Ready for Marriage

by Debbie Macomber

  She stared out the side window. “You’re comfortable in my world, Evan, but I’m not comfortable in yours.”

  “World? What are you talking about? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re both right here in the same world—earth.”

  She smiled, knowing he was making light of her concerns. “If we’d been with your family, do you seriously think we’d be having pizza and beer? More than likely it’d be expensive French wine, baguettes and Brie.”

  “So? You don’t like baguettes and Brie?”

  “Yes, but…” She paused, knowing it wouldn’t do any good to argue. He didn’t understand her concerns, because he didn’t share them. “We’re different, Evan.”

  “Thank goodness. I’d hate to think I was attracted to a clone of myself.”

  “I’m an electrician’s daughter.”

  “A very lovely one, too, I might add.”

  “Evan,” she groaned. “Be serious.”

  “I am serious. It’d scare the socks off you if you knew how serious.”

  He exited the freeway and headed down the street toward her duplex. As he parked, he said, “Invite me in for coffee.”

  “Are you really interested in coffee?”

  “No.”

  “That’s what I thought,” she said, smiling softly to herself.

  “I’m going to kiss you, Mary Jo, and frankly, I’m a little too old to be doing it in a car. Now invite me inside—or suffer the consequences.”

  Mary Jo didn’t need a second invitation. Evan helped her out of the car and took her arm as they walked to her door. She unlocked it but didn’t turn on the lights as they moved into her living room. The instant the door was closed, Evan turned her in his arms so that her back was pressed against it.

  Her lips trembled as his mouth sought hers. It was a gentle caress rather than a kiss, and she moaned, wanting, needing more of him.

  Evan’s hand curved around the side of her neck, his fingers stroking her hair. His mouth hovered a fraction of an inch from hers, as if he half expected her to protest his kiss. Instead, she raised her head to meet his lips again.

  Groaning, Evan kissed her with a passion that left her breathless and weak-kneed.

  Mary Jo wound her arms around his neck and stood on the tips of her toes as his mouth worked hungrily over hers. They exchanged a series of long kisses, then Evan buried his head in her shoulder and shuddered.

  Mary Jo was convinced that if he hadn’t been holding her upright, she would have slithered to the floor.

  “We’d better stop while I have the strength,” Evan whispered, almost as if he was speaking more to himself than to her. His breathing was ragged and uneven. He moved away from her, and in the dark stillness of her living room, illumined only by the glow of a streetlight, she watched him rake his hands through his thick, dark hair.

  “I’ll make us that coffee,” she said in a purposeful voice. They both squinted when she flipped on the light.

  “I really don’t need any coffee,” he told her.

  “I know. I don’t, either. It’s a convenient excuse for you to stay.”

  Evan followed her into the kitchen and pulled out a chair. He sat down and reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her down onto his lap. “We have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Unsure how to respond, Mary Jo rested her hands lightly on his shoulders. It was so easy to get caught up again in the intensity of their attraction and renewed love. But despite her earlier optimism, she couldn’t allow herself to ignore the truth. Except that she didn’t know how to resolve this, or even if she could.

  Evan left soon afterward, with a good-night kiss and the reminder that they’d be together again in the morning.

  Mary Jo sat in her rocking chair in the dark for a long time, trying to sort out her tangled thoughts. Loving him the way she did, it was so tempting to let her heart go where it wanted to. So tempting to throw caution to the winds, to ignore all the difficult questions.

  Evan seemed confident that their love was possible. Jessica did, too. Mary Jo desperately wanted to believe them. She wanted to overlook every objection. She wanted what she would probably never receive—his family’s approval. Not Damian and Jessica’s; she had that. His mother and father’s.

  Sometimes loving someone wasn’t enough. Mary Jo had heard that often enough and she recognized the truth of it.

  Too tired to think clearly, she stood, setting the rocker into motion, and stumbled into her bedroom.

  SATURDAY, MARY JO MET Evan at the yacht club at noon. They planned to sail after a leisurely lunch. She’d been looking forward to this from the moment Evan had invited her on Wednesday.

  The receptionist ushered her to a table outside on the patio where Evan was waiting for her. There was a festive, summery atmosphere—tables with their striped red-yellow-and-blue umbrellas, the cheerful voices of other diners, the breathtaking view of the marina. Several sailboats with multicolored spinnakers could be seen against a backdrop of bright blue sky and sparkling green sea.

  Evan stood as she approached and pulled out her chair. “I don’t think you’ve ever looked more beautiful.”

  It was a line he’d used a thousand times before, Mary Jo was sure of that, although he sounded sincere. “You say that to all your dates,” she chided lightly, reaching for the menu.

  “But it’s true,” he returned with an injured air.

  Mary Jo laughed and spread the linen napkin across her lap. “Your problem is that you’re a wonderful liar. You’d be perfect in politics since you lie so convincingly.” She’d been teasing, then suddenly realized how rude that sounded. His father was a politician!

  “Oh, Evan, I’m sorry. That was a terrible thing to say.” Mary Jo felt dreadful, and realized anew that she was the type of person who could offend someone without ever being aware of it. She simply wasn’t circumspect enough.

  He chuckled and brushed off her apology. “Dad would get a laugh out of what you said.”

  “Promise me you won’t ever tell him.”

  “That depends,” he said, paying exaggerated attention to his menu.

  “On what?” she demanded.

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “On what you intend to offer me for my silence.”

  She smiled and repeated a line her brothers had often used on her. “I’ll let you live.”

  Evan threw back his head and laughed boisterously.

  “Evan?” The woman’s voice came from behind Mary Jo. “What a pleasant surprise to find you here.”

  “Mother,” Evan said, standing to greet Lois Dryden. He kissed her on the cheek. “You remember Mary Jo Summerhill, don’t you?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “OF COURSE I REMEMBER Mary Jo,” Lois Dryden said cheerfully. “How nice to see you again.”

  Mary Jo blinked, wondering if this was the same woman she’d had that painful heart-to-heart chat with all those years ago. The woman who’d suggested that if Mary Jo really loved Evan she would call off their engagement. Not in those words exactly. Mrs. Dryden had been far too subtle for that. Nevertheless, the message had been there, loud and clear.

  “I didn’t know you two were seeing each other again,” Lois continued. “This is a…surprise.”

  Mary Jo noticed she didn’t say it was pleasant surprise. Naturally, Evan’s mother was much too polite to cause even a hint of a scene. Not at the yacht club, at any rate. Now, if she’d been at Whispering Willows, the Dryden estate, she might swoon or have a fit of vapors, or whatever it was wealthy women did to reveal their shock and displeasure. Mary Jo realized she was being cynical, but couldn’t help herself.

  Evan reached for her hand and clasped it in his own. His eyes smiled into hers. “Mary Jo’s working for me this summer.”

  “I…I didn’t know that.”

  “Would you care to join us?” Evan asked, but his eyes didn’t waver from Mary Jo’s. Although he’d issued the invitation, it was obvious that he expected his mother to refuse. That he wanted
her to refuse.

  “Another time, perhaps. I’m lunching with Jessica’s mother. We’re planning a first-birthday party celebration for Andrew, and, well, you know how the two of us feel about our only grandchild.”

  Evan chuckled. “I sure do. It seems to me that either Damian or I should see about adding another branch to the family tree.”

  Mary Jo felt the heat of embarrassment redden her ears. Evan couldn’t have been more blatant. He’d all but announced he intended to marry her. She waited for his mother to comment.

  “That would be lovely, Evan,” Lois said, but if Evan didn’t catch the tinge of disapproval in his mother’s voice, Mary Jo did. Nothing had changed.

  The lines were drawn.

  Lois made her excuses and hurried back into the yacht club. Mary Jo’s good mood plummeted. She made a pretense of enjoying her lunch and decided to put the small confrontation behind her. Her heart was set on enjoying this day with Evan. She loved sailing as much as he did, and as soon as they were out in the bay, she could forget how strongly his mother disapproved of her. Almost forget.

  They worked together to get the sailboat in motion. Once the sails were raised, she sat next to Evan. The wind tossed her hair about her face, and she smiled into the warm, cheerful sunshine. They tacked left and then right, zigzagging their way through the water.

  “Are you thirsty?” Evan asked after they’d been out for about an hour.

  “A cold soda sounds good.”

  “Great. While you’re in the galley, would you get one for me?”

  Laughing, she jabbed him in the ribs for the clever way he’d tricked her into getting his drink. She went below and brought back two sodas. She handed him his, then reclaimed her spot beside him.

  Evan eased his arm around her shoulder and soon she was nestled against him, guiding the sailboat, with Evan guiding her. When she veered off course and the sails slackened, he placed his hand over hers and gently steered them back on course.

  Mary Jo had found it easy to talk to Evan from the moment they’d met. He was easygoing and congenial, open-minded and witty. But this afternoon he seemed unusually quiet. She wondered if he was thinking about the unexpected encounter with his mother.

  “It’s peaceful, isn’t it?” Mary Jo said after several long moments of silence.

  “I think some of the most profound moments of my life have been spent aboard this boat. I’ve always come here to find peace, and I have, though it’s usually been hard won.”

  “I’m grateful you introduced me to sailing.”

  “I took the boat out several times after…three years ago.” His hold on her tightened slightly. “I’ve missed you, Mary Jo,” he whispered, and rubbed the side of his jaw against her temple. “My world felt so empty without you.”

  “Mine did, too,” she admitted softly, remembering the bleak, empty months after their breakup.

  “Earl Kress stopped off at the office a while back, and I learned you weren’t married. Afterward, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I wondered what had happened between you and this teacher you loved. I wanted to contact you and find out. I must have come up with a hundred schemes to worm my way back into your life.”

  “W-why didn’t you?” She felt comfortable and secure in his arms, unafraid of the problems that had driven them apart. She could deal with the past; it was the future that terrified her.

  “Pride mostly,” Evan said quietly. “A part of me was hoping you’d eventually come back to me.”

  In a way she had, on her knees, needing him. Funny, she couldn’t have approached him for herself, even though she was madly in love with him, but she’d done it for her parents.

  “No wonder you had that gleeful look in your eye when I walked into your office,” she said, hiding a smile. “You’d been waiting for that very thing.”

  “I wanted to punish you,” he told her, and she heard the regret in his voice. “I wanted to make you suffer the way I had. That was the reason I insisted you work for me this summer. I’d already hired Mrs. Sterling’s replacement, but when I had the opportunity to force you into accepting the position, I couldn’t resist.”

  This wasn’t news to Mary Jo. She’d known the moment he’d offered her the job what his intention was. He wanted to make her as miserable as she’d made him. And his plan worked those first few days. She’d gone home frustrated, mentally beaten and physically exhausted.

  “A woman of lesser fortitude would have quit the first day, when you had me ordering roses and booking luncheon dates.”

  “Those weren’t any love interests,” he confessed.

  “I’m related to each one.”

  “I know.” She tilted back her head and kissed the underside of his jaw.

  “How?” he asked, his surprise evident.

  “Jessica told me.”

  “Well, I certainly hope you were jealous. I went through a great deal of unnecessary trouble if you weren’t.”

  “I was green with it.” She could have downplayed her reaction, but didn’t. “Every time you left the office for another one of your dates, I worked myself into a frenzy. Please, Evan, don’t ever do that to me again.”

  “I won’t,” he promised, and she could feel his smile against her hair. “But you had your revenge several times over, throwing Gary in my face. I disliked the man from the moment we met. Here I was, hoping to catch you off guard by showing up at your parents’ for dinner, and my plan immediately backfires when you arrive with your boyfriend in tow.”

  “You didn’t like Gary?”

  “He’s probably a nice guy, but not when he’s dating my woman.”

  “But you acted like Gary was an old pal! I was mortified. My entire family thought it was hilarious. You had more to say to Gary than to me.”

  “I couldn’t let you know how jealous I was, could I?”

  Mary Jo snuggled more securely in his arms. A sea gull’s cry sounded from overhead, and she looked into the brilliant blue sky, reveling in the sunshine and the breeze and in the rediscovery of their love.

  “Can we ever go back?” Evan asked. “Is it possible to pretend those years didn’t happen and take up where we left off?”

  “I…I don’t know,” Mary Jo whispered. Yet she couldn’t keep her heart from hoping. She closed her eyes and felt the wind on her face. Those years had changed her. She was more confident now, more sure of herself, emotionally stronger. This time she’d fight harder to hold on to her happiness.

  One thing was certain. If she walked out of Evan’s life again, it wouldn’t be in silence or in secrecy.

  She remembered the pain of adjusting to her life without Evan. Pride had carried her for several months. She might not come from old Boston wealth, but she had nothing to be ashamed of. She was proud of her family and refused to apologize because they were working class.

  But pride had only taken her so far, and when it had worn down, all that was left was the emptiness of her dreams and a life that felt hollow.

  Like Evan, she’d forced herself to go on, dragging from one day to the next, but she wasn’t fully alive and hadn’t been until a few days ago, when he’d taken her in his arms and kissed her. Her love for him, her regret at what she’d lost, had refused to go away.

  “I want to give us another chance,” Evan murmured. The teasing had gone out of his voice. “Do you?”

  “Yes. Oh, yes,” Mary Jo said ardently.

  He kissed her then, with a passion and a fervor she’d never experienced before. She returned his kiss in full measure. They clung tightly to each other until the sails flapped in the breeze and Evan had to grip the helm and steer them back on course.

  “I love you, Mary Jo,” Evan said. “Heaven knows, I tried not to. I became…rather irresponsible after we split up, you know. If it hadn’t been for Damian, I don’t know what I would have done. He was endlessly patient with me, even when I wouldn’t tell him what was wrong. My brother isn’t stupid. He knew it had something to do with you. I just couldn’t talk ab
out it. The only relief I found was here on the water.”

  Turning, Mary Jo wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed her face against his chest, wanting to absorb his pain.

  “When you told me you’d fallen in love with another man, I was left with no recourse but to accept that it was over. I realized the moment you told me how difficult it was for you. Loving him while you were still engaged to me must have been hell.”

  A sob was trapped in her throat. This was the time to admit there’d never been another man, that it was all a lie….

  “Can you tell me about him?”

  “No.” She jerked her head from side to side in adamant refusal. She couldn’t do it, just couldn’t do it. She was continuing the lie, Lord help her, but telling him would mean betraying his mother’s part in all this. She wouldn’t do that.

  His free arm cradled her shoulders, his grip tight.

  “I’d more or less decided that if I couldn’t marry you,” Evan said after a lengthy pause, “I wasn’t getting married at all. Can’t you just see me twenty years down the road sitting by a roaring fireplace in a smoking jacket with my ever-faithful dog sleeping at my side?”

  The mental picture was so foreign to the devil-may-care image she’d had of him these past few years that she laughed out loud. “You in a smoking jacket? Never. You don’t even smoke.”

  “What about me living in a huge, seven-bedroom house all by myself?”

  “I can’t picture that, either.”

  “What about fatherhood? Can you picture me as a father?”

  “Easily.” After watching him with Andrew and her own nieces and nephews, she realized Evan was a natural with children.

  “Then it’s settled,” he said, sounding greatly relieved.

  “What’s settled?” she asked, cocking her head to one side to look up at him. His attention was focused straight ahead as he steered the sailboat.

  “We’re getting married. So, sweetheart, prepare yourself, because we’re making up for lost time.”

  “Evan—”