Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper

Chapter Thirteen

The sunlight pouredthrough my window as I woke up and stretched, grateful to be in such a luxurious, soft bed. It’d been a long time since I’d slept in a queen-sized bed. In fact, I’d never had a queen-sized bed myself and only had slept in one when I’d been dating Mikey.

I groaned as I thought about my ex-boyfriend. I should have known from the moment that I had met him that he was going to be trouble. But he was a good-looking guy and I’d been flattered by the attention, and I’d overlooked all the signs. I shook my head as I got out of bed. The last thing I wanted to do right now was think about Mikey. I had bigger things to worry about.

I debated going to the kitchen to get a coffee. I didn’t really want to venture out through the house in just shorts and a t-shirt, but I knew that it might look kind of weird if I showered and got dressed before I even went to the kitchen. I prayed that no one would be in the kitchen as I made my way along the corridor. I paused outside the door as I listened to Amelia singing.

“Early one morning, just as the sun was rising.”

“I love that song,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. Amelia paused from flipping eggs on the stove and turned round to look at me.

“Good morning, Lucy. I hope you slept well.”

“I did, thank you. The bed was very comfortable.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” said a smooth voice to the left.

Of course. Austin was already up and in the kitchen. I almost groaned out loud but forced a smile instead. “Yeah, it was great. And thanks again for taking me for ice cream last night,” I said, hoping that he wouldn’t bring up the kiss in front of his mother.

“You’re welcome. We’ll have to go again.”

“Well, maybe Beau will take me.” I looked away from him.

“That would be nice, dear, wouldn’t it?” Amelia said as if she could sense the tension. “You know, I do think that you should go on a tour of the ranch today. Maybe Beau will be able to show you around.”

“I’m sure Beau will be too busy,” Austin said dryly.

“Well, I can wait until he is ready,” I said quickly, hoping that Amelia wasn’t going to ask Austin to show me around. The last thing I needed was for him to try something when we were in the stables or something because I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him and I felt guilty about it. I was brought here to be Beau’s wife, not to flirt with his brother.

“Oh, and you’re going to get to meet Chet today,” Amelia said with a wide smile. “He’s going to be here for lunch.”

“Oh, awesome. I can’t wait to meet more of your sons.”

“Yeah. Maybe you’ll fall in love with him too,” Austin said. I just rolled my eyes.

“Now, now,” Amelia chided him. “Be nice to Lucy. I’m not going to tell you again.”

“I am nice, Mother.”

“Don’t mother me, Austin Hamilton.” She shook her head. “Now Lucy, I’m making eggs. What would you like?”

“Oh, whatever’s easiest.”

“Whatever you want, my dear. I can do fried, over medium, over easy, over hard. I can do scrambled. I can do boiled. I can do poached. I can do an omelet.”

“My mom’s the egg queen,” Austin chuckled. “Really, she’s happy to make you whatever you want.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to do that. I don’t normally have much for breakfast. Just some coffee.”

“Oh, you have to have more than coffee, dear. A young girl like you. Especially being on the ranch, you got to keep up your strength. Coffee’s not going to keep up your strength.”

“When I’m in New York, I normally just have coffee. And then for lunch, I’ll have something more substantial.”

“Well, you’re not in New York anymore,” Austin reminded me. “You’re in Montana now. You’re a country girl.”

“Well, I don’t know that I’d go that far just yet,” I said. “I’m more like a city girl in the country.”

“That sounds like one of those Hallmark movies, doesn’t it?” Amelia said with a laugh.

“Oh yeah. I guess it kind of does.” I looked over at Austin.

“Don’t look at me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I thought Hallmark made Christmas cards.”

“Oh, Austin. What do I ask you to watch with me every Christmas?”

“Crappy romance movies?”

“They’re not crappy,” I spoke up. “They’re amazing. I love Hallmark movies. I always wished my life would be like a Hallmark movie.”

“Well, it kind of is,” Amelia said with a small smile. “Just think. If your life was a Hallmark movie right now, what do you think it would be called?”

“I don’t know,” I laughed. “Crazy girl in Montana?”

“You’re not crazy, dear. No one searching for love is crazy.” She paused. “Let me think. If I was a director at Hallmark, I think I’d call your movie City Girl Looking for Romance in Montana. No, no.” She paused. “I don’t like that. Let’s see. City Girl Looking for Montana Romeo. Yes. That’s great.”

“Oh, I like it!” I laughed. “Yes, I would love to meet my Romeo.”

“Did someone say my name?” Beau walked into the kitchen with a big smile.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Good morning to you too, beautiful.” My cheeks grew hot as he gave me an appreciative once-over. “Sleep well?”

“Yes. Thank you. You?”

“Of course.” He looked over at Austin. “Hey, bro.”

“Hello,” Austin said stiffly.

“So sorry I couldn’t take you for ice cream yesterday,” Beau continued. “But maybe later this week.”

“Oh, that would be great. I’d love that very much.”

“I feel like you say that to all the men,” Austin muttered.

“Austin,” Amelia glared at him. “Enough.”

“What, Mom? I’m just joking. If she’s going to be my sister-in-law, she’s going to have to be able to take a joke. She is going to have six Hamilton brothers. She’s going to have to take far more than a weak little joke like that.”

“Yes, dear. But if she becomes a Hamilton—” Amelia paused, “Actually, when she becomes a Hamilton, then she’ll deal with it. Not any time before then.”

“Well, don’t go jumping the gun, Mom,” Beau said and gave me an awkward little smile. “We haven’t even been on our first date yet.”

“Yes, Amelia. I mean, your family is wonderful, and I would definitely love to be a part of it. But let’s see if there are any connections to be made.”

“Oh, I think there’s a connection to be made, all right,” Austin said as he looked at me, at my lips. “I think there’s a very deep connection to be made.”

“Well, you would know, Austin,” I said. “Seeing as you’re, what? Some sort of genius?”

“Excuse me?”

“I said seeing as you’re some sort of genius. You seem to know everything, right?”

“Uh-huh,” he drawled, his eyes staring into mine. “You don’t want to play these games with me, Lucy,” he said, so softly that only I could hear him.

“So, did you decide what you wanted to eat yet?” Amelia asked me. I was grateful for her interruption.

“Maybe a cheese omelet, if you don’t mind.”

“That sounds pretty yummy. With some toast?”

“Hmm, that does sound good,” Beau nodded. “I’ll go halfsies with you, if you don’t mind.”

“Perfect.”

“Just cheese, dear? Nothing else? No mushrooms, peppers, bacon, ham, onions?”

“Oh no. I …” I paused and then looked over at Beau. “Well, what would you like?”

“Well, I would absolutely love cheese, mushrooms, and sausage, if you don’t mind.”

I paused. I didn’t like mushrooms at all and I certainly didn’t want them in an omelet, but I didn’t want to say that to him.

“Gross,” Austin said. “Mushrooms in an omelet. Yuck.”

I looked over at him in surprise. That must’ve been the only thing we have in common.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he said.

“Just I’ve never met anyone else that didn’t like mushrooms as much as me,” I said.

“Oh, you don’t like mushrooms?”

“No, I can’t stand them.” I looked at Beau and then Amelia. “Maybe you could do half the omelet with mushrooms and the other half not?”

“Sure, dear. Why don’t you guys have a seat? Oh, and Beau?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I was thinking you could show Lucy around the ranch today. Get her acquainted with how everything works so she can see the property.”

“Sure, Mom. Definitely.” He looked over at me. “You excited?”

“Of course. Maybe I should go and shower now and get ready. And then after breakfast, we can go?”

“Oh, you don’t have to shower now,” Austin said. “You can wait to shower until after you shoveled the horse manure.”

“What?” I said, my eyes widening.

“You do know you’re on a ranch, right?” He looked at me and started laughing. “You’re going to see horse manure, cow pat, deer shit, dog shit.”

“Enough,” Amelia scolded. “This is the kitchen. This is not talk for the kitchen.”

“Mom, since when have you cared what we talk about in the kitchen?” Austin rolled his eyes.

“Now that we have a female guest in the house.”

“It’s okay. You guys can talk about whatever you want to talk about,” I said quickly. “Don’t mind me. Pretend I’m not even here.”

“How could we do that?” Beau said with a small smile. “Someone as beautiful as you, we couldn’t forget that you’re here.”

“Well, that’s mighty nice of you. I wouldn’t say that I am beautiful.”

“Really?” Austin said with a smirk. “What would you say then?”

“I’d say that I’m pretty. That I’m average. That I’m okay.”

Amelia laugh. “Oh my, dear, no. You’re gorgeous. You have to know that.”

“Thank you,” I said softly. I never really considered myself gorgeous. I mean, I knew I wasn’t unattractive. But when you lived in New York City and you were surrounded by models and actresses and socialites, you never really felt like you were good enough, especially if you were just a regular person. And that’s just who I was. Regular.

Beau walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I reiterate what my mother said, Lucy. You’re beautiful. And any man would be very lucky to have you.”

“I’m guessing you’re not going to be that man,” Austin muttered.

“Excuse me?” Beau turned to his brother. “What is your problem, Austin? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or something?”

“Or something,” Austin said and shook his head. “Look, I’m not actually hungry. I think I’m going to go get ready. I need to go to the lodge later, and I think I’m going to do some hunting and some fishing. Bye, guys.” And with that, he left the kitchen. I looked at Beau and then at Amelia. Amelia was muttering something under her breath and I couldn’t quite tell what she was saying. Beau just shook his head.

“Don’t mind my brother. He’s moody. In fact, most of my brothers are moody. You’ll get used to it.”

“It’s okay. I have friends that are moody too.” I tried to laugh it off, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Austin was going to act like this the entire time I was here. And if things did work out with Beau, would Austin tell his brother about the kisses? Would Austin try and stop the wedding?

That would be my absolute worst nightmare. If somehow Beau did propose to me and we went to a church. And then the priest asked if there was anyone that had any reason for us not to be married. And then Austin spoke up and told everyone in his entire family that we kissed. Not once, not twice, but three times. Shame flooded my body, not just because we kissed but because I wanted to do it again … and again. What was wrong with me?

“Oh, I think I’m going to go and shower now. Okay?”

I hurried back to my bedroom. I opened the door and flung myself on the bed. This was such a mess. I’d never expected anything like this to happen.

If I hadn’t left the address at home and if I hadn’t gone to the bar, then none of this would’ve happened. I never would have met Austin. I never would’ve kissed him in the bar. I never would have lied. He never would have judged me. I would have just come directly to the ranch and been introduced to Beau and everything would have been as it should have been. It wouldn’t be complicated like this. It would have been okay.

There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” I called out.

“It’s me. Austin.”

“What do you want?”

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“Do you really want me to shout so everyone in the house could hear what I have to say?”

“No.” I jumped off of the bed quickly and ran to the door and opened it. “What do you want, Austin?”

“Let me come inside.”

“No, you can’t.”

“I can.”

“Austin, why are you doing this?”

“Lucy, why are you doing this?”

“Fine. Come in.” I looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one was watching us. I let him come in and then I closed the door behind him. I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. “What do you want Austin?”

“I wanted to say good morning properly.”

“We said good morning in the kitchen.”

“It wasn’t the best good morning, though, was it?”

“What do you mean it wasn’t the best good morning?”

“It wasn’t the good morning that I wanted.”

“What was the good morning that you wanted?”

“Well,” he grinned and took a step towards me.

“No,” I stepped back quickly, flustered. “You’re not going to kiss me again.”

“You don’t want me to kiss you again?”

“I … No, I don’t,” I said quickly, staring at his luscious lips. My heart was racing. I could feel my legs quivering. Why? Why, why, why did I have to be in this position?

“I just wanted to see how you slept.”

“I already told you I slept fine.”

“Did you dream about me?”

“What do you mean, did I dream about you?”

“It’s a pretty simple question, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I guess so.”

“So what’s the answer?”

“No, of course I didn’t dream about you,” I lied. He had entered my mind for a few, brief seconds when I’d fallen asleep and when I’d woken up.

“You’re such a liar, Lucy. You know that, right?”

“I’m not a liar. I—”

Suddenly, his lips were pressed against mine and his arms were around my waist, bringing me towards him. I unfolded my arms and wrapped them around his neck without thinking and kissed him back passionately, hating that I enjoyed it so much. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I moaned against his lip as I felt his hands running up under my t-shirt and massaging the skin on my back.

“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I moaned and pushed him away, but he chuckled as he kissed the side of my neck.

“Don’t make me give you a hickey, Lucy. Don’t make me show everyone that you’ve got someone else.”

“I don’t have anyone else. I don’t …”

“Shh,” he said and he pressed his lips against mine again. His eyes were laughing into mine as he kissed me.

I tugged on his silky hair.

“Ouch!” he pulled back.

“I told you.”

“You don’t want me to kiss you. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. You can’t do this. We can’t do this. I came to be with your brother.”

“You didn’t even know my brother, Lucy.”

“That doesn’t matter. Your mom invited me here because she thought I was a perfect match for him.”

“Do you think you’re a perfect match for my brother?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mushrooms and all?”

“Mushrooms, it’s just a small thing. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Okay,” he said, but his lips never left the side of my face and he kissed me one more time. I felt his fingers on the small of my back. Moving up, up, up.

“What are you doing?” I gasped as he ran the palm of his hand across my breast.

“What do you think I’m doing, Lucy?”

“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I moaned, closing my eyes as I felt his fingers on my nipple. “Austin.”

“Yes, Lucy?”

“We can’t.”

“You don’t like me touching you?”

“I do, but …” I shook my head. “We can’t do this.”

“We can do anything we want to do. You’re not promised to anyone else.”

“I might not technically be promised to anyone else, but …”

“But what?” He nuzzled my throat. “Don’t tell me you’re actually falling for my brother?”

“I didn’t say that. I just …”

He stepped back, his expression suddenly closed off. “Whatever. You get dressed, Lucy, and have a good day.”

“Wait, what?” I blinked at him, confused. He was being so cold and distant now. He had literally just been touching me and kissing me, and now he was acting like I was his enemy.

“Have a good day, Lucy,” he said. And with that, he turned around and left the room.

I stood there, my entire body on fire, my panties wet, and groaned with frustration. Why was Austin Hamilton so sexy? And why did Amelia think I was perfect for Beau? I didn’t want Beau. Not in the way that I wanted Austin, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t break her heart.

She obviously knew her sons better than I did, and I just had to see what would happen. Because even though I was more attracted to Austin, Beau seemed like he was the friendlier, nicer guy. He definitely seemed like the sort that would be more open to getting married. And as crazy as it sounded, that’s what I wanted. I wanted to be a bride. I wanted to be a part of this family.

I only hoped that true love would find me because I wanted it so very, very badly.