The Marine's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek Book 3) (3 page)

“I always hoped I’d get married… for real,” she confessed, keeping her eyes on the sidewalk. “I never dreamed I’d be faking it.”

Her vulnerability pierced his heart. He’d never dreamed he’d be faking it, either. He had always seen himself as a family man, like his father. Recent events had made him wonder if he’d ever get to play that role.

“You’ll marry again,” he said and frowned at the stab of disquiet his words had caused him. At the moment, he didn’t want to think of Kenna with anyone. Except him. He shook his head at his inability to shift his thoughts about her to a platonic place. Hadn’t he learned anything from his experience with Julie? He didn’t know this woman. He couldn’t make any judgments about her.

“I never thought I’d marry more than once,” she said quietly.

She could have sucker-punched him and it wouldn’t have shocked him more. Kenna wasn’t at all the hard-nosed, unfeeling woman he’d chalked her up to be. She was a true romantic.

She was looking for love.

Well, hell, so was he. He wanted to be married. He wanted to start a family, just like his brothers were doing. It was Julie’s fault he’d put all of that off.

Had he given up too soon? The situation with Julie was one to laugh at, really—not one to make him turn his back on his dreams.

He looked Kenna over again.

Maybe he had given up too soon.

“What do we do next?” she asked.

He had to take a second to get his bearings. Do next? He could think of a lot of things he’d like to do next, but he couldn’t suggest any of them to this delicate nymph. “I guess we get to know each other better.”

‡

S
torm wanted to
get to know Zane better—a lot better. But how did you do that in the space of a single afternoon?

Walking sedately through the outskirts of the little town wasn’t telling her much of anything. She knew he’d had a career in the military over a decade long, so she supposed he couldn’t be a quitter. He held himself ramrod straight, which told her he was confident, but there was a hint of a sense of humor in the way he smiled at her that assured her he knew how to have fun. Still, that wasn’t enough. She wanted to know everything about Zane Hall. She could barely keep herself from staring at him, and the butterflies in her stomach whirled every time he returned her gaze.

He pointed out landmarks to her as they went. The barber shop where he’d had his hair cut as a boy. A corner store where he’d bought comic books.

The first time their hands brushed as they walked, she felt a little thrill. The second time she wondered if that touch was deliberate. She slid a glance under her lashes at the man beside her only to find him looking back at her. A knowing smile curved his mouth and her breath caught in her throat. Was he flirting with her?

Their fingertips touched again and just for a second—a space of time so short she thought she must have imagined it—his fingers tangled with hers and gave her a little tug. She bit her lip as a jolt of desire ripped through her.

He was flirting with her.

Searching for something to say to cover her confusion, she nearly laughed with relief when they turned another corner and met up with a teenage boy walking two golden retriever puppies on a leash. Storm ducked down quickly and let the puppies sniff her hand. They practically fell over each other to butt her palm with their noses. She ruffled their fur, hoping that would give her the time she needed to figure out this latest turn of events. When she’d agreed to take Kenna’s place she’d figured it would be a chore to pose as her boss. Zane had changed her mind in a heartbeat. Six weeks pretending to be his fiancée? Staying close to him? Holding hands? Maybe… kissing him?

Hell, yeah. She could do that.

Would he want to take things even further, she wondered, burying her face in the first puppy’s fur. Just for the sake of authenticity of course—so they’d really
know
each other. She stifled a giggle. God, she was bad. There was no way she was going to sleep with Kenna’s fake husband. It was absolutely out of the question.

Zane was chatting with the dogs’ owner, thank goodness, so he hadn’t noticed how hard she was blushing again. She couldn’t help imagining what Zane’s body would be like. How he would touch her, what it would be like to make love…

She stifled a groan. She couldn’t even think like this. Zane was off limits. He was just a job.

“You don’t mind us petting them, do you?” Zane was asking the boy.

“No, that’s okay.” Zane crouched down beside her. “Just watch out—Lance is a…” The teenager laughed when one of the puppies jumped right up on Zane. “He’s a climber.”

“He sure is.” Zane tousled the dog’s fur and scratched behind his ears until the puppy was in a paroxysm of happiness. Lance licked Zane’s face while the other puppy tried to find a way to join his friend. Dancing back he leaped up and bowled Zane over. Zane sat down hard on the sidewalk and laughed. “They’re a handful.”

“Sorry. Ben, get down. Ben!”

You can always tell what a man’s like by the way he treats his pets
. Storm blinked when her father’s voice rang through her mind. When had Mitch said that? One day when she was eight or nine and they’d been walking along West Cliff Drive, coming home from surfing. They’d seen a man be cruel to a dog and Mitch had intervened, first filming the incident on his waterproof camera, then threating to send the movie to Animal Welfare. That was her father all over, champion of the weak.

“No problem, don’t worry about it,” Zane said. “They’re good dogs, yes they are.” As he rubbed and petted both of them, crooning a kind of baby talk they seemed to love, Storm’s heart melted. If you could tell a lot about a man by the way he treated pets, then Zane was a caring, happy, friendly man.

The kind of man she’d always wanted to meet.

Stop it
, she told herself sternly. She didn’t need a friendly man. She needed one who stepped up and took responsibility when the chips were down.

Twelve years in the Marines
, a little voice said. Didn’t that suggest Zane could be responsible when the situation called for it?

She wasn’t sure what happened next. One minute both puppies were climbing all over Zane. The next minute Lance spotted a Corgi being walked across the street, tugged free of his collar and made a break for it.

Instantly, Zane leaped to his feet, spilling Ben to the sidewalk. Before Storm could call out, Zane had given chase. He caught up to Lance just as a truck screeched to a halt to avoid hitting the puppy. The driver slammed a hand on his horn. Zane stood his ground, scooped Lance up and gave him a once over before turning to come back.

“That’s the second time he’s gotten free,” the teenager said, hurrying to meet him. “Lance, what are you thinking?”

Zane helped the boy get the dog’s collar back on. “See, here’s where it’s defective. You’d better get him a new one before you take him out again.”

“I will.” The teen pet Lance a couple more times, as if to prove to himself his dog was really all right. “Thanks. I’m going to take them home.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Zane turned back to Storm as the boy walked back the way he had come. “Sorry about that. Should we get some lunch?”

Sorry about that? The man was apologizing for what he’d done? She could only nod. She’d gotten her answer. Zane was responsible. He wasn’t afraid to put himself in danger if it meant protecting someone—or something—else. He wasn’t at all like Todd.

“You could have gotten hurt.”

“Nah. There’s not much traffic in Chance Creek.”

All it takes is one car
, she wanted to say, but didn’t. He didn’t want her to make a big deal out of it. Brave, responsible, caring and humble.

A dangerous combination.

“Look, we shouldn’t eat at a restaurant since you’re not supposed to be here yet. How about I walk you back to your motel and go grab some takeout. There’s a new place that’s half Mexican, half Afghan food. Fila’s. It’s pretty good.” He took her hand as if it was the most normal thing in the world and led the way. Storm allowed herself to appreciate the feel of a warm, strong male hand wrapped around hers. His palm was calloused from work and the size of his hand made her feel delicate. She fought an urge to lean against him and increase the intimacy of the gesture. She didn’t know how a man she’d just met could affect her so deeply, and she tried to match a word to her emotions. She’d been attracted to men before, of course, but she had never felt such raw hunger for one. She wanted more of him—much more.

Lust
, she thought.
This is lust
. Pure, unbridled, unstoppable lust. The combination of Zane’s strength and kindness had touched off a firestorm of desire in her she didn’t know how to quench. From the glances he shot at her from time to time, she’d say she wasn’t the only one affected by the touch of their hands.

They didn’t speak much as they made their way back to the motel and up the stairs to the second floor.

“Kenna, can I ask you a question?” Zane stopped outside the door to her room.

“Of course.” No matter where her gaze rested, the Marine was fascinating, from his direct gaze, to the curve of his smile to the hollow at the base of his throat.

“When you realized what you had to do to get your inheritance, what did you feel?”

Storm searched for an answer. Kenna had been furious, of course, but she couldn’t say that to Zane, not when the way he was looking at her told her he too was struggling against a current of desire.

“You know what I felt?” he went on when she didn’t reply, and his deep, warm voice touched off a new wave of want within her. “Relief. I wanted to marry anyway, but I was beginning to think I was the only one in the world who felt that way. The guys in my unit acted like marriage was a death sentence. Even the women I met seemed to think that.” He shrugged. “You’d think no one believed in marriage anymore. I do, though. I’ve always known exactly what I want. To get my family’s ranch back, to fall in love with a beautiful woman, and to start a family with her. When I heard Heloise’s conditions for inheriting the ranch, I thought, ‘Well, now I’ve got an excuse for going out and getting a wife.’” He laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “I’ve never told anyone that.” He looked away and the brim of his hat hid his face from view for a moment. When he turned back toward her his gaze was direct and searching. “What about you? Have you ever wanted something like that?”

Storm barely trusted herself to answer. Kenna would say no—she’d never wanted a husband or a family.

But Storm wasn’t Kenna.

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to marry, too. My parents were so happy together and it’s been so hard on my mom since…” She caught herself just in time, realizing she was getting her story crossed with Kenna’s. “I’ve always wanted to marry. I want…” What did she want? “I want a partner in life. Someone I can depend on. Someone I can celebrate with when things go well. I want us each to have our separate passions, but I want us to have plenty that we do together, too. Does that make sense?”

“That makes perfect sense. Kenna, I—”

“Call me Storm,” she said on impulse. “All my friends do.” Each time he said Kenna’s name it felt like a slap to the face. She didn’t want to remember Zane was her boss’s pretend fiancé, not hers. She didn’t want to think about Kenna at all.

“Storm,” he said slowly. “I like that. It suits you better than Kenna. Storm, I feel like you and I—” He broke off, turned away, and surveyed the parking lot beneath them. “Never mind. Come on. Let’s get you inside and I’ll be back in a minute with some food.”

Disappointment stabbed through her. What had he been about to say?

She forced the feeling down, and told herself to stop being such a fool. There could be nothing between her and Zane, even if he was saying all the things she’d always longed to hear from a man. She had to keep things on an even keel. She was here because it was her job to be here—because Kenna would pay her to do the job well.

If Zane ever found that out, she could kiss him good-bye.

Of course, she’d have to kiss him good-bye anyway when her six weeks were up. Her heart ached at the thought of it, and she scolded herself for being foolish. She barely knew the man. She couldn’t be falling for him.

But she knew she was.

What the hell
was wrong with him, Zane asked himself as he strode toward Fila’s. He couldn’t believe what he’d almost said to Storm back there.
I think you and I could make a real go of it.

Really? He thought the woman he’d known for all of an hour was his soul-mate? In what universe was love at first sight even possible?

Not this one.

He had to stop hoping for that kind of connection and get to the matter at hand. In less than twenty-four hours he’d present Storm as his fiancée to his family, and they would live together with his brothers and their wives for the next six weeks. It was time for him and Storm to swap all the necessary details so they could act their parts. The rest of the afternoon was for homework, not flirting.

Although flirting sounded like a hell of a lot more fun. Storm liked him; he could tell. When he’d taken her hand she hadn’t even tried to tug it away. If she had, he would have let her, of course, and he would have kept their relationship as innocent as it had started. She’d let him hold her hand, though, and had seemed disappointed when he finally let it go.