“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, there was definitely an awareness of Max reflected in her eyes. As her gaze met his in the mirror, she read the same awareness in his. The strange excitement she remembered beginning with the garter ceremony began to fill her again.
“We aren’t really married, you know,” she murmured. She was strangely unwilling to break the sensual tension between them, but the truth was the truth.
“Why don’t we wait and see,” he said softly as he drew a damp tendril from her forehead. “In the meantime, we’re in this together.”
“Thank you,” she answered gratefully. “But I’m not sure we’ll hear the last of this. Even if Dad’s convinced we’re married, I know he’s disappointed. He would have preferred a traditional Irish church wedding with all the O’Rourkes in attendance.” She worried her bottom lip. “We’ll have to be careful. In the meantime, please go along with whatever my dad says until we’re alone. Okay?”
Max had a gut feeling she was right. He felt guilty, although he wasn’t quite sure why. Having too much punch? Becoming attracted to Kelly and marrying her on impulse? Consummating their wedding night? Any or all of the above?
He couldn’t afford to dwell on the possibilities, not now. Not when judgment day waited for him as near as the next room.
What further complicated the situation in his mind was that they were obviously on Kelly’s home territory, or her father and brothers wouldn’t have shown up so soon. With his own home and his family in the East, he had little to lose. He also had a plane ticket to Hawaii in his suitcase for a few days from now. He’d intended to spend some time in Vegas and enjoy the nightlife, then fly on to Hawaii for a much-needed vacation with Lian. Left behind, Kelly, for all her bravado, was the vulnerable one. The least he could do for her was to find out what really happened last night and to make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. Not by himself, or anyone else. And that went for her father and her brothers, too.
“Why don’t you get dressed?” he said. “We’ll work something out when you come back in. Okay?”
One thing he was sure of, Max resolved as he left Kelly to dress, for her sake there couldn’t be any talk of an annulment or divorce with her family around. Pretending he was a loving new groom when he had to keep his distance from the most attractive woman he’d ever met was going to be a hell of a way to spend his vacation.
Sean was deep in croissants and jam when Max walked back into the living room. To Max’s further dismay, Damon was gazing at the bridal bouquet with a frown on his face. Patrick, involved in conversation with his father, looked up when Max walked in.
“Kelly?” Patrick asked.
“She’ll be out in a few minutes.” Before Max could say anything more, a knock on the door sounded a reprieve.
With a wry shrug, Max opened the door. “Your coffee, Mr. Taylor.” The room-service waiter rolled in a small cart. “Anything else?”
A miracle. “No thanks, that’ll be all.” He reached into his pocket for his wallet. “It’s on the house, Mr. Taylor,” the waiter said, smiling and backing out the door. “Comes with the bridal suite. Congratulations.”
Max’s heart sank. He’d never be able to talk his way out of this mess. Not with strangers congratulating him on a marriage he could scarcely remember.
Kelly’s father took the cup of coffee Max offered. The questions Max expected came as swiftly as a hail of bullets. “Since I’ve not seen you around here, I was wondering where you come from. What do you do for a living? And how and where you met Kelly? Have you known each other long?”
Michael O’Rourke was obviously no fool, but a quick glance at the expression on Patrick’s face was all Max needed to realize where the questions had come from. He’d been around the law often enough to recognize official questions when he heard them.
“Long enough to know I wanted Kelly for my wife,” Max answered briskly. “I live in Boston. I have my own business of fitness centers. As for when I met Kelly, I saw her a few times when I visited Troy, and she and DeeDee came over. Anything else?”
“Not at the moment. But let me tell you that I would have expected you to have taken the time to ask me for my daughter’s hand before you decided to get married. Or at least invited her family to the wedding.”
“I suppose you could say it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, Mr. O’Rourke,” Max answered truthfully. “We couldn’t seem to help ourselves.”
“‘Mr. O’Rourke?’ What’s the matter with calling me Dad now that you’ve married my daughter?” Kelly’s father sighed. “I suppose times have changed from when I was a young man and asked for my Moira’s hand.” He sighed again. “Naturally, I would have preferred to give my only daughter away at a proper church wedding with her family in attendance.” He gazed reprovingly at Max. “I hate to think of what her sainted mother would say about all of this.” His eyes narrowed. “Still, if we do this properly, it may not be too late.”
Cold shivers danced on Max’s spine at the realization that the marriage game was becoming more complicated as the minutes flew by.
“You both will have to come home with me for a few days,” his new father-in-law announced. “You can meet Kelly’s extended family and give them all a chance to get to know you.”
Before Max could protest, Kelly appeared in the doorway wearing her crumpled maid-of-honor gown and holding a hairbrush in her hand. “We’ll have to do what?”
“Come home and let your husband meet the rest of the family,” her father repeated. “As I told him, it’s not too late.”
“Too late for what?” Kelly demanded. Eye to eye, toe to toe, green eyes blazing, she challenged her father.
“A proper church wedding!”
From the tone in his voice, Max could tell Michael O’Rourke wasn’t used to being challenged, not from anyone, least of all his daughter. When the man’s eyebrows rose to new heights, Max could feel big trouble brewing.
Kelly’s face became as flushed as her father’s. “We’re already married, Dad!” She gestured to the festive gown she wore. “You said yourself you saw us getting married on television last night.”
Max snapped to attention. She’d spent the last few hours protesting he was crazy, insisting they weren’t married. Now she was changing her mind?
“True, but there’s still a matter of a proper wedding,” her father answered firmly. In the background, Damon and Patrick murmured their agreement. Sean grinned his sympathy and shrugged his shoulders. Max sensed the kid had wisely elected to keep his opinions to himself.
“Max, say something!” Kelly’s voice drew Max back into the argument.
“Maybe a visit can wait for later on,” Max answered. He took Kelly’s hand in his and squeezed it gently in a silent warning. “To tell the truth, Mr. O’Rourke, I’m on a short vacation. Time for our honeymoon is limited.”
“Maybe so,” Kelly’s father answered, “but there’s still the family to consider and your future plans to discuss. In any case, I still expect you both to spend a day or two under my roof so everyone can meet you.