Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager / The Oilman’s Baby Bargain: Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager. Michelle Celmer

he replied innocently.

      “Like the nothing that nearly got us expelled from UT? Remember when we stole Professor Turner’s prized Shakespeare bust from his classroom?” Lance asked, narrowing his eyes. “That kind of nothing?”

      Kevin shrugged.

      “I don’t like it,” Lance said. “You looked fit to be tied when she called, and now you’re looking like a fat cat who just lapped up a pint of milk.”

      Kevin only smiled and finished his beer. “I’d better get going.”

      “I feel for Cara already. That girl won’t know what hit her,” Darius added.

      Kevin walked to the door of the game room, shaking his head. “That girl is my wife. And she deserves everything she gets.”

      Darius shot him a warning look. “I always liked Cara.”

      “Yeah,” Kevin said on a deep breath, before exiting the room. “So did I.”

      As the elevator closed to take Cara up to Kevin’s office, she caught sight of herself in the doors’ reflective surface. She must have glanced in the mirror a dozen times before leaving her Houston hotel room, making sure she looked just right for her meeting with Kevin. On any given day she wore her curly blond hair pulled back in a clip, but today she let the curls fall to her shoulders freely, glossed her lips with a light berry shade and made sure she wore a soft sapphire dress that accented her figure and her blue eyes.

      Because it wasn’t any given day.

      Today, she’d see her husband for the first time in four years.

      And a small part of her wanted him to see what he’d thrown away. She hadn’t wilted like a delicate flower when they’d separated. She’d been broken but not beaten by his betrayal of trust. He hadn’t cheated on her in the classic way, but he had shattered his vows by abandoning their love.

      Cara had grown from that experience. Through her pain, she’d managed to create a successful business in a field she loved. She’d come here for Dancing Lights and that expansion loan she needed from the bank, but she’d also come for her own personal reasons.

      She drew oxygen in as she exited the elevator and glanced around Kevin’s new office space. He’d certainly come up in the world, from his smaller office on the outskirts of Houston to this impressive space on the tenth floor of a downtown high-rise building.

      She walked to the reception desk and waited for the receptionist to finish her phone call.

      “May I help you?” she asked.

      “Yes, I’m Mrs. Novak. I have an appointment…with my husband.”

      The young woman’s eyebrows shot up, surprise evident on her face. Kevin had replaced a great many things since she’d left and apparently sweet, aging Margie Windmeyer, his loyal secretary, hadn’t fit in with the new decor.

      Looking baffled, the receptionist paged through her appointment book.

      “He’s expecting me.” Cara’s nerves jumped at the edginess in her tone. She wanted to get this over with.

      “Yes, Mrs. Novak.” The receptionist gave up looking for her name on the books and pointed toward a set of double doors. “Right through there.”

      Cara nodded and stared at the doors for a second. Then, with her slim briefcase tucked under her arm, she entered the office.

      Kevin stood with his back to her, staring out the arched window behind his desk. Both hands tucked into his suit pants, she was treated to a captivating view of his tight backside. His physique hadn’t suffered through the years—that much she could determine right away.

      As he angled toward her, his profile and the sharp, handsome lines of his face struck her with force. He turned fully around and stared at her, his gorgeous, piercing-blue eyes not giving anything away.

      He cast her a half smile. “Cara.”

      She stood in the middle of the large office, refusing to let her nerves go raw. It was a shock to see him. She couldn’t possibly have anticipated this moment—how she’d react to seeing him again. She’d imagined it a hundred times, but nothing compared to the reality. Seeing him brought back bittersweet memories of all they’d had and all they’d lost, which swept through her in a matter of seconds.

      She got hold of her bearings and smiled a little. “Hello, Kevin.”

      Kevin eyed her up and down, the way he used to when he wanted to make love to her. Heat swelled and coursed through her body, a remnant of what they’d once shared coming to light. Suddenly, the enormity of her mission here struck her. She would put an ending note on the last chapter of their marriage.

      “You look…well.”

      Kevin taunted her. “You look beautiful.”

      “Thank you.” Cara held on to her defenses, despite the bitter way he offered up the compliment.

      “Have a seat, Cara.” He gestured and she sat in a brown leather chair facing him.

      Cara fidgeted with her briefcase, finally setting it on Kevin’s desk. She crossed her legs and tapped her fingers on the arms of the chair.

      Kevin’s gaze fell to her thighs, where the material of her dress gathered. She refused to squirm under his direct scrutiny. But she wished he’d sit down.

      “Are you getting remarried?”

      His blunt question surprised her. She shook her head. “No.”

      He nodded, folding his arms across his rigid body.

      “It’s just time, Kevin. We need to move on. I’m planning to expand my business and I need to get a large bank loan.”

      “You don’t want my name on anything legal, right?” His eyes narrowed on her.

      “You’re a businessman,” she responded with patience, wondering what happened to the Kevin Novak she’d married. This man seemed so different, so dark and contemptuous. She’d never seen this side of Kevin before. “You know how it works.”

      “Yeah, I know how it works.” His cutting, derisive tone sobered the moment even more.

      Kevin finally took a seat behind his desk. He braced his elbows on the chair arms and steepled his fingers. “Don’t you find it strange that we’re sitting here in my office, speaking formalities?”

      “Strange?”

      The corner of Kevin’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “Yeah, strange. Considering how we started out. Hot and heavy from the moment we laid eyes on each other.”

      Cara recalled her college sorority sister’s birthday bash, with balloons and loud music and alcohol flowing. She’d taken one look at Kevin and fallen in love instantly. They’d spent the entire night flirting shamelessly. Cara had never been so aware of her own sensuality until that day. She and Kevin had blown off the party. They’d had a party of their own that night.

      Heat crawled up her neck at the erotic memory. “That’s the past, Kevin.”

      Kevin let her comment drop. He leaned back in his seat and stared into her eyes. “I understand your dance studios are doing very well.”

      Cara’s heart sped up at his implication. She straightened in her seat and leaned forward a bit. “I’m not here for your money, Kevin.” She glanced around the elaborate surroundings. Exquisite Southwest artwork adorned the walls of his very tastefully decorated office. “Though I see you’ve become a huge success. That was always most important to you.”

      Cara made her point and leaned back in her seat, content to put a name on the mistress who’d stolen her marriage from her. “I’m only here for your signature.”

      “And you’ll get it,” Kevin said.