“Caroline? Are you listening?” Amelia demanded, apparently recognizing her daughter’s distraction.
“I suppose,” Caroline responded, suddenly feeling very tired.
“Well, come downstairs and we’ll get started. It’s already nine o’clock.”
Nine o’clock. Only ten hours until the wedding.
MAX PUT DOWN THE PHONE and stared at the wall in front of him. What could he do now? The PI’s secretary knew nothing. Well, almost nothing.
She’d said he had a line on the photographer. But the wedding was tonight. His heartbeat accelerated at the thought of Caroline meeting Adrian at the altar, taking the vows he wanted to share with her. She was his! His ring should be on her finger.
His arms should be around her. His lips should be caressing hers. His—if he didn’t stop this kind of thinking, he’d have to take a cold shower.
But he wanted more than her body. He wanted to care for her, to share with her, to laugh with her. He wanted the right to be in her life.
“Max, a call on line two,” Susan said through the intercom.
He snatched up the receiver, hoping it was Caroline or the detective he’d hired. Instead, it was a contractor working on one of his houses. And it was already eleven o’clock.
“YOU’RE NOT EATING anything,” Amelia whispered to Caroline.
“I’m afraid if I do, it will come right back up,” Caroline whispered in return.
Since they were in an elegant restaurant hastily hired for the bridesmaids’ luncheon, throwing up would be highly inappropriate.
“Then don’t try the eggplant,” Amelia warned, and waved to the waiter hovering in the background. “My daughter would like some crackers, please.”
She hadn’t expected such understanding from her mother, but Amelia had tried to help her through the morning. Even Chelsea, now seated on her other side, had held her hand. But as the impending wedding drew closer, her stomach grew less reliable.
“Are you okay?” Chelsea whispered.
“I suppose,” she answered as she had earlier that morning. “But I wish I could lie down for a while.”
“As soon as we can get away, we’ll take a taxi to my house,” Chelsea said. “You can rest for an hour before the rehearsal. If you go home with Mother, there will be too much going on.”
Caroline stared at her sister. “That’s very sweet of you, Chelsea. I’d like that.” She’d like even more to see Max, but at least, for just a little while, she would be out of the whirlwind that seemed to be consuming her. And she could use the telephone. To call the detective. And Max.
How she wished she could see him. Just a few minutes. To feel his arms around her. If she were preparing for a wedding with Max, things would be so different. She’d be feeling enthusiastic, not nauseous.
“Caroline,” one of the bridesmaids called, “Tell us about your wedding gown. What’s it like?”
Caroline went blank. She couldn’t remember any of the details. Except that it was white, of course.
Amelia spoke, squeezing her daughter’s hand beneath the tablecloth. “Oh, you’ll just love it. The skirt is…”
Chelsea chipped in, describing Caroline’s going-away suit, something else her mother had insisted she purchase, and she relaxed in her chair. Her mother and sister were taking care of her.
She surreptitiously checked her watch. Almost one o’clock.
She needed to talk to Max.
“HE’S NOT HERE, Caroline,” Susan said cheerfully.
Caroline could have flung the telephone receiver across the room in frustration. “Do you know where he is?” she managed to say in civil tones.
“Nope. And, confidentially, he’s been acting real strange today. All on edge, you know? But he left here about one o’clock, and he told me he wouldn’t be back the rest of the day. That’s unlike Max.”
After ending the call, Caroline slumped against the pillow on Chelsea’s guest bed. True to her word, Chelsea had gotten Caroline away from the luncheon to the relative quietness of her home. But Caroline had been unable to rest.
Instead, she’d increased her frustration by calling the security firm and then Max. And getting no response from either one. The wedding was in just a few hours.
“Caroline?” Chelsea poked her head around the door.
“Yes?”
“Daddy’s downstairs to take us to the rehearsal. Are you ready?”
No. She wasn’t ready. She would never be ready to practice marrying Adrian. Max, where are you?
“Caroline?” Chelsea said again, and Caroline heard the concern in her sister’s voice.
Wearily she pushed herself up from the bed. “Yes, I’m ready, Chelsea. As ready as I’ll ever be.”
When the two of them came down the stairs, her father was waiting.
“Ah, the beautiful bride and the matron of honor,” he boomed, a big smile on his face. “What a wonderful day.”
Caroline had seen better.
“SHE ISN’T HERE?” Max asked Mrs. Lamb as she opened the door to him. “Do you know where she is?”
“Well, I guess she’s at the rehearsal, Mr. Daniels. It’s supposed to start at three, and it’s almost that time now.”
He’d forgotten about the rehearsal. Which wasn’t surprising since he was going out of his head. The thought of Caroline belonging to another man was unbearable, even if it was in name only, for a short time. She was his. Why couldn’t everyone understand that?
“Can you tell me how to find the church?” he finally asked. Mrs. Lamb’s directions were clear and the church was nearby, so he wasted no time getting back into his truck. He didn’t know what he would say to Caroline when he found her. He only knew he had to see her. Now.
The limo, with Lewis leaning against it, was parked in front of the church. Max left his pickup by the curb and stopped to ask if Caroline was inside.
“Yes, sir. They’re having the rehearsal.”
With a nod of thanks, he hurried through the double doors of the church. The shadows, after the bright sunlight, made it difficult to see for a moment. But he had no difficulty recognizing the voice that called his name.
“Max!” At least Caroline sounded happy to see him.
“What are you doing here?” her father demanded almost at once.
He ignored James Adkins, reaching Caroline as she hurried to him, taking her hands in his.
“I had to see you.”
“I’ve been trying to call you,” she assured him, her eyes devouring him in a way that set him on fire. “Any word?”
“No, you?”
He reluctantly shook his head.
“Caroline, come over here and get ready for the rehearsal,” her father insisted as he approached them.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, Mr. Adkins,” Max said politely, though he was feeling far from calm. “I just need to talk to Caroline for a minute or two.”
“The—the groom isn’t here yet, Daddy, so I have time to talk to Max,” Caroline assured her father.
James Adkins couldn’t argue with that, Max realized, but he seemed determined to stand beside them.
“Alone, Daddy,” Caroline insisted.
Max was grateful she was the one to tell her father to go away. He was trying not to alienate Caroline’s family any more than necessary. But the five steps James Adkins took didn’t exactly give them a lot of privacy. Not when Max wanted to pull her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Max, but I don’t know where we could be alone,” Caroline whispered.
“You must know I want to kiss you,” he said with a rueful smile.
She smiled in return but shook her head no. “I just know I want you to kiss me. I want to feel your arms around me.”
“Caroline,” he protested. “Don’t tempt me.” He squeezed her hands, the most intimacy he could manage with a dozen people watching them. “Who are all these people?”
She looked over her shoulder, as if she’d forgotten their audience. “Mother rounded up s
ome bridesmaids. Then there’s the florist, and Daddy, and…I don’t know who else. They don’t matter. Did you call your detective?”
“Yeah. Several times. The secretary recognizes my voice now. Damn but you’re beautiful.” His gaze traced her hair as the curls tickled her brow, then moved on to her full lips. Hunger to touch her filled his gut and he had to fight to keep his distance.
“Max, I want you to be the groom!” she wailed softly, pain in her eyes.
“I want that, too. And if you say the word, I’ll tell your father right now.” He watched as tears filled her eyes. He knew what her answer would be. She felt obligated to keep her word, to offer the only man with proof the opportunity to give his name to her baby. But it was too high a price. And he was having to pay, as well as Caroline.
“I can’t, Max. I can’t.”
One tear escaped and trailed down her beautiful face. He released one of her hands to gently wipe it away. The desire to pull her into his arms, to comfort, to love, was almost overwhelming. But he couldn’t.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. Do what you have to do, and we’ll work it out.” It cost him a lot to offer such reassurance, but he loved her. He couldn’t add to her difficulties.
She closed her eyes and then stared at him again, a brilliance in them that almost shattered his control. “I love you, Max Daniels.”
“Damn, Caroline, you have to wait and tell me that now? With an audience, just before you marry someone else?” he demanded. “You must have a lot in common with the Marquis de Sade.”
She gave him a watery chuckle that only made him want her more. “I just thought I should mention it.”
“Thanks,” he said dryly as he lifted her hands to his lips. Hand kissing should be all right, even if she was about to marry another man.
Wrong. The touch of her skin only made him want to continue right up those arms to her neck, her lips, her—he groaned as she licked her bottom lip.
“Caroline! Don’t do that!”
She jumped and blinked rapidly. “Don’t do what?”
“Don’t lick your lips.”
“But they were dry,” she said, a puzzled look on her face.
“Sweetheart, I’m having a hard enough time keeping my distance without you making me think about—”
“Ah, this must be the lovely bride,” an elderly man said, walking up to them. “I can always tell. They all look positively beaming with love. And that look in their eyes.” The minister turned to Max. “And this, I presume, is the lucky groom.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I HAVE NEVER BEEN so embarrassed in my life,” James Adkins said again, pacing about the bride’s room.
“Daddy, you’ve told us that at least a hundred times since the rehearsal,” Chelsea reminded him as she repositioned Caroline’s veil.
“And I still don’t think that’s the truth,” Amelia added. “I think you were even more embarrassed that time you lost your wallet and couldn’t pay the bill at that restaurant in Philadelphia.”
“Amelia, that’s not the point!” he exclaimed, his irritation rising.
“Then what is the point, Daddy?” Caroline asked. She was hanging on to her patience by a thread, but she didn’t know how much longer she could do so.
“The point is you shouldn’t have been making goo-goo eyes with another man!”
“Goo-goo eyes?” exclaimed all three women at the same time.
“Well, whatever they call it these days. You know what I mean.”
Caroline drew a deep breath and then turned to her mother and sister. “I need to talk to Daddy alone.” She had rediscovered a kinship with her mother and sister that meant a great deal to her. But she had to face her father without their support.
When they were alone, she turned around to face him squarely, tugging the long satin train of her gown out of the way. “Daddy, you know I don’t love Adrian. I’m not going to pretend I do.”
“He’s a good man, Caro. I wouldn’t let you marry someone who would hurt you, but you’re not giving him a chance. You keep hanging on to that other man, the one you’re infatuated with.”
“I’m not infatuated with Max, Daddy. I love him. And he loves me.”
“Then why are you marrying Adrian? That’s not fair to him.”
She clenched her teeth in frustration. “I’m marrying Adrian because I promised you, and because he offered proof that he’s the father of my baby. But I don’t love him.”
“But, Caroline, it’s only fair that you marry him. After all, you’ve admitted that’s his baby.”
“No, I haven’t. I said he offered proof. I don’t know what to think. I want this baby to be Max’s, Daddy. But—but I can’t be sure. And I promised you.”
“Baby,” James began, calling her his pet name that he hadn’t used in several years, “I only want what’s best for you. Adrian is a good man.”
“Caroline,” Chelsea said, sticking her head into the room. “It’s time. The wedding is starting.”
With a sinking in the pit of her stomach, Caroline turned and looked in the mirror one more time. She would give anything to know that Max was waiting for her at the end of that aisle.
But he wasn’t.
She hadn’t seen him since that embarrassing scene in the vestibule. But he’d promised he’d be here. Had he arrived? Was he sitting in the church, waiting to watch her marry another man?
Why hadn’t they found something to prevent this disaster from taking place? Why hadn’t they found proof that Adrian was lying? He had to be lying.
But it was too late.
Her father cleared his throat. “Ready, Caroline?”
No, she wasn’t ready. But it seemed she had no choice.
Standing, she lifted her veil to cover her face. Her father hurriedly assisted her and then opened the door, waiting for her to precede him.
The bridesmaids had begun marching solemnly down the aisle. Chelsea, the last to go down, was waiting her turn and gave Caroline an encouraging smile.
She tried to smile back. She really did. But she couldn’t. This should have been the happiest moment of her life. Instead, it was the worst.
Her father extended his arm and she placed her hand through it. The music changed, rising in sound, emphasizing the moment. They stepped through the double doors and began the long walk down the aisle.
But instead of looking at her groom, the bride was searching the audience, looking for a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed man who owned her heart.
As her gaze scanned those seated along the aisle, she saw a young woman she thought she should’ve recognized. Something was familiar about her, but Caroline couldn’t think what it could be.
Then her gaze connected with Max’s, and she forgot everything else. Max. The man she loved with all her heart. The man she wasn’t marrying.
SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL. The most beautiful bride in the world, Max decided. But she wasn’t his.
Since he’d left her at the church that afternoon, Max had paced various floors. He’d made every phone call he could think of to try to prevent what was about to happen. He had prayed a few prayers, hoping for divine intervention. He didn’t know what else to do.
Except watch the only woman he’d ever loved marry another man.
Along with half of Denver. The church was full, which was amazing considering the short notice. Not that he cared. He would’ve married Caroline anywhere. In fact, he might prefer a deserted island, so there would be no one to interfere with his plans for after the wedding.
He forced his thoughts away from holding Caroline and watched with real pain as her father transferred her hand from his arm to Adrian’s.
“Dearly beloved…”
She was his dearly beloved, more than he’d ever realized was possible. He wanted her with every ounce of his body. But he wanted, needed more. He needed her heart, her head, her soul. He wanted to protect her, to care for her, to love her for the rest of his life. In sickness or in health.
He’d alre
ady proven the sickness bit. A smile played across his lips as he remembered holding her as she threw up. She’d looked as beautiful then as she did now, in her white satin. She would look as beautiful nine months pregnant, her stomach swollen with their child, as she did now, all slim and curvaceous.
She was his, he promised himself, and always would be. No matter what words were spoken here today.
SHE FELT HIS GAZE ON HER. It warmed her and yet made her pain all the greater. She loved one man and was marrying another.
Sneaking a peek at her groom from under her lashes, Caroline thought he was the most repulsive man in the world. Others might think him handsome with his blond good looks, but she only saw the greed she thought motivated him. He wanted her father’s empire. And he would do whatever it took to reach his goal.
Even marry her.
So why was she helping him?
She’d told herself she was being honorable, giving her child its due. But she’d always promised herself she wouldn’t marry a man who wanted her father’s money. Pain surged through her head at the thought. Pain and memory.
“IF THERE IS ANY REASON this man and this woman should not be joined in holy matrimony, please speak now or forever hold your peace,” the Reverend Mr. Spencer intoned, a beaming smile on his face.
“Stop!” Caroline exclaimed hoarsely.
“Stop!” Max exclaimed, rising from the pew, to the amazement of those around him.
“Stop!” exclaimed two men standing by the double doors at the back of the church.
The guests gasped in unison before an excited buzz spread across the audience. The minister, shock on his face, stared at each of those who had responded to his question. “My, this is most unusual.”
“Just ignore them,” Adrian said through clenched teeth. “Get on with the ceremony.”
“Sir, you may not have noticed, but one of those who spoke was your bride,” the cleric gently informed Adrian. “In good conscience, I cannot continue if the bride is unwilling.”
“What’s going on here?” James demanded, having left his seat beside Amelia and stepped to the altar.
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