Vanessa smoothed down her skirts and prayed that Aunt Matty didn’t notice the sweat on her brow. This woman was the devil herself. The only thing missing was the tail and hooves, and Vanessa wasn’t sure that she wasn’t hiding those under her skirt.

“I’m waiting.”

“Excuse me?” Vanessa took a sip of her tea, working hard to keep her hands from trembling.

“Is there something wrong with your hearing? I asked how you, an obviously unsuitable woman, conned my nephew into marrying you.”

“Aunt Matty, I…”

“You will call me Mrs. Thompson. I am not your aunt.”

Vanessa tightened her grip on the teacup so much that she feared she would break it. The woman hadn’t been this nasty at dinner last night. Of course then all her nephews were in the room to defend Vanessa.

Dinner had gone very well, for the most part. Once all the men had arrived, Matty was bright and charming. The only person she showed any antagonism toward was Vanessa. After dinner, when she’d hugged the younger woman, she’d requested an interview in the morning so they could ‘get to know each other’.

Win had assured her that’d she’d do fine. Of course that was before they’d spent their first night together in the same bed.

The scene replayed itself in her brain. Gone was the teasing about spankings and hating each other. He’d given her time to change her clothing, coming back in the room only after he was sure that she was fully clothed.

“Which side of the bed do you use?” Her voice had been very low and she’d tried not to stare as he’d started to unbutton his shirt.

“I usually sleep in the middle,” he’d said. “But you take the left and I’ll take the right. She’d quickly dived under the blankets, her heart beating a mile a minute. Then she’d turned on her side and pretended to fall fast asleep.

After he’d laid down next to her, her heart beat even faster. For the briefest of moments, she’d hoped that he’d reach out and caress her. But after a few moments, he’d turned on his side so that his back was to her, and he’d quickly fallen asleep.

Vanessa had stayed awake, counting his snores and wishing that he’d wake up and take her in his arms. She was the one who’d decided on the no sex clause. Now she wanted him to break it.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the here and now. What had she asked? Oh yeah, about her and Win.

“Very well, Mrs. Thompson. There was no conning involved. Win and I fell in love with each other when we met.”

“Really? Where and when was that?”

She’d asked a question, Vanessa could hear that. But all she could think about was Win’s kiss that morning when he’d left for the bank. It had been gentle and caring, and she’d loved every second of it. Her bottom was a little sore from his spanking the night before, but all that did was remind her of him again. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything but Win all morning long.

“Answer me. I grow tired of watching you daydream.”

“Forgive me, Mrs. Thompson. Win and I met in Denver, three months ago. It was love at first sight and we married weeks after we’d met.”

“Denver is a large city. Please be more specific.”

Vanessa produced a winning smile. “It was at the theater. He’d come with some of the employees from the bank, and I was with friends.”

“And the play?”

Vanessa’s smile didn’t falter, but her heart went pitter-patter. They hadn’t discussed the title of the play. She wracked her brain and then smiled again.

“It was called Jordan’s New Life. It dealt with a man’s battle to win the woman he loved.”

Vanessa made a mental note to tell Win that. Jordan’s New Life was the name of the play Vanessa and her friends had performed here, in Mac’s Crossing.

“You just happened to run into each other at the theater? He just happened to fall in love with you?” Matty’s words were full of disbelief.

“Yes,” Vanessa answered, squaring her shoulders. “One of my friends knew an employee from the bank. She introduced us and we were quite taken with each other. We still are.”

“Hmm. Who are your family?”

“My family?”

“Did I stutter?”

“My father is dead, and my mother lives in New York City.” Vanessa left out the part where her mother lived in a nice house that was paid for by a married man who visited frequently.

“Your maiden name?”

Vanessa took a deep breath.

“My maiden name is Nicholas.”

“Hmm. How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“And you’ve never been married before?”

“No.”

“How did you afford to live alone, in Denver? Were you a man’s mistress?”

Vanessa calmly sat her cup down on the table and stood. She knew that she’d lost. There was no way she was winning this woman over this morning.

“I won’t sit here and let you make a whore of me. I am sorry that you are unhappy, but Win and I love each other.”

“I highly doubt that. He might have been smitten with your figure, and your obvious willingness to open your legs for him, but you are not good enough to be my nephew’s wife. I will stay until the marriage is annulled, and then Win and I will move to Boston. There, I will find him a suitable wife. You may move back to Denver and spread your legs for another rich man, I don’t care. Just know that you will not be Mrs. Winthorp MacAllister for long.”

Vanessa wanted to rail at the woman, to scream and holler at her and call her names. But she knew that wouldn’t help. Instead she inclined her head and moved toward the doorway.

“You may as well start packing your bags, Vanessa. You will be gone by Monday.”

Win felt the tension in the house the minute he opened the front door. He hung up his hat and coat and walked into the sitting room, where he found his Aunt Matty writing letters.

“Good afternoon, darling.” She smiled at him and he nodded in return. “I’m just dropping Mrs. Wharton a line to see if she wants to dine with us next month in Boston. Her daughter is unmarried, and is such a lovely young lady.”

“Aunt Matty, I am already married, if it has escaped your attention.”

“Oh, Winthorp, she’s not worthy of you. What will we tell our friends in Boston?”

“I have no friends in Boston. My life is here, with my wife.” Win mentally chastised himself for lying to his aunt. She was bound and determined to ruin his life, and he was bound and determined not to let her. He had to be careful, though. If he made her too angry she would disinherit all of them, and he couldn’t see his brothers punished that way.

“Nonsense. Things will be fine. Now, I’ve told my man back there to look at renting a beautiful house near mine for you. Once you get there you can build one of your own.”

“Where is Vanessa?”

“Upstairs packing, I’m sure.”

Win turned to leave, his aunt’s voice stopping him in the doorway before he could exit the room.

“Winthorp. I will have my way, do you understand?”

“I understand that you want to force me to do what you want. It won’t work, Aunt Matty. I’m not moving to Boston.”

“I’m sure the museums and orphanages in Boston will enjoy my money, then.”

Win shook his head and started to leave. He suddenly turned around and walked back to Matty’s side.

“I find it hard to believe that you would punish my brothers, that you could be so selfish. Can you not find a lawyer to run the firm for you? Why must you try and impose your will on me?”

“If I had children of my own I wouldn’t have to. You should be thrilled to take care of me in my old age.”

“Take care of you? Matty, you’ve never needed anyone to take care of you, and you never will. I love you, but I won’t let you force me to leave my home. I love Vanessa, and she and I are very happy. I’m sorry. I can help you find a lawyer to run the firm, if you like. But I won’t move, and you can’t force me, not even with your threats.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek and then left, ignoring her as she called out his name as he walked through the doors. Once upstairs, he leaned against the wall and let out a deep breath. He’d just stood up to the dragon lady. Hopefully she would stay a week, go back to Boston and realize that what she was trying to do was wrong. She would leave his brothers in her will and things would be fine.

He needed to let Vanessa know what he’d done. Amazing how he’d grown used to having her in his home. She was a beautiful woman, and it had been hard to lie next to her last night and not touch her.

He remembered listening to her breathing. He’d wanted to touch her, take her in his arms and make love to her. The way they’d teased yesterday he’d hoped that she felt the same. When she’d turned her back to his side of the bed, though, he knew that she didn’t. He wouldn’t force the issue.

They’d agreed on no sex, and until she brought it up he wouldn’t force himself on her. He might spank her a few times again. Maybe that would bring them closer together.

He couldn’t wait to tell her about Matty. He worried, though, that Matty wouldn’t lie down just because of what he’d just said. Even though he’d laid down the gauntlet, they needed to keep up the premise of their marriage. Once Matty went back to Boston things could go back to normal. Or could they? He wasn’t sure he wanted to let Vanessa walk out of his life.

He straightened his shirt and walked toward the bedroom. He’d been looking forward to seeing her all day.

She was sitting in front of the window, with her hair down around her shoulders. She had a brush in her hand but she wasn’t using it. She was staring out the window, a wistful look on her face.

“Since you’re up here, and she’s down there, I take it things didn’t go well today.”

“No, things went fine. I get called a whore everyday.”

“Shit.” Win knelt down in front of her. He gently caressed her hands. “Vanessa, I’m so sorry. I had no idea she would take it that far.”

“It’s not your fault. But I think that maybe I should leave tomorrow. She’ll feel better for having run me off. Then, after a few months and some fake papers, you can go to Nancy and marry her. She’s of your class. Your aunt wouldn’t have a problem with her in the family.”

“She may not, but I would.” He stood and took a few steps away from her.

“So you’re giving up? Just like that? One little word and you’re willing to just walk away.”

“Have your brother take me to jail. That way I can pay my hotel bill the honest way. Or have Josh give me a job at the store. I can make the money for the payment that way.”

“And what about me, Vanessa? I thought that you and I were making a connection.”

“What does it matter, Win? When the wicked witch is gone, I’ll be leaving anyway. It will just be a few days earlier.”

“Well, I’m afraid that your solution is unacceptable. I have a signed contract from you that you will act as my wife until my aunt leaves. I am not willing to let you out of that agreement.”

Vanessa stood; she dropped the brush to the floor and balled her hands into fists.

“Now who cares about who? You’d rather me stay here and be abused by that, that harridan than to face her on your own. It doesn’t matter to you that I take her abuse, as long as you get what you want in the end.”

“Is that right? I thought you were more of a woman than to give up the fight at the first sign of trouble. Are you the same woman who stood up to Ben and me at the hotel? Who insisted on having an agreement in writing and who has talked back to me the whole time I’ve known you? Or are you her delicate, scared of her own shadow twin?”

“I’m not afraid of my shadow!”

“No, just an old woman and her tongue. Do you realize that she’s sitting downstairs right now, gloating? She’s happy that she’s driving a wedge in between us. That’s what she wanted to do, break us up.”

“You’re missing the point, Win. There is nothing to break up. We’re not married.”

“We are to Matty, or have you forgotten that?”

“No, of course not. But it won’t work. She hates me. You’re frightened of her, too. If you weren’t, then you would stand up to her and tell her you were not moving to Boston.”

“I did. About ten minutes ago.”

Vanessa stared at him. “Truly? Then why am I still needed?”

“To her, you’re still my wife. But I did let her know that my life was here. That you and I would be happy together.”

“That’s all well and good. But when I’m gone, she’ll just have the perfect excuse to say ‘I told you so’, and force you back east.”

“I never thought you’d be one to lie down so easily. Tell me, Vanessa, did you ever receive a bad review?”

Vanessa raised her eyes to his. “Of course. I don’t see what that has to do with anything right now.”

“When you were done reading that review, did you say, ‘this person doesn’t like me so I’m not going to act anymore’?”

It was as if he’d slapped Vanessa in the face. What was she doing? So what if the woman had called her a whore? She knew it wasn’t true, but instead of standing up for herself and keeping to the plan, she skulked upstairs and had hidden away all afternoon long.

“You’re right. What an idiot I’ve been. How could I have let her do this to me?”

“She’s very good at it. Still, you have been a naughty girl.” Win swooped down and picked up the brush. “I’m going to spank you for it, Vanessa.”

“Now?”

“No, after dinner. When we’ve come upstairs to get ready for bed. And I’m going to use this.”

The hairbrush whisked by her face and panic set in.

“You couldn’t possibly. That will…”

“Hurt? Yes, it will. You’ll be thinking about it tomorrow, also, when Matty tries to pull a stunt on you, tries to browbeat you and call you names. I have no doubt she’ll try again when I’m not here. The lingering from this spanking will remind you of me. It will remind you not to let her get under your skin.”

He placed the hairbrush on Vanessa’s pillow and turned to her.

“Let’s go downstairs and enjoy ourselves, shall we? I asked the boys to come back to take some of the pressure off us. Several other guests will be here tonight, also. That should make you feel better.”

“It does, thank you. But I’m not ready for guests. I need to change my dress and do my hair.” Her eyes strayed to the brush, and then back to his face.

“Good. I want it on your mind through dinner. I’m going downstairs. Finish your toilette and then join us.”

Win kissed the tip of her nose and caressed her cheek. Her breath caught in her chest as their gazes locked. Would he lean down and kiss her? He hadn’t kissed her properly since yesterday. A kiss would go a long way toward boosting her ego.

As if reading her mind, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was tender and caring.

“You have such beautiful lips,” he said, his face still inches away from hers.

“Is that a review of my kissing performance?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s see how the encore plays out.” He captured her lips again, this time more firmly. When his tongue slid along the seam her lips parted and he gently pushed inside.

Vanessa marveled at the taste of him. She could taste brandy, and the dark tint of a cheroot that he’d obviously enjoyed. When he pulled back she was thankful for his hands that were on her waist, or she might have dropped to the floor.

“Don’t be long.” His voice was husky. He turned and quickly left the room.

Vanessa took a deep breath. She’d been kissed before, but never had it felt like that. Her head was dizzy and her breasts were tingling. She put her hands to her lips. She could still feel his heat lingering there.

Stop it, Vanessa! You don’t have time for schoolgirl crushes. You have a performance to give. You have to show a dragon lady that you are immune to her fiery words.

At the same time, you have to hide the fact that you are falling in love with your ‘husband’.

“It’s just amazing to me that Win kept you a secret from us. Of course he’s always been a quiet man. Sometimes he comes to church socials and such, but mostly he keeps to himself. I’m always telling my James that these men need wives. They’re much too old to be single.”

Madeline McKinney took a breath and then continued in the same vein. The preacher’s wife could talk as much as her husband did. Her words floated through the air and landed on Vanessa’s ears, but didn’t take root. Instead, Vanessa thought about Win, and how he was the most devastatingly handsome man she’d ever seen.

She’d thought he was very nice looking when she’d met him, but that had been kicked up several notches tonight when he’d taken her and his aunt aside, and in no uncertain words told Matty that her conduct that afternoon was unforgivable. That, mixed with the kisses from earlier, had made Vanessa feel as if nothing could hurt her.

Matty had muttered apologies that didn’t really mean anything, and then quickly walked away. She’d been quiet through most of the dinner, talking with the people around her, but never once looking at Vanessa, who sat at the end of the long table and wondered what it would be like to actually belong here.

Dinners with her acting friends were never like this. Generally, it was twelve to fifteen people who always wanted the conversation to center on them. This time people wanted to talk about their families, and things going on in town. It was a new, and wonderful, experience.

“I still just can’t believe that Win would do this to you, and to us.”

Vanessa turned to Madeline.

“Do what?”

“Marry you in secret! Haven’t you been listening to me?” Madeline giggled and welcomed Matty and Nancy into the group.

Vanessa smiled at the newcomers and then gave Madeline a confused look.

“I’m sorry, I suppose my mind wandered a bit. Win and I were very happy with the way we married.”

“Well, we’re not,” Madeline continued. “I’ve already told my James that he needed to speak to Win tonight about having a real wedding, right here in the house.”

“What a marvelous idea,” Matty said, a smile plastered on her face. “It really was unfair of him to get married without me here. This way I’ll get to attend, and see the beautiful bride.”

“No, thank you for the idea, but we’re already married,” Vanessa said. “We don’t need another ceremony.”

Sweat formed on the palms of Vanessa’s hands. How did this happen? And why in the world did Matty agree that it was a marvelous plan?

Vanessa swept her gaze around the room until it landed on Win.

“Excuse me,” she said, starting toward him.

“Nonsense.” Matty grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “What about this Saturday? I’m sure that we can get things together by then. Madeline do you think your husband would perform the ceremony?”

“Of course he would. He would just love it! James! James!” Madeline took off toward her husband. Everyone turned to stare at her as she came to a stop.

“Vanessa wants to marry Win this Saturday, in front of everyone. Don’t you think that’s a marvelous idea?”

“No, I never said…” Vanessa started toward the minister. She stopped when Win’s shocked face came into view. His look was a mixture of emotions that could be anything from anger, to surprise to amusement.

“Splendid!” The preacher reached for Win’s hand and shook it with enthusiasm. Across the room, Ben and Corbin burst into laughter as she and Win continued to stare at each other.

“Thank you, James,” Win said after a long minute. “Why don’t we hold the ceremony at two? Then we can have a huge dinner on the front lawn.”

Vanessa’s jaw dropped. What the hell was he doing? Win was soon lost in a sea of men offering congratulations. The ladies did their part by crowding around Vanessa, talking of gowns and food. Several offered to bring dishes to add to the dinner.

Vanessa stood in stunned silence, until Matty gathered her in a hug and whispered in her ear.

“This will prove to me that Win truly loves you. You want that, don’t you?” She pulled back and stared at Vanessa, who nodded.

This was a disaster. Leaving after pretending to be his wife was one thing. Leaving after having actually married him was another. How was she going to get out of this?

“You are taking this much too lightly! How could you just stand there with a hairbrush in your hand and say ‘bend over’, when we’re supposed to get married this Saturday? Have you lost your mind?”

Win’s calm attitude drove her crazy. He twirled the brush around and then shrugged his shoulders.

“Tell me, Vanessa, why does this bother you so much?”

“Are you joking?” Truly she was more than a little attracted to him. But marriage? “Signing an agreement to be your wife was one thing. Actually being your wife is another. I think you’re insane. This will make everything legal and binding.”

“And you won’t be able to just walk away, is that your point?”

“Yes!” The minute the word was out of her mouth, Vanessa felt as if she’d lost her world. “No. I don’t know.”

“Would actually marrying me be so bad, Vanessa?”

“I’ve only known you for three days.” Her stomach flopped around inside her. How had this turned from a mere arrangement to marriage?

“True, but stranger things have happened. Tell me, do you think I would make a good husband?”

“Yes.” The word escaped her lips.

“Do you think I’m smart?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, because I thought the same thing of you. Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. I talked to James this afternoon and told him the whole story. He knows that you and I aren’t really married.”

Her insides whirled again. “What?”

“He’s my preacher and I wanted his advice.”

“What did he say?” Vanessa wrung her hands together.

“Well, at first he was concerned for our souls. He thought we were having sex outside of marriage. I told him that we weren’t and that made him very happy.”

Win stared at her and Vanessa stomped her foot. “This is unreal. It is totally unlike any play I’ve ever been in. What did he say next?”

“I’m glad to see that you have some of your spirit back. And, then he was concerned for my soul when he knew I was lying to my aunt. Once I’d explained the situation, though, he saw the point.”

“That’s all well and good, Win, but it doesn’t change the fact that your aunt expects us to get married on Saturday.”

“Yes, I talked to him about that last night, too. He’s going to use words about renewing vows and such. Since there were no original vows the wedding will not be a legally binding ceremony. Now, are you going to bend over the bed, or do I have to take you over my knee? It’s your choice.”

She thought about what he’d said, and then shook her head. “Wouldn’t that make your friend—your preacher friend—be a part of our lie? What does that do for his soul?”

“He didn’t seem to be worried about it,” Win said. “Now, do I have to ask again, knee or bed?”

“Win, you can’t mean to…”

“Decide, Vanessa.” He kissed her forehead and rubbed his lips back and forth over her skin. “Do you want my knee?”

“Yes.” The word came out on a shallow breath.

Win cupped her cheek in his palm and smiled at her. Then took her hand and led her toward the divan.