by Tina Leonard
“All right, then. Now that you know that truth, that’s half the battle.” Sam snapped his fingers. “All you have to do now is march yourself inside, tell them you took leave of your senses, and that there’s no way in hell you’re going to horn in on the big day that Daisy planned and worked so hard on.”
Easier said than done.
Chapter Fifteen
“What?” John stared at Sam. “I’m not going to do that!”
“You have no idea how hard Daisy has worked on her conversion. Her rebirth in this town,” Sam said sternly. “Don’t be selfish, dude.”
“Selfish?” John was agog. “I’m trying to give her her big day!”
“Tomorrow is her big day. She planned it, she set it in motion. She’s taking on the crown of Madame Matchmaker. This isn’t about you. This is about her.”
There was some twisted logic going on, and John wasn’t sure what his buddy was trying to do to him. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that Sam always, always had another level in his game, sometimes just to watch people spin themselves into knots.
“I’m not going to be talked out of this,” John said quietly.
“That’s your pride talking. You only want to race because those five troublemakers razzed you about it. You’re still embarrassed about that cramp. Let it go, is my advice.”
He couldn’t. He couldn’t let Daisy go. Sure, he had her—they were married—but every woman deserved to have her heart won. Every man wanted to know that his woman’s heart belonged to him totally until the end of time. And Daisy was a daughter of Bridesmaids Creek. The magic that flowed here—or even if it was just superstition—flowed in her, too.
He thought about the ledger sealing itself shut when he’d tried to read further. Despite Cosette and Jane letting him into the secrets of BC, BC itself hadn’t yet accepted him as one of its own. He had to win Bridesmaids Creek’s daughter’s heart—Daisy’s—if he ever truly wanted to belong in Bridesmaids Creek, so that Daisy would know he’d given every last inch of everything he had to win her.
That was how fairy tales worked.
“What is this, a secret SEAL gathering?” Cosette and Jane appeared in their midst. “If you’re done saying your piece, Sam, I’ll take a turn at fricasseeing him.”
“I’m not sure anything I’m saying is getting through his thick skull.”
“It is thicker than normal,” Jane observed. “John, what are you thinking?” She held up a hand. “Never mind. I know what you’re thinking. You’re outrunning ghosts.”
“It’s not possible to outrun ghosts, Jane, if there were such a thing as ghosts.” John regretted that statement the moment it came out of his mouth. Both the women gasped and Sam shook his head at him.
“I mean, I know there are ghosts and spirits and things,” he said, trying to dig himself out. “What I’m trying to say is that this isn’t a ghost issue.”
“Because you’re not trying to outrun yours or anything.” Cosette stood on tiptoe to peer into his eyes for a second, then settled back on her feet.
“Were you trying to look into my soul?” John demanded.
“I was checking to see if the secret sauce Sam’s been pouring you is addling your brain,” Cosette shot back.
“For someone who doesn’t think they’re affected by ghosts, you sure do seem antsy,” Sam observed. “Good grief.”
John sighed. “If you came out here to talk me out of competing tomorrow, you’re wasting your time and might as well be back inside eating cake.”
“You didn’t buy any wedding cake,” Jane observed. “Lucky for you, I brought a beauty. Betty Harper and Cosette helped me with it, and it’s my finest masterpiece. In fact, Daisy told us to tell you to get a move on and help her cut it. She wants to stuff some cake into your face—er, your piehole.”
“She’s unhappy with me,” John said.
“What do you think? You’re horning in on her big day,” Sam said, scoffing. “It’s supposed to be about her, her big moment the only way she can have it. You’re turning it into a day that’s all about you.”
“Nuts,” John said. “When you say it like that, I actually hear the voice of reason. Lucky for you, I’m pretty deaf.”
“So stubborn,” Cosette whispered to Jane, loud enough for John to hear. “Listen, as head matchmaker in this one-stoplight town—”
“Two. I think we’re getting another one,” Jane said, “although one never knows how these rumors get started.”
“As head matchmaker,” Cosette continued, “I’m going to make an educated guess and tell you that you’re only doing this because Robert’s generous gift freaked you out.”
“I don’t want his money,” John said. “Put your mind at ease on that. I’m well aware that he’s doing everything for Daisy.”
“You don’t have to deserve it,” Jane said, “or live up to Robert’s success in any way.”
“Not that you could,” Sam said helpfully. “It makes me laugh just to imagine you living in this heap.”
Daisy’s home was hardly a heap. John wondered if his friends were deliberately trying to bounce on his nerves and get a rise out of him. “I’m not trying to prove myself to anyone. Except Daisy. Which is why I’m participating tomorrow, and nothing you can say will change my mind. But thanks for caring.” He hugged the ladies, gave Sam a swat on the shoulder. “I’m off to help my bride cut the cake.”
“Be careful,” Sam called after him. “Daisy’s got great aim.”
She did at that. John grinned, and walked faster. If his bride wanted to feed him cake from her dainty fingertips, he couldn’t get there soon enough.
And tomorrow, after he’d won her by all measurements that mattered in Bridesmaids Creek, she was going to experience the magic she’d always wanted.
He understood about needing to fit in. He really did.
* * *
“JOHN,” DAISY SAID that night when he crawled up next to her on a divan he aligned by her chaise, “I’m going to give you some sleeping pills tonight so you can’t race tomorrow.”
He laughed, wrapped his arms carefully around her. She was big as a moose, and felt like it, too, but somehow, John always made her feel delicate, desirable. “Even sleeping pills wouldn’t keep me from my goal, gorgeous.”
She rolled to look at him, moving like a floundering hippopotamus. “I don’t want you to do this.”
He seemed to decide he was more interested in her lips than in what they were saying. The kisses he suddenly stroked across her mouth made her brain scatter its thoughts.
“John!” She gave him a tiny push backward so she could gaze up into his eyes, even though all she really wanted was him kissing her. But this was important. “Don’t let my gang goad you into this.”
“I should have done it a long time ago.” He picked up her hand, kissing it as if she was some kind of princess. He made her feel like a princess. “You deserve all the magic in the world, Daze.”
Her breath caught. “You know I love you, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” He grinned. “How could you not love a rascal like me?”
“I do love you, and you don’t have to win me. Or whatever it is you think you’re doing tomorrow.”
“I’m winning you. There’s no thinking about it.” John gazed down at her with eyes that said he found her very sexy. “And, Mrs. Mathison, you’re going to like being won.”
Her breath caught again, and Daisy told herself to breathe, to tell John why him going on the creek swim was such a bad idea. He didn’t understand the ways of BC.
But it was oh, so tempting. What woman didn’t want to be won by a handsome, god-bodied hunk of a man? “The thing is, I’m already yours.”
“That’s bothering me a bit. I’m not sure I trust Sam’s certificate of authenticity.”
“What do you mean?”
“He says he got this online power of marriage thingy, but it’s Sam we’re talking about. Do we know for sure?”
Daisy hesitated. “That’s a terrible thing to say about your brother. He wouldn’t let us go around thinking we were legally married. I’m having children soon. He’ll be a godfather.” She looked at him, ran a hand over his strong chest. “Go back to kissing me. You need to get your mind off of crazy stuff.”
“It’s not crazy if we’re talking about Sam.”
“Okay, well, then, this need you have to justify your racing tomorrow...” She looked up at him, stroked his lip with her finger. “I don’t care about that stupid leg cramp.”
He caught her hands in his. “You don’t think I can win, do you, buttercup?”
“I’m telling you that I don’t care if you do.”
“Oh, you care. This is Bridesmaids Creek, so you most definitely care. Besides which, women with fathers who pass out real estate in dream locations think highly of themselves. They want to be won.” He kissed her nose. “In your case, you deserve to be wooed and won.” He worked his way from the tip of her nose to her lips, giving her a kiss that made her heart race. “Besides which, beautiful, you can’t tell me BC doesn’t care about this. Jane and Cosette said that once word got out that the SEAL who cramped up before was having another shot at it, ticket sales went crazy.”
Daisy sighed. Pulled back a little. “This is all about your ego.”
“No, this is about my beautiful wife.” He kissed her shoulder, and Daisy fought the urge to wriggle closer to his wonderfully roving mouth. “I want you, Daisy Donovan Mathison. I intend to have you forever.”
He certainly didn’t seem to notice that her belly was shaped like three basketballs were rolling around inside her. “It will all be nothing,” she said airily. “I won’t be there to see.”
“You’re not supposed to leave this bed, anyway. Unless I carry you out into the garden room.” He kissed her again, stealing her breath.
“Oh, John, would you mind? Could you?”
He laughed. “Of course I can. You’re light as a feather.”
She was not light as a feather, unless the feather was glued to a two hundred pound weight. “You’re trying to romance me into giving in. But I really don’t want you to compete against my guys.”
He carefully picked her up, carried her to the garden room she loved so much. “Their tiny little egos will still be fine after I spank them soundly. I have no idea what women you’d find to be the prizes, but I’m sure you found some real honeys.”
Daisy looked out the window, marveling at each change in the fall-blooming landscape. “It’s so beautiful. This is my favorite room in the house.”
“I know. If you look out in the garden near that awesome statue of the naked lady—”
“John,” Daisy said, laughing.
“Can you see it?”
She leaned forward, peering outside eagerly. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s right. Because there’s nothing there. Yet.” He grinned, and her heart did a funny little flip.
“Yet?”
“That’s right.” He pulled out a long white scroll with a gold bow wrapped around it, handing it to her with a flourish. “But there will be something in the garden very soon, if you accept my wedding gift.”
“Do I unwrap this?” She could hardly wait to see what he was up to.
“Go. Just remember it’s only a gift, it’s not set in stone. It’s something I’m hoping we can do together.”
“I can’t wait to see.” She ripped off the bow and unwrapped the scroll. “Oh, John! A waterfall!”
He leaned close. “Obviously these are just some initial plans. Your father thought we might take out the statue out there, despite her lovely nakedness, and put the waterfall there.” He grinned, pleased with his surprise. “You see I stayed within the keeping of the Bridesmaids Creek theme with the water element. And I thought we could christen the waterfall with some creek water for the effects only Bridesmaids Creek seems to have.”
She laughed. “I love it. Thank you so much. It’s a wonderful wedding gift.”
He kissed her. “You’re the wonderful wedding gift, Daisy. I waited a long time to have you, and it was definitely worth the wait.”
“So you’re okay with Dad’s present?” She looked at him, trying to read his expression.
“At first I was startled. Any man would be,” he said. “But then I realized I didn’t care what came with the package, because all I wanted was the package, anyway.” He kissed her shoulder again, just the way she longed for him to do.
She smiled. “I’m the happiest woman on the planet. I really believe I am.”
“Good.” He stood. “I have to carry you back into the other room now. I was under strict orders from your nurse to bring you in here, give you your gift and get you back to your command center.”
“Oh.” Her face fell a bit. She glanced back toward the beautiful garden. She’d missed getting to see this during the time she’d been bed bound. “Thank you, John. It means so much to me that you brought me out here.”
“I know, babe.” He scooped her up as if she was no heavier than a bag of marshmallows. “You like looking at that naked lady out there, don’t lie.”
She laughed. “That naked lady happens to be a lovely rendering of the goddess Diana.”
“I’d rather have a lovely rendering of you in my garden, but then I’d never get any work done.” He laid her carefully on the sofa bed again. “However, I get to have you in my bed every night, so that’s even better.”
She smiled up at him. “Me and three little babies very soon.”
“Not too soon. Let’s not be jumping the gun, little lady. Whew, one of us needs to bulk up a bit.” He flexed the muscles in his arms, winking. “These big strong guns you see before you are going to get me to the finish line tomorrow way ahead of the other combatants.”
“John,” Daisy said, “sit down here a moment.”
He sat next to her. “One day, babe, you’re going to invite me to your bed for a whole other reason besides idle chitchat.”
“This isn’t idle chitchat.” She tried not to think about how much she’d enjoyed the many times she’d been in a bed, or anywhere for that matter, with John. “This is absolutely serious. You can’t race tomorrow.”
“Don’t you worry, beautiful.” He leaned back against the sofa, his grin confident. “You’re going to have your big day.”
Daisy took a deep breath. “It already is my big day, because I set everything up. Not to underappreciate what you’re trying to do for me—it’s very sweet and romantic—but you really shouldn’t. And saying that Sam probably didn’t legally marry us is just you trying too hard to give me what you think I want. What I want I already have.” She put a hand on her stomach. “I have you, and my babies. What else is there? That’s magic enough for me, darling.”
He put his hand over hers as it rested on her belly. “Once the babies are born, I want a wedding where you and I are married in front of our friends, your father gives you away, and my family rolls into town to throw birdseed at us.”
Who would have ever thought John would be such a traditional guy? She loved him all the more for it. “Even if you win tomorrow—”
“When I win tomorrow.”
“Nothing changes, John,” she continued, desperate to make him see. “You and I are already married.”
“Yeah, but Cisco raced for Suz after they were already married. You have to admit that was well-played. Did wonders for their marriage.”
Suz and Cisco were two of the happiest people she knew. “But it’s different this time. If you don’t win, everyone will always question whether we were meant to be.”
“
I won’t. I know we are.”
She had to love a man who had so much confidence it seemed to rub off on her, too. Daisy reminded herself to keep to her mission, and not focus on his long, lean body. “John, as a matchmaker’s apprentice, my reputation as a matchmaker must be absolute.”
“Meaning?”
She thought his eyelids were starting to drift lower now that he’d gotten comfy on her bed. His hunky body had relaxed into languid, sexy lines that had her gulping a little. “Meaning that if you don’t win, I’ll look like a matchmaker who can’t handle her own match. You saw what’s happened to Cosette and Phillipe now that they’ve gotten divorced.”
His eyes popped open. “The ol’ magic wand emptied out?”
She nodded.
“Still swimming, Daze. The way I see it, when I win, your magic will be red-hot. Blazing. That wand of yours will be shooting sparks. The ladies and fellows will come from miles around to get a dose of your spellbound ways.”
He wasn’t listening. He wasn’t going to change his mind. It was maddening, but it was also quite endearing. Daisy felt herself fall just a little bit more in love with her husband. “You could actually undo our magic if you don’t win,” she said, finally stating the real reason he absolutely couldn’t race.
“No, I won’t. Cisco didn’t.” He sat up. “In fact, Suz didn’t even tell Cisco he shouldn’t race for her.”
“Because they were keeping their marriage a secret. From me. From everyone. Cisco had to race.”
“Didn’t matter, doll face. They’re perfectly happy.”
“Because Cisco won.”
“And I’m going to win.”
She looked at him, and he looked at her, and the seconds stretched by.
“You don’t think I can.”
She smiled. “We’ve had three chances. None of them really panned out.”
“So? It’s just a race. Just a fund-raiser.”