Forever Dreams (Montana Brides) (21 page)

Trent looked at his little brother. He didn’t seem upset, just confused. “No joke. This is for real.”

“Have you told mom?”

“Not yet.” Trent picked up his fork and tried to eat some casserole. It stuck in his throat.

Jordan pulled out his cell phone, hitting speed dial.

“What are you doing?” Trent grabbed for the phone, knowing exactly what his brother was doing. He wasn’t ready to talk with his mom just yet and from the way Gracie was staring at the two of them, she wasn’t either.

Jordan leapt away from the table, diving out of reach. “Hi, mom. Guess what? Trent and Gracie got married in Vegas.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and laughed. “What did you say, mom? Okay, I’ll tell them.”

“She’s on her way over. Man, you two have some serious explaining to do. Goodness, me. Look at the time. I hate to be a party-pooper, but I have to leave.” Jordan picked up his uneaten plate of food and headed toward the door. “See you in the morning folks.” He gave Gracie a wink and hot-footed it out of the room.

Gracie pushed the food around her plate. “Two down, one to go,” she muttered.

“Two?”

“Yep. Mrs. Davies knows.”
 

Trent’s chair nearly fell backward. “She was here?”

Gracie shook her head. “While you were having a shower she phoned to see if I enjoyed Las Vegas. I told her we got married. It was probably better than her starting work in the morning and seeing me make a mad dash out of your room for some clothes.”
 

He stared at Gracie, not quite trusting the grin on her face. What had he gotten himself into?

“Cheer up, Trent. It could be worse. You might have married Jo-Jo. Then where would you be?”

“Not sitting here waiting for my mother to ask me why she wasn’t invited to the wedding,” he grumbled.

Karen made a record dash over to the Triple L. Trent just had time to put the dishwasher on before his mom came bursting through the back door. Gracie had her feet up on the couch, reading a book in the living room.

“Trent McKenzie. Did Jordan tell me the truth? Are you and Gracie married?”

“Yes, mom. We got married last night.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you planned on getting married in Las Vegas? I would have organized a little welcome home celebration.”

As if he really needed a houseful of wedding guests to make his life complete. “It came out of the blue.” Preceded by the best sex of his life and four frozen raspberry margaritas, but his mom didn’t need to know about that.
 

“Where’s Gracie?” she asked.

“Here I am.”
 

Karen gave her a big hug. “Welcome to the family. I knew Trent had fallen for you. Every time I looked across at him at the barn dance he had a love-struck expression on his face. Just like his daddy used to look at me.”

Trent sincerely doubted his dad had ever looked at his mom’s dress riding higher and higher on her hips. Or watched her dance with so many partners that he’d gone dizzy trying to keep up with who she was with.
 

Gracie walked toward the kitchen. “Adele left some cake for us, Karen. Would you like a piece?”

“That would be lovely.”

While Gracie made hot drinks and organized the cake, Trent shooed his mom into the living room and found himself on the receiving end of one of her no-nonsense stares.
 

In a low voice, she whispered, “I hope, Trent McKenzie, you have honorable intentions and haven’t married Gracie for the wrong reasons.”

He took a deep breath, crossing his fingers in his pocket. “Of course not.”

His mom gave him a suspicious stare.

“Coffee’s ready.” Gracie walked in with three steaming mugs and a huge plate of cake balanced on a tray.

Trent sank into one of the big armchairs. It would take more than a slice of cake to make him feel comfortable stretching the truth tonight. He just hoped his mom didn’t intend staying too long. And heaven help them all if she wanted to see some photos of the wedding.

Gracie seemed to be taking their fake marriage in her stride. She positively glowed as she told his mom about their trip to Vegas and the drive-through Elvis that officiated at their wedding. If he hadn’t been present when she’d called him all the low-life names she could dredge up he would have been fooled by her tales. You’d think she’d spent a romantic weekend away exploring the delights of her new husband by the smile on her face. But he knew better.
 

Gracie McKenzie was up to no good, and whatever devious plan she was hatching was bound to be bad for his health.

“That went well, Trent.”

“You think?”
 

“Of course, I do. Your mom seems happy with the half-truths we spouted. It’s a wonder your nose hasn’t started growing with the amount of fibs pouring forth.”

“I didn’t see you running away when I put my arm around you.”

Gracie glared at his back as he took their empty cups out to the kitchen. “I’m only here for another four weeks, then I get a reprieve from staring at your handsome face every day.”
 

He glanced over his shoulder. “It’s just as well I knew you were smiling when you said that, honey. Does this mean we’re
not
shopping for a wedding ring tomorrow?”

“Wishful thinking. If we’re going to do this properly then a ring is essential. Don’t worry, I don’t have expensive taste.”

“There’s no such thing as a woman with cheap taste,” Trent scoffed.

He disappeared into the kitchen and Gracie sighed. It hadn’t felt the least bit satisfying lying to Karen, let alone lying to herself. Pretending Trent was the sun, moon and stars all wrapped up in one amazing package hadn’t been hard. Because if she was really honest with herself, he was amazing. Totally drop-dead-in-your-face amazing. And
so
not the person she needed in her life.

“I bought something for you in Las Vegas.”

Gracie looked at the bag dangling from his fingers. He gave it a wiggle when she didn’t reach for it. Whatever was in there must be important. She’d never seen Trent so excited about a shopping bag. Especially a little blue one. With white handles and a logo she couldn’t quite make out stamped on the outside.
 

“Take it. And before you ask – no, it’s not a t-shirt.”
 

She lifted her hand, reaching for the bag before he dropped it in her lap. The words, ‘Tiffany & Co.’ blazed back at her. She stared at Trent.

“Open it, woman.”

Gracie looked inside the bag and pulled out a blue box tied with a white ribbon. She ran her fingers along the satin, not sure whether opening it would be a great idea.

“Sometime in the next few minutes would be good.”

“I don’t know, Trent. The box alone probably cost more than most of the jewelry in my room.”

“I didn’t buy what’s in there to compete with your other things.” He sat down beside her. In a soft voice that melted her heart, he whispered, “Open it, Gracie.”

She untied the bow and lifted the lid. The most spectacular opal pendant she’d ever seen glowed inside the box. Red, blue, and green swirls of color streaked across the surface of the gemstone, almost as if little pieces of the solar system had been gathered together and placed inside the pendent.
 

Trent moved closer. “The colors remind me of the rainbow we saw over Union Falls in Yellowstone.”

“It’s beautiful, but I can’t accept it. It’s too expensive.”

“Nonsense. I went to the Bellagio during our lunch break on the first day of the conference. As soon as I saw it I knew it was meant for you.” He ran a fingertip along Gracie’s clenched jaw. “I can’t return it, so you might as well give in.”
 

She gazed down at the pendant, then back at Trent. A line of fire ran along her skin where his finger had stroked her face. She didn’t want to feel the rush of warmth filling her heart to overflowing. Or the shiver of need that teased her body.
 

Trent lifted the opal out of the box, locking the clasp into place at the back of her neck. “All done,” he said softly. “Now turn around so that I can see what it looks like.”

Gracie swiveled in her seat, reaching up to touch the gemstone sitting above her heart. Trent’s gaze dropped to the pendant. She swallowed when she saw the longing on his face. He was a good man. She didn’t want to hurt him, didn’t want to be the one to leave, but eventually she’d have to. She couldn’t stay with him and give him what he so desperately wanted.
 
Not without love.

“What are we going to do?” she sighed. “I have to teach in Bozeman in two weeks and then I’m going home for my friend’s wedding. What will we tell your family when I leave?”

Trent didn’t say anything for a few minutes. He turned back to the table, staring at the half eaten plate of cake. “We’ll tell them you’re coming back to Montana after your friend’s wedding.” He looked up, staring into Gracie’s eyes. “Until then you can return your rental and use the Nissan to commute into Bozeman. If you decide not to come back from New Zealand, I’ll tell everyone that ranch life wasn’t for you. It won’t be the first time it’s happened.”

She took a deep breath, thinking about how his family would take the news of her departure. Thinking about her husband’s. She felt miserable.

Trent pushed himself off the sofa. “It’s been a long day and we’re both tired. Come to bed and we can work something out in the morning.”

She looked at the hand reaching out to help her to her feet. Maybe a good nights’ sleep would help put everything into perspective. But the thought of going to bed with Trent didn’t exactly send her into a slumberous mode. “You sound like an old married man already. Just remember the rules. No touching.”

A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t dream of breaking the rules.”

Gracie didn’t like the look of that grin. Keeping to the rules didn’t seem to be one of Trent’s strong points. And if the gleam in his eyes was anything to go by, he didn’t really care.

“What on earth are you wearing?”

Gracie looked down at her pink pussycat pajamas. She thought she’d play it safe on their first night together, just to make sure both of them remembered the sleeping rules. Flannel pajamas buttoned to the neck, complete with thick, green socks seemed a sensible option for a girl whose hormones had a mind of their own. “Did you think I’d be wearing a sexy French negligee?”

“If I had to guess what you’d be wearing, I wouldn’t have chosen pink pajamas with cats on them.” A hopeful note crept into his voice. “Do you have some whiskers and a pair of pointy ears in your closet as well?”
 

“Wrong dream, cowboy. That one has a black leather cat-suit and a whip.”

“Damn, disappointed again. You’re going to have to move out of the kids-wear section, Gracie, otherwise I might have to ban flannel from the bedroom.”

“Ban away and see how far it gets you.” Disappearing out the door, she came back carrying six pillows. She threw them at Trent and crawled into bed.
 

“Is this when you start building the Great Wall of China?”

“If it worked for the Chinese Empire, it’s good enough for me.” She rearranged the pillows until they were stacked in a straight line, two high and three long. Snuggling under the duvet, she stared dubiously at her masterpiece.

“Gracie?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen if the pillows fall over during the night?”

Gracie sighed. “I’ll build them up again.”

A laugh drifted across the cotton and foam wall. The pillows weren’t exactly enough to keep a big, bad, wolf away, and Trent could be really bad when he put his mind to it. “Trent?”

“Yes?”

“What are
you
wearing?” He’d already dived under the duvet before she’d arrived in the room. She wouldn’t put it past him to push the limits of the no touching rules to his advantage.

“Nothing.”

There was a moments silence from Gracie’s side of the bed. “Nothing? What do you exactly mean by
nothing
?”

He moved in the bed. Two seconds later his head popped up over the top of the pillows. “Want to have a look and see?”

Gracie turned on her side to give him an unrestricted view of her pink pussycat back. “No thank you. I’ve got principles, unlike someone else I know.”

“Yeah right. You forget that I’ve been living with you for the last month. I’ll turn the light out, shall I?”

Gracie scrunched her eyes tight as she heard him push back the duvet and move around the bed. When the light went out she opened her eyes a smidgen. She started breathing again when she felt Trent’s side of the bed move.

“Sweet dreams, honey. I hope all that pink flannel doesn’t get too hot in the middle of the night.”

Gracie hoped so too. She could already feel her temperature rising, but whether that was from the flannel or the man lying buck naked beside her, she didn’t know. So much for the pajamas keeping her safe. They might just end up being her downfall.

Two hours later the Great Wall of China collapsed in an almighty heap on the floor, followed by a gruff voice booming from the other side of the bed, “Gracie McKenzie, would you
please
stop twitching and jumping around like you’ve got fleas on your side of the bed. I can’t sleep with all that bouncing going on.”

“Don’t you
Gracie McKenzie
me. I’m hot and I can’t sleep with all these layers on.”

“For God sake woman, take something off and go to sleep.”

Gracie grumbled for a few more minutes, tossed some more, and finally got out of bed. “Do you promise on your best Boy Scouts promise not to get all touchy-feely on me?”

He growled. “I was never in the Boy Scouts. But if I had been, I would swear profusely on my honor not to touch any part of your anatomy. I’ve got to be up in four hours and I need to get some sleep.”
 

Gracie looked at the shadowy lump in the bed beside her, cursing hot flannel. Tiptoeing back to her room, she whipped her pajamas off and slipped a nightshirt over her head. Her whole body quivered as the cool cotton touched her skin. As quietly as she could, she made her way back into their room.