Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle

by Denise Hunter

  Everything . . . but . . . the groom . . .

  He rubbed the back of his neck, walking toward his work station. It was crazy. Crazier than crazy. It was insane. She’d laugh if he said it out loud. That thought tightened his gut.

  Her phone clattered, vibrating on the metal desk. He watched it do the jitterbug.

  “I can’t answer,” she said. “I can’t deal with it right now. I don’t know what to say.” She crossed her arms, and her shoulders scrunched up as though she wished she could cover her ears with them.

  Together they watched the phone. Ring-bzzzzzzzz . . . Ring-bzzzzzzz . . . When the noise stopped, there was a palpable relief.

  Kate drummed her fingers on her lips, quickly at first, then slowing. Her lips loosened, turned down. Her stubborn chin softened. “It’s hopeless.”

  The phone rang again, chittering across the desktop. Kate glared at it, looking as though she might throw it across the room.

  “I’ll answer.” He reached for it.

  Kate stopped him with a hand on his arm. Her grip was surprisingly strong. “What’ll you say?”

  He met her gaze: wide, olive-brown eyes too vulnerable for words. “I’ll just take a message.”

  After a moment, she released his arm, and he picked up the phone, snapping it open.

  “Hello?”

  A pause. “Is Kate there?” A woman’s voice, out of breath.

  “She can’t come to the phone right now. Can I take a message?”

  “Is this Bryan? Don’t tell me she’s letting you see her before the wedding.”

  “No. This is a—a friend.” That was stretching it. He turned and leaned against the desk.

  “Okay, well, tell her to call Pam. No, wait, she won’t be able to reach me for a while. Tell her I have good news. This is really important, so be sure and tell her right away. The Dr. Phil show called, and they want her to make a guest appearance next month.”

  Great. Lucas met Kate’s eyes, glanced away. Just what she needed.

  “Did you get that?” Pam asked.

  “Got it. I’ll let her know.” He closed the phone and set it on the desk. He could feel Kate watching him. Maybe he didn’t have to tell her just now.

  “Who was it?” Was that hope lilting her voice? Did she think Bryan had changed his mind?

  “It was Pam.”

  She stared at her manicured fingers, clenched in her lap. “Oh.”

  She’d actually gotten on the Dr. Phil show. He’d known her popularity had grown nationwide with the column and book and all. But Dr. Phil. That was a whole new ball game.

  “What did she want?”

  Her knee brushed his leg as she shifted. He crossed his feet at the ankles and gripped the ledge of the desk. “It’s nothing that can’t wait. She wants you to call her back.”

  Her upturned face and searching eyes melted him. Have mercy, she was beautiful. He looked away.

  “She said something, didn’t she? Something you don’t want me to know.”

  Restless energy pushed him away from the desk. He should’ve known she wouldn’t let it go. He shouldn’t have answered the phone. Her type A personality required her to know, even when she already had more than she could handle.

  “Excuse me, but my life is hanging in the balance right now. Could you please just spit it out?”

  Kate had straightened in the chair, her hand grasping the rounded edge of the back. Her left hand. Lucas watched the diamond engagement ring twinkle under the work lights. “She just wanted to let you know about an interview she set up, is all. You can call her later when you—”

  “Who’s it with?” Her tone demanded an answer.

  He exhaled deeply. She was like a ravenous dog with his last meaty bone.

  “I know it must be big. She wouldn’t have called me today if it wasn’t. And stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you feel sorry for me. Who’s it with?”

  Fine, Kate, fine. You win. “Dr. Phil.”

  He watched her mouth slacken, watched her blink and swallow, watched her eyes change, deaden. He hated it. Hated he’d had any part in bringing that look to her face.

  She was still again, and he hated that too. Maybe it wasn’t too late to chase Bryan down and knock him flat on his face. He should be here picking up the pieces, making things right. But he wasn’t. Lucas was there, and what could he do?

  Everything but the groom.

  The words flashed in his mind like a lighthouse beacon, teasing him. It’s crazy. And even if it wasn’t, it was self-serving.

  You could save Kate’s wedding. Her reputation. Her career. It’s an honorable thing.

  But I would also be getting what I wanted. Is that selfish?

  You were willing to let her go, because you thought that was right. Was that selfish? She needs you now. And you’re in a position to help her.

  “What am I going to do?” Kate asked

  She turned her doe eyes on him, looking at him, needing him. It was heady. He wanted to protect her, to gather her close, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.

  “How am I going to face everyone? What am I going to tell the media? My publisher?” For the first time, her lip trembled, and she caught it between her teeth. “They paid for everything; did you know that?”

  Should he say it? Should he offer himself? Could it even work? “Maybe it could.”

  “What?”

  He didn’t know he’d said it aloud until he heard Kate’s response. Well, he was in just deep enough, he figured he might as well dive in headfirst. “I have an idea. It’s a little crazy.”

  Surprisingly, she breathed a wry chuckle. “My whole life’s a little crazy at the moment.”

  He studied her. She was actually looking at him with something like hope in her eyes. “Way I see it, the only thing missing is a groom.”

  Her laugh was sharp. “A necessary ingredient, I think you’ll agree.”

  He nodded once, hoping she’d put two and two together so he wouldn’t have to say it. “What if there was a different groom?”

  Now she reared back slightly, blinking. Great. She thinks I’m nuts.

  “I don’t exactly have a waiting list, Lucas.”

  He shuffled his feet, then leaned against the workhorse, not sure if he was ready for what came next. Just say it. The worst she can do is laugh in my face. “What if I stood in for Bryan?”

  He scuffed at the white paint on the tip of his right tennis shoe as silence closed in around him. A long silence. An uncomfortable silence. If he could’ve caught the words and pulled them back, he would’ve. Instead, he glanced at Kate. The expression on her face reinforced his wish.

  “Why would—” She cleared her throat. “Why would you do that?”

  Why would I do it? Because I love you. But he couldn’t say that. Why hadn’t he thought this out before he’d opened his big mouth?

  He lifted his shoulder. “To help you,” he said.

  Her brows pulled together. “We’re talking marriage here, not some little favor.”

  Favor. What if he made a bargain with her? What if she could do something for him in return? “I’d want something in return.” What?What do I want in return?

  At that, her eyebrows slackened as her lips took up the tension, pressing together. Her glare was direct and meaningful, and he immediately knew what she was thinking.

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” he said.

  She shook her head as if dislodging a distasteful picture. “It doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t work. Even if the rest of the world doesn’t know who I was marrying, my dad does. And so does Chloe, my editor, and Pam and Anna. Not to mention Bryan’s family.”

  A definite glitch, but was there a way around it? Now that the idea had settled a bit, it was growing on him. He shrugged. “Would they keep quiet?”

  She gave him a double take. “Keep quiet?” Her fingers found the high collar of her blouse. “You’re actually serious.”

/>   His heart was a jackhammer gone wild under his rib cage. He scratched at the dried paint on his thumbnail. “Would they?”

  She turned away, her black hair swinging saucily. “You can’t—you can’t just marry me. Marriage is permanent. At least to me it is. You don’t just make a willy-nilly decision to marry someone. People don’t do that.” She faced him again. “I don’t do that.”

  No, Kate didn’t do that. She planned every step days in advance, every detail in order, everything in its place.

  At least she hadn’t laughed at him. He straightened and shrugged as casually as he could, given that he felt like a man whose date had turned her head when he tried to kiss her. “Suit yourself.”

  He began wrapping the cord around the sander. It was a stupid idea anyway. He could only imagine his mom’s reaction if his parents returned from their trip to find their son not only married, but married to Kate Lawrence. He’d never hear the end of it. And neither would his dad.

  Nonetheless, it didn’t do much for his ego to know Kate would rather see the death of her career than marry him. He stuffed the ache further down and set the sander on the shelf next to his favorite drill, waiting to hear the click of her heels as she left the shop.

  Instead, Kate’s voice broke the silence. “The people who know Bryan was the groom . . . what if one of them leaked it? Besides, there’s the marriage license and the tuxes. Something could go wrong, and if everyone found out, it would be a bigger disaster than what I have now—if that’s possible.”

  Okay, already, I get it. “It was a stupid idea.” She’d made that plain enough. “You should get out your little notepad and make a list of things to cancel.”

  “Wait. Just wait a minute; I have to think.” Apparently she did her best thinking while pacing.

  Whatever. He turned back to his tools. He didn’t see what there was to think about. At this point it was just a matter of facing the music. He didn’t envy her that. But if Bryan was loser enough to jilt her at the altar, he wasn’t good enough for her.

  He kept silent while she pondered her situation. By the time she spoke again, every tool was put away—something that hadn’t happened since he’d installed the shelving unit.

  “I think I could arrange to keep everyone quiet. My editor and Pam certainly wouldn’t say anything. I can trust Anna and my dad implicitly. I have a couple of distant relatives here, but they’d keep it to themselves.”

  She was thinking out loud, not even looking at Lucas. “Bryan’s family is small, and they’re mostly from the Boston area. There were eight relatives here, plus his best man. He could surely convince them to keep quiet. He owes me that at least.” Her eyes softened for a moment as if the thought of him made her ache.

  Kate was actually considering it. He’d never known her to do a spontaneous thing, and here she was, thinking about marrying him at the last minute. She must be desperate.

  Kate looked Lucas over from head to toe; he squirmed, feeling he’d somehow failed the examination. “The tux won’t fit. You’re taller; your shoulders are broader. We’d have to get you fitted quickly. Mr. Lavitz is a good friend of yours, isn’t he?”

  “Well, yeah . . .”

  “The marriage license might be a problem.” She tapped her foot and chewed on the side of her lip, her eyes searching the buzzing fluorescent fixtures for answers. “And we’d need an exit strategy. Maybe a year? Give my book time to succeed and give me time to get another book going. We could get a quiet divorce . . .”

  Her eyes closed. “I can’t believe I’m talking about marriage like this. Like it’s a cheap business arrangement.”

  Lucas watched her face as she wrestled with her principles. “He backed you into a corner. It’s not like you have so many appealing options.”

  She looked at him suddenly, her brows pulling together. “Why are you doing this again?”

  Why? Why? How could she help him? She was a marriage counselor, but he wasn’t married—yet. His parents’ marriage was solid enough, though they loved to fuss at each other. Everyone knew it was just who they were, but an outsider might think . . .

  “Lucas? I’m running out of time here.”

  “My parents’ marriage. If you could help them.”

  Her eyes brightened. Ah, he’d hit the bull’s-eye.

  “It’s in jeopardy?” she asked.

  He cleared his throat. Stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “They fight a lot lately.” He needed more, but he didn’t want to lie. “My mom left for a few days last month.” On a girl’s weekend trip, but Kate didn’t have to know that. “Jamie—she’s my little sister—said Dad enjoyed her absence.” He’d actually said he enjoyed having Jamie all to himself. But that was close enough, wasn’t it?

  “And you want me to counsel them?”

  “No.” The word came out a little sharp. “They’re both leery of all that psychobabble stuff.” Her eyebrows rose, and he rephrased. “You’d have to be sly about it. Get to know them. Get them to open up. You can handle it.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you want?”

  He wanted much more, but it was a start. “It’s my parents’ marriage.”

  “Of course. I didn’t mean to make it sound trite.” Kate steepled her fingers and tapped the tips together. “I don’t even know if this is possible. I think there’s a waiting period on the marriage license.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. Maybe the plan was dead in the water. But hadn’t his friend Ethan gotten married at the last minute? “I think it can be waived. Nancy Rallings is the town clerk, and I furnished her house. I’ll see what I can find out.”

  He couldn’t believe she was considering it. He could be marrying Kate in a matter of hours. In front of friends, family, and media. His legs suddenly quaked as he remembered the article in the paper spelling out the details. The wedding was going to be a media circus. They might want to interview him.

  His mouth felt like it was stuffed with sawdust. “No interviews,” he said.

  It took Kate a moment to hear him, lost in thought as she probably was. “What?”

  “I’ll let the media snap all the photos they want, but I won’t give interviews.”

  She shrugged, eyeing him. “I agree—we don’t need to complicate things. What about your family? How are they going to feel?”

  That gave him pause. His mom had been urging him to move on since Emily died five years ago. Kate, however, was the last person his mom would want him moving on with. If he told his mom the marriage was temporary, she would be rude, scare Kate off for good. But if she knew he loved Kate, she’d have to make an effort, wouldn’t she?

  “My parents are out of town right now, but my brother and sister are here. I’ll call my parents afterward and tell them we got married. And I don’t want them to know the particulars. As far as they’re concerned, it’s the real thing.” Besides, if it worked the way he hoped, there’d be no exit strategy needed. He held out his hand. “Deal?”

  His breath caught and hung below the mass in his throat.

  Kate stared at him, her eyes a mixture of fear and resolve. Then she put her hand in his. “Deal.”

  There’s no such thing as Mr. Right.

  But there is a Mr. Right-for-You.

  —Excerpt from

  Finding Mr. Right-for-You

  by Dr. Kate

  Chapter Three

  If Kate had to explain the change one more time, she was going to pull every last hair from her head. The horror etched into the eyes of Anna, Chloe, and Pam had been enough to start the second-guessing. They’d run over the pros and cons, quickly, more for their benefit than anyone’s. Kate had covered that ground a dozen times already.

  Her dad had listened silently, with shoulders squared and back straight, his only parental concession the lone worry line stretching across his squeaky-clean forehead.

  It’ll be okay, Dad. I know what I’m doing.

  He’d taught Kate to think independently, and he never questioned her decisions.
Even now, the most he’d said was, “Kate . . .”

  When she’d called Bryan with her announcement and demands, she’d been met with a long silence. She’d almost enjoyed his obvious shock and unspoken, You’re what? Just when she thought he might have gone unconscious behind the wheel of his car, he asked her to repeat what she’d said. She’d ended up going through it three times, until he eventually assured her his family would keep it quiet. She supposed he wasn’t eager for word to get out that he’d jilted Dr. Kate at the altar.

  At least one group hadn’t needed explanations. Lucas had introduced her to his brother and sister, Brody and Jamie. Brody, a lanky, curly-headed version of Lucas, was home from college on summer break, and Jamie was a teenager with dark hair and braces. They accepted the news of their brother’s impending matrimony with friendly smiles before exchanging a silent glance Kate didn’t have time to decipher.

  Now, four hours, one wedding license, and countless moments of stark terror later, Kate stood in her white gown, feet poised at the foot of the aisle. The media cameras clicked in machine-gun fashion, capturing a three-quarter view. She curved her lips upward and forced a twinkle into her eyes.

  Thirty feet down the aisle, waiting in the gazebo, was Anna; Lucas’s best man, Ethan; the justice of the peace; and Lucas.

  Lucas. Is this really happening?

  The musicians started the wedding march. Kate curled her arm around the stiff material on her dad’s arm and took the first step. A gentle breeze blew off the ocean, ruffling her hair and veil and feathering her strapless A-line gown against her legs. She’d finally found the satin dress at a boutique in Boston after scouring numerous magazines and shops. Now what did it matter that the gown was perfect or that the hem hit the floor precisely?

  How had it come to this? Bryan was supposed to be waiting at the end of the aisle. They matched. They were a fit according to everything she knew about personalities and relationships. They had so much in common—their love of exercise . . . organization . . . punctuality . . . loyalty . . .

  Well. She supposed she’d have to rethink the loyalty part.

  She passed her Aunt Virginia in the second row, wearing her trademark cherry-red lipstick. Her brown hair coiled above her puffy white face like thick chocolate shavings on a pile of whipped cream.