Part 2 (1/2)
Yet something about Mallory had made it impossible for him to simply take her to his room. He'd never done anything so impulsive in his life, but he'd asked her to marry him. Maybe it was Stephanie's rejection that had prompted it. Maybe it was the fact that Mallory was more beautiful to him than any woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Maybe it was because he'd wanted her too badly to let her slip out of his life in the morning. Whatever it had been, it had been sheer craziness, but she'd agreed.
Had the tequila and champagne led him to hail a cab to take them to the courthouse, then return to the White Dove Wedding Chapel a few doors down from his motel? Another question he couldn't answer. It didn't much matter because now they were married. Taking the paper out of his pocket again, he handed it to her.
She examined it, studied her signature, then sank onto the bed. ”Oh, my heavens,” she murmured, looking dumbfounded.
Last night Mallory's flirting and sparkling, desire-filled hazel eyes had made Reed feel ten feet tall. Now her stricken expression made him feel much the same as Stephanie's letter had. ”You don't remember any of it?” he asked her.
Gazing up at him, she shook her head. ”I never drink. One gla.s.s usually makes me fall asleep.”
”Yeah, well you had more than one gla.s.s,” he mumbled. ”You don't remember finis.h.i.+ng the bottle?”
She sighed, then shook her head again. ”Tell me what happened, Reed. I have to know.”
She looked mortified, and he couldn't help but sit beside her on the bed, though no part of them touched. That could be entirely too dangerous right now. ”We drank. We danced. We kissed. We danced. We drank some more. We started walking to my motel and...I asked you to marry me.”
”Why?”
Her surprise was so genuine that he knew he had to be honest with her. ”I wanted to have s.e.x with you, but you were so sweet and such a lady, that I guess I didn't feel I could unless I asked you to marry me.”
She was silent for a few moments. Then she asked, ”So we...slept together?”
”Sleep is all we did.”
”I don't understand. I thought you said-”
”I said I wanted to have s.e.x with you. But after our visit to the courthouse and the wedding chapel, we came back to my motel room. I went into the bathroom, and when I came out, you had taken off your clothes and crawled into bed and were fast asleep.”
”So you just crawled in beside me?”
He shrugged. ”That's about it. Look, I knew you'd had too much champagne, and I guess deep down I knew you'd want a divorce in the morning.”
”So you didn't take advantage of me,” she responded with a relieved look.
”I'm no saint. I guess I hoped that when we awakened, I wouldn't have to take advantage of you.”
She thought about that for a moment. ”Reed, all I can say is thank you for being more than an honorable man last night, as well as for rescuing me this morning.”
”Bentley is dangerous,” Reed said with certainty.
”I just realized how dangerous,” Mallory murmured. She looked lost in thought, but then she turned toward him slightly on the bed. ”Your name's really 'Fortune'?”
”So my father tells me,” he said with a smile, glad she wasn't looking quite as shaken or panicked.
”Do you know the Texas Fortunes?”
He nodded. ”It's a long story, but Ryan Fortune and my father, Teddy, are long-lost half brothers. Ryan and Dad were just reunited about six months ago at Ryan and Lily's wedding. I'm visiting, getting to know the family, learning about the horse operation here, hoping I can convince my father to modernize back home.”
Mallory shook her head and smiled. ”It's a small world. My half brother works for the Fortunes in San Antonio.”
”Would his name be Dawson Prescott?”
”How did you know?”
”You said you were on your way to San Antonio. When I saw your last name, I wondered if you were related to Dawson. I've spent some weekends with him on the Double Crown.”
With Mallory's face turned up to him, her hazel eyes now devoid of fear, Reed found himself as attracted to her as he had been last night. But the situation had gotten complicated and they would have to unravel it piece by piece. Standing, he said, ”You'd better get your things together. Bentley might return with reinforcements. I'll call the airport and tell them to get the jet ready.”
”Jet?”
”I flew the company jet up here.”
Her back straightening, she pushed her hair behind her ear. ”I can pack my things, load up the car and drive to Texas. I don't want to interrupt your plans.”
”I think you already have.” As soon as he said it, he saw a look in her eyes that he decided was pure determination.
”I left San Francisco to make my own decisions, Reed, and to start a new life in Texas on my own.”
”That's going to be a little tough with Bentley on your heels, don't you think? What if you stop for a meal and he pulls the same thing he pulled here? If you drive away from Reno alone, you won't have any protection against him. He'll know our marriage isn't a marriage.”
”I don't want to get you mixed up in this.”
She was dismissing the idea of their marriage as if it had never happened, and he probably should, too. But he couldn't. Not when Bentley was on her tail. ”At least let me deliver you to Dawson safely, then you can decide what you want to do next.”
”But my car is here, and I'm going to need it in San Antonio.”
”If I can find someone to drive it to Texas for you, will you fly home with me?”
”Only if the driver is reliable and will get my car there in one piece.”
”I know someone who can take care of it.”
When Reed had first arrived in Reno and looked up Matt Conroy, the owner of the Golden Spur, they'd had a lengthy conversation. Matt had told him he was aiming to visit some relatives in Texas very soon. Maybe now would be a good time if Reed offered to pay his airfare back.
Sensing Mallory had an adventurous streak she was only beginning to discover, he upped the ante. ”I could be persuaded to let you sit in the c.o.c.kpit with me.”
She laughed. ”That's a bribe, Reed Fortune.”
”Yes, it is, Mallory Prescott.”
With a smile, she stood and faced him toe to toe. ”All right. I'll fly to San Antonio with you, but then I take care of myself.”
He'd let her take care of herself, but only if she was out of harm's way while she did it.
While Reed spoke with the men who were buzzing around the jet emblazoned with the Double Crown insignia, Mallory stood inside the airport trying to catch her breath. She couldn't believe she'd married this s.e.xy Australian, and she vowed to herself she'd never touch liquor again. A little late now that the damage is done, she thought. Thank goodness Reed was an honorable man. Maybe they could both get out of this thing unscathed.
As she admired his tall, well-built frame, she remembered seeing him naked this morning, and she felt the heat rising inside her again. He wasn't really her husband. Couldn't be her husband. She didn't know anything about the Australian branch of the Fortunes, but the Texas ones were certainly wealthy. The last thing she wanted was to be involved with another wealthy man. Winston and her stepfather seemed to think women were possessions. She was having none of that ever again. She'd make a life for herself on her own terms.
Reed saw her standing at the window and motioned for her to join him. A stiff breeze almost whipped her sweater from her shoulders as she stepped outside. She'd changed at her motel into mint-green slacks, a silk s.h.i.+rt and matching sweater. She'd only brought along clothes that she'd packed for her honeymoon. She and Winston were supposed to spend the week in Bermuda in a posh hotel that recommended dressing for high tea. When she'd emerged from the bathroom at the motel in this outfit, Reed had given her the once-over but hadn't said anything. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. He'd told her he'd made arrangements for her car, and they should leave for the airport immediately. Both lost in their own thoughts, they hadn't talked much on the drive.
Now Reed asked, ”Do you still want to ride up front?”