The Bride Star (Civil War Brides Book 6)

by Piper Davenport

  She pulled out her iPhone and handed him headphones. Once she showed him how to put them on, she queued up Rayne’s number-one video and pressed play. She showed Sam the screen as the music started.

  * * *

  Sam couldn’t hide his shock as he stared at the vision of his beautiful Rayne, in next to no clothes, dancing on some kind of strange device. She was incredible. “What is this?”

  “It’s an iPhone. Rayne can explain it to you.” Victoria pressed a button to make the music stop and put the device back in her pocket. “Provided she forgives you, of course. But you have to understand that she’s really famous in our time and extremely successful. She’s as far removed from this world as you are from ours.”

  “So, the way she was dressed when she arrived—”

  “Is what she would wear for a concert or a video shoot,” Victoria finished.

  “Did other people see her like that?”

  Victoria sighed. “Sam, millions would have seen her that way before she found her way here. That’s kind of how we dress...well, super-hot superstars do, anyway. And she’s huge, Sam. The biggest pop star of our time. Every man wants her and many women want to be her. I know it’s tough to take, but it’s just the way it is.”

  Sam sat for several minutes, grateful the small group allowed him the silence he required. “I need to think.” Without another word, he stood and walked out the door.

  He slammed his hat on his head, disgusted with himself as he mounted his horse. She’d been telling the truth the entire time. His emotions went the gamut. They started with guilt for not believing her and then anger that she left him. More disturbing was the fact she might not want him, and after his actions the night before, he wouldn’t blame her. Perhaps the men she’d been with in the future were what she wanted. Not him.

  Sam let out a frustrated breath. He needed her. He loved her and he didn’t care how she came to him, he just wanted her. Of that he was certain. He didn’t know what he would have to do, but he was going to do whatever it took to make her forgive him. She wasn’t getting away from him so easily.

  RAYNE WOKE EARLIER than normal and was informed that she was going to learn how to ride. She dressed as slowly as she could in order to put off the lesson and found Sophie grinning like a loon in the hallway when she left her bedroom.

  “Come on, chicken. You’ll do fine.”

  Rayne sighed. “Maybe a good breakfast will help.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I have a muffin for you… you can eat it on the way to the barn.”

  “Has anyone told you that you’re mean?”

  Sophie nodded. “More than one… and all the time.”

  Rayne was surprised by how easy riding actually was. She might not be ready to jump any fences, but she was able to stay on at a canter, and the feeling was almost as good as riding her Harley.

  She was not prepared, however, to miss Sam. After lunch, she’d taken a bath and dressed in a simple day dress, but had holed up in her room for the rest of the afternoon in an effort to give herself a pep talk. The disappointment she felt knowing she wouldn’t see Sam for dinner was slightly overwhelming. A knock on her bedroom door interrupted her melancholy.

  “Rayne?”

  “Come in.” The door opened and she smiled when Sophie poked her head inside. “Hi.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yep. Great,” Rayne said a little too quickly.

  “Madame should be here soon.” Sophie smiled gently as she moved into the room and closed the door.

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Sophie chuckled as she sat in one of the chairs and patted the seat of the other one. “You miss him, don’t you?”

  “I guess I do.” Rayne sat down slowly. “I think he’s become a habit more than anything else.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Rayne nodded. “We’ve spent every day together since I got here. He’s shown me the city, taken me on picnics…” She ran a finger across the arm of the chair, “…and generally made a nuisance of himself.”

  “A nuisance? Really?”

  “Yes.” Rayne studied her fingernails.

  “Do you get along well?”

  “I suppose.” She shrugged. “Except for the part about him thinking I’m crazy and wanting to commit me to a mental hospital.”

  “Yes, there is that.” Sophie wrinkled her nose. “How about we go downstairs and wait for Madame? She may have some answers.”

  Rayne sighed and rose to her feet. “One can hope.”

  * * *

  Madame Desmarais arrived half an hour later, looking somewhat put out. “Sophie? What is the emergency?”

  Sophie stood and sighed. “I’m sorry, Madame—”

  “Rayne? Cherie, what are you doing here?” Madame asked. “You are supposed to be in D.C.”

  Rayne scowled. “I really need to go home. I was told you could tell me how.”

  “Non, non, cherie. You cannot go home. It is too dangerous.” Madame sat next to Rayne on the sofa.

  “What do you mean too dangerous? I need to go home!”

  Sophie sat in one of the chairs across from them and smiled. “Madame, please explain why Rayne is here. As you can see, she’s overwrought.”

  Madame sighed and nodded. “You will fall into the world of drugs if you are in the future.”

  Rayne snorted. “I will not. One, I don’t do drugs. Two, Shaye would never allow it.”

  Madame shook her head. “Non. You do not understand. Shaye would not be able to stop it. The Cary family is in the process of bankrolling a combined tour with you and… what is his name?”

  “Shaunessy?” Rayne provided.

  “Oui… Shaunessy. They will pay for it.”

  Rayne groaned. “So? That’s great! It means everyone gets paid, and the fans get to see a great show.”

  “Non, it is not bon. I have seen the future. You will become addicted to heroin and under their control. They are trying to corner the market on the youth vote, and if they have you and Shaunessy, they have millions of voters.”

  Rayne stood and started to pace. “Listen, lady, there is no way in hell I would ever become addicted to drugs! And certainly nothing like heroin.”

  Madame sighed. “It is not your choice.”

  Rayne whipped around to retort, but Sophie raised her hand. “Wait. Madame, please tell us everything. I’m confused, as I’m sure Rayne is, how she could become addicted to something if she doesn’t choose to try it.”

  “Pardon. You will be forced to take the drugs. I am not certain of the details, but you are taken to somewhere unfamiliar to you and made to take them.” Madame ran her finger over her ring. “Jared was the pawn in their game.”

  Sophie gasped. “The Carys will kidnap her?”

  Madame nodded. “I believe so. Jared was to take you to them… the night of the concert.”

  Rayne crossed her arms. “Why would they kidnap me? I’ve met Chase Cary… he doesn’t seem the type.”

  Sophie grimaced. “If you’ve met one of them, then they’ve had you on their radar all along.”

  “You make them sound like aliens who’ve inserted a tracking device in my neck or something.” Rayne couldn’t stop herself from rubbing the back of her neck. “What if you send me home and I make sure I beef up my security? Trevor’s a bulldog when it comes to protection.”

  Madame hissed. “Non! You must not trust anyone. How do you think Jared got to you?”

  “Okay,” Rayne ground out. “What if I go home and hide?”

  “You want to escape that bad?” Sophie raised an eyebrow. “What about Sam?”

  “I can’t stay here, Sophie,” she insisted.

  Sophie squeezed her eyes shut and then turned to Madame and smiled. “Will you be at your shop for the rest of the day?”

  “Oui.”

  Sophie sighed. “Okay. I’m going to spend some time with Rayne. Then, if she still wants this, we’ll come before you close.”

  Madame rose to her feet. “Th
ink hard about this, Rayne. You have one chance and there’s no going back.”

  Sophie stood and walked Madame out of the parlor. Rayne flopped on the couch to wait. When Sophie returned, she took the seat next to the fireplace and tucked her feet under her bottom. “There are consequences if you leave.”

  “Yeah. I go home to the life and people I love. I have to keep my guard up, but that’s not any different than usual.”

  Sophie shook her head. “No, Rayne. If you go back, you can never come back here. You’ll have to leave Sam behind.”

  Rayne shrugged.

  “You really want me to believe you’d be okay with that? That you don’t love him?”

  “But I want to go home.” Rayne bit her lip. “How can I love him and still want to go home so badly?”

  Sophie smiled. “Home’s what you’re used to. Sam’s unexpected. It’s a natural reaction. But you don’t have to make any decisions right now. You’re welcome here as long as you want to stay, and the rest will work itself out.”

  “He didn’t believe me, Sophie. He’ll always think I’m crazy. It could never work.”

  “He’ll figure it all out. He’ll feel like an idiot when he does, but he will figure it out.”

  Rayne shook her head. “No he won’t. I really screwed up, Sophie.”

  “How?”

  Rayne wiped a rogue tear from her cheek. “Because now he knows the whole truth. I wish I hadn’t told him everything.”

  “What else did you tell him that you’re so concerned about?” Sophie handed her a handkerchief.

  “I’m not a virgin.” Rayne frowned. “Guys in this century are concerned about that.”

  Sophie waved her hand dismissively. “Guys are concerned about it in any century. Men always want a maiden in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom. The difference in our century is that it’s simply accepted that women have control, but the double standard’s still there. I agree that there’s more of an expectation here that a man will marry a virgin, but if Sam loves you and you love him, I highly doubt it’s going to matter.”

  “You make it sound so black and white.” Rayne raised an eyebrow. “And so easy.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “I know. It’s my curse. Perhaps it won’t be that cut and dried, but don’t borrow trouble.” She rose to her feet. “Now, shall we freshen up for dinner?”

  “Sure.” Rayne wiped her nose and stood.

  “Good. You’ll get to meet Stephen… he’s from the nineties… talk about old-school,” Sophie joked. “You’re going to love everyone. I’m going to miss living here. I’m sad to be going.”

  “Going?” Rayne’s head whipped up. “Where are you going?”

  “Our house is almost finished.” Sophie sighed. “We’ve been building it for a year. Thanksgiving is at our place this year, so it’s a mad dash to the finish.”

  “Wow. I’d love to see it.”

  “We can go over tomorrow if you like.” Sophie led Rayne to the foyer. “It’s my absolute dream house, with indoor plumbing and everything. Ahhh, just the idea of not having to pee in a bowl is amazing.”

  Rayne grimaced. “Yes, that really does suck.”

  Sophie giggled. “Come on. Let’s get you into something gorgeous. You’ll feel better. Emma will be here later as well.”

  “You must like having her close by.”

  “I do. I miss her when she’s in D.C.” Sophie ascended the stairs. “But I suppose it would be tough to share a house with someone else on a regular basis. Even though they seem to get along well with Richard, it’s still nice to have your own space. It’ll be interesting when he marries Charity.”

  Rayne followed her. “Who’s Charity?”

  “Gwen’s best friend. She and Richard are getting married in less than a week, but she’s home until he meets her there. She lives in Maryland, and I’m afraid Richard’s having a bit of a difficult time right now because they’re separated.”

  “He’s having a difficult time?”

  Sophie nodded. “Yes. He’s miserable. Richard’s a pretty serious man, but when Charity’s here, he smiles all the time and actually cracks the occasional joke. He’ll be here for dinner, but don’t expect much in the way of conversation. He pretty much just grunts at the moment.”

  “How long have they been separated?”

  Sophie paused on the stairs, hand on the balustrade. “Richard got back from visiting her two weeks ago. He breeds and trains horses for the cavalry, and he wasn’t able to visit as long this time. Charity’s busy planning their wedding, so she needs to be home to do it. I think she’s just as miserable, to be honest.”

  The front door slammed and Rayne turned so quickly she nearly lost her footing. Sophie frowned. “What the heck is going on?”

  She rushed downstairs, Rayne hot on her heels.

  “Betty? Is everything all right?” Sophie asked one of the maids.

  “It would appear Miss Short has arrived,” she said.

  Sophie smiled. “The tornado that is Miss Short might be a better description.”

  Betty smiled.

  “She’s in the parlor?”

  Betty nodded. “Yes’m.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rayne followed Sophie into the parlor. A petite woman with sandy-blonde hair was pacing the room.

  “Charity? Is everything all right?” Sophie asked.

  Gray eyes sparkled as Charity made her way to Sophie and hugged her. “Yes. Fine. I missed Richard, so I decided to visit, but I didn’t want him to know just yet.”

  “I wondered how long it would take.” Sophie smiled. “How’d you get here?”

  Charity began to fiddle with a piece of lace on her jacket.

  “Charity?” Sophie pressed.

  Charity shrugged. “I rode the train.”

  “Alone?”

  “Shhh. Yes.”

  Sophie gasped. “Richard’s going to blow a gasket.”

  Charity frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “Right. Uh… he’s going to be extremely angry.”

  Charity clasped her hands. “Don’t tell him. I heard Emma was here. I’ll just tell him I came with her.”

  Sophie shook her head. “You can’t lie to him, Charity.”

  “I know.” She let out a deep sigh. “I just missed him horribly.”

  “Well, come upstairs and get settled. He’ll be here for dinner.” Sophie nodded toward Rayne. “By the way, this is Rayne. She’s a friend from D.C. She is the one who actually traveled with Emma.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Charity shook Rayne’s hand.

  Rayne smiled. “You, too.”

  “Rayne?” Sophie said. “Give me a minute, okay? I’ll be down in a bit.”

  Rayne made her way over to the French doors and stared out at the countryside. The beauty of it settled over her peacefully, which surprised her. Rayne was used to bright lights and crowded cities. She lived in downtown Seattle when she wasn’t on tour and rarely ventured out of her high-rise condo. Everyone knew who she was, so she had people for shopping and other errands she needed done.

  “Rayne?”

  Turning in shock, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

  Sam moved to stand in front of her but didn’t answer her question. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. When he broke the kiss, he cupped her cheek. “I am here, Miss Green, because my fiancée is here.”

  Rayne sighed. “Sam.”

  He squeezed her chin. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You do now?”

  He nodded.

  She shrugged. “I suppose it is kind of a wild story.”

  “Yes, it is.” His thumb stroked her cheek. “However, I knew you weren’t lying, I just didn’t want to believe it.”

  She moved away from his hand. “Are you still going to try to lock me up?”

  Sam lowered his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I never would have. I had a moment of—”

&nb
sp; “Insanity?” she interrupted.

  He nodded. “Yes. That’s a good word.”

  “What are you doing here, Sam?”

  Pulling her hand to his lips, he placed a lingering kiss in her palm. The annoying shiver once again stole her breath. “I came here to find you, sweetheart… and to apologize.”

  “Don’t call me sweetheart.” She tried to pull her hand from his… he wouldn’t budge.

  “What would you like me to call you then?”

  “Rayne works just fine.”

  He stroked her inner wrist with his thumb and smiled. “I want to call you something unique.”

  “Because sweetheart is so unique?”

  Sam kissed her gently, but Rayne forced herself to break contact. He smiled. “You’re right. Let’s come up with something else.”

  “Or… you could get the whole engagement idea out of your mind and not call me anything other than Rayne.”

  He leaned down and kissed her again. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Rayne couldn’t stop a sigh. “I didn’t think so.”

  “And yet, you’re still standing here,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

  Rayne raised an eyebrow. “Proof positive that I might actually be crazy.”

  “I love you.”

  “Good for you.” Pulling away, she tried to move out of his embrace. “Stop kissing me.”

  He wrapped an arm around her waist to stop her from fleeing. “I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.”

  “I noticed,” she said as she inadvertently leaned into him.

  “Will you let me court you the right way?”

  “Sam.” He kissed her again. Rayne pushed at his chest. “You need to stop doing that!”

  Sam led her to the sofa and pulled her down beside him. “Perhaps I’ll call you ‘Angel.’”

  Rayne snorted. “Which is totally not me.”

  Sam slapped his knee. “Angel it is, then.”

  She shook her head. “I won’t respond.”

  He leaned in to kiss her, mischief sparkling in his eyes, and she leaned away from him. Sam gave her his sexy half-smile. “What’s amiss?”

  Rayne sighed. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  Sam grinned. “Like what, Angel?”

  Rayne tapped his cheek and pushed him away. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”