The Maverick Meets His Match (Hearts of Wyoming Book 2)(30)
Libby patted her barely round stomach. “I can understand that now.”
“But I don’t have a child—not that I don’t want one but…my mother may be right about my marriage prospects. I seem to scare men away. Maybe I should just let Ty take the company, sell it if he finds a buyer, and take the money and start running the ranch for a living.” Life would be easier if she could convince herself not to care.
Cat snorted. “There is no money in ranching, let me tell you. And it’s damn hard work. Sometimes I question what I’m doing trying to keep it, considering I know next to nothing about running a ranch because no one ever thought enough of me to teach me.”
“Truth is, I know and love rodeo, not ranching. They are two different animals—literally.”
“I think you have your answer,” Libby said. “And worst case, you’ll have a little fun while you’re saving your company.”
Mandy grimaced. “That’s what my mother said.”
Chapter 7
Mandy waited outside the door of Brian’s office, her heart pummeling her rib cage. She was really going to do this? It was still a question. She glanced at her mother, who stood with Harold, watching her as if she were a horse ready to bolt. A realistic fear given how she felt.
“Honey, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” Her mother was dressed in a stylish lilac sheath. “I know I was encouraging you, but now that you’ve decided, I’m having second thoughts myself. What was JM thinking, Harold?”
Harold shook his Stetsoned head. For the occasion, he’d donned the same dark suit he’d worn to JM’s funeral, probably the only suit he owned. “Damned if I know. This is the darnedest thing I’ve ever heard of. Sounds like something out of the Middle Ages. Ty’s all right, I guess, but why JM wanted you to marry him in order to run the company, I don’t understand.”
“By the way, Harold, I didn’t get a chance to say congratulations. Mom told me.”
A slow smile slid across his weathered face. “Thank you, Mandy. Guess that’s gonna make me some sort of in-law to Ty.” His expression turned determined. “I can have a word with him if you want.”
“I appreciate the offer, but it’s not like this is a real marriage. I mean, a lasting one. Six months it will all be over, and this will just be a footnote in my life.” Some footnote.
“I don’t know, honey,” Sheila said. “Marriages are supposed to be happy occasions. You look like you’re going to another funeral, not your wedding.”
Mandy straightened her shoulders and smoothed the skirt of the pastel-blue jersey dress she’d pulled from her closet. Certainly not the Cinderella dress she’d imagined for her wedding. And not the groom either.
This isn’t a real marriage.
What it was, however, had yet to be defined. An affair? An arrangement? An agreement of the personal kind? None of them sounded honorable or even decent.
An indecent proposal, concocted by, of all people, her traditional, conservative grandfather.
“I’ll be fine. It’s not like he’s evil or anything. I just don’t trust him with the company.”
Not a very flattering portrait of the man she was going to wed.
There was still time to back out.
The door opened.
“I thought I heard voices.” Brian poked his gray-haired head out of the door. “All set?” He eyed her like he too expected her to bolt. “He signed the prenup, and I gave him your signed copy.”
Mandy nodded, feeling both a sense of dread and, oddly, anticipation. “I’d like to see Ty first. Alone,” she said, looking at her mother and Harold.
“Traditionally, it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony,” Shelia said, placing a protective hand on Mandy’s forearm.
“This is hardly a traditional marriage, Mother.” And it wasn’t like her luck could get much worse.
With an accepting nod, Shelia walked through the doorway, Harold following, as Brian disappeared inside, presumably to fetch Ty.
Mandy worried her lower lip as she waited, her hands clasping and unclasping. She could still turn around and walk away.
Ty stepped out into the hallway.
He was dressed in black, with a starched white shirt. But it wasn’t an ordinary suit. Ty wore a tuxedo—and wore it well. The expert tailoring emphasized his broad shoulders, while the jacket skimmed along his torso and nipped in at his waist. The trousers fell loose and long over black shoes. A lock of dark wavy hair had settled across his brow. He looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of a bridal magazine’s photo shoot of the perfect groom.
As his gaze danced over her, the smile that spread across his face paid her a compliment like no words ever could.
But what intrigued her most was the gorgeous bouquet of flowers in his hands. Beautiful red roses, baby’s breath, and purple orchids. The sentiment behind it dried her mouth.
“You look beautiful, Mandy.” His fingers fondled a strand of her hair and then freed it to swing against her shoulder. “Stunning.”
The look of pleasure in his eyes made her believe him, made her feel, in that moment, beautiful.
“For you.” He held out the bouquet. “I know there are many things missing from this ceremony. Hell, I don’t even have a ring to give you, but I wanted you to at least have beautiful flowers.”