The lobby was quiet but busy. Not everyone slept late in Vegas. Even after a cup of coffee she still had over twenty minutes to wait for the shuttle.
"Best get this over with." She looked up Trent's number on her cell phone and pressed the call button. "Let's see what the hubby has to say."
Chapter Four
"Trent?" Charles waved a hand in front of his face and he blinked at his frowning friend. "What’s up with you?" Charles plopped down on a chair, one of the only two pieces of furniture in the office they'd be sharing, and took a swig of his Coke. "Spill it, something's up."
"Yeah, I suppose I have to tell someone, this is driving me nuts." Trent went to the door, closed and locked it. Then he pulled the strings on three sets of blinds assuring they had total privacy.
Charles stared at the glass wall now blanketed by blinds and whistled. "Oh shit, man, what did you do?"
Trent took a large breath and met his friend's eyes. "I married someone I met the night before we flew back from Vegas."
Coke spewed from Charles's mouth onto Trent's face. The liquid dripped from his chin to his shirt, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. His now red-faced friend fell out of the chair laughing so hard he sounded more like a wounded seal than human. After a few seconds, Charles picked up his head from the floor and looked at Trent, only to begin laughing again. Finally, Trent couldn’t keep from laughing along. "Charles, it's not funny. I have a serious situation to deal with."
With what looked to be herculean effort, Charles began to gain his composure but the wide grin remained. "Mr. Trent Andrew Baxter, the first born of Trevor Andrew Baxter, esquire, married a stranger during his first trip to Las Vegas. Wow, daddy dearest is going to have a coronary. You better get that shit annulled and make sure he never finds out."
"Too late." Trent grimaced and handed his cell phone to Charles who eyed it like it was a venomous snake and didn't reach for it. "We took wedding pictures and sent a couple to my mother. We were drunk," he added as a form of explanation.
Charles reached for the phone and peered at the picture. "You're fucked."
"Yeah."
Trent stood and began to pace. "I'm meeting her tomorrow."
"Your wife is very pretty." Charles flipped through the pictures. "You took a bunch of pictures." His eyes widened. "Whoa didn't need to see that one." Charles turned his head sideways. "Wait. What is that? Is that your ass?"
Realizing the nude pictures they'd also taken were still on his phone, Trent snatched the phone from his friend. "Can you be serious for a moment?"
"Sure, but I need a stiff drink after seeing you butt naked." Charles rubbed his eyes. "Didn't know you had a mole there."
"Charles." Trent couldn't help but glance at his phone to see what Charles spoke of. A shot of his butt greeted him and he deleted it. "My mother wants to meet Amy Leigh. I told her we'd been dating for months and the marriage was impulsive."
"Did she freak out?"
Trent frowned and raked his fingers through his hair. "This is the strange part. She's actually happy. She said I worried her by never getting serious with any of my girlfriends. Prefers we keep the marriage a secret until we can have a proper wedding so she can invite friends and family, but other than that, she is very supportive."
Charles whistled. "Awesome, I've always liked your mom. What about your father?"
"I don't know, he was out of town when I spoke to her. She said he didn't say much when she showed him the pictures."
"Interesting."
"Yeah, well it gets better. My mom wants Amy Leigh and me to go to her birthday party next weekend and spend the weekend there at the house. She’s planning an 'engagement' toast and announcement for later and wants to discuss it with Amy Leigh," Trent said holding up his fingers to emphasize the word "engagement."
"So you want to stay married to this...Amy Leigh?" Charles asked, looking around for his soda can.
"No." Trent looked to the door hoping no one overheard. Thank goodness most of the office personnel were not due to start for two weeks. "I don't even know her. Other than extremely amazing sex, we don't seem to have much in common. She's a party planner from Pine Oak. I did some checking."
"Where?"
Trent waved his hand ignoring Charles's question. "I’m going to meet with her and convince her to stay married to me for a couple of weeks. I can't break my mom's heart during her birthday party. Then we'll breakup, I'll tell Mom we were not suited and hopefully it will be resolved easily enough. Perhaps after meeting her, my mother will realize we're not meant to be and push for the annulment."
"And you the ever obedient son will oblige her," Charles finished.
"One more thing," Trent grumbled. "Miranda is going to be at the party. I called her and told her I got married."
Once again Charles began to laugh. "Why did you tell her? That may prove to be a bit awkward. Girlfriend and wife at the same party."
"I told her because she's going to make a scene. I prefer it not be at my mother's birthday party. You know her; it's best to face her wrath sooner than later. Besides, Miranda is not my girlfriend. We broke up months ago, but for some reason she keeps showing up everywhere as if she's forgotten."
"Probably because you keep sleeping with her," Charles challenged. "Deny it."
Trent went to the door and yanked it open. Jenny tripped in, barely catching her balance. "You almost made me fall," she accused Trent and frowned at Charles. "What are you two doing with the door locked?"
"And what are you doing eavesdropping?" Trent crossed his arms.
"Er...I was doing no such thing," Jenny went to Charles and sat on his lap, she kissed his jaw. "I was just about to knock."
Not convinced Trent lifted a brow at her. "Oh, really?"
"All right, I did eavesdrop," Jenny said and jumped to her feet. She clapped and danced in a circle wiggling her butt. "I can't believe you got married! Now we don't have to suffer through any more Miranda double dates."
Both men watched her and waited for her dance to end without speaking. Finally, Trent placed a hand on her shoulder when she continued. "It's not permanent and why didn't you guys tell me you don't like Miranda?"
"Time for dinner, let's go, honey." Charles performed a flawless grab and drag. Seconds later, Trent remained alone.
His cell phone vibrated and he glanced to see his father’s number. Not ready to go down that road, he let it go to voice mail.
When the call number faded, the picture of him and Amy Leigh lying side-by-side in bed caught his attention. The only thing they wore were silly grins. It had been a crazy night, one he'd not forget for a long time. His gaze lingered on Amy Leigh's face. She was definitely a looker. When she called him the day before, her demeanor had been more guarded than in Vegas. From their conversation, she seemed embarrassed and not sure how to address what had happened between them. Truthfully, he'd been taken aback by her reaction to their marriage. It seemed neither of them really remembered much about it. Other than a few flashes of the ceremony, most of it was a big blur for him. Had the bartender drugged her Bellini in hopes of taking advantage of her? There was no doubt at the time of the wedding and sexual celebration afterwards, both of them were present and willing participants.
Flashes of her throaty words and moans hit him with a lust bullet right where he didn't need it at the moment.
"Mister Baxter, my team and I are here to complete the final cleanup of the office space before your furniture delivery tomorrow." The older woman eyed him. "Are you all right?"
"Ah---yeah. Yes, thank you." Trent replied and crossed his legs. "Go ahead and get started, I was about to leave."
After a glance around the empty space to ensure a clear escape, he picked up his briefcase, held it in front of his crotch, and rushed to the elevators.
Chapter Five
Today was the day Amy Leigh was to meet her husband for the first time since leaving Las Vegas. Wanting him to find his wife attractive now that they were away from the infl
uence of Vegas lights and alcohol, she’d spent another bundle of money on hair and nails, but the outfit she wore was not new, it was what she usually wore on her days off. Jeans and her favorite jade green off the shoulder blouse that set off her "plain-Jane" dark brown hair and eyes. The ensemble was completed with a pair of three inch tan wedges in hopes she wouldn’t look too short when standing next to Trent. From what she could remember he was quite tall.
Their one phone conversation was stilted, with a lot of awkward silent moments due to the fact he was at his office. Although he apologized explaining to be in the middle of opening up a new business, Amy Leigh got the impression he preferred to be working than talking with her. Yet, he agreed to drive to Pine Oak to meet her, which surprised her. More than anything, she hoped by asking him to come to meet her, he'd take one look at her, change his mind, and choose to stay married. Not because she cared for him, but who knew maybe they could date or something. After all, he was a hottie and seemed to be nice.
She closed her eyes imagining the tall, handsome stranger she'd married. They could get to know each other, fall in love, and in the meantime have more amazing sex. What the heck, realistically even if she never saw him again, it had been worth it.
The atmosphere at Dickey’s BBQ was as always, friendly, shabby and filled with mouth watering aromas. Amy Leigh strolled in and waved to the red-faced cook, Bubba, who waved back and grinned. "Hey there, Amy Leigh."
Dickey’s oldest daughter, Coy, who wore her hair in a messy ponytail with split ends sticking out in all directions, gave Amy Leigh her perfected bored expression and stood by the booth as soon as she slid in. "The usual?"
"Yeah, but just iced tea for now, I'm expecting a customer." She lied hoping Trent was mistaken for someone planning an event and rumors would not spread with the usual speed of light that they tended to in Pine Oak. The last thing she needed was her mother involved.
Her cocktail wielding mother who rarely left her house and above ground pool except to go to work knew more about the comings and goings of the town than the mayor. How she did it was a mystery Amy Leigh planned to solve one day.
"All right, just holler when you're ready," the waitress said placing the tea filled Mason jar before her.
The door opened and Amy Leigh's heart quickened. Two men walked in, obviously by their bright orange vests and hard hats, both worked on a road crew. They headed to the sink beside the door and washed their hands. Coy brought them drinks without bothering to ask what they wanted. Amy Leigh gathered they'd been there often since starting work on whatever project they had.
A second tinkle of the bell over the door got her attention and this time her stomach double flipped when her handsome blue jeaned husband stepped through the doorway. He removed aviator sunglasses, taking a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dimmer interior.
Dressed in a blue and white plaid shirt with sleeves folded up his forearms and expensive faded jeans, he looked like he stepped out of an advertisement in sexy western GQ magazine.
He spotted her and walked toward the booth with a determined look. Instead of a smile, his lips were pressed into a firm line. Coy stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop, and he frowned down at her.
"Will it be just one today, sir?"
Since when did people get seated there? Amy Leigh looked around to the empty tables and booths and rolled her eyes. When she looked back toward him, Trent's gaze met hers and her stupid stomach got back on the roller coaster. "No thank you, miss, I'm meeting Amy Leigh."
Coy followed him to her booth. Her demeanor strangely cheerful and the smile on her face closer to creepy than friendly. "Amy Leigh your customer is here."
Amy Leigh frowned at her. "Ooookay, thanks."
Trent slid into the bench opposite her; his gaze went back to the waitress. "I'll have coffee, please. No cream, no sugar, just black."
"And two plates of BBQ," Amy Leigh added to keep Coy from coming back to get their order.
He lifted an eyebrow at her when Coy walked off. "Customer?"
"Yeah well, it’s a small town. I couldn't think of another reason I’d be meeting you that would keep the gossips from sending their scouts to get a look at you. As it is, they're probably circling outside from you driving through town and stopping." She looked out the window hoping "her own stalker ex" was not outside.
He cleared his throat, but did not reply.
Her gaze roamed from Trent's tussled dark hair to his "don't need to be waxed to be perfect" eyebrows over his amazing hazel eyes. She studied the colors of his eyes, green with gold and specks of …what was that brown, or chocolate, yeah chocolate. Yum.
"Amy Leigh?"
"Yes?" her breathless reply made her want to crawl under the table. He was talking. Unfortunately it was impossible to hear past her heart pounding in her ears. His lips continued to move.
She wondered if her mouth was open. Amy Leigh checked. Yep sitting there staring at him with her mouth open and nostrils flared. She probably looked like a hyena before it goes in for the kill. Not that she'd ever seen a hyena hunt, but could imagine.
His mouth was still moving. Her mind began wondering. Why can't I keep him? Just a few days. I'll give him back to whomever he belongs to, I promise. I mean, he is my husband I should be able to keep him for a little bit.
"Amy Leigh." He scowled at her. How cute.
"Yes?"
"Look I know it's a lot to ask, but it will only be for a couple of weeks." He squinted at her to ensure she was tracking. How can a crinkle in the corner of his eyes make her want to slam him right here on the Formica tabletop at Dickey’s BBQ? "So," he continued after surmising that she listened. "Since we texted my mother our wedding pictures, she's excited to meet you. It's her fiftieth birthday next week and I just couldn't bring myself to tell her it was all a huge mistake."
Did he just say I'm meeting his mother? "Wait, what? I'm meeting your mother?" Shit what the hell did she miss? This was good news, wasn't it? Somehow she'd not heard some good stuff while dazed by her husband's good looks. She daydreamed through the entire conversation. Well not exactly a conversation, as she'd only said 'yes' a couple times.
When he took a breath, she leaned forward and paid strict attention to his words. "If you could just do this for me. She's been after me to get married and now she's so happy, calling me daily insisting I bring you home." He ran his fingers through his hair and she suppressed the urge to slap his hand away and do it for him.
She raised her eyebrows as if considering whatever he proposed, mainly because she had no idea what he'd been saying. Well, other than meeting his mom and something about a couple of weeks.
"Let me understand what you’re asking. You want us to stay married for a few months longer? Then I get to meet your mother and make her happy, only to stomp on her heart when suddenly I turn in to a heartless bitch and dump you for the scuba instructor I'll meet at a Jamaican resort while we’re on our honeymoon."
His eyes widened. She smiled at the darkening gold flecks, which made the green part seem even brighter. Oh yeah, she could totally picture them naked on the white sandy beach. "I said it will be a couple weeks, and then I will find a way to explain our separation. I don't think it's a good idea that we go on an actual honeymoon, or that I be dumped for a diving instructor."
"Scuba," Amy Leigh corrected him. "I don't dive. Never been scuba diving either, actually."
Both watched the waitress as she placed his coffee followed by their barbecue plates in front of them. She smiled a little too brightly at Trent, no doubt to assure a good tip and maybe his phone number. "Is your food all right?"
"How should we know, Coy? We haven't tasted it yet." Amy Leigh smiled at the bimbo, mentally shoving her away.
Coy huffed and placed a hand on her nonexistent thin hip. "I'm just doing my job, Amy Leigh."
"You've never asked me if I liked my food before," Amy Leigh replied.
Coy rolled her eyes and looked to Trent who stared at his plate
with more interest than needed. "Let me know if you need anything," she told the top of his head.
Now if she'd just move along, after all they were discussing their honeymoon. Amy Leigh glared at Coy who pretended not to notice.
"Yes, thank you," Trent replied and smiled at the now blushing Coy who slid a dirty look at Amy Leigh and finally left.
"Have you been to Billings?" Trent asked as they started eating.
Amy Leigh nodded. "I went a couple of times with friends. It's beautiful. Is that where you grew up?"
"Yes, my family has deep roots there." He paused. Deep roots meant he was from a wealthy family because normal people don't have roots. Amy Leigh tried to come up with a response, but drew a blank so just nodded again.
If she kept this up, she could be mistaken for a bobble head. Trent continued, surmising Amy Leigh paid attention. "So you see, I will have to come up with a very creative way to…to..."
"End our marriage," Amy Leigh finished for him. Two things came to mind. Her husband had ridiculously kissable lips, and married couples shouldn’t be discussing divorce over a good meal. In her opinion, divorce should be discussed at bad restaurants, where the food is as bad as the topic of conversation. Dickey’s had the best barbecue. Amy Leigh didn't want her appetite ruined, so she grabbed a piece of bread, piled it high with pulled pork and sauce, and took a healthy bite.
Trent seemed enthralled by her mouth as she chewed and swallowed. The tasty food made her feel better. Amy Leigh picked up her Mason jar and drank. She then wiped her mouth ensuring not to smear grease across her face with her napkin. He continued to watch her as if she was an interesting cocker spaniel or something.
Amy cleared her throat. "How about we enjoy our dinner and take it one day at a time?"
A wide smile curved his lips as she melted in her chair. "You'll do it?" Trent asked.
"I'll do you…er… I mean yeah, I'll do it." She grabbed the Mason jar and took deep drink. It went down the wrong pipe, sending her into a coughing fit. Trent reached around and slapped her back a bit too hard. Amy Leigh stopped coughing and glared at him. "Ouch."
Montana Bachelor: Montana Cowboys Page 3