Fortune's Unexpected Groom

by Nancy Robards Thompson

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind, telling himself that the only reason he was feeling this way was because he hadn’t seen Jordana since last night when their families had met for the rehearsal dinner, which had been catered by the Mendozas, but served at his and Jordana’s house.

  Even though the wedding was shaping up to be more unconventional than Jordana had wanted, she had still insisted on sticking to some of the timeless traditions—such as the bride and groom not seeing each other on their wedding day until the ceremony.

  He took a deep breath and raked his hands through his close-cropped hair.

  Everything would be fine once he saw his bride walking down the aisle. It was ten minutes until seven. It wouldn’t be long.

  The groomsmen were busy serving as ushers, seating people as they arrived. His brother, Parker, waved at him as he finished showing Leah Roberts and Javier Mendoza to their seats.

  “You hanging in there, bro?” he asked, giving Tanner a playful sock on the biceps.

  “I’m doing great. Are the women here yet?”

  “Not as far as I know. But then again, they could be secreted off somewhere I don’t know about.”

  “Did you happen to see a big black limousine out front?”

  “Nope. Nothing like that.”

  Tanner’s gut gave an uncomfortable twist. Jordana had spent the night at her sister Wendy’s house last night after the rehearsal. That’s where they were getting ready today. A limo would be bringing her and the bridal party to the gardens.

  He glanced at his watch again.

  One minute later than when he’d checked the first time. Everything would be fine, he reassured himself. There was still plenty of time and there was no reason for Jordana to stand around while people were being seated. In fact, since the plan was for her to go straight from the limo to walking down the aisle, she’d probably wait to arrive until seven.

  It would be the longest nine minutes of Tanner’s life.

  To distract himself he greeted people, shaking hands and exchanging hugs and slaps on the back with friends and colleagues. He reminded himself how grateful he was that his entire family—his mother, sister and brother—were able to be here today. That was one of the reasons he and Jordana had decided to wait the extra couple of days to hold the ceremony on Saturday—so that it would be more convenient for extended family to fly in.

  Parker had agreed to stand up with him and be his best man. Tanner’s flight instructors Jonathan, Ross, Brody, Paul and Simon had agreed to serve as ushers and groomsmen.

  They would be paired with Jordana’s attendants: co-maids of honor Wendy and Emily; and bridesmaids Victoria; Tanner’s younger sister, Laurel; Christina Hastings and Katie Wallace. The latter two were the fiancées of her brothers, Scott and Blake.

  According to Jordana, it was unheard of for the attendants to nearly outnumber the guests, but since nothing about this union was conventional she was throwing tradition to the wind. Thank God it seemed to be blowing back blessings and good fortunes, because it was a picture-perfect evening and everything seemed to be proceeding without a hitch.

  There had been only one slight hiccup in the plans. He and Jordana would have to delay their honeymoon. The FAA was due to come out and perform an inspection now that the flight school was fully operational after the storm. The problem was that the inspections were never scheduled. They were always done on a surprise basis. Even though it would be highly in Tanner’s favor to be there during the inspection, he had been willing to chance it and go away for a few nights. However, Jordana had insisted that they wait to go away until after the inspection was signed and sealed. That way, she said, Tanner would be able to relax and enjoy himself.

  In addition, Jordana had told him it was important to her to get settled in as soon as possible. The rest of her belongings were being shipped from Atlanta and were due to arrive next week. The pregnancy and the morning sickness had zapped her energy, so she wanted to give herself plenty of time to put everything away and get the baby’s nursery in order. Once those tasks were accomplished, she said she, too, would be able to enjoy herself more. She’d assured him that if they could take time together to explore Red Rock—if he would show her some of his favorite places—that would be a perfect honeymoon. At least for now.

  Suddenly, the string quintet and harpist struck up Pachelbel’s Canon in D. His mother appeared under the archway of the flower-covered trellis on the arm of Jordana’s youngest brother, Blake, who was escorting her to her seat.

  The minister took his place near the fountain and an awed hush of anticipation fell over the small group that had gathered to witness the exchange of vows and union of souls. Tanner rubbed his clammy hands on his trousers and then reached into his pocket to pull out the index card with his vows written on it. He moved into place, and smiled at his mother, whose eyes were glistening with tears, but the huge smile on her face assured him that they were indeed happy tears.

  Next, Virginia was escorted down the aisle on the arms of her two sons, Blake and Scott.

  Finally, the quintet reached the end of the Pachelbel. Tanner drew in a nervous deep breath, awaiting them to strike up the first strains of the “Wedding March” and to see Jordana’s bridesmaids appear one by one in the archway.

  Time seemed to stand still and freeze. Tanner waited, yet still no music and no bridesmaids. Finally, the guests seemed to grow restless as whispered questions about What’s going on? Where’s the bride? I hope everything’s okay hung in the air.

  Tanner glanced at Virginia, whose mouth was drawn into a grim line. She gave a very slight shake of her head and a shrug, indicating she didn’t understand what was going on, either.

  In the span of a heartbeat, Tanner worried that his worst nightmare might be playing out right in front of all his friends and colleagues.

  Had Jordana changed her mind?

  Chapter Ten

  “Victoria, it’s one thing to be late to your own wedding, but to make the bride late to her wedding… Aren’t bridesmaids supposed to help, not hinder?” Tanner ribbed his new cousin-in-law as the entire family gathered for Mother’s Day brunch the day after the wedding.

  Jordana watched Victoria’s cheeks flush a pretty shade of pink. She wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or irritation.

  “I said I was sorry,” Victoria said. “I told you I had to take care of some—” she cleared her throat “—personal business once we got to the gardens. I had to pee, okay? And then I took a wrong turn down a path that led me to the other side of the property. Are you happy now? Do you have any idea how hard it is to trudge around in the grass in four-inch heels?”

  The more Victoria talked the harder everyone laughed. Knowing her cousin, she was loving every second of the attention.

  “If someone would’ve waited for me rather than getting impatient—” she shot a rather pointed look at Wendy “—it never would’ve happened. So, you see, really it’s not even my fault.”

  As everyone laughed, Jordana continued to fake a smile and a chuckle. She wasn’t in a very festive mood this morning, but since her mother and Tanner’s mom, Shirley, were here on Mother’s Day, she was forcing herself to play the part of the blushing bride on the morning after her wedding.

  Why not? She was getting very good at pretending to be something she wasn’t. Today’s masquerade involved sitting next to Tanner and pretending to be very much in love—which wasn’t such a stretch. What was difficult was keeping herself from crying when she thought of how she hadn’t shared a traditional wedding night with her husband of less than twenty-four hours. When in reality, they’d slept in separate rooms…again.

  “I am so happy that my son has finally decided to settle down,” Shirley cooed. “And Jordana, sweetheart, I couldn’t have handpicked anyone better for him.”

  She’d lo
ved Shirley at first sight. Jordana was indeed blessed in the mother-in-law department. But the marriage bed was another story.

  In fact, the words what marriage bed more aptly described their situation.

  At first, she’d thought his not wanting to pressure her, his wanting her to get settled in was sweet and considerate, but now it was getting downright frustrating. And she didn’t know how to tell him.

  His arm was draped casually across the back of her chair. If she leaned back she could feel the weight of his arm and the heat of his skin on her shoulders. Anybody looking at them would believe they were very much in love.

  She wanted that so desperately, because somewhere between being angry at him when he showed up unannounced on her doorstep and sitting here feeling alone in this crowd of family, she’d realized she lost her heart to him along the way. It was the most helpless, hopeless feeling…especially because she had no idea if he felt the same way.

  On one hand, she couldn’t ask for him to treat her with any more respect, but on the other, his lack of physical interest made him appear a little standoffish.

  They hadn’t written their own vows, but still, reciting the ones the minister had provided meant just as much. She could still see the earnest expression on his handsome face and hear his voice as he said, “I, Tanner, take you, Jordana, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.”

  Love.

  Four times in the span of a marriage-vow recitation, he’d promised to love her. Yet, last night, he couldn’t seem to get away from her fast enough.

  Well, right now, there was nothing she could do about it. She took a deep breath and promised herself she would do her best to focus on the family that had come such a long way to celebrate their wedding…and the subsequent news that they were expecting a baby toward the end of September.

  Across the table, Wendy was trying to jockey a squirmy MaryAnne and eat her Eggs Benedict. Since she really needed two hands to cut through the Canadian bacon and English muffin, she was having a hard time, and MaryAnne seemed to sense her mother’s frustration and was beginning to fuss.

  Since Jordana was finished with her brunch, she asked, “Wendy, may I hold my niece, please?”

  “Seriously?” Wendy asked, as if the offer of help was a novel idea never before presented as a choice.

  “Absolutely,” Jordana proclaimed. She stood up and walked around the table and took the sweet-smelling little bundle into her arms. Tanner was deep in conversation with his brother and didn’t seem to notice. So she decided to take little MaryAnne out to the neglected garden for a bit of fresh air.

  It was a beautiful day with temperatures hovering in the low-to-mid-seventies. Jordana breathed in the fresh scent of spring in full swing. That, mixed with the scent of baby, was just about as close to the smell of heaven one could experience on earth.

  There wasn’t a cloud in the robin’s-egg-blue sky and Jordana thought for a minute that she could quite easily spend the rest of the afternoon out here. Of course, it would be nicer if the garden was planted and tended, but it didn’t really bother her since reviving the courtyard would be a welcome treat in the weeks to come…after she got the baby’s nursery set up, of course.

  Maybe if she stayed out here no one would see the sadness in her eyes. She walked over and settled herself on a stone bench.

  MaryAnne kicked her little legs and cooed up at her, and Jordana couldn’t help but smile back. Leave it to a baby to draw out the best in an adult, whether the adult wanted to be drawn out or not. Her niece was a beautiful baby, who seemed to have equal parts of Wendy and Marcos in her.

  Jordana found herself wondering what hers and Tanner’s baby would look like… Would she have Tanner’s dark hair or her fair tresses? Would he be tall and lanky like her father or built more like her? Heaven help him if he was.

  For that matter, would they be blessed with a girl or a boy?

  As Jordana gently rocked sweet MaryAnne back and forth, mesmerized by the baby and all her small, perfect parts, she decided on the spot that either one would be fine as long as their child was healthy. And no, she didn’t want to know the baby’s sex before the birth because that felt too much like opening a Christmas present before December twenty-fifth.

  The sound of a door opening and footsteps made her look up. Her sister Emily was poised in the doorway, watching Jordana. A peculiar sort of Mona Lisa smile teased the edges of her lips. Jordana couldn’t tell if she looked melancholy or content.

  “You’re a natural,” Emily said, as she walked into the courtyard and took a seat next to Jordana on the bench.

  “It’s easy with one as sweet as this,” Jordana said. “I mean, who would’ve ever thought that out of the three of us, Wendy would be a mother first?”

  “I know. To be honest, I guess I’m a little jealous. I never thought you would be second. Or should I say, I never thought I’d be the last of us.”

  As a warm breeze blew and rustled the tree branches, Emily offered her pinky to MaryAnne. The baby latched on, her tiny fingers curving around Emily’s as if her life depended on it. In turn, Emily was gazing down at the baby as if her own life hung in the balance.

  Emily was jealous?

  “Believe me,” Jordana said, searching for words to make her sister feel better. “When I heard the news that I was pregnant, I was just as flabbergasted as you are. Having a baby right now was not on my list of New Year’s resolutions.”

  Emily laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “And that’s the cruel irony. It’s at the very top of my list.”

  Despite the note of desperation in her voice, Jordana did a double take to see if her sister was being facetious.

  “Really?” she asked.

  “You know me, Jordana. All my life, I have wanted nothing more than to be a mother.”

  She did know her sister—or at least she thought she did—but she didn’t realize how badly Emily wanted to have a baby. Emily wasn’t like Victoria, who had a streak of wanting what she didn’t have. Emily was solid. She didn’t take things lightly or do things halfway thought out. That’s how she’d been at school and in the office at Fortune South. Perhaps that’s why this declaration of hers was so surprising. Since Emily didn’t have any solid romantic prospects, having a baby didn’t seem to fit into her life right now. Obviously, Jordana had it all wrong.

  Emily shrugged, as if trying to convince herself. “I figured why wait around for love to dictate my future when I can take matters into my own capable hands?”

  Now, that was so like her practical, get-the-job-done sister. If she saw a practical solution, even if it wasn’t conventional, she went for it. She’d always been that way as far back as Jordana could remember.

  “The only problem is I haven’t had much luck making any progress. At first, I thought I’d adopt, but so far, I have not been able to locate any potential birth mothers willing to give their baby to a single woman. I guess I can understand that—they want their child to grow up in a traditional home. But you know me. I won’t let a small setback like that get in my way.”

  “What are you going to do?” Slowly, Jordana adjusted her hold on MaryAnne, who was beginning to drift off to sleep.

  “I have an appointment with a fertility doctor in Atlanta.”

  “Get out,” Jordana whispered, not wanting to wake the baby. “Are you serious?”

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life. I already have a sperm donor lined up. I could be pregnant in a matter of weeks.”

 
Jordana gaped at her sister. Emily was going to such great lengths to conceive, and all it took Jordana was one night of unprotected sex, and bam, she was in the family way. If she hadn’t already bonded with her unborn baby and decided that, despite the circumstances, this was absolutely what she wanted, she might feel a little guilty. But all the guilt in the world wouldn’t give Emily a child. So what was the point? Especially when despite the picture-perfect veneer, her own situation was less than ideal. The best thing she could do for her unborn child was to love it unconditionally.

  “Just think how wonderful it will be if you and I are pregnant at the same time. Our kids will all be around the same age and will grow up together.”

  Jordana laughed. “MaryAnne, you can be the bossy one since you’ll be the oldest. That’s the job of the oldest of the Fortune girls.”

  “Hey!” Emily protested, smiling and looking much more like herself now that she’d shared her secret. “That’s the oldest Fortune girl’s prerogative.”

  “Does Mama know?” Jordana asked.

  “Heck, no.” Emily’s eyes were as wide as the saucer-sized magnolia blossoms on the trees lining the courtyard. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to her just yet. I know she’s been understanding and supportive with you and Wendy, but if the truth be told, she didn’t have much choice. In my case, however, it’s completely different and she will be on me like white on rice trying to change my mind about having a baby on my own.” Emily put up her hands as if to ward off their mother’s meddling. “She’s not going to change my mind, but I don’t even want to have to go there before everything is set in stone.”

  Jordana blew out a breath. “Your secret’s safe with me, but whatever you do, don’t breathe a word to Victoria.”

  “What secret?” Tanner’s voice made both Jordana and Emily jump. They hadn’t heard him open the door and come outside. The sight of him made Jordana’s heart do a little hiccup.

  “Just girl talk,” Jordana said.

  There was no denying the man—her husband, for God’s sake—was off-the-charts gorgeous.