Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2) (12 page)

Closing her eyes, she groaned again. She hadn’t even considered the very public aspect of being Gabe’s wife, but neither of them had mentioned a more personal problem. “What are we going to tell Jesse? You know he’ll be ecstatic that we’re together. Same goes for Momma.”

“We can’t tell him the truth. He might tell Lemont what we’re up to. As for Loretta, I think we can let her in on the game.” He set a plate of lasagna before her, then took his seat again. “I’ve thought about hiring a housekeeper with nursing experience to help out with her care.”

“I can’t let you do that.” She picked up her fork but had no appetite for the delicious-smelling pasta. “I’ll take care of Momma.”

“Michaela, if we want to convince the world--and more importantly, the judge--that we are committed to each other and to Jesse, we have to use all of our available resources.” Gabe flashed that lethal grin of his. “I can afford a housekeeper and enough ranch hands to take care of things around the ranch. Besides, what better way to prove to Judge Anderson that you have plenty of time to devote to Jesse? I’m not saying you can’t still help out. She’ll be living here in the house. Hell, if you still want to manage the ranch, go for it, but you don’t have to punch cattle and round up horses. When are you going to admit you’re not Superwoman?”

“I never claimed to be Superwoman.” It would be nice if she didn’t have to worry so much about her mother. She considered his words and the reasons the judge hadn’t given her Jesse to begin with. Depending on a man to take care of her wasn’t what she wanted to do. Her father left her mother when she needed him, and Gabe walked away from her when she thought he’d loved her. What would stop him from doing it again?

She forked up a bite of the lasagna, but as the thoughts cascaded through her head, she couldn’t eat it. Accepting his offer was dangerous to her heart, but for the short term, she had to do it for Jesse’s sake. “I see your point. But I don’t have to like it. I don’t want to have to owe you anything.”

“You don’t owe me a thing. All I ask of you is to be a good aunt to Jesse. Which I already know you are, or I wouldn’t be asking you to do this. I don’t care about the money.”

“You might not care, but I do.” She met Gabe’s eyes over the table. He held the biggest damn diamond ring she’d ever seen toward her. The forkful of lasagna hit the plate with a clang.

He raised a brow, and his lips twitched into a lopsided smile. “I bought this when I was in Nashville. Hopefully, I remembered your ring size. The love of my life has to have some serious bling to show off.”

The diamond ring was at least seven carats and shimmered in the bright light of the kitchen. “Gabe...” The ring didn’t mean anything. The proposal was a sham. His words of love weren’t real. Micki didn’t love the man holding the ring, but she had at one time, and for a moment, her heart remembered the first time he’d proposed to her. The first time he’d promised to take care of her. “I can’t take--”

He took her shaking left hand from beside her plate and slid the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit. “Yes, you can. It’s part of the act. Just as the wedding will be. As soon as we figure out when it is, I’ll make sure the tabloids know that we’re getting married.”

Gabe’s grin and the twinkling of his dark eyes snagged on something deep inside Micki and set her insides on fire.

“I have to make sure everyone knows I’m completely off the market.” He hadn’t let go of her hand and began to rub his thumb over the area behind the ring he’d put on her finger. The heat from his touch branded her as completely as the rock he’d put on her hand did. “Which brings up a slightly more delicate problem.”

Her heart raced at the sensual timbre of his voice. Breathless, she asked, “What’s that?”

“Our attraction to each other.”

“You’re delusional.” She tried to free her hand, but he held on. “I’m not attracted to you. You’re freaking crazy if you think I’ll consider having sex with you.”

“Who said anything about sex? But as I remember, we were pretty damned good together.” Gabe pinned her with his hot gaze. “And you will be my lawful wife. Married couples have sex.”

“I get it. I don’t owe you anything, right? Except for my body.” Her voice betrayed her desire by coming out breathy and low and not at all sounding as pissed off as she’d wanted. She yanked her hand from his and stood away from him.

Gabe stood and stepped toward her. “Come on, Michaela, you can’t deny you’re attracted to me. We’re both consenting adults. I want you, and you want me. I see it in your eyes. Hell, you were sizing me up after you answered the door tonight.”

She turned away, headed for the door, but he caught her arm and turned her into his chest. With a thud, she landed against a solid mass of man. The fire he’d started with a look pooled deep and throbbed in her center. She tried to tell herself she was so attracted to Gabe because she hadn’t had sex for a long time. And she almost believed it--until he kissed her.

Gabe’s lips brushed hers as if he was asking permission. The kiss was gentle but heated at the same time. Against her better judgment, she brought her hands up over the soft cotton of his shirt covering a rock hard chest. He moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. She opened under him, and he deepened the kiss. His hands burned a trail down her back to her butt. She hissed when he squeezed and pulled her against him. His erection pressed into her low belly.

Dear God help her, she wanted him.

“Gabe...” She breathed into his mouth and slid her leg up against his.

He groaned and lifted her onto the counter. The kiss turned into a duel of tongues, and he lifted her blouse to remove it.

She backed out of the kiss and pushed on his chest. With a fuzzy look of confusion, he pulled away.

“Gabe, we have to stop. I can’t do this.”

Sex with Gabe would prove disastrous to the wall she’d built around her heart.

Swallowing, he helped her off the counter. “I’m sorry.” He turned away and squared his shoulders. “You make me crazy, Michaela.”

She straightened her shirt and ran her fingers through her mussed hair. The ring on her finger weighed a ton and tangled in the strands. “I think I should go home.”

He faced her and nodded, his expression grim. “Yeah. I’ll drive you.”

Micki stared at the orchard where the leaves on the old apple trees were changing to shades of orange and red. In a month she would be married. Her mother shifted in her wheelchair, and Micki focused on helping her into the passenger side of the truck. When she closed the door, the strong morning sun caught the diamond on her ring finger.

For a moment, the way the light splintered and exploded within the massive gem mesmerized her. The damn thing could blind someone.

“It really is a beautiful ring, isn’t it?” Her mother’s soft voice, coming at her through the open window, jerked her out of the trance. “I don’t care what he told you the reason for the wedding is. I think Gabe still has feelings for you. And I know you still love him. But I wonder why he didn’t give you Annie’s ring?”

She’d wondered the same thing. The ring he’d given to her when they’d been engaged the first time meant the world to Gabe.

“Momma, we’ve talked about this.” Micki grasped the edge of the window frame and fisted her free hand. “The marriage is an act so the judge will give us Jesse. Of course, he got me a huge ring. He’s a superstar. The story is that we belong together and decided to get married. But if he really had any feelings for me, he would’ve given me his mother’s ring.... If he still has it.” The realization hit her with a strong twist to her heart. Maybe he’d given it to Andrea. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. “You just need to remember not to tell anyone the truth. I still hate Gabe McKenna with a passion, and he hasn’t lost any love for me, either.”

Momma smiled and patted Micki’s hand where it lay on the window edge. “We’d better get going. I can’t wait until everyone sees this on my baby’s hand.”

Micki turned and sighed. She didn’t want her mother to tell her friends the truth about the wedding after the morning service, but her total denial that the wedding was, in fact, a farce proved exhausting.

As she folded her mother’s wheelchair, Gabe’s big Ford pulled up beside her Silverado. When he climbed out of the pickup and headed her way, she didn’t like how her heart sped up and her mouth went dry. He was sin on legs dressed in a pair of tan slacks, a navy polo shirt, and his signature tan Stetson.

Leaning in, he kissed her full on the lips. Against her will, she responded to his soft but firm lips, demanding her to kiss him back. As he had Friday night, he overwhelmed her good sense and desire pooled deep within her. The touch didn’t last long, and when he pulled away, Micki wanted the kiss to go on.

She immediately stepped away from him and grabbed the folded wheelchair, jerking it toward her with more force than required for the action. This damned lovey-dovey acting was going to drive her crazy, not to mention the way she went up in flames every time he touched her. “I wondered where you were.”

“Good morning, sunshine.” He took the chair from her hands. “I was on the phone with my manager. Had to get our engagement announcement out.” Winking, he hoisted the wheelchair onto the back of the truck. “Sorry I’m late.” He leaned down to get a better look at her mother through the window. “How are you this morning?”

Momma returned his smile. “I have to say you surprised me, Gabriel McKenna. About time you came to your senses and married Michaela.”

He glanced at Micki, a slight frown pulling at the corner of his lips. She shook her head. “I’ll explain later. If we don’t get going soon, we’ll be late for church.”

In that infuriating I’m-in-no-hurry way of his, Gabe leaned against the side of her truck. “I thought we’d talk to Reverend Watson about our wedding. Two of the caterers we spoke to yesterday called back with tentative dates based on their schedules. The soonest either of them could possibly do a small wedding is October thirty-first.”

“Halloween?” She snorted. “Well, that’s definitely appropriate. That’s gonna cost a fortune.”

“Yep.” She wasn’t sure which he was agreeing to. “We have to agree to allow the caterers the right to use our wedding for promotion.”

“Hope the food’s good. The ceremony’s already going to give me indigestion.” Micki dug her keys out of her black slacks pocket and ignored his glare. “Isn’t the award show that next week?”

“Yeah, November eighth. The timing is lousy, but we can make it work. Just think, we could go to the
CMA
s on our way to our honeymoon.”

Fear zipped through her at the wink and fire flashing in his eyes.

“Hopefully Reverend Watson is available that day. If not, we may have to find either another preacher or a justice of the peace to do it. I figured we’d have the service on the ranch.” He glanced away and shifted his feet. “Doesn’t seem right to get married in the church, considering it’s not a real marriage.”

Micki hadn’t considered where the wedding would take place, but a sudden idea hit her. “I think getting married here is a great idea. Frankie’s garden is still pretty in late October. The late roses and chrysanthemums are blooming.” She frowned. No one would have tended to the roses since before her sister’s death. “Although it might need some cleaning up before the wedding day.”

Gabe shrugged and nodded. “Sounds good as any other place. I’ll hire a gardener as soon as possible to get it ready.”

“The garden is a great place for a wedding,” Momma chimed in. “Your wedding color could be that pretty shade of pumpkin orange you like. It would be perfect, considering it’s Halloween.”

“Not if I ask Lizzie Decker to be my matron of honor, it won’t.” Cash Nelson’s elder sister had a headful of carrot-colored, corkscrew-curly hair.

Her mother pursed her lips. “You’re right. That red hair of hers would make her look hideous in orange. What about dark green?”

“Works for me.” Gabe looked at Micki with a twinkle in his eyes. “I like green more than orange anyway.”

She wanted to deck him. He knew orange was one of her favorite colors, and if it wasn’t for Lizzy’s hair, she’d love to have it as her wedding color. Maybe she could use orange in her flowers. This whole formal wedding on a rush was a pain in the ass.

“I’d be content with an Elvis impersonator on the Vegas Strip,” she muttered.

Laughing, Gabe said, “That would make our marriage look legitimate in Judge Anderson’s conservative eyes, but the tabloids would love it.”

“Now, Micki, don’t be difficult. Just like the last time. If Frankie and I hadn’t forced you to buy a dress, you would’ve gotten married in jeans and a T-shirt.” Momma clucked her teeth. “I guess I only have myself to blame for making you into such a tomboy.”

“I am what I am. A cowgirl.” Micki glanced at her cell phone. They had fifteen minutes to get to the service. She didn’t care about colors or about any of the other particulars concerning the wedding. “Gabe, we really gotta go.”

He pushed away from the side of her pickup and took her hand. After he led her to the driver’s side, he opened her door. Scowling at him when he reached for her again, she grabbed the frame of the truck and hauled herself up into the seat. He closed her door, and she glared out the open window at him. “You know I hate this chivalry stuff. I’m not some Cinderella who needs a man to help me get into my truck, for God’s sake. This pretending to actually like you is gonna drive me to drink.”

His chuckle was deep and penetrated her senses. “Your stubbornness drives me crazy. Why can’t you let someone help you out?” Before she could answer, he leaned through the window and kissed her.

She glared at him and turned the key. “See you later, cupcake.”

His laughter followed her down the driveway.

* * * *

After the service, Gabe and Micki waited outside the church until Reverend Watson finished greeting the churchgoers to speak with them. Her mother held an animated conversation with several of her friends, who all stole glances at Gabe and Micki. The ring on her left hand was like a boulder setting on her chest. A big, flashing rock that announced to the world she’d totally lost her mind. Breathing was tough when she spotted someone staring at it, and she wished she could stash it in her pocket. The heat from Gabe’s hand resting on the small of her back burned through the thin fabric of her shirt to scorch her skin.