Millionaire Mavericks: The Oilman’s Baby Bargain. Michelle Celmer
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id="ulink_64222dd5-59bb-52ac-89d1-3bae09c780c7"> Chapter Ten
When Lexi and Mitch arrived at the Cattleman’s Club to meet her father, her goal was to get in, eat dinner, and leave as fast as humanly possible. Which was odd because in the past she had cherished every moment her father would spare her. It seemed that lately she was no longer so desperate for his time or his approval. But Mitch needed his support, so she would be on her best behavior.
“Are you ready for this?” Mitch asked, holding out his hand for her to take.
She laced her fingers through his. Another few hours of pretending they were madly in love? She could hardly wait. At least now when he touched her it didn’t feel so…unnatural. In a way it was kind of nice, even though she knew deep down that he hated her, or at the very least disliked her a lot.
“This way,” the hostess said, gesturing toward the dining room door. They followed her, and as they entered the room, it took a few seconds for Lexi to process what she was seeing. Tables full of familiar people all smiling at them, balloons and streamers everywhere and a banner draped across the back wall that announced in huge block letters, Congratulations Mitch and Lexi.
Everyone shouted, “Surprise!” and the room erupted in laughter and applause.
She heard Mitch mumble, “Oh, shit,” and thought, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Lance and Kate stood close to the door, beaming. He stepped forward and shook Mitch’s hand.
“What did you do?” Mitch asked him.
“Don’t look at me, bro. This was all Kate’s idea. I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“You had to have a wedding reception,” Kate said, flush with excitement. She hugged Mitch, then pulled Lexi into a warm and affectionate embrace, and Lexi was so stunned she almost forgot to hug her back.
“But it wasn’t just me,” Kate said, nodding toward the door. “Your assistant was a huge help.”
Lexi turned, and realized Tara was standing just off to one side of the door. She hadn’t even seen her when they walked in.
She flashed Lexi a feeble smile and said, “Surprise.”
She was the only one in the room who knew what a disaster the marriage was. No wonder she looked so apologetic.
“So, were you both surprised?” Kate asked.
Lexi nodded and Mitch said, “To quote the great Chevy Chase, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”
The room burst into laughter.
Someone handed Lexi and Mitch each a flute of champagne from a passing tray, and she realized everyone in the room already had their own glass.
Lance held his up in a toast. “To my little brother and his wife. May you live a long and happy life together!”
“Hear, hear!” everyone chanted, clinking their glasses together, and Lexi had no choice but to pretend to take a sip. As she studied the sea of faces before her, she couldn’t help noticing that the one she had been expecting to see wasn’t there. Her father.
Tara must have read her mind because she leaned close to Lexi and said, “The senator’s secretary called a while ago to say he’ll be a little late.”
Didn’t that just figure? He skips her wedding altogether and shows up late for the reception? She wondered why he bothered to show up at all. But she didn’t have much time to think about it as a constant flow of friends, relatives and club members stepped forward to hug them or shake their hands and give their best wishes. Darius Franklin and his fiancée Summer Martindale, Kevin Novak and his wife Cara, Mitch’s best man Justin Dupree. Even Sebastian Huntington and his daughter Rebecca were there. And those were just the people she recognized. She had no clue Mitch had so many friends.
A too-real wedding reception for a fake marriage. Did it get much worse? Lexi couldn’t help thinking that this just might be the longest night of her life. But as the champagne flowed and the music played, she discovered herself getting caught up in the festivities. Mitch never once left her side, and if he wasn’t holding her hand or draping an arm around her, he was touching her in some way.
Dinner was served around eight and halfway through the meal, Kate started to clink her glass with a fork, and then everyone joined in. Lexi had been to enough wedding receptions to know that it meant she and Mitch were supposed to kiss.
Mitch looked at her apologetically because he knew as well as she did that they had to make this look real. She held her breath as he cradled her face in his hand, leaned forward and laid a kiss on her that curled her toes and turned her brain to mush. The guests applauded, and she heard a couple of wolf whistles. After that, it seemed as though every five minutes the clinking started, and Mitch would be forced to kiss her yet again. Not that he seemed to mind, and she couldn’t deny the man did fantastic things with his mouth.
He’d had several glasses of champagne with dinner, then after dessert, switched to whiskey. The more he drank, the more relaxed he became, and the more relaxed he became, the more affectionate he seemed to be. By the time they had their first dance together, he nearly had her convinced they were madly in love. The song playing was a slow one and he pulled her so close, gazed so tenderly into her eyes, she thought any minute he might drag her to the nearest broom closet.
“When we walked in here I thought this night was going to be a disaster,” he said. “But I have to admit, it hasn’t been so bad.”
She’d thought the same thing, but she was actually having a great time.
“You might have to drive us home tonight,” he warned her. “I think I may have had a few too many.”
That could be a problem. “I can’t.”
He frowned. “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“Of course not! What I mean is, I really can’t. I never learned how to drive.”
His eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
She shook her head.
“Let me guess. Your father wouldn’t allow it.”
“It would have made it more difficult to keep me under his thumb. I had a driver who took me wherever I needed to go.”
Mitch shook his head in disgust. “No offense, but the more I learn about the senator, the less I like him.”
His irritation stunned her, but she realized it was a nice change to have someone to defend her. “I can ask Tara to drive us.”
“I’ll call a car,” he said. “And the first chance we get, I’m teaching you to drive.”
“Seriously?” First cooking lessons, now driving? He was being almost too nice and understanding. Probably tomorrow, when he was sober, he would come to his senses and change his mind.
“Speak of the devil,” Mitch said, gesturing toward the door with his chin.
She turned and saw that her father had arrived. He was watching Lexi and Mitch dance, and he didn’t look happy.
“Is it my imagination,” Mitch asked, “or does he look really pissed off?”
“It’s not your imagination.” She couldn’t help wondering what she’d done this time, because when he looked like that, it was usually her fault. “I should go talk to him.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“Maybe you’d better give us a few minutes alone.” The last thing she needed was for her father to berate her in front of her husband. Not that she thought it was possible for Mitch to have a lower opinion of her than he already did, but why take a chance?
She crossed