Keeping You (7 page)

“
No, it was something good. Great, really,” Nash said, forcing an upbeat tone into his voice. “That’s why I’m calling. I was going to ask if I could swing by and pick up Jason’s old crib this morning.”

“
Why?” Raleigh asked.

“
You’re done with it, right?” Nash hedged, not quite ready to spill the beans. There was still a chance Aria would back out at the last minute, and he didn’t want to give Raleigh, or anyone else, another reason to pity him.

“
Of course I’m done with it,” Raleigh said. “I’m not Alex. I have no secret longing to have a brood the size of Mom’s. Two rowdy boys are plenty, thank you very much.”

“
Great. I’ll be by to grab it out of your garage in a few minutes.”

“
But I’m not home. We’re at soccer, and the game’s not over until—”

“
That’s okay. I know where it is. I saw it a few weeks ago when Harry and I were putting the camping stuff away.”

“
Okay, fine,” Raleigh said. “But you’re being weird.”

“
Yeah, sorry. Hopefully, I’ll be able to explain everything tonight.” Nash smiled, an unexpected flash of excitement zigzagging through his body. Aria living in his house was a reality he still wasn’t completely prepared to deal with, but Felicity asleep down the hall, snuggled in her crib, was another thing altogether.

He was thirty-one years old. Nash had always thought he’d be married with a family by now, but the years—and the girlfriends—had come and gone and it had never felt right. Even in the early days with Rachael, when he’d been more gone on a woman than he’d been in years, it still hadn’t felt one hundred percent right. That’s why he’d told her no when she issued her ultimatum. He wanted to be married, he wanted a family and children of his own, but he didn’t want to settle for anything less than the real deal.

He wanted what his parents had, the kind of love that kept you going through hard times and made the good times all the sweeter. The kind that made you keep having kids and having kids and having kids because you just couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. (His mom swore none of them were accidents, but Nash and his brothers and sisters had their suspicions, especially about Phoenix and Denver, twin boys who came along ten years after their closest sibling, and were younger than some of their nieces and nephews.)

He wanted it all, but he was tired of waiting. And if he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was lonely. He had good friends, work buddies, and more family than most, but he still came home to an empty house every night. The thought of opening the door to Felicity’s laughter for the next few months was enough to keep a smile on his face for the rest of the morning.

He smiled as he fetched the crib and slid it into the back of his truck, and then ran to the flower shop on Main Street to grab a bouquet for Aria. He smiled as he parked a few blocks from the courthouse, and kept smiling as he walked up the steps, even though the outside temperature was already creeping close to ninety and he was wearing a suit.

His grin stayed where it was until he walked through the doors to the courthouse to see Aria standing by the windows, waiting for him in a shaft of morning light, and the smile fell clean away from his face.

She had her long, red hair pulled up into an elaborate pile on her head, with wisps swirling around her face in a way that emphasized her big eyes, and soft, full mouth. She was wearing a short, sleeveless white dress that bared her shoulders, revealing smatterings of freckles that were almost unbearably cute. Her long legs were bare and her high-heel sandals made her ankles look even thinner, so delicate it was amazing they could hold all of her on top of them.

She looked incredible, so beautiful it was almost painful to look at her.

Nash very nearly told her so, but at the last minute he remembered who he was talking to and said—

“
You clean up nice,” in a casual voice.

“
Thanks. You too,” she said, fidgeting as she took a deep breath and let it out. “Are those for me?”

For a moment Nash couldn’t imagine what she was talking about—he was still too distracted by how damned good she looked—but then he remembered the flowers in his left hand and held them out.

“
Yeah. Um…hope you like calla lilies,” he said, her obvious nervousness beginning to infect him, as well. “The woman at the shop said they were good wedding flowers.”

“
They’re beautiful,” she said, a smile flashing on her face for a moment before it was gone again. “Thank you.” She picked at the cellophane wrapped around the flowers, and took another shaky breath.

Nash stepped closer. “Nervous?”

She glanced up, her dark green eyes catching his, taking his breath away. “I just… I was thinking this morning,” she said, in a soft, troubled voice. “This isn’t just about you and me. I don’t want to do anything to hurt my daughter.”

Nash fought the urge to get defensive. This wasn’t a personal attack; this was Aria being a good mother, and she was right to take Felicity’s needs into consideration.

“
I understand,” he said. “But I want you to know that I think Felicity’s a sweet, special little girl, and I would never do anything to hurt her.”

“
Oh, I know that,” Aria said in a rush, sounding so certain it warmed something in Nash’s chest. “I just… Even at the BBQ that night, she was having so much fun playing with you and sitting on your lap and…”

Aria bit her lip, looking so troubled Nash had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms for a hug.

“
What if she gets attached to you, you know?” Aria asked. “What’s going to happen when it’s time for us to end it?”

She had a point. What would they do? Nash wasn’t sure there was any standard protocol for a thing like this, but he knew there was always room for another niece or nephew in his life.

“
Then I’ll be Uncle Nash,” he said with a shrug. “And I’ll see her whenever Mason comes over to my place. Maybe we can take her out on his boat together when she gets a little older.”

Aria’s brow furrowed. “Really? You would do that?”

“
I would love to do that.” Nash smiled. “As long as it’s all right with you.”

Aria hesitated, but her brow smoothed and after a few moments she nodded. “Okay. Keeping Felicity is worth acquiring a fake uncle who thinks I’m the wicked bitch of the west. If it comes to that.”

Nash shifted uncomfortably in his dress shoes, regretting his angry words from the night before. “You didn’t stick around to hear my apology last night, so I’ll give it now. I’m sorry I inferred you were a B-word. It won’t happen again.”

Aria began to fidget again, his apology seeming to make her as nervous as their discussion about Felicity. “Well, thank you. For the apology,” she said then added in a swift mumble. “I’m sorry I threatened to kick you in the balls.”

Nash smiled at the embarrassment in her tone. “Well, thank you, Miss March. My balls are going to sleep better tonight.”

Aria rolled her eyes, but her lips curved at the edges. “God, this feels weird doesn’t it?” she asked. “Acting like we were in love sounded easier when I was drunk.”

Nash reached out, taking her free hand in his. “Just pretend I’m someone else.”

“
Like who?” Aria’s eyes widened as he pulled her closer.

“
Don’t you have a fantasy guy?” he asked, putting his arms around her waist, finding it nearly as hard as it had been last night not to respond to the feel of her in his arms. She was the wrong woman, but he couldn’t deny that she felt very, very right pressed against him.

“
A fantasy guy?” she asked with a raised brow.

“
Yeah. Someone you pretend you’re with when the man of the night isn’t all you’d hoped he would be.”

Aria shrugged, but her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m not very good at fantasy. I’m more of a reality kind of girl.”

“
I think you’re lying,” Nash said in a teasing voice, making her eyes snap back to his in surprise.

“
I am not lying,” she said, a smile pulling at the edges of her mouth no matter how she tried to fight it.

“
It’s okay, darlin’,” Nash drawled.

“
Don’t call me darlin’,” Aria said in a husky voice that made Nash’s boxer-briefs feel a little tighter than they did before.

“
How about doll face?” he asked

Aria wrinkled her nose.

“
Sugar britches?” he asked, smiling when she laughed.

“
That’s terrible. You suck at pet names,” she said even as she relaxed into him, tilting her face up to his. “I’m going to call you Meaty, in honor of all the muscle.”

“
And I’ll call you Red,” Nash said, dropping his lips closer to hers, aching for another taste of her in a way that probably wasn’t healthy, and certainly wasn’t pretend.

She shook her head. “That won’t work. Then we’d be Red and Meaty. It sounds like the floor of a slaughter house.”

He smiled. “Then I guess I’ll have to stick with baby, baby,” he said, silencing her reply with a long, slow kiss that made his blood rush and the ache building low inside of him grow to the point that he finally had to pull away before he embarrassed himself.

Aria blinked up at him in surprise when he released her. Her breath came faster, her eyes glittered, and for a moment he was sure she had felt the same chemistry between them that he did, but then she said—

“
You’re right. I think that fantasy guy thing is going to work just fine.”

—
and Nash felt like a fool, but only for a moment.

It was better if the attraction were one sided. The last thing he needed was to end up sleeping with Aria March. No matter how beautiful she was, no matter how much he wanted her, starting an affair would only lead to misery and heartache for them both. They were from two different worlds and about as compatible as French Fries and Champagne. It was better if this remained a business arrangement, a contract between two civil adults. That way, when it was over, it would be over, with no emotions or attachment to complicate their separation.

“
Well, good,” he said with a smile as he held out his hand. “You feeling ready to pretend to be in love?”

“
As ready as I’ll ever be.” Aria slipped her slender palm into his and let him lead her toward the licensing department, while Nash did his best to ignore how right it felt to have his former enemy by his side.

Chapter Five

Aria refused to think about her and Nash’s first kiss of the day, or the wedding ceremony, or the kiss that came after, or the way Nash picked her up and spun her around until she giggled, right in front of the Justice of the Peace and the other three couples waiting to get married.

She wasn’t going to think about how he made her feel like she was waking up from a long, numb sleep, coming alive with wants and needs and hungers she had forgotten for too long. She wasn’t going to think about how much she wanted to kiss him again, to taste his Nash taste and smell his clean, woodsy Nash smell and relish the warm, electric, delicious way he made her feel.

And she
certainly
wasn’t going to think about how much she wanted to drag him into a room with a bed, slam the door, and ravish him until both of them were bruised with pleasure, aching with gratification, and too exhausted to do so much as blink.

Lucky for her, they were almost to her parents’ house. Aria was certain Mom and Dad’s reactions to her sudden marriage would banish even the hint of lust from her bloodstream.

She tapped her fingers on the armrest in Nash’s truck, her rhythm getting faster and more urgent as they pulled onto her parents’ street.

“
Nervous again?” Nash asked.

“
Terrified might be a better word,” Aria said. “I’m pretty sure my mama is going to kill me.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
Sue loves weddings. Like
really
loves them,” Aria said, knee jogging up and down as the house came into sight. “She nearly had a heart attack when I told her I had eloped the first time. Now that I’ve done it again…” Aria’s heart jumped into her throat and lodged there, making it hard to breathe.

“
I’m not sure I can do this,” she squeaked as Nash parked the truck. “What if she never speaks to me again?”

“
Come on, now. It won’t be that bad.” Nash’s hand settled on her knee, sending a shock of awareness flowing through her body.

She could tell he meant to be comforting, but his touch was so far from comforting, it wasn’t even funny. His warm hand on her bare skin only made her anxiety spike higher. How was she going to do this? How was she going to pretend to be in love with Nash in public without letting the way he made her feel bleed over into their relationship in private?

She wasn’t going to last a day at this rate. She would be begging him to touch her by bedtime, and well on her way to making a fool out of herself by tomorrow morning. And in the meantime, her mother would be disappointed, her Daddy would think she was insane, and when it was over, the entire family would feel sorry for her. It would be the “Poor Aria” show all over again, and the shame of being pitied by everyone she loved would make something inside of her curl up and die like a slug covered in salt.

She couldn’t do this. This was a mistake, a terrible, terrible mistake!

“
Breathe,” Nash said, his low, honeyed voice penetrating the haze of panic fogging her thoughts. “You made a decision that is in the best interest of your daughter. That’s what this is all about.”

Aria took a deeper breath and nodded. He was right. This was about Felicity. If she kept her focus on her daughter, everything would be all right.

“
Now let’s go in there and convince your family we’re a happy, healthy couple who are going to give your daughter a wonderful home,” Nash said, pressing on before she could start to stress all over again. “I know it won’t be easy, but think about it this way: after today, the rest of the town will be gravy.”