Goody Two Shoes (Invertary Book 2)

by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

  There was a whoop of laughter as people noisily cleared out of the hall. Caroline jumped to her feet and practically ran from Josh. He shook his head slowly. You can run, but you can’t hide.

  Josh watched Dougal talk to Caroline. His huge belly was wrapped in a pink shirt and green tartan waistcoat. He looked exactly the way a Christmas gift would look if a drunken Elton John was wrapping it. Caroline stepped out from behind Dougal, and her eyes caught Josh’s. Josh smiled before blowing her a kiss. She stumbled, and Dougal reached out to steady her.

  “I’m Caroline’s best friend,” a voice beside Josh said.

  He turned to find a stunning redhead, flanked by the guy who was responsible for Betty. Josh stood and offered his hand.

  “I’m Kirsty, and this is my fiancé, Lake.” She gripped his hand tightly when he moved to let go, and leaned towards him. “If you hurt my friend, or upset her in anyway, I will eviscerate you.”

  Josh blinked, then smiled. “Good to know.”

  Lake didn’t smile as he offered his hand. “Lake Benson, of Eye Spy security. Ex-special forces. Who’s doing the security for the wedding?”

  Josh shook his hand. “You?”

  “Right answer.” Lake’s lips twitched.

  Josh got the feeling that was this guy’s version of a grin. Kirsty nodded with approval. “I’m watching you,” she told Josh.

  “And so am I.” Betty wobbled up to them. “Now, what’s my role in this wedding? And it better be a good one.”

  Lake’s lip twitched again. “I’m putting you in charge of making sure Josh doesn’t mess with Caroline.”

  Betty looked Josh up and down. She was clearly unimpressed. “Can I hurt him if he steps out of line?”

  “We’ll negotiate that on a case-by-case basis.”

  Her eyes glinted with glee. “I’m in.”

  Josh bit back a laugh. This was the most fun he’d had in years. Coming to Scotland was the best decision he’d ever made. Nope, he thought as he looked over at Caroline, it was the second best. Proposing to the ice queen was number one.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It was less than two weeks to the wedding and the town was on lockdown. They’d made national news, and it wasn’t good. Mitch grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume on the massive TV screen, which was now wedged into the much smaller office because Caroline had banished it from the grand room. The volume was almost deafening—the only way they could hear it over the building works.

  “In other news this Tuesday morning,” the breakfast show presenter said, “the small Scottish town of Invertary appears to have set up its own form of passport control.” A photo of Josh appeared on the screen. “Grammy Award-winning singer Josh McInnes is soon to be married in this Highland town. To a local girl, Caroline Patterson.” A picture of Caroline looking very severe flashed on the screen. “It’s rumoured that Caroline met the singer at the library, of all places.”

  The screen changed to a shot of the domino boys manning a makeshift barrier on the main road into town. “Nobody with a camera is getting in here,” Archie said. “We’re going to keep this wedding private if it kills us.” He smiled into the camera lens. “Or kills you. Don’t even think about sneaking over the hills; we have people watching and we’ll get you.”

  It cut to the woman who was interviewing the domino boys. “As you can see, the town is taking this wedding very seriously indeed. As members of the press, we haven’t been allowed to go any further than this roadblock.”

  The camera scanned the growing crowd beside the entry point to town. There were several news crews.

  “Although being stuck out here isn’t so bad,” the woman said. “We’re getting regular food deliveries.”

  A face pushed into the frame with the reporters. “This little problem”—Morag McKay pointed at the roadblock—“isn’t going to stop the wonderful members of the press from tasting my award-winning pies.”

  She beamed at the camera. It was gruesome. The reporter stepped away from Morag. “We’ve seen many unusual and secretive celebrity weddings over the years, but we’ve never seen one where a whole town shuts down. We’ll keep you posted on future developments.”

  The screen went black. Mitch turned to Josh, who was sprawled out on the tiny two-seat sofa.

  “This is a publicity nightmare. Your PR team have no idea what to tell anyone.” Mitch pointed at the TV. “They’re turning you into a laughing stock. There may be no coming back from this.”

  Josh clasped his hands behind his neck. Mitch’s tension was contagious; Josh’s neck was beginning to freeze on him.

  “They’ll get fed up and move on to something else. I don’t have time to deal with this right now. Caroline will be here any minute. We’re picking out a wedding dress today.”

  “You need to make time.” Mitch sat on the arm of the chair facing Josh. “We’re a three-ring circus for the entertainment press. This story is going to run every day until the wedding, and for years after it.” He threw the remote onto the chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “This wedding idea of yours is blowing up in our faces. Your credibility is going down the drain. A few more weeks of this and the story will be right up there with Jacko’s monkey, Mel Gibson’s meltdown and just about everything that Miley Cyrus does these days. You’re screwing up everything you’ve worked to achieve. Is it worth it?”

  Josh ran his palms down his jean-clad thighs. He was beginning to feel stir crazy. The work crew were ripping apart his home, and every day it became more uncomfortable. The carpet was gone, the walls were clad in dark wood panelling and most of the ground floor was out of bounds. He’d been exiled to the tiny TV room that was overcrowded with furniture, the kitchen, which was full of his moody parents, and his bedroom, which was far too empty for his liking.

  “Look.” Mitch huffed out a sigh. “Maybe we should move the wedding. A resort in the Caribbean, or LA? At least there they’re used to dealing with celebrities.”

  “I can’t. It’s one of Caroline’s conditions. Get married in Invertary.”

  “Fine, at least let me call in some expert security. Guys who are trained to deal with the press and not make things worse every time they open their mouths.”

  “Lake Benson is handling security. You checked him out yourself. He’s got a great rep. What more do you want? If we replace the domino boys with gorillas in suits, everyone will say it’s overkill.”

  “And this isn’t?” Mitch pointed at the blank screen. “Do you want to be known for your music or for this farce?”

  He had a point. “No professional security on the roads. I want to keep it low key. Make sure Lake is keeping an eye on everything in case it gets out of hand. In the meantime, issue a statement letting it be known that we are very touched by the quirky locals, who feel so strongly about Caroline that they are making sure her wedding is private. Tell them I feel like a member of the family and that we’re all real amused by the town.”

  Mitch thought about it for a minute. “Okay, that could work. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure. I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

  “It isn’t about having fun. You have a future to think about.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing here. Working on my future.” Josh threw a cushion at Mitch. “Admit it, you like her too.”

  “Yeah. She’s something else. But I’m not the one marrying her.”

  “I know. Lucky me.”

  “Yeah.” Mitch flicked a glance at the TV. “Lucky you.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Josh was sick to his back teeth with wedding dresses. He’d had about six cups of coffee while he waited in Harrods for Caroline to pick a dress. It was mind-numbing. Seriously? How hard could it be? They were all white. Surely that narrowed the choice down a little? Josh was way past his limit for shopping. In fact, he’d used up a lifetime of shopping tolerance on this one trip alone. He would never be able to shop again.

&nbs
p; At least that was reassuring.

  “I hate this.” Caroline came out of the changing room.

  The bodice of the dress was tight-fitting lace, the skirt layer upon layer of what looked like net curtains. She looked like she was drowning in a marshmallow pit.

  Josh cringed. “It’s bad.”

  She nodded, turned and signalled to the woman who was helping her to bring in the next dress.

  Josh held up his hands in surrender, even though Caroline couldn’t see him. “I can’t take any more.”

  Caroline’s head popped out from behind the cream-coloured door. “Well, go do something else.”

  “I did everything I came here to do.”

  It had only taken the morning to get to London via helicopter and private plane, which meant they’d been holed up in the wedding dress department for the whole afternoon. Unlike some people he could mention, it’d taken him a whole half-hour to fit his wedding clothes. He honestly couldn’t see what was taking so long.

  “I’m starving.” His stomach rumbled right on cue. One measly sandwich for lunch was nowhere near enough for a full-grown man.

  Her head appeared again. She was irritated. “Go get something to eat.”

  “And leave you alone?” He shook his head. “What if you need me?”

  She blew some hair out of her eye. “Why on earth would I need you for this?”

  “I’m giving opinions.”

  She sighed heavily. “You’re right. You’re invaluable.” She disappeared again.

  “Can I order pizza?” he asked the woman beside him.

  Her horrified expression said it all.

  A few minutes later, Caroline was back out in a halter-neck dress that skimmed her knees. He knew it was worth thousands, but it still looked cheap.

  “No. Just no.”

  “I didn’t think so.” She disappeared back into the changing room.

  “What about a sandwich? Or a banana?” He was about five minutes away from begging the assistant to have mercy on him and feed him. “Anything. I’m dying here.”

  “I have a cereal bar in my bag,” the woman said hesitantly.

  “Bring it on.” He thanked her profusely, but it was gone in two bites.

  “Come on, Caroline, pick a dress. How hard can this be?”

  Caroline’s head appeared around the changing room door. She frowned at him. “If this is so blooming easy, you pick one.”

  His eyes lit up. He could do this. He glanced at his watch. And there still would be time for an early dinner. “You’re on.”

  With a long-suffering glance towards heaven, the assistant handed him an iPad, which contained a virtual showroom. He flicked through the dresses, as Caroline had done about a million years earlier. Her choices were on the rack beside him. As far as he could see, they were all ugly. At last, his hand stilled. “This one.” He pointed at the dress.

  The assistant raised an eyebrow, but turned on her heels to fetch it.

  “You better not have picked red,” Caroline called through the changing room door. “There’s no way I’m wearing red.”

  “Would I do something like that?”

  “I honestly have no idea what you’re going to do next.”

  And that made Josh feel pretty chuffed.

  At last, the sales assistant swept into the room with a dress wrapped in cellophane. Josh patted his stomach to reassure it that food was coming soon.

  “There’s a great steak place in here,” Josh called to Caroline. There was silence. “We can eat something else if you want.” His stomach protested loudly. His stomach wanted steak.

  The door to the changing room swung open, and Caroline walked out. There was a look of complete shock on her face. Josh held his breath. She spread her arms wide and turned slowly. When she looked back at him, her eyes were wide and she nibbled on the spot on her bottom lip that he liked so much.

  “It’s perfect.” He came to stand in front of her. “You’re beautiful.”

  She blushed. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  He put his finger under her chin and tipped her face up to him. “I would.”

  “What you need with that,” the assistant said, “is the most darling little pair of Charlotte Olympia shoes. I’ll just fetch them.” She tottered out of the room.

  “Thank you,” Caroline said once the assistant was gone.

  And then, to Josh’s surprise, she put a hand on each of his shoulders, went up on tiptoes and kissed him. His first kiss from Caroline that she’d given willingly.

  Suddenly he wasn’t hungry for food any longer.

  Caroline released Josh and stepped back from him. She felt a little stunned. She hadn’t meant to kiss him. It was just that the dress was perfect and she’d been overcome. Josh took a determined step towards her as the assistant sailed back into the room.

  “These will go perfectly with this dress.”

  Josh clearly wasn’t happy with the interruption. He folded his arms across today’s T-shirt, Spider-Man this time, and leaned against the wall by the floor-length mirror.

  “The shoes are lovely.” Caroline smiled at the assistant.

  They were kitten-heeled sling-backs in the same shade of white satin as the dress, only they were embroidered and embellished with beads. With the woman’s help, Caroline slipped them on, and the dress fell more gracefully. She assessed herself in the mirror, but it was hard to be objective because the dress was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  The boat neck skimmed across her to fasten discreetly on each shoulder. The sleeveless bodice fitted her form perfectly until it flowed out from beneath her hips to trail in a wide but simple skirt with a short train on the floor. There was no embroidery, no beading, nothing to detract from the simple elegance of the dress. It took her breath away.

  “How did you know?” She smiled at Josh, who was eyeing her with the same hungry look he had when he spoke about steak.

  He didn’t give her the cocky smile she expected. Instead, he shrugged like it was nothing. “I kept an eye out for something Grace Kelly would have rocked.”

  She blinked at him. “You think I look like Grace Kelly?”

  “Better.” His expression was dark and loaded with promise. It made her tingle in places she wasn’t usually aware of.

  Caroline faced the assistant. “This is the one. I’ll take the shoes too.”

  The woman made a note on her iPad. “We’ll need to arrange for a fitting, to make sure it’s perfect on you. When should I book?”

  Josh answered for her: “Next week. You have the wedding dates and details, right?” The assistant nodded. “In that case, it would be best if you came to us this time.”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  Caroline skimmed her hand down the smooth silk bodice. Never in her life would she have imagined getting married in such a dress. She glanced at Josh to see if he was in as much awe of the dress as she was.

  “I need to eat. Now.” Nope, Josh wasn’t in awe of the dress. He gave her a pleading look. “Are we done here?”

  She bit back a smile. “Yes. We’re done.”

  “About time.” He turned to the sales assistant. “Don’t offer her anything else. If there’s something you think we need, bring it to Scotland. We’re done and we’re going to eat.”

  Caroline and the woman exchanged an amused look.

  “Are you getting changed or do I need to help you?” Josh said with a growl.

  Caroline laughed as she ran for the changing room.

  They were sitting in Harrods’ Steakhouse, perched on high stools around the gleaming marble counter. Behind the counter, an army of men in chef’s whites took orders for steak, and cooked it while their customers watched. The aroma was mouth-watering. Caroline swivelled on her stool. Behind her there were several counters similar to the one they were seated at. One for meat, another for seafood. She supposed this was Harrods’ version of a fast-food court.

  They sat at the end of the counter. On the stools
at the other side of Caroline were two men in business suits, deep in discussion about the economy. Josh turned towards her, spreading his knees wide so that they sat either side of hers. The stools were fixed to the floor, so Caroline couldn’t move away from him. Not that she wanted to. He rested his right hand on her thigh.

  “You can’t live on salad and water, baby. This is a long day. We left early. You need energy.”

  They’d had this discussion already, when he’d ordered the world’s biggest steak with a barrel of fries. His thumb caressed her knee. Caroline found it hard to concentrate on his words when his touch was vibrating throughout her body.

  “Josh, I’m getting married. I need to look my best.”

  “Baby, you can do that on a steak.”

  “I want a salad.”

  He frowned. “Nobody wants salad.”

  She rolled her eyes at him.

  “Okay,” he said, “how about we get some cake for dessert?”

  Caroline scowled at him. “Do you want me to look fat at the wedding?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You won’t look fat. You’ll look perfect.”

  “Not if I live on steak and cake, I won’t.”

  He threw up his hands in exasperation. Clearly he didn’t understand a word she was saying. But she knew that on her wedding day, the world would be watching, wondering what kind of woman made Josh propose. There wasn’t time to change her image. To become more stylish. There was nothing she could do but look exactly like what she was—a plain, mousy librarian. But she could at least try to be the best mousy librarian possible. Which meant no cake.

  Josh scooted forward. His thighs pressed into her legs. His right hand moved slowly up her arm to rest at the base of her neck. “I like how you look. Even if you gorge yourself on cake, that won’t change.”

  Caroline blinked hard at him. She was wearing her only other dress. A pretty pink linen shift that she’d bought in a sale when shopping in Glasgow years ago. She’d teamed it with cream flats and a simple silver necklace that her grandfather had given her. It had a single daisy pendant hanging from it. She didn’t have any other jewellery on, and her only makeup was some mascara and a swipe of lip gloss. She was plain and underdressed, especially for Harrods. And he liked how she looked?