“Spoken like a true mother,” he murmured. “I get it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I would do anything to avoid hurting Katie.”
“Good. As long as you remember that.”
Eleven
Despite the drama, the crying, the sulking, Courtney was ready to walk down the aisle right on time. Katie had already checked out the groom and he was waiting in place, up by the minister. Both main players were excited, happy and telling whoever would listen how much they loved each other.
The nearly three hundred guests were in place—a number that made Katie’s stomach flip over. At least she wasn’t the one who had to deal with the crowd.
Or pay for it, she thought, wondering how much the wedding had cost her parents. She returned to the bride’s room.
“I look perfect,” Courtney said, turning in front of the mirror and checking out her reflection.
Katie did her best to shake off her irritation at Courtney’s vanity. After all, it was her wedding day, and it was only a few hours, she reminded herself. She would get through this because Courtney was her sister. But then it would be over and she could escape back to her regularly scheduled life.
“Everyone is waiting,” Janis said as she entered the room. “Courtney, you look lovely. Your father is right here. Let’s go.”
Courtney adjusted her veil, picked up her flowers and smiled. “Hasn’t this been the best weekend ever? Everything has been perfect, Mom. Alex and I really appreciate how you’ve made it so romantic.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her mother took Katie’s arm and pulled her out of the room.
“Thanks for all your help,” Janis said. “I couldn’t have gotten through this without you. I keep telling myself that in a few hours, this will all be over.”
“That’s what I was thinking. I swear, when I get married, I’m going to elope. Or have no more than fifty people.”
“Your father and I will spend exactly the same on your wedding as we spent on your sister’s.”
Katie grinned at her mom. “Can I have the cash instead?”
Her mother hugged her. “With interest.”
* * *
The ceremony was beautiful and went off smoothly. At the reception, the first dance made everyone sigh, the food was perfect and the cake had a place of honor in the corner.
The bride and groom had decided against a head table. Instead there was a special table just for them—under a fabric-draped archway, with twinkling lights.
Jackson pulled Katie close, moving in time with the music. “Would you be mad if I asked how much longer we have to stay?”
She grinned up at him. “No, because I already have an answer. Fifty-seven minutes. I promised my mom we’d be here until nine-thirty. Then we’re free.”
“Good. Your room or mine?”
She tilted her head as she considered the question. The soft light spilled onto her beautiful face, illuminating the light dusting of freckles, the shape of her mouth and the humor in her eyes.
“Your room,” she said at last. “Mostly because no one will look for me there.”
“You’re saying I’m little more than an excuse.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.”
She laughed, and he felt the sound clear down to his gut. The sense of rightness he felt when he was around her had only grown.
His mother’s words still lingered, making him aware that he would have to tread carefully. He wanted to make it clear to Katie and everyone else that she was important to him. He wasn’t playing games. She was the one and he intended to have her.
Courtney came up and tapped Katie on the shoulder. “I’m going to throw the bouquet. I’m going to throw it directly at you. You know, for luck.” Then Courtney hugged her. “I love you, Katie.”
“I love you, too.”
Courtney released her and glanced at Jackson. “Thanks for coming to my wedding.”
“I thought you hated me.”
She giggled the laugh of the very tipsy. “Don’t be silly. Although you’d better be careful with my sister. I know all about you.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
Courtney turned her attention back to Katie. “I can tell you really like him. I mean, he’s an arranged date and all but he’s been nice. Still, be careful. You know how things go with guys. You’re not very lucky.”
Katie’s expression went blank. Obviously she was really great at hiding her feelings.
Jackson wasn’t willing to just take Courtney’s crap anymore. “Listen,” he began.
Courtney’s eyes narrowed. “No. You listen. You slept with Ariel. She told me. So don’t you hurt my sister. Come on.” Courtney grabbed her sister’s arm. “I’m throwing the bouquet.”
Katie slipped away before he could stop her.
Jackson stood in the middle of the dance floor, watching the woman he loved being led away.
He hadn’t slept with Ariel, at least, not in a very long time. Surely Katie knew that. She had to understand Courtney was lying or misrepresenting the truth. Or Ariel was. Katie had to know how much she meant to him. That he would never do anything to hurt her.
“Is everything all right?” his mother asked.
“Fine.”
“Katie looked upset.”
He had to fix this, he thought grimly. But how? There had to be some way to convince her that she was…
He put his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “I need you to get Courtney to hold off on throwing the bouquet.”
“What?”
“She’s going to do it any second. I need you to get them to delay.”
“For how long?”
“Until I’m back.” He headed for the door.
“Howie—”
He turned around. “Mom, you have to stop calling me that. I’ll explain everything as soon as I can. Just help me.”
“All right. But I don’t know what I’m going to say.”
“You’ll think of something.”
* * *
“This is stupid,” Courtney said, sipping champagne and pacing by the edge of the ballroom. “I want to throw the bouquet and get on with my life.”
“Mom and Tina were really clear. They want us to wait.”
“Fine. But only five more minutes. Then I’m doing what I want.”
And damn the consequences, Katie thought wryly. Courtney had her moments of caring about other people. Unfortunately they were widely spaced.
“I’m hope you know I said what I did for your own good,” Courtney said.
Katie stared at her blankly. “What are you talking about?”
“Jackson and Ariel. Did you look at her? You don’t have a shot. I know that sounds cruel, but it’s true. Better that you get over him now than he breaks your heart.”
Katie told herself she would sleep better if she assumed the best about her sister. “I appreciate the warning, but Jackson and Ariel aren’t together. They didn’t sleep together.”
Courtney’s eyes widened. “Of course they did. Both nights.”
“No,” Katie said calmly. “They couldn’t have. Jackson was with me.”
Courtney flushed. Her mouth opened and closed. “Ariel said they did. She said she was telling me because she knew how much I loved you and thought someone should warn you. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you.” Her expression cleared. “I’m glad it’s not true.”
Katie couldn’t have been more surprised if the stemware started talking. “Um, me, too.”
Courtney hugged her. “Now I really want you to catch my bouquet.”
Still feeling slightly stunned, Katie got halfway across the dance floor when she heard Jackson call her name.
She stopped, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Love filled her. Love and hope and the knowledge that this man was the one. She turned toward him.
“Hi.”
“I didn’t sleep with Ariel.”
He looked
serious and worried, as if he’d genuinely been concerned. Which was exactly like him.
“I know.”
“I wasn’t even tempted.”
“I believe you.”
There were guests all around them. A few were pretending they weren’t listening while others moved in closer.
Jackson pushed up his glasses as he stared at her. “I know this is fast and maybe a little crazy, but, Katie McCormick, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re who I’ve been waiting for. It kills me that our moms were right, but we’re going to have to live with that. At least I’m hoping we will. I love you.”
Maybe there was other noise in the room. Music from the orchestra, a gasp or two, but all she heard were his words. Magical words that made her feel as if she could float.
“I’ve loved you from the second I saw you,” he continued. “It’s okay if you have to think about it, but please don’t tell me no.”
Then Jackson Kent, the most devastatingly handsome, sexy, wonderful man she’d ever known, dropped to his knee and held out a diamond ring.
“Katie, will you marry me?”
A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind. That if this was a dream, she never, ever wanted to wake up. That she hadn’t known it was possible to love anyone as much as she did right now. That her sister was going to want to kill her. But mostly that every fiber of her being begged her to accept.
She crossed to him and crouched in front of him. After cupping his face in her hands and allowing herself to get lost in his green eyes, she smiled.
“Yes.”
The room erupted in cheers and applause. Jackson stood, drawing her to her feet, then he pulled her close and kissed her.
“I love you,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I love you, too. From that first second.”
He pulled back long enough to put the ring on her finger. She stared at the massive diamond.
“Were you just carrying this around? Random diamonds in case you wanted to get married?”
“I got the hotel manager to get the jewelry store guy to open for me. We can get you something different, if you want. Maybe a little diamond football helmet or baseball.”
She laughed. “This one is perfect. Just like you.”
He swung her around, then kissed her again. “Not perfect. Just very, very lucky.”
Katie hugged him. Over his shoulder, she saw her mother and Tina both dabbing at tears. Courtney hung on to Alex and waved her flowers.
Katie drew back slightly. “About the wedding,” she began.
“I was thinking we’d elope.”
“You read my mind.”
FINDING PERFECT
SUSAN MALLERY
CHAPTER ONE
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN she left me the embryos? I’m supposed to get the cat.” Pia O’Brian paused long enough to put her hand on her chest. The shock of hearing the details of Crystal’s will had been enough to stop the strongest of hearts, and Pia’s was still bruised from the loss of her friend.
She was relieved to find her heart still beating, although the speed at which her heart was pumping was disconcerting.
“It’s the cat,” she repeated, speaking as clearly as possible so the well-dressed attorney sitting across from her would understand. “His name is Jake. I’m not really a pet person, but we’ve made peace with each other. I think he likes me. It’s hard to tell—he keeps to himself. I guess most cats do.”
Pia thought about offering to bring in the cat so the lawyer could see for herself, but she wasn’t sure that would help.
“Crystal would never leave me her babies,” Pia added with a whisper. Mostly because it was true. Pia had never had a maternal or nurturing thought in her life. Taking care of the cat had been a big step for her.
“Ms. O’Brian,” the attorney said with a brief smile, “Crystal was very clear in her will. She and I spoke several times as her illness progressed. She wanted you to have her embryos. Only you.”
“But I…” Pia swallowed.
Embryos. Somewhere in a lab-like facility were frozen test tubes or other containers and inside of them were the potential babies her friend had so longed for.
“I know this is a shock,” the lawyer, a fortysomething elegant woman in a tailored suit, said. “Crystal debated telling you what she’d done. Apparently she decided against letting you know in advance.”
“Probably because she knew I’d try to talk her out of it,” Pia muttered.
“For now, you don’t have to do anything. The storage fees are paid for the next three years. There’s some paperwork to be filled out, but we can take care of it later.”
Pia nodded. “Thank you,” she said and rose. A quick glance at her watch told her she was going to have to hurry or she would be late for her ten-thirty appointment back at her office.
“Crystal picked you for a reason,” the attorney said as Pia walked toward the door.
Pia gave the older woman a tight smile and headed for the stairs. Seconds later, she was outside, breathing deeply, wondering when the world was going to stop spinning.
This was not happening, she told herself as she started walking. It couldn’t be. What had Crystal been thinking? There were dozens of other women she could have left the embryos to. Hundreds, probably. Women who were good with kids, who knew how to bake and comfort and test for a fever with the back of their hands.
Pia couldn’t even keep a houseplant alive. She was a lousy hugger. Her last boyfriend had complained she always let go first. Probably because being held too long made her feel trapped. Not exactly a sterling quality for a potential parent.
Her stomach felt more than a little queasy. What had Crystal been thinking and why? Why her? That’s what she couldn’t get over. The fact that her friend had made such a crazy decision. And without ever mentioning it.
Fool’s Gold was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone else and secrets were hard to keep. Apparently Crystal had managed to break with convention and keep some huge information to herself.
Pia reached her office building. The first floor of the structure held several retail businesses—a card store, a gift shop with the most amazing fudge and Morgan’s Books. Her office was upstairs.
She went through the plain wooden door off the side street and climbed to the second story. She could see a tall man standing by her locked office door.
“Hi,” she called. “Sorry I’m late.”
The man turned.
There was a window behind him, so she couldn’t see his face, but she knew her schedule for the morning and the name of the man who was her next appointment. Raoul Moreno was tall, with huge shoulders. Despite the unusually cool September day, he hadn’t bothered with a coat. Instead he wore a V-neck sweater over dark jeans.
A man’s man, she thought unexpectedly. Which made sense. Raoul Moreno was a former professional football player. He’d been a quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys. After ten years in the game, he’d retired on top and had disappeared from public view. Last year he’d shown up in Fool’s Gold for a pro-am charity golf tournament. For reasons she couldn’t figure out, he’d stayed.
As she got closer, she took in the large dark eyes, the handsome face. There was a scar on his cheek—probably from protecting an old lady during a mugging. He had a reputation for being nice. Pia made it a rule never to trust nice people.
“Ms. O’Brian,” he began. “Thanks for seeing me.”
She unlocked her office door and motioned for him to go inside.
“Pia, please. My ‘Ms. O’Brian’ years are looming, but I’m not ready for them yet.”
He was good-looking enough that she should have been distracted. Under other circumstances, she probably would have been. But at the moment, she was too busy wondering if the chemo treatments had scrambled Crystal’s brain. Her friend had always seemed so rational. Obviously that had been a facade.
Pia motioned to the visitor chair in front of her desk and hung her coat on t
he rack by the door.
Her office was small but functional. There was a good-size main room with a custom three-year calendar covering most of one wall. The squares were half dry-erase material and half corkboard.
Posters for various Fool’s Gold festivals took up the rest of the wall space. She had a storage room and a half bath in the rear, several cabinets and a filing system that bordered on compulsively organized. As a rule she made it a point to visit rather than have people come to her, but scheduling-wise, having Raoul stop by had made the most sense.
Of course that had been before she’d found out she’d been left three very frozen potential children.
She crossed to the small refrigerator in the corner. “I have diet soda and water.” She glanced over her shoulder. “You’re not the diet type.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “Are you asking or telling?”
She smiled. “Am I wrong?”
“Water’s fine.”
“I knew it.”
She collected a bottle and a can, then returned to her desk. After handing him the bottle, she took a seat and stared at the yellow pad in front of her. There was writing on it, very possibly in English. She could sort of make out individual letters but not words and certainly not sentences.
They were supposed to have a meeting about something. That much was clear. She handled the city festivals in town. There were over a dozen civic events that she ran every year. But her mind didn’t go any further than that. When she tried to remember why Raoul was here, she went blank. Her brain was filled with other things.
Babies. Crystal had left her babies. Okay, embryos, but the implication was clear. Crystal wanted her children to be born. Which meant someone was going to have to get them implanted, grow them and later give birth. Although that was terrifying enough, there was also the further horror of raising them.
Children weren’t like cats. She knew that much. They would need more than dry food, a bowl of water and a clean litter box. A lot more.
“Oh, God, I can’t do this,” she whispered.
Raoul frowned. “I don’t understand. Do you want to reschedule the meeting?”
Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing PerfectAlmost PerfectSister of the BrideFinding Perfect Page 61
