The Unlikely Groom by Wendy Douglas

Author:Wendy Douglas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Lucas had made a mistake—and a damn big one. He could no longer pretend it wasn’t true. Worse, he was going to have a hell of a lot harder time getting himself back out of this mess than he had getting into it.

He lounged at the same table where he sat every damn day and pretended to stare at the various scrapes and gouges and other marks that scarred the wooden tabletop. He’d memorized them long ago, but the pretense allowed him to slant a series of careful glances around the room. He could easily retreat behind the fan of his lashes so that no one—and most especially Candy—would know where he looked.

Thank God, Ashlynne had retired for the night. He didn’t want to have to worry about her—though any idea of why she should concern him remained elusive. She had all but ignored him for the past few days, ever since he’d confronted her about her walking alone. He’d kept himself busy enough with Candy, which had seemed like the perfect solution to his dilemma of driving Ashlynne from his thoughts—and dreams. It had worked, too, though not quite in the way that he had hoped. Oregon Charlie had left Skagway to wait out the rest of the winter in Sheep Camp. He wanted Candy or no woman, he’d claimed, and she’d bid him goodbye without the blink of an eye. Lucas, on the other hand, hadn’t forgotten Ashlynne for a moment.

There had been another weakness to his plan that Lucas hadn’t considered and now it was too late. He’d spent more time with Candy than he’d ever meant to, and that had worked to encourage the appearance of a closeness that he’d never intended. She’d shown a perception he’d never expected from her, almost seeming to recognize the ambivalence he usually tried to hide with women. He disguised it by flirting, even allowing a certain amount of physical closeness when others— Candy—had pushed for more. But this time, she’d always let him go whenever he pulled back. Even when that meant she went home alone at night.

He hadn’t gone back to her room with her and he hadn’t taken her upstairs, either.

He’d meant to; he’d told himself that he wanted to. Nor did he doubt that Candy wanted more, as well, even if she hadn’t insisted. She’d never hidden her desire from him and he had to admit that that had soothed something very male within him—pride or ego or some other such useless emotion. His every look, every kiss, every caress had made promises that he’d told himself he would keep. Each morning he decided that today would be the day, tonight the night.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Her kisses left him cold and her touch did nothing to arouse him. The overpowering stench of her favorite rosewater had begun to turn his stomach and she was just too damn forward. Simply put, he didn’t want to be with her.

“So what the hell do you want?” he muttered to himself, though not expecting much by way of a reply.

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