Part 33 (1/2)

Fisher rolled his eyes. ”You look like an idiot.” The elevator down the hall beeped. They turned, and Hunter, Fisher, and Trapper whistled simultaneously.

Gina strutted toward them wearing a black power suit. Her skirt was so short, Ben wondered if the red garters he knew she wore beneath it would show if she quickened her pace. Her red five-inch heels clicked over the linoleum floor. Her low-cut silk blouse showed an abundance of cleavage, and the look on her face was one of pure victory. Ben's heart sank. He was completely f.u.c.ked.

”Hi, boys. How's Gramps doing?”

Trapper turned and smiled. ”Not as good as you, but he came through the double bypa.s.s like a trouper. He's in recovery now. It'll be a while. Where have you been?”

”I had a meeting with my lawyer.” She turned to Ben. ”It's all taken care of. Our divorce should be final in about sixty days.”

Ben felt as if he'd been sucker punched. Gina walked up to him and slid off her suit jacket, handing it to Trapper to hold. When she turned, he saw that her blouse was completely backless.

Trapper smiled. ”So, what are your plans?”

Gina shrugged and placed her hand on her hip. ”I don't know. I liked being married more than I thought I would. I just might do it again with the right guy.” Her eyes trailed over Hunter, Trapper, and Fisher. ”He'd have to be able to cook and clean because I just don't have the time or the inclination.”

Trapper stood too close to Gina twirling his hat. Ben wanted to take that hat and wrap it around Trapper's neck until his face turned blue.

Trapper folded Gina's jacket over his arm. ”I'm not looking for a wife, but since Gramps is on the mend, I have seventy-two hours to spare.”

Ben elbowed him in the gut hard. Trapper grunted and dropped his hat. When he bent down to pick it up, it was all Ben could do not to kick him in the a.s.s. Unfortunately, Trapper was not the only man Gina was looking over.

Gina crossed her arms and shook her head. Ben wished she'd put her jacket back on.

She tapped her finger against her lips. ”I like dark-haired men who look as good in a baseball cap as they do in a Stetson.”

Hunter rolled the brim of his new hat. ”I got that one covered.”

Fisher ran his hand through his blond hair. ”I left my hats at home, but take my word for it, I look good wearing just about anything... or nothing.”

Gina winked. ”Good to know.”

Kate and Karma came into the hallway. Kate's eyebrow winged its way up trying to a.s.sess the situation. Ben wished her luck. All he could think of was that his marriage was over. Every breath he managed to take hurt.

Kate hugged Gina. ”You've been gone for hours. What are you up to?”

Gina returned Kate's hug. ”I'm happy to hear Gramps is on the mend. I met with my attorney and since the divorce is imminent, I'm planning my future. I'm considering acquisitions.”

Karma made a face. ”What are you looking to acquire?”

”A husband. Trapper offered seventy-two hours, which, although tempting, isn't what I'm looking for. If I wanted something temporary, I could have just stayed married to Ben.”

Ben couldn't take any more of this. She was killing him. He felt sick and needed to sit down at the very least. He shook his head and turned back toward the waiting room.

He heard Kate talking about finding the cafeteria as the waiting room doors closed behind him. He sat down hard on the couch he and Gina shared the night before and held his head in his hands. If she was out to kill him, talking about her future without him was a great way to get the job done-slowly and painfully. Her red shoes appeared in his line of vision. He waited for the deathblow.

She laid her jacket on the chair beside the couch, pulled her BlackBerry out of her purse, and set her bag down. ”I was looking at my schedule. The divorce should be final by mid-August. What are your plans for the autumn?”

”Plans?” He couldn't believe her. First she told him in front of his entire family that she was going through with the divorce, then she talked about shopping for a new husband, and now she wanted to know his plans? Was she insane or just s.a.d.i.s.tic?

”Yeah, well you see, I just happen to own this ranch in Three Wh.o.r.es Bend, Idaho, and I swear, it's the most beautiful place on earth. I thought that would be the perfect place.”

Ben stood and looked her up and down. ”The perfect place for what? The new season of The Bachelorette The Bachelorette?”

She snapped her fingers in his face. ”I know it's difficult, but try to keep up with me here, Ben.”

”Gina, I'm trying to do a number of things, the least of which is keeping up with you. It's not as easy as you think when I'm still trying to process the fact that you went ahead with our divorce, even after last night, and then you were kind enough to start interviewing for my replacement right in front of me, with members of my family no less.”

Her eyes went wide, maybe because he was speaking loudly, so loudly one of the nurses poked her head in and gave him a look followed by a ”Keep it down, will ya?”

Gina took a deep breath and looked up at him with guileless eyes. ”Ben, we got married for all the wrong reasons. This time I want a real wedding-not one where one of my exes is the best man. I want all the bells and whistles and this time I want to get married for all the right reasons. I'm thinking about the first Sat.u.r.day in September, September 4th. Grandpa Joe will be better by then. Will that work for you?”

”Huh?”

”I'm asking you to marry me. At the ranch. On September 4th.”

He didn't know if he wanted to strangle her or kiss her. At this point both, but probably in the reverse order. ”You want to get married? To me?”

She rolled her eyes. ”Duh, what the h.e.l.l did you think I was doing out there? Checking out your compet.i.tion?”

Ben rolled back on his heels and shrugged. ”Yeah, pretty much.”

She stood so close, her feet went in between his and she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling his face down to hers. She grinned like a cat that had just eaten a canary. ”I had you goin' there for a while, didn't I?”

”You certainly did.”

”It's not like you didn't deserve it. You didn't waste any time trying to get rid of me. Besides, it serves you right. You were always about ten steps ahead of me, but not anymore.”

”No? What's changed?”

”Me. I think all along I never believed I deserved you. I wasn't good enough for you-”

”What?”

Gina put her fingers over his lips to quiet him. He was tempted to kiss them and then work his way over her palm, up her arm...

”Calm down, I got over it. It just took a while.”

Ben blinked twice, bringing himself back from the path one part of his mind was going down.

When he just stared, she continued. ”Ben, look at your family and look at mine. My mother was a wh.o.r.e; my father sold his own child for drug money. What could I bring to the table?”

Ben wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. ”You. I love you. I need you. I don't care who your family is. I love you.”

Gina smiled, but her eyes were gla.s.sy. ”Yeah, I figured that out.”

”Gina, I only gave you divorce papers because-”

She cut him off with a kiss and for the first time since she opened that envelope that morning, Ben was able to take a deep breath. He straightened and pulled her along with him. Kissing her like his life depended on it. He was pretty sure that it did.