The Best Bride

“What’s wrong?” he asked, rising to his feet.

“Nothing.” Her voice was hoarse, as if she was having trouble speaking. “I was just wondering if you wanted to cancel the party.”

“A couple of friends over for a late lunch and football is hardly a party.”

“I know, but…” Her voice trailed off. She clasped her hands together in front of her waist and stared at the ground. “I thought you might prefer to keep me away from your friends because of last night.”

That didn’t make any sense. “Because we made love?”

She shook her head. “No, the other thing.”

The spot of color on each cheek had nothing to do with cosmetics. She looked as if she were praying for the ground to open and swallow her whole. It was all his fault.

In an effort to be a gentleman, he had left their bed that morning to give her the privacy to wake up alone. If he was going to be completely honest with himself, he would have to admit there had been something other than altruism in the act. He hadn’t wanted to wake up and see the regret in her eyes. Unfortunately, she thought he was the one having regrets. She might say she was worried about her confession, but her body language told him she was thinking about the sex.

He crossed the room and reached toward her. Before he could pull her close, she stepped back. “Don’t,” she murmured.

“I’m not sorry we made love,” he said quietly, aware that Mandy could return at any moment. “I left you alone this morning to give you some privacy, not because I didn’t want to be with you in bed. I wanted us to make love again, but I was worried about you being sore and Mandy waking up. It was wonderful, Elizabeth. At least it was for me. I guess I’ll understand if you’re having second thoughts.”

“I’m not sorry, either.”

She looked up at him and he saw the sadness in her eyes. It puzzled him. If she didn’t have regrets, then why was she sad?

“It doesn’t change anything, though,” she said dropping her arms to her side.

Make that: it hadn’t meant anything. He’d been so damned worried about what she would be thinking and feeling that he hadn’t spared a thought for his own feelings. “So you’re saying, ‘Thanks for the good time, no regrets, but gee, let’s never bother doing that again’?”

“Not exactly.”

He would have laughed but there was this pain deep in his chest. He’d been a one-night stand. Women across the county would be crowing with delight if they ever learned a Haynes had finally had his comeuppance. He’d been looking for something more, and Elizabeth was the one backing off.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “As for the company. Hey, why would it matter that people came over? Don’t worry, I won’t talk about your secret or last night.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking at him oddly.

“So nothing’s changed. We’re exactly where we were yesterday. Friends. Great.”

“Travis, are you okay?” Her brows drew together in confusion. “Have I said anything to—”

The sharp ringing of the phone cut her off. “Excuse me,” he said, and reached for the phone on the end table. “Hello?”

“Hey, Travis, it’s Kyle.” His brother sounded wary. “I ran that guy you asked me to. Sam Proctor. You’re not going to believe what I found.”

“I already know.”

“About the bigamy?”

“Yeah.”

“Elizabeth Abbott is in the report. The second wife, or whatever you’d call her.”

“I know that, too.”

“You okay?”

Travis turned back toward Elizabeth, but she’d left the room. No, he wasn’t okay; he was never going to be okay again. She’d touched him and loved him in his bed, and now she was going to shut him down. Part of him couldn’t blame her. He was the last guy in the world she should get involved with. He would only screw up the whole thing. But his brief experience of paradise had left him hungry for more. He wanted to be different, he wanted to be the kind of man who could marry and have a family. He wanted—

“Travis, are you there?”

“Sorry. I’m fine. Look, Kyle, I want you to keep this information to yourself, okay?”

Kyle exhaled in disgust. “I might be the youngest, Travis, but I’m not a kid. I know this could hurt Elizabeth. I won’t say anything.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Look, could you just get your butt over here as quickly as possible?” He needed someone to run interference before he said or did something stupid. Worse, before he made a promise he knew he could never keep.

* * *

“I can’t sit out there with those boys if I know you’re in here doing all the work,” Louise said walking into the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”

Elizabeth closed the oven door and smiled. For the first time that day, her sense of doom lifted a little. “Nothing. I’ve got everything under control.”

“You make me feel guilty. I’m supposed to be looking after you.”

Elizabeth laughed and moved to the kitchen table. “I’m feeling great. Doing more things every day.” She bit down on her lower lip. She’d almost blurted out, “Last night Travis and I made love, and I felt wonderful afterward.” That would have given Louise something to talk about. “My incision hardly gives me any trouble at all.” Except for a slight tenderness after they’d— Stop thinking about it, she ordered herself. It only made everything more difficult.

“Do you want some coffee?” she asked, pointing to the full pot. “It’s fresh.”

“I’ll get it,” Louise said. “You sit down for a minute and rest yourself. There’s no point in spending all this time getting better if you’re just going to wear yourself out in one afternoon.”

She poured herself a cup, then offered one to Elizabeth. She shook her head in refusal. Louise poured in milk and added a rounded teaspoon of sugar.

Today she was dressed all in purple. A frilly blouse that did nothing to hide her generous curves, a calf-length ruffled skirt and bright purple cowboy boots. Her short blond hair had been puffed and sprayed into little spikes. She wore saddle earrings and lots of black mascara. The kindness and concern in her blue eyes made her look beautiful.

“I’m doing great,” Elizabeth said. It wasn’t an actual lie. Physically she was doing well. Emotionally, she was hovering about a half inch off the ground. Last night had been perfect, but this morning, when she’d woken up alone in Travis’s bed, all her doubts had crashed in around her. They’d made a terrible mistake. The lovemaking had been so right between them, but the memory was tainted by the reason he’d reached for her in the first place. Once Travis realized that, he wouldn’t want to remember what had happened at all. He would put it and her out of his mind. She hated to think about that. She knew there was no hope for any kind of long-term relationship between them, but she’d counted on them staying friends.

“You want to talk about it?” Louise asked, then took a sip from her mug. She walked to the table and plopped into the seat next to Elizabeth.

“I—”

“Don’t bother lying, honey. I can see the pain in your pretty eyes. Did something happen here, or is this about whatever made you come to town in the first place?”

Elizabeth stared at her. Had the other woman guessed or had Travis said something?

“Don’t give me that look,” Louise said. “It doesn’t take a lot of brains to figure out something is wrong with you. When you first arrived you spent most of your time looking over your shoulder. Who are you afraid of?”

Elizabeth fought the urge to confide in Louise. She’d felt better after telling Travis the truth. Confession was good for the soul. But she was afraid. She hadn’t even told her own parents. She couldn’t face the disappointment and shame she would hear in their voices. Would Louise understand? She gathered her courage together.

“If it’s about you and Travis being lovers, then you don’t have anything to worry about.”