Some Like It Ruthless (A Temporary Engagement)

by Bryce, Megan

  She fiddled with a button on his shirt. “My favorite memory is the last good time. You crawled in through my window, didn’t say a word.”

  He choked out, “I’m sensing a pattern. You like it when I’m not saying anything.”

  “You open your mouth and ruin it. Just like you did that time.”

  He leaned his head back against the seat. “Yeah.”

  She said, “We both knew how much it would cost you to help the Beaumonts, what your father would do. And you’d still done it, because I asked you to. And then when you came to me after, wild and crazy. No words because we hadn’t needed any.”

  He whispered, “That’s your favorite memory?”

  It was. It had turned out to be all wrong, all untrue. But for one hour she’d known what it felt like to have someone so strong. Someone who would never falter, no matter the consequences.

  And then he’d crawled out of her bed and opened his mouth, and all the lies she’d been telling herself had been shredded with the truth.

  She was glad it had only been for one hour. Could live with herself because it had only been for one hour.

  Maggie put her head on his shoulder. “To be fair, it’s not my favorite any more.”

  “Oh, God. What have you replaced it with? Tell me it’s not the knee.”

  She said softly, “This one’s pretty good.”

  He was silent a long, long time. He pulled her into him a little tighter and reached for her left hand.

  His ring sparkled in the bright Texas sun and he said, “This one is pretty good.”

  Thirteen

  Late Thursday afternoon, Paul handed Cole a pair of keys and said, “All done, boss.”

  Cole grinned and tossed a key over on to Maggie’s desk. She picked it up and said, “What’s this?”

  “I bought a house. If you’re going to come out here, you need somewhere to sleep.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it. She finally said, “What about the trailer?”

  He shook his head. “You need a real bed.”

  “It is true that we don’t fit. I don’t know how you lasted on a queen.”

  “I slept diagonally. That doesn’t work when there’s two of us.”

  “So you bought a house?”

  He stood, waving her out the door. “I guess I could have just bought a bed, put it under the stars. You like tents?”

  She laughed. “I like plumbing.”

  Outside, he helped her into the truck. “It’s just a few miles down the road. And it’s not fancy. Just a little two bedroom that cost more than it should. Paul hired a cleaning crew and got the inside painted, at least.”

  He rounded the front of the truck with a spring in his step and Maggie couldn’t help but smile at how excited he was.

  He hopped into the truck and said, “But we’ll keep the trailer. You know, for the occasional afternoon delight.”

  “You mean your naps.”

  “One does seem to lead to the other.”

  Ten minutes later, he pulled off the highway into a small, older subdivision and then into a pitted driveway. The house was an old fifties bungalow, and no, it wasn’t fancy. The grass was dead, the paint was peeling. But the neighbors were far enough away and there was a nice-sized backyard.

  Cole looked at it and said, “It needs some paint.”

  “It’s cute. I think you could make it look real nice.”

  “Yeah?”

  She nodded, getting out of the truck. He followed her, walking to the front door, wiping at a smudge on the door, toeing the crumbling sidewalk.

  He said, “Needs some work.”

  He fitted his key in the door. He paused and said, “If you don’t like it, we can find something else.”

  She grinned at him. “Show me your house, Cole.”

  He twisted the key, pushing the door in. The smell of fresh paint wafted out, new carpet greeted them.

  He waited for her to enter and she stepped through the front door, into the empty living room.

  It was small, like all older houses, but not cramped, and the sun shone through clean windows. She said, “It’ll just fit two recliners,” and he laughed, taking her hand.

  He pulled her into the kitchen. White cabinets, white appliances, pale yellow walls.

  He said, “I always wanted a yellow kitchen.”

  “It’s sunny. Too bad neither one of us can cook. And if we could, we wouldn’t have time to.”

  “But we can sit at our kitchen table, sipping coffee, waiting for our breakfast sandwiches to come out of the microwave. Maybe some real bacon.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “You need a kitchen table, some chairs, and a microwave.”

  He nodded. “Maybe you can help me pick them out.”

  “Paul’s not going to do it?”

  He shook his head. “I want to do it. With you.”

  She took a deep breath and he said, “Don’t tell me you don’t like shopping.”

  “I like shopping.”

  “Good. I want a white kitchen table.”

  She smiled at him, at the Cole Montgomery who wanted a white and yellow kitchen. “It’s a nice house, Cole. Cozy.”

  “I wanted to show it to you before we head back to Dallas tomorrow.” He started walking her backwards to the hallway. “Try out the bed.”

  “A king?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  She closed her eyes, imagining space around her as she slept. “Are we staying here tonight?”

  “Could I get you back into the trailer?”

  “Nope.”

  “Didn’t think so. We’ll have to get some supplies for tonight.”

  She hopped up, wrapping her jean-clad legs around his waist. “Do you have sheets for the bed?”

  He carried her into the master that was just big enough to fit the bed. “They’re already on.”

  “Then what else do we need?”

  He grinned, dropping her onto the bed, and said, “Can’t think of one thing.”

  The sun had set by the time they’d christened the new bed, the new house. Maggie had fallen asleep and he’d held her, watched the shadows creep across the walls, and thought about this cozy little house that might one day look like a home.

  But they needed supplies and he reluctantly woke her. She smiled that sleepy smile she gave him when she was relaxed and happy.

  He opened his mouth to say they needed to get to the store, at least get some food for the morning, some plates to eat off. He should have had Paul stock up but he’d wanted to do it. If he’d had the time, he would have orchestrated the cleaning and painting and not leave it to someone else.

  But what he said was, “I’d like to stay with you in Dallas.”

  She stretched. “Okay.”

  He thought about leaving it at that but he knew she didn’t understand. He said, “I want to move in with you.”

  “You want to move into the ranch house?”

  “With you.”

  She sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. She sat there quietly, staring into the darkness. She finally turned to him and said, “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “Why not! You want to move in with me and you say why not like it’s no big deal?”

  He ran his hand down her back. “We’re sleeping together. Living together during the week. It’s not such a big leap to live together on the weekend.”

  “I could move into your place.”

  He nodded. “You could. But you live with me when we’re out here. I thought this would be more even.”

  She lay back down, the sheet still pulled to her chin. “You’re trying to kill my father, aren’t you?”

  “It honestly never entered my mind.”

  Although he would admit, it just might finish the old codger off.

  She said, “My room’s down the hall from Tanner and my sister.”

  “I’m not saying there aren’t drawbacks. But it’ll only be on the weekends.”

  Maggie
thought for a long minute, then said, “I’m not telling Rosa.”

  Cole made sure to keep his breathing even, to not pump his fist with his win. “That’ll come as a shock to her.”

  “It’ll come as a shock to you when she greets you in the morning with the butcher’s knife.”

  “Should I just plan on not eating anything she makes me?”

  She snickered. “Probably. You sure you want to move in?”

  He said, “Yes.”

  She pulled away from him, getting out of the bed and trying to find her clothes in the dark.

  She said softly, “I’m not the only one who gets what I want, am I?”

  “Don’t mix up me wanting the house with me wanting you.”

  “I don’t think I am. Are you?”

  He flipped on the light, blinding them briefly. “I want to be welcomed in your home, Maggie.”

  “I already said you could stay there.”

  She started to pull up her pants and he stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Welcomed. If not by everybody, then at least by you.”

  He’d bought a house for her. It hadn’t been for him, it had been for her. And he didn’t expect tit for tat but he thought she could offer something in return.

  She just looked at him, not speaking, and he let go of her arm.

  He said, “It would be nice if you could look at me when you’re wide awake like you look at me when you’re not.”

  “How do I look at you?”

  “Right now? Like you’re trying to think three steps ahead of me.”

  She said, “How do I look at you when I’m not awake?”

  “Like you like me. Like you trust me.”

  She finished pulling up her pants, threw on her shirt. She said, “Well, I do like you. And I don’t trust you. They are not mutually exclusive.”

  “What do you think it would take for you to trust me?”

  She shook her head, not answering.

  He sat down on the bed and she stepped between his legs. She tilted his head up and looked into his eyes. She cupped his face with her soft hands and he almost smiled. Soft hands and a sharp voice, and he knew what was coming.

  She said, “I’ll trust you when you stop buying up my company behind my back. I’ll trust you when you stop being sneaky.”

  “When I stop being an idiot?”

  She smiled slightly. “I’m not waiting around for that to happen.”

  “You didn’t trust me when I didn’t do those things. I’d like for you to trust me no matter what I do, no matter what it looks like I’m doing, because you know I wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “Then tell me why you really want to move into the ranch house. Why we just don’t live at your place.”

  He wanted to live in the ranch house because he lived on top of the garage. Because his house was cold and ugly. Because her house was warm and the lights blazed, waiting for everyone to come home. Where you would never be alone, couldn’t ever be alone.

  He wanted to live in the ranch house because it was a home.

  He said softly, “I want to live with you in the ranch house because I’ve only ever snuck in and out of it. I want to walk through the front door when the lights are blazing. Not climb in through the window, not leave before everyone is awake.”

  “I’m not ashamed of you, Cole. I welcomed you into my bed.”

  He shook his head. “No, you didn’t. You snuck me into your bed, in the dark.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked away from him, her eyebrows pinched together.

  She opened her mouth again, and closed it again.

  She looked back at him, realization dawning in her eyes. She blew out a breath and said, “I’m sorry. You are welcome in my home, Cole. You are welcome to come through the front door, to sleep in my bed, to eat with my family.”

  “Welcome to a drawer in your dresser?”

  She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “You just always have to push.”

  He chuckled. “I knew that one would be hard.”

  She opened her eyes. “It’s simply a matter of finding the space.”

  “Still not going to tell Rosa I’m moving in? She might notice when she’s putting your laundry away.”

  “I’ll talk to Rosa, tell her to stop treating you like a mongrel dog.”

  Cole laughed and Maggie warned, “But it’s going to take a lot longer for her to forgive you than it took for me.”

  Cole stared at her. “You’ve forgiven me?”

  She ran her hand through his hair. “A few weeks ago. I don’t sleep with those I hate, Cole.”

  “A few weeks ago? That was information I probably could have used, Margaret.”

  “To do what? You’ve gotten me in bed, a ring on my finger, I work with you during the week, and now you’ll be staying in my house during the weekend. What else is there?”

  He flopped back on the bed, pulling her with him. He said, “Tell me again. That you’ve forgiven me for being a stupid eighteen-year-old shit.”

  She pushed herself up enough so that she could see his face. “I’ve forgiven you for being a stupid eighteen-year-old shit.”

  He laughed. “Forgiveness and cussing? We are never getting out of this bed.”

  She smiled at him and he rolled over, getting her underneath him, tugging at her jeans.

  She said, “Cole. Don’t do it again.”

  He looked up to find her not smiling and he stopped tugging.

  She said, “Promise me. I don’t want to go through that again.”

  “I’ll never hurt you, Maggie. Never.”

  “I want to believe you.”

  He said, “But you don’t.”

  “I can’t go through that again, Cole. You were my only friend, my best friend. And I had nothing without you, I had to learn how to be alone all over again.” She put her hands on his and said softly, “I won’t survive the fall if it happens again.”

  He dropped his head on to her chest. Listened to her heart beat. Tried not to think how hurt she must have been. She’d forgiven him but the fear was still there, the fear that he’d do it again.

  He closed his eyes.

  She said, “Please don’t do anything that makes me worry. That makes me wonder. That makes me doubt.”

  “I don’t know if I can. You doubt when I want to move in with you.”

  He felt her nod and she said, “Okay. Then you promise to give me the whole truth, nothing but the truth, and I’ll promise to believe you’re innocent until proven guilty.”

  He sighed a long, long sigh, and she said, “See, that makes me wonder.”

  He sat up, straddling her, and crossed his arms. Her eyebrows went up and she pushed herself up onto her elbows.

  He said, “You’re not going to like it.”

  “Oh, God. Already?”

  “Is this you believing I’m innocent until proven guilty?”

  She pinched her lips together.

  Cole said, “Trust me, Maggie.”

  She closed her eyes and laid back on the bed. “You just said I’m not going to like it.”

  “You’re not. I think it’s fair to say I will make you mad from time to time. But that doesn’t mean it was done to hurt you or that it even will hurt you.”

  She kept her eyes closed. “Just tell me.”

  “MOC bought your loans from Harwood.”

  Her eyes stayed closed, her face emotionless. “Why? And I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

  “So you don’t have to deal with him anymore. So I don’t have to deal with him anymore.”

  “Because the little woman just can’t handle one asshole?”

  He smiled at her closed eyes. “Because if I have to imagine him insulting you one more time, I am going to tie him to one of my drills and use his teeth as a bit.”

  Her mouth curved up and he said, “I’m not joking.”

  “I know. I was picturing it.”

  “You don’t like him, Maggie. He digs at you, hu
rts you. I don’t want you working with him. For any deal, for any reason. You don’t need him now.”

  She opened her eyes. “Because I have you now?”

  He said softly, “Yes. Harwood is an issue I need you to work around.”

  He crawled off her, laying on the bed next to her, and stared at the ceiling.

  She turned her head to look at him. “You’re right. I don’t like it. I especially don’t like you messing around in my business.”

  “Your business? I do own thirty percen–”

  “Don’t start that.”

  He turned to his side, propping his head up on his hand. “I don’t want your debt, Maggie. I’ll clear it off the books, pay for it out of pocket. I just don’t want you to have any reason to work with Jackson Harwood.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll pay you for it. Although I still have a one year moratorium.”

  “We’ll talk about it.”

  “I told you I didn’t want your money.”

  He took her hand and played with her ring. “Things have changed.”

  “That part hasn’t. I don’t want you to pay off my debts.”

  “Because you’d rather owe a bunch of sharks than owe me?”

  “Because there’s something about money, Cole, and we already have enough issues to deal with.”

  “We’ll work our way through them.” He leaned closer. “Am I forgiven about Harwood?”

  “Maybe by tomorrow. And I know you’ve got issues with him but I only gave you the skirt for free.”

  “And you don’t want me to pay off the debt in return for you steering clear of him, huh?”

  She shook her head. He slid his hand inside her jeans and murmured, “Then let me think about what I can give you.”

  “You think about it. And in the mean time. . .” She put her lips against his, slipped her hand around his back. “Let’s fight about it before you go off and do something that’ll make me mad, okay?”

  “I do like fighting with you.”

  “I know. I don’t know why you kept this to yourself when you could have got me all riled up.”

  He kissed her. “I do like you all riled up.”

  He shoved her pants down and said, “You got a deal. Next time I’ll rile you up before.”

  Tanner was flying high. Cole’s assistant had called to tell him Harwood’s loans had been transferred and that Cole would be bringing a check back with him this weekend.