Valentine's Day. Nicola Marsh

Max had ordered up decorations, and the staff had filled the room with red and white balloons, with white lacy streamers hanging from the rafters and beautiful potted trees covered with white and red birds in each corner. A small table was set with delicate china and gleaming silver. In the corner, a guitarist was setting up his music and soon was playing soft, romantic melodies.

      Cari was enchanted. She’d never seen anything more beautiful. She turned to Max, her eyes shining.

      “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said.

      “Oh, Max, thank you. This is lovely.”

      He dropped a kiss on her lips and then escorted her to her place at the table and rolled the stroller up next to her. Luckily, Jamie had fallen asleep as soon as they had started on their journey through the hotel, so she would have some time to devote to Max and the wonderful dinner he’d ordered up. She tucked the blanket around the baby, then straightened and noticed a long, flat velvet box had been set in front of her.

      “Max,” she said warningly.

      “Just a little Valentine’s present,” he said.

      Her heart was beating in her throat as she pulled open the box, then drew her breath in sharply. She was almost blinded by the flash of fire from diamonds—more diamonds than she’d ever seen in one place before.

      “What…?”

      “Let me help you.”

      He came behind her to put on the necklace. It was surprisingly light for something with so many diamonds. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room and she could hardly breathe. She’d never seen anything so beautiful.

      “And to go with the necklace…” He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a matching bracelet. “One without the other would be incomplete,” he said as he put it on her wrist.

      “Oh, Max.” She was stunned and over-whelmed. “Oh, Max, I can’t—”

      “Yes, you can,” he said firmly. Going down on one knee so that he could look into her eyes, he was adamant. “Cari, don’t insult me by refusing my gift. I can well afford it. You don’t have to feel any special obligation or gratitude or anything like that. It’s just a gift. A token of my affection for you. And you know very well that’s for real.”

      He kissed her gently, softly, and with a purity of emotion she could hardly stand to accept. It was like looking into the sun. It was almost too much to bear.

      Looking at his face, she realized how much more than handsome he was. There was honesty and integrity there, and an earnest desire to make her happy. Her heart was full. Yet she was uncertain.

      “But I don’t need gifts to prove that,” she protested.

      “No, you don’t need them. But it makes me happy to give you diamonds. Can you allow me that happiness?”

      She looked at him in wonder, and then she laughed. “Oh, Max,” she said. “Do you always get your way?”

      “Of course.”

      Dinner was served, and it consisted of a wonderful Italian pork dish in a pinot noir reduction sauce along with a cheesy pasta to die for. There was also a lovely salad and the pièce de résistance—a heart-shaped baked Alaska. They ate with gusto and sipped red wine and talked and laughed, and when the meal was over, they danced to the music the guitarist played.

      Diamonds glittered when she moved and the reflections of their light flashed against the walls of the room. It almost seemed a counterpart to the way Max’s touch sizzled on her skin. It had been a magical evening, but she knew it was drawing to a close. If only there was some way to keep it going all night.

      “This is the most perfect Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had,” she told him simply.

      “Good.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Not too ordinary?” he teased.

      She shook her head. “Not a bit ordinary,” she said. Reaching up, she touched his face with the flat of her hand. “Oh, Max,” she began, feeling the need to express to him how she felt.

      But she never got the chance. Before she could get another word out, C.J.’s voice was booming through the room.

      “So this is what you’re up to, is it? I should have known.”

      There she stood, hands on her hips, green eyes flashing angry fire.

      “C.J.” Max started toward her. “What are you doing here?”

      “Looking for you. What else? It’s Valentine’s Day. But I see you know that.” She glared at him. “Don’t you think you should have been with me? I’m the one you’re supposed to marry.”

      Max stopped dead and stared at her coldly. “C.J., I haven’t made any sort of commitment to you and you know it.”

      “It’s her, isn’t it?” she cried, pointing at Cari. “It’s because of her. You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” Swinging around, she faced Cari. “If it wasn’t for you, we could have this whole deal done by now.” She took a step toward Cari, shaking her head as though she were beseeching her. “Look, I’ve stood back and I’ve been tolerant. I knew he went for you, not me. That was okay. I figured, if he wants to have some fun on the side, let him. That doesn’t bother me at all. But I want the wedding ring on my finger, I want the marriage certificate in my hand. Then he can do whatever he wants.”

      “C.J., you’re embarrassing yourself,” Max told her quietly, controlling his temper with obvious effort.

      “Oh, yeah?” She tossed her flaming hair back and glared. “Well, get this, mister. This is it. No more Ms. Nice Guy. I want a wedding date and I want it now. Or you can forget about your mother getting back her beloved ranch.”

      Max looked pained. “Go home, C.J. You weren’t invited here.”

      Her face reddened in outrage. “Be careful, Max. My patience is not infinite.”

      “Good. It shouldn’t be. And in that vein, let me explain more explicitly.” He stood before her, legs apart, arms at his sides. “I’m not going to marry you. Not ever. And if that means my mother will have to forgo having her ranch back, that is the price we will have to pay.”

      C.J.’s head went back, but her glare didn’t dim.

      He shook his head, exasperated with her. “But you know very well we aren’t in love with each other. And even more important, we don’t suit each other at all. We would both be miserable tied together by a wedding vow. Upon reflection, I’ve decided it would be a very bad move. So it’s out. Sorry.”

      On a certain level, Cari felt sorry for the woman. She’d made her intentions clear from the beginning. It was too bad she hadn’t noticed earlier that her plans were just not panning out. Cari was watching the scene carefully and she saw the anger in C.J.’s face. Anger and frustration. But no pain, no sadness. This failure had touched her spirit, but not her heart. That relieved Cari somewhat.

      Randy appeared out of nowhere and was helping to get C.J. out of the room, though she was still railing at Max.

      Valentine’s Day was over. And just in time, Jamie woke up.

       CHAPTER TEN

      IT WAS a good hour later before they settled down and got Jamie back to sleep, in his bed this time. Cari was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. Max had pretty much rejected the plan to marry C.J. Did he mean it? And what did that mean for the prospects of getting his mother the ranch? She couldn’t help but worry.

      Max was taciturn and restless, sitting on the couch not watching the television which played in the background. She knew he was thinking over the ramifications of what he’d just done. She slid onto the couch beside him and took his hand in