Coming Home to Texas. Victoria Chancellor

small community, but my neighbors can be bigger gossips than the tabloids.”

      “Oh, I’ll bet they’re considerably nicer.”

      “That’s true.” Travis looked over Jodie’s fresh face, glossy lips and lush figure. No one would suspect she was an internationally known model. Or that she was pregnant. She truly did appear to be “the girl next door.”

      “The cosmetics company made a good choice when they decided you would be their new representative.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      “You look so young and fresh. So ordinary, but in an extraordinary way, if that makes any sense.”

      “Thanks…I think.”

      “My thoughts were extremely complimentary even if my words didn’t convey my feelings.”

      She turned away, looking a bit embarrassed. “In that case, thanks again.”

      “Are you hungry?”

      “Famished. How may I help?”

      “Why don’t you get some glasses out of that cabinet,” he said, gesturing with the salad tongs, “and decide what you’d like to drink.”

      He turned his attention back to the roasted chicken he’d fixed in his smoker last night. It was his favorite meal, although he never let on to his cattle-ranching friends that he preferred chicken over a nice big steak. Folks had been run out of Texas for less.

      When he turned to get the potato salad out of the refrigerator, he and Jodie collided. With a gasp, she stepped back.

      “Sorry,” he said. “I’m not used to having someone else in the kitchen.”

      “My fault,” she said breathlessly, looking flushed and adorable. “I’m not used to being in someone else’s kitchen.”

      He did his best to ignore the feeling of Jodie’s breasts brushing against his arm, but like the proverbial elephant in the room, he could barely think of anything else. Despite the distraction, though, within a few minutes they had the meal on the table.

      “So,” he said after they’d started their salads, “tell me again why I should break every promise I made to myself about getting married again.”

      “I’VE ALREADY EXPLAINED about the contract, the morality clause and my career. I don’t see how it could be any more clear.”

      “What about how you feel about having this baby? How you’d feel about getting married? I don’t think either one was in your plans for the near future.”

      “No, they weren’t, but the pregnancy happened. I can’t change that.” Some women might, and that was fine for them, but eliminating “the problem” wasn’t something she could do. Not when she had other options. She was going to have this baby, even if it meant giving up the contract—which she wasn’t about to admit to Travis. Her mother and her agent had always told her to negotiate from a point of strength. Never admit your weaknesses. Compromise, but don’t settle.

      “I’m glad to hear it. Now, you’ve told me all the logical reasons why you need to get married. Tell me how you’re feeling about it.”

      Wow, this was a reversal. A man asking her to talk about her feelings? Had she entered an alternate universe when she’d driven across the Ranger Springs city limit? “I feel like I should do the right thing. I feel like I want this baby to have a mother who can provide for him or her.”

      “That’s just more logic. What about getting married? How are you going to react to us living together as man and wife? Are you ready to compromise, or have you even considered me in your plans?”

      “I…of course I’ve considered you.” She wouldn’t have considered marrying someone she couldn’t tolerate. But then, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant by a man who was repulsive. “I didn’t think marriage—especially a temporary marriage—to me would be that distasteful.”

      “I’ve been married before and I made a vow that I never would again. I don’t make vows lightly, Jodie. There’s a reason I’m against the institution of marriage.”

      “Why? What happened to make you bitter?”

      “Who said I’m bitter? There are other reasons to want to avoid the state of matrimony.”

      She couldn’t think of any. “So, what happened between you two?”

      “I don’t talk about that time in my life.”

      “Oh, but it’s fine to grill me about my life?”

      “Ask me whatever you want to know about my life right now and I’ll answer the questions. But I didn’t ask you about your past and I don’t want to discuss mine.”

      “Just tell me this. Is there anything in your past that would damage my career if we were to marry and the information was leaked to the media?”

      He thought for a moment. Took another bite of salad, chewed and swallowed. “No.”

      She breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay then. What’s the problem? We liked each other well enough five weeks ago. I’m not that difficult to live with. As I mentioned, I won’t even be around all that much. Why, you’d hardly know I was here.”

      “And this is supposed to make me feel better…why?”

      “Because I’m not asking much from you in the way of compromise! I’m trying to be thoughtful.”

      He pushed his half-eaten salad aside. “I’d like to be thoughtful before we stand in front of a minister.”

      “A justice of the peace or even an Elvis impersonator at a wedding chapel would be fine with me, as long as the marriage is legal.”

      “I’m not running away to Las Vegas or going to some county clerk’s office to get married.”

      “Fine. Then we’ll do whatever you’d like. After all, you’re doing me—and the baby, of course—a favor by agreeing to marry me.”

      “Okay, then answer this. What’s in it for me?”

      Jodie immediately thought of twisted sheets and hot, damp bodies. Not that they’d talked about having a sex life after the ceremony. Pushing the image aside, she sighed. “The knowledge that you’re doing the right thing?”

      “Maybe you don’t know me very well. Maybe I’m not the kind of guy who wants to do the right thing. Maybe I’m irresponsible and selfish.”

      She didn’t think for a minute that was the case. Travis had been a generous and inventive lover—not the kind of man who thought only of himself. “I’m not buying that line. I think you’re a man who would acknowledge his child, who would try to help that child’s mother out of a difficult situation.”

      “And you’re basing this on…?”

      “Just what I know about you! You’re a nice guy, Travis Whitaker. I wouldn’t have gone to bed with you on our first date if you hadn’t been.” She pushed aside her salad bowl, surprised to note she’d eaten most of the healthy green stuff without ever thinking about it.

      He looked amused as he calmly cut into his roasted chicken. “Okay, maybe I’m a fairly nice guy. At least most of the time. When I’m not dealing with a temperamental client or an incompetent contractor. Or a stubborn cow or a nosy friend. But that doesn’t mean I’m good marriage material. You can’t be sure I’d be a good father.”

      “I think you’d try. And besides, if you don’t want to be a part of this baby’s life, you don’t have to be. I’m not trying to force you to take part in parenting if that’s not what you want. I have the money to hire a nanny, to pay for the best schools and to give this child a wonderful future. I’d like for you to be a part of his or her life, but it’s not necessary.”

      “It’s