Substitute Bride (Special Edition)

by Alexander, Trisha

  David hadn’t slept much. And when he had, he’d dreamed of Rachel. When he awakened, at six, he was filled with remorse. What had happened had been partially his fault. If he hadn’t been so blind and so stupid, he would have realized long ago who he was really married to. Well, not really married, he corrected himself. Not legally, anyway.

  Still, he should have known. Anyone with any sense would have known that people do not change the way he’d imagined Roxanne had changed.

  Desultorily, he fixed coffee, showered and dressed for the day. While he drank his coffee he tried to decide what to do. Should he go out looking for Rachel again?

  Or should he just stay put?

  Wait…and hope?

  It was ten-thirty before Rachel, heart filled with equal measures of fear and hope, pulled in to David’s driveway..

  He didn’t hear her come in.

  She stood in the kitchen doorway and watched him. He was sitting dejectedly, holding a picture of the two of them sitting at a table at their favorite outdoor restaurant in Colombé. Eyes filling with tears, she re membered how she’d felt when the photographer had snapped the picture.

  “David?” she said softly.

  His head jerked up. “Rachel?” He stood, knocking his chair over behind him. “Rachel!”

  It took her only a few seconds to realize he wasn’t angry and he didn’t hate her. That the look in his eyes was loving and welcoming. With a glad cry, she rushed into his open arms.

  “Rachel, Rachel, my love…”

  His kiss was urgent, desperate even, and in that moment she knew everything was going to be all right. When he finally raised his head, she saw all the things she had ever wanted to see reflected in his eyes.

  “I was afraid I’d never see.you again,” he said, holding her as if he’d never let her go.

  “And I was afraid to face you.”

  He smiled down into her eyes. “I love you, Rachel.”

  “Oh, David. And I love you! That’s always been true.”

  “When I got here, and you weren’t here, I just about went crazy.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left. But I was so scared. Knowing what I’d done to you, I was sure you hated me. I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing that hate in your face.”

  “Aw, sweetheart, I could never hate you.” Then he smiled. “But I was sure mad for a while.”

  Rachel grimaced.

  “That was a dirty trick you and your sister played on me,” he said sternly.

  “I know. Believe me, I know. I’ve been agonizing over it for weeks.” Guilt assailed her again. She touched his cheek. “I never meant to hurt you, David.”

  “I know that.”

  “When did you stop being mad?”

  His eyes took on a familiar gleam. “When I remembered all those days…and nights…in Colombé.”

  Rachel remembered them, too. Suddenly, looking into David’s eyes, she couldn’t think of anything else.

  “I knew you couldn’t have been pretending then,” he said gruffly. “And if you weren’t pretending then, there had to be a reason. I began to hope the reason was because you really loved me as I’d finally realized I loved you.”

  At his words, Rachel’s heart soared. They chased away all the fear, all the unhappiness, and all the empty places that had been in her heart for so long.

  After another long kiss, he said, “C’mon, let’s go sit down.” Taking her hand, he led her into the living room.

  After that, they talked for a long time. Rachel told him everything. How she’d loved him since she was a child. How she’d felt when she’d come home from Paris and discovered that he and Roxanne were practically engaged. And then she told him about the weeks leading up to the wedding. For the most part, he listened quietly, only injecting an occasional question.

  When she got to the day of the wedding, it was harder, because her emotions had been so turbulent and her reasoning so clouded, and Rachel wanted to be truthful. For the rest of her life, she wanted to be truthful.

  When she finally finished, he said, “I think I always knew, somewhere down deep, that it was you I’d married.”

  She touched his cheek. Smiled up at him. “We’re not really married, you know.”

  “We can take care of that easily,” he said with an answering smile. “Hey, if we have a second ceremony…” He winked. “We’ll have to have a second honeymoon.”

  Rachel chuckled and snuggled closer. As far as she was concerned, if David loved her, the rest of her life would be a honeymoon.

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  “Oh, Rachel, the show is wonderful. And your paintings! They’re fabulous. Aren’t they fabulous, Carlos?”

  “Yes, my darling, they are.” Carlos, dark eyes amused and loving, smiled down at Roxanne. “And I have already claimed two for our home in London and one for my parents’ home in Veracruz.”

  “That’s more than we’ll have,” David complained good-naturedly, putting his arm around Rachel’s waist. “Every time I wanted to keep one, this wife of mine said it had to be in the show.”

  Rachel grinned at her husband and sister and brother-in-law. The Blythe show was a resounding success. The critics had praised her work, and more than two-thirds of the exhibited paintings were already sold—some for such hefty prices it had made her head swim. She still couldn’t believe anyone would be willing to pay so much money for her work. “Hey, we about-to-be-famous artists don’t give our work away. If you want one of these paintings so badly, you’ll have to buy it,” she teased, giving David a nudge.

  David made a face. “See what I have to put up with? She’s getting bossier every day.”

  “Good,” Roxanne said. “Glad to hear it. We expectant mothers are supposed to be bossy.”

  Carlos and David exchanged a look.

  Roxanne laughed and winked at Rachel.

  Rachel thought that if she were any happier, she might burst. Of course, right now, that would be a bad idea, since her daughter wasn’t scheduled to be born for another six months. Thinking about the baby she was carrying, she touched her stomach. Sometimes she still felt like pinching herself.

  Her eyes met Roxanne’s. Roxanne smiled. “We’re having a girl, too,” she said softly.

  “You are?” Rachel squealed.

  “Uh-huh. Isn’t it great? Our daughters will be just about the same age.”

  “Oh, oh,” David said. “Double trouble.”

  And then they were all laughing, and Rachel—heart swelled with love and pride and joy—knew, if she lived to be a hundred, there would never again be a moment as perfect as this.

  eISBN 978-14592-7362-7

  SUBSTITUTE BRIDE

  Copyright ©1997 by Patricia A. Kay

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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