A Family Circle 1 - A Very Convenient Marriage (5 page)

His acceptance, when it came, was so simple that it took a moment for it to register. When it did, Sam's hand tightened over Nikki's fingers until she squeaked a protest. With a quick apology, he released her.

He had it. The money for Mary's surgery was all but in his hands. So what if he had to spend the next year living with the ice princess. It was worth it.

Nikki flexed her fingers absently after Sam released them. It was done. She'd be able to keep the Rainbow Place open without spending her time begging money from other sources. The price was steep: twelve months of sharing her house with a man she couldn't stand. But she could survive that.

She glanced at Sam. At least, she was fairly sure she could.

W
ith only a little effort, the bride and groom were able to avoid seeing each other again before the wedding. The few communications necessary were filtered through Max, who also made the wedding arrangements.

It was Sam's suggestion that they simply go to Las Vegas and, as he put it, get it over with. Nikki's response to this, via Max, was that no one who knew her would ever believe that she'd get married in such a tacky place.

Sam, taking this, quite rightly, as a comment on his good taste or lack thereof, responded that she could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't expect him to dress up in a powder-blue tuxedo and ruffled shirt. Or at least that was the portion of his message Max chose to pass on, deeming it unnecessary to get too literal. His suggestion that he make the arrangements was gratefully accepted by the engaged couple.

He found a small chapel in Burbank for the ceremony, traditional enough to allay any suspicions anyone might have about the authenticity of the marriage, but simple enough to satisfy the bride and groom.

Liz and Bill brought Nikki, and the four of them—Michael included—arrived a few minutes early and waited outside for Sam and Max to arrive. They could have waited inside, but the woman who was to marry them had shown a definite tendency to wax sentimental and Nikki wasn't in the mood for hearing homilies about the joys of wedded bliss.

Aside from Max and the Davises, the only other guest was to be Jason Drummond. When she'd refused Sam's suggestion of a Vegas wedding, Nikki hadn't stopped to consider that Jason might not have come to an out-of-town wedding. As it was, having him in attendance meant that they'd have to keep up the facade of being a happy couple, which wasn't easy when she'd rather have had a root canal without anesthetic than marry Sam Walker.

"He's late." Bill glanced at his watch and then scowled at the quiet street. He'd made no secret of his dislike of the whole idea. When he'd heard of Nikki's plan, he'd said bluntly that it was crazy. He'd agreed to attend the wedding, but Nikki knew it was as much to vet Sam as it was to offer her support.

"Less than five minutes." Liz gave her husband an exasperated look. It wasn't often that he put on his protective male attitude, but when he did, he did a thorough job of it.

"If the guy is so anxious to get married, you'd think he'd show up on time."

"You were thirty minutes late for our wedding." Liz reached out to grab Michael's hand, pulling him away from the brick planter he'd begun to dig in.

"I got caught in traffic," Bill said defensively. "That was different."

"My mother didn't think it was different. She spent the entire half hour telling me that if you loved me, you'd have left plenty of time to get to the church."

"Only your mother could translate being late into not loving you," he groused, but he shut up about the groom not having arrived.

Nikki barely heard the exchange. She was too busy trying to convince herself that this was a good idea, that she shouldn't turn and run as far and as fast as she could. A week ago, it had seemed like her only choice. Now, standing outside the plain stucco facade of the chapel, waiting for her groom to arrive, the idea of marrying a man she'd only met twice seemed absolutely insane.

There had to be another way. She could sell the house and use that money to keep the Rainbow Place open for a while. And she could do fund-raising once that money ran out. Other people managed to keep worthwhile projects going without marrying complete strangers. Why couldn't she do the same?

"There's Max." Liz's announcement brought Nikki's head up. She stared at the approaching men, feeling like a doe watching the approach of a hunter.

"That's Sam Walker?" Liz's incredulous question broke Nikki's paralysis.

"Yes." The single word was all she could get past the sudden lump of panic that clogged her throat.

"Dents?" Liz hissed in her ear. "Dents? You're marrying a guy who looks like this and all you can tell your best friend is that he has dents in his face? He's gorgeous!"

Max and Sam reached them just then, saving Nikki the necessity of finding a reply. She really didn't need Liz to point out Sam's attractiveness. It was bad enough that she was marrying him; it was an added source of irritation to be forced to admit that the man was a bona fide hunk. He was wearing the same gray suit he'd worn to the meeting with Jason, paired with a plain white shirt. She'd thought the crazy tie he'd worn then might have been a quirk, but the one he had on today was an indescribable concoction of turquoise and hot pink on a dark gray background.

She let Max make the introductions, grateful for the small delay before she had to speak to Sam. But she still wasn't ready when he turned those deep blue eyes in her direction. She lifted her chin and met his look, hoping she looked as cool and unemotional as he did.

Sam had spent a week telling himself that Nikki Beau-visage couldn't be half as beautiful as he remembered. But seeing her, he knew he'd been lying to himself. Bathed in the ruthless glare of the afternoon sun, she was every bit as beautiful as she had been in kinder indoor light.

Her pale gold hair was pulled back from her face and twisted in some kind of knot at the back of her head. It was the kind of style that made a man's fingers itch to pull out the pins that held it. Her eyes were an even more vivid green than he'd remembered, contrasting with the milky paleness of her skin. If it hadn't been for the lush fullness of her lower lip, she could have been a painting of an angel. But he didn't think angels had mouths that made men think of smooth sheets and smoother skin.

Not to mention a body that curved in all the right places. Those curves were nicely displayed in an ivory-colored suit, worn with a green shell that echoed the color of her eyes. Sam didn't need to look at the labels to know that both items were pure silk. He was vaguely aware that the others had moved away a little, giving him and his soon-to-be bride at least the illusion of privacy.

"Mr. Walker." Nikki's greeting was as cool as her image. If it hadn't been for the slightly panicked look he'd seen in her eyes as he and Max approached, and the nervous tightness of her fingers on the tiny leather purse she carried, Sam might have believed that she was completely unmoved by what they were about to do.

"Call me Sam. I've never been crazy about husbands and wives calling each other Mr. and Mrs. It's cumbersome." He could have stopped there. He should have stopped there but some demon made him add: "Especially in the bedroom."

Nikki stiffened as if someone had just shoved a pole down the back of her tailored jacket. "That hardly matters in our case."

If her eyes got any colder, he was likely to have icicles hanging off his chin, Sam thought. "No family?" he asked, ignoring her comment. "I'd think you'd want them here to witness the happy event."

"My mother and my brother are both in Europe." Not that it was any of his business, Nikki thought, immediately sorry that she'd given him an answer. "I don't see your family in attendance. I guess you don't want them to know you're marrying for money?" She was unreasonably pleased when the sweetly asked question made Sam's mouth tighten.

"No. But you already knew that."

Tit for tat. A great way to start a marriage, Nikki thought, even one that wasn't really a marriage. Less than five minutes and already he'd managed to get under her skin in a way she couldn't remember anyone else ever having done. How was she going to survive an entire year married to this man?

"Drummond is here." Max stepped forward, his words both warning and announcement.

Sam slid his hand through Nikki's arm, his tight-lipped expression relaxing into a fond smile. Only Nikki was close enough to see that the smile stopped short of his eyes. "Smile, darling. It's show time."

Nikki tensed as Max's look swung from Sam to her, his expression questioning. "Ready?"

This was her last chance to back out of this whole crazy arrangement. She could walk away right now, kiss her inheritance goodbye and never have to see Sam Walker again. But she'd also be saying goodbye to the needs of a lot of people who depended on her, not to mention herown hopes and dreams for expanding the center, maybe even opening another one.

Over Max's shoulder she could see Jason approaching and she knew that the final moment of decision had arrived. She could say she'd changed her mind and never have to see Sam Walker again. Or she could marry him and start counting down the next three hundred and sixty-five days to freedom.

Her hand tightened unconsciously on Sam's arm, feeling the hard strength of muscle under the fabric of his sleeve. For one crazy moment, she had the urge to bury her face in his shoulder and hide from the world. The idea was so ridiculous that her shoulders stiffened and she took a quick step away from him. She'd been standing oh her own two feet for a long time. And if the time ever came that she needed someone to lean on, it certainly wouldn't be Sam Walker.

"I'm ready," she said, aware that she'd never felt less ready for anything in her life.

Afterward, Nikki remembered her wedding in bits and pieces, like images caught in a photographer's flash.

Sam being introduced to Michael, shaking his hand with a grave courtesy that made the four-year-old's eyes widen in wonder.

Then the chapel itself, with the sun slanting through the lattice-and-ivy roof, casting dappled shadows across the stone floor.

Jason's loving smile as he watched the two of them in front of the altar.

The sound of a soft female voice reading the marriage vows, which Nikki couldn't hear through the humming in her ears.

And Sam Walker.

His image was the clearest of all. His big frame standing so close to hers, his face expressionless as he listened to the words meant to link two people who loved each other, meant to create ties that would last a lifetime.

Nikki jumped when he reached out and took her hand in his. Her eyes locked on his face. As if in a dream, she heard him repeating his vows, promising to love, honor and cherish her. Till death do us part. Or until she inherits her money, she thought, suppressing a wild urge to giggle hysterically.

And then she felt the cool weight of a ring slide onto her finger. She looked down at the circle of plain gold that sat so snugly at the base of her third finger. A wedding ring. She hadn't even thought about a wedding ring. But Sam had thought of it. And not just for her. Nikki stared blankly at the much larger gold band he pressed into her palm. She could barely hear her own voice as she repeated her vows, making promises she had no intention of keeping, vows she planned to break. Her hands were shaking so badly that she had a difficult time sliding the ring on Sam's finger.

He closed his fingers around hers, holding her hand in a sure, steady grip. Nikki lifted her face to his and he felt something twist in his chest at the look in her eyes. She looked young and vulnerable and just a little frightened.

His hand tightened over hers, offering a silent reassurance he wasn't sure was justified. What they were doing was crazy—a devil's bargain made in a house of God.

"You may kiss the bride." The minister's words sounded unnaturally loud.

Liz and Bill looked at the couple standing before the simple altar and wondered if Nikki knew what she'd just done.

Max looked at his clients and friends and wondered if putting them together had been a stroke of genius or an act of madness.

Jason Drummond looked at them and hoped he'd done the right thing when he gave his approval to their marriage.

Sam looked at Nikki and realized that he'd been wondering what her mouth would taste like since the first moment they'd met.

Nikki looked at Sam, feeling a flutter of panic uncurl in her chest, a feeling that, once he kissed her, some indefinable line would have been crossed and there'd be no going back.

Later, she told herself that she might have pulled back at that moment if it hadn't been for the fact that Sam was still holding her hand. But if she were completely honest, with herself if with no one else, it wasn't his grip on her hand that held her in place. It was a deep, feminine curiosity, a need to feel his mouth on hers, to know his taste and touch.

It was a plain, unadorned kiss, a simple pressing of his lips to hers, certainly nothing to justify the sudden quivery feeling of her knees—that had to be nerves. Nor was there anything in his kiss to explain the urge she had to curl her fingers around the edges of his jacket and cling, to burrow against him as if he could shield her from the rest of the world.

Sam lifted his head slowly. There was a dazed look in Nikki's eyes that he could relate to. He felt a little dazed himself. He'd certainly shared more passionate kisses in his time, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd had the urge to gather a woman close and hold her, to protect her from harm. Or maybe he could remember. He'd had a similar feeling when he held Sara.

The thought of his first wife made him drop Nikki's hand and step back. He'd loved Sara. That was why they'd married. His marriage to Nikki was an entirely different story, purely a business proposition. He had no intention of forgetting that.

Nikki saw the barriers come up in Sam's eyes as he released her hand and moved away. Her spine stiffened. If he hadn't stepped back, she would have.

It had only been a kiss, she reminded herself. It was a momentary delusion that made it seem as if she could feel it all the way to her toes. She was tired and stressed. That's what was causing this slightly weak feeling in the knees. It certainly wasn't caused by a simple kiss from a man she didn't even like.