Sleeping Arrangements (Silhouette Desire) by Amy Jo Cousins Page B
Authors: Amy Jo Cousins
Ads: Link
whatsoever between panic and the urge to run to her bathroom and throw up.
“Not in Wisconsin. We can be there in two hours.” And with that last parting shot, he was gone. The dog followed but then raced back into the room a second later to give her one last sniff, followed by a wet welcome-to-our-home lick up the side of her face.
She scrubbed her cheek with her shirtsleeve. This was not how she’d ever pictured her life. Getting married to a relative stranger in Wisconsin on a couple hours’ notice with dog slobber on her face.
“I owe you one, Great-Aunt Adeline.” She spoke to the ceiling. “If either of us manages to make it to heaven, I’m going to somehow make you suffer for this.”
On I-94 to Wisconsin, after a brief battle over the radio that ended in a compromise by settling on NPR in lieu of rock or classical, Addy settled into her seat and tried to relax. They’d already had skirmishes over several details since Spencer had emerged after his shower, steamy clean and smelling likeheaven in a dress shirt and slacks. He’d suggested that she might want to change out of her jeans and black turtleneck. She’d claimed comfort first and won that one. Then Addy had suggested that she drive on the nuptial road trip. He’d claimed BMW comfort over Dodge Ram shock absorbers and won that one.
By the time she’d played along with the radio contestants on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and tied or beaten them all, she realized that she had in fact relaxed a little. So had Spencer, apparently, since he was whistling some rippling brook of a melody as they sped down the highway in sleek fashion.
“Why are you so happy about all this?” she asked after another minute, kicking off her shoes and wedging her feet against the dash. When he frowned at her, she protested, “C’mon, I took my shoes off.”
“Just be careful.” He ducked his hand in his cuff and leaned forward to buff a faint scratch off the glove-compartment door.
“So, what gives?” She was pestering him for an answer she wasn’t sure she really wanted but couldn’t resist. Like scratching a mosquito bite until it bled. She’d trade him with an honest admission of her own. “I know I’m cranky enough for two people today. Why aren’t you?”
“I told you before.” He kept his eyes on the road. “You look right in that house, like you belong there. I just want to make sure that happens.”
“Right. You’re my guardian angel.” She snorted out loud. A long, tangled curl caught at the corner of her mouth and she pulled the whole mass of her hair behind her head, securing it with a rubber band she found in her pocket.
“Or maybe I’m just taking a chance.”
“On what?” She was genuinely curious.
“As much as you make me want to lock you up for your own safety, I’m oddly attracted to you.” She saw his hands flex on the steering wheel and ignored the tremors that shot through her system. “You’re an intelligent, interesting, beautiful woman. Maybe in six months’ time, we’ll decide that this wasn’t so crazy after all. Good marriages have been founded on less promising terms.”
“Can you actually be struck dead by lightning while traveling in a moving vehicle?” she wondered aloud. “Because that’s about how likely I think your little scenario is.”
“Well, I certainly haven’t done a good job of finding the right woman by picking ones I actually like.” A slight bitterness tinted his voice. “I may be better off with a woman I have to drag kicking and screaming to the altar than one who’s racing to meet my checkbook there.”
Now why should that sting? She supposed it was a backhanded compliment, contrasting her positively to a gold digger in his past. Still, she put on her sunglasses and pretended that she wasn’t doing so to hide any hurt feelings in her eyes.
“Been burned before, have we?” She kept her tone careless.
“Haven’t we all?” he answered shortly while flicking on
“Not in Wisconsin. We can be there in two hours.” And with that last parting shot, he was gone. The dog followed but then raced back into the room a second later to give her one last sniff, followed by a wet welcome-to-our-home lick up the side of her face.
She scrubbed her cheek with her shirtsleeve. This was not how she’d ever pictured her life. Getting married to a relative stranger in Wisconsin on a couple hours’ notice with dog slobber on her face.
“I owe you one, Great-Aunt Adeline.” She spoke to the ceiling. “If either of us manages to make it to heaven, I’m going to somehow make you suffer for this.”
On I-94 to Wisconsin, after a brief battle over the radio that ended in a compromise by settling on NPR in lieu of rock or classical, Addy settled into her seat and tried to relax. They’d already had skirmishes over several details since Spencer had emerged after his shower, steamy clean and smelling likeheaven in a dress shirt and slacks. He’d suggested that she might want to change out of her jeans and black turtleneck. She’d claimed comfort first and won that one. Then Addy had suggested that she drive on the nuptial road trip. He’d claimed BMW comfort over Dodge Ram shock absorbers and won that one.
By the time she’d played along with the radio contestants on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and tied or beaten them all, she realized that she had in fact relaxed a little. So had Spencer, apparently, since he was whistling some rippling brook of a melody as they sped down the highway in sleek fashion.
“Why are you so happy about all this?” she asked after another minute, kicking off her shoes and wedging her feet against the dash. When he frowned at her, she protested, “C’mon, I took my shoes off.”
“Just be careful.” He ducked his hand in his cuff and leaned forward to buff a faint scratch off the glove-compartment door.
“So, what gives?” She was pestering him for an answer she wasn’t sure she really wanted but couldn’t resist. Like scratching a mosquito bite until it bled. She’d trade him with an honest admission of her own. “I know I’m cranky enough for two people today. Why aren’t you?”
“I told you before.” He kept his eyes on the road. “You look right in that house, like you belong there. I just want to make sure that happens.”
“Right. You’re my guardian angel.” She snorted out loud. A long, tangled curl caught at the corner of her mouth and she pulled the whole mass of her hair behind her head, securing it with a rubber band she found in her pocket.
“Or maybe I’m just taking a chance.”
“On what?” She was genuinely curious.
“As much as you make me want to lock you up for your own safety, I’m oddly attracted to you.” She saw his hands flex on the steering wheel and ignored the tremors that shot through her system. “You’re an intelligent, interesting, beautiful woman. Maybe in six months’ time, we’ll decide that this wasn’t so crazy after all. Good marriages have been founded on less promising terms.”
“Can you actually be struck dead by lightning while traveling in a moving vehicle?” she wondered aloud. “Because that’s about how likely I think your little scenario is.”
“Well, I certainly haven’t done a good job of finding the right woman by picking ones I actually like.” A slight bitterness tinted his voice. “I may be better off with a woman I have to drag kicking and screaming to the altar than one who’s racing to meet my checkbook there.”
Now why should that sting? She supposed it was a backhanded compliment, contrasting her positively to a gold digger in his past. Still, she put on her sunglasses and pretended that she wasn’t doing so to hide any hurt feelings in her eyes.
“Been burned before, have we?” She kept her tone careless.
“Haven’t we all?” he answered shortly while flicking on
Similar Books
