I Do...: Her Accidental Engagement / A Bride's Tangled Vows - Barbara Wallace

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The attorney is really here to figure out if they have a viable case or not before they go public. Jeff didn’t want kids in the first place. He’d even talked about getting the big snip. They probably think Charlie is their only shot at a grandchild, someone to mold and shape in their likeness.”

      “I don’t think that’s how kids work.”

      She shook her head. “I don’t think they care. If we can convince Lexi that Charlie has a happy, stable home and that he’s better off here than with Jeff and his family, that’s the report she’ll give to them. It will be enough. It has to. Once I get the custody agreement—”

      “You’ll dump my sorry butt,” Sam supplied.

      “Or you can break it off with me.” She rinsed a plate and put it into the dishwasher. “People will expect it. You’re up for reappointment soon. It should earn extra points with some of the council members. Everyone around here knows I’m a bad bet.”

      “I thought you and Ethan had been the town’s golden couple back in the day.”

      “He was the golden boy,” she corrected. “I was the eye candy on his arm. But I messed that up. My first in a series of epic fails in the relationship department.”

      “Does it bother you that he’s with Lainey?” Sam asked, not willing to admit how much her answer meant to him.

      She smiled. “They’re perfect together in a way he and I never were. She completes him and all that.”

      “Do you think there’s someone out there who’d complete you?”

      “Absolutely.” She nodded. “At this moment, he’s drooling in the crib at the end of the hall.”

      He took a step closer to her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “We’re going to make sure he stays there.”

      Her lips parted as she looked up at him. Instinctively he eased toward her.

      She blinked and raised her hands to his chest, almost pushing him away but not quite. “We have to establish some ground rules,” she said, sounding as breathless as he felt.

      “I’m the law around these parts, ma’am,” he said in his best Southern drawl. “I make the rules.”

      “Nice try.” She laughed and a thrill ran through him. “First off, no touching or kissing of any kind.”

      It was his turn to throw back his head and laugh. “We’re supposed to be in love. You think people will believe you could keep your hands off me?”

      She smacked his chest lightly. “I’m surprised your ego made it through the front door. Okay, if the situation calls for it you can kiss me. A little.” Her eyes narrowed. “But no tongue.”

      He tried to keep a straight face. “Where’s the fun in that?”

      “My best offer,” she whispered.

      He traced her lips with the tip of one finger and felt himself grow heavy when they parted again. “I think we’d better practice to see if I’ll be able to manage it.”

      He leaned in, but instead of claiming her mouth he tilted his head to reach the smooth column of her neck. He trailed delicate kisses up to her ear and was rewarded with a soft moan. Pushing her hair back, he cradled her face between his palms.

      Her breath tingled against his skin and she looked at him, desire and self-control warring in the depths of her eyes. He wanted to keep this arrangement business but couldn’t stop his overwhelming need. As out of control as a runaway train, he captured her lips with his.

       Chapter Four

      It should be illegal for a kiss to feel so good. The thought registered in Julia’s dizzy brain. Followed quickly by her body’s silent demand for more...more...more. Her arms wound around Sam’s neck and she pressed into him, the heat from his body stoking a fire deep within her. His mouth melded to hers as he drew his hands up underneath her shirt.

      A man hadn’t kissed her like this in so long. As though he meant it, his mouth a promise of so much more.

      A familiar voice cut through her lust-filled haze. “So, the rumors are true. Doesn’t seem right your mother should be the last to know.”

      Sam’s eyes flew open as he stepped away from her. Julia let out a soft groan.

      “Ever think of knocking?” she asked, pressing her hands over her eyes.

      “No” was her mother’s succinct answer.

      “Nice to see you, Mrs. Morgan.” Although Sam’s voice sounded a little shaky, Julia had to admire his courage in holding her mother’s gaze.

      Almost unwillingly, Julia turned and met her mom’s steely glare. “I’m sorry, Mom. We wanted to keep things quiet a bit longer.”

      Vera Morgan was a tiny blonde dynamo of a woman. Her hair pulled back into a neat bun, she retained the beauty of her youth mixed with the maturity of decades spent overseeing her life and everyone in it. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Until you could announce your engagement in the middle of a crowded restaurant?”

      Julia cringed. “Not the exact plan.”

      “I don’t understand what this is about. It sounds like one of your typical impetuous decisions. Your father and I raised you to be more careful with how you act. I thought you’d have learned to be more responsible about the choices you make. Have you thought of Charlie? What’s best for him?”

      “He’s all I think about and of course I want what’s best for him. You have no idea...” Julia wanted to lay it all on the line for her mother—Jeff’s family, the attorney, her fear of losing Charlie. She paused and glanced at Sam. He nodded slightly as if to encourage her.

      How could she admit her years of bad choices could jeopardize Charlie’s future? She knew her mother thought she was irresponsible, fickle and flighty. For most of her life, Julia had been all of those things and worse.

      Her mother waited for an answer while the toe of one shoe tapped out a disapproving rhythm. Julia could measure the milestone moments of her life by her mother’s slow toe tap. She swore sometimes she could hear it in her sleep.

      “I don’t expect you to understand, but this is good for Charlie. For both of us.”

      Vera’s gaze slanted between Julia and Sam. “Having the hots for a guy isn’t the same as love. From what I just witnessed, you two have chemistry, but marriage is a lot more than physical attraction.”

      Julia felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “I’m not a teenager anymore,” she mumbled. “I get that.”

      “I worry about you rushing into something.” Vera paused and pinned Sam with a look before continuing. “Especially with a man who has a reputation around town. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

      “I know what I’m doing. Trust me. For once trust that I’m making the right decision.” She hated that her voice cracked. She’d made some stupid choices in her life. So what? Lots of people did and they lived through it. Did she have to be raked over the coals for every indiscretion?

      Sam’s hand pressed into the small of her back, surprisingly comforting. “Mrs. Morgan,” he began, his voice strong and confident. Julia wished she felt either right now. “Your daughter is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

      Julia glanced over her shoulder, for a moment wondering if he was talking about her sister.

      The corner of his mouth turned up as he looked at her. “You are amazing. You’re honest and brave and willing to fight for what you want.”

      Charlie’s sweet face flashed in Julia’s mind, and she gave a slight nod.

      “You’re a lot stronger and smarter

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