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…
Mercy tried to swallow past her suddenly dry mouth. “Could you excuse us for just a minute?” she asked, her voice much fainter than she’d intended.
She forced a smile and grabbed Gray’s arm, towing him behind her back into the house. Thankfully, the parlor house was full of secluded nooks and crannies, and she ushered him into a small, curtained alcove with a plush love seat and pulled him down with her.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said. “I know actually marrying me wasn’t part of the deal.”
Gray took a long, slow breath, his face unreadable. “I said I would if it came down to it.”
Her stomach fluttered. “Yes, but I don’t think either of us thought it everwouldcome down to it. I’m sure you didn’t really mean it when you agreed.”
“Didn’t I?”
The quiet words reverberated in her head, sending her stomach spinning and her lungs struggling to drag in a breath. “You…you’d really marry me?”
“I said I would,” he repeated. His eyes remained fixed on hers, but she couldn’t begin to imagine what he was thinking. Feeling. Maybe there was nothing at all going on in his mind. Or maybe everything.
She put a hand to her forehead, trying to clear the sudden buzzing echoing in her ears.
“You did,” she agreed. “But, if you’ve changed your mind… I mean, I know this was all supposed to be temporary. Just until Josiah is gone. Doing this…” She could barely force herself to say the word. “Marriage. It’s a lot to ask… It’ll be real. Permanent. And I know that wasn’t part of the deal. So, I’m just saying, I’d understand if you…”
She blew out a breath, and he leaned forward. He didn’t touch her, but even being a few inches nearer made her heart beat hard enough she was sure he could hear it.
“I know most people don’t have a very high opinion of me,” he said, his voice gruff, a pain behind it that made her want to wrap her arms around him. “But I’m a man of my word. I said I’d help you. Josiah is still out there. So, I’m not done yet. And I said if it came down to it, I’d marry you for real. Well, it looks like it’s come down to it.”
“And if it all goes horribly wrong and we loathe the sight of each other within a month?”
He shrugged. “Then I hop on that lazy horse of mine, and we ride out of here. You stay a respectable married woman with the freedom to do whatever the hell she wants without everyone in town naggin’ her to get a husband.”
“And if I ever want to remarry?”
He shrugged again. “Tell people I died. It’ll probably be the truth.”
Mercy’s stomach sank at the thought of anything happening to Gray, but she didn’t have time to analyze the feeling to death just yet. First, she needed to figure out if she was getting married or not. She kept coming up with another dozen reasons why this was a bad idea. Though, getting out of it would cause a stir she really didn’t want to deal with. Not that that was a reason to get married.
“The only real question is,” Gray said, “doyouagree to this?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. If you don’t want this, it doesn’t happen. People will talk, but people will always talk. I don’t care about them. You, however, are more than capable of killin’ me in my sleep.”
She gasped. “I would never.”
He chuckled. “Don’t be so sure. We don’t know each other all that well yet, and I have no doubt that what you do know of me vexes you to no end.”
“That’s a fair point.”
He gave her that crooked grin she couldn’t help but return. Vexing, yes. But he could be kind of adorable when he wanted to be.
“All I’m sayin’ is marriage lasts a long time even when you go into it willing,” he said. “So. If you object, we tell them to mind their own business and go about ours as planned. If you don’t object…” He shrugged. “Then I guess we go out there and get hitched.”
She blinked at him. “Yes, but I’m sure I’m…” She gestured at herself. “I’m not…”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not what?”
She frowned, not sure if he was playing with her and just trying to make her say it or if he really didn’t know what she was getting at. She had no illusions that she was a great beauty. No man would walk into a room and notice her first. Or even fifth or sixth. That hadn’t bothered her too much in the past. She had her farm, her orchard, her friends. She only rarely noticed the lack of a husband, and it never lasted long. All in all, she’d grown content with her lot in life.
But Gray had traveled. Lived an exciting life. And was still a very handsome man, if a little worse for wear. She had no doubt he had been with all sorts of beautiful women. They always flocked to dangerous men. And whatever else Gray was, he was definitely dangerous. When he could stay awake, that is.
