Accidental Bride and Groom

by Iris Abbott

  He had a sinking feeling however that this time he wouldn’t be able to help himself. Emma was a temptation he couldn’t seem to resist, and at this point, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to. If the flames flaring between them were taken care of before his sister returned maybe she would never have to know he’d seduced her best friend. He choked off the rising arousal inside him with an invisible fist of iron. No need to send Emma running from him by exposing the extent of his want and desire.

  Emma looked at Landon expectantly. He seemed lost in thought. Maybe he hadn’t heard her question. She cleared her throat. “Landon, I asked you what time you would like to eat dinner tonight?”

  Landon chastised himself. He hadn’t been caught daydreaming since, well since never. He wasn’t the daydreaming kind. “I’m sorry Emma. I was preoccupied with my thoughts,” he purposely kept his explanation vague. There was no need for Emma to know he was daydreaming about how she would feel in his arms and under his body. “I have some paperwork I need to catch up on, so how about we eat dinner around six o’clock.”

  She made a mental note to begin preparations around five-thirty. Sometimes the work on the ranch was physically grueling. There was no need to keep him waiting for his dinner after a hard day of work. “That works for me. Speaking of food, this was some picnicker’s feast. It was very thoughtful of Ms. Gaines to set it up for us.”

  Emma realized she’d enjoyed her impromptu lunch date with Landon more than she could have ever imagined. His nearness, however, was making her nervous. He seemed to be purposely invading her personal space. He was constantly touching her shoulder or arm when he talked to her or brushing his thigh against hers when he reached for the thermos to refill his glass of iced tea. Her nerves were stretched tight, and she was working double time trying to contain the feelings his closeness evoked. The butterflies in her stomach were growing in size, and the unfamiliar feeling of warmth blooming through her body wasn’t helping matters either.

  Finally, after what seemed just a few minutes, Landon jumped up and smiled down at her. “As much as I hate to end this ideal lunch date, I’ve got work to do.” He held out his hand for her, “come on, and I’ll hand you the basket after you’re seated in the saddle.”

  Emma reached up to take his hand. She was definitely not expecting what happened next. Landon pulled her body tight against his own. Then he slowly bent his head toward her. After what felt like a lifetime, but could only have been a matter of seconds, he brushed her lips with his. She stiffened for a fraction of a second before giving over to the longing that consumed her body. She pressed herself as close as she could get to Landon with only the thin barrier of cloth between them. The whole experience was over much too quickly for Emma’s liking. One minute they were kissing and the next minute he was moving toward the horses.

  “Let’s get you in that saddle. I really do have work to do,” he said with a chuckle.

  Mortified, Emma practically leaped onto Bluebonnet’s back. “Whoa,” she said holding up her hands as if in denial. “You’re the one that kissed me, remember.” Her emotions were so worked up she forgot all about the picnic basket. She grabbed bluebonnet’s reins wheeled the mare around and headed back to the stables in a gallop. She could hear Landon’s deep laughter following her. Her body’s reaction to Landon was in direct conflict with her mind’s need to keep her distance. Distance equaled safety, and that was Emma’s main goal in life, playing it safe.

  “Hey,” he yelled at her retreating back, “you forgot the basket.” Landon wasn’t surprised when Emma didn’t acknowledge him. She just kept riding toward the stables and away from him as fast as she could. Good he thought, I definitely rattle that cool composure of hers. There’s hope for us yet.

  ****

  Landon finished his self-imposed ranch chores in record time. A few of the ranch hands gave him knowing looks when he rushed through the last task and headed back to the house a full hour earlier than usual. He was looking forward to eating dinner with Emma without Ms. Gaines lurking in the shadows like a Victorian chaperone. He was even whistling when he walked in the door.

  She was nowhere to be found when he entered the house. He didn’t really want her to see him all dirty and sweaty anyway. He jogged up the stairs and headed straight to his bedroom and the shower. No woman wanted to be seduced by a cowboy that still smelled like cattle and horses. And Seduce Miss Emma Sharpe he would. A deadline had never bothered him before why should it now. He would just apply his relentless work ethic to his personal life. He’d turn on all the charm the opposite sex claimed he oozed by the bucketful. If all went well, he’d have Emma in his bed before she even realized what was happening.

  Emma was in her room reading when she heard Landon rush up the stairs to his bedroom. He was a little earlier than she had expected. He would be starving after a hard day of work on the ranch. She marked her place in the novel and headed downstairs to begin heating dinner. At the last second, she turned from the door and went into the bathroom. She brushed her long wavy golden hair. She also took the time to apply a layer of mascara and lip-gloss. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was bothering, but she was satisfied with the effort. It wasn’t enough makeup to be obvious, but it was enough to give her a little extra shine. She left the mirrored bathroom behind and headed for the kitchen.

  Dinner was a bigger ordeal than Emma had imagined it would be. There wasn’t any one thing she could put her finger on, but something about Landon was different. He was treating her different. She assumed it had something to do with their earlier kisses. It made her edgy. She had always prided herself on her ability not to get involved. It was the one sure way to keep her heart intact and her life in order, free of chaos and abuse. The one sure way to make sure she didn’t end up like her mother. That was one disaster Emma had no intention of repeating. Not that Landon was an alcoholic because he wasn’t. He was just an overbearing, egotistical, multimillionaire rancher that thought he was God’s gift to women. Emma had a sinking feeling that he could be right and she was falling for his charms hook line and sinker.

  “Thanks for dinner, Emma. You’re a guest, and I’m sorry to have to put you to work in the kitchen.”

  Emma felt her cheeks flush from the warmth of his compliment. She hadn’t really gone to a lot of trouble, but she appreciated the kind words anyway. “No problem,” she smiled at Landon. “Ms. Gaines actually did all the work before she left for the day anyway. I just stuck a dish in the oven and heated it up, no big deal.”

  “Well, it’s a big deal to me. A man burns a lot of calories working on a ranch. I’m always thankful for a great tasting meal at the end of the day.”

  Emma blushed. She chastised herself for being so responsive to his praise. It wasn’t personal. She tried to slow her reaction by diminishing his praise. He wouldn’t have cared who fixed his dinner as long as he had something to eat. She was sure of that. She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. She grabbed a stack of dirty dishes as she did so. “I’ll go ahead and load the dishwasher now. There’s no need to leave a kitchen full of dirty dishes for Ms. Gaines to deal with in the morning. She has enough to do around here without that.”

  Landon watched her balance the stack of dirty dishes before she disappeared into the kitchen. He could tell he was cracking her defensive shell and it made him even more determined to make love with her. The sooner, the better his body reminded him. He picked up the last of the dinner dishes and followed her into the large modern kitchen.

  Emma glanced up nervously when she heard Landon come in behind her. She was already at the sink rinsing and placing china and utensils into the dishwasher. She tensed when she felt Landon right behind her. She was trapped between the granite counter top and his rock hard body. Panic was riding her hard. She was afraid to move and was shocked to realize she was holding her breath. No man had ever affected her like this. Deep inside she had always known that Landon was the one man who could turn her head and make her lose her cool.

&n
bsp; That was why she had also been mostly thankful that he had avoided her whenever she and Lynn came home during school breaks. If she’d had anywhere else to go, she would have stayed away, but on longer breaks, the school closed the dorms, and Emma knew she wasn’t welcome at home. Her mother had made that abundantly clear when she’d left for college. She was just too different from her parents. They didn’t understand her, and she couldn’t accept the way they chose to live their lives and the bitter consequences of those choices.

  They hadn’t provided a healthy environment to raise their only daughter in, and Emma was paying for it now with her emotionally stunted growth. She was twenty-four years old, and she was afraid to let herself love. The only person who had managed to get under her skin and into her heart the past six years had been Lynn. Now if she wasn’t very careful, Landon might worm his way in as well. That could be disastrous for both her heart and her peace of mind.

  Landon felt Emma tense when he pressed his body into hers. He wanted to ease the tension from her body, but he was afraid if he touched her it would make things worse. He let out a deep sigh and backed away. Something definitely had Emma spooked. He was going to have to slow down and take this seduction at a snail’s pace, or he was going to send Emma running far away. If that happened before the wedding, his sister would never forgive him. He wondered how many weddings had taken place without the bride’s closest living relative and the maid of honor being present.

  “So, what do you think of the kitchen? It was completed about a year ago. Ms. Gaines thought we should modernize it. I left her and Lynn in charge of the project.” He shrugged his shoulders in an offhand manner. “What would I know about a kitchen, anyway?”

  Emma recognized that he was backing down and trying to give her space. She grabbed it with both hands. She finished loading the dishwasher and moved away from the counter, so she couldn’t be trapped again. “It’s easily the best kitchen I’ve ever been in,” she told Landon. “And it’s four times bigger than the kitchen in my apartment back in Georgia.”

  “Do you spend much time in that kitchen?” Landon asked. He felt like he needed to know everything about Emma, so he might as well start with the basics. “In other words do you like to cook?”

  Emma smiled at him as she moved out of the kitchen and into the family room. She took a seat on the dark brown leather couch and tried to appear unconcerned by his sudden interest. “I love to cook. I even took a gourmet cooking class last summer. The problem is it’s no fun cooking for just one.” I would be tempted though if I had regular access to a kitchen like yours. It is a cook’s dream, especially those double ovens and that large six-burner gas cooktop. I also noticed earlier that it’s stocked with every pot, pan, and spice imaginable to mankind. I collect cookbooks, and I would be hard-pressed to find a recipe that couldn’t be made with the supplies and spices kept in there.”

  Landon was pleased that she showed such joy in a part of his home. Why he didn’t know. The feeling was alien to him. He planned to bed her not marry her. He needed to keep reminding himself of that fact. In two weeks she would be back in Georgia teaching the next generation, and he’d still be in Texas hard at work on his ranch. “I’m glad you like it so much, and I would love it if you’d cook dinner for me sometime. One of your recipes, not Ms. Gaines’s,” he clarified.

  The huskily spoken request went straight to her heart, and she found herself answering before she had time to vet her words or tamper down her enthusiasm. “I would like that too, Landon.” So much for keeping a safe distance, she thought.

  His words left a warm glow despite her inner struggle to stay unaffected by his presence. She didn’t feel crowded or trapped like she had in the kitchen. She took a deep breath, silently begged her nerves to calm, and sank into the luxurious softness of the overstuffed leather cushions.

  Landon watched her relax with hooded eyes. It was hard not to reach out and touch her, but he didn’t want her to panic, and he didn’t want to send her running for the door. He would be content just to be in her company for now. “There’s a drama coming on tonight that I’ve been waiting to see. Would you like to watch it with me?” He’d try anything to extend their evening together.

  Emma knew she should excuse herself and retire to the guest bedroom for the night. She found it nearly impossible to deny herself the pleasure of Landon’s company. “I would love to watch it with you.” She heard the words come out of her mouth and couldn’t believe it. She didn’t even know what program she had agreed to watch. She didn’t spend much time in front of the television. She had a sinking feeling that she’d reached the point where she would do anything to prolong her time with Landon. That was a scary thought in more ways than one.

  ****

  Later that night, Emma sat up in her bed trying to concentrate on the novel in her hand. She wasn’t having any luck. She kept superimposing herself and Landon into the storyline. He was the dashing hero out to win the fair heart of the beautiful heroine. And she was the emotionally scarred heroine unable to resist the love of the bigger than life hero.

  Emma let out a giggle. Her imagination was working overtime tonight. Her thoughts drifted away from the novel. They focused entirely on Landon James, the brother of her best friend.

  Landon had been very courteous and attentive during their evening meal together. He even went out of his way to engage her in conversation during commercials. She found the whole experience disconcerting. Worse yet she could feel the bonds around her heart start to weaken. She threw her head back against the pillows and groaned. She had a sinking feeling she was falling in love with Landon, and there was no way she was going to be able to stop it. If she wasn’t careful, she was headed for a massive heartache. She needed to watch herself, and more importantly, she needed to watch Landon.

  SIX

  Emma gripped the phone and bit her bottom lip to hold back a tortured groan. The past two days had been wonderful. She was getting used to being around Landon. She was, in fact, coming to cherish their time together. If there was one drawback, it was that the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be around him. She found herself constantly searching for him whenever she took Bluebonnet out for a ride.

  The past couple of days she had been focusing almost all her attention on Landon. She had all but forgotten about her best friend’s wedding. The big event was eight days away, but everything seemed to be in order. She had allowed herself to relax.

  That was until this latest phone call from the florist. Evidently, Lynn had chosen stargazer lilies as the centerpiece for her bridal bouquet and table centerpieces. That, as it turned out, was going to be a problem. “I’m really sorry,” the florist continued. “I could keep trying to find them from another supplier, but I haven’t had much luck up to this point. They seem to be a popular choice for weddings this summer, everyone wants them.”

  “I’m sorry,” Emma interrupted. “I’m trying to process this information. Lynn is in Mexico City. That leaves me, the maid of honor to take care of any last minute wedding details. Now tell me once again why you can’t get the flowers she requested.”

  “Well, as I was saying,” the flustered florist launched into another explanation. “Our regular supplier lives in an area that received heavy rain and flooding earlier this week. The greenhouse where they grow their lilies was flooded, and they lost most of their stock. I’ve spent the last couple of days since this unfortunate act of nature occurred trying to find another supplier.”

  “Okay, that sounds reasonable to me,” Emma told the florist. “I have noticed stargazer lilies appearing in more and more flower arrangements. I wouldn’t think they would be that hard to find.”

  “Normally they wouldn’t be,” the florist agreed. “However, this particular lily has grown so much in popularity it was a favorite among brides this summer. That combined with the fact that my supplier wasn’t the only one affected by the flood, and the added time constraint of the wedding being only a week away, I’m not s
ure I can get enough stargazer lilies to fill the order.”

  Emma took a deep breath. She could handle this crisis. Wasn’t that why she had come to Texas and the ranch so early? Well, that and to spend time with Lynn. Just look how well that had turned out. “What’s the backup plan?” she asked the florist. Surely as a business professional, the woman had a backup plan. Emma always had a backup lesson plan for her classroom. It was one of the reasons she’d been named teacher of the year at her school last year.

  “Well, we have been in business for over fifteen years, and I have always used this flower grower. We’ve never had a problem before. There has been record flooding this year,” the woman reminded Emma. “Normally we would have the bride okay a second flower choice, just in case we weren’t able to get enough of the stargazer lilies in time for the wedding.”

  “That’s a big problem because as I mentioned earlier, Lynn is not in the states. Her brother and I are still waiting to hear from her. Communication lines and towers were destroyed during the earthquake. Getting messages in and out of the area is not a simple task. If we wait until we’ve heard from her, it might be too late.”

  “I know that her brother is paying for the flowers because his name is on the account. Would it be possible for him to come by the shop and design a new bridal bouquet? One that he thought his sister would find just as appealing as the original.”

  Emma almost laughed out loud at the thought of Landon in a floral shop surrounded by hundreds of varieties of flowers. He probably wouldn’t know an iris from a snapdragon. Even if she managed to drag him to the flower shop, there was no telling what he might choose. “As I mentioned before, I’m the maid of honor. Making sure the wedding runs smoothly is my job. Besides Mr. James is busy with the ranch and he probably wouldn’t be all that comfortable looking at a bunch of flowers. Give me your address, and I’ll go ahead and drive by the shop. I can be there within the hour.”