by Cora Seton
He’d taken one look and decided to send her back.
* * * * *
Ethan stared into the stricken eyes of the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He had to confess to her right now the extent of the joke she’d been led into thinking was real. It’d been bad enough when he thought Rob and the rest of them had simply hauled him to the airport for a chance to laugh their asses off at him, but now there was a woman involved, a real, beautiful, fragile woman. He had to stop this before it went any further.
When she raised her clear blue gaze to his, he saw panic, horror, and an awful recognition he instantly realized meant she thought she’d been judged and found wanting. He knew he’d do anything to make that look go away. Judged wanting. As if. The girl was as beautiful as a harvest moon shining on frost-flecked fields in late November. He itched to touch her, take her hand, pull her hard against him and…
Whoa – that thought couldn’t go any farther.
He swallowed hard and tried again. “I…it’s just my place…something came up and I didn’t get a chance to fix it like I meant to.” She relaxed a fraction and he rushed on. “It’s a good house – built by my great granddaddy in 1889 for the hired help. Solid. Just needs a little attention.”
“A woman’s touch,” Rob threw in.
Ethan restrained himself, barely. He’d get back at all of his friends soon enough. “I just hope you’ll be comfortable.”
A snigger behind him made him clench his fists.
“I don’t mind if it’s rough,” Autumn said, eliciting a bark of laughter from the peanut gallery. She blushed and Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off her face, although he wished she hadn’t caught the joke. She’d look like that in bed, after…
Enough.
“Give me the keys,” he said to Rob. When his friend hesitated, he held out a hand. “Now.”
Rob handed them over with a raised eyebrow, but Ethan just led the way outside and threw Autumn’s suitcases in the bed of the truck. He opened the passenger side door.
“Thank you,” she said, putting first one foot, then the other on the running board and scrambling somewhat ungracefully into the seat. City girl. At least her hesitation gave him a long moment to enjoy the view.
Rob made as if to open the door to the back bench seat, but Ethan shoved him aside, pressed down the lock and closed the passenger door. He was halfway around the truck before Rob could react.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Taking a ride with my fiancée. You all find your own way home.” He was in the driver’s side with the ignition turning over before any of them moved a muscle. Stupid fools. They’d made their beds and they could sleep in them.
He glanced at the ethereal princess sitting less than two feet away. Meanwhile, he’d sleep in his own comfortable bed tonight. Maybe with a little company for once.
CHAPTER TWO
Fatigue overtook her as soon as they gained the highway. Autumn hadn’t slept a wink the night before, excitement over the challenge of the undercover assignment, something she hadn’t attempted before, alternating with fear of exposure, or worse – failure. She didn’t know what to expect, or how far she could string this man along before she had to admit it was all a ruse.
Actually, she hoped she’d never have to admit to her deception. She and Becka had carefully concocted an escape story – a dead aunt whose funeral Autumn had to attend. If things got too rough, she’d whip out her excuse and be on the next plane to New York. Then she’d write her story and Ethan would never even know about it. Montana cowboys didn’t read CityPretty, did they?
She wondered if she could spin the article off into something longer. Maybe give it a “where is our culture going” edge and send it in to New Yorker magazine? Or play up the romantic aspect and sell it to Cosmo?
Perhaps she could write a book?
“You hungry?”
Autumn jumped. She’d all but forgotten the man driving the pickup. “Sorry?”
“Are you hungry? We could grab a burger.” He pointed at a mom and pop joint coming up on the right. She arched an eyebrow. Really? His first meal with his fiancée and the cowboy was going to take her to a burger joint? She bit back a smile. This article was going to write itself.
He seemed to realize his mistake. “Or, we could grab a steak at DelMonaco’s Grill.”
“Sure. That sounds nice.”
Darn, CityPretty’s readers loved snarky articles that skewered the mannerisms of the lesser orders – that is, anyone who wasn’t a young, upwardly mobile urbanite. If she could portray Ethan and his friends as a bunch of country bumpkins, so much the better. She frowned, as uncomfortable with this type of journalism as she had been her first day on the job. What could she do, though? She needed to eat.
Ethan accelerated and she watched the burger joint slip past into the rear view mirror. The silence between them lengthened until she clutched the floral print fabric of her dress with both hands to try to keep from talking. She wasn’t accustomed to long silences. New Yorkers talked a mile a minute; especially her co-workers.
“Did you grow up around here?” she asked several minutes later when she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Yep. I live on the same ranch where I was born.”
“Oh – is your family still there, too?” She’d never thought about that and she experienced a moment of real fear. She could fool a young cowboy…maybe. But a cowboy’s mama? That sounded a lot harder.
“My folks are gone. Died in an accident last year.”
“I’m sorry.” And she was. Really. But relieved, too. How sick was that?
“Got a sister in Billings. I see her now and then.”
She nodded, fascinated by the muscle that tightened along the line of his jaw. There was a story there, she was sure of it. What did his sister do that made him so tense? And how did he make every plain Jane sentence he uttered sound so damn sexy? He was talking about his family, but he could have been crooning a love song with that rough, masculine tone. Maybe she should have crossed the Mississippi a long time ago.
Hormones. Ovulating. Get a grip, Autumn.
“What about you?” he asked, glancing her way for a fraction of a second. “Your folks still alive?”
“Yes. My mom lives in Manhattan. Dad’s long gone. Last I heard he was in Rio.”
“You grew up in the city, but you hate it?”
“No, I…” She let the sentence trail off. Whoops, nearly blew her cover story already. “Right,” she said with a forced smile. “I hate it. I can’t wait to get out of there for good.”
He gave her a measured look. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“Right!” she said again. “Yeah. I just…I mean…maybe you and I…” Man, she had to pull herself together, fast, or he’d see through her in a minute. “I mean, I hope it works out – you know, between you and me.”
She couldn’t look at him, and she noticed he was keeping his eyes on the road now. “Yeah. Me, too,” he said gruffly. “Here we are.”
* * * * *
What the hell was he saying? Ethan pulled sharply into a parking spot and hit the brakes, grinding the Chevy to a stop. This was insane. He had to tell her she’d been fooled before the whole thing got out of hand. Oh, who was he kidding; the situation was already far past out of hand. He took a deep breath and considered his next move. The least he could do was buy the pretty lady next to him a nice steak dinner before he broke the news. That way he could ask her a few more questions – find out why a woman like her would ditch her job and family back in New York and fly all the way out here to get married to a perfect stranger.
Who did that kind of thing, anyway?
He looked her over out of the corner of his eye as he slid his seatbelt off and exited the truck. Walking around the cab, he opened her door and tried not to stare at the expanse of her leg visible as she slid out of the seat. She smoothed her dress down as soon as she hit the pavement, but not before he got a pretty clear view of her shapely
thighs.
Come on, Ethan, you’ve seen lots of legs before.
But none that affected him quite like this. Not even Lacey’s.
He had to admit part of it was knowing this woman had voluntarily come all the way from New York to marry him. Him. Based solely on the asinine video Rob put up on the web, she’d deemed him worthy of being her partner, protector – and lover – for the rest of her life. The prettiest package he’d ever seen and she’d delivered herself right to his door – practically.
What if he didn’t tell her it was a joke? What if he just married her?
The idea was more promising than he ever could have imagined a half hour ago. He followed her up the walkway to DelMonaco’s, appreciating the way her thin cotton dress conformed to the curves of her body. She didn’t look like a city girl in that outfit. She looked womanly, soft, at home in the country – but maybe that was the point. She was selling herself to him, in a way.
DelMonaco’s was hopping, as it always was on Saturday nights, but they were lucky and got a table after only a minute or two of waiting. Sarah-Jane, the hostess, who he’d gone to high school with, led them to a small, square table in the middle of the restaurant. Ethan saw her give Autumn more than one appraising look, but she didn’t ask any questions and he was grateful for that. He pulled out a wooden chair for her, and took the one kitty-corner to it.
“The food must be good here,” Autumn said, looking over the menu.
“There aren’t that many places to go.” Ethan scanned his menu as well, although he knew it by heart. He ordered the same thing every time he came. Porter house steak, baked potato, coleslaw. None of that salad bar stuff for him.
“Well, look who’s here!”
Ethan stiffened, his fingers crumpling the laminated menu. A week ago he would have given anything to hear that voice, but not now. Definitely not now.
He forced himself to loosen his grip on the menu and look up at the couple who’d stopped next to his table. Lacey Taylor, dressed in a skimpy sundress that barely grazed the tops of her thighs, strappy white sandals, and a diamond on her finger you could use to signal Mars, smiled down at him. Behind her stood Carl Whitfield, in denim jeans, cowboy boots, a blazer and a string tie. Reflexively, a slow burn started in Ethan’s stomach. Everything about Lacey’s new boyfriend made him want to punch the man’s lights out. He’d come to Chance Creek looking for a ranch to buy, and took his time ferreting out the most desperate rancher so he could cut a bargain that would make the devil applaud. Someone would be coming after Ethan’s ranch like that pretty soon, but he’d be damned if he’d sell.
Lacey’s smile widened as if she’d read his thoughts. “Hi Ethan! We’re celebrating our eight month anniversary. Can you believe we’ve been dating that long? Only six months to the wedding! I can’t wait until Carl makes an honest woman of me.”
Had Lacey’s smile always been so fake? And since when did she wear all that makeup? Suddenly Ethan couldn’t see why he’d always thought she was so attractive. Sure, she had curves in all the right places and her platinum blonde hair could dazzle a man, but next to Autumn she seemed so…plastic.
“We’re going on the Grand Tour for our honeymoon,” Carl said, reaching forward to shake Ethan’s hand. “France, Italy, Greece, Austria…”
“Carl says we’ll just keep going until we get so homesick we have to come back,” Lacey gushed. “Can you imagine ever getting sick for this little town? I told him we’ll be gone forever!”
“Can’t stay away forever, darling,” Carl said. “You have to decorate that mansion I’ve been building just for you.”
“I get to pick out all the furniture!” she practically squealed. “Can you believe it?”
When Ethan didn’t answer, her smile faded a notch and she turned her gaze to Autumn. “Oh, hi,” she said. “I’m Lacey. Ethan’s probably told you about me.”
Autumn shrugged and Ethan fought down the urge to kiss her. Nothing irked Lacey more than not being the center of attention – another fact about her that seemed much clearer than it had just 24 hours ago.
“Sorry, he didn’t mention you. Are you his sister?”
Ethan bit back a laugh at the look on Lacey’s face. Autumn definitely earned a kiss for that.
“Sister?” Lacey was outraged. “No. I’m his…was…his fiancée. Who are you?”
Autumn glanced at him. “Oh, I’m…Autumn. I’m Ethan’s…”
“His new fiancée!” Suddenly Rob was there behind him, trailed by Cab and Jamie. He put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and gave it a not so friendly squeeze. “They’re getting married. Isn’t that sweet!”
“Rob!” Ethan growled. His friend let him go and tousled his hair.
“Sorry, I know it’s supposed to be a secret, but I can’t help myself. I spent thirty dollars on a cab ride just now so I could be here and share your joy.” Damn, he should have realized when he left Rob stranded at the airport he’d only added fuel to the fire of his need for revenge.
The practical joke he’d played on Rob last month was a good one, but Rob was doing a damn fine job of getting back at him. In fact, he’d say they were quits right about now.
Lacey’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. After a long moment, Carl said, “Congratulations! Well, hey now – marriages are bursting out all over the place, aren’t they!”
Lacey looked like she wanted to slug him. “You never said you were dating again, Ethan. When did you two meet?”
“Today,” Autumn answered at the same time he said, “A few years ago.”
Lacey looked from one to the other. “Uh uh, I smell a fake. You’re putting me on, Ethan Cruz. You’re just pretending to be engaged because you’re jealous of me and Carl.”
The anger that had simmered in his gut for the past eight months since she’d dumped him burst into flame. “Lacey, the last thing I am is jealous of you and Carl. I have Autumn, and I’m making her my wife. Next month. June 21.” Before anyone could say a thing, he leaned over the corner of the table, cupped Autumn’s head, pulled her close, and gave her a kiss so smoldering it put a prairie fire to shame.
* * * * *
When Ethan released her, Autumn gasped for air, raising a hand to her lips. No one had ever kissed her like that – not even the man she’d lived with for nearly a year when she was twenty. For a moment her head spun and she couldn’t make out what the others were saying, but while Lacey looked furious, her fiancé – Carl, was it? – looked like he’d just taken the prize at a turkey shoot. He raised his hands above his head and clapped them together. The noisy restaurant crowd hushed, craning their necks to see what was happening in the center of the room.
“Folks! Folks, can I have your attention for a moment?” Carl called. “I’ve got great news! Our own hometown boy, Ethan Cruz, has caught himself a fiancée! What’s your name, honey?” He bent down toward her.
“Um…Autumn,” she said.
“Autumn! That’s her name. Let’s give a round of applause for the happy couple! May they have a long and happy marriage! Barkeep!” Autumn cringed – did people really say that here? “A round of champagne for the house – on me!”
Applause split the air as Carl thumped Ethan on the back. Then he made them stand up while the rowdy Saturday night crowd cheered. “Kiss! Kiss!” he crowed and the rest of the patrons soon joined in. Autumn wanted to sink into the floor. What had happened to keeping a low profile and slipping away before the month was out? Looking up at Ethan she saw the same glazed look in his eyes she was sure was in her own. He dutifully bent down and kissed her again.
She meant to keep it short and sweet and she was sure he did, too, but the moment their lips met electricity sparked between them and she found didn’t want to move away. His hand slid around her waist and soon she was pressed against him, tilting her head up and standing on tip-toe to meet his embrace. Her skin tingled every place she touched him, a heat building up inside her that had long been absent in her life. When he slid his hand down her back
, she leaned into him, too far gone in their kiss to care that everyone in the room was watching them.
“Hey, save something for the honeymoon!” Carl laughed. They broke apart and Autumn, breathless, noticed the furious expression on Lacey’s face. Poor girl. Probably just realizing the catch she’d let slip her hook. Carl cupped his fiancee’s elbow and moved her away, calling back a few last congratulations. The crowd settled down for the moment and she took the chance to sit again. She went back to studying the menu, although when Sarah-Jane returned to take their orders, she still hadn’t made a choice.
“Something light?” she said in desperation. For some reason she couldn’t focus on the menu’s printed words. The names of the specials danced in front of her as she relived, time and time again, the feel of Ethan’s mouth on hers, the way his hands caressed her, and the passion that had flared to life within her at his briefest touch. It must be the plane ride or the time change – or her hormones – that made her so sensitive. She wasn’t accustomed to falling hard for strangers.
Sarah-Jane saved her. “I’ll bring an order of Chicken Tuscany and you can make your way to the salad bar whenever you’re ready.”
“Thanks.” She waited until Ethan ordered his steak and Sarah-Jane carted off the menus, then rose again. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Ethan stood up, too, and helped pull back her chair. A gentleman. She liked that. “I’ll be waiting.”
His laconic sentence and the way his gaze lingered on hers brought another rush of heat to her cheeks. Waiting…for what? For her return, or for something else entirely? Had he felt some kind of connection, too? Was he looking forward to later tonight, when they were alone?
She hurried off and found the ladies room, refusing to make eye contact with any of the other patrons trying to get her attention and give her their congratulations. Locking herself into a stall she took a minute to sort out everything that had just happened. Ethan obviously took this marriage thing very seriously. Somehow she thought they’d spend some time together before he brought up the actual engagement, although now that seemed naïve. The man wanted a wife and he wanted one right now. Why else put a video like that up on YouTube.