“Icouldn’t possibly!” she exclaimed while she stared at the date circled—next Saturday. “This is Monday! This week—not even a full week to get ready for the biggest event in my life, a complete life change, an enormous wedding with your relatives and friends. Impossible!” she exclaimed, trying to ignore a feeling of panic that surged while she reminded herself this had been her idea and she was getting what she desired.
Part of her wanted to ask for a year to get ready. The other part would like the wedding as soon as possible, to lock her into the Ransome family before something happened that changed Matt’s mind or made the wedding impossible. Next weekend—it sounded the same as tomorrow.
His blue gaze settled on her. “You’re quiet. Getting cold feet?”
“Never,” she replied emphatically. “I want this with all my heart.”
While they looked solemnly at each other, she knew they each had different goals for their futures. And they each would fight for what he or she wanted. She knew that, too.
He glanced at his watch. “We should select invitations today. I’ll get a list of guests and get someone at the Ransome office to address the invitations and get them out at once.”
“Matt, we can’t do this in a few days. Give me another week at least.”
“All right. The date will be the following Saturday,” he said with assurance in his tone. “Let’s go. I have calls to make, and you can shop for your wedding dress. We can meet back at the hotel for a late lunch around one. When we fly home, we’ll go to Fort Worth and open a bank account for you. How’s that?” As he talked, he fished his billfold out of his pocket, withdrew a credit card and flipped it over on the table so it landed in front of her. “Buy whatever you want,” he said casually and she stared at him. “Or if you don’t find what you want, we can go to Fort Worth to shop. Or Dallas.”
“I’ll find something,” she said, quietly. “Thank you.”
“And you’re surprised again, aren’t you? You must think I’m a green-headed ogre.”
“No. I’m simply amazed you’re so generous when you’re angry with me. And I didn’t know your family had such wealth,” she said.
He gave her a dubious look. “C’mon. That’s common knowledge in the county. It runs back to the fortune my great-granddaddy made on cattle and land.”
She shook her head. “Your brother flashed money, but no more than a lot of other cowboys and until he left for the mountain trek, he didn’t do anything that made him look particularly prosperous except play poker. He never took me home with him, so yesterday was the first time I’ve ever seen the Ransome ranch.”
Matt shrugged and gave her a rueful smile. “You get your way on the future for both of us, so why should I stay angry or try to keep things from you when you’ll be my wife next week?”
Wife next week. She was glad she was sitting down because her head spun at the thought of becoming Mrs. Matt Ransome so soon.
“We pick up and go on from here,” Matt continued. “I don’t want revenge because you and I are going to be a unit. From here on, it would be like fighting myself.”
“And you’re not?” she asked softly, unable to resist flirting with him now that their future together was sealed.
“Not what? Fighting myself?”
She smiled at him. “You don’t want to be attracted to me. It aggravates you that you want to kiss me.”
“Maybe so,” he said, leaning close enough again to start her heart pounding. “Sooner or later, we’ll work things out. I just usually manage to get my way and this is one time that I haven’t.”
“Maybe I can keep you from regretting your decision,” she said in a throaty voice. “If we both try, Matt, we can have a good marriage.”
He wrapped his fingers around her hand again. “I’d like that,” he said and leaned close. “Just remember, I warned you that I’m not going to love again. And remember the old saying: ‘All’s fair in love and war’. You’ve had all the forewarning that I need to give.”
“And so have you,” she said with a smile. With her free hand she stroked his nape lightly.
His eyes darkened, and she knew she was taunting a tiger that could bound to life and devour her heart so easily. “I’m beginning to look forward to this, Olivia,” he said softly. “And I look forward to our wedding night and having you in my arms.” While he talked he reached up to wind locks of her hair in his fingers, tugging so lightly, yet making her aware of his touch.
Her pulse raced and her mouth was dry. “Twelve days from now, I hope we know each other better.”
“You’ve learned a lot about me already and I know some about you. And I’ll answer any question you want.”
She tilted her head to think a moment. She was curious about him and had a multitude of questions, but she tried to choose the most urgent. “Are you still in love with your ex?” she asked, and a shake of his head gave her pleasure.
“Not even in the tiniest fraction. If she wanted to come back tomorrow, I wouldn’t want her to, but she won’t want to. She’s in love with her job. And then with herself. When we were married, I made a threesome.” He waited expectantly.
“When you were growing up, did you and your siblings get along with your father?”
“Well enough,” he answered easily. “Our father can be a dictator and a lot of people are cowed when they deal with him, but we’ve grown up with him and his fiery temper and determination.”
“Are any of you a lot like him?”
“I hope not,” Matt replied. “You can ask me more later. Right now, let’s go,” he said, gathering his papers and standing, coming around to hold her chair.
As soon as they separated, Olivia began shopping for a wedding dress.
When she slipped the cool silk of the first one over her head, her heart thudded at the sight of her image.
The white dress was a dream. Tendrils of her hair had tumbled free and fell around her face and she had to admit that she thought she looked pretty, but it was the wedding dress and what it symbolized that held her speechless. She was dressing for her wedding for a marriage of convenience that she was going to contract to for the rest of her life. With a man who was angry with her, accustomed to getting his own way, and determined to avoid ever falling in love with her.
Would her baby’s future be worth what she was willing to sacrifice, Olivia asked herself, because she suspected that no matter what she did or felt, Matt Ransome wasn’t going to fall in love with her. The image in the mirror that stared back at her was a wide-eyed woman in a wedding dress about to marry—in less than two weeks—in a loveless marriage.
If she had good sense, she would guard her heart, too, she thought, turning to look over her shoulder at the dress. She guessed it would take a long, long time for
