She spun on her heels and walked towards the door. Then she had another thought and turned back to him.
“I don’t know what happened to you. You used to be strong, daring, fun. I liked that man. I loved that man. If that man came back, he might have a chance. This one”—she pointed at him again—“isn’t worth my time.”
And then she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom.
Caroline and Josh waited in the meeting room for the vicar to stop faffing about and join them. A sharp elbow hit Josh’s side, making him flinch. “What was that for?”
“You can’t kiss your way out of trouble, Josh McInnes.” Caroline’s voice was low, even though they were the only two in the room.
“That’s not what I’ve been told.” He couldn’t help but smirk. His lips had gotten him out of all sorts of trouble.
“So,” the vicar said as he entered the room. “How did you two get on with the homework?”
Caroline was all business again. “We did well. We’re working our way through the book. I think we have about half answered now. Right?”
She turned to Josh, who couldn’t begin to express how much he didn’t care about the homework. “Right.” Even he could hear it lacked conviction.
The vicar didn’t seem convinced, but he limited his criticism to a glare. He smiled at Caroline. “Caroline and I had a chat this week about the ceremony. She’s agreed to the common vows, although she refuses to vow to obey.”
Josh burst out laughing. “Sorry.” He held up a finger, asking for a minute. “That’s better. I’m fine now. It’s passed. I’m serious. This is serious.” He cleared his throat. “It would have been surprising if she had vowed to obey.”
Caroline glowered at him. “No woman vows to obey these days.”
Josh patted her knee. “Especially you, baby. I’m pretty sure you’re genetically incapable.”
She gave him the evil eye. “Do you want me to vow to obey?”
He tried to swallow the laughter that bubbled up as he held up his hand in surrender. “I want you to vow what you’re happy with and then stick with it.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“No.” Josh was struggling to keep it together. “No, I don’t want you to vow to obey.”
She stuck her little nose in the air, pleased that he’d clearly come to the correct conclusion. Josh started to laugh again as his stomach muscles began to cramp.
“Don’t mind him,” she told the vicar. “He’s easily amused.”
The vicar studied them for a moment. “So, when do you two want to start a family?”
“Straight away,” Josh said as Caroline said, “In a year or so.”
They looked at each other as the vicar patted his belly, obviously pleased with himself.
“You want to try for a family straight off?” Caroline seemed terrified at the thought.
“I’m not getting any younger.” Josh wanted to add and neither are you, but thought better of it.
“You’re only thirty-five; you have years ahead of you to make babies.” She blushed. “I mean have children. I thought we’d spend some time getting to know each other first before we added children to the mix. Men don’t have a deadline—there’s no hurry for you.”
Josh inclined his head and gave her a searing look through his lashes. She bit her bottom lip as she watched him. He hoped her thoughts had gone in the same direction his had gone—south. Very south. Straight to the baby-making part of this discussion. He eyed the curve of her hips and wondered how fast he could get her out of her clothes.
She nudged him. “Are you listening to me?”
He ran his palm down her thigh. It was encased in another Teflon-coated grey skirt, but it still felt sexy as hell, especially when his touch made her wriggle in her seat. “How about we start trying in six months?”
Her eyes went wide. “I can do six months.”
The vicar cleared his throat to get their attention. “Have you decided where you’re living yet?”
Caroline looked up at Josh. Her eyes were softer, less guarded than usual. The way they were when he was kissing her. It took his breath away. He made up his mind on the spot. “We’re going to live in the castle.”
Her face lit up. “Really? I thought we had to live in LA?”
“We can travel.” He shrugged like it was nothing, but seeing the look on her face made him want to concede to everything. To give her everything, just so he could see that look every day.
“Of course. I keep forgetting you’re rich. You can afford to travel back and forth.”
Josh felt that statement sear through his chest. After all the women he’d known who had only seen his money, the fact Caroline saw everything except it, was a miracle. “We can afford to travel, baby,” he reminded her.
She smiled up at him again. The kind of smile that made a man want to beat his chest and roar.
“Okay.” The vicar stood. “This is getting a little nauseating. I think we’re done with the counselling. I’ve got better things to do with my time. You two are free to go. See you at the wedding.” He left the room, banging the door shut behind him.
They stared after him. Caroline reached for Josh’s hand. Josh warmed as their fingers entwined. Her eyes were still on the door the preacher had disappeared through, and Josh wondered if she was even aware she was touching him. “Do you think that means we passed?”
Josh really couldn’t care less. He winked at Caroline. “Want to practice more kissing for the big day?”
Caroline gave him a playful smack on his chest with the back of her hand. As she left the room, she stopped to look over her shoulder at him. “Maybe we could practice some more at my house.” Her voice was a sexy rasp he hadn’t heard before.
She batted her eyelashes at him as a blush crept up her cheeks. She was beautiful.
“Anything you say, Caroline.” Josh reached for her hand. “You’re the boss.”
They walked home in the warm evening air, with the sun low in the sky. It made the whitewashed houses of Invertary gleam golden. Josh draped his arm over her shoulders, and Caroline had no choice but to wrap hers around his waist. He snuggled her into his side as they walked down the hill towards her house, and she was overcome with the notion that she’d never fit anywhere so perfectly. As they walked, Josh told her tales from his music career. They turned into Muir Street, and Caroline was laughing at the story of him falling off the stage in Italy when Josh sucked in a breath.
“You have got to be kidding me. Just when I’ve sorted access to the bedroom.”
Caroline frowned. Access to the bedroom? She followed his gaze and saw Josh’s father sitting on her front stoop, and her stomach sank. Great. Josh dropped his arm from her shoulder, and she felt unreasonably cold. Ignoring the shivers, she straightened her back and prepared for the worst.
“There’s no room at the inn,” Josh’s father said.
Josh looked around them.
Caroline followed his gaze. “What are you doing, Josh?”
“Looking for a pregnant woman and a donkey.”
“That’s not funny,” his father said.
“Neither is you turning up on Caroline’s doorstep.”
“I need a place to stay. The pub is full, and all the B&Bs—the whole three of them—have guests coming in. Guests that want to ogle your farce of a wedding.”
Josh folded his arms and glared down at his father. “Yep, that’s exactly the right thing to say to get us to take you in.”
“Helen threw me out. It’s only for a night or two.”
“Don’t ask me.” Josh cocked a thumb at Caroline. “Ask Caroline. It’s her house.”
Brilliant. Now he’d offloaded it on her. She bugged her eyes out at him in reproach. Then she looked back to his father. He was still as unflinching and cantankerous as he’d been when she’d first met him. Only this time there was pain in his eyes. The man was hurting.
“Of course Josh’s father is welcome to stay.” She hop
ed she sounded convinced, because she definitely didn’t feel it.
Josh sighed beside her. When she looked up at him, his lips thinned and his eyebrow went up. She raised her palms in a “what could I do?” gesture. He shook his head in disgust.
Enough of this. Caroline pushed past the two of them to open the door. Two hulking men, who barely fit in her home, followed her into the kitchen.
“Got any beer?” His father dumped a heavy bag on the floor.
“Uh, no,” Caroline told him.
The man’s expression made it clear that he considered her lack of beer to be another failure on her part.
“Yeah, we do.” Josh opened the fridge. He caught Caroline’s eye and gave her a small smile. “I’m going to be here a while, so I stocked up.”
Caroline bit back a snarky comment. “The bathroom is upstairs, Andrew. There’s another bed in the room Josh is staying in. You can take that.”
“Don’t bother.” Josh finished taking a swallow of his beer. “The beds are so short, half your legs hang off. Better take the couch. It’s next door.”
Without a word, Andrew lifted his beer, and his bag, and strode to the living room. Oh yeah, having him around was going to be delightful. Caroline rushed up the stairs to grab some bedding from the closet in her bedroom. She stopped dead—her bedroom door was gone.
“Josh!”
His face appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “I was going to mention that.” He gave her a cheeky smile.
“Where is my door?” It took all of her self-control not to start throwing things at his head.
“I removed it. That way you won’t lock me out again.”
She ground her teeth. “Bring back my door.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, baby. Right now we have more important things to deal with.” He cocked his head towards the living room and his father.
“You’re going to regret this,” she promised.
“I thought I might,” he mumbled as he headed back to his dad.
Caroline resisted the urge to kick the wall nearest her. What was she supposed to do without a bedroom door? There were two men in her house. Two men she hardly knew—even though she couldn’t keep her hands off one of them—and she didn’t even have privacy in her bedroom. She eyed the guest room. That had a door. Maybe she should sleep in there. That would serve Josh right. She looked back at her large, soft bed and let out an angry mewl. Her bedroom was the one place in the house where the décor reflected her. The one place she felt at peace. She’d be damned if she’d give it up for Josh. Let him sleep on the tiny beds. Door or no door, he wasn’t getting her bedroom.
Fuming, Caroline grabbed some bedding and stomped back down the stairs. She found Andrew sitting in the middle of the sofa with a TV remote in his hand. His eyes glued to the spot above the fireplace. For a second Caroline was confused, then she turned to find a brand new flat-screen where a painting of a swan used to be.
Caroline pointed at the TV. “What’s that?”
Josh was sprawled out in an armchair. His lips twitched as he lazily folded his arms. “It’s a TV, Caroline.”
She dumped the bedding on the couch and put her hands on her hips. “I know it’s a TV. It’s not my TV. What’s it doing here? Where is my TV?”
“Sweetheart.” Josh rose lazily and took a step towards her. “I know you liked your TV but it was older than my parents. It didn’t even have ESPN. This one has HD, CNN and ESPN. Plus, it hangs on the wall, so it frees up that little table for you to pile more books on.”
Caroline felt her blood pressure rise. “Why are you spouting acronyms at me? How am I supposed to know what HDPSN is and why should I be excited about it? I didn’t ask for this TV. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I barely watch TV. Take it back.”
Josh stepped into her space. He put a hand on either side of her neck. His thumbs caressed her jaw. He gently angled her face up to him. “I guessed from the state of your TV that you didn’t watch it much. But I’m staying here right now. And a man needs access to football.”
“Josh McInnes,” Caroline said, “if you think—”
His lips covered hers. The kiss was sweet, tender and very, very sensual. Caroline felt the tension drain from her body with each touch of his lips.
“I’m sitting right here and I’m fighting the urge to vomit,” his father said.
Josh moved away from her as he swept his thumb over her bottom lip. “Are we okay about the TV?”
Her brain was foggy. “Okay,” Caroline whispered.
He smiled at her, kissed her on the nose and gently pushed her towards the door.
“Go get ready for bed. You’re up early tomorrow.”
Feeling slightly drugged, she nodded to the men and sped up the stairs. She was halfway through pulling on her favourite pink satin pyjamas when she realised that she’d followed Josh’s orders without so much as blinking.
Her eyes narrowed. He was manipulating her. And using his magic lips to do it.
“So that’s where I’ve been going wrong all these years,” his father said as soon as Caroline disappeared. “I should have just kissed your mother to get her to do what I wanted.”
Josh fixed him with a look. “It might have helped. Hell, anything might have helped.”
He sat back down into one of the faded brown armchairs. A spring poked into his back. His father flicked channels, looking for a game to watch.
“What happened tonight?” Josh brought the beer bottle to his lips.
His father’s eyes stayed on the screen. Josh had about given up on an answer when he spoke. “I made dinner for her and lit a couple of candles, thought it might help.”
“And it didn’t?”
His father cast him a sideways glance that made Josh steel himself for the stupidity to come. “It was going fine until the topic turned to you and your wedding.”
“Ah.” Josh nodded knowingly.
His father frowned. “I don’t approve.”
“No kidding,” Josh mumbled.
“Nobody seems to care that I don’t approve.”
“That’s because nobody does.”
His father growled. “Don’t I have a right to stop you from ruining your life?”
“No. You have the right to tell me you think I’m ruining my life. You exercised your right. Now you have the right to shut the hell up and let me get on with it.”
“You’re being a fool.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
His father glared at him. “This isn’t about me and your mother.”
“You’re wrong, that’s exactly what it’s about—for you. The only problem you have to deal with is your marriage. I can handle my own life.”
“Yeah, right!”
Josh ignored him. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.
“What does Mom want?”
“I’ll be damned if I know.”
“You know. What does she want?”
There was a heavy sigh. His father’s shoulders slumped, and he looked older than his sixty-seven years.
“She wants me to be the way I was when I met her.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that I’m not a young man. I’ve lived a life. I can’t turn back the clock.”
Josh stood. “Well, I suggest you find a way to convince Mom that you are the man she wants. Otherwise you’re going to get that divorce whether you like it or not.”
The answer was silence. With a shake of his head, Josh left him to mope, and climbed the stairs to bed.
Caroline lay in the middle of her bed with the white lace fringed duvet pulled up around her neck. She was wearing her pyjamas, but she still felt naked. Vulnerable. And all because there was no door on her bedroom. She’d heard every single word Josh and his father had said. The house was small. Noise travelled. And now she could hear Josh coming up the stairs to bed.
She held her breath as he reached the landing, but instead of
turning right into the guest room, he turned left into her room. For a moment she was stunned. Then she heard his shoes hit the floor.
“What are you doing?” Her voice sounded as panicked at she felt.
“Coming to bed.”
She heard a zip and then jeans being pulled off. “Your bed is across the landing.”
“Nope. It’s in here with you. Those beds over there are made for midgets. This whole house is made for midgets. I’ve hit my head on the doorframes too many times to count, and the only way I can get my whole body wet in the shower is if I sit in the bath.”
“You’re not sleeping in here.”
“Yes, I am. Your bed is big. Sure, it looks like it belongs to a fairy princess, but it’s a great size.”
She sat up straight. “You’ve seen my bed?”
“Baby, I took the door off the hinges. I’ve seen the whole room. I even tried out the bed. It’s still a tight fit, but at least my feet don’t hang off it.”
“You were in my bed?”
From the dim light in the room she could see him pull his T-shirt over his head. “Have to say, I like the décor in here a whole lot better than the rest of the house. Didn’t have you pinned for frills and flowers, but it suits you.”
Caroline pointed at the door. “Go to the other room.”
“No.” He pulled back the duvet on the side of the bed nearest the door. “Move over.”
“Fine!” She clambered out of bed. “You can have the bed. I’ll sleep next door.”
She stomped to the door, furious that the man was kicking her out of her own bedroom. A strong arm snaked around her waist, her feet left the floor and the next thing she knew she was on her back in the middle of the bed and Josh was climbing in beside her.
Goody Two Shoes (Invertary Book 2) Page 17