Zach was making plans to take Paul on a shopping trip before he walked out of his life again. The woman beside him, looking pure and innocent in her bridal attire, probably would spend all the money he’d paid her on herself.
“When are you going to explain?” Paul asked, drawing his attention.
“Sorry, Paul, I forgot. My grandfather really wants me to get married. But I don’t have time to find a real bride, so Susan is going to pretend to be my wife. To make Gramp happy. Can you keep our secret?”
“Sure. But why do I have to be there?”
“Well, if it were your mom’s real wedding, you’d be there, wouldn’t you?” He smiled in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, I guess, if she was alive,” Paul said with a sigh. “All my family is dead ’cept Susan and Megan.”
Zach almost lost control of the steering wheel in his shock. Then he turned to stare at Susan. “You’re not his mother?”
“No, I’m his sister and legal guardian.” She never even looked at him.
“Why didn’t you say that last night?” It galled him that she’d kept the truth from him.
“You didn’t ask, and I didn’t think it mattered.”
“Who is Megan?” he snapped, too irritated to respond to her remark.
“She’s our sister,” Paul said from the back seat. “She’s gone away to school.”
“School?” Zach asked softly, looking at Susan.
“She’s a freshman at the University of Nebraska.”
“Damn it! We’re being married tonight. Don’t you think you could’ve told me these things earlier?” He felt like he’d been blindsided.
This time she looked at him. Then she coolly asked, “What difference does it make?”
Her question stumped him. She was right. Her family information would have no affect on him. This marriage wasn’t real. So why did it bother him?
“Gramp thinks Paul is your son.”
“He is,” Susan said, with a smile over her shoulder directed toward her little brother. “I helped take care of him since his birth, and four years ago, I became his mother.”
He tightened his grip on the wheel. Somehow those words didn’t fit into the picture he had created of Susan. Beautiful, self-centered, greedy. She was too beautiful for her own good. But he could resist surface beauty. What was he going to do if he found out she was beautiful inside, too?
Susan held on to Paul’s hand as they approached the hospital room. In the car, when Zach had been questioning her, she’d been calm. But now that the moment for their bizarre plan had arrived, she was shaking inside.
“You’re squeezing my hand,” Paul complained, tugging.
“Sorry, sweetie. Be sure and don’t tell anyone our secret, okay?”
“I won’t. Will Zach be my daddy?”
That was the reason she hadn’t wanted Paul involved in this. She didn’t want him thinking he had a father. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Sort of. But not really.”
Paul looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. “Huh?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
Zach held open the door. “Ready?” he whispered.
“What about the license?” she suddenly asked. “I didn’t fill out any forms.”
“We’ve got it taken care of. You’ll have to fill in a few blanks, but a friend of Gramp’s, a judge, arranged everything.”
Then he led the way into the hospital room.
Three men dressed in dark suits were standing by the bed. Zach shook their hands before he turned to his grandfather.
“Gramp? We’re here.”
“Good, boy. Introduce Susan to them. Paul? You there?”
Paul had no hesitation about going to Pete Lowery’s side, and Susan barely listened to the introductions as she tried to keep an eye on Paul.
The minister, the judge Zach had previously mentioned, and the doctor greeted her politely.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Pete said from his bed, holding Paul’s hand. “Me and my new greatgrandson want to celebrate.”
Paul leaned over toward him. “Can I call you Gramp?”
Susan’s heart cracked at the enthusiasm in Paul’s voice. She shouldn’t have given in to Zach’s demand that Paul be included. He was going to be so hurt when Pete died and Zach was no longer around.
“A’course you can. What else would you call me?” The old man beamed at Paul.
She felt Zach’s gaze on her, but she refused to look at him. She just wanted the evening to be over.
The minister stepped forward. “I think we’re ready to begin. If you two will step forward,” he said with a kindly smile.
“Get the flowers,” Pete called from the bed.
“I almost forgot,” the judge replied and went to the closet in the room. He brought out a beautiful bouquet of creamy roses with the faintest tinge of pink in them. Handing them to Susan, he offered her a courtly bow.
“Thank you so much. They’re beautiful.” She gave the man her first real smile of the evening.
“Pete remembered. He’s the one you should thank.”
She moved to the side of the bed where Paul stood and bent over him to kiss Pete’s cheek. “Thank you, Mr. Lowery. The flowers are beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, girl. And no calling me Mr., either. I’ll be Gramp to both of you.”
She gave him a smile but felt it wobbling. She hurried back to the minister’s side, hoping Pete hadn’t noticed.
Zach was waiting for her.
Shivers swept over her. What was she doing? How could she have agreed to this marriage? She closed her eyes.
Was she going to faint?
Zach reached out and took her hand. She’d been acting strangely all evening, as if this pretense was bothering her. He hadn’t expected a woman with a conscience. Or was she just a good actress?
She opened her. eyes and stared at him. Zach breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to the minister.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here...”
They proceeded through the ceremony until the minister asked for the rings. Susan gasped, obviously thinking he’d forgotten such an important thing. He’d been busy all day long, preparing for this evening.
He reached in the pocket of his tux and handed two rings to the minister. His was a plain gold band. Hers was a band covered with two carats of diamonds.
When the minister bid him to do so, he slid the band on her finger. He’d guessed at the size, and it was a little large.
Susan stared at the ring, seeming to lose track of where she was. He nudged her when she didn’t respond to the minister’s words. She jerked her head up and stared at him.
“My ring,” he whispered.
She finally reached for the ring the minister was holding out and placed it on his finger, repeating the words. Her voice and her fingers were trembling.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister said. “You may kiss the bride.”
Susan swung her gaze to him, her eyes wide with surprise. Fortunately Gramp couldn’t see her face. Zach pulled her into his arms and lowered his lips to hers.
He’d only intended a brief brushing of their lips, as he’d done the night before. But her trembling body, pressed against his, distracted him. His lips covered hers and found an excitement even greater than last night. As if protesting, she opened her lips against his and he deepened the kiss, until he almost forgot they had an audience. His hands slid down the silk dress, learning her curves, wanting more.
“All right, already, boy. Don’t eat her alive,” Pete ordered from the bed.
He broke away, almost dropping Susan, who looked dazed. He grabbed her again as she sagged against him. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She drew a deep breath. “Yes, of course.”
“Congratulations, Mrs. Lowery,” the judge said, offering his hand. She blinked several times before she accepted his handshake. The minister and the doctor followed with their co
ngratulations.
Zach shook their hands, too, but all he could think about was getting Susan back into his arms. Their kiss had stirred him more than any kiss ever had. He was having difficulty returning to reality.
“All right. Let’s party!” Pete called from the bed. “Doc, did you arrange everything?”
“Yes, but you have to keep your promise.”
“Paul and I will drink mineral water, right, boy? We don’t need any of that nasty champagne.”
“What’s champagne?” Paul asked.
“Stuff you won’t like. But the cake, ah, you’ll love the cake. And you have to eat my piece, too, ’cause I promised that mean man over there that I wouldn’t eat any.”
“Not even a bite?” Paul asked, seeing the tragedy of that promise.
“It’s okay.”
Zach took Susan’s hand and pulled her over to the bed. “What are you talking about, Gramp? You need to stay quiet.”
“Don’t be silly, boy. The doc approved everything.”
The doctor stepped to Zach’s side. “Your grandfather wanted to celebrate your marriage, Mr. Lowery. He promised to behave himself, and he does seem to be feeling better.”
The door opened and a nurse pushed a hospital cart into the room. A small wedding cake, exquisitely decorated, along with plates and forks, was on it, as well as a bottle of champagne and a bottle of mineral water.
“But I didn’t expect... Gramp, you should’ve been resting, not planning a party,” Zach protested.
To his surprise, Susan, who had appeared on the verge of fainting two minutes ago, stepped forward to kiss his grandfather’s cheek again. “I think it’s very sweet of you, Gramp.”
“Good girl Raise my bed a little more and bring Paul and me some mineral water. We want to toast the bride and groom, don’t we, Paul?”
“Yeah.”
Zach grinned. The kid had no idea what Gramp meant, but he’d go along with anything tonight.
“All right, two mineral waters coming up.” He poured the water, finding glasses on the bottom shelf of the cart. Then he opened the champagne, making Susan jump when the cork came out. He poured glasses for everyone else, then turned to his grandfather. “Okay, Gramp. The toast is yours.”
The old man lifted his glass and motioned for Paul to do the same. “To Zach and Susan. May they have a long, happy marriage, with lots of little ones.”
Everyone sipped.
“This boy wants some cake,” Gramp ordered. “Susan, you and Zach should cut the first piece.”
Zach wasn’t going to argue. He knew how this part worked. It meant he got a chance to put his arms around Susan again.
He closed his hands over hers around the knife and pretended great interest in cutting the cake.
Until his grandfather spoke again.
“Where are you two going on your honeymoon?”
Chapter Four
Zach choked on the bite of cake he’d just put in his mouth.
The judge gave him several whacks on his back. When he recovered, his first thought was Susan. She was almost as pale as her gown, staring at him with huge blue eyes.
“Uh, Gramp, we’re putting the honeymoon off for a while.”
Color flooded into Susan’s cheeks. “We want to concentrate on your getting well, Gramp. That’s the most important thing.”
“Well, now, I figured that’s what you’d say, so I made a few plans of my own.” The old man looked quite pleased with himself.
“Gramp, I refuse to leave town until you’re better,” Zach insisted, in spite of the temptation a honeymoon with the beautiful woman next to him held.
“That’s why I rented the honeymoon suite at the Plaza Hotel. It’s just a few blocks away. The manager is a close friend, and he’s promised me you’ll have the best service.”
“But Gramp,” Susan said, her words breathless, as if she, too, were thinking about them being alone, “I have Paul. I can’t—”
“I can stay at Rosa’s,” Paul said. “Then I can show Manny my new books.” He turned to Pete. “Zach bought me some books about a dog.”
“Good for him. You don’t mind staying with this Rosa? ’Cause the doc said you could go to his house,” Pete said.
“I’d like to go to Rosa’s. Manny’s my friend.”
“That okay with you, Susan?” Pete asked, smiling at her.
Zach sympathized with her. It wasn’t the first time his grandfather had maneuvered people into doing what he wanted. But it was a new experience for Susan.
“Yes, of course, that will be fine,” Susan said hurriedly. “It’s very thoughtful of you, Gramp. A—a night in such a beautiful hotel will be quite...quite charming.”
“One night? You think I’m a cheapskate? I want you to stay through the weekend.”
“Zach?” she pleaded in a soft whisper.
“We can’t leave Paul that long, Gramp. We’ll go tonight, but after that, we’ll have to make arrangements... about a lot of things.”
“Well, I can’t force you. But the boy would be fine at the ranch with Hester. You like animals, boy?”
Paul’s eyes widened. “Animals? You mean, like dogs? I don’t have a dog ’cause we can’t have one at the apartment. I always wanted a dog.”
Susan covered her face with one hand. Zach didn’t know if it was because she felt bad about the boy not having a dog, or what But he believed little boys and dogs were meant to be together.
“We have several dogs, Paul. You’ll like them,” Gramp assured him.
“Wow! Wait until I tell Manny!”
“It’s about time for the party to end,” the doctor said quietly, moving to Pete’s side.
“All right,” he agreed, which worried Zach. “I’m going to get a report from the manager at the hotel, so you two enjoy yourselves,” he added with a grin.
“We’ll do our best, Gramp,” Zach promised, unable to help himself. He caught Susan’s sharp stare out of the corner of his eye and turned to smile reassuringly. She didn’t appear to be comforted.
“Doctor, Reverend Knox, Judge, thanks for helping Gramp pull off this celebration. It meant a lot to him,” Zach said as he shook each man’s hand. He noticed how graciously Susan added her thanks.
Then she turned to his grandfather, giving him a kiss on each cheek. “Thank you for making this evening memorable, Gramp.”
“You’re welcome, little girl. And welcome to the family, both of you.” He beamed at Susan and Paul.
Zach stepped up, putting his arm around Susan. He hoped Gramp didn’t notice her start of surprise. “Thanks, Gramp. You’re the best.”
“Aw, go on with you, boy.”
They left the room, with Gramp smiling, even when the nurse brought in his medicine.
“Will Rosa mind letting Paul spend the night?” Zach asked after they’d driven several blocks.
“Surely that isn’t necessary? You can check into the hotel and—”
“Didn’t you hear Gramp say the manager is a friend? He’d tell Gramp I lost my bride and then there’d be hell to pay.”
“Oh, you said a bad word,” Paul said from the back seat. He was holding his new books, rubbing his hand over them, as if afraid they’d disappear if he wasn’t touching them.
“Sorry, buddy, I forgot,” Zach said goodnaturedly. Then, as if he hadn’t been interrupted, he said, “So it’s all settled.”
Susan crossed her arms, hoping it would keep Zach from noticing her trembling fingers. “Have you noticed how everything is always settled your way?”
He took the wind out of her sails with his quiet response. “How would you like to settle things, Susan? I thought you didn’t want to hurt Gramp.”
“Of course I don’t want to hurt him! He’s such a dear!”
“He said I could call him Gramp,” Paul said from the back seat with great satisfaction. “Now I have a grandfather. Can I tell Manny?”
Susan moaned, trying to think how to answer.
Zach didn’t hesitate. “O
f course you can, buddy.”
Gasping, Susan turned to glare at him. In a fierce whisper, she said, “Paul is mine! Not yours! I make the decisions about him and don’t you forget it.”
He met her glare with a cool stare before turning his attention back to his driving. Nothing more was said until he parked the car by her apartment.
“Is there anything I can do to help you pack for tonight?”
“Not! Nothing. Come on, Paul.” She opened her door and helped Paul out. She hoped Zach would remain in the car, but she should’ve known better. He was right behind them as they went up the stairs.
“Put on your pajamas and gather up clean clothes for tomorrow, sweetie,” she ordered Paul, suddenly feeling tired. “I’ll go talk to Rosa.”
Ignoring Zach, she opened her front door and crossed to Rosa’s door. By the time she’d finished explaining the need for her brother to stay over, Paul was beside her, carrying his new books, excitement on his face.
“Can I stay, Rosa?”
“Of course you can. Manny is getting ready for bed.”
“I got new books about a dog!” he said as he scooted underneath Rosa’s arm.
“What about a good-night hug for me?” Susan called. Her brother spun around, raced back to hug her, then ran off again.
Rosa laughed, then sobered. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll be here tomorrow at the regular time.”
“All fight. Have a nice night”
Susan stood on the landing, taking a deep breath after Rosa closed her door. Yeah, right. A nice night. Finally, she opened the door to her apartment, finding Zach standing in the middle of the living room, waiting.
Without a word, she walked into her room. The only suitcase she had was an old, scuffed overnight bag, but she couldn’t exactly use a paper sack, so she dragged it out of the back of her closet It took only a couple of minutes to put in what she’d need for tomorrow.
When she came out with the bag in her hand, Zach stepped forward to take it. After getting a good look at what he was carrying, he looked at her, one brow slipping up in question.
Her cheeks red, she said, “That’s all I have.”
A Ring for Cinderella Page 4
