Full Throttle (Fast Track) (12 page)

“Nice to meet you girls. Perfect timing then!” She peeled off her coat and handed it to Shawn. “Unless you don’t want your mother-in-law’s opinion.”

“No, of course, I would love it. I have no idea what I’m doing.” That was the truth, without a doubt. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I’d love some.”

Shawn poured coffee for everyone, then took out the muffins and plated them, and they all retreated into the living room. Sinking into an easy chair, she marveled at the sheer oddity of the circumstance. She was sitting here planning her wedding reception with a woman she’d never met. Her husband’s mother. If only Pops could see her now, he’d realize what a foolish idea his will had been. They were making a sheer mockery out of the institution of marriage.

“Rhett’s father and I have been married for thirty-six years,” she started.

Oh, and that made her feel better. Not.

“Congratulations, that’s wonderful.”

“The house is a little empty these days, but it’s good to know all my kids are married themselves and happy and healthy. I wasn’t sure about Rhett, you know. He’s always been so serious.”

“He’s no stand-up comedian,” Shawn agreed. “But the good thing is he always knows what he wants.”

Charity coughed into her hand.

Shawn shot her a sideways glare. She knew exactly what Charity was envisioning, and damn it, she was right.

“That is true. So where were you thinking of having the party? And when?”

“Valentine’s Day. Rhett thought it was . . . romantic.” She almost choked on her tongue, but she forced the words out. Fortunately, her blush could be taken as that of a new bride, and not the lying poseur that she was. “I have no idea where to have it. I think it’s going to be about fifty people, and given it’s winter, we can’t exactly have an outdoor barbecue in the yard.”

“What about a hall or a restaurant?” Charity asked.

“That sounds expensive to rent.” She was already shelling out a hundred grand to be Rhett’s wife, she wasn’t going to drop twenty K on a wedding reception on top of it. The point was to be financially solvent in the end, not bankrupt after going through all of this. “I was thinking wherever it is, people can bring potluck instead of wedding gifts. I want it to be casual, fun.” Cheap. Over.

“What about the track?” Rhett’s mother asked. “Hamby Speedway has plenty of room indoors, right? It wouldn’t be glamorous, but it’s free and it seems fitting.”

She had a point. Plus the publicity would be phenomenal. “Hm. That’s a great idea. I think it could work.”

“It’s so . . . dirty,” Charity said, in horror. “It’s a dirt track.”

“We’re not talking about throwing a party on the track itself,” Shawn protested. “We have a party room for corporate and media events.” It could work.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Harley reassured her.

Charity looked skeptical, but then again she always did.

But once her twin pulled out a notebook and started making a to-do list, Charity seemed to realize this was happening with or without her opinion, so she might as well add it. Which was good, because ultimately Shawn found she had no opinion herself. It was more overwhelming than anything else.

Frankly, she’d never been the little girl who fantasized about her wedding, and she was no great party planner either. She was more of a show-up-with-a-bottle-of-wine-and-hope-someone-did-all-the-work kind of person. Given that this wasn’t even real, and she was already feeling guilty for essentially duping her friends and family, she really didn’t care whether they used peonies versus roses.

“So I’ll call the catering company for linens, Charity is handling the flowers, and Mrs. Ford is going to organize the food. Shawn, what is your mom going to want to do?”

“Drink.” Shawn shrugged. “No, seriously, I don’t think she will want to be involved in any way, but I’ll ask her.”

“She’s not going to want to be involved?” Mrs. Ford looked horrified. “Why ever not? You’re her only daughter.”

“Mom is kind of a free spirit. Mostly my grandparents raised me. She’s happy for me.” Which wasn’t even true. When Shawn had called her to give her the news, her mother had told her she was an idiot to get married and tie herself emotionally and legally to a man who would most likely screw her over in the end. It hadn’t been a helpful chat. “She doesn’t like details,” she added.

“Neither do you,” Harley pointed out. “It’s like pulling teeth to get you to offer an opinion on cake flavors or a décor theme color.”

“Which is why I can’t fault her for it.” Hey, she could admit that she was missing a craft gene. She had no interest in hand-cutting decorative paper signs for the milk-and-cookies bar Harley had thought would be supercute. She agreed. The concept was supercute. But that didn’t mean she wanted to cut shit.

Nor did she think Rhett was really the milk-and-cookies type. He seemed more like whiskey and caramel sauce. But then again, what the hell did she know?

“Don’t worry about it. You’re the bride. We’ll handle everything,” Rhett’s mother assured her. “I have six daughters living here in Charlotte. We’ll knock this out in a few hours, and with Charity and Harley’s help, you won’t need to worry about a thing.”

Shawn would think that was marvelous if it wasn’t for the fact that she felt guilty as hell. “Thank you. Y’all don’t know how much I appreciate this, seriously. I couldn’t do this without your help.”

“Should we do a slide show? You know, like pictures of you both growing up, then pictures of you together?”

Shawn gave Charity a look that hopefully conveyed how totally freaking stupid that was. “That’s going to be a short slide show. To my knowledge, there is only one photo of Rhett and me together, and it’s not one I would ever show anyone.”

“Oh.” Charity made a purring sound, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder. “Naughty, naughty.”

Really? Harley was about to find out what life as a single birth was like because Shawn was going to kill Charity. “I don’t mean
that
! Gawd. My mother-in-law is here.” It may not be real, but it still held all the trauma of the title for her. “I just meant it’s the shot from the courthouse when we got married and the lighting sucks. I look translucent and Rhett is scowling at the photographer.”

“That’s just the way he is,” Mrs. Ford said, waving her hand. “But you make a good point. We need to have a photo shoot done with the two of you.”

Shawn sat up straighter. “Oh no! That’s not what I meant. We don’t need to do that. It’s fine. I’m not very photogenic.”

“Oh, good grief. Of course, we’re doing it. I’ll call a friend of a friend and we’ll have it set up for this week.”

Well, if Shawn got her lack of organization from her mother, it was safe to say that Rhett got his heavy-handedness from his mother.

“Now what can I get the two of you for a wedding gift?”

“Oh, nothing, really . . . I mean, you’re giving me all this help with the party. That’s honestly enough. We don’t need . . . anything,” she finished lamely. Why the hell did Rhett have to work today? She couldn’t believe that she was being forced to deal with this on her own.

Of course, this whole farce was her idea, so technically, she should be the one dealing with it. Damn it.

And this morning, she had wanted him to leave because she’d been feeling vulnerable after last night.

“Dishes? Towels? Maybe some new bedding?”

Well, new bedding wouldn’t hurt. Her comforter was the same one she had used as a teenager, and according to the calendar, that was a long-ass time ago. “Bedding would be lovely, but don’t feel you have to.” Get anything for the greedy whore.

Oh, this was dicey moral ground.

“What size is your bed? A queen?”

“I’m not sure. It might be a double.”

“Well, let’s go take a look.” Sandy was up on her feet before Shawn could protest. “Which room is yours?”

“First door on the right.” Shawn scrambled to follow her.

She was already in the doorway, assessing. “That’s only a double, honey. Good grief, talk about close quarters. Young love is certainly cozy.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a problem.” It hadn’t. Yes, she had woken up with a body temperature of a thousand degrees from Radiator Rhett, but she would just use a thinner blanket. If he even intended to sleep in her bed again. Which he might not want to. Or she might not want him to.

“Regardless, you do look like you could use a little refresh in here. I’m happy to see that you’re practical and don’t waste your money on things you don’t need, but sweetheart, let me buy you some new sheets.”

Shawn glanced into her room over Sandy’s shoulder. It was a tired-looking bedroom she had to admit, with worn beige carpet and equally worn beige walls. She’d hung a picture of a sunset on the wall about a decade ago, and it was now crooked. The bed was even tilted at an odd angle from the wall, like they had shifted it last night during sex, and the sheets were destroyed. There was also a purple vibrator on the nightstand where she had tossed it after Rhett had gone to use the bathroom.

Oh. My. God.

With any luck, Sandy hadn’t noticed.

Then she turned, with pursed lips, and Shawn knew she most definitely had noticed.

Shawn wanted to die. She wanted to peel back the dingy carpet and bury herself under it.

Not that Sandy would say anything. But just knowing that she knew was horrifying enough.

Except she did say something.

Which meant that Shawn’s plunge into awkward hell was one hundred percent complete.

“Shawn, is Rhett not . . . satisfying you?” she asked in a low voice.

Yep. Hell. Certainly her face was on fire. “Of course he does,” she managed, wondering if she could pretend this was about a reference to say, something like his ability to meet her emotional needs. Not about why she needed to use a vibrator two days after her marriage.

“Because I know that Rhett can be selfish. He’s been spoiled, I admit, and that’s my fault. He was my youngest, my baby, and I knew we weren’t having any more, so I definitely cut him more slack than I should have.” Sandy put her hand on her chest. “His last girlfriend told me that he’s rude and demanding, and it breaks my heart to hear that.”

It was breaking Shawn’s that they were having this discussion. And who was the bitch who had run to Rhett’s mother and whined? Geez. Deal with your shit, honey, don’t go running to your boyfriend’s mother.

Feeling defensive on Rhett’s behalf, she told Sandy quite honestly, “Rhett is actually very thoughtful. He opens the door for me, he washes dishes, he makes coffee. I don’t find anything rude about him at all.” She was not discussing their sex life. In any way, shape, or form. And she was going to resolutely pretend there was no vibrator anywhere near them while they were discussing anything other than her sex life.

His mother looked pleased. “I’m glad to hear that. He has a good heart. He’s very loyal. But he doesn’t smile enough, and sometimes people misinterpret that as having ill intentions.”

A strange feeling settled over Shawn, one that she didn’t understand. She felt something in her chest that was unrecognizable, a tight grip. “He’s a wonderful man, Sandy,” she said, and she meant it. “You should be proud of him.”

Sandy squeezed her hand. “You should see him with the kids and his siblings. That’s when he relaxes.”

“So you really don’t mind that we eloped?” It was a stupid, masochistic question to ask, but she found herself seeking approval from Rhett’s mother. Maybe it was because her own mother had been so casual and flaky when she’d been growing up. Maybe it was because she missed her grandparents, who for all practical purposes had been the heart of her family. Maybe it was also because Eve had indicated that Mrs. Ford had been very unhappy with her own unexpected marriage to Nolan.

“I honestly don’t mind. Now with Nolan, it worried me a little because Nolan fell in love more times than I can count. But in the end, once I saw him with Eve, I knew this was different, something special. She’s the right woman for him. With Rhett, I trust that if he chose to marry you, you’re the woman he wants to spend his life with. He holds his emotions back, so when he opens up, it’s honest.”

Yeah, she shouldn’t have asked. Because now she felt like complete and total crap. Honest? Hardly. Neither one of them were being honest, and she felt lousy about deceiving Sandy, who clearly had her son’s best interests at heart.

Shawn also felt something that was suspiciously similar to jealousy. She envied the woman who would capture Rhett’s heart someday, who would have all that intense loyalty, that straightforward, never-wavering devotion.

She didn’t know what to say, afraid that if she did speak, she would either confess the truth or admit that she was suddenly wishing she were Rhett’s type. Fortunately, she didn’t have to respond, because Charity called to them from the living room.

“You have got to see this dress, Shawn! I think you should wear this to the party.”

Relieved and horrified all at the same time, she gave Mrs. Ford a sheepish smile. “I hadn’t even thought about a dress.”

The truth was, there were a lot of things she hadn’t thought about before she had gone and asked Rhett to marry her.

 • • • 

EVE
watched her brother-in-law moving around the garage and frowned. She had known Rhett for years, but only in the last three months had she really spent any time with him. Initially, she had thought that he was arrogant, a charmer, who didn’t show you who he really was. She still thought he kept himself private and remote, but she knew now he wasn’t arrogant, and, frankly, he wasn’t particularly charming. He didn’t play games with women or his coworkers, and he really only spoke if he had something to say that was relevant.

Whereas Eve’s own husband could work a crowd, laughed easily, and was almost never angry, Shawn’s new husband simmered quietly beneath the surface with something Eve had never quite understood.

Even more so, now she wondered what really went on in his head.

Nolan, who had a rare weekend off from working on her brother’s pit crew, had come to the track with her to see her new engine. She had placed fifteenth the day before, and they were all pretty excited at the possibilities. Her truck was running well, and she was getting the attention she had wanted on the circuit. Her two-year plan was to break into the cup circuit and garner a major sponsorship, and so far, so good.