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  “That was different, Savannah,” her mother replied in a soft voice, shooting Mike worried glances.

  If he’d had two heads or come from Mars, Mike didn’t think they would have more objections. He studied her mother. Amy Clay had none of her daughter’s beauty, either. Sandy-haired, brown-eyed and freckled, she had no distinctive features and was several inches shorter than Savannah, whose height he guessed was about five foot ten.

  The storm of protests swirled around him while Savannah capably dealt with her family.

  “Does this family want John’s little baby to become a ward of the state?” Savannah demanded, looking at her siblings.

  “He could have appointed you or one of us as her guardian, and he didn’t,” said Lucius, Savannah’s oldest brother. “John Frates deserves what he gets here.”

  “Jessie doesn’t,” Savannah said quietly. “I know what I’m doing. Mike is giving me half the money and the house, so there will be no financial hardship.”

  Matt Clay looked at Mike, and Mike gazed steadily back into hazel eyes that were fiery with anger. Mike could feel the anger from all the males in the room. They didn’t frighten him, and he understood their position, but he wondered why he was putting himself through something he didn’t want in the first place.

  “Dad,” Savannah said, crossing the room to crouch in front of her father’s chair. “I’m doing something I really want to do, and you’re not going to talk me out of it. Now start being hospitable to Mike. He’s agreeing to this so I can have what I want.”

  A tense silence hung over the room while Matt Clay glared at Mike. When finally he nodded, the women started talking, peppering Savannah with questions. Moments later, the women, including Savannah, left the room to look at a calendar and make plans. As soon as they were gone, Savannah’s brothers exchanged looks.

  “Let me show you around the place,” Lucius said, standing. He was a tall, rawboned man, his skin deeply tanned by the Texas sunshine, his thick blond hair bleached almost white.

  Mike followed Lucius into the backyard with its brightly lit swimming pool. Faith, the youngest sister, sat watching children splash in the pool. She merely glanced at the men and smiled.

  Lucius turned to Mike. “Savannah seems to really want this sham marriage because she wants the baby, but she doesn’t know much about you, does she?” he asked.

  “She knows a lot more about me than I do about her,” Mike answered evenly, knowing from the first few minutes that Savannah’s brothers were ready to protect their sister’s interests.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Lucius said, “but basically, you’re two strangers. I want you to know—and I’m speaking for Andy and Jacob, too—we don’t want to see her hurt. You understand?”

  “Absolutely,” Mike said, holding his temper, because he knew that her family had good reason to be suspicious of a stranger marrying their sister in a name-only union. “I think Savannah is capable of taking care of herself, too.”

  He gazed into cold, green eyes and could feel the tension tighten between them.

  “Maybe she can, but I want you to be careful.”

  “Don’t worry about your sister. I have no intention of hurting her, and she’s getting what she wants.”

  “She deserves better than this,” Lucius said, frowning.

  “I agree with you, but this is what she wants to do.”

  “Why the hell are you doing this? You’re giving her half the money and the house. Everybody wants something. What do you want out of this?”

  Mike took a deep breath, still hanging on tenuously to his temper. “Not a damn thing, other than peace of mind. She wants that little baby desperately. It won’t hurt me to give Savannah time and my name until she can legally adopt Jessie.” He paused. “Look, Lucius, I don’t want to do this. I have my life and I like my independence. This paper marriage is putting a crimp in my plans. I’m just trying to do a good deed here, so don’t push too hard.”

  Lucius Clay’s chest expanded as he inhaled and clenched his fists. Mike clenched his, wondering if the guy, who was a good three inches taller than he was, planned to take a swing at him.

  “Lucius!” Savannah came striding out of the house and hurried over to them. She linked her arm through Mike’s, and he forgot about Lucius, inhaling her perfume and intensely aware of her pressed against his side. He knew she was doing it in an effort to calm Lucius, and for the benefit of her family, but Mike liked having her close.

  “You leave my fiancé alone,” she said to her brother. “I can imagine this conversation. C’mon, Mike. Mom is serving peach cobbler now and we’ve got a wedding date set.” As Savannah talked, she tugged on his arm and he turned to walk with her back to the house.

  “Maybe you saved me from getting pounded,” he said, placing his arm across her shoulders, knowing she would not push him away.

  She smiled at him. “With your background, you could pulverize Lucius. He’s a cowboy, not a trained fighter.”

  “I’d never underestimate a cowboy. I think your dad and your brothers are ready to hang me from the nearest tree. Your family is giving me looks I would have expected if I had dropped here from Mars.”

  She smiled. “They’ll accept you. They just need time. And needless to say, the women like you—but you know that.”

  “Not your mom. I saw the looks she gave me, too. She doesn’t want you to do this, either, does she.”

  “No, she doesn’t, but she knows I’m capable of making my own decisions, so she’ll support me in what I want to do.”

  “Yeah, well, your menfolk have mayhem on their minds.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’m not worried. You’re not scared of them, and I know you can take care of yourself.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “It won’t. They’ll do what I want. And our arrangement will stay within our families. As far as friends are concerned, it will be better if everyone thinks I’ve fallen in love.”

  “Okay,” he said, “but in addition to family, I want to level with the two other guys you had in your office—Jonah and Boone. They’re almost as close as my brothers, and they’ll be around some because of John’s will—at least until they dispose of their inheritances. I want them to know the truth. I want Colin Garrick’s family to know, too. I’m close with them.”

  “That’s fine. I heard about Colin from John. He changed the will when Colin was killed.”

  He looked down at her and wondered if they could convince anyone they were in love.

  They entered a kitchen filled with dripping children and Savannah’s parents and brothers. He was served a generous helping of warm cobbler and ice cream, and they sat around a long table, conversation flowing around him with lots of laughter, yet he frequently caught Lucius or one of her other brothers giving him a cold, hard look.

  While they ate he had time to sort out parents and children. Lucius had two towheaded boys. Savannah’s oldest sister, Helen, was a curly-haired, brown-eyed blonde with three boys. Andy, black hair in a buzz cut, had two boys and a girl. The next sister in age was auburn-haired Jovita, who had a boy and a girl. Jacob had a baby boy. The youngest sibling, Faith, looked like Amy Clay and had a toddler. Mike knew it would take another visit to get the kids’ names straight.

  Later, when Mike and Savannah walked to her car to go home, he held out his hand. “Give me the keys. I’ll drive back.”

  To his surprise she handed him the keys without a protest. He held the door for her and then went around to slide behind the wheel. As they drove away, she waved to her family, who stood outside and waved in return.

  “They see you like a lamb going to the slaughter,” Mike said.

  “They’ll get used to this.”

  “Will you and I?” he asked, filled with strong doubts, in spite of his reassurances to her family.

  “Of course,” Savannah replied firmly. She placed her hand on his knee. “You were great. Thanks.”

  Mike inhaled sharply. He had been out of
the country and obviously too long without a woman, because every smile from Savannah, every touch, had too big an effect on him. He covered her hand with his, glancing at her, and she smiled.

  “We’re doing all right,” she said, pulling her hand away, but he caught it and placed it back on his knee.

  “I like your hand on me,” he said.

  “You surprise me.”

  “It’s marriage that worries me. We’re getting married three weeks from Saturday,” he said, feeling butterflies in his stomach at the thought.

  “You said that would fit your schedule,” she reminded him.

  “It will. I’ll go back to D.C. tomorrow and leave the planning to you.”

  “This will be a whirlwind. I wish for Jessie’s sake it could be sooner, but three weeks is record-setting for a big wedding like we’ll have.”

  At her condo, she switched on lights and turned to him. “Want to have a cold drink and talk about the prenup agreement now?”

  “Relax,” Mike said, amused by her charging full throttle into this marriage. “You can work on the prenup tomorrow or the next day,” he said. “Let’s have a cold drink and talk. We’re going to share a house, share our lives, share a baby. We ought to know a little more about each other.”

  “I’d think after the last few hours with my family, you’d have had all of me you could stand. Besides, that’s procrastination. We have to get a prenup agreement.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re doing this.”

  “I know when you made the suggestion, you didn’t think I would,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “You aren’t backing out, are you?”

  He took a deep breath. “I want to back out, but if I did, I might have trouble living with that decision. Not to mention your family would skin me alive. So I’ll go through with it for one year.”

  “It’s not going to take a year of your life,” she answered, and the sparkle in her eyes changed to fire. “I’ll start adoption proceedings immediately. Of course, the adoption will go smoother if you and I both do it, since we’ll be legally wed.”

  “I understand that. Then I’m out of here and I’ll get my life back on track.”

  “I hope the three of you are happy.”

  “Three of us?”

  “Sure—me, myself and I. That’s all that concerns you,” she said, looking up at him.

  “Dammit, I’m giving you what you want and tearing up my life to do it!”

  She turned away swiftly. “Thank you for doing that much,” she said.

  Annoyed, he caught her arm and pulled her around to face him. “Stop pushing or I’ll go, and to hell with any wedding plans.”

  As she gazed up at him, her face flushed. Both of them were breathing hard, and his anger boiled beneath the surface. Yet even with anger stirring both of them, when he touched her and stood close, looking into her blue eyes, he knew his racing pulse wasn’t all due to anger. He couldn’t resist looking at her full lips, remembering the kiss that had tied him in knots and made him want more. In spite of his anger, he wanted to kiss her now.

  With a twist she yanked her arm away. “Let’s get our drinks and then start the prenuptial agreement,” she said, turning to get glasses and fill them with ice.

  For the next few hours, they talked and Savannah made notes, determined to get the prenuptial agreement sketched out while he was with her so they would have it done. It was four in the morning when Mike said he was turning in. Savannah walked down the hall with him. At his door he turned to face her.

  “Well, you’re getting your way,” he said. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks for going along with it. It was your idea, after all.”

  “Right,” he said. She turned and headed to her room, glancing back over her shoulder at him before she disappeared.

  Three weeks later on Saturday morning, Mike was more dazed than ever. In the living room of Savannah’s parents’ home, he stood with his brother Jake beside him as best man. His youngest brother, Sam, was a groomsman along with Mike’s military buddies, Boone and Jonah, and Colin Garrick’s younger brother, Kevin. At least they all knew the real reason he was tying the knot.

  Mike stood waiting, his palms sweaty. He couldn’t believe they were actually going through with this wedding, yet here they were, joined by a houseful of guests, surrounded with candles and flowers and music he barely heard.

  For the past three weeks he had made constant trips back and forth between D.C. and Texas, getting ready for his new life. Since he’d had to postpone joining the CIA, he’d decided to open his own security business in Texas. Just two days earlier he and Savannah had gone to get little Jessie, signing papers and going through formalities. For a few brief moments, the baby was placed in his arms, and he gazed down at the sleeping child. Mike had been awed by her, still amazed that she was his charge, although Savannah would step in and relieve him of that soon. He looked at the curly strands of wispy brown hair, smooth, pink skin. Her tiny hands were folded over her tummy. And for the first time, he felt good about the marriage. He couldn’t take the tyke as his forever, but to give her this opportunity in life, he could take a year and change his plans a bit.

  He had glanced up to find Savannah watching him. She crossed the room to take Jessie from his arms and place her in the baby carrier.

  Mike had picked up the carrier and secured it in his new four-door sedan, and then they drove to Savannah’s parents’ home, where her mother would keep Jessie until after the wedding.

  At the church now, the baby was in a carrier on a pew beside Savannah’s mother, who seemed as taken with the baby as Savannah. The family had hovered over the little girl, and if there was ever a group of people who loved babies and children, Savannah’s family was it, Mike realized.

  He didn’t know a thing about caring for a baby, but it wouldn’t matter. Savannah would make up for his lack.

  The organ and violins signaled the entrance of the bride, bringing his thoughts back to the moment. Mike gazed across the church.

  As Savannah walked toward him, he forgot everything else. His breath caught in his throat and he couldn’t stop staring at her.

  Savannah was a beautiful woman, but today, she was stunning. She positively glowed, the white dress emphasizing her tiny waist and full breasts. The sleeves barely covered her shoulders and her skin was flawless. Her golden hair was looped and pinned high beneath a thin veil that fell over the back of her head. Whatever his future held, Mike knew that for the rest of his life, he would remember the way Savannah looked at this moment. No woman could possibly be more beautiful. If he ever had a real wedding, a real love, his bride couldn’t be more gorgeous and alluring than Savannah was right now.

  His heart thudded as he looked into blue eyes that sparkled with happiness. Not a touch of uncertainty showed in her features. A slight smile curved her full red lips. Her chin was tilted up, and once again he thought what foolishness she was committing. She should have waited for real love. She should be doing this with a man who adored her.

  In addition to her bouquet of white orchids, white roses, baby’s breath and stephanotis, Savannah carried two long-stemmed red roses, one of which she gave to each mother, giving her own mother a brief kiss on the cheek along with the rose. He knew his family had mixed feelings about the union. His parents were still happy and hoped he would stay married while his brothers thought he was giving up his freedom. Then her gaze went to Mike as she approached him.

  The minute Mike looked into Savannah’s eyes, he wanted her with an intensity that shook him.

  When her father placed her hand in Mike’s, his fingers closed around her warm hand, and she gazed up at him with shining eyes.

  As he repeated his vows, Mike again wondered what he had gotten himself into. Still, this union was only temporary, he reminded himself. He wondered what ran through Savannah’s mind. From the happiness radiating from her expression, she couldn’t be entertaining the doubts he was.

  Savannah repeated
her vows, knowing they weren’t true, but keeping in mind little Jessie and all the child would get from this union. Gazing up at Mike, Savannah thought he looked pale, in spite of his tan. Worry clouded his brown eyes, and she knew he was wishing he were a million miles away from this marriage ceremony, which was real even if their marriage was not; yet at the same time how handsome he looked! Excitement bubbled in her and she knew that he, along with Jessie, was the cause.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the minister said.

  Mike slipped his arm around her waist and leaned forward, his lips brushing hers so casually, yet the effect was far from light. The moment his mouth touched hers, she tingled from head to toe. She looked up into dark eyes that held no clues to what he was feeling, but a muscle flexed in his jaw, and she suspected he was unhappy.

  She brushed aside concerns because she was married now and Jessie was theirs—hers, really.

  Savannah wanted wedding pictures to save for Jessie later. When Mike got the divorce and went out of their lives, he was still going to be Jessie’s legal father, so Savannah wanted pictures to show her child. Her child. The words were magic, and she knew that every moment of this sham marriage would be worth it. She was grateful to Mike for the upheaval he’d been willing to undergo in his life. And she would try to avoid thinking about any what ifs or if onlys.

  As they posed for the photographer with the wedding party, Savannah linked her arm with Mike’s. When he arched his brows, she smiled up at him.

  Finally they were in the limo headed to the Stallion Pass Country Club for the reception which included a larger number of guests. Mike twisted in the seat to look at her. “Well, you did it. We’re legally husband and wife now.”

  She reached over to take his hand and squeeze it, and his fingers closed around hers instantly. “Thank you. You’ve made so many changes, Mike. Thank you for all of them.”

  He shrugged one shoulder as he gazed back at her. “It wasn’t that big of a sacrifice. Put off the CIA for a while. Who knows, maybe I’ll like the security business. Now, a small town—Stallion Pass—that’s going to take more of an adjustment. At least my new business is in San Antonio. I doubt if Stallion Pass has much crime.”