Runaway Lone Star Bride

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Hart breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah.” His smile grew tender. “He fought it as hard as he could, but the poor little guy just couldn’t keep his eyes open. I put him in his crib about ten minutes ago, and he ought to be good for a while. In the meantime, I rigged up a makeshift baby monitor by calling the house phone with my cell and leaving the phone receiver in Henry’s room. I hope that’s okay,” he said.

Impressed he had figured out what to do until they could get a real baby monitor for him to use, Maggie nodded her approval. “If anyone really needs me, they’ll call my cell phone.” She paused. “I’m glad he’s finally asleep, though.”

Except...it would mean they’d have the rest of the night without distraction. And the two of them needed the commotion Henry supplied to keep them safely at arm’s length.

Hart strode closer. He’d shaved since she had seen him last. A mixture of mint and spicy aftershave lotion clung to his handsome jaw. She felt a tingle of awareness deep inside her.

He smiled. “But just in case—would you mind keeping an ear out for him while I bring in the stuff from the rental car?”

“No problem.” It would give her a moment to calm her jumping nerves.

“Thanks.” Hart flashed a confident smile, promising, “It should just take a couple of minutes.”

While he was gone, Maggie got out two bowls, a bag of chips and some grated cheddar. She didn’t really want to eat dinner with Hart—it somehow felt a little too intimate—but she also knew he had to be hungry. Good manners dictated she share what she had, at least for that evening. The fact she’d felt something for him, when they were talking, had nothing to do with it. Nor did the fact she found him as tempting as ever.

Hart came back in, loaded down with a big suitcase prominently bearing Henry’s name, an expensive leather duffel with his initials and a laptop bag.

He grinned when he saw the double place-setting at the kitchen island. “Expecting company or is that for me?”

“It’s for us,” she corrected wearily, then aware of the potential implications of that, quickly wished she hadn’t. “And you are ‘company’ to me, in the strictest sense of the word.”

She meant to reassure him. Put the mood back in the platonic-to-a-fault category. Instead, to her frustration, her words had the opposite effect. His dark brown eyes lit up the same way they had when she’d mentioned Dr. Ruth instead of Dr. Phil. He invaded her space, wrapping both hands around her spine. “Sure about that?”

He pressed lightly, bringing her all the way against him. Now she was the one on fire with desire. Her pulse pounding, Maggie worked to get air into her lungs. “Hart...”

“Can’t help it, Maggie,” he said huskily, guiding her closer still. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the first time I saw you. And damned if I’m not going to do just that.”

Chapter Four (#ulink_01641747-1f64-5fc4-b12d-768b5d9d275e)

Hart had been telling himself that the memories of that day, long ago, were greatly exaggerated. That it had just been the excessively emotional nature of the encounter that had him thinking about her again and again and again.

That theory was soon proved completely wrong when instead of resisting, she went up on tiptoe, more than meeting him halfway. Her arms wreathed his neck, the soft warmth of her breasts pressed against his chest and she let out a whisper of a moan as their lips met. The sweet taste of her rocked him to his core. He cupped one hand beneath her jaw and slid his other through the thick silk of her hair until he had tilted her head just so. Until she was kissing him back with all the heat and passion he had expected her to have. Making him want. Need. Yearn to have her beneath him.

And it was then, when he was pulling her up against him, sliding his palms down her spine to the small of her back, letting her warmth wash over him, that she kissed him all the deeper.

Maggie knew she shouldn’t have gone so willingly into his embrace, and she certainly shouldn’t be kissing Hart like this. But there was something about him that had her drowning in his eyes and feeling so damned alive.

Perhaps it was the way he looked at her. As if there was nothing more important than the here and now. As if he wanted to know as much about her as she yearned to know about him, even as his lips moved against hers, testing, discovering, until she gasped in sheer pleasure. Until kissing was an act in itself that could lead to so much more.

And that, Maggie knew, neither of them was ready for.

Calling on every ounce of self-preservation she possessed, she broke off the kiss and pushed him away. “We can’t do this.”

He mocked her with a glance even as he refused to budge. “Kiss?”

So, for him, it wasn’t that big a deal. Another big warning sign. “Start something when you’re in as much a state of crisis as I was the last time we met.”

He cocked his head, regarding her with disbelief.

Maggie pulled herself together and rushed on, “I mean, I can be there for you as a friend. But beyond that, you can see how foolish it is to have a relationship that is anything but platonic.”

* * *

PLATONIC, HART REPEATED to himself. Oh, man, could his week get any better? He let his gaze drift over her soft, damp, kiss-swollen lips. The pretty color in her cheeks. And the evasion in her blue eyes. “I see how foolish you think it is.”

Her gaze met his, clear now. “You’ve got too much on your plate right now,” she insisted.

Hart knew what would make him feel better. And it wasn’t keeping his distance from the most compelling woman he’d ever come across in his entire life. “Or not enough, as the saying goes,” he murmured, tempting her with a wicked smile.

Because now he saw, whether she realized it or not, that she needed to move on with her life—or risk being stuck in this rut forever. He cared about her too much to see that option materialize.

As if reading his mind, she blew out an aggravated breath, letting him know with a glance she wasn’t the kind of woman who could handle sex with no strings. “Hart—”

Raising his hands in surrender, he backed up, reluctantly all Texas gentleman again. If he wanted her—and he did—two things were going to have to happen. One, it was going to have to mean something. And two, he was going to have to be patient. “Okay. Point taken.” He laid a hand across his heart. “I promise I won’t kiss you any more today.”

She planted her hands on her hips and sent him a withering glance. “Funny. But that isn’t the kind of pledge I was looking for.”

“Me either, truth to tell.” He’d wanted much more from her. Still did. “In the meantime...” Maggie was right about one thing, there were things that needed his immediate attention. He opened up his case and set his laptop computer on the counter. “Mind if I send off a quick email to my folks, before we eat? I’d like to let them know what’s going on.”

“No problem.” Looking happy to move on to something less problematic than the attraction between them, Maggie filled two glasses with iced tea and added sprigs of fresh mint. “What are you going to say to them?”

Hart sighed. As little as possible. “Just that I have some great news to share. And to call me as soon as they can.”

Maggie leaned against the counter, sipping her drink. She studied him from beneath a fringe of thick dark lashes. “I’m sure they’re going to be ecstatic when they find out they have a grandson.”

Hart imagined that was true. He also knew the conversation likely wouldn’t end there. His parents would lament being shut out of the first year and a half of Henry’s life. They’d also want to know what Hart’s plans were. All he knew for sure, as he plugged his cell phone and charger into the wall, shut his laptop and took a seat at the island, was that his initial idea—of having his parents temporarily help care for his son—was a bust. Which meant he was going to have to come up with a new one, fast.

His mood suddenly pensive, he watched as Maggie carried their dinner to the table. Hart was hungry and the home-cooked meal hit the spot. “This is incredibly delicious.”

She smiled shyly. “Thanks.”

He finished what was in his bowl, then got up to get another serving, before sitting down next to her once again. “I mean it. I’m not much of a soup guy, but this—” he spooned up a bite of tender chicken, floating in a rich broth, redolent with tomatoes, peppers, onions and black beans and garnished with cheese and crispy tortilla strips. “This is a meal.”

She chuckled. “It’s my parents’ recipe.”

Eager to know more about her and what her life had been like as a kid, he lifted a brow. “They both cook?”

Maggie wrinkled her nose. “No choice when there are six kids in a family and both parents work.”

Hart thought back to the wedding. “That’s right. You have six sisters, don’t you?”

“A set of twins, a set of triplets and a single birth.”

“All of you named after flowers?”

Maggie groaned. “Don’t remind me. Being called Magnolia was the bane of my youth.”

Hart recalled the lacy garter of silk magnolia blossoms she’d worn on her wedding day. His wish to be the one to be able to inch it down her long, lusciously shaped leg. “I don’t know. I think it kind of suits you.”

“You sound like my parents.”

“They’re doctors, aren’t they?”

Maggie smiled. “My dad is a general surgeon. My mom is a pediatrician.”

“Is that why you’re so good with kids?” Hart asked curiously.

She shook her head and scooped up the last bite of broth-soaked tortilla chip. She got up and went to the fridge, returning with a bowl of freshly cut-up peaches, a can of whipped cream and two dessert dishes. “I babysat all through junior high and high school, and then became a nanny during the summer while I was in college.”

Nanny. Now there was a good idea. If he could convince her to build on the loving rapport she’d already developed with Henry. “Ever think of going back to it?” he asked casually, beginning to wish he hadn’t kissed her earlier. Especially if it messed up his long game.

“No.” Their gazes met and she inhaled deeply. She scooped peaches into the dishes, then poured generous amounts of whipped cream onto the fruit. “I like being a business analyst.”

“That’s not exactly what you’re doing here, is it?”

Maggie stiffened abruptly, her hand briefly touching his as she handed over the last course. “You’re right. I’m more of a Jill-of-all-trades, as well as assistant manager for the Double Knot Wedding Ranch business. But this is only temporary.”

So she kept saying every time he razzed her on it. Which was, as it happened, every time they spoke on the phone.

“Still not tired of remaining at the scene of the um...abandoned vows?” he asked, taking a bite of some of the delicious fruit.

She looked at him for a long, quelling moment. “Staying here was for the best, all around,” she said.

Hart moved his gaze from her silky soft lips and focused on the tumult in her pretty blue eyes. “Maybe it was best in the beginning when you were working to pay off the debt and hiding out from your family and ditched groom, but your bill has been paid for a while now. Hasn’t it?” Maggie focused on her dessert. Finally, she swallowed, dabbed the corners of her lips with her napkin. “I’m not ready to leave just yet. Maybe in the fall, if your parents can find a replacement for me, but nothing is definite.”

Silently, she pushed back her chair. He stood to help her with the dishes.

They both reached to open the dishwasher at the same time. Their shoulders and arms brushed before they could draw back. She sucked in a little breath, her eyes widening in a way that let him know she was physically aware of him, too.

Wishing he could kiss her again—without driving her further away than she was at this moment—he stepped back, to give her the physical space she craved.

Knowing nothing would be solved by pretending there wasn’t a problem, he asked, “Why isn’t anything definite?”

She moved past him with a glare. “Because I don’t know what I want to do next.”

He watched her clear the table with the ease of someone who had helped out at many a reception and rehearsal dinner. She set the tall stack in the sink. As she turned to face him, her hip brushed his. Not so accidentally this time. More to push him out of the way.

He stayed his ground, and blocking her now, he began to fill the dishwasher, despite her obvious wish to do so herself. “What about where you were working and living before you married Gus?”

She put the whipped cream and leftover soup back in the fridge. “Dallas?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you go back there when you decided not to marry Gus?”

“For starters, I had no place to live, since Gus and I had been sharing a house with Callie and Seth in the year leading up to the wedding. We had planned to get separate places, once our lease was up, but in the meantime I couldn’t live with Callie and Seth and spoil their happiness. Gus felt the same way. He moved out immediately, too.”

Hart took the soiled pot and filled it with soapy water, while she grabbed the spray cleaner and a cloth and began wiping down the counters. “But you had a job—”

“Which was even worse, because at that time, Gus and I worked at the same company. A number of our coworkers were at the ceremony. Going back to that would have meant facing all the gossip.” Finished with her task, she turned to him and wearily recounted, “It just seemed simpler to start over somewhere else. So, when your parents found themselves shorthanded after you left for Los Angeles, I volunteered to fill in to work off my wedding debt.”

“And decided to stay.”

Abruptly, tears glistened in her eyes. “It was quiet here. Between weddings, anyway.” She leaned against the counter and dropped her gaze to the floor. “I needed to think. And it was far enough away from my family, and Gus’s, so I didn’t have to deal with their anger. Up close, anyway.”

Hart dried his hands on a towel and approached her. Standing opposite her, he said quietly. “That was two years ago. Surely you can stop punishing yourself and finally move on.”

Her chin lifted. “I’m not punishing myself.”

He gave her a look that had her gazing away again. “My point is, surely there are other options for you now,” he said quietly.

* * *

MAGGIE STARED AT HART, not sure why her well-being was so important to him. Just instinctively knowing that it was, and maybe always had been.

Not sure she wanted to be that important to anyone, never mind shake up her life the way he and his infant son were threatening to do, Maggie took a deep breath and walked outside onto the stone patio. The summer air was warm and clear. In the distance, Sanders Mountain loomed. In the other direction was another mountain owned by a neighboring ranch. It was also covered with trees, most of them pine.

For now, all was silent.

Except for the occasional sound of the birds and the wind.

And the man coming up behind her.

He set his cell phone, serving as his baby monitor, on the table. Straightened. “You were talking about your options.

Feeling restless, Maggie moved a short distance away on the stone patio and sat down on one of the wooden chairs. “Well, if you must know, my parents want me to come back to my hometown of Laramie and find a job there. Possibly with the hospital. Or their thriving medical practices.”

Hart drew up a chair and settled in front of her. His dark brown eyes took in everything. “But you’re not sold on the idea.”

The look on his face was so understanding, Maggie began to relax, despite herself. “Gus is living there now. In the end, he had to leave Dallas, too. It was just too uncomfortable.”

“So, if Laramie is out, what are your other options?” he pressed.

She let out a slow breath. “I went to college in Austin, so I might go back there.” Restless again, Maggie stood and began to pace. She stopped at the edge of the patio and stared down at the flowers. Reminded of her wedding, she swung away from the prodigious blooms. “Or maybe San Antonio. Wherever I can find a job. It all sort of depends on how my parents react to the rest of my plans.”