Waking Up Married(54)

“Not a chance.” Sinking into a slow, deep kiss, his body     hardened and his mind blanked of anything beyond all the creative ways he could     get her to say his name in the next hour.

Work could wait.

* * *

“One night in Las Vegas? And you knew?” came the     delighted question from Georgette Houston, her bright eyes darting eagerly from     Megan to Connor and back again.

Nearly six weeks into a marriage based, at least in part, on     Connor’s desire to have a fundraiser-ready wife on hand to balance the social     against his business, and this intimate dinner squeezed in before Connor’s trip     to Ontario and her looming deadline was their first night out with another     couple. Larry and Georgette Houston. Both in their mid-fifties and both treating     Connor and Megan more like family than a longtime business associate with a deal     to pitch and his tagalong wife.

Megan opened her mouth to answer, happy to share the sanitized     version of their meeting—as it had been told to her, anyway—when Connor beat her     to the punch, a goofy grin hanging on his one-sided smile.

“Neither one of us was looking for romance, but we ended up     talking, and talking, and talking some more. One thing led to another     and...well, here we are.” Connor leaned in, his arm stretched across the back of     Megan’s chair in the kind of comfortably possessive posture that sent     butterflies skirting around her stomach. “Larry can tell you, when an     opportunity as spectacular as this one presents itself, I’m not one to risk     losing it. I wasn’t letting Megan out of my sight until I’d secured a date for     the rest of our lives.”

Georgette’s hand fluttered to her chest as she sighed over the     romance of it all.

Larry exchanged a good-humored look with Connor, muttering     something about getting the point loud and clear, and promising to have a look     at the numbers Connor was sending over to him the next day.

The dinner continued for another few hours, the conversation     easy and entertaining. Megan could tell Connor respected the older man and truly     enjoyed his company. The laughter around their table was rich and warm, and by     the end of the evening, she felt as though she had two new friends.

Friends she hoped to keep for a lifetime, because a lifetime     was what she was looking at with Connor. What she wanted. What she was thanking     her lucky stars for granting her the second chance to have.

Letting down her defenses had been one of the most difficult     things she’d ever done. But forced to see what her fears were making of     her—she’d had to try.

And once Connor had teased that trust from the tight hold of     her fist...handing it over had been incredible. A heady, addictive thing. A     release she’d never allowed herself to truly experience before.

And she felt...free.

Safe.

As if maybe fairy tales came in varieties she hadn’t known     existed. And this one was hers.

As the men collected their coats, Georgette took Megan’s hands     in her own, squeezing warmly.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled we are Connor found you. He had     such a rough start with that father of his. He’s earned the happiness you two     obviously share.”

“Thank you, Georgette.”

The older woman shook her head, a little crease forming between     her eyes. “To think how close you came to missing each other.”

Megan’s head cocked to the side. They’d agreed not to share the     part of their “love story” where she’d woken up without a memory and tried to     leave, so she didn’t know exactly what Georgette was referring to. “Because of     the short window of opportunity in Vegas?”

The smile at Georgette’s lips faltered, her gaze shifting to     Connor and back. It was only the smallest slip, really, before a wide,     reassuring and yet somewhat less sincere smile replaced it. “Of course.”

Pulling her in for a hug, Georgette whispered, “I’ve never seen     him look at anyone the way he looks at you. You’re special.”

This time it was Megan’s brow furrowing, her mind churning over     that instant of hesitation and the words that were setting off quiet alarms in     the back of her mind. As Georgette released her, Megan opened her mouth to     ask...and then stopped. She was being paranoid. Cynical. Looking for nonexistent problems behind words that     shouldn’t have been anything but the most beautiful reassurance. So instead she     replied with a heartfelt truth.