Unfortunately Yours (A Vine Mess, #2)

She smiled up at him sweetly. “I’ll give you a shot. Right in the junk—”

A voice filled the tent, cutting off the rest of her sentence, though August was pretty sure he’d gotten the gist of her threat. Natalie wiggled a little and he dropped his arms, but she let him hold her hand as they turned to face the man now speaking into a microphone toward the sunny edge of the tent. He wore an old-timey bowler hat and a carnation on his lapel, and August’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head.

“Welcome to the grand reopening of the Napa Valley Wine Train, established in 1864. We are pleased to have you aboard as our first passengers in our new, elegant setting. Many of the vintage fixtures and the Honduran wood paneling are the very same—”

Several people lost their minds over this.

People in St. Helena got flustered at the very utterance of the word “vintage.”

“. . . but these features have been restored to a more sophisticated level of their old glory.” The man with the microphone craned his neck and searched the crowd. Why did he seem to be looking directly at August and Natalie? “I hear we have an unexpected proposal in the house? Well, let me tell you, the happy couple is in luck. There isn’t a more romantic setting than Napa at twilight aboard our luxurious train and”—he paused for effect—“this is the perfect time to announce the addition of our special honeymoon seating on the second level. A little corner of glass-domed opulence all to themselves called the Lovers’ Nest. We have our perfect test subjects, have we not?”

“Oh . . .” Natalie called politely. “We don’t need any special treatment—”

“We’ll take it,” August said, cutting her off to a smattering of laughs.

He squeezed her hand.

She buried her nails in the meat of his palm until he choked.

Someone snapped a picture.





Chapter Six




Everyone filed onto the train, shuffling one by one up the carpeted steps.

Natalie’s neck burned. For good reason, too. Corinne watched her like a hawk from several passengers back, as did her brother and Hallie. Ingram Meyer and his Tommy Bahama hat took up the rear of the line, making no pretense about being zeroed in on August and Natalie. His brows looked so skeptical, they’d almost reached the center of his forehead, and he was obviously unconvinced that Natalie and August were a happily engaged couple.

Maybe such a feat was impossible.

Maybe this was all a huge waste of time.

“This is insane,” Natalie whispered. “I’m insane.”

August leaned down, bringing them nearly eye level. Don’t look at his mouth. Natalie refused to think about the sweep of exhilaration she’d felt when their lips locked together. Her body’s unwise response to this man needed to be the furthest thing from her mind. Pushed way out into the ether, because it didn’t matter. This plan was meant to be a business arrangement—and already it was on shaky ground. Might not even be viable at all.

“What’s insane?” August prompted.

“This. Me. Asking for your help. You just want to make a fool out of me.”

Momentarily, he cast his gaze downward. “I’ll admit I came on a little strong back there. I’m just . . . I’m never comfortable at these things.”

“So you have to make everyone else uncomfortable to compensate?”

“Correct.”

“At least you’re an honest dickhead.”

“The wedding vows practically write themselves,” he muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. “Look, it’s out of my system now. I’ll do better.”

Natalie closed her eyes, acutely aware of Corinne watching them from her position in line. Of course Corinne had spotted the subterfuge right away. Even if the trust fund wasn’t hanging in the balance, giving Natalie a big fat motive for a hasty marriage, never in Natalie’s life had she gotten away with a lie to her mother. Corinne was a human polygraph test that she’d been taking and failing since birth.

That’s not my weed, Mom.

Our test determined that was a lie.

Natalie attempted a small smile at her mother over her shoulder and was given an impassive look in return. Ingram Meyer watched the whole exchange happen, visibly taking mental notes behind shrewd eyes. He really did see everything, didn’t he? Who in this crowd and the town beyond could be considered his eyes and ears? Anyone at any time? Faking this union was going to be a lot more complicated than she’d imagined. “I’m pretty sure it’s too late, Adonis,” she muttered, her gaze straying back to Ingram. “I think we’ve been made.”

August shook his head. “We’ll salvage it.”

“Doubtful. I hope you can get your money back for this ring.” A line popped in August’s cheek. His giant hand was beginning to sweat inside of hers. Was he worried? Obviously. He wanted that bank loan as much as she wanted her trust fund released.

They were almost to the hostess station when one of the passengers squeezed past them toward the exit, crowding Natalie closer to August’s big, warm body. The air was beginning to cool, thanks to the approaching sunset, and she’d accidentally left her black silk jacket in the car. In other words, the heat he gave off felt incredible on her goose-bumped arms. And when she didn’t immediately move away, he angled toward her slowly and corralled her closer with a forearm to her lower back.

“You want my jacket?” he said gruffly, his breath stirring her hair.

That dreaded pulse started beating between her thighs, her toes twitching in her heels. “Oh sure. After catching me off guard, embarrassing me on purpose, and proposing publicly without so much as a discussion, now you want to be chivalrous.”

“How long are you going to stay pissed, Natalie?”

“It only happened ten minutes ago!” she whispered furiously. “We could have had a civil conversation and arranged everything properly. But no. You had to have the upper hand.”

“I’m sorry. All right? Is that what you want to hear? Because I am.” He jerked his chin toward the opening of the train. “You almost said no.”

“I should have said no.” Natalie shook her head. “I should just bite the bullet and ask my father to amend the terms.”

His sturdy frame stiffened, long moments passing while those words hung in the scant space of fading daylight between them. “Hey.” He dropped his mouth to her ear. “We’re in this. Quit talking about backing out. I’m taking this seriously now.”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to take this ruse seriously for an extended period of time, though? Because, according to my mother, we have to share an address, August. For the marriage to be considered viable and for the purposes of the loan. And all you want to do is make me look stupid. I don’t trust you.” Her heart thunked noticeably, dropping lower and lower by the moment. “Oh my God, what have I done?”

He surprised her by pressing their foreheads together. “Natalie.”

“What?”

Three seconds passed. Four. “I will never, ever let you down again. Is that clear?”

The strangest thing happened in the wake of that unexpected vow. The clamminess of her skin subsided and her pulse slowly returned to normal. She found herself nodding, even, because how could she do anything else when she’d never seen him look so serious? Or heard that thread of honor so deeply woven into his tone. This was August the Navy SEAL.

Still, she wasn’t 100 percent ready to take that leap into trusting him. Not after everything. Not when they were so fresh from the stunt he’d pulled. “We’ll see, I guess.”

“You will see,” he countered without the slightest hesitation. “Now are you coming with me to the Lovers’ Nest or not?”

When had August pulled her closer?

Better question. When had she pushed up on her tiptoes so her arms could reach around his neck? She started to retract her touch, but he shook his head. “If I were your real fiancé,” he said quietly, for her ears alone, “this is how I’d hold you. All the time. So this is how we should stay.”

“Right.” The big slabs of his pecs were inches from her mouth and she had the strangest urge to sink her teeth into them. Maybe even had a premonition that he would enjoy it. There will be none of that. “Later, we can h-have an actual discussion and lay down some ground rules. Come up with a timeline for our respective goals. But first and foremost, let me reiterate, there is going to be absolutely zero sex. I cannot stress that enough.”

“It has been stressful, princess. Believe me.” His thumb brushed across her lower spine and a hot shiver went through her, head to toe. “Remind me again why we can’t have sex.”

His voice cracked on the word “sex,” right there against her ear, and a swallow got stuck in her throat. “The reasons have changed, obviously, with this shiny new development. Lines that need to be clear will . . . blur . . . if we go there. But the underlying logic is the same. I can’t let my guard down around you.”