Married Right Away

“What about my friends?”

“What did you tell them?”

For this she looked him right in the eye. “I told them exactly what you told Hilton Martin.”

Understanding the comparison she had deliberately made, Ethan sucked in his breath. He couldn’t criticize her for telling her friends because he had confided in Hilton. “Do you trust them?”

Savannah gaped at him. “Of course, I trust them! I trust them enough that they’ll be running my business for six months.”

“This is different….”

“I don’t see how. Besides, even if I hadn’t wanted to talk with them about this last night to get my bearings, I would have had to tell them something to give them a reason for why I was marrying somebody they didn’t know and pulling up stakes. But only for six months. Not forever. Which immediately would alert them that something was wrong. There was no way I could have lied to them.”

“Right. You’re right. And I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

Looking at Savannah’s angry face, Ethan suddenly felt like the villain. And he wasn’t. Her brother was. He wouldn’t be coercing her into marriage if it weren’t for her brother.

Nonetheless, guilt swamped him because he was asking a great deal of this woman. Then concern for her safety struck him next. What the hell was he doing upsetting the mother of his child? But continued fear about her friends hit him last and when that wave came it was a tsunami because it was a deal breaker. He wasn’t afraid one of them had already leaked her secret. Up to now the details of her pregnancy were highly personal for Savannah, a secret easily kept among friends. But now that the information had real value in the tabloid marketplace, Ethan knew any one of those four women could decide to sell this story. Which would make getting married pointless. If even one of them wasn’t as trustworthy as Savannah believed, this plan was dead in the water.

Still, not wanting to upset her with any more questions about her friends, and knowing she would be biased anyway, Ethan decided he wouldn’t say another word, but would check out her friends on his own.

“Why don’t you go change while I call my attorney to see what we have to do to get married in Maryland.”

“We have to see an attorney for that?”

“Well, we’re also going to need to have a prenup drawn up. Nothing extravagant, just one that says what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.”

“Okay,” she said, then licked her lips.

Ethan’s gaze was drawn to her mouth. He noticed her lips were lush and pink. Full. Very kissable. If he hadn’t already reminded himself of all the reasons he couldn’t encourage his attraction to her, he would have been very tempted to at least wonder what it would be like to kiss her. But he wasn’t. He couldn’t take the risk.

“Okay. We’ll hash out the details at Gerry Smith’s office,” he said. “You go ahead and get changed.”

He watched her walk out of the kitchen, and after she was gone, he combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. It bugged the hell out of him that she made him feel guilty for pushing her into this scheme when she could be planning to turn around and blackmail him. Before he could enter into this marriage, he had a lot of backgrounds to check out….

On the drive back from Gerry Smith’s office, they decided that since they were entering this partnership “together,” he might as well move into the bed-and-breakfast for the two weeks before their wedding. Then, thinking this as good a time as any, he casually asked Savannah to let him meet her friends again and from the expression on her face he realized she suspected he was going to check them out. For a few seconds it appeared she might get angry, but, instead, she simply told him she would invite them to the house that night.

Within seconds after their arrival, he found himself seated on a stiff-backed chair across the sofa from four very curious, not-too-pleasant women, and for the first time since he made up his mind to interrogate them he wondered about the wisdom of it.

“So, Savannah tells me that she told you all the specifics of our marriage,” he said, opening the conversation with truth since there was no way around it.

Not one of them smiled. Not one gave him an even semi-friendly look. His gaze moved from the two blue-eyed redheads to the blonde, to the last woman with the dark hair and serious eyes.

Though all four of them stared at him as if he were the angel of death, only Lindsay, the blonde, replied. “Yes. She told us that she was marrying you to preclude bad press which might hurt your father.”

Though he tried to fight the ludicrous urge to defend himself, since it was her brother who had put them in this precarious position, he failed. “I could press charges against Barry, you know.”

“Except that would be trouble for your father,” Lindsay said. Her eyes were sharp, observant and her tone was clearly adversarial. If he were taking guesses, right now he would put money on the bet that this one would be an attorney someday.

“Yes, it would. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I’ve made some concessions, too.”

“Not as big as Savannah’s concessions. If you look at this situation objectively,” Lindsay said, “Savannah is giving up much more because she’s forced to leave her home, which also happens to be her place of business, and ask her friends to run it while she’s gone so she can live with you.”

“I don’t mind,” Savannah said, unexpectedly jumping into the conversation on his side.

Ethan cast her a sidelong glance, glad she spoke up. Her quick agreement proved she understood his logic, but it was also the first time they were on the same side. And it felt right. Good. Unfortunately, it also gave him a tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he liked a little more than he should.

“Her living with me is the only way this really works.”

“That may be true,” Becki said. “But I can’t help but feel that you’re somehow punishing Savannah for a crime her brother committed.”

Not one to let a good opportunity pass, Ethan leaped on that. “Which is my point exactly. Her brother is the one who committed this crime, but my father is the one who will suffer if word of this gets out. Can I trust you?” he asked, looking from one woman to the next until he was sure he had their complete attention. “Can I trust that none of you will sell this story to a tabloid?”

Becki gasped, “Sell this story to a tabloid?”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“It appears, Mr. McKenzie,” Andi said, “that you don’t have a clue how friendship works.”

“I know how friendship works, but none of you is my friend. And it’s my father who is in trouble. I need to know that I can trust you or there’s no reason for Savannah and me to get married. And if there’s no reason for Savannah and me to get married, all bets are off on this baby.”

Silence covered the room like a cloak. Though Ethan hadn’t come right out and made a threat, everybody knew what he referred to when he said all bets are off on this baby. He glanced at Savannah, who sat perfectly still and silent. Though she wasn’t trying to sway the opinion of the four women in her living room, she wasn’t condemning him, either. She seemed to understand that he had no choice but to use the power at his disposal. And though she could have argued or cried, or even made her own threats, she did nothing. Said nothing. Which gave Ethan another odd tingly sensation. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

Finally, Mandi said, “We’ll keep your secret, as long as you’re fair with Savannah.”

Ethan nodded. “I never had any intention of being anything but fair. But there’s a lot at stake here, and I’m taking some pretty big chances, too. This is the deal Savannah and I struck. You guys are just going to have to trust me the same way she does.”

Even as the words were coming out of his mouth, Ethan couldn’t believe he said them. Not only had he admitted that he knew Savannah trusted him, and that’s why she hadn’t said or done anything when he made his threat, but also he had switched from making sure they kept the secret, to pleading his case because he wanted their approval. Why? Because it was obvious they loved Savannah and he didn’t want them to worry about her.

“Does anybody want coffee?” Savannah asked, bouncing from her seat.

Ethan guessed she had done that hoping that if she disturbed the group at this point in the conversation they might consider it closed. And closed on a satisfactory ending—with him telling them they could trust him. Since they had already said they would keep his secret, he couldn’t think of a better way to end it himself.

“It’s a little late in the day for coffee for me,” Ethan said, doing his part to close the discussion. “But I wouldn’t mind something cold.”

“Neither would I,” Becki said, rising. “Except you’re not getting it,” she added, nudging Savannah back down to her chair. “Mandi and I will get the drinks.”

“Yeah, and Andi and I will get out the cards,” Lindsay said, as she rose from the sofa. She looked at Ethan. “You do play poker?”

“I play poker,” Ethan said cautiously.

“Good,” Andi said, more or less directing everybody to a game table in the back of the room.

But when Andi and Lindsay were out of hearing distance, Savannah stopped Ethan by placing her fingers on his forearm. “You don’t have to play. This is just how we amuse ourselves since Thurmont’s not exactly a bustling metropolis.”

“I don’t mind,” Ethan said, and realized that he didn’t. Wacky thoughts were running through his mind. He had just butted heads with four women who should be thanking him for coming up with a plan that protected everybody, but he almost didn’t care. The fierce loyalty Savannah inspired touched Ethan because he knew it proved something. Savannah Groggin was a genuinely good woman.