I Do...: Her Accidental Engagement / A Bride's Tangled Vows

“Come again?”

“A program designed to increase a young child’s brain activity.” She clicked off the television. “They have research to show that it works.”

His brows rose. “I still hear music.”

She felt color creep into her cheeks. “I play a Mozart disc as he falls asleep.” She walked past him to the kitchen and pulled two plates from a cabinet.

“Are you a classical-music fan?”

She spun around and stalked back to the table. “Why? Do you think classical is too highbrow for someone like me? Would it make more sense if I was a Toby Keith groupie?”

He took a step back and studied her. “First off, don’t hate on Toby Keith. Secondly, it was a question.” He waved one hand in the direction of the bookcases that flanked the television. “You have more classical CDs on your shelves than I’ve seen in my entire life. It’s a logical assumption.”

“Sorry.” She sighed. “I like some composers but it’s mainly for Charlie. I figure he needs all the help he can get, living with me. You may have heard I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a well-known fact in town. My mom will tell you I have ‘street smarts.’” She met his gaze with a wry smile. “I’m sure any number of my former friends would be happy to tell you how I skated through school by charming teachers or bullying other students into helping me.” She broke off as Sam watched her, worrying that she’d somehow given him a clue into her defective inner self. She plastered on a saucy smile and stretched up her arms in an exaggerated pose. “At that point my life’s ambition was to be a supermodel.”

“Personally, I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen.” He shrugged. “Were you really a bully?”

“I like to remember it as a benevolent dictatorship. I had my reasons, but have discovered that the kids I ordered around back in the day have become adults who are more than happy to see the golden girl taken down a few pegs.” She opened the pizza box and pulled out a slice, embarrassed at her silly adolescent dream. “I was the ring leader and the ‘pretty one’ in Brevia, but couldn’t cut it in the big leagues.”

“You started over. There’s nothing wrong with that. People do it all the time.”

“Right. I went to beauty school, dated a string of losers, partied too much and tried to live below my potential.” She tipped her beer in a mock toast. “And that’s pretty low.”

“Somebody did a number on you, sweetheart. Because the way you handled that mess at the salon today took some clever negotiation skills. Not the work of a fool.”

“We’ll see what Val thinks once Ida spins it.” She slid a piece of pizza onto his plate. “Sit down and eat. Unless the pizza was a ruse to get in the door so you could rip my head off without the neighbors hearing. Might be easier than going through with your grand proposal.”

His knee brushed against her bare leg as he folded himself into the chair across from her. It occurred to Julia that she was wearing only boxer shorts and a faded Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt with no bra. Bad choice for tonight.

“Such violent thoughts,” he said, sprinkling a packet of cheese flakes on his pizza.

She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. As soon as she’d realized she was braless, her nipples had sprung to attention as if to yell “over here, look at us.” Not something she wanted Sam to notice in a million years.

“Why did you do it? This crazy situation is your fault.”

He frowned. “You weren’t exactly convincing as the levelheaded, responsible parent. You were about to dive across the table and take out the grandma.”

“She deserved it.” Julia popped out of her chair and grabbed a fleece sweatshirt from a hook near the hallway, trying not to let her belly show as she pulled it over her head. “But I didn’t need to be rescued. Especially not by Three Strikes Sam.” She sat back in her chair and picked up the pizza. “We’re quite a pair. Do you really think anyone is going to believe you’re engaged, given your reputation?”

“What reputation, and who is Three Strikes Sam?”

She finished her bite. “You don’t know? Brevia is a small town. But we’ve got more than our share of single ladies. Apparently the long line of women you’ve dated since you arrived has banded together. The story is that you don’t go on more than three dates with one woman. You’ve got your own fan club here in town. The ladies blog, tweet and keep track of you on Facebook. They call you Three Strikes Sam.”

Sam felt as though he’d been kneed in the family jewels. Never mind the social-media insanity, what shocked him more was that Julia acted as if she knew the details of his dating history. That possibility was fright-night scary.

“You’re making it up.”

“I’m not that creative. You can log on to my computer and see for yourself. I only found out a couple of weeks ago, when Jean Hawkins was in the salon.”

Sam swallowed hard. Jean was the dispatcher for the county sheriff’s office. They’d had a couple of casual dinners last month but had agreed not to take it further. Or so he’d thought.

“She got a blowout and a bang trim. A ‘wash that man right out of her hair’ afternoon.” Julia wrinkled her pert nose. “You know how it is—stylists are like therapists for some people. Get a woman in the chair and she has to spill her secrets.”

“And she told you about this fan club?”

Julia nodded and took a drink of beer. “Three seems to be the magic number for you. You’re a serial get-to-know-you dater.”

Sam pushed away from the table and paced to the end of the narrow living room. “That’s ridiculous.” He ran a hand through his hair. “There’s no arbitrary limit on the number of dates I’ll go on with one woman.”

“A dozen ladies claim there is,” she countered. “They say you’ve more than made the rounds.”

“I haven’t dated a dozen ladies in Brevia. Besides, why would anyone gossip about dating me?”

“You’ve been in Brevia long enough to know how it works.” She laughed, but he found no humor in the situation. Sure, he’d been on dates with a few different women. When he’d first come to town, it had sort of happened that way. He’d always been a gentleman. If things led to the bedroom he didn’t complain, but he also didn’t push it. No one had grumbled at the time.

He wasn’t a serial dater. The way she said it made him sound like a scumbag. So what if he was a little gun-shy? Walking in on your fiancée with her legs wrapped around another guy would do that to a man. It had been almost three years now since he’d had his heart crushed, and he wasn’t itching to repeat that particular form of hell. “You’re telling me I’m a joke with these women because I’m not in a relationship?” His voice started to rise. “In case they haven’t noticed, I have a serious job. One that’s more important to me than my damned social life.”

“It’s not like that,” she said quickly, reaching out to place her cool fingers on his arm. A light touch that was oddly comforting. “No one is laughing at you. It’s more like a challenge. Scary as it may sound, you have a town full of women who are determined to see you settle down. According to my sources, you’re quite the catch.”

He dropped back into the chair. “I came to Brevia because I wanted a fresh start.”

“As Mick Jagger would say, ‘you can’t always get what you want.’”

“You think this fake engagement is what I need?”

“It was your idea to start. Plus, it’s quieted the gossips, and your dad seemed to approve.”

He nodded and took a long drink of beer. “My father loved you.”

“Who can blame him?” she asked with a hair toss.

Sam smiled despite himself. “He wants to help me tap into my emotions.”

She studied him as she took another bite. “Is that so bad?”

“I don’t need to be more emotional.”

“Your fans beg to differ.”

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered.

A tiny cry came from the corner of the table and Julia adjusted a baby monitor. “I’m going to check on him.” She padded down the hall, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts. Something he didn’t need right now.

He preferred his emotions tightly bottled. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have feelings. Hell, he’d felt awful after calling off his engagement. He would have made a decent husband: loyal, faithful...