Mistaken identity leads to suddenly expecting...only from USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Bailey!

Harper Lake can’t believe she bedded her boss after a wild night at a masked ball. But then she finds out it was actually his identical twin, Nick Tate! And she’s carrying his babies!

With his own set of twins on the way, Nick knows that proposing to Harper is the only next step. Yet the former navy SEAL is battling some deeply buried demons. Welcoming Harper back into his bed is the easy part. Finding true love and wedded bliss will be the ultimate test...and temptation.

“I’m not Malcolm.”

Harper didn’t take her eyes from the man as she said, “I know.”

He might look like her boss, but there was an intensity in every part of him—from his gaze to the way he held himself—that easygoing Malcolm had never had.

Then she remembered a little-discussed feature of Tate Armor Ltd.—it was jointly owned by Malcolm and his brother.

“You’re twins,” she whispered and he nodded.

All the pieces finally fit into place. She’d been confused about why she’d never been drawn to her boss before the night of the masked ball, and why he hadn’t stirred a reaction in her since.

But she’d made love with Nick that night. Things between them had happened so fast that even though she’d thought she’d sensed something different about him, she hadn’t had time to stop and question it. He’d kissed her and she’d melted and all coherent thought had ended.

And it was also why Malcolm had been able to act like nothing had happened when she saw him the next morning at work. Nothing had happened with him. Nick, on the other hand… Well, he’d rocked her world.

* * *

Tempted by the Wrong Twin is part of the series Texas Cattleman’s Club: Blackmail—No secret—or heart— is safe in Royal, Texas…

Tempted by the Wrong Twin

Rachel Bailey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RACHEL BAILEY developed a serious book addiction at a young age (via Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck) and has never recovered. Just how she likes it. She went on to earn degrees in psychology and social work but is now living her dream—writing romance for a living.

She lives with her hero and four dogs in a piece of paradise on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, where she loves to sit with a dog or two, overlooking the trees and reading books from her ever-growing to-be-read pile.

Rachel would love to hear from you and can be contacted through her website, www.rachelbailey.com.

This book is for Amanda Ashby, who is most excellent at brainstorming, can both cheer and cajole (often simultaneously!), has good taste in TV shows, makes a mean bliss ball and writes amazing books.

Bunches and bunches of thank-you’s to the awesome Charles Griemsman for, you know, pretty much everything. Also, thank-you hugs for Barbara DeLeo and Sharon Archer, who read early drafts of this book and had fabulous suggestions. And to my fellow TCC authors—it’s been fun!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Extract

Copyright

One

When his twin brother’s name flashed on his cell phone screen, Nick Tate accepted the call—it was pretty much the only number he didn’t let go through to voice mail these days.

Before he could even offer a greeting, Malcolm’s voice thundered, “Goddammit, Nick. You slept with our lawyer, didn’t you?”

The blood in his veins froze. There was only one woman he’d slept with since he’d returned from his last tour of duty, and they hadn’t stopped to share life histories. They hadn’t even stopped to exchange names. And now it seemed as though that had been a mistake.

“She’s our lawyer?” he asked. Maybe he’d misheard.

“Harper Lake has been Tate Armor’s company attorney for just over two years.”

Nick winced. That was the problem with being a silent partner in their business—he missed out on all the details. And it turned out that their lawyer was one hell of an amazing detail. It had been three months since their night together and he still hadn’t stopped thinking about her, but he’d had no way to track her down. Until now.

“And,” Malcolm continued, “it seems you didn’t tell her who you were. She thinks she slept with me.”

Nick swore under his breath. Most people couldn’t tell them apart at the best of times, but add a half-face mask—since it had been a masked ball—and his pretending to be Malcolm, and the task would have been virtually impossible. They hadn’t switched identities since they were kids, but when Nick had heard that a disgruntled customer had threatened his twin and would be stalking him at the ball, he didn’t hesitate to step in and make things right. It had been going on for several weeks, and enough was enough. He might not be good for much anymore, but this was something he could fix for his brother. Even if it had meant dragging his sorry ass out of seclusion.

So, yeah, since Harper knew Malcolm, she must have mixed Nick up with him that night. He just hadn’t realized it at the time. Their connection had been instant and explosive, and there hadn’t really been time to explain. Or even make it to the bed.

Despite the annoyance emanating from his brother on the other end of the phone, Nick smiled at the memory. He’d never met anyone remotely like Harper Lake.

But now wasn’t the time for reminiscing. He pulled himself together and addressed the problem at hand. A rare night of letting go had created consequences for his brother, the twin who’d always had enough finesse and charm for them both.

“I’ll handle this, don’t worry.” Now that he knew her name and where she worked, he’d be able to talk to her. Maybe he could wait for her after work tomorrow. Or perhaps he could drop in at lunch and offer—

“This isn’t some simple glitch that you can ride in on your white horse and sort out, Nick.”

Something in Malcolm’s voice had Nick’s SEAL training kicking in, and his entire body went on alert. “What do you mean?”

“Harper’s pregnant.”

The power of the word hit him square in the chest. Pregnant? Only his training kept him on his feet as the world tilted around him.

Harper was pregnant with his baby.

And then a second wave hit him with even more force than the first. Ellie. His three-year-old daughter—the only reason his heart still beat after the horrors of war had pummeled it—could suffer the fallout of his behavior. His ex-wife’s lawyers would use this to further their case that he was an irresponsible and unfit father. Especially if they knew the circumstances of how he’d swapped identities with his brother. His temples throbbed, and he rubbed them with his free hand.

Dammed if he was going to let them take Ellie from him. He’d fix this. Fix it for all of them.

He jerked his wrist over to check his watch. It was almost seven. “Are you at work? Is Harper still there?”

“She just left,” Malcolm said. “She waited until everyone else had gone for the day and came into my office. She said she wanted me to know and offered to do a paternity test if I wanted.”

He could see the scene playing out in his mind, and he hated it. Hated that he’d put his brother in that awkward position, but mostly hated what he’d done to Harper. What must she be feeling? Cursing him—or the Malcolm version of him—at the very least. She was probably overwhelmed.

He had to swallow hard to get his voice to work. “Did you tell her you weren’t at the masked ball? That it was me?”

“I said I had to go, apologized and promised we’d talk about it in the morning. She seemed taken aback, but I figured it was your job to tell her.”

“You figured right.” This situation was complex enough without her getting the details from his brother.

“You know how dangerous this is, don’t you?” Malcolm said, his voice a note lower than it had been. “You’re an owner of the business, and sexual harassment cases are no laughing matter.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Nick had always been responsible, even when he was a kid, so he’d never thought he’d be the guy his brother would have to give this talk to, and it sat uncomfortably.

“Plus, with this Maverick guy going around town spilling everyone’s secrets, don’t count on this situation being private for long. He might already know.”

Nick frowned. He might have been out of the loop, but even he had heard about the blackmailer causing headaches and heartaches for people all over Royal. Still, it was a little premature to be thinking about interference here.

“How could he possibly know when I only just found out?”

“How did he know that Wes Jackson had a kid with Isabelle Grayson? How did he know about Cecilia Morgan’s background? He’s obviously got some serious hacking and investigative skills.”

“True,” Nick said on a sigh. Local businessman and manufacturer Wesley Jackson was a friend of Malcolm’s and Nick had met him a few times. Wes and Isabelle were decent people who hadn’t deserved what Maverick had put them through.

“Also, all Maverick’s targets seem to be in the TCC, and since you and I are both members, we can’t discount the risk.”

“Hell.” Malcolm had a point. And the new proposals he’d been working on for the supply of body armor were all for security agencies. Given the nature of their business, handing Maverick ammunition to use on them in the form of a scandal like this would make them look like amateurs.

He blew out a breath. “Our clients need to know that any information they give us about their organizations is secure and not susceptible to a hacker.”

“Yeah,” Malcolm said, sounding weary. “Now is the time to have everything aboveboard. No secrets that could make us vulnerable.”

“I’m on it.” Nick grabbed his Kevlar riding jacket and slid his arms in, one at a time, switching the cell to his other hand as he went. “I’m going to need her home address.”

“It’s in Pine Valley. I’ll text it to you.”

“Thanks. And Malcolm?” he said, glancing up at the ceiling.

“Yeah?”

Nick drew in a long breath and held it for a moment before replying. “I will handle this. I’ll make everything right.” There was no other option. He’d make things right for Ellie, for Harper, for Harper’s baby, for Tate Armor—for everyone.

“Good luck.”

Nick disconnected the call, grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out the door. Hell would freeze over before he’d ever let down someone he was responsible for again.

But by the time he’d reached Harper’s place—a “country cottage” that was far too impressive to deserve such a description—he was having doubts. How was he even going to convince her that he, not Malcolm, was the father of her baby?

Hi. You might be interested to learn that Malcolm has an identical twin brother.

Nope.

Hey, Harper. Remember that night you thought you were with Malcolm and conceived his baby? Well, it was me. Surprise!

Not even close.

Harper, I have something to say and you might want to sit down. My name is Nick, and I was impersonating my twin brother when we met. I should have told you before things got out of hand, and I apologize.

He’d need to find much better words in the next thirty seconds or risk having the door slammed in his face.

He knocked on her front door, still having no idea how he could possibly explain everything. Then the door swung inward and she was there and he had no air left to form words anyway. Her almond-shaped brown eyes widened at the sight of him, and he knew he had to say something. Anything. But her haunting beauty overwhelmed him. He’d barely been able to stop thinking about her since that night, and now here she was in real life. Filling his vision. Smelling like heaven.

“Malcolm?” she said, her voice breathy, and instead of explaining, he found himself mute, reaching out to feel the silky-soft skin of her cheek. His palm cupped the side of her jaw, his fingers feathering over her cheekbone, and he was lost.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she took a small step back, out of his touch, but her gaze didn’t falter. He waited a beat, waited in agony, waited until she swayed back toward him, and then he reached for her again. Her lips parted as she tilted her head into his palm. The world around them faded, and he took an infinitesimal step closer, being drawn by the magnetic force that had been there since he’d first laid eyes on her three months ago.

He was supposed to say something, tell her something, but there were no words in his mind, only Harper and the way her eyes had darkened as she looked at him. Breathing ragged, he lowered his head and speared his fingers through her long, glossy hair. This was wrong, so wrong, yet the rightness of it overwhelmed him, crushing all other thoughts.

She lifted herself on tiptoes and met him halfway, her mouth finding his, her lips soft, welcoming, wanting, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and gripping tight. With a groan of surrender, he slid his tongue along hers and hauled her flush against him.

This.

This was what had driven him crazy the night they’d met. This was what had kept her in his waking dreams since. This was what was making him dizzy now.

Of course, a little voice at the back of his mind whispered, this was also what had led him into trouble in the first place.

He had to stop kissing her. To find the strength to pull away and explain everything. Oh, but her mouth and what it was doing to his was divine...

Reluctantly, he eased back a little, then brushed his lips over hers one last time before straightening. She dropped her hands—all contact was broken—and he blinked hard to make his mind work. She gazed up at him, her eyes unfocused and her lips rosy from their kiss, and previous thought deserted him. In that moment, all that mattered was that Harper Lake knew she’d kissed him. Knew she’d made love with him. Nick Tate.

So, with his voice as rough as gravel, all he heard himself say was, “I’m not Malcolm.”

* * *

Harper gripped the edge of the door for balance but didn’t take her eyes from him as she said, “I know.”

If there was one thing for sure in the world, it was that the man in front of her was not the man she’d spoken to less than an hour ago. He might look like her boss, but there was an intensity in every part of him—from his gaze to the way he held himself—that easygoing Malcolm had never had.

And now that she was paying more attention, his hair was shorter, and there was a tiny scar in one eyebrow. But how was that possible? Then she remembered a little-discussed feature of Tate Armor Limited—it was jointly owned by Malcolm and his brother, Nick. A brother none of the staff had met and many of whom wouldn’t know existed.

“Twins,” she whispered, and he nodded.

All the pieces finally fit into place—her world made sense again. She’d been confused about why she’d never been drawn to her boss before the night of the masked ball, and why he hadn’t stirred a reaction in her since. But she’d made love with Nick that night. Things between them had happened so fast that even though she’d thought she’d sensed something different about him, she hadn’t had time to stop and question it. He’d kissed her and she’d melted and all coherent thought had stopped.

And it was also why Malcolm had been able to act like they hadn’t shared a night of passion when she saw him the next morning at work. At the time she’d been surprised—and relieved—that Malcolm had been able to carry on working with her as if they had an unspoken agreement to never mention their night together again. The first day had been awkward, but he hadn’t batted an eye when she’d walked into his office with contracts for him to sign.

As if nothing had happened.

Because nothing had happened with him.

Nick, on the other hand...well, he’d rocked her world.

She drew in a long breath and gripped the door a little tighter.

Nick was watching her warily, waiting to see what her reaction would be. Or perhaps he’d been as disoriented by their kiss as she had. Either way, they needed to talk, and standing on her porch was not the place to do it.

“You’d better come in,” she said as she opened the door wider and stepped back into the hall to let him pass.

Once they were in her kitchen, she made him a coffee and herself a peppermint tea—something that seemed to be keeping the morning sickness steady.

Nick accepted the steaming mug, set it on the counter beside him and blew out a long breath. “Look, about the ball—”

“No need,” she said, cutting him off. It wasn’t something she wanted to revisit in the cold light of day. “We’re beyond that now.”

He shook his head sharply. “I have to say it. I should have been up front. Told you who I was.”

Looking at him now, dominating her kitchen with no effort at all, she wondered how she could have confused the brothers, but hindsight was twenty-twenty.

“If I’d known Malcolm’s brother was his identical twin, I might have put two and two together on the night. I’ve worked with Malcolm. He’s attractive, sure, but he never made my knees go weak.”

“And I do?” Nick said, a cocky grin forming on his lips.

“I think we’ve proven that. Twice now. But that’s not what you’re here to talk about.”

The grin widened, then faded again. “I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t deliberately deceiving you.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You were there on Malcolm’s ticket. That’s pretty deliberate.”

“That’s a fair point,” he said, wincing. “There was something I needed to do for Malcolm.”

“Deal with his stalker?”

Nick’s head jerked up and he met her gaze, surprise clear in his eyes. “You saw that?”

The whole staff at Tate Armor knew about the guy—an ex-customer—who’d been so angry at Malcolm personally that he’d begun to make threats. Malcolm, nice as ever, had been trying to use diplomacy to defuse the situation. No one else had believed that had a chance of working. And the fact that the entire town was on edge thanks to the blackmailer Maverick only made things worse. There were whispers in the office that the guy might be working for Maverick, but Harper had always thought it was unrelated—Maverick’s modus operandi was completely different. Which had left them with a run-of-the-mill jerk who wasn’t responding to Malcolm’s way of dealing with the situation.

Then, at the masked ball, Harper had been fascinated when the man she thought was Malcolm had calmly but firmly laid down the law for the man. He hadn’t even had to say much. It had been in his slightly menacing stance. In his lethal tone of voice. The troublemaker hadn’t been happy, but he’d clearly known he was up against a brick wall and had let it go.

“Yes, I saw you. You were...formidable.” He hadn’t had to do anything sinister, but it had been obvious to both Malcolm’s stalker and to her that Nick was almost entirely composed of tightly coiled energy only just held under control. It had scared one of them off. Harper, however, had pulled him out onto the dance floor and made love with him soon after. “But you still could have told me.”

“I wasn’t sure if you knew Malcolm. You never called me by his name, so I thought you were meeting me just as me. Besides,” he said, his cocky grin back in place, “neither of us seemed to be in the mood for chitchat.”

She sipped her peppermint tea and hoped he’d attribute the heat in her cheeks to the steam curling up from the drink and not from blushing at the memory.

“And I would have told you afterward, but you left in a hurry.” He let the statement hang in the air—not quite an accusation, but clearly waiting for an explanation.

For a moment, she was back in the suite Nick had rented in the hotel where the ball was being held, straightening her clothes, mumbling an inadequate “I have to go” and trying not to break into a sprint, hoping Malcolm—Nick—didn’t get his trousers on and catch up to her before she made it out to her car.

She didn’t even meet his eyes as she said, “I suddenly realized I’d slept with my boss. There may have been some freaking out happening.”

He considered that for a moment and waited until she looked at him before replying. “I get that. Although, at the time, not knowing the background, you could say I was somewhat surprised.”

“It might have been different if I’d known you weren’t my—” She didn’t complete the sentence as the logic tripped her up. “Actually, you’re still my boss. Just the silent partner at the company.”

“True, but let’s leave that aside for the moment.” He took a mouthful of coffee, then put his mug on the counter and dug his hands in his pockets before meeting her gaze. “No excuses. I should have told you, and I apologize.”

“Accepted,” she said and blew out a breath, glad to leave the topic behind.

Nick picked up his coffee mug again and downed another mouthful. The silence was heavy with all that still sat unresolved between them, but she wasn’t sure how to start now.

Finally, he said, “We’d better talk about what we’re going to do.”

She pushed off the counter she’d been leaning on and headed for the living room. “Come in and sit down.” This conversation could go well or could be a disaster, and the only thing she had to help smooth the process was comfortable seating, which wasn’t particularly reassuring.

“So, we’re having a baby,” he said without preamble once they were settled on the sofa.

She nodded, glad he’d brought the subject up. He’d obviously known she was pregnant—the timing of his appearance was too coincidental to mean anything else—but she was relieved not to have to announce the news for the second time in one night. “We are.”

“I assume since you sought me—well, Malcolm—out, when you didn’t have to, that you’re planning on keeping it?”

“Yes.” She’d turned in her seat so her back was against the armrest. She wanted to be able to see his reactions more easily and also create a little distance. Clearly she needed all the help with that she could get. “Are you on board with that?”

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “Don’t doubt for a second that I want our baby.”

Unease prickled across her skin. His gaze was deadly serious, and she didn’t know him well enough to read him. Did he just mean that he didn’t want her to end the pregnancy, or was there a more ominous message? Was Nick Tate the sort of man who might try to claim sole custody? This man was a stranger, and to a certain extent she was at sea in knowing how to handle him.

Her lawyer’s sense of justice kicked in, pointing out that, by the same token, he had to be equally at sea with her. He was likely trying to read between the lines to discover all that she wasn’t saying, so for now she should give him the benefit of the doubt.

She drew in a breath and said, “Two babies, actually.”

His eyes widened. “Twins?”

“Yes.”

He sat back with a thud. “Okay, we’re having two babies.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he seemed lost in thought for a moment before returning his focus to her. “How are you? Any morning sickness?”

Instinctively, she laid a hand over her stomach. “Only a little. I’m a bit queasy in the face of milk and greasy things, but not too bad.”

“Does the doctor say everything is okay?” His gaze flicked from where her hand rested on her belly and back again.

“She said everything is perfectly normal.” She tapped her fingers against her thigh, unsure of what else to say, then remembered that she had something she could show him. “I have a picture from the sonogram. Would you like to see it?”

He grinned. “You bet.”

She pulled the printout from inside the pages of a large hardcover book on the coffee table and handed it to him. Since her appointment, she’d spent so much time staring at this picture in wonder. It was almost surreal—they were her babies, growing inside her right this minute. Despite knowing so little about them, her love for these tiny beings was so strong, it enveloped her, vibrating with power, practically a living thing itself.

Speaking past the emotion that filled her throat, she pointed out the same things the doctor had highlighted to her, then waited, fingers laced, while Nick had a moment to absorb the first image of their children.

When he handed it back, his eyes had misted over. “Thank you. That’s...incredible.”

She blinked back tears before they could fully form. “It is, isn’t it?”

“If it’s okay with you,” he said, eyebrows drawn together, “I’d like to be at your future appointments.”

The sense of unease returned. They were his babies, too—he had a right to know how they were doing. And of course she’d dreamed of having someone there to share the excitement and the fears, someone who understood what she was feeling, someone who would be a priceless support.

Still...she was the one who was pregnant, and having him attend her appointments, where she would be prodded and scanned and intimate details of her body would be discussed? Even contemplating that happening with a stranger in the room—albeit a stranger she’d slept with once... A shudder ran down her spine. It was too much, too soon.

“Nick, I want you to know that I won’t keep the babies from you.”

He nodded, as if she’d confirmed something for him. “Good, we’re on the same page, because I plan to be involved.”

It was just what she’d been hoping to hear from the father of her unborn children, and yet, it made it so much harder to deliver the news she had to tell him. She bit down on her lip, trying to find the perfect words.

“At some point during my pregnancy, I’ll be moving home to Connecticut. I’m going to need my mother’s support with the twins, but you’ll be more than welcome to visit any time you want.” Her mother had been the first person Harper had called when the stick had turned pink. And thank God she had—her mother had put everything into perspective for her, taking her from being overwhelmed to getting her head around her impending motherhood and believing she could do it. A big part of that had been her mother’s offer to help her raise the twins. It was just what she’d needed to hear while she was panicking.

“Leaving?” he said, his tone a little sharper than it had been moments before. “You can’t leave.”

She laid a hand on his strong forearm, hating that she was doing this to him, but having no option. “I’m really sorry, Nick, but I honestly don’t think I can do this without my mom’s help.”

He reached over and closed his hand over hers, holding it to his arm, infusing her hand with the warmth of his skin, sending her pulse into an erratic rhythm. “I already have a daughter. Ellie. I can’t put into words how much I love her—she’s the most perfect thing in my life.”

Harper felt her mouth open, but she quickly caught the expression of surprise before it fully manifested. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised he had a daughter—she knew so little about him that there could be much larger secrets and she’d have no idea.

“Ellie’s a pretty name. She’s lucky to have you.”

“Well, that opinion’s in the minority. Her mother—my ex-wife—is trying to keep her from me. That is not happening again. I want to be a hands-on dad with our babies.”

Harper withdrew her hand from his grip and wrapped it around the nape of her neck. It was one thing for him to say he wanted to be hands-on, but they weren’t a couple, and at the end of the day it would likely still be her on her own with newborns. She couldn’t make this situation right for everyone. It was impossible.

Nick stood up in front of her, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on his hips. “Look, we’ve just met each other again, I’ve found out I’m going to be a father to twins and you’ve realized it was me and not Malcolm that night. This has been a big night for both of us.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“How about we take some time to let this all sink in before we discuss the future? I’ll come by tomorrow night and take you to dinner. We can talk more then.”

Harper hesitated. If she had to make a guess, she’d say Nick wanted to take her out to soften her up so he could change her mind about moving away. Agreeing to dinner felt like going out under false pretenses when she knew she couldn’t stay in Royal. But it was getting late, and he was right that it had been a big night. She’d been crashing into bed earlier now that she was growing two babies, and right now she was exhausted. All she wanted was to reheat some dinner and climb into her bed. So maybe putting the conversation on hold wasn’t a bad idea.

She stood as well. “Sure, that sounds good.”

“Great.” He headed for the front door and paused with his palm resting on the handle. The memory of the way he’d greeted her when he’d arrived flooded her mind, and she wondered if he was thinking the same thing. If he’d kiss her again as he left.

But he simply said, “Is seven o’clock okay?”

Seven? Then her brain clicked back into gear. To pick her up. “Seven is good.”

He gave her a guarded smile and opened the door. “See you then.”

As she reached the door to close it behind him, he disappeared down the path and was gone. Barely an hour had passed since Nick Tate had exploded back into her life, and now everything was different.

And she was still unsure whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Two

The next night, Nick left for Harper’s place with a bit of time to spare. He wanted to get her something, a token to show he was acting in good faith while they tried to work things through. Besides, she was in a tough place—pregnant with twins and thinking she had to leave Texas to get the support she needed. At least he could show her she was wrong about the last part.

He wanted a small gift, just to show he was here, ready to play his part. He’d heard some men bought their wives or partners jewelry when they became pregnant, but from the way Harper had reacted during their talk last night, he guessed a gift that expensive would overwhelm her. He just needed something to make her smile. Maybe he could start with flowers?

He ducked into the local grocery store and was confronted with rows and rows of buckets overflowing with blooms. And he hit the snag in his plan. In his experience, most women had a favorite flower, but he knew so little about Harper that he had no chance guessing. Sure, he knew more than he had twenty-four hours ago, but there were certain things that a man should know about the woman who was carrying his babies. Starting with her favorite flower...

“Daddeee!” The sweet, familiar voice rang out and his heart melted into a puddle. He turned in time to catch his three-year-old in the air as she launched herself at him.

“Hey, beautiful girl,” he said, squeezing her tight against his chest.

She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Can you have dinner wiv us tonight?”

When she leaned back to see his face, her eyes were huge with entreaty, and it killed him to have to say no. Her mother, Melissa, and Melissa’s fiancé wouldn’t welcome him into their house, so even if he hadn’t had plans with Harper, he would have to decline.

He glanced around, and sure enough, Melissa and Guy stood about ten feet away, both holding various grocery items, and neither smiling.

“Aw, baby, that’s probably not a good idea. But I’ll see you this weekend. How about we go to the park this time?”

Immediately distracted, Ellie nodded. “The big one wiv the swings?”

He grinned. “That’s the one.”

“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered, gripping his neck tight.

“I love you, too, Ellie.”

“Flowers. Are you going on a date, Nick?” Melissa was closer now. “You know I don’t want girlfriends around Ellie. It’s too disruptive for her. And my lawyer agrees.”

Nick stifled the retort that sat on his tongue. He was perfectly capable of working out what was and wasn’t good for his daughter. But getting into an argument in front of Ellie was definitely something that wouldn’t be good for her.

“Nice to see you, Melissa.” He tipped his chin at the other man. “Guy.”

“I mean it, Nick,” Melissa said, undeterred.

“You know what?” her smarmy fiancé said. “How about you go ahead and do it, and we’ll have a much stronger custody case. Ellie tells us everything anyway.”

Despite the pressure building in his head, Nick refused to rise to the bait. He gave Ellie another squeeze and put her down. “I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I have to go.” He grabbed the closest bunch of flowers, said, “See you soon, baby,” to his daughter, gave the adults a tight smile and headed for the checkout.

A few minutes later, he slid into the driver’s seat of his car and paused before starting the engine. His lawyer had given him similar advice about women—if he was trying to prove that he was a stable influence in Ellie’s life, then a parade of girlfriends would work against him. That had been such a nonissue at the time, he’d barely paid attention. But now...

...now a woman he barely knew was carrying his twins.

He didn’t have to run it by his lawyer to know that this would make him look irresponsible. And, as Malcolm had said, there were no secrets in Royal with Maverick on the loose, so Melissa could find out any day. Added to the PTSD he’d struggled with since his last deployment, it might be enough for the judge to award full custody of Ellie to her mother instead of the shared custody he was asking for. He couldn’t go on with only a day every two weeks with his daughter. His lungs squeezed tight.

He had to do something.

Something to make him look more stable.

He ran through scenario after scenario, but, really, there was only one solution.

If he and Harper were married, not only would he avoid any appearance of irresponsibility, but, in the judge’s eyes, he’d have a stable family unit to offer Ellie. Turning a negative into a positive.

The more he thought about it, marriage would not only help him with the custody case, it would also keep Harper here in Royal so he could be involved in the babies’ lives. It was a win-win.

But could he do it? Marry a woman who was practically a stranger? Could he convince her to do it?

Movement at the front of the store caught his attention. Ellie danced around Melissa’s legs as they made their way out the door and toward their car. His heart thumped hard. He’d do anything for that little girl. And he already felt the same about being a part of the twins’ lives, too. For all three children, he’d do anything. Even marry someone he didn’t love.

Decision made, he started the engine. Now he just had to convince Harper.

Glad he’d allowed extra time, he drove by the Texas Cattleman’s Club, where he’d made the reservation for dinner tonight. A few extra touches would help when he proposed. At this stage all he had going for him was that he and Harper had enough chemistry to light the city, so he wanted to do anything extra he could to sway the odds in his favor. It wasn’t much, but he’d been on missions with less auspicious beginnings. He’d make it work.

On the way in, he heard his name and turned to see the tall, solid form of Gabe Walsh stepping out of his car. Gabe was a former special agent with the FBI who now ran the Walsh Group, his family’s private security firm. Before Gabe had taken over, the Walsh Group had bought their body armor from Tate Armor, and Nick was loath to lose their business. One of the proposals he was working on now was the first one for TWG with Gabe at the helm.

“Walsh,” Nick said, waiting until the other man reached him, and then shaking his hand.

“Not often we see you out and about, Tate. Is this a special occasion?”

For a long moment, Nick considered telling him about Harper and the babies, trying to make it sound like casual chat, but really letting him know early in case Maverick released the information. At least that way it wouldn’t look like a security breach; instead, it would just be old news.

But, in reality, there was no way to announce such large personal news to a work acquaintance in a parking lot and make it sound natural. And Gabe had been in law enforcement—dropping something like that with no context would make him suspicious.

So, instead, he worked the other angle. “Just checking on a reservation. Hey, have you been looking into Maverick?”

Gabe’s head cocked to the side. “You know something?”

“Actually, I was hoping you would.”

Gabe winced. “Nothing. But I sure would love to know who it is.”

“You and everyone in town.” They reached the front doors, and both men stopped. Nick thrust his hand out, and Gabe shook it. “Good to see you. I’ll have that proposal to you in the next few days.”

“Looking forward to it.” Gabe went through the doors, and Nick let out a breath.

If there was about to be a breakthrough on the case, Gabe Walsh would know about it—he had connections everywhere. Which meant the situation with Harper was ripe for Maverick to milk or try to blackmail him over. The only way forward was to neutralize the potential threat before Maverick acted on it.

And that brought Nick back to the one way to resolve the situation on all fronts.

He had to marry Harper Lake.

* * *

Harper glanced across at Nick as he sat on the other side of their relatively secluded table at the restaurant in the Texas Cattleman’s Club. The table had the same crisp white tablecloth, sparking crystal glassware and thick, luxurious napkins as the others, but theirs definitely had something extra. To start with, there was the cascading arrangement of tiny white roses, and gold cutlery instead of silver on the other tables. And Nick had arrived to pick her up with a bouquet of pink lilies, which she’d put in a vase before they’d left. It all gave her a sinking feeling that Nick was pulling out all the stops. And she was going to tell him she was leaving anyway...

She’d been thinking about tonight almost constantly since he’d walked out her door twenty-four hours ago, and knew Nick would try to use their dinner to convince her to stay, so she’d decided to share one of her deepest fears with him, to be completely up front about why she had to go. Maybe then he’d understand—even if he didn’t like it—and wouldn’t make it more difficult than it already was.

At the very least, she owed him an explanation of why she wouldn’t risk staying and failing. Afterward, they could work out visitation arrangements and do their best to ensure the babies had a relationship with their father.

But she had a feeling Nick wasn’t going to make it easy to leave him.

She glanced at him now, the strong column of his throat emerging from the collar of his charcoal dress shirt, his mouth that she knew from experience could take her to heaven, dark eyes that were smoldering as they watched her... She tore her gaze away and looked down at her place setting. Leaving this man would never be easy.

In the car, as if by unspoken consent, they’d tabled the discussion about their situation and instead talked about the town and people they both knew. But now they were at the restaurant, and Harper didn’t want to put it off any longer. She needed to let him know where she stood before he started his pitch.

“Nick,” she began then paused to find some air for her lungs. “This is not how I pictured having my first baby.”

“It’s not how I pictured having my second and third, but we can make it work.” He seemed so sure, so confident he could make things right, and that broke her heart.

A waiter brought the two glasses of sparkling water they’d ordered, and Harper took a sip, both to help her dry mouth and to wait until they were alone again to resume the conversation.

“I need to explain something.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and met his gaze. “I grew up in a broken home. My mother did a great job, but some experiences will leave a mark. I made a vow that I’d never subject a child to the same pain, confusion and self-blame that I felt growing up.”

He cocked his head to the side, surveying her. “You don’t come across as someone who’s riddled with doubts.”

“How do I come across?” she asked, despite herself. She didn’t want to be sidetracked, but she was suddenly very interested in his opinion of her.

“When Malcolm talked about our attorney, he always said you were a go-getter. Someone who doesn’t back down for anyone or anything. Of course, I didn’t connect you to the person he was talking about until last night, but I’d have to say my initial assessment of you is the same.”

That was the image she’d tried to project. More than that, it was the person she’d worked hard to become. But life was always more complicated than that.

She shrugged one shoulder. “Appearances can be deceiving. The tough persona is an invisible armor I developed against being abandoned and rejected.” She hesitated, unsure how far to expose herself. But it was fair that he knew, that he understood. Despite her body wanting to fold itself up into a ball, she straightened her spine and went on. “It started back when my father left. The night he went, he was angry, maybe it was defensive, I don’t know, but he took it out on me as well as my mother. My last memories of him are him yelling at me in our living room then walking out the door.”

And despite the yelling, she’d followed him and thrown herself on the lawn outside, sobbing as his car drove away. She closed her eyes for long moments, trying to contain the emotions the memory always stirred up. The only sound was the clink of dishes from other tables and a low hum of distant conversation. She was almost scared to open her eyes in case she’d said too much. Given too much information too soon.

But she did open them and found Nick’s understanding gaze resting on her.

He drew in a deep breath. “God, Harper.”

She shook her head. “Believe me, I’m not telling you this for sympathy. In fact I haven’t told a soul that story before.”

“Then why are you telling me?” he asked.

“The thing is, that night triggered something for me. I don’t handle abandonment well, and I’ve never been able to move past it.” In fact, she’d been repeating the pattern through poor choices in men, dating guys who turned out to be commitment-shy to say the least. And so the cycle had continued. Being aware of what she was doing hadn’t helped her stop it. “Knowing how debilitating fears like that can be and how instability when you’re young can have lifelong effects, I’ve always wanted my children to only know the love and security of an intact family unit. That’s not an option now, but I still need to do the best I can to make the household they grow up in secure.”

“You don’t have to leave to get that. We can do that right here.”

“I’ll never keep them from you, Nick. I know how tough it can be to be separated from family members. But these babies are going to need a stable unit around them. You and I can try to work something out, but let’s be realistic. We’ve just met.”

“Sure, we just met,” he said, gaze not faltering. “But we’re not your garden variety of strangers. We’re expecting babies together, Harper. Unusual circumstances call for unusual measures.”

His reasoning was compelling, but still...

She lifted the spoon in her place setting and turned it in her fingers as she composed her thoughts, then lined it up neatly with the other cutlery again. “I wasn’t ready for one baby, let alone two, and I know I’ll have trouble coping with two babies with absolutely no experience. My mother will be there for us. Full-time. I’m really sorry, but the right thing for these babies is for me to move back to Connecticut.”

The waiter came by and, after telling them the specials, took their order. Once he left, Nick picked up the conversational thread again.

“I appreciate you telling me that. It couldn’t have been easy.” He squared his shoulders. “And I’ll be as honest with you in return. You need to know that I have post-traumatic stress disorder from my time in the Middle East, and I’ve pretty much been living as a hermit since I got back. But I’m changing things.” Frown lines appeared across his forehead. “I need to change things. My ex-wife is getting remarried, and she wants me to sign over my parental rights to our three-year-old daughter.”

“That’s crazy,” Harper said, her lawyer’s sense of justice kicking in. “Why would she want to keep a father and child from seeing each other?”

He speared his fingers through his hair. “She’s claiming my PTSD is making me an unfit father.”

“Is it?” she asked and tried not to hold her breath as she waited for the answer.

“No.” His voice was clear and sure. “I might be screwing up a heap of things in my life, but Ellie isn’t one of them. I’d do anything for her. Plus, she needs her father. She needs me. But—” he winced “—having two babies on the way with someone I’m not in a relationship with will probably damage my case.”

“Oh, Nick.” She hadn’t thought the situation could be any more complex. She’d been wrong.

“There’s something else we need to consider. With Maverick active and causing people real grief, this is a secret that may be released at an inopportune time.”

Maverick. She hadn’t even considered herself a possible target before—there had been nothing juicy enough in her life to interest him—but now she was just the sort of target he seemed to like. “If he announces that I’m pregnant by the boss, it would reflect badly on Tate Armor. It has the whiff of a workplace tinged by sexual harassment.”

“Worse than that. The breach of privacy itself would make the company look like we don’t know what we’re doing in the security field.”

“Of course,” she said, running through the ramifications. “So we need to tell people ourselves soon so we’re controlling the information.”

“Ideally, yes. And if we ensure that everything looks unquestionably aboveboard, all the better.”

“How can we do that?”

“The way I see it, we have a few problems that have arisen from this pregnancy. You’re feeling overwhelmed and in need of backup. You also want an intact family unit for the babies. And I have to consider that I’ll look irresponsible when my custody case is heard. And finally, Tate Armor’s reputation is at risk.”

She winced. “That does sound like a lot when you list everything out.”

“I’ve thought about this, and I see one solution that addresses all of these problems.”

“That must be a pretty powerful solution.”

“It is.” He rolled his shoulders back. “We should get married.”

She coughed out a laugh. “Are you serious?”

“Very much. Think about it—you’d have my commitment that I’ll be in this with you one hundred percent. You’ll have all the backup you need without having to leave town. A hands-on father is the only way I know how to do it, anyway. The babies get two parents. Our relationship would look like a positive in my court case. And Tate Armor would be safe from Maverick. Everybody wins.”

Everybody wins?

“Nick, we don’t even know each other.” It seemed like a point too obvious to say, but apparently it did need to be said aloud. Maybe this was the one detail he hadn’t factored into his solution?

He tilted his head, conceding the point. “And if this was a first date, that would be a reasonable objection. But you’re having my babies.” His entire body stilled, but his eyes blazed with focus. “Marry me.”

She leaned back in her the chair, heart racing double time. Marriage? It was too much. He was watching her closely, expression expectant, obviously thinking there was a chance she’d say yes. “Still, it’s a really big step, Nick.” Her gut was churning just thinking about it. “Really big.”

“Also,” he said, and the corners of his mouth tugged into a half smile as if he knew he was starting to bring her around, “my mother raised twins. She’s here in town, and she’ll be over the moon about our babies. She’ll help out as much as we want. And if you want your mother around, too? No problem—we’ll fly her down.”

Harper sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it. Marrying without love hadn’t been in her life plan, but neither was being pregnant with twins. Nick was clearly committed to being a father to their children... Oh, God, was she seriously considering it? Her pulse felt erratic under her skin. It was completely ridiculous. Wasn’t it?

“I’ve had a pregnant wife before, and even though I wasn’t home through all of her pregnancy, I know there are things I can do to help.”

“What sort of things?” she asked, curious. She’d spent the first three months of this pregnancy alone, and her thoughts had often strayed to how the experience would be different if she were part of a couple.

He shrugged. “Going to the store for olives at two in the morning. Massaging feet. Help with the heavier chores and picking things up from the ground. Just the regular things a pregnant woman might want.”

Massaging feet? Ducking out for whatever she wanted to eat? She smiled. “That does sound useful.” But her smile faded as she thought about the reality of their situation. “Nick—”

“I know we can do it,” he said. “I love babies and kids. When Ellie was a baby, I was between tours, and her mother and I shared all her care. We can do this.”

Try as she might, she couldn’t see it working, but her legal training wouldn’t let her ignore the fact that it was the only solution on the table that addressed each issue they faced, so she owed it to herself and the babies to at least give the idea due consideration.

She smoothed her skirt over her lap. “Did you see us living together?”

“Absolutely,” he said, seemingly unfazed by her zeroing on the specifics.

“Are you thinking we’d live at your place or mine?”

“Mine. There’s more room.”

She almost smiled at the irony that they worked for the same company, yet she would commute to the company’s office each morning and he would stay in the house she also lived in.

Then she realized she hadn’t even seen his place. It could be a cabin in the woods with no running water. “Hang on. What’s your place like?”

“Big. Just outside town.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw as he thought. “Modern. Everything inside was done by a decorator, and she used words like minimalist and sleek. You can make any changes you want. I’m not fussy about that sort of thing.”

“Can I ask you something?” Did she imagine the wariness flickering briefly in his eyes before he answered?

He sat back and picked up his glass of water. “Sure.”

She laced her fingers together and, for a moment, wished her lawyer’s heart could just go with the flow instead of insisting she gather all the facts to file neatly in their slots.

“If we went ahead with this plan, do you see us as a couple?”

He chuckled. “We would be married. That’s pretty much the definition of a couple.”

But it was an important issue—just how married did he want to be? “That’s the legal arrangement. And we’ve discussed physical arrangements for me to move in. But what about us as two people?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You mean lovemaking?”

“I do,” she said. “It’s a reasonable consideration since we’re not strangers on that front.”

“No, we’re not.” A small muscle twitched in his jaw. “I’m open to the idea of a consummated marriage.”

Her skin heated. She swallowed. Hearing him say the words brought memories racing to the fore. Memories of their bodies sliding against each other, of sensitized skin, of the sounds he made as he found his release.

The waiter reappeared with their meals, and Harper was thankful for the timing so she could regain her poise. There was no doubt he made her melt inside. And they already knew they had explosive chemistry. But things were different now—so much more entwined and complex. Would that dampen some of the chemistry between them? Or would his touch always affect her?

She needed to move on, to stop thinking of his touch...

She cleared her throat. “What about length of time? Are you suggesting a lifetime commitment?”

“No, that would be unreasonable. Ideally it would last until our children were grown, but if we both made a commitment of, say, five years, we’d address all of our issues.”

“Except the one about the intact family unit.”

Nick reached out and covered her hand, his gaze softening. “It would never be the way it was with your father, Harper. Since we’d be going in with a businesslike arrangement, we’d be able to dissolve the union with little mess and drama. We’d prioritize the children and both have major roles in their lives. There would be no words in anger. Neither parent would just disappear.”

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze then released it and picked up his utensils to twirl a forkful of pasta.

Her skin immediately felt the absence of his touch, which seemed to highlight the inherent problem of having to deal with his absence at the end of their marriage. What if they came to the end of five years and she’d fallen in love with him? Would she be setting herself up for another abandonment?

The weight of everything they were discussing came crashing down on her shoulders, and she could barely keep herself upright. She couldn’t do it. There had to be another way. There had to be.

She put her fork down, her dinner barely touched. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I don’t think marriage is the right way forward for us.”

He stilled, eyes focused on her. “Do you have another solution?”

“Not yet,” she said. She’d figure something out, though. She always did. “Give me a few days.”

He shook his head. “With Maverick on the loose, we might not have the luxury of a few days.”

She blew out a long breath, considering the factors. “Okay, give me twenty-four hours.”

“Sure. I can do that,” he said and signaled the waiter.

The short moment of relief that his agreement granted her soon faded as she realized that she had one day to achieve the near impossible.

Pushing that thought aside, she picked up her handbag and squared her shoulders, ready to meet the challenge head on.

Three

By the next afternoon, after looking at the situation from every angle, Harper had to concede that Nick’s plan was the only option that addressed all of their issues. If she moved to Connecticut, her mother would give her the support she wanted, and they’d form a little family unit—the twins, their mom and their grandma. But it would make Nick look bad in his case for shared custody of Ellie. She couldn’t make a decision that solely benefited her babies and threw their half sister and father under the bus. It would also risk the reputation of Tate Armor, and not just for Nick’s sake—she’d worked there for years and had a lot of loyalty to the company, to Malcolm and to the staff.

She’d brainstormed, even tried to match various smaller plans together to achieve the outcomes, but it seemed only Nick’s plan would deliver on all fronts.

Her heart had been heavy since the realization had dawned. Marrying a man she didn’t love, a virtual stranger, simply wasn’t the path she’d dreamed her life would take, even if he did make her pulse race every time she saw him. Or thought of him.

As she listened to the ringtone, waiting for Nick to answer, her brain was still frantically trying to come up with an alternative.

“Harper.” His smooth, deep voice sent a wave of heat over her skin. “Have you made a decision?”

As no alternative had presented itself in the last thirty seconds, she closed her eyes and faced her fate. “I think you’re right. Getting married is the best option we have.”

He blew out a breath. “Thank you. And I’ll do my best to ensure you don’t regret this.”

She appreciated the sentiment, but she had a feeling she’d just stepped into something that was bigger than both of them.

“I have a few contacts at city hall,” she said, “so I’ll see what I can do about fast-tracking our license just in case Maverick is on the scent.”

“Good idea. Hang on.” In the background she heard a door opening and closing before Nick spoke again. “Have you given any thought to when you’d like to move in?”

She needed some time to steel herself, but since part of the reason they were doing this was for appearances, she couldn’t move in with him any later than their wedding day. “I’ll need to take a day of vacation leave for the wedding, so we could do it then.”

“Sure,” he said. “That suits me.”

They’d touched on the length of their marriage last night, and although it was a discussion she’d rather have face-to-face, she was unlikely to see him before the wedding—especially if she managed to speed up their license—and she’d rather they agreed before vows were exchanged.

“I was thinking, too,” she said, “about how long we should commit to being married.”

“And what did you come up with?”

“The five years you suggested is reasonable. I can’t imagine I’ll have any energy to date with two tiny humans at home, anyway.” And it was hard to imagine any man affecting her the way Nick did with only a look. In fact, he might have ruined her for other men for life.

“Good to know I won’t be cramping your style,” he said, heavy on the sarcasm, along with a note of something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“That gives the babies a solid five years with us together, so they’ll have a strong relationship with both of us.”

“And,” he added, his voice confident, “as long as we handle the divorce well, it shouldn’t impact them too much.”

She looked up at the ceiling. Nick was probably being overly optimistic, but she’d definitely do her best to make the transition seamless.

She paced from her kitchen through to her dining room. There was one other issue they hadn’t agreed on—their love life. Nick had said at dinner that he was open to the idea of a consummated marriage, and then their meals had arrived, so she’d been saved from having to give her view. She’d thought about it since, but she still didn’t know what she wanted. Correction. She knew she wanted him, but she wasn’t sure an active love life in a relationship they were trying to keep practical was wise. She waited a beat, wondering if he’d raise the topic, but either he thought it was decided, or he was waiting for her.

And instead of facing how they’d handle one of the most important aspects of marriage head-on—and despite Nick’s view of her as someone who didn’t back down from anyone or anything—she let it go. They’d already agreed to marry, so it wouldn’t change things now. After the wedding? They could play it by ear.

So she simply said, “I’ll let you know when I have any information about the license.”

“Till then,” he said and disconnected the call.

Harper kept the cell in her hand an extra minute, wondering why she’d flaked from discussing their potential love life.

And, more importantly, what she would decide to do once she was finally confronted with the option of having Nick Tate in her bed.

* * *

Friday morning Nick arrived at his own wedding at city hall, hoping like all hell that his bride would turn up. She’d agreed to the plan, but reluctantly, so he wouldn’t have been completely surprised if she’d changed her mind.

Harper had managed to fast-track their civil ceremony and had phoned earlier in the week to share details, but it had been a short call. Just the details.

His gut had been in knots all morning thinking about whether she’d changed her mind. He’d shot off a text saying, Everything okay for today? and she’d replied Yes, which was somewhat reassuring, but he wouldn’t relax until the vows were said and his ring was on her finger.

Squaring his shoulders, he walked into the small, carpeted waiting room and found her there, looking elegant, and his entire body practically sighed in relief. She wore a knee-length dove-gray skirt with a white silk blouse, her hair fell in dark, glossy waves down her back and her lips were painted a soft pink. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful.

“Late to your own wedding?” said a familiar voice beside him. Nick scowled at the interruption and turned to his brother, who was making a mock-concerned face. “Gee, I don’t know, Harper. I think you could probably do better. Find someone who prioritizes you and your wedding enough to arrive on time.”

“I’m not late. In fact, we’re all early.” Nick saw his mother beside Malcolm and stepped past his twin to embrace her. “Thanks for coming on short notice.”

When he’d called with the news, she’d been staying with her sister in Dallas and had to come home a day early. He’d put a lot of thought into how to tell his mother and decided that the truth would break her heart—she and his father had enjoyed a strong, loving marriage, and the last thing she’d want for her one of her boys was a loveless union. So he’d stretched the truth a little and told her that he’d been seeing Harper for months and left out any reference to the fact they were embarking on a marriage of convenience. Even though his mother had admitted to some surprise, she’d clearly interpreted the story as a whirlwind romance and was thrilled about both the wedding and the babies.

She patted his tie. “Of course I came. I had to meet the woman crazy enough to marry you.”

“Jesus, Mom,” Nick said and shot a glance at Harper. His mother and brother’s humor didn’t always translate well to strangers, but thankfully Harper was chuckling. He shook his head. “So much for family support.”

“It’s okay, honey,” his mother said. “Harper and I have had a few moments to chat. I like her. And your father, bless his soul, would have liked her, too.”

Nick lifted a fist to his heart to push against the pressure that always came with the mention of his father. It had been nine years since he’d died, and they all still missed him like crazy. But today the grief was complicated by something else as well—by his mother giving a blessing on behalf of his dad. It was bad enough lying to one parent, but he felt like he was deceiving both of them now.

He managed to hold back the flinch and hoped any reaction she saw would be attributed to simply missing his father on his wedding day. He found a smile and said, “Thanks, Mom.”

“Now,” she said, reverting to her teasing tone, “are those for me?” She pointed to the bouquet in his hand that he’d forgotten he was carrying.

Not bothering to reply to more ribbing, he handed them to Harper. “I wasn’t sure if you were getting one, so I figured I’d pick this up just in case.”

“Thank you. That was very sweet,” she said and gently touched the petals of the cream and pale pink flowers. “They’re beautiful.”

She snapped off one cream rose and threaded the stem into the top buttonhole of his suit jacket. As she adjusted it, her tongue peeked out, the tip coming to rest against her top lip. His skin heated. If they weren’t surrounded by people—including his mother and brother—he’d pull her close and kiss that lip. She glanced up when she finished and must have seen the thought in his eyes, because her breath hitched. He held back a groan—her reaction certainly wasn’t going to help rein in his own response.

Straightening his spine, with his gaze on hers so she understood, he stepped back.

“You know,” Malcolm whispered as Harper turned away to talk to their mother, “this act for Mom is so good even I’m starting to buy it.”

“Don’t get carried away by the sight of a bouquet and a celebrant.”

“Don’t get carried away? Hang on—you know this is a real, legally binding ceremony, right?”

“Harper and I have talked it through. We have no illusions about romance. We’re doing what’s right.”

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. “Do the two things have to be mutually exclusive?”

“Just tell me you have the rings.”

Malcolm grinned. “I have the rings. The rings that symbolize your commitment—mind, body and soul—to this woman.”

Nick prayed for the strength not to murder his brother on his own wedding day and turned to talk to his mother and Harper.

Ten minutes later, they were shown into another room, where a waiting city official greeted them and checked that they had two witnesses, rings and the paperwork.

Nick glanced around. This simple, practical ceremony was nothing like his first wedding to his high school sweetheart. That had been a big, white wedding—more of a spectacle than anything. He’d been uncomfortable being the center of attention, but he would have done anything for Melissa back when he’d thought in terms of forevers and true loves.

And yet, despite its lack of trappings—or maybe because of it—there was something so very real about this ceremony. He gave himself a shake. He couldn’t lose sight of the facts—this arrangement was strictly practical. A way to solve all the issues that had arisen from Harper’s pregnancy and his custody case, nothing more.

The formalities were surprisingly short, which suited him because he didn’t want to linger, and since neither of them had written their own vows, the rite was even more streamlined.

Then, when they exchanged rings, something shifted inside him. The slow, ritualized movement of their hands carried meaning, carried weight that he hadn’t suspected. It was as if the air around them was thick, insulating them, holding them, drawing them closer. He’d told his brother that he wouldn’t get carried away, and yet he was in danger of doing exactly that.

And, curiously, from the flicker of emotion in Harper’s eyes, she wasn’t unaffected by the act of placing her ring on his left hand and having his slide down her finger, either.

But the time passed quickly, and soon they were being congratulated—his mother hugging them both, Malcolm slapping him on the back and shaking his hand. Through it all Nick was torn between accepting the congratulations in the spirit they were offered and feeling bad about deceiving his mother. He settled on allowing himself to feel satisfied that the plan had come together.

“So,” Malcolm said and checked his watch, “it’s almost noon. How about we get some lunch to celebrate?”

“Great idea.” His mother looped her elbow through Harper’s as they all headed for the exit.

“Maybe another time. We’re spending this afternoon moving Harper’s things to my place.”

“Need some help?” Malcolm asked.

The rest of the day with his twin in an obnoxiously cheery mood, taking potshots at him? Not appealing. Besides, Nick wanted some time alone with Harper to start working out what their marriage would look like.

They stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of city hall, and Nick took Harper’s hand. “We’ll be fine.”

Malcolm tuned to their mother. “I think the lovebirds want to be alone.”

She nodded sagely. “They only have a weekend for the honeymoon, so it makes sense not to waste today with us.”

Despite the grain of truth in the teasing, Nick didn’t rise to the bait. “Thanks again for coming along. It means a lot.”

“It really does,” Harper echoed.

“Our pleasure,” his mother said, and kissed each of them on the cheek. “But we can take a hint, can’t we, Malcolm?”

“Oh, I understood the hint. I was just planning on ignoring it,” Malcolm said cheerfully.

“Don’t worry,” their mother said, “we’re going now.” She grabbed a protesting Malcolm’s arm and marched him toward the parking lot the way she had when the twins were ten.

Harper laughed. “I like your mother.”

“I’m glad,” Nick said. He dug his free hand in his pocket and let out a long breath. “So, we’re married.”

The look in her beautiful brown eyes seemed uncertain. “It appears we are.”

A light breeze picked up a few strands of her hair and blew them across her face, so he tucked them behind her ear. “Ready for the move?”

Her stomach rumbled, and she smiled ruefully. “As long as we can grab some food on the way.”

“Deal,” he said, glad for at least one task that didn’t involve lying and where he could make everyone happy.

Four

When he pulled up in front of Harper’s house, Nick switched off the engine and grabbed the Mexican takeout they’d bought on the way. Everything was happening so fast, from discovering he was going to be the father of twins, to the wedding today and now moving her things to his place. The adrenaline from the changes was leaving him restless, but hopefully once she moved in, things would slow down some and they could find their feet. They got along well and had chemistry to burn, so he was feeling optimistic this whole plan would work.

He followed Harper up the small pathway, and after she’d unlocked the front door, he put the food just inside, then scooped her up and carried her through.

She gasped, but gave a rueful laugh. “I think you’re only supposed to carry the bride over the threshold of the marital home. We won’t be living here, so there’s no need.”

“I don’t want to tempt fate,” he said, trying not to dwell on how good her weight felt in his arms. “This isn’t a normal marriage—there’s no point pretending otherwise. Yet we both have things riding on it, so I’m planning on doubling up on tradition and doing it at both places.”

Her amusement slowly faded as the pulse at the base of her neck began to flutter, and he gave himself a moment to fully appreciate that he was holding her curves against his chest. He could feel the heat of her skin through her thin blouse, hear her breath catch in her throat.

“Nick...” she said, her voice unsteady. “We need to talk about...this. About...intimacy in our marriage.”

He wanted to lift her a little higher in his arms, bring those pink lips up to meet his, to take his time and kiss her thoroughly, to learn how she liked to be kissed. And he could see from the heat in her eyes that she’d be right on board with that, despite her words. But if they did, they wouldn’t stop. He knew that from experience. From the insistent beat in his blood. And he had a feeling from her tone that she wanted that discussion about intimacy first.

He put the brakes on every instinct he had and lowered her feet to the ground. The slide of her body lit his every nerve ending, and he had to close his eyes and grit his teeth until she stepped away.

When he opened his eyes again, she was adjusting her blouse and shaking her head as she looked down at the floor. “And maybe we should talk about it sooner rather than later.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” he admitted and tried to ignore his body still protesting at the distance between them.

“Just give me a minute to change. These aren’t moving clothes,” she said, waving a hand at the outfit she’d worn for their wedding. “If you want to get a start on lunch, there are plates in the cupboard above the counter.”

He wasn’t fooled as he watched her leave. Sure, she needed to change, but the timing was to give her a moment to compose herself. And, if he were honest, he could use the time, too. So, he imagined himself in a cold shower until he had his body back under his control.

She emerged a few minutes later, having changed into a soft lavender summer dress that set off her tan skin and swirled around her legs, and within moments he was right back needing a cold shower again.

He cleared his throat and held up the plates, cutlery and food. “I had a look around. The deck out back looks like a good spot for lunch.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “That sounds lovely.”

Once they were settled at her outdoor table with lunch on their plates, he leaned back in his seat. She didn’t start eating; instead she pushed the food around her plate, clearly uncomfortable. So he gave her a hand and said, “You wanted to talk about where we stand on intimacy.”

“Yes.” She straightened her spine. “You said you were okay with consummating our marriage, but I’m not so sure.”

It was what he’d expected she’d say, but still, he couldn’t see why it would be a problem. “What are you worried will happen?”

She lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “We’ve talked about this being a practical arrangement, and that we’ll be able to walk away after five years if we want. So, wouldn’t the best thing be to keep those boundaries clear?”

That sounded sensible on the surface, but he had a feeling there was a deeper reason. “You think we’ll fall in love if we sleep together again.”

“Not necessarily fall in love,” she said, her brows drawn together, “but maybe things would be...messier.”

In general, he agreed—making love was a big step, and once you’d taken it, there was no going back. And yet... “We’ve already crossed that line. Is holding back now really going to help?”

She circled her throat with her delicate hand. “It’s different now.”

“Yeah, I know.” He reached over and unwrapped her hand from her throat, then held it between his. “We’ve done this thing completely backward. Getting pregnant, then getting married, then getting to know each other.”

“And I think adding intimacy in the middle of that is almost like throwing a grenade in. It’s volatile and unpredictable.”

“Point taken.” He wondered if she’d deliberately used military imagery to help him see her meaning. Either way, it had worked. “How about we focus on getting to know each other and then revisit the topic in the future.”

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