Newlywed Games by Mary Davis

fight not to lean back against him.
    “I’ll go by the cottage and feed Lucky.” When he leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek, she jumped.
    He chuckled and grinned at Meg’s mother. “She’s still not used to me.”
    “I daresay it won’t take much longer for her to be so,” her mother said with a laugh.
    That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,
Meg thought miserably.Kisses from Bruce would be all too easy to get used to.…
    He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’ll brave the spiders and get the key.” With that, he kissed her cheek again and headed for the door. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
    Meghann jumped up and rushed after him. “I’ll walk you to the elevator.” She practically pushed him out the door, and he looked down at her with a barely restrained grin.
    When they stood in front of the elevator, she turned to him, straightening her shoulders. “I think I should change and go to work, too.”
    “Nonsense. You stay here and enjoy your time with your mother.”
    “I feel so guilty. It’s not right. I should be working.”
    “Right or not, that’s the way it is. Spend the day with her and come in tomorrow for a few hours.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Bruce stepped inside but kept them from closing with his hand. “By the way, running after me to walk me to the elevator looked good.”
    She blinked at him. “Looked…good?”
    “To your mom.”
    “That’s not why I did it. You know that.”
    “It doesn’t matter why, it only matters how it appears to your mother. Appearance is everything.” He removed his hand and made a gesture as if tipping an imaginary hat. “Have a nice day.”
    She watched as the doors slid closed on his endearing smile.
Appearances. And you are so good at them.
If she didn’t know better, she would swear he was in love withher. But then it was all in the way it appeared, wasn’t it? Since he appeared to have deep feelings for her and nothing was as it seemed in reality, he wasn’t in love with her. Right?
    Bruce leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his mahogany desk. What had he done? What had he gotten himself into? He knew better than to get involved in this kind of deception. The Bible was clear on the consequences of lying, on the importance of living in truth.
    But when it had come right down to it, a woman’s gratitude had seemed more important than the truth.
    Of course, this wasn’t just any woman. It was Meghann Livingston! With any other woman he’d just have brought out the truth as kindly as possible, even if it caused discomfort or some pain. After all, he hadn’t started the lie.
    But when he’d looked into those eyes, seen the alarm on that sweet face…he hadn’t thought twice. Just jumped into the fray, playing the gallant hero, joining the charade.
    It had made sense then. But now…with every passing moment he teetered between the truth, keeping up the charade, and taking Meghann up on her mythical business trip.
    The Bruce Halloway of three years ago wouldn’t have thought twice about pressing his advantage with Meghann if he had ever found himself in a similar situation. He would have been more than happy to manipulatethe circumstances to get exactly what he wanted, to charm his way back into his bedroom.
    But he wasn’t that man any longer. What was it Scripture said? He was a new man. Made new from the inside out. Must be true because what used to matter most was him, his desires and wants. And now what mattered most was helping Meg.
    He wanted—needed—her to trust him, so in return maybe he could trust, too. There were too few people in his life, if any, that he felt he could truly trust. Instinct and life taught him to rely only on himself.
    But there was something about Meghann that drew Bruce in. He found himself wanting to trust her, to tell her all about himself and his past, sordid though it may be.
    Don’t be stupid. Let people know too much about you, and they can and will