A Cottage Wedding

by Leigh Duncan

  He ran a hand through his hair. How, exactly, would he and Tara work out the logistics? They’d each spent their entire lives preparing for their careers. She’d no more ask him to give up the Captain’s Cottage than he’d demand that she walk away from her dreams. Especially not now that she was so close to achieving everything she’d set out to do. Yes, he’d heard her doubts about being able to please her boss, but he trusted that she’d find the solution. Why, he’d even regale her with stories of the Captain and Mary’s love for one another if she thought it would help.

  He could start with their courtship. The year Mary Shelby made her debut into society, she’d been swept off her feet by a handsome sailor who’d happened to be home on leave. Thaddeus had stolen her heart, promised to name his first ship after her, and asked for her hand by the end of the season. Though she’d known his career required him to be at sea for months at a time, she’d agreed to become his wife, the mother of his children.

  Jason shook his head. Talk about long-distance relationships. Half the world had separated Thaddeus and Mary for most of their marriage. Yet their love had survived and flourished. Was he honestly willing to let mere miles prevent him from loving Tara? He came from sterner stock than that. His love for her would endure, no matter how far apart they lived.

  The urge to see Tara swelled in his chest. He’d promised to have the script for the pageant sent to her, but delivering it himself presented the opportunity to spend more time with her. That was a chance he didn’t want to miss. He tucked the thin booklet under his arm and headed down the hall. When he reached Evelyn’s door, he paused for a minute to check on his cousin.

  “Hey. How are you today? Feeling any better?” Despite her laryngitis, she’d insisted on coming into the office.

  Evelyn peered out at him from behind her computer monitor. Her mouth closed, she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry. On the up side, Tara said she’d take your place in the pageant tomorrow night.” Grabbing the script, he fanned it at his cousin. “I’m going to drop this off with her now. I’ll be out of the office for a few minutes. Can I bring you anything?”

  Wait. Wordless, Evelyn held up both hands. While he lingered in the doorway, she pretended to eat off an invisible plate.

  Jason scratched his head. “You want me to bring you some lunch from the dining room?”

  No. Evelyn shook her head. Pointing to the booklet he held, she repeated her motions. She mouthed a silent Tara.

  “You saw her in the dining room?”

  Tiny laugh lines appeared on his cousin’s face. She nodded.

  “Thanks. I’ll head there first.” Whistling the ballad that he’d sung with Tara, he continued on his mission.

  A few minutes later, he stood listening to the hum of a dozen conversations, the clink of silverware, the gurgle of coffee pouring into one of an endless number of cups. He didn’t spot Tara, but her laptop stood open on the table he’d come to think of as hers. He shrugged. Wherever she’d gone, she wouldn’t leave her computer unattended for long. He’d wait for her. Threading his way through the tables, he stopped to welcome today’s influx of brides and their parties and extend good wishes to those who were starting their lives as married couples.

  When he reached Tara’s spot, he circled around to her chair. He’d planned on dropping the script on the table and taking a seat, but he bumped the corner of the table. The screen on her laptop sprang to life. He scowled. He hadn’t meant to disturb her work. He certainly didn’t mean to pry. He had no business reading what she’d written. Intending to put the computer back to sleep, he’d pressed one finger to the touchpad when a line on the screen caught his attention.

  The myth that Captain Thaddeus Heart battled a hurricane to make it home for his wife’s birthday is a lie. The storm was still hundreds of miles south of North Carolina when his ship, the Mary Shelby, dropped anchor in Heart’s Cove.

  He held his breath as he scanned the rest of the article that was obviously meant for Tara’s editor. The more he read, the lower his stomach sank. Tara had claimed that access to Captain Thaddeus’ logs would provide the interesting tidbits she needed to include with her evaluation of Heart’s Landing. But she’d lied. In reality, she’d used the information for an altogether different purpose. One that would not only damage the Captain’s reputation, but the town that bore his name.

  Had that been Tara’s plan all along? It had to have been. Nothing else made sense. He’d say one thing for her, she knew how to get people to confide in her. Based on her encouragement, he’d opened up to Tara, shared his deepest fears, his hopes for the future with her. The whole time, she’d been playing him, letting him think she’d fallen in love with him, when all the while she’d planned to stab him in the back.

  He pushed away from the computer. He had to face facts. Tara didn’t love him. She never had. People who truly loved one another would never deliberately destroy everything they stood for.

  New fears bubbled in his chest like acid. His stomach plummeted even lower. All along, Tara had offered assurances that Heart’s Landing was a shoo-in to retain its ranking as America’s Top Wedding Destination. But if she’d lied about everything else, the odds were nil that she was telling the truth about that.

  What if the real purpose behind her visit wasn’t to ensure that his home town retained its ranking, but to make sure it didn’t?

  Betrayal seared his lungs, his heart. The pain lanced through his chest. How had he let himself be duped? Tara was the second woman he’d given his heart to and, like Clarissa, she’d betrayed him. Only this time was worse. Clarissa had only hurt him. Tara’s treachery would destroy Heart’s Landing.

  Once Weddings Today published her article, brides and grooms all over the country would cancel their reservations. Newly engaged couples would look elsewhere when planning the most important day in their lives. Within a year or two, five at the most, Heart’s Landing would become as distant a memory as Paragon Park in Nantasket Beach.

  He eyed the computer screen. The temptation to erase Tara’s report surged within him. But what good what it do? She’d only recreate it.

  Retrieving the script for the play from the table, he rolled it into a thin cylinder. He might not be able to stop Tara from writing her article, but he didn’t have to let her on stage. With so much at stake, he couldn’t take the chance that she’d announce her discovery in the middle of the pageant.

  The heavy weight of responsibility pressed on his shoulders. For a moment, he bowed beneath it. He struggled to draw in a breath of air that had inexplicably thickened around him. Abruptly, he turned. He had to leave. No matter how badly Tara had broken his heart, he wouldn’t let anyone see his pain. No matter how badly she’d betrayed them all, he’d stand tall, determined to uphold the traditions of Heart’s Landing for as long as possible.

  A task that would’ve been infinitely easier if he hadn’t practically run into her at the door.

  “Tara.” He pulled himself erect. Until her article appeared in Weddings Today, the unenviable task of acting like nothing was wrong fell to him.

  “Hey. I hoped I’d see you.”

  Tara’s smile was just as bright and honest-looking as it had always been. He’d swear it was the genuine article if he hadn’t stumbled over the truth. But he had, and he couldn’t go on acting like everything was fine and dandy between them. He stiffened. “It turns out you won’t be needed in the pageant after all.”

  “You’re sure?” Tara’s smile dimmed. As if she suspected something was amiss, she peered over his shoulder at the laptop she’d left on the table. “Is everything all right?”

  “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be. Do you?” he challenged.

  “No,” she said, though her brows knitted and guilt stained her cheeks.

  Another lie. He’d once considered her guileless, but he’d misjudged her. He brushed past her. “You’ll have to exc
use me. I have an appointment with the mayor.” Or he would, as soon as he got the man on the phone.

  Behind him, Tara’s voice called, “Want to meet for dinner tonight?”

  “I can’t. I’ll call you.” Eventually, they’d have to talk. He’d have to say the words that would put the end cap on their relationship. But not now, not today. He set off at a brisk pace before she could ask any more questions or, worse, see how badly she’d broken his heart.

  What was that all about?

  Her feet rooted to the hardwood floor, Tara watched Jason until he rounded a corner and stepped out of sight. She twisted a strand of hair between two fingers. Talk about your classic bad moods—if she didn’t know better, she’d guess he was mad at her for some reason.

  Was he already having second thoughts about them? If he was, why not talk it out instead of storming off?

  Doubts plagued her footsteps as she made her way back to her spot by the window. At her table, a cold shiver of unease passed through her. If Jason had read her article, it would certainly account for his brusque manner. But no. Her laptop was just as dark as she’d left it. Satisfied, she brought up the email to Regina. Her hand hovered above the Send button. Slowly, she lowered her fingers to the table top.

  She eyed the empty table next to hers. The Dobson Star left a lot to be desired. Gaudy was too kind a word for the jewel that more closely resembled something from a blacksmith’s forge than a jeweler’s bench. Yet, Saundra had treated it like a priceless artifact. As proof of her love for the man she was about to marry, the bride planned to wear it when she walked down the aisle.

  At the bakery, Nick had said that love was a series of compromises. And here she was, about to ruin the future of the man she professed to love. Where was the compromise in that?

  When she’d first landed a job at Weddings Today, she’d thought she’d soon be attending the ceremonies of movie stars and power brokers. That she’d be sharing the exquisite details of weddings of the rich and famous with the magazine’s eager readers. Things hadn’t turned out quite like she’d expected.

  It had taken two years, but she’d finally realized that to get ahead, she’d have to get her hands dirty. Much as she hated to admit it, she’d intended to do exactly that by exposing Kate Steven’s choice of wedding gowns. Okay, so her first big break hadn’t panned out, but it had led to her first big assignment—to destroy a legend and, in the process, rip the title of America’s Top Wedding Destination from the town that deserved it.

  She’d justified her actions by telling herself she was only doing what she had to do in order to get ahead at Weddings Today. Once she exposed the truth about Captain Thaddeus, that big promotion was hers for the asking. In all likelihood, though, her next assignment and the one after that would just be more of the same. A different town, a different topic, more slinging mud at someone who didn’t deserve it. Just like Jason had predicted. Her stomach plummeted.

  Was that really the career she wanted?

  It wasn’t. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She loved Jason more than she wanted to succeed at Weddings Today. Deliberately, she moved the cursor to Delete and hit the button. In an instant, the screen went black. The article she’d come to Heart’s Landing to write no longer existed.

  She sat for a long moment, her head bowed. She’d just ruined whatever chance she had for success at Weddings Today. She ought to feel sad about that. She didn’t. Rather, a giddy elation surged through her. When it had come to a choice between love and career, she’d chosen love.

  Jason paced the length of his office. Reaching the wall, he pivoted and retraced his steps to the door. A potent mix of anger and betrayal churned in his stomach. Disappointment tightened his chest. He’d been sure Tara was “the one.” He didn’t deny that they’d faced hurdles, but none of them had been insurmountable. He’d been so sure they’d succeed that he’d allowed himself to dream of the future. Of a boy with Tara’s fair hair who’d race through the Cottage and slide down the banisters. Of a little girl with his gray eyes who demanded to go wherever her big brother went, do whatever he did. There’d been times when he’d sworn he’d almost heard the sound of their laughter ringing through the halls. He’d imagined himself following in his dad’s footsteps and asking the cooks to stop feeding the children cookies and ruining their dinners…with the same amount of success.

  But it had all been a pipe dream. None of it was possible. Not now that he’d discovered the real reason behind Tara’s presence in Heart’s Landing. Not now that he knew how she’d played him, had used him to get the information she needed to destroy his town. Not now that she’d broken his heart without giving it a second thought.

  He mopped his face with his hand. The question was, what did he do next?

  According to the plan, he should already be on the phone with the mayor. The man might be under the weather, but his instructions had been clear. Jason was supposed to contact him the minute he ran into a problem he couldn’t handle.

  Tara’s betrayal certainly qualified. So, why hadn’t he picked up the phone?

  He wasn’t hoping Tara would change her mind. One of the things he’d admired most about her was her insistence on seeing a project through to the end. By now, her article sat on an editor’s desk at Weddings Today. He wasn’t waiting for an apology. He couldn’t demand one when she’d been doing a job he’d encouraged her to pursue. He wasn’t waiting for her to come crawling to him, begging his forgiveness and asking for a second chance. There weren’t enough “I’m sorry’s” in the world to undo the harm she’d done, or would soon inflict, on Heart’s Landing.

  He might as well face it, he wasn’t waiting on anything from Tara. Or anyone else, for that matter. No, there was only one reason he hadn’t called the mayor or confided in any of the other members of the review team—this fiasco fell squarely on his shoulders.

  His job had been to show Tara the best parts of Heart’s Landing. He’d been asked to introduce her to the shopkeepers who made their town special. He was supposed to make sure she understood how every resident would go to practically any lengths to ensure that every wedding went off without a hitch.

  Maintaining a polite, but professional, relationship with her had been part of the plan. Falling for her had not. But he’d trusted her when he shouldn’t have. He’d been wrong to give her access to the ship’s logs or Mary’s diaries. In doing so, he’d handed her the means of destroying the legend of Captain Thaddeus and ruining the town’s reputation.

  For that, he had no one to blame but himself.

  Worse, he’d given Tara his heart, and she’d smashed it into a million sharp-edged shards that she’d plunged straight into his chest. Was it any wonder he didn’t know what to do next? How could he explain his actions to the mayor? How could he stand in front of the people of Heart’s Landing and tell them he’d single-handedly brought about the ruin of everything they’d worked for all their lives?

  A tapping sound echoed in the hallway. The footsteps halted outside his door. His chin resting on his chest, Jason continued pacing. He didn’t need to look up to know that Evelyn stood in his doorway, concern etched on her elfin features. If there was one thing in this life he could count on, it was his cousin. She showed up whenever there was trouble. Normally, he confided in her. Not this time. He couldn’t share Tara’s betrayal with anyone.

  “What’s wrong?” Evelyn’s hoarse whisper cut through the silence.

  He pointed to the furled script for the pageant lying in his desk. “I need someone to play Mary’s part tomorrow night.”

  “I thought Tara was going to do that.”

  “She’s not available.” He stopped himself. He might not be up to baring his soul, even to his cousin, but he couldn’t lie to her. He sighed heavily. “It’s over between us.” He made a chopping motion. “Done. Fini. Over.”

  “What happened?”

  “I can’t talk ab
out it right now.” He turned dampened eyes toward her. “It hurts too much.”

  “Got it.” Evelyn cleared her throat. Her voice perfect, she said, “Looks like it’s you and me on stage, same as always.”

  That got his attention. He stared at her, his mouth open. “I thought you had laryngitis.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “I thought you two deserved a chance.”

  “Guess we were both wrong.”

  “I guess so.”

  Now, all he needed to do was tell the mayor that he’d single-handedly destroyed the future of Heart’s Landing. Something he’d do as soon as his heart quit hurting long enough for him to make a phone call.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Tara trudged through the sand, her feet kicking up a shower of tiny grains with every step. She’d hoped to have the beach all to herself. No such luck. On the far side of the cove, the stranger she’d spotted earlier worked his metal detector along the damp strip at the water line.