Leanne Banks: Trouble in High Heels

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she quickly replied but nearly knocked over her coffee cup. “Oops.”

“I repeat. What’s going on? You seem jumpy,” he said.

She forced herself to smile. “I guess I don’t have the morning-after routine down yet.”

He took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. “We’re married. You don’t have to do anything special,” he said. “Unless you want to go back to bed.”

She felt a wicked thrill at his suggestion but shook her head. “Someone would notice. There would be questions I’m not ready to answer.”

“Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “Can’t keep it a secret forever.”

She bit her lip. “I know, but I haven’t figured out what to say. How to explain.”

“You just say you’re married,” he said.

“People will ask questions, like when did we decide to do it? And when did we realize we have feelings for each other?”

“Keep it general. We’ve had feelings for each other for a while and decided getting married was the right thing to do.”

“Easy for you to say. Women are expected to give more details.”

“How long do you want to keep this on the down-low?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Lori,” Jackson said. “Are you embarrassed that you’re married to me?”

“No,” she said immediately. “No. I just don’t know how-” She broke off, flustered. “I don’t know-”

“I’m curious how you plan to handle come-ons from other men.”

Another wave of confusion rolled over her. “Other men? There aren’t a lot of other men around the ranch, except for summer-camp leaders, and they’re gone within a week, since they arrive and leave with their specific groups. Geoffrey’s gaga over Maria, so that takes care of him.”

“What about Cash?” he asked.

“I didn’t even think about him. If he approaches me, I’ll just tell him I’m not available.”

“So what are the rules, Lori? Do you expect us to be exclusive? Or are you and I just business partners with benefits?”

His question caught her off guard. “I thought we would be exclusive. We are married, even though-” She felt a heaviness in her chest. “I guess I can’t require it, but-” She cleared her throat, feeling a rising tide of panic. “I did say there should be discretion. What is this about? Have you met someone? Is there someone else?”

He lifted his hands. “I’m not the one who wants to keep it secret.”

She sighed. “It’s my sisters.”

“Your what?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Oh, no, his eyebrows were talking to her again. Unable to sit another second, she stood. “My sisters are madly in love with their husbands, and their husbands are madly in love with them. How in the world can I explain you and me to them? What do I say? I married you so I could get my inheritance, and I’m paying you to be my husband. Oh, and the rest of the deal is that we get divorced when I turn thirty.”

Jackson shook his head and stood. He looked fed up. “Let me know when you figure out what you want. In the meantime, I’ll head back to Dallas.”

Her heart sank. “So soon?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Call me if you need anything,” he said and left the room. Staring after Jackson, Lori heard steps behind her and turned to see Maria, who must have entered from the back door. Lori searched the other woman’s face to see if she could read how much Maria had heard of her conversation with Jackson.

“Hi,” Lori said after a long moment of silence.

“Hi,” Maria said and wrapped up the remaining biscuits and put them in the refrigerator.

Lori chewed her lip. “I don’t know what you may have heard-”

“It’s none of my business,” Maria said.

Lori cringed. Her statement said it all.

“But,” Maria added, “I don’t know a woman who would not be proud to call Jackson her man.”

Lori sighed. “It’s not that I’m not proud of him.”

“It didn’t sound that way,” Maria said, lifting one of her dark eyebrows. “You sounded very wishy-washy.”

Lori heard the front door close and knew it was Jackson leaving. She closed her eyes for a second at the searing pain that stabbed her. “He doesn’t love me,” she finally said, the words feeling as if they were torn from her.

“How do you know?”

Lori popped open her eyes. “I had to talk him into marrying me. I had to give him money.”

“Did he ask for money?”

“No, but I know he expected it. As soon as we were married, he invested the money in a construction deal.”

Maria frowned. “I still don’t understand why you did this. You’re skinny and a little spoiled, but you’re pretty enough. Many men would take you.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Lori said dryly. “I didn’t want to marry just anyone. I wanted to marry someone I trust.”

Maria’s mouth formed a perfect O. “You are in love with Jackson.”

“I didn’t say that,” she quickly said, not ready for the words to be said aloud.

“You are,” Maria said. “You are in love with him.”

“But he’s not in love with me.”

She shrugged. “You’re married to him. Make him fall in love with you.”

“Like it’s so easy,” Lori said. “Excuse me, but I’m fresh out of fairy dust and I’ve lost my magic wand.”

Maria gave a careless shrug. “It’s not so hard. Men are easy. You show them love, you tease them and please them, and they will beg. It happens all the time.”

“Maybe for you,” Lori said, envious of Maria’s confidence. “ Jackson is a very strong man. I’m not sure any woman could make him fall in love.”

“Then maybe you’re not the right woman for him. Maybe you’re not strong enough for him,” Maria said lightly. “Maybe you should let another woman have him.”

A sizzling possessiveness raced through her with the power of a freight train. “Absolutely not. Why would I let another woman have him? He may not love me, but he’s married to me.”

Maria put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. “You’ll have to decide if you are strong enough for him.”

Maria’s words haunted Lori during the next days. The woman seemed to boil it all down very nicely, but Lori knew that seducing Jackson didn’t mean he would give her his heart. If she were a different person, she would go after him and tell him she loved him, but she was terrified he would feel awkward because he couldn’t return the affection. Her quandary drove her crazy.

After she didn’t hear from him for two days, she decided to buck up and initiate the call. She dialed his number, and the rings continued so long that she almost hung up, unwilling to leave a message. Just before she decided to hit the disconnect button, his voice came on the line. “Jackson James.”

Her heart raced at the sound of his voice.

“Hello? Jackson James,” he repeated, impatient.

“Hello?” she blurted.

A half second of silence followed. “Lori?”

She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “Yes, it’s me.” She cleared her throat. “How are you?”

“Okay,” he said. “Busy as hell, but okay. Is there a problem?”

Yes, I miss you. “Not really. I just wanted to check in with you.”

“Hmm. Do you need more money? Did you want to make another donation?” he asked.

“No,” she said, feeling more awkward with each passing second. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all. “Well, I’m glad everything’s okay with you. I guess I’ll talk to you some other-”

“Wait,” he cut in. “Why did you call?”

“I told you,” she said. “I just wanted to check in with you.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, mustering courage. “I wanted to hear your voice.”