Forgotten Honeymoon (6 page)

Who did he think he was, some knight in
shining armor, riding to the rescue?

She didn’t want to be rescued; she just
wanted to understand what had happened. At least his annoyance that
morning made sense now. He thought she was getting married to Nigel
while she was still married to him.

Could she have slept with Lars out of
revenge? That didn’t mesh with the person she knew she was. She’d
never use a friend so callously, or had she? Nothing made
sense.

Kelly sat on the edge of her four poster bed.
Two days ago, her biggest concerns had been getting Nigel’s wedding
ring engraved and sending out an extra invitation to her Aunt Lily
whose invitation had been lost in the mail.

Now she had to worry about her unborn child
who might grow up with estranged parents. Could she and Lars build
a future together? Should they?

She rolled over in bed and hugged her pillow,
remembering Lars saying good night tonight. He’d given her a hug
like old times, and kissed her forehead. For an instant she’d been
tempted to reach up and bring her lips to his, as if a kiss would
make everything better.

“Everything is going to be fine,” he’d
whispered against her hair. She wanted to believe him, but she was
a realist. There were too many unanswered questions.

They still hadn’t decided what they’d tell
her mother, whether they’d live together, whether they’d even stay
married. But she knew Lars. She trusted him. Together they’d do
what was best for the baby.

#

“Oh, don’t mind me, Claire,” Kelly said
breezily as she pushed open the door to her father’s office. “I’ll
just pop in and tell him I’m here.”

Lars and her father startled and turned with
guarded expressions as they saw her.

“Excuse me, I didn’t realize you were in a
meeting,” she began, then looked between Lars and her father. Her
father looked worried. “You’ve told him,” she accused.

Lars stood straight and looked her in the
eye. “He already knew we were married.”

“Since when?” she interrupted, voice rising.
Did everyone know everything before she did?

“Since yesterday,” he said calmly. “As for
the baby, I told him about that today.”

How could she have ever thought she and Lars
were friends? He would always put her father and Rawlins Lighting
first. “How could you?” she demanded shrilly.

“Don’t blame Lars,” her father interrupted.
“I guessed, and he merely confirmed my suspicions.” He walked over
and gave her a big hug. “Sweetheart, don’t worry. I’m thrilled. You
know your mother and I have always liked Lars and to think of you
two having a baby together, is wonderful.”

Yes, she’d known her father would be pleased.
All of a sudden he had Lars as a son-in-law, with a potential
grandson on the way. The Rawlins dynasty could continue. She
stepped out of his embrace. “So what have the two of you been doing
-- planning out my life? Have you named the baby yet? Started the
college fund?”

Lars put his hand on her arm. “Kelly, it’s
not what you think.”

She pulled her arm free and spun around to
face him. “Then you tell me what it is.”

Her father cleared his throat. “I think I’ll
leave you two lovebirds together,” he said diplomatically, and left
his office, closing the large oak doors behind him.

“Lovebirds?” she repeated, hands on her hips.
“What have you been telling him?”

“What else is he supposed to think? Do you
really want me to tell him we conceived a baby in the heat of
passion and now regret it?”

His words cut through her. She had wanted to
know what he was feeling, and now she knew. “Of course not,” she
said quickly. “But I thought we were going to talk more before we
told my parents.”

“We’re talking now,” he said reasonably.

She gritted her teeth. “No one is going to
force me to do anything I don’t want. Not you. Not my father.”

“No one is forcing you to do anything.”

He was right. She was overreacting. And she
wasn’t going to win any points by arguing with him. The problem
was, she didn’t know how to act around Lars any more. He was still
her friend, but they’d been lovers. Her head ached. She sat
down.

She took a deep breath and asked calmly,
“What were you and Dad discussing?”

“He thinks we should go through the wedding
ceremony you already have planned.”

“You mean, get married a second time? And
just tell the guests I’m changing grooms?”

He nodded. “He thinks it would be the least
upsetting alternative for your mother. She’s worked hard to
organize everything.”

That made sense. “And what do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

How logical and calm he sounded, as if he
were discussing the acquisition of another glass plant, instead of
getting married. Kelly lifted her chin. “What do you want?”

“I want to stay married. I think it’s the
right thing to do for the baby. Children need stability.”

Lars would do whatever he felt was his duty.
She admired that, but it would be nice if he’d smile at her, so she
didn’t feel she’d trapped him into this. After all, it wasn’t as if
she’d created this baby all by herself. “What kind of marriage are
we talking about? What if we make each other miserable?”

“There are no guarantees, Kelly. We can work
it out as we go. So what do you say?”

As far as proposals went, it was hardly
romantic. Nigel had gotten down on one knee with a ring box. But
he’d turned out to be a jerk, and now it was a little late for
romance, with Junior on the way. For a moment, she wished she could
remember Lars’ first proposal -- it must have been extremely
persuasive to make her elope with him.

“Well?” he prompted.

She hesitated. She’d always wanted a marriage
like her parents. She wanted to be a full partner with her husband.
Friends as well as lovers. She and Lars were already friends and
apparently lovers, too. Was it enough? “Okay,” she said finally.
“Let’s do it.”

“Thank you, Kelly.” He held out his hand for
her to shake.

How can I marry you when I don’t even know
you
, she thought as she took his hand, then realized how
foolish that was. She knew Lars as well as she knew anyone.
Certainly better than she knew Nigel, and she’d been ready and
willing to marry him. She smiled bravely. “Under the circumstances,
shouldn’t we seal our bargain with a kiss?”

Lars’ eyes narrowed, as if trying to read her
thoughts, then he bent his head towards her. His lips touched hers,
feather soft. After the briefest touch, he started to move
back.

“No.” She wanted more than that. She caught
the lapels of his suit jacket to steady herself, lifted herself up
on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his. She wanted to get a
reaction from him, to shake his iron self-control.

He hesitated for just a fraction of a second
then pulled her to him, deepening the kiss. She sighed, granting
him further access to her mouth, and snuggled closer, her hands
sliding under his jacket to smooth the crisp cotton of his dress
shirt. She could feel the strength of his muscled chest under her
fingers. This was a surprise. He must use his membership at the
company gym, she thought and ran her finger around one of his shirt
buttons. He gasped and let her go.

Good
, she thought, amazed by how
breathless she felt. Her lips tingled, and there was an interesting
tightening in her stomach. His eyes, as he watched her were a smoky
blue. He felt something for her, but what? Was the heat of passion
enough to build a marriage?

“Did you remember something?” he demanded.
His voice was husky, the voice from her dream.

She smiled shakily and smoothed her hair.
“No, but that was better than I thought it would be.”

The light in his eyes died. “Damn you, Kelly.
Don’t play games with me. I’m not a light switch you can turn on
and off at will.”

That’s not what she’d meant. She protested,
“I’m just trying to remember.”

“Then remember this,” he growled, and kissed
her again, backing her up against her father’s desk, until she was
sitting on it. He stood between her legs. She clutched his
shoulders for support. His hands were at her hips, pulling her
closer. This was no gentle kiss, but a mark of possession, from a
man who knew her body better than she did.

It felt right. I want this, she thought with
amazement. I want to forget everything but this. The feel of him
against her, this urgency, this heat. She tugged at his
conservatively striped tie. “This has got to go,” she murmured
against his mouth.

“Looks like you two have kissed and made up,”
her father said from the doorway.

Lars let her go as if she had burned his
fingers. He stepped back and straightened his tie. “Excuse me,
sir,” he said tightly.

Kelly felt her face flame with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said, and jumped down to the floor. She
smoothed her long tiered skirt back down over her bare legs. What
had come over her? She’d never acted like that in her life.

At least not that she remembered, she
thought, glancing back at Lars. Was this the way it had been
between them?

He nodded, as if reading her thoughts.

Good heavens
.

“Don’t worry,” her father teased. “I know
you’re married. But would you mind doing that somewhere else and
letting me have my office back?”

“Yes, sir.” Lars took her arm. “Let’s
go,”

Kelly stood still. She may have kissed him a
bit, but in spite of evidence to the contrary and her father’s
opinion, she was not ready to go any further. “Go where?”

“House hunting,” he said succinctly.

CHAPTER FIVE

Her mother sat at the dining room table with
thirty teacups in front of her. She handed Kelly a typed list of
wedding guests and a pair of scissors. “Here,” she said.

Kelly looked at the scissors in her hand.
“What are we doing?”

Her mother explained. “I’m figuring out who
should sit where at the dinner.” She pointed. “Each of the cups
represents a table.”

Thirty tables with ten guests each, meant 300
dinner guests, at fifty dollars a plate. What a lot of time and
money her mother had spent to ensure that her wedding day was
perfect. Kelly sat down next to her. “Can’t we just open the doors
and let our guests choose their own seats?”

“And have a stampede? No, thank you. Besides,
you remember what happened when your Uncle John got married again.
Cousin Louise and Carla ended up at the same table. I was afraid
we’d have to call the Homicide Unit.”

Kelly watched her mother rearrange several
slips of paper. She gathered her courage. “Mom,” she said gently.
“We need to talk.”

“Go ahead, dear. I’m listening. I can cut and
listen at the same time.”

Kelly put her hands on top of the wedding
list to stop her for a minute. “Mom. I’m going to marry Lars
Henderson.”

“Yes, dear.”

“No, you don’t understand. I’m marrying Lars
instead of Nigel.”

“Yes, dear, I heard you the first time.”

Kelly was stunned. “Aren’t you
surprised?”

“No.” Her eyes twinkled with amusement. “I
suspected something was up the other night when you didn’t go to
the bridal shower.”

That even seemed so long ago. “And you don’t
mind?”

“No, it seems right. Lars is so much nicer
than Nigel. He’ll make a much nicer husband. And he’s cuter,
too.”

Kelly smiled at her mother’s ability to
assess the situation so clearly. Lately her own thoughts had been
running along similar lines. She’d always liked Lars’ hair and
eyes, but now she’d noticed his square jaw and beautifully shaped
mouth. But she didn’t want to start day-dreaming about those heart
pounding kisses now. Kelly said, “We’ll have to send out new
invitations and retractions for those on Nigel’s list.”

“Yes, dear, I’ll order them this afternoon.
Would you please get a guest list from Lars and tell him to limit
it to one hundred and seventy five?”

How could anyone have one hundred and seventy
five friends? “I’ll ask him.”

“Good,” her mother said matter-of-factly.
“Now remember you have another fitting for your wedding dress this
afternoon. You’re looking a little thin. Have you been
dieting?”

“Not really.” She hadn’t felt like eating
anything the past few weeks, but she’d thought that was due to
pre-wedding nerves. Now, she supposed it was due to the
pregnancy.

“Well, don’t lose any more weight or your
dress will hang on you.”

Don’t worry, Kelly thought wryly. I’m due to
get bigger and bigger.

“And you’re a little pale. I’ve scheduled an
appointment with the hair stylist and a make-up artist for that
morning. Have you decided whether you want your hair up or
down?”

“I don’t care.” What did it matter if her
hair was up or down?

“Oh good, I’ll decide myself.”

“Just so long as I don’t end up looking like
Marie Antoinette.”

Her mother looked at her thoughtfully. “I
don’t think you have enough hair. And the powder would be too
messy.”

Kelly laughed. Her mother smiled and turned
back to the wedding list and started cutting apart the names.

Kelly couldn’t believe her mother wasn’t more
curious, demanding more information from her, but then her mother
had always been a patient person, happily busy with her own
projects. Kelly said, “Mom, about Lars. Isn’t this change going to
upset everyone? What will all our friends and family think?”

“Since when have you cared about that?
Besides, I think everyone will be relieved you aren’t marrying
Nigel.”

Her mother, like her father, had never liked
Nigel. Maybe that’s why she’d been drawn to him, Kelly realized.
Marrying him had been a way to assert her independence. She said,
“Won’t changing the groom three weeks ---”