Bethany, on the other hand, just wanted her kid back.
“She’s my fiancée now, Garrett, and in a few days, my wife. Not his,” he growled then.
His chest swelled with unexpected possessiveness at the thought.
Tonight she’d stood tall, and Landon felt damned proud of the way she’d held up during the photo session.
She’d smiled, she’d acted with class and style, and the kiss she’d delivered had been so scorching, so real, she’d left him hot and bothered and eager to stake his claim on her once and for all.
In the quiet moonlight as she chatted with Kate, Beth’s face had lost its paleness and her cheeks now glowed a soft pink. She looked so pretty he worried it would…haunt him.
“You’re determined to go through with the wedding.”
“Yes,” he said, emphatic.
“Why?”
He’d asked himself a dozen times. Why did he want to marry her?
Because she made him want revenge…because he never tired of staring into her blue, blue eyes…because there was something about Bethany, plain and simple as he’d thought she was, that just got to him. And every minute was getting to him more.
“She deserves better than this, Garrett,” he said, honestly. Better than loneliness, lies and Halifax.
Across a handful of shoulders, he watched Bethany push a wheaten strand of hair behind her ear… “Christ, she’s so sexy.” He dropped his head back in exasperation, closing his eyes for a second. “She’ll be sleeping sixteen steps away from my bedroom door starting tonight—I doubt I’ll sleep an hour.”
Garrett burst out laughing, then pounded Landon’s back with one hand. “So, what are you going to do about it?” he asked.
Patience, Landon thought. Cold showers and more patience.
“You’ve never romanced a single woman in your life. They all came to you, just like Beth did.”
“Obviously, Bethany’s different.” She didn’t want him. Did she? She needed time.
She was a woman rediscovering herself, taking her first steady steps to seize the things she wanted. And Landon needed, had to make sure, that those steps lead her to him.
He caught her watching from afar, her eyes shining with excitement. Then she gave him one of those shy, we’ve-got-them smiles.
Slowly, he returned it. While he did, his heart boomed loudly, his blood stirred, and his mind was pulled in all kinds of directions which led to the same end.
Beth, in bed, with Landon.
“You know what I think?” Garrett offered, though God knows Landon hadn’t asked for his opinion. “I think you’re falling.”
Landon grimly shook his head.
“You’re falling.”
He tipped his glass up to his lips, but when no liquid came forth, he snatched a new glass from a passing waiter. “Negative, little brother. I’m merely interested.”
He thought of the torment of romancing her, night after night, watching her defenses crack, one by one, and his insides turned to fire. Yes. He’d do it gradually, so methodically she wouldn’t even realize how fiercely he wanted her….
“You’re not seducing her already, and that’s not like you. Why isn’t she in your bed? I’m telling you. You’re falling.”
“Garrett?”
Garrett continued to nod direly. “Falling big-time, bro.”
“Shut up, moron.”
But his brother had a point here, a very valid point.
If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for his own fake wife before he’d even bedded her.
Seven
Score one point for the avengers.
And zero for the pig.
Beth was humming the next morning, she was so pleased about last night.
She hummed during her shower, she hummed as she brushed her hair, she hummed as she selected the shoes she would wear—a pair of classic Mary Janes—and mentally planned all the test recipes she would be posting on Kate’s new website.
Kate had mentioned wanting to expand her catering business, create a blog, menus, an online site. Last night Beth had asked Landon to borrow one of his computers and had delved into the task with the sight of being able to do something from home, when she regained custody of David.
So Beth had stayed up late last night, inspired and invigorated, because things were changing.
More than just her residence had changed.
Beth was different. She was taking charge of her life—she was getting David back.
And this time, she was going to keep him forever.
Landon, however, was not humming when she spotted him downstairs. He was on the phone, his tone crisp.
“In an hour. At the office. Right. I want him on the job starting today.”
He hung up. Beth said, “Good morning.”
She went to the coffeemaker on the buffet table, scooping grounds into a basket. Then assessed him from the corner of her eye as she waited for the coffee to start trickling.
He looked so sharp. In a black suit and tie, clean-shaven, his dark hair still damp from a recent shower and slicked back to reveal his hard-boned face. Lord, he was striking. But this morning…brooding somehow.
His hands were thrust inside his pockets, but Beth wasn’t fooled by the casualness of that pose. Upon further inspection, she realized his expression was positively morose.
Puzzled, she took a seat at a small round game table, and Landon surveyed her with slitted eyes. What was up with him today?
“Did I miss something?” she asked, frowning.
He made a noncommittal sound, as though whatever he’d been about to say couldn’t quite be said, and shook his head like the situation was dire.
His expression made Beth’s unease increase tenfold. “What?”
“Who told Halifax of the engagement party? You?”
Her hands began to shake so hard, she set down her coffee mug before she spilled it all over herself. Something tumultuous charged the air. Landon looked…enraged. “I called David, remember? You said I could invite him.”
“And who did you speak to? Hector?”
She frowned in consternation and her stomach churned uncomfortably. “Anna, the housekeeper. She’s become a nanny to him, I think. Why? Why do you have that look on your face?”
He reached for the sofa, then flung a newspaper for her to see. “The picture today in every newspaper except the Daily is not ours. It’s of Halifax.”