“No.” Sydney shook her head. “I already told you. I have a migraine coming on. I think I’ll go upstairs and lie down.”
“Whatever.” The word came out harsher than he intended.
Keeley stared at Sydney and started to get to her feet. “Maybe I should leave.”
“No, no,” his mother motioned her to sit and cast a dubious glance at Sydney. “Sydney has a lot of migraines. Don’t you, dear?”
Sydney jumped up, her face red with anger. “All of you—”
Alex laid his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close, and led her upstairs. “Don’t go there, Syd.
You won’t like what happens. I told you Mom has claws.”
Sydney paled. “I love you, Alex. All I want is for you to love me.”
Alex scrubbed his hands over his face. “Then why are you making it so damned difficult?”
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The next morning no one showed up for breakfast. Clint was at Jesse’s checking his mare, or rather, checking out Jesse. Alex let out a snigger as his nose led him to the stove.
Poor Clint. He went around like he’d been pole-axed half the time. Didn’t anyone else catch those glances Jesse gave him when she thought no one noticed? Good grief, he thought as he got a plate out of the cabinet, they might as well admit they were sleeping together. His brother obviously didn’t have an ‘ick’ factor when it came to Jesse, but something ate at Clint. And being Clint, he wouldn’t spill his guts to his baby brother.
Heath told everyone he and Nicolette were working together on her drug rehabilitation program, Renewed Hope. Or that was his story. Alex saw the heartache in Heath’s eyes, the way he looked when he talked about Nicolette. The man was up to his eyeballs in love and sinking faster. But Heath wouldn’t move on Nicolette—not the wife of his best friend, even if his best friend had died.
Alex shook his head and opened the oven. Man, the King brothers were a messed up bunch.
Mom had a pan of eggs and bacon in the oven keeping warm, along with some biscuits. A Crockpot full of sausage gravy sat on the counter. Alex fixed a plate and poured a large ladle of gravy over a couple of biscuits, the smell driving him to take a bite on the way to the table.
The familiar taste of Mom’s cooking burst over 257
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his tongue. He sat down and turned at the sound of his mother coming through the kitchen door on her crutches.
“Stood too long on the foot, didn’t you?” He smirked around a forkful of biscuits and gravy.
“Nanner, nanner, nanner.”
That earned him a light swat on the top of the head as she clomped her way to the coffee maker.
Alex frowned. She had to be in a lot of pain to use the crutches.
He got up to help. “Sit down. I’ll pour you a cup.”
He pointed to the chair at the head of the table.
“Go.”
Mom stuck her tongue out at him, reminding him of Jesse. “The weatherman was pumped up this morning about the storm system coming in. A happy weather man always means the Apocalypse is just around the corner.” She lowered herself into the chair, using the edge of the table to brace her way down. “Bill Taylor offered to drive Keeley back this morning. I told her to bring a bag just in case she got snowed in with us.”
“She was pretty quiet when I took her back to her hotel.” Alex poured her coffee. “Do you want something to eat?”
“No.” Mom gave him a smug smile. Cat ate the canary smug.
He put her cup in front of her and automatically pushed the sugar towards her. “Okay, what’s up?”
“I told Keeley I’d sell.” She leaned over to pick up a piece of toast from his plate and munched in slow dainty bites.
“What?” He plopped down into the red and chrome chair with a thump. “You’d never sell this place.”
“Wrong, my son.” She reached over and patted him on the cheek. “Gus Carlisle will snap it up in a heartbeat. He said as much—name my price.”
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“But he’ll tear down the house. You know he wants the land to put in another subdivision out here.”
“Yup.” She snatched a piece of bacon and gave it a thoughtful chew. “I asked her how much she needs to start her business. I’ll multiply that amount times five. That way each of you boys and Keeley will have an equal share with something little left over for me well. “I think Gus will hand it over by the beginning of the year.”
Alex shoved his plate away. “I don’t want anything, you know that. Clint, Heath, and I gave you quit claim deeds so it wouldn’t be an issue.” He took a long pull on his coffee. “If Dad hadn’t been so stubborn about a will, especially after his cancer scare, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“He didn’t know he would have a heart attack or that he had a daughter.”
“Mom, I tried to tell him—”
She held up her hand to silence him. “It’s over and done with. Now we have to come up with a solution that’s fair to Keeley. She wants, no make that needs, money to follow her dream of opening her own firm. I think your father would be proud of her, if he were here.”
“Well, he’s not. He’d have rather pulled his fingernails out with pliers than sell out, you know that Mom. I’ll give her money if it means saving the house.”
His mother leaned back in her chair after she’d filched a second piece of bacon.
“You keep your money. And don’t think I haven’t already figured out you’re doing something behind my back. It won’t come to that. If Keeley has any smarts, she’ll get on the internet and check out the sort of homes Gus builds.” Mom made a level motion with her hand, the bacon waving like a baton. “Nice 259
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vanilla homes, done with a cookie cutter. Oh, a very nice, expensive cookie cutter, but they all have the same feel—bland, boxy, and boring. She’ll hate it.”
Alex narrowed his eyes at her and grabbed his bacon back. “You madam, are pure evil. That will drive a stake through Keeley’s heart, and you know it.” “No, I’m trying to keep this family—which includes Keeley—together.”
“You really like her, don’t you?”
“What’s not to like? She’s Frank’s child.” For a second, his mother eye’s had a far way look tinged with sadness. “Yes, I do like her. She seems in need of love—a lot of love. We can give that to her.” She moved her eyes ceiling-ward. “Unlike your perfect bride upstairs, Keeley’s tried to channel herself into something positive.”
Alex swiped his hand over his eyes. Here it came. The Big Mom Guns were coming out.
“Since I haven’t heard any screaming or family heirlooms being hurled around, I suppose you haven’t spoken to Sydney?”
His mother’s offhand question didn’t fool him one bit. He eyed her warily. “As far as I know, she’s still upstairs. These migraines wipe her out, but I think she’s suspects I’m going to end the engagement.”
“I almost feel sorry for her.”
“Why do you say that? She’s brought a lot of this on herself by being such a brat.” Anger and impatience welled up inside his chest. “Sydney’s gone out of her way to be either rude or dismissive to Clint and Heath. She’s been disrespectful of your wishes, even though they were a little crazy.”
“Because it will still hurt.” His mother reached over to pat his hand “You know that from experience. Alex, I’ve watched you grow so much over the last couple of weeks. You’re learning to be a 260
A Perfect Bride for Christmas father and much, much more. I’m very proud of you.”
“That’s one reason I didn’t end it when she showed up on your doorstep. I saw the panic in her eyes.” Alex leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, his head down. “This is going to be so hard.” He finally glanced up at her and heaved a sigh. “Mom, she used to be sweet and easy-going, but to tell you the truth, over th
e last couple of months, as the wedding drew closer, she’s grown paranoid and needy.”
“That’s not healthy, son.”
“I know.” Alex sighed. “I tried to make allowances, but I found out that she’s been checking my phone calls, emails, and text messages. Now with Zoe and the kids, it’s gone off the scale. I can’t live like this.”
“You have to do the right thing. It’s not fair to either you or Sydney.” She leaned over and gave him a soft pat on the hand. “Grow a pair, sweetie.”
“Zoe already pointed out that I’d handed my balls to Sydney.” He offered her the last piece of bacon on his plate. “I need to go upstairs and get them back.”
Alex left the kitchen and went up the stairs.
He’d put this off long enough. No more letting Sydney run and hide.
How had everything spiraled out of control?
Right now, he couldn’t think. To be honest, he was doing good to remember to breathe. Life used to be so easy, fun, and uncomplicated. He didn’t usually let the world twist him into knots, but he had to figure out how to tuck and roll with this mess.
Where was a convenient black hole when he needed one? He knocked on Sydney’s door. “Sydney?”
No answer.
“Sydney, are you all right?”
Nothing.
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Okay, he’d finished playing the game her way.
He’d let her sulk long enough. She wanted him to come begging her to let him inside. He wished he could turn away, get out of the house, maybe go to gym and slip on a pair of gloves to pound the heavy bag until he couldn’t think.
No more stalling.
He knocked on the door. “Sydney, open this door. I want to talk to you.”
Still nothing. This time he banged with his fists.
“I don’t want to talk. It always turns out bad when we talk.” Her baby doll voice failed to cajole him this time.
“We’re going to talk if I have get a screwdriver and take the damn door it off the hinges. I’m not kidding around.”
The door opened the tiniest bit. She peeked out, her face pale and wan. Alex pushed past her and into the room.
Startled, Sydney scurried over to the bed. “I’m sorry if I screwed up.” A fat tear came up on cue and slid down her face as she sat on the edge of the bed.
She picked up one of the pillows to play with lace along the edge and peeked up at him from under her lashes. He could see the gears turning in her head.
“I’ve been so nervous around your family.
Everyone is so intimidating, especially your mother.”
She pushed the pillow away and got to her feet, walking towards him with slow little steps. “You forgive me, don’t you?” Her hand came to rest over his heart. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“It’s too late for that. You didn’t even try to get to know my family. But that’s not the reason I’m here.”
Sydney reached up, putting her arms around his neck, with a smile on her tear stained cheeks. “Kiss me, Alex. Love me. I can make you want me—you know it, don’t you?” Her hand snaked down to cup 262
A Perfect Bride for Christmas him, her fingers working in a familiar touch, trying to get a reaction.
He put his hand over hers and gently pulled it away. She moved again, but his time his grip tightened against her wrist to prevent her capturing him again. “Stop it,” he hissed, unable to hide his indifference to her fondling.
“Why won’t you kiss me?” Sydney’s hands gripped the front of his sweater with a yank. “Please, baby, I can make you feel good.” She lifted her lips, nibbling the hollow of his neck. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Alex pried her fingers loose. “A lot of things have happened over the last couple of weeks. Things we need to deal with.” He let out a sigh. “Sydney, we can’t get married. I thought I could go through with it but I can’t.”
“It’s Zoe, isn’t it?” Sydney pressed one hand to her forehead, the other to her stomach. “You’ve been distant from the moment she butted into our lives with those kids of hers.”
“They are my children as well.”
“This is her fault.” Sydney’s face turned red, her eyes dripped tears as she beat against his chest.
“She used them to drive a wedge between us. I told her to stay out of our lives but she wouldn’t. This is all her fault.”
Alex grabbed her hands. “I can’t deny she and the girls have changed things. Sydney, it’s more than that. I’ve discovered, although I did love you, it wasn’t enough to build a marriage on. I need more.”
Sydney backed away from him, “No. No. You don’t understand.” She paced the room, her arms and hands frantically waving in the air. “We’re having the wedding as planned. The country club called and said everything is ready for the wedding and reception. Mother and Daddy gave us a Paris honeymoon, remember?” Her words rushed out in a 263
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torrent of desperation.
“Yes, but I’m not going to Paris.” Alex followed to stop her back and forth trek by taking hold of her shoulders. “Stop it, Sydney. I’m not marrying you.
What is it going to take for you to get it through your head?”
She threw herself into his arms, gripped him tight, sobbing violent, heartrending cries. “We’re getting married in two days.”
“No we’re not.”
“Okay, you wanted me to postpone the wedding.
I’ll do it.” She glanced up at him, her eyes wild.
Alex felt a moment of sympathy but shook his head. “No postponement. We’re past that point.”
“I’ll die if we call it off entirely. I’ll kill myself—I swear it.”
A shiver of dread threaded through his body.
“Don’t say things like that.”
Sydney tore away, shoulders hunched, arms hugging her body. She’d worked herself into a hysterical frenzy, her face red and splotched. Sydney raked her hands through her hair, shoving it out of her eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see how much I love you. I mean every word. I’ll either have my honeymoon in Paris or a funeral. Take your pick.”
“That’s not love, Sydney. Threats don’t add up to a Hallmark moment.”
“It’s the truth, not a threat,” Sydney snapped.
“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you at Yolanda Zucker’s Christmas party.” Her words came out soft and faraway. “You’re my life, Alex—I can’t breathe without you. Don’t you see that?”
“I don’t know what I’m seeing.”
“You’ll marry me because you won’t want to think about what might happen if you don’t. How will you live with yourself if I commit suicide? You won’t be able to love anyone after that, will you?” A 264
A Perfect Bride for Christmas gleam of triumph ruined her threat. “No even your mousy ex-wife. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“She’s the mother of my children. We have a past together.”
“You’re lying if say it’s nothing more than that.
She wants you.” She whirled away from him. “All it will take is one slice of a razor blade. Every time you look at one of those little monsters of yours, you’ll know they’re the reason I’m dead.”
There it was—Demon Sydney reared her ugly head. “I’m beginning to wonder if you know the meaning of love. I’m not falling for the melodrama anymore than I believe you’ll commit suicide.
Sydney walked in tight little circles, her hands covering her face. “That’s a cruel thing to say,” she gasped. “Nothing is going the way I planned.”
Sydney went to the window and pulled the pale blue, lace curtain aside to look out into the cold morning.
“There’s no way I’ll let you go anywhere near Zoe Bennett.”
“It’s over. You have no say in what I do.”
She turned around, her face set and hard. “Let me put it this way, I’ll sue for breach of promise.
You’ll have nothing. I’ll drag your ex-wife’s name through the mud,” Sydney snarled. “I wormed the story out of Tommy. The man gets verbal diarrhea after a few drinks. So Zoe was the office fat girl.
That had to be a shock, and now you’ve got three kids to support. I’ll tell everyone your ex whored around until she found a man stupid enough to take on her brats. They’ll believe me.”
“You aren’t serious.” Alex didn’t know whether to laugh or strangle her.
“As a root canal.”
“I’m supposed to go along with this insanity?
Her eyes lit with a vindictive fire. “You will if you want to keep those precious little girls out of the media.”
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The smug look on her face curdled his stomach.
“You miscalculated.” He opened the closet door, pulled out one of her suitcases, and threw it on the bed. All the hanging clothes followed.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked.
“I’m packing your things. Or rather, you’re packing. I want you out of my mother’s house, right now.”
“You’ll be sorry.” Her hands clawed at his arms as he opened the dresser drawers and yanked out a pile of designer lingerie. “I’ll ruin you,” she screamed. “Take everything you own! Daddy will break you.”
“Do your worst. I don’t give a rat’s ass about what Lyle does.” The shoes followed the rest of the clothes in the pile. “I’d rather fix tickets or flip burgers if that’s what it takes to support my family.
But I don’t think it will come to that. Have you forgotten you’re talking to an attorney? We’re a slippery lot.”
Alex felt a weight drop from his shoulders. “I’ll call a limo for you. Be ready to leave in an hour.”
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Zoe glanced up at the clock. A little past noon.
The weather report said the wind advisory had been updated to a warning. Amelia hadn’t called to cancel the food for the reception. So here it was, two days before Alex got married, and a blizzard was in the forecast. It seemed appropriate somehow. Sydney earned the title of Ice Queen. The weather forecasters predicted up to a foot of snow with blowing winds. How on earth would Amelia cope with the wrath of God and Mother Nature combined?
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