Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager / The Oilman’s Baby Bargain: Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager. Michelle Celmer
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herself fully, devouring obscene, hot-fudge cake while enjoying Kevin and his friends. She’d missed their friendship and remembered how much fun they’d all had in college. At the time, Kevin was the only one of the three men in a serious relationship. Now, the opposite was true. Lance had Kate, and Darius had Summer, while she and Kevin teetered on the edge of a divorce.
“They haven’t changed much.” Cara smiled, feeling melancholy on the drive back to her hotel.
“Those clowns? They’ll never change.” Kevin grinned.
When he stopped at a red light, he glanced at her, then leaned over to wipe a smudge of hot fudge from her bottom lip. “You’re messy.”
“Am not.”
Kevin licked the hot fudge from his thumb, making Cara squirm a little in her seat. His gaze focused on her mouth, and erotic thoughts entered her head.
“Oh, no?” Kevin’s voice went low and deep. “Then why do I have to clean you up?”
Puzzled, Cara squinted. “You don’t have to—”
“Yeah, I do.” He leaned in farther to cup her head in his hand and slanted his mouth over hers, his tongue doing a thorough swipe over her lips. Cara relished the liberties he took with her, enjoying every second of the kiss. When she began to kiss him back, savoring the moment, the car behind them honked.
“Darn it,” Kevin said, moving away. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the car behind them. “Hold your horses, buddy.” Kevin straightened in his seat and drove out of the intersection.
Cara’s chuckle had him turning her way.
“What’s so funny?”
“You haven’t changed your driving habits. Still arguing with everyone on the road.”
His eyes twinkled. “Idiots. All of them.” When he looked at Cara, a deep, rumbling laugh emerged.
“All of them but you, right?”
“You got that right, babe.” His charming grin unnerved her.
Cara settled in her seat, still smoldering from that one red-light kiss and feeling light of heart at the same time. Kevin and chocolate had that effect on her.
Memories flooded her senses of all the silly, lighthearted moments they had shared during their courtship. Kevin had been entertaining and easy to be with. He’d been irresistible, too, and Cara found that tonight, all those traits that made up the man she’d loved had surfaced.
Kevin reached for her hand. “It’s early and a beautiful night. Want to take a walk?”
Cara didn’t hesitate. She’d enjoyed the evening and didn’t want it to end. “I’d like that.”
Kevin squeezed her hand and nodded. “I know just the place.”
Cara leaned back in her seat, trusting Kevin to entertain her. He’d been doing a good job of it since she’d arrived back in Houston. Though their marriage was over, this short time together would help them heal from wounds inflicted years earlier. Maybe this was the salve they needed to repair their injuries so they could move on with their lives.
Whatever the reason for her carefree mood, Cara wouldn’t analyze it too deeply. She was on vacation from life at the moment, a small black hole in time where she and her soon-to-be-ex husband could enjoy each other’s company without repercussions.
She’d forget his blackmail for the time being, shoving his motives out of her head. In less than two weeks she’d be back in Dallas, planning her new studio design, doing what she loved doing.
Kevin stopped the car on a dirt road that overlooked Somerset Lake. Brilliant moonlit waters glistened with sapphire illumination. Kevin got out of the car and opened the door for her.
The air felt heavy and warm, typical for a summer Texas night. Crickets chirped on and off and, in the space of quiet, the gentlest rippling of waves could be heard.
Cara swallowed hard as she took in the view. This was the place they’d come with all their friends, to have picnics and bonfires during the summer. This was their place, the spot right beyond the picnic tables, where she and Kevin had first admitted their love for one another.
Cara took Kevin’s offered hand and followed him down a dusky, bluebonnet-laden path that led to the water. She took each step with care. She hated trampling on the flowers.
“You’re not going to hurt them, babe. They look delicate, but they’re resilient.”
Cara had heard that from Kevin before, in much the same way, but not about bluebonnets. He’d spoken those words about her when they’d had arguments about his workaholic tendencies.
You look delicate, but I know you’re resilient.
Apparently, he hadn’t thought she could be hurt. Yet even the most durable of flowers had a breaking point.
“Why take the chance?” she said softly. When Kevin glanced at her, she shrugged. “I don’t want to destroy them.”
Kevin let the comment go and Cara doubted he caught her true meaning.
“Remember this place?” he asked.
“How could I not? We came here almost every weekend in the summer.”
“That was some summer, wasn’t it?”
She knew he meant the summer when they’d fallen in love. They’d been inseparable. She nodded slowly and held his hand as they walked along the lakeshore.
“Tell me what happened after you left Somerset.”
Cara took a long, slow breath. A cricket chirped a few times, before she was able to formulate the words. “I…It was hard, Kevin. The hardest time of my life.”
Kevin remained silent. He gazed ahead, refusing to look into her eyes.
“When I decided to start Dancing Lights, my whole world opened up again.”
Kevin’s mouth twisted, though he tried very hard to conceal his angst.
Cara didn’t want to spoil the evening by talking about a sore subject. “I’m sorry, but you asked.”
They walked along the little cove and reached a clearing by another group of redwood picnic benches.
“Care to show me a thing or two about dancing? You know I have two left feet.”
“Here? There’s no music. And you don’t have two left feet. As I recall, you have some pretty good moves.”
Kevin grinned with mischief. He clamped his hands on her waist and pulled her against him. “As I recall, you liked all my moves.”
Cara gasped, immersed in the gleam of his dark blue eyes.
“But I’m talking about dance moves, babe. I could use a refresher, since I’m inviting you to Lance and Kate’s wedding reception at the club. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you with my lackluster dance steps.”
Cara blinked in surprise. She couldn’t go to Lance’s reception with Kevin. It was one thing to see him for a few casual dates privately, but being on his arm at a formal affair would give the wrong impression and make her dream things she had no right dreaming. “You won’t have to. I can’t go.”
“How do you know? I haven’t told you the date yet.”
“Because,” Cara said, stepping away from him to look at the calm waters for comfort. Weddings always made her sentimental and she already had enough to deal with. She didn’t need a reminder of their utter failure. “It’s just that I think—”
“Shh, you think too much,” Kevin said softly, searching her eyes. “You’re so beautiful in moonlight, Cara.” He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
Her insides