Made for Marriage

by Helen Lacey

  “That was fun, Daddy,” Hayley said excitedly.

  “Was it, poppet?” He looked at Callie as they walked. “Maybe the twins could have riding lessons, too.”

  “Maybe,” Callie replied and almost jumped from her skin when Hayley grasped her hand. She stopped walking immediately and looked down. The little girl tugged her forward, giggled and acted as though holding her hand was the most natural thing in the world.

  Instinct kicked in and she went to pull her hand away…but something stopped her. Maybe it was the lovely, infectious laugh coming from the little girl. Or perhaps it was that Noah was watching her with such blistering intensity she knew that if she moved, if she rejected the child’s hand, he’d see it. And he’d see more than that. He’d see through her and into the parts of herself she kept so fiercely guarded.

  “Anything wrong, Callie?”

  Already suspicious, she thought. Already figuring her out. “Not a thing,” she lied and allowed herself to be led toward a refreshments stall.

  He bought drinks all round and Callie had just cranked the cap off her soda when Hayley announced she wanted her face painted.

  “Can we, Daddy, please?” she pleaded and skipped toward the face-painting tent.

  He nodded and they all followed. He passed the colorfully decorated painter a couple of notes from his wallet. Hayley insisted on going first while Matthew waited patiently behind his more flamboyant sister.

  Callie stood to the side. “Where’s your other son?” she asked. “And Lily?”

  “Jamie’s with Evie. And Lily doesn’t do fairs.”

  Callie half smiled. “Too cool, huh?”

  “Or stubborn.”

  “She’s headstrong,” Callie said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  He crossed his arms and she couldn’t help looking at his chest. He was remarkably fit and broad shouldered and her awareness of him spiked. It had been eons since she’d been this attracted to someone. Maybe never. She’d been with Craig for so many years, and any true desire they’d felt for one another had faded long before his death. But Noah had kickstarted her libido with a resounding thud.

  “Speaking from experience?” he asked quietly while keeping a watch on his kids.

  Callie got her feelings back on track. “I’m sure my parents thought me willful. I liked to do things my own way.”

  “And still do, I imagine.”

  She wasn’t about to deny it. “She’ll come around,” Callie assured him, sensing it was true, although she had no idea why she thought so. “Raising a teenage girl wouldn’t be easy—especially alone.”

  “Sometimes…no. But they’re all pretty well behaved most of the time. Even Lily.”

  “Do they see their mother much?” she asked before she could stop herself. She wondered why on earth she was so interested in this man and his children. She wasn’t usually so inquisitive. Who was she kidding? She was never inquisitive.

  “No,” he replied. “They don’t.”

  Callie’s tongue tingled with another question, but she held back. The more she knew about him, the more he’d want to know about her…and she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t sure she ever would be. But despite her reticence, she suddenly had the image of his four motherless children burned deep in her heart.

  Heaven help me…I’m actually in danger of falling for this man.

  Noah felt her pain. She’d done a great job of building a big wall around whatever it was that haunted the depths of her blue eyes. But not quite good enough.

  “Will I see you tonight?” he asked, determined to keep her talking.

  “For the dance?” She shook her head. “No. I have to take the horses back home.”

  He pressed on. “You could come later.”

  She stepped back. “I don’t…I don’t…it’s just that I don’t…”

  “You don’t what?” he asked, picking up her trailing words.

  “I don’t date,” she said bluntly.

  Noah half smiled. So they had something in common. “Neither do I,” he admitted and when she looked surprised, he explained what he meant. “Four kids make dating…difficult.” He raised his brows. “What’s your excuse?”

  She shrugged and took a deep breath. “I don’t have one.”

  Not exactly the truth and they both knew it. “Are you nursing a broken heart?”

  She crossed her arms and dangled the soda bottle between her fingertips. “Not the kind you might be imagining,” she said softly.

  Noah’s curiosity soared. He wanted to know all about her. Everything. She’d been hurt in the past, that much was obvious. But by whom? “Want to talk about it?”

  She shook her head again and stepped back fractionally, as if she was looking for an escape. “I should go.” She tapped the soda bottle. “Thank you for the drink.”

  She said goodbye to the kids and walked away, leaving him staring after her.

  Callie sat on the edge of her bed and examined the contents of her open wardrobe.

  She’d arrived home an hour earlier. The horses were fed, the dog was asleep in the kitchen and she was left wondering why she was actually considering dressing up and heading back to the fair. But Fiona had called and begged her to go. So, her friend needed her. That was as good a reason as any. It wasn’t because there was a band playing and that there would be dancing. It wasn’t because Noah would be there.

  She knew getting involved with him was out of the question.

  He has four children.

  He had what she would never have. Her heart felt so heavy in her chest when she thought about it. She’d kept a lid on her feelings for more than four years and had accepted she could never have another child because of complications during Ryan’s birth. Ryan was her child…and he was gone. But in a matter of days, and without warning, the lid had lifted off and suddenly she was all feelings…all memory…all want.

  Noah makes me want.

  Desiring him was one thing. She hadn’t expected to like him. She hadn’t expected to like anyone ever again.

  Forty minutes later she’d dressed and drove back to the fair.

  It was well past eight o’clock by the time she arrived. The stalls and kiddie games had been replaced by a large dance floor and clusters of tables and chairs. The whole scene had been decorated with hundreds of tiny lights, and food and drink vendors were on hand to satisfy appetites. The turnout was impressive. People had dressed up and were clearly enjoying themselves. The band was good and the dance floor was busy. Callie spotted Fiona standing near a tent where drinks were being served and quickly headed for her friend.

  “You’re here!” Fiona squealed and hugged her close. “Thank goodness.”

  “You said you could use the company.”

  “I could. Great dress—aren’t you glad I insisted you buy it?”

  It was a great dress—a flimsy chiffon concoction of muted caramel shades with a halter top. The skirt fell just above her knees. “Of course.”

  “Fiona!”

  They both turned at the sound of the pleasantly pitched female voice. A dark haired woman with the most amazing green eyes came toward them, buffering against a few people in her stride.

  “M.J.,” Fiona greeted. “Good to see you.”

  Fiona introduced them and the green-eyed beauty made a startled sound. “You’re Callie? Lily’s riding instructor?”

  Callie bristled. “You know Lily?”

  M.J. laughed delightfully. “She’s my niece,” she explained. “I’m Noah’s sister.”

  Of course. The resemblance to Evie was unmistakable. And those eyes were all Preston. “I didn’t realize he had more than one.”

  “There are three of us girls.”

  “Is Evie her
e?” she asked, acutely conscious that Noah would be nearby.

  I’m not here for him. I’m not. I can’t be.

  “Nah—she’s looking after the kids,” M.J. said. “It’s just me and Noah tonight.”

  And then, as if drawn by some inexplicable force, Callie turned her neck and met his gaze head-on.

  Noah knew the exact moment Callie arrived. It was as if some internal radar, attuned to only her, had taken hold of him. The area seemed smaller, the air heavy, and the noise of glasses clinking and people speaking faded into a barely audible sound. She looked incredible. The dress, the hair tumbling down her back, the heels that showed off her amazing legs—he wondered if any of the half a dozen people around him heard the strangled sound that formed in his throat. She must have felt him staring at her because she turned her head and looked right at him.

  A blinding and electrical visual contact hit him from his feet to his fingertips. His best friend, Cameron Jakowski, jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow and gave a low whistle of appreciation. Noah didn’t like that one bit. With three sisters and an independent working mother, he’d learned at an early age not to objectify women.

  “Who is that?” Cameron asked.

  “Fiona.”

  Cameron raised his brows. “I meant her friend with the great legs.”

  “Callie Jones,” Noah replied quietly.

  Cameron chuckled. “The horse lady? Very nice. No wonder you’ve been keeping her to yourself.”

  “That’s not what I’ve been doing.”

  “Sure it is.” Cameron smiled. “Shall we go over so you can introduce me?”

  “No.”

  “I just wanna talk to her.”

  Noah stood perfectly still. “Hard to talk without teeth.”

  Cameron laughed loudly and began walking toward them. “Okay, I get the message,” he said once Noah caught up. “But introduce me anyway.”

  He did so begrudgingly. Cameron liked women and women usually reciprocated. He was stupidly relieved when Callie seemed oblivious to his friend’s brand of charm.

  Once the introductions were over Fiona dragged Cameron onto the dance floor. Noah bought a round of drinks and they sat down at a table way back from the noise of the playing band. It wasn’t long before M.J. went off in search of the man she’d arrived with and he and Callie were alone.

  She looked nervous. And beautiful. He’d never seen her hair loose before. It was longer than he’d imagined and hung way past her bare shoulders. He felt like running his hands through it and tilting her head back so he could kiss her throat.

  “You came back,” he heard himself say.

  She glanced at him. “Yes.”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  “It’s still not a date.”

  Her words made him smile, and Noah’s whole body thrummed with awareness. Being around her, sharing molecules of space with her, undid him on so many levels. “Of course not. We don’t date, remember?”

  Her blue eyes sparkled. “Do you have to be so agreeable?” she asked quietly.

  “Do you have to keep looking for a fight?”

  One brow rose sharply. “You like provoking me. It’s probably because you were surrounded by women growing up. You know, the spoiled only son, indulged by his mother and adoring sisters, given license to say whatever he wants.”

  He laughed. “I’m sure my mother would disagree with you.”

  “Ha—I’d like to talk to your mother,” she said and he saw her flush.

  “I’m sure she’d enjoy that, too. So where’s your family?”

  She hesitated for a moment, like she was working out how much to reveal. “California,” she replied finally. “My mom lives in Santa Barbara. My brother Scott has a place in L.A,” she added. “He works for the fire department.”

  “And your father?”

  “He died ten years ago.”

  Noah pushed his beer aside. “So why Crystal Point?”

  “My dad was born in Bellandale and I vacationed here many times when I was young. After my—” She stopped for a moment. “After I finished professional competition I wanted to do something…else. I’d always wanted to have my own riding school and secured Sandhills Farm for a good price.”

  “It was a courageous move,” he said. “I mean, without family support.”

  “I had that. I still do.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “California? Sometimes,” she admitted. “But I needed to…to get away.”

  She’d said too much. He felt it with every fiber inside him. “Get away or run away?”

  “Both,” she admitted.

  “Have you been back?”

  She nodded. “I try to get back every year to see my family.”

  “You’re close to them?” he asked.

  Callie nodded. “Very.”

  “But you wouldn’t move back to California for good, would you?”

  She looked into her glass. “I’m not sure. For the moment this is home.”

  “That’s…good news. For Lily,” he clarified. “And the rest of your students.” He paused, looking at her. “How many students do you have?”

  “Not nearly enough,” she replied. “I lost a few a while back. An unhappy client,” she explained. “Or an unhappy parent, to be precise.”

  “Sonja Trent?”

  Callie stilled. “You know her?”

  “I know her.” He took a drink and looked at her over the rim of his glass. “How many more students do you need?”

  “To stay afloat?” He could see her doing a quick calculation in her head. “About a dozen or so. I could advertise—but of course that takes money. If I hike up my tuition fees, I risk losing the students I have to one of the bigger equestrian clubs in town who do a group rate. And with insurance costs and the price of feed sometimes I feel like I’m…”

  “You feel like what?”

  “Like I’m pushing a barrow of manure uphill with a faulty wheel.”

  He smiled, thinking how he knew that feeling. “I don’t think you should dismiss the idea of raising your prices,” he said after a moment. “Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean value. Sure, your clients could go to the bigger establishment—but would they get what you can give them? Probably not. One-on-one lessons with someone who has your experience is what customers will pay for. Your skills and knowledge make your time valuable, Callie—you’ve earned the right to be rewarded for it.”

  Her eyes shone bright with tears, and in that moment Noah wished he knew her better. He saw vulnerability and pain and fought the instinctive urge to reach for her. Now wasn’t the time. But soon, he thought. Soon.

  The compliment went straight to Callie’s heart and she fought the sting behind her eyes. Silly, but his words made her feel taller, stronger. Her defenses were down. He broke them down. No, not broke…something else. Somehow he took the barricade around her apart, piece by piece, holding each one of those pieces in his hand, showing her what he had in his palm, drawing her out, making her want and making her feel.

  Making me unafraid.

  She was momentarily stunned by the intensity of her feelings. What she’d first thought was just attraction suddenly seemed so much more.

  She liked him…. She really liked him.

  This is a good man, a tiny voice inside of her said. A good man with a dazzling smile and integrity oozing from every pore. A man who made her feel safe when she’d believed no man would ever make her feel that again.

  How did she resist? She wasn’t sure she could. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  But…to feel again? Where did she find the courage to do that? If she let herself care for him…she would also have to let herself care for his children. She had to allo
w them inside and into her heart. Into her heart that was only barely glued together these days.

  “Callie?”

  She realized she’d been staring at him and dropped her gaze. “Yes?”

  “Would you like to dance?”

  Instinct screamed no. “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. It’s just a dance.”

  It wasn’t just anything…she knew it as surely as she breathed.

  “I really—”

  “Come on,” he urged and took hold of her hand. Before she could protest further he’d pulled her gently from her seat and led her toward the dance floor.

  She’d always liked the idea of dancing but had never been all that good at it. Craig had complained it was a precious waste of time when there were horses to train and competitions to prepare for.

  The band played covers of popular tunes, and just as they reached the dance floor the beat changed to a much slower number. Callie didn’t move at first. At over six feet Noah was considerably taller than her, and she tilted her head back to look at him. Everything about him drew her in. The white collared shirt he wore emphasized his broad-shouldered strength and as she curled her fingers into the soft fabric and felt the hard muscle beneath, every ounce of blood in her veins surged. She hadn’t been this close to a man for so long…and never one who’d affected her so powerfully.

  The music was slow and they moved well together. One hand lay gently against her hip and he held her free hand in his. She felt the intimacy right down to her toes.

  She took a deep breath. “Noah …” Saying his name set off a surge of feelings inside her. Her body tensed and she knew he felt the sudden shift.

  “Yes, Callie.”

  “Don’t expect too much.”

  He looked at her oddly. “Are we talking about your dancing skills or something else?”

  “Something else,” she admitted on a sigh and wasn’t sure where the words came from. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She felt like the worst kind of fraud by denying the obvious and refusing to admit to the feelings running through her.