Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set

by Patricia Johns

  “You don’t think we should take her?”

  “To Las Vegas?”

  “I see what you mean.”

  In the distance, a shimmer appeared against the clouds. As they watched, the shimmer distilled into a brilliant rainbow, arching from the sky, across the mountain and into the forest.

  “Wow.” Rowan stared. “Did you ask for a sign?”

  “Not in so many words,” he answered, “but maybe we got one.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE FOYER OF the wedding chapel was somehow simultaneously more elegant and more tawdry than Rowan had imagined. The thick rug had an abstract floral design, but upon closer inspection she noticed hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds in the pattern. On a baroque pedestal in the center, a stiff arrangement of silk flowers blocked her view of the main chapel, where in a few minutes she would be walking down an aisle to meet Zack. They had opted for the “traditional” package, as opposed to International Spy, Science Fiction, Southern Belle and several she couldn’t recall. Rowan could only imagine the decorating touches in those chapels.

  Once they’d handed over payment, a young woman in a silver dress with an impressive quantity of blond hair had introduced herself as “Demi, your wedding assistant,” and swept Rowan off to choose a dress from the racks of rentals. Rowan had settled on a simple white jersey with a fitted bodice and flared knee-length skirt that flowed like cream when she moved. Honestly, she liked it better than any of the designer gowns her mother had been pushing.

  Demi returned and handed her a bouquet of pale pink baby’s breath and light purple clusters of some flower that reminded Rowan of her grandmother’s lilac bush. “It’s almost time. The minister is just finishing up. All good?”

  Rowan gave a little smile. “Sure.” She sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm her agitated stomach. Was she really going to do this? Without consulting her family? Mom would come unglued. Of course, Rowan couldn’t tell them it was only temporary. In a year, when the annulment came through, Rowan would have to listen to Mom’s I told you so. But if it meant Becca was safely in Zack’s custody, it would be worth it.

  She pictured their faces, Zack and Becca, as they read together at night. Zack, changing his voice for the different characters to make the story more fun for Becca. The look of trust and adoration on Becca’s face. Suddenly, the hummingbirds that had been zinging around Rowan’s stomach paused, her heartbeat calmed and she knew that marrying Zack was the right thing to do. Was this what they meant by a “gut check”?

  The radio Demi held crackled something intelligible. Demi answered, “All set here. Go ahead.” She smiled at Rowan. “They’re starting the music. I’ll go first and once I’m at the front, we’ll switch to the ‘Wedding March’ and it’s your turn. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  While Demi made her way down the aisle, Rowan peered around the corner. Zack, incredibly handsome in a tuxedo, stood next to his assistant, whose name Rowan couldn’t remember but would be on their official marriage certificate as a witness.

  The music changed. Zack, the minister and the other guy turned their gazes in her direction. Rowan stepped into the chapel, glancing down to make sure she didn’t trip over the threshold. When she looked up, Zack’s eyes were locked on her. He gave the slightest smile of encouragement, but it was enough. She smiled back and came to meet him.

  He took her hand without breaking his gaze on her face. The minister spoke their names and intention to marry, and despite the lack of observers, he intoned that, “If anyone has a reason they should not marry, let them speak now.” And those hummingbirds in Rowan’s stomach held their peace.

  As prompted by the minister, they repeated their vows. Demi took Rowan’s bouquet so that Zack could slip a gold band onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

  Rowan took his ring from Demi and reached for Zack’s hand, strong and yet gentle. His gaze seemed to penetrate past the surface to her very core, and judging from his expression, he liked what he saw there. She slid the ring on his finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

  The minister checked his note cards. “Zackary and Rowan—” he looked up “—I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Zack hesitated for a split second, and then he touched her face, gently drawing a finger across her cheek to push a stray lock of hair away. He bent down, and when their lips touched, something happened. Something warm and glowing started in her center and bubbled up. Her arms reached to circle his neck, to keep this connection a little longer. Here, on their wedding day, they were having their first kiss. And, as Gran would say, it was a doozy.

  The minister cleared his throat and chuckled. Zack pulled back, a sheepish smile on his face. The minister congratulated them, they all signed the marriage license, and it was done. She was Zack’s wife.

  It felt good.

  * * *

  “WOW, THAT’S BRIGHT.” Zack lifted his hand to shade his eyes from the glare. They had stepped from an air-conditioned dream world of shadows and costumes into a searing dose of reality. Ironically, the only part of the entire wedding experience that had seemed real was when he had kissed Rowan. Ironic because he knew she was simply acting, and yet it felt so right. It wasn’t going to be easy, pretending to the world he was in love with her, while convincing her, and himself, that he wasn’t.

  Rowan reached into the tote she was carrying and handed him a pair of sunglasses before fishing out another pair for herself. “The taxi is supposed to meet us over there, by that bench.”

  They sat in the scant shade of a palm tree and waited. Although Zack had changed from a tux into shorts and a polo shirt, he started to sweat. Beside him, Rowan looked cool and easy in a sunflower-printed sundress, her hair caught up in a twist at the back of her head. The sight of her in a wedding dress had taken his breath away, but honestly, he preferred her like this. Soft, approachable, real.

  The taxi arrived, and Zack helped the driver store their bags in the trunk before sliding across the sticky plastic that covered the seats to sit beside Rowan. “Airport?” the driver inquired.

  “County clerk’s office first, please, and then Alaska Airlines terminal,” Rowan told him.

  “Just married?”

  “Yes.”

  “Congratulations. You picked a good day for it. Cooled off a bit from last week.”

  “It gets hotter than this?” Zack asked in amazement. How had his mother survived summers here?

  “Sure. It’s only ninety-nine today. Last Thursday, it got to a hundred and twelve. It’s not so bad, though. It’s a dry heat.”

  Zack had a new appreciation for Alaskan summers with highs in the sixties or seventies.

  “First time in Vegas?” the driver asked.

  “I was here as a child,” Zack admitted. His mother had brought him, once, to visit a friend, but it only made her sad. They’d never come again.

  “My first time,” Rowan said brightly. “It’s quite a place.”

  That seemed to please the driver. “It surely is.” He waited while they filed their marriage certificate with the county clerk and then drove them to the airport. “You know, I see a lot of new-marrieds, and I have a little game I play. Are they gonna make it?” He gave Rowan a grin. “I’m giving you my thumbs-up.”

  “Why, thank you.” Rowan dimpled prettily at him. Amused, Zack added to the tip he was mentally calculating and paid the man.

  Once he’d driven away, Rowan laughed. “What do you bet that’s his standard line for every couple he picks up at a wedding chapel?”

  “Almost certainly,” Zack agreed. He pulled up the handles on their roller bags and wiped his forehead. “Let’s find some air-conditioning.”

  While they waited in the security line, Rowan entertained him by describing some of the more outrageous dresses the wedding dress rental had offered. They reach
ed the front of the line and the TSA agent beckoned. Zack touched the small of Rowan’s back to indicate she should go first. “You can come up with your wife,” the agent told him.

  His wife. Zack had a wife. The agent scanned Rowan’s passport and handed it back before accepting Zack’s. “Oh, different name. I thought you were married.”

  “We are.” Rowan pointed to her new ring, “As of five hours ago.”

  “Congratulations.” He said it in the same tone as a remark about the weather, but maybe working the Vegas airport meant he heard this story multiple times a day. He scanned Zack’s ID and returned it with his boarding pass. “Next.”

  They cleared the body scanner, collected their bags and made their way toward the gate. Rowan tucked her passport into her bag. “I guess as soon as I get back to Alaska, I should see how to go about changing my name on all my documents.”

  “You don’t have to,” Zack said. “It seems like a lot of work, and then you’d just have to do it all again in a year—”

  “You don’t want me to take your name?” Rowan looked hurt.

  “It’s not that. I just don’t want to put you to any extra trouble.” Even as the words left his mouth, Zack realized how silly they sounded. Extra trouble? Rowan was completely reinventing her life for him and Becca. “What I mean is that it would be an honor to have you take my name, but if you’d rather keep yours, I completely support that decision, as well.”

  “Ah, nice save. You say you’ve never done this husband thing before?”

  “Never.” They found a pair of unoccupied seats.

  “I guess you’re just a natural.” She winked. Winked! Zack tried to think if a woman had ever winked at him before. “I think I’m going to enjoy being Mrs. Zackary Thomas Vogel.”

  “Rowan Bedelia Vogel. It does have a nice ring to it.”

  “Bedelia was my maternal great-grandmother, named for a Celtic goddess of fire. Heaven knows why my parents felt obligated to pass that on to me.”

  “Well, Goddess of Fire, I guess you fit in well here in Las Vegas, seeing as it’s approximately the temperature of the sun outside.”

  “But it’s a dry heat.”

  Zack laughed. Rowan’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, and her smile faded. She sat up straighter, drew in a breath and answered. “Hi, Mom.”

  Zack reached for her free hand. She gave him a grateful smile. “Uh-huh.” She listened for several minutes. “No, I’m not going to the Tanakas’ dinner party. I sent my regrets.” Another pause. “No, I don’t need to keep my options open. I’m not marrying Sutton. I—” Zack couldn’t make out the words, but he could hear a stream of them pouring out of the phone. Rowan rolled her eyes and waited for the flood to end. “I’m already married, Mother.”

  “What?” He understood that one. Fortunately, Rowan had moved the phone away from her ear.

  She repeated, in a calm voice, “I said I’m married. Zack and I flew to Vegas and were married this morning. He’s sitting beside me right now, waiting for our flight to Anchorage.” She squeezed Zack’s hand. “No, don’t. You’d be wasting your time. I’m married to Zack, and I intend to stay that way.” A second later, she laughed and managed to make it sound almost carefree. “Of course I’ll be living in Alaska. That’s where Zack has his veterinary practice. Oh, looks like we’re boarding soon. I need to turn off my phone. Bye, Mom.” She ended the call and gave Zack a guilty smile. “Fifty-five minutes is soon, isn’t it?”

  “Sure. It’s all relative, right? And speaking of relatives—”

  “My mom’s not happy.”

  “Did you expect her to be?”

  “No.” Rowan looked at the ring on her hand. “But that’s okay. It’s not my job to make my mother happy. I don’t need her approval.”

  “You don’t need mine, either, but just so you know, I think you handled that very well.”

  “Do you?”

  “You were calm, clear and firm in your decision.”

  “Thanks. Speaking of which, I guess I’d better call Sutton. He shouldn’t hear this secondhand.” She dialed and waited. “It’s going to voice mail,” she whispered, and in a normal voice, “Hi, Sutton. Hope the negotiations are going well. Listen, I’m sorry to leave this on your voice mail, but I couldn’t reach you directly. I wanted to tell you I’m married. It’s someone I knew in Alaska long before I met you, and I’m sorry for—well, I’m sorry. Goodbye, Sutton. I wish you good fortune in all you do.” She ended the call and blew out a breath. “Is it bad that I’m glad he didn’t answer the phone?”

  Zack smiled at her. “Even strong people who don’t need their mother’s approval are allowed a certain amount of discretionary conflict avoidance.”

  “I do hate conflict.”

  “I know.” He remembered how much it would distress her when their friends would fight. “Becca’s the same way. If I sound even a little bit cross, it upsets her.”

  “I’ve never seen you cross with Becca.”

  “I try not to be, because she tries so hard to please. It concerns me.”

  Rowan raised her eyebrows. “Because your sister is too well behaved? Oh, my goodness, what are we going to do with that child?”

  He laughed. “Okay, it’s not such a bad problem to have. It’s just that I worry she’s so good because she’s afraid to be bad.”

  “Afraid you won’t love her anymore, you mean?”

  He nodded.

  “I see your point,” Rowan said slowly, “but I’ve also seen the two of you together. I’ve seen her begging for one more story. She knows you love her. If she’s insecure, it’s because she’s afraid her mother might sweep her away somewhere.”

  “She talked to you about that?”

  “A little bit. She said her mom said she’d like swimming in the ocean, but she doesn’t want to go. How are Becca’s swimming lessons going, by the way? On Tuesday, she said she was learning to float and kick.”

  “She likes it. They’ll be swimming every day for another two weeks.”

  “Am I allowed to drop in and watch?”

  “Sure, she’d love that. I’ll just call and add you to Becca’s approved contact list.”

  “That means I’ll be able to drop off and pick up her and Charlotte, right?”

  “Yes. Of course, Jessie or Greg will have to contact the camp first, once I tell them we’re married.”

  “You didn’t tell them in advance?”

  “No. Just that you and I had some out-of-town business.”

  “Won’t Becca spill the beans?”

  “I didn’t tell her, either.”

  Rowan frowned. “I thought you’d already cleared this with Becca. What if she doesn’t want me there, in your house?”

  “She adores you.”

  “Maybe, but if I move in, she might feel like I’m coming between you.”

  “But you’re not. Just the opposite, in fact.”

  “It’s still a big change,” Rowan fretted.

  He squeezed her hand. “Becca will be happy. And even if it takes her a little while to get used to the idea, it’s for the best. That’s why we’re doing this, after all. For Becca’s sake.”

  “Right.” Rowan nodded decisively. “For Becca’s sake.”

  * * *

  IT WAS ALMOST ten o’clock by the time they’d collected their bags, driven from the Anchorage airport and made their way to Greg and Jessie’s house. But the sun still lit up the two-story A-frame with flowers spilling from a window box on the balcony. Zack came around to open Rowan’s door and offered his hand. “Are you ready, Mrs. Vogel?”

  Was she? This was their first test. Would Becca accept her as Zack’s wife? What would Jessie and Greg say? She put her hand in his. “I’m ready.”

  They stepped onto the porch, but before Zack could push the doorbell, Jessie opened the door. “Come in.
” She glanced at their joined hands. “Did you two get your business taken care of?”

  “We did,” Zack said as they stepped inside. Ripley ran to greet them, and Zack reached down to rub his ears. Greg got up from his chair. Zack started to say something else, but just then Becca came running in from another room, already in her pajamas, with Zuma tucked under her arm.

  “You’re home!” She ran to Zack. After a solid hug, she turned and gave one to Rowan. “Hi, Rowan.”

  “Hi there.” Rowan smoothed a hand over her hair. “Did you and Charlotte have fun?”

  “We were watching a movie. With elephants.”

  Zack cleared his throat. “About our business in Vegas.”

  “Yes?” Jessie asked.

  “This morning—” he reached for Rowan’s hand “—Rowan and I got married.”

  “Married?” Jessie’s mouth fell open.

  “I told you,” Greg whispered. “Why else Vegas?”

  “B-but—” Jessie stuttered.

  “You’re married?” Becca looked at Rowan and then at Zack. “To each other?”

  “That’s right,” Zack said gently.

  “Rowan’s going to live with us?” Rowan couldn’t yet detect any emotion other than surprise.

  “That’s the plan.” He picked Becca up in his arms. “Is that okay with you?”

  Becca twisted around to look at Rowan. “Can we make cookies every day?”

  Rowan laughed. “Well, maybe not every day, because too many cookies aren’t good for us, but now and then.”

  “Will you be bringing goats?”

  “No, the goats will still live at the farm.”

  “Will you read with me every night?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you teach me how to wear makeup?”

  “Nope.” Rowan laughed and booped Becca on the nose. “Because you’re too young, and you’re perfect just like you are.”

  “Will you paint my toenails?”

  “Not tonight. It’s late.”

  “But tomorrow after camp, you’ll paint my toenails?”

  Rowan exchanged looks with Zack, who grinned. “Yes,” she told Becca. “I’ll paint your toenails tomorrow.”