Marry Me, Kate

by Judy Christenberry

  He pressed his advantage. “In fact, I think you should turn around and kiss me. Otherwise, you’re in violation of our agreement and I’ll have to ask for my money back.” He grinned, sure she’d realize he was teasing her.

  Instead she slumped against him, her head falling, and muttered. “I think that would be best.”

  Now he knew he was in serious trouble. Kate wouldn’t let just anything come between her and the restoration of the diner. Witness their pretend engagement.

  “Honey,” he whispered, holding her closer to him, “tell me what’s wrong. You know we don’t want to tear up the agreement. It’s good for both of us.”

  “You lied to me.”

  She stiffened against him, her hands pulling at his as they clasped her waist.

  “How did I lie to you?”

  “You said that ring was a cubic zirconia!”

  “I didn’t say it was a cubic zirconia.”

  “Okay. You let me think it was a cubic zirconia. Instead it’s a rare diamond you paid twenty-five thousand dollars for. That’s half of what you’re paying me. If I’d lost it, I couldn’t—” Her voice had begun to tremble halfway through her words and she broke off as the trembling extended to her tense body.

  He snuggled closer, if it was possible, and whispered, “Someone’s got a big mouth.”

  She sniffed. “Well, it certainly isn’t you.”

  “And this is what all the fireworks were about?”

  With an explosive force, she spun around, breaking free of him. “Don’t you think it deserved fireworks?”

  “Nope.”

  “I can’t wear that expensive a ring! I don’t—I’ll lose it.”

  “If you do, it’s insured. I’ll get you another one.”

  “Why did you buy this one? Our engagement is a—”

  His lips covered hers to stop her from announcing their relationship a sham. At least that’s why he told himself he kissed her. Once their lips touched and her heat removed all trace of the crisp coolness of fall in Kansas City, he didn’t care why he was kissing her.

  As long as he could.

  She finally broke away from him, her breathing as labored as his. “We have to s-stop.”

  “Right,” he agreed, but his gaze remained glued on her lips, in case he saw any indication that she wanted to renew their embrace.

  “Will!”

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re not listening,” she complained.

  He shook his head, in an attempt to break the spell of their embrace, and said, “Okay, I’m listening now. Look, I’ve got dinner reservations—” he paused to check his watch “—in ten minutes. Let’s get some food and talk reasonably about this situation.”

  At first he thought she was going to refuse, then she looked down at herself. “I should change.”

  “No. You look terrific.”

  And she did, dressed in a forest green sweater and skirt that made her eyes glow. Or maybe that had been the anger. Either way, she would draw any man’s eye.

  He could hardly look away.

  “All right.”

  It took him a moment to realize she’d agreed. Then he hurriedly opened the front door and helped her in before rushing around to the driver’s side. He had a fear she might change her mind and sprint for that very slammable door in the diner if he didn’t.

  Once they were seated in the restaurant he’d chosen and the hovering waiter had been dispensed with, he reached into his coat pocket for the ring.

  Holding it in front of her, he asked, “Did you not like it?”

  A flash of fire in her eyes warned him that he’d asked the wrong question. “You know I loved it!”

  “Good. Listen to me, Kate. If I’d bought a cubic zirconia, the news would’ve run through our crowd like wildfire. Everyone would believe our engagement was as fake as the ring.”

  She frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. Are you sure?”

  “How long did it take you to find out about the ring?”

  “One afternoon, but I just happened to be waited on by the wife of the man who sold you the ring.”

  “Lucky me,” he said with a sigh. “Honey, he’s going to brag about his commission, if nothing else. But there are gossip columnists who pay for that kind of information. Word would get out.”

  “But it’s so expensive.”

  “Kate, I told you it’s insured. Besides, it reminded me of you.”

  “Why?” she asked with solemn green eyes.

  “Because it’s all bright and shiny and over the top.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

  He grinned. “Oh, yeah, it’s a compliment. Now, will you please take back the ring?”

  “You’re sure it’s insured?”

  “I’m sure.” Reaching over for her hand, he slid the ring on her third finger, left hand, and then blinked as the flash from a camera blinded him.

  “Damn!”

  “Good evening, Mr. Hardison,” a chirpy voice said.

  When he could see, Will recognized a society reporter he’d seen at various events. “Good evening, Ms. James.”

  “Oh, make it Viola. We’ve known each other forever. But I don’t think I’ve met your companion.”

  Will looked at Kate, hoping she would realize now was not the time to be difficult. “I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Kathryn O’Connor.”

  Kate nodded but said nothing.

  “Then this is an auspicious occasion. May I see the ring?”

  Will nodded when Kate looked at him, a question in her eyes. Then she extended her left hand.

  “Wow! You are one lucky young woman.”

  “Actually I’m the lucky man,” Will said humedly.

  “Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll have my photographer take a picture of the two of you toasting your future. It’ll make a great photo for the paper, too, but I’ll send you a copy.”

  They posed because Will knew that was the fastest way to be left alone. Viola had stalked him for several years, taking his photo every time he was out with a different woman. He believed his mother either paid or encouraged the reporter.

  After tonight, Viola’s interest in him as an available man should diminish.

  The waiter brought their meal and Viola faded away.

  “Does this happen to you often?” Kate finally asked, her voice subdued.

  “Actually no. I’ve never gotten engaged before.” He grined, hoping to tease her back to a smile.

  “You know what I mean. Someone following you around, taking your picture when you least expect it.”

  “Yeah. But in the future, they won’t have any interest in me, because I’ll be safely married.”

  She gnawed on her bottom lip, and Will remembered its softness when he kissed her by the car. Heat coiled in his gut.

  “I think I have more sympathy for you now than I did. I thought you were being a little overly dramatic about everything.”

  “After meeting my mother?”

  “Will, I believe you’re too hard on your mother. She’s really very sweet.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I said—”

  “Never mind. I heard you. I just can’t believe you said it.”

  “She was very nice to me this afternoon.”

  “Kate, she has hounded my very existence since my father died. Demanding I supply her with whatever amount of money she wants, forcing me to make public appearances, trying to marry me off to every debutante who appeared on the scene. She’s made my life hell!”

  “But I think that’s because she’s lonely.”

  With dramatic flair, he smacked his forehead before muttering, “I can’t believe you’ve gone over to the enemy’s side. How could you betray me like that?”

  He was trying to make her laugh, but inside there was a nagging hurt that she didn’t see his mother as he saw her.

  Somehow, she must have sensed his deeper feelings. Reaching out to put her hand on his arm, she said, “I’m
not supporting your mother’s behavior, Will. I understand that it might have, er, made your life difficult. But—If you’d marry and give her some grandchildren, I think she’d be a lot happier.”

  He took a bite of his veal and chewed it thoroughly before he answered. “I am marrying. Want to rework the contract? One grandchild? Two? How many do you think would satisfy her? And we won’t worry about how a divorce would affect our children. After all, it’s part of the agreement.”

  His sarcastic response silenced Kate. Maybe she’d had no business advising him about his mother, but the woman increasingly seemed more pathetic than vicious.

  And Will’s obviously false offer to give her a child lit a flame deep within Kate. She’d already begun to think along those lines before she returned from France. Though all her energies were focused on the diner and putting herself in a position to help her family, she was more aware than ever, after Pop’s death, of the frailty of life.

  “Kate?”

  “Yes?” She met his gaze, hoping he couldn’t read anything in her gaze.

  “I let my temper get away from me. I apologize.”

  Relief flooded her. “I don’t think I can hold that minor reaction against you after my major blowup earlier.”

  “You mean that 10-rounder we had at the diner?” he teased, a grin on his lips.

  Such a gorgeous mouth. And it could bring such magic. She dismissed those crazy thoughts. “Yes, I’m afraid so. Pop always warned me about my temper. I thought I’d done a good job of controlling it until I met you.”

  “It’s not often I lose mine, either. Maybe we have a strange effect on each other.”

  She already knew that. Only it wasn’t her temper she was worried about losing.

  The closer they got to Will’s house, the more tense Kate became. Not only did the elegance of the house intimidate her, but also the close proximity to Will’s sexy body did nothing to calm her.

  “Here we are,” Will announced unnecessarily as he pulled under the porte cochere at the side of the house.

  “I don’t have my car. I’ll need—”

  “I’ll take you to the diner in the morning, honey, and then you’ll be able to come home when you’re ready. I’ll get you some keys made, too, though Betty is usually here.”

  “Does your housekeeper live in?”

  “Yeah, she has her own apartment just over the garage.”

  But not actually in the house. If Kate left her room late at night, there would be no one to see if she returned to her own bed. Or visited anyone else’s bed.

  Stop that! She was determined to keep her distance. The man had no permanent plans with her. He’d been honest about the duration of their relationship. But candlelight dinners didn’t help her resistance.

  She’d concentrate on her family. Pop was gone now, and she was the eldest. It was up to her to be there for her family. To make up to Susan for Pop’s absence in her life. She and Maggie were resolved on that.

  So she had no time for William Hardison.

  The minute he opened the door, she remembered the newest addition to her family. “Duke!” She swept the puppy up into her arms and beamed at Will.

  “I can see you’ll be a lot of help disciplining that monster.”

  “Don’t call him names,” she ordered, snuggling the wriggling puppy against her.

  “Like he knows the difference.” But in spite of his words, his hand reached out to caress the puppy, who almost bent over backward to lick Will’s hand.

  “I can see you’ve cowed him with your cruelty,” she said, grinning, forgetting her resolve to be distant.

  “Yeah, well, he kind of gets under your skin. Until you accidentally step into a puddle he’s left for a surprise.”

  “Oh, no! Your beautiful house. I’m so sorry, Will, I didn’t think about that. We’ll start paper-training him right away.”

  “I should’ve thought of that, but I’ve never had a puppy before.”

  “I’m sorry. I think every child should have a pet.”

  “Waking up with doggy breath in my face makes me question that sentiment.”

  Kate noticed he continued to stroke Duke as he complained.

  “You let him sleep with you?”

  “He cries. If I don’t let him in bed with me, I don’t get any sleep, either.”

  “And you were talking about me not being able to discipline?”

  “Maybe we can learn together.”

  She nodded in agreement, but inside she warned herself to avoid any joint projects with William Hardison. He was too much temptation.

  “Um, I need to call Maggie before it gets too late. I haven’t told her that I won’t be at the diner. She’ll get worried.”

  “Of course. Let me show you your room. And I’ll write down the number for you. We can have Maggie, and Susan, too, over for dinner soon, so they’ll be comfortable here. I want you to treat my house as your own.”

  The tension was returning. Kate followed Will up the wide staircase in the center of the house. Upstairs, he opened the second door on the right, and she slipped past him into a wide, spacious room, decorated in peach and baby blue.

  “Lovely,” she murmured, comparing it to the scruffy room she’d called home.

  “If there’s anything you don’t like, we can change it. The color? Would you prefer a different color?”

  “Will, it’s temporary, remember?” He was making her more and more nervous.

  “Of course. I didn’t mean—but we can still redecorate if you want.”

  “No, the room is fine.”

  “You have your own bath,” he said, pointing to a corner door by the wide, beautifully draped windows.

  “How convenient.”

  “I’ll tell Betty to be sure you have a good supply of everything.”

  “Will, I’ll be fine.”

  He crossed to the bed and took a notepad from the bedside table. “Here’s the number to give to Maggie.” As he put it down, he moved to the door. “I’ll bring up your belongings.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t move toward the phone, which happened to be beside the bed, until he had closed the door behind him.

  Only then did she call her sister.

  “Maggie, have you gone to bed?”

  “No, I was just getting ready to, though. It’s ten o’clock.”

  Good old conservative Maggie.

  “I tried to call you tonight. Where were you?” Maggie asked before Kate could explain the reason for her call.

  “Out to dinner.”

  “With whom?”

  “Maggie, I called for a reason. I need to give you a new number where you can reach me.”

  Dead silence.

  Then Maggie, her voice cautious, said, “What do you mean? Aren’t you at the diner?”

  “No.”

  “I have room for you here, Kate. I don’t like the idea of you wasting money on a hotel.”

  Kate swallowed. This conversation was more difficult than she’d envisioned it.

  “I’m not at a hotel, Maggie.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Um, I’m—I’m at my fiancé’s house.”

  Chapter Ten

  “William, I can’t arrange the wedding.”

  In the midst of a management strategy meeting, Will couldn’t indulge in a lengthy conversation with his mother. “I’m not going to argue with you about marrying Kate,” he said in a low voice.

  “No, you don’t understand. I still don’t approve of the marriage, though Kathryn is better than I thought. But I can’t line up a caterer or a florist for the date you gave me. I got lucky on the engagement party because there was a cancellation, but the marriage date is impossible.”

  “Mother, I’m in the middle of a meeting. I’ll—I’ll choose an alternate date later and call you.”

  He tried to turn his attention back to the meeting. He was engineering a takeover of a frozen foods firm that would change the future of his company. He couldn’t afford to make m
istakes. But a postponement of the wedding bothered him.

  He’d been sharing his house with Kate for four days. Four days of heaven and hell. He loved starting his day with a cup of coffee and Kate. Her disheveled beauty stirred him beyond belief. A rumpled Kate was sexier than any bandbox beauty he’d ever seen.

  Unfortunately that attraction was also his hell. He couldn’t do anything about satisfying his desire. And it needed satisfying. He told himself he wouldn’t want her so much if he could look forward to sharing a bed with her. But that blasted agreement, at his insistence, made any liaison between them impossible.

  “Damned idiot!” he muttered to himself.

  His right-hand man, Brian Downey, halted in midsentence. “I beg your pardon, Will. I thought you agreed with me.”

  He apologized immediately. “I do. It’s this damned wedding that—” he broke off, realizing he hadn’t informed his management team of his imminent nuptials. It took several minutes to calm the excitement that raced through them.

  “Of course I’ll introduce Kate to you. You’ll all receive invitations to the party Friday night. In fact, they were mailed yesterday.”

  “Friday night?” someone gasped. “But I was going to—but I’ll be there, sir. It’s just short notice.”

  “Please, don’t change your plans on my account. I know it’s short notice, but I didn’t want to wait.”

  His cheeks burned as he realized how eager he sounded. And he would be, too, if it meant he could take Kate to his bed. He explained his mother’s message.

  “Too bad you can’t change the engagement party to a wedding since you’ve already got the caterer,” Brian offered with a chuckle. Several men joined in the laughter, pointing out the reaction of the women present to such an outrageous suggestion.

  Will brought the meeting back to its original purpose, but Brian’s suggestion kept playing over and over in his mind. He wouldn’t mind upsetting his mother, and in turn the rest of Kansas City society. In fact, that had been the plan all along. The only person he was concerned about was Kate.

  Would she agree to marry Friday night?

  As soon as his meeting was finished, he told his secretary to cancel the rest of his appointments and then he headed for the diner. All the way over, he marshaled his arguments.