A Husband for the Holidays (Made For Matrimony 1) by Ami Weaver

the dog, who sat down and looked up at her adoringly.
    “Do you want to stay?” The words slipped out before he could stop them. And now it was too late to call them back. “I just reheated some stew, if you’re hungry. Otherwise you can just keep me company.”
    She hesitated. “I’m not hungry. But I can stay a little bit.”
    After he took her coat, she followed him through the house to the kitchen. He wondered what she thought of it, if he should tell her why he’d bought it. Seeing her wary expression as she seated herself at the breakfast bar, he decided not to.
    She looked around and he saw the frank curiosity on her face. “This is really nice, Mack. I like it.”
    The words fill him with a silly gratitude. “Thanks. I do, too. Chase and I worked on it together.”
    “How long have you lived here?” She nodded when he held up a bottle of wine. He opened a cupboard and took out a glass, then met her gaze and decided he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t tell her the whole truth.
    “A while now. Long enough to be settled in, I guess.” The evasive answer was kinder. If he told her, she’d do the math and realize when he’d bought the house. That might open up more guilt, and there was no point in either of them going there.
    He slid the wineglass across the counter and watched as she fingered the stem. Nervous. He seated himself near her and started in on the stew.
    “Do you cook?” The surprise in her voice made him laugh around a forkful.
    “God, no,” he said when he’d swallowed. “My mom makes extra and drops it off. She caught me buying a TV dinner once when I ran into her at the grocery store.” He grinned at the memory. Her reaction hadn’t been much different than if she’d caught him buying condoms. “She was horrified. And then I started getting containers.”
    Darcy gave a little laugh. “I bet.”
    He forked up another bite. “I know I’m too old for my mother to be cooking for me. But she enjoys it. I guess it benefits both of us.”
    “I guess so,” Darcy agreed, a slightly wistful look in her eyes.
    “You should come to dinner sometime,” he said, and she drew back, already shaking her head.
    “Oh, no. After everything...” Her voice trailed off.
    “They’d love to see you.” That might be a bit of a stretch when it came to Chase, but after what his mom had said earlier, he knew she would be welcoming.
    He wanted to ask her if it was true, if she’d felt rushed into their marriage, then decided now wasn’t the time. Besides, Darcy had always been straightforward. They’d talked about it at length when they found out she was pregnant. She’d never expressed any reservations about any of it at all.
    She smiled at him then. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
    No, he decided, his mother had been wrong.
    * * *
    The next morning, Marla sat at the table with Darcy. “I need to ask you something.”
    “Okay,” Darcy said carefully, her pulse kicking up.
    “I know you only planned to stay a few days.” Marla drew in a deep breath and Darcy’s heart sank. She knew what was coming. “But. We could really use your help now that Joe is out of commission. Mack can’t do it all, since he’s got his vet practice. I know he’s putting a lot of it on Jennifer, but he can’t just leave it. I can’t do it all with Joe, and the farm needs someone who can give it attention full-time.” Her voice trailed off and Darcy saw the misery on her aunt’s face and knew how hard it had been to even ask her.
    “Of course I’ll stay. I’ll make it work,” she said with far more confidence than she actually felt. They needed her here, far more than they needed her at work. What did that say about her career? “I need to call my boss and make some arrangements.”
    Marla grabbed her hands and squeezed tightly. There were tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Darcy. I know—I know there are parts of this that aren’t easy for you.”
    Darcy squeezed back. “You’re welcome. It’ll be fine. You