Illegally Wedded

by Jennifer Griffith

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “I’m saying that it’s time to stop pretending we’re not completely right for each other and start in on the business of solidifying our commitment.”

  “I won’t argue with that business arrangement.” He had Piper by the hand and was tugging her toward the exit. She pulled the microphone from the TV station off her back, leaving little trails of wires and electronics as she broke into a jog to keep up with Zach.

  “You don’t know how I’ve begged the heavens to be able to hear you say those words, Piper.” They didn’t wait for an elevator. They took the stairs, two at a time down toward the lobby. At the twin palm trees in front of the building’s entrance, Zach stopped and turned. He caught Piper up in his arms, kissing her until her breath was gone. “I’m crazy about you, you know that?”

  He pulled her toward his car, and they got in. Piper didn’t know where he would take her, as long as he took her, she was happy—much happier than she’d ever been. And far happier than she could have been with any other man she’d ever met. This was right. This was real. Zach Travis was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a husband—times a thousand.

  “Zach,” she said, her voice low. “Is it crazy of me right back to say that I’d like us to have a baby right away?”

  Zach kept looking over at her, touching her hand, running his fingers down her arm. Each touch made tingles and trembles in her stomach. She loved him so much, and thanks to everything he’d done for her, he could be hers, and she could be his—forever.

  “That can be arranged.”

  They arrived at the harbor, and he led her onto the deck of a yacht. “It belongs to a friend of a friend at the firm.”

  “Let me help you with that.” Piper reached up and helped Zach loosen his lawyer tie. Beneath it, she unbuttoned his collar, tugging it away and exposing his neck. On tiptoe she pressed her lips against his skin, breathing his scent, aching for his touch, for the promise of what they’d been dancing around for weeks, ever since they stood before Father Ryan and made their solemn vows to give themselves to one another, and only one another, weeks ago—eternal weeks.

  She kissed him once again, slowly, and with clear intent.

  Beneath them, the boat rose and fell with the waves of the harbor. Piper let Zach trail kisses down her chin and neck. Memories of soaring above the waves in Puerto Rico flashed into her mind—as well as the kisses in the waves that had made her ache to be Zach’s wife indeed. They’d been interrupted then.

  They wouldn’t be now. And now, it meant everything—no ending, no leaving, just Piper as Zach’s, and Zach as Piper’s, forever.

  The sun shone, the seabirds called, the water rocked them as their kisses progressed.

  He led her toward the stairs to the cabin below. At the bottom of the stairs, he turned. Zach cupped Piper’s face in his hands. “My wife,” he whispered.

  “My husband,” she said. “You saved me, Zach.”

  “No, Piper. You saved me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The late summer sun baked San Antonio on the hot Saturday morning, and Piper Travis prayed she could keep herself steady for the duration of all the day’s events.

  It wasn’t every day that six national cuisine magazines showed up at a girl’s restaurant to name her the year’s Top Young Chef in America. When she loitered at the farmer’s market, dithering over what to make, nothing sounded good.

  That was strange. Usually every recipe she could think of sounded delicious.

  From inside her tote purse, Teacup yapped. She reached inside and pulled out the dog, hugging her to her heart. “There, sweetie. I bet you’re too hot in there and it woke you up.” She poured half the contents of a water bottle into a dish she brought along and let Teacup get a drink.

  “There you are.” Up walked Zach. His smile was like a fresh drink of water for her own parched soul. Ever since he’d made partner, he’d been off work Saturday mornings, and they usually slept in. Well, not slept, but stayed in bed late together, and then he went to work on the Firebird with his dad. It was nearly done now, including the upholstery Piper had contributed to the project over a couple of weekends. Even better, the restoration of the Double Bar T was underway as well.

  Not this morning, though. Not on a big day like today.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” he said. “What are you making for lunch today? Although, don’t you think it’s strange they’re having you cook for your own crowning ceremony?”

  “It’s not a crown.” And no, she’d been the one who had offered to cook. But that had been before she’d felt so wiped out and unenthusiastic. Something was wrong with her today, but she’d have to push through it. “What do you think of Beef Wellington?”

  “Uh, do you actually have time to make that? It’s already past nine.”

  Oh, right. That was too labor intensive. Piper just blinked at all the vegetables in dismay.

  “Hey, I know. Tacos.”

  “But I already made them tacos.”

  “Not fish tacos.”

  Fish! Fish was a terrible idea. In fact, the thought of fish made her want to throw up.

  “Okay, okay. No fish tacos, then. Hey, Piper. Are you all right?”

  She didn’t know.

  “Have you served jalapeño corn at Du Jour yet?”

  Hey, now that was an idea. “I haven’t. I can pair it with garlic chicken and greens.”

  There. That did sound good. What would she do without Zach? She’d known he was great, but he was swiftly becoming her everything. Even the restaurant was becoming less prominent in her mind as she delved into the joys of home life in their sweet little cottage every day. And night.

  “Would you like to help me prep this morning, Mr. Travis?”

  “I would, Mrs. Travis. For a price.”

  She knew the price. And she was happy to pay it.

  Two hours later, there was enough spicy, creamy corn to feed the crowd scheduled for the event. However, it wouldn’t only be Mitzi and Steve and his fancy pants editor-buddies from the food magazines; they’d also invited in a whole slew of other people.

  Garrett was bringing a date, a really cute college student who appreciated wait staff and tipped well; Cora and some of the other staff at CBH would be there, including several partners; Birdie, of course, was coming and bringing her good camera; Zach’s family was coming, and Piper had given Libby permission to bring her Maltese, Frenchilee, so Teacup could have a play date afterward; and her parents were going to be there virtually, by video chat. Most touching of all were her biggest champions: Mitzi’s parents. Steve LaPray had also invited the local press, and not one of them had RSVP’ed in the negative. All in all, Piper expected to feed a crowd of eighty for lunch.

  Sure, the numbers weren’t anything like her usual stream of daily customers. So why was Piper so wiped out at the thought of it?

  “You all right in here?” Mitzi floated into the kitchen from the front dining area, Steve attached to her hand. He looked smitten. Piper wondered when he was going to propose. “We’re starting to get a few early birds out front.”

  “Getting close,” Zach said.

  “Well, I already knew that.” Mitzi giggled, and Zach dropped his hand from Piper’s hip for a second before putting it back. “Fine, lovebirds. At least I can sympathize.” She put a kiss on Steve’s cheek, and he colored. “It’s so nice knowing that witch won’t be showing up. Valentine, was it? Every time I heard footsteps in the alley for weeks, I jumped, thinking it was her with a SWAT team. A little Valentine went a long way.”

  No kidding. “We have Zach to thank for that.”

  “We have the whole power of the Crockett, Bowie, and Houston law firm to thank for that,” Zach said. “They leaned on the right agencies to expedite Piper’s return—and Valentine’s exit from the case.”

  When Zach showed Valentine’s boss the evidence of the collusion between Nicole Valentine and vengeance-bent Mike,
she’d been transferred to a different division. Mike’s fate, she didn’t know, but his social media account had him living in Pittsburg now. Poor guy. He hated cold weather. But Piper slept more soundly at night now that he was thousands of miles away.

  Steve LaPray took a deep whiff of the contents of the pots. “It smells like heaven. Is that—? That’s the jalapeno corn that won you the prize in Chile, isn’t it? I’ve been dying to taste it.” He had? Steve LaPray liked her cooking. Piper might never be able to wrap her head around that. Not only that, he liked it enough to make today’s event happen. “I told you we would cook for today. If you want, I can at least serve it.”

  Piper exhaled. She’d accept that help. “Thanks. That would be great.” All she could think about was sitting down.

  “You seem wiped out, hon,” Zach whispered as she hung up her apron. “Are you all right?”

  “It’s just the build-up to today. I must have felt it more than I realized.”

  Zach took her in his arms. “After this, what do you say I’m at your beck and call for the day, and you can just rest? Put your feet up. Wear your crown, princess. You deserve it.”

  Piper nodded and braced herself to greet the crowd.

  There was Birdie, hugging her. On her phone, she showed that she’d received a personal email from Neil Diamond, thanking her for attending his concert. Piper fawned over it for a moment. Then Birdie gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “You look drawn, dear. Sit down.”

  But Piper couldn’t sit. She had guests—Zach’s family, who embraced her like they never wanted to let her go.

  “You need to come out to the Double Bar T tomorrow after church,” Libby said. “Mom is making fried chicken. It’s better than the grocery store stuff.”

  Zach had told Piper all about the insurance payout, and that his dad had finally let go of his hang-ups and was working toward repairing the place, which meant that everyone was doing a lot better psychologically.

  “I’d love to. I bet she makes good fried chicken.”

  “The best. I mean, I didn’t want to say anything when you got us that stuff from the grocery store deli, but it was nothing like my mom can make.” Libby thought a minute. “But maybe it was a good thing you did get it for her, because she complained a lot and said she could make it better—and then she did. It’d been a while.” Libby hugged Piper. “Frenchilee couldn’t come today. She had to go to the groomer. So bring Teacup tomorrow.” Piper wouldn’t forget.

  Cora came up. “I read about your ex-boyfriend on the news, that MMA fighter.”

  “Chad was on the news?”

  “I mean, well, I read the side-niche news. My brother does some MMA fights, too, so I keep up. There was quite the scandal when Wolfgang, Floyd’s publicist, tried to poison Trager, the manager, over him.”

  What!

  “Catty women can have strong vengeance. I mean,” Cora went on, “I always suspected he was playing both Trager and Wolfgang, but I figured they both knew it and were playing along. Seems like Wolfgang let her heart get tied up in it. Aren’t you glad to be out of such a tawdry scene as that?”

  “I, uh, I don’t think I was ever actually in that scene.” Piper frowned. “To be honest, I didn’t realize how much he was into it. Not until after we’d broken up. He kind of went his separate way. But now that I think about it, he probably was dating both those women all along. He did talk about them an awful lot.”

  “And you put up with it?”

  “Not exactly.” Piper hadn’t even known they were women. Anyway, good riddance. “I wish him the best in everything. He’s not a terrible person. He’s just not right for me.”

  Zach was. She let her eyes stray to where he was shaking hands with Mr. Crockett, his former boss, who had flown back to the States to see family for the weekend and asked if he and his wife could attend. Of course they could! Without the added oomph from the Chilean national cooking award, Piper didn’t know whether her case would have been made to the immigration judge that she deserved exceptional person status. She owed Mrs. Crockett a debt of gratitude.

  She owed all these people.

  Plates started coming out of the kitchen, two on each arm, via Mitzi and Steve. Garrett and his girlfriend jumped up to help. Piper and Zach seated themselves at the far side of the café, and Piper watched in awe as the people at each table started eating, stopped talking and just savored the bites.

  Murmurs rose of happy enjoyment. She really should come out here more often and observe, rather than staying in the kitchen the whole shift every day. It was a satisfying sight.

  “Now, ladies and gentlemen,” Steve said, once everyone had been served. “We’re here to present a long-delayed but well-deserved award. I could go on and on, but the chef needs no introduction to justify your presence here beyond the meal you just devoured.” Steve pointed at an editor from Cuisine Magazine. “I saw you lick your fingers, Hal. I’m looking at you.”

  Everyone laughed. Piper reddened, and rose to receive her award. It was a glass version of a wire whisk, intricate and delicate and impractical, all while being beautiful and comical at once.

  “Thank you, everyone.” Piper stood, feeling a little dizzy, and she rested her hand on the back of a chair to keep the world from spinning. “I’m grateful beyond words to Mr. LaPray, and to all of you for selecting me.” Camera bulbs flashed. Reporters scribbled, while others held out recording devices or phones to capture audio. “Du Jour would never have happened without the hard work of my business partner Mitzi—and her parents, whose timely capital investment kept us afloat and allowed us to grow. I never wanted to let them down.” Mitzi’s curly-haired parents both clapped and whistled from their nook in the corner. “Friends, family, I thank you. But most of all, I thank my husband and best friend, Zach. Without him and his help, I’d be in a faraway place, and probably just wishing I could be with him, wherever he was.”

  Piper reached a hand toward him, and he came and embraced her. The crowd applauded, and the cameras flashed. Piper exhaled, thinking only how much she wanted to lie down, and not go face a mountain of dishes at this point.

  “Congratulations,” cried a few guests. And then Birdie’s voice sailed over all of them.

  “Oh, my goodness. Now I know what’s wrong with her. She’s pregnant!”

  Zach looked into Piper’s eyes, earnest, hopeful. Piper gripped the chair, and then him. Suddenly it all made sense—the tiredness, the lack of enthusiasm, the desire to never look at food. Slowly, she nodded, and Zach blinked about fifteen times. Then he turned to everyone there, and gave a nod.

  Cheers rose, these twice as loud as for the cooking award. They were followed by pats on the back and a few bits of unsolicited advice that Piper let float past her ears. She confirmed it to her parents on the video chat, and they squealed with delight, as did Mayor Ebbles and his clan.

  Despite the hubbub, all Piper could think of was how much her life would change—how she’d have to get Mitzi and Steve to take over the restaurant, at least for a few months or years; how she’d get to hold a little one in her arms, one of her and Zach’s very own; how Zach would be such a doting father; how this child and all the children to come would have a great childhood playing at their grandparents’ ranch; and how if Libby loved the puppies that much, how much more she’d fawn over the niece or nephew that was about to come into her life.

  “I’m going to be a grandfather!” Zach’s dad said, coming up and patting him hard on the back. “Well, I’d better get after building a swing set, don’t you think, if I’m going to be a grandpa? The Firebird will have to wait, but that’s just a hobby, you know.” He turned to Zach’s mom. “What do you think, sweetheart? Fire engine red for the swing set? It’ll be our inside joke, you know, because of the fire.”

  He started looking up swing set building plans on his phone, and he and Zach’s mom filtered away.

  Life was good being Zach’s wife. And it was bound to get better.

  “Hon?” she said, softly int
o his ear. “Let’s make sure we get an official birth certificate reading the country where our baby is born. Save the child a lot of trouble in the future.”

  “Not where the baby was conceived? In New Zealand?”

  Piper’s head popped up. “Zach. Shhh.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Zach took her in his arms and pressed her to him. “Everyone here knows how it happened—and they’re happy for us.”

  “Even you?”

  “Especially me. Thank you for coming back to me, Piper.”

  “I didn’t have any choice, Zach. A girl needs a heart to live, and you had mine captive.”

  Their kiss filled the whole restaurant—the dining room, the kitchen, and then it encompassed the city block, and then the Riverwalk, and the city, and the state, and the universe. She sank into him, and together they floated into the ether of their love.

  Illegally wedding Zach was the best terrible decision she’d ever made.

  ∞∞∞

  Craving more clean romance with swoon-worthy kisses and a legal twist? Check out Mergers & Acquisitions, Jillian and Aero’s lawyer romance, book 3 in the Legally in Love Series.

  When Hollywood lawyer Jillian stumbles across a lost masterpiece and starts a new career, she also stumbles across Aero, the attractive man trying to ruin her business.

  Keep scrolling to read all of chapter one!

  If you enjoyed Illegally Wedded, please do leave a review. It’s the best way to show thanks to an author for his or her efforts.

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  The Legally in Love Series includes these books. They can be read in any order.