Teresa Southwick - Just A Little Bit Married

Why? he wanted to ask. Was she afraid that would destroy their relationship? A man who truly loved her wouldn’t give a tinker’s damn about this. Linc remembered how it felt to love her. In the same situation, if she’d dropped this bombshell on him, he’d have hired the best divorce attorney on the planet to dissolve the union so he could marry her. Making her his was more important than anything. Correction: it would have been, if he was Chandler.

“On the upside,” he said cheerfully, “since he doesn’t know about the marriage it saves you the trouble of having to break the news that you’re not divorced.”

She huffed out a breath. “Not only are you annoying, you’re a smart-ass.”

“Is that any way to talk to the man who’s funneling work your way?”

“We both know you’re not the typical client. Other than my expertise on decorating you have an agenda. I haven’t figured out what it is yet but we both know there is one.”

“You’re even more creative than I knew.” He knew how smart she was and shouldn’t have been surprised she’d guessed. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with for my condo.”

“Do you take anything seriously?”

“Of course.”

“Like what?” she demanded.

“My business.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. What about your family?” There was a gleam in her eyes now. “Come to think of it, I have no idea what you’ve been up to and you know an awful lot about me.”

“Because you’ve been very generous in sharing details.”

“My mistake,” she said. “Let’s even the playing field. Tell me about your personal relationship.”

“What makes you think I have one?”

She gave him an “oh, come on” look. “I guess a specific question would be better. And before you give me an evasive answer, consider that there’s still a lot of flight time left and I can be persistent.”

“Okay, I’ve been warned. What would you like to know?”

She gave him a thoughtful look for several moments. “Since you left me, have you been close to needing a marriage license?”

“Since you, marriage has not once entered my mind.”

He’d never let a woman that close because it wasn’t fair to lead anyone on. Marriage wasn’t a step he would ever take again.

“Hmm. That brings up more questions than it answers.” Rose tucked a long strand of shiny dark hair behind her ear as she studied him. “Is that because of what happened with your parents?”

“Hastings isn’t my father.”

“He still parented you with your mother. Is it that? Or was marriage to me so bad? Did I break you, Linc?”

Leaving her did, but that wasn’t her fault. It was the only way he could think of to protect her from the mess that was his life. Eventually he had put the pieces back together and if they didn’t quite fit, that wasn’t on her.

“You know better than anyone, Rose, that I’m a bad risk.”

“At least you’re taking responsibility.” There was a flash of what looked like sympathy on her face before she shut it down. “But ten years is a long time. I don’t quite know what to make of the fact that you’re alone.”

“Let’s just call it a public service.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he said, “Want a drink? The bar is stocked. Let’s go check out the galley and see what we can find.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see how you just tried to distract me from your love life. And I’ll admit it worked, but only because I’ve never been on a private plane before.”

“I’d never have guessed, what with your cool, sophisticated demeanor.”

“Don’t let that fool you. On the inside I’m giddy with curiosity and excitement.”

Until this moment Linc hadn’t realized how much he’d missed teasing her. And her honesty. He didn’t know any woman who wouldn’t have pretended that a lift on anything but a commercial flight happened every day. Her excitement at a new experience was charming and brought back memories of his eagerness to introduce her to all the pleasures life had to offer.

Including sex.

He’d given up the right to her body and the tempting curves in front of him now. Settling for drinks and hors d’oeuvres on a jet paled in comparison but that was all he could hope for. And the remainder of the flight passed quickly with a bottle of wine and snacks that had Rose moaning in ecstasy while he questioned how much pain he could handle on the road to redemption.

The Gulfstream landed at the recently opened Blackwater Lake Airport. A Mercedes SUV was waiting and he stowed their luggage while Rose let herself into the passenger seat. He got behind the wheel and drove into town, pointing out the highlights along the way.

“This is a very small place,” she commented, sounding less than thrilled.

“You’re observant. I always said that about you.”

“Oh—” She pointed out the window. “The Blackwater Lake Lodge. That’s the first hotel I’ve seen. It looks nice.”

He drove past and left the city limits. “Right now it’s the only hotel in town.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Then why didn’t you stop?”

“Because we’re not staying there.”

“Linc—” There was warning in her voice. “This is where we talk about how much I don’t like surprises. You promised that you’d handle accommodations.”

“And I have.”

“If you’re planning to pitch a tent and expect me to camp out, it would be best if you turned around and put me on the first plane back to Texas.”

“Where we’re going there are great views and a lot of square footage.”

“Wilderness doesn’t count. Somewhere in this town there must be a roof and indoor plumbing,” she warned.

“There is. Trust me.”

“I thought we were clear that I don’t trust you.”

He was going to do his damnedest to change her mind about that.

* * *

Rose was uneasy after Linc bypassed the Blackwater Lake Lodge and kept driving. Finally he turned right and pulled into a long driveway leading to a big house at the top of a rise. The sun was just going down behind the majestic mountains, but there was still enough light to see that the grounds were stunning. A carpet of perfectly manicured green grass was surrounded by flowers and shrubs.

He stopped the SUV by a brick walkway leading to gorgeous double front doors with oval glass insets. “I think this will fit your definition. There’s a roof and indoor plumbing. The rest of it isn’t bad, either.”

“This can’t be your place because you said it’s a condo and currently unlivable.” She left her seat belt buckled. “What’s going on? You said you’d handle expenses and accommodations but—”

“This is my sister’s place. She lives here with her husband and daughter.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re married and need a place to raise their child.” His tone was wry.

“No. Why aren’t we at a hotel?”

“As we established there’s only one in town and I couldn’t get a reservation. Late spring is nice here in the mountains and it’s becoming a popular tourist destination.”

Rose studied him. He was looking awfully darn pleased with himself, but it felt like he’d pulled one over on her and she didn’t like it a bit. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but—”

“And here’s my sister now.” He pointed to the open front door.

Rose saw a little girl run outside, followed immediately by a man and woman. Linc exited the car and came around to her side to open the door. His family didn’t look intimidating but what did she know? These people were related to him.

Rose got out and muttered under her breath, “You should have warned me about this.”

“If I did, would you have taken the job?”