by Cathie Linz
Faith’s dad met them right outside the Venetian’s wedding chapel. This was no Elvis impersonator drive-through wedding location. This was the elegant side of Las Vegas.
Megan walked toward the front of the room to the accompaniment of the Pachabel Canon. There were about two dozen guests present.
Megan’s eyes teared up again when she saw the look of love on Caine’s face as he got his first view of his bride-to-be. The two of them were meant for each other.
The ceremony was simple but moving. The minister said, “I now pronounce you—”
The doors at the back of the chapel flew open and a man ran into the room to bark out an order. “Stop the wedding!”
Logan Doyle hadn’t slept in thirty-six hours. He’d just worked a double shift before hopping a plane to Vegas at his family’s insistence. Did they care that he was sleep-deprived? No. He had a job to do and they expected him to do it.
Logan stared at the people gathered at the front of the room. Two women, two men and a minister. The brunette in a black dress was the first to react. She marched up to him while the others momentarily stood in stunned silence.
“I don’t know who you are and I don’t care. You are notruining my cousin’s wedding. She’s been through enough shinola. Leave right now.”
Shinola? Logan frowned. Who said shinolaanymore? No one outside of his grandfather’s age group.
“Gramps, you can’t do this,” Logan called out.
“Who are you calling Gramps?” the groom growled.
“Him.” Caine pointed to Buddy. “My grandfather Buddy Doyle. I’m Logan. Logan Doyle.”
All eyes turned to Buddy, whose face was flushed. “You’re ruining my surprise.”
“What surprise?” Megan demanded. She was not having another wedding go down the drain. Her cousin deserved better.
“Ingrid has agreed to marry me,” Buddy said defiantly. “And we thought since we’re here in Las Vegas, we’d tie the knot.”
“Wait your turn,” Megan growled. “This is Faith’s wedding. Faith and Caine’s. No one else’s.” She turned to the bemused minister. “Finish what you started.”
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” he said hastily. “You may kiss the bride.”
Everyone applauded while Caine took his time kissing his new bride.
“You two ...” Megan grabbed Buddy’s arm with one hand and Logan’s with the other. “Come with me.”
She marched them both outside onto the nearby terrace with its soothing fountain. “Talk about stealing the limelight, Buddy. What were you thinking?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer before turning her wrath on Logan. “And you. What were you thinking barging in the middle of a wedding and trying to stop it? What have you got against your grandfather getting married?”
“Who are you?” Logan said.
“I’m the woman who is going to make your life miserable if you don’t answer me.”
Logan was impressed by her cleavage and her long legs but mostly by her moxie. She was tall but still a good five or six inches shorter than his six-foot-two frame, yet she stood toe-to-toe with him, refusing to back down despite his cop look, the one that got criminals to nervously back up.
“She’s Ingrid’s granddaughter, Megan,” Buddy said.
Logan frowned. “I thought the bride was the granddaughter.”
“Ingrid has two beautiful granddaughters,” Buddy said. “This is Megan. I’ve been trying to get you two to meet for months but you’re both stubborn people.”
“Hemay be stubborn,” Megan said. “I’vebeen busy.” She pinned her disapproving gaze on Logan. “You’re a cop so maybe you’re used to intimidating people and ordering them around. But you have no authority here.”
So the brunette with the great breasts had a thing against cops, Logan noted. Interesting. She was practically bristling with indignation, which automatically made him get calmer. Appearing detached no matter the circumstances, no matter what he was feeling inside, was a critical requirement of a police officer and one that Logan had long ago perfected. “I have the authority of making sure Buddy doesn’t make a big mistake.”
“Marrying my grandmother is a not a mistake. If anything, she’s too good for him. No disrespect, Buddy.” She paused to give him a hug.
“None taken. I totally agree.”
“Well, his family doesn’t,” Logan said.
“What possible reason could they have to disapprove?”
“The fact that he’s still married.”
“His first wife passed away. That’s what you said. Right, Buddy?”
He nodded.
“I’m not talking about his first wife,” Logan said. “I’m talking about his second wife.”
Megan blinked. “Second wife?”
“That doesn’t count,” Buddy said. “It was a quickie Vegas wedding and only lasted forty-eight hours before I annulled it.”
“See, here’s the thing,” Logan said. “She didn’t annul it.”
“She signed the papers.”
“No, she didn’t.”
Buddy tugged on his tie. “I thought she did.”
“You thought wrong.”
“Are you sure?”
Logan nodded.
“Well, shit.”
Megan stared at Buddy in stunned surprise. First off, why hadn’t he ever mentioned being married a second time? And second, he’d made a big deal out of giving up cursing forever yet he’d just slipped up, for the first time since Megan had met him five months ago.
“You can’t be engaged to one woman and still married to another,” she said.
“I know that.”
“And you certainly can’t commit bigamy,” Logan said.
“I know that too,” Buddy growled.
Megan stared at Logan as if searching for answers. He didn’t appear to have any, but he did have the kind of dark good looks that no doubt had women swarming over him at cop bars all over the city. Black Irish, some called it, black hair and moody blue eyes. It didn’t matter. She was immune.
Megan was the first to admit that she had a chip on her shoulder where cops were concerned. She had good reason, not that it was any business of Logan’s.
“How do you know the annulment papers weren’t signed?” Megan said.
“Because my dad just ran across the unsigned papers on Buddy’s desk at his home when he was there to give Mouse his shot.”
“Who’s Mouse?” Megan said.
“His diabetic cat,” Logan said. “He needs an insulin shot every twelve hours. Gramps left the directions on his desk but the cat messed up the papers.”
“Maybe there’s another copy of the annulment papers that was signed?” Megan asked. Damn, but decades of being an optimist were hard to give up.
Buddy shook his head. “There was only one set of papers.”
“If they were on your desk, you must have known that they weren’t signed.” She directed her comment to Buddy.
Logan answered. “You’d have to see Buddy’s desk to understand. He’s got piles of stuff dating back decades.”
“Paperwork,” Buddy muttered under his breath. “Damn paperwork will do you in every time.”
“Everything okay out here?” Caine had his war face on as he stepped out onto the terrace.
“My grandson Logan is a Chicago police detective,” Buddy said proudly.
“Caine is a former Force Recon Marine,” Megan said. “He’s not impressed that Logan is a cop.”
“Yes, I am impressed,” Caine said.
“Whose side are you on?” Megan said.
“Caine is a former Marine,” Buddy said. “He’s on the side of the United States of America.”
“The U.S. has no stake in this matter,” Megan said before telling Caine, “Go back to your bride, please, Caine. I’ve got this under control.”
Caine raised an eyebrow at her confident claim but did leave after saying, “Just shout if you need any help.”
She smiled and nodded
before turning to glower at Buddy. “How could you make such a mess of things?”
“Hey, listen up, buttercup—” he protested.
She interrupted him. “No, you listen up!”
“Logan, are you going to stand there and let her talk to me like that?” Buddy demanded.
Logan just nodded.
“I had no idea you had such a temper,” Buddy told Megan. “She must have Irish blood in her,” he added for Logan’s benefit.
“No doubt,” Logan agreed.
“I don’t believe you two. This is serious.”
“What’s serious?” Gram asked as she came onto the terrace. “Buddy, is there a problem?” She came to stand by his side, a concerned look on her face. Even though she was in her mid-seventies, Ingrid West was not your typical senior citizen. Her blue eyes and high cheekbones proclaimed her Scandinavian heritage while her gelled spiky haircut revealed her rebel nature. Today she was wearing one of her Chanel suits with a large red lapel flower and a Save the Polar Bears pin. “It’s not the Swedish mob, is it?” she said in a semi-whisper. “Are they here in Las Vegas?”
“Gram, there’s no such thing,” Megan began when Buddy interrupted her.
“No, the Swedish mob has no foothold here.”
“Swedish mob?” Logan frowned.
“That’s right,” Buddy sounded defensive. “Tell her they aren’t here in Las Vegas.”
“I have connections,” Gram said.
“To the Swedish mob?” Logan said.
Gram nodded. “Why? Does Buddy have a problem? Do we need to call in the Swedish mob?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Logan said.
Gram gently socked his arm. “I’ve told you before to call me Gram, not ma’am. Were you feeling left out today, Logan? Is that why you stopped the wedding? You didn’t want to miss anything? I’m sorry you weren’t invited to the event.” She patted his shoulder. “That was wrong of us.” She turned to Megan. “Why wasn’t Logan invited to the wedding? He’s practically family.”
“No, that’s okay, really,” Logan hurriedly said. “I wasn’t feeling left out.”
“He’s a cop,” Buddy said. “Third generation. Logan isn’t all touchy-feely.” Buddy shuddered at the thought. “Not at all.”
“Then I don’t understand why he wanted to stop Faith’s wedding.” Gram paused as a thought occurred to her. “Unless you thought it was Buddy’s wedding to me. Is that what you thought?” Her expression reflected her hurt feelings. “I thought you liked me.”
“It isn’t about you. It’s about Buddy.” Logan said.
“What about Buddy?” Gram said.
“Are you going to tell her or should I?” Logan asked Buddy.
“I’ll tell her. We could use a little privacy here.”
Megan reluctantly stepped back inside but hovered near the doorway in case her grandmother needed her. Logan stood beside her. They were soon joined by Megan’s uncle Jeff and her father. Jeff was the smooth, über-workaholic and Megan’s dad, Dave, was the quiet, bookish accountant in the family. They both owned West Investigations, the largest private investigation firm in Chicago.
“Is somebody going to tell me what’s going on here?” Jeff demanded. “Why wasn’t I told that Buddy planned on proposing to my mother? I had no idea things had gotten that serious. They’ve only known each other a few months. I thought they were just . . . I don’t know . . . playing bingo together.”
“Strip bingo,” Logan muttered under his breath.
Megan elbowed him in his side.
“What was that?” Jeff said. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Nothing.”
“It was a mistake,” Buddy said in a loud voice from the terrace. “I didn’t know I was still married!”
“Still married?” Jeff’s face turned red with fury. “Did Buddy just say he was still married? The bastard. How dare he ...” he sputtered.
Megan’s dad helped him out. “Tamper with our mother’s affections?”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, that. I’ve got a good mind to—”
“Beat up a seventy-something-year-old senior citizen?” Megan said, irritated by all the testosterone swirling around her. She hadn’t missed the smack-down looks shooting between her uncle and Logan.
Her attention was diverted when Gram came into the room, tears running down her face. Megan’s dad put his arm around her and guided her from the room.
“You.” Jeff turned his wrath on Logan. “You couldn’t have made this info public sooner? Dammit, I should have checked out the guy myself, but my mother made me swear I wouldn’t. And Faith did a preliminary check on him. Clearly she didn’t look deeply enough.”
“My grandfather thought he was free to marry Ingrid,” Logan said, sounding remarkably calm for a man who looked like he’d wanted to kill someone for a second there. Then he had his cop face back on. Megan recognized it because it was so similar to Caine’s war face.
“Does he have dementia?” Jeff demanded. “Is that it? He forgets he still has a wife?”
“No, he doesn’t have dementia.” Logan’s voice reflected his growing aggravation.
“So he’s just an old geezer who likes conning rich old women?” Jeff said.
“You take that back!” Buddy growled as he joined them. “Ingrid is notold and neither am I. I’m for sure not so old a geezer that I can’t take you, boy-o.”
Megan put her hand on her uncle’s chest, stopping him before he could do something stupid. “There will be no fighting here.”
“Let’s take it outside then,” Buddy said.
“No fighting on the terrace either,” Megan said. “No fighting anywhere, period.”
“You stay away from my mother,” Jeff told Buddy, pointing an angry finger at him. “If I catch you anywhere near her, you’ll regret it.”
Buddy pointed an angry finger right back, with one digit bent.
“Did you see that? He just gave me the finger,” Jeff bellowed. “Get him out of here before I call security and have him tossed out.”
“You and what army?” Buddy growled.
“Come on,” Logan said, putting an arm around his grandfather’s shoulders and guiding him toward the exit.
Megan’s uncle followed them to make sure of their departure, leaving Megan alone in the room with the still-bemused minister.
“It was ... uh ... it was a lovely ... uh ... ceremony ... for the most part,” the minister said, trying to be cheerful.
“Yeah, it was just peachy.” Megan said. The best-laid plans of mice and men and librarians sometimes went to hell very fast. Little did Megan know that things were about to get much, much worse.
Chapter Two
“Don’t say anything!” Megan was told as she was grabbed from behind the minute she entered the hotel’s elegant ladies’ room down the hall from the wedding chapel.
Megan turned to face her attacker. “Gram?”
“I don’t want Faith upset,” Gram continued.
“Neither do I.”
“Then don’t mention the situation with Buddy.”
“What if she asks?”
“Lie. Say everything is fine. That it was all a big misunderstanding. She didn’t see me crying, thank goodness.” Gram released Megan to move closer to the large mirrors along one wall, and dabbed on more mascara.
“She’s going to wonder why Buddy isn’t here.”
“I told her Buddy and Logan have gone to try the slots.”
“Didn’t she think it was strange that Buddy ditched the reception?”
“Strange or not, that’s my story and we are both sticking to it. Understood?”
Megan nodded obediently. “Did you tell Dad and Uncle Jeff?”
“I already told Jeff to behave himself or else. I told your dad too.”
Megan couldn’t imagine her father not behaving. All her life, he’d been good. Absentminded, sometimes, often in his own world. But always good. Playing it safe. Just like her. If in dou
bt, don’t do it. That was their motto. She’d been raised with the belief that taking chances was not a good thing.
“Come along.” Gram hooked her arm through Megan’s. “Showtime.”
They entered the reception together. Barely a minute later, they were joined by Faith. “I know you said that Buddy and Logan were playing the slots, but they can do that later. Buddy is the best man. He needs to be here. He can gamble with his grandson later.”
“Buddy is only a stand-in best man,” Gram said.
“Is he upset about that?” Faith asked. “Is that why he’s not here?”
“No, of course not,” Gram said.
“Then what’s going on?” Faith eyed them suspiciously. “I know something is going on, so don’t bother denying it.”
“It’s your wedding reception,” Gram began when Faith interrupted her.
“Yes, it is, and I want the best man here. Never mind, I’ll go get him myself.”
“Don’t be silly,” Gram said with a touch of desperation.
“I’ll go,” Megan volunteered.
“Thanks.” Faith gave her a quick hug. “Come on, Gram. Wait until you see the chocolate fountain they’ve got set up.” Over her shoulder she added, “Megan, if you have trouble finding them, I’ll go myself.”
“Right.” There went Megan’s plan A—to say she’d looked but couldn’t locate them. Still, maybe Buddy and Logan had taken off for parts unknown.
She didn’t get to hold on to that hope for very long because she spotted the pair near the end of the very first casino aisle she walked down. There had to be a thousand or more slot machines here—all with bells, whistles and flashing lights.
Logan spotted her first. When he’d barged into Faith’s wedding, Megan hadn’t really paid a lot of attention to the details about him—like the fact that his light blue shirt encased his broad shoulders and his black pants hugged his lean waist. Had she noticed way his dark hair fell over his forehead or the intensity of his blue eyes? She wasn’t sure, but she definitely knew that he did not look pleased to see her.
On the other hand, Buddy’s face lit up when he registered her appearance. He immediately slid off the stool and stood. “Did Ingrid send you? Has she forgiven me?”