The Best Bride

by Susan Mallery

  “Later. This is important.”

  She moved down the hallway to Kyle’s study. They were in his and Sandy’s house, not far from the gatehouse where she and Nick were staying. It would be safer to have this conversation there, but Hannah didn’t want to make anyone suspicious.

  When he entered the room, she closed the door behind him and leaned against it. “Why haven’t you received your phone call?” she asked.

  He folded his arms over his chest and stared down at her. She really hated that he could do that. She was as tall as many men, taller than some. She was used to being their equal. In low heels, as she wore tonight, she often felt like an awkward Amazonian who’d wandered by accident into the real world. But around Nick, she felt normal, damn him. Feminine even. And those feelings made her uncomfortable.

  “I’m not leaving.”

  She was so intent on studying the perfect blue of his eyes and the shape of his tempting mouth that it took her a second to register his reply.

  “You’re what?” she shrieked, then consciously lowered her voice. “What do you mean you’re not leaving?”

  “Just what I said. There’s not going to be a pretend phone call.”

  “There sure as hell is,” she told him. “Even if I have to make it myself.”

  He shrugged, apparently unconcerned by the threat. “Go ahead. I’ll disappear for a few minutes, then come back and tell everyone I’ve taken care of it. They won’t ask questions. Your family likes me, Hannah. They want me to stay.”

  Unfortunately, he was telling the truth.

  Now what? He had to go. He had to. She didn’t think she could stand being around him for two whole weeks. Anything could happen. They could blow their cover. Or worse. The tingling she felt when he was around could become something even more dangerous. She could start to care. And she knew the price of that.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked. “Do you want to punish me for something?”

  He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “You won’t believe me, but I’m doing this for you, not to make you crazy. You need my help to connect with your family and I’m going to stay until you feel settled with them.”

  She was humiliated that he would think she was so socially inept, even if it was true. And a little voice in her head crowed with excitement at the thought of spending several more days in his company. She would have missed him terribly. But she refused to make it easy on him.

  “I thought we had a deal,” she said.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t charge you extra for the time. And maybe I’ll let you see me naked again.”

  Chapter Nine

  Hannah was fuming. He could tell by the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her thick braid hung over one shoulder and the tightly bound end teased the top of her breast. Nick would have liked to replace that rope of hair with his fingers, but doubted Hannah was much in the mood to be seduced by him or anyone.

  She planted her hands on her hips. “How dare you go back on our agreement?”

  He pretended to be shocked and hurt. “I’m doing you this big favor and you’re angry with me? Lady, you got a problem here. I’m willing to stay and be your husband, and I’m not even asking for more money. Do you know how much I can make in a week? Do you know how many people—women—would be begging to have me around?”

  “Then go be with one of them and satisfy their wildest desires.”

  Who satisfies your wildest desires? But he didn’t ask the question.

  “Face it, kid. You need me.”

  She stamped her foot. “I do not.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, because you’re so mature and poised.”

  “I am mature.” She stamped her foot again, then realized what she’d done and turned away. “Dammit, Nick, quit bringing out the worst in me.”

  The room grew silent. He walked toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I mean it, Hannah. You need me. This family stuff scares you to death. You don’t know what to do or say. There are too many of them and only one of you. I can help. You’ve seen that.”

  “By telling them I can sing and play the piano?”

  “By being on your side. Trust me.”

  She turned toward him, and his hands fell to his sides. Her gaze searched his. “Why are you doing this? Why do you want to help?”

  It would be easy to put her off with lies. He had a thousand at the ready. But this was Hannah, and for reasons he didn’t want to think about, he needed to tell her the truth.

  “Two reasons. Things are a little hot for me down south,” he said. “I could head over to Vegas or Reno, but I’d rather stay here with you. No one’s going to come looking for me in Glenwood.”

  She shivered slightly. If he hadn’t been staring at her intently, he wouldn’t have noticed. An involuntary reaction to the reminder that he was a criminal. A man on the wrong side of the law. He swore silently. He wanted to tell her the truth. But he wouldn’t. Not just because he wasn’t about to jeopardize his cover after all this time, but because if she knew the truth, then their situation would get about a hundred times more complicated.

  “What’s the second reason?” she asked.

  “Because I care about you, and I sincerely want to help.”

  He braced himself for the inevitable scathing retort, but instead her eyes filled with pain.

  “Don’t joke about that,” she said, then looked away. “I’m not at my best right now and it wouldn’t take much to push me over the edge.”

  Before he could stop himself, he placed his arms around her and pulled her close. “I wasn’t joking. I swear.”

  He’d told the truth. Saying he cared was flirting with danger, but it didn’t cross the line. He could walk away from her in a second and never miss her. As long as that was true, he was safe.

  “Don’t,” she said and pulled back. “Don’t make it more than it is. We had a deal, nothing more.” She moved to the door. “I hired you to play my husband for the weekend and that’s all I want. I’ve got your money in my purse. I’ll go get it and you can be on your way.”

  Before he could stop her, she pulled open the door and stepped into the hallway. He heard a gasp and quickly followed. Travis was standing in the middle of the hall. He glanced from Nick to Hannah.

  “Is anything wrong?”

  She wordlessly shook her head.

  Travis nodded and headed for the kitchen. Nick watched him go. Danger signals flashed and his gut confirmed what he’d already guessed. Travis had heard some, maybe all, of the conversation.

  * * *

  Hannah tried not to hyperventilate as she sipped her coffee while sitting in the large, pleasantly furnished living room. Thoughts whirled through her head. Was Nick leaving? What if he wasn’t? What if he really planned to stay?

  If she’d realized how large and complicated her family was going to be, she would have come clean about not being married from the very beginning. But it was too late now. She felt trapped by a situation she could no longer control.

  It wasn’t just about Louise and the brothers, she admitted to herself as she smiled and attempted to make polite conversation with Holly. Although she regretted the lies, she would soon be making them right. The real danger came from another source completely. From Nick.

  Because there was a part of her that didn’t want him to leave. A part of her that had been thrilled when he’d said he was staying. She’d wanted to go to him and kiss him and confess that she often thought about their kisses and imagined doing so much more.

  Lord help her, she liked him. Worse, she wanted him. Even as she tried to convince herself it was all right because he was funny and kind and he’d even said that he cared about her, she knew it was wrong.

  Caring. What did caring matter in the face of who he was and what he did?

  She glanced around the room, at her brothers and their wives, at Austin and Rebecca, finally at Louise. She desperately wanted to be a part of this family. With equal fervor, she was terrified it would all
be snatched away from her. She knew that fear would cause her to hold herself back when she should be moving forward. This fear would make her seem cold and standoffish; it would make her question their motives.

  Nick was right. She didn’t know how to make the relationship with her family work. She needed him. She who had never needed anyone. But could she trust him?

  More important, could she trust herself?

  The questions continued to whirl. She remembered the stock her brothers had tried to give her. What would these honorable men say if they knew she’d lied to them and Louise?

  Her attention settled on Travis. He’d been standing right outside the study door when she’d opened it, but she didn’t think he’d heard anything. If he had, surely he would have mentioned it. But he hadn’t said a word.

  A knock sounded at the front door. Louise glanced at her watch, sprang to her feet and announced, “I’ll get it.”

  Jordan chuckled. “I can guess who that is.”

  “Hush,” Louise hissed as she walked past him. “It’s not a big deal. I swear, you boys are more trouble than you’re worth.”

  Hannah looked at Nick sitting by the fireplace, but he just shrugged. Jordan caught their confused exchange. “Your mother has a beau,” he explained.

  “I do not,” Louise called, then opened the front door. “Richard, ah, Professor Wilson, how kind of you to drop by.”

  Hannah strained to see into the foyer, but it was impossible from her place in the room.

  A low voice said, “Louise. Sorry I’m late. My flight was delayed. I came directly from the airport. Is she here?”

  “Yes, and her husband, too. You must come meet them.”

  Hannah stood up as Louise came in with a man. He was in his mid-to-late-thirties with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a pleasant face and an easy smile. He looked at her and came over to introduce himself.

  “Hannah. I’m Richard Wilson. I’m so pleased to finally meet you. You’re as pretty as your mother.”

  Hannah laughed. “And here I thought I looked like the Haynes brothers.”

  They shook hands.

  “You must be Nick,” Richard said.

  She hadn’t heard Nick approach, but there he stood, right beside her. He also shook hands, then someone pulled out a chair for the professor and brought him a cup of coffee.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. “I was speaking before a congressional committee most of the week, then I had a reception to attend last night. Then this morning…” He waved his hand. “Sorry. It’s not important. The point is, I’m here now and I’m happy for both you and Louise.”

  He sat in the wing chair and Louise perched nervously on the arm. Hannah settled on the closest sofa, with Nick at her side. The rest of the family greeted Richard, then drifted out of the room to leave the four of them alone.

  “I don’t know that she looks all that much like me,” Louise said, “but I’ll agree with the pretty part.”

  “The eyes have the same shape, if not the color,” Richard said. “And her smile is yours.”

  “We have the same hair color,” Louise said in a mock whisper. “At least, we did until I learned that what they say about blondes is really true.”

  Richard smiled indulgently at her. Louise squeezed his hand. Although there was an obvious age difference between them, they looked right together—happy.

  Hannah studied them for a second, then realized the room was silent. She searched her mind for something to say.

  “You met in a college class?” Nick asked.

  Hannah exhaled in relief. At least Nick wasn’t a social retard. She could always count on him to come up with something.

  “That’s right,” Richard said. “Louise was in my night class. I noticed her right away.”

  The older woman laughed and her bright red glass earrings bounced against her shoulders. Tonight, Louise was conservatively dressed, for her anyway. She wore a red Western-cut fringed shirt, tight black jeans and red boots. The narrow belt at her slender waist emphasized full hips and breasts. Hannah had inherited her general shape, although her attributes were much more modest.

  Louise looked fondly at Richard. “He noticed me because I didn’t agree with anything he said.”

  Richard nodded in agreement. “I teach sociology and in my evening classes I tend to use examples from real life. I also like to get discussions going.”

  “I told him he was a pompous pig who had never spent time poor, divorced or female, and he didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he asked me to stay after class.”

  “To rake you over the coals?” Nick asked.

  Louise shook her head. “No, to invite me for coffee with a few of his graduate students. I still didn’t like him, but I wanted to meet some of the others. I figured I’d just avoid Richard.”

  He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “And she did. For about three months. Until I confessed my feelings in the parking lot after class. I think it was raining.”

  Louise blushed. “He said that he found me interesting.”

  “I said more than that.”

  “Hush. This is my daughter. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.” Louise paused. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I doubt that,” Hannah said, then clamped her lips together to keep from blurting out that she was jealous. Louise and Richard obviously had a special relationship. They adored each other. Hannah couldn’t believe it, but her mother was actually glowing.

  Louise shook her head. “You’re shocked. Because Richard is so much younger.”

  “Is that important?” Hannah asked, baffled at the notion. “It happens all the time.”

  “The man is older,” Louise said. “Not the woman.”

  Richard scowled. “I don’t care, you don’t care, your daughter doesn’t care. Why is it a problem?”

  “I’m just not sure.”

  “Stubborn woman.” But he spoke the words affectionately.

  Hannah glanced to her left and saw Kyle and Jordan hovering in the doorway, trying to watch what was going on in the living room. Kyle waved when she saw him, obviously unrepentant at being caught.

  She returned her attention to her mother. Hannah felt drawn to this woman, drawn to the family. As far as she could tell, all they wanted was to care about her and have her care about them. She wanted to jump to her feet and call out that she was willing to take a chance. But she knew it wasn’t true. The fear was stronger than the desire to belong. Then she felt Nick’s hand on her own. He understood what she was thinking because she’d come to realize he understood everything about her.

  * * *

  Hannah lay on her solitary bed and listened to the silence. She stared into the darkness and wondered what she should do. Nick hadn’t pretended to get a phone call. He really wasn’t leaving. So what were her options?

  She could protest his high-handedness and force him to go. Or she could give in graciously. Or she could tell the truth.

  She didn’t want to even think about the latter, so she rolled onto her stomach and punched her pillow. “Stupid man,” she muttered. “Trying to complicate everything.”

  Had he been telling the truth? Was he really trying to help her because he cared? She really, really wanted to believe that. Of course, if it was true, she would be terrified. If he cared about her and she started to care about him a little, then they might actually have the beginnings of a relationship. She didn’t think she could handle that.

  With a heavy sigh, she got out of bed and walked into the dark living room. She could make out Nick on his side on the sofa. He pushed himself halfway up.

  “What’s wrong, Hannah?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure. You’re not going to leave, are you?”

  “Nope. You’re stuck with me for the next two weeks.”

  “I…” The words lodged in her throat. She tried again. “I think you are trying to help me.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. Why wouldn�
�t I want to make it easy for you?”

  “Because I haven’t been very friendly.”

  He lay back down on the sofa and chuckled. “You are a little on the prickly side, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t mean to be. It just happens.”

  “I know, honey. I even know why you do it. You’re afraid. But now there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be here and I’ll make everything perfect. Go on back to bed.”

  She stood there for a couple of minutes, then did as he requested. As she stretched out on the mattress, she pictured him lying only a few feet away. Judging from the clean line of his silhouette, he hadn’t been wearing anything above the waist. What did he wear below?

  The question made her fingers tingle. What would it be like to make love with a man like him? She had a feeling he would make good on his word. That everything about the experience would be perfect.

  Two weeks together. How was she going to resist him? And what would happen if she threw up her hands and gave in?

  * * *

  “This is what I like to see,” Nick said as he leaned back in the kitchen chair. “My woman working hard to feed me.”

  Hannah gave him a mock glare. “My goodness. I married a chauvinist pig and I never knew it before.” She pulled a bit of cookie dough from the bowl and tossed it at him.

  He caught it in midflight and popped it in his mouth. “Delicious. Louise, you’re a great cook. Have you ever thought about opening your own restaurant?”

  She laughed. “Don’t think that by being charming you’ll get a larger share of the cookies.”

  “I’m serious.” He licked the batter from his fingers. Hannah spooned dough onto cookie sheets, but the recipe had come from Louise.

  The older woman wiped her hands on her apron. The broad white cloth covered her from shoulders to knees but didn’t conceal her bright orange sleeves or cobalt blue pant legs.

  “I’ve actually thought about opening my own place,” she admitted slowly.

  “Really?” Hannah set down her spoon. “You’d be great. Nick is right. Your cooking is wonderful. And with this family, you’re certainly used to cooking for large groups of people.”

  Louise nodded, her spiky blond hair making the trip a half second after her head. “I’ve thought about a specialty place. You know, only breakfasts. Or maybe muffins. Or tea. I’ve always wanted to do a high tea. But I don’t have a lot of money for start-up capital, and I don’t have a head for business.”