The Wedding Song: 5-hour read. Billionaire romance, sweet clean romance. (Colorado Billionaires Book 10)

by Regina Duke

  “Am I fired?” she squeaked.

  Thor shook his head. “No. When you didn’t show up at nine, I figured I’d just put up the sign and leave it at that.”

  “How’s Ashley?”

  “I’m heading up to the hospital in about ten minutes.”

  “I can open the Gallery if you like.”

  “No, thanks. If it’s open, Ashley will want to come down and sit here all day. I want her to go home and rest in bed for a while. Give us a call tonight to see if you need to come in tomorrow.”

  “Oh. Okay. Thanks. Give Ashley my love.” Always at a loss for words with Thor, she patted Rocky on the head and departed, making it back to the suite before Rose was even dressed.

  “That was fast,” said Rose. “Are you fired, too?”

  “No,” said Zinnia. “Just on hold for a while. Thor doesn’t want Ashley hanging out at the Gallery, he wants her home resting. He’s going to fetch her from the hospital and take her home.”

  “Gee, I’ll bet that wasn’t Ashley’s idea.”

  Zinnia smiled. “No way. And Thor’s not going to score any points by shutting down her Gallery. She takes it very seriously.”

  “Well, at least now we can take care of our own business,” said Rose. She bounced off the sofa and headed for the shower, tossing her phone to Zinnia as she passed. “You call Bart. I’ll get dressed. Then we’ll go over to your mother’s house and ask her who your father is.”

  Zinnia sighed heavily and focused on the phone. In a mocking tone, she muttered, “Ask her who your father is. Jeez, Rose, that’s a little blunt, don’t you think?” A moment later she was talking to Bart. “We’re up. Footloose and fancy free. Thank God I’m working for you because my other gig has closed its doors for now.”

  “I’ll come down, and we’ll go eat. I’ve been working on a few things you might want to hear about.”

  “Great.” Her tone was flat.

  Bart asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Sure. No, really, I’ll be fine.” She forced a smile. “As soon as you get here, I’ll be fine. See you soon.” But in her heart of hearts, she wondered if things would ever be the same. Bernard made no secret of the fact that Chrissie and Rowdy were his favorites. He appeared to tolerate Percy and Timmy, but maybe that was because he ignored them. Timmy had asked him once, “Daddy, why don’t you talk to me?” and the response had been, “I’m waiting for you to say something interesting.”

  Okay, he wasn’t a perfect father, not even to the kids he liked, but Zinnia wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth. What if…? What if her mother didn’t know who her father was? She shuddered. That would definitely be worse.

  A soft knock on the door announced Bart’s arrival and she let him in.

  “Whoa, Nelly,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “You look like you just lost your iPod.” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it over. “I hope you don’t mind…I couldn’t resist listening to some of your playlist.” He put an arm around her shoulders and she let herself be herded toward the sofa where they sat together. “Did you ever notice that the lyrics aren’t in English?” he teased.

  Zinnia dropped her head to hide a smile. “Yes, I noticed.” She sighed. “Rose is getting dressed. She wants to go ask my mother who my father is.”

  “You don’t look too excited about that prospect. Don’t you want to know?”

  Zinnia looked up at him mournfully. “Would you? I mean, if you found out your father wasn’t really your dad, would you barge into his office and ask who the heck was?”

  Bart frowned and pretended to stroke his nonexistent beard. “Let me think about that.” Then he nudged her playfully. “I think I’d be too thrilled about the first part to worry about the second.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You haven’t met my father.” Bart chuckled. “I spent years at boarding school wishing an owl would fly in my dorm room window with a transfer to Hogwarts.”

  Zinnia giggled. “You always know how to make me laugh,” she said softly. Their eyes met, and Zinnia’s heart stuttered as he leaned in for a kiss. Their lips had barely met when Rose emerged from the other room, freshly scrubbed and dressed, still pressing a towel to her wet head.

  “Hold on, you two,” she teased. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I? Morning, Bart. I got fired.”

  Bart cocked an eyebrow at her. “You don’t sound very upset.”

  Rose shrugged. “If I was at work right now, I wouldn’t get to go with you guys to find out who Zinnia’s real father is.”

  “Gee,” said Zinnia, “you don’t have to sound so excited about it. What if he’s an axe murderer, serving a life sentence?”

  Rose laughed. “And what if he was visiting royalty studying incognito at your mom’s high school?”

  Bart took Zinnia’s hand. “As long as his name wasn’t Hazen, I don’t care.”

  Zinnia and Rose looked at each other, jointly puzzled, then figured it out at the same moment and chorused, “Oh, that would be awful!”

  Bart nodded. “It would certainly put a crimp in my hopes for the future.”

  Zinnia’s eyes widened and Rose covered her mouth to keep from squealing. Zinnia asked sweetly, “You have hopes?”

  “And dreams,” said Bart. “That someday you may look at me and see something more than a part-time employer.” He spoke the words like a caress and Zinnia blushed.

  “Honestly,” she said softly, “that’s the last thing I think of when I look at you.”

  Rose put a finger down her throat. “Enough! Gag me. My engagement has been crushed under Chrissie’s boot heel, and you two are making gaga eyes at each other. Let’s go. I’m starving.” She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, calling over her shoulder, “Chop chop, people!”

  Zinnia marveled at how quickly things could change. Feelings were so ephemeral. Ten minutes ago, she thought her world was ending. Now, she was floating on a cloud, thinking about the pleasant sound of Zinnia Hazen. She let Bart pull her to her feet and they followed Rose out the door.

  * * *

  The coffee shop was busy catering to the lunch crowd, but Bart didn’t mind. He needed about a gallon of coffee and asked the waitress if she could bring over a plate of pastries while they studied the menu. Rose was talking nonstop, although he wasn’t sure exactly what she was going on about. After his first mug of coffee and his second powdered donut, he was able to determine that the topic was Ashley Garrison.

  “I feel so sorry for her,” said Rose. “It must be hard to marry into money and then find out it doesn’t solve everything.”

  Bart squinted at her with one eye. “What’s going on with Ashley?” He scrambled mentally to remember why he should care. Oh, yes. Zinnia was worried about her. Reason enough to care. He repeated his question. “Something wrong with Ashley?”

  “Difficult pregnancy,” Zinnia reminded him gently. “We called an ambulance, remember?”

  “Oh of course, but…the way Rose said money couldn’t solve everything, it made me suspect there might be a new development.” He wished Rose would take a powder so he could fill Zinnia in on what he’d been doing that morning, but no such luck. It would have to wait. Then he chided himself for having such thoughts, since Rose was Zinnia’s anchor and the only reason she felt safe taking him up on his offer of going to New York.

  Rose seemed oblivious to his impatience. “My mother told me that Ashley spent her early childhood here in Eagle’s Toe, in a house up by the cemetery. I guess her mother went crazy or something and her father took her away. She finally came back to look for her mother to tell her that her father had died of cancer. And she met Thor because she was looking for a bodyguard.”

  Zinnia stirred sugar into her coffee and picked up a cream puff. “I think I heard something about that years ago when I was in high school. Wasn’t there an article in the paper about their wedding?”

  Bart contemplated a third donut and said, “Sounds twisted to me. Ro
se, I’m about to confiscate that chocolate-filled croissant, but since you haven’t chosen anything yet, I thought I’d let you have a chance at it.”

  Rose made a face. “A croissant is just bread. I’m having the maple bar.”

  Bart said, “A croissant is not just bread. That’s like saying oil paints are melted crayons. Are you girls going to order lunch?”

  Zinnia pulled her cream puff apart and distributed the whipped cream equally on both halves. “I thought that’s what we’re eating right now. Do you want more?”

  Bart screwed his mouth to one side. “I guess not. Three pastries should get me through until dinnertime. Ready to go?”

  Zinnia seemed hesitant. “Maybe we should just pretend Chrissie never said anything. Maybe we should leave well enough alone. After all, Bernard wanted me out of the house, and now I’m out. It’s not like I have to deal with him on a daily basis.”

  “Oh come on,” begged Rose. “I’m dying of curiosity.”

  Bart wiped his mouth with a napkin. “We should probably let Zinnia make this call,” he said. “After all, she’s the one most affected.”

  “Thanks,” said Zin. But then she relented. “Maybe Rose is right. It would be good to know. I mean, what if he’s a mental patient somewhere? Shouldn’t I find out if I might go bonkers someday?”

  Rose swallowed the last of her maple bar. “And afterwards, maybe you could drop me at my parents’ house? My Morris is parked in their driveway.”

  Bart was encouraged by Rose’s request to fetch her car. “Let’s go talk to your mother. There’s something I want to discuss with her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Zinnia’s nerves jangled as she approached the house. She gripped Rose’s hand on the left and Bart’s on the right. If they hadn’t been with her, she never would have tried to question her mother. Then she stopped cold. “You guys, what if Bernard doesn’t know I’m not his?”

  Rose said, “I don’t think he’s here.”

  Zinnia nodded. “Good.” She saw now that Bernard’s car was missing from the side of the house where he usually parked and that gave her courage. It was one thing to ask her mom some personal questions, but quite another to do so with him sitting in the other room. They moved up onto the porch and Zinnia tried the door.

  It was unlocked. She took a deep breath and pushed it open.

  All was quiet, and that was as much of a shock as anything. “Mom? Are you here?”

  “Doing laundry,” came the response. A moment later Lily appeared in the kitchen doorway, folding a towel. She saw Zinnia and smiled brightly, then she put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Chrissie is upstairs asleep and the babies are napping. Come have a seat.” She motioned to the dining room table where half-empty cereal bowls and scattered toys attested to her busy morning. “Nice to see you again, Bart. And Rose dear, you’re always welcome. Is everything all right? Why aren’t you working at the Gallery?”

  They all sat down. Zinnia pushed dirty dishes toward the center of the table. “Ashley is pregnant. She passed out at work yesterday so she spent the night in the hospital and Thor won’t let her open the shop for a while.”

  “I see.” Lily clutched the towel tightly.

  “What time did Chrissie get home?”

  Lily made a face. “An hour ago. I’m too old to be looking after two babies all by myself. Mel is very active, and Wedge scoots everywhere on his little behind. And usually they’re going in different directions.” She laughed weakly, then fell silent.

  Zinnia had the distinct impression that her mother knew something was up. “Did Chrissie say anything when she got home?”

  Lily dropped her gaze to the towel. “She was angry that I told you she was pregnant again.” She looked away, as if there might be help waiting for her in the kitchen.

  “Mom—”

  Lily interrupted. “Would you all like some coffee? There’s some left in the pot, but I can make fresh.” She started to get up.

  Zinnia took hold of her wrist and pulled her gently back down. “We saw Chrissie last night.”

  Lily looked wary.

  “She said some mean and hurtful things.”

  “She’s always had her father’s thorny temperament.”

  “She said Bernard isn’t my father.”

  Lily slumped back against her chair. “That was uncalled for.”

  Zinnia noticed right away that her mother was not denying it. “Shouldn’t I know who my father was? In case of health problems or something?”

  Rose blurted, “She has to know so she doesn’t accidentally marry her brother.”

  Lily covered her mouth with the towel. She looked from Rose to Zinnia to Bart. At last, she let the towel fall into her lap. “We all make mistakes when we’re young.”

  Zinnia’s eyes burned with tears. “Was I a mistake?”

  Lily was horrified. “Oh no, baby! You were my first born! I’ve always adored you. The mistake was…Well, back in high school, I went to the senior prom with…a local boy…and he brought alcohol in a thermos. And we drank enough to feel loose and silly. And I… we… spent the night together in his car. Afterward, he never called or anything, and when I tried to get hold of him, he got angry and told me our ‘little fling’ was nothing. He was already engaged to another girl from our class. So I should leave him alone.”

  “Oh Mom, I’m so sorry,” said Zinnia.

  Bart snorted. “He sounds like a first-class jerk. Sorry, Zin. I mean, if the guy’s your father…”

  Lily said, “I met Bernard after I went to work as a grocery clerk. He was working in the back and cleaning floors. He was sweet on me and he seemed convinced that we belonged together. I figured once I told him I was pregnant, he’d be long gone. Instead, he claimed that he was the best thing that could have happened to me because he would take care of me and the baby. So I married him.”

  Zinnia said, “That explains why he seemed so eager to get me out of the house. I wasn’t his and he didn’t like me much.”

  Rose blurted, “So who is Zinnia’s father?”

  Lily focused on her towel again and said nothing.

  Zinnia asked softly, “Chrissie said I’m not a Clausen. Does she know who my father was?”

  Lily shook her head. “No, of course not. I never told anyone. Not even Bernard.” She glanced at Rose. “Okay, I told one of my girl friends.” She looked away. “Rose’s mom. We agreed it was best left a secret.”

  Zinnia leaned toward her mother and gave her a hug. “In that case, I don’t need to know either.”

  Rose objected. “Are you kidding me? Zin! You have to know who he was. Like Bart said, what if his name was Hazen?”

  Lily laughed, a single harsh syllable. “Don’t be silly. He was just a local boy…” She chewed her bottom lip. “Turned out he’d got another girl pregnant that semester, and that’s why they were getting married. Poor thing. There weren’t many back then I could feel sorry for, but she was one of them.”

  Zinnia waited patiently. She gave a small shake of the head when Rose opened her mouth, and her friend fell silent.

  Out of the blue, Lily said with syrupy sweetness, “Chrissie says she’s engaged to be married. Isn’t that nice?”

  Zinnia frowned. “Let me guess. Chester.”

  “Yes.” Lily giggled into her towel. Her eyes were wet, but she was laughing. At last, she looked Zinnia in the eye and took her hand. “I haven’t told her yet that she’ll be marrying…your half-brother.”

  Rose squealed. Bart mouthed, Surprise.

  Footsteps upstairs silenced them all. “Shhh,” said Lily. They waited. The sound of a flushing toilet was followed by the click of a bedroom door. No one came down the stairs.

  All four sighed with relief. Zinnia certainly didn’t want to confront her sister again, nor did she want to pursue the conversation about her paternity. Chester’s father? And her mother? Horrible. She shuddered. Then again, she was nothing like Chester. Maybe she’d been lucky and took most of her genes from her mo
ther. Did genetics work like that? She didn’t know. But she had heard enough. She said softly, “I think we should go,” and stood up.

  Bart said, “You and Rose go on out to my car. I just need to talk to your mother for a moment. Go on. Then we’ll drop Rose off.”

  Zinnia felt like she should hug her mother, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not yet. Why keep her in the dark all these years? “Come on, Rose. Let’s go wait in the car.”

  Once they were safely ensconced in the SUV, Zinnia released a heavy breath, then burst into tears.

  * * *

  Bart followed Lily into the kitchen where she fetched herself another cup of coffee. She knew he was there—he was certain of that—but she pretended that she didn’t. She poured her coffee and stared out the kitchen window, which gave her a view of his SUV parked in front of the house. Something that she saw there seemed to sadden her, and she looked away.

  Bart said, “Excuse me, ma’am, but there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

  In an instant, she swung her head around. “Oh Bart, I didn’t know you were still here.”

  She was obviously reeling from the emotional impact of revealing her secret. He crossed his arms loosely across his chest and said casually, “Zinnia shared with me the problems you’ve been having paying the rent. Do you like this house?”

  “It’s what we can afford.” She gave a little shrug.

  “Why don’t you look for something better or bigger?”

  Lily looked up at him as if he were speaking a foreign language. “Are you out of your mind? Do you think we can just go out and pick where we want to live? We’re forced to live in a house we can afford to rent.” She took a deep breath, then added almost apologetically, “I suppose people in your income bracket don’t have to worry about such things.”

  Bart reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter that Zinnia had given him, the one from the landlord about raising the rent.

  “Look, Lily, I have great respect for you. You’ve done a wonderful job raising your children and now you’re raising your grandchildren. I never want you to feel like any less of a person just because our incomes are different. As you know, I’m very fond of your daughter. I want to take her with me to New York and get her started on her art career. But I don’t want her to be worrying about you while she’s doing it. So if you’ll let me…” He paused and pulled out another envelope. “You might find this particular notice more interesting than the last one you got. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go check on Zinnia. We may be leaving soon. Don’t worry about her. I’ll take good care of her. Oh, I’ll also be sending a surprise in the mail within a few days. Please be sure you are the one who opens it.” He left her dumbstruck, staring at the kitchen sink, unable to believe what she’d read on the second paper. But he had no time to convince her. He had to get out to Zinnia.