it a sham. She thought longingly of escape, but it was too late to back out. The bedroom door opened and his footsteps approached the bed. He dropped his watch on the dresser, and the bedsprings sagged when he sat on the edge of the bed.
“I wasn’t sure which side you wanted,” she said into the darkness.
“Which side?”
“Of the bed. To sleep on.”
“Oh. I hadn’t really thought about it. Which side do you want?”
“This side’s fine. Unless you’d rather—”
“It’s fine with me, too.”
Did he have to be so damned agreeable? She scowled as Jesse drew back the covers and crawled in between them, his body heat invading her space like spilled honey. They lay side by side in the darkness, taking care not to allow any accidental contact between body parts, the silence so thick between them that the rhythmic ticking of the clock thundered like a cannon inside her head.
One-Mississippi -TICK. Two-Mississippi -TICK.
He smelled of Ivory soap. The handful of men she’d dated after her divorce had invariably smelled of some expensive designer cologne. They’d been cut from the same mold, those men. They had tried just a little too hard, laughed just a little too loud, talked just a little too much about themselves. But Jesse Lindstrom wore the quiet, unsullied fragrance of cleanliness, and it was intoxicating.
Oh, God. Every inch of her body was excruciatingly aware of every inch of his. This shouldn’t be so difficult. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t already been together. But a semi-drunken coupling on a hot summer afternoon bore little resemblance to the reality of spending the rest of her life sleeping beside this stranger she’d promised only hours ago to love and cherish until death.
Beside her, Jesse cleared his throat.
Beside him, Rose exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
And the telephone rang.
For an instant, she froze. Then it rang a second time, and with an odd mixture of regret and relief, she fumbled for the receiver. She found it, brushed her tousled hair away from her face, and croaked, “Hello?”
“You cannot know,” Rob said at the other end of the line, “how much I hate having to do this to you tonight.”
“You might be surprised to know that I have an inkling. What’s wrong?”
“We’re at the emergency room with Luke.”
Her heart slammed into her throat. “What happened?”
“Don’t panic, Sis, he’s okay. But he has a broken ankle.”
She sat up, tossed aside the bedding, and leaned forward to turn on the bedside lamp. “Are you sure?” she said. “Did they do an X-ray?”
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s broken. We didn’t intend to bother you tonight. We thought we’d just get it patched up and tell you in the morning. But they won’t lay a hand on him without your permission. Rose, I’m sorry. I told these clowns it was your wedding night, but they don’t have a sense of humor.”
They found Rob pacing the hospital corridor outside the treatment room, his expression at once both thunderous and apologetic. Inside, Luke lay on a stretcher, his ankle swollen to twice its normal size. “Hey, kiddo,” she said. “What happened?”
“I fell through an old floorboard in the barn.”
“I’m so sorry,” Casey said. “I had no idea those old boards were rotted.”
“We’ll take care of the hospital bill,” Rob said. “I already set it up with the amazon out front.”
Luke tried to change position, and grimaced in pain. “I’m sorry I screwed up your wedding night,” he said.
Rose squeezed her son’s hand. “Don’t be an idiot. Let’s just get you off to X-ray. Maybe while they have you in there, they can check out your head and see if there’s anything inside.”
“Funny, Ma. Real funny.” But when the technician wheeled him off to X-ray, he was grinning in spite of his pain.
The moment he disappeared through the swinging double doors
“I wasn’t sure which side you wanted,” she said into the darkness.
“Which side?”
“Of the bed. To sleep on.”
“Oh. I hadn’t really thought about it. Which side do you want?”
“This side’s fine. Unless you’d rather—”
“It’s fine with me, too.”
Did he have to be so damned agreeable? She scowled as Jesse drew back the covers and crawled in between them, his body heat invading her space like spilled honey. They lay side by side in the darkness, taking care not to allow any accidental contact between body parts, the silence so thick between them that the rhythmic ticking of the clock thundered like a cannon inside her head.
One-Mississippi -TICK. Two-Mississippi -TICK.
He smelled of Ivory soap. The handful of men she’d dated after her divorce had invariably smelled of some expensive designer cologne. They’d been cut from the same mold, those men. They had tried just a little too hard, laughed just a little too loud, talked just a little too much about themselves. But Jesse Lindstrom wore the quiet, unsullied fragrance of cleanliness, and it was intoxicating.
Oh, God. Every inch of her body was excruciatingly aware of every inch of his. This shouldn’t be so difficult. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t already been together. But a semi-drunken coupling on a hot summer afternoon bore little resemblance to the reality of spending the rest of her life sleeping beside this stranger she’d promised only hours ago to love and cherish until death.
Beside her, Jesse cleared his throat.
Beside him, Rose exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
And the telephone rang.
For an instant, she froze. Then it rang a second time, and with an odd mixture of regret and relief, she fumbled for the receiver. She found it, brushed her tousled hair away from her face, and croaked, “Hello?”
“You cannot know,” Rob said at the other end of the line, “how much I hate having to do this to you tonight.”
“You might be surprised to know that I have an inkling. What’s wrong?”
“We’re at the emergency room with Luke.”
Her heart slammed into her throat. “What happened?”
“Don’t panic, Sis, he’s okay. But he has a broken ankle.”
She sat up, tossed aside the bedding, and leaned forward to turn on the bedside lamp. “Are you sure?” she said. “Did they do an X-ray?”
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s broken. We didn’t intend to bother you tonight. We thought we’d just get it patched up and tell you in the morning. But they won’t lay a hand on him without your permission. Rose, I’m sorry. I told these clowns it was your wedding night, but they don’t have a sense of humor.”
They found Rob pacing the hospital corridor outside the treatment room, his expression at once both thunderous and apologetic. Inside, Luke lay on a stretcher, his ankle swollen to twice its normal size. “Hey, kiddo,” she said. “What happened?”
“I fell through an old floorboard in the barn.”
“I’m so sorry,” Casey said. “I had no idea those old boards were rotted.”
“We’ll take care of the hospital bill,” Rob said. “I already set it up with the amazon out front.”
Luke tried to change position, and grimaced in pain. “I’m sorry I screwed up your wedding night,” he said.
Rose squeezed her son’s hand. “Don’t be an idiot. Let’s just get you off to X-ray. Maybe while they have you in there, they can check out your head and see if there’s anything inside.”
“Funny, Ma. Real funny.” But when the technician wheeled him off to X-ray, he was grinning in spite of his pain.
The moment he disappeared through the swinging double doors
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