Harlequin Superromance September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: This Good ManPromises Under the Peach TreeHusband by Choice

by Janice Kay Johnson

  “Nashville?” She rested her hands on top of her knees and then settled her chin on her hands.

  “They eat cupcakes there, too, you know.”

  She laughed and the sound was better than the music they’d been blasting out of the speakers earlier. There was a soft sweetness to her laugh that made him feel like a genius for being the cause of it.

  “I’m not sure if I can ever market to brides successfully again. What if they hear about my last business where my partner swooped in and stole a groom?” She straightened the blanket and for an instant, the fabric covered his hand where it rested on the seat.

  The realization that a part of him was under the blanket with her did fierce things to his self-control.

  “Still, you should think about Nashville. You’d have a bigger market there. And it’s not just brides who order cupcakes.” He heard himself trying to convince her and wasn’t quite sure why.

  Was it really for her sake? Or was he just trying to bring her closer to him? He had to be careful about that in case she got the idea that he was angling for a future.

  “I don’t know, Mack. I’m looking at Heartache with new eyes lately. But even if I hated this town, I would still move back here because Gram needs me and she wants to stay in her own home. I owe her as much help as she’s willing to take.” She spoke with a fierceness that didn’t surprise him. Nina’s love was a formidable thing. “But I’ve realized since coming home that I don’t hate it. If anything, I’ve remembered there’s a lot to love about a small town.”

  “Like that everyone knows your business? And makes no pretense of asking about it?” He couldn’t believe she’d consider life in Tennessee again after how fast she’d ditched it before.

  “Some people view that as being part of a caring community,” she pointed out.

  “Do you?” He found it tough to believe she’d changed her mind. She hadn’t been back here that long.

  “I guess I do. I’ve seen that there are a lot of caring people in this town and I wouldn’t mind being a part of that.” She stared up at the sky again, her eyes tracking the blinking light of a low-flying airplane. “Although when Kaleb Riggs asked me to come to work for the craft-beer place his family runs, I’m pretty sure he was hitting on me more than caring about my professional well-being.”

  “You’ll get a lot of that.” His buddy Vince hadn’t been the only guy in town who’d been crazy about Nina. She had a natural warmth that made people gravitate to her.

  “I doubt that. And anyhow, I’m not interested.”

  Mack tried to take that as a cue to leave, even reaching for the stick shift to back up the car. He’d met her tonight out at the football field because she’d asked him to. They’d cleared the air about Jenny and put another piece of the past to rest. He should consider that progress. But with the liquid fire of attraction still simmering in his veins after that kiss they’d shared, he couldn’t just leave it on that note.

  “Meaning you’re not interested in Kaleb,” he clarified. “And as for you and me, we only agreed on no kissing, at least for tonight.”

  He might not be able to offer Nina a long-term relationship. He knew how she felt about family. Kids. But they were here together now and he wasn’t the only one experiencing this attraction.

  “Um, belatedly. But yes, I suppose I eventually came to my senses and made the safer choice.” She hugged her arms around herself and watched him with wide eyes.

  If he had his say, neither of them would be thinking about safer choices the next time they sat alone in a car parked under the stars. He wanted to share a blanket with Nina Spencer again and remind her how good they could be together—for however long they had left.

  “Do me a favor, though, and keep the dinner invitation in mind. You can even consider it rationally, if you prefer.” He checked his rearview mirror and forced himself to be disciplined where she was concerned. “Just please...think about it.”

  * * *

  “YOU’RE GOING TO WIN, Ally.” Ethan whispered the words in Ally’s ear as they sat together in the grandstand at the Heartache Fairgrounds, surrounded by the rest of their classmates. They were waiting for the Harvest Festival Committee to choose one of the students’ designs for a straw maze they’d submitted as part of a math-class competition.

  “No, I’m not,” she whispered back, still surprised that Ethan Brady wanted to hang out with her a week after their first “sort of” date. He’d taken her to the local corn maze for inspiration for their math project. He hadn’t kissed her, but he had definitely been looking at her differently since then.

  If not for The Incident at the salon the day before that, her life would finally be looking up even in spite of her new weekly appointments with a psychiatrist. But as it stood, she felt suspended between happy and worried, afraid every minute that her secret would get out and that Ethan would discover she was seeing a shrink. Or worse, that he’d find out why. Her healing cuts started to itch as she thought about them and she squeezed the gray cuffs of her hoodie to reassure herself the marks were hidden.

  “Are you kidding me?” Ethan leaned away from her to study her face. “Your maze design is by far the best. I have no idea how we ended up in the same class because you’re, like, a million times better at algorithms than me.”

  Ally’s face heated despite the chill in the air. She’d never told Ethan about the fact that she’d only let her grades slip to get her parents’ attention. She was starting to realize having a relationship with him—if he really did like her that way—might not be easy when she’d hidden so much from him.

  “Not really. I was just inspired when we took that trip to the corn maze. That was a good idea.” She hoped reminding him of a fun day would distract him from the math thing. “But I don’t think the committee will pick my design because it’s got too many nooks and walls. It’d probably take way too many hay bales to make it.”

  Ethan flipped a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. “Like there’s a lack of hay in this town?”

  She knew he still resented the nonstop chores of farming and living the lifestyle his family had imposed when they’d started their organic food co-op and market.

  In front of them, two guys who were friends with Ethan turned around. “Dude, they’ll pick her design either way because she’s a Finley,” one of them said as he lifted up his sunglasses to look at Ethan. Then, his eyes cut to Ally. “No offense or anything, Ally, but isn’t your father practically running the Harvest Fest?”

  “Not this year, he isn’t.” Embarrassed, Ally wished she could slink down between the grandstand seats while they waited for the committee’s decision. The conversations around them grew louder as the class grew restless.

  “But it’s still your family that’s organizing it, right?” the other boy chimed in, glancing up from his phone.

  “I guess.” Regretting ever entering the contest, she hoped now she didn’t win since her class would think the committee chose her because she was a Finley. “I know they’re helping out with some stuff.”

  The two boys exchanged a look.

  “Hey. It doesn’t matter.” Ethan slid an arm around her shoulders while their math teacher, Mr. Cummings, headed to the grandstand stage. “We all know Ally’s design was the coolest. It’s got turrets.”

  He smiled at her, somehow making everything right with the world in spite of his friends and in spite of the fact that Rachel Wagoner sat three rows down in all her beautiful blond glory. She hadn’t so much as given Ally a funny look since that day in the salon, but it was hard not to worry about her when she could spill Ally’s secret at any time. For now though, Ally could only focus on the feeling of Ethan’s fingers splayed along her back. Her heart beat faster.

  “You know where I got the idea for the turrets?” She wished she had Ethan all to herself again for a few hours. Hanging out with h
im last weekend had been perfect, but the other parts of her life always seemed to interfere.

  She was more certain every day that she wanted to leave town with him, even though her counselor kept talking about her “plans” after school. She felt a little guilty when she thought about how much time she’d spent on early college applications. But she could always go to college later.

  “Um...video games?” Ethan guessed.

  Just then Mr. Cummings finished up his conversation with a woman near the stage. Their teacher strode back toward the class.

  A ripple of excitement went through the fifty kids on the old wooden bleachers as kids shouted out things like “Who won?” and “Just tell us!”

  “No, not video games.” Ally’s stomach knotted just knowing that Mr. Cummings was about to say the winner’s name. “I thought of the turrets after we saw those apple-picking contraptions on the farm with the corn maze. It’s too bad you don’t have those apple pickers around the peach trees. It’d be a lot faster to get all the branches picked.”

  The farmers had designed a picker with elaborate wooden stairs and platforms on big rolling carts so that whole families could climb up to high trees and pick their own apples. The pickers had been stained and varnished, with little round roofs over the highest levels.

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “So I can be the next Tennessee farmer filling bushel baskets for fun on the weekends.”

  His hand slid down her back and off, but she wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t appreciated the comment about picking peaches or if it was simply because Mr. Cummings had reached the foot of the bleachers where the students were clamoring for news.

  “Attention please!” the math teacher shouted, holding a hand up in the air and waiting for the class to quiet. “I’ve got an update for you on the first-ever Straw Maze Math Challenge.”

  The teacher had devised the competition two weeks ago for an extra-credit project, but he’d had so many entries he’d opened it up to multiple sections that he taught. Today’s mini field trip included students from four different math sections. Mr. Cummings had submitted their designs electronically to the committee a few days ago and the students had spent the day at the fairgrounds walking around the site where the winning maze would be built and painting the outline of the exterior walls, which were the only real design constant.

  “Good luck,” Ethan whispered in her ear, making her hopeful he wasn’t mad at her after all.

  “The committee has chosen an unorthodox winning entry,” Mr. Cummings explained, waving an envelope back and forth. “I think you’ll all agree with the choice.”

  Someone whistled. Mr. Cummings grinned.

  “And the winner is...” He opened the envelope and withdrew a paper while a few kids imitated drum rolls. “Rachel Wagoner...”

  He stared at the paper while cheers erupted and Rachel hugged the girl sitting next to her, her perfect sheet of golden blond hair spilling down her back in a shiny layer.

  Relief swept through Ally even as Ethan’s hand went to the small of her back.

  “I can’t believe it,” Ethan grumbled. “There’s no way hers is better than yours.”

  “And,” Mr. Cummings continued, holding up his arm again in the universal kindergarten teacher signal for quiet. “In an unusual request, there is a second winner. Ally Finley.”

  Ally’s heart stilled. The whole grandstand seemed to go quiet. Her gaze went to Rachel, whose face fell as she looked up at Ally. Her stomach knotted.

  “I don’t understand.” Ally shook her head, wishing everyone would stop staring at her. Rachel made a much better class representative than she did. Raising her voice, she shouted over a slowly growing hum of whispers, “How can we build two designs?”

  “That’s the thing.” Mr. Cummings cleared his throat and straightened a lopsided bow tie in the school colors. “You won’t. The committee liked elements of both designs and have asked you to work together to bring some of each to the final maze.”

  Seriously?

  Ally knew better than to say anything aloud. But how had the competition turned into a group project? And with, of all people...Rachel? Her stomach twisted. Her fingers twitched with the need to scratch. And scratch.

  “That’s so cool,” Ethan started, until he saw her face. “Hey. You okay? Ally?”

  His friends turned around, staring at her as if they knew she could turn crazy at any second. Which was silly since no one here knew her secret. Except for Rachel. Her new partner for the straw maze.

  “I’m fine.” She forced a smile. “It sounds fun.”

  “Didn’t I say she’d win?” the boy playing a game on his phone groused. “It was totally fixed, man.”

  “Oh, shut up, Barry.” Ethan gave the kid a light shove on the shoulder. “You’re just jealous you didn’t add a turret to that piece of crap you handed in.”

  Barry laughed. “You know it, dude. Hey Ally, you think you can put in a good word for me with Rachel?”

  Ally swallowed hard, twice, struggling to hold back a hysterical laugh.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she mumbled, trying to smile but all the while thinking it was a damn good thing she was seeing that counselor this week.

  Because the stress of working with the girl who knew her worst secret was going to punt her over the edge.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “NINA!”

  Gram’s voice carried up the stairs on the same shrill note Nina remembered from her childhood days. Back then, her grandmother had called her like that only when Nina had overslept and was going to miss the bus. Now, Nina worried she needed help or was trying to do too much on her own.

  “Coming!” Still damp from a late-morning shower, Nina stuffed her arms into the sleeves of a heavy flannel robe that had magically appeared in her closet a few days ago after Gram said Nina had forgotten how to dress for the farm.

  Nina had refrained from arguing the point, even though the “farm” hadn’t been operational for a long time and maybe Nina didn’t care to dress in jeans and flannel like a country girl cliché. Although, damn it, she had to admit the robe was incredibly comfortable and warm for a chilly morning.

  Hurrying down the stairs, she found Gram leaning her elbows on her walker in the kitchen, talking through the screen door. She looked comfortable enough, smiling at Nina as she entered. Her color was good and she seemed to be moving well enough after her fall at the Owl’s Roost. So why had she bellowed?

  The mail carrier stood on the other side of the screen door, holding a few envelopes and what appeared to be a flyer from the local supermarket. The woman was the same carrier who had been delivering Gram’s mail for the past two decades, but it took Nina a second to recognize Josephine with her gray hair dyed red now. She smiled at Nina and waved with the mail while chomping her gum with enthusiasm.

  “Registered letter for you, sweet pea.” Her grandmother edged the walker away from the door. “You need to sign for it.”

  That couldn’t be good, could it? Nina shoved damp hair off her forehead and opened the door to reach for the pen the mail carrier held.

  “Thank you.” Nina scrawled her signature where Josephine indicated. Distracted by the mail carrier’s rhinestone manicure, Nina almost forgot to check to see who had sent the letter while she signed. “Rathmore Hotels?”

  “Rathmore. Isn’t that the last name of the man your partner ran off with?” Gram asked, pushing her walker so close Nina felt the bar in her hip.

  “Bobby Rathmore is on the cover of one of the tabloids this week,” the mail carrier informed Gram. “He’s got a little slip of a girl under his arm. A blonde.”

  “Really?” Nina handed Josephine back the pen, nervous about what the registered letter might say. “It wasn’t Olivia Delmonico, was it?”

  The description sounded like
Olivia. Bobby Rathmore’s fiancée had been a curvy redhead.

  The postal worker shrugged. “I don’t know. Those jet-setters and Hollywood types change lovers every week. I see it on the covers all the time when I deliver the mail.” She handed Nina the envelope. “You ladies have a nice day.”

  “Thank you,” Nina and her grandmother said at the same time while they turned to stare at each other.

  “I don’t want to nose into your business.” Gram nodded at the delivery, the silk daisy pinned to her gray sweatshirt bobbing as she moved. “But I am dying of curiosity right now.”

  “Me, too.” Nina pointed toward the table. “Should we sit?”

  “Heck, no! You should start shredding into that paper, sugar plum.”

  Too distracted to gripe about this morning’s dose of endearments, Nina did exactly what Gram suggested. She tore open the envelope, letting a few stray bits float to the floor. Inside a trifold piece of blank hotel stationery, there was a handwritten note on a smaller sheet of purple paper.

  Nina smoothed out the lavender page, recognizing Olivia’s handwriting immediately.

  Dear Nina,

  I am so embarrassed to have learned that my actions have caused Cupcake Romance to close. When I asked Bobby to leave town with me that night, I was caught up in the moment and did not consider how it would impact you. I am enclosing contact information for Bobby’s lawyer, who has instructions for refunding your half of the money in our business account. I hope this will not affect our friendship! I’ve had so much fun working with you.

  Love always,

  Olivia

  P.S. The Seychelles are breathtaking!! You must visit.

  Gram whistled softly as her finger trailed down the lines on the page, stopping at the last one.