The Country Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book 4

by Lucy McConnell

  Christopher had said he’d be out for the evening, so Paige decided to put Kitty through a proper workout instead of just lunging her like she did when Annie May hogged the attention. She’d just finished saddling Kitty and was headed out to the arena when she saw Cody coming from the house. Stopping outside the gate, she waited for him to catch up, her stomach doing flips and dips at the sight of him. A part of her wished he’d pick up where they’d left off several days ago. Heaven knew her imagination had taken them to all sorts of places since then.

  “How’d it go?” she asked in an effort to keep it casual.

  Cody scratched his temple. “Good. I guess. I wanted to ask you ... do you think this is good for her?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Addison had talked nonstop about her mom for the last two days. While the girl blossomed with each bit of information, Cody came out of their time together looking worn through. Twice Paige caught herself reaching out to him, and twice she’d dashed away. Cody needed physical comfort, but Paige was sure that if she allowed herself a little rein, her attraction would stampede right over the top of any good intensions.

  Cody kicked a pebble away. “Knowing what I had and lost was excruciating. I thought I was protecting her from that pain, and now I’m filling her head with all the wonderful things about her mom that she’ll never know firsthand. I almost feel cruel.”

  “I don’t think you’re filling her head—I think you’re filling the holes in her heart.”

  Cody stepped closer. Six inches closer. “How do you do that?” he asked quietly.

  Paige’s heart pounded like a Clydesdale at a run. “Do what?”

  “How do you always know what to say?”

  Paige squirmed under his intense gaze. “I don’t. Not always. ”

  Cody reached out and touched her elbow. Paige’s skin tingled under his fingers, and her cheeks grew warm. Feeling as though she might fall right into Cody because her knees were weak, Paige tightened her grip on Kitty’s lead. Kitty shook her head, jingling her halter and jerking Paige’s arm from Cody’s hand. He stepped back, leaving Paige to wonder exactly where that moment would have gone if Kitty hadn’t interrupted.

  “Have a good ride.” Cody walked backward a few steps.

  “Thanks.” Paige opened the gate and brought Kitty through. She was about to shut it when Cody came trotting back. “Was there something else?” She hated the way her heart leapt with hope that he’d come back for her, to kiss her with all that she’d seen burn inside him the other night.

  “Yes. I thought it might be fun for Addison to invite one or two friends from dance class over for a pool party. It’s warm enough now, and the pool is heated.”

  Paige’s stomach knotted. Of course, Addison was his first and only concern.

  She hadn’t made any more progress with the moms than Addison had made with the girls. Mostly because she hadn’t tried. She and Addison were happy spending their time together. However, it was only natural that she should have some friends her own age. There was that one woman with the darling girl in pigtails … “I’ll see if we can’t set something up.”

  “Great. Just put it on the calendar when you get it figured out.”

  Paige nodded and gave what she hoped was a convincing smile. Sliding her foot in the stirrup, she swung her leg over the saddle and kicked Kitty into an easy trot around the fence line in an effort to put space between her and Cody. This attraction to him was distracting her from her true goal. Focus on the horses. Focus on the training. Focus on the little girl—and forget about Cody!

  Paige reined in Kitty and patted her neck, still forcing her thoughts to safe territory. She and Addison had formed a connection so quickly that Paige already ached at the thought of leaving. As hard as it would be for her, she couldn’t imagine what it would do to Addison. She really should make finding friends for Addison a higher priority. The bigger network of support that the girl had when Paige left, the less of a trauma it would be on her. The girl had already lost one mother—a mother she was barely getting to know—and Paige didn’t dare think of how she would feel losing another.

  She kicked Kitty into a lope. A warmth that had nothing to do with the setting sun washed over Paige, letting her know she was on the right track. Paige relaxed her hold on the reins and let the wind pull her hat off and her hair fly free.

  ***

  Cody watched Paige’s hat fly off and fought the urge to retrieve it for her. He didn’t want her to know he’d been watching her ride. Seeing Paige work her animals brought a sense of peace after the tumultuous exercise of talking about Kylee with Addison.

  Addison had reveled in his shared memories. While it wasn’t unpleasant to introduce Addison to her mother, it drew on his emotional reserves. There was something in the steady rhythm of the horse’s gait, the quiet evening air, and the blazing light at sunset that he could drink in and refuel.

  Usually, watching Paige calmed his troubled mind. However, tonight it had the opposite effect. Cody just had to speak to her. He’d concocted the idea of the playdate as an excuse, but when he was met by Paige’s warm grey-green eyes full of concern, all rational thoughts had flown away and he’d ended up babbling on about his innermost fears of hurting Addison.

  Then he’d made the mistake of touching her. Sure, it was just her arm, but that touch was meant to pull her closer, to decrease the space between them, to … what? What? He screamed inside his head. What were you going to do? Kiss her? Ridiculous.

  Kissing her was out of the question for several reasons. The first: they only met six days ago. The second: she was an employee of sorts, and that line should never be crossed. The third: this wasn’t that type of marriage.

  Neither was Gabe’s, and look how that turned out.

  Cody spun around and stormed into the house. Even though he wanted to kiss Paige and believed that by some miracle she wanted to kiss him back ... he couldn’t do it. Because if he allowed himself even the tiniest sample, he just knew he’d fall and fall hard for the woman. And that was something he couldn’t allow himself to do. Love was wonderful when you didn’t understand the risks involved. Cody knew the dangers of loving someone that deeply—that intimately. Surviving it once was a miracle, and Cody wasn’t dumb enough to believe he’d be allotted another one.

  Chapter 24

  Paige made sure Addison had her seatbelt on before she pulled out of the garage. “Your dad said we could invite some people over for a pool party. Is there someone from your dance class you’d like to have over?”

  Addison stared out the window. “Umm.”

  “Why don’t you look around today and see if there’s someone you’d like to get to know better, and then I’ll talk to her mom. Would that work?” Paige hoped so. She wanted Addison to feel comfortable having a friend over and decided to let her choose who should come instead of taking the easy way out and picking a mom she felt comfortable approaching.

  “Okay,” replied Addison, though her voice was so soft Paige almost missed it.

  The class seemed to go well. When it was over, Addison ran to Paige. “Can we invite Destiny?”

  “Which one is she?” Paige whispered.

  Addison pointed to the girl who had sniffed at Paige’s boots the first day.

  Paige wanted to ask, Why her? Destiny was two years older than Addison, wore makeup like a fifteen-year-old, and barely looked Addison’s way.

  Squaring her shoulders, Paige put on a brave face and made her way over to Destiny and her mom. “Hi. I’m Paige, and this is Addison.”

  Glancing up from her phone, the mom said, “Faith. Destiny.”

  Paige smiled at Destiny, who rolled her eyes and finished tying her street shoes. Determined to get through this, Paige said, “We were wondering if you’d like to come swimming one day.”

  “No way.” Destiny slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’m way too fat to get into a swimsuit.”

  Paige sputtered for a reply. The idea that an eight-year-old would think they were
fat was incomprehensible.

  Faith didn’t bat an eyelash at the remark. “I guess that means no.” She shoved Destiny towards the door. “I’m late for Zumba—move.”

  Addison looked up at Paige and Paige looked down at her. They shrugged their shoulders at the same time. The hallway had gone quiet during their little exchange, and Paige could feel the pity from some, disdain from others, scratch against her skin.

  She shuffled her boots. As uncomfortable as it was to fail at making a friend in front of strangers, Paige dreaded telling Cody. He’d married her believing she could do something simple like get a couple six-year-olds together. And it shouldn’t have been this hard. Paige had been herding children into social groups since she was barely in her teens.

  Addison hung her head, no doubt feeling the stares of those left waiting for their rides. She shouldn’t take the rejection to heart. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her. She wasn’t the best dancer in the class, but she wasn’t a buffoon either. And she’d really come out of her shell the last couple of days. Destiny didn’t know what she was missing!

  Paige searched for a way to distract them both and leave on a positive note. “How about we paint my room?”

  Addison gave Paige one of her full-face smiles. “Yeah.”

  Paige hoped a day of moving furniture around and painting walls would keep Addison from thinking about Destiny and give her the chance to come up with a way to tell Cody she’d failed.

  ***

  Cody opened the door and was enveloped by the smell of roast chicken and gravy. “You’re spoiling us,” he told Paige as he loosened his tie. She was a vision with her hair pulled back in a big, messy knot under her left ear, her turquoise apron, tight-fitting jeans, and bare feet. He immediately wanted to stand behind her, his hands on her hips, and kiss her bare neck.

  “This?” She pointed to the steaming platter in front of her. “This is nothing.”

  He grinned. “Then I can’t wait to see something.”

  She threw a smile over her shoulder as she lifted a pan of ranch potato wedges from the oven. “That would be dessert.”

  Cody rolled up his sleeves, ready to help. The table was set and the food was out. “Where’s Addison?”

  “She’s putting on her PJs. We made a bit of a mess of ourselves painting today, so she needed an early bath.”

  Painting? Oh, her room. Cody washed his hands before sitting down at the table. He was kind of excited to see what she’d done. “Can I see it?”

  “Sure.”

  Addison came bounding down the stairs and took her seat. “I made the salad.”

  Cody smiled. “It looks wonderful. Who cut the veggies?”

  “I did.” Addison beamed.

  Cody’s eyes cut to Paige. “You let her use a chopping knife?”

  Paige laughed. “No. I picked up these kid-safe plastic knives today. They did great on everything but the tomatoes.”

  Cody looked a little closer and saw that the tomatoes were indeed smashed and uneven. “It looks delicious.”

  “Yep. And salad won’t make you fat,” added Addison.

  Cody chuckled. “I suppose it won’t.”

  He tried to catch Paige’s eye to share a little grown-up amusement at Addison’s observation, but Paige was staring down at her napkin. He cleared his throat and they held hands to offer grace.

  Cody took a spoonful of potatoes for himself and then scooped one for Addison.

  “No thanks,” she said.

  “But you love potatoes.”

  “I’m just eating salad.”

  Paige’s shoulders slumped, and Cody wondered what was going on. “You need to eat a little of everything to stay healthy.”

  Addison shook her head. “I don’t want to look fat in my swimsuit so I can’t eat as much.”

  Cody saw red. He cursed silently. Paige finally met his questioning gaze, and he lifted an eyebrow in a silent demand for answers as to why his daughter thought she was fat.

  Instead of diving into an explanation, Paige put her hand on Addison’s back. “Sweetie, you are the perfect size for your age. And with all the work you did today, you need to eat so your body has energy.”

  Addison pushed her plate away. “Destiny thinks she’s fat. And I heard Alexi ask if her dance costume made her look fat.”

  Squeezing his fork in his fist until it bent, Cody asked, “Who are these people?”

  Paige answered, “They’re girls in Addison’s dance class.”

  “That class is supposed to be for six- to eight-year-olds.”

  Paige’s eyes went all gray. “It is.”

  Cody set his misshapen fork on the table. “Addison, look at me.” She lifted her brown eyes, and Cody wished he could make all the pain in her life disappear with the snap of his fingers. “Paige is right: you’re perfect just like you are.”

  “Then why doesn’t Destiny want to play with me?”

  Cody wanted to yell out all sorts of obscenities and curse this child who had hurt his little girl.

  As he was editing his anger, Paige slid her seat out and pulled Addison onto her lap, where she wrapped her up in her arms. Cody moved over to Addison’s seat so he could put his hand on her back. It was the closest he’d allowed himself to get to Paige in days, but he felt it safe with Addison between them. Funny how his little girl had brought them together and now was the best way to keep them apart.

  “When I was in the second grade, there was this girl who made fun of my hair every day,” said Paige.

  Addison sniffed. “Why?”

  “Because it was different. No one else had hair like mine, and she told the other kids not to play with me.”

  Great, one more little girl I want to let have it. Cody didn’t have anything productive to add, so he bit his tongue.

  “But it’s pretty,” said Addison.

  “Thank you. And you know what? You are pretty, too. Just the way you are.”

  Addison sniffed again.

  “God made each of us, and He doesn’t make mistakes.”

  Addison snuggled into Paige.

  “God also made food for us to eat …” Paige tickled Addison’s side.

  Addison giggled and squirmed to get away. Paige pecked a kiss on her cheek and let her slide off her lap. Cody moved back to his chair, feeling like a third wheel and extremely grateful for Paige’s soft approach. Addison scooped herself some potatoes and Paige added a chicken leg to her plate.

  Paige might have taken care of this little incident, but he was going to make sure it never happened again. “Hey, I have tomorrow morning off. Can I come see what you’re working on in class?”

  Addison nodded happily, her mouth too full to talk.

  Paige scrunched her brow. “You’re coming with us?”

  Cody avoided her gaze. “I thought I’d just take her. Your personal trainer is coming, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah, but we should be done by eight.”

  Cody picked up his fork and straightened it out as best he could, feeling chagrin that he’d let his anger get the better of him and vowing that he’d be in control tomorrow. “The morning is yours. We’ll go to an early lunch and be back around noon.”

  He could feel Paige’s eyes boring into him. She was upset that he was stepping in; he could hear it in her tone and feel in the air. How he’d become so attuned to her moods in such a short time, he’d never understand. Cody tucked into his dinner with gusto. In time, Paige would see that this was the right course of action. He was Addison’s dad; it was his job to protect her, and he’d make sure he did.

  ***

  Paige went to bed still upset about Cody dismissing her for the morning. Yes, she’d messed up, but he didn’t have to charge in and take over! Besides, he had no idea what he was in for.

  She tossed and turned on the upstairs sofa. Her room had still smelled heavily of fresh paint and she didn’t want to sleep in the fumes, so she’d dragged a blanket out to the couch and fretted there.

  At six
, her phone chirped with a text from Trish. Put on a swimsuit and meet me by the pool, we’ll be there in five. Paige hurried to get dressed and then dashed out to the gate, where she saw a car coming down the lane.

  Trish hopped out and hurried over for a hug. “I’ve been out of town and thinking about you constantly. I feel like I’ve dropped the ball with you. I’m so sorry. How are things?”

  Not wanting to admit that Cody swooping in like an overzealous knight in shining armor made her feel less than adequate, Paige folded her arms and said, “Fine.”

  “How’s Addison?”

  This time the answer came easily. “She loved the dress you picked out. She even wore it to church the next day.”

  “Oh.” Trish’s hand went to her heart.

  Tires crunched on the drive, and Paige turned to see a red four-wheel-drive jeep coming their way.

  “Good,” said Trish. “I had a hard time finding a local trainer for you. Everyone I called said they only trained horses.”

  Paige smirked. “That’s what you get when you live in a town that rivals Lexington for horse capital of the world.”

  Trish wrinkled her nose, and Paige laughed. “Landon should be good. He’s a former professional swimmer.”

  Paige lifted her eyebrows as a long and lean man slid out of the driver’s side. He had on a pair of swim trunks and a white tank top. Paige couldn’t help but compare him to Cody. Cody was a little taller and broader in the shoulders, while this guy was straight up and down. His hair was long and stringy, but then, that’s the way a lot of athletes wore their hair these days. He had a friendly smile, and Paige—deciding he paled to Cody in looks—felt at ease right away.

  Within minutes, her new trainer had her doing laps in the pool. She surfaced in the shallow end next to Landon.