The Wedding Deal

Despite his resolve not to engage in extracurricular activities with his boss, Luke decided there was no sense in refusing a perfectly good meal. Taking the chair next to Eden, he settled in and accepted the platter of succulent pot roast she passed his way. He wasn’t shy about heaping his plate with the array of delicious-smelling foods, and as he started to eat, he kept waiting for Eden to engage him in conversation.

She didn’t. Nor did she eat any of the small portion of supper she’d served herself. Instead, she fiddled with her fork, and pushed her food around on her plate, and absently chewed on her bottom lip, as if uncertain how to broach the subject that was on her mind. Her obvious preoccupation took away from his own enjoyment of the meal.

He sighed, and tried to find the best way to gently prompt her to open up and divulge the real purpose for inviting him to supper. “Ma’am…” She glanced up at him expectantly, making him realize he’d reverted back to a formality that was better used during working hours. “Eden, you’ll have to pardon me for being so forward, but I’d really like to know what all this is leading to. It is leading to something, isn’t it?”

She cringed, and her face flushed a becoming shade of pink. “Um, yes, I suppose it is,” she admitted, unnecessarily smoothing the napkin in her lap. “Am I that transparent?”

She sounded completely disgusted with herself. He found a rare smile kicking up the corner of his mouth, as well as experiencing a profound sense of relief that she didn’t do this sort of thing often. “Well, you did say you wanted to speak with me about something, and a woman doesn’t usually go through all this trouble for a man she hardly knows unless she’s trying to impress him.”

“Are you impressed?” she asked, hope glimmering in her eyes.

“And flattered,” he said, the admission an honest one. At least she’d know that her efforts hadn’t been in vain, that he’d appreciated the meal, and her attempts to seduce him, even if he wouldn’t allow himself to reap the end results.

His response seemed to gratify her, bolster her fortitude, even. Straightening in her chair, she reached over and rested her hand on his arm, her gaze locking on his. “Luke…I have a proposition for you.” Before he could swallow the bite of potato he’d just taken and waylay her request, she forged ahead. “I’d like for you and I to, well…” Her voice faltered as she struggled to find the right words. “I’ve never asked a man to, well…”

He swallowed, hard, and sympathetic to her discomfort, he supplied, “Have an affair?”

She snatched her hand back, shock enveloping her features. “Oh, goodness, no!” Her hand fluttered to the collar of her dress, and then she laughed, as if she found his wrong assumption amusing. “I don’t want us to have an affair, I want us to get married.”

Stunned, Luke’s fork clattered to his plate, and his appetite vanished. “Married?” he repeated incredulously, feeling as though he’d just been prodded with a fiery branding iron. His entire body burned, and he had a strong urge to bolt for wide open spaces. He’d been prepared to divert a seduction, not a marriage proposal!

She pulled in a deep breath, and let it out in a rush. “I know this is all very sudden—”

“Ma’am,” he managed to interrupt with extreme politeness, “I think you’ve roped the wrong cowboy.” Prepared to leave, he scooted his chair back, the scraping sound much like the clawing sensation in his belly.

Abruptly, she stood, too, panic flashing in her eyes. “Luke, wait a minute.”

Another minute, and he’d surely give in to the pleading note in her voice—and she had to be desperate to ask a renegade like him to marry her. He was certain she had her reasons for picking him, a stranger, he just didn’t want to be any part of whatever ploy she had in mind.

And considering what a fiercely independent woman she was, he had no doubt that this marriage proposal was a scheme of some sort. He didn’t believe for a moment that she needed a husband.

He headed toward the back screen door, but she beat him to it, blocking his path. When he stepped even closer to intimidate her into moving out of his way, she held out her hand and pressed her palm against his chest to keep two feet of distance between them. He immediately tensed at her bold move, but she didn’t seem the least bit afraid of him, and she might not know it but she had many reasons to fear him.

He scowled down at her. Stubborn woman!

“Luke, please,” she persisted, ignoring his dark look. “Just give me a chance to explain.”

His jaw clenched tight, until a muscle in his cheek ticked. “There’s nothing to explain,” he said with more calm than he felt. “I think we both should just chalk this up to a big misunderstanding.”

“But it’s not a misunderstanding.” Her chin rose and purpose fired her green eyes to a bright shade of emerald. “I am proposing.”

That heat prickled his skin again, settling in his stomach like a ball of fire. “I’m not interested.” The lie tumbled gruffly from his lips.

Frustration radiated off her, and her fingers flexed against his chest. “I’ll make it worth your while,” she blurted.

Her brazen statement threw provocative images into his mind that he had no defenses against. Oh, he had no doubt the benefits of marrying Eden would far exceed any sacrifice on his part. She was a beautiful woman, and it would be no hardship to share a house and bed with her, to be able to claim his husbandly rights and take their attraction to its logical conclusion. She was an excellent cook, an intelligent, hardworking business woman, and a good mom. She possessed all the qualities a man would pick for a wife, and then some. But whatever her reasons for singling him out, and no matter how appealing he found the idea of marrying Eden, he couldn’t do it.

And then there was his past to consider that would forever haunt him, a past which would only taint Eden’s reputation and the credibility of the Double L if someone discovered what he’d done.

He was a solitary man for a reason, a drifter by necessity—for the sole purpose of being able to pack up and move on when his transgressions nipped at his heels. Far from being poor, he’d been saving his earnings for years now, and he hoped that one day he’d be able to settle down on his own spread, be his own boss, raise his own cattle…alone. Always alone.

Regret twisted within him, and he gently grasped the hand Eden still pressed insistently to his chest. His callused thumb grazed the silky soft skin along her wrist, as much of a touch as he dared when he craved something far more intimate with Eden—warmth, caring, acceptance. The very things he’d sworn he’d learned to live without.

Obviously not.

Her lips parted on a catch of breath, and the pulse at the base of her neck fluttered in reaction to his caress. Her dark, spiky lashes drifted to half-mast, and she made no attempt to pull her arm back. The tension in the room shifted, crackling with those sensual sparks that flared whenever they got too close.

Right now, they were close enough to ignite a wildfire.

His heartbeat drummed in his ears and reverberated heavily through his body, making him intensely aware of Eden, of himself, and the need that had crept up on him without his permission—a dangerous kind of longing he couldn’t seem to shake when it came to this particular woman.

Kissing her would be only a matter of lowering his head and stealing what she unconsciously offered. And there was no denying he ached to taste the sweet heat of her mouth, to draw her body against his and lose himself in her scent and softness.

And though he suspected Eden wouldn’t so much as issue a protest to something they’d both been fighting for the past month, deny himself he did. For her protection as much as for his own sanity.

Releasing her hand, he watched as the smoky desire in her gaze ebbed to confusion. He forced himself to speak, to reestablish those boundaries that had crumbled the moment he touched her.

“As tempting as your offer is, ma’am, I’m not interested,” he said succinctly.

Stepping around her before she regained her composure and countered him yet again, he headed out the back door, mentally justifying his brusque actions—better for her to experience a gentle rejection now than for her to suffer later.

CHAPTER TWO

EDEN wasn’t ready to admit defeat, not when Luke hadn’t even given her the opportunity to explain her predicament, or extend her generous offer.

I’ll make it worth your while.

Eden dipped her hands into the soapy water in the sink and scrubbed a bowl, her face warming as she recalled the words she’d spoken in haste—and the unintentional sexual connotation behind her reckless statement.

Good grief, the man probably thought she was a desperate widow in need of attention. She cringed, realizing she was a desperate widow, but not for the reasons he most likely believed.

She didn’t want a man in her life, but she did need one to achieve her ultimate goal of securing the house and Double L as hers, and finally be free of her brother-in-law’s influence.

Not for the first time, she cursed the stipulation her husband had written into his will, one last controlling contingency she’d had no knowledge of until his death. The last laugh had been on her, and she’d spent the past two-and-a-half years berating herself for being such a fool.

She’d grieved her husband’s death for many reasons, but not for a love lost. Looking back on their whirlwind courtship, she knew she’d married him for all the wrong reasons. At the young age of nineteen she’d found herself pregnant, and when Bryce insisted that they marry, she’d honestly believed they’d be happy together like her own parents had been before they’d passed away. But she’d soon realized that Bryce Lowe had expected a meek and mild-mannered wife he could manipulate.

Months after the wedding, the conflicts, struggles, and arguments began. There was no compromising in this marriage. Every issue had been resolved Bryce’s way, leaving Eden feeling frustrated, and resentful of her husband’s chauvinistic behavior.

Unfortunately, Bryce’s brother was cut from the same cloth. Allen might be a high-finance city slicker who lived and worked in Houston, but there was no doubt he relished the power and authority he held over Eden.

Which was why she needed Luke’s temporary help. But first, she had to gain his cooperation, which she was determined to do, despite his reluctance.

A quick glance out the window reassured Eden that Luke hadn’t taken off for town, as she’d half expected. His truck was parked in the drive, and the light glowing from the bachelor apartment above the detached garage confirmed that he was home.

Finished cleaning the kitchen and putting the leftovers from their aborted dinner away, Eden retrieved a wicker basket from the pantry and filled it with two small plates and mugs, utensils, napkins, a thermos of fresh brewed coffee, and the French apple pie she’d made for dessert that they hadn’t had the chance to enjoy. Then she headed out the back door and across the lawn toward the unit where Luke lived as part of his room and board compensation.

This time, she wouldn’t give him the chance to refuse her. This time, she’d state her intentions clearly so there would be no mistaking her motives for asking him to marry her.