The Texan's Engagement Agreement

He shook his head, a wry smile tilting his lips. “That sounds like Amy, all right. She was always pretty quick to believe every fellow was in love with her. Well, no matter. She liked being admired, but had no intention of marrying me. Turned me down flat when I proposed.”

“You...proposed to her, too?”

“Who haven’t I proposed to at this point?” Frustration filled his voice as he turned away to pace. That was probably a good thing since it took her a moment or two to close her gaping mouth. He ran his fingers through his hair. “I suppose Ruth. She’s the seamstress in town now, but she’s all business. How can you court a woman when you can’t even get a smile out of her?”

Adelaide held up a stilling hand. “I’m sorry. I can’t help being curious. Exactly who else have you proposed to besides me and Amy?”

“Let’s see. There was Amy’s younger sister Isabelle. You remember her, don’t you? Before that, I proposed to Maddie, sort of in jest. She nearly dumped a coffeepot in my lap at the mere suggestion. Ellie didn’t let me get as far as a proposal. Helen...you don’t know her, but she married Quinn before I had a chance to ask her.”

Adelaide shook her head in disbelief. “I thought your proposal to me was sincere.”

“It was!”

“So were your proposals to all of these other women, I suppose.”

“I told you I have to find a wife. I honestly don’t understand why you seem so upset about this. Like I said, if you didn’t want me wooing other women—”

“I should have married you?” She gave a mirthless laugh. “No, thank you.”

His jaw tightened. “Yeah, you said that...once before, in a letter. I think I’m clear on that. I also think it was a mistake for me to agree to pre—”

Seeing a flash of movement near the door of the room, she caught the lapels of Chris’s coat and tugged him closer for a silencing kiss. He stiffened slightly before hesitantly kissing her back. She released him at the sound of a throat clearing behind them.

Her stepfather glanced back and forth between them with his arms crossed. “I’m not a man who enjoys keeping secrets from his wife. She trusts me to tell her the truth. It took me a long time to build that trust, and I don’t intend to lose it. If I find out the relationship between you is not what you’ve presented it to be, I will tell her. So...” A hint of a sparkle lit his otherwise stern gaze. “You’d better not let me find out, and you sure better not tell me anything you don’t want her to know. Furthermore, this conversation never happened. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” they replied together.

He gave them a firm nod before leaving the room. Chris sank onto a nearby chair, then met Adelaide’s gaze with a mix of uncertainty and amusement. “Our parents...”

She perched on the arm of the settee. “They are something else.”

“For sure.”

“I mean, I love them.”

“Of course!”

“But...”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

She shook her head, then reached across the expanse to place a hand on his arm. “We can handle this, though, if we work together. Are we? Working together, I mean.”

He glanced from her hand to her eyes. “As far as I can see, I’m not getting much out of this agreement. However, I’ll go through with it on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“We have got to come up with a better signal to tell each other to stop talking.”

She laughed. “Deal.”

They shook on it, and, in that moment, the years seemed to melt away. She had her best friend back, her study partner, perhaps even her champion. One fateful kiss all those years ago had changed him into her fiancé and, subsequently, something that never should have been. Yes, kisses were powerful things when it came to Chris Johansen. She just had to remember that they were nothing uncommon. Even proposals from him were a dime a dozen. The only thing special about any of it was the heartache that came with it. She’d made it through their last courtship without experiencing too much of that. Next time, she might not be so fortunate. That was why there wouldn’t be a next time—not for her, and definitely not with Chris.

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