by Lisa Bingham
“The ceremony was supposed to have started a half hour ago!”
Riley didn’t know how to respond to such an observation, so she offered, “She’ll be here. You know brides.”
But it was obvious from the black look Alex shot her that he did not “know brides” and neither did she.
“Maybe she got stuck in traffic.”
“The limousine I rented for her has a car phone.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know the number of the church.”
“She can call information.”
Lapsing into silence, Riley took another photo of Alex, but at his scowl of impatience put the camera away.
“Maybe you should just relax.”
“I can’t relax, dammit!” he exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice when the occupants of the first few rows strained to hear what was being said.
“I wanted to talk to her ahead of time,” he muttered under his breath.
“No,” Riley said firmly. “I won’t let you.”
“Dammit, I won’t—”
“Hello, everyone!”
At Dannette’s blithe greeting, the string quartet paused, and the crowd’s murmured conversations ceased abruptly.
“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t mean to take so long, but I overslept.”
There was a ripple of titters and whispers, but as Dannette began to stride up the aisle, the audience lapsed into stunned silence again.
Dannette had not appeared in her gown—nor even a suit or dress of some sort. Instead, her hair was windblown and her cheeks flushed. Her body was sheathed in black leather from the jacket and bandeau top to the tight trousers and thigh-high boots.
Stopping midway up the aisle, she crooked a finger in her fiancé’s direction. “Alex, could I talk to you a minute?”
They disappeared for several minutes, closing the door to a small room behind them. When they emerged again, Dannette was grinning from ear to ear.
Riley stared at Alex, wondering what had occurred, what he’d told Dannette. Surely he hadn’t made any confessions. Dannette didn’t look hurt or confused or stunned.
But with that realization, the tiny flame of hope that Riley had secretly harbored in her soul fizzled into nothing and she steeled herself for the ceremony to come.
Happy. Look happy, happy, happy.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dannette sang out when she reached the space in front of the altar. “I’m sorry about the delay, but there won’t be a wedding today.”
Gasps rippled through the building.
Riley’s heart began to pound, but when she glared at Alex in accusation, he avoided looking in her direction.
“I want you to know that the cancellation was made on my behalf,” Dannette continued. “The past week or so, I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I realized that I’m not ready for such a big commitment.”
“Dannette Danielle MarquisDunne,” her mother hissed, rising from her seat on the front row. “Have you completely lost your senses?”
Dannette grinned. “No, Mother. I think I’ve found them.”
Dannette waggled her fingers at Riley and continued, “These past few weeks, a delightful friend helped me to see that I’d spent my whole life playing by the rules and doing what was expected of me. I’d allowed myself to be molded into shape—and truthfully, I was miserable. Without realizing what was happening, I began seeing that there was so much in life I was missing—a career, adventure, life itself!”
Riley wished she could shrink into the background, knowing that she would be blamed for this sudden transformation, just as surely as she’d been blamed for the shower debacle.
“But you see, Mother,” Dannette said, turning to Mabel, “I’ve never been a true blissful bride-to-be. I’ve been dutiful, successful and responsible but never blissful. I even agreed to this marriage for much the same reasons—and I realize now that I was wrong.” She hugged Alex’s arm. “My fiance has graciously released me from our agreement.”
Lifting on tiptoe, she kissed him on the cheek, then swung her hands wide. “That’s it. You may as well head home. I’ll see to it that all of your gifts are returned as soon as possible.”
Dannette was just uttering her final words when the door to the church opened and a man stepped inside. Riley stared in astonishment at the Adonis-like figure of the same male stripper hired for the bridal shower.
The moment Dannette saw him, she waved and grinned. “Warm up the chopper, I’ll be right there.”
The stripper disappeared, and Dannette kissed Alex again, then stepped toward Riley. Taking her hands, she bussed Riley’s cheeks, as well.
“Be happy,” she whispered, before turning and rushing down the aisle.
Riley didn’t wait to see the furor erupting in the church. Turning on her heel, she ran out of the side door and into the garden beyond, finally finding refuge on a stone bench among the flowers.
This whole mess was her fault. She shouldn’t have let herself into Alex’s apartment. She shouldn’t have tempted Dannette with her own life-style. If she hadn’t, Alex would have been married by now. Neither of them would have delved into emotions best left unexpressed, and his fiancée wouldn’t be riding away from her own wedding on the back of a male stripper’s motorcycle.
Riley drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around her shins and dipping her head. “Damn. Damn, damn, damn!”
“Such language for a churchyard.”
She reared up, seeing that Alex had followed her and stood leaning against a nearby tree.
“You must hate me,” she muttered.
“Why?”
She made a vague gesture with her hand. “I’m the person responsible for that…that…whole ugly scene.”
“So?” He straightened from the tree. “As I recall, you came back to the United States specifically to ensure that my new fiancée and I were compatible. Obviously, we weren’t.”
“How can you say that? The two of you were so content together. You were so much in love.”
“We were agreeable. We were well suited. There’s a difference.”
“But I’ve ruined everything.”
“How?”
“All those guests, the decorations…Then there’s Dannette herself. She put on a brave face for her family, but she must hate me for what happened at your apartment. She probably couldn’t face the fact that you and I made love.”
“She doesn’t know.”
Riley stared at him in disbelief, finally noting that his features had softened and his eyes were alight with humor.
“But you and she…you talked and…”
“She talked. Dannette took me into that room and admitted that she and Rolfe had discovered a mutual, burning passion. She’d tried to ignore it, tried to keep herself from falling in love with the man, but he represented everything she wanted out of life at the moment—freedom and adventure.” He chuckled. “Dannette called off the marriage. I merely agreed.”
“Then you didn’t—”
“I didn’t break her heart.” He took her hand, kneeling in the grass in front of her. “But I nearly broke yours—” he kissed her knuckles “—and mine.”
Riley bit her lip, afraid to speak.
“I should have been more honest with you and with myself. I should have realized early on that the relationship with Dannette was doomed. The moment you entered a room, I only had eyes for you.”
He placed her hands against his cheeks and studied her with such devotion and love that she could not escape the truth.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Riley. I want to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep in your arms every night. I know now that my existence would be an empty one without you. If you want to stay in Chicago and sell candy, I’ll stand behind you one hundred percent. If you want to travel, I’ll build bridges or dig ditches in some faraway land. I don’t care as long as we’re together.”
Riley could scarcely believe what she was hearing.
“But Dannette�
�”
“Will be our friend. She’ll always be our friend. But that’s all she can ever be.” He cradled her head in his hands. “I talked myself into believing she was what I wanted from a wife, but that was only because I thought I couldn’t have you.”
Her chin wobbled betrayingly. “But I said such nasty things to you. I said I didn’t want a commitment or children or—”
He kissed her cheek, her nose, her lips. “I knew you were lying, honey. I knew you were trying to push me away. But it doesn’t matter now. We’ll take things as they come. Our marriage first, a home, then maybe a few kids. But they won’t keep you from your work. I’ll strap them to my back and follow you into the jungle, if need be.”
The tears fell then. Tears of relief and gratitude and love.
“Will you marry me, Riley?”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“I mean right now.”
She blinked in disbelief.
“The pastor is agreeable. We can run over to the courthouse, grab ourselves a license and be back in twenty minutes.”
“You’re serious,” she breathed.
“Sure. Why not? We’ve got a chapel, decorations, even a cake. Why not make use of them?”
Less than an hour later, Riley and Alex stood at the altar, exchanging their vows amid the elaborate remains of Dannette’s wedding preparations. There were no guests, no bridesmaids, no ushers, ring bearers or flower girls. The pastor’s wife and mother served as the only witnesses.
But as Alex gazed down at his bride—his proper bride—wearing her tuxedo and brilliantly colored vest, he thanked his lucky stars that Riley came home to him to run Dannette through a fiancée test.
If she hadn’t, they might never have had this moment.
They might never have had the chance to be together.
For all time.
eISBN 978-14592-7432-7
RUNNER-UP BRIDE
Copyright © 1997 by Lisa Bingham Rampton
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