Married By Midnight. Mollie Molay

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СКАЧАТЬ he’d dreamed of making love to the woman he thought was his wife. But the dream had felt so real. “Maybe you’re right, but I can’t shake the memory of our marriage ceremony.”

      “Impossible! If we’d gotten married, I’d remember. I told you, I’m not ready to be married and I meant it.”

      “Okay, have it your way,” he said. “But I want to go on record.” He raised his right hand. “I swear that the one thing I do remember clearly is offering to sleep on the couch. You do remember that much, don’t you?”

      The look in his deep brown eyes was sincere, but something told her he hadn’t remained on the couch for long. Or, considering the way her body was still tingling, maybe he hadn’t gone to sleep there at all.

      Under the covers, Kelly was investigating her thigh. The bridal garter that seemed to have started the whole mess was still in place. But to her dismay, the garter was all she had on!

      She groaned as she envisioned her father, her three brothers and assorted members of her family accusing her of conduct unbecoming an O’Rourke. Not that they would be entirely wrong. Awakening to find herself in a strange hotel room, completely unclothed and in bed with a man she’d only met last night was definitely an O’Rourke no-no.

      “Are you sure you remember the details about…um…last night?” She felt herself flush as she spoke.

      “Not enough,” Max muttered, “but I’m sure there’s an explanation somewhere.” He slowly edged away from Kelly before she could realize he didn’t have any clothing on under the covers either. Not even his socks.

      The growing look of dismay Kelly was giving him spelled big trouble. He wished he could offer some kind of explanation that would give them both a graceful way out of the obvious, but he couldn’t. The indisputable fact remained, they’d wound up in bed together. And the only answer he could come up with was one she didn’t want to hear: Kelly was his wife, and they’d consummated their wedding night.

      “Max, what are we going to do about this? We have to talk.”

      “I couldn’t agree more.” He wasn’t looking forward to trying to explain the unexplainable, but trying to would at least be a step in the right direction. He could apologize, but that was closing the proverbial barn door after the horse was gone. Besides, Kelly didn’t look in the mood to try to understand, forgive and forget the impulse that may have sent them before a preacher.

      He told himself Kelly would eventually cool down and listen to reason. If they’d actually gotten married, he was ready to suggest civilized goodbyes and an annulment. Or, he swallowed hard at the thought, a divorce.

      “Maybe no one knows about this but us,” he offered with a feeble smile. “I’m willing to forget last night if you are. How about you?”

      Kelly thought hard. What had apparently been a romantic thing to do last night, in broad daylight became an irresponsible scenario. In all fairness, she couldn’t put all the blame on Max. He may have started the flirtation, but he was obviously a lot more worldly than she was. She’d been a fool to think she could outsmart him. Besides, it took two people to get into a situation like this.

      The problem was that DeeDee had talked so much about Max and how much they had in common, Kelly had turned her off. Now that she realized Max was the sexiest man she’d ever met up with, maybe she should have listened to her friend.

      She already had a controlling father and two older brothers who insisted on looking after her. The last thing she needed was another man in her life. Even one like Max.

      Another unhappy thought hit her. The O’Rourkes were a large extended and prolific Irish family. She had an army of cousins, most of them male, and had been around them often enough to have heard enough stories that had made her blush. What if she’d gotten pregnant after last night?

      “Something wrong?”

      “Maybe,” Kelly whispered. She bit her lip as one unhappy thought led to another. How do you ask a man if he’d used protection last night? “Did you, er…” She took a deep breath and plunged into deep waters. “Did you use protection last night?”

      Max swallowed hard. If he’d actually thought Kelly was his wife, maybe not. On the other hand, maybe yes. He had had a condom in his wallet. “Yes. I don’t think I could have been that irresponsible,” he replied frankly. He made a mental note to check his wallet as soon as he was alone.

      Before they could pursue the subject, there was a knock on the door.

      “Who’s that?” Kelly whispered, looking around for cover. “I can’t let anyone find me here.”

      “Maybe if we don’t answer, they’ll think we’re still asleep and go away,” Max said under his breath. He put a finger to his lips.

      The knock sounded again, this time louder.

      “No such luck,” Max muttered. “I guess we’ll never know who it is unless I answer the door.” He had a bare leg out from under the covers when he realized he couldn’t reach his clothes. The fact that they were in a tangled mess on the floor surprised him. He was normally an organized man, a man who never gave in to impulse. Something had happened last night to change him.

      “Maybe you’d better close your eyes for a minute.”

      “I will not!”

      He raised his eyebrows in a sardonic question and pointed to the jumble of clothing. “My clothes are down there.”

      Kelly moaned and slid under the blankets.

      Max dashed for his trousers, put them on and made for the door before some lunatic broke it down. “Who’s there?”

      “Reggie Bennett, the assistant manager of the hotel, sir. You and Mrs. Taylor checked in too late last night to receive the usual amenities that come with the bridal suite. I have them for you now.”

      Max felt himself blanch as he shrugged into his shirt and shoes. Mrs. Taylor? Bridal suite? So, last night hadn’t entirely been a dream. Like it or not, he had married Kelly.

      Max groaned. He was a man who enjoyed the company of women, but marriage had been the farthest thing from his mind. And the last thing on his carefully plotted life’s agenda.

      He took a deep breath. Even with those disturbing memories of a marriage ceremony, he wasn’t exactly ready to believe this marriage business. If he’d gotten married, surely he would have had to have had a marriage license and a marriage certificate, wouldn’t he?

      After making sure Kelly couldn’t be seen from the door, he held it open a crack. The assistant manager met his gaze with a broad smile. “Our apologies, sir. The management of the Majestic Hotel would like to correct our unfortunate oversight.”

      Oversight? Max’s heart plummeted when he realized daylight was shining through the shuttered windows. Somehow, he’d misplaced a large chunk of the day. And, in the interim, he must have somehow acquired a bride and, heaven help him, consummated the marriage.

      “May we come in now?”

      Max took another look behind him before he opened the outer door. A room-service waiter rolled in a linen-covered cart and positioned two chairs next to it.

      Entranced, СКАЧАТЬ