“Married?”
She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Because there was no way in hell she’d marry anyone right now, especially Nolan.
“My attorney said if you were married, that would be another bonus for our side.”
Our side?
He explained this as if they were discussing a side order at a fast-food restaurant. How could he be so calm? This wasn’t some joke or a test-drive on a car. This was real life—her life. There was a baby involved and Pepper refused to bring a child into such an unsteady world.
“I’m not marrying you.” She turned back to her receipts, not that she could think about her sales right now, but she needed something to do with her hands. “And if that’s the only way your lawyer thinks we can win, then I’ll seek my own legal representation.”
Nolan’s hand covered hers. The strength, the warmth, that familiar touch had Pepper closing her eyes. These pregnancy hormones were already out of control, and adding a dose of this potent man was not helping.
Those devastatingly attractive good looks aside, he seemed hell-bent on helping her. How could she let him get close to her again? She didn’t trust him. But more than that, her body still responded when he was around and getting in deeper with him now was a chance she didn’t think she could take.
Was he aiding only out of guilt?
Honestly, at this point, she’d take his guilt and help if it meant holding on to custody of her baby. Money was one thing, but...marriage?
“Listen to me.” Nolan’s low, matter-of-fact tone demanded she hear him out. “I know the irony of this is hurtful, but if we show we’re married, that we are making a life for this baby, it will look better in court.”
Pepper stared at his large hand on top of hers. “I don’t want to go to court. I don’t want to be in this position at all.” She tilted her head to glance at him out of the corner of her eye. “I want to get my business growing, have my baby and be left alone.”
Beneath that black hat, Nolan’s sharp blue eyes held her in place. “Sounds like a lonely life.”
“Maybe being lonely is what I’m after,” she countered with more bite to her tone than she’d intended.
She pulled in a deep breath, instantly filling her nostrils with his masculine, woodsy cologne or aftershave or just plain Nolan. He didn’t smell like he’d worked on a ranch most of the day. He smelled amazing and Pepper was having a difficult time concentrating. Her traitorous heart beat wildly in her chest. He stood so close, smelled too tempting, and that touch was all too familiar.
Pepper sighed. She wanted to be angry with Nolan for the rest of her life, but she had grown since she’d left. If she gave in to this physical attraction now, she’d be going backward. She’d come so far during their time apart, but she was having trouble differentiating what she should do from what she wanted to do.
“The Wrights are going to come after you with everything,” he added. “There’s no way to sugarcoat this. They’re going to look at your background, your work ethic, your finances, your boyfriends... Everything in your life will be used against you. Let’s cut them off before they gain any momentum and perhaps they’ll back off.”
Pepper eased around, her swollen belly brushing against his taut abs. “Why are you doing this? What’s in it for you?”
Nolan stared back at her, completely void of emotion. She wanted to know his angle, to understand what he was thinking, but as always, he was holding everything inside.
With no more energy for a verbal battle, Pepper gathered her receipts together and shoved them all into her bank bag. She’d look at them later.
“I’m not marrying you.”
As she started to move around him, he grabbed her elbow. That firm grip sent a burst of arousal rushing through her. One touch, that was all it took. How did he do that?
Pepper refused to meet his gaze. Having him this close and constantly touching her that way was too much to deal with on top of everything else.
“Don’t do this,” she whispered.
“I’m not giving up, Pepper. You need me, whether you want to admit it or not. The marriage would be temporary, long enough to untangle you from this mess. We’ll get an annulment after.”
Meaning they wouldn’t consummate their marriage. Wow, this proposal just got more and more romantic. Her heart was all aflutter.
“I won’t be married to a man who has girlfriends on the side to appease him.”
Nolan’s eyes dropped to her lips. “I’m more than happy to let you appease me, but that would put a damper on our annulment.”
Pepper didn’t want her body to tremble at the picture he painted. She knew all too well what an amazing lover Nolan was. And he was trying to wear her down. If she wasn’t careful, he’d succeed.
“We’re not getting married, so that puts a damper on this annulment.”
She slid from his grasp and headed into the back room. She’d never gotten around to that painting she wanted to start earlier. Her blank canvas stared at her, just waiting for her to transform it. She could really use the stress reliever, but right now she didn’t have the time or the energy.
All day she’d wondered where she would stay tonight. She could technically sleep in her bedroom upstairs. The damage was mostly contained to the living room and kitchen. But it still smelled like smoke and she shouldn’t be inhaling that.
“You know this is the only way.”
Pepper cringed as Nolan followed her. “I’m sure I can think of something.”
There had to be a plan B. She refused to believe otherwise. What kind of example would she set for her child if she perpetually depended on someone else to help her out of a bind?
“Is that so?”
His smug tone had her stilling, but she kept her back to him.
“Because if you marry me, you’ll have that much more leverage over them. We have a past, so nobody will think it’s a lie. You have nowhere to go, Pepper, and you know firsthand that my home is more than large enough. You never have to see me.”
But she wanted to. Even after all this time, with all that remained between them, she wanted to see him. She had that damn flutter whenever he was around. He captivated her on a deeper scale than before, despite all the alarm bells clamoring in her head.
“As I mentioned before, I’m at the hospital most days,” he went on. “Come home with me and we’ll sort it all out.”
Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose as resignation sank in. She was out of options and knew it was pointless to keep fighting the inevitable. “I’ll come home with you—for now—but no more talk of marriage.”
She turned to face him, realizing he was so much closer than she’d thought, she lost her balance as she tried to step back. He reached out to steady her, clasping her arm with one hand and molding his other hand over her rounded belly. That instinct to protect her and her child warmed the area in her heart he’d left so cold, so broken.
How did she resist these feelings when he kept trying to infiltrate her defenses?
“I’ll drive you,” he rasped, still holding on to her. “First we’re going to stop and buy you some clothes and whatever else you need.”
“I don’t need clothes. I have a few things upstairs—just let me grab them.”
Nolan shook his head and drew his hands away. “They smell like smoke. This is nonnegotiable.”
Pepper glared at him. “I’m not about to be bullied into anything, not by you and not by the Wrights.”
The edge of Nolan’s mouth quirked into a half grin. Damn if that wasn’t sexy with the combination of those cobalt eyes and dark lashes.
“Good,” he replied smoothly. “I’d hate to think you were letting people walk all over you.”
Pepper couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Oh, please. Like you don’t love this power trip you’re getting by backing me into a corner. I’m not the same girl you hurt, Nolan. Nothing will happen between us ever again, no matter if I’m under your roof or not.”
That smirk turned into a full-fledged smile. Damn him. Something inside her shifted—maybe it was pregnancy hormones or maybe she’d just gone mad. Regardless, Pepper was going to take full advantage of this opportunity. She’d lost so much, too much, and if Nolan was determined to help, then she’d take it. On her terms...which meant she may have to ignore her fears and give in to this preposterous marriage plan.
“But I’m willing to discuss some arrangements,” she added, playing this out through her mind as the plan molded together. “You’re paying the contractor for the renovations, which we agreed on, but I also know you’re going overboard and not just putting things back the way they were.”
Nolan merely nodded and remained quiet...still with that smug grin and mesmerizing gaze boring into her beneath his Stetson.
“And I’m sure you have your attorney pushing everything aside to help me with this case, which I appreciate.” Guilt was a powerful tool. Pepper didn’t like to play games, but if he thought this would somehow vindicate his actions, then she’d let him. “I’ll live in your house. I’ll marry you in name only. We won’t sleep in the same room. We won’t consummate the marriage.”
The muscles in his jaw tensed and his lips thinned, but he finally said, “Fine.”
“And you’ll not be buying flowers for any more cute little nurses or any other woman. This marriage may be temporary and for pretenses only, but I won’t have you unfaithful. The last thing I’d need is for word to get out that you’re cheating on me.”
He never took his eyes off her. Pepper wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but if he truly wanted to help her, this was how he could do it.
“I already proposed something similar,” he stated as he took a half step forward until he came toe-to-toe with her. “But I’m not sure you’ll be able to stay with me and hold up your end of the deal with not consummating the marriage.”
When he leaned closer to her ear, Pepper’s breath seized in her chest.
“You remember exactly how it used to be,” he whispered roughly. “And you’ll start to wonder what we’d be like together now. Are you sure you can be in the bed so close to mine and not slip down the hall in the middle of the night?”
Pepper shut her eyes, imagining just that. It would be so easy to give in to this attraction, because she couldn’t deny that physically she wanted him. Those weren’t old feelings, either. Nolan Elliott was one sexy doctor, cowboy, knight to the rescue...even though his armor was tarnished.
Regardless, she would have this marriage annulled. Therefore, they had to keep their clothes on and their hands off each other. There was too much at stake to let sex screw things up. The entire situation was going to take a giant leap of faith on her part because if she didn’t keep her heart guarded, she feared how she would be at the end of this farce of a marriage.
Pulling in every ounce of strength and courage she possessed, Pepper backed up until she bumped into the table her easel sat on. Straightening her shoulders, she stared directly at him, refusing to be intimidated by that intense blue gaze.
“The marriage will be quiet, at the courthouse and only temporary. As soon as this case is cleared up, you and I will get this annulled just as quietly. I’m only agreeing to this because my baby comes first and I need my life to be secure before I bring her home.”
“Her?”
Pepper shrugged. “I actually have an appointment with a new obstetrician next week and I’ll be finding out the sex. Don’t get distracted. This baby is not your concern—you made it clear a long time ago that you didn’t want that family life.”
“As long as you’re in my house and married to me, you’re both equally my concern.”
Pepper hated that she was accepting his charity, because that was what it boiled down to. But she had to be realistic. She’d used all of her funds from Matt to open Painted Pansies. Thankfully the building had already been in her family. Still, she’d had to pay for new flooring, lighting and decor, and all the start-up costs that went into a brand-new business.
Acceding to the inevitable, Pepper smoothed her hair behind her ears and stared up at Nolan. “So, when are we getting married?”