Millionaire Mavericks: The Oilman’s Baby Bargain

He didn’t think Lexi was scared of anything, and was surprised that she would admit it to him, of all people. “Scared of what?”

“Being a bad parent. What if I do everything wrong?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say, “You probably will.” But he didn’t have the heart to knock her down when she looked so vulnerable and unsure of herself. She was opening up to him and he couldn’t use that against her. Besides, there was always the very slim, one in a million chance that she would be a good mother and stick around. Maybe he should give her the benefit of the doubt.

So she would only disappoint him later? What was the point?

“You’ll do the best you can,” he told her, wishing he actually believed it, but Lexi seemed to buy it because she smiled.

A minute later, he pulled into his driveway and cut the engine, but when he looked back over at Lexi she was frowning.

“What’s wrong now?” he asked.

She turned to face him, looking almost nervous. “Mitch, there’s something I need to tell you. Something you should know.”

He had no idea what she was going to say, but he had the feeling he wasn’t going to like it. “What?”

She hesitated, lip wedged between her teeth. Then she said, “About the baby…”

“What about it?”

“I thought you should know…”

She looked so nervous, he started to worry something was really wrong. “What are you trying to say?”

After another pause she finally said, “I just wanted to say thank you for coming with me today. For being a part of this.”

And here he’d thought it had been something important. Half a dozen snarky comebacks were just dying to jump out, but instead he said simply, “You’re welcome. Now, we better get inside and get ready or we’ll be late for dinner. I get the distinct feeling your father isn’t one to tolerate tardiness.”

She smiled and nodded. “That’s a fairly accurate assumption. I love my father, but to be honest, the sooner this evening is over and he flies back to D.C., the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

Well, that was one thing they could agree on. So, why did he get the feeling there was something else? Something she wasn’t telling him?

Chapter Ten (#ulink_fdea40e1-a354-5cf6-8db6-b6379fed892e)

When Lexi and Mitch arrived at the Cattleman’s Club to meet her father, her goal was to get in, eat dinner, and leave as fast as humanly possible. Which was odd because in the past she had cherished every moment her father would spare her. It seemed that lately she was no longer so desperate for his time or his approval. But Mitch needed his support, so she would be on her best behavior.

“Are you ready for this?” Mitch asked, holding out his hand for her to take.

She laced her fingers through his. Another few hours of pretending they were madly in love? She could hardly wait. At least now when he touched her it didn’t feel so…unnatural. In a way it was kind of nice, even though she knew deep down that he hated her, or at the very least disliked her a lot.

“This way,” the hostess said, gesturing toward the dining room door. They followed her, and as they entered the room, it took a few seconds for Lexi to process what she was seeing. Tables full of familiar people all smiling at them, balloons and streamers everywhere and a banner draped across the back wall that announced in huge block letters, Congratulations Mitch and Lexi.

Everyone shouted, “Surprise!” and the room erupted in laughter and applause.

She heard Mitch mumble, “Oh, shit,” and thought, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Lance and Kate stood close to the door, beaming. He stepped forward and shook Mitch’s hand.

“What did you do?” Mitch asked him.

“Don’t look at me, bro. This was all Kate’s idea. I couldn’t talk her out of it.”

“You had to have a wedding reception,” Kate said, flush with excitement. She hugged Mitch, then pulled Lexi into a warm and affectionate embrace, and Lexi was so stunned she almost forgot to hug her back.

“But it wasn’t just me,” Kate said, nodding toward the door. “Your assistant was a huge help.”

Lexi turned, and realized Tara was standing just off to one side of the door. She hadn’t even seen her when they walked in.

She flashed Lexi a feeble smile and said, “Surprise.”

She was the only one in the room who knew what a disaster the marriage was. No wonder she looked so apologetic.

“So, were you both surprised?” Kate asked.

Lexi nodded and Mitch said, “To quote the great Chevy Chase, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”

The room burst into laughter.

Someone handed Lexi and Mitch each a flute of champagne from a passing tray, and she realized everyone in the room already had their own glass.

Lance held his up in a toast. “To my little brother and his wife. May you live a long and happy life together!”

“Hear, hear!” everyone chanted, clinking their glasses together, and Lexi had no choice but to pretend to take a sip. As she studied the sea of faces before her, she couldn’t help noticing that the one she had been expecting to see wasn’t there. Her father.

Tara must have read her mind because she leaned close to Lexi and said, “The senator’s secretary called a while ago to say he’ll be a little late.”

Didn’t that just figure? He skips her wedding altogether and shows up late for the reception? She wondered why he bothered to show up at all. But she didn’t have much time to think about it as a constant flow of friends, relatives and club members stepped forward to hug them or shake their hands and give their best wishes. Darius Franklin and his fiancée Summer Martindale, Kevin Novak and his wife Cara, Mitch’s best man Justin Dupree. Even Sebastian Huntington and his daughter Rebecca were there. And those were just the people she recognized. She had no clue Mitch had so many friends.

A too-real wedding reception for a fake marriage. Did it get much worse? Lexi couldn’t help thinking that this just might be the longest night of her life. But as the champagne flowed and the music played, she discovered herself getting caught up in the festivities. Mitch never once left her side, and if he wasn’t holding her hand or draping an arm around her, he was touching her in some way.

Dinner was served around eight and halfway through the meal, Kate started to clink her glass with a fork, and then everyone joined in. Lexi had been to enough wedding receptions to know that it meant she and Mitch were supposed to kiss.

Mitch looked at her apologetically because he knew as well as she did that they had to make this look real. She held her breath as he cradled her face in his hand, leaned forward and laid a kiss on her that curled her toes and turned her brain to mush. The guests applauded, and she heard a couple of wolf whistles. After that, it seemed as though every five minutes the clinking started, and Mitch would be forced to kiss her yet again. Not that he seemed to mind, and she couldn’t deny the man did fantastic things with his mouth.

He’d had several glasses of champagne with dinner, then after dessert, switched to whiskey. The more he drank, the more relaxed he became, and the more relaxed he became, the more affectionate he seemed to be. By the time they had their first dance together, he nearly had her convinced they were madly in love. The song playing was a slow one and he pulled her so close, gazed so tenderly into her eyes, she thought any minute he might drag her to the nearest broom closet.

“When we walked in here I thought this night was going to be a disaster,” he said. “But I have to admit, it hasn’t been so bad.”

She’d thought the same thing, but she was actually having a great time.

“You might have to drive us home tonight,” he warned her. “I think I may have had a few too many.”

That could be a problem. “I can’t.”

He frowned. “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”

“Of course not! What I mean is, I really can’t. I never learned how to drive.”