“First trimester? You’re pregnant?” Erin squealed with surprised delight. Cara nodded, wearing a wide smile. Shan, with her soft heart, covered her sister’s hand. It took the O’Shea sisters a full five minutes to deal with their excitement.
When their celebration had cooled down to simple pleasure, she questioned Erin. “What was it you learned at the Bluebell, if it wasn’t about Cara being pregnant?”
“I heard about your engagement to Trevor. I’m pissed you didn’t tell me yourself.”
“Her what?” Cara sputtered.
Shan’s brows rose and she studied Meggy. “You’re engaged? I thought you were mad at him.”
“I am. Mad at him, I mean.” She scowled at Erin. “Who said we were engaged?”
“Everyone.” Erin looked confused. “Aren’t you?”
He wouldn’t.
“If I am,” Meggy said slowly, “it’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Well, Clara Watson told me she’d heard it straight from Trevor.”
It was obvious he would. She dropped her head to the table.
“Hmmm,” Shan hummed into her iced tea.
“Wait.” Erin held up a hand. “Why would he tell Clara you’re engaged if you’re not?”
She groaned without lifting her head. “Because he’s the devil.”
Cara snickered. “Sounds like the man is attempting an end run around you, Meggy.”
She sat up. “Well, he’s about to be called offside.”
“Are you saying he hasn’t actually asked you to marry him?” Erin’s wide eyes betrayed her shock.
“That’s what I’m saying.” She got up to walk to the window and stood staring out at the empty carriage house below. With him off to Virginia, she’d been looking forward to a little peace. She never dreamed he’d do something so...Machiavellian before he left. She should have. Devious methods seemed to be the way he operated.
“That’s diabolical,” Erin murmured, “and a little bit romantic too,” she added after a moment’s pause.
Meggy scowled over her shoulder. “You had it right the first time.”
Cara met her gaze. “You have to admit, a guy that determined to have a woman is hard to resist.”
Meggy choked back a snort. If she’d done a better job of resisting the jerk, she wouldn’t be the current target for the gossiping busybodies down at the Blue Bell. She cringed inwardly. The gall of the man. When she saw him again... The thought sent tingles of something suspiciously like excitement racing over her skin and left goose bumps behind.
Stop right there, missy. You don’t ever want to see him again. Remember?
She pivoted to lean her hips against the counter. “I thought you were mad at him. What happened to your plan to use a machete on certain portions of his anatomy?”
“I never planned to use it on him, just his stuff.” Cara grinned. “And I am still mad at him. I’m just not pissed anymore.”
“Why not?” Meggy wanted to know. “This is just another example of the way he works. He’s sneaky and deceitful.”
“And let’s not forget determined.” Erin ignored her glare.
“Actually,” Shan said before she could respond, “a sneaky man wouldn’t have announced his intentions to the entire town.”
“Which leaves deceitful.” Cara cocked her head in thought. “And a truly deceitful man wouldn’t have gone to the Bluebell to apologize. As much as I’d like to attribute that particularly nasty trait to the man, I can’t in this case. Especially not after he told me himself that he plans to marry you.”
“What?” She shot out of her slouch against the counter. “When was this?”
“Yesterday. Right before I fainted.” Cara waved a dismissive hand. “The sticking point for me is you told me yourself you’d expected him to ask you to marry him and that your answer would be yes when he did.”
The reminder pierced her heart in a bull’s-eye, causing a fresh flow of grief to seep from the open wound. She’d dreamed of spending a lifetime full of love and laughter with a sexy, thoughtful man, but the dream had become nightmare. The teasing author who’d stolen her heart was as fictitious as their supposed engagement. “That was before he turned out to be a liar...and a lawyer!” She dumped the dregs of her iced tea into the sink and set it down with a thump. “What’s with the three of you? I thought you were on my side!”
“We are,” they said in unison.
“Doesn’t feel like it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.
Shan leaned on her elbows. “Do you still love him, Meggy?”
“That’s beside the point. I don’t trust him.”
Cara shook her head. “No, that is exactly the point. And your lack of trust is his problem, and he’ll have to fix that. But something he said to me yesterday made me consider his behavior through a different lens.”
Meggy’s mouth flattened in a frown when Cara didn’t elaborate. “Well, don’t stop there, Oprah. Enlighten us.”
Cara grinned. “He asked me if I knew how difficult it was to discover you’d fallen in love with someone you believed to be a thief.”
That warm and mushy feeling bubbled up in her belly at hearing he’d fallen in love with her, even before he’d discovered her innocence. It was no use. Despite his latest sneaky maneuver, she was still in love with him. She felt like crying.
“God knows the two of you have some major issues to sort through,” Cara continued, watching her, “but the bottom line is you love him, and if he’s to be believed, he loves you too.” She laughed. “It takes balls to stroll into the Bluebell and make your intentions the number one topic on the grapevine. Are you really letting a guy like that get away?”
Was she? Only time would tell if putting her feelings for Trevor behind her was even possible, and if the last forty-eight hours were any indication, the process would be long and painful. Besides, she didn't like the woman she’d become since the moment she’d read Rachel’s letter. The real Meggy Calhoun met challenges head on. So why was she backing down from the most important challenge of her life?
Trevor wasn’t the only one who’d been pretending to be something he wasn’t. Time he met the real Palmerton pit bull. She loved him, damn it, and he claimed to love her. Well, then, it was time he proved it.
She pushed herself away from the counter. “I’ve got to get down to the kitchen. Erin, could you help me put together a costume for next week’s Halloween party?”
At the sudden change in topic, the sisters looked at each other in confusion.
“For you?” Erin sat up in her chair. “I thought you said you weren’t dressing up?”
“I’ve changed my mind.” She bared her teeth in a sharp smile.
“I know that look.” Cara’s eyes narrowed. “What are you planning?”
“A little revenge.”
Cara leaned forward. “Operation payback. I like the sound of that. What are you going to do?”
“Make him miserable.”
“You go, girl!” Shan laughed.
“And I’m taking a page right out of his sneaky playbook to do it.” Thoughts danced through her mind. Devious thoughts. And she welcomed them. “He’s not the only one who can plant ideas on the town grapevine.”
Cara grinned. “Poor Trevor. I almost feel sorry for him.”
She raised a brow. “He says he loves me. I’m making him prove it.”
“But are you going to forgive him?”
She headed for the stairs, calling over her shoulder, “I guess I’ll have to, since I’ve decided I’m marrying him.”
“Wait a minute,” Cara sputtered. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then walk away. I want details!”
“I’ll fill you in on the details as soon as I figure them out.” She hit the stairs, flipping open her cell phone. “Hey, babe,” she said as she descended the stairs to the kitchen, “I need a little more help.”
Chapter Twenty
“I heard an interesting bit of gossip over a
t the Bluebell this morning.”
“You don’t say?”
Brody sipped coffee, his hips propped against a counter, while Meggy labored at the prep table with a wickedly sharp chopping knife. Since Trevor’s departure a week earlier, the bulky bodyguard had practically taken up residence at Palmer House and his hovering presented a number of opportunities to further her plan for revenge.
She’d discarded her original horrified suspicion that as the Ashford heir, she needed protection, and Trevor had assigned Brody the task. Instead, she suspected he was there simply to keep Trevor informed of the goings on in Palmerton, specifically, her own. That sly state of affairs suited her fine. In fact, she appreciated Brody’s assistance in keeping Trevor informed of her actions, particularly since Brody appeared to be so uncomfortable with the chore.
It was charming really, the way he had taken it upon himself to assist her in overcoming her anger by plying her with anecdotal glimpses into Trevor’s childhood. Still, she felt no remorse using the mountainous menace. He’d brought up the idea himself, after all, that day on the ferry when he suggested she gain a little revenge before she forgave Trevor.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him finger aside the airline voucher she’d purposefully left out on the counter, to read the name of the local medical lab on the envelope beneath it. The envelope contained the paperwork from the DNA test she’d taken last week, but he wouldn’t know that. She wasn’t surprised when he didn’t comment on either and knew he’d be on the phone with Trevor within the hour.
“The good citizens of Palmerton have a pool going,” he said instead.
“There’s always some kind of pool going on over at the Bluebell. The practice is a favorite local pastime.”
“Don’t you want to know what they’re betting on?”
“The suspense is killing me,” she drawled without looking at him. “Tell me quick.”
Brody chuckled at her dry tone. “The locals are choosing sides on who will win the heart of the Palmerton pit bull. Will it be the billionaire lawyer, who just last week announced his engagement to the lady, or the charming cop who’s been seen escorting the sexy chef on several occasions over the last few days?”
“Who’s showing the best odds?” She kept her tone light, as though the entire town discussing her love life made no difference.
“Considering your temper and the fact that you let it be known you hadn’t been informed of Trevor’s fictitious proposal, not to mention all those mysterious outings you and the cop have disappeared on lately, the locals give the cop a slight lead.” Beefy arms crossed over his broad chest. “My money is on Trevor.”
She shrugged. “It’s your checkbook.”
He shook his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Meggy. Trevor isn’t a man to cross.”
“I’m a grown woman, perfectly capable of choosing who I spend time with. Trevor can rant and rave all he wants. I’ll see who I want, when I want.”
“You’re saying your sudden interest in the cop is legit?”
“Did I say that?”
“That’s what it sounded like.”
“You’re awfully interested in my love life, Brody. Living vicariously?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Trevor can be a real bastard when someone messes with what he considers his. And don’t fool yourself, Meggy, in Trevor’s mind, you’re his. I’m just looking out for your interests.”
“So am I.”
“By trying to make Trevor jealous with the cop?” He indicated the envelopes beside him on the counter with a nod of his head. “You’re playing with fire, lady.”
“Who said I’m trying to make Trevor jealous? I happen to love Justin.”
“Since when? According to Trevor, you claimed you were in love with him only last week.”
“And last week he claimed he was a simple writer.” She felt her temper leaking through the calm she’d worked to achieve. She took a steadying breath but kept up the rhythmic thwacking of the knife on the cutting board. “I’ve known Justin for years and loved him almost as long, but more importantly, he’s never lied to me.”
Up to that point, Brody had appeared merely amused by her answers. The worried frown that slipped across his battered features told her she’d begun to make him nervous. “Jesus, Meggy. Trevor’s in love with you. You don’t think he’s going to just step aside and let you fly off with this guy, do you?”
The knife stilled in her hand. “If I decide to fly off with this guy, as you put it, he’ll have no other choice.” Despite her decision to take Trevor at his word—after she exacted a little revenge—his betrayal still hurt. It wasn’t necessary to feign anger, she knew her eyes glittered with it. “Drop it, Brody. The topic just pisses me off.” She flipped the knife over to scrape sliced mushrooms into a holding tray. “So, have you found a costume yet for the party tomorrow night? My great-grandmother is coming as Queen Elizabeth.” Her eyes narrowed on a sneer. “You could come as her jester.”
****
The Halloween bash had been in full swing for several hours. Meggy glanced out the window toward the carriage house for what felt like the hundredth time. She forced herself to look away. He wasn’t coming. He certainly hadn’t raced home to stop her from running off to marry Justin. Either he didn’t believe she’d do it or he didn’t care. The latter possibility made her want to weep.
When her parents waltzed by on the makeshift dance floor, she pasted a smile on her face. Bob and Carol Calhoun looked so easy together, the balding fifties biker and his poodle-skirted date. A pang of sadness tugged at her heart that she’d never experience the kind of love they shared, and she blamed Trevor. He’d made her want things she’d never known she wanted and then he’d turned out to be a liar. She didn’t know why she still wanted the bastard.
“Any sign of the billionaire lawyer?” Justin, in his rock star’s garb, slung an arm around her shoulders, his gaze scanning the crowd of partiers. He was careful not to disturb the glittered wings on her fairy costume, which he’d told her was sexy as hell and was going to have Trevor choking on his own tongue.
She wished now that she’d worn her chef’s smock.
At the bar, her gypsy earrings sparkling in the overhead lights, Cara shook her head. Finn, her six-five gypsy prince, leaned on the bar beside her.
“I guess he’s not coming,” Meggy announced around the lump in her throat. “What if he’s decided I’m just too much trouble? What if he doesn’t love me enough to fight for me after all?”
Cara snorted. “Trevor? The man who announced to the entire town that you were marrying him? Not a chance.”
“Cara’s right, Meggy.” Finn pointed his beer bottle her way. “You haven’t seen the last of Trevor Christos.”
“If you’re having second thoughts about this plan of yours, you could always tell him the truth, babe.” Justin plucked a candied apple from a tray on the bar and sunk his teeth in with a crunch. “I wouldn’t complain,” he said around the mouthful of treat. “Even pretending I’m about to shackle myself in wedded bliss is enough to make me consider taking up a musical instrument for real and going out on an extended tour.”
She smiled. “I haven’t changed my mind, and you promised.”
“I promised, and I’ll go through with your charade.” He tapped a finger to her nose. “But if he breaks my jaw, you’ll owe me big time.”
Cara and Finn laughed.
But she just shrugged. “I already owe you. If he breaks your jaw you can put it on my tab.”
“Did you ask Elizabeth where Trevor was?” Cara asked.
She frowned and searched the room for her great-grandmother. In her Queen Elizabeth costume, she looked as if she were holding court in reality, as she conversed with three of the town’s oldest and most influential residents, including Finn’s great-aunt, Maive Cataldo, and Jasper and Bertie Watson.
“I asked her a few minutes ago, but she wouldn’t tell me. She said she’d raised one fool and passed
her blood down to another. And that if the two of us wanted to continue to play such games, she would have no part of it. Maive, Jasper, and Bertie all agreed with her.”
Cara laughed, eyeing the group sitting with Elizabeth. “God. Can you imagine if the four of them teamed up together? They could terrorize entire continents.”
She grinned and didn’t disagree.
“You’re looking a little tense there, Mother Goose.” Finn winked at Shan who hurried toward the bar. “What’s up?”
“Trevor just came in through the back door.” She turned a worried gaze on Meggy. “He’s in the kitchen, Meggy. He wants to talk to you.”
“Show time!” Cara crooned.
Her heart rate took off like a race horse coming out of the gate.
Justin dropped a big hand on her shoulder. “Last chance. Are you sure you want to go through with this, babe?”
Cara scowled at Justin. “Don’t try to talk her out of it.” She turned back and her eyes sparkled with challenge. “He deserves to pay a price. Since he was the one who involved the whole town, he deserves to pay it in front of most of Palmerton.” Her dark brows arched. “It’s either this, or I go get my machete.”
Justin and Finn laughed.
Meggy was too nervous to appreciate the humor. She gave Shan an apologetic smile, concerned her frantically beating heart was about to explode from her chest. “Would you mind telling Trevor I’m dancing with my fiancé, Shan?”
“Me?” Shan squeaked. “Why do I have to be the one to tell him?”
“He’s not going to do anything to you. It’s me he’ll want to kill.”
“Not to mention me.” Anticipation sharpened Justin’s grin.
“I’ll protect you, babe.” She patted his arm.
Shan threw up her hands and turned on her heel.
“Shall we?” Justin held out a hand.
She placed her damp palm in his, and he towed her onto the dance floor, sweeping her into his arms. His gaze trained toward the kitchen, he twirled her. A moment later, he dropped her into a dip and covered her mouth with his.
The crash of the kitchen door bursting open sounded above the music.
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