Cinderella and the Playboy / The Texan's Happily-Ever-After

by Lois Faye Dyer

  “I guess I will be,” she answered, as if she hadn’t thought about that. “What do you think about the idea?”

  “I think it’s a good idea. Do you bake cookies?”

  Everyone standing there laughed, and after that, conversation seemed easier. Ryder was the only one who stood apart. He and Shep just seemed to be like oil and water, and Raina didn’t know if there was anything she could do about that.

  They were ready to walk to their cars when Raina saw the expression on Lily’s face. She asked Shep to give her a minute, and went to her friend.

  Lily’s eyes were moist and her lip quivered.

  “I can only imagine how hard this was for you,” Raina said with her arm around her friend. “If you want to skip the reception, I’ll understand.”

  “I know you said I didn’t have to come, but I wanted to. This is an important day for you, and actually, I’m glad I’m here. Hearing you and Shep say your vows reminded me of my wedding day. We didn’t have very many people there either, but it was the most wonderful day of my life and I don’t ever want to forget that.”

  “You are one strong woman,” Raina said.

  Lily bumped her shoulder against Raina’s. “I think we’re both strong women. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I just stepped onboard a rocket ship soaring to another planet.”

  Lily gave her a watery smile. “That’s the way a wedding is supposed to feel. Now go on, go with your groom. I’ll see you at Gina’s.”

  As soon as Raina slipped into the chauffeur-driven limo beside Shep—he had insisted they ride in style—he asked her, “Is Lily okay?”

  “As okay as she can be. I just wish there was something more I could do to help her.”

  “You’re helping her by being her friend.” Shep’s hand covered Raina’s and they sat there for a moment, gazing straight ahead.

  In the seat across from them, Roy said, “This is cool, but everyone else is going to beat us there, Dad. Shouldn’t we go?”

  “The bride and groom are supposed to arrive last,” Shep said, joking. “We’re the guests of honor.”

  “Us, too?” Joey asked.

  “You, too. But since everyone else pulled away, I guess it’s time.” He knocked on the partition between them and the driver and nodded.

  Raina heard Roy say to Joey, “I bet they’re going to hold hands all the time, now that they said ‘I do’.”

  She wondered to herself, would they hold hands? Would Shep be affectionate in the course of a day? What would happen tonight when they shared the same bed? Would they be sharing the same bed? In the flurry of getting their application at the courthouse, working, spending time with the kids, they hadn’t asked or answered those questions.

  But she’d be finding out some of the answers tonight.

  When Raina saw what Gina had done to the pool area of her home with Logan, tears came to her eyes. With Shep beside her, she threw her arms around Gina and gave her a huge hug. “Thank you so much. We never expected anything like this.”

  White tables with turquoise umbrellas circled the pool. The flower arrangements on each table were the same as her bouquet—yellow roses and white gardenias. The scent of them on the breeze was heavenly. The buffet table held assorted hors d’oeuvres, crab puffs, chicken divan and prime rib for adults; pizza, chicken fingers and a crock of chili for anyone who preferred kid food.

  Shep seemed a bit overwhelmed, too. He shook Logan’s hand, clasped Gina’s shoulder and said with heartfelt sincerity, “We’ll never forget this.”

  “That’s the idea,” Gina said, teasing. “We want you indebted to us for a lifetime. That way you’ll babysit Daniel whenever we need you.”

  Raina laughed. Gina and Logan had a wonderful nanny, Hannah, who was now rounding up the boys. After settling Manuel, along with Gina’s and Logan’s son, into high chairs, Raina noticed that her mother had joined Hannah and was introducing herself.

  Shep bent to Raina. “Your mother’s making a friend.”

  “She can’t stay away from children. If nothing else, your boys will convince her to come out to the ranch. That is…if you want her to.”

  “She’s your mother. Of course I want her to.” He seemed disappointed in Raina that she would think differently.

  “Mothers-in-law aren’t always welcome. She might have suggestions.”

  Shep drew Raina away from the others. His hand still on her arm, he assured her, “I’ll listen to whatever she has to say. That doesn’t mean I’ll do it. That doesn’t mean we’ll do it. But she’ll be welcome, especially if she wants to give our kids attention and love.”

  “I’m sure I won’t be able to keep her away once the baby’s born. Do you think Eva will mind?”

  “I think there’ll be plenty for ten adults to do.”

  The tension that had suddenly cropped up between them dissipated. Raina realized the beginning of their marriage would seesaw like this until they were familiar with each other’s quirks, sensitivities and pasts. She and Shep still had a lot to learn about each other. The question was, would he eventually be able to reveal his heart to her? She already knew each time she was with him, she was giving him a piece of hers.

  “Uh-oh,” she said to Shep in a low voice, watching Ryder stride toward them. “I don’t like the look in his eyes.”

  “Easy, Raina. Give him a chance to get used to us together.”

  After Ryder approached the two of them, he said to Shep, “Nice reception. I imagine you could have thrown a bash like this if you’d wanted to.”

  Shep didn’t seem to be ruffled. “Well, we couldn’t refuse Gina and Logan’s kind offer. Besides, Raina and I will throw a party for friends and family once she and I are more settled.”

  “Settled? You mean after the two of you get to know one another?”

  “Ryder,” Raina warned.

  “Just stating the obvious,” her brother said with a shrug. “This marriage was fast, and everyone knows it.”

  Squaring her shoulders, Raina assured him, “Everyone here does know I’m pregnant, Ryder. These are my friends.”

  “And where are Shep’s friends?” Ryder asked.

  Shep’s face took on an unreadable expression, but Raina saw his jaw tighten. She took a step closer to him and laid her hand on his arm. He put his around her shoulders and she suddenly felt as if they stood as a couple against the world.

  “I’m not sure why my friends are your concern,” Shep said. “Besides, Raina and I decided to keep this small. There wasn’t that much room around the gazebo,” he remarked drily.

  Ryder’s eyes narrowed.

  Although Shep wasn’t showing it, Raina could feel the taut tension in his body. She would have to be the buffer until these two men could find some common ground. “Did you know Lily moved into the Victorian last week?”

  Ryder cast a glance toward her bridesmaids. “You’ve really made friends since you came back to Sagebrush. I didn’t know if you could fit back into small-town life.”

  “Once a Sagebrush girl, always a Sagebrush girl,” she said, joking.

  “Daddy! Daddy! Come see what we have to eat,” Roy called to Shep.

  “Have you met Shep’s boys?” Raina asked her brother.

  “No,” he replied, looking over that way.

  “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

  But before they could move away, Shep halted Ryder. “Wait.”

  Ryder swung around.

  “Please don’t tell them you’re a police officer, at least not yet.”

  Ryder frowned. “Why shouldn’t I? I’m proud of being a cop.”

  “I’m sure you are. But their parents were killed in an automobile accident. The police officer got to the house before the social worker did. He took them in the car to her office. Everything was handled badly.”

  After Ryder studied Shep for a few moments, he agreed. “Okay, I see your point.” He headed toward the table where his mother was already seated with the boys.

  Raina
faced Shep. “I have a lot to learn about you. I didn’t realize I have a lot to learn about the boys, too.”

  “When things come up, we’ll deal with them. I don’t think a crash course is going to work in a situation like this.”

  He was probably right. But just what would a crash course on Shep McGraw entail?

  As he led her toward the kids, her stomach fluttered at the idea of finding out.

  By 10:00 p.m., Roy, Joey and Manuel were all tucked in and sleeping. Raina had hugged Roy and asked Joey if it was okay to hug him, too. He’d grudgingly said yes, and she felt his hold grow a little tighter as she gave him what she hoped was the first of many bedtime comforts.

  Now, however, she met Shep outside of Manuel’s room. “Is he still sleeping soundly?” she asked.

  “Being in the sun and dangling his toes in the pool tired him out.”

  After the luncheon at Gina’s, many of the guests had left, including Raina’s mother and brother. But Raina and Shep had changed into more casual clothes and watched the boys have fun in the pool as Logan acted as lifeguard. Raina had been super aware of Shep all afternoon. Since their glances had connected often, she suspected he’d been just as aware of her. Now, standing near his bedroom door, she felt unsure as to what to do next.

  He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “I don’t know how to play this, Raina. We got married today and should be having a honeymoon. The thing is—we’re different than most married couples. I don’t want to rush you into anything you don’t want. I hung your clothes in my closet, but if you’d rather sleep in the guest bedroom, I’ll understand.”

  “Do you want this to be a real marriage?” she asked, her voice a bit shaky.

  He touched the back of his hand to her cheek. The feel of his taut, warm skin made her insides jump as he answered, “Hell, yes, I want this to be a real marriage.”

  She thought about their signed prenuptial agreement, their meeting with the caseworker and Carla Sumpter’s admonition that Manuel’s adoption would take longer. Now she pictured the gazebo, heard in her mind the vows she and Shep had exchanged. She considered the nine years she’d spent alone, the longing to be held again and most of all the child she was carrying.

  “I want this to be a real marriage, too, starting tonight.”

  Shep came close enough to kiss her. Raina knew by now that he liked to start slow and ratchet up the passion. Was that a technique of his, or was that just his way with her? To her amazement, she wanted to be the only woman he thought about, the only woman who could arouse him to new heights of passion.

  Touching his lips to hers, Shep reached between them and splayed his large hand over her midriff. With deliberate slowness, he eased up her knit top, the tips of his fingers grazing her belly as he slid the material away. His palm settled on her navel, as each of his fingers splayed across her stomach.

  “It won’t be long until we feel life here.”

  His voice was raspy, and she understood how much this baby meant to him. But what did she mean to him? Inside her mind, a question demanded to be asked—Do you want me as much as this child? But she couldn’t let it out. The truth was, she was afraid of the answer.

  She loved the feel of his hands protectively spread over their child, sensually spread across her skin. His cheek brushed hers as he kissed along her ear, as his tongue erotically played with her earlobe. Her knees started to buckle. She’d never felt such intense desire. Yet how could that be when she’d been married, in love with and loved by her husband for years?

  That thought fled as Shep lifted her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom.

  Shep set her on her feet by the bed, her arms still around his neck. He held her tightly against him. She could feel every nuance of their bodies connecting, her breasts pressed against his chest, his belt buckle against her belly, his erection pressing just where it was supposed to be.

  “Do you want this as much as I do?” he asked.

  The marriage—or the sex they were about to have? the devil on her shoulder demanded. Either way, at the moment, she wasn’t sure it mattered. “I want it. I want you.”

  He laughed. “Then maybe we can do it more than once. It is our wedding night, after all.”

  She suddenly worried about whether or not she could fulfill his needs.

  The smile on his lips faded away. “I can tell what you’re thinking. This is about the two of us, Raina. You tell me what you want and need, and I’ll tell you. We’ll play, we’ll explode, we’ll compromise. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  Right now, all she wanted was to be naked in that bed with Shep. Instead of telling him, she showed him. She slid her hands up the back of his head, nudged him down and kissed him as if it were the last kiss they’d ever share. Her boldness and desire lit the flame of his passion, and nothing went slow after that.

  Shep undressed her with an abandon that she matched. After he slipped her shirt over her head and onto the floor, he unfastened her bra. Then he stood close again, letting her breasts touch his chest as he eased down her shorts. In the process, she pulled open the snaps on his shirt. Her lips at his collarbone, she kissed there and heard him groan as his palm slipped into her panties and down her backside. Each brush of his calloused fingers excited all her nerve endings. Her nipples were hard and she brushed them against his shirt. An electric spark shot from her breasts to her womb.

  He shucked off his boots, jeans, briefs and shirt. She flipped her sandals to the side, and there they were, in his king-size bed, body to body, kissing, caressing, rushing toward fulfillment for both of them.

  Suddenly a cry rent the air. Manuel’s cry.

  Shep went still and so did she.

  “Bad dream?” she asked huskily.

  Shep rested his jaw on top of her head. “We’ll know in a second.”

  Another cry came. It was longer and louder. Shep didn’t hesitate. He pulled away from her. “I’ll be back,” he mumbled hoarsely, and she knew he was still as aroused as she was. “Sometimes this can take a little while.”

  She could lie there waiting, or…“I’ll come with you,” she said, leaving the bed to find a nightgown in the closet. When he shot a questioning glance at her, she shrugged. “I’m his mother now.”

  Shep’s slow grin was almost as arousing as a caress.

  When Raina and Shep reached Manuel’s room, he was standing in his crib, holding on to the rail tightly, his little face red and screwed up in a very upset expression.

  When he saw Raina, he raised his arms to her.

  She heard Shep grumble, “I guess a mom is more in demand than a dad this time of night.”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder. Bare-chested, in flannel jogging shorts with a drawstring below his navel, he looked as sexy as any man could.

  “I’m a novelty,” she said easily.

  After a moment of considering that, Shep responded with, “I’ll get him a drink of water.”

  After Shep left the room, she checked over Manuel. He quieted as soon as she took him in her arms, and she wondered if he’d had a bad dream. Did he remember anything of the neglect he’d experienced? Or was all of it an impression that could sometimes haunt him at night? She wanted to give him lots of love and only wonderful memories to dream about.

  When Shep returned, they both held the glass as Manuel sipped.

  Shep ran his thumb over the baby’s forehead. “I think he had too much excitement today. He missed his nap.”

  Raina gave Manuel a comforting hug. He took another few sips of water and smiled at her.

  After Shep took Manuel from Raina’s arms, he carried him to the toy shelf and picked up a small stuffed dog. “How about this one?”

  Eagerly, Manuel clutched the dog to himself and Shep settled his little boy in the crib where Manuel lay on his side clutching the dog, content once again.

  “We’ll see if that does it. At one of the adoption meetings, we had a session on children and sleep pro
blems. I learned not to play with him when he wakes up like that, because then he expects it.”

  As Shep turned off the overhead light, leaving just the nightlight glowing, Raina saw that he tried to learn everything he could about raising his kids.

  When he let her precede him through the door, she could feel his gaze on her as they returned to his bedroom. There he skimmed off his shorts and climbed into bed. Following his lead, she removed her nightgown.

  His gaze followed her as she slid into bed. They were on separate sides of the bed when he asked, “Is the mood broken?”

  “We’ll both be listening for Manuel, to see if he’s settled.”

  “That’s not what I asked,” he responded huskily.

  Turning toward her husband, she suggested, “Kiss me and we’ll find out.”

  Shep rolled toward her, reached for her, then tugged her to him. His lips came down on hers without the coaxing slowness she was used to, but at the moment, his possessive need seemed even better. She was intoxicated by his scent, tempted by his taste, excited by his arousal. As his tongue took the kiss to new heights, his hand slid between her thighs, his fingers pushed inside her and she discovered she was still aroused, still ready for him.

  He tested, taunted and provoked, until she cried, “Shep, now.”

  Moments later, Shep’s body covered hers. He rose above her and spread her legs. Poised there, he slowly thrust into her, withdrew, then thrust harder. She clutched his shoulders, moaned, savored, rushed up to meet him, then unraveled with a cry that echoed in the room. Shep’s body shuddered as his release followed hers.

  Breathless, she held on to him, aware that this had been anything but sex for her. Somewhere between ministering to his kids and their wedding in the gazebo, she’d fallen in love with Shep McGraw. She knew he cared about their unborn child as much as he cared about his other sons. She knew that was the reason he’d married her. Hopefully, soon she’d find out if he was falling in love with her, too.

  Chapter Nine

  Standing inside Shep’s walk-in closet, Raina studied her wedding dress, hanging on the rod, the fringes swinging lower than the hems on her other dresses. She couldn’t help touching the tulle on the hat on the shelf above the dress, remembering everything about her wedding day…including her passionate lovemaking with Shep that night.