Married By Mistake

Casey and Adam, but she prayed that he would recognize Casey was nothing like his own family. That while she needed him, he needed her so much more.
    Today, with the sun shining, and the sweet scent of magnolias mingling with grilling beef, it was easy to be optimistic. Eloise smiled as she turned back to her friends’ conversation. But she had trouble focusing. Her mind was restless with thoughts of love and marriage. Unconditional love...
    For some reason—probably because he was standing not twenty yards from her—Sam kept capturing her attention.
    Adam should never have invited him to this lunch—he wasn’t family. Of course, neither were Beth and Cecile. Adam had included them because he thought Eloise would prefer their company to some of his relatives’. It didn’t help that Cecile kept giving Sam looks that could only be called flirtatious.
    Somewhat acerbically, Eloise said to her friend, “You’re rather obvious in your attentions toward Sam Magill, Cecile. It never pays to look too eager.”
    “It’s called admiring the view,” Cecile said promptly. “He’s a handsome man.”
    “Tall, too,” said Beth, who at five foot one said that about everyone. This time, Eloise happened to agree with her. “He keeps looking this way,” her friend continued. “I think he’s interested in you, Cecile.”
    Cecile straightened in her chair and sent a glance over her shoulder that Eloise considered far too sultry for a woman who’d turned sixty last birthday.
    Eloise bit back the retort that it was her Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of how mean she was feeling toward her friend. What was wrong with her? With a huff of frustration that almost turned into a sob, she turned her back on Sam, trying for a joke. “You girls have been widows too long if you think Sam is anything other than a...a tedious, pathetic little man.”
    Oh dear, that hadn’t come out funny in the least. She was met by horrified silence. Which was arguably an overreaction. She’d said no worse than the others had a dozen times about men who—
    “Eloise.” Sam’s gravelly voice spoke behind her.
    Eloise gasped. Her heart in her mouth, she turned. He seemed bigger than she remembered. Only a few inches taller than her five-seven, but just...bigger all over. Not overweight, just...big. Male.
    She closed her eyes, mortified. Once, when she was a child, her mama had tanned her behind for being rude to one of their maids. And she’d been far less offensive then than she’d been to Sam now.
    “Sam, I’m so very sorry. That was inexcusable.” For the first time his gray eyes—gunmetal gray, she realized—didn’t soften. This must be what he looked like in a courtroom.
    He didn’t blush or stammer or do any of the inept Sam Magill things. “Eloise Carmichael,” he said in the stentorian tone of a judge pronouncing sentence, “you are a spoiled brat.”
    Eloise heard Cecile titter, saw Beth’s mouth round into an O of shock.
    “When you decide to keep a civil tongue in your head like the lady you were raised to be...”
    Oh, this was too much; now he was channeling her own thoughts back at her.
    “...we’ll talk about what you think of me. Until then, I’ll leave you with this.”
    Strong hands grasped her shoulders, and Eloise looked up at him in bewilderment. A moment’s stupidity prevented her from realizing what he was about to do. Then his lips met hers in a hard kiss.
    She gasped and twisted away. “How dare—”
    But his hands framed her face, forcing her back to him. Again he kissed her, smothering her protest with the hunger of a man too long denied.
    Eloise pushed against his chest, but then— gracious— she seemed to be melting into the man. Her fingers curled into the fine linen of his shirt and she heard a noise that sounded very much like herself... moaning .
    Finally, Sam released her, his face red, but not with embarrassment.
    He cleared his throat and said stiffly, “I am not James. I will never be James.” The words were a slap in the face. He took a step closer and Eloise shrank back even as a traitorous corner of her wanted to feel that mouth on hers again.
    “You know what?” Sam said. “I don’t want to be James.”
    He gave her that half bow, so much more awkward than James’s had ever been, yet in its own way...endearing. Then he turned and strode across the lawn toward the drive.
    On the way, he bumped into the sundial.
    Eloise watched him until