Million-Dollar Bride

by Karen Toller Whittenburg

  “Like going to counseling with your ex-wife?” Eliza suggested.

  His sigh held a noticeable trace of resignation. “Something really stupid. Like marrying her again.”

  “YOU’RE RETURNING the dress?” Mrs. Pageatt looked from Chuck to Mack to Eliza. “All three of you?”

  Eliza began the explanation. “Well, I tried it on and got the sleeve caught.”

  “Then I tried to help her and got tangled up in it,” Mack continued.

  “And then I got the dumb idea of hijacking them to get the dress.” Chuck shoved his hands into his pockets. “I thought I could make some easy money, turn it in for a reward or something, but then Cynthia showed up again and I think I’d be better off just goin’ to jail for a few years.”

  Mrs. Pageatt frowned in confusion, started to say something, then opened the cardboard box and lifted out the gown. “Was the dress damaged during all this…tangling up?”

  “No, ma’am,” Chuck stated flatly. “I checked it over very carefully before I stuffed it in that box. I didn’t want anybody accusing me later of tearing it or anything.”

  She held the gown against her and gave it a thorough going over. “Amazing, but it looks as good as new. Wrinkled, but basically fine.”

  “Well, that’s another thing,” Chuck said. “The dress keeps changing. It fit Shelly, my ex-girlfriend, like it was made for her. And then when Cynthia, my ex-wife, tried on the dress, it fit her, too. And they ain’t even close to being the same size.”

  “It fit me, too.” Eliza touched the dress lightly, wishing with all her heart she could see herself in it just once more. “I thought it was the most beautiful dress I’ve ever worn.”

  “You looked breathtaking.” Mack’s comment was soft with memory.

  “You know, it’s funny.” Chuck took his hands out of his pockets and touched one lace sleeve. “Now that I think about it, Cynthia looked real pretty in that dress. Kind of made me want to…well, anyway, it wasn’t that flattering on Shelly.”

  With a secret smile, Mrs. Pageatt held the dress against her own rounded shoulders. “Eliza, I think you should go in the back and put the gown on…just so we can be sure there’s been no damage done, nothing we’ve overlooked. Do you mind?”

  “No, of course not.” She was more than a little puzzled by Mrs. Pageatt’s odd suggestion and totally surprised by her calm acceptance of their explanation. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, Eliza thought there was a definite aura of calm happiness surrounding Mrs. P. this morning. “But are you sure you want me to put it on? I could just go over the material very carefully and—”

  The boutique owner thrust the gown into Eliza’s hands, and her normal tone of command returned. “Put it on and come out here to the triple mirrors so we can all see you. Gentlemen, if you’d sit over there?” She gestured toward a couple of chairs. “I have to make a phone call.”

  Nervously, Eliza gathered the Worth gown into her arms. “A phone call?” she asked. “Are you calling the…police?”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Pageatt said brightly. “Well, actually, just one. The policeman who investigated the supposed theft Saturday. I want you to meet him.”

  Eliza gulped.

  “Wait a minute,” Mack said. “I believe we can explain everything to your satisfaction without involving the law.”

  Mrs. Pageatt gave him a soft, dreamy smile. “I’m sure you can, but Joe needs to hear this explanation, too. You see, he’s someone I knew before. A long time ago. And when he walked in those doors, it was like a-a…”

  “Parallel universe?” Chuck suggested.

  “A miracle,” she finished. “I hadn’t seen him since high school, but I’d never forgotten him, even when I was married to Mr. Pageatt. And when the Worth gown came in, I couldn’t resist trying it on, and then I looked in the mirror and—”

  “And there he was,” Eliza whispered, sharing her own experience with the older woman in a brief, but telling look.

  “Yes.” Mrs. Pageatt nodded slowly as a sweet smile toyed with her rouged lips. “You can’t know how strange it was to see him walk through that door in person. I thought I was hallucinating again, but he was just as thunderstruck to see me as I was him, and the long and short of it is that we realized life is too brief to spend questioning whatever fates brought us back together and—” her smile broke forth like a sunbeam “—well, we’re going to be married this coming Saturday.”

  Eliza clutched the magic wedding gown against her as she moved to hug her boss. “That’s wonderful,” she said. “I’m so happy for you.”

  Mrs. P. nodded. “Now, go on. Try on that dress. Let’s see how it fits you.”

  With a happy smile, Eliza picked up the rumpled veil and headed for the dressing room. Maybe Chuck was right. Maybe this was a parallel universe, where everything could be put right with a few words of explanation, where the love stitched into a wedding gown could change the destinies of those who came into contact with it. Or maybe the wedding gown just had the ability to incite her imagination…and Mack’s…and Mrs. Pageatt’s and Chuck’s. No, there was definitely something wonderfully mysterious about the million-dollar dress. And she was going to wear it one more time….

  “MRS. PAGEATT ASKED ME to come back and see if you needed any…” Mack’s voice trailed into a heart-stopping silence as he caught sight of Eliza.

  She turned toward him, a vision in old lace and satin, and he thought he would never catch his breath again.

  “Could you finish doing up the back?” she asked, as if she hadn’t noticed his stunned admiration. “I think I missed a couple of buttons.”

  Unable to take his eyes off her, he stepped up behind her on the platform and silently fastened the remaining buttons. His hands trembled and he slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers in the mirror. Love looked back at him from her reflection, welcoming, warm and wonderful.

  “Tell me what you see,” she said. “In the mirror.”

  The woman he saw was beautiful beyond the scope of any words that came to mind. And he never wanted to be separated from her, no matter what she was—or wasn’t—wearing. “I see the love of my life. I see you, Eliza. I see…my wife.”

  “And what would you see if I took off the dress?”

  “The same thing, only naked.” He smiled wickedly, tenderly. “As a matter of fact, why don’t you take it off? I have this unhealthy fear of getting tangled up in it again before I can get you out of it.”

  She frowned at him in the mirror. “You’re already in the biggest tangle of your life and you don’t seem to be struggling to get free.”

  “As if I could ever be free of you, Eliza,” he said, brooking no argument. “I love you. Will you be my wife…now and forever?”

  “Mack, I—I love you, too. But what about Leanne?”

  “She has no relevance in this discussion. I was having doubts about the marriage even before I met you, but I’d convinced myself that it was prewedding jitters. I wasn’t in love with her then and I’m not now.” He bent his head and nibbled on her ear. “How could I be when we make such a perfect couple?”

  “Perfect? You think we’re perfect?”

  “Eliza,” he said with mild reproof. “Never, ever, argue with a reflection.”

  She sighed with pleasure. “We do look rather beautiful, don’t we?”

  “Breathtaking,” he said, and turned her in his arms. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I had no idea love could be such an adventure or that it would hit me over the head like a frying pan.” His fingertip traced the quivering softness of her lips. “In two days, you persuaded me to feel emotions I’d long given up on ever experiencing, and you won a commitment from my heart that overshadows every other obligation in my life. Then, out of the blue, you dived headfirst into my limousine and tangled me up in your lace and your laughter and made me realize how—”

  “Shut up, Mack,” she said.

  And then she kissed him.

  Chapter 14

  “I can’t
stop thinking about that clerk at the Starz Laundry.” Eliza put her hand on Mack’s arm before he got out of the car. “Are you sure she wrote down the right name on the ticket? She acted so goofy.”

  “My suave charm has that affect on women.” Mack leaned over and kissed her lightly on the nose. “See? Now you’re cross-eyed.”

  “But we promised Mrs. Pageatt we’d deliver the dress to the dry cleaners and make sure they understood when it would be picked up and who would pick it up and what they were supposed to do with it. I’m not sure that clerk even understands what day it is.”

  Mack laughed in the soft darkness inside the car. “You’re beginning to sound like a Cortland already. I just wish you’d developed this family trait of responsible worrying when we were still in Kansas City, instead of several hours into our honeymoon. We’re a long way from home and we are not driving all the way back just to check on the status of a dress we left to be dry-cleaned.”

  “I know…and I don’t know why I keep thinking about it. Except that the clerk didn’t act like she was paying the least bit of attention, and I just have this funny feeling…”

  “Eliza, the dress is at the dry cleaners where it will be safely cleaned and stored until the new owner sends someone from California to pick it up. You and I both heard Mrs. Pageatt making the arrangements over the phone before we left the shop. Besides, no one except us and the owners know how valuable the Worth gown actually is. Chuck knows, but he wouldn’t go near that dress again for a million dollars.”

  She laughed with Mack. “It’s too late for him, anyway. I bet he’ll be married to his ex-wife before we get back from our honeymoon.”

  “I certainly hope so.” Mack ran his hand over her disheveled hair, his eyes full of love. “Because we’re not going back for a very long time.”

  “And there’s no reason even to think about the million-dollar dress.”

  “None at all. We did our part. We dropped off the dress, and no matter what happens to it at this point, it doesn’t affect us or our honeymoon or the rest of our lives.”

  “You’re right,” she said, brightening. “I’m being as silly as that clerk. I mean, it’s not like we need the gown or anything. We’re already married.”

  “And thank God for that.” He stroked his thumb across her cheek, and her whole body became suffused with a soft, desperate desire. “If Miz Vangie and the Cooper boys were here, I’d thank them, too.”

  “Don’t leave out Mr. Silk and Einstein, Tom and Ruth and the rowdy boys of Sigma Kappa, and Chuck, Mrs. Pageatt and Joe.” Her smile curved in the dark. “The circle gets wider and wider. Do you think maybe Chuck was right and that everybody who comes into contact with the million-dollar dress falls in love?”

  Mack curled a lock of her hair around his finger. “I think I prefer the parallel-universe theory.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “I hope Leanne meant what she said to you. I’d hate to think that anyone could be unhappy tonight.”

  “She’ll be married to Martin York within three months,” Mack predicted confidently. “When I left her this afternoon, Martin was just arriving, and he looked like he wanted to punch me in the nose. But I told him I was married—happily married—to you, and that Leanne needed a friend. That’s when he shook my hand and wished us every happiness. If I’d been a little more observant earlier on, I might have figured out that he was in love with her before I asked him to be the best man at our wedding.”

  “Another happy ending,” Eliza said with a dreamy sigh. “Maybe we’ll recommend the Hay Capitol Motel to them as a great place to spend their honeymoon.”

  “Martin’s a pilot for TWA. Leanne may have to overcome her fear of flying.”

  “I have a fear of not making it to a bed tonight. Why don’t you go into the office now and see if Ken has one available?”

  “Whatever you want, my million-dollar bride.” He reached for the door handle. “Cabin 5?”

  “Any cabin is fine with me…as long as you can’t escape out the window.”

  “Check my planner,” he said, smiling. “I have no plans to escape from you for at least the next fifty years. Of course, you realize, you won’t be allowed to escape from me, either.”

  “Sounds like heaven.” She kissed him thoroughly. “Maybe you should hurry and get the key to the cabin before I start thinking how much I like kissing you in the nude.” She nudged him toward the door. “Go. Please. And don’t forget to take Ken’s clothes.”

  He reached over the seat and picked up a new pair of jeans and a crisp new shirt. “Got them.” He opened the car door and stepped out, only to lean down and look at her. “Now, don’t talk to strangers while I’m in the office, and whatever you do, don’t get out of this car and start thumbing a ride out of town.”

  She watched Mack walk around the front of the car and enter the office of the Hay Capitol Motel. She could hardly believe she was his wife. What an extraordinary, incredible bit of…She thought of the million-dollar dress again. “Magic,” she whispered to the stars. “What a beautiful bit of magic.”

  A couple of sharp taps on the window startled her, and she turned to see the twin frowns of Sheriff and Deputy Cooper. Rolling down the window, she readied an explanation for her and Mack’s abrupt departure from town. “Hello,” she said brightly. “I’ll bet you didn’t expect to see Mack and me back so soon.”

  Tim looked at Jim…or vice versa. “Well, now, I reckon we didn’t, but when I saw you two sittin’ in this car, neckin’ for the whole town to see, I said to the sheriff here, ‘the nudles are back.’”

  “We’re on our honeymoon. We’re driving to Denver and then catching a plane to Hawaii. But we wanted to spend another night here. Mack has just gone inside to take back the clothes he borrowed from your cousin and to see if we can have Cabin 5.”

  “I’m sure Ken can arrange it,” one of the twins drawled. “And if the cabins are full, you can always have adjoining cells down at the jail.”

  Her eyes widened and the lawmen laughed…in unison, of course.

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Cortland, we don’t want you and your husband cluttering up our jail. Besides, as it happens, we sort of owe you and Mack a thank-you.”

  “You do?”

  Mack came out of the office and paused briefly when he saw who was standing beside the car. “Sheriff Cooper,” he said with a polite nod. “Deputy Cooper. Nice to see you again.”

  “You, too, Mack.” Deputy Cooper touched the brim of his hat, while Sheriff Cooper adjusted his belt buckle. “We were just tellin’ Eliza here that we want to thank you for jumpin’ bail like you did and leavin’ me locked in the cabin. I bet you thought that was pretty clever.”

  “I thought it was pretty funny,” the twin with the sheriffs badge said.

  “Yeah, well, it wasn’t too funny at the time, but everythin’ worked out darn good.” The deputy twin smiled broadly at Eliza. “Mack told me I was wanted on the phone inside the cabin, and when I went in to answer it, he latched the door. Now, we haven’t figured out why the two of you ran off like you did, but we have to tell ya that because of that phone call we got hooked up with two sisters who look enough alike to be twins.”

  “They look like Madonna and cook like the Pills-bury Dough Boy.” The sheriff looped his thumb through a belt loop. “Yep, me and Tim are feeling darn good and very forgivin’, if you get my meaning.”

  “Meaning we can enjoy our honeymoon and complimentary breakfast at the Sunflower Café without any interference from the law?”

  “That’s right, but we’d appreciate the two of you staying away from Miz Vangie’s farm this evening. We got ourselves a hot date and don’t want it interrupted by gettin’ called out to investigate two nudies in a haystack.”

  “You don’t have a thing to worry about.” Mack opened the car door and got in before holding up a motel key for display. “Eliza and I are on our honeymoon, and I assure you that we’re not going anywhere near that haystack.”

  “Don’t
give us a second thought,” she said. “We’re going to be busy watching each other not sleep.”

  Smiling, Mack put the car into gear as she rolled up the window and waved. They drove away from the office and the twin sheriffs and coasted down the gravel drive to Cabin 5.

  “I’ve been thinking, Mack.”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “Not about the dress. You’re right about that. It’s safely stored and out of our hands, even if that spacey little laundry clerk takes it into her head to try it on. I mean, even if she does, the worst that could happen is she might fall in love and live happily ever after, right? So I’ve decided it’s silly to think about the million-dollar dress anymore. But I was sort of thinking about the haystack and—”

  “We are not spending the night in that haystack, Eliza,” he said firmly.

  “No, I didn’t think you’d want to do that, but you know Jake and Tamra eloped over the weekend, and they won’t be using the old barn anymore, and I was thinking that maybe we could get a tablecloth and go out there and, well, you know….”

  Mack parked the car in the shadowed darkness near the cabin, cupped his hand at the back of her head and drew her close. “There are certain family traditions you will have to live with from now on, Eliza. One of them is that Cortland heirs are conceived in beds, not haystacks, and certainly not in barns.”

  “Oh. Well, then, the answer is obvious. When we go out there, we’ll take along a broom for protection.”

  He looked at her as if he didn’t know whether to argue or kiss her. So she curled her arms around his neck and snuggled into his arms. “You have a lot to learn about being married to me, Mr. Cortland.” She kissed him long and persuasively, and coaxed him down onto the car seat. “Lucky for you, I am very good with explanations.”

  eISBN 978-14592-7480-8

  MILLION-DOLLAR BRIDE