Trouble in High Heels (17 page)

She’d fumed over his lack of passion for a good hour, then fell asleep. Kenny moved toward her and rolled over to offer his belly to be rubbed. Lori smiled and obliged him. She shouldn’t overthink her marriage to Jackson. The only rational part of it was that she now had access to her inheritance, and the first check she planned to write was to Virginia.

Rising from bed, she showered and dressed in jeans for the day. She walked downstairs and found Jackson, Maria, and Geoffrey in the kitchen. “Good morning.”

Maria looked down her nose at Lori. “Good morning. Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“I took care of some business, but yes, I did have some fun, too. I think it’s best to try to find the fun in as many of life’s moments as you can. Don’t you agree?” Lori asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“It isn’t always easy to have fun. Some of us have to work,” Maria retorted.

“Yes, but-”

“I must go down to the barn now,” Maria interjected and left the room.

“Whew!” Lori said, looking after her. “Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“You shouldn’t criticize her,” Geoffrey said. “She hasn’t had it easy like you and I have.”

Lori felt as if she were striking out all around. She turned nervously to Jackson. “How are you?”

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll be here today, but I’m going to Dallas tomorrow.”

She nodded, feeling an odd uneasiness at the prospect of him leaving. “I’ll write the ch-”

“We can talk about it tonight,” he interjected and stood.

“Okay,” she said, wondering where the man who had ravished her body yet held her tenderly had gone. All she saw in Jackson ’s eyes was thinly veiled impatience. Her stomach twisted at his lack of emotion. She felt like a fool. Why? she wondered. It wasn’t as if she and Jackson had professed undying love. Oh, wait. They actually had done that during the wedding vows. But she was certain he hadn’t meant it. And neither had she. Had she?

“Do either of you know where Virginia is?”

“I think she’s with the campers this morning,” Geoffrey said.

“Okay, I’ll give her-” She corrected herself. “I’ll talk to her later.” She turned to Geoffrey. Her second task for the day was to tell him she couldn’t marry him. “I’m ready to get back to cleaning chores. Will you be joining me?”

He gave a heavy sigh and nodded. “You’re not going to eat?”

Lori’s appetite disappeared as she watched Jackson leave. “I’ll just grab a biscuit on my way out the door.”

Ten minutes later, she and Geoffrey walked to the cabins and began working. “Anything important happen while I was gone?” she asked him as she grabbed a bucket and headed for the bathroom.

“Just the regular everyday earthquakes and tidal waves,” Geoffrey said soberly.

Lori appreciated his deadpan levity. “All in one day, here in the middle of Texas. I’m surprised it didn’t make the news.”

“I am, too,” he said, grabbing a mop. “Lori,” he said and she glanced up at him.

“Yes?”

He locked his jaw and closed his eyes as if he were in pain, then dropped to his knee.

Oh, no, she thought. Not another proposal. “Geoffrey, before you-”

He lifted his hand and shook his head. “No. I must. It’s my duty. It’s the only way. I must. I-” He broke off and wailed. “I can’t do it.” He rose to his feet. “I just can’t. My family may lose everything, but I can’t marry you.”

Moved by his distress, she took a step toward him. “That’s okay, because I-”

“I just can’t,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m in love with Maria, and it would be sacrilege to marry you.”

Lori felt her jaw drop. Shock raced through her. “Maria?”

“Yes, I’m sorry I’ve been deceptive. I tried to resist her. I really did, but the woman is a goddess.” He cleared his throat. “You’re perfectly nice and lovely, but Maria is-”

Lori bit her lip in amusement at the slight ego slap. “No, it’s okay. Something has happened, and I couldn’t marry you anyway.”

“Of course,” he said but clearly didn’t believe her.

“No, really,” she said.

“I’m sorry that I’ve wasted your time.” He sighed. “There will be hell to pay with my family. If I’m lucky, they’ll simply disown me.”

Lori felt a tug of sympathy for the kind British duke who’d followed her to the middle of nowhere and ended up falling for temperamental Maria. “Out of curiosity, how much money do you need to get things back on track?”

He named a sum that would force her to go to Jackson. Lori grimaced.

“I know. It’s a bloody fortune. And for you Yanks, the pound makes it doubly worse.”

She nodded. “Is there any way you could make the house income-producing on its own?”

“I can’t imagine how.”

“I don’t know. Make it a prestige bed-and-breakfast kind of thing? Have visitors pay to stay in a duke’s house. Let them be duke for a day or something.”

“It sounds a bit like prostitution. My stepmother would hate it.” He paused. “Knowing how much she would hate it makes me like the idea even more.” He sighed. “I don’t want to be in a financial pit the rest of my life. What I’d really like to do is write music for film.”

Lori’s mind began to turn with possibilities. “Then why don’t you?”

“For one, I don’t have any connections.”

“I could help with that.”

“Would you?”

She nodded. “Do you have anything you could give someone?”

“Yes, but I suppose I’d also need some sort of backing or partnership to start up a company. It’s too much to ask of you. You’re too kind. I should take care of this myself.”

“Well, there could be some benefit to me. What if you’re a huge hit? I can say I knew you from the beginning. I helped launch you.”

“You’re too kind,” Geoffrey said. “Why couldn’t we fancy each other?”

“I like the idea of having you as a friend,” Lori said. “I’ll need to clear this with my consultant, but it shouldn’t be a problem,” she added, certain Jackson would have no problem with this financial move. After all, she might even see a return on this investment.

“
You want to do what?” Jackson asked, staring at her in disbelief.

Lori winced at his tone, glancing around the barn. The horses were resting in their stalls. All except for Rowdy, of course. “Lower your voice. You’ll disturb the horses.”

“The horses are not what is disturbed,” Jackson said, shaking his head. “Two days. You’re married two days and you’re already spending half your inheritance.”

“That’s an exaggeration. I’m not spending half of it. Besides, I’m not really spending it except for the check I gave Virginia. And you knew I was going to do that as soon as possible.”

“Yes, but this crazy scheme with Geoffrey-”

“It’s a loan and an investment,” she said.

“And what will you do if he never pays you back?” Jackson demanded. “Take his house in England and sell it.”

She shifted on her feet. “That wouldn’t be very nice.”

Jackson rolled his eyes and rested his hands on his hips as he walked toward her. “Lori, you can’t keep spending your money this way. I know you see yourself as a professional philanthropist, but if you keep going like this, the time will come when
you
will be the one needing charity. You can’t fix everything.”

She knotted her fingers together. “I know, but poor Geoffrey came all this way to marry me, and even though he’s in love with Maria, it’s not-”

“Maria?” he interjected.

She nodded. “It’s not fair for him to go away with nothing.”

“Then cover his travel expenses,” he said.

Lori silently met his gaze for a long moment.

“You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

Jackson frowned. “He’s taking advantage of you.”

“No, he’s not. It was my idea.” Miserable that Jackson clearly didn’t approve of her, she bit her lip. “I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she whispered.

Jackson closed the distance between them and slid his hand behind her back, tugging her against him. “Your generosity is amazing. I just don’t want you to be hurt by it.”

She snuggled against him, loving the sensation of his body against hers. “Did you think about me at all last night?”

He paused a half beat. “Yeah. I did.”

She looped her arms around the back of his neck and looked up at him. “I thought about you, too, but when I woke up this morning, it almost felt like Vegas had been a dream.”

He paused again and lowered his mouth closer to, but not touching, her lips. “Are you saying you need a reminder that you’re married to me?”

Lori felt an illicit thrill race through her. “I might,” she said, meeting the challenge in his gaze.

“You’re telling me that you can’t remember what we did for two days straight in that hotel room,” he said.

Her heart pounded in her chest. “I didn’t say I didn’t remem-”

“You said it felt like it was a dream,” he said and slid his hands under her bottom and hiked her legs around his waist.

Clinging wildly to him, she glanced over his shoulder as he strode farther into the barn. “Where are we go-”

“To the office,” he said. “So I can remind you that you’re married.”

Lori felt a heady anticipation at his determined stride. He walked into the small office and closed the door behind him. And locked it. “What if someone comes?”

“It’s not likely, but I’ll take that risk,” he said and rubbed his lips against hers. “Will you?”

She swallowed over a lump in her throat. “Yes,” she whispered.

He took her mouth in a possessive, mating, claiming kind of kiss that made her feel dizzy. With the exception of a high, narrow window, the room was dark, making her acutely aware of the sound of his mouth and hers, their breaths, and the sensation of his erection pressed against her, where she was already moist.

Allowing her to slide down his body until she stood, he unfastened her jeans and pulled up her shirt. He tugged it over her head and immediately reached for her breasts. “You feel so good,” he muttered. “Look so good.”

He shoved her jeans down with a barely restrained savageness that thrilled her. There was nothing wishy-washy about every move he made. Suddenly she was naked and vulnerable, but she felt incredibly powerful.

He slid his hand between her legs and found her sweet spot. “This is a reminder,” he said against her lips, kissing between each word. “I am your husband. You are my wife,” he said and slid his finger inside her.

Lori gasped at the primitive nature of his strokes, his words. With trembling hands, she loosened his jeans and pushed them and his underwear down over his large, hard shaft. She stroked the length of him until she felt a drop of his essence. His breath was harsh against her neck. “And you are my husband,” she said, her knees weak from the power of her desire.

“Damn right,” he said and picked her up, backing her against the wall. Lowering her onto him, he let out a hiss of a sigh when she completely enveloped him. She felt so voluptuously full, so… taken.

Thrusting upward, he slid his hand between their bodies to where she was aching and wanting and rubbed her. The combination of his delicious caress and fullness inside her took her to another place, and she cradled his hard jaw with one of her hands and kissed him deeply.

The sensation inside her built with each stroke, each pump.

“Think you’ll remember this?” he asked in a thick, gruff voice.

“Oh.” She felt herself spiral over the edge. “Yesss.”

Heartbeats later, she felt him stiffen and plunge one last soul-searing time.

“Will you remember?” she asked, slipping her arms around him, cradling him against her.

He swore. “I couldn’t forget if I tried. You killed my knees, so I’m going to take us down now.” He slid to the floor, pulling her onto his lap.

She was still breathless, her heart felt like a ping-pong ball, and now he was holding her in his arms. “Is sex always like this?” she couldn’t help asking.

He gave a rough chuckle. “Depends on who your partner is.”

“Why is it like this with us?”

He shook his head. “You’re asking me to explain something as old as time.”

She inhaled and felt her pulse calm just a little. “I want you to like me,” she said.

He met her gaze. “What?”

“I like it that you want me, but I want you to like me, too.”

He paused, then lifted his hand to stroke her hair. “I do. I just feel like I need to watch out for you. You need a reality check sometimes.”

She rubbed her hand over his rough jaw and smiled. “I like the reality check you just gave me.”

“You’re making it hard to keep our marriage a secret,” he warned her.

“Just a little longer,” she said, lifting her mouth to his, enjoying the sensation of his lips and tongue. “I want it between you and me just a little longer.”

L
ori awakened to the sensation of Jackson ’s body against hers. She loved his masculine scent. She loved his broad shoulders and the way his strength permeated his body and his mind. She loved being close to him.

She loved… him.

The realization slipped into her consciousness. Her usual arsenal of denial and self-defense must have still been asleep. Lori looked at Jackson ’s face and knew she was in love with him.

How? When? Her lungs squeezed tight, taking her breath away. She’d known she could trust him. She’d known she was attracted to him. She’d known he would watch out for her. She’d also known he would never fall for her.

Crap. So now she’d fallen for her so-called husband, was stuck with him until she was thirty, when they would amicably divorce.

Panic raced through her. How was she going to manage this? How was she going to keep it from him? Because heaven forbid, Jackson would probably just feel sorry for her, and she couldn’t bear that.

Desperate for a moment alone, she rolled over to get up. A large, warm hand snaked around her waist and she closed her eyes. “Where you going?” he asked in a sexy, deep voice.

“I need to take Kenny outside. His bladder won’t wait.”

“Are you coming back?”

“I need to get my shower,” she said, scooting the rest of the way out of bed and pulling on her clothes. “I’ll see you at breakfast. Okay?” she said, more than asked, then raced out the door.

By the time Lori took care of Kenny, tried to wash away her feeling of panic during her morning shower, and arrived in the kitchen, Jackson was drinking his coffee at the breakfast table. Alone.

Darn, she’d hoped for a buffer from someone else this morning. “You beat me down. Have you already eaten?” she asked, picking up an egg biscuit from the warming pan on top of the stove. “Do you want a biscuit?”

“Already had mine,” he said.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat across from him at the table. Feeling his gaze on her, she took a bite of the biscuit but found it hard to swallow. She wondered if he could sense a change in her. For such a practical man, Jackson could be incredibly intuitive. Her stomach felt like a jumble of nerves. She wondered if she could hide her feelings. Or would it be useless to try? Would he be able to read the fact that she loved him, as if she were wearing a billboard?

“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.”

Silence followed. “Okay. Everything keeps moving very quickly on the construction deal. I never imagined it would move this fast.”

She heard the excitement in his voice and smiled. “That’s great. Did you decide if you’re going to have a pet park?”

“Yes. Good idea. The construction people love it. What about you?”

“I’ve been helping Maria with classes with the campers,” she said proudly.

“Really? You’ve been riding?”

“So far just leading, no riding, but it’s been a lot of fun. Those kids are amazing. They have all kinds of problems, but their disabilities don’t keep them from trying.”

“Yeah, it’s fun to watch. Wait. Excuse me a minute,” he said, and she heard him say something to someone else. “Listen, I’m meeting for drinks with some of my new business contacts. I’ll give you a call tomorrow or the next day.”

“That would be great,” she said, the longing inside her stretching like the Grand Canyon. “Good to hear your voice,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Good to hear yours, too. Bye.”

Pushing the disconnect button, she replayed his last words five times in her head. Then another five. And another. Then she stopped, because she knew she was being goofy.

They talked every other day for the next week. Short calls that made her wish for his closeness. Every time they talked, she hoped she meant something special to him, but she couldn’t be sure. She hated her sense of uncertainty.

Thursday dragged by. Rain started in the morning and didn’t let up all day. Outdoor classes were cancelled, and Maria and Lori played games with the children. One of the children, Reese, was especially challenging. Although mentally handicapped, red-haired Reese was physically strong and active, full of energy that Lori tried to help defuse by running races with him around the cabin.

In early afternoon, Maria announced that she and Geoffrey were going to town.

“Is it a date?” Lori asked, feeling a pinch of envy at the open affection Maria and Geoffrey shared.

Maria’s cheeks bloomed. “Geoffrey wants to take me to dinner.” She paused a half beat and lowered her voice. “We’re also going to apply for the marriage license.”

Lori couldn’t help feeling a rush of joy. She was glad
someone
would get the marriage thing right. “Then you really need to decide on a dress.”

Maria nodded. “I never thought I would be marrying an English duke. I never really thought I would be getting married at all. I still can’t believe that Geoffrey thinks I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. Even with my scar,” she said, lifting her hand to the jagged mark on her cheek. She sighed, then shook her head. “But yes, I want to get a dress. Did you wear a dress for your wedding to Jackson?”

Lori shook her head. “No. It was all done so quickly there wasn’t time.”

“Didn’t you miss that? Didn’t you want that romantic experience?”

Lori felt a knot form in her throat. “It wasn’t supposed to be romantic. We don’t have that kind of relationship,” she said.

“Maybe you could if you would stop hiding your marriage,” Maria said.

“That will happen eventually,” she said. “But we weren’t discussing my wedding. We were discussing your wedding.”

Maria shot her a look of disapproval, but she couldn’t hold it long. Her lips curved into a big smile of joy. “He is the sweetest man in the world. Thank you for not agreeing to marry him.”

Lori laughed. “He wouldn’t have been able to go through with it with me. He fell for you the first time he met you.”

“True,” Maria said. “Now, if you have any problems at all, just call my cell. Hopefully we wore out the little kiddies enough that they will settle down easily tonight. That cutie Reese was a little terror, wasn’t he? I couldn’t believe how many times you raced him around the cabin.”

“And in the rain,” Lori added. “There shouldn’t be any problems here. Enjoy your afternoon and evening. You deserve it.”

“Thanks,” Maria said, then impulsively hugged Lori. “You’re not as much of a stuck-up, clueless rich girl as I originally thought.”

“Thanks,” Lori said. “I think.”

After Geoffrey and Maria left, Lori stayed indoors until dinner, when she delivered the evening meal to the campers. She and Virginia organized simple relays to entertain the children, then followed up by reading books to help the campers calm down.