Perfect Bride for Christmas, A

by Dyann Love Barr

  “Mom.” She’d hit close to the mark on that barb.

  Sydney pulled a switch and b ait on him. One minute, she was sweet and loving. The next, she might as well be demon possessed. He didn’t know which to suggest to Sydney, therapy or exorcism.

  “Do you love her?”

  “I used to think so—now, I…”

  “Alex.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I want the best for my sons. I just don’t think Sydney is what you need, anymore than Bianca was.” She took her hand away to fiddle with the clasp of the purse. Any moment now, he expected the poor thing to scream for mercy. “Your father and I opened a bottle of champagne when Bianca dumped you.”

  “Why would you and Dad do that? She broke my heart.”

  “No, she bloodied your ego.” His mother let out a sigh. “Completely different thing.”

  “Well, that turned out well, didn’t it?” he snarked. For a second, Alex forgot he’d addressed his mother, not some witness on the stand. Then he felt like a shit.

  “I think it did.” She looked straight-ahead, jaw set. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of how you 235

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  came to marry Zoe, I didn’t ask. Yes, your father told me some of it but he left quite a bit out because he told me it wasn’t any of my business. You were a grown man. I abided by his wishes but this time—”

  “If you—” he interrupted, only to be shut down when his mother held up her hand.

  Ingrained habits made him bite off what he was about to say.

  “If you love Sydney, really death-do-you-part love, I won’t stand in your way. But so help me God, you stand there and speak vows you don’t mean, I’ll find a use for that crutch you’re so fond of.”

  “I’ve decided I can’t marry Sydney, Mom. Things haven’t been right between us since I found out about the girls.”

  “Good.” Mom sagged, letting out a sigh of relief.

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do with all the food Zoe’s prepared. She called this morning and said she had about a third of it done already.”

  Alex snorted. “I told her burgers and fries.”

  “The girls would love that.”

  “No doubt.” He relaxed, letting the tension drain out of his shoulders. “Throw in chocolate shakes, and they’re in heaven.”

  “Alex, I do want to say something else, and then I’ll butt out.”

  “I don’t believe that for a moment,” he chuckled.

  “But go on.”

  “You screwed the pooch, as your father would’ve said, with Zoe. In spite of that, I now have three beautiful granddaughters. I want to thank you.

  Now…” She pulled in a deep breath. “When are you going to ask Zoe to marry you, again?”

  Alex clutched the steering wheel tight until his knuckles strained the leather of his gloves. “I asked her for a second chance.”

  “And?”

  “She said no.” He relived the hurt, the feeling of 236

  A Perfect Bride for Christmas hopelessness.

  “Smart girl.”

  Her words stunned him. “How can you say that?”

  His mother slit her eyes, her mouth set into a hard line of coral. “You didn’t tell her you loved her, did you?”

  Alex shook his head. “Zoe wouldn’t believe me if I had. She knows my track record better than anyone, even you. Do you know what she called me?”

  “No, but I’m sure it wasn’t complimentary.”

  “A man-slut.”

  “Oh my.” She patted her chest in fast little thumps to catch her breath. He couldn’t tell if his mother was offended or trying hard not to laugh.

  “You have your work cut out for you.” She ran a gloved fingertip under her eyes to stem a few stray tears. “Do you love Zoe?”

  He frowned as he pulled up to Margery Thomas’s large, red brick house. “I don’t trust my judgment when it comes to love. I wanted what you and Dad had, a perfect marriage. I’m sure you were the perfect bride.” He remembered the picture of her and his father on their wedding day that she kept on the table by her chair. Her white flowing dress reminded him of the gowns he’d seen at the Renaissance Festival. A crown of holly topped her long dark hair that tumbled to her waist. Dad stood ramrod straight in his uniform. The love between them shone as bright as the candles in the picture.

  “I’m not even sure what love is anymore.” He got out of the Hummer, and the cold air slapped at his face harder than an angry woman. Alex opened the door for his mother, offering her his arm. “What I feel for the girls goes beyond words, but I’m afraid if I told Zoe I loved her, she’d spit in my face.”

  He got his mother’s crutches out of the back seat and helped her out of the car.

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  “Tell her how you feel—what’s in your heart.”

  “How can I do that when she doesn’t want anything to do with me?” He handed her the crutches, watching while she adjusted them under her arms.

  “Fight for her.”

  He nodded. She was right. “Do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t tell anyone I plan to break it off with Sydney, not just yet.” He stayed a couple of feet behind his mother as she made her way up the cleared walk to the Thomas’s house. “It wouldn’t be fair to her, and to tell you the truth, I don’t want Clint and Heath ragging on me.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good, now go in there.” He rang the doorbell for her. “Kick some fundraising booty.”

  “Okay. Come back in couple of hours. I have to get the house ready for Keeley’s visit.”

  Keeley. In the madness of his life, he’d completely forgotten about his half-sister. The new sister he’d only met via the phone. “I’ll make sure I’m there to meet her.”

  His mother bit her lip. “I’m a little nervous, but I can’t wait to meet her.” She shot him a look. “I said you’d pick her up at the hotel. She said she wasn’t used to driving in this weather.”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  The sound of someone hustling around on the other side of the door made his mother hand him the crutches. “Good, good,” she nodded. “Take these to the car. I don’t want Margery thinking I’m an invalid, or she’ll take over the fundraiser in a heartbeat.”

  Alex shook his head and chuckled as he got back into the Hummer. He still had a couple of hours to kill and decided to do some Christmas shopping. He was way behind, but then he usually waited until 238

  A Perfect Bride for Christmas the last minute. When she worked for him Zoe did most of his shopping and wrapping. The last five years, gifts consisted of gift cards.

  The shopping mall near Zoe’s house boasted a trendy toy store, ToyTown. He spent a half hour overwhelmed by choices until he found a salesperson to help him decide on gifts for the triplets.

  “What ages are your children?” The twentyish redhead, smiled up at him, her green eyes taking a quick mental inventory. He’d become accustomed to stares and feminine attention since the age of fourteen, but today it irritated him rather than flattered.

  “Four.”

  She blinked and stared down at his bare ring finger. “You said you have three children.”

  “Yes. Triplets.” He picked up a Dora the Explorer doll. Zoe said Macy loved anything Dora.

  “Do you have other stuff for a Dora fan?”

  The woman came closer, her body language signaling her willingness to know him better.

  Alex put the doll back on the shelf. Normally he enjoyed the give and take of flirtation, but today it made him uncomfortable and felt wrong. Not because of Sydney—but Zoe. “I think I’ll just walk around until something catches my eye.”

  At least the girl caught on fast and knew when to back down. She nodded and smiled, this time, without any come-on. “I’ll be here when you get ready to ring up.”

  “Great.”

  Alex left to search and destroy. A toy store shouldn’t be thi
s intimidating.

  Soon, he found several items for the girls. Deep down, he envied some of the toys they had for boys.

  He wished there had been foam, dart-shooting bazookas, and giant walking dinosaurs when he and his brothers were kids. Star Wars had been the big 239

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  thing then. He turned the corner of one aisle and there, in front of him, was a display of light sabers.

  The three of them used to pretend to have light sabers, but theirs were made of painted wood.

  They’d used old broom handles, and their fights were legendary. More than once Mom patched up them up with Band-Aids and ice packs.

  He chuckled and threw three light sabers into his cart. Alex couldn’t wait to see the expressions on Heath and Clint’s faces. Alex lay claim to the third light saber. It would be wrong to let his brothers have all the fun.

  A variety of toys filled his cart. A giant wooden dollhouse complete with furniture for Mia. He’d picked out one of the foam dart guns, plenty of foam ammo, and a big book on dinosaurs for his tomboy, Michaela. Macy would be thrilled with her new Dora doll, one with a Pegasus.

  In the electronic section, he found handheld video games with a variety of games suitable for the girls.

  Satisfied with his shopping, Alex headed for the check out. Halfway there, he noticed a Santa sitting on a huge chair with a child in his lap. He handed candy to the little boy and let him down. Alex read the sign next to the Santa and checked out the hours. This was good. He could bring the girls here on the twenty-third.

  Alex paid for his purchase and went back to the Hummer to stash his load of presents. He slammed the hatch shut and started towards the driver’s side to unlock his door when he spotted a jewelry store.

  An idea popped into his head. He hadn’t got his mother a gift. Alex knew just the thing to make her Christmas complete.

  He loped across the parking lot, avoiding slick spots and piles of snow banked on the edges by snowplows. A bell tinkled when he entered.

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  A Perfect Bride for Christmas The clerk, a tall lanky man with stylish glasses, looked up from the tray of rings he’d placed in front of a customer. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  “No hurry, I’ll look around.”

  Alex stared at the multitude of offerings in the case. There were so many rings. Several designs caught his eye, but nothing really stood out and yelled ‘buy me’.

  Once the clerk had finished with the other customer, he came over to Alex. “Good afternoon, sir, my name is Sean. Did you see anything you wanted to look at?”

  Alex shook his head. “I need a grandmother’s ring by Christmas.” His fantastic idea died a horrible death. “And I’m sure it would be impossible to get it made by then.”

  “What did you want? I mean in the way of stones and metals?”

  “My mother is fond of white gold. The girls were born in August.”

  “Oh.” The clerk smiled. “You have twins.”

  “No, Sean,” Alex said with a grin. “Triplets.”

  Sean blinked in surprise, but a second later, his eyes lit up. “I think I have something here that might work. August is Peridot.”

  “Peridot?”

  “Oh, yes.” Sean reached down under the cabinet and unlocked it. He brought out a tray of rings that shone leaf green under the lights. “I put these away to make room for the winter merchandise. These usually sell better in the spring and summer, but I have one here I think your mother will love.”

  “Mom loves green and pink, so I think the green would be good.”

  Sean handed him a ring in white gold with three small green hearts running in a diagonal across the top. Mom would love it.

  “I’ll take it.” He didn’t bother to ask the price.

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  This was exactly what he wanted.

  “Very good, is there anything else you might like?”

  “Do you have anything simple for four-year-old girls?”

  Sean locked up the case and went to another. He pulled out an assortment of small lockets. “I have a variety of designs here, but I have duplicates of several of the lockets.”

  Alex shook his head. “I want to give them heart shaped lockets, but I like the idea of each one having an individual design.” He pointed at three different lockets and felt satisfied with his choices.

  “You’ll have three happy little girls.” Sean took the lockets out and rung them up, along with his mother’s gift.

  Alex stuck his hand into his pocket and fished around for his car keys while he waited. His hand brushed against Zoe’s wedding band. His heart pounded, squeezed tight until he felt like he’d pass out in front of Sean, or whoever else might walk through the door.

  This was it, he had to take the chance, gamble on his future. “I’d like to see some wedding sets.”

  Sean nearly danced a dignified jig at the prospect of another sale. “Were you thinking of a traditional set, or maybe something a bit unique?”

  He worked the band in his jacket pocket. “I don’t know. She’s not really the diamond type. It needs to be something unusual.”

  Sean frowned. “Hmm, I have several different rings that might be used as an engagement ring.” He walked around the cases, his eyes scanning the different choices. “What color are her eyes?”

  Alex let out a chuckle. “Now that’s going to be a hard one. I call them kaleidoscope eyes because they aren’t any real color. Some people might call them hazel, but they change with what she’s wearing.

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  A Perfect Bride for Christmas Sometimes they even look blue or gray.”

  “I know just the ring.” He went over to a case with colored gemstones and brought out another tray. “How about a multicolored tourmaline?”

  One look, and Alex knew the ring belonged to Zoe. The stone was neither brown, gold or green, but a combination of all of the colors with hint of blue glimmering from within the stone. It sat on a simple band of diamonds. “This is it. That’s Zoe.”

  “I have an eternity band you can use for a wedding ring and…” Sean picked a man’s ring out of a tray inside the counter. “Here’s a ring for you that has five diamonds across the top.”

  Alex felt a hell of a lot lighter in spirit and wallet when he left the shop.

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  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Mommy, the doorbell is ringing,” Macy shouted from the dining room.

  The girls were busy coloring while Zoe worked in the kitchen. Today she wished Cherri were here instead of St. Louis. Zoe still had a lot of last minute items to prepare, and it overwhelmed her. The girls complained and whined all day.

  Zoe did a quick check to make sure nothing would overcook while she took a few minutes to answer the door. She glanced at the clock over the table. It had to be Brenda.

  The moment she opened the door, she could tell Brenda had been drinking. No amount of breath mints could hide the fumes radiating from her thin frame. It was only ten in the morning, and she’d already knocked back a few drinks.

  Brenda held out her arms and squealed a greeting. “Zoe! Merry Christmas, Zoe. Where are my nieces? Girls! Aunt Brenda comes bearing gifts.” She held up arms covered from elbow to wrist with the handles of various shopping bags.

  “Come in, Brenda.” Zoe let herself be dragged into Brenda’s laden arms for a hug. Brenda’s light blue eyes glittered with interest the instant she walked over the threshold. “My, my, you’ve done quite well for yourself.” She set down the packages to unwind her scarf and handed it to Zoe. “I see you made a good investment with James’ money.”

  “Brenda, if we’re getting into this the minute you come into my house, you can head back to St.

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  A Perfect Bride for Christmas Louis. You’re not staying over the holidays. I’ve got too much to do to entertain you, and I don’t have a liquor cabinet anywhere.”

  The fake ch
eer died in Brenda’s eyes. “You’re such a buzz kill.” She stuffed her gloves into her coat pocket before peeling it off and throwing it over the back of a soft yellow and blue, wing chair. “I didn’t want to come to you, but I don’t have a choice.”

  “You can stay the night, and then you’re gone. I found out what you told the girls at the funeral.” Zoe ran her hands through her hair. “We will be civil, but if you upset my children again—”

  Brenda grabbed her by the arm. “Wait, what did they tell you?”

  “That James wasn’t their real father. Do you have any idea what a load those poor kids were carrying around until they asked me about it a couple of weeks ago?”

  Brenda didn’t say anything, her eyes blank. “I’m sorry. I really don’t remember.”

  “They said you smelled funny, again. That tells me you’d been drinking.”

  “I’m sorry.” Brenda looked up at Zoe, her blood shot eyes filled with sincerity. “I don’t know how many times I can say it.”

  “You don’t have to say it, just mean it.”

  “I do.” Brenda paced back and forth, biting her lower lip. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk about money, but I’m desperate.” The older woman dropped into the large yellow chair and blue chair. “I wasn’t raised in home without money, I never had to work and now, all I do is work. James should’ve taken better care of me.”

  “Brenda. James worried about you, about your spending habits. You know that. How many arguments did you two have over the subject?”

  Brenda glanced up at her with accusation in her eyes. “We never had words until you came along.

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  You and the girls. He didn’t love me after that.”

  Brenda’s face screwed into a mask of loathing and spite.

  “I know you were upset when you found out James hadn’t left you with a big trust fund to pay for your lifestyle.”