Macy waited until they were on the street before drawing in a deep breath of air. Jaxon placed a hand on her back and waited for her to calm down before pulling her into his arms. “It’s going to be okay. Trust us together, okay?”
She nodded into his shirt, noting how good he smelled. How warm and masculine. She wanted to burrow into him and stay there.
Instead she let reality intrude. Lifting her head, she asked, “What did you say to Jonathan before we left the office?”
He hesitated before answering. “I told him to bill me.”
She shook her head. “No. I can’t let you do that. It’s my custody fight and–”
“It won’t make a dent in my life. I know how that sounds but it’s true, so if I can help you, just let me. Please.”
She swallowed hard. “I don’t like the idea of taking charity.”
“Then don’t look at it that way. I’m your husband, or I will be, and there’s no reason I can’t pay.”
She stared into his gorgeous eyes and sighed. “I’ll make it up to you, somehow.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “Don’t sweat it, okay?”
Easy for him to say, but how could she not be grateful for his generosity? “Okay. Thank you.” She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
“You’re welcome.”
She tipped her head back, met his gaze. Something serious passed between them, and in that instant, his lips came down on hers. She’d more than grown used to kissing him, and every time she did, she got lost in his taste, his scent, and the hard feel of his body against hers. Just knowing that in two days she’d be his wife and in his bed again set her nerve endings on alert.
The honk of a car startled her, and she jumped, breaking them apart.
“Hey, Jaxon!” someone called out.
The person waved their cell phone at him. “Great picture!” the guy called before jogging off, leaving them staring after him.
She felt the heated blush rise to her cheeks. “Oh, my God. We were caught making out. Again.”
Jaxon pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head. “Get used to it. At least now it’ll be a photo of me and my fiancée,” he said, treating her to his most charming grin. “Not to mention it’s proof of a real marriage. It’s all good.”
He seemed so certain they could make this work she couldn’t help but believe him herself.
Chapter Nine
Jaxon, his brothers, and some of his cousins gathered in one of the downstairs bedrooms of his house in their tuxedos, waiting for the wedding to begin. He’d ceded the master to Macy and the women, knowing they needed more room than the guys.
As much as he’d been outwardly calm in the days leading up to the ceremony, inside there’d always been a level of fear he hadn’t admitted to often. He’d been busy calming Macy, but he hadn’t confessed to his family or friends how nervous he was about this wedding. He wasn’t as much worried he’d miss his bachelor lifestyle as he was panicked that he wouldn’t. That he’d end up enjoying family life only to somehow have it ripped out from under him the way it had been before.
He paced back and forth across the floor, ignoring the joking of the other men in the room, his stomach churning with nerves.
“Hey.” Austin strode over and, in big-brother mode, put an arm around Jaxon’s shoulders. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
Jaxon stared in disbelief. “This from the man who thought of the solution?”
“I didn’t really think you’d go out and get married,” he said somewhat sheepishly. “I just wanted you to calm the fuck down. Don’t get me wrong, though. I like Macy.”
“So do I.” Jaxon liked her a lot. And it had been easy to lose himself in her problems this week and feel like the hero helping her out, first with her sister, then with the lawyer. Somehow he’d managed to put aside the specifics of what it meant to get married and what the repercussions could be.
“And it’s not permanent, so relax.” Austin gripped Jaxon’s shoulder.
“You’re right.” He blew out a breath. “It’s just like any game. Know the rules, play your best, and take the win when it’s over.”
“You’ve got this.”
He nodded, knowing he did and wondering how Macy was handling her last few minutes of being single.
* * *
Macy glanced out the window at the beautiful setup for her wedding, still shocked she’d reached the point where she was getting married. Jaxon had graciously given up his bedroom as her bridal suite, where she and her bridesmaids were putting finishing touches on their hair and makeup.
“Macy?”
She turned at the sound of Hannah’s voice. Her sister looked beautiful, her blonde hair in long spirals, the pink color looking pretty, the light makeup giving her face a rosy glow. The bridesmaids were in purple and lavender dresses, whatever blending color they could find in their size, again, off-the-rack.
“What’s up, Hannah? Are you okay?” Macy knew this day would cause them both upheaval.
“Umm, Jaxon called and asked me to find you something from your mom. So you’d have something old and something from your mother. I went through your jewelry. Don’t be mad,” she said quickly. “And I found this pearl bracelet. I know you didn’t plan to wear it, but I thought it would look pretty. And mean something to you.” Hannah held out a triple-strand pearl bracelet with a thin diamond clasp.
A lump rose in Macy’s throat. With both her parents gone, it hadn’t dawned on her to wear something of her mother’s, and it should have. Now she’d have a piece of them with her, since her dad had bought the bracelet for an anniversary gift.
“Oh, Hannah, that’s so thoughtful!” She accepted the bracelet.
“It was Jaxon’s idea,” Hannah reminded
