Down by Contact - A Seattle Lumberjacks Romance (27 page)

“Never happen.”

“Yeah, right. Bullshit. That’s why you smell
so good.” Harris shook his head. “All a guy needs is the right
woman. The one that makes you see that there’s nothing else in your
life that compares to her.”

Zach frowned, not expecting the baldly
honest answer from his arch enemy. “Is that how it is with
you?”

Harris nodded and bolted out the door. Zach
shook his head. He’d never be that stupid over a woman. He’d done
that more than once with Kelsie, and she’d been in total control
and almost ruined him. Now he had the control, and he intended on
keeping it.

The little guy flitted around him like an
annoying fly on a hot summer’s day. Zach waved him off. “Hey, I
think Harris might need some more help.”

Horatio didn’t even bother to ask if Zach
needed anything else, he ran for the door and toward his latest man
crush.

Zach drew in deep, calming breaths. The same
routine he went through before a big game, attempting to calm his
frayed nerves and squash the butterflies pounding against his
stomach like a prize fighter about to win the bout.

Stay calm. Stay focused. Stay relaxed. This
is just a business arrangement. Mutual to both of us.

Only he didn’t believe it, not totally. He’d
been in love with Kelsie for years and part of him still was
despite all the things she’d done to him and all the time that’d
passed. Tonight they’d consummate this marriage. She’d open her
creamy thighs, and take him inside her. He’d never be the same.
Never. And he didn’t give a fuck what it cost him as long as he had
her now. He adjusted his package, hoping for some relief but no
such luck.

Harris stuck his head back in the door,
Horatio hot on his heels with a brush in hand. “Hey, we’re ready.
Get your ass out here.”

Zach shook off his nerves and strode out the
door like he got married every day. He took his place at the
makeshift altar in front of the large stone fireplace. The house
was crammed to overflowing with his teammates and the team’s staff.
Even his brother Wade had flown in for the ceremony and would
rejoin his team tomorrow in Vancouver.

Wade studied Zach as he took his place next
to him. “Didn’t recognize you for a moment.”

“Yeah, she cleaned me up.”

Wade chuckled. “And here I’m supposed to be
the pretty one.”

Wade had always been the handsome, suave
brother, figuring out early what Zach never quite grasped: You get
a lot more girls with bullshit sweet talk than with blunt
honesty.

“You’re sweating like a pig about to be
loaded up for market.”

“I feel like one.”

“You and Kelsie Carrington. Who’d have
believed it?” Wade shook his head and grinned. “Beauty and the
beast.”

“Hey, now, Kelsie’s still a good-looking
woman.” Zach attempted a joke to lighten the mood.

His brother looked him up and down, from the
tips of his shiny black dress shoes, his perfectly tailored tux,
and his neatly styled hair. “You’re a pretty man yourself. If I
weren’t your brother, I’d—”

“Enough. You’ve been spending too much time
with only a stick and puck for company.”

The rowdy crowd hushed and called Zach’s
attention to the back of the room. Rachel and Lavender stepped
forward down the short aisle and stood in their places. Then Kelsie
appeared, and Zach’s heart crashed head-on into his ribcage. The
damn thing must have stopped beating because he couldn’t breathe
anymore.

Kelsie looked straight into his eyes with a
sparkling smile aimed straight at him and his mortally wounded
heart. Her smile buried itself deep inside his soul. At that
moment, he knew he’d do all this wussy stuff again and more for
this woman.

He also knew he’d never fallen out of love
with her.

Nor did he give a shit that he’d forgotten
all about a prenup.

* * * * *

Kelsie gripped the pink roses tighter until
the stems dug into her palms. This was Zach? Zach, the guy with the
shaggy hair, perpetual stubble, and clothes a homeless person
wouldn’t wear. She couldn’t believe her eyes until he smiled a
nervous smile that was all Zach.

Her Zach was gorgeous, a man as handsome as
any man she’d ever laid eyes on, a man who exuded pure maleness
from his every pore, but he also was the epitome of kindness. The
very kindness that shone in his soft brown eyes.

She stepped forward on Tomcat’s arm, walking
slow, taking her time. The big man at her side measured his steps
with hers. She may never have another wedding again, so she’d savor
every moment. Besides, she basked in the limelight. Her smile was
genuine and for the first time in years, true happiness and
contentment filled her, as if all was right with her world.
Glancing left and right, she made eye contact with each and every
guest. They smiled back, enjoying her happiness. Until one scowling
woman sitting on the far side of the room caught her eye. Veronica.
And she was not pleased. Not in the least. Kelsie turned away from
her, not about to let the witch rain on her parade. Even if it was
Seattle.

Kelsie took her place at Zach’s side. He
leaned toward her and mouthed the words
You’re beautiful
.
She mouthed back,
So are you.
He blushed, actually
blushed.

Her heart full of joy, Kelsie stood beside
Zach and listened to the preacher’s words and spoke her vows with
sincerity, as if part of her believed them, even more than during
her first marriage.

Zach took her hand in his. His big hand
completely engulfed her smaller one. His palms were sweaty. So were
hers. The ring he placed on her finger was modest, so like Zach,
nothing like the rock Mark had branded his possession with—the very
rock that became a symbol of slavery not partnership.

“You may kiss the bride.”

A collective cheer rose from Zach’s rowdy
teammates. He turned to her, almost apologetically. Screw the
apologies and regrets. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stood
on tiptoes, and planted a wet kiss on his lips. For a moment, he
stood absolutely still as if in shock, his hands to his sides. A
second later, he regained his wits and dipped her over his arm into
a deep kiss worthy of a scene from a classic movie. Kelsie lost
herself. All the other people in the room faded away. All she
wanted to do was kiss her Prince Charming.

Zach lifted her upright and pulled back
first, obviously rattled by the crowd gathered around hooting like
a bunch of drunken sailors. She clung to him, her hands gripping
his biceps. Their eyes met and he grinned at her, dimples and all.
She smiled right back.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Murphy.” His grin
stretched wider than a football field.

“Thank you, Mr. Murphy.” Kelsie Murphy?
She’d never considered a last name change, but she’d rather have
Zach’s last name than Mark’s. On the other hand, why go to the
bother of changing your last name when you’d just be changing it
back in a few months?

The next hour or two passed in a whirlwind
of champagne, laughter, outrageous stories, and good-natured
ribbing. As she gazed into Zach’s kind brown eyes, she said her own
silent vows. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt this man.

A realization slammed into her with the
force of a Mercedes speeding on I-5. Zach, Mr. Tightwad himself,
never asked her, the shopping queen, to sign a prenup.

What did that mean? Could it be possible
that Zach Murphy actually trusted her?

She hoped so with all her heart because
gaining his trust mattered to her. A lot.

CHAPTER 19

Fake marriages required fake honeymoons. Zach
hadn’t planned on a honeymoon even though the bye week allowed a
little latitude for time off. Instead, he figured he’d head home
and get up at five a.m. to start his workout and game study. Same
as usual. Just because he’d signed a piece of paper didn’t mean his
routine had to change.

Yet Tyler Harris, in a rare moment of
generosity, whisked them into a limo, which took them to a
floatplane on Lake Union and flew them to Washington’s San Juan
Islands. A few hours later, around midnight, Zach and Kelsie stood
in the grand entry of the Harris family’s century-old mansion, Twin
Cedars, near Friday Harbor.

“Wow, this is incredible.” Kelsie stared
around the two-story room with a look of utter amazement. Zach had
visited the run-down mansion in the spring with his new teammates
as an uninvited guest. Grudgingly, he gave Harris credit for diving
into the restorations on his ancestors’ home. Zach had figured the
guy would sell the priceless waterfront estate the first chance he
got. Only he didn’t. Instead, he’d poured tens of thousands of
dollars into restoration, going against everything Zach thought he
knew and believed about the guy.

Zach hated it when people didn’t fit in the
boxes he crafted for them.

Kinda like Kelsie. That beautiful,
untouchable mean girl from his high school days refused to stay in
her box, which left Zach off balance and uncomfortable. He liked
people to meet the expectations he’d formed for them, not blow them
all to hell. Not that either Harris or Kelsie were in danger of
that, but Kelsie had punched a few holes in her box.

Homer, the old man who’d opened the door for
them, tottered toward the grand staircase. “This way.” He crooked a
bony finger in their direction. Zach grabbed both their bags and
started to follow the senior citizen up the stairs. At the last
minute, he remembered his manners and stood back to allow his new
bride to walk up the stairs ahead of him.

His new bride.

Homer swept open the door of a large master
suite, which had been recently remodeled and reminded Zach of some
English king’s room—leave it to Harris. The large canopy bed
dominated one corner of the room, complete with this drapery-like
material allowing the large four-poster bed to be shut off from the
world. The soft, rich carpet sank under his shoes. The traditional
paintings on the walls encouraged romantic thoughts. Who’d have
figured Harris to be a romantic?

“Here you go. There’s a bathroom in there.
The house is empty. The workers won’t be in tomorrow so enjoy
yourselves. I’ll let myself out.” The man winked at Zach and
tottered out of the room. Kelsie stood in the doorway, looking
around the room.

Zach stared at her like the lovesick fool he
was. He couldn’t believe she was here, and she was his wife.

His wife.

She turned to him, and his knees almost gave
way. He grabbed the door jamb just to hold himself upright. She
smiled at him, a tentative smile that touched his heart. Swallowing
back the raw emotion clogging his throat, he entered the room,
battling anxiety and nerves. This night had to be perfect.

She stood in the doorway as if waiting for
something.

“Oh, crap. I forgot.” Zach hoisted Kelsie
into his arms and carried her across the threshold. She laughed, as
he swung her to her feet, and the soft, happy sound nestled in his
heart and burned in his memory.

Kelsie wandered around the huge room with
the large bay window and French doors opening onto a balcony. Zach
tagged along after her, feeling like a stray mutt panting after a
purebred poodle. In the bathroom, a large jetted tub sat in an
alcove with a bank of windows giving a spectacular view of the
waterways and the islands. His deprived libido flashed images of
Kelsie in another tub, naked, soapy, and pleasuring herself. Damn,
but he wanted that job, wanted to replace her fingers with his
fingers, or even better, his cock.

Zach crossed to the wine bottle sitting in
an ice bucket near the tub. He opened the bottle and poured two
glasses, handing Kelsie one. She gave him a stiff, tight smile and
took a sip then turned toward the French doors.

Zach frowned, not sure what he’d done wrong.
She’d been fine a minute ago. He followed her onto the balcony into
the cool night air. No city lights glared off the water below them
or blocked out the brilliance of the stars in the night sky. Kelsie
leaned on the balcony railing and sipped her wine. Zach stood
behind her, the wine glass gripped in his hand while he wiped his
other sweaty palm on his jeans.

“It’s really pretty.” Okay, stupid thing to
say but what else was a guy to say to his new bride?

“It’s beautiful. I can see why Lavender
raves about this place.” She angled her body toward his, a million
unspoken questions shining in her bright blue eyes. Zach was pretty
damn sure he didn’t have one answer to any of those questions. He
was operating blind, just as she was. He doubted
Mabel Fay
Buchanan’s Book of Southern Charm and Etiquette
covered
honeymoon night etiquette.

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes and poked
a hole in his resolve to keep his distance. Zach took the wine
glass from her hands and set both glasses on the railing. He
stepped into her, hands on either side of the railing, and
effectively blocked her escape. She stared up at him. He leaned
into her, filled his nostrils with her sweet scent like wildflowers
in a mountain meadow. Zach bent down, wanting, needing to kiss her.
To make this marriage more than just a piece of paper and a mutual
agreement between two people who each had something the other
needed.

He hoped like hell he didn’t screw this
up.

* * * * *

As soon as Zach’s large body and strong arms
penned her in, waves of claustrophobia slammed through Kelsie, as
if she’d been locked in a car trunk with no way out. She squeezed
her eyes shut and fought the panic rising inside her. It wasn’t
Zach’s face, but Mark’s face that swam in front of her, his eyes
dark with an obsession to dominate her, show her his strength.

That had been the first step. Then came the
subtle jabs to her fragile confidence, the tearing down of
everything she’d worked to build. The criticism turned to ridicule
and belittlement. Then the emotional abuse escalated into total
isolation and control and finally a physical beating. She couldn’t
let another man do what Mark had done to her.