Sara Orwig - The Ransomes - Matt, Nick and Katherine - Pregnant with the First Heir

With a toss of her head she left to join him for dinner.

By the time she strolled onto the patio, he was grilling steaks. A plume of gray smoke spiraled above the cooker and tantalizing smells made her mouth water, but it was the tall, handsome cook who took her breath and made her pulse jump.

He had dressed in slacks, western boots and a knit shirt, but how easily she could remember the body and muscles beneath those neat clothes. He glanced at her and then turned to give her his full attention, watching her walk toward him.

Tingling and growing hot, she sauntered up to him, stopping only inches from him. “Like what you see?” she asked in a sultry voice.

A faint smile quirked his mouth. “My anticipation about our wedding night is growing,” he replied and her pulse jumped another notch.

“It’ll be even better than you imagine,” she said.

“You’re flirting again, Olivia.” He ran his finger just above the top of her sundress, drawing a line on her bare skin that made her draw her breath. “But why do I think you have an ulterior motive? I think you want me to fall in love with you so you can steal my heart away and twist me around your little finger.” His fingers trailed upward to her nape where he caressed her lightly. “Am I right? Or will you admit the truth?”

“I’ll answer honestly,” she replied, wanting to kiss him instead of chat with him. “I hadn’t thought about twisting you around my little finger and I don’t really believe that I possibly can. Maybe I’m just trying to protect my heart so if I do fall in love with you, I won’t be rejected.”

He propped his foot on an iron chair and placed his arm on his thigh as he leaned closer. She was hemmed in by him and by his leg on one side of her, the cooker on the other and the chair behind her. His blue eyes pierced her as if he were searching for answers in her gaze. “So you’re not getting cold feet yet over our deal?”

“Of course not,” she said, acutely aware of his proximity and his leg touching her hip lightly. “We need to talk about the wedding. How many attendants will I need to have because you’ll have groomsmen.”

“Back to business? I’d rather talk about making love.”

“We better take care of business if you want this wedding next week.”

He smiled at her and traced the curve of her ear. “All right. How many attendants do you want?” he asked in a husky voice and she suspected he was giving little thought to the approaching nuptials.

“You’re not thinking about our wedding,” she said.

“I’m thinking about making passionate love to you on our wedding night,” he answered in a husky voice and leaned down to brush her lips with his.

Her heart thudded, but she fought her impulse to kiss him and stepped back. “Matt, we have to make decisions about the wedding. How many groomsmen? I have three friends here, but I can well imagine that you will have a lot more close friends, plus your brother. I’ll be happy to ask your sister to be an attendant.”

His heated gaze kept her pulse racing. “All right. We’ll discuss the wedding—for now. I’ve been trying to get in touch with my family to let them know. While you dressed, I tried to call Nick and Katherine. I’ve left messages for both of them.”

“Are they here in Texas?”

“No. I called their cells. Katherine is in Chicago, and Nick is on a rig in the Gulf. I talked to my dad and of course, he wants to meet you. We’re having him join us for breakfast in the morning. How’s that?”

“Fine,” she said, wondering if his entire family would disapprove of her and try to talk Matt out of the marriage. For an instant a surge of panic threatened, but then she reminded herself that Matt had agreed to marry her and he said he would keep his word.

Matt caressed her nape and she stopped thinking about his family. “Three attendants will be fine. If you want her, ask Katherine,” he said. “I can’t predict what she’ll do or say.”

“I hope they don’t hate me.”

“If they do, do you want to call off the marriage?”

“No, I don’t.”

He tugged on a curling lock of her hair. “Dad will be the most difficult to deal with. He’s not the same since Jeff’s death. Jeff was his baby and his favorite which is why he let Jeff do just what he damn well pleased.”

“If I have a boy, I don’t mind if you want to name him after your brother.”

Matt traced his finger around the curve of her ear. “That might be a real fine thing. It would mean a lot to the whole family. ’Course you may be having a girl.”

“When the time comes, I’ll find out what my baby is going to be. When I have an ultrasound, you can even go with me if you want.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’d like to go with you,” he replied. “I’d really like it,” he repeated as if surprised by his own feelings. “Something else—as soon as we marry, I wish you’d refer to this baby as ‘our’ baby, even though I’m not the blood father. For all intents and purposes, I will be this baby’s father.”

“That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed, delighted with his suggestion. “Our baby,” she repeated, the words thrilling her. Then she focused on him again. “You’re standing close,” she said quietly.

“It bothers you?”

“You know you disturb me,” she replied.

“If the steaks weren’t going to burn, I’d do more to disturb you right now,” he said in a husky voice that was its own caress. He walked to the grill to take the steaks off and set them on the table.

Hunger pangs increased her anticipation, but when she sat down at the table across from Matt, she lost interest in food. Talking to him and making wedding plans took precedence over eating. As they chatted, she couldn’t believe her good fortune.

Over dinner Matt charmed her with stories about the ranch and his brothers and sister, yet all the time he talked about them, Olivia couldn’t stop wondering how much they would accept her and the approaching marriage.

She barely touched her steak and noticed that Matt didn’t either. They talked about a myriad of subjects and she wondered if his life had been lonely before, but then she pushed that notion aside as ridiculous. Matt could do as he pleased and she suspected he kept busy all the time. Looking into his thickly lashed blue eyes, she couldn’t imagine, in spite of what he had said, that there weren’t women around often. His handsome looks and virility took her breath. If only—she dismissed that thought immediately. She was getting more than she ever dreamed possible. She had to stop looking for love.

The sun set and lights came on automatically in posts scattered around the patio. The pool sparkled with light and she was dazzled by her surroundings, but far more by Matt. He reached across the table to take her hand in his. His fingers were warm and strong. At the intense look in his eyes, her pulse speeded.

He reached into his pocket with his other hand. “I bought a ring for you today while I was waiting,” he said and placed a small black velvet box in her hand.

Surprised, she opened it and her heart missed beats when she looked at the dazzling diamond that sparkled against the dark velvet. “Matt!” she gasped, stunned by his gift. She looked up at him. “It’s fantastic!”

“You like it?” he asked.

“Of course, I love it!” she said. “It’s magnificent! I can’t believe you would do this! We barely know each other. I’m astounded—” She realized she was babbling, but she was caught off guard and never had expected any such ring.

“Olivia,” he said, cutting short her words and leaning closer to slip his hand beneath her chin. “For this baby’s sake, we’re entering into a marriage of convenience, but as far as I’m concerned, I think it would be best for our baby if all our friends think we’re in love. You’ll get a hell of a lot more respect that way, and men will leave you alone. Unless you let them know they don’t have to leave you alone.”