Accidental Bride (Beaufort Brides #3) Read online

  “Their feelings—and their creepy, flea-ridden stuffed bodies—can all go to—”

  “Hey!” Deanna cried, interrupting her husband. “They don’t have fleas.”

  The laughter that followed faded pleasantly as they focused on eating their lunches for a couple of minutes. Until Deanna picked up where they’d left off, “But, seriously, if you ever need any help with Grandmama or anything, just let us know.”

  Peter could see that Kelly was about to say they were just fine, but it was too good an opportunity for him to ignore. So, before she could say anything, he put in, “Thanks. We appreciate that. Actually, I was hoping to take Kelly away for the weekend for a little honeymoon, but we weren’t sure if we could manage it or not.”

  Kelly gave a little jerk and she widened her eyes at him, her surprise turning into a look that made it clear she wasn’t at all pleased by what he’d said.

  “Of course, you need to have a honeymoon,” Deanna said. “When did you want to go?”

  “They’re planning that reception for us next weekend, so this weekend is really the best time for us to go.”

  “That would be fine,” Deanna said, smiling, as if she were really happy to be able to help. “Mitchell and I could come stay with Gran—”

  Mitchell cleared his throat quite loudly.

  Deanna corrected herself. “Grandmama could come stay with us for the weekend, since Mitchell is allergic to the Pride.”

  “She doesn’t like to leave home,” Kelly said. “There’s no reason why—”

  “Of course, there’s reason,” Deanna objected. “You’ve always taken care of her. You deserve to have a break.”

  “I had a break last weekend. I don’t need—”

  “You do need a honeymoon, and it wouldn’t be fair for you two not to have one, just because you have the responsibility of taking care of Grandmama. I’ll talk to her this afternoon. It will be fine. You guys definitely need to go.”

  Kelly’s eyes were shooting daggers at Peter, and he knew he’d be in for it, once they were alone together again. She wasn’t happy with him. At all.

  But he couldn’t help but be relieved at the idea of a weekend away. Just with Kelly.

  “Thank you,” Peter said. “That’s really great. I have to work Friday morning, but we could leave mid-afternoon. And we’d be back by the end of the day on Sunday.”

  “Where will you go?” Mitchell asked.

  “I don’t know. But we’ll figure out something.”

  ***

  Kelly had arguments with Peter occasionally—usually just snippy, little disagreements that were soon forgotten—but she couldn’t remember ever being as angry with him as she was at the moment.

  The asshole. She’d told him very clearly she didn’t want a honeymoon, and then he’d went and engineered it anyway.

  What the hell was he thinking?

  She put on a polite manner and fake smile for the rest of lunch, but she was steaming as they walked in silence back to Peter’s car.

  She wasn’t the kind of person who had a fiery temper. She didn’t get angry very easily. So she wasn’t used to the feeling of practically exploding from it.

  Especially directed at Peter.

  She shut the car door and buckled her belt, breathing heavily as she tried to control her feelings enough to form words.

  Peter had buckled too and turned on the car, but he looked at her rather than shift into gear. “Just say it,” he murmured, sounding resigned.

  “How could you?” she snapped. “You knew—you knew—I didn’t want to go anywhere, and you just did it anyway!”

  “Why shouldn’t I do something nice for us?”

  She clenched her hands, more enraged by his calm look than she would have been by matching anger. “Because I told you I didn’t want it.”

  “The reasons you didn’t want to go weren’t reasonable. It’s my money. I can do what I want with it. And you have two sisters. You’re not solely responsible for your grandmother’s welfare.”

  “It doesn’t matter whether you think my reasons are reasonable or not. All that matters is that I said no and then you went ahead and did it anyway.”

  “I know you’re annoyed, but it’s not really that big a deal.”

  “Not a big deal? You think trampling all over my wishes isn’t a big deal?”

  He raised his eyebrows. Not his cute, one-eyebrow thing, but a rather cool, smug, two-eyebrow arch. “Since you’ve brought it up, you know very well that I don’t want to go around asking people to help me in my career, and you did it anyway just now. How is that any different?”

  She froze for a minute, so surprised by the words that she couldn’t fully process them immediately. “Seriously? You mean my mentioning to Mitchell that you want to go into hotels?”

  “Yes. That’s what I mean. I’m not going to accept charity from him, you know.”

  “It’s not charity!” She seldom raised her voice, so she had no idea why she was now. “That hotel is his baby. He would never hire anyone unless they were the best. He’s not going to give you a job just because you’re my husband.”

  “Even so.”

  “Even so what? I thought you’d be happy. I was trying to help.”

  “I’ve told you over and over again that I don’t want that kind of help. Anything I do, I want to earn on my own.”

  “I thought you meant from your family. You mean you don’t want anyone’s help?”

  “Not like that. I don’t want to be given anything.”

  He was the most infuriating man she’d ever known. She couldn’t believe he was being so stupidly proud and stubborn. “Talk about unreasonable,” she bit out. “That’s the most unreasonable thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “I’m not expecting you to understand.”

  She was getting distracted from her anger because she was so confused and worried about this hang-up of Peter’s. But his words brought her back suddenly to the issue at hand. “Okay. Okay. I don’t understand your reasons. Then you better accept that you don’t understand my reasons for not wanting a honeymoon. If you can be unreasonable about that, then I can be unreasonable about this.”

  Peter stared at her for a long moment, and she had no idea what was going on inside him. He looked deep and conflicted and angry and strangely helpless. Then he seemed to shake it all aside. “It’s too late. Your sister is already planning to have your grandmother stay with them for the weekend. If you make a fuss about it, they’re going to suspect that something is strange about our marriage. A normal wife would want to go on a honeymoon, if it was possible.”

  He had her trapped. Absolutely trapped. If she was going to go through with this ruse, then she would have to go on the honeymoon. And, since she’d gotten Peter into this, she couldn’t mess it up for him now.

  She bit her lip and looked away from him, too upset to even speak.

  He put the car into drive and started back to the house without another word.

  There was no reason for Kelly to be so emotional. In the long run, it didn’t really matter.

  But she’d always believed that Peter really respected her. She couldn’t believe he would just walk all over her that way.

  And she couldn’t believe he would shrug off her attempts to help him in his career—as if the fact that she cared about him meant nothing.

  She stared out the window and tried to keep control of her feelings, telling herself over and over again that this wasn’t as big a deal as she was making it.

  When they got home, Peter put the car into park and turned in his seat to face her. “Kelly,” he began, slightly hoarse.

  She didn’t want to hear it. She scrambled out of the car and hurried up to the side door that was closest to where they parked.

  Peter was right behind her, and he caught her in the hallway. He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

  She tried to pull away, but it didn’t work. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but he had her trapped against the
wall, one hand planted on the wall beside her shoulder and his body preventing her from moving.

  “Let go of me,” she gasped, squirming slightly. She was still angry, but she was more than that now. Her mind was spinning like crazy, bombarded with intense sensations from his body so close to her, the strangely passionate look in his eyes. “Grandmama’s home. She can’t see us fighting.”

  “I don’t care if she’s home.” He spoke in a guttural tone that sent shivers down her spine. “You’re my wife, and we need to talk.”

  “We already talked. You know how I feel. I’ll go on this honeymoon because you trapped me into it, but I’m never going to be okay with you bulldozing over me, as if my will means nothing. I can’t believe you’re one of those men.”

  He grew very still, the expression on his face changing almost imperceptibly. “You really think I’m one of those men?”

  “I never did before.” Her voice cracked, and she had to clear her throat to continue. She was shaking all over. She was never this way. She had no idea what was happening to her. “But you just…you just…”

  “I really thought you’d like to go, but were worried about the logistics. I didn’t realize you actually didn’t want to go on a trip with me.”

  His voice was even, but there was an underlying edge that made her wonder if she’d hurt his feelings. That idea upset her even more. “It’s not that. It’s not about that.”

  “Then what is it about?” He was still far too close to her. His face was only inches away from hers.

  “I know it’s not a real marriage, but whatever it is, I want it to be equal. I want to…I want to be heard.”

  “I do hear you, Kelly.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.” His face softened. “I’m sorry about the whole thing. I just had it in my head that this would be a good idea, and I didn’t think you would really mind, once it happened. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

  She took a shaky breath, so relieved she was about to lose it. She was behaving ridiculously, but she couldn’t seem to snap out of it. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know it’s not a real marriage, but…”

  Peter reached down to pick up her left hand and brought it up so she could see it. He twined the fingers of his left hand into hers so that the rings on their fingers were right next to each other. “It is a real marriage. It might be temporary, but we’re married for real.”

  For some reason, the words, and the reality that they were true, were the last straw for her already battered emotions. A single tear slipped down her cheek. “I know.”

  He wiped the tear away with his right hand, very gently. “We don’t have to go on the honeymoon, if you don’t want.”

  “No, we should do it now. It would be too complicated otherwise. It’ll be okay.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She wasn’t sure. With the way she was feeling right now, being alone with Peter for the weekend might be the most dangerous thing that could happen to her. But it was also something she desperately wanted. “Yes.”

  “Okay.” For the first time since they’d entered the house, he gave her a little smile. “So we’re okay?”

  “Yeah. We’re okay.”

  “Good. I’m not used to you being mad at me. I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t like it either.”

  “Let’s not do it again, then.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  He was still holding her left hand as he leaned down to very softly press his lips against hers. It felt so good that, as he drew back, she leaned forward enough to claim his mouth again. Pleasure and excitement rushed through her as their lips moved together and his tongue made teasing little slides.

  She was just about to wrap her arm around his neck when she realized what she was doing. She pulled away with a gasp. “What are you doing?”

  His eyes were warm, almost amused. “I thought your grandma was coming.”

  “What?” She looked both ways down the hall. “She’s not here.”

  “Yeah, but I thought she might be coming, so I figured we better cover, so she wouldn’t know we’d been fighting.”

  Kelly frowned, overwhelmed with embarrassment as she realized how shamelessly she’d responded to the kiss, which was supposed to just be fake. “She wouldn’t like us kissing any more than she’d like us fighting. She’d give you a lecture about being fresh with me.”

  “But we’re married.”

  “That wouldn’t matter to her.”

  His expression was warm and laughing now. “She’d really say fresh?”

  “There are no limits to my grandmother’s vocabulary when it comes to young men acting improperly.”

  He laughed. “I’ll have to test that out, then.” Before she realized what he was doing, he leaned toward her again and gave her another soft kiss.

  This time, when she got enough will-power to turn away, she saw in surprised dismay that her grandmother was actually standing in the hall, giving them a disapproving look.

  “Disgraceful,” Grandmama said, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize my new grandson was such a rogue.”

  Peter straightened up, although he didn’t release her hand. His eyes were laughing though.

  Kelly was quite sure he’d never been called a rogue before. But then, most men hadn’t, until they’d encountered her grandmother.

  Six

  On Friday, Peter and Kelly were on their way up to North Georgia, where Peter had found them a bed and breakfast on a lake.

  The northern part of the state boasted hills and small mountains, with a lot of scenic forests and waterfalls. There were plenty of B&B’s to choose from, but it had taken him a lot of time to decide on one, since Kelly was so insistent that it wasn’t expensive, but Peter still wanted to take them some place nice.

  He’d finally settled on one that had very good reviews but didn’t look as fancy as the most expensive places. He really hoped she liked it. He had only one chance here for a honeymoon with her, and so every detail was important.

  She’d been staring out the window, admiring the scenery. But, as if she’d read his mind, she turned to him and said, “I thought you’d just get a place on Tybee Island or something.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s so close and you could have found us something cheap there.”

  She obviously had absolutely no idea he was trying to make this weekend special. For her. For them.

  Keeping a casual smile on his face, he said, “You said you liked the idea of mountains on a lake, so that’s what you’re getting.”

  “I just said it would be nicer for a vacation than Vegas. Not that you should go to so much trouble for a fake honeymoon.”

  “It’s not fake.” Before she could interpret this statement in a way that made her uncomfortable, he added, “We’re actually taking the trip. We might as well enjoy it.”

  She smiled at him, straightening one side of her glasses. “It’s nice of you to try to find a place I like.”

  “What else would I do?”

  She was still smiling, but she glanced away, as if she were self-conscious. Then her posture changed as she saw something out the window. “Oh, look! It’s another place for sale. I bet that’s another big old house.”

  Peter glanced over and saw the sign, planted next to a long driveway that disappeared into the woods. “It’s getting late. We can’t stop to look at every house for sale on the trip. We’ve still got at least another hour.”

  “Okay.”

  He checked her face and, since she didn’t look crushed, decided he wasn’t going to cave and turn the car around. Kelly loved old houses as much as he did, and they’d had a really good time at the previous places they’d stopped—mostly old farmhouses in the middle of nowhere. They hadn’t been able to go inside, of course, but they’d parked and walked around a few places that were obviously unoccupied.

  But the sun was starting to set already, and Peter didn’t want
to make an idiot of himself, trying to find his way to the bed and breakfast on backroads in the dark.

  The road made a wide curve, so he focused on driving for a minute. The road followed a line around a lake, which they could see as the trees on one side of the road started to clear.

  “Peter!” Kelly breathed.

  He turned his head at the sound of her voice.

  She was staring out the window, something almost awed on her face, and she pointed across the water of the lake. “Look. Do you think that’s the place that was for sale?”

  He slowed down and ducked his head slightly so he could see what she saw. It was huge, picturesque Victorian house, built next to the lake, framed by the trees of the woods behind it. It could have been an oil painting. The light and shadow came together perfectly, making it look like a house from one of his dreams.

  He’d slowed down instinctively so he could stare, until a car roared up behind them and laid on the horn, obviously annoyed by how slowly he was moving. He pulled the car over onto the shoulder and put it into park.

  Kelly immediately climbed out of the car and stood gazing at the house.

  “It looks huge,” she whispered, when he got out and walked around the car to join her.

  “It is huge.”

  She wrapped her arms around her stomach, as if she were hugging herself. “I want it.”

  Peter wanted it too. Viscerally. There was nothing in the world—other than Kelly—that he could remember wanting so much.

  But it was probably mostly a trick of the light. Up close, it wouldn’t be so perfect.

  “Can we go back and look to see if that’s the one for sale?” Kelly turned to look up at him, her expression hopeful.

  So what if he looked like a fool, getting lost in the dark as they tried to find their B&B? He wasn’t going to disappoint Kelly, not when she was looking at him that way. “Yeah. We better.”

  He knew this was mostly a game to her, checking out houses for sale and acting like there was any possibility that she might buy them in the future. Peter wasn’t deceived into thinking she was serious about making a purchase. Even if she’d had the money, she would never leave Savannah. She would never leave her family. It would go against everything she was.