The Royal Wager

by Kristi Gold

  He sought her ear and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”

  She nodded and he took her hand, guiding her toward the exit through the gawking crush of people. On the way out, they passed by Bob, who gave Mitch a salute, and Stella, who grabbed Tori’s hand, winked, then let her go.

  By the time they reached the door, Mitch was determined to get as far away from this place as possible. He steered Tori toward his truck, opened the door for her and helped her up into the cab, amazed when she didn’t ask where he was taking her. He climbed in behind the wheel and shot out of the parking lot, sending a gravel hailstorm in his wake as he sped down the highway toward home.

  He tugged Tori close against his side and let silence prevail for the time being. When he arrived at his destination, then they could talk.

  After pulling up the drive that led to the old house, he diverted to his right and traveled down the makeshift road leading to the creek. A full moon had risen over the open field, guiding him to the spot that had served as his refuge on more than one occasion, including the day his mother had died. If he needed to come to terms with his feelings for Tori, and reveal them to her, this was the logical place to do it.

  After putting the gearshift into Park, he slid out of the truck, rounded the hood and opened Tori’s door. Again she didn’t refuse his offered hand or his direction, as if she totally relied on his guidance.

  He led her to the back of the truck, yanked down the rusty tailgate then seated her there. He stood before her, both her slender hands wrapped securely in his. The moonlight cast Tori’s face in gold, a face that Mitch wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. He’d never wanted anything so damn bad. Not his degree. Not his business. Not even his freedom.

  But first, he needed to find out what had her so sad, and he hoped like hell it didn’t have anything to do with him.

  Tori focused on their joined hands, still silent. At least her tears had dried, but that did nothing to alleviate Mitch’s concern.

  “What’s going on, Tori?”

  She blew out a shaky breath but failed to look at him. “It’s been a tough two weeks.”

  “I know. I’ve missed you.” More than he’d missed anyone since his mother’s death.

  “I’ve missed you, too” she said, keeping her head lowered.

  “Tori, look at me.” When she complied, he continued. “When I found out you’d be there tonight—”

  “Bobby told you?” Both her tone and expression reflected her surprise.

  “Yeah. Didn’t you know that?”

  “No. I asked him not to and he said he wouldn’t. I was afraid if you knew I’d be there, you wouldn’t come because of the quote from your father in the article.”

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Tori. I was pretty mad at first since I didn’t understand why you did it.”

  She raised her eyes to his. “I did it for you.”

  He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “I know. And I appreciate that more than you know.”

  She looked genuinely pleased, and as pretty as Mitch had ever seen her look. “I think you should try to work it out with him,” she said. “It’s important, especially since I’ve recently found out my father never knew about me. And I’ll never know him because he’s gone. He died when I was three.”

  He felt her pain as keenly as if it was his own. “You read the letter.”

  “Yes. That’s why I think it’s important you reestablish a relationship with your own father. He’s all you have.”

  “I realize that now,” he said. “But before I deal with that, I have a few things I need to say to you.”

  Her gaze drifted for a moment and then came back to rest on his eyes. “I need to say some things to you, too. You can go first.”

  Mitch had every intention of going first, before he lost his courage. “You’re going to have to bear with me because I don’t have a whole lot of experience with this kind of thing.”

  “You’re a smart guy, Mitch. And articulate. I’m sure you can handle it.”

  “Just a few simple words from a simple man, Tori. That’s all.”

  “I’m listening.”

  He tightened his hold on her hands to anchor himself. “Since I left college, I’ve carefully calculated my life, planned everything down to the last detail. But I’ve recently realized some things throw all those plans off course.”

  “I know what you mean. Sometimes things just happen.”

  “Yeah. I sure as hell didn’t plan on you. I didn’t plan to stay up at night for two weeks, dealing with this pain I didn’t understand. I sure didn’t plan to pick up the phone at least a hundred times to call you before I decided that wasn’t a good idea.”

  Now she looked hurt. “Why wasn’t it a good idea?”

  “First, you told me you didn’t want to see me anymore. Second, I didn’t know what I wanted from you until today.”

  “What do you want from me, Mitch?”

  “To be with you, and not only tonight.” He tipped his forehead against hers. “I can’t stand the thought of you walking away and never coming back. I don’t think I can take that a second time.”

  She released a small sob and bit her lip, he assumed to halt another round of tears. He planned to kiss those away eventually—if she let him after he said what he needed to say.

  He was down to the wire. The moment of truth had arrived—a moment he’d never thought to confront. “I love you, Tori. God knows I didn’t want to, but I do.”

  Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes but she blinked them back. “Are you sure?”

  “It’s real, Tori, and I don’t want to let it go. I don’t want to let you go.”

  “But there’s so much we have to deal with. You’re here, I’m in Dallas.”

  “Marry me and we’ll live wherever you want to live.” There it was, and not so difficult after all. Not when it was so right.

  When she tugged her hands from his grasp, she might has well have knifed him in the gut. “What did you say?”

  “Marry me, Tori. Be my wife. I would be honored to be your husband.”

  “Do you realize how crazy that sounds, Mitch? What are people going to say since we’ve known each other for such a short time?”

  “I don’t give a damn what anyone has to say about it, except for you.”

  She spun a lock of hair around her finger. “First, let me say what I have to say to you. Then we’ll see if your offer still stands.”

  Fear momentarily immobilized Mitch. Fear that he’d screwed everything up by his unwillingness to acknowledge his feelings until now. “I don’t think you could say anything that would change my mind. Unless you don’t love me.”

  She dropped her hands to her lap. “Oh, I love you all right.”

  “But only halfway?”

  “All the way. That’s not the problem.”

  Relief reared its head. But frustration and impatience attacked him all at once. “Then what the hell is it?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Mitch waited for the urge to run. Waited for the cold sweat, the burning in his gut. It didn’t come at all. In fact, what he experienced at the moment felt a lot like pride and joy. “When did you find out?”

  “Earlier this week. Actually, the day I met with your dad. That’s why I’m here tonight, to tell you.”

  The same old mistrust came home before he could stop it. “Did you tell him?”

  She frowned. “Of course not. I wouldn’t tell anyone without telling you first. Even Stella doesn’t know. She thinks I’m here just to see you again.”

  Mitch rubbed his chin and grinned. “I’ll be damned.”

  “I’ll be damned? Is that all you can say?”

  “You know something, babe. I think subconsciously I wanted to get you pregnant. I could’ve pulled a condom out of my pocket that night in the truck.”

  “You had a condom with you?”

  “Yep, but I also had a woman in my arms that made me lose my mind beca
use I wanted her so badly.” He touched his lips to hers. “I still want her.”

  Tori swiped at her eyes. “I’m so glad you do. I figured you’d be back at the house by now, locking yourself in.”

  Overcome with a sense of happiness he’d never before experienced, Mitch lifted her off the truck and set her on her feet, pulling her close. “Buck told me he wanted a great-grandchild before he was too old to enjoy one. Looks like he’s going to get his wish. Now am I going to get mine?”

  He saw pure love shining in her eyes, all for him. “Yes. I’ll marry you. Gladly.”

  “Thank God.” He kissed her again, this time more deeply to drive home his feelings for her. “I love you, baby. And I don’t want to wait to get married.”

  “Just when do you propose we do this?”

  “Next week wouldn’t be soon enough. But I guess we have to make a few arrangements and decisions about where we’re going to live.”

  “I really don’t see why we can’t live here.”

  That totally caught Mitch off guard. “What about your job?”

  “It seems that news of your story has already created a lot of buzz, even though it’s not out until Monday. I’ve already started getting some offers. I can work freelance, as long as you understand it might mean quite a bit of traveling at times.”

  “That’s fine, as long as I can go with you most of the time. Because babe, from this point on, I don’t want to be without you.” And he didn’t, not even for a minute.

  She brushed a soft kiss over his lips. “And I don’t want to be without you, either. Besides, it’s been good to be back here. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed the small-town life, even though we will be the latest topic of gossip.”

  He saw right through her attempts at false humor. “Tori, I’ll make sure no one in this town will ever do or say anything to hurt you again.”

  “You know something? I’m not really worried. When I think about it, there were very few people who didn’t accept me and my mom. People like Mary Alice.”

  Hopefully that would be the last time he had to hear that name, at least coming from Tori’s sweet mouth. “You won’t have to worry about her. She broke off her engagement to Brady and she’s moving to Chicago. Something about going to culinary school, although I can’t imagine Mary Alice doing anything that involved getting her hands dirty.”

  “I’m glad she’s decided not to settle for a mediocre marriage.” She gave him a smile and a squeeze. “I’m not.”

  “I want to make you happy, Tori. The whole thing kind of scares me since my example has fallen short.”

  Her expression went serious. “Mitch, your father explained a lot to me about the reasons why he married Caroline and why he’s now retiring. You need to let him explain it to you, too. And you need to really listen with your heart.”

  “I’ll call him tomorrow. I can tell him about the wedding. But I’m not making any promises on how it will go.”

  “At least it’s a beginning.”

  He lowered his hand to her abdomen, the place that sheltered the child he’d never believed he would have. A child he already loved. “Here’s to new beginnings.”

  Pulling his hand up, she kissed his palm. “And good memories.” She sent a quick glance over her shoulder and grinned. “Want to make a few more?”

  Mitch returned her smile. “Yeah, but I’m thinking we should go back up to the house and use a real bed. You need to be comfortable.”

  Ignoring him, Tori hoisted herself into the truck bed and slipped off her jacket. “I’m thinking we should take advantage of the fact that I’m still mobile enough to do it in unusual places. In a few months, that might not be true.”

  Without hesitation, Mitch hopped up into the bed and covered it in hay, a repeat of that first monumental night together.

  “You know what I’d really like,” she said as they settled onto the hay.

  Mitch cupped her breast beneath the sweater. “Yeah, baby, I think I do.”

  “Aside from that.”

  Her mild scolding didn’t stop Mitch from lowering his hand to the zipper on those coronary-inducing leather pants. “Yeah, I know all about that, too.”

  “Mitch, I have to say this now.” She pulled his hand up and held it against her heart. “I want a big wedding. The works. Just like Stella’s. As long as I don’t have to sing.”

  “I really like hearing you sing. How about at the reception?”

  “I can do that.” She gave him a mock-suspicious look. “You’re not going to make me sing all the time for my supper, or for sex, are you?”

  He slid her zipper down. “No, but I will make you want to sing during sex.”

  She worked his belt buckle open. “We’ll see about that. And I’ll make a deal with you. If I promise to sing at our reception, then you have to promise to recite some poetry.”

  He halted the downward progress of her jeans. “In front of people?”

  She gave him a coy look followed by a wink. “If you’ll at least think about it, I promise you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.”

  “That’s a deal.” And he sealed that deal with another kiss, another slow, mind-blowing session of lovemaking under the stars with the woman he would soon make his wife.

  As he held her in his arms, Mitchell honestly believed he could accomplish anything. Except maybe poetry reading in public.

  What the hell. He would consider it for Tori. Anything for Tori.

  Epilogue

  “Twice or thrice I have loved thee, before I knew thy face or name. So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame. Angels affect us oft, and worshipped be…”

  Three days ago, Mitch Warner had surprised the entire congregation by reciting that verse following his wedding vows. Yet no one had been as shocked—or as touched—as Victoria Barnett-Warner.

  The ceremony had been held on a perfect November day in the small country church Tori had attended during her youth every Sunday with her mother. Tori wore Mitch’s mother’s wedding gown, a gift from Mitch, since her own mother sadly never had the opportunity to wear one. The “Fearsome Foursome” had been reunited when Stella, Janie and Brianne served as attendants, escorted by Bobby and Rand, with Mitch’s father assuming the role of best man, at his son’s surprising request. Proof positive that the healing process had finally begun.

  Both Mitch’s and Tori’s mothers had been honored with white roses and their framed portraits set out on the pews on each side of the aisle. And Buck, dressed in his Sunday best, sans straw hat, had gladly given the bride away.

  They’d chosen Sadler’s for the reception—which was quickly becoming a tradition in town, according to Carl who had served as musical host, despite Bobby’s protests. But Bobby hadn’t complained about the medley of honky-tonk songs Tori had sung at Stella’s request.

  All in all, it had been a grand party, but it paled in comparison to the honeymoon Tori and Mitch now enjoyed.

  For the past two days, she’d been sequestered with her new husband in a massive cabin situated in a small country called Doriana, compliments of Marcel DeLoria, one of Mitch’s Harvard friends, who just happened to be the king. Yet they hadn’t been very hospitable guests, not bothering to leave their accommodations since their arrival. Mitch had assured Tori that as a newlywed himself, Marc understood completely.

  Wrapped in a downy-soft red blanket, Tori stood at the window of their comfortable room, wood smoke rising from the rock hearth positioned in the sitting area opposite the ornate king-size bed. She studied in awe the fat snowflakes drifting over the forest surrounding the cabin, the Pyrenees providing a picturesque backdrop rivaling any panorama Tori had witnessed in her limited travels. But her favorite scenery dozed in the bed behind her, naked as the day he was born and as majestic as any mountain. At one time she might have been known as poor little Tori, but now she was truly rich, steeped in a wealth of love provided by a man who adored her and the baby growing inside her. Thanks to him, she had far too many blessings to count.
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  She also had a very masculine arm snaking around her middle to pull her back against a muscled chest that she’d come to know very well.

  “What are you doing up?” Mitch asked in a husky voice.

  She wriggled her bottom against him. “I should be asking you that question.”

  His soft laugh made her shiver. His hand on her breast made it worse. “If you haven’t learned by now what that means, then I guess you need a few more lessons.”

  She turned into his arms and smiled. “If I wasn’t pregnant already, I would have been before the end of this trip.”

  With a flick of his finger, he dropped the blanket from around her, leaving her naked again. She frowned and said, “It’s cold in here, Mitch. The fire’s dying down.”

  He slid his hand down her belly and cupped her between her thighs. “I don’t think so.”

  What an insatiable man. Not that Tori was inclined to complain. “Can we at least get back under the covers?”

  Sweeping her into his arms, he laid her back on the four-poster bed and hovered over her, giving her his heat. “Seriously, we probably ought to cool off a little bit. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You haven’t and you won’t. But we could try just holding each other for a minute?”

  “No problem.” He rolled to his back and took her with him, positioning her close to his side in the crook of his arm. “This is one of my favorite parts of married life. Can’t imagine how I lived without it so long.”

  Tori couldn’t imagine how she’d lived without him. “You know, we should really think about getting dressed.”

  Mitch groaned, loudly. “Why? I’ve kind of enjoyed being naked all day. And all night. Eating naked. Watching television naked.”

  Tori rolled her eyes. “We haven’t watched any television, Mitch. In fact, I haven’t even seen a television.”

  He grinned. “I’ll concede that.”

  “Right now we need to get ready for the party Marc and Kate are throwing for us. Marc’s sending the Hummer up the mountain in less than an hour to escort us back. I don’t think that would make a good impression, showing up buck naked, not to mention it’s freezing outside. And speaking of Buck, why didn’t you tell me he married Eula?”