A Texas-Sized Secret

“It’s a great idea, Naomi. Hell, even your parents liked it.”

She choked out a laugh. “Of course they did. Toby McKittrick—inventor, rancher, wealthy. I’m surprised my mother didn’t squeal.”

He gave her a half smile and a slow shake of his head. “You’re being too hard on her. On both of them.”

“I know that, too,” she said with a sigh. She smoothed her fingertips over her knees. “They’re not evil people. They’re not even really mean. They just live in a very narrow world and it’s never had room for me.”

He reached out and took her hand, stilling nervous fingers. “There’s room for you with me.”

“Toby...” Naomi didn’t know what to think. Or feel. He was right in that they were good together. They were already friends, and maybe a marriage of convenience would be good for both of them. But was it fair to him? “If we’re married, you can’t find someone for real.”

“Not interested,” he said firmly with a shake of his head. “Been there already, and it didn’t end well.”

Naomi sighed again. She couldn’t blame him for feeling burned in the love department. She could, however, blame the woman who’d hurt him enough that Toby had built a wall around his heart that was so tall and thick it had taken Naomi months to reach past it.

“Fine. You’re not looking for love. Neither am I,” she added in a mutter. “But that doesn’t mean...”

“Think about it.”

“But no one will believe it.”

“Your parents did.”

She waved that aside. “That’s because they don’t know me. My friends—”

“Are so wrapped up in their own happily-ever-afters they won’t question it.”

“Your family—”

He scowled thoughtfully, but a moment later, his expression cleared. Those amazing eyes fixed on her, he said, “Okay, I’ll tell my family the truth. Don’t want to lie to them anyway. Does that work for you?”

“They won’t like it,” she said, and silently added, they’ll blame me.

“Mom and Scarlett both like you already, so what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know if I want to be married,” she said simply. “You’re my best friend, Toby. It’ll be...weird.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Doesn’t have to be. Think of it as a marriage of convenience. We’re together because of the baby. No sex. Just friends who live together.”

No sex. Well, it wasn’t as if she was a wildly sexual person anyway. In fact, until that single night with Gio, she hadn’t been with anyone in more than a year. And since Gio, she’d avoided all men except for Toby. So going without sex wouldn’t be that terrible, would it? Oh, God.

“I’m not saying we become monks,” Toby pointed out as though he could read her thoughts. “If one of us meets someone, we’ll work that out then. In the meantime, we’re together.”

* * *

Toby watched her and wondered what the hell she was arguing about. Anyone could see this was a good idea. Though he could admit that he hadn’t come up with it until that moment when Vanessa Price gave her daughter the cool look of disappointment at news of the baby. Damned if he could just stand there while Naomi tried to explain about the baby’s father and how he was a worthless player. So, before he’d really considered it, he’d blurted out the lie. And it had felt...right.

Why not get married to his best friend? Whether she knew it or not, she was going to need help with the baby. And as long as they kept things between them platonic, everything would work out fine. Yeah, he was attracted to her. What man wouldn’t be? But he wasn’t going to act on that attraction, so a marriage of convenience was the best solution here.

“Well?” he asked, gaze fixed on hers. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re crazy,” she said on a half laugh.

“That’s been said before,” he reminded her. “People have been talking about crazy Toby and his weird inventions for years.”

Nervously, she pushed her hair back from her face, and the early-afternoon sunlight caught a few threads of copper, making them gleam. “If we do this, we’ll both be crazy.”

“Worse things to be, Naomi.”

She smiled. “Are you sure about this?”

He tipped his head to one side and gave her a look. “When have you ever known me to say something without meaning every damn word?”

“Never,” she said, nodding. “It’s one of the things I like best about you. I always know what you’re thinking, because you don’t play games.”

“Games are for kids, Naomi. Neither one of us is a kid.”

“No, we’re not.” She met his gaze squarely and took a deep breath. “I’m a city girl. What’ll I do on a ranch?”

“Whatever needs doing,” he said.

She laughed shortly. “We really must be crazy. Okay. I’ll marry you and not have sex with you.”

He grinned and winked. “Now, how many people can say that?” Turning in his seat, he fired up the truck, put it in gear and steered out onto the road again, headed for town. “We’ll go get lunch, and then we’ll go ring shopping.”

“No.”

“No?” He glanced at her, surprised.

“No ring,” she said, shaking her head. “We don’t need an engagement ring, Toby, and I don’t want you buying one for me when it wouldn’t really mean what it should. You know?”

He understood and couldn’t say he disagreed. Their marriage would be a joining of friends, not some celebration of love, after all. “What’s your mama going to say?”

Smiling sadly, Naomi said, “Even if we’d gotten one, she’d have found something wrong with it anyway.”

They slipped into silence. Toby took her hand for the rest of the drive but left her to her thoughts.

Three (#u8cabe050-bdf9-559e-9e79-783225adaab4)

Toby opened the door to the Royal Diner, steered Naomi inside and stopped. Every person in the place turned to look at them, and he knew. Maverick had done as promised. That stupid video was on the internet, and it seemed clear that it was the hot topic in Royal.

The welcoming scents of coffee, French fries and burgers greeted them. Classic rock played on the old-fashioned jukebox in the corner, and noise from the kitchen drifted out of the pass-through, but other than that, the silence was telling.

“Let’s go,” Naomi said, and tugged at his hand.

“Not a chance,” Toby countered. Then, bending his head down to hers, he whispered, “Do you really want them to think you’re scared?”

He knew it was just the right note to take when she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and stood there like a queen before peasants. Toby hid a smile, because in just a second or two the woman he knew so well had reemerged, squashing the part of her that wanted to run and hide.