Marriage On Demand (22 page)

She glanced down at herself. After smoothing the front of her dress and brushing her hair off her shoulders, she looked up at him. Before he could step back, she closed the distance between them and touched his earring.

She was close enough that he could see the smoothness of her skin and feel her sweet breath on his face. Her
smile made him want
to pull her hard against him and hold her until the rest of the world faded like a bad memory.

"You mean they'll want to know why the town bad boy hooked up with innocent little Rebecca
Chambers?
"

"Exactly. Except
it's
Rebecca Lucas now."

"Is it?" she asked, her smile fading. "I suppose technically I am your wife." She dropped her hand and turned away. "All right,
Austin
. Thanks for the warning. I'll be on my guard against the gossip. I'd better leave. I'd hate the carnival to start without me."

"Rebecca, I'm sorry," he said, feeling her pain, but not knowing what to do about it. "I wish—"

"Don't," she said. When she reached the stairs, she looked at him. "I don't want to talk about it today. The sun is shining, the weather is warm. There's too much fun waiting to be had for us to talk about this now." She tilted her head slightly. "What are you going to do today?"

He stood stiffly, trying to act casual. He didn't want her to go, but he had no right to ask her to stay. "I have a couple of experiments I've been working on."

"Oh. All right. I'll probably be late." She hesitated, one foot on the stairs, the other on the hardwood floor. She opened her mouth and closed it, then muttered something that sounded surprisingly like "damn". Only Rebecca never swore. "Do you want to come with me?" she asked quickly. "You don't have to, of course. I just thought it is the Fourth of July and I hate to think of you here by yourself. It's not just that. I'd like us to be together and—" She clamped her mouth shut. "Forget it. It was a dumb idea."

He shouldn't go. The more time he spent with her, the harder it was to turn away from her at night. The more they were together, the more he hurt her and the closer he came to his own self-destruction. Besides, he hated carnivals.

She started down the stairs. He tried to look away, but he could see the slump of her should en

"Rebecca," he called before he could stop himself.

She paused. Before he could think of a nice way to say no, she held out her hand. She didn't speak; she didn't have to. The pull of her offer was as powerful as the tide. He moved toward her, a single wave being drawn away from the safety of the shore and back into the welcoming depths of the ocean.

It was just one day, he reminded himself. She was his wife. It was his duty to be with her. His acceptance had nothing to do with the warm feeling of contentment that began inside of him, growing large enough to start filling the black hole of his soul.

* * *

Rebecca waited while
Austin
dropped off the last of the supplies she'd brought. He wouldn't even let her carry the paper bag filled with napkins.

"I'm pregnant, not dying," she said, planting her hands on her hips and trying to glare at him. It didn't work. All he had to do was raise one eyebrow in that way of his and she melted like a snow cone in the early July heat.

"Stop arguing," he said pleasantly. "The quicker you leave me alone to finish this, the quicker I'll be done and we can go get some of the cotton candy you've been eyeing."

He picked up a heavy box containing canned goods for the cooking booth. His muscles flexed underneath his cream polo shirt. She watched the shifting in his arms and back, and felt herself grow weak at the knees. No matter how he'd rejected her, despite the long talks she'd had with herself as she'd lain alone in her solitary, cold bed, he got to her. He always had. She had a feeling he always would.

When the last box was on the counter of the booth,
Austin
turned to her. "Anything else?"

She shook her head. "We're done." She glanced at the workers inside, already starting on the chili. "I'll be back in a couple of hours to spell someone."

Mary glanced up, her gray hair curling around her face. "Don't worry about me. I plan to spend my day right here. I'm sure some of the youngsters would like a break. But first you go have some fun. You've been working too hard.
Austin
, I expect you to show your bride a good time."

Rebecca held her breath, worried he wouldn't appreciate the older woman's good-natured interference. He surprised her by smiling and tipping an imaginary hat. "Yes, ma'am. I'll do just that." He glanced at Rebecca. "All right, bride, where do you want to go first?"

"There," she said, pointing to the cotton-candy kiosk set up by the tallest of the roller coasters.

As they crossed over to the stand, he frowned slightly. "Are you sure it's safe for you to eat?"

"I'm fine," she said, taking her place in line. "I haven't had a moment's morning sickness. I feel great."

She had a few symptoms of pregnancy, but she didn't want to go into detail now. Her breasts seemed a little bigger to her, and they were tender. She got tired in the middle of the afternoon. Part of her wanted to share her small discoveries with him; part of her didn't want to find out he didn't care. It was easier to hold it all inside and wait until she knew for sure.

Around them crowds of people surged in different directions. Teenagers lined up for the wild rides. Adults tried their skills at several games. Pies, cakes, jams and preserves, along with photographs, quilts and farm animals were being judged in the two main pavilions. Tonight a local country band would provide entertainment. A dance floor was being set up around seven, with fireworks to follow at dusk.

How long would
Austin
want to stay? Would he dance with her in the moonlight or would he find an excuse to avoid her?

Before she could decide, the ten-year-old in front of her paid for his cotton candy and it was her turn. She pointed to one of the sugary treats. Before she could slip her purse off her shoulder to pay,
Austin
passed the man a bill.

"Thank you," she said, faintly surprised.

"My pleasure. Is that your lunch?"

"Yes, but I had an extra serving of vegetables last night, and I promise to behave at dinner." She pinched off a wisp of the pink floss and stuck it in her mouth. "So there."

He shook his head. "You're awful."

"I know. Isn't it great?"

Without thinking she swirled a thin length of the candy around her index finger and offered it to him. Their eyes met. Her good humor faded as she steeled herself to be rejected yet again.

His gray eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn't identify. For a moment she thought it might be pain, but that wasn't right. Why would her simple gesture hurt him? She studied the handsome lines of his face, the hollow cheeks, the firm jaw and straight mouth, and wondered why it had to be him. Why couldn't she have fallen for someone less complicated?

The sounds of the carnival – the screams from the people on the rides, the call of the barkers, the excited conversations disappeared. The world seemed to stop and tilt slightly until she wasn't sure she could maintain her balance. The wisp of cotton candy trembled in the warm afternoon breeze.

Then
Austin
leaned forward and took the treat in his mouth. His warm lips closed around her finger, his tongue swept her skin clean. Tingling rippled through her, from her hand clear down to that secret place that ached for him.

His eyes held her captive. Slowly, as if he feared she would run away, he raised his hand to her face. He cupped her chin, touching her reverently. She wanted to weep at his gentleness. He brushed her hair back, smoothing it over and over again. Her gaze dropped to his mouth and she silently begged him to kiss her.

Their bodies didn't move, yet they strained toward each other. Her heart ached. Sexually her body was ready to be taken by him, but even stronger than that was the flood of tenderness. She wanted to hold and be held, to protect and be protected, to find refuge and to provide a haven. She wanted him to let her in enough for her to fall in love with him.

Impulsively she decided to tell him. "
Austin
, I—"

"Well, well. I'd heard the rumors, but I hadn't thought they could be true."

Austin
dropped his arm to his side as if he'd been scalded. He turned toward the voice. Rebecca looked, as well, then wished she hadn't. It was the redhead. The one in the fancy car who had driven to
Austin
's house twice a weak for months.

"Jasmine," he said. "What are you doing here?"

The woman smiled, revealing even, white teeth and not one wrinkle in her classically beautiful face. Rebecca stared at her perfectly made-up eyes, at the coral-colored lipstick, then lower at the knit shirt clinging to large, well-shaped breasts. Her confidence nose-dived into her shoes and whimpered.

"I'm doing my bit for the children's home." Jasmine turned her attention to Rebecca. "This must be your lovely wife. Such a pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks," Rebecca mumbled, trying not to notice that the other woman's eyes were an enchanting color of green. Not boring brown, but green. Cat's eyes. Everything about Jasmine screamed sophistication, from her designer sandals to her tailored shorts. Rebecca tried not to remember she'd recently bought her sundress on sale for less than twenty dollars. Or the fact that her underwear was cotton. She told herself it didn't matter that her breasts were smaller than pumpkin seeds and that she was still holding a half eaten stick of cotton candy.

She realized the other woman was staring pointedly at her left hand. "May I?" she asked.

Rebecca raised her fingers to chest level.

Jasmine studied the ring. "It's beautiful. Austin, you always had exquisite taste. I wish you
both every happiness
."

The words all sounded right, but Rebecca could see Jasmine staring at
Austin
as if she'd been without food for a week and he was her favorite dish.

"Thank you,"
Austin
said. He glanced at Rebecca. "Shall we go?"

Her battered ego took solace from the fact that he didn't seem inclined to linger in the presence of his former lover.

Maybe he was trying to avoid being tempted by what he could no longer have, she thought glumly.

She said goodbye and they left. Rebecca was proud o1 herself for not turning around to see if the other woman was: watching them, and soon they were swallowed up by the crowd.

"It's over between us,"
Austin
said, his low voice carrying to her, despite the cacophony around them.

She stumbled. As quickly as that? He'd never even given their marriage a chance. Her stomach lurched and she dropped the rest of the cotton candy into a nearby trash can. "If you say so."

Austin
stopped walking and turned to her. "You sound as if you don't believe me. I assure you I took my wedding vows seriously. I have no intention of straying."

She exhaled a sigh of relief. "You're telling me it's over between you and Jasmine."

"Of course. What did you think? "

It was too silly to explain to him. Why had she been so quick to jump to conclusions? Because
Austin
wasn't acting like her husband. Had she been so different?
she
wondered suddenly. Had she acted like his wife?

"I appreciate your telling me that," she said. Maybe he was waiting for her to set the tone in their marriage. Before giving herself a chance to change her mind, she slipped an arm though his. "What do you want to do first?"

The sun beat down. It was already in the eighties. Despite that, she felt a chill as
Austin
stiffened. Would he pull back? She didn't want him to. Just as she was about to lose hope, he relaxed.

"How about checking out the pavilions? It'll be cooler inside."

She nodded. They walked across the carnival grounds, ducking around running children and talking about the fund-raiser.

One little boy barreled right into
Austin
's jean-clad legs.
Austin
grabbed his shoulder with his free hand. "Go a little slower, okay?"

The boy nodded, grinned,
then
took off, running just as hard as he had before.
Austin
shook his head. "Kids."

"Oh, I would guess you were just as much of a terror when you were a kid."

"Probably," he agreed. "I never spent a lot of time at places like this, but I would have found a way to get into trouble."

"Your mom didn't bring you to local fairs?" she asked.

He shook his head. He started to pull away from her. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand. "
Austin
, don't. We can talk about something else if you'd rather."

They'd reached the entrance to the first pavilion. There was a short line. When they paused to wait their turn, she thought he might tug away.