by Gail Hart
She smirked, obviously ignoring his sarcasm. “Sure, if that’s what you want. Otherwise, a justice of the peace will do.”
“Come on, Katie. I’m close to my parents. We talk almost every day. It won’t feel right if they’re not at the ceremony.”
“If we invited your parents, we’d have to invite my mother, and I’m not ready to deal with her yet. Sorry, flyboy, it’s eloping or nothing. That’s the only offer on the table. Take it or leave it.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I should know better than to get into a negotiation with the Ice Queen. You’re killing me here.”
“The decision’s up to you. What’s it going to be, deal or no deal?”
“Damn it, Kathryn, this isn’t a game.”
“I’m well aware of that. I know marriage is a huge commitment, and I don’t take my commitments lightly. But I won’t make any more of a public spectacle of myself than necessary.” She rested her hand on her stomach and gave him a direct stare. “So, flyboy, are we getting hitched?”
He pressed his lips into a tight line. “You win. I don’t have any choice. I won’t be an outsider staring through your window at my kid’s life. I’ll elope with you on one condition.”
She looked wary. “What’s your condition?”
“That we do it next weekend.”
“What’s your rush? Afraid I’ll back out?”
“That, and I want everything settled as soon as possible. My unit has an exercise coming up the week after next. It will be my first chance to prove myself as a pilot. I don’t want any distractions hanging over my head.”
“That works for me too. My trip to San Diego to make B&W’s presentation to the Navy is a couple of weeks after your exercise. As you say, better to have all the personal issues settled before then. So we have a deal.” She sighed. “Life is funny. I imagined a lot of things, but I never imagined I’d end up as the world’s oldest shotgun bride.”
“No one’s sticking a gun in my back. I want to marry you.”
She gave him a wry smile.
“Oh, you’re the one feeling pressured?” His facial muscles slid into an exaggerated leer. “Well, darlin’, that’s not a shotgun in my pocket—I’m just glad to see you.”
He could tell she was trying not to laugh, but she couldn’t quite pull it off. “Good grief. That joke’s older than I am. Morning sickness is bad enough. Do I have to suffer through your lame jokes too?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, lady, you do—every day for the rest of your life.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dressed in his flight suit, Steve knocked on the squadron commander’s door, a rush of adrenaline making his heart pump double time. Damn, life moved fast sometimes. Now that Katie had come to her senses, he had a lot to do.
“Come in,” a brisk voice called out.
Steve stepped inside and gave Colonel Matt Brennan a crisp salute.
The colonel returned the salute and leaned back in his chair. “What’s on your mind, Lieutenant?”
Steve placed a leave slip on his boss’s desk. “Sorry for the short notice, sir, but I need three days off starting next Friday.”
The colonel frowned and stated the obvious. “We have an exercise kicking off the Tuesday after that.”
“I know, sir. I’ll be back in plenty of time. But this is a minor emergency.”
“What kind of emergency?”
“I need to get married.”
An eyebrow rose. “Need to?”
“Yes, sir. We’re having a baby.” The obvious again. Steve shrugged. “For the bride’s sake, I don’t want the rumor mill to get hold of this before we make it legal.”
“That does change things.” The colonel scrawled his large, bold signature on the form. “I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of you doing the right thing by this girl.”
Irritation made his skin itch but Steve kept his gaze steady. “It’s not like that, sir. I’ve been in love with Katie since kindergarten. I’d totally marry her even if we weren’t pregnant.” His felt his lips turning up into a sheepish smile. “Though maybe not next weekend.”
“Just see you’re not too distracted to keep your head in the game during the exercise.”
“Not a problem, sir. I know how important this exercise is. No way will I screw up my first real test with this unit.” Especially now that he had a family to think of.
“I look forward to meeting your wife at the squadron’s President’s Day party.”
Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he cleared his throat. “I doubt she’ll make it, sir. She has a business trip.” Not to mention that she didn’t like pilots. Yes, that fact was definitely better left unmentioned.
With another raised eyebrow, Colonel Brennan slid the leave slip across his desk to Steve. “Good luck, Lieutenant.”
* * *
"That's the last box." Murph dropped a cardboard carton in a corner of Katie's living room.
"Looks like I'm officially moved in," Steve confirmed. "Thanks for giving me a hand. Want a beer?"
"Does your old lady have any?"
Patting his friend on the back, Steve walked toward the kitchen. "I put a case in the fridge last night."
Murph plopped down on the couch and lifted his Nike-clad feet onto the coffee table. "Sure. I'll find some college hoops on the tube." He grabbed the remote and started surfing through the cable channels on the fifty-inch plasma TV mounted on the opposite wall.
Steve grabbed a couple of Budweisers from Katie's refrigerator and joined Murph on the couch. He looked around and shook his head. "It's pathetic how easy this move was. I don't have much stuff to show for the last ten years of my life.”
“There's a lot to be said for travelling light, dude." Murph shook his head. "This place is too classy for crew dogs like us. You won’t be comfortable here."
The same thought had occurred to Steve. All the more reason to quickly deny it. "Are you kidding? I’m looking forward to not living in a shithole with Salvation Army furniture. This place rocks." He gestured toward the balcony and the Potomac River beyond. “Get a load of that view.” He propped his feet next to Murph's. “It’ll look more lived in soon. Once I put my mark on it.”
Murph looked away from the Maryland-Duke game and snorted. “Yeah, since you guys are about to be up to your eyeballs in diapers. Damn, I can’t believe you’re having a kid.”
“I’m having trouble believing it myself. But it’s all good.” Steve took a swig from his beer bottle, ignoring a sudden tightness in his chest. He hoped everything would be good. Big changes were barreling down on them, and Katie didn’t like change.
Murph shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.”
They'd gone through a six pack and the game was well into the second half when the front door handle jiggled and Katie walked in. She looked every inch the corporate executive, wool slacks in place of a skirt her only concession to the day being Saturday. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the men's feet and beer bottles on her coffee table.
"I see you’ve made yourselves at home."
Her sharp tone caused Steve to shiver involuntarily. The Ice Queen cometh. He clenched his jaw. Damn it, this was his home too now. But he wasn’t about to start a fight in front of his buddy. He stood and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Hi, babe. Murph helped me move my junk in."
Murph remained seated. "Hi, ma'am."
Kathryn took a step forward and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thank you for your assistance... Colin?" Her tone was formal and stilted and utterly without warmth.
"Murph." He hauled himself off the couch and swaggered toward the front door, his mouth twisted into a smirk. “I’ll leave you two to whatever.”
Katie gave him a curt nod and disappeared into the kitchen, while Steve followed the other man into the entryway.
Murph shook his head. “Dude, it’s none of my business, but are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Yeah. Okay, Katie’s a little h
igh maintenance...”
“High maintenance? She’s a psycho. I can’t believe how she talked to you just now. Like a mother scolding her kid.”
Damn, he’d hoped her tone wasn’t so obvious. But he had to defend his woman. He glared at his friend. “She’s just tired. She’s under a lot of stress at work.”
“Like you aren’t. We’re getting ready for an exercise. You can’t let her mess with your head.”
“She isn’t. I get where she’s coming from. She’ll calm down when she gets used to having me around.” He thought of his conversation with his boss the day before. “Besides, I’d be a grade-A jerk if I ran out on her after knocking her up.”
“You owe her child support. You don’t owe her your whole freaking life.”
Steve ran a hand over his hair. “Don’t you get it, butthead? I want to give her my whole freaking life. I love her.”
Murph shrugged. “Hey, as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“My eyes are wide open.”
When Murph was gone, Steve stalked into the kitchen, where he found Katie mixing a protein shake. He glared at her backside. “What the hell was that, Katie?”
She didn’t look away from the blender. “Kathryn.”
“No, Katie. I’ll use your childhood name when you act like a child. Murph was here to help me and you were flat-out rude to him.”
She whirled around to face him, her lower lip trembling. “Don’t give me a hard time. You don’t get it. After spending my whole damn Saturday in the office, all I wanted to do was get home and be alone with you. Instead I find this lump of a guy, who’s made it clear he can’t stand me, sitting on my couch with his feet on my coffee table, treating my place like a bachelor pad.” She shook her head. “And you’re sitting there with him, and when I walk in, it’s like I’m the maid or something. You didn’t even get up to say hi until I started acting like a bitch.” She shoved her fists into her hips. “I so don’t need this.”
“And you think I do?” His chest tightened and he grabbed her upper arms, gently but firmly. “Look at me, Kathryn.”
She raised her chin so her gaze could meet his, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. Damn it, crying was the one thing she could do that he had no defense against. But he needed to make a stand now, before Katie got the idea it was fine and dandy to treat him like her own personal ass wipe. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m here because you invited me. We agreed that moving in together was the right thing to do. That the baby needs two parents. You remember all that?”
Her voice was unsteady. “Of course.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“No...”
He kept his tone level. “Because if you want me to leave, I will. But I won’t be a yo-yo. Once you throw me out, I’m not coming back. And I won’t stay if you plan to walk all over me. So what’s it going to be?”
“Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry I took my bad mood out on you. I do want you here.”
“That’s all I need to know. Come here, babe. You don’t make it easy, but I love you.” He swept her into his arms, conscious that his pulse was still racing. Thank God she hadn’t called his bluff.
* * *
“There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only six ways off this airplane,” said the annoyingly perky flight attendant. Kathryn might have appreciated the attempt to add humor to the otherwise dry airline safety briefing if it weren’t for the fact that the woman was giving Steve a sultry smile and fluttering her eyelashes.
Perfect, just perfect. This was what she could expect from now on. A life filled with beautiful women who weren’t shy about flirting with a gorgeous hunk like Steve even with his average Jane wife right there. Kathryn squeezed his hand. “Don’t even think about it.”
Steve raised an eyebrow at her. “I shouldn’t think about leaving?”
“You’re the one who was late. This plane wouldn’t have waited for you, flyboy.”
“I got here before the plane took off, so I wasn’t late.” He gave her a lazy smile she felt sure was designed to raise her body temperature. Which of course it did. Damn him.
She scowled harder. “Do you always leave things to the last minute? Or maybe you were hoping to miss the plane.”
The joy went out of his eyes, though he managed to keep his smile in place. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” With the lightest of touches, he ran his fingertips over the exposed skin below the hem of her business suit.
Kathryn shivered, then stiffened, annoyed at her body for responding when her mind wanted to stay mad at him. She was safer if she stayed mad. At least, her heart was safer.
“What witty repartee. Did you come up with that all by yourself?”
The smile dropped away altogether. “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not one of your flunkies.” He gestured toward the oversized Starbuck’s cup in her hand. “And you shouldn’t be drinking caffeine.”
“Stop playing the baby card. This is decaf.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and moved his mouth next to her ear. “Listen, Katie, this wedding is happening no matter how much you act up. We agreed it’s the right thing to do. So tell the Ice Queen to get lost. We’ll both enjoy the honeymoon a lot more without her.”
To her mortification, Kathryn felt her eyes misting up. Damn it! She hated feeling so emotional. She laid a hand on Steve’s forearm. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass, but I can’t help it. I feel like hell. I’m tired all the time, I can’t keep food down, and my breasts are so sore it hurts to put on a bra. Being pregnant sucks.”
His expression softened. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“No you’re not. You’re all puffed up like a peacock about how great it is that I’m having your baby.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Okay, I’m not sorry you’re pregnant, but I’m sorry you feel bad. Things will get better once you make it to the second trimester.”
She gave him a curious look. “And you know this, how?”
“I did some research on the Internet. I wanted to understand what you’re going through.” He stroked the back of her hand with one finger. “We’re in this together.”
She gave him a fond smile. “Not quite. For one thing, you’re not the one facing stretch marks. But I appreciate the sentiment.”
* * *
Within fifteen minutes of takeoff, Kathryn was in a zombie-like sleep, her head snuggled against Steve’s shoulder. With any luck, the rest would improve her disposition. If she’d kept picking at him much longer, his mood would have lost altitude faster than the plane gained it. He reached into the seat pocket for the airline magazine.
“What takes you to Vegas?” the guy in the window seat asked. “The usual? Gambling?” The man was about Steve’s age, with dark hair and eyes.
“Gambling on a sure thing,” Steve answered. “My girlfriend and I are tying the knot.”
“Congrats.”
“Thanks. How about you? Hitting the casinos?”
“Nope. I live in Vegas. I know better.” He stuck out his hand. “Joey Martini, by the way.”
“Steve Tyler.”
“Not the Steve Tyler, or you wouldn’t be here in coach with us working stiffs. Rock stars fly first class.”
“Usually I’m in the cockpit. I fly for the Air Force. What about you?”
The man’s smile disappeared. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Steve took in his solid build. “Muscle for the mob?” he asked, only half joking. “Not that it’s any of my business.”
Martini let out a snort. “Get real. The wise guys lost Vegas decades ago. I’m an... entertainer.”
“An entertainer who doesn’t want to talk about his job? Let’s see... a stripper?” Steve tried not to smirk.
Martini’s face reddened. “Not that either. If you must know, I’m an Elvis impersonator.”
Steve did a double take. “For real? I gotta say, I
don’t see the resemblance.”
“In the right jumpsuit, your grandmother could pass for Elvis.” Martini folded his arms across his chest. “Professional singing gigs aren’t easy to come by. Playing the King pays the rent, and I’m close enough to L.A. to go in for auditions.”
“I get it. You’re going for your dream. You have to start somewhere.” Steve understood about starting at the bottom.
“Exactly. And the job’s not so bad. I make people happy. Hell, sometimes I even do weddings. I like those gigs. Newlyweds are the best tippers. Especially when they’re drunk.”
“You’re allowed to marry people? I thought that was a joke.”
“No, it’s the real deal. I have a license from the state and everything.”
He shook his head. “Amazing. Only in America.”
“Only in Vegas.”
* * *
In the airport, the neon lights and clanging slot machine bells told the story—this was Vegas, baby. Kathryn and Steve made their way to the baggage claim area. “You go look for our limo driver while I get our bags,” he said.
“You got us a limo?”
“Sure. You deserve the best. This is a once in a lifetime event.”
She had to admire his optimism.
Near the door, she spotted the waiting limo drivers and located the one holding a sign reading “Tyler.” When Steve returned from the baggage carousel, she let him help her into the limo while the driver took care of their luggage. Settling onto the bench seat, she stretched her arms over her head. “I’m stiff. I can’t believe I slept through the whole flight. Five hours. That’s as much as I used to sleep in an entire night.”
Steve slid an arm around her shoulder. “You needed the rest. Your body’s working hard.”
She relaxed against his chest. “I was lousy company. Did you die of boredom?”
“No. I watched the movie and talked to the guy in the window seat. We hit it off.”
“I guess so. I saw him giving you his business card in baggage claim.”
“Yeah. He’s a singer. If we have time, maybe we can catch his act.”
The limo turned off the exit ramp from the interstate onto Las Vegas Boulevard. A laugh of pure delight bubbled from Kathryn’s lips. “Just look at all this. We have King Arthur’s castle, and the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower, and the canals of Venice, all within a few blocks.”