Fiancee for Hire (10 page)

“Don’t move,” he told Kelli. “Not unless I come for you. Keep your head low.”

“Okay.”

Her voice was high and soft, and Mac wished he could just stay here and pull her against his chest, stroking her hair and assuring her everything would be fine.

But duty called.

Mac reached for the door handle as he drew his gun with the other, wishing he had the Kevlar vest he kept stowed in the trunk. He stepped out just as the rear door of the sedan swung open and someone stepped out.

Mac felt his blood go cold.

“Dear God, no.”

Chapter Nine

Kelli sucked in a terrified breath as Mac’s words echoed in the night.

Dear God, no.

She kept her head down, just like he’d told her, and her pulse thrummed so loudly in her ears that she thought her brain might explode. She held her breath, waiting for the gunshots, waiting for the thundering footsteps of Mac’s bodyguards, waiting for—

“Is that seriously the way you’re going to great your mother, MacArthur Patton?”

Mother?

Kelli sat up, banging her head on the dash, as she peered through the window. Sure enough, there was Stella Patton, looking exactly as she’d looked since the first time Kelli had gone home with Sheri in second grade and Stella had explained they could only have a plate of cookies and milk if they performed thirty minutes of KP duty, followed by a military circuit workout.

Stella had led the workout.

Kelli looked at Mac. He couldn’t have looked more dumbfounded if his mom had shown up naked wearing a sombrero made of bacon.

“Mother,” Mac repeated, almost like he was willing himself to believe it. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s precisely what I came to ask you, young man. Did you not think to tell me you’d gotten engaged?”

“I—uh—”

“Mrs. Patton,” Kelli said, pushing open her car door and stepping onto the driveway to rescue her fake groom. “It’s so lovely to see you again.”

“Kelli? Is that you, dear? Goodness, I haven’t seen you for ages. How have you been, sweetheart?”

Stella stepped forward and wrapped Kelli in a hug that smelled like gunpowder and Oil of Olay. Kelli fell gratefully into it, catching sight of her dumbstruck groom over Stella’s shoulder.

“You’re on hugging terms with my mother?”

“Of course we are, honey,” Kelli replied. “I’ve been friends with your sister since second grade, remember?”

“No—I mean, I guess I didn’t pay attention to my little sister’s friends, but I didn’t realize—”

Stella shook her head and regarded her eldest son with fond contempt. “MacArthur, how can someone with such a genius for covert operations and world affairs be so utterly oblivious about human relationships?”

Mac gritted his teeth, and Kelli almost felt sorry for him. If Sheri was right about her brother’s hang-ups with emotional entanglements hindering his need to protect people, having his mother here had to be messing with his mind.

“Good to see you, too, Mother.”

Stella stepped back and straightened her blouse before turning to regard Mac with a stern look. “Don’t you get smart with me, young man. How is it that I had to hear through the grapevine that you’d gotten engaged?”

Mac grimaced, but said nothing. Feeling sorry for him again, Kelli looped her arm through his and gave her most angelic smile.

“Mrs. Patton, we wanted to surprise you. Mac had this lovely plan to fly you and Mr. Patton out here for a visit and announce the engagement over dinner at our favorite restaurant. Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

“Right,” Mac said, swallowing hard as he stared at his mother. “That’s right, darling.”

Kelli winced at the stiffness of his words, but Stella didn’t seem to notice. “So the two of you—wait—you’re marrying Kelli? Sweetie, that’s wonderful.”

Stella threw herself at her son, beaming like she’d just won the lottery. Though Mac towered over his mother by a good foot, it didn’t seem to matter as she wrapped her arms around him and did her best to hoist him off the ground.

“Mom, don’t—you’ll hurt your back.”

“Don’t you tell me what to do, young man. I’ll have you know I endured thirty-eight hours of labor to bring you into this world. I could throw you across the driveway if the mood struck me right.”

Kelli didn’t doubt it. She’d once stood at the edge of a military airport watching Stella land a fighter jet—quickly, it so happened, since she was late to take the girls to a school carnival.

Stella Patton was the master of steel-handed mothering.

“Why don’t you come inside,” Kelli suggested, glancing at Mac to make sure he wasn’t preparing to run. “We’ll just have Maria get a room ready for you, and—”

“The guest room is occupied,” Mac said suddenly. “Kelli is staying in it, and the household staff occupies the other rooms, so it would probably be best if I found you a nice hotel in town. Someplace safe with full-time guards.

“Kelli is in the guest room?” Stella raised an eyebrow at her. “You a born-again-virgin, missy?”

Kelli felt her cheeks go red as she remembered just how unvirginal she’d been just a few hours ago. “We’re choosing not to cohabitate until after the wedding,” she said as sweetly as possible.

“Sweetheart, don’t even try to pull this prim-and-proper thing with me. I’ve known you since you climbed to the top of the monkey bars and charged the boys a dollar apiece to see up your dress.”

“Must’ve been college?” Mac muttered under his breath.

Stella smacked him in the arm, then gestured toward the car. “Get my bags, MacArthur. Then you can help your fiancée move her things into your room. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether you’re going to be a gentleman and take the couch or if you two are going to stop being silly and old fashioned.”

“This, coming from the woman who insisted good old-fashioned child rearing required you to wash my mouth out with soap every time I said a curse word.”

“Don’t think I won’t do it again if you get smart with me.” She turned to Kelli, offering her arm. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go inside and you can tell me all about the wedding plans. My, those are beautiful earrings. They look like they’d match the little necklace you used to wear. The one you got from your mom. Do you still have that?”

“Have it? I’m wearing it. Look—”

Kelli reached down to touch the chain and froze. She looked down and gasped. “My necklace. It’s gone!”

Mac frowned. “I noticed you weren’t wearing it in the car, but I thought maybe you took it off in the bathtub.”

Kelli shook her head, fighting back tears. “It must have fallen off when I was taking care of Felix. Or maybe after that when we were—”

She trailed off there, not wanting Stella to think she was more depraved than she already knew. Mac squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure we get your necklace back.”

Stella beamed and nodded approvingly. “You can always count on MacArthur. A man of his word, that one.”

Stella began tugging her toward the house, and Kelli stumbled to follow. She cast one quick look over her shoulder at her groom. Mac stood numbly beside the car, the pistol dangling limply at his side.

“This isn’t how arms deals are supposed to go,” Kelli heard her groom mutter as she drifted into the house behind her new mother-in-law.

…

It was well after midnight when Mac watched Kelli stand up from the dining room table and yawn. “I really appreciate all your insights about bridesmaid dresses, Mrs. Patton.”

“You can call me Stella now, sweetheart. We’re almost family.”

“Stella.”

“And don’t forget my idea about the wedding theme.”

“I’ll certainly consider having all the guests bring firearms and dress in World War II uniforms.” She turned to Mac with a sleepy smile, and he felt his heart constrict. “I’m going to turn in now, honey. Think you’ll be up shortly?”

“Soon,” Mac said, then realized it was the same answer he’d given her when she’d asked about the arms deal. Funny how his life had become this strange blend of duplicitous sex and arms deals.

He was still thinking about it when Kelli bent down and pressed her lips to his. The kiss took him by surprise, and Mac found himself pulling her onto his lap and kissing her soundly for three beats before he realized what he was doing.

Jesus, man. Get control of yourself.

“Wow,” his mother exclaimed, setting her coffee cup down on the table. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d display that sort of passion for anything besides assault weapons, MacArthur.”

Mac released Kelli, still too shaken by the kiss to come up with a snarky reply for his mom. Kelli blinked up from where she was sprawled across his lap with her cheeks flushed and her lips so red and kissable that he almost grabbed her again.

At last, she got to her feet and smiled. “Good night, sweetie.”

She pressed three fingertips to her lips, kissed them sweetly, and pressed them to Mac’s forehead.

The skin was still tingling as he turned back to his mother.

“Well, well, well,” she began, smiling at him in a way that made Mac feel like an ill-behaved toddler. “I have to admit, I never thought I’d see the day.”

Mac cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. “Yes, well, it was certainly a surprise.”

“To you, maybe. Anyone with eyes could have seen that girl’s been pining for you her whole life.”

“What?”

“Honestly, MacArthur, you can be so dense. Kelli’s been sweet on you from the time she was little. Of course, you hardly noticed she was alive, but I always knew it was just a matter of time.”

He blinked, trying not to show how utterly baffled he was by this piece of information. “Kelli had feelings for me?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far. Kelli had a case of the hots for you, which is a different thing entirely. It was probably for the best you didn’t realize it.”

“Why’s that?”

His mother shrugged and stood up to rinse her coffee cup. “I always knew she’d take a long time to be ready for any sort of relationship. A crush, sure. But a real relationship—” She seemed to stop herself there, considering. “Between her father leaving and her mother’s suicide and then spending her teen years in foster homes, it’s no surprise she’s been skittish about being abandoned again. I’m just glad she finally found someone she can count on.”

The words hit Mac like a punch to the gut. He wasn’t sure whether to hate himself for lying to his mother, or for taking risks with Kelli’s heart. Either way, he felt like a grade-A dickhead.

His mother beamed, oblivious to his self-flagellation. “I’m just glad things finally worked out. It’s good to see you so happy, MacArthur. You are happy, right?”

For an instant, he felt her gaze slicing through him. He felt like he had the time he’d stolen his father’s drill-sergeant whistle and his mother had known somehow, interrogating him until he finally admitted his transgression.

“I’m happy,” Mac parroted, doing his best to keep his voice neutral and confident.

His mother studied him, unblinkingly. Then she nodded. “Good.” She was quiet awhile, seeming to consider her next words. “I’ve always worried about you, MacArthur. Much more than the others.”

Mac swallowed, projecting a coolness he didn’t really feel. “Oh?”

“I know you always blamed yourself. That you’ve saddled yourself with this massive sense of guilt and responsibility because of what happened to—”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

Her eyes suddenly glittered with tears, and Mac felt a horrible wave of shame and sadness. He leaned forward to hug her, but she waved him away, fighting to regain her composure.

“It’s important that I say this, MacArthur. Now that you’re on the brink of having a wife and a family of your own. It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”

“Right.”

The lie sounded dull even to his own ears, so he didn’t really expect her to believe it. She shook her head sadly, then laid her hand on his. “Someday, MacArthur. Someday, you’ll really believe that.”

They sat in silence for a few beats, neither of them knowing what to say next. There was a dull ache in the pit of Mac’s stomach. He already felt worried about his ability to protect Kelli. About how this new level of intimacy would affect his ability to keep her safe. Now he had to worry about his mother, too?

Mac jumped when she smacked the back of his hand.

“You should go to her,” she commanded.

“What?”

“Your fiancée. You should tuck her in, make sure she’s gotten settled in the new room.”

“Mother. I don’t think—”

“That’s actually your problem, MacArthur. You do think—entirely too much, if you want my opinion. You’re all in your head, trying to anticipate how to control situations and people, but you don’t stop to feel.”

Mac swallowed, completely taken off guard. “I do feel.”

“I know you do, baby. I saw how you looked at Kelli. And I’m so glad you finally found each other. Just don’t overthink things into the ground with her, okay? Get over your need to control everything and just feel. You’ve got a good thing there, and I want to see you keep it forever.”

Forever.

The word echoed hollow in Mac’s ears as he stood up. God, she was going to kill him when he found out this whole thing was a lie. How had he not anticipated his mother finding out? He was losing control here, losing his grip on a situation that was already much too dangerous.

He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, he wrapped his arms around her more tightly than he meant to. “Good night, Mom. I’m glad you came.”

“Me, too, baby. Me, too.”

As Mac headed up the stairs, he was surprised to realize he actually meant what he said. He was happy to see his mother. To talk with her, to have her part of the wedding plans, and giggle with his fiancée about—

He stopped himself, frozen on the threshold of the doorway.
Get it together, man. This is the last thing in the world you want. The engagement is a sham, and now you’ve got two women you care about who need you to stay focused enough to protect them.

“Mac?”

Kelli’s voice was faint from inside the master bedroom. He hesitated, then turned the knob and walked in.

She was already tucked under the covers, the bloodred duvet pulled up to her chin. She looked small and delicate with her freshly scrubbed face and tousled hair. He ached to crawl in beside her. He steadied himself, then shut the door behind him.

“I can sleep on the floor,” he said.

“Are you insane?”

“I’m being a gentleman.”

“There’s a fine line between the two.” Kelli grinned and patted the bed beside her. “In case you’ve forgotten, you were buried inside me less than five hours ago. Can we drop the pretense of being sweet and chaste with each other?”