Free A Bravo Homecoming by Christine Rimmer

invitation. And because it was the Sunday before a very special Thanksgiving when Davis and Aleta would renew their vows, Sam had a feeling there might be a lot of Bravos there that day.
    She put the book down, put her iPod away.
    “How you holding up?” he asked.
    When she turned to meet his eyes he was smiling. “A little nervous, I guess,” she admitted.
    “You look terrific and my family will love you.”
    It was exactly the right thing for him to say. She forgave him for being Mr. Strong and Surly through most of the ride. “Thanks. I needed that.”
    “There might be a lot of them,” he warned.
    “I was thinking that there probably would be.”
    “But the good news is they’re great people. I think you’ll enjoy yourself.”
    She nodded and turned her gaze back to the road.
    But now, all of a sudden, he wanted to talk. “Sam.”
    She kept her eyes focused front. “Yeah?”
    “About last night…”
    Her throat felt tight. “Yeah?”
    “I think it was a good thing that I kissed you.” What was he getting at? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. He added, “I mean, we’re supposed to be engaged, right?”
    “Right.” Out the windshield, the land was gently rolling now, dotted with limestone outcroppings. There were oak trees and cattle grazing in the dry winter grass of wide pastures. Cottony clouds dotted the sky.
    He said, “It would be odd, to pretend to be engaged without even having kissed, don’t you think?”
    She did glance at him then. He was staring straight ahead. A muscle twitched in his jaw. And she almost smiled, feeling a certain fondness for him, and sympathy, too, as he tried to get her talking on a not-so-easy subject. At the same time, she felt a prickle of annoyance. He’d shut her out for most of the ride—and now, when they were almost there, he suddenly decided they just had to rehash last night.
    “Odd?” She frowned and turned to watch the rolling land go by out her side window. “Yeah, I guess it would be, to be engaged without ever sharing a kiss. But we’re not really engaged, so what does it matter?”
    “Sam…” He waited until she met his eyes before he looked at the road ahead again. “My mom has got to believe we’re for real, you know?”
    She stared at his profile, at his nicely chiseled jaw and manly blade of a nose. “How could I forget? Didn’t I just spend a week and a big ol’ pile of your money whipping myself into shape so I can pull the wool over your poor, trusting mama’s loving eyes?”
    He gave her another quick glance—one that almost made her laugh. He kind of reminded her of Jimmy Betts after she reamed him a new one for almost knocking one of the rock docs off the rig with a length of pipe.
    “You’re pissed at me.” His voice was flat.
    She almost denied it, but come on. They might be about to tell a whopping lie to his mom and the rest of his family, but right now it was just the two of them. The least she could do was keep it honest between them. “Duh. Yeah. I’m a little ticked off at you. You’ve hardly said a word to me all morning. And now, all of a sudden, you want to go into detail about how great it is that you kissed me. Not because you wanted to kiss me, but because we’re about to fake being engaged and we need all the practice we can get to make it look real.”
    Without warning, he swung the Caddy to the shoulder and braked to a squealing stop. The guy in the pickup behind them leaned on the horn as he swung past them and went on by.
    Sam pressed her lips together and stared out the windshield as the pickup vanished around the next turn.
    “Sam. Damn it, Sam.” He said a few more choice words. And then he was quiet. And then finally, “Come on. I’m sorry, okay?” He did sound like he meant it.
    And she felt sorry, too, but she still couldn’t make herself look at him.
    He turned off the engine, undid his seat belt and shifted in the seat, leaning across the leather console. She was way too aware of him,