The Bridesmaid and the Billionaire

by Shirley Jump

  His smile met hers, and a long moment of quiet extended between them. “One more dance, Susannah, that’s all.”

  The minister cleared his throat. Looked at his watch. Cleared his throat a second time. “Do you have any idea where they might be?”

  “No.” Susannah glanced toward the front of Chapel Ridge Lutheran Church, but no one came through the doors. Jackie’s bridesmaids sat in the front pews, Paul’s groomsmen beside them. Up in the balcony, Mrs. Maxwell watched it all from her perch at the organ, probably taking notes for the town gossips. “Maybe they forgot?”

  “Their own wedding rehearsal?” Pastor Weatherly said.

  “I’ll try Jackie’s cell phone again.” Susannah pulled her Nokia out of her purse and punched in her sister’s number. Three rings and then finally, Jackie picked up with a breathless hello. “Jackie! Where are you?”

  She giggled. “Umm…making up with Paul.”

  “Well, stop,” Susannah whispered, heading down the aisle and out of earshot of everyone else. “You’re supposed to be at the wedding rehearsal.”

  “Oh! I totally forgot.” She giggled some more. “Uh, oh, Paul, stop, stop, honey. Oh, oooh, um, Suzie, could you please, uh, oh, Paul—”

  Susannah cringed. There were just certain things she didn’t want to know or hear about her sister’s life. “Jackie! I absolutely refuse to listen to you and Paul have…fun. So will you quit that for five minutes and talk to me?”

  “Okay, okay. I’m here. Actually, I’m in Indianapolis. So it’ll be like, twenty or thirty minutes before I’m back in Chapel Ridge. Maybe, uh, more.” She giggled some more.

  “Indianapolis!” Susannah cast her gaze to the stained-glass images on the windows, begging for patience from the jewel-toned disciples. “What are you doing there?”

  “Paul and I went down to pick up the tuxes. This is where that shop was that had the special ones I really liked, remember? And after we got them, we stopped for dinner, and then we got to talking, and then, well, we got…sidetracked. So we pulled over.”

  “Jackie, this is important. Don’t you care? This is your wedding, not mine.”

  “Suzie, you’ll take care of it for me, won’t you? I’ll be there soon.”

  Susannah ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “I don’t have a choice, do I?” She hung up the phone, strode back to the front of the church and pasted a bright smile on her face. “Jackie’s on her way. She’ll be a little while, though. She got…tied up when they went to get the tuxes.”

  Pastor Weatherly flicked out his wrist. “I can’t wait that long, Susannah, I’m sorry. I have a funeral here in an hour and I know you all have reservations for the rehearsal dinner, too.”

  “Can we reschedule? We still need to run through the wedding, at least so everyone knows where to stand. And without Paul and Jackie…”

  The minister thought for a second. “I have a baptism in the morning, then another wedding before Jackie’s. I just don’t see another time to do this. Do we have other people who could substitute for them tonight? Then perhaps you could explain the steps to Jackie and Paul tomorrow? And if she gets here early enough tonight, I should have time for another quick run through.” Pastor Weatherly looked at the women and men sitting in the pews, chatting quietly among themselves. “For tonight, all I need is a man and a woman.”

  Paul’s single friends skulked down in the pews with that don’t-look-at-me expression. Before the minister could choose a volunteer, Kane stepped over to Susannah and took her hand. “That would be us, wouldn’t it?”

  “Us? Are you kidding me?”

  “Isn’t that the job of the best man and the maid of honor? To step in as needed?”

  “Uh…well…I don’t think he meant literally.”

  But Kane was already leading her up the aisle and to the edge of the altar. “We’ll do it, Pastor.”

  “Wonderful.” He beamed at them, as if they were the bridal couple. “And your name is?”

  “Kane. Kane Lennox.”

  “Ah, like in the Bible? The proverbial first son, who also, might I add, committed the very first murder.” Pastor Weatherly gave Kane a good-natured smile. “Not that you, of course, are a felon in the making.”

  “Not at all, sir. And my name is spelled entirely different. Plus,” he leaned forward, “I’m an only child, so there’s no worry about fratricide.”

  Pastor Weatherly laughed. “Glad to hear it, son. Okay, Kane, you take your place to my left. And, Susannah, you can go back a few pews and make the march.”

  Susannah blanched. Walk down the aisle? Join Kane at the altar? This was crazy. “I really don’t think that’s necessary.”

  “Someone has to do it, and if we can at least complete this run-through, it will make everything so much easier tomorrow. Susannah, I know you’ll be there to make sure everything goes smoothly for Jackie.” Pastor Weatherly laid a hand on Susannah’s arm. “Thank the Lord that she has had you all these years to watch out for her. You’ve been a wonderful sister.”

  “I know your time is limited, Pastor. We should get started,” Susannah said, suddenly feeling hot, confined. She wanted to run from the church, from the praise the minister was heaping on her. If she’d done such a good job finishing the raising of her sister, wouldn’t Jackie be here right now? Being responsible instead of being selfish?

  Susannah headed to the back of the church. The other bridesmaids slipped into place before her, while the groomsmen took their places on the altar. Pastor Weatherly cued Mrs. Maxwell to begin playing the bridal march, from her perch at the organ up in the balcony. When the music began, Susannah took her first steps, clutching an imaginary bouquet. At first, she walked fast, hoping to get in, get out and make this go as fast as possible.

  But then she caught Kane watching her, his cobalt eyes direct on hers, with that piercing way he had, and her steps faltered, then slowed. Her heart began to race, and her breath caught in her throat. The rest of the church dropped away, the other people blending into the background. All she saw was Kane, and the bemused smile on his face waiting for her to join him at the end of the aisle.

  What if this were real? What if she were marrying him tonight? How would that feel?

  Terrifying?

  Or wonderful?

  To see him every day from here on? To wake up to those cobalt eyes? To feel those arms around her until the day she died?

  The wedding march came to a close as she made the final steps. Kane put out his hand and took hers, leading her up the two stairs to the altar. “You look beautiful when you smile like that,” he whispered.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, not so much as a breath. For the first time in her life, Susannah Wilson was totally, completely speechless.

  “This is where I start the ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered…’ part,” Pastor Weatherly said. “And everybody tunes out for a few minutes as we go over a couple of Bible passages, sing one hymn that your sister picked out—”

  “Jackie picked out a hymn for the ceremony?”

  “Yes.” Pastor Weatherly looked down at his notes. “‘How Great Thou Art.’”

  “Our mother’s favorite,” she whispered. And then she could hear the soft strains of her mother’s voice, singing the song in church, or while she did the dishes, the stanzas carrying clear and strong, the notes lingering in the air long after she finished. How great…and, oh, how much Susannah missed those sweet vocals.

  Her eyes filled with unshed tears, and the room blurred. The grief she held in check, always kept behind a firm wall, threatened to spill forward. “I…I had no idea she remembered.”

  Pastor Weatherly reached out a kind hand to Susannah and held hers for a long moment, his soft brown eyes telling her he understood everything. “She wanted to include Eleanor as much as she could.”

  Susannah smiled her gratitude to the minister, and the gesture wobbled a little on her face. For a moment, it felt as if her mother was right there, watching from the pews. Tom
orrow, in the song, Susannah knew she would hear her mother’s voice. What a wonderful touch, and for Jackie to think of it meant her sister was more aware of the important elements of the wedding than Susannah had thought. Her heart clenched, and she swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. “We, um, should get started, Pastor Weatherly,” she said, to change the subject, before she started crying. “You have your funeral tonight. Who died, by the way?”

  “Jerry Linkheart. You probably don’t remember him because he lived here before you were born, Susannah. He just moved back to town last week after he retired. Saddest thing, too.” Pastor Weatherly shook his head. “It was only Jerry and his dog. Family said they haven’t seen the dog in days. I guess little Bandit ran off when Jerry died. He had a heart attack at home.”

  “Would Bandit happen to be a Brittany spaniel?” Kane asked.

  “He is indeed. Jerry loved that dog. Spoiled it rotten, from what I hear, though I suspect Bandit was just his little buddy. Either way, his sister told me she’s glad it’s gone. I get the feeling she’s not much of a dog person. If you see it, Susannah, find the poor thing a good home, will you? That’s what Jerry would want.”

  “I already did find the dog, or rather Kane here did. Out by his lake cottage.”

  The minister nodded. “Jerry lived down by the lake. Sounds like we’ve got Bandit. I’ll call the family, see if it’s okay with them if Kane keeps him. I don’t think they want the dog.”

  Kane started shaking his head. “I, ah—”

  “That would be great,” Susannah cut in. Even if Kane didn’t take Bandit, she would find a good home for the dog.

  “Okay,” Pastor Weatherly said, addressing first Kane and Susannah, then the few people in the pews, “we’ve got a happy ending for the dog. Let’s get back to our happily-ever-after work here. We have a wedding to rehearse. After the hymn, we get to the good part. Kane, this is where you turn to Susannah.”

  “Uh, Jackie,” Susannah corrected. No way did she want anyone thinking it was her and Kane getting married. It all felt way too realistic, standing up here, flanked by bridesmaids and groomsmen, instead of being one of the bridesmaids.

  “Of course,” Pastor Weatherly said. “Susannah, who is pretending to be Jackie, and Kane, who is pretending to be Paul.” He grinned. “Wouldn’t want me to marry the two of you tonight by accident, now, would you?”

  “No,” Kane and Susannah said at the same time.

  Pastor Weatherly chuckled. “Well, let’s pretend instead, ‘Jackie’ and ‘Paul.’ You two need to turn toward each other.” He waved his hands together.

  Susannah shifted her position at the same time Kane did. Acute awareness of him rocketed through her. Of where they were. Of the minister watching them. Of how easily this could, as Pastor Weatherly had said, be them getting married—

  Instead of Jackie and Paul.

  Would that be so bad?

  Of course it would. She didn’t want to get married. Didn’t want to settle down. Not before she’d had her chance to explore the world, see something beyond the bounds of Chapel Ridge.

  Except…she really liked Kane Lennox. His direct way of confronting problems—like the dog. Like Jackie.

  Like her.

  And there was something about him, something she’d glimpsed when he’d finally peeled back the layers and allowed her a peek into his world, that showed a man with vulnerabilities. Areas she wanted to know more about, even while she knew she should keep her focus on her ultimate goals, and on the fact that he was leaving and she was doing her best not to create any more ties in a life that already had too many….

  She kept losing track of that resolve.

  “First, I will ask each of you the same question,” Pastor Weatherly said, interrupting her thoughts. “And you respond, ‘I will.’ Okay?”

  Kane and Susannah nodded. But would she if this were real?

  Before she could decide, Pastor Weatherly opened the leather-bound Book of Common Prayer in his hand, smoothed down the page and began to read. “Susannah, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

  Susannah swallowed hard. Love him. Keep him. Be faithful. As long as she lived?

  This was insane.

  These were powerful words. Permanent words.

  But it was all an act. Imaginary. Standing in for someone else. Not her life, not her marriage. “I will,” she said, the words squeaking past her throat.

  “Kane, will you have this woman to be—”

  “He will,” Susannah cut in. “You know Paul is going to say yes.”

  The minister smiled. “Of course he will. Okay, let’s move on. Next, I address the congregation. Then we read a psalm, have a prayer, and read a couple of Bible passages. Then we move on to the part that gets you really hitched.” Pastor Weatherly grinned, then turned back to Kane. “You two will have to run through these details with Paul and Jackie, but tell them not to worry if they forget. I’ll be here to coach them. Kane, take Susannah’s right hand in yours, then repeat after me, okay?”

  Kane nodded. He reached up, took Susannah’s hand in his, the touch sending a charge through her. One she couldn’t ignore. Couldn’t pretend was part of the act. Susannah shifted on her feet, but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere but right where she was.

  “In the Name of God, I, Kane,” Pastor Weatherly began to recite, “take you, Susannah, to be my wife…”

  Kane’s gaze met Susannah’s. Butterflies raised a riot in her gut, and she would have run from the church if he hadn’t been holding her hand. “In the Name of God, I, Kane,” he said, his voice soft, almost tender, “take you, Susannah, to be my wife…”

  “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer…”

  Kane’s hold on her hand tightened. Because he too wanted to run? Because he sensed her quivering? He ran a thumb over the back of her hand, and the butterflies roared, then began to quiet. “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer…” On the last, a slight smile curved across his face.

  “In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

  Kane reached up with his other hand and captured her free one. His cobalt eyes never left hers. The world closed in, leaving just the two of them on the altar. “In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,” he said, the words quietly, deliberately, “until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

  The last sentences seemed to hang in the air. Susannah gulped. This was supposed to be a joke, the two of them just filling in. But somewhere along the way, something had shifted, and a sense of reality had invaded the space between them.

  A hush fell over the church, as if every single person was holding their collective breaths. Susannah’s heart got caught in Kane’s smile, in the words he’d just said.

  How long had she waited to hear those very same words? For her turn at the life she’d seen everyone else have? The life she had set aside the day her parents died, so she could raise Jackie and give that gift of freedom instead to her sister?

  And here in the church, for just a second, Susannah had become caught in the web of the fairy tale. She’d heard a gorgeous man pledge undying love. Even if he was only acting, Susannah closed her eyes, holding on to the fantasy for one moment longer.

  Kane promising to love her. Forever.

  “Now, Susannah,” Pastor Weatherly said, “it’s your turn. Keep holding Kane’s hand and repeat after me. In the Name of God, I, Susannah, take you, Kane, to be my husband…”

  Kane.

  A husband. Her husband.

  Susannah opened her mouth to speak, but the words refused to come. A rush of fear flooded her senses, and suddenly she couldn’t breathe.

  “Susannah,”
Pastor Weatherly whispered, “you’re supposed to repeat what I said.”

  Kane’s smile curved wider. “Changed your mind about having and holding me?”

  “I…I can’t do this,” she said, spinning out of Kane’s grasp. “I’m sorry.”

  Then she hurried out of the church and didn’t stop running until she reached wide-open grass and fresh air.

  The scent of freedom, the one thing she had craved for years. And refused to chance losing. Not even on an imaginary basis.

  CHAPTER TEN

  WHAT the hell was that?

  Had he just gotten married?

  Whether for real or not, for a few minutes there, Kane had been swept up into the moment and had, indeed, felt like he and Susannah were pledging to be together forever. And the crazy part?

  He hadn’t minded a bit.

  Standing on that altar, she had looked beautiful, almost angelic. The setting sun streaming through the stained-glass windows had cast tiny rainbows across her features, like miniature jewels in her hair, on her skin.

  And suddenly, his world, which had seemed so hard and cold a week ago, filled with sunshine. He couldn’t imagine returning to New York, returning to work, to his penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park—

  Without that.

  Without her.

  “Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea,” Pastor Weatherly said, as the rest of the wedding party began to file out of the church and head to their cars, their chattering voices expressing their surprise about what had happened. One of the groomsmen called over his shoulder to Kane that they were planning on meeting at the Corner Kitchen for the rehearsal dinner. Kane nodded agreement.

  “It did seem to backfire,” Kane said.

  “Perhaps Susannah didn’t like being in the spotlight,” Pastor Weatherly said, taking a seat on the top step of the altar. He gestured to Kane to join him.