Wife on Approval

by Leigh Michaels

  Much to Paige's surprise, they were not the only guests at the dessert party. Cassie and Jake Abbott were already there when Austin and Paige arrived, drinking brandy and coffee in Caleb's newly redecorated living room.

  Paige's first reaction was relief, for Cassie was normally the voice of reason which served as a balance for Sabrina's sometimes-overwhelming zeal. Then she saw the narrowed look Cassie threw at her when she came in with Austin. She remembered the conversation they'd had over lunch just a couple of days ago and wondered if she was in for a reenactment of the Spanish Inquisition.

  The worst of it, she thought, was that her partners' concern sprang not from nosiness or a desire to control, but from love. Cassie and Sabrina honestly cared. They were truly worried about her.

  She deliberately chose a seat next to Cassie and just as purposefully started a conversation she liked better than the topic she suspected her partner had in mind. "How did Ben Orcutt's party go?"

  Cassie shook her head. "He hasn't held it yet I told him he'd better give me at least a couple of days notice or he'll get Chinese take-out instead of real cuisine."

  "If Sabrina's right in thinking he's in love, he won't even notice."

  "I couldn't be that lucky," Cassie said.

  Caleb's butler provided Paige and Austin with coffee and brandy, and vanished to answer the door once more. Sabrina struck a pose in the center of the room. “No doubt you're all wondering why we've gathered you together tonight."

  Paige sipped her coffee and watched as another couple came into the living room. That'll teach you to be egotistical, she told herself. Whatever was going on tonight, it couldn't be aimed at Paige, for the newest arrivals were Caleb's parents.

  Their presence kicked off a totally different kind of suspicion in Paige's mind. Surely not, she thought. Sabrina wouldn't.

  "It's because of my mother, actually," Sabrina went on.

  Cassie sounded resigned. "What's she done this time?"

  "As if adding two extra bridesmaids and inviting a couple of hundred additional guests wasn't enough," Sabrina said, "she's now decided that the reception we've planned isn't at all the kind of thing her friends will expect. She feels there needs to be another band and that the menu isn't quite as refined as it should be.... Well, anyway, I'm sure you get the picture."

  "The picture's perfectly clear," Jake said. "I just don't see what it has to do with dessert. You promised me white chocolate and raspberries."

  Sabrina gave him a blinding smile. "Don't worry, we really did bring a torte home, but you'll have to wait just a little while for it. Caleb and I have decided that since my mother is so determined to make this wedding her party instead of ours, we're going to let her have it all to herself. We'll show up at her party for the sake of being polite to all of the guests-but we're getting married now instead of in that circus."

  "Now?" Paige asked. "You mean - right now?"

  Sabrina nodded. "It was your idea that we elope, you know."

  "I was just remembering that," Paige said wryly. "But we decided we couldn't possibly get married without the people who are most important to us. That's why we sort of inveigled and manipulated and practically kidnapped to get you all here-for the wedding." She looked straight at Paige. "You were the real problem. I've spent most of the evening trying to find you, because when I called back your mother would only say that you were out. You could have knocked me over when I went after Austin and got you, too."

  "Glad to oblige," Austin said under his breath. "Anything to help out a friend."

  Caleb slapped him on the back and raised his voice. "Your Honor, I think we're ready."

  From the sunroom came a silver-haired man, book in hand, and stood in front of the fireplace. "If you'll gather around me in a semicircle, please..."

  Paige put down her coffee cup and went to stand beside Cassie. From her position at the end of the curve, she could see everyone else without even turning her head. Cassie, still looking stunned. Sabrina and Caleb, with eyes only for each other. Caleb's parents, as calm as if they did this every day. Jake, obviously resigned to waiting for dessert. And Austin...

  She didn't want to think about Austin in any context involving weddings, so she turned her mind instead to the contrasts between the ceremony Sabrina had planned and the one which was actually happening. No stately organ marches, just the whisper of background music from the CD system. No enormous baskets of exotic flowers, just a vase on the mantel containing half a dozen roses. No fancy dresses...

  Her own Edwardian costume, Paige thought, must still be hanging upstairs in the guest room where she'd tried it on, the day Austin came to town. It would probably never be worn, now. But that was nothing next to the waste of Sabrina's gorgeous white satin and lace gown.

  It was obvious, however, that none of those things mattered to the couple standing in front of the fireplace. The only thing that counted was the love which shone in their eyes as they promised their lives to each other.

  Once, Paige thought, she had felt like that.

  How bitterly ironic it was, she mused, that this simple, beautiful ceremony had followed so closely on the heels of Austin's chilly proposal. She wondered if he was capable of recognizing the contrast.

  She glanced across the circle at him, and realized too late that he was watching her. His dark, straightforward gaze captured hers and held her fast, and her heartbeat speeded up.

  Once they, too, had stood together in front of a judge, and pledged their love and their lives to each other....

  The judge's words were little more than an irritating murmur in the back of Paige's mind, for as she looked across the room at Austin the pieces fell into place, and she understood why his proposal had so infuriated her, and why she had slashed back at him with sarcasm.

  She hadn't been insulted, she'd been hurt. Grievously wounded, in fact, that by reducing his proposal to a cold-hearted bargain he had as much as said that their marriage had meant nothing to him. That the love she continued to feel was as insignificant as ever...

  Wait a minute, she told herself. I don't still love him. I can't still love him!

  Panic made her breathless. Yes, she had loved him once. She had sworn to love and honor and cherish him for the rest of their lives. But that had all been over the day he walked out on her. He hadn't kept his promises, and therefore she was released from hers. That was the moment she had closed the door on loving him.

  Something seemed to tear loose deep inside her. No, she admitted, that wasn't quite the truth. She hadn't closed the door on loving him, she'd simply stopped allowing herself to feel anything at all. She hadn't gotten over Austin, she'd denied that there was anything to get over.

  Through the years since, she'd convinced herself that she had healed, and that her lack of interest in men and romance was because she had more important matters to tend to. In fact, it was because Austin still held her heart.

  She had made her vows in faith and in love. And she had continued to keep them, all the while denying it even to herself. That was because of pride, she supposed-it was only human not to want to admit that she could still care so deeply for someone who had rejected her.

  Someone who now wanted to marry her again...for all the wrong reasons.

  They could hardly walk out straight after the ceremony, with an impromptu reception under way. Besides, as long as Paige stayed on the opposite side of the room from Austin she almost enjoyed herself-and in any case she wasn't eager to be alone with him, even for the short while it would take for him to drive her home. At least not until she'd had a little time to absorb the shock of her new knowledge, to come to terms with the discovery that she still cared about him, to decide what she was going to do.

  Not that it made an ounce of difference in how she had answered his question. If anything, the revelation strengthened her conviction that she'd done the right thing in refusing him. It would be bad enough to enter into a marriage with no love on either side; it would be virtual suicide to delibera
tely marry a man she loved, knowing that he did not care about her.

  But eventually he cornered her in the kitchen, where she'd carried a stack of dessert plates. "Isn't that the butler's job, Paige?"

  "It wouldn't be the first time I've helped Jennings clean up this kitchen. In fact," she said thoughtfully, "I've probably spent more time in this room than Sabrina has."

  "Nevertheless, it's time to go. The starry-eyed bride and the shell-shocked groom would no doubt like to be alone."

  And sometime I have to face you again, she thought. I suppose we might as well get it over with.

  "Shell-shocked?" she asked as the Jaguar pulled onto the street. "What did you mean by that?"

  "Just that Caleb looked as if he couldn't believe he'd actually said the words."

  "Is that any surprise? He's been known as the playboy entrepreneur for years." She added, almost under her breath, "But maybe that wasn't the reason at all. Maybe he looked that way because he couldn't believe he's actually got Sabrina for his very own.''

  Austin didn't take his eyes off the oncoming cars as he waited to make a turn. "What did you say?"

  "Nothing that mattered." Nothing that you'd understand. "I didn't realize how late it was."

  "Will your mother be worried about you?"

  Anyone else would have thought the question was perfectly straightforward, but Paige heard the ironic edge in Austin's voice. "She's concerned when I'm out at night," she said levelly. "So were you a few days ago, as I recall."

  He shot a look at her. "Eileen is nowhere near as old as she looks-and acts."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "That she doesn't need you nearly as much as you think she does. So if you turned me down because of her-"

  "I didn't. And I hardly think you're the best judge of how much my mother needs me."

  "I'm not asking you to turn your back on her, you know. I just believe she's much more capable of looking after herself than you think."

  "Oh? What happened to the idea of buying a house with a suite for her?"

  "If that's what you want-"

  "It isn't. You're off the hook, Austin."

  As soon as the Jaguar stopped in the bungalow's driveway, Paige had the door open. "Thank you for dinner," she said without looking at him. "It's been a very interesting evening."

  He turned off the engine and came around the car.

  It would be undignified, Paige told herself, to scurry toward the house like a frightened rabbit. So he intended to walk her to the door; what was the big deal about that? He certainly wasn't planning to ravish her on the front porch!

  She fumbled for her key and cursed herself for not having it out and ready. Did he have to stand so close to her? Her fingers were trembling.

  "You have to look at me sometime, Paige. You might as well not try to hide."

  Paige concentrated on her key as if it were the most fascinating thing in the universe. She could feel the warmth of him as he moved even closer.

  "You know perfectly well what would happen," he said very softly, "if you went to bed with me tonight. I haven't forgotten how to make you scream with pleasure-"

  Be casual, she told herself. You mustn't let him think it matters, whatever he says.

  "Now that's a good reason not to go to bed with you," she murmured. "In this part of town, if the neighbors hear screams they call the cops." -

  His warm chuckle startled her, and before Paige could stop herself she shot a look up at him.

  Suddenly his lips came down on hers, not fiercely but with a sureness which terrified her more than violence could, because he was so obviously certain that he could arouse her, and because he was so obviously right. She had tried to forget that particular kiss-the soft, sensual, teasing one which could disarm her ire, interrupt her concentration, distract her from any task, melt her bones...but the memory of it was written in her cells, and her traitorous body responded exactly as it always had.

  The only difference was that in the seven years since he'd last used it on her, Austin had gotten nothing but better.

  Her open palm cracked against his cheek, but he didn't let her go immediately. He held her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "It's not over, Paige." His voice was raw.

  She could manage little more than a whisper. "Yes, it is."

  He walked away, and she let herself into the house and leaned against the front door.

  It was all over, she told herself, and the only thing left to do was to heal her wounds. If she was lucky, it might only take a couple of centuries.

  CHAPTER TEN

  AUSTIN heard the lock of the front door click behind him as he retreated to his car. He could see his breath, rapid puffs against the frigid air. The inside of the Jaguar smelled like vanilla. He wondered if her perfume was in the air, or if she'd branded it on his skin.

  "Idiot," he muttered. Losing control of himself like that simply because Paige had cast a shy and-he would have sworn-inviting look up at him!

  A gentleman would have let go of her at the first hint of protest, taken a large step backward, and apologized for acting like a Neanderthal.

  All right, he admitted, so he wasn't a gentleman. He hadn't taken her at her word and retired from the battlefield, he'd issued a challenge instead. It's not over, Paige...

  And dammit, he told himself, it wasn't over-because, in the instant before she'd taken that swing at him, she'd kissed him back. She had gone lax in his arms and her lips had softened under his. Despite the weight of her winter coat, her body had molded itself to his.

  Her surrender had lasted only a matter of seconds, and he was certain she'd deny it had ever happened. But he knew the truth. Those few fleeting moments had been plenty long enough for him to taste capitulation and to savor triumph. For a few seconds, he had felt absolutely drunk with success.

  And then she'd slapped him. Of course, that was no wonder. The way he'd grabbed her, held her, kissed her-

  what in hell was wrong with him, anyway? To so carelessly throw away the ground he'd gained-

  What ground? he asked himself cynically. Don't kid yourself, Weaver. You hadn't gotten anywhere all evening-and that's why you grabbed her like some oversexed teenager.

  He'd dealt himself a setback, that was apparent-and obviously he needed a new and different approach.

  But giving up wasn't an option. Not when she'd kissed him like that.

  It felt like eons, but Paige had probably been standing by the front door for only a couple of minutes when Eileen coughed.

  It took her a moment, though, to realize that the sound hadn't come from her mother's bedroom down the hall, but from just across the room. Wearily, she opened her eyes.

  All the lights were off, but by the dim glow of the street lamps Paige saw Eileen's chair drawn up in her favorite spot.

  "I'd ask if you had a pleasant evening," Eileen said, "but the answer is apparent." She started to cough again, a dry hack that seemed to tear at her chest.

  Automatically, Paige crossed the room and laid the back of her hand against Eileen's forehead. It felt hot and dry, and the sensation was just as familiar as the cough was. It might not be pneumonia again, but there was no time to lose in getting it checked out.

  "I suspected you were feverish earlier," Paige muttered. "But then I got distracted. I'll warm up the van and take you to the hospital."

  When she came back a few minutes later, carrying

  Eileen's winter coat, she was frowning. "Why is Jennifer's cat shut up on the back porch?" "Because it's cold outside."

  "So you brought that animal into the house? Fleas and all?"

  "I figured any fleas on her would have frozen to death by now." Eileen had to stop to catch her breath. "Besides, she's only on the porch, and that's just till you can take her to the vet to have her checked out."

  "She'll probably claw her way out through a window."

  Eileen shook her head. "I don't think so. She's not really wild, you know, she's just starved. And someone
has been mean to her."

  "Do I want to know how you managed to lure her inside, when the rest of us can barely get near her?" Except for Austin, Paige thought. The cat had taken to him almost instantaneously. Some females are like that, she thought.

  "I sat on the back porch with the door propped open and talked to her till she came to me."

  Paige stared at her mother. "No wonder you've got a cough-you deserve double pneumonia! Why in the name of heaven-" She stopped as Eileen went off into another coughing spasm. "You miss her, don't you? Jennifer, I mean."

  When Eileen regained her breath, she said, with a trace of acid in her voice, "I'm not a fool, Paige. I may not exactly like the way things are shaping up, but I can't help but see the pattern."

  "What pattern?" Paige asked irritably.

  "Austin inviting you out. The way you look at him."

  And what way do I supposedly look at him? Paige knew better than to ask; she was afraid to find out what her mother might have noticed. Though surely, when she herself hadn't understood that she still loved him, no one else could have guessed it. Could they?

  "You could do worse, I suppose," Eileen mused.

  If Paige's nerves hadn't still been raw from Austin's cool and businesslike proposal, she probably would have ignored the comment. Instead, she snapped, "Better the devil I know-is that what you're saying? Forget it, Mother. You're seeing things that aren't there."

  Eileen looked at her through narrowed eyes. "You've missed a lot, Paige." Her voice was almost gentle. "I didn't realize how much until I saw you with Jennifer." Then she started coughing again.

  By morning, Austin had regained his balance and even his sense of humor. As he drank his coffee and tried in vain to hurry Jennifer through her breakfast so she wouldn't be late for school, he stood looking out at the crisp and chilly day and reconsidering the events of the evening before.

  Well, fine, he told himself. If Paige wanted him to leave her alone, that was how it would be. He could take a hint. And it wasn't as if he was desperate for her attention, anyway.