Max had to give Kelly credit for keeping her cool under fire. Faced with the same situation, his sister would have probably fainted. He put down the telephone receiver and held out his hand. “The name is Maxwell Taylor. Er…I’m pleased to meet you.”
“So, you’re Kelly’s husband.” Patrick’s features were impassive as he shook Max’s hand, but his eyes spoke volumes. He was definitely not pleased.
“Kelly O’Rourke!” a new voice thundered. A tall man in an air force officer’s uniform marched through the door. The man’s crew-cut dark copper hair was fading into gray at the temples and his hazel eyes were grim. Max realized the newcomer had to be Kelly’s father. He guessed trouble really did come in threes.
Behind Mr. O’Rourke was a younger man, also dressed in an air force uniform. Another brother? Max changed his opinion. Trouble came in as many numbers as there were O’Rourke men.
Surrounded by the power of the law and the military, Max’s civilian heart took a dive. He tried to hide behind a smile.
“Dad, Damon?” Kelly pulled her robe more closely around her. “What in heaven’s name are all of you doing here at once?”
“A better question, Kelly O’Rourke,” her father roared, “is what are you doing here!” Her father’s bushy eyebrows rose in rebuke. “I understood you were going to be the maid of honor in DeeDee’s wedding, but I didn’t expect you to go so far as to get yourself married, too.”
“I’m not—That is, I am, but—” Kelly caught herself and managed a feeble smile. “That is, it was sort of a surprise to me, too.” She sent a quick, pleading glance at Max.
“Is this your young man?”
Max felt he was about to undergo an interrogation. Too bad he had no ready answers. He couldn’t tell the unvarnished truth, not with the silent appeal in Kelly’s eyes. He held out his hand to have it grasped in a firm handshake he was going to feel for a week. “Maxwell Taylor, sir.”
“Michael O’Rourke. Glad to meet you, my boy,” Kelly’s father answered with a final shake. He regarded Max through narrowed eyes. “Not that I’m all too happy over my daughter’s elopement, you understand. But considering her impulsive nature, I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised.” He gazed reprovingly at Sean. “This young one here seems to have the same knack for doing the unexpected, but I think I have time to cure that.”
Kelly gasped. “Dad, how can you say such things?”
“The proof is standing next to you,” her father answered, gesturing to Max. “So, what do the two of you have to say for yourselves?”
Max took a quick inventory of his chances with this audience and shot Kelly a warning glance.
Damon, an air force officer like his father. Patrick, a local Las Vegas lawman. All three highly trained with instincts and senses honed to a razor’s edge. All sharp and unlikely to be fooled easily. On the other hand, there was Sean. From the boy’s sheepish grin, Max sensed Sean was a maverick like his sister.
At least there was one friendly male member of the O’Rourke clan.
Max caught Patrick’s frown as he stared at Kelly, almost as if he were on a criminal case. Max’s own gaze followed Patrick’s to the hand Kelly used to clutch the robe to her throat. To his mind the answer to Patrick’s frown was clear. Kelly, ostensibly a newly married woman, wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
Max stirred himself. The moment of truth was at hand. Husband or not, for Kelly’s sake, if not his own, he owed her his support. “Here, sweetheart, let me help you with that,” he said. On the pretext of helping her close the bathrobe more closely around her neck, he managed to slip his class ring off his finger and onto Kelly’s wedding-ring finger. With a warning look into her startled eyes, he turned back to the O’Rourkes. Just in time to glimpse a shadow cross Patrick’s face. Moments later, he saw Patrick’s gaze settle on the bridal bouquet and the wedding veil on the coffee table.
Max responded to the stunned look on Kelly’s face. He had to do something to break the tension before Patrick started asking questions for which he and Kelly had no answers. The sooner the better. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go in and get dressed?”
She nodded reluctantly. “Okay. I’ll be back in a minute, Dad. Max, can I see you in the other room for a moment?”
“Sure,” Max answered. Before he followed Kelly, he noticed the envious look in Sean’s eyes as the boy studied the untouched champagne breakfast. “Sean, why don’t you help yourself to some breakfast? No use letting it go to waste.”
Kelly pulled Max into the bedroom and pushed the folding doors together. She pointed to the open slats on the doors, then dragged him into the bathroom and carefully closed the door behind her. Soft, romantic music filtered through the room. “What in heaven’s name are we going to do now?”
“Good question.” Max gazed at the exotic surroundings that were obviously designed to stir a man’s senses. Even with trouble waiting for him in the other room, his thoughts turned to putting the scented oils to good use. He blinked. Of all the fool times to think sensuous thoughts, this was probably the worst.
“Brazen it out, I guess,” he answered, firmly turning his thoughts to the more serious issue at hand. “We’ll just pretend everything is okay until they leave. Then, if it turns out we actually were married last night, we can talk about an annulment.”
“An annulment? After last night?” Her startled expression got through to Max. She was right. Married or not, they had shared an intimate night together. An annulment was probably out.
“Okay, maybe not an annulment,” he answered. “Maybe a divorce.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Kelly muttered angrily. “In the first place, I keep telling you we’re not married. In the second, O’Rourkes don’t get divorced! That’s why neither of my older brothers are married—they’re waiting for the right woman. As for my getting a divorce, it’s out of the question. I’d be breaking Dad’s heart!”
“Keep it down,” Max cautioned. “This is what I think we ought to do. For now, we’ll tell your family we’re going on a honeymoon. We can settle all this later when we’re alone.”
“Honeymoon?” Looking outraged, Kelly demanded, “Honeymoon? Who said anything about a honeymoon?”
“Take it easy, Kelly,” he soothed, with one eye on the bathroom door. If they didn’t come to some sort of agreement soon, he expected an O’Rourke to be pounding on the door in minutes. “It’ll only be a pretend honeymoon. Just long enough to get your family off our backs.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t look mollified, but she finally agreed. “But don’t let Patrick fool you. Damon, either. If you knew them as well as I do, you’d know they’re up to something.”
“Now you’re being paranoid,” Max answered, his nerves shot. “You’re their sister. It’s natural to worry about you.”
“That’s the problem. They think they have to keep an eye on me. It drives me crazy. There were times when I was a kid that I used to think my thoughts were engraved on my forehead.” She rubbed her forehead. “I sure hope this isn’t one of those times.”
With a last regretful glance at the Jacuzzi, Max turned Kelly toward the mirror. “Take a look. There’s nothing written on your forehead. Besides, as a married woman, you don’t have to account to your brothers.”
Instead of continuing to argue, Kelly looked into the mirror. Max’s hands held her by the shoulders, his chin rested on her hair. He was right. Except for a frown, her forehead was clear. But, to her chagrin,