Must-Have Husband (Summer Grooms Series)

by Baird, Ginny

  Wendell Senior wheeled into the room, and good-mornings were said all around.

  “I want to thank you all for a wonderful party last night,” Grandpa Oliver said, as their food was served. “It was quite”—he shot Mac a glance and Mac’s neck reddened—“memorable, to say the least.”

  “We all had a great time,” Elizabeth said pleasantly.

  Wendell Junior smiled at Mac. “We’d like to thank our new guest for joining us, especially.”

  “Thank you all for including me.”

  “Well, go on,” Elizabeth urged from the head of the table, “You two don’t be shy. You can hold hands.”

  Connie felt her face on fire. “Oh no, Mother, we don’t believe in—”

  “PDA,” Mac filled in.

  “What’s that?” Grandpa Wendell wondered.

  “Public displays of affection,” Ollie explained.

  “Oh gosh, Connie,” Linda taunted, taking Beau’s hand and squeezing it in hers. “For heaven’s sake, we do it all the time. Nobody cares,” she said with a shrug.

  All eyes turned to Connie and Mac as Connie nervously pursed her lips and waited.

  “Uh, yeah,” Mac said, laying his hand on top of hers on the table before patting it lightly.

  “Not like that!” Elizabeth said with a jovial laugh. “For goodness sakes, one would think you’ve never held hands before.” Elizabeth sprang from her chair and came around to where Mac and Connie sat. “There,” she said, forcing their hands together. “Isn’t that better?”

  Mac gave her a tight grin. “Much.”

  Between the coffee and the flapjacks and the soft-boiled eggs that were being passed around, there wasn’t much time for Mac to work in true confessions. He noticed Connie wasn’t very hungry this morning, sticking to black coffee and a dry piece of toast. He worried she was still upset with him over his foot-in-mouth comment about her wearing that wedding dress, and hoped to clear the air about his intentions. He couldn’t really do that before a full crowd of onlookers, though. And they were watching closely, especially Connie’s mom, he thought, taking Connie’s hand in his once again as Elizabeth shared a pleased smile.

  “So after breakfast, I was thinking you might take Mac on a tour of the vineyard,” Elizabeth said.

  Linda heaped extra flapjacks on her plate. “That’s a great idea, Mom.”

  “It is indeed,” Connie’s dad agreed.

  “Yes. Why don’t you show him around a bit,” Wendell Senior added. “Let him get the lay of the land.”

  Connie turned her eyes on his, and Mac was once more caught up in their magic. “Mac? Would you like to?”

  This seemed like a good plan. There were lots of things they had to discuss, and having a bit of privacy for a change would prove helpful. “That sounds great.”

  Connie led Mac through the rows of vines, explaining the different varieties. It was a pleasant day with a light breeze blowing over the hills and strumming its way through the grapes climbing the supports all around them.

  “You know a lot about this business,” Mac told her. “Ever consider going into it yourself?”

  Connie laughed lightly. “About as far into it I go is opening a bottle of wine. Seriously? It’s interesting to me, but it’s not the way I want to spend my life.”

  “How do you want to spend your life?”

  She looked over the landscape, growing serious a moment, then met his gaze. It occurred to Mac again that her eyes were the color of the sky as it opened up in summertime splendor above them, speckled by just a few billowy clouds. “Like I said in the car, I’m still figuring that out.”

  “But you enjoy working at the kids’ museum?”

  “Oh yeah, I love it. It’s just not… I don’t know. I’m looking for something more. Something I can feel a passion for. Do you know what I’m saying?”

  He looked deep in her eyes, and his heart skipped a beat. “I think I do.”

  “Like maybe the way you feel about your store.”

  “It’s not just a store to me,” he told her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s more like…” Hmm. How can I explain this? “More like I get to help folks develop excitement about connecting with the great outdoors. So much of people’s lives are spent inside. Inside of buildings, inside of cars or subways, just traveling from place to place, within very tight spaces. A lot of constraints, you know?”

  “I know all about constraints, believe me.”

  “Then maybe you’ll understand how liberating it can be for someone to escape all that and get back to basics. Climb a mountain, hike a trail… Paddle a canoe down a quiet stream.”

  “I’ve never thought about it like that.”

  “Sometimes it’s good to get away from it all, just to hear yourself think.”

  “What if I don’t like what I have to say when I hear myself think?”

  “Well, you’re in trouble, then,” Mac said with a laugh.

  She studied him a moment, the sunlight glinting in her hair. “The truth is, I didn’t feel calm at all out in nature. I was terrified.”

  “That’s because you didn’t know what you were doing. Or, maybe…” He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “You just needed the right guide.”

  “Oh yeah?” she asked, looking up.

  “Yeah.” He was near enough to kiss her again, and, man, didn’t he long to, but they had things to clear up first. “Connie,” he told her sincerely, “I’m really sorry I hurt your feelings last night. About the dress. I really didn’t mean to.”

  “I know you didn’t.” She hung her head with a blush. “I was being oversensitive.”

  “It’s a very tough position your family’s put you in.”

  She raised her head, meeting his eyes. “It wasn’t really them. I caused the problem myself.”

  “I don’t see how.”

  Her lips trembled as she appeared to weigh how much she should tell him. “By making myself believe I loved someone when I didn’t.”

  “Your last fiancé?”

  “All of them,” she answered quietly.

  “Then why? Why did you say yes when they asked you?”

  She searched his eyes a lingering moment. “Because maybe I thought I’d never find someone to feel that way about.” And when Mac looked in her eyes, he could see it was true. Connie Oliver was someone who hadn’t believed in love. At least not for herself. And what a shame that was too, when she was so warm and wonderful and felt just like heaven to hold.

  “What do you think now?”

  She caught her breath as he moved closer. “I’m not sure.”

  “Let me try to convince you,” he said, his mouth hovering over hers.

  “Are we still just pretending?”

  His voice grew husky as he took her in his arms. “I hope not.”

  Mac brought his mouth to hers, and Connie feared she’d died and gone to heaven. His beard was soft and silky against her chin, his moustache lightly tickling her lips as he kissed her sweetly at first, and then with a deeper passion. She’d never felt so swept away by a man, and she longed to stay in this moment forever. While kissing him on the dance floor had been grand, it had nothing on now—with just the two of them embracing in the great outdoors. Connie’s pulse beat faster as she realized she was starting to hear herself think. And when her heart talked, her head had to listen. This was no longer make-believe for her. She was falling for Mac.

  Chapter Eight

  The rest of the group lingered over coffee, discussing Mac’s pros and cons. “Well, at least he seems to care for her,” Elizabeth said. “Even if he’s not touchy-feely.”

  “I would say their kiss last night proved that different,” Beau piped in.

  Wendell Senior harrumphed. “That was quite a display. Down to his tartan-plaid boxers.”

  “At least they looked clean,” Linda added before Beau elbowed her.

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Keep your eyes on your own man.”
<
br />   “Trust me, I do,” she said with a wink.

  Ollie blew an exasperated breath. “Look, guys, I already told you. He was borrowing my suit. So it ran a bit tight.”

  “Why are you so interested in defending him?” Wendell asked.

  “I just want you to give the guy a fair shake that’s all. Connie was so upset she—”

  All eyes turned to him. “Connie was upset?” they asked collectively.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, no. Listen, the point is, she was just having second thoughts for a moment. But she got over it.” Then he added under his breath, “And she’d probably kill me if she knew I told you.”

  “But why would she have second thoughts?” his dad asked. “I thought Mac was her chosen.”

  “He is,” Ollie answered. “But still… You can’t blame Connie for getting cold feet, after all those other times.”

  “Those times the other guys left her, you mean,” Wendell added astutely.

  “Exactly.”

  “None of us wants that to happen again,” Wendell Junior said flatly.

  Elizabeth dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “No. We don’t.”

  “No, indeed,” Beau echoed. He turned toward Linda, whose eyes were as big as saucers. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

  “I want the same thing that all of you want,” she answered with a squeak. “For Connie to be happy.”

  As the breakfast dishes were cleared, they all decided they should go take a peek at the wedding dress. Nobody there besides Elizabeth had seen it, and Wendell couldn’t wait to get a look at his late wife’s gown, which brought back so many happy memories. He motioned his nurses along, who steered him into the elevator. “I’ll meet the rest of you upstairs,” he told the others, disappearing behind metal doors.

  Mac held Connie’s hand as they walked toward the main house. After an incredibly sexy kissing session in the vineyard, she’d taken him through the production part of the operation, showing him everything from the large oak casks to the automated wine bottler. It must have been something growing up around a thriving business like this one. It occurred to Mac for the first time that, in her own way, Connie had developed just as much appreciation for the land as he had. She just wasn’t as comfortable staying out in the open after dark, when there wasn’t a celebratory awning strung with festive lights hanging overhead.

  During the tour, they’d talked easily, joking with each other like old friends. Not wanting to break the spell between them, he’d put off telling her as long as he could. Now that the moment of truth was near, Mac had to face his fears.

  “Connie,” he said, stopping her when they stepped onto the back patio. “There’s something I need to tell you about the dress.”

  “Grandma Oliver’s wedding dress?” she asked, her eyes questioning. “What about it?”

  Mac hated himself for having to say it, mostly because he worried she’d despise him afterward, when everything had been going so well. “I had a little…accident.”

  Connie halted in her tracks, her face registering horror. “Okay,” she said, catching her breath. “First define little…then define accident.”

  Elizabeth pressed open the door to the gold room, then yelled in shock, “The dress! It’s ruined!”

  Ollie’s mouth dropped open. “She’s been decapitated.”

  Wendell wheeled into the room with a furor. “Who on earth could have done this?”

  “Squawk!” Gilbert said. “Holy crap! I killed her! Killed her! Killed her! Squawk!”

  Linda cupped her hand to her mouth. “He didn’t.”

  Beau rolled his eyes toward his wife. “Who didn’t?”

  “Well, hey there, buddy!” Gilbert replied. “Squawk!”

  Elizabeth shut her eyes and counted to ten. “I think I’m getting a migraine.”

  “This was Mac’s doing?” Junior asked in disbelief.

  Beau turned toward Linda. “Who else could it have been?”

  She blinked.

  “Do you know something about this, daughter?” Junior asked sternly.

  Linda’s face got all pink and puffy, like she was about to burst out crying.

  “Linda?” her mother pressed.

  “We never thought it would come to this!” she said with a wail.

  “What do you mean?” her grandpa asked.

  “He’s not even her real fiancé!” Linda’s voice cracked in despair. “He’s a fake!” She spilled the whole sordid story as the others gaped, and Elizabeth rapidly fanned her face with her hands.

  Beau peered out the window. “Look! They’re on the patio!”

  Ollie gritted his teeth and raced from the room. “I’m gonna get that guy!”

  “I’m coming too!” Junior said, tearing after him.

  Wendell wheeled himself toward the elevator as fast as he could, his nurses trailing. “Get me downstairs—quickly,” he commanded.

  Beau rushed forward just in time to catch Elizabeth, who fainted from shock.

  Ollie stormed onto the patio and socked Mac in the face before he could defend himself.

  “Wait! Stop!” Connie yelped. “What are you doing?”

  “Do you have any idea what he’s done?”

  Connie gasped. “But he said it was an accident!”

  “An accident?” Ollie rubbed his knuckles while Mac massaged his struck jaw. “Is that what he calls his little game of pretend?”

  Her knees felt weak. “What?”

  “The jig is up,” her dad said. “This man is a liar and a cheat, and he’s destroyed the one thing this family holds dear.”

  “The dress?” Connie asked in stunned disbelief. “Is it really ruined?”

  “It’s not just the dress he’s destroyed,” Grandpa Oliver said, wheeling onto the patio. “It’s this family. He’s broken our trust.”

  Mac began his apology, his face red from the neck up. “Sir, I’m so sorry. I’ll offer to pay, anyth—”

  “Can it,” Junior said flatly. “We’ll thank you to pack your bags and get out of here. You can call a cab from your room.”

  Mac looked around the patio at all of them. Even Linda and Beau were there, with Elizabeth leaning weakly against Beau’s arm. “But if you’d just let me explain—”

  Wendell Senior stared at him, indignant. “What? That you agreed to accept twenty thousand dollars in cash for your participation in this little ploy?” He wheeled toward Mac with a scowl. “Let me tell you something, mister. My granddaughter might make mistakes, but she deserves better than that.”

  “Connie?” Mac asked, his face etched with pain. “Is that what you want? For me to go?”

  She couldn’t see how his staying would make things any better. This whole thing had exploded like an enormous atom bomb, and now pieces of shrapnel were everywhere. She wanted to find her voice but felt muted by the hurt welling within her. She couldn’t get a damn thing right. Not even in make-believe with Mac. How could she have been foolish enough to dream things would work out, when everything had started with such a big lie?

  She dropped her face in her hands and wept with humiliation as he turned and walked away. “You didn’t have to be so hard on him,” she said. “I had a part in this as well.”

  “Yes,” her mom said, “a very big part, it seems. We’ll need to talk that over.”

  “Not now. Please, not now,” Connie said, her heart breaking. For the first time in her life, she’d thought she’d begun to feel something authentic for a man, but now she guessed that had been a lie too.

  Chapter Nine

  Six weeks later, Hank sunned himself on a rock while Mac stared stoically ahead.

  “I really appreciate you inviting me on this little excursion. It’s been just like camping with a corpse.”

  “You don’t know what it’s been like, losing her.” He appeared wistful a moment. “It’s just like Chance.”

  Hank lifted his head to look at him. “You mean like fate?”

  “No, my yellow lab. I lost him in the woods whe
n I was nine and never saw him again.”

  “Man, that’s heartbreaking. In fact, that’s got to be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Mac stared at him poignantly.

  “Up until now. This thing with Connie. It’s much worse.”

  Mac sighed, surveying the forest.

  Hank sat up, resting his forearms on his knees. “Have you tried calling?”

  “Dozens of times.”

  “What does she say?”

  “That some things can’t be undone, that’s what.”

  “Well, maybe she’s right.” Mac turned toward him. “You did cause quite a nasty scene with her family. Maybe you should have shot that bird.”

  “Thanks, Hank.”

  “I mean it. If that little snitch hadn’t squawked—”

  “The whole thing would have unraveled anyway.”

  Hank hated seeing his friend like this, all down and defeated. “How long do you suppose it’ll be before you snap out of it?”

  “Forever. Why?”

  “Because…” he said, drawing out the word. “Candy and I are going to a movie this weekend—”

  “Candy? You’re dating a woman named Candy? Get real.” He shot Hank a grin. “What is she? Sweet on you?”

  “Great! You’re feeling better. Being Mr. Smarty-pants.”

  Mac shook his head.

  “So you’ll join us, then?”

  “Who?”

  “Me and Candy… And her friend—”

  “No.”

  “Come on, man.”

  “No way.”

  “Just one date.”

  “Not interested.”

  “You’re going to die a bachelor if it kills you.”

  “I have wonderful news from New York!” Elizabeth proclaimed as she sat at Connie’s kitchen table. “The dress is going to live.”