His Convenient Virgin Bride

Four

As Alec approached the kitchen, he heard both Royce’s and Jared’s voices. He adjusted his collar, straightened his cuffs and shoved his guilt as far to the back of his mind as humanly possible.

Then he cringed as he passed the messy dining room table. They all would have seen it on their way to the kitchen, and it was completely unprofessional to leave his work scattered like that.

“We’re all heading out there in an hour,” Jared was saying.

“Good morning,” Alec put into the pause, glancing at the faces around the breakfast bar, first at Jared and Royce, then Melissa and Amber, checking for anger or suspicion.

Nothing he could detect, so he allowed himself a quick glance at Stephanie.

Damn it. She looked like she’d made love all night long. And her gaze on him was intense.

When Amber turned toward her, Alec quickly cleared his throat, moving toward the coffeepot, hoping to keep everyone’s attention from Stephanie. The woman had no poker face whatsoever.

“Heading where?” he asked Jared as he poured.

“The airport. We can give you a lift.”

Alec didn’t dare look, but he could feel Stephanie’s shock. It wasn’t perfect timing, but he couldn’t very well refuse the offer after telling Jared he was leaving today. There was work to do in Chicago, and there was also Norman Stanton to deal with.

Besides, what was he going to do if he stayed? Make love to Stephanie again? If they were alone in the same house, odds were good it would happen. His professional ethics were already teetering on the edge of oblivion.

“Thanks,” he forced himself to tell Jared. Then he turned, casually taking a sip from the stoneware mug. “Stephanie? I’ve got a couple more questions before I pack things up.” He nodded toward the dining room, hoping she’d get the hint. It might be their one chance to say goodbye alone.

Standing at the opposite side of the breakfast bar, she was blinking at him like a deer in the headlights.

This time Amber did catch Stephanie’s expression, and she frowned.

“Stephanie?” he repeated. If she didn’t snap out of it, they were going to have one hell of a lot of explaining to do.

“What?” She gave her head a little shake.

“In the dining room? I had a couple of questions.”

“Oh. Right.” Now she was looking annoyed with him. That was much better.

She followed him out, but Amber came on her heels, followed by Royce and the rest of the family. Alec was stuck with asking Stephanie some inane business questions, to which he already had answers, as he packed the papers away in his briefcase.

In no time, they were heading out the door to Jared’s SUV. Alec hung back, but he only managed the briefest of goodbyes and apologies to Stephanie before he had to leave.

Stephanie spent the next few weeks training hard with Rosie-Jo for the Brighton competition. At first, she’d been angry with Alec for his abrupt departure. Then she’d been grateful. After all, there was no sense in prolonging it.

They’d had a one-night stand, no big deal. She couldn’t have asked for a better lover. And, though it was short, it had been wonderful, physically, at least.

But then the gratitude wore off, and she felt inexplicably sad and lonely. She found herself remembering details about him-the sound of his laugh, how his gray eyes twinkled when he teased her, his confident stride, his gentle touch, the heat of his lips and the taste of his skin.

She knew she was pining away for something that couldn’t be, for something that had never existed in the first place, except in her own imagination.

She didn’t think she felt guilty about making love to him. But maybe she did. Maybe that was why she was pretending their relationship was something more than a fling.

Cold fact was, she’d given her virginity to a man she didn’t love, a man who was little more than a stranger.

It was the end of another long training day. She stabled Rosie-Jo and double-checked the feeding schedule. Leading up to Brighton, everything about Rosie’s regime had to be perfect, as did Stephanie’s.

She pressed her hands against the small of her back, arching as she sighed. Her period was a few days late, and she was getting frustrated with the wait. It was only a small difference, but competing at the most favorable hormonal point in her cycle could be the edge she needed to win. If she didn’t get it by the weekend, she could be jumping with PMS.

She pulled her ponytail loose, finger-combed her hair and refastened the rubber band as she made her way to the barn door. She was exhausted, almost dizzy with fatigue today. And she was famished.

She took that as a good sign. It wasn’t uncommon for her to polish off a pint of ice cream and a bag of potato chips the day before her period started. Not that she’d indulge in either this close to a competition. She’d have some grilled chicken and a big salad instead.

The thought of the food had her picking up her pace across the yard. But by the time she got to the front porch, she’d changed her mind. Chicken didn’t really appeal to her. Maybe she’d do a steak instead.

Then she opened the door and caught the aroma of one of her housekeeper Rosalind’s stews. She gripped the door frame for a split second. Okay, definitely not stew. She’d sit out on the back veranda and grill that steak.

The next morning, Stephanie blinked open her eyes, surprised to find it was nine-fifteen. The training schedule was obviously wearing her out. Fair enough. Her body was telling her something. She’d make sure she incorporated an extra hour sleep in her routine for the next two weeks.

She sat up quickly, and a wave of nausea had her dropping right back down on the pillow.

Damn it. She could not get sick.

Not now.

She absolutely refused to let a flu bug ruin the competition.

She gritted her teeth, sitting up more slowly. There. That was better. Wasn’t it?

She gripped the brass post of her bed, willing her stomach to calm down.

It wasn’t fair. First her period screwup, and now this. She needed to do well at Brighton. She’d trained her entire life for this year of all years. But it was as if the stars were lining up against her.

She started for the en suite, telling herself it was mind over matter. She was young and healthy. And she had a strong immune system. She was confident she’d quickly fight off whatever it was she’d picked up.

She stopped in front of the sink, pushing her messy hair back from her face, groping for her toothbrush and unscrewing the toothpaste cap.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face was pale. Her eyes looked too big today, and the smell of the toothpaste had her rushing to retch into the toilet.

There was little in her stomach, but she immediately felt better. What the heck was wrong-

She froze.

“No.” The hoarse exclamation was torn from her.

Her hand tightened on the counter edge and she shook her head in denial. She could not be pregnant.

They’d only done it once. And they’d used a condom.

Okay. She breathed. She had to calm down. She was only scaring herself. How many crazy thoughts had popped into her head since Alec left? This was simply one more in the series.

She drew another deep breath. The nausea had subsided.

It had to be psychosomatic. Her period would start today, maybe tomorrow. Her hormones would get back on track. She’d stick to her training regime, and she’d kick butt in Brighton.

Anything else was unthinkable.

On morning four of the nausea and exhaustion, Stephanie dragged her feet to the bathroom, staring with dread at the home pregnancy test she’d picked up the afternoon before. Even before she followed the directions, she knew what the answer would show.

Sure enough, the two blue stripes were vivid in the center of the viewing window. She was pregnant.

She plunked the plastic stick in the trash bin and moved woodenly to the shower.

As the warm water cascaded over her body, she let a tear escape from her eye. Then another, and another. What oh what had she done? This was her year, first the nationals, then the European championships and finally tryouts for the Olympic team.

The moment she’d trained for, longed for, prayed for her entire life was upon her, and she was going to have a baby instead, without a father. Her brothers would be furious on both counts. They’d be so disappointed in her.

Her mind searched hopelessly for a way to keep it secret.

Maybe she could fake an injury and take herself out of competition. Then she would find an excuse to stay in Europe for six months. And, then…And, then…

She whacked the end of her fist against the shower wall in frustration.

What would she do? Come back to Montana with a baby in tow? Tell them she adopted some poor orphan in Romania?

It was a stupid plan.

Defeated, she slowly slid her way down the wall, water drizzling over her as she came to rest on the bottom of the tub. She wrapped her arms around her knees, staring blankly into space as the water turned from hot to tepid.

“Stephanie?” Amber’s voice surprised her. It was followed by a rap on the bathroom door.

“Just a sec,” Stephanie called out, rising to her feet, swiftly spinning off the now-cold water.

“You okay?” Amber asked.

“Fine.” Stephanie flipped back the curtain and grabbed a towel, scrubbing it over her puffy cheeks and burning eyes.

What was Amber doing in Montana?

“You’ve been in there forever,” Amber called.

“What are you doing here?”

“Royce got restless in Chicago. It was either this or fly to Dubai for the weekend. You want to come down to the main house for a while?”

Stephanie pressed her fingertips into her temples. The last thing in the world she needed was one of her brothers hanging around. She needed to be alone right now.

“I have to train,” she called through the door.

“You decent?” asked Amber.

“I’m-”

The door opened, and Stephanie quickly wrapped the big bath towel around her body.

“Morning.” Amber grinned.

“You never heard of privacy?”

“We’re practically sisters.” Then Amber’s grin faded. She cocked her head, staring into Stephanie’s eyes. “What on earth?”

Stephanie quickly turned away, coming face-to-face with her own reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her cheeks had high, bright pink spots, but the rest of her face was unnaturally pale.

“I had a rough night,” she tried, but her voice caught on her raw throat.

Amber’s arm was instantly around her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Did you get bad news? One of the horses?”

“No.” Stephanie shook her head.

Then Amber’s gaze caught on something. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped open.

Stephanie looked down to see the home pregnancy test box on the counter.

“You can’t tell Royce,” she croaked.

“You’re pregnant.”

Stephanie couldn’t answer. She closed her eyes to block out the terrible truth.

“Is it Wesley?”

Stephanie quickly shook her head. “Who-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

There was a silent pause, then Amber touched her shoulder. “Alec.”

Stephanie’s eyes flew open. “You can’t tell Royce.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Amber pulled Stephanie into her arms. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”

It wasn’t often that Alec spent time in his Chicago office. For one thing, his jobs rarely kept him in the city. He preferred to be on the ground, gathering information from real people in different places around the world.

Consequently his office was stark, almost sterile. In a central location between the river and the pier, it was a single room on the thirty-second floor. The view was spectacular. The desk was smoke glass and metal, with sleek curves and clean lines. Matching chairs were thinly padded with charcoal leather. He used his laptop everywhere he went, and his file cabinets were stainless steel, recessed into the wall.

There was no need for a receptionist, since his phone number wasn’t published. He wasn’t listed on the building’s lobby directory, and he rarely had more than one job on the go at a time.

So, it was a surprise when the office door swung open.

Alec glanced up to see Jared fill the doorway. He walked determinedly inside, followed closely by Royce, their faces grim.

They shut the door and positioned themselves on either side, folding their arms across their chests, as Alec came to his feet. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that they knew he’d taken Stephanie’s virginity.

“Stephanie told you,” he stated the obvious. He wouldn’t lie, and he wouldn’t deny it. If they fired him, they fired him.

Jared spoke. “Stephanie doesn’t know we’re here.”

Alec nodded and came out from behind the desk, ready to face them.

Royce stepped in. “Stephanie’s pregnant.”

The words stopped Alec cold.

Seconds dripped like icicles inside the room.

“I had no idea,” he finally said.

“You’re not denying you’re the father,” Jared stated.

“I’m not denying anything. Whatever Stephanie told you, you can take as true.”

“Stephanie didn’t tell us anything,” said Royce.

Then Alec wasn’t about to add to their body of knowledge. What happened between him and Stephanie was private.

She was pregnant, and he’d absolutely do the right thing. And her brothers had every right to call him on it. But they didn’t have a right to anything more than she was willing to voluntarily share.

Jared took a step forward, and Alec wondered if he was going to take a swing.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Jared said.

“I will marry her,” Alec offered up-front.

“Not good enough,” said Royce, squaring his shoulders to form an impenetrable wall next to his brother.

Alec didn’t understand. There were limited options at this point.

“We don’t want to see Stephanie get hurt,” said Jared.

Alec’s mental reflex was to make a joke about that being the understatement of the century. But he held his tongue.

“No woman wants a marriage of convenience,” said Royce.

Alec still wasn’t following.

“She wants a love match.”

Alec peered at Royce. “Are you saying you want her to marry someone else?” His thoughts went to Wesley, and he found his anger flaring. Wesley wasn’t the father of her child. Alec was the father of her child.

His mind wanted to delve into that unfathomable concept, but he forced himself to focus on Jared and Royce.

“We mean a love match with you.”

Alec gave his head a little shake.

He’d step up. He’d provide financial and any other support needed, but he and Stephanie barely knew each other. They weren’t going to settle down and live happily ever after just because her brothers decreed it.

He would never put any woman in that position. He knew from the catastrophe of his own parents’ marriage, exactly what happened when you tried to fake it.

“I hope that was a joke,” he intoned.

Jared took yet another step forward. “There is nothing remotely funny about any of this.”

Alec looked into the man’s eyes. “No, there’s not. But you can’t control people’s emotions. She’s no more in love with me than I am with her.”

“You can change that,” said Royce. “Tell her you love her, and make her fall in love with you.”

Alec slid his glance sideways. “No.”

Not a chance in hell. There was not a freaking chance in hell he would set Stephanie up for that kind of heartache.

Royce squared his shoulders. “It wasn’t a question.”

Alec could well imagine that few people said no to the Ryder brothers. They were intellectually and physically powerful men. Add to that their economic wherewithal, and they were pretty much going to get their own way in life.

But Alec didn’t intimidate easily, and he had a set of personal principles that stopped well short of duping a woman into falling in love with him.

“I’ll marry Stephanie,” he told them both. “I’ll respect her. I will provide for our child. And I’ll lie to the world about it if she wants me to. But I won’t lie to her.”

He gave a harsh laugh. “You two might think you’re protecting her by-”

“We are protecting her,” said Royce, and Jared’s expression backed him up.

“Nevertheless,” Alec articulated carefully. “I’m going to be honest with her.”

Since Alec spent most of his life on the road, a marriage of convenience would be fairly easy to pull off. And after the baby was born, she could decide what she wanted. If it was a quiet divorce, no problem.

Jared and Royce glanced uncertainly at each other. It was obvious the meeting wasn’t going the way they’d planned.

“May I assume I’m fired?” Alec put in.

The two men exchanged another glance.

Royce cleared his throat.

“I think we’ll leave that up to Stephanie,” said Jared.

This time Alec did laugh. “Then you might as well take your files with you when you go. She’s pretty ticked off about my valuation of her publicity.”

The two men hesitated again.

“It is right?” asked Jared.

“It’s right,” Alec confirmed.

“Let’s maybe leave the business arrangement as is for now,” said Royce.

Alec glanced from one man to the other. “You sure?”

They both nodded.

“No point in disrupting everything at once,” said Jared. Then he clapped a hand down on Alec’s shoulder. “You can come back to the ranch with us.”

“You afraid I’m going to try to run off?”

“We don’t want Stephanie to be upset any longer than necessary.”

“She’ll still be upset after I get there.” Alec tried to picture their conversation. Then he wondered how Stephanie felt about the baby. Then, finally, he let his mind explore how he felt about the baby.

He’d never planned to have children. The genetics in his family did not lend themselves to quality parenting. His father was incapable of love, and his mother had been unable to put her child’s welfare ahead of her own misery.

At least Alec’s child would have Stephanie.

For some reason, the thought warmed him. Stephanie might be indulged and impulsive, but she was also sweet and loving. He’d seen her work with both animals and children, and he knew instinctively she’d be a great mother.

And he was going to be a father.

As he exited the office with Jared and Royce, he tried hard to keep the prospect from terrifying him.

At the front of the stall, Stephanie rested her forehead against Rosie-Jo’s soft nose. She placed her hand on the horse’s neck, feeling it twitch and pulse with strength beneath her fingertips.

“I went to see the doctor today,” she told Rosie-Jo, wrapping her hands around the mare’s bridle.

Rosie-Jo nickered softly in response, bobbing her head up and down.

Stephanie slowly drew back, gazing into the horse’s liquid, brown eyes. Her throat closed over. “I’m definitely pregnant, girl.”

Rosie-Jo blinked her lashes.

“And that affects you,” Stephanie forced herself to continue. “Because he’s afraid I might fall off. He’s afraid I’ll hurt the baby.” Stephanie closed her eyes and drew a bracing breath. “I’m so sorry, Rosie. I know how you love the crowds. And you’ve worked so hard. And I’ve worked so hard. For so long.”

Rosie snuffled Stephanie’s shoulder.

Stephanie opened her eyes to the blur of gray horse hair, her voice catching. “So, he doesn’t want me to jump anymore.”

“That sounds like good advice to me,” someone rumbled behind her.

Rosie snorted, while Stephanie startled. She turned and came face-to-face with the man who’d haunted her dreams.

“Alec?” She struggled to make sense of his presence in the barn. “What are you doing here?”

“Your brothers picked me up in Chicago.” His gaze scanned her thin cotton shirt, blue jeans and worn boots.

The implication of his arrival, and the meaning of his opening words penetrated Stephanie’s brain.

He knew she was pregnant.

And her brothers must know, too.

She felt the walls close in. She hadn’t prepared for this moment, hadn’t had any time to even think about it. She’d assumed it would be weeks, even months before her pregnancy was general knowledge.

“I believe Amber gave you up,” Alec offered.

Stephanie didn’t respond, her mind still grappling with the fact that he knew, that he was here, that the secret was out.

“When were you planning to tell me?” he asked, face impassive, tone guarding his mood. The word never sprang to mind. Though she knew she wouldn’t have kept it from him.

“I don’t know,” she managed, answering him honestly. “I hadn’t thought about it.” It was enough of a challenge coming to terms with the situation herself.

He shook his head and gave a scoff of disbelief. “You hadn’t thought about it? You’re unexpectedly pregnant, and it’s not on your mind twenty-four seven?”

“I just found out.”

“You told Amber a week ago.”

“And I saw the doctor this morning. I hadn’t even decided-”

“Decided what?” His voice went deadly low, and his gray eyes turned to black.

“What to do.” She had her riding career, her students, her business. Not to mention a baby, then a child. She’d never even known her own mother, how would she handle it all?

He wrapped his hand firmly around her upper arm. “Stephanie, if you even think about-”

She blinked up at him.

“-harming our baby.”

Harming? What was he talking…

Then her eyes went wide, and she jerked her arm from his grip. “What is the matter with you?”

“Me? You’re the one who hasn’t made up her mind-”

“How to raise the baby.” She smacked him on the front of his shoulder. “Not whether to keep the baby.”

He didn’t even react to the blow. “You can’t be happy about this.”

“Of course I’m not happy about this. I’m not ready to be a mother. I have a business to run. My jumping career is ruined. And my brothers know I slept with you.”

“Your brothers will get over it.”

Her brothers. She groaned inwardly.

Royce and Jared knew Alec had made her pregnant.

Wait a minute. She looked him up and down. “You’re still standing.”

“I am.”

She cocked her head. “How come you’re still standing?”

“You thought your brothers would kill me for sleeping with you?”

“I never thought my brothers would find out.”

“Yeah.” He glanced away. “I was kind of counting on the same thing.”

Then the fog lifted, and a picture came clear in her mind. Of course her brothers hadn’t harmed him. They needed him alive.

She didn’t know whether to be furious or mortified. “You’re here for a shotgun wedding.”

“Something like that,” he admitted.

She felt guilty on a whole new front now. Alec was a decent guy. He didn’t deserve this.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Do I look worried?”

“You definitely look worried.”

“It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

“It doesn’t have to be anything at all.” Making up her mind, she turned decisively and started down the corridor.

Alec settled in beside her.

She finger-combed her hair and refastened her ponytail at the base of her neck. “Thanks for stopping by, Alec. You’re an honorable man. But your baby is safe in my hands. I’ll drop you a line once it’s born.”

He coughed out a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

“Your life is in Chicago. Leave this to me.” In this day and age, a reluctant husband was a complication not a benefit. What had her brothers been thinking?

“Not quite the way things are going to happen,” he said.

“They can’t make you marry me.”

“Now that part’s debatable.”

“Okay. Maybe they can make you. But they can’t make me.” She spotted a length of binder twine on the floor and reflexively stooped to pick it up.

“They want what’s best for you, Stephanie.”

She wrapped the orange twine neatly around her hand. “No, Alec. They want you to pay for your sins.”

“They want to protect you.”

She gave a dry chuckle. “From what? A scarlet letter?”

He didn’t respond.

“I’m a big girl, Alec. I made a mistake, and I’m going to pay. But it doesn’t mean you have to get dragged along for the ride.” She peeled the loop of twine from her hand and reached for the door latch.

His hand shot out, blocking the door shut. He stared down at her with an intense singularity of purpose. “Get this straight in your mind, Stephanie. You are marrying me.”

She squinted at him in the dim light. “That was a joke, right?”

“Am I laughing?”

“I don’t know what they threatened you with.”

“Nobody threatened me with anything.”

“Then why are you talking crazy?”

“I’m talking logic. It doesn’t have to be forever.”

“And what girl doesn’t want to hear that in a marriage proposal?”

“Stephanie.”

His words shouldn’t have the power to hurt her. She barely knew the man. And she needed to keep it that way.

She stuffed the twine in her pocket and crossed her arms over her chest. “Marriage would make a bad situation worse.”

He imitated her posture, crossing his own arms. “Marriage would make things right.”

Suddenly the entire conversation seemed absurd, and a cold laugh burst out of her. “How do you figure?”

His jaw clenched. “I’m the baby’s father.”

“Yes?”

“I have a responsibility.”

“To do what?”

“I don’t know,” he practically shouted. “Provide for it.”

“You can write a check without having a marriage license.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

“And I have no say?”

“Not really.”

He glared at her for a long moment. Then he smacked the door open and marched out of the barn.

As she watched his retreating back, Stephanie realized she had won.

She tried to feel glad about that, but somehow the emotion wouldn’t come.