Free And Cowboy Makes Three (Cowboys To The Rescue 2) by Martha Shields

pulled out a small box.
    Claire knew what was there before he opened it to reveal a set of wedding rings. After lunch, Jake had insisted they swing by a jeweler’s over her protests that she hadn’t agreed to marry him.
    Claire let him take her hand and slip the engagement ring on her finger. The three-carat diamond dwarfed her hand. “I don’t know why you had to buy such a big one. I won’t be able to use a keyboard.”
    “You’ll get used to it,” he said smugly. “It seems a bit loose, though. We’ll have it resized when we get back.”
    She shook her head. “I’ll be glad of the extra room when my fingers start swelling after I get pregnant. And what do you mean, when we get back? Where are we going?”
    “Las Vegas. They’ve got wedding chapels that stay open all night. My jet has been ready and waiting since noon. We can be married in four hours.”
    “Four hours?” Reality hit Claire like sleet on a forty mile an hour wind. In four hours, life as she knew it would be over. She’d be Mrs. Jacob Anderson. “And I suppose I’ll be pregnant by dawn.”
    His eyes seemed to catch fire. “I’m planning to do my best.”
    “Good grief, Jake—”
    “There’s no time to waste, angel, and no reason to wait. Unless you want your family there?”
    Claire thought about the entire Eden brood descending on Jake and quickly shook her head. “It’s probably better if they don’t find out until I’m pregnant.”
    Then they can’t try to talk me out of it.
    “You’re sure? I can fly them all out to Vegas if you—”
    “No. I’m sure.” She took a deep breath. “Let me go pack.”
    Jake checked his watch. “Just grab a toothbrush. We need to be in the air within an hour if we’re going to make it. The Las Vegas Marriage License Bureau closes at midnight. We’ll buy whatever else you need out there.”

Chapter Five
     
    T wo in the morning. Las Vegas. Fake flowers. Rented clothes. Taped music. Paid witnesses.
    Not exactly how she’d pictured her wedding.
    Claire paused at the back of a tiny wedding chapel in a bridal gown that stretched tight across her bosom. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to loosen her death grip on the silk flower bouquet as music swelled through the empty pews.
    The minister stood between two massive bright pink silk flower arrangements while Elvis crooned “Love Me Tender.”
    Jake stood off to the right in a dark suit, watching her expectantly, as did the two witnesses. Every one of them acted as though this were perfectly normal.
    Tears sprang to her eyes, but she fought them back with determination. No one said life was perfect, or that it gave you everything you dreamed of. At least she was getting married and would have children.
    The only thing she risked losing was her heart.
    Squaring her shoulders, Claire took the first step down the short aisle.
    As Jake watched his bride walk slowly toward him, a moment of panic seized him. What the hell was he doing? He’d known this woman less than four days. What if she were just like every other woman he’d ever dated? What if she took him for all he was worth despite the prenuptial agreement she’d signed without a fight?
    Claire stopped beside him and met his eyes for the first time since she’d stepped into the chapel. She lifted her chin in that stubborn little way already familiar to him and suddenly he knew—he was marrying the right woman. He would never tire of gazing into her clear blue eyes, even when they were surrounded by wrinkles.
    Claire Eden was his choice, his wife, his mate.
    A grin stole slowly across his face, and she answered with a timid smile. He took her cold hand in his and turned to face the minister.
     
    Claire hovered behind Jake as he registered for the best suite in Caesar’s Palace Hotel. She shivered despite the warm desert air and pulled her sweater close around her. The cold she felt came from within.
    Her wedding night. After a lifetime of waiting and wondering, it had finally