Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle (38 page)

He cleared his throat. Stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “They fight a lot lately.” He needed more, but he didn’t want to lie. “My mom left for a few days last month.” On a girl’s weekend trip, but Kate didn’t have to know that. “Jamie—she’s my little sister—said Dad enjoyed her absence.” He’d actually said he enjoyed having Jamie all to himself. But that was close enough, wasn’t it?

“And you want me to counsel them?”

“No.” The word came out a little sharp. “They’re both leery of all that psychobabble stuff.” Her eyebrows rose, and he rephrased. “You’d have to be sly about it. Get to know them. Get them to open up. You can handle it.”

“That’s it? That’s all you want?”

He wanted much more, but it was a start. “It’s my parents’ marriage.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to make it sound trite.” Kate steepled her fingers and tapped the tips together. “I don’t even know if this is possible. I think there’s a waiting period on the marriage license.”

He hadn’t thought of that. Maybe the plan was dead in the water. But hadn’t his friend Ethan gotten married at the last minute? “I think it can be waived. Nancy Rallings is the town clerk, and I furnished her house. I’ll see what I can find out.”

He couldn’t believe she was considering it. He could be marrying Kate in a matter of hours. In front of friends, family, and media. His legs suddenly quaked as he remembered the article in the paper spelling out the details. The wedding was going to be a media circus. They might want to interview him.

His mouth felt like it was stuffed with sawdust. “No interviews,” he said.

It took Kate a moment to hear him, lost in thought as she probably was. “What?”

“I’ll let the media snap all the photos they want, but I won’t give interviews.”

She shrugged, eyeing him. “I agree—we don’t need to complicate things. What about your family? How are they going to feel?”

That gave him pause. His mom had been urging him to move on since Emily died five years ago. Kate, however, was the last person his mom would want him moving on with. If he told his mom the marriage was temporary, she would be rude, scare Kate off for good. But if she knew he loved Kate, she’d have to make an effort, wouldn’t she?

“My parents are out of town right now, but my brother and sister are here. I’ll call my parents afterward and tell them we got married. And I don’t want them to know the particulars. As far as they’re concerned, it’s the real thing.” Besides, if it worked the way he hoped, there’d be no exit strategy needed. He held out his hand. “Deal?”

His breath caught and hung below the mass in his throat.

Kate stared at him, her eyes a mixture of fear and resolve. Then she put her hand in his. “Deal.”

There’s no such thing as Mr. Right.
But there is a Mr. Right-for-You.

—Excerpt from
Finding Mr. Right-for-You
by Dr. Kate

Chapter Three

If Kate had to explain the change one more time, she was going to pull every last hair from her head. The horror etched into the eyes of Anna, Chloe, and Pam had been enough to start the second-guessing. They’d run over the pros and cons, quickly, more for their benefit than anyone’s. Kate had covered that ground a dozen times already.

Her dad had listened silently, with shoulders squared and back straight, his only parental concession the lone worry line stretching across his squeaky-clean forehead.

It’ll be okay, Dad. I know what I’m doing.

He’d taught Kate to think independently, and he never questioned her decisions. Even now, the most he’d said was, “Kate . . .”

When she’d called Bryan with her announcement and demands, she’d been met with a long silence. She’d almost enjoyed his obvious shock and unspoken,
You’re what?
Just when she thought he might have gone unconscious behind the wheel of his car, he asked her to repeat what she’d said. She’d ended up going through it three times, until he eventually assured her his family would keep it quiet. She supposed he wasn’t eager for word to get out that he’d jilted Dr. Kate at the altar.

At least one group hadn’t needed explanations. Lucas had introduced her to his brother and sister, Brody and Jamie. Brody, a lanky, curly-headed version of Lucas, was home from college on summer break, and Jamie was a teenager with dark hair and braces. They accepted the news of their brother’s impending matrimony with friendly smiles before exchanging a silent glance Kate didn’t have time to decipher.

Now, four hours,
one wedding license, and countless
moments of stark terror later, Kate stood in her white gown, feet poised at the foot of the aisle. The media cameras clicked in machine-gun fashion, capturing a three-quarter view. She curved her lips upward and forced a twinkle into her eyes.

Thirty feet down the aisle, waiting in the gazebo, was Anna; Lucas’s best man, Ethan; the justice of the peace; and Lucas.

Lucas. Is this really happening?

The musicians started the wedding march. Kate curled her arm around the stiff material on her dad’s arm and took the first step. A gentle breeze blew off the ocean, ruffling her hair and veil and feathering her strapless A-line gown against her legs. She’d finally found the satin dress at a boutique in Boston after scouring numerous magazines and shops. Now what did it matter that the gown was perfect or that the hem hit the floor precisely?

How had it come to this? Bryan was supposed to be waiting at the end of the aisle. They matched. They were a fit according to everything she knew about personalities and relationships. They had so much in common—their love of exercise . . . organization . . . punctuality . . . loyalty . . .

Well. She supposed she’d have to rethink the loyalty part.

She passed her Aunt Virginia in the second row, wearing her trademark cherry-red lipstick. Her brown hair coiled above her puffy white face like thick chocolate shavings on a pile of whipped cream.

The groom’s side was half-empty, but what did she expect with last-minute invitations? Jamie sat on the first row beside Brody, her brown hair caught up in barrette. Two part-time employees from Lucas’s shop sat on the next row, straining to see around a tall, spindly man she recognized from someplace.

She imagined how upset Lucas’s parents would be at missing the ceremony. And at finding out about the wedding after it was over . . . But it was what Lucas wanted, and it was his decision. They’d have to smooth things over later.

They . . .

She was going to be joining another family. The thought struck her hard and quick. She didn’t even know these people—she barely knew the groom!

What am I doing?

She didn’t meet Lucas’s eyes until she nearly reached the gazebo and then realized her mistake. A bride would be gazing adoringly at her groom. Was she smiling widely enough? Her dry lips stuck to her teeth.

Lucas had cleaned up well, even shaved his perpetual five o’clock shadow. His long hair was combed back from his face. The hairstyle, combined with the formal suit, gave him the look of a nineteenth-century nobleman. His eyes met hers, pulling her in—a solid lifeline in what felt like a turbulent storm.

They reached the foot of the gazebo, and her dad stopped and kissed her cheek, then took a seat on the first row.

She was on her own now.

What am I doing? . . . What am I doing? . . .

She stepped into the gazebo as the last strains of the wedding march rang out and drew to a halt between Anna and Lucas. Her bare arm brushed his. In the distance, whirring clicks of cameras captured every second of the event, and she knew the best photos would grace the pages of tomorrow’s newspapers. But as the justice began talking, all Kate could think about was the way the heat from Lucas’s arm seeped clean through his tux and settled against her skin like a thick fog.

“Marriage is commended to be honorable among all men,” the justice began. “And therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly—but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly.” He emphasized each word, his bushy gray eyebrows inching upward disapprovingly. When Kate had told him Lucas was taking Bryan’s place, she’d been half-afraid he’d refuse to perform the ceremony. But he’d only pressed his lips together and nodded formally.

Now he continued. “Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined for life.”

Joined for life.
She turned her head a fraction of an inch toward Lucas as the ugly scent of fear filled her nostrils, mingling with the tangy, salt-laden air. Life? She hardly knew him!

What am I doing?

She dragged in a breath and slowly released it, careful to keep her expression neutral.
There’s no going back now. Focus. Just get through
the ceremony.

Was Lucas afraid too? Was he asking himself what he’d gotten into, wishing he were back in his shop, sitting in a thin layer of saw-dust? Was that his arm trembling against hers? He had every right to panic. He was giving up a year of his life. He was being thrust into the public eye.

What if he backs out? Right here in front of everybody?
Jilted twice in one day. Had it ever happened before? She imagined the headline.
“Dr. Kate Jilted at Altar by Two Grooms.”

The justice stopped talking, and the moment’s silence sent alarm scuttling through Kate. Instinctively, she slid her right hand from her bouquet and reached out, searching for an anchor. When her fingers touched Lucas’s hand, his encircled hers. It was warm and strong, and—oddly—confident.
It’s going to be okay,
his grip said.

Mrs. Petrie began her solo, her warbly, butterfly soprano wafting on the breeze, and Kate’s mind wandered. The song had seemed perfect for her and Bryan. How could she have been so wrong? Who was it who had stolen his heart? Just the night before, he’d held her close and kissed her good night at her apartment door. What was it he’d said?
“I guess I’ll see you soon.”

Had there been something in his tone? In his expression? Some warning she’d missed? She’d been too flushed with excitement to notice. And just like that he was gone.

And now she was marrying Lucas. Committing a year of her life to a man she didn’t love. Good grief, most of the time she didn’t even like him. Not that he was a bad person. He was just so . . . irritating sometimes. Vexing. The way he was late and careless and so laid-back she wished she had a remote control so she could push the fast-forward button.

She couldn’t think of a man less suited for her.

Mrs. Petrie finished the song and returned to her seat. The justice began talking about the seriousness of the vows they were about to take. Kate wanted to plug her ears. She was a proponent of life-long marriages. It was her life’s work to help couples stay married. And now she was making a mockery of the process.

I’m a hypocrite. A fraud. What would my readers think if they
knew?

The justice turned toward her, and Kate focused her attention on him as he announced the reading of the vows. She was supposed to face Lucas. She handed her bouquet to Anna and turned toward Lucas. She wasn’t sure if she was capable of breathing, much less speaking.

Then she saw the corner of Lucas’s lip tilt up ever so slightly, his eyes soften. Instinctively, she relaxed.

I can do this.

The justice read the vows, and Kate repeated them. “I, Kate Lawrence, take you, Lucas Wright, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.” Kate swallowed hard. “Until death do us part.”

The last words were rushed, but she’d done it. Now the justice prompted Lucas.

He repeated the vows, and he did it well. His eyes said as much as his voice. The way he looked at her . . . It was the way every bride yearned to be looked at. Like she was precious. Like she was his chosen one. His voice was low, as if rumbling up from the deepest part of the ocean. It was more than credible. It was convincing.

The justice said a prayer and ended it with an amen. “It is tradition to exchange rings as a symbol of the love between a man and a wife.”

Rings! Kate felt something akin to a tidal wave inside her. Bryan’s best man had her ring. Lucas wouldn’t have a ring to put on her finger. She turned a desperate look toward the justice, but he was looking at Lucas as he spoke. “. . . representing
the unending love of your union.”
He cleared his throat as if the words had left a foul taste.

Kate stared hard at the justice, hoping mental telepathy would work just this once.
There are no rings!

But then Lucas turned to Ethan. When he faced Kate again, he held a ring in the hollow of his palm. He’d taken care of it. Relief washed over her, and she smiled her gratitude.

He took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her finger until it rested beside the glittering diamond. “With this ring, I thee wed.” The look in his eyes burned the words into her heart.

The band was white gold, elegant in its simplicity. When had he had time to buy a ring? And how had he known her size?

The justice was prompting her to get Lucas’s ring. She turned to take the ring from Anna. There was no way Bryan’s ring would fit Lucas. She hoped it would at least slide over his knuckle. Maybe no one would notice.