by Tamie Dearen
“It’s kind of complicated. I like your sister, okay?”
“Does she like you?”
“I’m not quite sure. Right now, I think she would say yes, but her opinion seems subject to change.”
Scotty pointed at the door with his chin. “Just remember that I love my little sister. I won’t feel very gracious if I find out you hurt her.”
“Hey, I beat up the guy that broke into her apartment. We’re on the same side. Okay?”
“We’ll see.” Scotty crossed his arms.
*****
Elyssa blinked her scratchy eyes open, focusing on a pair of green eyes framed by hair sticking out every which direction. “Scotty. You didn’t have to come.” Unbidden tears rushed to her eyes.
He reached out to brush away a teardrop with a gentle finger. “I’ll always be here for you, Sis. How do you feel?”
“Like I got hit by an eighteen-wheeler. But I’ll live.”
He shook his head. “Now will you listen to reason and give up on this crazy plan? Come back home and quit trying to do everything by yourself. You know if you weren’t so stubborn and independent you’d have plenty of help. I told you it was dangerous to live alone in the city.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I still believe I’ve got a chance to make a name for myself. The wedding I’m doing… Oh no! The wedding! It’s tomorrow! I mean it’s today!”
She struggled to sit up, but Scotty pushed her back on the bed.
“Don’t be stupid! You were almost killed, and you’re in the hospital. The wedding people will just have to understand.”
“No! It’s a wedding. It’s not like they can reschedule. It’s mostly finished, but I’ve got to get the flowers there. They can’t do without flowers just because my shop got broken into.”
“No, Elyssa! I’m sorry, but—”
“I’ll do it.” Jaxon’s face appeared over Scotty’s shoulder. “I mean… I don’t know what to do, but I’ll do my best. Maybe you can give me instructions. I’ll get some of the girls at the gym to help me.”
Scotty crossed his arms, glaring at Jaxon. “You need to stay out of this. It’s none of your business.”
Jaxon lifted his chin. “It’s Elyssa’s business. She has a lot of money invested in this wedding, and I’m not gonna let her lose it. Not if I can help it.”
Elyssa’s insides glowed. No wonder she’d agreed to marry Jaxon. He was her knight-in-shining-armor. She lifted her hand toward him, and he moved beside her to grip her fingers.
Scotty’s hands were on his hips. “What’s the story here, Elyssa? Last time I talked to you, you told me you couldn’t stand this guy.”
She shrugged, as her cheeks grew warm. How could she explain her engagement when she didn’t even remember it?
“Well, things have changed. Actually, I might as well tell you, we’re engaged.”
“Engaged?” Scotty's face turned an unpleasant shade of purple, his blood vessels bulging across his temples like they might explode. “How could you possibly be engaged?”
“Jaxon? Why don’t you tell him, since my memory is kind of fuzzy right now?”
Her brother’s agitated expression reminded her of that cool word. What was it? Oh, that’s right, apoplectic.
Jaxon cleared his throat. “Uhmm… well… we weren’t exactly dating as much as spending time together. You know… and… and I was… I was helping her with her flowers. And things just happen…”
“What things? What things happened with my sister? If you knocked her up, I’m gonna kill you.”
Elyssa pushed up on her elbows. "You don't control my life! It’s none of your business, Scotty. You can just stay out of it.”
Jaxon held up both hands in front of his face. “Nothing happened! We kissed—that’s all.”
“That’s right!” said Elyssa. “All we did was kiss.” That much she could remember. He’d kissed her, and it was amazing. He kissed her, and… and…
She gasped. Images flooded her mind. She remembered. She remembered everything that had happened. And everything that hadn’t happened. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled over, running down her cheeks. The entire horrifying night replayed in her mind. She sobbed, unable to catch her breath.
“Elyssa? What’s wrong?” Jaxon reached to take her hand again.
She turned her face away. "Leave me alone."
Part 19: Cutting it Short
ELYSSA CRIED for twenty minutes straight. Jaxon and Scotty fled for their lives at her words; “I don’t want men in here!”
She couldn’t purge her mind of the intruder’s grotesque face as he broke through her door. The terror of the moment returned with a vengeance. She experienced the panic she hadn’t permitted herself to feel during the crisis. Her emotions raged as she relived every moment until the time she woke in the hospital. She waited for a sense of relief. But instead, she felt raw and exposed… humiliated. Her mortification was wrapped up in Jaxon and his lie.
Why did he say we were engaged? What possible reason could he have? He regretted kissing me. I kissed him back like a slut, and he pulled away, saying it was a mistake. So, obviously he didn’t want me. Did he feel guilty for leaving before the break-in? Did he feel sorry for me because I’m alone? What was his motivation for lying about our relationship? Was it pity? Poor Elyssa with no one to love her?
A tiny seed of an idea sprouted in her mind. And it took root. And it grew. Her tears stopped. Her racing heart slowed. Her breathing relaxed. And she smiled—a devilish smile.
*****
Sparks flew in Jaxon’s head… His circuits were blown.
“Wait, wait, wait! Go back and explain again about the pennies.” He scribbled as fast as possible.
“Peonies. Pee-uh-nees. The peonies are the only arrangements I haven’t put in the vases yet. I’ll find a picture and show you how to do it. It’s simple, really. But did you get what I told you about which arrangement goes by the guest book? And which one goes on the memory table?”
Jaxon flipped back through his notes. Nothing he’d written made any sense whatsoever. “What’s a memory table?”
“That’s the table with all the pictures.”
“I thought the pictures were going on easels?”
“No, the easels are for the bridal portrait and the engagement portrait. The memory table has all the pictures of the bride and groom growing up. The arrangement with the hydrangeas goes on the memory table.”
“Can’t you just tell me by color? Like, the blue flowers go here and the pink flowers go there?” Why had he volunteered to do this? He felt like an idiot.
“But almost all the flowers are white. You just have to look at the shape… Arghhh! This is never going to work!” Elyssa aimed her gaze at her sulking brother. “Okay Scotty, here’s your chance to redeem yourself for being overbearing, interfering, and unsupportive. Get the doctor to release me so I can at least go and give Jaxon directions. You can push me around in a wheelchair.”
He pushed his lower lip so far out it looked huge. “Why don’t you let your fiancé push you around?”
“Come on, Scotty. You’re not jealous are you? You know I want you to walk me down the aisle when we get married.”
“You do?” His expression softened.
“Of course I do. I love you. Even though you drive me crazy when you’re overprotective.”
“I’m only like that because I worry about you living up here where I can’t keep an eye on you.”
Her lower lip trembled as she smiled and crooked a finger at him. “Come here, you. Give me a hug.”
He moved to obey, embracing her with gentle care, as if trying not to crush the petals of a flower. “When are you getting married, anyway?”
Jaxon hurried to explain. “We’re not in a rush. Elyssa wants a long engagement.” Abruptly aware of his dry throat, he grabbed his water bottle for a drink.
“Oh, by the way… I’ve changed my mind about that long engagement.” Elyssa smiled at Jaxon, gazi
ng up with innocent eyes through thick, dark lashes.
Jaxon’s swallow went down the wrong pipe. He choked, coughing until his eyes watered and Scotty pounded him on the back.
“What do you mean?” he rasped.
“I mean I think we should get married right away. As soon as possible. Why wait? We love each other, right? That’s all that matters. Everything else will work itself out. I think I can arrange everything in two weeks. And I’ve got a break in my schedule with enough time for a short honeymoon.”
Jaxon covered his hand with his mouth, as his stomach threatened to empty itself.
Scotty bent to put his angry face between them. “What’s the matter, Jaxon? You suddenly don’t want to get married after all? Are you backing out on my sister? While she’s still in the hospital after being attacked and almost dying?”
“No… I mean… No, of course not.”
“Scotty, leave him alone. Jaxon told me he wants to marry me, and I know he would never lie. I trust him, totally.”
“Humph! We’ll see. I told you, you better not hurt my sister.”
“Don’t pay any attention to him, Jaxon. I know you’d never hurt me. Just help me get through the wedding today, and then we can talk about the marriage details. I’m thinking we should go ring shopping on Monday.”
Jaxon heard a voice coming from his throat. “Right. Good idea.”
Part 20: Turning the Tables
“I DON’T KNOW why we even got this wheelchair,” Scotty complained. “You haven’t sat in it for five minutes the whole day. I think it was just a trick to get me to help with the wedding.”
Elyssa stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “And I really appreciate your help, Brother.”
“But you just got out of the hospital. I shouldn’t have let you do this wedding after the accident. You look awful.”
“Gee, thanks a lot. It’s not like I landed on my face, you know. Can you see the stitches in my hair or something?”
“No, but you hardly got any sleep last night, and you’ve been working all day. You look exhausted.”
“I didn’t have a choice. This wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I couldn’t cancel out on them just because of the concussion.”
“Once-in-a-lifetime? I thought you said this was a second marriage.”
“Okay, fine. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, then.” She lowered her voice. “The Carringtons are very important in this city. They have a lot of money and a lot of influence. They could make or break my business, so I have to make them happy.”
“I don’t like to see you pandering to these snotty rich people.”
“It’s not pandering. And anyway, I would’ve crawled off my deathbed to make this happen even if my clients had purchased the minimum package. I think every girl deserves the wedding of her dreams.”
Scotty pursed his lips to the side. “And what about you? Are you going to have the wedding of your dreams? Why are you rushing it all of the sudden? You barely know this guy. I don’t even know his last name.”
“McCall. Jaxon McCall.”
“So why are you rushing things.”
“Trust me Scotty, I know what I’m doing. Now shut up about it—here he comes.”
*****
Jaxon hadn’t felt this bone-tired since he ran his marathon in February. No, he was even more exhausted than when he crossed the finish line. It wasn’t just a lack of sleep and being on his feet for twelve straight hours. His brain was fried from trying to understand Elyssa’s directions about the flowers. She spoke a foreign language. And the intern she’d hired for the day turned out to be as clueless as he was, having evidently fudged on her application with the temp agency. It was a good thing he and Scotty had been there to help.
He found Elyssa and Scotty in close conference. “Hey. What now? It seems like almost everyone is gone.”
“Now we have to pack everything that belongs to me and take it back to the shop. The bride’s family paid for some of the vases, but some are mine,” Elyssa answered, somehow looking beautiful despite her obvious fatigue.
“Why don’t you sit down and rest, while I take care of it?”
“You don’t know which ones are which.” She shook her head, stretching her arms over her head, and then wincing with pain. “Ow! I keep forgetting that hurts.”
“So are you ready for this?” asked Scotty, his sweeping gaze indicating the lavishly decorated ballroom. “I still don’t approve of you getting married in two weeks. I was just telling Elyssa I think you’re rushing things.”
“You’re probably right,” Jaxon agreed, jumping on his opportunity to escape. “There’s no reason to hurry. We’ll just take things slow.”
“But… but I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.” Elyssa bit her lip, her chin trembling.
“I do. But don’t you think—”
“Did you pretend you wanted to get married just so you could kiss me? Or was it part of a big plot to steal my building?”
Sweat beaded on Jaxon’s forehead as Scotty seemed to loom over him.
“Yeah, what’s your game, Jaxon?”
“There’s no game, Scotty. I was only agreeing with what you said about rushing the wedding.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jaxon. I won’t make you marry me.” She was glorious in her anger. “It’s officially over.” She swirled, flinging her dark shiny tresses over her shoulder in a gesture of disgust.
Scotty clapped him on the shoulder, chuckling. “I think you just got dumped, but that’s much more like the sister I grew up with. Sorry about that, but it was inevitable.”
“Yeah.” He was off the hook. Why wasn’t he relieved?
*****
Elyssa had pulled it off. She’d flipped the entire engagement story around and saved face by ‘breaking-up’ with Jaxon. She felt gratified by his confused expression—he hadn’t seen it coming. She might never discover the intention behind his subterfuge, but it probably had something to do with gaining her trust so he could buy her building.
She’d really turned the tables on him when she suggested getting married in two weeks. He couldn’t hide the terror in his expression. Of course, now he was probably celebrating after his narrow escape.
“The flowers were beautiful.” Elyssa jumped at the velvety baritone voice behind her, and turned to face a pair of penetrating brown eyes on a chiseled face. “Almost as beautiful as the florist.” His lips parted in a devastating smile, revealing even white teeth.
“Oh, uhmm… thank you.” She turned her back to the tall man with the commanding presence, concentrating on the task at hand—packing up her vases.
“I don’t think we’ve been officially introduced. I’m Baron Carrington, the bride’s brother.”
“Nice to meet you Mr. Carrington.” She continued to work deliberately ignoring him.
“Baron. Call me Baron.” He lifted a lock of her hair in his fingers. “You have the most beautiful hair. So soft. So silky.”
“Thank you.” Her face grew warm, and she struggled to hide her shaking hands. “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Carrington—”
“Baron.”
“Baron… If you’ll excuse me, Baron, it’s been a very long day, and I have a lot of work to do.”
He reached around her, covering her hand with his own and pressing it to the table while he spoke in her ear. “I thought perhaps we could have a little nightcap after you’re done here. I’d like to get to know you better. And I can make it worth your while—recommend you to all my friends.”
“Take your hands off her!” Jaxon’s voice interrupted, in an aggravated tone.
He gripped Baron’s shoulder, thrusting him away. Baron’s upper lip twitched as his eyes flashed in anger. “McCall! What do you want?”
“Keep your hands off my fiancée!”
Part 21: A Cup of Coffee
JAXON HELD Carrington’s gaze without flinching, until he felt hands pushing on his chest, sho
ving him back.
“I’m not your fiancée,” said Elyssa. If it were possible to rip him into shreds with her eyes, this look would have done it.
“Yes, you are. I didn’t accept.”
“You didn’t accept what?”
“You asked to break up, and I didn’t accept.”
“I didn’t ask to break up—I told you I was breaking up.”
“McCall, it sounds like you’re out of the game. Again.” Baron laughed. “Don’t be a sore loser. You ought to be used to it by now.”
“You stay out of this!” Elyssa threw the same cutting stare Carrington’s direction, and he took a step back.
“Elyssa, please listen to me. You don’t want anything to do with this guy.”
“So that’s what this is all about, huh? Well guess what? You don’t have any say in who I date. If I want to go out with Baron, I’ll do it, with or without your permission.”
“That’s right, she doesn’t need your permission to date me.” Baron slid his arm around her shoulder.
“Stop touching me!” Elyssa flung his arm away like a dirty rag. “I didn’t say I wanted to go out with you. I just said I don’t need Jaxon’s permission.”
“Yeah, Carrington.” Jaxon moved until his face was inches away, squeezing his words between gritted teeth. “Stop. Touching. Her.”
“I believe she made it clear, she doesn’t want your interference.”
Every muscle in his body tensed, ready to spring if Carrington made a move. “Your breath stinks.”
“Then back off.” Carrington's mouth pulled into a tight-lipped smile.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Elyssa squeezed between them, pushing them apart, flinching with the effort. “Ow! That hurts! Look, I really don’t have the energy to deal with this Neanderthal chest thumping. Where’s Scotty?”
“I’m right behind you, Sis.”
“Would you please get rid of these two?”