He opened his door and waved her inside. “Want to come in?”
“Yeah,” Kathy said and took one small step that brought her up close to him.
Brian reached out and brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, and goose bumps raced along her flesh in response. Would he always be able to do that to her with a simple touch?
“Did you get your work done?” he asked, his voice dropping a notch or two into an intimate rumble that sent her blood pressure skyrocketing.
She tipped her head back to look up at him. Staring into those blue eyes of his, she admitted, “No.”
“Why not?”
“Too busy thinking.”
“About me?” he asked hopefully.
“You,” she said. “And me. And Maegan. Us.”
“Any conclusions?”
“One or two.” Good heavens, how was she supposed to convince him of her plan when she couldn’t seem to string more than three or four words together at a time?
“I’ve come to a couple of conclusions myself,” he said, and he let his fingers trail down along the length of her arm, from shoulder to waist.
Kathy buried the shiver building inside her and stepped past him into the apartment. “We have to talk.”
“It’s as good a place as any to start.” He followed her in, closing the door behind him.
Walking across the living room, Kathy set Maegan down on the floor in the center of a ring of toys. Then slowly she straightened up and turned around to face the man who dominated her thoughts so completely these days.
“Kathy…”
“Let me go first,” she said, interrupting him quickly. “I’ve got to say this fast.”
He nodded. “Okay.” Then, crossing his arms over his chest, he watched her and waited.
Suddenly nervous, Kathy started pacing again. She walked in a wide circle around Maegan, who clapped her hands as if in approval of a new game. Giving the baby a distracted smile, Kathy glanced at Brian and said, “I’ve been thinking….”
He smiled. “You said that already.”
“I know.” Lifting both hands in an eloquent shrug, she continued. “What you said last night. About deployment. I mean…you have to have someone you trust and someone she knows to leave Maegan with.”
“Yeah…?”
“And, well. I love her, and I think she loves me.”
“I know she does.”
Kathy grinned at him briefly. “Thanks.” She sucked in a deep breath and rushed on before she could stop herself. “Anyway, the point of all this is, I think I have a plan that will solve everything.”
“Which is…?”
Here was the tough part, she thought, stiffening her spine as if she was facing a firing squad. Heck, all she needed to complete the picture was a blindfold and a cigarette. Ready…aim…fire! “We should get married. You and me, I mean. Not Maegan and me. I mean—” she blew out a breath “—marry me.”
Brian’s eyes widened until she thought they might pop from his head and roll across the floor. Not exactly the response she’d been hoping for.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Plenty serious,” she told him, nodding. “I would never joke about getting married. I mean, think about it. It’s the answer to all of our problems.”
He shook his head as if to clear it. “But last night you told me you never wanted to get married. You said your mom—”
“Yeah, I know,” she interrupted him again, knowing she was being rude, and beyond caring. “But this would be different.”
“How?”
She shoved both hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Think of this more like a business proposition than a real marriage.”
He took a step closer, then stopped again. “Business.”
“Exactly.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, his gaze locked with hers. “Explain?”
“Well,” she started slowly, her words picking up speed as her brilliant idea coalesced in her mind. “What I’m actually proposing is a sort of marriage of convenience.”
“Sounds romantic.”
“That’s the point, though,” she said quickly. “Romantic marriages, those based on love just don’t last. Believe me, I’ve seen enough of them to know. But this would be a real partnership, Brian.”
“Go on,” he said, though he didn’t sound at all happy so far.
Still, at least he was listening.
“If we get married, I’ll be there to take care of our daughter,” she said, and loved the sound of those two words. “When you’re deployed, you wouldn’t have to worry about her at all.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And when you’re at home, we’d be together.” And this was a big plus in her book. “The two of us could enjoy wonderful sex, and neither one of us would have to risk our hearts on something as elusive as love.”
Of course, the idea of marriage at all was still terrifying to her. But Kathy truly believed she’d found a way to take all the risk out of it. She’d always wanted a family. Children. If Brian agreed to her plan, she could actually have everything she’d ever wanted. Along with the one thing she’d never counted on finding—the magic she’d discovered in Brian’s arms.
And as long as she hid the fact that she loved him, he would never have the power to hurt her. It was perfect, she thought, hoping to high heaven that he would see that, too.
Brian just stared at her. All the way home he’d tried to come up with a way to propose and get her to accept it. He’d finally decided to just tell her he loved her, demand she marry him and order her to trust him enough not to hurt her.
Wouldn’t you know she’d find a way to pull the rug out from under him?
And she looked so blasted pleased with herself. Oh, she was nervous; he could tell that from the way she rocked back and forth on her heels. But the flush on her cheeks and the glimmer in her eyes let him know she thought this whole marriage-without-love thing was a great idea.
Maybe it could have been, he thought, if he didn’t already love her like crazy. Everything inside him railed against the idea of a loveless marriage. He wanted more from her than a business deal. He wanted her heart. Her love.
For the first time in his life he wanted what his parents had had. What both of his sisters had. A loving marriage. A family.
And he wanted all of that with Kathy.
He gazed at her for a long, thoughtful moment, reminding himself that she was taking a big chance here. He knew how she felt about marriage, and a part of him understood her fears. But damn it, if a couple went into a marriage with low expectations, what were the chances that they’d find happiness?
“What do you think?” she asked, and her voice sounded hushed, strained.
He thought they were both nuts, that’s what he thought. And he thought they should be on their knees thanking Whoever had brought them together instead of talking about dissecting the magic of their relationship and stuffing it into a glass bottle labeled Business Deal.
But in the next instant he realized that if he said exactly what he was thinking, Kathy would cut and run. It would finally be strike three, and he’d be out. Some nameless marine would win the pool they were running on the base and Brian would be alone. He and Maegan both would lose the one woman who could make them both happy.
Kathy was nervous enough about marriage to turn her back on him and Maegan forever rather than risk her heart. And having her in his life this way would be better than spending his life without her.
So before he could change his mind and push her for what she wasn’t ready to give, he heard himself say, “I think it’s a great idea.”
She heaved a relieved sigh, and Brian’s heart twisted a little. Then she practically ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing the length of her body against his.
Drawing her head back, she looked up at him and smiled. “It’ll be great, Brian. You’ll see.”
“Sure it will, baby,” he said and wrapped both arms aro
und her, holding her to him with a viselike pressure. His body stirred, and his blood heated to the boiling point. He let one of his hands slide down to caress the curve of her backside and she hummed throatily in pleasure. She might say she didn’t want love, but what they had meant more to her than simple sexual delight. She loved him, damn it. All he had to do was convince her of that.
They’d get married, he thought. And he’d let her think it was all just business, if that was the only way to get her to say I do. But once their marriage was legal, he was going to find a way to show her that love wasn’t something to be afraid of. And that what they could have together was something that only came around once in a lifetime.
“So,” he asked, giving her another quick squeeze, “when do you want to do it?”
She moved one hand to cup the back of his head, and just the touch of her fingers against his scalp had him breathless. “I thought about that, too.”
He wasn’t surprised.
“My mom’s getting married in Vegas next weekend,” she said.
“I remember. And?”
She shrugged and reached up to plant a quick kiss at the corner of his mouth. “And I thought we could drive out for the wedding, then get married ourselves.”
A one-week engagement and a Vegas wedding. His mother would kill him. But the sooner he made Kathy his wife, the sooner he could start his campaign to win her love.
“Another brilliant idea,” he said, and gave her the smile he knew she wanted.
Kathy moved her hands to cup his face. Staring up at him, she said quietly, “We’ll be a family, Brian. You, me and Maegan.”
“A family,” he repeated, and felt a warm glow flicker to life inside him. He wanted them all to be a real family. The three of them…and, surprisingly enough, he wanted more children with Kathy. He didn’t want Maegan to grow up an only child. But so much of this depended on his ability to reach Kathy. To make her see that love was nothing to be afraid of.
A flash of doubt shone briefly in her eyes and quickly disappeared again. “This is the right thing to do, isn’t it?”
If he’d needed any persuading to marry her fast, before she could change her mind, that question would have done it. He bent his head and kissed her, hard and long and deep. His tongue moved over her lips and through them, into the warm recesses of her mouth.
Her hands shifted to his shoulders and gripped hard.
And after a long, intimate moment, he pulled his head back, looked her square in the eyes and said honestly, “This is absolutely, without a doubt, the most right thing either one of us will ever do.”
Three days later, after an exhausting, eight-hour shopping safari, Kathy had finally found the right dress to be married in. As she steered her Volkswagen toward home, she imagined the look on Brian’s face when he saw her in the ivory dress. A shiver ran up her spine, and a slow burning heat began to build inside her.
“I still can’t believe you’re actually getting married,” Tina said from the seat beside her.
Kathy threw a quick look at her and grinned. She was having a hard time believing it herself. In less than a week she would be a wife. And a mother. Heady thoughts for a woman who’d vowed never to say I do. Yet hadn’t she quivered a minute ago, just thinking about the man? “I am, though. In four short days.”
“And I don’t get to be there.”
“We’ve been through this,” Kathy said on a sigh.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. It’s a business arrangement.” She snorted a disbelieving laugh.
“It is,” Kathy told her firmly. The one thing allowing her to go through with this was the knowledge that a marriage of convenience would protect her heart.
“What did your mom say to all this?”
“She was…surprised.” To say the least. When she’d called her mother the night before, Kathy had tried to explain the situation, but naturally, all Spring wanted to hear were the “romantic details” of her daughter’s courtship and whirlwind marriage.
“I’ll bet she was,” Tina said.
“All right, so Spring doesn’t understand.” Kathy stopped for a red light and turned her head to look at her best friend. “But I was really hoping you would.”
“What I understand,” Tina said quietly, “is that you’re trying to fool yourself into believing that you can marry the man you love and pretend it’s all business.”
Wounded, Kathy turned her gaze back to the intersection in front of her. She could do it, she told herself. She had to do it.
“Tell me something,” Tina said.
“What?”
“Why did you exhaust us both searching for the perfect dress if this wedding is no big deal?”
Because she wanted to make Brian’s jaw drop when he saw her. But if she said that, undoubtedly Tina would read something more into it. “Whatever the reason, I am getting married. I didn’t want to do it in jeans and a T-shirt.”
“Uh-huh.” Tina shook her head and looked out the passenger side window. “Whatever you say, Kath.”
Tina was bound and determined to throw love into this mixture. And Kathy was just as determined to keep love out of it. If she felt more for Brian than she was willing to admit, that would be her secret. With a marriage of convenience, she could have everything she’d ever wanted. And she wouldn’t run the risk of being devastated one day, when he decided to leave her for greener pastures.
“At least I get to meet him,” Tina said. “That’s something, I guess.”
Nodding, Kathy forced a smile and said, “I promise. When we get back, we’ll get baby-sitters for the kids and go out to dinner. You and Ted and me and Brian.”
“You’re on, and as my wedding present, I’ll arrange for the sitter.”
“Thanks, pal.”
Tina grinned and winked. “I’ll even watch the baby myself for a long weekend if you and Brian want to have to short honeymoon. Or no…” She paused and shook her head. “A business arrangement doesn’t require a honeymoon, does it?”
“Very funny,” Kathy said, and turned onto her street. “But I’ll have you know that sex is a part of our bargain.”
“How very mature of you both.”
She knew sarcasm when she heard it. “There’s no reason to deprive ourselves of…”
“Love?” Tina supplied the word.
“Sex,” Kathy corrected her.
“Honey,” her friend said as she parked the car in front of the apartment building, “where there’s sex, there’s fire and where there’s fire, business contracts tend to get burned up.”
Kathy shut off the engine and set the brake. “You’ll see. This is going to work perfectly.”
As she got out of the car, she thought she heard the other woman mutter, “Sounds like ‘famous last words’ to me.” She ignored her friend and pulled her wedding dress from the back seat. It was going to work. It had to. And nothing was going to spoil this for her. She’d taken care of everything.
“I still can’t believe you’re getting married,” the gorgeous brunette said as she picked up her purse and headed for the front door.
“Why does everyone say that?” Brian wondered aloud.
“You figure it out, gunny,” she answered on a laugh. “All I know for sure is, Jack says the guys are fit to be tied because you ruined the pool.”
“Ahh…” he said with a smile, picturing all of his fellow marines coming up empty because they’d bet on him to strike out. “Yet another good reason for getting married.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet her,” Donna Harris said, “but at least I got another look at your daughter.”
“And?” Brian asked, waiting for the compliments that were definitely Maegan’s due.
“And, she’s beautiful.”
“Looks like her father,” he said, and knew he was sounding like an idiot. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. Ever since accepting Kathy’s proposal, he’d been so damned happy, he half expected someone on base to shoot him just for being annoying.
<
br /> Opening the door for his guest, Brian stood aside as Donna stepped through into the hallway. But before she could leave, he swept her into a hard hug. “Thanks,” he said.
“For what?”
“For baby-sitting. And, oh, for marrying Jack and giving me such a good example.”
“You’re welcome,” Donna said on a laugh.
Brian grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
It was only then he noticed that the narrow hallway wasn’t empty. Kathy and another woman were staring at him, and if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot. In the next instant Kathy headed for her apartment, blatantly ignoring him and Donna.
He knew how this looked, though, and he wasn’t about to let her go on thinking what she was obviously thinking. Snagging Kathy’s arm as she passed him, he turned her around and said a bit too cheerfully, “Hi, honey, glad you got home in time to meet a friend of mine.”
Kathy could hardly breathe. And for the first time Brian’s touch hadn’t lit a trail of warmth inside her. Instead, she felt icy cold. Seeing the other woman in Brian’s arms had been enough to clamp an invisible fist around her heart. And now he wanted to introduce her to the woman he’d only just kissed with easy familiarity?
Kathy felt as though she’d been slapped. Pain blossomed inside her chest and radiated throughout her body, making her legs tremble and her breath come in short, furious gasps. Not only was he cheating on her before they were even married, he had the guts to actually expect her to make polite small talk.
“This is Donna Harris,” he was talking fast now. “She’s the wife of my best friend, Jack. Also the daughter of Colonel Candello.”
Beside her, Tina practically oozed relief. Kathy knew that logically she should be feeling the same thing. Unfortunately, logic didn’t seem to have a lot to do with what she was feeling at the moment.
But she smiled, anyway, said all the right things and even managed a polite chuckle or two. She introduced Tina to both Brian and Donna, and after several long, uncomfortable moments, the two women left together, and Brian and Kathy were alone in the hallway.
It was all very innocent, she told herself. So why didn’t she feel better? Why was there a knot the size of Cleveland in the pit of her stomach?
The Daddy Salute Page 12