Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) (3 page)

As they walked, she leaned toward him and whispered, “I’m Jenni.”

“Tony Jarrett. What do you do, Jenni?” They kept their voices low, and Jenni was sure it would appear to strangers as if the newlywed couple was whispering sweet nothings to each other, and instead they were introducing themselves to each other. What a bizarre situation!

He kept his hand at her elbow, needing to keep touching his new bride, trying to ensure she wouldn’t escape. Why he was convinced she’d run, he didn’t know. He was almost six feet tall, and she was about six inches shorter than him, splitting the difference in the height between her two friends, who were very obviously sisters.

“I’m a nurse up in Northlake, Texas, which is just north of Fort Worth.”

He nodded. “I know the area. I live in Arlington.”

She nodded with a smile. She hadn’t wanted to relocate, and Dr. Lachele had obviously had that in mind when she chose him for her. “What do you do, Tony?”

“I’m an accountant. I work for a large CPA firm up in Grapevine.”

Grapevine was much closer to Northlake than Arlington was. Maybe he’d eventually be willing to move north. “You seem like someone who would be a CPA.” He was very serious from what she could see, so he’d obviously chosen his career well.

“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment,” he said as he held her chair out for her at the formal table the captain had led them all to. It was in a room off the main dining room, but they could see the dining room through a window.

“Neither. It’s an observation. Your career seems to suit you very well.”

“It does. How does nursing suit you?”

Jenni shrugged, her bare shoulders catching his attention. “I think it suits me well. I just graduated in December, but I was a nurse’s aide for three years while I was waiting for a spot to open up at UTA’s nursing school, and then while I was taking my nursing courses.”

He smiled at that. “I went to UTA as well. Graduated four years ago.”

“You were a senior while I was a freshman then. That’s where I met my friends who came with me. The tall one is Kaya, and she’s a romance writer. The short one is Bridget, and she’s a nurse like me.” She leaned close as if to impart a great secret. “They’re fraternal twins, not identical.”

He found himself grinning at that. “I figured out they weren’t identical when they were arguing over who was cuter in line to get on the ship.”

“They might be a bit obnoxious, but they
are
my two best friends. And trust me, they’re both much better behaved when they aren’t together. I think you’d love them both, individually.”

He shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it. My opinion of them doesn’t really matter. They’re your friends, not mine.”

“That’s true.” Jenni looked across the table at her friends. “Kaya, Bridget, this is Tony. He’s been watching your obnoxious behavior since we got on the ship. Thanks for helping me make a good first impression.” She rolled her eyes at them, letting them know she wasn’t angry, but it
had
made it a little harder for her.

The twins looked at each other and frowned. “Sorry,” Kaya said quickly. “We were just having fun. And we weren’t fighting!”

“I’m always happy when you don’t fight,” Jenni told them. “And amazed.” She looked at Dr. Lachele. “Thank you for making everything happen just as I wanted. I hope you didn’t mind taking a cruise to make it all go smoothly?”

Dr. Lachele laughed. “Even Sam isn’t complaining about the cruise. He loves the ship.”

“I’m glad,” Jenni answered simply.

“Is this your first cruise, Dr. Lachele?” Tony asked.

Dr. Lachele nodded emphatically, her purple hair bobbing with the energetic movement. “It sure is. It won’t be our last though. We’re converted. Floating cities are great fun!”

Jenni smiled at that, glad the older woman was having so much fun. When they were asked for their food preferences, both Bridget and Kaya ordered the shrimp, and Jenni closed her eyes, worried about what they’d do with the forks they were presented. Would they be able to behave themselves? Just for one night?

“Tell us about the most interesting match you’ve made, Dr. Lachele.” Jenni hoped that by having the focus of the meal on Dr. Lachele, her friends would behave.

Dr. Lachele looked at Sam, frowning for a minute. “Let me think. Oh, I know! I had a situation where the groom asked for a match for him and his three brothers, so I sent him quadruplets. Those boys had no idea what hit them. The girls arrived and they fell like dominoes.”

“Didn’t they expect to? I mean, that’s the whole purpose behind being matched up, isn’t it? Hoping to fall in love?” Kaya asked.

“You must be the romance writer friend!” Dr. Lachele said with a grin. “Most people really aren’t looking for romance with a marriage through me. They want to meet some kind of goal. In that case, part of the provisions of their grandfather’s will was they had to marry within a certain amount of time. They were just doing what they had to do. None of them planned to actually fall in love with the women they married.”

“But they did?” Jenni asked, hating the idea of spending the rest of her life in a loveless marriage.

“I only match people I expect to fall in love,” Dr. Lachele said emphatically.

Jenni looked beside her at Tony and wondered if there was any way she could fall for the serious-looking man. After having Kaya as one of her closest friends for more than five years, she was used to laughing—a lot. How could she resign herself to a life without a vast amount of humor?

Kaya smiled. “Are all of the marriages you arrange set up this way? Where people meet at the altar?”

“They are,” Lachele said with a nod. “I find that if I give people time to really get to know one another first, they may decide they don’t belong together, when they really do. It’s one of those things that always baffles me. If you have the friction between you to fight, you’ll have the friction between the sheets, and the ability to love as well. It’s as simple as that. People make it to the first fight and give up on a relationship. That’s why I make people sign a contract saying they’ll stay together for a year.”

“Have any of your marriages failed?” Bridget asked.

“Not a one.”

Kaya grinned. “I may pick your brain for more information later. I think it would be awesome to write a series about couples who meet at the altar. The stories would make for some great romantic comedies. At the Altar would be a good title for them, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I have to tell you the story of one couple and how they couldn’t manage to consummate, then! Yeah, we’ll talk later, but you’ll get no names from me!”

Kaya grinned. “I wouldn’t dare ask for names!”

Jenni looked over at Tony as the conversation kept going between Kaya and Dr. Lachele. She saw that he was watching her as well, and she moved her hand over to cover his on his lap. “We’ll make it work,” she whispered softly, knowing they needed to be able to live together for at least a year. Of course, she didn’t believe in divorce, so even if she was fed up after that, she’d stay with him.

“We signed a contract that we’d stay together for at least a year. We have to make it work,” he responded.

“Thanks for agreeing to marry on the cruise. I know it was a weird request, but it was the only way to keep my mother from taking over the preparations for the ceremony.” As the words came out, Jenni realized they would sound bad to anyone who didn’t know the full story.

“Would that have been so bad?” he asked, frowning at her.

“If you’d ever met my mother, you’d know the answer to that. I’d be wearing a wedding dress that was twenty years out of style and looked hideous on me, and I’d have had my cousins for my bridesmaids and not my crazy friends.” She couldn’t imagine having a wedding with her boring cousins instead of Kaya and Bridget. As crazy as they made her, they were both good for her.

He nodded. “Well, I’m glad you got what you wanted then. I’m happy to help make it happen.”

Jenni smiled, determined they’d do well. She could forgive him for saying mean things about her friends. Well, as long as he didn’t make a habit of it, she could.

Chapter Three

After dinner, Jenni and Tony went to the ninth floor where her suite was to transfer her things into his cabin on deck eight. Both of the rooms were at the very back of the ship, and had their own balconies. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to hear her friends from their balcony if she was on hers. She’d have to test that out sometime when he was in the shower and she could call them so they could listen for her to make noise from her balcony. Being married and being ready for your husband to know how your mind worked were two very different things!

She opened the door to the suite she shared with her friends in silence, knowing that Kaya and Bridget were off singing karaoke and getting their pictures taken again. Jenni almost felt sorry for the photographers, and she
definitely
felt sorry for the other people doing karaoke.

Tony looked at the suitcase and two garment bags—one empty, and one full, the only things laying out. “Is this all?” He had to assume her wedding dress went in the empty garment bag.

“Mostly. I have a tote bag as well, but I’ll get that.” She picked up the tote from where it laid in the living area of the suite. “Okay, ready. What’s your room number, so I can give it to the girls?” She couldn’t be alone in a room with a stranger with no one knowing where she was. Very nervous now that the time was at hand, she wanted someone to be able to find her.

“Are they going to be calling at weird hours?”

“I hope not. They usually know better. I just want them to be able to find me if they need me.”

Tony frowned but gave her his number and watched as she quickly scrawled a note to her friends. “You’re not nervous about being alone with me, are you?”

Jenni looked at him, shocked. “Of course I am. I’m not stupid, and you’re a virtual stranger. I know Dr. Lachele checked you out, but you could have found a way to hide something from her.” Didn’t psychopaths always seem normal to everyone around them until they were found out?

“If you think that, why did you marry me?”

She thought about it for a moment, not sure how to phrase what she was thinking. “I wanted to marry, but I didn’t have time to date, and I didn’t want my parents involved in any way. I just—well, I didn’t want to get married in a traditional way, and my friend did well with Matchrimony, so I tried.”

“Your friend? What’s her name?”

“Heidi Henderson. We work together.”

“Henderson? One of my friends used Matchrimony, and that’s his last name. She’s not married to Seth, is she?” Could Michelle use another name that he didn’t know about?

Jenni shook her head, opening the door and heading to the elevator, very aware of him behind her. “No, she’s married to Slade.”

“That’s Seth’s twin. Wow. I had no idea you knew Slade.”

“You know Slade?”

He shook his head. “No, but I feel like I do after being friends with Seth since our college days.”

“That makes sense.”

“Why don’t you want your parents involved?” he asked. “Did they know you were getting married?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t want them to. My parents—well, they come from an old family. There’s money involved, and they’ve been disappointed in me since I announced in high school that I wanted to be a nurse.”

“How could anyone be disappointed their daughter wanted to be a nurse?” It was a good profession and seemed to pay well. What on earth was wrong with being a nurse?

She sighed. “They thought I should be a
doctor
. Nothing I do is ever quite good enough. No man I’ve dated has ever met their expectations. I thought I’d save myself a lot of heartache by not letting them be involved.”

Tony used his key card to open the door to his suite, and looking around, she saw it was identical to the one she shared with the girls. He put her suitcase onto the bed, so she could unpack. “I left all the top drawers open, and there are lots of hangers in the closet for you.”

“Thanks.” Jenni felt strange unpacking her clothes in front of a stranger, but what could she do? It needed to be done, and he plopped himself down onto the bed to watch her.

She balled her underwear up in her hand as she carried them to put into the top drawer, feeling funny about him seeing them. And how was she going to get out of her wedding dress? She’d needed Kaya’s help to get into it, and she didn’t feel comfortable asking him, but calling her friends would be even worse.

“You don’t have to be nervous around me, you know.”

She frowned. “I think it’s just one of those ingrained things. I’ve never been one to go to bars, or go home with men I just met, or even men I’ve dated. I’m not like that. So meeting you today, and being alone with you in a room tonight is strange.”

“Well, we’re married,” Tony told her logically. “We’re going to be naked together before too long, so I don’t think you should worry about that too much.”

She sighed. “I wanted to talk to you about the naked together thing…”

He groaned. “Dr. Lachele told me you might ask me to wait for sex. I was hoping she was wrong.” He’d had their wedding night all built up in his head, and he knew he shouldn’t have after being warned, but…that didn’t change how he felt!

Jenni frowned. “I’m going to ask you to wait. At least a little while. It’s not that I don’t find you attractive, because I do, but…sex with a stranger is just weird.” Surely he’d understand she needed time to get to know him first.

“A stranger who just so happens to be your husband.”

“Can you give me a month?”

“How about two days?”

She frowned. “Twenty-eight days.”

Five minutes later, they’d arrived at two weeks. “But I get to kiss you whenever I want,” he said.

She nodded. “I like kissing you.”

“You’re not going to make me sleep on the couch, are you?” he asked, indicating the couch in the second room of the suite.

Jenni thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I think we’ll be fine sharing the bed. I’ll sleep on top of the sheet, and you sleep under it.”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t think we can even touch?”

She shrugged. “I thought it might make it easier for you to do it that way. Would you rather we were both under the sheet?”

“I think if I can’t make love with my new wife, I should at least be able to hold her close. Is that too much to ask?” Tony was starting to think the whole conversation was ridiculous. Of course, it took a bit of pressure off him too. He’d been nervous about making love with the woman he’d spend forever with.

“I guess not. I just…it feels weird.” She put the last of her clothes away before moving her suitcase under the bed and out of their tiny space. “I have a favor I need to ask for.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s that?”

“Wedding dresses aren’t made to get out of on your own. I need help.” She presented her back to him, showing him the tiny buttons there.

“So I get to unwrap the present and not play with it.” He sighed. “Story of my life.”

“Please?” she asked, feeling like a first-class jerk for even asking.

He moved behind her, unbuttoning her gown. He kissed the side of her neck when he was finished. “There.”

She turned to him, holding her dress up over her breasts in the front. “Thank you.”

He watched with a frown as she dug through a drawer for something before disappearing into the bathroom. He laid back on the bed, his hands folded behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Disappointment didn’t even begin to describe his emotions.

She came back into the room, wearing a pair of comfortable looking pajamas, and sat on the very edge of the bed. “Do you want to look at excursions for tomorrow?” she asked softly. “Cozumel is supposed to be beautiful.”

Tony shrugged. “We can do something if you want.” He hadn’t pictured doing anything after they were married except making love, so he had no preference at all.

Jenni hurried over to the schedule for the following day, pulling out the insert about the excursions that were available. “We could go on a submarine, swim with the dolphins, snorkel, spend a day at the beach, or just wander around shopping? Or we could stay on the ship?”

“How would you feel about just wandering around and seeing what we see?” he asked. He’d heard good things about Cozumel, and he figured they could get to know each other as they walked.

Jenni nodded, putting the insert back down and sitting on the bed beside him nervously. She was wearing pajamas with little seahorses on them, and she couldn’t quite make eye contact with him. “I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

He frowned, trying to see the situation from her point of view. “I’ll survive. I think it’s more important that we’re comfortable with each other as we start this marriage,” he said, realizing it was true. It wouldn’t hurt him to wait a couple of weeks for sex, but if she felt pressured into it, she might not be able to get beyond that.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said, meeting his gaze for the first time since emerging from the bathroom.

He smiled, reaching for her hand. “I didn’t think to bring pajamas, because I figured they wouldn’t be necessary. I’ll have to sleep in underwear. Is that a problem?”

She shook her head at him, trying not to blush. She reminded herself she was a nurse and used to seeing the human body. She couldn’t count the number of men she’d had to give sponge baths, but this was different! “I understand.”

“Excuse me for a minute then, and I’ll get ready for bed.” She could hear him in the bathroom brushing his teeth and preparing for bed, and it felt strange to know he’d be there in a minute to join her. Jenni got up and grabbed her iPad, so she could be looking at that and not at him when he joined her.

When he came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, she was in the middle of one of Kaya’s hilarious scenes. Somehow, her friend could take normal humans, doing normal things, and make it absolutely hilarious. She was giggling as Tony slipped between the sheets with her.

“What’s so funny?”

She grinned over at him, glad to see he was covered. “I’m reading one of my friend, Kaya’s, books. She’s hilarious.”

“Kaya’s the tall one, right?”

Jenni nodded. “She writes romance, and I don’t usually have a lot of time to read, but I try to keep up with her stuff if I can. She’s so funny she makes my sides hurt.”

He smiled. “How did you meet them?” He liked the idea of her having friends she could just laugh with. Everyone in the world needed that.

She set her iPad on the nightstand beside her and propped her head on one hand, looking at him. “I wanted to go to UTA, because it seemed right for me. My parents were pushing for a private college, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I’d gone to a private preparatory school all through high school, and I wanted to feel more normal. So anyway, I went to school there, and I knew no one. I was matched up with Kaya as my roommate for my freshman year. I met Bridget later in some of my prerequisite classes for the nursing program, since she was doing all the same classes I was. So I became friends with them separately, not even realizing for a few months they were sisters.”

“I see.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure if I’d have been friends with either of them if I’d been around them both together. They either fight or they act goofy. There’s no in-between. Trust me, their goofiness was welcome this trip, because I would have had to hurt one of them if they’d fought the whole time.”

“Then I’m glad they acted goofy.” He reached out to stroke her cheek, happy when she didn’t flinch away. “Whose idea was it to sing
Going to the Chapel
?”

“I have no idea. One of them. I didn’t want to sing at all, but then they called my name and I felt stupid.” She shook her head. “I was really shy when I was younger, and those two have done a lot toward getting me out of my shell. I should probably thank them for doing stuff like that, but I just wanted to strangle them both.”

“I can understand that.” He scooted toward the middle of the bed, one hand coming to rest on her hip, but atop the covers. “I want to kiss you.” Should he just blurt it out that way? This being married to a stranger business was complicated.

Jenni nodded slowly, unsure if he was asking for permission or just announcing his intentions. Either way, he had a right to kiss her whenever he wanted.

“You don’t mind?” he asked softly, not wanting to frighten her or upset her in any way. Now that she’d explained about her shyness, he could see it.

“Of course not. You’re my husband.” The word felt strange coming from her lips. She’d been working toward this for a couple of months, but
actually
being
married
was coming as a bit of a shock to her.

He leaned toward her, pressing his lips to hers, their only real point of contact was where their mouths touched. His hand remained on her hip, but it was through layers, so it didn’t count.

His lips were soft against hers, and she parted her lips to meet his tongue with hers. As soon as he deepened the kiss, she felt the stirrings of passion in her belly. She was surprised at how easily she responded to him, but she truly enjoyed his touch, which pleased her.