Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager / The Oilman’s Baby Bargain: Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager. Michelle Celmer
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“Wow, you look great. Too good for Tasty’s.” Kevin toured her body up and down leisurely, and Cara knew a moment of satisfaction.
She’d tried on the dresses she’d picked up today, but decided instead on a pair of formfitting, black pants, very high black heels and a white, flowing, off-the-shoulder blouse belted at the waist with a gold-and-black twist rope. “Stop right there if you think you’re gonna weasel your way out of taking me to Tasty’s.”
“Okay,” Kevin said with a teasing twist of his lips. “If I have to. Are you ready to go or do you want to invite me in?”
He peeked over her shoulder and into her hotel room. His gaze focused on her king-size bed. Cara wasn’t about to let him in. Her husband was a dangerous man and she’d never been able to resist him when he smiled and spoke with charm.
Kevin still had a perfect body, broad of shoulder and slightly muscular, enough to show his strength without overkill. Four years hadn’t changed that. His grooming was impeccable, and darn if he didn’t look like he belonged on the cover of GQ.
Right now, his blue eyes gleamed with the kind of mischief that could get them both into deep trouble. She shoved at his chest lightly and pushed him out the door. “I’m ready for a burger.”
Kevin took her hand from his chest and entwined their fingers. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “And I’m ready for dessert. It’s been a long time, Cara. I need to satisfy my craving.”
Chapter Four
Kevin helped Car a into his jet-black Jaguar, and then got in and started the engine. His Jag roared to life. All that power at his fingertips at one time had been a big turn-on. But now, Kevin looked across the seat to find his wife sitting beside him and he couldn’t think of a bigger turn-on. Cara, dressed for a casual date with him in her classy style, took his breath away.
He gritted his teeth with determination. He wasn’t going to make it easy for her to walk away from their marriage. Damn her, anyway. She’d been the primary reason he’d worked sixteen hours a day. She’d come from wealth, and his pride wouldn’t allow her to climb down that ladder to marry someone who couldn’t provide her the same sort of elevated life-style.
The success he’d achieved had been for her and for their marriage. But her patience had run out and she’d followed suit. He’d never forgive her for leaving him high and dry. The humiliation he’d suffered alone was reason enough for this retaliation. But it was more than that. He’d loved Cara. Really loved her. And she’d destroyed that love.
Cara glanced his way with a quizzical look. “You’re quiet.”
“It’s been a long day.”
Kevin snapped on the CD player and smiled. “Oldies, to get us in the mood.”
Elvis came on and Cara turned up the volume to “All Shook Up.” She knew all the words and sang along with the music. Her toes tapped in rhythm and she swayed her body back and forth. Graceful and elegant, Cara knew how to move.
He’d been resentful when he’d learned about her success with Dancing Lights, somehow seeing the studio as his competition. She’d moved from him to bigger things. Yet, from a purely professional standpoint, he secretly admired her acumen. She hadn’t used her family’s money for the start-up of her enterprise, but instead had taken out small-business bank loans to fund the studios. Now she was willing to end their marriage to expand her business.
Kevin pushed those bitter thoughts out of his mind. He was on a mission and couldn’t forget his game plan.
By the time they reached Tasty’s, his spirits had lifted and he grabbed Cara’s hand as they bounded up the steps to the fifties diner. They sat in a redvinyl corner booth and ordered cherry Cokes and Tasty Burgers.
The dated chrome jukebox stood in the opposite corner next to the long Formica lunch counter, and mini-jukeboxes anchored each booth. “Pick some songs,” Kevin said as he put two quarters in.
They both leaned in close to view the playlist. “Oh, look. They have one-hit wonders! ‘Pretty Little Angel Eyes’ was one of my favorites.” Cara punched in its number, along with a few other obscure songs from the past.
“What do you suppose happened to these artists?” she asked, her expression thoughtful.
He shrugged. “They tried and failed. They probably went on to lead productive lives in some other field.”
Cara nodded. “One would hope. It’d be a shame not to do what you love to do, though.”
“Most people don’t, Cara. Most don’t enjoy the work they do. They simply have to do it to survive.”
Cara’s sky-blue eyes softened. “I feel extremely lucky that I found something I love to do.”
Kevin searched her expression for any sign of regret and found none. It irked him that she could dismiss their marriage so easily. “You were always good at everything you attempted.”
“Thank you,” she said. She sent him a smile that flattened quickly.
“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked, curious about her change of expression.
She shook her head and looked down at the tabletop. “Nothing.”
“Something,” he prodded.
She lifted her shoulders. “It’s just that, at times, I think I failed as…a wife.”
Floored by her admission, Kevin furrowed his brow. “Why?”
Emotions surfaced on her face and her eyes narrowed with pain. “I don’t know. Maybe because nothing I said or did kept you at home.”
Kevin leaned way back in his seat and studied her.
She continued. “My mother had the same issue with my dad. He was never home. Always working, until the day he died. You know he died of a heart attack. Fell facedown on his desk at the office.” Cara looked up for a second, holding back tears. “My mother said he died doing what he loved best.”
Anger bubbled in his gut. Cara had it all wrong if she was comparing her father to him. Their situations were entirely different. Cara’s father had had more wealth than he knew what to do with, while Kevin had had nothing and worked hard to bring their life up to a certain standard of living. He’d been determined to make his first million by age twenty-five.
For Cara.
Always for Cara.
“You think I didn’t love you enough?” Kevin asked. “That I wasn’t home because I wasn’t…what? Happy with you? Or because I found you lacking in some way?”
Cara shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, Kevin.”
They’d had this argument before, but never with so much raw honesty. “I say it does—”
“Hey, Novak.” Lance walked in with Darius and both strode to their table. Kevin winced. He needed them here like a hole in the head.
Lance ignored Kevin and nearly lifted Cara out of her seat to give her a bear hug. “My God, you look great! It’s good to see you, Cara.”
“Same here, Lance.”
Darius moved in and gave Cara a hug, too, his low, easy voice greeting her. “You have brightened my day, woman.”
“Hi, Darius. How have you been?”
“I’ve got no complaints.”
Cara beamed seeing the two and, without invitation, both Lance and Darius took a seat, cramming Cara and Kevin into the booth. Kevin sat back and listened as Cara and his friends caught up on their lives.
The interruption actually was more beneficial than he’d originally thought, since it had lifted Cara’s mood. They’d gotten way off course with the discussion earlier and Kevin fully