Just a Little Bit Married

by Teresa Southwick

  “Me, either.” He met her gaze. “So why did you spill the beans?”

  “She started to ask questions. How long ago we met. She mentioned you never said anything about me and yet you remembered all the details of how I like my coffee. Then she connected that we met right around the time your biological father contacted you.” She sighed. “Did you really think we could be here together and your sister wouldn’t notice that there was something between us?”

  “Yes.” That was a knee-jerk response because stubborn was his middle name.

  Rose shook her head as if to say he was dumb as dirt. “She’s smart. She knows you better, I think, than you know yourself and she’s a woman. We don’t miss much.”

  “So now she knows and my relationship with her will never be what it was.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake. Why is everything with you an absolute?” she demanded. “There can’t be a disagreement with your sister and then you both put it away and move on like you were before?”

  “No.” Again Mr. Stubborn. “This was a major breach of confidence and she’ll never get over it.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said drily. “I could tell by the way she hugged you, then left her child in your care.”

  When she put it like that... “She was just really ticked off and not thinking straight. When she has a chance to mull it over she’s really going to be mad.”

  “Baloney.” Rose shook her head. “If this revelation had pushed her over the edge, she would have kicked you out of her house.”

  “She didn’t because you’re here,” he argued.

  “No, she would have done it and let me stay.” Her smile was full of confidence as she folded her arms over her chest. “She likes me. Possibly more than you, at least right now.”

  “You’re probably right about that,” he admitted. “Throwing me into the deep end of the pool with a toxic diaper and a bath was the ultimate punishment.”

  Rose studied the front of him, soaked with bathwater. “I think you’re a fraud.”

  “You’ve made that pretty clear, but what is it this time?”

  “You enjoyed spending time with that little girl. There was laughter and it didn’t sound a whole lot like punishment to me. I heard the two of you chattering away.”

  “She started it.”

  “Right.” Rose smiled, then it faded, replaced by a sad expression. “You’d be a great father, Linc.”

  “No.”

  “You refuse to see it, but Ellie’s right. The father who raised you did it so well you never suspected you weren’t his son. That means he treated all four of his children the same way.”

  “My sister wants to pretend nothing is different. But it is. I can never un-know the truth.”

  “It doesn’t have to define you. It doesn’t have to close you off to loving someone.” Her mouth pulled tight for a moment. “But loving is hard. Running is much easier.”

  “It’s not fair to judge.” He knew it had been foolish to ask her to forgive and forget. That was never going to happen and it made him angry. “People deal with adversity differently.”

  “Stuff happens. How you deal with it reveals character,” she insisted.

  “That’s just it. Half of my DNA is a blank. I don’t know who I am.”

  “Then find out.” She smiled at Leah, who was using her little princess fork to carefully move macaroni from the plate to her mouth. If there was a mishap she just picked it up off the tray and shoved the food in. Rose met his gaze again and hers held a hint of warning. “If you don’t make an effort and do something proactive, you’re going to hold back and miss out on the best that life has to offer.”

  “Now that I’m not being lied to and have all the facts, it’s my choice whether or not I pursue this.”

  “You’re right. No one else has a say in what you do.” She looked at him for several moments, then sighed. “We can only take responsibility for our own actions. So, in that spirit... I’m sorry I told Ellie. The other alternative was to flat-out lie and I couldn’t do that. But I didn’t do it to get even with you. That much energy would mean that I still care about you. Just so we’re clear, I don’t care about you anymore.”

  She brushed by him then and walked over to the refrigerator, pulling out leftover containers to reheat last night’s dinner.

  Linc was annoyed again and the reason was even more annoying. He cared that she didn’t care about him. Damn it, he really did.

  What the hell was that?

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning Rose was waiting for Linc in his sister’s home office. At breakfast she’d explained that input from him was now required to do her job. After what happened last night she wasn’t entirely sure he still wanted her on the job, and if not she needed to know that, too.

  He walked in at the appointed time. “Let’s do this.”

  “First, we should talk about whether or not you can work with me. I know you’re mad about what I said to Ellie—”

  “Not anymore.” His expression was unreadable and that was irritating.

  “I’m not sure I believe you.”

  “Why is that?” He folded his arms over his chest and met her gaze.

  “If you haven’t been taken over by aliens and you’re the same Lincoln Hart who has held a grudge against his parents for the last ten years, it seems out of character that you would get over the fact that I revealed our secret marriage from a decade ago just yesterday.”

  One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Ellie seems to be over it and so am I.”

  “So you still want me to do the interior design on your condo?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” That was such a relief. She held out a hand and indicated the two club chairs in front of the desk in the home office. Her laptop was there. “Have a seat. I want to show you some living room ideas and get your feedback.”

  “Why can’t you throw some stuff together and I’ll pick something out?”

  “Do you have somewhere more important to be?” She tilted her head.

  “I’m busy and—”

  “If you don’t want flowers, puppies and flocked wallpaper in your personal space, you’re going to want to sit down and work with me on this. It’s my goal to see that when the job is complete, you’re deliriously happy with your space.”

  “Fine.” He sat, clearly impatient.

  That should have bugged her and it did a little, but mostly the behavior reminded her of a little boy who didn’t get his way. For an instant, she could picture what a child of theirs might have been like. That made her sad, so she went back to being bugged.

  “Okay. The sooner we get started, the sooner you can go be a tycoon.” She sat beside him. “I’m going to click through these design ideas and try to pin down what you like. Color schemes. Ambience, setting, that sort of thing.”

  “I just want it done,” he grumbled.

  “You can’t possibly want that more than I do.” It was hard to be with him and bump painfully into the past every day, to have her face rubbed in what might have been.

  Linc lifted an eyebrow questioningly. “Are you anxious to get back to your regularly scheduled life?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Hmm.” For some reason those words made his bored look disappear. “I’d like to hear about the no part. What makes you not eager to get back?”

  “It’s beautiful here. I like the town and people I’ve met so far. And there’s the prospect of more work.”

  “Yes. Don’t think it escaped my notice that I kept my end of the bargain and spoke to Burke and Sloan Holden about your job skills while you were stabbing me in the back.”

  “I explained that,” she protested.

  “Yes, you did.” He relaxed back into the club chair. “So it’s work
and nothing to do with me that would keep you here.”

  She wouldn’t let it be about him. “Wow, how did I never notice that your ego is the size of a long-haul truck?”

  “I’ve never tried to hide who I am.”

  True, she thought. His problem was that half his family story was missing and even a guy as confident as Linc would find that disconcerting.

  “Then I guess the reason I didn’t notice was my problem. I was starry-eyed and that tends to prevent a girl from seeing clearly.”

  “You are refreshing. A woman who takes responsibility.” He grinned suddenly, and it was spectacular. “So if you like Blackwater Lake and are looking forward to more work here, what would make your life in Texas beckon?” The words were barely out of his mouth when he snapped his fingers. “Chandler. I almost forgot about him. He’s why you’re in a hurry to get back.”

  “Yes.” The answer was automatic and also a lie. She hadn’t really thought about him much and rationalized that Linc was bigger than life and dealing with him was a whirlwind that sucked all the oxygen out of the room. There was no time or energy for anything else. “And we need to work.”

  “Right.” There wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm in the single word, not like he’d shown when he brought up her personal life.

  She directed his attention to the laptop monitor. “I’m going to scroll through these living-room design ideas and I want you to tell me what, if anything, you like.” She clicked and brought up an image.

  “Too cold.”

  “Okay.” The ceilings and walls were white and there was an area rug under a glass-topped table. “You’re decisive. That’s good. Next.”

  He carefully studied a couple of pictures, then pointed to one. “I like the wood-beam ceiling and built-in bookcases.”

  “Me, too,” she said. “But I’m not sure about that in your living room. Let’s keep it in mind for your home office.”

  His expression said great idea. “Sounds good.”

  She clicked on the next shot. “Now in this one I like the crown molding and the color of the walls. Gray and white are being used a lot right now but I’m not sure about it for you.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve been researching pictures of Blackwater Lake, all the seasons. In winter there’s a lot of snow and fog in the mountains. I think the interior of your home should be a contrast to a time of the year that some people might find depressing. Earth colors might give you a warmer ambience overall. And there can be variations on the shade in other rooms that make it less gloomy.”

  “Good point.”

  She tapped her lip looking at the next picture. “The TV in this one is prominent in the great room. Since you’re going to have a media room do you want one in the family room, too?”

  He thought for a moment. “Maybe.”

  “Would it be a distraction there when you’re entertaining?”

  “I don’t do much of that.”

  “Not even the family? For football games or holidays?”

  “No.” He met her gaze. “It’s saying a lot that I would rather talk paint color and built-in bookshelves than personal issues, so make whatever you want out of it and we can just move on.”

  “Okay, then. Next picture.” It had white fuzzy chairs against a navy blue wall and both of them said together, “No way.”

  Rose laughed. “That was unprofessional of me. You might have loved and desperately wanted that. I’m not supposed to influence your choices.”

  “Not even to talk me out of a big mistake?”

  “I would point out the pros and cons without making my preference known,” she said.

  There was a look in his eyes that was both intense and impossible to read. “No, please, reveal preferences. I’m paying you the big bucks so you’ll keep me from picking out something hideous. I want you to like it.”

  “It doesn’t matter whether I do or not. I’m not going to live there.”

  “Right.”

  Had she just seen something in his face? A vulnerability, or longing? She wasn’t sure and didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. After clicking on the next picture she asked, “What do you think?”

  “Looks cheesy.”

  “I agree.” But she pointed to the wood floor. “That’s a nice color. Not too dark or light and it’s pine. Seems appropriate for the mountains. What do you think?”

  He examined it closer. “Yeah. I’d have missed it because the rest of the room turned me off. You really have an eye for detail.”

  “It’s my job. And occasionally I’m right.” The next five shots were unhelpful but the sixth one caught his eye. She could tell by the excitement in his expression. “What?”

  “That fireplace. It’s classic but simple and warm.”

  “Look at you throwing around decorating lingo.” She studied the white wood and detailed edges of the fireplace. “I’d have figured you for a rock-face kind of guy. And we should look at that, too. Because this is a focal point of the room and the rest of your choices need to complement it if that’s most important to you.”

  “Important to me,” he repeated, studying her. His eyes turned intense and their faces were very close together.

  Rose felt heat creep into her cheeks and her pulse rate kicked up a notch or two. She would give almost anything to know what he was thinking and thought about asking straight out. But her cell phone on the desk rang. Normally she checked the identity of the caller before answering but she was too grateful for the interruption.

  She picked up the device and hit Talk. “Rose Tucker.”

  “Hey, Rosie.”

  “Chandler.” She met Linc’s gaze and saw the “I told you so” wheels turning. Distance. She needed to be away from him. After standing, she moved toward the doorway. “How are you?”

  “Missing you.”

  “That’s sweet.” This was where she should have said she missed him, too. But she didn’t.

  “How’s it going there?” If Chandler noticed her lack of reciprocation, his voice didn’t reveal anything.

  She had told him about the out-of-town job and since he knew nothing about her and Linc being married, the question had to be about her work. “Good. Things are fine.”

  “How much longer will you be gone?”

  “Hard to say.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw Linc not even trying to pretend that he wasn’t listening to every word. “This is a big job.”

  “Can you get away for a weekend here in Dallas?”

  “Not likely.”

  “What if I put together a couple of days and come to you?”

  Oh, that was a very bad idea and she just barely stopped the words from coming out of her mouth. Instead she thought carefully about what to say. “I hate to see you do that. I won’t be able to spend much time with you.” In a sudden and surprising flash of insight she saw that Linc looked awfully pleased about that. Was she pleased about his reaction? After telling him she didn’t care? That would make her a liar.

  “Chandler, I’d love to chat longer, but I’m with a client. Can I call you later?”

  “Sure. I look forward to it. Love you, Rose.”

  “Thanks for calling.” She ended the call and took a deep breath before turning to Linc. “Okay, where were we?”

  “We’re where I ask how important that guy really is to you.”

  “Very.” She sat down and met his gaze, stubbornly refusing to look away even though she desperately wanted to do just that. And she had a feeling he could see the blush creeping into her cheeks.

  “Very important?” He leaned closer. “I don’t think I believe you. That sounded an awful lot like a defensive response ten years in the making.”

  “Oh, please.” She made a dismissive noise. “Chandler and I are practically engaged. I
told you that.”

  “Then why did you discourage him from coming for a visit?” He held up a hand to stop her protest. “It was the part where you said you couldn’t spend much time with him that clued me in. So why don’t you want to see him?”

  “That’s none of your business, Linc.”

  “Funny.” He glanced down for a moment, a small smile on his lips. “It sure feels like my business.”

  “Well, it’s not. Now let’s get back to work.” She reached out and clicked the computer mouse to scroll to the next picture. “What do you think of this one?”

  “What would you do if I kissed you?”

  Her heart stopped for a second, then resumed beating very hard and fast. She couldn’t look at him. “Don’t you dare. I have a boyfriend.”

  “But what if I did? Would you slap my face?”

  “You’re so unimportant to me it wouldn’t be worth getting that worked up over.”

  “Care to bet?”

  Pulling herself together, she finally met his gaze. She didn’t care about him, so why not? “You’re on.”

  He reached into his jeans pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and set it on the desk. Then he stood and reached down to take her hands and lift her to her feet. He cupped her face in his palms and brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones until she thought she couldn’t breathe. And when he touched his mouth to hers, she swore fireworks were going off nearby.

  He moved his lips over her face with small, nibbling kisses and touched the tip of his tongue to her bottom lip, tracing it slowly, erotically. Dear God, it felt so good. Right now she’d give him another twenty dollars not to stop doing what he was doing. But that wasn’t to be. He pulled back and she swore the move was reluctant on his part. At least she wasn’t the only one breathing hard.

  Linc looked at her, dropped his hands and stepped away. “Okay, go ahead and slap me. After all, you have a boyfriend.”

  Oh, God! Chandler. One second she’d held him up as a shield, the next he’d been wiped from her mind like an annoying computer virus. This was a problem and she needed to take care of it right away.

  * * *