Chapter Two
V al stared at Liam, wondering if she’d heard him right. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“Yes. It’s the perfect answer for both of us.”
Oh, my God. I’m dreaming. Or having a nightmare. Liam asked me to marry him. I’ve loved him for years.
“Have you lost your mind? You don’t love me, and I’m pregnant with another man’s child.”
He took her hand and held it. “I’ve known you all your life. I care about you. And you need help.”
“But marriage ?” The word came out as a squeak. “What about you? Why would you do this?”
“You know about Caroline, right?”
Of course. Who didn’t? “The bitch who jilted you.”
“That’s the one. My mother has been pushing for me to get married. She had all sorts of reasons, but I finally figured out she’s afraid I’ll never marry because my fiancée ran out on me. Which was one reason I brought Cici here. But you know how that turned out.” He waved a hand in the general direction of the house. “So marrying you would help me out too.”
“You want to marry me to get your mom off your back.” How flattering. Not.
“Clint—her longtime boyfriend—wants to marry her. But she won’t do it until I’m settled and she feels like I won’t need her to help me run the ranch.”
“I’m sure there are a ton of women who’d love to marry you.”
“Maybe, but I don’t want them. I want you.”
Too bad he didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Yes, it was crazy but she was considering it. “Would it be a real marriage?” She wasn’t sure she could be married to Liam and not ever have sex with him. Actually, she was certain she couldn’t.
“You mean real as in—”
When he broke off she said, “Sex. Would we have sex? And how long would we be married?”
“That depends on you. I think we should stay married at least until after the baby is born. We can talk more about it later.”
He’d sidestepped that one. He was talking about a marriage of convenience. To Liam McFarland, the man she’d dreamed of being with for as long as she could remember. Wouldn’t that be torture—to marry him knowing he’d never feel for her what she felt for him?
What if his feelings changed? Could he fall for her? What if he didn’t and she fell even more in love with him? Talk about a disaster.
But God, the thought of telling her father she was pregnant and that the father had denied any responsibility… No, she’d run away before she did that. But she was a grown woman. Her life was here in Marietta. Her family was here. Liam was here. Her horses were here. Her dogs were here. No way in hell was she letting anything drive her away from her home and all she loved.
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like having a marriage without sex.” Might as well get that out there now. “Would you?”
He was staring at her now with his hazel eyes deepening to green, and she had no idea what he was thinking. Great. He wasn’t attracted to her and he didn’t know how to tell her.
“No.”
“No, what?” she asked.
“No, I wouldn’t like to be married and not have sex with my wife. But if that’s what you want—”
“I just said it wasn’t.”
“Okay, then.”
Oh, the enthusiasm is killing me. “Liam, are you sure you want to marry me?”
“I’m sure.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m ruining your life?” she muttered.
Liam chuckled. “You’re not. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“I need you to ask me for real.”
“Do I have to get down on one knee?”
“Well, we are in the barn, so no.”
He held both her hands and looked deep into her eyes. “Val, will you marry me?”
She was crazy. That’s all there was to it. “Yes, Liam, I’ll marry you.”
*
Now for the logistics. “I don’t want to upset you or make you think I don’t believe you,” Liam said, “but are you positive you’re pregnant? Sometimes tests are wrong.”
“I know, but this one wasn’t. I went to the urgent care clinic in Livingston the day after I took the home test, and they confirmed it. Besides, I’ve been barfing every morning and my boobs are sore. Plus I missed my period and I’m regular as clockwork.”
Liam knew about pregnancy in horses, cows, dogs, and cats, but he knew nothing about humans. It must have showed.
“Those are classic symptoms. It’s true, Liam.”
He nodded. “Okay. When do you want to do this?”
“As soon as we can. I don’t want to tell my father until after we’re married.”
“Won’t he wonder why we were in such a rush? And why we didn’t have a traditional wedding?”
“Maybe. But he’ll accept it. He’s always liked you.”
“I’ll need some time to arrange things. How about this coming weekend? Friday.”
“What do you need to arrange?”
“Someone to take care of the ranch for a few days. I need to make sure the new manager and hand are up to it.”
“Why? Won’t we just go to the courthouse and get married? That won’t take long.”
“Val, if we have any hope of your dad or anyone else believing there’s something real between us, enough to want to get married, then we need to go away for a few days, at least.”
“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. Okay, I’ll have to dream up something to explain my absence too if we’re going to have a honeymoon.”
“Yes. Even a short one will help.” He let her think that over while he asked her something else. “Are you going to tell Riley or do you want me to?”
“Riley?” She looked alarmed. “Can we wait to tell him?”
Liam frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell him now?” Riley was his best friend and Val was Riley’s little sister. He was going to be bent out of shape as it was, but if Liam didn’t tell him he hated to think about what Riley would do.
“You want to tell him, don’t you?”
Liam shrugged. “Yeah. He’ll be really pissed if we don’t. I’m going to ask Connor to the wedding, so I’ll need to tell him. If I do that Riley will definitely need to know.”
“All right, we’ll tell him together. But don’t tell him I’m pregnant or why we’re getting married so quickly.”
“Riley wouldn’t judge you, Val.”
“Maybe not but I still don’t want to tell him. Not unless I have to.”
“He’ll wonder.”
“Can’t we tell him we’ve always had feelings for each other, and Logan and Cici getting married made us realize it?”
“We can try. But he’ll want to know why we’re getting married so quickly and why we’re going to the courthouse to do it with no one but Riley and Connor knowing our plans.” He paused and added, “Not to mention, this will be the first he’s heard of it.”
“Let him wonder. Please, Liam.”
“Val? Are you in here?”
“That’s Riley,” Val said. “Quick. Kiss me.”
This wasn’t exactly how he’d wanted to kiss Val for the first time but what the hell. Liam put his arms around her and kissed her. His lips moved over hers and her mouth opened. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, and she met it with hers. Just as he was getting into it, he heard Riley say, or rather, yell, “What in the hell is going on?”
Liam released Val and turned to look at his friend. He looked pissed, which didn’t surprise him. He wasn’t at all sure Riley would buy them getting married so quickly without a good reason. And if Val wouldn’t tell him she was pregnant—
“Oh, Riley,” Val said. “We have something to tell you.”
“Ya think?” He turned an angry glare at Liam.
“Liam and I have had feelings for each other for a long time now. And—well, we finally admitted it to each other and um, we’re getting married. Next weekend.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? I just told you.”
“Why is this the first I’ve heard of your feelings for each other and why are you getting married so quickly? What’s the rush?”
“We just decided we didn’t want to wait to have a big wedding or anything, so we’re planning to go down to the courthouse and get married there.”
“I see.” To say his expression was thunderous didn’t even touch it. “Liam, can I talk to you alone?”
“Sure.” Liam stood.
“You can talk right here,” Val said. “There’s no need to drag him off.”
“Fine. There’s only one reason I can see for the rush. Val is pregnant, isn’t she?”
Liam looked at Val and shrugged. “We might as well tell him.”
“I guess you’re right. Yes, I’m pregnant. But you can’t tell Dad.”
Riley stared at Liam for a long moment before he hauled off and punched him in the jaw.
Shit, he hadn’t fought with Riley since they were kids. That damn right hook of his was still a killer. He put his hand on his jaw to wiggle it. He didn’t think it was broken but it hurt like a son of a bitch.
Val jumped up and grabbed Riley’s arm before he could land another punch. “Don’t hit Liam. You don’t understand.”
“Oh, I understand all right. Liam—my supposed best friend—seduced you and got you pregnant. You. My little sister. I guess I should be happy he’s marrying you without me having to threaten to kill him.”
“I told you this wouldn’t work,” Liam told Val.
“Damn it. I hate I told you so’s.” She turned to her brother. “Riley, I’m pregnant but the baby isn’t Liam’s.”
He looked at Liam. “It’s not your baby?”
“No.”
“Then why—what the hell is going on? Whose baby is it?”
“That doesn’t matter. The father doesn’t want anything to do with me or my baby. Which is fine with me. I don’t want him in my life or in my baby’s life.”
“He should take responsibility. It’s not right.”
“He won’t. And since he wants nothing to do with us, I don’t have to consider him at all. He’s not important. But Dad is another matter. I can’t tell him. You know how he’ll react.”
Riley winced. “It wouldn’t be pretty. But why do you want to marry Val, Liam? Especially since the baby isn’t yours. Besides, you’re too old for her.”
Before he could answer Val jumped in.
“Because I told Liam what had happened, and he knows how Dad will react if I tell him the truth. And he says it will help him out too, so he asked me to marry him. And I said yes. And he isn’t too old for me,” she added.
“Why will this help you out?” Riley asked Liam.
“I told you about my mom and why she won’t marry Clint. If I get married, she won’t have that excuse any longer.”
“Then the whole thing about you two having feelings for each other isn’t true?”
He and Val looked at each other. “I wouldn’t say that. Obviously we like each other or we wouldn’t be considering marriage. I’m single, Val needs help, so there’s nothing stopping us.”
“You’re both crazy.”
He could be right. “Now that we’ve got that straightened out will you stand up for me?”
“Are you two sure about this?”
Liam looked at Val. “I’m sure. What about you?”
“I’m sure too.”
“Then let’s get married.”