A Wife for One Year

by Brenda Harlen

  She shook her head.

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll admit that I no longer think you’re a complete ass just because your family has boatloads of money, but the fact remains that we don’t run in the same circles.”

  “Actually, if you want to get technical, it’s yachtfuls of money.”

  Her lips tipped up, just a little, at the corners. “Which is too bad, because I almost think I could like you.”

  Then she pushed back her chair, and he immediately rose to his feet and offered her a hand. She seemed surprised by the gesture, but she put her hand in his, and he felt an unexpected warmth spread through him in response to the contact.

  “I want to say ‘hi’ to someone in the kitchen before I head home,” she told him.

  “I can give you a ride.”

  She shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t live far.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I know where I live,” she promised him, her blue eyes sparkling with humor.

  He’d never known anyone else who had the ability to make him feel like an idiot with so little effort. But she wasn’t ever mean about it and, truthfully, he kind of liked that she challenged him. Most of the girls he knew just nodded in agreement with everything he said. Kenna had her own thoughts and opinions, and she wasn’t afraid to share them.

  “I meant—are you sure you don’t want a ride?” he clarified.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay,” he agreed, albeit reluctantly.

  “Thanks again for the pizza,” she said, and turned toward the back of the restaurant.

  “Thanks for letting me win the bet.”

  It had been a long time after before he realized that he’d won a lot more than a hundred-dollar bet that day.

  He only hoped he hadn’t jeopardized everything by putting a ring on her finger.

  * * *

  When they landed at the Raleigh-Durham Airport Sunday afternoon, there was a text message on Kenna’s phone from her sister.

  @ library with Todd

  Kenna sighed and simply replied ok.

  It wasn’t okay—not by a long shot, but she knew that expressing her disapproval of the relationship would only succeed in fueling her little sister’s affection for him.

  Besides, she had bigger things to worry about right now. Like Sunday night dinner at the home of her new in-laws.

  David and Jane Garrett had bought a modest farmhouse set on ten acres of property when they were newlyweds. Over the years and as their family had grown, they’d renovated and added on so that the current dwelling bore little resemblance to the original structure. The first time Kenna had ever seen it, she’d loved it.

  The two-story house was big but not particularly grandiose. Certainly no one seeing it from the street would think that it belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Charisma. But any time David complained that the floors were creaky and suggested they should move to a modern home in a newer neighborhood, Jane shot him down. “Each one of our boys took their first steps in this creaky old house, and I’m not selling those memories.”

  Kenna had a lot of happy memories of times spent in that house, too. Studying for numerous exams with Daniel at the butcher-block table; nibbling on warm chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven; playing flag football with his brothers and his cousins in the backyard; sitting on the porch swing with her head on Daniel’s shoulder, trying not to cry the night before he left for college.

  Because she’d spent so much time there over the years, no one was surprised when she showed up with Daniel Sunday afternoon. He’d wanted to get there early, so they could tell his parents about their marriage before everyone else arrived. Everyone else being his oldest brother, Andrew, Andrew’s daughter, Maura, his girlfriend, Rachel, and middle brother Nathan.

  But when they got to the farm, they discovered that Andrew and Rachel had beaten them there, eager to share the news of their engagement. Daniel sent Kenna a look, to which she responded with a subtle shake of her head, discreetly slipping her rings off her finger and into her pocket.

  She knew they had to tell David and Jane about their marriage, but she didn’t want to steal the spotlight from Andrew and Rachel. Or maybe she was worried that having the light focused on Daniel and herself would reveal that they weren’t head over heels in love as his brother and fiancée obviously were.

  Nate showed up just as dinner was being put on the table, so the story of Andrew and Rachel’s engagement was told again—in great detail by seven-year-old Maura—as platters and bowls of food were passed around.

  No one made roast beef with all the trimmings like Daniel’s mom, and it was usually one of Kenna’s favorite meals. But today, as she listened to the discussion about potential dates and venues for Andrew and Rachel’s wedding, she found herself moving more food around her plate than she put in her mouth.

  Everyone was thrilled about the engagement. Of course, Andrew and Rachel had been dating since February—not a long time, really, but long enough to be sure that this was what they wanted. As Kenna watched their interactions, she couldn’t help but see that there was a connection between them, so real it was almost tangible.

  Beneath the table, Daniel gave her hand a questioning squeeze. She knew he was eager to share their news, because it was a prerequisite to accessing his trust fund, but the timing just seemed wrong to her. Or maybe, seeing the secretive looks and warm glances that passed between Andrew and Rachel, it was the marriage that seemed wrong.

  Thankfully, with so many people around the table, there was rarely a lull in the conversation. There was discussion about Thomas Garrett’s impending retirement and Nate’s expected move to the CFO’s office when he was gone; Andrew asked Kenna if she was looking forward to the end of the school year and her summer vacation, which prompted Maura to regale them with her plans to play soccer and take ballet classes and go to horseback riding camp; and then Jane happened to mention that she needed to go shopping for a new dress for Lukas and Julie’s wedding.

  Lukas Garrett was one of Daniel’s cousins who lived in Pinehurst, New York; Julie Marlowe was his fiancée, originally from Springfield, Massachusetts. Long before they’d decided to get married themselves, Daniel had asked Kenna to attend with him because he hated going to weddings on his own.

  “When is the wedding?” David asked.

  His wife rolled her eyes. “June twenty-first. Don’t worry, I put the date in the calendar on your phone.”

  “That seems fast,” Andrew noted. “They only met seven months ago.”

  Nate shook his head. “The Garrett men are dropping like flies. I think maybe I should lie low until this epidemic passes.”

  “Stop it,” his mother admonished. “You should be so lucky to fall in love and share your life with someone one day.”

  “I’d say that Daniel and I are the lucky ones,” Nate countered.

  “Don’t drag me into this,” Daniel protested.

  “Birds of a feather,” his brother said. “With no intention of having our wings clipped.”

  “Do you feel as if your wings have been clipped?” Rachel asked Andrew.

  “Only by choice,” her fiancé assured her.

  “And that’s great for you,” Nate said. “But it’s not my choice.”

  “Never say never,” Daniel cautioned.

  “Whose side are you on here?”

  “I’m not taking sides—I have nothing against marriage.”

  “Since when?” Nate demanded.

  Under the table, Daniel gave her hand another squeeze. “Since Kenna and I got married.”

  Chapter Four

  “Well, that was a disaster,” Kenna commented, as they drove away from his parents’ house toward her apartment.

  “Actually, I thought i
t went pretty well,” Daniel told her.

  “Your mother cried.”

  “Not because we got married, but because we went to Las Vegas and didn’t tell anyone.”

  She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she let it go. “And now she wants to plan a big reception, so that we can celebrate with all of our family and friends.”

  “My mother does love to throw a party.” And he kind of liked the idea of making a public statement about their marriage, letting the world know that Kenna was now his wife.

  “You have to talk her out of it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I can’t play the blushing bride in front of two hundred people,” she told him. “Especially the single female contingent who will want to gouge my eyes out for taking you off the market.”

  “She won’t invite two hundred people,” he said, choosing to ignore the latter part of her statement.

  Kenna just looked at him.

  “Okay, she’ll probably invite two hundred people,” he acknowledged. “But so what? Did you really think we’d be able to keep the news of our wedding a secret?”

  “No, I just didn’t want anyone to make a big deal out of it.” Those words were barely out of her mouth before her expression brightened. “Andrew and Rachel’s wedding, on the other hand, should be a very big deal.”

  He’d always been impressed by the quickness of her mind and had to chuckle now. “Would you really throw my brother and his fiancée under the bus to save yourself?”

  “It’s not throwing them under the bus if they want to be there,” Kenna pointed out. “Rachel wants the fancy wedding with all the trimmings—and Andrew wants to give her whatever she wants.”

  “He was in a bad place for a long time after Nina died,” Daniel remembered. “It’s good to see him so happy again.”

  She nodded, because she’d been there through that difficult period after his eldest brother had lost his wife, and she’d shared his worry.

  “Don’t you want that for yourself?” she asked him now. “To get married because you’re in love?”

  “I’m already married,” he reminded her.

  “And what if you meet someone now?”

  “Huh?”

  “What if you walk into a coffee shop tomorrow and bump into the woman you were meant to spend the rest of your life with?”

  “If it hasn’t happened in the past twenty-seven years, I don’t think it’s going to happen tomorrow or any other time in the next twelve months.”

  “But it could,” she insisted.

  “If we were really meant to be together, I’d just explain to her that we have to wait until my divorce is final to fall madly in love.”

  “You’re making fun of me.”

  “Yes, I am,” he agreed. Because the scenario she was proposing was ridiculous—because there really was no one he could imagine wanting to be with more than he wanted to be with Kenna.

  “It could happen,” she insisted.

  “It’s just as likely that you might meet someone,” he told her.

  “Yeah, because guys are always lining up to go out with high school science teachers. I practically trip over them trying to get to my classroom.”

  “I believe it,” he told her. “Not because you’re a high school science teacher, but because you’re smart, fun, kind, loyal, generous and beautiful.”

  “If I ever decide to join luvmatch-dot-com, you’re writing my profile.”

  “But mostly—” he looked at her and grinned “—because you look really good in a skirt.”

  * * *

  After dinner, Daniel had not only convinced Nathan to let him borrow his truck, he’d somehow cajoled his brother into helping him move some of the bigger items that Kenna wanted from her apartment. So while they were taking apart her bed, she boxed up her clothes and personal items and took them over to his condo.

  She’d just started unpacking when there was a knock on the door. Although she hadn’t expected they would be so close behind her, Kenna didn’t consider that it might be anyone other than her new husband and his brother—until she opened the door and discovered her mother-in-law standing on the other side.

  “Mrs. Garrett, hi.”

  “Can I come in?”

  She stepped away from the door. “Of course.”

  “This is for you,” Jane said, offering a vase overflowing with colorful blooms.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Kenna said. “Rachel’s work?”

  Daniel’s mother nodded. “One of the benefits of having a florist as a future daughter-in-law is that I didn’t have to wait until business hours tomorrow to offer an apology.”

  Kenna took the arrangement into the dining room and set it in the middle of the table. “But why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I know I seemed less than thrilled about the announcement of your marriage.”

  “There’s no need to apologize—I know the news was a surprise.”

  “But not an unpleasant one,” Jane assured her. “I always suspected that Daniel never fell in love with any of the girls he dated because of his feelings for you—not that he was ever willing to acknowledge those feelings, but I could see that they were there.”

  Her claim confirmed Daniel’s suspicion that his mother wanted to believe their marriage was real. But Kenna didn’t know whether that was because she’d been married for forty years and believed in happy endings, or because it was preferable to suspecting that her youngest son had ulterior motives for his marriage.

  “So you can understand why I was beginning to wonder if he’d ever meet that special someone...and why I’m so glad that someone was you.”

  Jane took both of Kenna’s hands and held them, her gaze steady and sincere.

  “I know I should welcome you to the family, but you’ve been part of our family for ten years already. So instead I’m going to tell you both David and I are overjoyed that your membership in our family is now official.”

  Kenna’s throat tightened as Jane released her hands and drew her into her embrace.

  Daniel’s parents had never been anything but warm and welcoming, and she’d loved them from the start. And Jane’s words would have meant so much to her if she and Daniel had married for all the right reasons; if the vows they’d exchanged had been more than a means to an end. Instead, his mother’s genuine warmth and acceptance made her want to cry.

  “And if you have no objection,” Jane continued as she released her, “I really would like to host a reception to celebrate your wedding.”

  Kenna had a whole boatload of objections, but none that she could admit to Daniel’s mother without raising red flags.

  “Of course, your mother might already be planning something,” Jane realized. “But I’d be happy to coordinate with her.”

  “Actually, we haven’t told my mother yet,” Kenna said. “But I don’t think that’s a concern, anyway.”

  “Good, because I don’t want to step on any toes, but I know there are so many friends and family who would appreciate the opportunity to give you their best wishes.”

  “My only suggestion would be to wait until after Andrew and Rachel’s wedding.”

  “But they just got engaged—they haven’t even set a date yet,” Jane protested.

  “Andrew doesn’t want to wait too long,” Kenna reminded her of the discussion that had gone on at the dinner table. “But Rachel wants a big wedding with all the bells and whistles, and that’s going to take a lot of planning.”

  Apparently Daniel was right—when it came to self-preservation, she would absolutely throw his brother and future sister-in-law under the bus.

  Jane sighed. “You’re right. And with Rachel’s parents living out of state, she might appreciate some help.”

  “She’ll be
thrilled,” Kenna said, confident that it was true.

  “Then we’ll plan a reception for you and Daniel next summer—to celebrate your first anniversary,” Jane decided, apparently willing to postpone but not relinquish that plan.

  “Sounds good,” Kenna said, and sent up a silent prayer that her temporary mother-in-law would someday forgive her for the lie.

  Because by next summer, Kenna and Daniel’s marriage would be over.

  * * *

  As Daniel stepped out of the shower Monday morning, he was confident in his ability to adjust to life as a married man. Granted it was only day three, but so far their legal status as husband and wife hadn’t changed much of anything between Kenna and him. They each had their own lives, and he expected that they would continue to live those lives. True, they were now living under the same roof, but so long as he remembered this was a marriage in name only and ignored the hum of attraction, the proximity shouldn’t cause any real problems.

  He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom, breathing in the heady scent of freshly brewed coffee. Okay, that was a change, but having someone else start the coffee in the morning was an adjustment he didn’t mind making. And if she wanted to cook breakfast, he wouldn’t object to that, either.

  Maybe it was because his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of bacon and eggs, or maybe it was because he hadn’t yet had his morning hit of caffeine, but whatever the reason, he forgot that living with his wife had required making space for her things until he reached into the top drawer of his dresser for a pair of boxers and found his hand enveloped in soft, frothy lace.

  His eyes opened wide to stare at the tiny scrap of pale shimmery blue fabric—and he felt a subtle but distinctive stirring of interest low in his belly.

  The rational part of his brain wanted him to drop the garment back into the drawer and pretend he’d never seen it. The depraved part was suddenly trying to paint a picture of Kenna wearing nothing more than the panties in his hand—a mental image that was both incredibly arousing and distinctly unnerving.