The Texan's Contract Marriage (8 page)

“If necessary, we can marry at my ranch. There are plenty of places. Remember, don’t worry about expenses. I’m paying and I can get people moving,” he said in a determined tone.

“I’m sure you can,” she replied, looking at the calendar he was holding. He had well-shaped hands, strong wrists. His French cuffs had gold links that flashed when he moved. Returning her attention to the calendar, she studied it. “It’s April. How about the second Saturday in May? That is really fast for a wedding.”

“How about the first Saturday in May?” he asked. “I promise, we can pull this together. I’ll give you all the help you want.”

She stared at the date and finally nodded. “If you think that’s possible, I guess that will be all right.”

“I know it’s possible.”

She glanced up at him. “You’re supremely confident, but I imagine you get what you want the majority of the time.”

“No. I didn’t with Jillian and Kern. But some things are doable if you have the resources.”

“Or the determination,” she added quietly.

“We’re doing well together, Camille. This is a good sign,” he said. He patted her hand. “See, it’s working.”

Again, his slightest, casual touch, a touch that was meaningless to him, stirred unwanted responses in her. Was she getting herself into a situation that would hurt deeply later? This change with Noah was unwanted, foisted on her. Falling in love would be equally as unwanted and complicated. Realizing that he was saying something to her, she tried to get her mind back on their discussion.

“I’ll need to get the church, let my sisters be bridesmaids, even though I want to keep this small. I need to take you home to meet my family.”

“It’s fine with me however you want to handle it. They’re your family. Except you didn’t tell them everything, so they had no part in the decision you made.”

“Correct. I think they would see all this differently. And they don’t fully understand the job or career that I have, either. They like my singing and are proud of me, but I know they wish I had a regular job where I lived in Saint Louis or one particular place and went to an office each day.”

“They’ll get used to your career as it grows. So we go meet Mom and Dad.”

“And brother and grandmother. What about your parents? You said they’re not very involved now with you and your sister.”

“They’ve said they will be here as soon as they can. Mom hates flying, but she’ll do so. They’ll be here for the wedding, I’m sure.”

“You’re still hurting over your loss. We barely know each other. Frankly, I prefer to put a physical relationship on hold. If we stay together the time will come when we might want to have one, but at this point, there are a lot of uncertainties and we’re not in love.”

“Whatever you want. We should make decisions about a honeymoon.”

“A honeymoon seems foolish under the circumstances. We have a business arrangement.”

“One, for distant relatives and friends, it will be simpler because everything will appear normal. Also, we can take three or four days off and get to know each other. We can take Noah if you want. As far as I’m concerned, that would be fun. Or if you’d like just a few days away from the baby, your lessons and your practice, we can be the only ones. Actually, it might be wise for us to get to know each other a little better. We won’t be able to as much if we have Noah.”

“I’ll think about being away from him. Three days is definitely the longest I want to be gone.”

“That’s fine. What would you enjoy doing for a few days together?” he asked.

“If we’re going to do what I want, it would be magical to take just a couple of days, just a weekend, and go to some tropical place, perhaps the Caribbean. Somewhere that has palm trees and an ocean. If we go with Noah along, I’ll be willing to stay longer. Without Noah, I don’t want to be gone more than a day or two there plus a day going and a day to return.”

“That’s easy enough.”

“Frankly, I’ve been to Europe and will be going again. I’ve been to Russia and various cities in the U.S. I’ve never been to the tropics.”

“The lady is not only beautiful, but easy to please. The tropics it is. If the weather is good, and it should be, a villa on Grand Cayman in the Caribbean might be the perfect place. Do you want just us or everyone?”

She laughed. “Since we’re not telling the world that this will be a marriage of convenience, I suggest we go alone,” she replied. “Just two days in the tropics with a beach and I’ll be happy and store it in my memories forever.”

“We’ll take four days. Get married on Saturday, head for the tropics, stay two days, fly back to Texas.” He sat forward. “We’ll be going to an island where we can choose from several things to do the night we get there. We can go dancing, attend a show.”

“You just mentioned a villa. Let’s just stay there. It’s all new to me, and I’ll be happy just to sit and relax.”

“You’re easy to please, Camille,” he said again. She was a beautiful woman and she did turn heads anytime they were in public. He thought of Noah and, as always, his nerves calmed. This was the right thing to do and the only thing to get Noah really into the lives of the Rangels. “Let’s go to dinner now some place where we can dance. We’ll let off steam and celebrate working this out.” Without waiting for an answer, he stood and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket to make a call and get reservations for two.

Dynamic was another trait she could add to his description. He had taken charge and barreled through everything quickly, efficiently in a lot of ways. Would she have charge of her life from now on, or would Marek Rangel constantly influence it?

Within the hour they were seated in a private club overlooking the city with glass windows giving a floor-to-ceiling view. Steaks had been ordered, and Marek stood. “Let’s dance,” he said. On the dance floor he took her into his arms, holding her lightly. She was more aware of each contact with him, of her hand in his. The fact that she would soon be his wife was as impossible a prospect as the realization she would soon be a millionaire.

“I’m pleased by the prospects of marrying, seeing Noah grow up and being part of his life. I hope you are.”

“I have mixed feelings, and my sisters do, too. We’re all scared how we’ll feel the first time we’re away from Noah.”

“That’s natural. When we start, we’ll keep those times very brief.”

“Thank you. I feel much better knowing separation won’t be so long. So, Jess and your sister think this is a good plan?”

“Jess does. I told you that. Ginny is not so enthusiastic. Actually, Ginny is worried about me, which is ridiculous, but she’s my big sister and sometimes that pops out. She calmed down some after we talked and is a little better about accepting our marriage.”

“Our marriage. I won’t believe it’s happening even after we’ve walked down the aisle.”

“Camille, if you ever do fall in love with someone, come tell me.”

As they danced to an old ballad, she gazed into his eyes, seeing the earnest look, realizing he didn’t have any expectations that they would fall in love. “I will tell you if I think you need to know,” she answered.

He shook his head. “Tell me whether you think I need to know or not. I don’t want to hold you to something if you’re unhappy. Promise me you’ll tell me.”

“No. You won’t win this one. If I think you need to know, I’ll tell you.”

He frowned slightly, looking over her head in the distance as if watching something far away. “I’m not happy with that answer.”

“Put it out of your mind. Tonight there’s no need in worrying about something that might happen.”

Her gaze was held by his as he gave her a searching look. “Just remember, I tried to get you to promise to tell me.”

“I will remember,” she said, knowing she always would. How much time would they spend together? Questions constantly ran through her thoughts about her future. Could she avoid falling in love? Would he ever really notice her or get over his grief and come back into the world?

The next number was fast and it felt good to dance with him, a silly tune that made everyone on the dance floor smile, let go and enjoy themselves. Her gaze was locked with Marek’s, and he looked happy, but why wouldn’t he, when he had her promise to give him everything he wanted? He had let go, dancing with zest, making sexy moves.

She danced around him. At the end, he caught her hand, spun her around and dipped her low, holding her. She clung to him because she was off balance as he leaned down so her hair touched the floor. Both of them laughed when he swung her up.

“You’re beautiful, Camille,” he said lightly, smiling at her with his even white teeth showing. His rare smiles always heightened his appeal.

“Thank you. I didn’t know you’ve ever really noticed me,” she replied.

“I’ve noticed you,” he answered. “Ready to go back to the table?”

As they were seated the waiter appeared to open a bottle of champagne, an expensive brand she had only had once before in her life.

“We’re celebrating your acceptance of my proposal.”

“Congratulations,” the waiter said to Marek, then turned to smile at her. “Best wishes, miss.”

“Thank you,” she replied, laughing as he walked away and Marek raised his glass.

“Here’s to a successful union for both of us. May it fulfill needs and bless everyone involved.”

They touched glasses with a faint ringing sound of crystal.

“Marek, there are only two people involved in a marriage,” she pointed out drily.

He shook his head. “There are a lot of people involved. It will change other lives. Noah’s, Ashley’s, Stephanie’s, your family, my family. This wedding definitely will touch more lives. And this is a celebration because I hope, for one and all, the effects will be great.”

“I agree to that one.”

“May your joy be full, Camille, and your career soar.”

They touched glasses again, and she took another tiny sip of bubbly champagne.

She held up her glass. “May your joy be full, too, Marek, and may joy replace grief and give you peace,” she said, touching his glass lightly, watching him over the rim of her glass as she sipped. Her heart drummed. She couldn’t keep from glancing at his mouth, wondering about his kisses, wondering whether he would ever really kiss her. She looked up to find him watching her, but he still had that faint crooked smile and she suspected he had not noticed her studying his mouth, much less seen anything in her expression when she had looked up.

He leaned across the linen-covered table, moving a vase of roses out of his way. “I’m beginning to look forward to our tropical getaway, to being alone with you and getting to know you,” he said softly, stirring more tingles.

“You’re almost flirting, Marek,” she said lightly.

“We might as well have a little fun,” he answered. “And you’ll be my bride soon.”

“Sounds impossible. I hope your plans work as you expect. Such upheaval and monumental changes are scary,” she replied, thinking about having to part with Noah sometimes, as well as about Marek’s promise to keep her happy. He would try in every way except one. His heart was deeply guarded, locked away. Would he ever let go and love again?

He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket and held it out to her. “I’ll go with you tomorrow to this jeweler. I can put a limo at your disposal, so after the jewelry store you can shop for a wedding dress. If you prefer, I can fly you to New York to select your dress.”

“I’ll find a dress in Dallas,” she said, thinking this would never be as important as it would have been had she been in love.

“This jeweler is good. You can work with him on the engagement and wedding ring you’d like to have. Do not worry about the price. That’s why I’m going. I want to make sure you spend at least a certain amount, but you might as well select your ring.”

“I don’t need some fabulous ring.”

“I want you to have a ‘fabulous’ ring for marrying me and bringing Noah into my life. Kern would definitely want you to have a spectacular ring. We might as well discuss this now instead of in the jewelry store. Don’t hold back. I want you to get what you want. I mean that. I want you to have at least an eight-carat diamond. You can go from there.”

“Marek, that is an enormous diamond that isn’t necessary or logical. It doesn’t represent our love.”

“It represents my gratitude,” he said. Continuing to hold her hand, he sat close and she looked at the slight curl of his thick, dark lashes that framed his eyes and added to his handsome looks. “If we were deeply in love, I would select your ring and surprise you with it. Under the circumstances, I thought you might as well get what you want. I want it to be nice. I want it extravagant, a constant reminder of my gratitude to you. You can select a design working with this jeweler. He’s excellent.”

“Thank you,” she replied, feeling touched that he had made such a huge effort to convey how grateful he was. A tiny twinge of guilt fluttered because she knew if she could go back and undo telling him about Noah, she might do so.

The day would have come when Noah would ask about his father, and she would have to tell him, but not while he was a baby. She might have waited the first formative years until he was in school and she was separated from him anyway. At the same time, her guilt would have been greater because this way, she felt she was doing the right thing for Noah. He should benefit all his life from this union.

They sat back down when their steaks had been served, but Camille had no appetite. The monumental changes she faced were all she could think about. To her relief, they both lapsed into silence and Marek didn’t seem compelled to talk or try to entertain her.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” he said finally.

“I can’t keep from thinking about all of the plans we’ve made. I’ve been accustomed to goals and schedules. Suddenly I’m facing a whole new way of living.”

“You’re not eating. I didn’t want all this to upset you.”

“It’s just different. You’re not exactly wolfing down your dinner, either,” she said and received a faint smile.

“Want to dance again? Would you rather go home?”

Relieved, she nodded. “I would rather go home. This has been quite a night.”