More than a Convenient Bride

Though they wouldn’t be married for long, she had insisted on a prenup. To protect not just his interests, but her own, as well. She’d never been the type to flaunt her wealth, but with the inheritance her father had left her and her sister, and a little savvy investing, Julie was pretty much set for life. A simple, no frills life, but that was fine with her. She didn’t need much.

“So, are you ready?” Lark asked, and Julie turned to find her and Skye watching her expectantly.

After one more quick glance in the mirror, she nodded and told her friends, “Let’s do this.”

Four

With so little time to plan the wedding, Drew had volunteered to put a guest list together for Luc. But now, as Luc stood with Drew at his side, waiting for the ceremony to begin, scanning row upon row of guests idly chatting, he was beginning to think that had been a bad idea. It seemed as if half the town was there.

He leaned in close to Drew and said in a harsh whisper, “This is your idea of small and intimate?”

“Just helping to make it convincing,” Drew said with a wry smile. It was obvious to Luc that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course not.” What reason did he have to be? This was nothing more than a business arrangement between friends. In fact, he felt exceedingly calm. A little bored even.

“All grooms get nervous,” Drew persisted.

“But I’m not a real groom, am I?”

“Look around you. This sure looks real to me. Besides, you can’t argue with a marriage license.”

Okay, so maybe he was a real groom, but not in the traditional sense. They would be married, but not really married. Together, but not really together.

Luc glanced over at his mother, who sat in her wheelchair in the front row, an encouraging smile on her face. When he told her about the marriage she was beside herself excited, even when he explained the true nature of the situation.

“It’s just a way to keep Julie in the States,” he’d explained.

“Of course it is,” she’d said with a twinkle in her eyes, as if she knew something he didn’t. If she believed it to be anything more than a friend helping out another friend, if she had her heart set on Luc and Julie falling in love, she would be sorely disappointed.

Stella Daniels, who was officiating, touched Luc’s shoulder and said softly, “Words cannot express how happy I am for the two of you. And forgive me for saying this, but it’s about damned time.”

He kept a smile planted firmly on his lips, but he felt a distinct twinge of guilt. He’d heard many similar remarks this past week, and as much as he hated the idea of lying to everyone, he and Julie had no choice.

The music started and everyone turned to the doorway where Lark stood, carrying a small bouquet of miniature yellow roses—Julie’s favorite color.

Here we go, Luc thought, his stomach bottoming out.

Okay, so, maybe he was a little nervous.

Lark made her trip down the aisle, but Luc’s attention remained fixed on the doorway, anticipation tying his stomach into knots. Then the “Wedding March” started and Julie appeared in the doorway, and all Luc could think was wow.

Rarely did he see Julie with her hair down, and in all the time he’d known her he couldn’t recall ever seeing her in a dress. Cut several inches above the knee, it was just long enough to be tasteful, but short enough to showcase her toned, suntanned calves and a little bit of thigh...

Whoa, he thought, as his pulse picked up speed. This was Julie he was gawking at, his best friend. But damn, who could blame him? She looked stunning and sexy and as his eyes met and locked on hers, he experienced a distinct tug of sexual attraction. Bordering on red-hot lust.

Talk about getting caught up in the moment. If this kept up he was going to need a serious attitude adjustment.

Everyone stood and she started down the aisle, walking alone, holding a single long-stemmed yellow rose, looking cool and composed, as if she did this sort of thing all the time. This may have been a “pretend” wedding, but in that moment it couldn’t have felt more real to him, and despite her cool exterior, when Julie faced him and he took her hands, they were trembling.

Stella began the ceremony, but he was so focused on Julie, the mayor’s words all seemed to run together. It was almost as if he was really seeing Julie for the first time. And though he’d been to more weddings than he could count, as they recited their vows, he realized he’d never really grasped the gravity of the words. Real marriage or not, as he slid the platinum band on her ring finger—she’d balked at the idea of a diamond—he pledged to himself that as long as they were married, he would honor those vows.

Then came the part he’d been most anticipating. The kiss to seal the deal. They had to make it look convincing. Too chaste or formal and it might make people suspicious; too passionate and Julie might crack him one. Probably not here at the wedding, but later, when they were alone.

There was another possibility. One he hadn’t truly considered until just now. What if he kissed her, and he liked it? So much so that he wanted to do it again. And even more intriguing was the possibility that she might like it, too.

* * *

“You may kiss the bride,” Stella said, and Julie’s pulse jumped as Luc, seemingly in ultra slow motion, bent his head. The entire ceremony had been a bit surreal, as if she were standing outside of her body watching herself. But this? This was very real.

Her chin lifted in anticipation, and she began to wonder if this was something they should have rehearsed ahead of time. No one’s first kiss should have an audience, yet here they stood with dozens of pairs of eyes planted firmly on them.

Oh boy, what had they gotten themselves into?

Luc reached up, his hand gently cupping her cheek, and her knees went weak. His lips brushed softly across hers, seeming to linger undecidedly between obligation and curiosity, and a sound, like a soft moan, slipped unexpectedly from her lips. Without realizing she’d even moved, her hands were on his chest and curling into the lapels of his suit jacket, pulling him closer. If it hadn’t been for the sudden round of applause, and the hoots and howls from their guests, she would have gone right on kissing him. As their lips parted and she looked up into his eyes, she could see that he was equally perplexed. And as lame and juvenile as it sounded, she heard herself saying softly, “Wow, you’re really good at that.”

A wry grin tipped up the corners of his lips. “So are you.”

Her kissing skills, and his, were irrelevant. So why the shiver of pleasure? The weak-kneed feeling of anticipation? There was nothing to anticipate. They were married and she was a legal resident. As devious plans go, this one was playing out exactly as they’d expected. The hard part was over.

With all the handshaking and hugs, the walk back down the aisle took so long that when they finally made it to the room where the reception was being held, people were already sipping very expensive champagne and nibbling on the appetizers catered by a restaurant in town that had reopened its doors just last week. Though she distinctly remembered Luc saying it would be small and intimate, it looked to Julie as if nearly every member of the Cattleman’s Club and their significant others were in attendance.

She looked up at Luc. “Small and intimate, huh?”

“I put Drew in charge of the guest list,” he said, nabbing two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handing one to her. “So if you have a bone to pick, it’s with him. And forgive me for saying it, but you look positively stunning.”

Forgive him? His words made her feel dizzy with pleasure. “If it wasn’t for Lark’s help, you would have married a raccoon.”

He regarded her with a curious expression.

She laughed and shook her head. “Never mind.”

Somewhere behind her Julie heard the sharp tink of metal on glass and turned to see Skye tapping her champagne flute with the tines of her fork. Her husband, Jake, mirrored her actions, then several other guests joined in, all turning to look at Julie and Luc as if they were waiting for them to do or say something.

She heard Luc mumble something under his breath, and asked him in a hushed voice, “What are they doing?”

“They want us to kiss.”

Julie blinked. “Kiss?”

Luc shrugged. “It’s tradition.”

And he couldn’t have warned her about this? So she could at least prepare herself. “I’ve never been to an American wedding. You’re saying we have to kiss? Right now? In front of all these people?”

“If we want them to stop.”

Considering the rising decibel level, if she and Luc didn’t kiss, someone was bound to shatter something. Besides, it had been so nice kissing him the first time. One more time wouldn’t hurt, right? Who was she to question the tradition.

“Well, if we have to,” she said.

Luc bent his head and brushed a very brief and chaste kiss across her lips, but the tinking didn’t stop.

“You can do better than that,” someone shouted.

Her heart did a back-and-forth shimmy in her chest. Oh boy, this could wind up being a very long evening.

Luc gazed at her questioningly, his eyes saying it would be best if they appeased the crowd. Julie shrugged, whispering, “We have to make it look real, I guess.”

She tried to play it cool, but on the inside she was trembling as Luc cupped the back of her head, his hand sliding through her hair, fingers tangling in the curls. And if that didn’t feel nice enough, his kiss nearly did her in. When his tongue swept across her lower lip she felt it like an electrical charge, as if every cell in her body came alive all at once. But then it was over and she had to fight the urge to toss her champagne glass aside, grab the lapels of his jacket and pull him in for more.

It must have been sufficient for the guests, because the tinking faded out, only to start up again a few minutes later, instigated this time by Paige Richardson, who stood beside her brother-in-law Colby.

Colby was Aaron Nichols’s partner in R&N Builders, which was almost single-handedly responsible for rebuilding the town after the tornado. And though Julie knew him to be a friendly and outgoing, all-around nice guy, the deep furrow in Colby’s brow said something was troubling him.

The tinking rose to an unreasonable level and Julie could swear that every single guest had joined in.

She looked up at Luc, who appeared as amused as he was apologetic. “I have the feeling we’re going to be doing a lot of kissing today.”

“So do I.” And what a hardship that would be. Not. And even if he was the worst kisser on the planet, her citizenship depended on it. It was her obligation to make this marriage look as real as possible. Because if she were to be discovered, and someone proved the marriage was a sham, she would go down hard and take Luc with her. That was not an option.

Before he could make a move, to change things up a bit, she set her empty champagne flute down, slid her arms around his neck and kissed him first. A no-holds-barred, knock-him-on-his-butt kiss that jump-started her pulse and made her tingle in places she didn’t even know she could tingle. His arms went around her and he tugged her against him. He cupped her behind and rocked his pelvis against her stomach. She gasped against his lips when she felt the thick ridge behind his zipper. Obviously he was just as into this as she was, and not at all shy about letting her know it. If not for his suit jacket, everyone else would probably know, too.

This time when they parted he was wearing a wry, sexy smile, and whispered, without a trace of contrition, “What can I say. I’m a guy.”

This was a side of him she’d never seen before. Playfully sexy and a little risqué. She wanted nothing more than to be alone with him, and at the same time felt thankful for their guests. Until they both had time to settle down, being alone together might be a bad idea.

No, not might, it would be.

As the evening progressed, each subsequent kiss was more brazen and more ardent than the last, his touch as bold as it was scandalous.

It went on like that for a good hour before, to Julie’s disappointment, the kiss requests finally began to taper off until they stopped altogether. People began to leave, until only their core group of friends remained.

Though Julie had already had far too much champagne, she headed to the bar for another drink and Beth followed her. “This has been so much fun,” she told Julie.

“I think so, too.”

“Your sister couldn’t make it?”

Julie had texted her, called her and sent her a detailed email about the situation, but still no reply. Her husband traveled extensively for business and Jennifer often accompanied him, occasionally for weeks at a time. “I couldn’t get ahold of her. They’re probably out of the country.”

“That’s too bad.”

Julie shrugged. “It was awfully last-minute.”

“It certainly was. Which brings me to my next question. What was it like making out with your best friend?”

Julie just stood there, mouth agape. Did she mean—?

“Drew told me. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

Now Drew, Beth, Luc’s mother and her sister all knew the truth?

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul,” Beth assured her. “And for what it’s worth, you gave a very convincing performance.”

And Julie had relished every moment. Much more than she meant to, or should have. “He’s a good kisser.”

Beth grinned. “So I gathered. I’ll bet he’s good at a lot of things.”

Her suggestive grin left no question as to what she was implying. And Julie knew she was probably right. She was dying to know how it would feel, their bodies intertwined, his weight pushing her into the mattress...

A ripple of heat coursed through her veins and she could feel her cheeks growing hot. Definitely not something she should be thinking about. “I’m sure he is,” she told Beth. “But I’ll never find out.”

“The way Luc looks at you, I get the feeling you won’t have a choice.”

No choice? “What is it you think he’ll do? Tie me down and make passionate love to me?”

Beth’s smile widened. “One can hope.”

Oh God, she was right. If Luc wanted Julie in his bed, restraining her wouldn’t be necessary.

Ugh, no. She was not going to sleep with him. The combination of champagne and all that kissing was screwing with her brain, flooding it with hormones, or pheromones, or some other kind of mones. They were friends and that’s all they would ever be.

“Where are you two going for your honeymoon?” Beth asked.

“Nowhere. Luc has a new patient to evaluate this week. A little boy who needs spinal surgery. Besides, you know how he is about leaving the hospital for any extended amount of time. Or his mother. She’s still weak from her last hospital stay.”

“Most new brides would expect to be put first.”

Julie shrugged. “I guess I’m not like most new brides. I can’t expect him to rearrange his whole life just because we’re married. I wouldn’t want him to.”

Luc’s ex-fiancée had been one of those women. Like any young resident, Luc had been required to work insane hours. It was part of the job. Amelia demanded more attention than he was able to give, which was what ultimately caused their split. The way Luc described her, she was spoiled and snotty, always wanting things her way. Even if she had married him, Julie doubted it would have lasted.

“A lot of women go into a marriage thinking they can change their spouse,” Beth said.

“That’s ridiculous. If you don’t love the person for who they are, why marry them in the first place?”

Beth grinned. “Luc is a lucky man.”

Julie wasn’t sure what she meant by that, and she didn’t ask. Drinks in hand, they rejoined the others. Luc, Colby and Whit Daltry, owner of Daltry Property Management, were discussing the hospital, and how much money it would take to rebuild the damaged portion. Stella and her husband, Aaron, were discussing baby formula options with Lark and Skye, who both had plenty of information on all things baby. Paige, who Julie noticed had been avoiding her brother-in-law like the plague all evening and pretending not to see the looks he kept shooting her way, sat silently.

Beth took her seat at the table where they had all congregated, and for a minute Julie stood there watching everyone, soaking it all in, a feeling of peace and happiness warming her heart. The town, the people...they were so familiar to her now and so accepting. This was, without question, home.

“Come sit down,” Luc said, holding out his hand for her to take. She twined her fingers through his, intending to sit in the empty chair beside him, but Luc had other ideas. He tugged her down onto his lap instead, and up went her heart, right into her throat. He slipped one arm around her and settled his palm against her stomach, his thumb grazing the underside of her breast as he did, and the other hand came to rest on her bare knee. What if that hand were to slide up the inside of her thigh under her dress? Would she stop him? Could she?

She glanced over at Beth, whose smile seemed to say, I told you so.

She realized just then, with no small amount of anticipation, that if Luc decided he wanted her, there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it.

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