скачать книгу бесплатно
She almost smiled at the irony that they worked for the same company, yet she would commute to the company’s office each morning and he would stay in the house she also lived in.
Then she realized she hadn’t even seen his place. It could be a cabin in the woods with no running water. “Hang on. What’s your place like?”
“Big. Just outside town.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw as he thought. “Modern. Everything inside was done by a decorator, and she used words like minimalist and sleek. You can make any changes you want. I’m not fussy about that sort of thing.”
“Can I ask you something?” Did she imagine the wariness flickering briefly in his eyes before he answered?
He sat back and picked up his glass of water. “Sure.”
She laced her fingers together and, for a moment, wished her lawyer’s heart could just go with the flow instead of insisting she gather all the facts to file neatly in their slots.
“If we went ahead with this plan, do you see us as a couple?”
He chuckled. “We would be married. That’s pretty much the definition of a couple.”
But it was an important issue—just how married did he want to be? “That’s the legal arrangement. And we’ve discussed physical arrangements for me to move in. But what about us as two people?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You mean lovemaking?”
“I do,” she said. “It’s a reasonable consideration since we’re not strangers on that front.”
“No, we’re not.” A small muscle twitched in his jaw. “I’m open to the idea of a consummated marriage.”
Her skin heated. She swallowed. Hearing him say the words brought memories racing to the fore. Memories of their bodies sliding against each other, of sensitized skin, of the sounds he made as he found his release.
The waiter reappeared with their meals, and Harper was thankful for the timing so she could regain her poise. There was no doubt he made her melt inside. And they already knew they had explosive chemistry. But things were different now—so much more entwined and complex. Would that dampen some of the chemistry between them? Or would his touch always affect her?
She needed to move on, to stop thinking of his touch...
She cleared her throat. “What about length of time? Are you suggesting a lifetime commitment?”
“No, that would be unreasonable. Ideally it would last until our children were grown, but if we both made a commitment of, say, five years, we’d address all of our issues.”
“Except the one about the intact family unit.”
Nick reached out and covered her hand, his gaze softening. “It would never be the way it was with your father, Harper. Since we’d be going in with a businesslike arrangement, we’d be able to dissolve the union with little mess and drama. We’d prioritize the children and both have major roles in their lives. There would be no words in anger. Neither parent would just disappear.”
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze then released it and picked up his utensils to twirl a forkful of pasta.
Her skin immediately felt the absence of his touch, which seemed to highlight the inherent problem of having to deal with his absence at the end of their marriage. What if they came to the end of five years and she’d fallen in love with him? Would she be setting herself up for another abandonment?
The weight of everything they were discussing came crashing down on her shoulders, and she could barely keep herself upright. She couldn’t do it. There had to be another way. There had to be.
She put her fork down, her dinner barely touched. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I don’t think marriage is the right way forward for us.”
He stilled, eyes focused on her. “Do you have another solution?”
“Not yet,” she said. She’d figure something out, though. She always did. “Give me a few days.”
He shook his head. “With Maverick on the loose, we might not have the luxury of a few days.”
She blew out a long breath, considering the factors. “Okay, give me twenty-four hours.”
“Sure. I can do that,” he said and signaled the waiter.
The short moment of relief that his agreement granted her soon faded as she realized that she had one day to achieve the near impossible.
Pushing that thought aside, she picked up her handbag and squared her shoulders, ready to meet the challenge head on.
Three (#ua8c804ee-e307-535a-bc97-cb4c794066e0)
By the next afternoon, after looking at the situation from every angle, Harper had to concede that Nick’s plan was the only option that addressed all of their issues. If she moved to Connecticut, her mother would give her the support she wanted, and they’d form a little family unit—the twins, their mom and their grandma. But it would make Nick look bad in his case for shared custody of Ellie. She couldn’t make a decision that solely benefited her babies and threw their half sister and father under the bus. It would also risk the reputation of Tate Armor, and not just for Nick’s sake—she’d worked there for years and had a lot of loyalty to the company, to Malcolm and to the staff.
She’d brainstormed, even tried to match various smaller plans together to achieve the outcomes, but it seemed only Nick’s plan would deliver on all fronts.
Her heart had been heavy since the realization had dawned. Marrying a man she didn’t love, a virtual stranger, simply wasn’t the path she’d dreamed her life would take, even if he did make her pulse race every time she saw him. Or thought of him.
As she listened to the ringtone, waiting for Nick to answer, her brain was still frantically trying to come up with an alternative.
“Harper.” His smooth, deep voice sent a wave of heat over her skin. “Have you made a decision?”
As no alternative had presented itself in the last thirty seconds, she closed her eyes and faced her fate. “I think you’re right. Getting married is the best option we have.”
He blew out a breath. “Thank you. And I’ll do my best to ensure you don’t regret this.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but she had a feeling she’d just stepped into something that was bigger than both of them.
“I have a few contacts at city hall,” she said, “so I’ll see what I can do about fast-tracking our license just in case Maverick is on the scent.”
“Good idea. Hang on.” In the background she heard a door opening and closing before Nick spoke again. “Have you given any thought to when you’d like to move in?”
She needed some time to steel herself, but since part of the reason they were doing this was for appearances, she couldn’t move in with him any later than their wedding day. “I’ll need to take a day of vacation leave for the wedding, so we could do it then.”
“Sure,” he said. “That suits me.”
They’d touched on the length of their marriage last night, and although it was a discussion she’d rather have face-to-face, she was unlikely to see him before the wedding—especially if she managed to speed up their license—and she’d rather they agreed before vows were exchanged.
“I was thinking, too,” she said, “about how long we should commit to being married.”
“And what did you come up with?”
“The five years you suggested is reasonable. I can’t imagine I’ll have any energy to date with two tiny humans at home, anyway.” And it was hard to imagine any man affecting her the way Nick did with only a look. In fact, he might have ruined her for other men for life.
“Good to know I won’t be cramping your style,” he said, heavy on the sarcasm, along with a note of something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“That gives the babies a solid five years with us together, so they’ll have a strong relationship with both of us.”
“And,” he added, his voice confident, “as long as we handle the divorce well, it shouldn’t impact them too much.”
She looked up at the ceiling. Nick was probably being overly optimistic, but she’d definitely do her best to make the transition seamless.
She paced from her kitchen through to her dining room. There was one other issue they hadn’t agreed on—their love life. Nick had said at dinner that he was open to the idea of a consummated marriage, and then their meals had arrived, so she’d been saved from having to give her view. She’d thought about it since, but she still didn’t know what she wanted. Correction. She knew she wanted him, but she wasn’t sure an active love life in a relationship they were trying to keep practical was wise. She waited a beat, wondering if he’d raise the topic, but either he thought it was decided, or he was waiting for her.
And instead of facing how they’d handle one of the most important aspects of marriage head-on—and despite Nick’s view of her as someone who didn’t back down from anyone or anything—she let it go. They’d already agreed to marry, so it wouldn’t change things now. After the wedding? They could play it by ear.
So she simply said, “I’ll let you know when I have any information about the license.”
“Till then,” he said and disconnected the call.
Harper kept the cell in her hand an extra minute, wondering why she’d flaked from discussing their potential love life.
And, more importantly, what she would decide to do once she was finally confronted with the option of having Nick Tate in her bed.
* * *
Friday morning Nick arrived at his own wedding at city hall, hoping like all hell that his bride would turn up. She’d agreed to the plan, but reluctantly, so he wouldn’t have been completely surprised if she’d changed her mind.
Harper had managed to fast-track their civil ceremony and had phoned earlier in the week to share details, but it had been a short call. Just the details.
His gut had been in knots all morning thinking about whether she’d changed her mind. He’d shot off a text saying, Everything okay for today? and she’d replied Yes, which was somewhat reassuring, but he wouldn’t relax until the vows were said and his ring was on her finger.
Squaring his shoulders, he walked into the small, carpeted waiting room and found her there, looking elegant, and his entire body practically sighed in relief. She wore a knee-length dove-gray skirt with a white silk blouse, her hair fell in dark, glossy waves down her back and her lips were painted a soft pink. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
“Late to your own wedding?” said a familiar voice beside him. Nick scowled at the interruption and turned to his brother, who was making a mock-concerned face. “Gee, I don’t know, Harper. I think you could probably do better. Find someone who prioritizes you and your wedding enough to arrive on time.”
“I’m not late. In fact, we’re all early.” Nick saw his mother beside Malcolm and stepped past his twin to embrace her. “Thanks for coming on short notice.”
When he’d called with the news, she’d been staying with her sister in Dallas and had to come home a day early. He’d put a lot of thought into how to tell his mother and decided that the truth would break her heart—she and his father had enjoyed a strong, loving marriage, and the last thing she’d want for her one of her boys was a loveless union. So he’d stretched the truth a little and told her that he’d been seeing Harper for months and left out any reference to the fact they were embarking on a marriage of convenience. Even though his mother had admitted to some surprise, she’d clearly interpreted the story as a whirlwind romance and was thrilled about both the wedding and the babies.
She patted his tie. “Of course I came. I had to meet the woman crazy enough to marry you.”
“Jesus, Mom,” Nick said and shot a glance at Harper. His mother and brother’s humor didn’t always translate well to strangers, but thankfully Harper was chuckling. He shook his head. “So much for family support.”
“It’s okay, honey,” his mother said. “Harper and I have had a few moments to chat. I like her. And your father, bless his soul, would have liked her, too.”
Nick lifted a fist to his heart to push against the pressure that always came with the mention of his father. It had been nine years since he’d died, and they all still missed him like crazy. But today the grief was complicated by something else as well—by his mother giving a blessing on behalf of his dad. It was bad enough lying to one parent, but he felt like he was deceiving both of them now.
He managed to hold back the flinch and hoped any reaction she saw would be attributed to simply missing his father on his wedding day. He found a smile and said, “Thanks, Mom.”
“Now,” she said, reverting to her teasing tone, “are those for me?” She pointed to the bouquet in his hand that he’d forgotten he was carrying.
Not bothering to reply to more ribbing, he handed them to Harper. “I wasn’t sure if you were getting one, so I figured I’d pick this up just in case.”
“Thank you. That was very sweet,” she said and gently touched the petals of the cream and pale pink flowers. “They’re beautiful.”
She snapped off one cream rose and threaded the stem into the top buttonhole of his suit jacket. As she adjusted it, her tongue peeked out, the tip coming to rest against her top lip. His skin heated. If they weren’t surrounded by people—including his mother and brother—he’d pull her close and kiss that lip. She glanced up when she finished and must have seen the thought in his eyes, because her breath hitched. He held back a groan—her reaction certainly wasn’t going to help rein in his own response.
Straightening his spine, with his gaze on hers so she understood, he stepped back.
“You know,” Malcolm whispered as Harper turned away to talk to their mother, “this act for Mom is so good even I’m starting to buy it.”
“Don’t get carried away by the sight of a bouquet and a celebrant.”
“Don’t get carried away? Hang on—you know this is a real, legally binding ceremony, right?”
“Harper and I have talked it through. We have no illusions about romance. We’re doing what’s right.”
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. “Do the two things have to be mutually exclusive?”
“Just tell me you have the rings.”
Malcolm grinned. “I have the rings. The rings that symbolize your commitment—mind, body and soul—to this woman.”
Nick prayed for the strength not to murder his brother on his own wedding day and turned to talk to his mother and Harper.
Ten minutes later, they were shown into another room, where a waiting city official greeted them and checked that they had two witnesses, rings and the paperwork.
Nick glanced around. This simple, practical ceremony was nothing like his first wedding to his high school sweetheart. That had been a big, white wedding—more of a spectacle than anything. He’d been uncomfortable being the center of attention, but he would have done anything for Melissa back when he’d thought in terms of forevers and true loves.
And yet, despite its lack of trappings—or maybe because of it—there was something so very real about this ceremony. He gave himself a shake. He couldn’t lose sight of the facts—this arrangement was strictly practical. A way to solve all the issues that had arisen from Harper’s pregnancy and his custody case, nothing more.
The formalities were surprisingly short, which suited him because he didn’t want to linger, and since neither of them had written their own vows, the rite was even more streamlined.
Then, when they exchanged rings, something shifted inside him. The slow, ritualized movement of their hands carried meaning, carried weight that he hadn’t suspected. It was as if the air around them was thick, insulating them, holding them, drawing them closer. He’d told his brother that he wouldn’t get carried away, and yet he was in danger of doing exactly that.
And, curiously, from the flicker of emotion in Harper’s eyes, she wasn’t unaffected by the act of placing her ring on his left hand and having his slide down her finger, either.
But the time passed quickly, and soon they were being congratulated—his mother hugging them both, Malcolm slapping him on the back and shaking his hand. Through it all Nick was torn between accepting the congratulations in the spirit they were offered and feeling bad about deceiving his mother. He settled on allowing himself to feel satisfied that the plan had come together.
“So,” Malcolm said and checked his watch, “it’s almost noon. How about we get some lunch to celebrate?”
“Great idea.” His mother looped her elbow through Harper’s as they all headed for the exit.
“Maybe another time. We’re spending this afternoon moving Harper’s things to my place.”
“Need some help?” Malcolm asked.
The rest of the day with his twin in an obnoxiously cheery mood, taking potshots at him? Not appealing. Besides, Nick wanted some time alone with Harper to start working out what their marriage would look like.
They stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of city hall, and Nick took Harper’s hand. “We’ll be fine.”
Malcolm tuned to their mother. “I think the lovebirds want to be alone.”
She nodded sagely. “They only have a weekend for the honeymoon, so it makes sense not to waste today with us.”
Despite the grain of truth in the teasing, Nick didn’t rise to the bait. “Thanks again for coming along. It means a lot.”
“It really does,” Harper echoed.
