A Small-Town Bride

by Hope Ramsay

  Reverend Weston, also wearing a wireless mic, took his place in front of the gazebo. A moment later, Daniel and his brothers, dressed in ridiculous gray monkey suits, took their places. The camera crew panned the scene, and Pearl and Ivory made their appearance from behind the Portuguese laurels. They wore short, skintight purple dresses festooned with crystals that sparked in the late-afternoon sunlight. They carried bouquets of lilacs and white roses, but they treated the aisle as if it were a catwalk.

  Once the showgirls took their places, the Shenandoah Strings struck up the traditional wedding march. Everyone rose, and Mia made her appearance. The reaction was immediate. Pam Lyndon’s mouth turned down like an unhappy bulldog’s, a number of wedding guests seated on the groom’s side of the aisle gasped, and every heterosexual male in the audience ogled.

  Dusty had no problem with see-through dresses. And this one, with its transparent bustier, would have been right at home on the Vegas Strip. He gave it high marks for displaying Mia’s rack and maybe just a hint of one nipple. Clearly Amy had not applied duct tape to this woman. Her boobs were about ready to fall out.

  No one was giving Mia away, so she came down the aisle all by her lonesome and headed right toward her groom, whose face paled as she approached. Daniel Lyndon looked as if he were attending his own execution.

  Dusty’s work here was finished. He could go get a cup of coffee and warm up in the kitchen. He didn’t have anything to do until the guests were shepherded into the Carriage House for the reception. Then he and his crew would have to take down the chairs and get them stored tonight because of the wind advisories.

  He was just turning around when he spied Amy, standing to one side with Courtney. His heart lurched in his chest. She was beautiful today with her hair pulled back, exposing her long neck. Her slim dress clung to her subtle curves, displaying her in a classy way so unlike the women in the wedding party. He longed to cross the lawn, pull her into his arms, and…

  What? Argue with her? Beg? Plead? Kiss her into submission?

  He didn’t know what. His chest clogged up with emotions that were confusing and new. It truly sucked to be dumped. He understood that now. Guess he’d learned his lesson.

  He started to turn away when a disturbance caught the corner of his eye. Someone on the groom’s side of the aisle in the third row stood up the moment the minister said those important words, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  “Mia,” the man said in a plaintive voice.

  The bride glanced over her shoulder with a frown just as the man clumsily climbed over the people in his row and came to stand in the aisle. “I love you,” he said, and Mia’s frown melted into a tiny smile.

  “What?” Dusty recognized the voice that came from behind the rows of folding chairs.

  He whipped around in time to see Amy leave Courtney’s side and come striding across the lawn. The Lyndon scowl rode her forehead, and she looked mad as hell. “Did you say you love her?” she asked again in a giant-sized voice, when she finally reached the aisle between the chairs.

  The man in the middle turned. “Oh, Amy, hi. Uh, yeah, I do love her. I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t know what love meant until I met Mia.” The guy turned and took three steps toward the bride.

  “Yeah, Grady, I guess not, because you’ve known her for what? Three days?” Amy said.

  Grady? Holy shit. That guy with the bald spot on the back of his head was the Grady, the man Amy had dumped before she dumped Dusty. Good for her. Grady looked a little squirrelly. And besides, what kind of idiot stood up in the middle of a reality TV show taping expressing his undying love to a woman he didn’t really know? Although now that Dusty thought of it, the Vegas Girls fans would probably eat this up like Thanksgiving gravy.

  “Mia,” Grady said as he reached the bride, “after what happened last Monday night, do you still want to go through with this?”

  “What happened Monday night?” Daniel asked.

  The bridesmaids gave each other guilty looks.

  Pam Lyndon stood up in the front row. “Mia, you were in Washington on Monday at your bachelorette party. What could have possibly happened on Monday?”

  The bridesmaids looked even guiltier.

  “Mia, I can give you more than he can,” Grady said, jerking his head in Daniel’s direction. “I’m way richer than he is and totally self-made. Every day I get a little more wealthy, while he’s living off his granddaddy’s money. And, baby, you already know how good I am in bed.”

  The audience gasped in unison, but Grady remained undeterred. “I’ve got tickets right here for the Seychelles, and I’ve booked one of the villas on North Island, the same place where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went on their honeymoon. Run away with me. Please.”

  Oh yeah, Dusty had recently tried that line, and it had failed. Maybe his mistake was offering Amy a road trip to Montana in an old pickup truck instead of buying her tickets to the Seychelles. On the other hand, Amy had told this asshole no. So maybe that wasn’t it at all.

  What the hell did Amy want from him anyway?

  Mia turned toward Daniel. “You never offered me a honeymoon in the Seychelles.”

  Daniel had the good sense to keep his mouth zipped while Grady launched himself into that silence. “Mia, I adore you. I love you with all my heart. Let’s be like Katharine Ross and Dustin Hoffman at the end of The Graduate.”

  Dusty had no idea what this referred to, but Mia clearly did, because her face lit up the way a bride’s should; she got all dewy-eyed. She put her hand in Grady’s and let him drag her down the aisle in the opposite direction.

  Daniel finally sprang into action and chased after them. “Wait. What about Scarlett?” he asked.

  Mia stopped, her expression thoroughly annoyed as she turned back toward Daniel. “Do you expect me to take the brat with me on a trip to the Seychelles?”

  “For chrissake, Mia, we’re filming this. Remember your image as a doting mother,” Antonella said, marching right up to the bride and getting in her face. “You can’t run off with someone other than Danny. It’s in your contract.”

  “You can take my contract and your concern for my image and shove it,” Mia said. “I’m done with this stupid show. I’ve been doing it for five years, and I’m no closer to a Hollywood contract than I was when I started. You want to exploit the fact that I started as a pole dancer. You’ve been licking your chops the whole time we’ve been in this Podunk town, working the angle about the tacky showgirl marrying the senator’s nephew. And I’m tired of it.” She turned toward Danny. “And I’m tired of your snobby family too.”

  Dusty could sure understand that point of view.

  “Get out of my sight,” Daniel said. “If you’re willing to abandon Scarlett, then I have no use for you. I don’t ever want to set eyes on you again.” Daniel seemed surprisingly calm for a dude who’d been left at the altar.

  Danny’s words bounced off Mia. “Works for me,” she said, then turned toward Grady with a cheesy smile.

  Grady chose that moment to sweep the showgirl off her feet. But since Grady probably couldn’t bench-press more than about a hundred pounds, and Mia was at least six feet tall, he managed not to appear either heroic or romantic as he toted her away.

  * * *

  Danny’s emotions spun off in nineteen different directions as Grady hauled Mia down the path. He wanted to dance for joy, sigh in relief, hug his brothers, kiss his baby, and maybe find Roxy Kopp and do the same. But the shocked gazes of the wedding guests reminded him that jilted grooms weren’t supposed to be happy.

  Plus the cameras had zoomed in on his face, and he didn’t want to give them any emotion at all. Not even shock. So he shut everything down and just stood there letting the quiet seep into him.

  The quiet didn’t last long though. Antonella got up into his face and started screaming, and when he didn’t react, she turned and vented at the bridesmaids. At which point the cameramen turned off their video equipment. It was an unwri
tten rule that the show’s producers were never to be shown on camera.

  When the camera crew left the field, the bridesmaids followed, with Antonella in hot pursuit. That left him and the wedding guests.

  Thank God for Uncle Mark, who stood up beside him and said, “Well, I guess the bar’s open.” And just like that the Eagle Hill staff, including Amy, jumped into the breach and shepherded the guests into the Carriage House, where the Bella Vista wine was sure to flow.

  He let everyone move beyond him, standing still as the reality sank home. He was free. He had Mia on tape telling him she didn’t give a crap about Scarlett.

  He turned, pursuing Antonella across the lawn. “Wait,” he called to her back.

  She stopped just short of the French doors leading to the inn’s library. “What do you want?” she asked as if she believed Danny had perpetrated this disaster.

  “I need a copy of the video you just took,” he said.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. We need to get Mia back and make her marry you.”

  “No. That’s not going to happen.” This statement came from Roxanne Kopp, who, unlike the rest of the guests, had remained behind. She came up on Danny’s right and gave Antonella a chilling look. “Mia made her choice, and that means Danny’s offer of marriage is now null and void.”

  “Who are you?” Antonella raised her chin.

  “I’m a lawyer, the daughter of a man who has argued cases before the Supreme Court. I would like to point out that Danny has a hundred and fifty witnesses who heard what Mia had to say about Scarlett, including several congressmen and a US senator. There is no way in hell he’s letting Mia have custody of that baby. And if he wavers, I’m here to see that he doesn’t do anything stupid again. No more sham weddings.” She turned and glared at him.

  He wasn’t in the least offended. In fact, he met her glare with a smile, and just like that, her glare melted. “It’s fine, Roxy,” he said. “I have no intention of going through this again. Mia chose money instead of her child. And I’m thinking that I’ve got a family overflowing with lawyers. After abandoning Scarlett and calling her a brat in front of a lot of people, I think we could nail the custody case.”

  Roxy turned back toward Antonella. “And mark my word, we’ll be subpoenaing the video within the hour. My father has already made the calls, and the papers are being drawn up as we speak. And don’t think you can destroy the tape, because, as I said, there were a hundred and fifty witnesses, and you could be subpoenaed as well.”

  “Fine,” Antonella said. “I’ll send the relevant video clip to you via e-mail.” She whirled and stomped off toward the manor house.

  Danny turned toward Roxy. The cold had definitely affected certain parts of her anatomy, and her dark silk dress with the high neckline did nothing to hide her nipples or her incredible curves. She looked hotter than Mia, even though her dress covered her up.

  “Is August really drawing up papers?”

  She nodded. “Not Dad himself, but one of his associates. They should be e-mailed to us within the hour. If Antonella drags her feet, she’s going to be surprised.”

  “So, what do you need from me?”

  “Not one thing. It’s being handled.”

  He smiled. “In that case, do you want to dance?”

  “You feel like dancing?”

  His laugh came from right out of his belly. “Hell yeah, Roxy, I feel like dancing, especially with you. In fact, dancing with you might be just the thing I need to recover from being left at the altar.”

  He took her by the hand. “Geez, you’re freezing. I’m sorry. Antonella nixed the space heaters.”

  “Don’t be sorry. About anything. I admire the way you were willing to sacrifice yourself for Scarlett. And I’m really glad that it didn’t come to that. What do you plan to do next?” she asked as they hurried across the lawn to the shelter of the Carriage House.

  “I don’t know. I have a house in LA I need to sell.”

  “You’re not going back there to live?” She stopped and looked up at him, her brown eyes full of concern and something else.

  He shook his head. “I had to come back here to realize how much I missed the rain. I’m going to move back to Virginia.”

  “But what about your career?”

  “My career is nowhere, Roxy. Career-wise, I’m a dud. But I do have an idea.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’d like to make documentaries. You know, films that bring light to problems or change the way people look at issues and solutions. I’ve never had the desire to make blockbuster films. The money’s good, but the price you have to pay is too high. I thought I wanted to make arty films, but it turns out no one ever watches those, and without an audience, I have to ask myself what I’m doing. So I’ve concluded that I’d rather have a smaller life and a bigger mission, you know?”

  She nodded, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “I do. It’s why I work for a nonprofit even though Dad had these grand ideas that I would become a litigator like him and Brandon. And…well, the truth is, I love kids. My job doesn’t pay much, and fundraising can be so frustrating and difficult sometimes, but the money I raise means a lot to the parents of children with challenges.”

  “I already figured out that you loved kids, Roxy.”

  As if on cue, Mom turned up at Danny’s elbow with Scarlett in her arms. The baby wore an outrageously expensive dress with frills and lace and embroidery. She sure looked like the prettiest girl in the room, except for maybe Roxanne.

  “Are you okay?” Mom asked, her gaze flicking from him to Roxy and back again.

  “I’m fine. I’m perfect. In fact, I think we should party until dawn.” He reached out for his daughter, who came into his arms with a big hug and a kiss.

  He glanced at Roxy. “About that dance. Would you mind if we made it a threesome?”

  She grinned. “Absolutely not.”

  And with that, Danny and his daughter and Roxanne Kopp got out on the dance floor and kicked off the party.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The wedding guests took Uncle Mark up on his offer and were now getting buzzed on copious quantities of Bella Vista Vineyards wine while enjoying a parade of circus acts who juggled, ate fire, and performed acrobatics for them. Everyone wanted to dance at Danny’s non-wedding. It became a huge frigging celebration the moment the Vegas Girls camera crew and cast left the scene.

  But when Amy’s brother Edward sought her out and asked if she was okay—as if she’d been the one left at the altar—she got right up in his face and said, “You should be thanking me. If I hadn’t dumped Grady, Danny would be married to Mia now. I’m the hero of this story.”

  “Amy, everyone in the family realizes they made a mistake. We’re all worried that you’re not dancing.”

  “I’m not dancing because I’m working,” she said.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

  Right. “Tell everyone I’m fine,” she said in a flat voice before turning her back on him and hurrying through the door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY at the back of the banquet hall. She didn’t have anything to do back here in the workroom. In fact, Courtney had told her to join the party some time ago. But Amy didn’t feel like it.

  Dusty would be gone in a few days, and she missed him already. She missed being in his arms. Being in his bed. Being by his side. They fit together so right that she’d been fooled into believing that he might be her true love.

  Silly mistake.

  She left the workroom via the back door and followed the footpath around to the Carriage House patio. The cold seeped through her dress, despite the propane heaters that had been brought out and scattered around the terrace. With the wind still whipping, none of the non-wedding guests wanted to brave the elements, so she stood there alone staring out at the gazebo. The west lawn was empty now. Dusty and his crew had broken down the setup a long time ago.

  She’d watched them through the French doors, morbidly thinking that this would be her last glimpse o
f Dusty McNeil. Once, right before the final chair was loaded onto a trolley, he’d gazed up at the Carriage House, almost as if he’d known she’d been watching. Had he seen her by the French doors? Probably not, but her heart skipped a beat, and it took a lot of willpower not to open the door and rush into his arms.

  She wished she could convince him to stay.

  She wished she could convince herself to go.

  But neither of those options seemed right. She couldn’t go with him unless he loved her and understood that she wanted a partnership in which her thoughts, feelings, and ideas were valued. She let go of a giant sigh.

  “That sounded practically mournful.”

  Amy recognized the voice. She turned to discover that her cousin Jeff had snuck up on her. He loomed over her, tall and thin, holding a glass of champagne. When it came to money, Jeff sat on top of the family heap, but you’d never guess that he had billions in the bank by his rumpled, off-the-rack suit or his long, shaggy hair and scruffy beard.

  “Oh, hi, Jeff. Are you having fun?” she asked.

  He gave her a pointed look that missed nothing. As a one-time investigative journalist, Jeff had a way of cutting through the bull. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s always a gas to hang out with Dad’s family. The drama never fails to entertain.”

  “You know we love you, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I know. But I can spend a maximum of three minutes in Aunt Pam’s presence before I’m ready to explode.”

  She nodded. “I know the feeling.”

  “So, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  She lifted her eyebrow. “Please do not ask me how I’m feeling about Grady Carson, okay? I was not the one left at the altar.”

  The corner of his mouth curled. “Have people really asked you that?”

  “My brother. Aunt Julie. Uncle Charles.” She sighed. “I don’t know why everyone thought I loved Grady Carson. After all, I told him no in front of the whole family. Apparently everyone is hard of hearing.”

  “Rest easy. I’m not here to talk about Grady. I’m here to talk about Dusty. Willow told me that you and he have become…friends.”