Dying To Marry

by Janelle Taylor

  “Shall we?” Jake asked Holly, offering her his own arm.

  Holly took a deep breath and slid her hand through his arm.

  CHAPTER NINE

  They’re playing our song, Jake thought as he led Holly back into the ballroom. “Unchained Melody.” Their first—and only—slow dance at the Troutville Senior Prom was to that song. He wondered if she even remembered.

  He glanced at her, and she met his gaze.

  “They played this at our prom,” she said softly.

  So she did remember.

  She stood very still, seeming lost in thought, and it was all Jake could do not to pull her into his arms and dance her away, far, far away, away from the threats and fear and danger, where they could be alone. It amazed him how his tender feelings for her had come rushing back despite what had happened between them. He should hate her. But he didn’t. Couldn’t.

  She was so beautiful in her black dress, her shiny brown hair in a low knot at the nape of her neck. He could smell a delicate perfume, not the one she used to wear.

  God, how he wanted her. He’d been unable to take his eyes off her all night.

  Keep your distance, man, he cautioned himself. Keep your distance.

  As Lizzie and Dylan began a dance in the center of the floor and all the couples joined in, Jake placed his hand at Holly’s waist and led her onto the dance floor.

  So much for listening to myself, he chided himself. I’ll really be able to keep my distance when I’m an inch away from her.

  She glanced up at him, and he could see the famous two spots of pink on her cheeks. He smiled to himself.

  The moment her soft hand touched his, he was undone. He held her so close he could smell her soap, her shampoo. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes, remembering back ten years ago, when he was an eighteen-year-old boy at his prom with the date of his dreams. Then, they’d danced to a few songs, and every time a slow tune started, they stood back awkwardly and mumbled something about punch. Until the next to last song, when a beautiful slow melody began and Jake gathered his courage to hold Holly against him. He remembered how she accepted his hand as he led her onto the dance floor, and how she looked into his eyes before laying her cheek against his shoulder. They’d had only that one slow dance, yet it had given Jake the courage to confess his feelings. Thank God he hadn’t told her how he felt.

  Now, they danced silently, as they did that night so long ago, and for a moment, Holly was once again his closest friend, the girl he’d loved.

  “This is like old times,” Holly said softly, as though she’d read his mind.

  In a way it was, much more so than it had been at the reunion. Tonight was about love and celebrating love. The reunion was more about pride and defense. Despite the threat in the air, there was spirit and warmth and love. That was owed to Dylan and Lizzie’s love, he was sure.

  And my feelings for Holly ... whatever they are.

  He said nothing in return.

  “All right,” she said. “We’ll stick to business.”

  “Probably best,” he said flatly.

  She glanced up at him, with those dark blue eyes that had always mesmerized him.

  “I’m glad Lizzie’s mom was able to come, after all,” she said finally. “Lizzie would have been devastated if her mom had missed the party—especially given the reason. Do you think Mrs. Dunhill purposely gave Lizzie’s mom the wrong time?”

  He shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

  “Where is she, anyway?” Holly asked. “Why would she leave her own son’s engagement party?”

  Yes, Victoria, where are you? Jake wondered. The woman had been complaining about the engagement from the moment Dylan and Lizzie had sat her down with the big news. “Engaged? The two of you? Why, that’s simply preposterous! You have nothing in common. Lust, my dear children, should not be confused with love.” Dylan had a lot of patience, especially where his mother was concerned, but he drew the line when his feelings—or Lizzie—weren’t respected. Dylan had gotten up, escorted Lizzie out of the room, and refused to talk to his mother until she apologized for her lack of respect for his feelings and Lizzie. Mrs. Dunhill, who couldn’t bear the silent treatment from her son, acquiesced in three hours.

  Would she risk the silent treatment for the rest of her life to stop the marriage? Jake wondered. He shook his head. He didn’t think so. Mrs. Dunhill had motive, but Dylan simply knew her too well.

  If not Victoria Dunhill or her daughter Pru, then who? Who wanted to break up Dylan and Lizzie and for what gain? Arianna Miller was the likeliest choice, but given that everyone in town knew how Arianna felt about Dylan, she would be the first choice on anyone’s list. Which tended to make Jake think she wasn’t the one, either.

  “Her Jaguar is gone, which means she did leave the mansion and drove herself,” Jake said. “But, that doesn’t make her guilty, Holly. Everyone knows she’s none too pleased about the engagement. She might have left because she was unhappy—not because she’s plotting some terrible crime against Lizzie.”

  Holly glanced at him. “You care about Mrs. Dunhill, don’t you.” It was a statement, not a question, and there was a mild accusation in it.

  “Care isn’t quite the right word,” Jake said. “Understand her is more like it.”

  She was quiet for a few moments. “I still think it’s suspicious that she left.”

  “And not,” Jake said. “I’m sure a few people noticed her absence. Let’s say you and Lizzie head home to find another terrible note. Mrs. Dunhill would be immediately suspected. She’s not stupid.”

  “Then where did she go?” Holly asked. “You said her car was gone.”

  “That, I don’t know,” Jake said. “But I will find out.”

  “How?” Holly asked.

  “By asking her directly.”

  “I suppose you could just ask her, since you’re so close,” Holly said.

  “Close isn’t quite the right word, either,” Jake said. “But I am considered a confidant, part of the family. I’m so much a part of the Dunhills’ lives that it seems strange to think I once wasn’t.”

  “You were, in fact, the opposite of a ‘part of their lives,’” Holly pointed out. “What was it that brought you together in the first place, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “The fact that I keep my word,” he answered.

  “Your word?” she prompted.

  “I was privy to something personal,” Jake explained, “And I assured her I would keep her confidence. She’s treated me like family ever since.”

  “Must have been some confidence,” Holly commented. She was quiet for a few moments. “What did you think of Mrs. Dunhill when you first met her?”

  “What I always thought,” he said, “rich, condescending, bigoted, and rude. And then I got to know her a little, and though I was still astonished at her way of thinking, I began to accept her for who she was.”

  “But how can you accept a vicious person?” she asked. “Isn’t that who she was and is?”

  “Mrs. Dunhill has her good traits,” Jake responded.

  “I find that hard to believe,” Holly retorted. “Granted, I don’t know her well.”

  “That’s right, you don’t,” he said quickly. “You don’t know any of them.”

  “I know Pru,” she said. “I know it was Pru who made my life and Lizzie’s and Gayle’s and Flea’s a living hell in high school. I know it was Mrs. Dunhill who fired my Aunt Flora and accused her of stealing for no good reason. And I know it was Dylan’s group of friends who told everyone they’d slept with me and Lizzie every night behind the Tastee-Freez. Didn’t the reunion remind you of that?”

  “The reunion was about a few select people ruining it for everyone else,” Jake said. “A few very immature people. I’m not going to let them prevent me from enjoying my life, Holly.”

  “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “I think you give them too much power,” he said. “Are you dirt?” he asked.
/>   She stared at him.

  “Are you?” he repeated. “If you’re not and you know you’re not, there’s no good reason for the immature idiot spouting it or the comments themselves to get under your skin. I’m saying that’s what I’ve learned.”

  She was quiet. He could tell she was ruminating. “I am surprised by Dylan.”

  “How so?”

  “I’ve gotten to know him a little,” she said. “Through Lizzie more than one-on-one with Dylan. He does seem to love her very much.”

  “He does,” Jake confirmed.

  “It has made me think,” she said, “about judging him to be as awful a person as his sister or some of their friends are. I just assumed he was like them, one of them, and he’s not at all.”

  “It would be like someone making an assumption about me because Dylan is my closest friend, or because I’m close with Victoria Dunhill.”

  She nodded. “I guess I’ve been something of a snob in reverse.”

  “You’ve been through some tough stuff, Holly,” he said. “The important thing is to always remember that you hold the power.”

  “But now someone else is holding the power,” Holly said. “Whoever’s trying to destroy Lizzie and Dylan.”

  “No,” Jake said. “It’s not power they have. It’s anonymity. And when we take that away, he or she or they will have nothing but a jail cell to look forward to.”

  She said nothing for a moment. Then she took a deep breath, and he could see how upset she was, how worried. Holly had enough on her plate without him telling her how to feel.

  “Let’s just stick to business,” Jake said. “I’m sorry I let the conversation veer off track into something personal.”

  “I’m not,” she whispered.

  He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly and glanced away from her, from them, to regain his composure.

  And found Pru Dunhill and Arianna Miller staring at Holly with hatred in their eyes.

  “The witches don’t look happy,” Jake whispered.

  Holly glanced over and Jake saw—felt—her startle. He was standing so close to Holly that he could feel her heartbeat quicken.

  “Looks can’t hurt me,” she said. “Not dirty looks from those two, anyway. I don’t know who’s number one on your suspect list, but number one on mine is shared by those two.”

  “Arianna has the strongest motive,” Jake said. “She’s in love with Dylan and always has been. She always expected that Dylan would come back to her, that he’d have his dalliances but that he would come back to her when it was time to settle down.”

  “Did he ever go back to her,” Holly asked, “since high school?”

  “A few times,” Jake said. “They’d get back together because Arianna would talk a lot of sweet junk about becoming a nicer person and volunteering at the Girls’ Club or at the hospital, and three weeks later, she’d be as selfish as always, spending her days getting manicures.”

  “I just realized something,” Holly said. “I’m surprised she’s even here. I mean, would Dylan have invited her? I know Lizzie didn’t.”

  “Pru did,” Jake explained. “And I’m sure Mrs. Dunhill was more than okay with having Arianna on the guest list.”

  “Surprised again,” Holly said. “If Arianna’s in love with Dylan, why would she want to attend his engagement party? Why would Pru invite her to something that would hurt her?”

  Jake raised an eyebrow. “Do you really need to ask that question? Pru isn’t exactly going to win friend of the year.”

  Holly nodded and glanced over at Arianna. She and Pru were now whispering.

  Discussing how to next hurt Lizzie?

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if Pru and Arianna are trying a last-ditch attempt to make Lizzie look bad while showing off Arianna’s assets,” Jake said. “Let’s keep close tabs on them tonight. With Lizzie here and Dylan watching out for her very closely, I’m comfortable that she and you and Gayle are safe.”

  “What about Flea?” Holly asked. “Oh, God, maybe one of us should have stayed with her or—”

  “I have a guard watching her home and shop,” Jake said. “He’s posted in a dark car a block down so as not to attract attention, but he’s got a clear view.”

  Holly relaxed. “Thanks, Jake.”

  Their eyes met and held for just a moment. Again Jake was mesmerized by how beautiful she was.

  “Hey, Jake,” came a teenaged male voice. “I made it.”

  Jimmy. Surprised the teenager had taken him up on his invitation, Jake wasn’t surprised to find the boy in jeans.

  “Didn’t I tell you the party was formal?” Jake asked. “Jeans aren’t formal.”

  “Didn’t you also tell me that clothes don’t make the man?” Jimmy retorted. “That it shouldn’t matter what you wear, just what you are inside?”

  “He’s got you there,” Holly said, winking at Jimmy.

  Jimmy beamed at Holly.

  “Hey, just because you made the lady smile doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, kid,” Jake said. “When you’re invited to a formal party, you need to dress appropriately.”

  “Even if I had worn that monkey suit in my closet, I’d still feel way out of place here,” the teenager said. “I’m outta here.”

  “Jimmy,” Jake said. “Stay the three seconds long enough for me to introduce you to Holly Morrow.”

  The boy glanced up at Holly. “Hi,” he said.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Jimmy,” Holly said.

  “So can I go now?” Jimmy said to Jake. “When you told me to come, you said I could leave if I wasn’t having fun and I’m not.”

  “Why do I doubt you’ve given the party a chance,” Jake said, ruffling Jimmy’s sandy-blond hair. “How long have you been here?”

  “Five, six minutes,” Jimmy responded. “The bartenders won’t let me drink any of the good stuff, all the girls are older than me, and Dylan’s too busy with his girlfriend to have time for me—as usual.”

  “Lizzie is his fiancée,” Jake corrected. “Not his girlfriend. And this is their engagement party. Lovey-dovey comes with the territory.”

  “Well, it makes me sick,” Jimmy said. “I’m outta here.” He stepped away, then turned back. “It was nice to meet you, too,” he said to Holly, then stalked off.

  “Well, well,” Jake said. “That last bit of politeness threw me. Just when I think I have the kid pegged, he does something surprising.”

  “He doesn’t seem too happy with Dylan,” Holly said. “What’s their relationship? And how do you know Jimmy?”

  Jake explained how he came to meet Jimmy and how his attitude had changed lately. “It kills me to have him on my list of suspects, but the way he’s reacted to Dylan’s engagement ...”

  “Sounds like he’s hurting pretty bad,” Holly said. “My heart goes out to him. And to you, too—it’s clear you care a lot about him.”

  “I do,” Jake said. “And so does Dylan. Most of me thinks he’s incapable of some of what’s been happening, but a part of me has to be realistic about how angry he is, how rejected and abandoned he feels.”

  Holly squeezed Jake’s hand and he squeezed back, then dropped her hand. “I have that sensation again, that someone’s staring,” she said.

  Jake glanced around, sure it was Pru Dunhill who was staring. But Pru wasn’t even looking in his direction. Instead, she was heading out the door with Arianna.

  “Jake, Arianna and Pru are leaving,” Holly whispered. “Should we trail them?”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s a little past nine. The party’s ending. I want to be the last to leave so that I can monitor who leaves when. If you don’t mind sticking around, I’ll see you and Gayle home.”

  “I don’t mind,” Holly said.

  Neither did he.

  The band suddenly stopped playing and a bell tinkled over and over until there was silence. “Thank you all so much for coming,” boomed the voice of Victoria Dunhill, her silver bell in hand.

&nb
sp; She stood in the center of the ballroom, on a little box. Her butler stood next to her, his hand on her elbow.

  Mrs. Dunhill, I’m sorry, but you are not the queen of England.

  “In celebration of this occasion, the bride-to-be has chosen an adorable party favor,” said Mrs. Dunhill. As you leave, you’ll find the favors in lovely lavender gossamer sacks on the marble table in the foyer. Please help yourself to one, and again, thank—”

  A piercing shriek from just outside the ballroom interrupted her.

  Jake grabbed Holly’s hand and rushed into the foyer. Mrs. Chipwell, one of Mrs. Dunhill’s close friends, was sitting on a chair by the front door, fanning herself with the invitation to the party as she caught her breath. A small group of people gathered around her.

  “Look at this!” Mrs. Chipwell shrieked. “I took one of the party favors—and this was what was inside the little bag!”

  She held up a bride and groom cake topper. It was wood and painted, Lizzie’s and Dylan’s names inscribed across the bottom.

  And a little noose around both of their necks with a note:

  You’ll be dead before you’re wed!

  CHAPTER TEN

  Holly felt Lizzie sway beside her, then wobble, and just as Lizzie’s legs gave out, Dylan caught her.

  He lay her down on the red velvet chaise in the foyer, brushing back her hair. “Lizzie, sweetheart. Lizzie?”

  Holly kneeled down next to Dylan and held Lizzie’s hand. “Lizzie, if you can hear me, everything’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  Lizzie’s eyes fluttered open. She looked at Holly, at Dylan, and then at the many eyes peering down at her, and she began to cry. “That’s it,” she said. “We have to call off the wedding. I can’t take another minute of this.”

  “Lizzie,” Dylan said. “Just rest.” He brushed her hair back from her face and caressed her temples. “Just catch your breath and relax.”

  Lizzie slowly sat up. “Who would do this?” Lizzie cried. “Who is doing this? We brought those favors over straight from my house. So either someone broke in and ransacked through them, or the culprit was—is—here tonight!”