But Hailey was now fed, bathed, freshly diapered and sound asleep in her crib where, hopefully, she would sleep through the night. Though it was only eight o’clock, Brittany longed to fall into bed herself. But that would look like she hadn’t been up to the task. Daniel, on the other hand, looked fresh as a daisy and not like he’d been carrying boxes around all evening. No, she needed to stay awake for at least two more hours. Ten o’clock or bust.
“Thanks for putting my stuff away,” she said then yawned.
“No worries. I needed some special china for the cabinet. The designer had offered to purchase some for me, but I hadn’t been interested then. Now I like the way the dishes look in there. I’ll have to get some when you move out.”
She nodded. Aunt Grace’s dishes did look like they’d been made especially for the cabinet. But Brittany couldn’t concentrate on china, not after what Daniel had said. When you move out. She didn’t want to think about her marriage ending. Not tonight.
“So what do you want to do now?”
He looked surprised by her question. “You aren’t tired? I love Hailey to pieces, but taking care of her full-time wears me out. But then, you helped your mother with your brothers and sisters, so you have more experience than I do.”
She allowed herself to sink deeper into the sofa cushions and released the sigh she’d been stifling. If they were going to have a successful marriage, she needed to answer his questions honestly. That is, as long as the questions didn’t involve her growing attraction to him. “Truthfully, she wore me out, too. And I don’t ever remember being this exhausted.”
“How about we warm up the takeout and eat here while we watch TV?” They’d stopped at DJ’s Deluxe on the way home from picking up Hailey and had grabbed a ton of food.
“That sounds good to me.”
“You stay here. I’ll get it.”
He wouldn’t get any argument from her. Just the idea of being waited on hand and foot was enough to make her heart smile.
Daniel was back in a few minutes, carrying two overflowing plates. The aroma alone made her mouth water. Daniel set the plates on the coffee table and went back to the kitchen. He returned momentarily, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands, two water bottles tucked under his arms.
A minute later they were holding plates on their laps and trying to find something they would both enjoy watching on television. When they couldn’t agree on anything, he switched off the TV and turned on the stereo. Fortunately they were both fans of seventies music.
They talked easily while they ate. Brittany was surprised to discover how well they got along. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun with a man. They’d told funny stories from their childhood and teen years, and Brittany had been endlessly amused by tales of his antics. He reminded her so much of her brothers that she felt as if she’d known him all her life. There was definitely more to Daniel than he let on. Under other circumstances, she’d want to get to closer to him to see where things led. But being temporarily married made that permanently impossible. Still, there was no reason they couldn’t enjoy their time together for however long it lasted.
She sipped her wine then looked over at him. “Why Montana? I can understand leaving a successful business you’d started in order to try something new, but why move to an entirely different state?”
He leaned back against the sofa and paused as if weighing his next words before uttering them. “Moving to Montana was about more than business. I was at a place in my life where I needed a total change. There’s so much untapped potential here. The possibilities for growth are endless. But that’s just business.
“On a personal note, I needed the space to breathe. And the natural beauty here is unrivaled. I also liked the idea of setting down roots in Bronco. Now that I have Hailey, I know I’ve made the right decision.”
“I grew up in this town and I love it, so you’ll get no argument from me about the natural beauty. We’re surrounded by it.”
His eyes swept over her and she felt her cheeks warm. “I certainly am.”
Just like that, the mood turned sensual. A part of Brittany wanted to flirt back. And more. What harm would there be in a few kisses? After all, they were married. And they knew where to draw the line. She knew Daniel’s character. He was a gentleman and would take no for an answer. That wasn’t the issue. The problem was that, right now, in the dimly lit room with the soft music playing in the background, and feeling relaxed from the wine, Brittany wasn’t confident she would say no.
She decided that a wise woman wouldn’t put her self-control to the test, so she polished off her wine, set her glass on the table and met Daniel’s gaze. The warmth she saw there had her coming close to reconsidering her stand. “Thanks for a lovely evening. I have a feeling that Hailey will be up bright and early tomorrow, meaning we should be, too. So I guess I’ll say good-night now.”
Standing, she reached for the dishes. He rose, too, and put his hand on hers. Silly tingles skittered down her spine. She tried to convince herself they were the result of the wine and not from the feel of his skin on hers, but she knew that wasn’t true. Their gazes met and her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her and her heart sped up with delicious anticipation. Instead, he gave his head a little shake and then dropped his hand. She forced a smile, masking her disappointment.
“I’ll take care of the dishes.”
Right. The dishes. Odd how she’d forgotten what she’d intended to do just that easily. It was definitely time to end the night. “Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She walked from the room on wobbly knees, feeling his eyes on her. She climbed the stairs sedately even though she wanted to race up them like there was a prize waiting for the winner.
Once she reached her room, she sat on her bed and the air whooshed from her lungs. She needed to get a handle on her attraction. How many times did she need to tell herself that Daniel was off-limits before her body got the message?
* * *
Daniel looked out the window and frowned. Rain was coming down in buckets. His plan for the three of them to go into town and spend the day together had been washed away by the weather. It looked like he and Brittany would be alone again today. Of course, Hailey would be with them, but she wasn’t much of a chaperone. And given his growing attraction to Brittany, it would be nice to have someone else around whose presence would force him to behave.
He knew that flirting with Brittany wasn’t wise or in either of their best interests. He hadn’t thought that refraining would be a problem. He’d never been much of a flirt in the first place, preferring the direct approach. That way, there were no misunderstandings. If a woman was interested, great. If not, she could say so and he would move on. No harm, no foul. But for some reason he had yet to discover, he caught himself flirting and dropping hints with Brittany. His behavior was out of character and it confused the heck out of him.
Beautiful as she was, he wasn’t interested in dating her. They didn’t want the same things. She was focused on building a business, not a family. She didn’t want kids. He had a nine-month-old. And though Brittany was willing to help him in the short term, she’d made it plain that she didn’t want anything permanent. Given that he’d done his share of rejecting women in the past, he wasn’t upset with her.
Yet knowing that she didn’t see him playing a role in her future hadn’t diminished his attraction to her. It was just as strong as ever. And growing. That’s why he’d planned to go into town. She was just so appealing that being alone with her would only lead to trouble.
He swiped a hand over his forehead as he recalled being alone with her last night. The urge to kiss her had nearly overwhelmed him...until he remembered their deal. This was a business-arrangement marriage and not a love match. Kissing and any other shows of affection would only muddy the waters. It was in th
eir best interests that they stick to the rules they’d established.
This entire marriage was more complicated than he’d expected it to be. But since they’d already said their vows in front of scores of witnesses, there was no turning around now. And, truthfully, he didn’t want to do things differently. Because, right or wrong, wise or foolish, he was attracted to his bride. Though it had only been a couple of days, he enjoyed being married to her.
“Do you think the rain will stop soon?” Brittany asked, coming into the room, Hailey in her arms. Dressed in what she referred to as cowgirl chic—pink denim shorts, a pink, green and white plaid shirt, and pink-and-white sandals—she made his heart flutter.
She came to stand beside him and look out the window. Her familiar scent wafted under his nose and his imagination switched into overdrive. Her perfume had a vaguely floral scent that appealed to him. But it was her personal scent that turned him on and had him fantasizing about ways for them to entertain themselves here.
“Ba baboo,” Hailey said, reaching for him.
“Did you two have fun?”
“That’s one word for it,” Brittany said dryly.
“I told you I would take care of her today.”
“I know, and I had fully intended to take you up on that offer. But one thing turned into another and time got away from us. Besides, we were having fun playing with her stuffed animals. And I know you had work to do.”
Truer words were never spoken. When he’d worked at his company, he’d been able to delegate a lot of tasks to his staff. He’d also had complete departments dedicated to advertising and promotion as well as business development. That was no longer the case. He was now an army of one. True, he’d hired Brittany to handle the affair on behalf of his resort, but he was still responsible for every other aspect of its launch. He had the money to hire a full complement of employees, but he didn’t want to do that. He relished doing most things on his own and stretching different creative muscles.
“Thanks. I got more done today than I had in a long time, which is why I was planning an outing for this afternoon. The rain has put a damper on that.”
“So let’s do something else. We might not be able to go outside, but we can have a good time inside.”
“Doing what?”
She looked so cute with her furrowed brow as she thought. “I don’t know. Hailey just woke up from her nap, so she needs to eat. And I’m a bit hungry myself.”
His stomach growled then, saving him from uttering his agreement. But since he’d given his staff the week off, he and Brittany were in charge of cooking, something neither of them did particularly well. “What would you like?”
“What do you have?”
He knew he had a good supply of baby food, but other than that? He didn’t have the foggiest idea. Hopefully, his cook had left something in the freezer that they could just warm up. Otherwise they were on their own, something he didn’t relish.
While he strapped Hailey into her high chair, Brittany rummaged in the pantry, coming out with a jar of baby food and a biscuit that his daughter loved. While Brittany heated the baby food, he scrounged through the freezer, but nothing he found appealed to him.
“There’s nothing to eat,” he said.
“Oh. So what’s the plan?”
“I guess I could go out for something.”
“How about ordering a pizza? Or wings?”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t know why he was surprised by her response. Brittany had showed him on more than one occasion that although she dressed nicely and seemed to enjoy the finer things in life, she wasn’t pretentious or demanding.
“I’ll call in an order and then swing by to pick it up.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“Or, if you want, you and Hailey can come with me.”
“Sort of a family outing, after all?”
It wasn’t what he’d had in mind, but it still had appeal. “Yes.”
“I’m in. Let me finish feeding Hailey and then we’ll be ready to go.”
He nodded and watched as Brittany tried to convince Hailey to eat her food.
When Hailey’d first started eating, she’d opened her mouth in anticipation. That was no longer the case. Now she turned her head away whenever Brittany offered her the spoon. She wanted to feed herself. Only, the spoon held little interest for her. She preferred to use her fingers.
Though he knew first-hand how exasperating it could be when Hailey chose not to cooperate, he found the entire scene amusing. But as determined as Hailey was to do things her way, Brittany was just as determined.
“I don’t know why she’s acting like this. She didn’t do this before.”
“She’s practicing being a woman,” he said with a chuckle.
Brittany’s hand froze, spoon in the air. “Say what?”
Uh-oh. “She’s just not feeling it, so she’s exercising her feminine prerogative of expressing her feelings honestly.” When Brittany only stared at him, he swallowed. He knew he should stop talking, lest he dig himself a deeper hole, but he continued, hoping for a way out. “She’s being her authentic self, which is something we should honor.”
“I see.” Brittany turned back to the baby, but he could see there was a smile on her face. He didn’t know whether it was because she was pleased by what he’d said or because Hailey had decided that she wanted to use the spoon. Whatever the reason, Brittany’s joy touched his heart in a way that could be described with one word. Dangerous. Her happiness shouldn’t matter that much to him. And it certainly shouldn’t make him feel all warm and gooey inside.
“It looks like we’re done here,” Brittany said, interrupting his musings. “Give me ten minutes and we’ll be ready to go.”
He nodded. The idea of being in the close confines of the SUV with Brittany was simultaneously thrilling and nerve-racking. He tried to find a neutral emotion but couldn’t think of one, so he would just have to be thrilled, which was, in and of itself, nerve-racking.
He really was losing it. But what a way to go.
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel was focused on driving, so Brittany took the opportunity to study him without getting caught. He looked so calm and cool, steering the SUV through the streets. He was dressed in a gray shirt that hugged his torso and jeans that fit his muscular thighs. His appearance set her imagination free and she hoped her reaction didn’t show on her face. Though she’d been around him many times over the past weeks, she hadn’t found a way to inoculate herself to his appeal. Despite all her rational arguments why becoming emotionally or physically involved with him was a bad idea, her stubborn body zinged whenever he was near. And in the intimate confines of the vehicle, her body was lighting up like the classic pinball machine languishing in her parents’ basement.
She had hoped that having Hailey around would temper her body’s response, but the little girl’s presence didn’t make an impact. Brittany’s insides were humming a happy tune. Worse, her hands ached to run up and down his muscular arms. Not sure how long she could resist the urge, she folded her hands together as if in prayer.
The rain had slowed and it was barely drizzling when they reached the pizza parlor. Daniel held an umbrella over Hailey and Brittany as they entered the restaurant. The place was filled with people who’d had the same idea, but there were a couple of free tables. They had no problem switching from carry-out to dining in. A waitress brought them their hot pizza at the same time she brought their cold drinks.
Brittany settled Hailey into a high chair and gave her a couple of toys that she’d no doubt pick up several times before the night was over.
Daniel was as charming as ever and even a bit flirtatious. Brittany found herself flirting in return, something she’d told herself not to do but couldn’t seem to stop. Their hands touched
often, as was the case when two people shared a pizza, and she was aware of every touch. Every glance. She noticed every little thing about him. The way his eyes squinted when he laughed. The dimple in his right cheek.
“Well, if it’s not the newlyweds,” a female voice called.
Brittany turned and smiled at her friend. Rising, she gave Melanie Driscoll a hug. “What a surprise seeing you here.”
“I was in the mood for pizza, so Gabe and I decided to brave the rain.” She grinned and winked. “Don’t tell DJ.”
Brittany laughed. Her friend was the new CFO of DJ’s Incorporated. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Do you want to join us?” Daniel asked, offering his seat to Melanie.
“No, we’re getting ours to go.” She looked over her shoulder at her fiancé, Gabe Abernathy, who was holding a pizza box over by the door. “I just wanted to say hello. I miss seeing you now that we’re no longer neighbors.”
“We’ll have to have lunch soon.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Give our best to Gabe.”
“I will.” Melanie took a step then turned back around. “You three really are a beautiful family.”
“That couldn’t have worked out better if I had planned it,” Daniel said after Melanie had walked away.
“Planned what?”
“Running into your friends. Being seen together as a family. We can’t stay secluded on the ranch, no matter how much I would like to. We need to be out and about together. It’s important that people believe we’re a real family and that we belong together.”
“Of course,” Brittany agreed then took a bite of her pizza. What had been a perfect combination of spicy tomato sauce, gooey cheese and savory sausage now tasted like ashes. She’d been enjoying the evening with Daniel, even the flirting. Especially the flirting. And all the while he’d thinking about how being seen as a besotted husband would work to his advantage.
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