by Gina Wilkins
“Think about it,” he suggested. “Take your time. You might hate the very idea. Hate me, for that matter,” he added with a strained laugh.
“I—” She swallowed. “I don’t hate you, Cody. You’ve been very kind to me, and to my family, this weekend. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He cut her off with a growl, deeply uncomfortable with the thought that she would feel obligated to him.
It wasn’t gratitude he wanted from Dana. He no longer knew what, exactly, he did want from her—but he knew it wasn’t that.
“Look,” he said abruptly. “I think we can make this work. We can live together as good friends, and we can take care of Andy. He’s going to need us.”
“Andy’s the only one who’s ever really needed me,” Dana said softly.
“And I’ve never been very good at being there when I was needed,” Cody said. “But this time, I will be.”
The words were a pledge, as solemnly given as any marriage vow.
Dana was still looking at him in that intense, discerning way that almost made him squirm. “Someday,” she said, “you’re going to tell me why you have such a low opinion of yourself.”
He forced a laugh. “Trust me, it’s a boring story.”
“I’m beginning to wonder.” she murmured. He abruptly changed the subject. “So what’s your answer? Are we getting married? Do you want to think about it for a few hours? Want me to take a long walk off a short pier?”
She smiled, though it was a shaky attempt. “If you’re absolutely sure this is the right thing to do.”
“I really think it is, Dana. I think it’s the only thing to do.”
She swallowed visibly. “All right, then. We’ll do it. For Andy’s sake.”
“For Andy’s sake,” Cody repeated, his voice rather hollow.
Oh, God, what had he done?
Dana twisted the ring again, then seemed to realize what she was doing. She looked down at it. Cody followed her gaze. “Looks like Bob made a sale, after all,” he murmured.
She looked startled. “You don’t have to buy this ring. I don’t need a diamond. Really.”
“I like seeing it on you,” Cody answered simply. “It looks nice. You do like it, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course, but—”
“Then consider it my wedding gift to you. For luck.”
She moistened her lips again. Cody thought incongruously that he wished she would stop doing that. Before he gave in to the urge to do it for her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I, um, I guess we should go tell Barbara what we’ve decided.”
“I think she’ll be pleased.”
“Yes. Is there someone you want to call? I’m sure Rachel and Seth would drive over tomorrow afternoon, if you want them here.”
“No,” Cody said quickly. “I’ll follow Celia’s example and notify the family after the wedding.”
He wasn’t at all sure he could pull off the wedding with his family watching-especially not Rachel, who’d always seemed to read him too easily. She would take one look at him and know that he was a quivering, nervous wreck, terrified that he was doing the wrong thing.
She might even sense the strange, inexplicable excitement he’d been feeling ever since Dana had said yes.
“So—” Dana said slowly.
“So—” he repeated, smiling a little.
Their eyes met. Cody held out his hand. “We should probably shake or something,” he suggested solemnly.
Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his. “Or something,” she agreed, trying to smile back at him.
He leaned over and brushed his lips across hers. Once. Very lightly.
And then again. A little harder.
Dana’s lips softened beneath his. Tasted as good as he remembered.
His lips settled firmly on hers, and he tugged at her hand, drawing her closer. He was all too aware that they were alone in the room. That they sat on his bed, thigh to thigh. That it would take only a nudge from him to have her lying beneath him, her lips open beneath his, her arms around him, her legs—
He pulled himself away from her with a start. A moment later he was on his feet, some distance away from her, one hand stabbing through his hair, the other shoved into the pocket of his jeans. “We’d, uh, we’d better go talk to Barbara,” he said gruffly.
Dana started to speak, then stopped to clear her throat. “I’ll be right with you,” she said, her own voice husky. “I think I’ll just go wash my face first.”
That wasn’t a bad idea, Cody thought as she left the room. It wouldn’t hurt for him to splash some cold water on his face. Or on the rest of him, for that matter.
***
Thanks to Barbara’s connections, the wedding was arranged to take place at one o’clock on Tuesday afternoon.
The anticipation of the nuptials seemed to give Barbara renewed energy; she insisted on getting up and dressing nicely. She wasn’t strong enough to forego the wheelchair, but she made sure her hair and makeup were done, with Hilda’s assistance. She also personally called her favorite florist, from whom she cajoled an immediate delivery of several baskets of white roses and baby’s breath, which she demanded that Lynette arrange artistically in the den.
Hilda seemed almost as excited as Barbara. She worked all morning, cooking a large and sumptuous celebratory luncheon to be eaten after the ceremony. The judge and his wife had been invited to dine with them.
Andy was dazzled by the arrangements, all but bouncing with the excitement of gaining a new brother-in-law, particularly one who also happened to be his newest hero.
“Quite an occasion, isn’t it?” Alan asked late that morning.
Having stepped out onto the front porch for a breath of fresh air, Cody hadn’t realized anyone had joined him until Alan spoke. He nodded. “Yeah. Barbara and Hilda seem determined to turn it into a real party.”
“Lyn and I weren’t expecting to attend a wedding when we came down this weekend.”
Cody smiled crookedly. “Neither was I.”
“Yeah. I understand Barbara sort of railroaded you into this.”
Feeling an urge to defend Dana’s mother, Cody shrugged. “I don’t mind. Dana and I were already engaged, after all.”
“Mmm. Lyn tells me you and Dana will be taking the boy in, after Barbara’s gone.”
“Yes. Of course, we hope it won’t be necessary anytime soon.”
Alan chuckled. “Right. I’m sure you want your bride all to yourself for as long as possible.”
Cody didn’t smile. “No. We hope to keep Barbara around for as long as possible.” Damn, but the guy was a jerk.
Alan had the grace to look embarrassed. “Oh, yeah. Of course. I, er—”
Cody shrugged and turned away.
“I have to admit, I’m relieved that Barbara’s decided to make Dana the boy’s guardian,” Alan said after a moment. “I mean, we’d have taken him, of course, and given him a good home. But you and Dana seem to be better with the kid. Your jobs aren’t all that demanding, and you don’t have to worry about staying ahead in your career-all the stuff Lyn and I have to deal with in New York.”
Cody bit his tongue. This wasn’t the time to tell Alan exactly what he thought of him—or his fancy New York career.
“You realize, of course, that Lynette will still want to be a part of the boy’s life. After all, he’s her brother.”
Cody nodded. “I would never keep Lynette from seeing Andy. We’ll make sure they stay in contact.”
“And she’ll want to check the financial records occasionally, of course. Not that she wouldn’t trust you or Dana, of course, but she has a responsibility to make sure that the boy’s inheritance is managed correctly. You understand that, I’m sure.”
Drawing himself up very straight, Cody turned to face the shorter man, who seemed to realize that he might have just stepped out of line.
“His name is Andy,” Cody said precisely, evenly. “Andy.
It’s not so har
d to remember, or to say. Stop calling him ‘the boy,’ as if his name doesn’t matter.
“As for the money, I’ve told you before and I’ll repeat it now—I have no intention of touching Andy’s money. It will be held in trust for his education. Anything he needs in the meantime, he’ll have. Whatever you think of my business, Manningly, I make enough to pay my way. I can support my wife, and her brother. Let’s leave it at that, shall we?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Alan said, quickly holding up his hands in conciliation. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. Just making conversation, you know? Family business.”
Cody nodded shortly. “Consider it settled.”
“Yeah, sure. Uh, guess I’ll go see if Lynette wants me to do anything for the party. You, er, need anything, Cody?”
“No. Thank you.” It wasn’t easy to sound civil, but Cody forced himself to do so. Alan was a member of Dana’s family, and Cody wouldn’t be the one to alienate him, if he could help it. But one more veiled warning about Andy’s inheritance, and Alan would be lucky to return to New York with all his teeth!
The conversation had served to reinforce Cody’s belief that this wedding was necessary to make certain that Andy was never forced to live with the Manninglys. If he hadn’t already reached that conclusion, Alan’s thoughtless lack of regard for Barbara’s health would have settled it.
Only then did it occur to Cody how easily the words “my wife” had rolled off his tongue. And how he’d already come to think of Dana in those terms.
Shaken, he swallowed hard and slid his unsteady hands into his pockets.
It was a wonder that Dana hadn’t paced a path right into the carpet of her bedroom. She must have paced for half the night, not to mention the past hour. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and swallowed a groan. Twelve-thirty. Half an hour until her wedding.
Her wedding! She was actually going to marry Cody Carson!
She moaned and hid her face in her hands, cursing herself for daring this crazy scheme, cursing Jake for dreaming it up in the first place, even illogically cursing Cody for agreeing to it when she’d asked him.
She’d known something would go wrong—she just hadn’t even imagined how very wrong things could go!
How could she have known that both Barbara and Andy would take one look at Cody and all but adopt him into the family? How could she have imagined that Barbara would have requested an immediate wedding? Or, even more astonishingly, that Cody would agree?
She felt as though she were on a roller coaster that just kept going faster and faster, wilder and wilder. She’d gotten on willingly, but she’d quickly discovered it wasn’t nearly as safe a diversion as she’d anticipated—and there seemed to be no getting off until the ride ended. She just hoped she wasn’t in for a spectacular and disastrous crash.
There was a tap on the door, and then Lynette stuck her head in. “Dana? You need any help getting ready?” She took one look at her stepsister and closed the bedroom door behind her. “Yes, I can see that you do.”
Dana looked down to find that she was still wearing the jeans and T-shirt she’d thrown on that morning. Her hair was tousled and straight, her makeup sketchy. She felt very plain compared to Lynette, who was wearing a beautifully tailored garnet-and-navy-print silk dress, her hair and face immaculately done.
“I guess I’d better hurry, hadn’t I?”
Lynette nodded, her smile surprisingly understanding. “Yes. I suppose you’d better. Your wedding starts in half an hour.”
Dana groaned.
Lynette laughed and moved to the closet. “I understand, you know. I was a nervous wreck before my wedding. Don’t you remember?”
Lynette had married during the August before Dana’s senior year in high school. Dana had been included very little in the wedding preparations, Lynette having surrounded herself with her friends. Dana’s only function had been to sit behind the guest register in the church lobby and make sure everyone remembered to sign with the fluffy feathertipped ballpoint that matched the ornately covered guest book.
“No,” she said. “I don’t remember your being nervous.”
“Well, I was. I cried because my hair wouldn’t hold a curl, because I got a run in my hose and had to change, because I couldn’t get my makeup straight-and then because crying streaked my mascara. Mother almost lost all patience with me. We had four hundred guests waiting while I had hysterics over a missing tube of lipstick.”
Dana managed a shaky smile. “Then I’m glad Cody and I decided to be married so privately. The thought of four hundred people watching me today is almost enough to make me faint.”
Lynette nodded. “This is much nicer,” she agreed. “Just family. What were you planning to wear?” she asked, flipping rapidly through the few outfits Dana kept at her stepmother’s house.
“I don’t know,” Dana admitted. “I didn’t have time to buy anything special…”
“How about this?” Lynette drew a cream-colored suit from the closet and held it up for inspection. “Dana, this is lovely. It even looks bridal.”
Dana had almost forgotten that suit. She’d worn it to a fancy tea Barbara had talked her into attending a couple of years ago. Barbara had bought the suit for her, surprising her with it on the morning of the tea. Dana had worn it only once since; she didn’t often have occasion to wear expensive suits, especially in Percy.
“That will be fine,” she said, wondering if Cody had even brought a jacket with him. Her groom was more likely to show up in jeans and a western-cut shirt. Not that it mattered, of course, she reminded herself. It wasn’t as if this were a real wedding, exactly.
Lynette insisted on helping Dana get dressed. “It’s tradition,” she explained. “Brides always have help. It’s probably bad luck to get dressed alone on your wedding day.”
“I’ve never heard that one.”
“I just made it up. I’ll plug in the curling iron and let it heat while you do your makeup.”
Dana realized that Lynette wasn’t going to be satisfied until she was properly primped and powdered. She sighed and surrendered rather than risk a quarrel. To be honest, she found her stepsister’s attentions a bit touching-probably because they were so rare.
Twenty minutes later, Lynette stood back to appraise the results of her efforts. “You look beautiful,” she said at length. “Really beautiful.”
Dana was surprised to feel a wave of heat warm her cheeks. “Thank you.”
Lynette frowned at her stepsister’s bare ears. “You need pearls. Do you have any?”
“No. The only earrings I brought with me are the small gold hoops I’ve been wearing this weekend. If you think I need earrings, I’ll wear them.”
“Wait right here.”
“But—”
Lynette had already hurried out of the room.
Dana sighed, shook her head and turned to the mirror, trying to study her reflection dispassionately. The cream-colored suit fit her nicely, emphasizing her slender waist and hips. She’d dug out the cream heels that matched, which added a couple of inches to her height and made her legs look long and curvaceous.
Under Lynette’s critical supervision, she’d taken great care with her makeup, applying smoky eyeshadow, softly blended eyeliner, dark mascara, delicately tinted blusher, glossy mauve lipstick. It was more makeup than she usually wore, but it looked good, she decided. Not overdone.
Lynette had personally taken over the hairstyling. She’d softened and fluffed Dana’s usual bob with the curling iron and a styling comb, brushing her bangs away from her face to emphasize her cosmetically enhanced eyes. The woman in the mirror looked calm, sophisticated, confident.
Only Dana knew what a misleading illusion that reflection was. Inside, she was a mess.
Lynette returned in a rush. “Here,” she said, holding out her hand. “Wear these.”
Dana looked at the tasteful pearl earrings on her stepsister’s palm. Even their soft glow looked expensive.
“I can’t wea
r those,” she said nervously, putting her hands behind her back. “What if I lose one? Or both?”
“You won’t lose them. Hurry and put them on, Dana, we don’t have much time. Besides, it’s good luck to wear something borrowed, remember?”
“I never realized you were so superstitious,” Dana said, reluctantly donning the earrings with exaggerated care, thinking ruefully about Lynette’s insistence that Dana wear pale blue panties. For luck, of course.
“I’m only superstitious about weddings. And ladders-I simply can’t walk beneath one.” Earrings in place, Dana turned to her stepsister. “I didn’t know that, either.”
“There’s a lot we don’t know about each other,” Lynette agreed with a touch of regret. “And I know it’s my fault. I’m sorry I haven’t been more of a sister to you, Dana.”
Caught off-guard, Dana stammered, “I, um, it’s okay, Lynette. I—”
Visibly uncomfortable, Lynette waved a manicured hand. “This isn’t the time to get into that. I just want to say again that I truly appreciate what you’ve done for Mother these past few months. And for Andy. Whatever you might think of me, I do love them. And I’m very grateful that you’ve been here for them.”
“Thank you, Lynette. That means a great deal to me.”
“Now don’t start crying,” Lynette said brusquely, her voice a bit husky. “You’ll streak your mascara and then we’d just have to start all over. Wait here and I’ll go see if things are ready downstairs. Don’t move a muscle, you hear? I don’t want you to disturb one hair. I’ve worked too hard to make you presentable.”
Dana smiled faintly, still stunned at her stepsister’s kind words.
This was turning out to be one incredibly unpredictable weekend, she thought in a near daze.
Chapter Eleven
“There you are, Cody. Oh, my, don’t you look nice?”
Cody tugged self-consciously at his tie as Barbara looked at him in open admiration from her wheelchair in the flowerbedecked den. Across the room, Alan stood in conversation with a man and woman who Cody assumed to be Judge Herriman and his wife. Dana, Lynette, Andy and Hilda hadn’t come in yet.