Wanted: Texas Daddy. Cathy Gillen Thacker

in shock. “There’s no way we can pull together a wedding in that time frame!”

      Nor would she want to do so.

      MR arched a perfectly plucked brow. “There is if I call in every favor I’m owed, and you all and your families do the same and we have it at Nick’s ranch.” She paused to let her words sink in while Everett typed furiously. “Saturday evening is perfect.”

      Sage and Nick exchanged exasperated looks.

      Neither of them liked being railroaded into anything, and MR was being awfully pushy about what was, in the end, a very personal matter.

      “Let me put it another way,” the elegant redhead stated bluntly. “The partners meet on Monday to hear the presentation and vote on whether or not to fund the initial phase of Nick’s proposal. I can’t delay the vote on this project without explaining to them why. If I do that, and you’re still not married, it’s over. Done. On the other hand, if you’re married, and wildly in love and expecting a baby, it’s not really going to matter. So you decide. You want it done by Saturday evening? Or not?”

      Sage looked at Nick.

      Once again he wore that poker face. But just for a second, she had seen that flash of disappointment in his eyes. The look he evidenced every time he hit a roadblock in his plans to expand Monroe’s Western Wear. It was the same look she’d had whenever her own dreams of having a baby incurred another snafu. The one her ex had worn whenever she talked about getting engaged, when Terrence was perfectly content with things the way they were. She was not going to be the reason for Nick’s unhappiness the way she had been with her ex’s.

      “We’ll do it,” she said, forcing herself to match MR’s enthusiasm. She turned to Nick, took both his hands in hers and squeezed fiercely. “Just promise me one thing.” She looked deep into his eyes. “All of this won’t damage our friendship.” Because she didn’t think she could live without that.

      “Come on now, darlin’.” He gave her a long, searing look, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned forward to buss the tip of her nose. “You and I both know I would never let that happen.”

      She heaved a sigh of relief.

      Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Everett Keller pause in bemusement. Like he couldn’t believe he had to stand around and witness this. MR had an intense, watchful expression on her face, too. Almost as if she were waiting for a time bomb to go off.

      Sage hoped it wasn’t Nick.

      Splaying both her hands across his broad chest, she relaxed into his easy embrace. Met his eyes. He seemed to be taking this all in stride. But was he really? She drew a deep breath, warned, “Preparing for a wedding, even in a normal amount of time, can be really stressful.”

      She only had to recall Terrence’s reaction to their brief engagement to know that.

      Nick nodded. Still appearing confident, unperturbed.

      So, why, Sage wondered, was she suddenly completely on edge?

      Again, MR observed the emotion simmering just beneath the surface and stepped in to assist. “That’s why Everett and I are here,” she soothed. “Not just to help but to make sure that absolutely everything goes according to plan. I promise you both...this is one wedding that will go off without a hitch.”

       Chapter Three

      Sage snuggled against Nick, luxuriating in the safe, warm feel of his big strong body. “It’s a good thing we’re not getting married today for real, otherwise seeing each other like this would be bad luck.”

      “How can seeing each other ever be bad luck?” Nick regarded her with a devilish glint in his blue eyes.

      Sage inhaled the unique masculine scent of him. On impulse, she kissed his cheek, found her way to his mouth. “You know what I mean.”

      “I do.” He studied her as if he found her as endlessly fascinating as she found him. Stroking a lazy hand down her spine, he confessed huskily, “It’s been a crazy three days.”

      “No kidding.” She sighed, her cheek brushing delectably against the sandpapery roughness of his morning beard. She so loved having him in her bed, even though his six-foot-four frame took up so much room they barely fit on the queen-sized mattress.

      A problem that, now that she’d entered her second trimester, sometimes left her with a tiny backache. “So many decisions...”

      He turned toward her so they had full body contact. Lower still, his hardness pressed against her. “So little time.”

      A spark of arousal unfurled deep inside her. “We saved some headaches by delegating a lot of them out.”

      MR had arranged for a justice of the peace friend to preside over the civil ceremony. She’d also provided the caterer, tent and chair setup crew—all within the budget Nick and Sage had set. Assembling the guest list and sending out last minute e-invites had gone to the sisters-in-law, Hope and Adelaide, and the seating chart delegated to Chance’s fiancée, Molly. Lucille had been in charge of the flowers and the menu for the reception. While Nick and Sage had selected the DJ and the songs.

      This morning, she was going to have the final fitting for her dress—a gown from her cousin Jenna Lockhart’s bridal salon—at her mother’s ranch while Nick picked up his tuxedo. Her brother Wyatt’s wife, Adelaide, was her maid of honor. Nick’s brother, Gavin, was best man.

      Nick reached for Sage playfully as the first light of dawn fell through the window blinds of her second-floor apartment. “I think we have time to make love one more time...” He kissed her shoulder.

      Sage wished. She eased away and went to find a thick fluffy robe to ward off the chill of the late-January morning. “Actually, we don’t.” Computer tablet in hand, she climbed back into bed. “We haven’t written our vows yet.”

      Reluctant, Nick scowled. “Sure you want to do that?” he asked, practical as ever. “Instead of going with the tried and true?”

      The thought of promising to love him until death do them part seemed like tempting fate. Sage swallowed. “Given the fact that we’re not...” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how to finish without insulting him. Or the connection they shared, which she had to admit pretty much defied description.

      He studied her, as determined to understand her as she was him. “In love?”

      Sage caught his hand in hers, and pressed it against the center of her chest. “Maybe not in the traditional way, but I do love you, Nick. As a friend. A best friend.”

      His expression was as veiled as hers was open. “I adore you, too,” he said softly.

      She sensed there was more. Unsure, however, as to whether or not she wanted to hear it, she murmured, “Okay, then, that’s what we need to say.” She settled a pillow across her lap, to use as a desk. Opened up the leather computer tablet case, turned on the attached mini keyboard and logged on.

      While she got comfortable, Nick folded his arms behind his head. He lounged against the pillows, his gaze drifting over her lazily. “There’s no way I can memorize anything this late in the game. I mean, I’m the kid who always flunked the English class assignments where we had to get up and recite a poem.”

      Although she was wearing an old-fashioned button-front nightshirt that concealed her baby bump, he was clad only in his boxer briefs. Hence, with the sheet draped low across his abdomen, she had a very nice view of his broad, masculine chest.

      Too nice, if she were to remain on task.

      “Public speaking pressure?” she teased, turning her gaze away from the sinewy muscle and crisp dark hair that arrowed across his pecs, and narrowed, on the way to the goody trail...

      “Procrastinating, and making up excuses, are we?”