Married By Midnight

“Maybe you’d better close your eyes for a minute.”

“I will not!”

He raised his eyebrows in a sardonic question and pointed to the jumble of clothing. “My clothes are down there.”

Kelly moaned and slid under the blankets.

Max dashed for his trousers, put them on and made for the door before some lunatic broke it down. “Who’s there?”

“Reggie Bennett, the assistant manager of the hotel, sir. You and Mrs. Taylor checked in too late last night to receive the usual amenities that come with the bridal suite. I have them for you now.”

Max felt himself blanch as he shrugged into his shirt and shoes. Mrs. Taylor? Bridal suite? So, last night hadn’t entirely been a dream. Like it or not, he had married Kelly.

Max groaned. He was a man who enjoyed the company of women, but marriage had been the farthest thing from his mind. And the last thing on his carefully plotted life’s agenda.

He took a deep breath. Even with those disturbing memories of a marriage ceremony, he wasn’t exactly ready to believe this marriage business. If he’d gotten married, surely he would have had to have had a marriage license and a marriage certificate, wouldn’t he?

After making sure Kelly couldn’t be seen from the door, he held it open a crack. The assistant manager met his gaze with a broad smile. “Our apologies, sir. The management of the Majestic Hotel would like to correct our unfortunate oversight.”

Oversight? Max’s heart plummeted when he realized daylight was shining through the shuttered windows. Somehow, he’d misplaced a large chunk of the day. And, in the interim, he must have somehow acquired a bride and, heaven help him, consummated the marriage.

“May we come in now?”

Max took another look behind him before he opened the outer door. A room-service waiter rolled in a linen-covered cart and positioned two chairs next to it.

Entranced, Max studied the gaily decorated cart. As Bennett had announced, there was a wedding breakfast in all its glory, including a bottle of champagne in an iced silver container and pats of butter in the form of hearts. A cut-glass vase held a dozen white roses. To his increasing dismay, a congratulatory message was prominently propped against the vase.

What further blew his mind were the silver and gold balloons in the shape of wedding bells that floated behind the cart.

“Our apologies for the delay in bringing your breakfast, Mr. Taylor. After what happened last night, we weren’t sure you and Mrs. Taylor were up yet.” A humorous glint came into Reggie Bennett’s eyes as he regarded Max’s open shirt. “If there’s anything else you would like, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He left with a broad smile.

After what happened last night? A dim recollection of shouting people and flashing cameras floated through Max’s mind. What worse could possibly have happened?

“Max, are they gone?” Kelly called impatiently.

“Yes, but not before they left us breakfast,” he replied. His stomach churned as he eyed the bottle of champagne on ice. Champagne had been his downfall last night. He heard Kelly mutter under her breath. She had to be upset if she’d heard Bennett. For a woman who firmly refused to believe she was married, what would she do when she actually saw the cart?

“I’m not that hungry,” Kelly said. “I’ll get dressed and we can decide what to do.”

As far as Max was concerned, discussions had to wait. What he had to do first was find out how and when he’d actually acquired a wife. He eyed the outside door for a quick getaway. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he announced and rushed out the door.

When Kelly heard the door close, she peered into the next room. The sight of the floating bell-shaped balloons brought her marching into the room.

Then she saw the bridal veil on the coffee table. If this was intended to be a joke, and if Max was in on it, it wasn’t funny.

Married? No way! Max might believe they were married, but she knew better. Right now she needed a long, hot bath and time to plan some course of action to end this nonsense.

Music began to play when she opened the door to the bathroom. She was rendered speechless by a giant Jacuzzi strategically placed in front of a mirrored wall. Tropical plants hung from a skylight above the tub. A shelf held jars of bath oils and colorful soaps in the shapes of flowers. There were assorted brushes to wash one’s back and, to Kelly’s growing discomfiture, bottles of assorted perfumes and ointments clearly intended for rituals of love. Her middle warmed at the sensual implications of a jar marked Aromatic Body Butter.

Visions of Max rubbing her body with the scented butter, and her mental reactions to the idea of his unclothed body, were more than she could bring herself to safely contemplate. Thank goodness he wasn’t here to see the Arabian Nights scene in front of her.

To her relief, on a more practical level, fluffy white bathrobes, embroidered with “Mr.” and “Mrs.,” waited on a padded bench.

She turned on the water and sat down on the edge of the Jacuzzi. One by one, she picked up the tiny colored balls of bath oil beside the faucet and dropped them into the water. The scent that began to waft through the room turned her thoughts to sensual games. Games she would have wanted to play if she were actually honeymooning with the man she loved.

The bathroom was obviously an elaborate setting for a seduction scene, she thought wistfully as she slid into the water. But the truth was that, in spite of last night’s apparent foolishness, she wasn’t out to seduce anyone. Max Taylor least of all. As soon as he returned, she intended to tell him so.

Chapter Two

Muttering to himself, Max made his way to the hotel’s executive offices on the first floor. How could he be a married man if he didn’t even remember applying for a wedding license?

He shook his head. He wasn’t ready to believe he was a married man anyway. And as for Kelly, she didn’t seem all that jazzed up about the idea of being his wife, either.

As for spending last night in bed together—he rechecked his wallet to reassure himself the condom was gone. Marriage to a stranger was bad enough, but a baby?

With emotionally distant parents like his own, his childhood had been nothing to rave about. As a result, he wasn’t sold on fatherhood. He didn’t want to start a family until he was good and ready. He wasn’t ready yet.

He skidded to a stop in the center of the ornate hotel lobby. The pale blue walls were covered with reproductions of well-known landscapes. Live trees and flowering shrubs grew in the center of a courtyard fronting the check-in desk. A waterfall fell gracefully into a small stream and disappeared beneath rocks. Sunlight streamed in from skylights. The effect was that of a pastoral spring scene. Soft, romantic music played in the background. The new hotel was unlike any Las Vegas hotel he’d ever been in. No wonder he’d been carried away by the romantic ambience last night.

The scene looked vaguely familiar. Good, he thought, this might be an excellent place to fill in the gaps in his memory.

“Must have been some party,” he remarked to a housekeeping-staff member tugging potted plants into place.

“You ought to know.” The man chuckled. “You and your lady sure were star attractions last night.”

Star attractions? Max’s heart sank as he gazed around the lobby. No new flashes of memory hit him, but if there was a reasonable explanation of what had gone on last night, he intended to find it. The obvious place to start was with his cousin Troy, whose wedding seemed to have changed Max’s life. He started toward a bank of public telephones, before he realized Troy and his new bride were off on an extended honeymoon, destination unknown.

Damn! Who else could he question about what he’d gotten into last night without looking like a jerk? His Aunt Clara, Troy’s mother? Nah. His reputation in the Taylor family would be shot to hell. The door to that avenue closed abruptly.

He was about to go back and grill the cleaning crew, when Reggie Bennett appeared at his side. “Can I be of help, Mr. Taylor?”

“This is sure one hell of a mess, isn’t it?” Max muttered. Frustrated and unsure of what questions he could ask Bennett without sounding like a fool, he raked his fingers through his hair. In the background he heard renewed laughter.

“No problem.” Bennett beamed. “We’ll have everything to rights in no time. I have to tell you, the additional publicity you and Mrs. Taylor generated for the hotel last night was worth a million.”

Max couldn’t bring himself to tell the man he wasn’t referring to the condition of the hotel lobby. Nor to ask what publicity the man was talking about. His gut feeling was that somehow he and Kelly had been involved.

He searched his memory. He could remember his initial fatal attraction to Kelly during the garter ceremony, all right. But after that his jet lag must have kicked in, because the rest of the night had passed in a haze.

The one thing he couldn’t bring himself to ask Bennett about was what he and Kelly had actually done to make last night’s publicity so successful. Or what would have moved the hotel’s housekeeping staff to laughter. How could a man ask another man about what had happened on his own wedding night?

Gritting his teeth, Max half-heartedly thanked Bennett and turned back to the bank of elevators. In his frustration, he repeatedly poked the up button. Kelly would be waiting for him to make an accounting of his disappearance. From the sound of her voice when he’d left, he wasn’t looking forward to their reunion.

A DO-NOT-DISTURB SIGN hung on the door to the bridal suite, a sure indicator Kelly meant business. He took a deep breath and opened the door to find Kelly, barefoot and wrapped in a white chenille bathrobe, pacing the floor. She was still flushed from her bath, and an exotic scent of perfume clung to her. Her lustrous red hair hung in damp tendrils around her shoulders. From the glimpse he caught of one shapely leg, she was bare under the robe. His senses began to stir before he caught a glimpse of the expression in her eyes.

“Where have you been?”

The cold look Kelly gave him would have frozen a lesser man.

“Downstairs.” He closed the door behind him. The last thing he needed was an argument; his head was pounding already. “Before you start on me, let me tell you I’m not too happy about all of this either. So take it easy.” He strode into the room and headed for the telephone. “The coffee’s cold by now. I’m sure we’ll both feel better after we have some breakfast.” He picked up the phone, dialed room service and ordered a fresh pot of coffee.

“How can you think of food when we have something more important to resolve?”

He didn’t know how to answer that question either, but at least having breakfast was something to do. “I think better on a full stomach. It’s been a long time since I had anything decent to eat. Hors d’oeuvres and champagne punch last night doesn’t cut it.”

Kelly sniffed her disdain. “Go ahead and eat if you want to, but we have to talk. I intend to put this foolishness about our being married to rest right now. I’ll say this again. We are not married!”

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Max had to smile at Kelly. The angrier she got, the more attractive she became. He started to reply, when a tattoo of sharp knocks on the door interrupted him.

“Not again,” Kelly said, marching to the door. “This had better be good!” she shouted as she flung it open. “Didn’t you see the sign on the door?”

A teenage boy barreled into the room. “Kelly! Quick, hide! Dad and Damon are on their way up! They’re on the warpath!”

“Sean? What are you doing here?” Kelly’s face was a study in surprise as she craned her neck to look over the boy’s shoulder.

“I…came…to warn you!” he gasped as soon as he could catch his breath. “I overheard Dad say he saw you on TV last night. He said you got married.” A grin broke over his face. “I think it’s cool, but Dad’s sure mad. Did you really get hitched?”

“No,” Kelly answered. She glared at Max.

“Yes,” Max answered. “That is, I think so. We were just—”

“I’ll tell you later,” Kelly interrupted with another urgent look over Sean’s shoulder. “Come on in before Dad sees you.”

Sean almost fell into the room. “Boy, is he going to be fried if he finds me here. Maybe I’d better go back home before he gets here.”

Max stared at the boy who, in spite of his darker complexion, resembled Kelly. Her brother?

“No, you don’t,” a stern voice broke in. A uniformed officer of the Las Vegas Police Department filled the doorway.

Max thought rapidly. Had he broken some local law last night? If the law was after him this afternoon, things must be worse than he thought.

“Patrick? Not you, too,” Kelly squeaked.

Max took a closer look at the officer as the man grabbed Sean by a shoulder and hauled him into the room. He was a sturdy version of Kelly with the same hair color. Somehow, Max didn’t care for the piercing look in his hazel eyes.

“Yeah, Patrick,” the man agreed. “Your brother, remember?” He kept a grip on Sean who was trying to squirm out of his grasp. “As for you, kid, since you made it this far on your own, you might as well stay.”

He scowled at Kelly. “For your information, the department’s entire night shift congratulated me when I showed up for work this morning. Told me you got married on TV last night. Too bad you didn’t let your own family in on your plans.”

“Things aren’t what they seem to be, honest,” Kelly protested. “If you give me a minute, I can explain.”

“What’s to explain? From what I understand, you got married, period. Since I didn’t even know you were seeing someone, let alone planning to marry him, I figured I’d better stop by and find out what’s going on.” He turned his solid gaze on Max. “You the groom?”

Momentarily overcome by the invasion of O’Rourkes, Max could only nod.

“I don’t remember seeing you around,” Patrick mused as he gave Max a thorough once-over. “New in town?”

Max shook his head and exchanged a dismayed glance with Kelly. How many brothers did she have anyway? And what were they going to say if they knew the true state of affairs?

Kelly put her hands on her hips and glared at her brothers. “Max, these are two of my brothers, Sean and Patrick. Patrick is with the Las Vegas Police Department,” she added as if it weren’t obvious to Max. “He’s the suspicious type. Sean’s the youngest member of the family—he’s fifteen.”

Max had to give Kelly credit for keeping her cool under fire. Faced with the same situation, his sister would have probably fainted. He put down the telephone receiver and held out his hand. “The name is Maxwell Taylor. Er…I’m pleased to meet you.”

“So, you’re Kelly’s husband.” Patrick’s features were impassive as he shook Max’s hand, but his eyes spoke volumes. He was definitely not pleased.

“Kelly O’Rourke!” a new voice thundered. A tall man in an air force officer’s uniform marched through the door. The man’s crew-cut dark copper hair was fading into gray at the temples and his hazel eyes were grim. Max realized the newcomer had to be Kelly’s father. He guessed trouble really did come in threes.

Behind Mr. O’Rourke was a younger man, also dressed in an air force uniform. Another brother? Max changed his opinion. Trouble came in as many numbers as there were O’Rourke men.

Surrounded by the power of the law and the military, Max’s civilian heart took a dive. He tried to hide behind a smile.

“Dad, Damon?” Kelly pulled her robe more closely around her. “What in heaven’s name are all of you doing here at once?”

“A better question, Kelly O’Rourke,” her father roared, “is what are you doing here!” Her father’s bushy eyebrows rose in rebuke. “I understood you were going to be the maid of honor in DeeDee’s wedding, but I didn’t expect you to go so far as to get yourself married, too.”

“I’m not—That is, I am, but—” Kelly caught herself and managed a feeble smile. “That is, it was sort of a surprise to me, too.” She sent a quick, pleading glance at Max.

“Is this your young man?”

Max felt he was about to undergo an interrogation. Too bad he had no ready answers. He couldn’t tell the unvarnished truth, not with the silent appeal in Kelly’s eyes. He held out his hand to have it grasped in a firm handshake he was going to feel for a week. “Maxwell Taylor, sir.”

“Michael O’Rourke. Glad to meet you, my boy,” Kelly’s father answered with a final shake. He regarded Max through narrowed eyes. “Not that I’m all too happy over my daughter’s elopement, you understand. But considering her impulsive nature, I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised.” He gazed reprovingly at Sean. “This young one here seems to have the same knack for doing the unexpected, but I think I have time to cure that.”

Kelly gasped. “Dad, how can you say such things?”

“The proof is standing next to you,” her father answered, gesturing to Max. “So, what do the two of you have to say for yourselves?”

Max took a quick inventory of his chances with this audience and shot Kelly a warning glance.

Damon, an air force officer like his father. Patrick, a local Las Vegas lawman. All three highly trained with instincts and senses honed to a razor’s edge. All sharp and unlikely to be fooled easily. On the other hand, there was Sean. From the boy’s sheepish grin, Max sensed Sean was a maverick like his sister.

At least there was one friendly male member of the O’Rourke clan.

Max caught Patrick’s frown as he stared at Kelly, almost as if he were on a criminal case. Max’s own gaze followed Patrick’s to the hand Kelly used to clutch the robe to her throat. To his mind the answer to Patrick’s frown was clear. Kelly, ostensibly a newly married woman, wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

Max stirred himself. The moment of truth was at hand. Husband or not, for Kelly’s sake, if not his own, he owed her his support. “Here, sweetheart, let me help you with that,” he said. On the pretext of helping her close the bathrobe more closely around her neck, he managed to slip his class ring off his finger and onto Kelly’s wedding-ring finger. With a warning look into her startled eyes, he turned back to the O’Rourkes. Just in time to glimpse a shadow cross Patrick’s face. Moments later, he saw Patrick’s gaze settle on the bridal bouquet and the wedding veil on the coffee table.

Max responded to the stunned look on Kelly’s face. He had to do something to break the tension before Patrick started asking questions for which he and Kelly had no answers. The sooner the better. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go in and get dressed?”

She nodded reluctantly. “Okay. I’ll be back in a minute, Dad. Max, can I see you in the other room for a moment?”

“Sure,” Max answered. Before he followed Kelly, he noticed the envious look in Sean’s eyes as the boy studied the untouched champagne breakfast. “Sean, why don’t you help yourself to some breakfast? No use letting it go to waste.”

Kelly pulled Max into the bedroom and pushed the folding doors together. She pointed to the open slats on the doors, then dragged him into the bathroom and carefully closed the door behind her. Soft, romantic music filtered through the room. “What in heaven’s name are we going to do now?”

“Good question.” Max gazed at the exotic surroundings that were obviously designed to stir a man’s senses. Even with trouble waiting for him in the other room, his thoughts turned to putting the scented oils to good use. He blinked. Of all the fool times to think sensuous thoughts, this was probably the worst.

“Brazen it out, I guess,” he answered, firmly turning his thoughts to the more serious issue at hand. “We’ll just pretend everything is okay until they leave. Then, if it turns out we actually were married last night, we can talk about an annulment.”

“An annulment? After last night?” Her startled expression got through to Max. She was right. Married or not, they had shared an intimate night together. An annulment was probably out.

“Okay, maybe not an annulment,” he answered. “Maybe a divorce.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kelly muttered angrily. “In the first place, I keep telling you we’re not married. In the second, O’Rourkes don’t get divorced! That’s why neither of my older brothers are married—they’re waiting for the right woman. As for my getting a divorce, it’s out of the question. I’d be breaking Dad’s heart!”

“Keep it down,” Max cautioned. “This is what I think we ought to do. For now, we’ll tell your family we’re going on a honeymoon. We can settle all this later when we’re alone.”

“Honeymoon?” Looking outraged, Kelly demanded, “Honeymoon? Who said anything about a honeymoon?”

“Take it easy, Kelly,” he soothed, with one eye on the bathroom door. If they didn’t come to some sort of agreement soon, he expected an O’Rourke to be pounding on the door in minutes. “It’ll only be a pretend honeymoon. Just long enough to get your family off our backs.”

“Maybe.” She didn’t look mollified, but she finally agreed. “But don’t let Patrick fool you. Damon, either. If you knew them as well as I do, you’d know they’re up to something.”

“Now you’re being paranoid,” Max answered, his nerves shot. “You’re their sister. It’s natural to worry about you.”

“That’s the problem. They think they have to keep an eye on me. It drives me crazy. There were times when I was a kid that I used to think my thoughts were engraved on my forehead.” She rubbed her forehead. “I sure hope this isn’t one of those times.”

With a last regretful glance at the Jacuzzi, Max turned Kelly toward the mirror. “Take a look. There’s nothing written on your forehead. Besides, as a married woman, you don’t have to account to your brothers.”

Instead of continuing to argue, Kelly looked into the mirror. Max’s hands held her by the shoulders, his chin rested on her hair. He was right. Except for a frown, her forehead was clear. But, to her chagrin, there was definitely an awareness of Max reflected in her eyes. As her gaze met his in the mirror, she read the same awareness in his. The strange excitement she remembered beginning with the garter ceremony began to fill her again.

“We aren’t really married, you know,” she murmured. She was strangely unwilling to break the sensual tension between them, but the truth was the truth.

“Why don’t we wait and see,” he said softly as he drew a damp tendril from her forehead. “In the meantime, we’re in this together.”

“Thank you,” she answered gratefully. “But I’m not sure we’ll hear the last of this. Even if Dad’s convinced we’re married, I know he’s disappointed. He would have preferred a traditional Irish church wedding with all the O’Rourkes in attendance.” She worried her bottom lip. “We’ll have to be careful. In the meantime, please go along with whatever my dad says until we’re alone. Okay?”

Max had a gut feeling she was right. He felt guilty, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Having too much punch? Becoming attracted to Kelly and marrying her on impulse? Consummating their wedding night? Any or all of the above?

He couldn’t afford to dwell on the possibilities, not now. Not when judgment day waited for him as near as the next room.

What further complicated the situation in his mind was that they were obviously on Kelly’s home territory, or her father and brothers wouldn’t have shown up so soon. With his own home and his family in the East, he had little to lose. He also had a plane ticket to Hawaii in his suitcase for a few days from now. He’d intended to spend some time in Vegas and enjoy the nightlife, then fly on to Hawaii for a much-needed vacation with Lian. Left behind, Kelly, for all her bravado, was the vulnerable one. The least he could do for her was to find out what really happened last night and to make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. Not by himself, or anyone else. And that went for her father and her brothers, too.

“Why don’t you get dressed?” he said. “We’ll work something out when you come back in. Okay?”