Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Gideon
Autumn exited the bathroom, her hands behind her, smoothing her dress over her leggings. She looked odd in my bedroom. Her reddish-brown leggings ended where her thin socks started and were stark against the pale room. A single flame that warmed up every square inch. The woman didn’t bare more than her hands and neck, but she exuded sex appeal that only dunces would miss.
I’d have to be careful. I hadn’t married her for physical reasons, and I couldn’t let my interest in her body sway my motivations. I pulled the covers back. This was the side of the bed I usually slept on, but she looked ready to bolt as she shifted from foot to foot.
“Go ahead. Crawl in.” I knew what she expected. The trepidation and excitement mixed in her eyes.
I had to admit I’d never been with a person so skittish around me.
She tiptoed toward the bed, her gaze flitting from my face to the covers. She might not be revealing much skin, but her pulse fluttered erratically at the base of her throat. Despite my earlier mental warning, I eyed her ass and the way it rounded when she got between the sheets. When she was settled, I leaned over her and kissed her forehead. Completely unnecessary. She’d already been seduced, and I had the marriage to show for it. “I set a shirt and shorts on the end table to change into if you’d like. Get some rest.”
In the ambient light from the window, I could see her pink lips pull down in a frown. Was she afraid she couldn’t fall asleep without shades? She’d been practically aghast over the view when my few other guests had gushed about it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, more concerned than curious.
“We aren’t— Um... You don’t want to...” Her furious blush was adorable. How could she be so innocent when she didn’t mind her family conning land away from an old drunk?
“No, wife.” I said it more to remind myself and ignored how easily the word slipped off my tongue. I was a married man. My gut clenched as much as it twisted. “You’ve had too much to drink. You need sleep.”
She blinked slowly, her eyes owlish. Then she sat up, clutching the blankets to her chest like she was nude instead of fully dressed. I’d have offered her the change of clothes first, but I didn’t care to risk seeing another inch of creamy flesh.
She pushed her thick hair off her face. “How are we going to convince my brothers not to buy your family’s land if we aren’t married married? ”
Cold washed through my insides. I’d underestimated this woman. A mistake I hadn’t made... ever.
“What?” My voice could’ve cut glass.
She looked at me like duh . “I mean, I want a family. You want your land.” She rolled her eyes— rolled her goddamn eyes—at me. “Did you think there was nothing I wanted out of the deal?”
“What deal?” I bit out. Family? The thought almost made me heave. Kids?
She finally had the grace to look embarrassed. “I guess I never said it, but then neither did you.”
Ice continued to crystallize in my veins. I could lie. Tell her I’d fallen madly in love with her as soon as I’d seen her, but she wouldn’t believe it. Not if she didn’t buy that I’d swept her off her feet and into Silver Linings Chapel because I couldn’t stand the thought of living without her.
Fuck. “How’d you know?”
She chortled, another adorable reaction I didn’t expect. “You? Instantly smitten with me? Come on. I couldn’t even get into the club, yet Gideon James was so taken with a schoolteacher he whisked her off to say vows after a few drinks together? A few drinks that were not made with Copper Summit bourbon. Because Copper Summit isn’t served anywhere on the premises.”
Irritation flared bright behind my sternum and not because she’d called me on my pettiness. “For such an innately sexy woman, you don’t think very highly of yourself.”
A furrow formed between her brows. “I think just fine about myself, but I’m also realistic. I can’t be bothered to dress sexy anymore. That’s what my twenties were for—uncomfortable clothes and even worse shoes. All I caught with that look were mommy-dependent man-children.” She wrinkled her nose. “Come to think of it, this look attracts the ones who want to be mothered too.”
I almost smiled. This conversation was absurd. “Speaking of mothering—what the hell do you mean family ?” The edge was back in my voice.
She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I want a family. If I can’t have the loving husband and kids, I’d rather have the kids from a guy who’s proved able to look after himself.”
I didn’t know if I should thank her for the odd compliment or throttle her. “I don’t want kids.”
Her lips puffed out. “Oh.” She looked down at her hands. “Damn.” She spread her fingers and inspected the flawless one-carat diamond on her finger. I’d been going to buy her a five-carat ring, but she’d practically gagged. I’d selected a two-carat ring and she’d almost panicked. She’d even insisted one carat was too big, but a guy had his pride. I’d duped her into marrying me—or so I had thought—and the least I could do was buy her a nice ring. My ring matched hers. A simple platinum band with squared edges.
“Maybe I could do artificial insemination. People might assume it’s yours.”
My mouth curled into a sneer. I didn’t want kids, but the idea of another man’s baby in her belly ignited a feral response.
I was better than this, and I needed time to think. I wasn’t fooling her and the relief was immense. Had I been prepared to sell my soul for the family land?
Yes. I always did what I had to do—run the ranch when my drunk dad couldn’t, leave home so I could have a future, and marry a Bailey so I could save my legacy.
Turned out this Bailey was just as determined to create a legacy for herself. “We can discuss this when you’re sober. But since you know why I married you, tell me how you can help me stop your family from buying my land.”
“My brothers,” she said. “We’d have to talk to my brothers.”
“You can’t halt the sale?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Maybe.”
Uncertainty was written through every feature. I gawked at her. “You do the books.”
“I do the bar’s books.” Guilt crossed her face.
I’d been had by a schoolteacher .
Panic expanded in my chest, squeezing my lungs. The last-ditch scramble to keep Percival in the James name was slipping through my fingers.
“ Fuck .” I stuffed a hand through my hair and paced the bedroom. I’d married the girl who did the bar’s books, and her brothers would hate me. They’d close the sale faster just to spite me. “Fuck!”
“Hey,” she said in a calming voice that ought to upset me, but my tension notched down. “You don’t want kids and I don’t have as much power as you thought. That doesn’t mean we can’t help each other.”
I propped my hands on my hips and faced her. “How’s that? You’re going to ask them nicely after you show up with me as a husband?”
“You’re going to Bourbon Canyon?”
“I can’t do much from here,” I snapped. “We’ll change your flight so we can go together.”
She ignored my outburst and flicked a finger up. “ Okay, one, asking nicely gets you pretty darn far. And two, I’m still part of the family. We act as a united front. If you’re part of the family, they’ll listen to you. Or maybe give you a role after the sale.”
Fury ramped up my blood pressure. “Golly gee, I can manage my land that someone else owns.”
“It’s not your land,” she said bluntly. “That’s the crux of the issue, or you wouldn’t have me in your bed.”
Damn. She cut to the heart faster than any high-level investor I’d met.
She lifted her hands, palms in the air. “Look, it’s not ideal, but you and I seem to be the only way we can each get what we want. My brothers have no problem buying the place you think should be yours, but would they hesitate if they were buying it out from under your dad’s grandson or granddaughter? Would your dad reconsider if he thought that?”
Her meaning sank in. Her brothers didn’t give a shit about me. Even if they were sympathetic to my situation, they had long since decided it didn’t matter. We’d last parted ways yelling at each other. They thought they were supporting my delusional dad with his decision.
But if there was an innocent kid, a niece or nephew, who would lose their legacy? Would that make them pause long enough for me to get through to Dad that he was making a goddamn mistake? Would the thought of a grandkid make Dad reconsider?
Was it worth having a kid to find out?
I had ruled out kids to prevent them from going through what I had. But Autumn had a big family. If something happened to one of us, there’d be plenty of aunts and uncles for the kid to lean on.
A child .
A baby.
The image of my mom’s smile doused my anger and stabbed right into my heart. She would’ve loved to have a grandkid.
She was the reason why I’d been determined not to.
But the only slice of heaven Mom loved in the world was getting sold, and if that kid could help me save it?
“You have a deal, wife.”
Autumn
When I woke, I smacked my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut. I needed a gallon of water and some fresh fruit ASAP. Between the drinks and the salty food, I was dying of thirst.
I pried an eye open. God, it was bright in here.
The soft smell of laundry detergent mingled with the scent of cedar citrus. Gideon.
I was in his room. In his bed.
I sat up. “Holy crap.”
I was married.
Holding up my hand, I squinted at my ring.
Married. With a big dang rock on my finger.
He’d wanted to buy an obnoxiously large diamond. No, thanks. The size of even this ring gave me palpitations. What if I lost it in Play-Doh? I loved the platinum setting. I loved the sparkle.
It couldn’t be real.
I blinked out the floor-to-ceiling windows, then swept my gaze around the plush room with chests and dressers that probably cost more than my house.
The diamond was real.
I rubbed my forehead as the events of the night clicked back into place. The club. Flirting in the booth. Gideon’s charm. The guy was smooth, but I spent my day around kids who were afraid to tell me they’d peed their pants when a wet line ran down their leg. I knew all about lying and ulterior motives, though I couldn’t attribute all the skills to my current and former students. I’d dated some doozies.
Where was Gideon anyway?
The other side of the bed was smooth, the blankets pulled tight. After he’d agreed to give me kids in exchange for me helping him keep the land in the James name, I’d barely been able to keep my eyes open.
Where had he slept?
Had he slept, or had he roamed this massive penthouse and counted his money?
I swung my legs down. A bottle of water with moisture dripping down the sides was on the nightstand.
For a new husband, he was already sweeter than a lot of the guys I’d dated. Except Mark.
Guess I had a good reason to turn down Mark’s offer to go to Spokane. I chugged the whole thing. Then my attention caught on the suitcase by the bathroom door.
My luggage.
He’d had it brought up? How thoughtful, but my friends had to be worried. I shared a room with Kaitlyn. Had all signs of me been gone by the time she’d returned to her room?
I searched around for my phone. I should be rushed, but I couldn’t bring myself to be panicked. They hadn’t left the dance floor to see how I was doing.
I chewed my bottom lip. They were nice women, but also younger than me. We were in different seasons in our life. No wonder Gideon had thought he could trick me into marrying him.
My cheeks heated. I didn’t have time for embarrassment. I checked my screen.
Kaitlyn: Where are you?
Kaitlyn: Are you okay?
Destiny: Tell me you didn’t get stolen?
Kaitlyn: Did you fly home?
Brittany: I’m so sorry!
Destiny: Are you upset? I’m really sorry, babes.
Brittany: We’re terrible people. Just talk to us.
I sort of felt better reading their frantic texts. I was also tempted to continue ignoring them, but I couldn’t have them calling my siblings. That mess could wait until later.
Autumn: I’m fine. I’m in another room, and I’ll be taking a different flight home.
I didn’t bother with the specifics. More pressing concerns dominated my attention.
I dragged my suitcase into the bathroom. I washed up, scrubbed my face, and threw on a pair of black leggings with an oversized Copper Summit hoodie. For a casino named Silver, I was decked out in copper. My hair wouldn’t be tamed. I pulled it back into a ponytail and looped it so it wouldn’t get tangled in the hood.
Okay. I was ready to find my husband.
The butterflies in my stomach woke up.
My family was going to be irate. They wouldn’t believe this marriage. I didn’t believe this marriage. But Gideon had been on board, so between the two of us, we had to be a united front.
I didn’t find him in the living room, or in the kitchen that looked like it should have a private chef making caviar pancakes or whatever people with personal chefs ate.
Was he still in the apartment? Had he even slept? It was barely after nine. Was he a five a.m. guy?
I was about to go back down the hallway and knock on closed doors to find my husband when the elevator doors swung open to reveal the leggy blond I’d seen walk freely into the club.
She was digging in a bag that was likely as expensive as her glittery tank top looked. Shiny aviator shades were pushed into her blond tresses and she had as much long leg showing under her wrap skirt as she’d had last night. She stepped out of the elevator, still rustling in her bag. “How was the VIP bullshit from last night? I bet it was an investor. They can be such idiots thinking we have nothing better to do on a Friday?—”
She saw me. Her mouth dropped open. Then she drew back, disdain taking over her expression. “You can go now.”
Why was she here? The answer was obvious, but my confusion remained. Anger was quickly coalescing in its place. I’d been married to the man for less than twelve hours, and he already had another woman in his place. “I’m the one who can go?”
Her crystal-blue eyes narrowed. “Of course you can. I have important business with him and you’re just a?—”
“Taya,” Gideon snapped, and I jumped. That was how I’d expected him to sound last night when we’d first met. Like a furious destroyer. “Don’t talk to my guest like that.”
She shut her mouth. Her back was ramrod straight, and she didn’t look sorry for almost insulting me. “I should’ve called first.” She sniffed, lifting her chin in the air.
“Autumn, this is Taya. She’s the chief financial officer for Silver.”
Gorgeous, smart, and powerful. And she worked with Gideon. Fucking perfect. I didn’t greet her, just did the small-town nod.
Taya looked like she could command a meeting and then run a marathon without being out of breath. Who had legs like that?
She also seethed with rage, ready to bash out the windows, using me as the battering ram. Then all the tension drained away and she smiled sweetly at Gideon. “We were going to discuss the renovations today. Remember?”
I did not like the way she spoke to him.
“Our talk will have to wait.” He came to a stop next to me. I didn’t stare. I couldn’t look gobsmacked in front of this intruder, but Gideon was wearing jeans and a forest-green polo. Nothing like the jeans and polos guys wore around home. Bourbon Canyon didn’t sell jeans or shirts that didn’t have a Western style. How could a polo look expensive?
Taya tipped her head, her gaze jumping from me to Gideon, down to the fluffy socks I’d put on instead of my sandals, then back to Gideon. “Are you sure?”
She wasn’t asking about the delay. She was asking about me. These two had clearly done more than run numbers together. The image I’d had of Gideon in the shower with a model flashed through my head. I wanted to vomit.
I did not belong here. Not with Gideon. Not in Vegas. And not in this penthouse, facing off with Taya, locked into some unknown competition neither of us had signed up for.
Gideon’s big, warm hand landed on the small of my back. “I’m sure. I’ll be out of the office for a while.”
She blinked. His announcement was news to me too. He had said he was going to Bourbon Canyon, but not for how long or when. We still had to work through the logistics of how this marriage and baby-making would work. I couldn’t think about the last part right now.
“How long will you be gone?” Her question was brittle. This woman did not like Gideon acting out of character, and even I knew taking time off was not normal for him.
“At least a month,” he replied casually. “I need to go out of town. Family emergency.”
“What family?” she snapped.
I waited for him to declare that I was his wife, but he didn’t. Taya wasn’t looking at my hand and his ring finger was behind my back. For whatever reason, he wasn’t announcing the happy news. I knew the significance of a month. That was when the land deal was scheduled to close.
“I’ll be working remotely. Contact me Monday.” He continued to rest his big hand on the small of my back. I tried not to preen. He still didn’t claim me as his wife.
“Fine.” Taya stabbed the elevator button and spun back to us. “Have you talked to the board?”
“I’ve told who needs to know. Have a good day, Taya. ”
Cold fury blazed in her eyes at his response. When the elevator doors opened, she punched a few buttons, glaring at Gideon until the doors closed.
I let out a long breath. “She’s delightful. I bet you two have a hot and sweaty work relationship.” I couldn’t stop the sarcasm from pouring out and started for the kitchen.
“That part didn’t happen often.” He passed me and went for the fridge. “And it’s been a while.”
I snorted. “Sure. She has a key to your house to talk about emergency remodeling.”
“I’ll change the code.”
He offered the option so readily I tacked on more demands. “No one else.” I hugged my arms around me, suddenly unsure. I was willing to marry him to get what we both wanted, but I wasn’t willing to feel like a fool.
“What do you mean?” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He wasn’t in socks like me, but more casual loafers than what he’d worn last night. His question wasn’t casual. I didn’t think that was a thing with him. He made it sound calm, but there was always an edge.
“This marriage is monogamous. Full stop. People aren’t going to believe us as it is. I don’t need to field gossip about you fucking around.”
His pupils did that thing again. The way they widened like a predator’s was hot. Tingles rolled down my spine. “There will be no rumors. Just as you will also keep your hands and every other part of your body to yourself. For the next month, you’re mine. Until I get my dad to switch the land to my name or sell to me—you’re mine.”
The shivers notched up to ten. I was his. Wait—until he got the land? Then we were done? For the next month... I was sinking into a dream. I couldn’t afford to lose myself. I couldn’t fantasize about Gideon. This was his home. Taya was his type.
“The closing date is in a month,” I said more to confirm that was his timeline. It made sense. Why would he want to stay married longer?
Teller had complained to Tate that the delays with financing would leave them closing right before winter. They wouldn’t be able to do much until spring, when all the snow we’d get this winter would melt.
He nodded. “Which means we have less time to pretend we’re so in love we couldn’t help ourselves when we were so close to a Las Vegas chapel.”
My heart sank to my socks. I dropped my gaze. A month wasn’t long to test the ol’ fertility ability. If we were successful, I might be a single mom. Would he fight for custody? Not from the expression when I’d told my end of the bargain.
This is an act. This is an act. This is an act.
“Right,” I said, proud of how strong my voice sounded. “You don’t leave this marriage without land and I don’t leave without a baby. What if that takes more than a month?”
That sounded callous.
His lips thinned at the word baby. “We have a month.”
“Biology doesn’t always listen to our deals.”
“I have an important job,” he said with a clipped tone.
“So do I.”
“One month, Autumn.”
I was raised a Bailey. I should be comfortable negotiating contracts and deals, but that was what my brothers did. Daddy had familiarized me with everything, but I didn’t work at the distillery full-time. Gideon’s tone was stone. Unmoving.
He’d seen that pathetic part of my life last night. I didn’t care to beg him to get me pregnant. “Good thing I’ve been off birth control for a while.”
His pupils flared again. “We have a few more details to hammer out. I notified my lawyer this morning we’ll be in need of a postnuptial contract.”
“A postnup?” The ramifications of an impulsive marriage were sinking in. Would Gideon have claim to my share of the ranch and Copper Summit? What about the portion of land Daddy had gifted me? Would I lose that?
Oh god, what had I done?
“Does the idea of a postnup bother you?” His expression was glacial and his tone had an edge, so at odds with his more casual look.
“No. I think protection is always good.” Why did that sound sexual?
The iciness was gone in an instant, replaced with simmering heat. “We’ll each leave this marriage with what we had when we entered it.”
Relief cooled the thud at my temples. “Oh, good.” I laughed and waved my hand at his expansive living room. “I won’t be stuck with half the view of the Strip.”
He blinked. Crap. Had I insulted him? He probably liked his view. Maybe it was something girls like Taya gushed about. I missed a neon-light-free view.
“He’ll also draw up divorce papers.”
Ouch. A little arrow to the heart in case I’d thought that Gideon would ever be smitten enough to marry me after a few hours of Bloody Marys and charcuterie. “More preparation. Awesome.”
“Now that the logistics are settled, we can discuss details.” His gaze dropped to my fuzzy socks, and I braced myself for the same distaste Taya had shown. The hardness in his gaze softened only slightly. “If I’m going to Bourbon Canyon, I’ll have to stay with you. We’ll have to tell everyone that we met and fell madly in love.”
I could play madly in lust well enough. “Desperately in love,” I said flatly, hating the longing deep inside my heart. “Do you think a month is enough time to convince your dad not to sell?”
“It’ll need to be enough to make him think I’ll move back and have kids.” He turned and dug in the fridge.
I stared at the way the denim molded around his ass. I could bounce a quarter off that thing. “Um, okay—about that...” This would be embarrassing. “If I do get pregnant, how is that going to work?”
He turned and set eggs and cheese on the counter next to a bowl of tomatoes I had assumed were for show.
“You cook?” I asked.
He lifted his vivid gaze to mine. “I had to cook, or I would’ve starved.”
Sympathy swelled in my chest. His dad was an alcoholic and the whole town knew how bad he’d gotten after Gideon’s mom died. “But you still cook?”
“I don’t like strangers in my place.”
I left my Really? stare on him.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Taya is not a stranger, and she will no longer have access. Do you want an egg wrap?”
My stomach rumbled. “Yes, please. ”
He got a bowl out from a cupboard in the island. “As for the baby, we won’t do anything until you’re ready.”
I almost sagged with relief. I wasn’t ready, and I hated that it was obvious. The baby part? So ready. Last night with the bourbon influence? I would’ve climbed him like a mountain—three points of contact and one of them would’ve been my mouth. But in the stark light of the morning? After having seen his ungodly beautiful coworker?
There wasn’t enough darkness to make me feel comfortable.
Besides, I remembered this morning. “You will have to sleep in the same bed as me, you know?”
He stopped cracking eggs. “Where do you think I slept last night?”
A tremble racked my body. Fear or desire?
“The guest room?” My voice pitched up at the end. He hadn’t slept with me... had he? I would’ve known.
Did I snore?
Drool?
Fart?
“The recliner?” I asked.
“I don’t have one.”
I craned my head around. The open floor plan taunted me with the lack of a recliner in his place. Would he look nearly as well-rested if he’d slept on the couch that had more angles than cushions?
He’d slept in the bed with me. He’d tried to use me without using me, and when he’d been busted, he’d still slept in the bed with me and then offered to make me breakfast.
He selected a tomato and dug out a cutting board and knife. I almost offered to help, but it was nice to have a guy treat me.
Things between us were fake, but he was making breakfast. No negotiations. He wasn’t hyperfocused and overly charming like when he’d broached the impulsive marriage topic. He was in his head, making plans for the next month. The considerate part of him seemed to be unconscious.
I was already having a hard time telling myself nothing about this was real. If I wasn’t careful, this deal between us could ruin me.