Rhett's Make-Believe Marriage

by Liz Isaacson

  Just friends.

  The words echoed through his mind as she mounted the steps, a beautiful smile on her face. Sure, he called her sweetheart, and he sometimes stole a kiss when he was trying to cheer her up or help her. He always followed such a gesture with laughter, because it kept things casual, and that seemed to be right where Evelyn wanted them.

  “There you are,” he said. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten what day it was.” He wanted to stand up and hug her, but he never had before, and it felt weird to do so now.

  “Sorry,” she said, tucking her hands in her back pockets and slowing down. “I was talking to Callie….” Her voice trailed off as she looked back toward her family land. She faced him again, and Rhett could sense the same unrest in her now that had been there last week. And at church on Sunday.

  “Come sit down,” he said. “And tell me what to do to help you.”

  Confusion puckered her eyebrows for a moment, but she came and sat in the spot she normally did. Relief moved through Rhett, and he smiled at her. Something about having her there with him made him happy, and he couldn’t explain it.

  She picked up her fork, but she didn’t touch her food. “Rhett, I have a problem.”

  “A serious problem?” he asked, his heart tap-dancing in his chest. “Or a little problem?”

  “It’s more of a secret.” She ducked her head so Rhett couldn’t see her.

  He didn’t like that, and he reached over and touched her hand. “You have a secret you haven’t told me? I thought I knew all about the obsession with toy poodles.”

  That got her to smile, but she didn’t laugh, and Rhett didn’t know what to do with this version of Evelyn Foster.

  “This is a serious secret, Rhett,” she said. “And you can’t tell anyone, not even your brothers.”

  Rhett forgot about the eggs in that moment. He’d throw it all away and order something. Or take her to the pancake house after the secret came out. “All right.” He folded his arms and sat back in his chair, watching Evelyn.

  She tucked her hair behind her ear, something he’d watched her do when she was nervous. “It’s about what I do.”

  “Ah, of course.” The business that wasn’t going well that she wouldn’t tell him about.

  “I’m a matchmaker,” she said, her eyes locking onto his. They held absolute fear. “I mean, kind of. I don’t really match up men and women. I have female clients, and I…arrange ways for them to be…to put them in a favorable situation with the man they want to get to know better.”

  Rhett simply stared. He had no idea what to say. “Is that why you kept trying to get Tripp and Liam to those summer dances?”

  “Yes,” she said simply. “You have no idea the chaos the four of you have caused by moving here and refusing to date.” A flicker of a smile touched her mouth. “Which, by the way, you still haven’t told me why. So I’m not the only one with a secret.”

  He lifted one shoulder, not really willing to tell her about his romantic history. Reason number four he’d never asked Evelyn out on a date.

  “My clientele has…lost faith in my abilities,” she said. “I’m not married. No boyfriend. People think I can’t do my job.” She shrugged too, but the pain echoed from her voice, loud and clear.

  “You want to go out with me?” he asked, the words coming out easier than he’d ever thought they would.

  “No.” She shook her head, her eyes flitting all over the place now.

  “No.” He started nodding, the rejection diving deeper than he thought it would. Wow, his fear of rejection—reason number five he’d never asked Evelyn out—had been very real. No wonder he hadn’t asked.

  “No, I don’t want to just go out,” she said. “I want you to marry me.”

  Rhett sucked in a breath, the air somehow choking him. He coughed and coughed, a rubber band tightening like a noose around his chest. “Marry you?” he managed to squeak out between trying to stop coughing and trying to breathe.

  “It wouldn’t be real,” she said quickly, her gaze finally settling on his. Her eyes were so bright, and so full of hope. “We don’t have to, you know, live together or anything. No one comes out here. Simone does all the grocery shopping. I never really need to go to town. I just need a diamond ring, and I need to be able to tell people I’m your…wife.”

  She whispered the last word, and her eyes brimmed with tears.

  Rhett had no idea what to say or do. How long had she been thinking about this?

  Why was he even considering it?

  He exploded to his feet. “I need to think for a minute.” He grabbed his plate and hers. “I’ll go heat these up again.”

  “Rhett,” she said after him.

  “It’s fine,” he said. “Really, I’m fine. I’m just going to throw this stuff in the microwave. I just need a minute to think. Be right back.” He hurried into the house and pressed his back against the wall, out of sight.

  He couldn’t quite breathe properly.

  If they got married, he’d get to kiss her.

  “Not a real kiss,” he muttered to himself.

  If they got married, he’d have to tell his brothers something. A story like that couldn’t circulate around town and simply be ignored. Jeremiah, Liam, and Tripp would definitely need an explanation.

  What would he even say? Hey, it’s just a favor. He started toward the kitchen and put the plates on the counter.

  “Hey.” Liam came into the kitchen, his hair still damp. “What’s going on? You’re not eating with Evelyn?”

  “Eggs got cold,” he barked, wrenching open the microwave and sliding a plate inside. He couldn’t even imagine what a microwave would do to a poached egg and hollandaise sauce, but he was about to find out.

  Liam stalled, clearly sensing something was afoot. “Okay, something weird is going on.”

  “Sure is,” Rhett said. He couldn’t deny that. He also couldn’t stop thinking about marrying Evelyn. It was like she’d taken their relationship from a maybe to full fantasy in two seconds flat.

  “I’m headed out,” she said from the doorway, and Rhett spun toward her.

  “Wait,” he said, ignoring Liam as he muttered, “Oh, boy.”

  Rhett strode toward the sliding glass door where Evelyn stood, glaring at Liam when he muttered, “Ask her out already, Rhett.” He touched her elbow and guided her back onto the deck, pulling the door closed behind him.

  “Where’s Penny?” Evelyn asked, and Rhett took the momentary distraction to look for his cattle dog.

  “She’s around somewhere,” he said. “Maybe Jeremiah took her out on the ranch with him.”

  “I got her a new ball.” Evelyn stepped over to the railing and leaned against it.

  “She’ll love that.” Rhett hated this conversation, and he took a deep breath and faced her. “I’ll marry you.”

  She flinched, a flush creeping up into her face. “You don’t need to. Really, it’s okay. It was just a stupid idea.”

  Rhett slipped his hand into hers, feeling like Liam had his nose pressed against the glass and could see everything.

  “I want to,” he said. “If it’ll help.”

  She leaned into him, and they faced the ranch together. She kept her hand in his, her fingers even tightening in his. “It won’t be forever,” she said. “Just…for a little while.”

  He said nothing, because what he wanted to say would reveal too many of the soft feelings he’d had for this woman over the past year. “Just tell me what to do,” he said. “And I’ll do it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “If it’ll help you.” He shrugged. “My big case is over now, and I’m not going to take another case from the state for a while. I’ll just be helping around here, so I’ll have time.” Time for what, he had no idea.

  Hopefully more hand-holding. Talking. Kissing….

  “Do you want to go to dinner?” he asked, his voice quiet and his soul filled with hope. Please don’t let her say no, he prayed.
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br />   “Yes,” she said, pressing closer to him. “Starting with dinner is probably a good idea.”

  “You’re going out with her?” Jeremiah stood in Rhett’s doorway, leaning his dirty shoulder against the frame, his arms crossed.

  “Why are you so upset about it?” Liam asked. “It’s about time one of us went out with someone.”

  Rhett said nothing as he adjusted the collar on his shirt. A new one he’d bought that afternoon in anticipation of his first real date with Evelyn, the polo felt too slick against his skin, and there was definitely something wrong with this collar.

  “We had a pact, man,” Jeremiah said. “No women in Three Rivers.”

  “Did you think we’d stick to that forever?” Tripp asked, stepping over to Rhett and swatting his hands away. “Leave it. It’s fine. It’s supposed to look like that.”

  “I don’t like this shirt,” Rhett said, stripping it off. “I’m just going to wear what I usually do.” The woman had already proposed to him. He didn’t need to dress up.

  Oh, but he knew he did. Evelyn wouldn’t be the only one sizing him up that evening, and he could already feel the eyes of every citizen in Three Rivers on him.

  He pulled a button-up over his head, a sigh of familiarity moving through him.

  “Rhett,” Liam prompted.

  Rhett turned to face his brothers, particularly the surly Jeremiah. “Look, I know we had a pact, but Tripp’s right. We weren’t going to stick to it forever, and it’s been a year.” A long year, Rhett thought.

  “And I like this woman, and I’m going out with her. You don’t have to go out with anyone.” Although, Evelyn’s business would probably really take off if she could get the icy Walker brothers off their ranch and out to dinner with some women around town.

  A sour taste filled Rhett’s mouth. Was Evelyn using him?

  Of course she is, a tiny voice whispered in his mind. And you agreed to it.

  And he had. So he brushed his teeth, grabbed his wallet and keys, and walked out the front door to his truck.

  He did like Evelyn Foster, and he did want to help her. As he sat in the cab of his truck and made the short drive down to her ranch, he prayed aloud, “Is this okay, Lord? She needs help, and I can give it to her. I want to do this. Should I do it?”

  He pulled up to the sprawling farmhouse where Evelyn lived with her sisters. The dark-haired beauty he’d been crushing on for much of the last year rose from the rocking chair on the porch.

  And Rhett had his answer.

  Chapter Five

  Foolishness moved through Evelyn as she went down the steps and Rhett got out of his truck. He wore a clean pair of jeans and a button-up shirt in blue and white checkers. His hat perched deliciously on his head, and there was nothing about him Evelyn didn’t like.

  The man didn’t flaunt his money, but he didn’t try to hide it either. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, sweeping one arm around her as if they’d been dating for months. She felt too round in some places, the slacks she’d put on a little too dressy for the dinner-dance he’d booked for them to attend.

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and asked, “Are you ready for this?”

  Something solidified inside her that had been wishy-washy before. “Yeah,” she said. “Are you?” She stepped back and looked up at him. “I mean, you don’t have to do this. I’ve been talking myself out of calling you and telling you this whole thing was a joke all day.”

  “Is it a joke?” he asked, those deep eyes searching hers.

  “No,” she whispered. “I just…I mean, maybe you’d rather go out with someone else. I mean, not that I’ve seen you or any of your brothers date much, but I don’t know, I just—”

  Rhett started laughing, silencing Evelyn. She had been babbling, and her nerves had been bubbling all day long. Since standing with him on his back porch, holding his hand. That had been wonderful. Serene. And in that moment, she’d felt comfort and peace that everything would work out the way it was supposed to.

  But since then, every doubt and insecurity in her mind had bloomed and blossomed and bulged until she couldn’t contain them anymore.

  “Evelyn,” he said, one of the rare times he used her name. The Texas man seemed to have an endearment for everything. He’d called her sugar or sweetheart or honeybee—especially when she wore this yellow blouse—every time he saw her. And now, apparently, gorgeous.

  She did feel gorgeous with him at her side, his hand resting on her back, the scent of his woodsy cologne in her nose.

  She looked up into his eyes, and they were serious while his mouth flirted with a smile. “I want to go out with you.” He ducked his head, reclaiming some of his mystery. “I’ve wanted to ask you out for a long time, actually.”

  Surprise hit her right in the vocal cords, rendering her mute. “You have?”

  “From the moment I met you.” He cleared his throat. “Now, come on. They serve dinner right at seven-thirty at this place, and we don’t want to be late.” He threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the passenger side of the truck.

  She still had no idea what to do with his confession. He’d wanted to ask her out and hadn’t? Once he got behind the wheel, she twisted toward him to buckle her seatbelt. “Why didn’t you ask me out?”

  “You were dating Patrick,” he said simply.

  “We broke up four months ago. Why not then?”

  Rhett shrugged, a flush crawling from under his collar, staining his neck and cheeks. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  He sighed as he backed out and turned toward the highway that would take them back to Three Rivers. “You said several times that we were just friends. I just figured you’d reject me, and I didn’t want to lose our Tuesday breakfasts.”

  Evelyn had used those words to keep the barrier between them. He’d obviously heard them, loud and clear, and he didn’t want to get hurt. Which meant he’d been hurt in the past, and Evelyn really wanted to hear those stories.

  “Okay,” she said. “But we are friends, and I’m glad about that.”

  “Me too,” he said. “And I might have a secret too.”

  “Oh, a secret. And you said you didn’t have any.” She giggled, glad the flirting with him was as easy as sitting down to breakfast had been. At least until that morning.

  He cut her a look out of the corner of his eye, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, I have a secret.” He sobered as they bumped along. “I’m afraid you’ll be upset by it.”

  “Please.” She scoffed and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I told you all my embarrassing secrets this morning. It can’t be worse than that.”

  “It might.” He turned onto the highway, accelerating as they shot toward Three Rivers. When he remained silent, Evelyn didn’t press him. They’d been friends for a while now, and Rhett would talk when Rhett was good and ready. After all, he was forty-three-years-old and had never been married. He didn’t have to explain himself to very many people.

  “Why have you never been married?” she asked.

  He choked as the truck jerked to the left a little. After correcting the vehicle, he looked at her again. “So we’re going there.”

  “I know a lot about you,” she said. “Your job, your work ethic. How you like your eggs, and that your favorite food is actually that of a ten-year-old boy.” She grinned at him.

  “Hey, spaghetti is for adults too.”

  She laughed, because being Rhett’s friend was easy. It was being his girlfriend she didn’t know how to do.

  And you took it all the way to wife, she told herself. She’d texted out Let’s just maybe date a little, to him about thirty times that day. They didn’t need to get married for her business to pick up again.

  She simply found herself wanting to see if he’d do it, number one. And number two, maybe she was hoping it would become real at some point.

  “But I know basically nothing about your past relationships,” she said, watching him.

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sp; His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and his jaw clenched too. “Okay, but this is a ten-minute topic.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I only have to talk about it for ten minutes. Then we can move on to something else.”

  “Can I get ten more minutes tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” he said. “That’s how it works.”

  Evelyn marveled at this man, at the things he’d grown up with, the rituals he had. “Is this another of your mother’s rules?”

  He looked at her, softening inch by inch. “Yes,” he said. “She said it was very hard to raise seven boys, because none of us wanted to talk very much. So she’d say things like, ‘I get five minutes where you don’t stop talking about the prom. Go.’ And we’d talk for the five minutes, and she’d stop badgering us.”

  A pinch started behind Evelyn’s heart. “That must’ve been great,” she said.

  Rhett chuckled. “I think most of us found it annoying. Except maybe Skyler. He likes to talk a lot.”

  “I had to tell my dad about prom,” Evelyn said. “And that wasn’t fun, let me tell you. He’d ask more questions—where did he put his hands? Did you kiss him? Why would he say that?—than anything else.” Still, a fondness for her father moved through her.

  “It can’t have been easy raising three girls by himself,” Rhett said.

  “No,” Evelyn said, shaking her head as memories from her younger years flooded her. “I’m sure it wasn’t.” She looked at him, feeling vulnerable and like she could share real things with him. “I would give anything to talk to my mom for five minutes.”

  Rhett reached for her, and if the truck had been older, Evelyn would’ve quickly undone her seatbelt and moved across the seat to sit right beside him. As it was, she had a bucket seat, and all she could do was try to steal the comfort from his touch by holding his hand.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m sorry about your mom.”

  “It’s okay.” Evelyn stared out the windshield as the town of Three Rivers materialized in front of them. “I just miss her extra-hard sometimes.”