The Texan's Wedding Escape

“Problem solved,” Cooper announced and two curious female gazes landed on him.

He hoped like hell he wasn’t making a whopper of a mistake, but the idea taking shape in his mind wasn’t anything short of brilliant. What he needed was time with Lauren to make sure she wasn’t getting in over her head and marrying this guy impulsively. Which seemed likely. Tony hadn’t trusted him, Loretta thought she was being rash and now Cooper was smack-dab in the middle of it all. Keeping Lauren close—and away from Roger—was key. There was only one way he figured he could pull that off.

“You’re getting married at my ranch at Stone Ridge. I insist. You’ll speak your vows at my home. I’ll open the place up to you and you can come and stay with me while you make your plans. Heck, both you and your mama are welcome to stay on the ranch. The two of you can work together and, Lauren, you’ll have the wedding you’ve always dreamed about. I promise not to get in your way.”

A promise he would probably have to break because he planned on protecting Lauren from being hurt no matter what.

Lauren’s pretty, pale green eyes brightened. She opened her mouth to say something but after a split second, she clamped her lips shut again, her shoulders falling. “I can’t let you do that. It’s too much.”

He wasn’t above playing the guilt card to get her to agree. After all, he was an expert at self-imposed guilt trips. Ultimately what he needed was time to convince Lauren not to marry Kelsey and this was his plan A, B and C. He had no other options.

“Tony often spoke to me about giving you a beautiful wedding when the time came. And, yes, I may have some reservations about how quickly this is all happening, but in my heart I know your brother would’ve wanted it this way.”

Tears sprang to her eyes and she trembled. “Oh, Cooper.”

And then she was in his arms, her supple, firm body plastered against him, her gratitude brimming. When she turned her head slightly, his nose was in her hair, her subtle, fresh, flowery scent teasing him.

“I take that as a yes,” he whispered.

Her head bobbed up and down. “Yes,” she said, raw emotion in her voice.

He glanced over at Loretta hopelessly.

A full-out approving smile graced her face and she gave him a big nod.

Which sort of worried him a bit, he wasn’t gonna lie.

* * *

“I have the best news, Roger,” Lauren said, coming to sit next to him on the den sofa in his penthouse apartment overlooking the Dallas skyline. The view here was amazing, just as amazing as the tall, dark-haired man she was to marry. She admired Roger’s always-groomed look, his sense of style and his abundant confidence. Up until Tony died, she’d only seen Roger as a casual friend. But he’d been magnificent to her ever since the funeral and they’d had a whirlwind love affair. “My brother’s best friend has offered us the use of his ranch to hold our wedding. Stone Ridge is magnificent. There’s no need to have a simple courthouse wedding, after all. And Mama is pretty sure we can get it all together in a month.”

Roger pursed his lips, deep in thought. “A ranch wedding?”

“Not just any ranch, honey. It’s Tony’s best friend Cooper Stone’s ranch. You may have met him at the funeral.” She hated bringing up that sad day. The memory still seared a hole in her heart.

“Sounds like a lot of work,” Roger said. “Can’t we just get married without all the fuss?”

Lauren shrugged, feeling deflated. “Yes, I suppose. But finally Mama is on board and even seems excited about planning the wedding with me. And, well, I’ve always dreamed about having a beautiful wedding.”

Roger stared at her and then leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Can we keep it small, at least?”

“Yes, of course. No more than one hundred people. I promise.”

“A hundred?” His voice hit a high note. “That many?”

“That’s not very many when we consider your employees and our mutual friends, plus my dear friends at the hospital. I’m so excited about this. Please, please, say it’s okay with you.”

He scratched his head. Roger didn’t like to mingle and didn’t like crowds. But a woman only got married once and she was sure he’d come around and be just as happy about the wedding plans as she was.

“Yeah, it’s okay with me.”

She bounded out of her seat, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth. “Thanks, Roger. You’ve made me very happy!”

“That’s the plan, isn’t it? Happy wife, happy life.”

“Oh, we’ll sure have that,” she said, smiling. “I’m taking a good chunk of the vacation I’ve stored up to plan the wedding. Oh, Roger, it’s gonna be so much fun.”

“If you say so. But remember, I’ve got that big, new deal coming up this month. I’m going to be extremely busy.”

“But not too busy to help with the wedding plans. I’ve always wanted a June wedding. I can’t wait to start planning.”

She got up from the sofa and grabbed her purse. “I’m off now. Mama and I have a date to start the plans.”

Roger stood and walked her to the door. “Just don’t break the bank on this,” he said.

“Never. If I’m one thing, it’s frugal. Had to be, with my dad leaving us and my mama a nurse. We didn’t have much, but we always managed.” With Tony’s financial help, she’d made it through nursing school without having to take out a huge college loan.

Roger kissed her briefly. As she waved goodbye to him from the elevator, she took one last look at his apartment. With its sleek furniture and state-of-the-art kitchen, everything about the place screamed edgy. It was sure a far cry from the humble home she lived in with her mother on Masefield Avenue.

After Tony died, Lauren had given up an apartment she’d shared with a fellow nurse. Her mama needed her, but in truth, Lauren had probably gotten just as much comfort as her mother had from staying in her childhood home on the outskirts of town.

Pretty soon, though, once she married, she’d be living in the heart of Dallas with Roger.

The drive home at this time of evening wasn’t easy. Dallas traffic bottled up and she found herself on the road rocking out to Carrie Underwood singing about bad boys and payback.

It was a good twenty minutes later when she pulled onto Masefield Avenue. A man holding a ledger under his arm was just leaving the house. He nodded to her.

“Evening, miss,” he said.

“Hello.” Puzzled, she slowed her steps and watched him get into a car and drive off.

She entered the house. “Mama?”

“In the kitchen, honey,” Loretta said.

Her mama glanced at her as she stepped into the room. The table was littered with papers and paint samples. “Well, I finally got that estimate to paint the entire house, inside and out. And looks like if I agree to have them start tomorrow and pay them cash, he’s gonna give me a nice discount.”

“Mama? What are you talking about? We have a wedding to plan. We can’t have painters in here.”

“Honey, actually it’s the perfect time to have the house painted. I’ve delayed it for so long because it’s a nuisance to have workmen here and everything all covered up. You know what the smell of paint does to my sinuses. But, if we take Cooper up on his offer, we can move into his place until the wedding. That’ll give the workmen more than enough time to get the house done.”

“Mama, it was awfully sweet of Cooper to invite us to stay at his ranch, but he wasn’t serious.”

“Oh, yes, he was. He called up today asking when we were coming.”

“He did not.”

“He did. That Cooper is as fine as they come.”