Strategically Wed

by Pamela Dalton

  “Good. That will give us plenty of time.”

  She blinked. “Time for what?”

  “To make you fall in love with me?”

  Love?

  By the time she tested the word in her mouth, Griff had left the store.

  Her mouth snapped shut as soon as she heard the door close behind him.

  What game was he playing? Was he so desperate to have a child, that he planned to seduce her into saying yes?

  The sad thing was that she was desperately afraid she might agree, and they’d both end up paying the price.

  Griff didn’t return for the remainder of the day.

  Maggie did her utmost to banish him from her thoughts and concentrate on the list of tasks she’d assigned herself. She had plenty to do before she opened the store.

  After a late afternoon meeting with her accountant, she arrived at her small house on the edge of town and met her neighbor walking down the sidewalk.

  “Hi, Maggie.”

  “Tanya, what are you doing here?” Maggie hoisted a few bags from her back seat. “Isn’t this little Billy’s choir night?”

  The thirty-something apartment owner smiled. “Yes, but Bill Senior promised to take him so I could get the new renter of the house next door settled.”

  Maggie eyed the cottage-styled house on the other side of hers. “You’ve got a new renter?”

  “Here he is now. Griff Murdock, meet Maggie Bennington.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened then narrowed at the sight of the man carrying a suitcase in one hand and a bag in the other.

  She didn’t know why she should be surprised. She had suspected he was up to something. “What are you doing here?”

  Tanya looked from one to the other. “You two know each other?”

  “We’re married,” Griff said.

  “Married?”

  “Not for long,” Maggie said.

  “Oh, does that mean you don’t want to rent the house, Mr. Murdock?” Tanya asked, not bothering to hide her bewilderment.

  “Hopefully not for too long,” Griff said.

  Tanya hesitated, but when no one offered to enlighten her, said, “Well, let me know if you need anything. I’m just down the street.”

  As soon as her neighbor left, Maggie brushed past Griff and inserted the key into her lock.

  He followed her inside.

  She walked through the living room to deposit her bags on the wicker dining table as Griff checked out the interior.

  “Nice house,” he said. “It looks like you. Homey but classy.”

  She folded her arms. “Griff, this can’t work.”

  “What can’t work?”

  “You and me.” She had been rehearsing this in her mind ever since he’d shown up earlier today. “We were forced into an unnatural situation that caused—” she stumbled “—us to do things that we normally wouldn’t have done.”

  “You don’t think making love with your wife is normal?” He seemed amused.

  She bit down on her lip. It wasn’t right that she should be the one uncomfortable in her own house. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

  “I’m not your wife,” she said, with as much calmness and firmness as she could muster. “We can’t continue this farce.”

  “I agree.” He made no move to leave. Neither did he offer explanations. “What are you having for dinner?”

  It was hard to think about food when he was standing so close. “I’ll probably throw together a salad.”

  “Let me take you out for dinner.”

  He seemed determined to keep her off-balance. She could be equally as stubborn. “I don’t think—”

  He interrupted her. “You did most of the cooking when we were in the cabin, plus other things. Let me show you my appreciation.”

  It seemed churlish to refuse, but she didn’t trust him. He appeared too relaxed and too confident for her peace of mind. “Are you going to badger me about marrying you?”

  “We’ll talk about anything you want.”

  For the next week, Griff didn’t press her about marriage. Anytime she attempted to bring up about what his plans were, he became deliberately vague.

  He seemed very interested in her shop and had even stopped by to help her construct wooden shelves for her display.

  They either went out for dinner—his treat—or ate in her cozy dining room.

  They were becoming too married-like, Maggie noticed, although they hadn’t made love since they’d left the cabin.

  And she didn’t know how much more she could take. Being with Griff, but not with him, produced an intense misery that increased each day.

  You’re in way over your head, Maggie. You’ve got to put an end to this before you start believing in the fairy tales that promised happily ever after.

  Griff hadn’t again mentioned his desire for making her fall in love with him. Nor had he said how long he planned to stay in town or anything about the annulment. Except for a fleeting kiss on her lips each evening before he left, their relationship had been strictly platonic. And it was starting to drive her crazy.

  At the end of the week, she pulled her battered station wagon into her driveway and spotted Griff sitting on her porch.

  Dressed casually in black jeans and a long-sleeved polo shirt, he looked much too delicious and uncoplike.

  She wished her heart wouldn’t leap at the sight of him. For a brief second, she rested her head against the steering wheel. She had fallen in love with him, and she didn’t know how she was going to cope with her broken heart when he left.

  She slowly got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk toward her house.

  She loved her small bungalow-styled house. She’d spent the past few weeks decorating it with the odds and ends she’d collected throughout the years. But over the course of the past few weeks, she was beginning to realize the big three-cushion sofa, the wicker dinette set and her heirloom grandfather clock didn’t add up to making her house into a home.

  She was very much afraid only Griff could do that.

  Would she ever look at the big chair in the corner of the living room and not picture Griff sitting there?

  He had stamped his presence in her life, and she didn’t know if she could ever erase him from her home or her heart.

  Griff met her halfway. “I have a gift for you.”

  This cat-and-mouse courtship had to end sometime. It would be better to terminate the play sooner than later, before one of them got seriously hurt. Still, she tried to be gentle. “I don’t need anything from you.”

  His smile contained a quizzical sadness. “Maybe not. But I need a lot from you, sweetheart, and I’m not giving up hope. Come over to my house, and I’ll give you your present.”

  “Griff—”

  “Trust me, you’ll love it.”

  He left before she had a chance to respond.

  What was she going to do?

  She’d thought she’d had it all planned. The house, the shop and a future free from the pain of the past. She hadn’t wanted to risk taking a back seat to a cop’s career.

  But was she willing to forsake those goals, if she could have a life with Griff?

  She’d never been so tempted. Maintaining control over her goals had been what had made her life livable.

  Now her world had tipped haphazardly on its axis.

  When Griff arrived, he’d told her he wanted her to fall in love with him.

  Did that mean he loved her?

  She’d made make-believe the reality for her future. But suddenly she knew it would never be enough.

  She wanted a real home with a man who would love her and give her children.

  What would she have to sacrifice if that man was Griff?

  Chapter 20

  Maggie changed into a midcalf-length dress before she crossed her yard and approached Griff’s house. Since she’d arrived in Somerstown, she’d rediscovered her love of wearing more feminine clothes. She enjoyed the swishing fabric against her body.

/>   Walking up the steps, she saw Griff standing just inside waiting for her.

  He stepped back to let her in. “I like the dress.”

  “Thank you.”

  She couldn’t contain the nervous laugh at the absurdity.

  “Something funny?” he asked.

  “I just realized how much has changed in a few weeks. We’re no longer Bennington and Murdock.”

  “Maybe we quit running from each other.”

  She turned and faced him. “Is that what we were doing? I thought we were both being safe.”

  “Yeah. And look where it got us?”

  She was afraid to look too closely into the warm steel of his eyes. Did he want what she did, or was she creating more larger than life fantasies?

  “Are you ready for your present?” he asked, before reaching for her hand and gently steering her toward the small parlor on the left.

  The house Griff had rented still seemed curiously empty despite the fact he’d been living here for almost a week. Except for the furnishings that were already inside the house when he arrived, Griff hadn’t bothered to add to its decor. He’d never said how long he planned to stay. But all indications told her it wouldn’t be much longer.

  At the threshold, he stopped her. “Close your eyes.”

  She did what he asked.

  A few steps more, then he said. “All right. You can open them now.”

  She blinked and gasped.

  Sitting on a long flat table stood a thirty-inch tall, cream-colored Victorian dollhouse.

  Maggie had trouble comprehending what she was seeing. She circled the table before kneeling to peer into the patterned leaded windows that contained real metal. “Oh, Griff. It’s perfect. Where did you get it?”

  “I found it at a shop on the outskirts of Chicago. They had all kinds of fancy accessories, including chandeliers, but I thought you’d enjoy decorating it yourself.”

  She shook her head. “Why did you buy this?”

  Griff reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. The heat of his skin caused chills to sweep through her as his arms went around her. “I love you more than I thought I’d ever love anyone in my life, Maggie. I can’t promise that we can ever afford such a fancy house, but I want to spend the rest of my life bringing all your dreams to life. Will you marry me, Maggie, for real this time?”

  “You’re making this hard.” She swallowed back the surge of tears that suddenly rose in the back of her throat. “What about your job? Pendleton is over an hour away.”

  “I handed in my resignation. I’ve been hired as the new police chief for Somerstown.”

  “But you loved your job.”

  “No. It was my safety net. It kept me from wanting more from life than I was given. That made it safe. But it was still just a job. I want you.”

  Maggie pulled her hand from his and stepped back. She couldn’t think when they were this close. She could only feel Griff. She had to separate her feelings from the needy hunger.

  “Do you love me, Maggie?” he asked.

  The gruff tenderness in his voice brought her tears to the edge. “Yes, but I’m not sure it’s enough.”

  “What would be enough?”

  “I don’t know.” She turned her back on him so she could regain her composure. “I didn’t expect you’d ever leave Pendleton or the department. The job was your life.”

  “I’m not your dad, Maggie.”

  No, he wasn’t. But could she release the fears she’d held so long? “How do I know you aren’t feeling responsible for me because I’m your partner’s daughter?”

  “I’m going to help you furnish that dollhouse,” he said simply. “I figure it’ll take a lifetime.”

  Maggie’s gaze flickered back to his gift, and then returned to the strong emotion glimmering in his eyes. He was no longer shielding his feelings from her. He was asking her to believe in the dreams she’d always nurtured in her heart but never dared believe she’d have.

  The world of make-believe would never be enough.

  Could he see her heart in her eyes? “Marriage can be messy.”

  “My life can use a little clutter.”

  A lump rose in the back of her throat. “I’d never leave you,” she said.

  “I’d come after you if you did.”

  His arms beckoned and she couldn’t deny herself any longer.

  She rushed into the haven he offered, nestling against the muscled warmth and let the tears fall. “I wanted to be pregnant. I wanted to have our baby.”

  He held her as if he’d never let her go. “I know. But we’ll have time to make lots of babies.”

  She lifted her head and reached up to touch his face. “I love you.”

  “Say it again.”

  “You first.”

  “Still don’t trust me?”

  She slipped her hands around his head. “I trust you to be with me every stormy night, sunny day and cloudy afternoon. But I need to hear the words, too.”

  “I love you, Maggie. Marry me.”

  She answered by pulling his face down to her and pressed her mouth to his. “All right. But it’s your turn to wear the wedding dress.”

  The gray of his gaze gleamed down into hers. “I’ve got a better idea, how about we both get naked, Mrs. Murdock, and then flip for it?”

  “With your two-faced coin?”

  “Your powers of deduction never cease to amaze me.”

  “You’re much too sure of yourself.”

  “Yeah, but you’ll have plenty of time to train me. Now about that baby…”

  Maggie sank into her husband’s arms.

  She’d tried to steel her heart against loving him, but Griff had broken through the bars she’d erected and taken her soul.

  Maggie knew she’d never be truly alone again.

  Epilogue

  Griff pulled into the driveway in time to watch his young daughter boldly navigate the steps to greet him.

  Eleven-and-a-half-month-old Selia Willow Murdock, her face screwed tight with utmost determination, had a profound fascination with any kind of staircase. She stubbornly refused her mother’s assistance, even though Maggie stood close by in case her small daughter took a tumble.

  Sheer contentment washed over him.

  His wife and his daughter. Their love made his life complete and still humbled him.

  Wylie often ribbed him about getting “stung” at his own wedding, but Griff couldn’t be more content. He’d found a woman he’d love forever, and who amazingly loved him.

  He’d finally managed to rise above the ashes of his past.

  He knew he’d always worry about something happening to either Maggie or Selia. But he knew they’d never willingly leave him.

  It had been two and a half years since he’d left his job in Pendleton and asked Maggie to make their marriage vows permanent.

  The first year and a half of their life together hadn’t been without pain. Maggie had gotten pregnant three months after their small intimate wedding in her living room. When she’d miscarried several weeks later, they both shed many tears. The pain of losing the unborn baby had been tough on them both, but their love had sustained them.

  When Selia was born, he learned what real contentment was.

  Maggie was a terrific mother and an incredible wife. After his daughter’s birth, Maggie had hired their neighbor Tanya to manage the doll shop so Maggie could be home with the baby.

  Selia finally conquered the last step, and Maggie scooped her up and gave her a big hug before pointing to Griff as he climbed out of his Bronco. “Look, sweetheart, Daddy’s home.”

  His daughter reached out her hands to him. “Da,” she squealed.

  Griff intercepted his daughter. “How’s my pretty girl? Have you been good to your mama today?”

  Maggie winked. “She missed her daddy.”

  “How much?”

  “I found her washing your socks in the bathroom toilet.”

  He chuckled, nuzzling the baby�
�s ear, before leaning over to kiss Maggie. “Mmm, you taste good. How was your day?”

  Maggie looped her arm through his as they strolled back to the house. “Wylie called.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He asked if we wanted to meet him at the cabin this weekend.”

  “Did you tell him we want the bedroom?”

  She smiled. “He’d agree to anything so long as he can spoil Selia.”

  “Then let’s do it.”

  “Our bags are all packed.”

  With Selia in one arm and Maggie on the other, Griff didn’t care where they spent the weekend. He had everything he needed or wanted right next to him. And he knew that wasn’t going to change for the rest of his life.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0398-3

  STRATEGICALLY WED

  Copyright © 2002 by Pamela E. Johnson

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com