In Bed With The Wrangler

Ten

“You didn’t,” Amber rasped to Katie as the truck rocked to a stop behind Hargrove’s car, and the dust cleared around them.

“I really didn’t,” Katie responded, her face pale.

“Did you talk to him last night?”

“Just about business.”

“Did you tell him we were together?” Amber squinted at Hargrove, then at Royce, trying to interpret their posture.

Katie clutched the dashboard. “I hinted we were in Chicago.”

“He knew I wasn’t in Chicago. He must have tracked you here.”

“Damn it,” Katie cursed.

“You go talk to him,” said Amber.

“No way.”

“You’re the one who slept with him. Maybe he’s here for you.”

Katie frantically shook her head. “Neither of us have even mentioned it. He’s here for you.”

“He doesn’t want me.”

But Hargrove’s accusatory gaze was focused directly on Amber.

“I don’t think he knows that,” Katie offered.

This time Amber swore between clenched teeth. She grabbed the gearshift, setting up to pull it into Reverse. “I say we run for it.”

“I don’t think that’s an option,” Katie ventured, her gaze tracking Royce as he paced toward the truck.

He looked angry.

Had Hargrove been rude?

Royce reached for the handle and swung open her door. “There’s somebody here to see you.”

“I’m sorry, Royce. I didn’t expect-”

“You knew he’d come,” said Royce, hand gripping the top of the door frame. “I knew he’d come.”

Amber had fervently hoped he wouldn’t. She glanced at Katie, who sat completely still, eyes front. No help there. Finally, she took a breath and pulled the key from the ignition.

Royce stepped back out of the way, as Hargrove marched up.

“Montana?” Hargrove accused. “Honestly, Amber, could you make things any more difficult?”

Royce backed off farther, and she knew he was leaving.

“Royce, don’t-”

But he shook his head, sliding his eyes meaningfully toward Hargrove.

And he was right. They might as well get this conversation over with.

“We need to talk,” rasped Hargrove, moving in too close and pushing the truck door closed.

“There’s not a lot left to say,” she responded, pushing her windblown hair behind her ears and gathering her courage as Royce left.

It was hard for her to imagine what came after you slept with the bridesmaid, and I fell for someone else.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?” Hargrove growled. “We’ve got a thousand people working on the wedding. Nobody knows whether to stop, go, or hold.”

“I already told you. They can stop.”

“You can’t just shut this down on a dime, Amber. We had plans. There’s the campaign, the press.”

“I’m not marrying you to get good press, Hargrove.”

He held up his hands in frustration. “This isn’t a one-shot article, Amber. We’re talking about my entire political career.”

“Yours won’t be the first high-profile wedding that was canceled.”

“And do you know what happened to the others?”

“I don’t care what happened to the others. I don’t love you, Hargrove. And you don’t love me.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Then why did you sleep with Katie?”

His jaw went taut. “That was a mistake.”

“Excuse me?” Katie squeaked from beyond the open window, reminding them both of her presence.

Hargrove’s nostrils flared.

“A mistake?” Amber scoffed. “What? Did you trip and accidentally tear off the wedding dress?”

“I don’t know what she told you.”

“I’m right here,” Katie pointed out, exiting the truck and slamming the passenger door for emphasis.

“She said you were wild with passion.”

“That’s ridiculous.” But a flush rose up his neck.

“You never tore off my dress,” said Amber.

“That was out of respect.”

Amber shook her head at Hargrove. “It was out of disinterest. Admit it.”

“I’m not here to fight with you.”

“That’s good,” said Amber as she dared a glance to where Katie was glaring daggers at him. “Because I think I’d have to take a number.”

Hargrove glanced at Katie. “Can you give us some privacy.”

“No.” She stood her ground.

“This isn’t about you.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

“I’m going to give you two some privacy,” said Amber.

Hargrove quickly reached for her arm. “Amber-”

“It’s over, Hargrove.” She backed out of his reach. “I’m truly sorry about the press and the campaign, but I can’t marry you.”

“Amber!” He looked genuinely fearful. “You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

She shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re doing to yourself. Talk to Katie.”

“This isn’t about Katie.”

“It should be.” Amber backed up a few more steps. “Don’t screw this up, Hargrove,” she warned.

Then she turned away, scanning the yard and finding Royce in a round pen, doing groundwork with a black horse.

Heart still pounding, stomach still cramped, she made her way to the rail and leaned over to watch.

Royce shifted his arms, and the horse sped up. Then he slowed it down, turned it and had it trotting in the opposite direction. It was near poetry, and the tension leached out of her body.

Several minutes later, he approached the animal. He stroked its neck, clipping a lead rope to its bridle then tying it to a rail. He walked through the soft dirt toward Amber.

He braced his hands on the opposite side of the fence. “You here to say goodbye?”

She drew back in surprise. “No.”

He nodded toward Hargrove. “He came a long way.”

“I told you, I’m not marrying him.”

“Why not?”

Amber peered at Royce in confusion. “What do you mean why not?” She leaned forward. “I’ve just spent the last week with you.”

He shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

She opened her mouth, struggling to form words.

“I’m new, Amber.” He stripped off a pair of leather gloves. “I seem interesting and exciting. You’re on vacation, having a fling.”

Amber’s fingertips went to her temple. “A fling?”

He calmly tucked the gloves under his arm and adjusted his Stetson. “Hargrove is willing to take you back. You should seriously consider his offer.”

Her frustration was turning to anger. “You said anybody who told me that was short-sighted and stupid.”

“Guess I was wrong.”

She shook her head, but he stayed stubbornly silent.

She clenched her jaw, then enunciated her words slowly and carefully. “I do not love Hargrove.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“I absolutely know that for sure. Because I love you, Royce.”

The words went unanswered. But she wasn’t sorry. This was no fling. He was falling for her, too. She’d bet her life on it.

No one had ever treated her the way Royce did. He was compassionate, attentive and so very sexy. And she was positive he didn’t open up with many other people the way he’d opened up with her. He’d flat out told her nobody else knew about his father. And their lovemaking was off the charts.

He scoffed out a laugh. “You don’t love me.”

She smacked her hand on the rail in frustration. “What is the matter with you? Are you afraid of Hargrove?”

Royce’s eyes glittered. “I’m not afraid of anybody.”

“Well, I know you feel it, too.”

He whipped off his hat, banging it on his thigh to release the dust. “If by it, you mean lust, then you’re right.”

“I don’t mean lust.”

“People don’t fall in love in a week.”

“People can fall in love in an hour.”

“Not so it lasts.” It was his turn to lean in. “It’s lust, Amber. It’s a fling. What you have with Hargrove is real, and you need to go back to him.”

“Hargrove loves Katie.”

Royce smacked his hat back on his head. “Then why’s he here looking for you?”

“He doesn’t know it yet.” She realized that sounded lame, but it was completely true. Amber had very high hopes that Hargrove would wake up to the truth about Katie.

“Now you’re grasping at straws. Go back to reality, Amber. Get married in that big cathedral and have beautiful babies for the campaign trail.”

“Are you listening to yourself?” She gripped the rail. “You’re willing to throw away everything that’s between us?”

A part of her couldn’t believe it. A part of her expected to wake up any second. But another brusque, insidious part of her realized she’d made a horrible mistake.

She might have fallen for Royce. But Royce hadn’t fallen for her.

“You’ve spun a nice fantasy, here,” he said. Then he nodded toward Hargrove’s car. “But your reality is over there.”

Her throat closed over, and she swallowed hard. “You’re asking me to leave?”

His expression was unreadable. “I’m asking you to leave.”

She gave a stiff nod, unable to speak. Royce didn’t love her. He didn’t want her. And she’d made a complete and total fool of herself.

Two days later, Amber alternated between misery and mortification. Royce might not have loved her, but her heart had fallen hard and fast for him.

It was easy to see what made him such a great pick-up artist. He must make every woman feel loved and cherished-at least temporarily. She wondered about the string of broken hearts he’d left behind.

Then she wondered who he’d be with next. But that thought hurt so much she banished it, blinking back the familiar sting in her eyes as she focused on her mother far across her family’s great room.

The replacement-for-the-shower party was in full swing. But Amber didn’t feel remotely like celebrating.

Maybe if Royce had simply sweet-talked her into bed, if they’d had fantastic sex, if he’d put her in a cab in the morning, maybe then she could have handled it. But he hadn’t simply made love to her. He’d joked and laughed with her, shared his secrets with her, made her feel valuable, important, a part of his world.

“Amber?” Her mother, Reena, approached, concern in her expression.

Amber tried to smile at her mother. Her family had been told that she was the one to break it off with Hargrove. But nobody but Katie knew anything about Royce. Amber planned to keep it that way.

Reena’s floor-length chiffon dress rustled to a halt. “Why aren’t you visiting, sweetheart?”

“I’m a little tired.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

“I’m sure.” She mustered up a smile.

“That’s the best you can do? You look like you’re headed for the gallows.”

Amber signed. “I’m really not in the mood for a party, Mom.”

Reena moved in closer. “But I thought this was what you wanted.”

“I didn’t want a party.”

“Well, you didn’t want a shower, either. And the guests were already on their way.”

Amber drew a shuddering breath, fighting the tears that were never far from the surface. Emotions alone shouldn’t hurt this much. Still, a single teardrop escaped, trailing coolly down her cheek.

“Sweetheart,” her mother entreated, drawing Amber close to her side. “Do you miss him so much?”

Amber startled in surprise. How had her mother guessed?

Reena cupped Amber’s chin with gentle fingertips, peering deeply into her eyes. “Shall I give Hargrove a call for you? We might be able to talk him into-”

“She’s not missing Hargrove,” came Katie’s voice as she swooped in to join them.

“Of course she is,” said Reena. “Just look at her.”

“I’m not missing Hargrove,” Amber confirmed.

Katie gave Amber a level, challenging look. “She’s missing Royce Ryder.”

Amber sucked in a gasp.

“Who?” asked her mother, glancing from Amber to Katie and back again.

Katie gave Amber a helpless shrug. “What’s the point in hiding it? It’s obvious to anyone that you’ve had your heart broken.”

“Who is Royce Ryder?”

“The man she met in Montana.”

“I met him at Jared Ryder’s wedding,” Amber corrected. Where he’d picked her up in the bar for a quick fling. At least that’s the way he remembered it.

Reena’s jaw dropped a notch, and her hand went to her chest. “You were unfaithful to Hargrove?”

“I wasn’t unfaithful to Hargrove.” Frustration finally gave Amber an emotion to replace despair. “In fact, Hargrove was unfaithful to me.” She returned Katie’s look. “With Katie.”

Katie’s face went pale, and Reena’s jaw dropped another notch.

“They’d already split up,” Katie hastened to assure Reena.

“That’s true,” Amber admitted. “Nobody was unfaithful to anybody.”

Katie’s voice went soft. “And she did fall in love with Royce.”

Amber was too exhausted to deny it.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Reena took Amber’s hand. Her mother was a romantic to the core. “That terrible man broke your heart?”

“I broke my own heart.” As she said the words out loud, Amber admitted to herself they were true. “We barely knew each other. And my expectations were…Well, he’s just such an incredible man. You’d love him, Mom. You really would.”

Reena’s narrow arm curled around her shoulders. “I wouldn’t like him at all. He broke my baby’s heart.”

Jared’s familiar voice barked at Royce over the phone. “What the hell did you do?”

“Jared? Finally. Where are-”

“I need an explanation,” Jared demanded.

Royce swiveled on the ranch house office chair, assuming Jared had been in contact with the Ryder office in Chicago. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Start with how you broke Amber Hutton’s heart and infuriated one of our most important clients.”

Royce nearly dropped the phone. “Huh?”

“I’ve only been gone a week, and you screw up this badly.”

“She called you?” Royce could hardly believe it. What was Amber doing running to Jared?

“David Hutton called me. He’s threatening to cancel his lease. You are aware that he’s our second-biggest client, right?”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Then don’t sleep with our clients’ daughters.”

What could Royce say to that? “It just…happened.”

“Right. Well, un-happen it.”

“I don’t think that’s physically possible.”

“You know what I mean. Fix it.”

“I can’t fix it. She’s engaged to someone else.”

“What?” Jared’s voice rose to a roar.

“Hargrove Alston.”

“Then why did you sleep with her?”

Royce didn’t have an answer for that. There wasn’t an excuse in the world for what he’d done.

Jared was silent for a moment. “David thinks she’s in love with you?”

“I’m not breaking up her engagement.”

“Admirable,” said Jared.

“Thank you.”

“Could’ve thought of it before you slept with her.”

Royce grunted.

“So, how’re you going to fix it?”

“I’ll talk to her.”

“What are you going to say?”

“None of your business.” Royce didn’t have the first clue.

He’d been thinking about it for days, and had come to the conclusion that by bringing Amber to Montana, he’d turned a momentary hesitation into a life-altering event.

Whatever crazy fantasy Amber had spun around Royce wasn’t real. She barely knew him. And he barely knew her. If relationships built on years didn’t last, there was no hope at all for one that was built on a mere week.

“Make it my business.”

“No.”

Jared went silent on the other end of the line for a few beats. “You ever think…”

Royce drummed his fingers on the desktop.

“That maybe she’s not…”

“Not what?” Did Jared have something intelligent to add here or not?

Jared drew a breath. “I mean, she might really be in love-”

“No!” Royce barked.

“Could happen.”

“No, it could not.”

“I’m a married man, Royce. And I’m telling you it could happen.”

“You’ve been married a week. Talk to me in twenty years.”

“You’re going to make a woman wait twenty years?”

Royce felt his frustration level rise. “I’m going to make a woman wait until she’s sure.”

“How’re you going to know that?”

“I’ll just know.”

“Like you do now?”

“What I know now is that she’s taken, and she’s confused, and she has obligations that have nothing to do with me.”

“She’s not Mom,” Jared said softly.

“Don’t even go there.”

“And you’re not Frank Stanton.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Mom and Dad’s relationship was demanding and complex. He worked too hard and she had stars in her eyes.”

“And you don’t think all marriages are demanding and complex?” That was what the long haul was all about. It meant sticking together through the rough times, knowing better times would come again. It didn’t mean bailing the second life got a little humdrum.

“Did it ever occur to you that Dad might have shared the blame?”

“He didn’t screw around on her,” Royce practically shouted.

“Yeah, but he wasn’t perfect. He had a temper. Hell, he shot a guy.”

“The son of a bitch deserved it. I’d have shot him, too.”

“You mean, if he slept with Amber?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Gotcha.”

Royce went silent, his jaw clamping down.

What had just happened? He was the illicit lover in this triangle, not the betrayed husband.

Jared’s voice turned jovial. “Okay, fixing this is going to be way easier than I thought.”

“Shut up.”

Jared chuckled, and Royce bit down harder on his outrage. His brother could be positively infuriating.

“Let’s move on to other problems,” he ground out. He wasn’t wrong, and Jared wasn’t right. And it was definitely time to end this discussion.

His brother’s tone changed. “What problems?”

“The China deal fell apart.”

“Yeah,” Jared sighed. “I was afraid of that.”

“We’re in a cash crunch because of it. I’ve got a guy taking a thorough look at our operations. I think we’re going to have to streamline.”

“He any good?”

“He came highly recommended.” Royce drew a breath. “And, Jared. I fired Barry Brewster over China.”

“Seriously?”

“He missed the deadline, blew the deal.” He’d also insulted Amber, but Royce wasn’t going anywhere near that conversation.

“There are a thousand ways to blow a deal with China.”

“Yeah, well, he’s gone.”

“Okay. Your call. You need me to come back early?”

“Let’s give it a few more days. There’s one more thing…” Royce stopped himself. “You know what? It can wait.”

If Jared learned about Norman Stanton and Stephanie, he’d be on the next plane back to the States.

But Royce had already made this month’s blackmail payment. Norman Stanton had no idea they were on to him, and there was nothing Jared could do in the short term but worry.

“You sure?” asked Jared.

“I’m sure.”

“And fix it with Amber, bro. She’s not Mom. You’re not Stanton. And everything’s a leap of faith.”

Amber and Katie stood side by side, gazing into the three-way mirror in Amber’s bedroom.

“You don’t think it would be too weird?” asked Katie as they admired their reflections in the sleek, sleeveless, pearl-adorned wedding gown and the dramatic oriental silk bridesmaid dress.

“Like I said before,” Amber replied. “Think of them as a set. You know I like this one better.” She turned and watched the orange, gold and midnight plum shimmer in the sunlight that streamed through her big windows.

“Did I miss something?” came a masculine voice from the doorway.

Amber and Katie whirled simultaneously to see all six foot two of Royce standing in the bedroom doorway. He was wearing a steel-gray business suit, a blue silk tie and a crisp white shirt. His face was freshly shaven, and his blue gaze hungry as he stared at her.

She swallowed the tears that were never far from the surface. His appearance was her dream come true. But she couldn’t let herself hope.

“Where did you come from?” asked Katie.

Instead of answering, he strolled into the bedroom, gaze fixed on Amber as he grew closer. “Someone named Rosa said you were trying on your wedding gown.”

Amber glanced down at the silk bridesmaid dress. “Something got lost in the translation.”

“I was going to rip it from your body.” The hunger in his eyes grew more intense.

Amber tipped her head, not sure what to think.

“I flew here at Mach 1,” he told her. “All the way over South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois, I told myself you belonged to Hargrove.”

“I don’t belong-”

“I told myself I’d reason with you, I’d make you understand you had an obligation to your fiancé, I’d explain again that nobody falls in love in a week, and what you thought you felt for me was an illusion.”

He took her hands.

Katie took a few steps toward the door. “Uh, I’m…just going to…” She slipped outside and shut the door behind her.

“At least that’s what I told myself,” said Royce. “And then Rosa told me you were trying on your wedding dress. And I knew I had to stop you. I knew there was no way I could let you marry someone else.”

“I’m not marrying-”

“I still find it impossible to believe a week is any kind of a foundation for a lifelong commitment. I looked up the mathematical odds on marital success. They’re not good.

“But I do know I want you. And I know I’ll shoot any guy who touches you. And I’m thinking maybe that’s a sign that there’s something to this.”

Amber fought the smile that tightened her lips.

As declarations of love went, this left a whole lot to be desired. But this was Royce, and she knew his demons, and she knew just how difficult it was for him to even contemplate the possibility of happily ever after.

“I love you, Royce.”

“You can’t know-”

She put her fingertips over his lips. “I do know. And, guess what? I know you love me, too. And I know you’re going to figure it out eventually. And if I have to wait a year, or ten or twenty, for you to decide we should stay together, that’s fine with me.”

His arm snaked around her waist, and he jerked her up tight against him. “I want to start staying together now.”

“No problem.” She smiled at him, trailing her palms over his chest, wrapping them loosely around his neck. “We’ll hang out together while you give this love thing some serious thought.”

He settled his other arm around her. “And by hanging out, I hope you mean living together, working together and sleeping together.”

“I do,” she told him.

“Good.” He gave a decisive nod. “Then I’m thinking we’d better be married while we’re hanging out. I don’t want anyone else to try to steal you. Your father’s already a little ticked off at my brother. And there’s the whole propriety thing.”

“You think it’s logical for us to be married while we figure out if we’re in love?”

“Completely logical,” he said. “Especially if we want a few kids. You’re not getting any younger-”

“Hey!” She smacked him on the shoulder.

“And who knows how long it’ll take for us to be sure.”

“Maybe twenty years?” she asked.

“Maybe even fifty.” His expression sobered. His gaze caressed her as he slowly dipped his head. Then his warm, soft lips came down ever so gently onto hers, sealing their bargain.

“What do you say, Amber?” he whispered against her mouth. “Will you spend the next fifty or so years married to me, just in case I love you?”

She nodded, coming up on her bare toes to kiss him again, longer this time, more soundly.

“Yes, I will,” she whispered. “Just in case.”

His arms engulfed her, and he lifted her completely off the floor. His mouth slanted and his kiss deepened, and she clung to him, heart bursting with joy.

When he finally set her down, slowly sliding her along his body, his grin widened. “Well, what do you know.”

“What?”

“I think it might be happening already.”

She couldn’t help but smile in return. “Imagine that.”

He nodded. “And it’s really easy. You know, I think I’m going to be very good at this.”

“There’s not a doubt in my mind.”

His blue eyes stared down into hers. “I love you, Amber.”

“I know you do, Royce.”

“Forever.”

“Absolutely.”

“Who knew.”

“I did.”

“You did at that.” And he bent to kiss her one more time.