Page 3 of Shameless Cowboy
My head whips to the side as my eyes bug out and my jaw drops. Brooks mirrors my movement and expression. I’m sure it would be comical if we both weren’t shocked by Austin’s statement.
Brooks shakes his head with a huff. “Funny, but now's not the time to be joking.”
Austin crosses his arms over his chest. “Not even close to joking. I’ll marry you, Kayla. You don’t deserve to lose Blooms after all the work you’ve put into it, just because your Gran lost it at the end.”
“Oh, um, well… I’m I’m not quite sure what to say,” I stutter.
“Say yes,” Austin insists.
I can’t keep a frown from overtaking my face. What the actual frig is happening right now? The man who can’t stand me is asking, no,tellingme to marry him. I’m so confused.
“But you don’t even like me? How am I supposed to marry someone who can’t stand to be around me?” I blurt.
His hands fall to his trim hips as his head drops forward, and he heaves a deep sigh. When he looks up, he nods. “I can understand how it would seem that way, but I can assure you that's not the case.”
He says it with such conviction I almost believe him, but it goes against everything he’s ever shown me since I was sixteen. I do my best not to cringe at the thought of the crush I had developed on my best friend’s older brother back then.
It was like I woke up one day and hormones had taken over my body. When I saw Austin, he had transformed from an annoying older brother to a sexy man who drew all my attention. I figured I was too obvious about my crush, and he didn’t want to have to shoot down his brother’s chubby friend, so he started keeping his distance from me.
Even all these years later, the hopeful, blossoming sixteen-year-old in me perks up at the thought of marrying my childhood crush. I squash the thought before it can bloom into a weed that can’t be eradicated. I’m much too old for girlish fantasies, and I have a business to save.
Shit, I have a business to save, and he’s offering me a way out.
Brooks nudges my shoulder with his. “You know this could work, and then you’ll officially be my sister.”
My gaze swings to him to discern whether he’s joking, and unfortunately there’s not a trace of humor on his face. “But this is crazy.”
“Is it really though?” Brooks asks. “You two have known each other all your lives, and I’ll be there to help make things easier. If you’re not getting married for love, wouldn’t you rather it be with someone you know and can trust, who’s practically family already?”
“Well, I mean I guess.” I’m so confused. Now Brooks is lobbying for this sham of a marriage to his brother, who seems to be content to let Brooks convince me to marry him.
Austin comes to stand in front of me. He tips his dusty black cowboy hat back on his head with a knuckle before engulfing my hand in his. Sparks shoot up my arm at the contact. His silver eyes hold mine. The intensity in them has butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
“Look, I get you’ve had a lot thrown at you today. This is a big decision and certainly not one to be taken lightly. So, take all the time you need to think it through. Ask any questions that come to mind. I’m an open book. We don’t have to do this today, this week, or even this month. You said you have six months to find someone. If you want to try to find true love or even just someone better in the next one hundred and seventy-nine days, knock yourself out. I’ll be here waiting for you on day one hundred eighty to have the honor of marrying you.”
The butterflies have gone from flutters to swarming at his words and the sincerity of them. This is not the Austin I have known for the last seventeen years. This is the Austin of my sixteen-year-old crush.
Hell, this is the Austin of my thirty-three-year-old dreams. The thought has my heart thundering as I actually consider his proposition.
“Wow. I have no words. Thank you,” I murmur.
“You’re more than welcome. You know where to find me when you decide what you want to do. I’ll leave you two to talk.” He tips his chin at Brooks, then drops my hand before leaving us alone.
My mind whirls while I irrationally feel as if I’ve lost a limb as he walks away. This just gets stranger and stranger. I now know how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole and nothing was the same.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,” I mutter as I struggle not to laugh hysterically at how accurate the sentiment is.
Chapter Four
Austin
Excitement like I’ve never felt before races through me as I stand in front of the courthouse a week later, waiting for my bride to be. I bite my cheek to keep from grinning like a lunatic at the fact Kayla decided so quickly marrying me was the best option.
It’s surreal this is happening. Never in a million years did I think it would be me who Kayla was walking down the aisle to. I’m still anxious about her relationship with Brooks, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
They claim they’re not in love with each other and it’s strictly platonic. That means I have the opportunity to use this marriage to prove to Kayla I’m the man for her. To show her how I really feel—and have always felt—about her.
Trepidation hits that she may not return my feelings, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have five years to get her to fall in love with me, even if I’d rather it be yesterday or, better yet, fifteen years ago when she became legal.
