt, Brittany’s father. And father to the rest of this unruly bunch.”
Daniel introduced himself and Hailey, who was clinging to him, her interest in the dogs a thing of the past. Apparently, six additional people was more than she wanted to deal with.
“These are my sisters, Stephanie and Tiffany, and my other brother, Ethan,” Brittany said. As she introduced her siblings, they smiled or nodded at him. Brittany’s sisters shared her slender build, hair and eye color as well as her skin tone. They were quite pretty, but in his estimation, Brittany was by far the most beautiful of the three.
“You’re right on time. We were about to put dinner on the table,” her mother said. “And, Lucas, put the dogs outside. Can’t you see that horse of yours is scaring the baby?”
Hailey looked around at the word “horse.” She might not know how to talk, but she was beginning to understand the meaning of words. Horse was one she was clued up on.
Brittany led him into the dining room where Phillip was setting up a high chair. Brittany must have sensed Daniel’s confusion because she replied to his unasked question. “A couple of my cousins have kids. Since they come over for dinner quite often, my mother has a high chair.”
Once the chair was set up, Brittany took Hailey from his arms and placed her in the chair. When she was securely strapped in, Brittany dropped a kiss onto her forehead.
There were two minutes of absolute chaos as food was carried into the room and set on the table. Brittany’s family bumped into each other, and there was some good-natured grumbling and fussing until the table was so full he doubted another serving bowl would fit. When everyone was seated, they joined hands for a quick grace. Once finished, they began to pass platters of food. He scooped macaroni and cheese onto his plate then turned to pass the dish to Brittany’s brother, who was seated beside him. A shriek had him pausing in the action, holding the casserole in the air.
“What is that on your finger?” Stephanie asked, grabbing Brittany’s hand and holding it out so everyone could see. He felt Brittany stiffen beside him.
The moment of truth had arrived.
Chapter Eight
Brittany gave him a rueful look, then turned to face her sister. “It’s a ring. Why, what does it look like?”
“It’s on your left hand.”
“Your powers of observation are nothing short of astounding.”
“Brittany.” Stephanie’s voice was part whine and part excitement.
“Okay. Daniel and I are engaged.”
There was a moment of silence before the women all screamed. Then everyone began to talk at once. Her mother jumped up and ran around the table, giving Brittany a big hug. She then did the same to Daniel. After the commotion died down, people once more began to fill their plates.
“That wasn’t too bad,” Daniel whispered. “I thought there would be a lot more questions than that.”
Brittany smiled internally. He was so wrong. He really had no idea what was about to hit them. Still, Brittany hoped the questions wouldn’t come until after dessert.
“So how did the two of you meet and when did all of this happen?” her mother asked.
Brittany sighed as that hope went sailing out the window. She glanced at Daniel, who shrugged. She hated lying to her family, but it was the better of two bad options. She didn’t want to make them accomplices to her deception. Especially when she knew how much they disliked lies.
Her parents had drilled the importance of honesty into her at a young age. Her father had emphasized that you only got one name. One reputation. If you ruined it by lies or other bad behavior, you had to live with the consequences. He’d given each of his kids a good name and would appreciate if they kept it that way.
She couldn’t count the number of times her mother had reminded her that if you told the truth, you didn’t have to worry about keeping your story straight. Those words had never rung truer. The plan she and Daniel had agreed upon was to stick to the truth when possible, limiting the risk of being tripped up.
“We met when Daniel hired me to plan an event for him. I took one look at him and wham. The feelings knocked me right between the eyes. It was kismet.”
“I’m not surprised,” her mother said. “I knew it would be that way for you. You were always so certain that you didn’t want to get married and have kids. So focused on your career. And look at you now.” She glanced at Hailey, who was feeding herself smashed macaroni and cheese and mixed greens. Just as much was ending up on her face and in her hair as in her mouth, but Brittany was still proud of the littl
e girl.
“So when is the date?” Stephanie asked.
Brittany blew out a breath. “Actually, we’re planning to get married soon.”
“Vague much?” Tiffany said.
Brittany nudged Daniel with her shoulder. A little help would be nice. He must have gotten the message, because he chimed in. “I convinced Brittany to set the date for the Saturday after next.”
“What? That soon?” Her mom’s shriek was nearly drowned out by the rest of the family. Used to the commotion, Brittany kept eating as they talked over each other. She looked at Daniel, concerned that he was rattled by the racket, but he appeared unfazed as he took a second helping of macaroni and cheese. Pleased by his reaction, Brittany smiled.
When the conversation ended, Daniel looked at Brittany’s family. “I guess I’m a little bit impatient. But when you meet the right one, you don’t want to wait.”
“What about Hailey’s mother?” Mallory asked.
“She died.” Daniel’s voice was ragged, and Brittany heard the pain there. She placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Her mother’s voice was filled with genuine sorrow, as was everyone else’s who echoed her comments. “Were you married long?”
“We weren’t married at all.”
“Oh.” Brittany’s parents exchanged a look.
This was just as hard as Brittany had expected.
“Jane, Hailey’s mother, was my younger sister,” Daniel said quietly. “She died in a car accident recently. She asked that I raise Hailey as my daughter and that’s what I intend to do.”
“I see,” Mallory said quietly. Brittany could only wonder what it was her mother saw. Did she suspect that Brittany and Daniel weren’t being entirely truthful? Was she now having doubts about whether the upcoming marriage was a good idea?
“It takes a good man to take on the responsibility of a baby.” Phillip’s voice was filled with approval.
“I love Hailey. It might not be legal yet, but she’s my daughter now, in my heart.”
The Maverick's Baby Arrangement Page 8
