She took a deep breath. “Sometimes the relationship you and I have is difficult.”
Pain twisted in her gut. “You don’t like working for me?”
“What?” Melissa asked in horror. “No! I love working for you. What I meant is that you’re my boss, but we’re also friends, so I sometimes struggle with knowing when not to cross that line.”
Blair nodded, her anxiety ratcheting up.
“But I decided to risk my relationship as your employee today to approach you as your friend.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t think you should marry Neil. He doesn’t love you, so why does he want to marry you?”
Blair expected to feel anger, but she felt exhausted instead. “We love each other in our own way. I know you don’t understand. No one does, and I get it. It’s different. But let’s face it, I intimidate most men . . . and even those who aren’t afraid of me wouldn’t tolerate my schedule. Besides, I might not believe in happily ever after, but I think it will be nice to be married and have a partner for special events and vacations. Plus we both know it will help my job.”
“None of those are good reasons, Blair,” Melissa said bluntly. “What about love?”
“I’ve spent all night thinking this over. It’s simple. I can either go with emotion or with reason. Emotion is not to be trusted. At least I know what I’ll be getting with Neil.”
“Do you?” she asked. “Are you sure?”
Blair’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”
“He doesn’t like me, and while that sounds petty on my part, I don’t get why he sees me as a threat.”
“Surely you’ve misunderstood.”
“No. You know I don’t misunderstand.”
She was right. Melissa was excellent at reading people. “What else?”
“He hates Mr. Lowry.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Even more so now.”
“I’m certain that he wants to marry you to hurt Mr. Lowry. I don’t trust him, Blair.”
She knew that had to be part of his motivation now, but he didn’t know Garrett was her ex-boyfriend until the shower, so that certainly hadn’t been his motivation to propose. She nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re not angry?”
Blair shook her head. “No. But I admit I probably wouldn’t have listened to you before now.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your rehearsal’s in six hours.”
“I know. For now, we’ll leave it as it stands.”
Melissa stood and took several steps before turning around. “I know you want to keep your job, but don’t do this to save me. I couldn’t live with the guilt.” Then she walked out.
Blair sat there thinking about it. She had three choices. Marry Neil. Give Garrett a chance. Or be alone. If she chose one of the latter two, she would need to make sure Melissa was protected. But how could she do that without letting on that Ben Stuart had told her about her potential partnership and its unique conditions?
Five minutes later, she knocked on the door to human resources, but even as she did, she knew it was a mere formality. The door was always open, and Mary, the one-person department, was always welcoming.
“Blair! What are you doing here? You requested the day off for your wedding.”
She smiled. “Oh, you know work . . .”
Mary grinned. “I do. But don’t let the important things slip by.”
“Thanks, Mary. I’ll remember that.”
“So what can I do for you?”
“Um . . .” She’d worked up a story of sorts. “Neil got word that he might be offered a position in Dallas. Now, we’re not at all sure what decision he’d make, but I would go with him if he went.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh! I know they’d miss you around here. Why, Mr. Sisco Sr. himself was raving about you just last week.”
“Really? Mr. Sisco Jr. sat in on one of my depositions this week. I was worried they found my work unsatisfactory.”
She waved her hand. “Standard performance review. He didn’t tell you?”
“No.” Had Ben lied to her? But then again, the partners probably wouldn’t have informed Mary of their intentions. “So . . . if I were to move to Dallas with Neil, what would happen to Melissa?”
Mary smiled. “Oh, aren’t you a sweet girl. She’s a wonderful employee. We’d find a place for her.”
“So she wouldn’t lose her job?”
“Good heavens, no. Half the attorneys here would duke it out over who gets to work with her.”
“Thank you, Mary.” She turned to leave, then asked, “If it comes to that, promise me that you’ll make sure to put her with someone who will be good to her. Not Mark Garter. He’s an ass.” Her voice tightened. She couldn’t handle Melissa working for that jerk.
“Blair. You two are as thick as thieves. I know you care about her.” She lowered her voice. “I’d sooner quit than put her with Garter.”
“Thanks.”
So Melissa was covered. That only left herself. What the hell was she going to do?
Chapter Twenty-Two
At 6:05 p.m., Garrett stood in the Presbyterian Church, trying to swallow his nausea. Blair was sequestered in a corner with Libby and Megan, glancing around the church as she counted off who was missing. Neil stood nearby with a couple of his friends. He crossed his arms and shot Garrett a smug grin. The bruise on his cheek and under his eye gave Garrett minimal satisfaction.
Blair was still going through with it.
Noah had arrived with Josh and Megan, and Garrett had wondered why until Libby showed up a few minutes later holding hands with another man, presumably her boyfriend Mitch. He was bigger than Noah, a beefy-looking guy with oversized muscles, and he seemed protective of Libby. Garrett would have found it amusing if he weren’t so miserable. Of the two women in his acquaintance who least needed protection, Blair ranked first with Libby at a close second.
While the ladies pow-wowed near the church door, Mitch was hanging out with Josh and Noah. Given the amount of time Noah had spent with Libby over the past week, Garrett was surprised by the apparent lack of tension between the two men. Still, Noah didn’t look disappointed when Garrett pulled him into a side aisle so they could chat without being overheard. “Is Blair okay?” he said in an undertone. “Did Libby get a chance to talk to her?”
Noah just shook his head. “I don’t know. Blair never returned her or Megan’s calls. But she texted them around noon to say she was fine and that they should come to the rehearsal.”
Garrett ran his hand through his hair. “I screwed up last night.”
“Libby’s not so sure about that. But it was a gamble.” He clapped a hand on his back. “Hey, she’s not married yet. You still have about twenty-four hours.”
True, but while they were talking, Blair and Neil had walked up to the altar and started talking to the minister who was scheduled to marry them the next afternoon. The sight didn’t fill him with a lot of confidence.
Blair looked over her shoulder, and Garrett’s eyes met with hers. He expected to see anger or derision there, but instead he found sadness.
What was he going to do? He had to convince her not to make this colossal mistake. It was time to tell her about Layla, even though he knew it would be the kiss of death to any chance of a relationship between them. He just hoped she believed him.
Garrett’s parents had arrived, and his mom and his aunt wasted no time in picking a nothing argument. This time it was over the faded lines in the parking lot.
“You think I had control over that?” Aunt Debra demanded.
His mother gave her a haughty look. “Well, if this were Kelsey’s wedding, I’d make sure everything was perfect.”
“Oh, isn’t that something,” his aunt sniped. “Kelsey’s too busy putting the cart before the horse to even consider getting married.”
Garrett looked around the church for a glimpse of his sister. For once
, he was grateful that she was notoriously late. Otherwise the bickering between his mom and his aunt would probably turn into an all-out brawl.
Everyone stood around, twittering anxiously over the argument until Nana Ruby finally stepped away from the back wall and whistled loud enough to get everyone’s attention.
“Debbie Sue and Barbara Mae! That’s enough!” Then his grandmother lasered him with a pointed gaze that let him know how disappointed she was that he hadn’t yet managed to steal his cousin’s bride. If he had succeeded, she wouldn’t have needed to tolerate this madness.
“Let’s get this started!” Nana Ruby shouted. “There’s a rack of ribs waiting for me.”
Aunt Debra cringed. “We don’t have ribs. Just pulled pork and ham.”
“Well, what kind of barbeque is that?”
Garrett took his place at the front of the church, standing at the end of the wedding party, next to one of Neil’s fraternity brothers. His cousin Dena, Libby, and Megan all strolled down the aisle pretending to hold bouquets while a pianist played a classical piece.
“And then the music changes,” the minister said from his perch on the altar after all the bridesmaids had taken their places. “And the bride comes down the aisle.”
Blair stepped into the doorway, and while he’d already seen her today, she looked somehow different as she stood there in the threshold. She wore a fitted blue and white print dress, and her long, dark blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back and over her left shoulder. The V-neck of her dress dipped low enough to expose a small amount of her cleavage, and the hem hit just above her knee, exposing her shapely calves. He was sure she’d never looked more beautiful.
Garrett’s gaze was glued to her, and she stayed in place for a few heartbeats, as if trying to decide whether to turn around and run away. She glanced in his direction, and their eyes locked. Her lips parted, and her eyes filled with a softness that told him her iron-clad resolve was on the verge of weakening, that she wanted to walk down that aisle toward him one day, not Neil, but then she sucked in a breath, steeled her back, and started down the aisle.
She came to a stop beside Neil and looked up at the minister.
“Since you walked down the aisle alone,” the minister said, “I presume no one will be giving you away.”
Blair looked over her shoulder before returning her attention to the minister. “No. My mom is late, but she won’t be giving me away.”
“Blair’s too independent for that,” Neil added, only it sounded more like a dig at her character than a compliment. Or perhaps Garrett was too sensitive. But one glance at Libby confirmed he wasn’t alone in his opinion.
The minister continued. He had reached the vows part of the ceremony when Kelsey walked in through the back door. She took one look at Garrett and sighed. It was a relief to see her.
She walked down the aisle and sat in the front pew on the groom’s side of the church, eyeing Blair before returning her attention to Garrett. She pursed her lips and gave him a mischievous wink.
The minister explained when the rings would be exchanged, then smiled at the couple. “All that’s left is the kiss.”
Blair gave a forced smile, and Neil leaned in and planted a kiss on her that lasted several seconds.
The minister cleared his throat. “Now you two walk down the aisle together, and the bridal party will file out after you.”
Neil looped his arm through Blair’s, and they walked toward the back door as the groomsmen and bridesmaids paired up. Garrett was on the end, and when he walked down the steps, Kelsey cut in front of their cousin and grabbed his arm before Dena could.
“Good of you to join us, Kels.”
She grinned. “Traffic’s a bitch.” She leaned closer. “So the siren’s still going through with it, huh?”
He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t call her a siren.”
“She’s captured the attention of my man-whore brother. She must be.”
“Shh.” He looked around and pulled her into a pew, worried someone had overheard them, but no one seemed to be paying attention. “Where’s the baby?”
“Drake’s watching her at the hotel.”
“Drake?”
She shrugged with a frown. “I know. Drake’s so irresponsible he can barely be trusted with a goldfish. But he’s her father, and he’s threatening to sue for visitation rights. If I let him play house, maybe he’ll be too lazy to pursue it.”
Drake was a worthless piece of scum who happened to contribute his DNA to Kelsey’s baby. “You know I’ll help you with any kind of custody battle.”
“In California?” Her eyebrows lifted in a humorless smirk. “Besides, it’s for less than an hour. Drake’s bringing her to the picnic.”
He groaned. “Damn Aunt Debra. I hear she’s having a softball game too.”
Kelsey laughed. “Mom’ll love that. She only knew about the barbeque. It’s likely to cause a fight.”
“They’ve already had one that registered 6.5 on the Richter scale. And your ears must have been burning.”
She beamed. “I love being the center of attention. Tell me what they said.”
“Nope. That’s what you get for not being here to have my back.”
“Mom’ll tell me.”
Probably. His mother loved to complain about his aunt.
As if on cue, Aunt Debra leapt to her feet and approached the altar. “We’ll have to do it again. You didn’t practice lighting the unity candle.”
Blair headed back into the sanctuary, followed so closely by Neil it was a wonder he didn’t step on her shoes. “We’re not lighting a unity candle.”
Debra put her hands on her hips. “And why on earth not?”
Clearly gunning for a battle, Blair stopped in the middle of the aisle, her hands on her hips. “Because we chose not to have one.”
“How could you not have a unity candle?” his aunt asked, as though it were the most preposterous idea in the world. “Don’t you want your marriage to be unified?”
“Of course we want our marriage to be unified, but lighting a damn candle won’t make a bit of difference.”
Debra gasped and rushed over to her big purse, pulling out the cursing jar. One of the plastic ears had caved in, and the cat’s belly was bulging, presumably from all the money stuffed inside. “I can’t believe you cursed in the Lord’s house!” She held it out in front of her and shook it, causing the money to rattle around inside. “That’s five dollars!”
“What in God’s name is that?” Kelsey whispered.
“Aunt Debra at her best.”
Blair shook her head and pointed at the kitty. “I’m not putting five dollars in that damn jar!”
Debra gasped, her eyes flying wide. Her face turned red, and she spat out, “I’ve resigned myself to Neil marrying a foul-mouthed woman, but the least you could do is try to watch your tongue in church. Your mother should have raised you better.”
Blair’s body tensed, and Garrett dropped Kelsey’s arm and took an instinctual step forward. As protective as Blair had always been toward her mother, this was bound to end badly.
“Mom,” Neil warned.
“Why are you marrying her, Neil?” she demanded. “Why can’t you find a nice girl who will take care of you and give you babies?”
“Mom!”
“Where’s her mother, Neil? She couldn’t even bother to show up for her daughter’s rehearsal. If she were any kind of mother at all, she’d be here washing her daughter’s mouth out with soap.”
Blair took several steps toward the woman, her face frozen into one of her most intimidating looks. The older woman had the sense to take a step back.
Blair’s eyes were cold as ice. “You can say whatever you like about me, but don’t you dare talk about my mother in a derogatory manner ever again. Have I made myself clear?”
The woman nodded, her body shaking.
Blair spun around and stomped out of the sanctuary.
Neil clenched his fi
sts. “If you ruin this for me, I’ll never forgive you, Mother.” Then he spun around and hurried out of the church. “Blair!”
Kelsey moved next to Garrett. “He loves her, Garrett,” she whispered. “You need to let this go.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kels. He thinks the two of them are going to be some sort of power couple, and he’s already counting the future money he hopes she’ll make. Add to that the fact that she doesn’t require much of his time and attention and the reality that he’ll be taking the woman he knows I want, and he’s become like a rabid dog who won’t let go,” he snarled under his breath. “Love doesn’t compute in that equation at all.”
“What an ass.” Her words weren’t very loud, but they bounced around in the silent sanctuary.
Debra’s eyes narrowed. “Kelsey Lowry, you’re just as vile as that girl who’s trying to steal my boy.”
Kelsey laughed. “You don’t scare me, Aunt Debra. And if you don’t like Blair, then I know I’m gonna love her.”
“She’s lowlife trash, and I’m gonna put a stop to this.”
While Garrett appreciated her goal, he was livid over her assessment of Blair’s character. And he wasn’t the only one.
“Excuse me?” Libby demanded, stalking down the aisle toward the woman. “Did you just call Blair lowlife trash?” Her eyes were wild, and her hands had fisted at her side.
Megan rushed after her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Libs, she’s not worth it. Let’s go.”
Libby shook her off and gave Debra her full attention. “You have no idea what Blair’s been through. Her family had money until her father divorced her mother to marry one of his mistresses and left his family destitute.”
“I wasn’t even talking about her money. I was talking about her filthy mouth.” The older woman lifted her chin. “But if her father was a cheater, then all the more reason for Neil not to marry her. Cheating runs in her family’s blood.”
Megan gasped, and Libby’s eyes filled with rage.
“Are you kidding me?” Libby raged.
“Libby.” Garrett’s firm voice cut her off. “Go find Blair.”
The Wedding Pact Box Set Page 55
