What Happens in Mexico...Stays in Mexico

Chapter Two

“Cancel it?”  Sharra looked at him incredulously.  “Are you out of your mind?  I can’t cancel my wedding.  There are two hundred guests coming, we’ve booked the country club and we’ve got tickets to go to Paris for our honeymoon.  I can’t cancel it!”

“Well, unless you are going to become a bigamist, I suggest you rethink that.”

Sharra’s heart fell and she wrapped her arms around herself.  “I can’t believe this is happening.  Oh God, he’s going to be furious with me.”

“He shouldn’t have let you come to Mexico without him.  Any guy in his right mind wouldn’t let you out of his sight.”

Even though she was confused and frightened, his words made her go warm inside.  She shook them off with an effort.  “Frank…he’s not the possessive type.  And damn it,” she snarled, pacing over to the window, “I’m not a child.  I can take a vacation by myself.”

“Yeah, you’re doing a hell of a job so far, aren’t you?”

Tears sprang to her eyes.  “Don’t say that.  Just don’t.”  She wiped the moisture away with a furious hand.  “I’m not sure what happened, but I don’t just fall in bed with a man.  No matter how attractive.”  Shaking her head, she shuddered.  “What am I going to do?”

“Hey…don’t cry, honey.”  Matt walked up and touched her shoulder, not knowing what his reception would be.  The backhanded compliment had surprised him and he wondered if she even knew she’d said it.  His gut tightened.  The pain in her eyes had been bad, but the shame he saw now was almost his undoing.  Damn!  Why couldn’t he have hooked up with some woman who was more experienced?  That wouldn’t be hurt by this little masquerade? 

Going on instinct, he gently put his arms around her.  She stiffened, but then slowly relaxed.  “You being engaged is a problem, but like I said, you and me being married is a done deal.  Guess we better get used to it.”

“Used to it?”  She whirled around and stared up at him, her green eyes luminous.  “How can I get used to it?  I don’t remember anything.  I don’t know you.  I’m standing, naked in a motel room with a complete stranger who I’ve just spent the night with.  Just how do you expect me to get used to that?”

Heat raced through Matt’s body and he spoke without thinking.  “By going back to bed?”

The slap across the face was painful, but not really unexpected.  It had been a stupid thing to say.  Matt blinked at the stars he saw.  She really did pack a wallop.  Carefully, he rotated his jaw and tested his mouth for blood.

“Damn it!” Sharra cried out as she covered her face with her hands.  “Look what you made me do.  But how could you even suggest such a thing?  God!  You’re a stranger!  I don’t even know you!”

Matt touched her arm.  Shit! He hated the role he’d forced them both into.  “I’m sorry, honey.  Really.  For a minute there I was thinking like a caveman.”  When she glared at him, he shrugged.  “Look.  I’m attracted to you.  Hell, I wouldn’t have married you if I wasn’t.  And I didn’t expect you to forget me or the wedding.  So this is just as hard on me as it is on you, all right?”

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered again.

His chest ached suddenly and all he wanted to do was soothe the hurt he’d caused, but he knew he couldn’t.  There were other things he had to worry about and calming Sharra’s feelings had to be low on the priority list.  “Why don’t you go in and take a shower.  Maybe you’ll feel better.  When you get out, we’ll talk some more.  How does that sound?’

He wanted to squirm under her unblinking regard, but after a moment, she nodded and silently stepped into the bathroom closing the door behind her.  Matt blew out his breath in relief.  How had something that should have been so simple, turn into a situation he wasn’t sure how to deal with?  Now that he knew her a little, he hated even more the fact he had to use her.  And the fierce attraction he felt wasn’t helping.  He couldn’t believe he’d been so crass as to ask her to have sex with him again.

Matt snorted out a laugh.  “Not again you idiot.  You’re beginning to believe your own fairy tale.  This is business.  Strictly business.”

But even as he said it aloud, he knew he was lying to himself.

The hot water beating down on Sharra did make her feel better.  He…Matt had been right about that.  But feeling better sure didn’t solve her problem.  She was engaged to one man and married to another.  How could she have been so stupid?

Putting her head under the slashing spray, she thought she could answer that question.  Her new husband was one of the sexiest men she’d ever met.  Not handsome, she mused again, but more of a wicked attractiveness that made all her nerve endings stand on end each time she looked at him.

But sexy did NOT make a good husband.  In fact, sexy in her mind meant the same as a man who tom-catted around sampling all the other females, even though he was pledged to just one.  Maybe that is why she had chosen nice, safe Frank.  He might not be the most exciting man on the planet, but at least she knew he’d be faithful, right?  He wouldn’t spend all his nights out smoozing with clients who happen to be female.  And he sure as hell wouldn’t wind up taking them to bed to seal the deal and then forcing his wife and daughter pay for his stupidity by—

Sharra cut off her racing thoughts and gently pounded her forehead against the cool tile.  Twenty years later and she still measured all men by her father’s infidelity.  She should know better.  It wasn’t Frank’s fault he didn’t rock her boat, and it surely wasn’t Matt’s fault that one smile made her toes curl and her whole body tremble.

But no matter how sexy her temporary husband was, she had to bear in mind he was a mistake.  One that would be made even worse if she went to bed with him again.  As she rinsed off the soap, she sighed.  It might be wrong of her, but she wished she hadn’t been so drunk the night before.

She really wanted to remember what making love to Matt had been like.

Twenty minutes later, Sharra stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a white terrycloth bathrobe.  Her nerves were calmer and she was determined to talk to Matt and get everything straightened out.  She might have gotten married to the wrong man, but she wasn’t about to ruin her life over it.  Decisions needed to be made and then carried out.  She was an adult and took full responsibility for her ridiculous actions of the night before.  She wouldn’t blame her temporary husband anymore…at least she wouldn’t as long as he was agreeable and helped her fix the mess they were in.

But her strength of will took a definite nose dive when she saw him standing by the window staring down at the street.  He’d pulled on a pair of jeans, but hadn’t fastened them.  Droplets of water still graced his shoulders, fallen from his wet and tousled hair.  His abdomen gleamed in the sunlight and the soft whorl of curls under his belly button made her fingers itch to touch him.  Her nipples tingled in reaction and she swore inwardly.  It was just too bad that he had the yummiest tummy she’d ever seen.  Why did he have to be so damned attractive?    And why did that part of a man’s body have to be her favorite? 

Jerking her gaze up to his face, she found that wasn’t much better.  The hard lines of his jaw seemed harsher and for a moment she was almost frightened of him.  A uncontrollable shiver ran through her.  Who was this man really?

She must have made some sound because he whirled back to her, his hand going to his side just like an old time gunfighter.  It was a telling move, one that made her even more curious about this man to whom she was married.

“Feel better?”

His deep voice made her start and she took a deep breath.  “Yes, thank you.”  Sharra moved purposely towards him.  “And now I think it’s time we talked about how to get out of this mess.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed.  “I don’t think of it as a mess, sweetheart.  It’s a marriage.”

Warmth touched her cheeks.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to offend you.  But to me it’s a mistake that needs to be fixed and fixed quickly.  So we need to decide what we are going to do next.”

His eyebrow lifted as he grabbed a shirt and shrugged it on.  “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.  So, what I’m going to do next is eat breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” 

“Yeah, you know.  That meal you eat in the morning.  Break-fast?  Break your fast.”

His mocking tone made her lips firm.  “There is no need to be snide.  I know what it means, but I want to talk about what’s hap—”

“Not on an empty stomach,” he interrupted firmly.  “A man needs a full stomach if his wife is going to ask him for a divorce.”

Twenty minutes later they were seated at a small outdoor cantina that overlooked sparkling Banderas Bay.  Since Sharra spoke very little Spanish, Matt ordered for them both, rattling off the language as if he’d been born to it.

After the sloe-eyed waitress had left, Sharra took a sip of coffee.  “You speak really good Spanish.  Do you come here often?”

Matt tossed her a grin.  “That sounds like a pick up line if I ever heard one.”

A dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth.  “You know what I mean.”

He chuckled.  “I’ve traveled south of the border a few times.  Never been to Puerto Vallarta though.  But I’m glad I chose this vacation spot.”  He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.  “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you.”

Red colored her cheeks as she tried to pull her hand away.  He refused to let her go.  “Matt,” she whispered.  “We really need to talk about this.”

“What do we have to talk about?” he questioned.  “We’re married.  I, for one, plan on staying that way.  We may have married in haste, as the saying goes, but I’m very happy with my choice.”

Delight and panic warred within her.  “That…that’s a sweet thing to say, but it’s not that simple.”

“Why?”

The blunt question made her frown and she snatched her hand away.  “Because, I am engaged to someone else, remember?  I can’t just call him up and say, ‘Frank, the weirdest thing happened to me in Mexico.  I got drunk and got married.’”  She rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly.  “He’ll be furious and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Her genuine distress made Matt’s whole body tighten.  He really hated the thought of her belonging to someone else.  It didn’t make sense.  Christ, he hardly knew her.  But it was there, just the same.  And since it bothered him to think about it, he did the manly thing and shoved it out of his mind.

“I know it’s not going to be easy, but hell, Sharra, it’s a done deal.  Why not try to enjoy it for a while instead of trying to erase it.  We are married, babe.  You gotta get that through your head.”

Her mouth opened, but the server came before she could say another word.  She was silent as the plates of Huevos Rancheros, grilled sausage and fresh local fruit was set before them.  Two effervescent glasses of mimosa were next, and then with a bobbing curtsey, the waitress was gone.

Matt’s stomach growled.  He hadn’t realized he was so hungry.  He gave another quick glance around to make sure they weren’t being watched, then tucked into his food.

“How can you eat at a time like this?”

His grey eyes lifted to meet her angry blue ones.  “I can always eat.”

She sighed and picked up her fork.  “I’ve gone crazy.  That’s the only explanation.”

He swallowed a bite of spicy egg and shrugged.  “If it makes you feel better.”

“What do I do about Frank?”  Sharra took a sip of her mimosa, licked her lips, and then took another, bigger swallow.  “He’s going to call me today to check on me.  How do I tell him?”

Watching her lick her lips that way was going to make him crazy too.  Matt took a deep breath and tore his gaze away from her pouting mouth.  “It’ll all work out.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Suddenly irritated, Matt slammed down his hand on the table, making the dishes bounce.  “Look, what do you want me to do?  I like being married to you.  I want to be married to you.  I’m sorry you don’t feel the same way, but I’m not messing up my honeymoon just because my wife is having second thoughts.”  Again, he wished silently that it was a real marriage so a honeymoon was a possibility.  His need to get Sharra back in his bed was growing every second.  “And that’s not all that’s growing,” he growled under his breath.

“I beg your pardon?”

Her stiff little voice made him close his eyes and count to ten.  He really didn’t know how to play this.  He had to get out of the country, but if he pushed too hard about going home to the USA, she’d become suspicious.  Better he play a couple days and give her a little honeymoon fun before he had the brilliant idea that it would be easier to get a divorce if they went back home.  Of course, he had no idea if that were true or not, but with any luck, Sharra wouldn’t know either.

“Matt?”  Her soft voice jerked him out of his thoughts.

Picking up his glass, he leaned over and tapped it against her own.  “To us, Mrs. Sinclair.  May we live the next few days like they are the most important in our life.” 

And, he thought to himself, they just well may be.

END OF CHAPTER TWO

* Chapter One * Chapter Two * Chapter Three * Chapter Four * Chapter Five * Chapter Six *

* Chapter Seven * Chapter Eight *  Chapter Nine *  Chapter Ten * Chapter Eleven *

* Chapter Twelve * Chapter Thirteen * Chapter Fourteen * Chapter Fifteen * Chapter Sixteen *

* Chapter Seventeen * Epilogue *