“Oh,” Kaylee said, biting her lip, her cheeks pink. He glanced at her.
“Sorry. I’m nobody special.”
She nodded, but not as if she agreed, more like she wasn’t listening. After a moment, she must have realized it, because she flushed deeper. “I think you’re special.”
“Thank you. I like you, too.” And not just because she was hot and he wanted to get in her pants—although that didn’t hurt. It wasn’t even because she appealed to his protective instincts and gave him a chance to play hero. But he liked the way she looked, the way she sounded, the way she talked and smiled. The way he felt when he was with her.
Under normal circumstances he didn’t know her well enough to propose. He didn’t know much about her at all. But if she left, he’d never get the chance to learn more. And he knew he wanted to. He might not know much, but he knew he liked her. And for now, that was enough.
Chapter Six
KAYLEE WAS WORRIED, nerves gnawing at her stomach in ways even the baby couldn’t.
They’d made it all the way back to the Panorama Townhomes, and Owen still hadn’t said anything about getting married. He hadn’t let her say anything, either. And she had tried. More than once. But every time she’d opened her mouth—about that—he’d shut her down.
He’d probably realized what a stupid idiot he’d been. Of course he wouldn’t really want to be married to someone like her, even if it was just a sham. She was trailer trash: an unemployed college drop-out with nothing going for her except her looks—and she’d have those only until she became so pregnant she couldn’t hide it anymore. While Owen had a nice place to live and a good job, a new car and enough money to eat at places like La Belle Vie. He’d probably grown up in a nice house on a nice street with a nice mother who didn’t spend her disability checks on liquor and cigarettes. There’d been no parade of “uncles” through Owen’s front door. Of course he wouldn’t want to clutter up his orderly life with a girl like her. She was stupid. She’d let herself be charmed and bamboozled and knocked up by a smooth-talking liar. She wasn’t Owen’s problem, and he probably regretted asking her out in the first place. He’d have to be an idiot not to regret proposing. He was probably just trying to let her down easy. Feeding her expensive food and sparkling not-quite-wine and caramel pudding. Telling her she was beautiful. Just softening her up for the blow.
When he pulled up outside the condos and cut the engine, there was silence for a moment. Then he turned to her. “So.”
Kaylee’s heart was beating so hard he could probably see it through the dress, and she couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs to respond.
“We have to talk,” Owen said.
They did. But suddenly she was afraid of what he’d say. “You want to come in?”
He’d said he wasn’t expecting anything from her, but maybe, if she offered, he’d take her up on it. Maybe he’d realize that marrying her wouldn’t be so bad after all. That she had something to offer in return for his kindness.
He looked at her for a bit in silence. A bit longer than was comfortable. She had to force herself not to squirm. When he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she felt the rejection all the way down to her toes.
“I’m sorry. I...” She fumbled for the door handle, as those damn tears threatened again.
“Where are you going?” Owen asked, reaching out. His hand landed on her thigh and stayed there for a moment, until he must have realized what he was touching and he snatched it back. It was hard to see in the darkness inside the car, but she thought he blushed.
“We’re here. And you said you didn’t want to join me.”
“But we have to talk.”
“It’s OK.” She hadn’t given up trying to find the door handle, she was just feeling for it more surreptitiously now. “I understand. It was a stupid idea. I totally get why you wouldn’t want to go through with it.”
“Who says I don’t want to go through with it?” Owen said.
Kaylee stopped. Everything stopped. For a few seconds, she even stopped breathing. It was hard to get the words out past the lump in her throat. “You mean, you haven’t changed your mind?”
“Why would I change my mind?”
“You wouldn’t let me talk about it,” Kaylee said.
“I wanted privacy,” Owen answered, as if it was obvious. “No man wants to be rejected publicly.”
“You think I’m planning to reject you?”
He smiled. “I thought you might. It isn’t like I’m promising you anything wonderful. It’s just a place to live and medical benefits.”
It was more than anyone else was offering. And the fact that he didn’t think it was wonderful just showed how different they were. From where she was standing, it was a pretty damn good deal. Room and board and healthcare, all for nothing. She wouldn’t even have to sleep with him to get it.
Not that sleeping with him would have been a hardship.
“I’d be honored to marry you,” Kaylee said.
“Really?” She could have been mistaken, but she thought his voice squeaked.
“If you’re sure you want to marry me.”
“I’m sure,” Owen said. No squeak this time, so maybe she’d imagined it.
They sat in silence for a moment, just staring at one another.
Until Kaylee opened her mouth. She’d better just make sure she understood the way this was going to work. “Separate bedrooms, right?”
Owen nodded. “I swear. You’re safe from me.”
That wasn’t exactly what she was worried about, but OK. “No sex?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“What if you want to get off?”
He looked like her questions pained him. “Then I guess I’ll go find someone who’ll take care of me.”
He’d rather go out and find someone else for a one night stand than sleep with her? Not very flattering. It was probably because she was pregnant. In spite of what he said, he thought she was fat and ugly.
“What if I want some?”
He winced. “I guess... you’ll do the same.”
“Go out and find someone for a one night stand?”
“Yeah.” But he didn’t look happy about it.
“OK,” Kaylee said. “So when do we do it?”
“Do it?”
“Tie the knot. Get married.”
“Oh. Are you free Monday?”
“I’m free every day,” Kaylee said. “No job, remember?”
He nodded. “I’ll take the afternoon off on Monday. We can go to the courthouse and get married then.”
“So soon?”
“There’s no waiting period in Tennessee. And the sooner we’re married, the sooner I can put you on my insurance and get you to an obstetrician. But if you want more time to think about it...”
“No,” Kaylee said. “Monday’s fine. Are you sure the Norris Corporation will let you take time off with no notice?”
“I just won’t tell them what I’m doing,” Owen answered. “But yeah, they love me over there. It won’t be a problem.” He grinned. “I’ll pick you up at one, OK? We’ll drive to the courthouse together, get things done, and then I’ll help you move the rest of your stuff into my place. We’ll find you a doctor, too.”
Kaylee nodded, too overwhelmed to do anything else.
“Good,” Owen said. “I probably won’t see you tomorrow—I have a family thing—but I’ll pick you up at one on Monday. All right?”
“All right.” He had a family? “Um...”
“Yeah?”
“Are you planning to tell your family about it? About...” She hesitated, “us?”
Owen hesitated, too. “I don’t think so. Not tomorrow. I’ll have to eventually, but I think it’ll probably be better to wait until after. You know?”
Until after, when it was too late to do anything about it. She knew exactly what he meant, and wasn’t sure whether to shake him or plant a kiss on his lips. “Your family isn’t going
to be happy about this, are they?”
“I’m an adult,” Owen said. “If I want to get married, I can.”
Kaylee just looked at him, and after a second he added, “They love me. They want me to be happy. If they think I’m happy, they’ll be happy for me. Even if...”
“If?”
“Even if I didn’t invite my mother to the ceremony and she was cheated out of planning a big wedding.”
Kaylee felt herself turn pale, and Owen added, “She’ll get over it. And there’s always next time.”
Right. Next time. When he married for love, married someone he cared about, not just someone he wanted to help. Someone he wouldn’t expect to sleep in the spare bedroom, but a woman he loved and wanted to share his life and his bed with, not just his apartment and medical benefits.
“So is that it?” Kaylee asked. She knew she sounded abrupt, but she just couldn’t sit there and look at him anymore.
He nodded. “Are you tired?”
“Always.” She faked a yawn, and it turned into a real one.
“I’ll let you go. But I’ll see you Monday. If you change your mind in the meantime, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Did he want her to change her mind? “I will,” Kaylee said.
“Stay there.” He got out of the car and came around to fetch her. She wondered how long he’d keep telling her to stay, and whether he’d stop at some point. Perhaps when he thought he’d trained her to do what he wanted without him having to say it.
She waited for him to open the door and help her out. “You know, I’m not so far gone that I can’t get myself into and out of a car.” There’d come a time when she’d be glad for the help, but at the moment, she could manage on her own.
“I’m training myself,” Owen said. “If I do it now, I’ll still be doing it when you need it.”
He held her arm on the way to the door, and stood with her while she unlocked it. When the light was turned on in the hallway and she was ready to go in, he smiled. Kaylee held her breath as he bent to brush his lips over her cheek. “Good night, Kaylee. Sleep well. I’ll see you Monday.”
She nodded, and waited for him to walk away. When he didn’t, just nodded to the door, she went inside and closed it behind her. He stayed outside until he heard the lock slide home and the chain rattle, and then she heard him walk away. She listened as he walked into the condo next door, and heard him move around in there, before she went upstairs to get ready for bed.
Chapter Seven
“YOU MAY KISS the bride.”
Owen had known it was coming, but he’d done his best not to think about it. Going through his abbreviated wedding ceremony—which had Mendelssohn’s Wedding March piping from an iPhone—with a raging hard-on couldn’t be a good omen. Especially when the wedding night wouldn’t include any kind of delights beyond dinner and getting his wife settled in the spare room.
But first he had to kiss her. His brand new wife, who looked up at him with her eyes huge in her pale face, with uncertainly flickering in their depths, as if she wasn’t sure he’d want to.
If she had any idea what he really wanted to do to her, she’d probably faint dead away.
Or not. She wasn’t some blushing virgin. If he let her know he’d be open to some payback in the form of hot, sweaty sex, he doubted she’d be shocked, or even surprised. She probably expected it. Too bad he couldn’t take advantage of her that way. She’d needed help, he’d offered to give it to her, and turning around and demanding sexual repayment would be beyond low. Especially after he’d said he wouldn’t. It would put him on the same level with the lying sack of shit who’d left her in this position to begin with, and he wasn’t going there.
But he’d get to kiss her. And because they were standing in the county clerk’s office, with the clerk herself and a couple of witnesses, and those people would think it was strange if he refused, he’d have to make it look good.
What a shame.
He smiled at her, reassuringly, before he bent and fitted his lips over hers.
And immediately felt the kiss like a sucker punch to the gut.
She tasted of strawberries. Or maybe that was her shampoo. Whatever it was, the scent and taste of strawberries was all around, making him dizzy. And although he knew a quick kiss was all that was necessary, he couldn’t quite convince himself to stop. His lips lingered on Kaylee’s, reluctant to part. Seconds passed, and neither of them moved. Until she opened her mouth under his—probably thinking he was waiting for her to make the first move.
For a second, he allowed himself to taste her, to let his tongue sweep in to tangle with hers, and then he slapped a lid on the desire that rose. It took a few moments to extricate himself, and by then, the audience—clerk and witnesses—were grinning and applauding. Somehow, he’d managed not just to kiss Kaylee, but to cup her face in his hands and drive his fingers into her hair. It was soft and cool like water. And somewhere along the way, she had returned the favor, and had latched on to the lapels of his jacket and was holding on.
Or maybe she wasn’t holding on, maybe she was fighting the temptation to push him away.
Although it didn’t seem like she’d minded. She smiled at him, and she was so pretty it almost took his breath away.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor,” the clerk said, and Owen dragged his eyes away from Kaylee to smile back, automatically, and tend to business. They had to sign the marriage registry and shake hands all around, and then they were finished and on their way out. Married. Mr. and Mrs. Owen Taylor.
Not exactly the way he’d pictured it.
Not that he’d ever thought seriously about getting married before, although he supposed he’d had an image of it some-where in the back of his mind. He was seeing thirty on the horizon. It was still a few years off, but looming out there, and at some point, he knew he’d have to carry on the family name. His mother had had a few young women in mind for daughters-in-law, but none of them had ever appealed overmuch to Owen. Too proper. Too suitable. Too boring.
He wanted someone who’d curl up on the couch with him and share takeout pizza and a six-pack of beer in front of the TV, not someone who’d expect him to want to sit down to a four course dinner complete with wine and dessert when he came home from work.
Knowing his mother, he would probably have ended up with a big church wedding and a huge country club reception, with a live orchestra and an announcement in the newspaper. Not sneaking off to the county clerk’s office to do the deed without anyone knowing.
And not marrying someone like Kaylee.
His mother was going to have all sorts of fits over this. Maybe he should have warned her.
Or not. He was almost twenty-eight. If he wanted to get married on the sly, he could.
He hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, though, and she might take it that way.
But first things first: he had a brand new wife to take care of. He turned to her, and again, the fact that she was his wife—and that she was pretty—took his breath away.
She looked a little shell-shocked, her eyes huge and her face pale. Regrets already?
He touched her arm. “You OK?”
She nodded. “Just a little overwhelmed. I didn’t think it was going to feel so...” She hesitated, “real.”
Yeah. Him either. When they’d talked about it, it had seemed like no big deal. But standing there and hearing the clerk say, “for better or worse, through richer and poorer, in sickness and in health,” had scared the pants off him, and not in a good way. For a second or two, he’d been tempted to tell her to stop because he’d changed his mind. But then he’d looked at Kaylee, at the tiny baby bump under her dress, and had drawn strength from the fact that he was doing it for her, because she needed him. He would take care of Kaylee, and everything would be all right.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry,” Kaylee said.
“Where would you like to go? To celebrate?”
She hesitated. “W
ould it be OK if... could we just go home? And pick up a pizza or something?”
She wanted pizza for her wedding dinner? At home?
It was almost like a dream come true. Not to mention that the idea that his home was now her home—that they had a home, together—shut his brain down for a minute. But then he managed to get his vocal chords to cooperate. “Sure. If that’s what you want. We can go somewhere more special, though. I mean, it isn’t every day you get married.”
“I just want to go home,” Kaylee said.
“OK. We can go home.” He wished it was because she wanted to get him alone and undressed, but he knew better. “Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m a little tired,” Kaylee admitted. When he looked worried, she added, “It’s normal. I think it’s supposed to get better once I get through the first trimester. Along with the morning sickness.”
“How long until you’re through the first trimester?”
She shrugged. “As far as I’ve been able to tell, another week or so. But I don’t think it’s that specific. It won’t be to the day, you know?”
Probably not. But at least she wouldn’t be suffering with the morning sickness too much longer. He was sure she was looking forward to that. And now that she’d be puking in his bathroom, so was he.
He put his hand on her lower back as he walked her across the parking lot. “What do you want on your pizza?”
“Olives,” Kaylee said.
“That’s it?”
“Maybe some artichokes?”
Artichokes and olives? “What about pepperoni? Or sausage? Maybe some onions or mushrooms or peppers?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks.”
Artichokes and olives. “Is this some kind of pregnancy thing?”
“Probably,” Kaylee said. “I didn’t used to want olives and artichokes on my pizza. But now I do.”
Fine. Artichokes and olives it was. “Do you want anything else? Maybe some pickles and ice cream for dessert?”
“Ewww,” Kaylee said. “Not together!”
Friends With Benefits Page 5
