The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride (3 page)

What if he didn’t tell her it was a joke? What if he just married her?

The idea was more promising than he ever could have imagined a half hour ago. He followed her up the walkway to DelMonaco’s, appreciating the way her thin cotton dress conformed to the curves of her body. She didn’t look like a city girl in that outfit. She looked womanly, soft, at home in the country – but maybe that was the point. She was selling herself to him, in a way.

DelMonaco’s was hopping, as it always was on Saturday nights, but they were lucky and got a table after only a minute or two of waiting. Sarah-Jane, the hostess, who he’d gone to high school with, led them to a small, square table in the middle of the restaurant. Ethan saw her give Autumn more than one appraising look, but she didn’t ask any questions and he was grateful for that. He pulled out a wooden chair for her, and took the one kitty-corner to it.

“The food must be good here,” Autumn said, looking over the menu.

“There aren’t that many places to go.” Ethan scanned his menu as well, although he knew it by heart. He ordered the same thing every time he came. Porter house steak, baked potato, coleslaw. None of that salad bar stuff for him.

“Well, look who’s here!”

Ethan stiffened, his fingers crumpling the laminated menu. A week ago he would have given anything to hear that voice, but not now. Definitely not now.

He forced himself to loosen his grip on the menu and look up at the couple who’d stopped next to his table. Lacey Taylor, dressed in a skimpy sundress that barely grazed the tops of her thighs, strappy white sandals, and a diamond on her finger you could use to signal Mars, smiled down at him. Behind her stood Carl Whitfield, in denim jeans, cowboy boots, a blazer and a string tie. Reflexively, a slow burn started in Ethan’s stomach. Everything about Lacey’s new boyfriend made him want to punch the man’s lights out. He’d come to Chance Creek looking for a ranch to buy, and took his time ferreting out the most desperate rancher so he could cut a bargain that would make the devil applaud. Someone would be coming after Ethan’s ranch like that pretty soon, but he’d be damned if he’d sell.

Lacey’s smile widened as if she’d read his thoughts. “Hi Ethan! We’re celebrating our eight month anniversary. Can you believe we’ve been dating that long? Only six months to the wedding! I can’t wait until Carl makes an honest woman of me.”

Had Lacey’s smile always been so fake? And since when did she wear all that makeup? Suddenly Ethan couldn’t see why he’d always thought she was so attractive. Sure, she had curves in all the right places and her platinum blonde hair could dazzle a man, but next to Autumn she seemed so…plastic.

“We’re going on the Grand Tour for our honeymoon,” Carl said, reaching forward to shake Ethan’s hand. “France, Italy, Greece, Austria…”

“Carl says we’ll just keep going until we get so homesick we have to come back,” Lacey gushed. “Can you imagine ever getting sick for this little town? I told him we’ll be gone forever!”

“Can’t stay away forever, darling,” Carl said. “You have to decorate that mansion I’ve been building just for you.”

“I get to pick out all the furniture!” she practically squealed. “Can you believe it?”

When Ethan didn’t answer, her smile faded a notch and she turned her gaze to Autumn. “Oh, hi,” she said. “I’m Lacey. Ethan’s probably told you about me.”

Autumn shrugged and Ethan fought down the urge to kiss her. Nothing irked Lacey more than not being the center of attention – another fact about her that seemed much clearer than it had just 24 hours ago.

“Sorry, he didn’t mention you. Are you his sister?”

Ethan bit back a laugh at the look on Lacey’s face. Autumn definitely earned a kiss for that.

“Sister?” Lacey was outraged. “No. I’m his…was…his fiancée. Who are you?”

Autumn glanced at him. “Oh, I’m…Autumn. I’m Ethan’s…”

“His new fiancée!” Suddenly Rob was there behind him, trailed by Cab and Jamie. He put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and gave it a not so friendly squeeze. “They’re getting married. Isn’t that sweet!”

“Rob!” Ethan growled. His friend let him go and tousled his hair.

“Sorry, I know it’s supposed to be a secret, but I can’t help myself. I spent thirty dollars on a cab ride just now so I could be here and share your joy.” Damn, he should have realized when he left Rob stranded at the airport he’d only added fuel to the fire of his need for revenge.

The practical joke he’d played on Rob last month was a good one, but Rob was doing a damn fine job of getting back at him. In fact, he’d say they were quits right about now.

Lacey’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. After a long moment, Carl said, “Congratulations! Well, hey now – marriages are bursting out all over the place, aren’t they!”

Lacey looked like she wanted to slug him. “You never said you were dating again, Ethan. When did you two meet?”

“Today,” Autumn answered at the same time he said, “A few years ago.”

Lacey looked from one to the other. “Uh uh, I smell a fake. You’re putting me on, Ethan Cruz. You’re just pretending to be engaged because you’re jealous of me and Carl.”

The anger that had simmered in his gut for the past eight months since she’d dumped him burst into flame. “Lacey, the last thing I am is jealous of you and Carl. I have Autumn, and I’m making her my wife. Next month. June 21
st
.” Before anyone could say a thing, he leaned over the corner of the table, cupped Autumn’s head, pulled her close, and gave her a kiss so smoldering it put a prairie fire to shame.

* * * * *

When Ethan released her, Autumn gasped for air, raising a hand to her lips. No one had ever kissed her like that – not even the man she’d lived with for nearly a year when she was twenty. For a moment her head spun and she couldn’t make out what the others were saying, but while Lacey looked furious, her fiancé – Carl, was it? – looked like he’d just taken the prize at a turkey shoot. He raised his hands above his head and clapped them together. The noisy restaurant crowd hushed, craning their necks to see what was happening in the center of the room.

“Folks! Folks, can I have your attention for a moment?” Carl called. “I’ve got great news! Our own hometown boy, Ethan Cruz, has caught himself a fiancée! What’s your name, honey?” He bent down toward her.

“Um…Autumn,” she said.

“Autumn! That’s her name. Let’s give a round of applause for the happy couple! May they have a long and happy marriage! Barkeep!” Autumn cringed – did people really say that here? “A round of champagne for the house – on me!”

Applause split the air as Carl thumped Ethan on the back. Then he made them stand up while the rowdy Saturday night crowd cheered. “Kiss! Kiss!” he crowed and the rest of the patrons soon joined in. Autumn wanted to sink into the floor. What had happened to keeping a low profile and slipping away before the month was out? Looking up at Ethan she saw the same glazed look in his eyes she was sure was in her own. He dutifully bent down and kissed her again.

She meant to keep it short and sweet and she was sure he did, too, but the moment their lips met electricity sparked between them and she found didn’t want to move away. His hand slid around her waist and soon she was pressed against him, tilting her head up and standing on tip-toe to meet his embrace. Her skin tingled every place she touched him, a heat building up inside her that had long been absent in her life. When he slid his hand down her back, she leaned into him, too far gone in their kiss to care that everyone in the room was watching them.

“Hey, save something for the honeymoon!” Carl laughed. They broke apart and Autumn, breathless, noticed the furious expression on Lacey’s face. Poor girl. Probably just realizing the catch she’d let slip her hook. Carl cupped his fiancee’s elbow and moved her away, calling back a few last congratulations. The crowd settled down for the moment and she took the chance to sit again. She went back to studying the menu, although when Sarah-Jane returned to take their orders, she still hadn’t made a choice.

“Something light?” she said in desperation. For some reason she couldn’t focus on the menu’s printed words. The names of the specials danced in front of her as she relived, time and time again, the feel of Ethan’s mouth on hers, the way his hands caressed her, and the passion that had flared to life within her at his briefest touch. It must be the plane ride or the time change – or her hormones – that made her so sensitive. She wasn’t accustomed to falling hard for strangers.

Sarah-Jane saved her. “I’ll bring an order of Chicken Tuscany and you can make your way to the salad bar whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks.” She waited until Ethan ordered his steak and Sarah-Jane carted off the menus, then rose again. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Ethan stood up, too, and helped pull back her chair. A gentleman. She liked that. “I’ll be waiting.”

His laconic sentence and the way his gaze lingered on hers brought another rush of heat to her cheeks. Waiting…for what? For her return, or for something else entirely? Had he felt some kind of connection, too? Was he looking forward to later tonight, when they were alone?

She hurried off and found the ladies room, refusing to make eye contact with any of the other patrons trying to get her attention and give her their congratulations. Locking herself into a stall she took a minute to sort out everything that had just happened. Ethan obviously took this marriage thing very seriously. Somehow she thought they’d spend some time together before he brought up the actual engagement, although now that seemed naïve. The man wanted a wife and he wanted one right now. Why else put a video like that up on YouTube.

I can’t do this. I have to leave tonight.

But even as she thought it she knew it was a lie. She’d do anything to get this story and clinch her contract with CityPretty. Writing for a magazine was the one goal she’d ever reached in life and she wasn’t going to lose that achievement now, just because a cowboy’s kisses sent her around the bend.

I’ll see this through until the end.

She wouldn’t give her mother or sister another reason to call her a failure. Bad enough she hadn’t gone into medicine like they did. Bad enough she’d ever mentioned going to culinary school. Bad enough when she’d
listened to reason
and gone to a university instead, she’d switched from pre-med to majoring in English. Bad enough she’d bailed from the internship her mother had set up for her to travel to England with Becka instead. Bad enough she’d refused to get her Masters and PhD so she could be a professor.

Bad enough she was a writer. A writer for a women’s magazine.

If she lost her job now it would mean one more family chorus of “I told you so,” and another disappointment for them to chalk up on their score cards. She could not bear that. So she would see this assignment through to the bitter end, no matter what it took.

As she flushed the toilet and made her way to the sinks, she didn’t allow herself to think about just what that might mean.

* * * * *

Ethan watched Autumn snake her way back through the tables, stopping every few feet to shake hands and receive congratulations from well-wishers among the diners. As she chatted with a few, he caught a look of naked worry on her face and realized she was out of her depth making up details of their relationship on the fly. They’d better put their heads together and sync up their stories tonight before one of them slipped up.

When she reached their table, she glanced at the extra chairs, now filled with Rob, Cab and Jamie, who were happily destroying the contents of a bread basket and quenching their thirst with a pitcher of beer. She slipped into the seat next to him and whispered in his ear. “I’ve been telling everyone you’d fill them in on how we met. I didn’t know what you wanted me to say. Don’t they know about your video?”

“No,” Ethan hissed. “Well, except for these guys. And I’d like to keep it that way. It’s embarrassing,” he added when she gave him a questioning look. “I didn’t think many people would see it.”

“You put a video on YouTube and thought no one would look at it?”

Damn. He thought fast. “Just follow my lead. We’ve known each other off and on for a couple years. After Lacey bailed, I got back in touch. We’ve had a long distance relationship for the past six months.”

She nodded. “Okay. How about, we couldn’t stand being apart any longer but I’m a traditionalist; no living together until there’s a ring on my finger. We’ll say I’m a bit of a control freak and wouldn’t let you pick it alone.”

A ring.

“How much is that gonna cost me?” The words were out before he thought them through and she rewarded him with a look that seemed half-disgust, half-hurt. Shit. He kept forgetting she was here because she believed this was for real – she wasn’t in on the joke. A joke that had gone way too far. He wiped his hands on his jeans under the table and gathered his courage. He hated to do it like this – in public, especially after the upwelling of support from the community they’d just witnessed, but better to do it now – to pull the band-aid off quickly, so to speak – than to wait for things to get even worse.

“Look, Autumn,” he began, leaning toward her.

“I guess…I always wanted something simple,” she said, the hurt still there in her voice. “I don’t need a fancy ring to prove that I believe in always and forever.”

The words he meant to say vanished.