5 Minutes to Marriage

by Carla Cassidy

  “Really?” He sat back in his chair and looked at her in surprise.

  She smiled. “Really.” She took a sip of coffee and then continued. “Jack, you need to relax a bit. You’re so tense when you’re around the boys, and I think they’re picking up on that. What you need to do is enjoy the process of raising them. You need to have fun with them.”

  He looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. “Fun?”

  She laughed. “Remember fun, Jack?”

  He smiled ruefully. “Actually, I don’t remember it.”

  “That’s what I’m going to bring back to your life, but I have to warn you things are going to get a little tough around here for the next couple days. You’d better enjoy your morning because there are going to be times you won’t know who you want to strangle more—me or the kids.”

  He laughed. “I can’t imagine that.”

  It was the first time she’d heard him really laugh, and the sound of his deep, rich laughter reached inside her and touched her heart. She mentally steeled herself against it, against him.

  “You’d better go on before I change my mind about giving you some time off,” she said with a businesslike briskness.

  “You sure you don’t want me to hang around and help you with breakfast for the boys?”

  “I’m quite capable of taking care of it.” She suddenly wanted him gone. She wanted him to take his deep, sexy voice, his clean male scent and his gorgeous robbing eyes and leave her be.

  “Okay, if you insist.” He got up from the table, carried his cup to the sink, then grabbed a cowboy hat from a hook near the back door. “I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

  She nodded, and it was only when he left the house that she felt as if she could draw a deep, full breath.

  There was no question that something about Jack Cortland touched her. She had never considered herself a rescuer, except when it came to the lives of children.

  She had to maintain some emotional distance. She needed to focus only on her reason for being here, and that reason had nothing do with making Jack smile, bringing laughter to his lips and chasing away that cloak of loneliness that clung to him.

  Jack lifted his face to the sun as he sat on the back of his horse, Domino. This was the third morning Marisa had chased him out of the house for a couple hours.

  He’d been more than eager to get away this morning. He was irritated. The beautiful nanny who stirred him on a number of levels in the past two days had transformed into a mini drill sergeant barking orders.

  Over the past two days she’d introduced so many new techniques his head was spinning. There was a little red chair that was a time-out place where the boys each had spent an abundance of time, and there had been times when he suspected Marisa would have liked to put him in that time-out chair.

  She’d promised him fun, and she’d given him a rigid structure that had both he and the boys feeling downright cranky.

  As he headed across the pasture, he focused his attention on the fencing, noticing several places where repair was needed.

  The ranch hadn’t been in great shape when Jack had returned here after his parents’ deaths. He’d been back for two years, but the first year he’d done nothing but anesthetize himself with alcohol and drugs, and the ranch had fallen into more disrepair.

  He waved to Sam, who was on a tractor cutting back weeds from around the barn. Then with a glance at his watch Jack realized it was time to get back to the house.

  Even though he was irritated with Marisa, he couldn’t help being eager to get back to the house with her and the boys. No doubt, the cute little nanny was definitely making him more than a little crazy.

  He quickly brushed down Domino then put him back in his stall. Eventually he wanted to teach the boys to ride. Maybe it was time to buy a couple ponies.

  He entered the house through the kitchen where Betty was working on lunch preparations. “Best thing you ever did was hire that woman,” she said.

  “I agree,” he replied, although he’d liked Marisa better when she hadn’t been riding him so hard.

  “You can love them, but you also need to demand decent behavior from them. That’s real love,” she said.

  He had just walked into the living room when the phone rang. He answered on the second ring, vaguely aware of the sound of laughter coming from the boys’ bedroom.

  “Jack, it’s Harold.”

  A knot twisted in Jack’s gut as he heard the sound of his ex-father-in-law’s voice. “Hello, Harold.”

  “How are the boys?”

  “Fine. They’re getting along just fine,” Jack replied.

  “Really, that’s not what I’ve heard.”

  Jack’s stomach dropped to the floor. “What exactly have you heard?”

  “That they have the table manners of hyenas.”

  Heidi. Damn, how had Harold found out about that dreadful meal? Had Heidi gone to the wealthy casino mogul man and told her tale for a price? Jack gripped the receiver more tightly against his ear.

  “You don’t have to worry about it, Harold,” he said, pleased that his voice sounded cool and calm. “I’ve got a professional nanny working with them on their manners, along with some other things.”

  “Is she one of your bimbos from your past?”

  A tide of anger swelled up inside Jack, but he stuffed it down, refusing to be baited into a screaming match with the man. Harold had never believed that Jack was faithful to Candace during their marriage. It didn’t matter to Harold that his daughter probably hadn’t been faithful to Jack.

  “Her name is Marisa Perez. Check her out, Harold. I’m sure you’ll find her credentials impeccable.” At that moment Marisa and the boys came into the living room. They were all laughing and looked so happy he wanted to be a part of it. “Look, Harold, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” He disconnected the call.

  “Problems?” Marisa asked with a frown.

  “I hope not,” he replied, then forced a bright smile on his face. “And what has my two favorite boys laughing so hard?”

  As Mick went into a long story about a bug on the floor in the bedroom, love swelled Jack’s heart. He would do anything within his power to keep these boys with him.

  That night he found himself alone in the living room with Marisa. The boys had gone to sleep in their beds at eight-thirty without a fuss.

  “This is amazing,” he said to her as he listened to the silence of the house.

  She smiled. “And you were probably getting ready to fire me.”

  He grinned. “There have been moments in the past couple days that I thought you’d ridden me hard,” he admitted. “It’s taken me a while to realize that giving kids consequences for bad behavior isn’t abusive.”

  “On the contrary, it’s the most loving thing you can do for them,” she replied.

  All day long Jack had felt a simmering tension where she was concerned. He felt it now as he smelled the scent of her perfume, noticed how her T-shirt tugged across her full breasts.

  She has a boyfriend, he reminded himself. She’s unavailable. Still, thinking those words didn’t ease the desire for her that seemed to grow stronger every day.

  His irritation with her that morning seemed like an alien emotion as this afternoon he’d begun to see the results of her firm hand both with the boys and with him. By no means were things perfect yet, but they were definitely better than they had been before she’d arrived.

  “I guess I should go to bed,” she said.

  “Don’t go yet,” he protested. “It’s still early, and I enjoy your company.”

  Her cheeks turned a charming pink as she settled back into the sofa cushion. “It is early. I guess I could stay up for a little while longer.” She looked at him curiously. “I might be overstepping my boundaries, but I couldn’t help but hear you mention my name on the phone earlier.”

  A new tension twisted in Jack’s stomach. “That was Harold Rothchild on the phone. Apparently he heard about
a dinner that went bad just before I hired you.” He quickly told her about the dinner with Heidi and the flying broccoli. When he was finished a small smile curved her lips.

  “I’m sorry. I know it isn’t funny,” she exclaimed with her laughter barely suppressed. “But I’m just imagining that cheesy broccoli sliding down the front of her chest.”

  Suddenly they were both laughing with an abandon that felt wonderful. The stress of the past four months seemed to melt out of Jack.

  “That felt good,” he said when the laughter finally stopped.

  “You need to do more of that,” she replied, her brown eyes brimming with warmth.

  “I haven’t had anything to laugh about for a very long time,” he confessed. “First there was the divorce from Candace, then my band fell apart and all the other members were ticked off at me. But the worst part was after the divorce when I wasn’t getting to see the boys and I knew if I fought for custody I’d lose.” He sighed heavily. “Then Candace was murdered. Now I’m struggling to pick up the pieces of my boys’ lives. I still worry about losing custody.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “Why?”

  “There’s nothing Harold Rothchild would like more than to take the boys away from me—and the only way he can do that is to prove I’m an unfit father.”

  “Surely he couldn’t do that,” she replied.

  Jack grimaced. “I’m not so sure. I have two strikes against me already. I’m a single man, and I don’t exactly have a sterling past—and it will only take one screwup and he’ll come swooping in.”

  “Then we can’t have a screwup, right?” she replied.

  She smiled, and at that moment Jack wanted nothing more than to move from his chair to the sofa and pull her into his arms. He wanted to explore exactly where that sexy scent emanated from on her body, what those lush lips tasted like in the heat of a kiss.

  “Tell me about Harold Rothchild,” she said, and the question tamped down any wild desire that might have possessed Jack. “I heard he’s some big casino tycoon and his family made their fortune in the diamond business.”

  “They owned some diamond mines in Mexico. There was a Mayan legend that one of the big diamonds that was found there held some sort of special powers. Its magic caused people to fall in love. It was made into a ring that Candace was wearing on the night of her murder.”

  “I read something about the ring. It was stolen that night, right? Isn’t the diamond called The Tears of the Quetzal?”

  Jack nodded and frowned as he thought of the man who at the moment was the bane of his existence. “Harold is working on his third wife. His first wife, June, died giving birth to Candace’s youngest sister, Jenna. He and his second wife divorced, and from what I’ve heard the third wife is on her way out as well. Harold is powerful, and I think he hates me.”

  “Why would he hate you?”

  “Because of my divorce from Candace. I think he believes that we split because I was sleeping around on his daughter. It doesn’t seem to bother him that in all probability she was cheating on me. Maybe he thinks that if Candace and I had stayed together she wouldn’t have been murdered.”

  “Were you in love with her?” Marisa asked.

  Jack considered the question a long time before answering. “Initially I was in lust with her. She was wild and beautiful, and we partied together for months in L.A. before we impulsively hopped a plane to Vegas and got married. Almost immediately she got pregnant with Mick. and I was ready for the partying to stop.”

  “But she wasn’t ready to stop,” Marisa said.

  He nodded. “And then David came along. At the same time a couple of record producers contacted me. They told me they wanted to make me a star in my own right, turn me into a solo performer. I thought I had it all—two little boys, a gorgeous wife and a shot at becoming an artist of real standing.”

  His laughter held a touch of bitterness. “It wasn’t until Candace and I split that I realized the record producers were more interested in her than in me. The deal fell apart, and the members of Creation were angry with me for even thinking about going out on my own. The band broke up and my marriage did the same. But I haven’t answered your question, have I?”

  He turned his head and stared out the window as he thought of the woman he’d married. He finally looked back at Marisa. “Did I love Candace? I loved the woman I hoped she’d become as the mother of my children, but that woman didn’t exist.”

  “I’m sorry,” Marisa said softly. “I’m sorry for you, but I’m also sorry for your boys. And now, I really should call it a night,” she said and rose from the sofa.

  Jack got up from his chair. “Me, too. Mornings come early with two little ones in the house.”

  Together they walked down the hallway, and when she got to the door of her room she turned to look at him, her gaze soft and warm. “Everything is going to be all right, Jack. You’re a great father, and nobody is going to take those boys away from you.”

  He wasn’t sure if it was her words or the fact that she looked so achingly feminine, so soft and touchable, but the desire that had simmered inside him for the past couple days returned with full force.

  Almost without his volition he reached up and touched a strand of her long hair. He half expected her to jump back from him, but other than a slight flare of her eyes, she remained in place as if anticipating his next move.

  He placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her toward him until they stood breast-to-chest, hip-to-hip.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, unsure if it was a threat or a promise.

  “I know,” she replied breathlessly just before he lowered his mouth to hers.

  Chapter 4

  As Jack’s lips claimed hers Marisa welcomed the kiss. She’d wanted this since the moment she’d met him. She’d needed to know just what his mouth would taste like pressed against hers.

  Hot. It tasted hot, and as his tongue touched the tip of hers, she opened her mouth to him, allowing him to take the kiss deeper and more intimate.

  In the back of her mind she knew this was wrong—that they were crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed, but she found herself helpless to stop it.

  Instead she leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her more tightly against him. Here were the fireworks she’d missed on the Fourth of July a week earlier, she realized as he kissed her with a mastery that weakened her knees.

  It was only when he pulled her close enough and she could tell that he was aroused that her senses returned. She pushed against his chest and stepped back from him.

  “That probably wasn’t a good idea,” she said as her heart banged rapidly in her chest.

  He dropped his arms to his side. “You’re right, but it was something I’ve wanted to do since the first moment I met you.”

  “Bad Jack,” she said teasingly, even though she wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms. “And now it’s really time for me to say good night.”

  She escaped into her room, her heart still beating an unsteady rhythm.

  Patrick’s kisses had never stirred her like this. He’d never made her feel the breathless excitement that now coursed through her veins.

  For the next three days that kiss haunted her. Neither she nor Jack mentioned it again, but the memory of it was there in the air between them, snapping with energy and making things just a little bit uncomfortable.

  It was mid-afternoon, and the boys were down for their naps when Jack and Marisa sat at the table in the dining room to discuss her further employment. The week of probation was over, and she had to decide if she was going to stay in his employ for the next two months.

  From the kitchen the sound of a portable television played a soap opera, entertaining Betty as she began the preparations for the evening meal.

  Even though Marisa’s attraction to Jack made her more than a little bit nervous about continuing on here, her real concern was that she was losing all her objectivity where
the boys were concerned.

  She had fallen in love with Mick, who had a wonderful sense of humor and was surprisingly protective of his younger brother. And David had stolen her heart as well despite his attraction to getting through locked doors and windows.

  Although they still hadn’t bonded with Jack in the way she’d like to see them do, they had bonded to her, desperate for her attention and love.

  She now faced Jack across the width of the dining-room table. “Our probationary week is over,” she began.

  “And I want you to stay until the boys are teenagers,” he replied half-seriously.

  She laughed and shook her head. “I can give you two months, Jack. By the end of that time the boys should be socialized enough to enter a preschool program. They need that. They need to learn to play with other children before they start school, and we need to get David out of diapers as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll start working on that with him,” Jack replied.

  “You also need to understand that if I make the commitment for the two months, then I’ll need my weekends off. I’d also like to take tomorrow evening off. Patrick has invited me to dinner.” She needed to see the man she was supposed to be dating and was hoping that being with Patrick could banish the power of Jack’s kiss from her brain.

  “Why don’t you invite him here for dinner?” Jack asked.

  Marisa’s first impulse was to say no, that she preferred to keep her work and her private life separate. But she knew that Patrick had mentioned he’d been a big fan of Jack’s band, and maybe it would clear her head to see the two men together.

  “That’s very nice. I think he would enjoy meeting you. He told me he was once a big fan of yours,” she replied.

  “Good, then I’ll tell Betty to make sure and set an extra plate at the table for tomorrow evening,” Jack replied.

  At that moment noise from the bedroom let them know the boys were awake from their naps, and with the next two months of employment arranged, Marisa got up from the table to tend to the boys.