"We'll tell you when we're ready," Cole bit out.

The man's eyebrows rose. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I just remembered one more thing I need to take care of. Excuse me."

Cole practically carried her over to a small sitting area in the corner of the room.

"You scared him," she said.

"I don't care about him. I care about you."

Her stomach fluttered. He cared about her?

Oh my.

"You're overwhelmed."

No question, he was a man of few words. Still, he managed to say everything that needed to be said.

"Who wouldn't be?"

Before she knew it, he had pulled her onto his lap. "I don't want to hurt you, Anna."

He was so big and warm and hard beneath her thighs, against her chest, her hands. And when she was close to him like this, suddenly everything became so much clearer.

He hadn't forced her to come here. He'd simply asked her to marry him and she'd agreed.

Because, for the first time in her life, she wanted to see what it felt like to really live.

"You're not hurting me, Cole. And you don't need to apologize."

"Good," he said in that low, rough voice of his that heated her up beyond reason,

"because I'd rather kiss you." And then his mouth was on hers and her insides were lighting up like the Fourth of July.

"Sweet," he murmured against her lips, between kisses. "Sweeter than sugar."

Her body ached to get closer to his, to shift so that she wasn't sitting sideways across his legs, but straddling him instead.

When he finally let her up for air, she had to say, "You taste good, too."

"Nowhere near as good as you, Anna," he said, his eyes still on her lips, which were throbbing from his passionate kiss.

"Kiss me again, Cole."

She didn't have time to take another breath before he was there, stealing it from her lungs, shifting her so that her br**sts were pressed hard against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

It didn't make any sense, not just being here in a wedding chapel with a man she hardly knew, but the fact that every cell in her body wanted to become part of him--and never, ever let go.

Every day, every minute of her life had made sense up until now.

And none of that sense had ever felt as good as this crazy did.

"Let's get married, Cole."

He stilled at her whispered request, before saying, "Anything for you, sweet Anna."

From that point on, everything happened in a blur. Cole lifting her off of his lap, the two of them walking over to the counter hand in hand to fill out the paperwork, realizing that they both lived in San Francisco as they wrote out their addresses; listening to the officiant say, "Do you, Cole Taylor, take Anna Davis to be your lawfully wedded wife," hearing Cole say "I do" in his low, rough voice; realizing she was being asked, "Will you, Anna Davis, take Cole Taylor to be your lawfully wedded husband?" and the words "I do" coming before she could let herself second-guess them; sliding the platinum band onto Cole's ring finger; watching Cole slide the diamond ring onto her left hand as the words "I now pronounce you husband and wife" were spoken...

...and then kissing the stranger she'd just married.

* * *

Cole didn't want to ever stop kissing Anna. She was addictive, her taste, the feel of her soft curves, the breathy sounds of pleasure she made as he swept his tongue against hers and nipped at her full lower lip. Unfortunately, making out with his new wife to the sound of a throat clearing--loudly and repeatedly--wasn't exactly what he had in mind for his wedding night.

Not that he'd ever thought about his wedding night.

Or ever pictured himself with a new wife.

His heart rate kicked up, the ring Anna had put on his finger feeling strange as the officiant said, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor."

Anna leaned closer into him as if she were trying to keep herself from falling. Fuck, he felt the same way even though getting hitched had been his idea, the perfect way to make sure Anna stayed with him at least long enough to meet his grandmother. And make her final wish come true.

Guilt knocked around inside his chest. At the same time, his dick was so hard he could pull it out and pound nails with it.

"Thank you," Anna replied to the officiant and the witness, whom Cole guessed were probably a married couple themselves.

"You're very welcome, honey." She lowered her voice. "I shouldn't be saying this, but after thirty years of owning Cupid's, we've seen our fair share of couples come through our doors. Enough to know which ones are going to make it, and which aren't."

He could feel Anna's intake of breath against his chest. "You can tell just from looking at the couple?"

Shit. Why hadn't he dragged her out of the chapel as soon as the rings were on? If this woman told Anna that their marriage was doomed--not thirty seconds after closing the deal--

Cole was going to be pissed. There were plenty of half-crippled football players out there who could vouch for the fact that it was never a good idea to piss off Cole Taylor.

"Oh yes. We certainly can," the woman affirmed. "I can tell that you two are going to be among the lucky ones."

"We are?"

He would have laughed at the surprise in Anna's voice if he hadn't been more than a little insulted by it. Why the hell had she married him if she didn't think it was going to work out? He was the only one in this "relationship" with an ulterior motive, wasn't he?

She couldn't be that good an actress, could she? Hell, she was all but dripping innocence, and hadn't so much as reacted to learning his full name. Then again, for such an innocent girl, it hadn't exactly taken a hell of a lot of work to convince her to marry him.

Suspicion began to ride him as the woman said, "So many couples come in here on a spur-of-the-moment decision and just don't have what it takes to make it. But you two." She beamed at them. "I can almost see your bond. Strong and true. Real love. But you don't want to spend your wedding night gabbing with an old lady. Not when I can see how much you both are looking forward to celebrating your marriage."

Anna blushed furiously at the woman's comment, but for Cole it was a welcome splash of truth. The true love stuff was all bullshit. But the woman was dead right about one thing.