Wyoming Promise by Anna J. Stewart

Author:Anna J. Stewart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-05-06T15:31:32+00:00

* * *

BACK IN THEIR CABIN, Corliss tossed her suitcase on the bed and flipped it open. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes before Hadley comes to drag me to the main lodge to sleep tonight. Let’s work out the details.” She couldn’t remember the last time her heart had beat this fast. Or she’d felt so out of breath.

“Fifteen minutes to figure out the rest of our lives. Sure. What could go wrong?” He moved into the bedroom, stepped aside as she danced around him. “Corliss, this is bigger than just you and me. Getting married, it affects everyone we care about. Olivia, Mason, Denny, your family—”

“We’ll make it work, Ryder. The way we’ve done everything. Together.” She needed to keep moving, because when she stopped moving, she’d start thinking and that could very well lead to her realizing Ryder was right. This was one big mistake.

“Corliss, stop.” He grabbed her arms. “I am not going to lie to my daughter. I know you think this is a harmless fib to get her here, but what happens next? What happens when Whitlock and Vivian come out here to check on her? Because they will. No doubt sooner than later. What happens when we get back to Wyoming and annul this thing?”

There it was. The buzzing in her brain she’d been trying to avoid listening to. “Okay, so we stay married.” Even she winced at the casual statement. “I’m not saying we stay married forever, just long enough for things to settle down.”

“And what happens when Olivia becomes attached to you? To Mason and your family? What happens when we end the charade and disrupt her life? Again.”

“You’re acting as if this is going to take years to resolve, Ryder. It’s a few months max. Between school and chores and everything else she’ll have going on, there won’t be time for her to—”

“She’s already attached to you, Corliss. Or didn’t you hear that in her voice? She’s already lost one mother. I don’t want her losing another.”

Corliss swallowed her next words; the ones that admitted she already cared for his daughter more than he was clearly comfortable with. “She will never lose me as a friend. Look, I don’t have all the answers,” she said. “But if we don’t get married and that stability your in-laws want for her isn’t waiting for Olivia when she arrives, I may as well drive you to the airport now so you can take that security job Whitlock got you.”

Ryder huffed out a breath, a sign she had almost convinced him.

“You, we are out of options, Ryder.” She tugged free of his hold and sat on the edge of her bed. Was the idea of marrying her so concerning he was willing to jeopardize bringing his daughter home? “Marrying me, even for a while, is the price you pay for seeing your daughter again. Is that idea really so bad?”

“Of course, it isn’t.” The snap in his voice shocked her. “If anything, marrying you is the only thing about this wild plan that makes some sense.

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