Bride by Mistake (5 page)

“Shall I choose a card for her?” Liza’s green eyes met Zach’s again and the stirrings cranked up another notch.

He cleared his throat and nodded. “Good idea.”

As Liza walked toward the greeting cards, Zach tried to rein in his runaway emotions. When Denise had betrayed him, he had gone into hibernation, and it had taken a year before the sense of gloom lifted. Even now, keeping his distance from women was a primary objective.

But since the moment he’d parked his Lexus in the parking tower, Zach had wanted to tuck Liza’s hand in his and escort her around the Country Club Plaza—a privilege he had no business entertaining.

With a touch of melancholy, he remembered the evenings when they’d watched movies, popped corn, and laughed and talked together. Being with Liza was like hanging out with a pal. Or a best friend.

Until he’d asked her to marry him. Theoretically, of course. But it may as well have been the real deal. That marriage proposal had changed everything.

Meg felt relieved when the shopping trip with Zach ended. As they stepped out into the fresh air, she breathed deeply, hoping to regain her composure. And she’d thought her stress level was high before she left Meadow Springs. Nothing could have prepared her for this kind of stress.

“Since we’re right here on the Plaza, we could stop by Helzberg’s,” Zach suggested.

She turned to face him. “What for?”

He shrugged. “If we plan to announce our engagement at Gram’s party, you’ll need a ring. We could look at some while we’re here.”

Meg tried not to shiver or fall over or embarrass herself in any other manner. Zach’s comment, while earthshaking, made sense under the circumstances. “I suppose you’re right.”

“So you’re game?”

“Um, sure. Why not?”

He flashed that amazing smile that made her tingle inside. “Good. Let’s go pick out an enormous diamond for the third finger of your left hand.”

“The ring doesn’t have to be enormous,” Meg protested.

“Gram will expect it to be.”

They walked for several blocks and Meg spotted a sign that read
HELZBERG
DIAMONDS
. As they entered, a platinum blonde in a white designer suit greeted them. “Good afternoon. How may I help you today?”

“I’m buying a diamond for my fiancée.” When Zach flashed Meg a “we’ve got a secret” grin, her heart whirled like a weathervane in a windstorm.

“You’ve come to the right place.” The saleswoman removed a tray of rings from a locked case and carried them to a display table. “Please have a seat.”

Zach and Meg settled into high-backed green velvet chairs as the clerk placed the tray in front of Meg. Sun rays from the window made the diamonds sparkle like lights on a Christmas tree. “Do you see anything you like?” the woman asked.

Meg swallowed hard. “Don’t you have some that aren’t so…so…”

“So what?” Zach asked.

“So huge,” she murmured.

“Just try them on,” he said. “We’ll find the perfect ring.”

With trembling fingers, Meg selected the smallest stone, which still weighed in at several karats. She held it in her hand but wasn’t sure what to do with it.

He reached for the ring. “Allow me.” And then Zachary Addison did what he’d done in all of Meg’s teenage fantasies. He slipped a diamond ring onto her finger. “That wasn’t so painful, was it?” he asked.

Meg’s heart pounded wildly. The stone glistened on her hand, looking brighter than the North Star. “Oh, my,” she said. “Oh, my, my, my.”

Gibberish. Pure gibberish.

“Here, try this one.”

As Zach slid the next ring onto her finger, the scent of his musky aftershave and his warm hands touching hers made Meg’s legs quiver. Good thing she was sitting down and had gravity on her side.

Zach insisted she try on every ring in the tray. His extended touch nearly put Meg in a coma.

“I like this one.” He picked up a princess-cut diamond circled by emeralds and slipped it on her finger. “You should always wear emeralds, Liza. They match your eyes.”

Meg couldn’t believe Zach had selected her favorite ring. “I like it too.”

He turned to the clerk. “This is the ring. We’ll take it.”

“Does the lady want to wear it?”

“Of course she’ll wear it,” Zach affirmed. “Liza’s an engaged woman now.”

Meg’s head spun. Even her high-school fantasies involving Zach had never been this good. She smiled a shaky smile. “It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen,” she said.

Minutes later, the ring that cost more than Meg’s car was paid for and firmly affixed to her left hand. If she didn’t watch herself, she’d get caught up in this fantasy—and start to forget she had a steady boyfriend back home.

She felt giddy with excitement as they left the store. A diamond the size of Texas glittered on her finger, and a handsome prince escorted her to his waiting chariot—a top-of-the-line Lexus. Had she stumbled into a fairy tale?

It’s pretend
, Meg reminded herself.
Strictly pretend.
But as she gazed at the magnificent piece of jewelry, Meg almost felt engaged.

You are almost engaged
, an inner voice warned.
To Martin Landsburg.

Oh, yeah—Martin. Meg had almost forgotten her real-life boyfriend. While Martin didn’t set off fireworks inside her, he was a stable, caring man. Maybe he wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous like Zach, but he was good-looking. And steady. And most important of all, he shared Meg’s dreams of home and family.

She sighed. If she was going to do Liza this favor, she must learn to separate fantasy from reality.

Zach Addison is fantasy.

Martin Landsburg is reality.

Hopefully she could keep the two straight!

Z
ACH SLIPPED ON
a pair of linen slacks and a tailored shirt and examined his image in the mirror. Too dressy. Tonight was the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, not dinner at the American Restaurant.

He changed into khakis and a dark green pullover and drove to Liza’s condo. He whistled as he drove, undeniably excited about the evening ahead.
This is not a date
, he told himself—just another step in his plan to make Gram’s last days happy ones.

Liza opened the door wearing white slacks and a green silk blouse that rivaled her eyes for color. And Zach had to remind himself again that this was not a date. Twice.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

“Wait a minute. Where’s your bag of stuff?”

Her eyes met his questioningly. “Was I supposed to bring a bag of stuff?”

“You usually do for outdoor events. You know, mosquito repellant, poison ivy lotion, a box of Band-Aids in varying sizes, and a tube of antibiotic cream.”

Zach saw Liza blink several times in rapid succession. He’d never noticed how her eyelashes curved gently and sensually
skyward. Or that her eyes were the most fascinating shade of emerald he’d ever seen. Then Liza’s eye twitched again. He’d never seen her eye twitch until yesterday. And it had happened several times.

“I didn’t pack a thing,” she said. “Tonight, we live dangerously.”

Zach shook his head. “Did you have a personality makeover when I wasn’t looking?”

“No, why?”

“You seem more relaxed. More laid-back than usual.”

“If you prefer, I can grab Band-Aids and ointment from the medicine chest. And I’ll try to be more neurotic. I aim to please.”

“Nope, not necessary. Besides, there’s a pharmacy nearby. In case of a mosquito invasion.”

Liza’s radiant smile dazzled Zach. To his horror, his attraction to the woman seemed to double each time he looked at her!

“So our bases are covered?” he asked cautiously.

“Definitely covered.”

As Zach walked her to his car, he longed for the old Liza. The one who protected herself from sunburn and mosquitoes; the one who carried adhesive strips for every emergency; the one he could escort to a play, laugh and talk with, and never feel so much as a twinge of attraction.

But this new, more dazzling Liza was another matter. Just looking at her made him feel like a lovesick teenager. Zach sighed. He’d better get a grip or he’d be kissing Liza before intermission. Of course, kissing her was taboo. Off-limits. Totally unacceptable.

Hopefully he could remember that.

“I read in the paper that they’re presenting
The Comedy of Errors
,” Meg said dreamily as she hopped into Zach’s Lexus. “That’s my very favorite Shakespeare play.”

His gray eyes questioned hers. “You said last year’s play was your favorite.”

Uh-oh. Liza’s past was returning to haunt Meg.

“Actually, I have several. Who can choose just one?”

“You’re hedging, Liza. What did you like best about last year’s play?”

How could she possibly know? Meg wondered. She’d spent last summer in Meadow Springs, Illinois, teaching ballet! “Um, the costuming,” she finally affirmed.

“They wore contemporary clothes, Liza. What did you like best about the play itself?”

As Zach gazed at Meg, asking for details about an evening he’d spent with her twin sister, she struggled to tamp down a wave of panic coupled with attraction. Since she had no clue as to which play Zach and Liza had seen, how could she respond? She glanced out the window, hoping for a distraction. Snarled traffic, a fender bender, anything. All she saw was a mangy dog chasing a very fast cat.

“You first,” Meg prompted. If Zach described enough of the story, maybe she would recognize the play.

“I liked Kate’s transformation. She and Petruchio finally worked through the problems in their relationship and lived happily ever after.”

Ah,
The Taming of the Shrew
. Meg expelled her breath as recognition flashed.

“But it’s definitely a fantasy,” Zach affirmed. “Two very different people can’t resolve their problems. No matter how hard they try.”

“Why not? Kate was wild and out of control. But she loved Petruchio enough to change her ways. And to become the kind of woman he wanted her to be.”

“Or pretended to become that kind of woman. That happened to me in real life. My ex-wife, Denise, was the best actress of them all.”

Meg heard the pain that echoed in his words. “I’m sorry Denise wasn’t what she seemed, Zach. Did the two of you try to work things out?” Had Zach and Liza discussed his divorce from Denise in detail? If so, this question would be out of line.

“As I’ve said before, Denise didn’t understand compromise. The only person she cared about was herself. At first it was presents, presents, presents. And when we divorced, she finagled that big settlement. But you know all that.”

“Denise didn’t love you,” Meg said, trying a different approach. “If she did, she wouldn’t have taken advantage of you.”

A frown creased Zach’s tanned forehead and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Bingo. But it took forever for me to figure that out.”

Zach had been hurt badly, that was clear. And in Meg’s opinion, Denise was a fool. Meg glanced at the strong, handsome, and honorable man sitting beside her and realized he still carried a lot of grief. “Many women would love you for who you are, Zach. Not for what you can give them,” she said softly.