Too Smart For Marriage

by Cathie Linz

  It took her a second to realize that instead of being bossy or angry, he was actually teasing her.

  “So you only asked me to marry you because you were afraid of my being assaulted by your grandmother wielding an ice-cream scoop, is that it?” she asked, going along with him.

  “Pretty much, yeah,” he said with a slow smile that lit his dreamy blue eyes and made her knees weak. “Given a choice, I’d be happy to make wild passionate love with you and forget the conventions, but there is my grandmother to consider. And while it’s true that she once told me that she had no plans to marry, that she’d just live with a guy because she’s on social security, I don’t have that excuse to fall back on.”

  “Not for a few years yet anyway,” she agreed, realizing that he was making all this up to try and put her at ease. She’d never loved him more than she did at that moment.

  And that’s when Anastasia realized that being married to David didn’t have to mean giving up who she is.

  “Gee, you sure know how to make a guy feel good…”

  Taking a deep breath, she interrupted him to say, “Yes.”

  “And modest about it, too.”

  “No, I mean yes, I want to marry you!”

  He eyed her uncertainly. “Was that a yes or a no?”

  Turning in his arms to face him, she said, “It was and is a yes.”

  “Took you long enough,” he muttered before taking her into his arms and kissing her. He pulled away a second later. “Wait, I just realized I messed up.”

  “Felt like you were doing just fine to me,” she whispered seductively.

  “I meant about my proposal of marriage. I didn’t tell you what I decided about going back to work. All I did was tell you that when I met you I was a burnt-out arson investigator. That’s not the case anymore. I can now remember what I liked in the beginning about the job—looking for clues as if I were on a treasure hunt. It’s recharged my commitment to my work.”

  “You were a workaholic. It never sounded as if you weren’t committed to your work. If anything, perhaps you were overcommitted to it.”

  “That was before I had you to distract me.”

  “Are you saying you think I’m a distraction?”

  “You’re the best possible distraction.” Taking her hand, he said, “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?” Anastasia looked at him in confusion. “The bedroom is the other way.”

  “To get that bottle of wine I found. I think we should toast our engagement.” When they reached the kitchen, he searched out the dusty bottle.

  “Wait!” She grabbed it from his hands. “Before we break open the wine, let me check my e-mail to see if anyone has answered the notes I sent last night.”

  “It’s just an old bottle of fermented grape juice,” he said as he followed her to the living room, where she reached for and powered up her laptop.

  “Mmm,” she murmured absently as she accessed her new e-mail. “Holy cow!”

  “You sound like Harry Caray from Wrigley Field,” David noted in amusement.

  “That old bottle of fermented grape juice, as you called it, happens to be worth fifty thousand dollars, give or take a buck or two.”

  He laughed at her words. “Yeah, right. Very funny.”

  “I’m not kidding,” she assured him. “Take a look for yourself. I got several e-mails about the wine, which is a rare French vintage. Two bona fide wine dealers e-mailed me with firm offers to buy it for fifty thousand dollars.”

  David was so stunned, the bottle almost slipped from his fingers. He and Anastasia both made a diving grab and saved it. Setting it safety on the end table, they stared at it in awe.

  “It looks like Chesty did have some hidden treasure, after all,” she whispered.

  A knock on the front door interrupted them. It was Claire, looking perky and pretty in khaki slacks and a Big Dipper polo shirt. “I was looking for David, he wasn’t in his apartment, ah, there you are,” she said as if there was nothing unusual in finding her grandson bare-chested in Anastasia’s apartment. “I went down to the basement and found this strange open door to a little storage area built into the corner. Did you find the treasure you were looking for?”

  David shrugged and deliberately kept his voice low-key. “We found a bottle of wine.”

  “Oh.” Claire’s voice reflected her disappointment.

  “Worth fifty thousand dollars,” he added with a grin.

  Putting one hand to her chest, she gasped. “Oh, my stars!”

  “The money is yours,” David told her.

  “Nonsense. You found the hidden room and the wine. The money is yours.”

  “No way. It was in your building. It belongs to you.”

  “Maybe you both could split it,” Anastasia interrupted them to suggest.

  “Excellent idea,” Claire said. “I told you from the beginning, David, that Anastasia was a smart woman.”

  “I never doubted that for a minute,” David replied.

  Claire frowned at Anastasia with a reproachful look. “But she may not be smart enough to know what’s good for her where matrimony is concerned.”

  “Before you come after me with an ice-cream scoop, I plan on making an honest man of your grandson and marrying him,” Anastasia assured her friend with a teasing grin.

  “He’s always been an honest man,” Claire said proudly, tears gathering in her eyes, “but you’ll make him a happy one.”

  “I told you I’d teach him how to have fun,” Anastasia said with a sassy smile, “and I never go back on a promise.”

  “I’m counting on that,” David murmured as he took her in his arms.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  “THE RESPONSIBILITY is tremendous,” Muriel stated solemnly, her voice echoing in the soaring confines of the church.

  “I agree.” Betty nodded, tugging on the hem of her “No Whining” T-shirt.

  “Does this hat go with this dress?” Hattie fussed with her turquoise ensemble, smoothing the elaborate ruffles on her dress and tugging on the dyed-to-match gloves before leaning over the church-balcony railing to ask, “Shouldn’t they be starting the wedding by now?”

  “Hold on to your horses,” Betty said.

  “You don’t mean that literally, do you?” Hattie asked, magic wand at the ready should she need to conjure up a pair of horses.

  Betty hurriedly shook her head. “It’s just a phrase, for petunia’s sake. Don’t go creating any scenes. That hat you’re wearing is dramatic enough.”

  Hattie preened. So did the white dove on her elaborate chapeau. “I’m so glad you like it.”

  “It’s so you,” Betty drawled.

  “Thank you, but I’m so nervous I can’t stand still.” Batting her wings faster than a hummingbird, she flew upward with such speed that she bumped into the head of a gilded angel hanging high on the church wall. “Oh dear, I hit the angel again.”

  “I think it’s a reflection of your latent hostility toward guardian angels caused by your gilded-wing envy,” Muriel stated, a recently acquired pair of reading glasses perched on her nose, making her look like Sigmund Freud on steroids.

  “Oh, horsefeathers!” Hattie scoffed. “It’s just that I’m anxious for the ceremony to begin.”

  “I’m with you,” Betty agreed. “Who would have thought that Anastasia would be the most conservative of all the Knight triplets and want a year-long engagement followed by a big formal wedding in the church where she was christened?”

  “It all started here,” Hattie noted with a sentimental sniff. Floating back to the balcony, she dabbed at her teary eyes with a lacy handkerchief.

  Betty’s booming voice was reflective as she said, “Who knew that the noisy crying Knight triplets would turn out so well?”

  “Wasn’t it our job to know that?” Hattie asked with a frown.

  Betty shook her head. “No, it was our job to unite them with their soul mates and we’ve done that.”

  “Anas
tasia and David aren’t married yet,” Muriel cautioned.

  “HOW CAN YOU be so calm?” Heather demanded as Anastasia lounged in the bridal waiting area of the church. “When I was about to marry Jason I was a nervous wreck.”

  “And so you should have been,” Anastasia said with a grin. “My brother had a reputation. Not only was he bossy as all get out, but he held the dubious title of Chicago’s Sexiest Bachelor. Until you snagged him.”

  “He snagged me, actually,” Heather replied. “Or maybe we snagged each other.”

  “You look so gorgeous in that wedding dress, Anastasia, I almost wish I hadn’t eloped.” Courtney entered the conversation for the first time.

  “I kept telling David I was going to get married in red velvet overalls and a hot-pink top along with my neon orange shoes or my combat boots. He still doesn’t know about this dress. You really think it looks okay?” She checked the mirror one more time. The white wedding dress, with its bare shoulders and open neckline, featured a bodice of heavy beaded lace with a dropped waist leading to a rich satin skirt with a romantic train that trailed behind her. Her hair was piled on top of her head, where a veil cascaded from the tip of her crown down her back in frothy abandon.

  “It’s gorgeous and so are you.”

  Claire, her matron of honor, joined them with a status report. “The guests are all here. It’s almost time to start.”

  “How’s Ira holding up?”

  “He keeps saying he’s never been a best man before, but I keep telling him he’s the best man for me,” Claire replied with loving affection.

  Anastasia was so pleased that Claire had found happiness with Ira. “Who’d have thought that he and David would get along so well? Or that David would have my two brothers as his groomsmen. I’m still questioning the wisdom of that move,” Anastasia said with a shake of her head. “I wouldn’t put it past them to try and talk him out of marrying me.”

  “IT’S STILL not too late,” Jason was telling David in another anteroom in the church. “You could still make a run for it.”

  “We’d cover for you,” Ryan added. “We could say you were abducted by aliens.”

  “Like that alien stripper you had at my bachelor party last night?” David inquired.

  “Hey, she was a fan of the ‘X-Files’.”

  “I told you I didn’t want a stripper.” David straightened his bow tie. He’d never worn a tux before and now he knew why. But Anastasia had insisted on his wearing formal attire. He just prayed she didn’t pull a prank and show up in something outlandish. Actually, he just prayed she showed up. He knew she was in the church already. Her dad had stopped by to tell him that much, but had refused to reveal what she was wearing.

  “We thought you were kidding when you told us no stripper,” Ryan said, looking no more comfortable in a tux than David did. Jason and Ira were the only ones who looked totally at ease in the formal wear.

  “You do realize that because you two got me a stripper for my party, my friends hired a male stripper for Anastasia’s party yesterday.” Seeing the way his soon-to-be brothers-in-laws’ jaws dropped, David had to smile. “Ah, you two look a little surprised.”

  “They didn’t!” Jason and Ryan said in unison.

  “They sure did. And what’s more, Anastasia took great pleasure in telling me every single detail about the guy dressed as a big bad cop who took it all off. Or just about all.”

  Jason and Ryan shuddered.

  “You two should know better than to aggravate your sister,” their dad said. “Let that be a lesson to you.”

  “Yeah,” Ryan noted wryly. “The lesson is to never let Anastasia, Heather and Courtney get together in the same room without male supervision.”

  “They’re together right now,” David observed.

  “Yes, but your grandmother is with them,” Jason replied.

  “For all the good it will do,” David retorted.

  “What do you mean?” Ira demanded, joining the conversation for the first time.

  “My grandmother is the one who actually booked the male stripper,” David said.

  “YOU GIRLS DECENT in there?” Ira asked from outside the door. “David’s got a present for his bride.”

  “He can’t see her until she walks down the aisle,” Claire said through the paneled door, before opening it a crack. “He’s not out there with you, is he?”

  “No. He asked me to give this to her. You look lovely, Claire,” he added, bowing gallantly as she opened the door. “You too, Anastasia,” he added as she scooted past Claire to see what Ira had brought from David.

  “Don’t tell him what she’s wearing. She wants to surprise him,” Claire told Ira.

  “My lips are sealed. I must say, that Victorian garnet and pearl necklace that David chose from my shop looks exceptional with that dress.”

  Meanwhile, Anastasia was eagerly ripping off the elegant foil paper on the package. Heather and Courtney hung over her shoulder, curious to see what David had gotten her. “Jewelry. I bet it’s more jewelry,” Heather said.

  “It’s a kid’s book.” Courtney’s voice reflected her confusion.

  David had written inside the cover:

  For My Frog Princess,

  I fell in love with you the first time I heard you reading this story to the kids. Reddit. Thought it was time you had your own copy so we could love happily ever after. You made me believe that sometimes dreams do come true.

  Your husband-to-be,

  David

  “You’re crying over a kid’s book,” Heather said in astonishment.

  “It’s not just any kid’s book. It’s The Frog Princess, one of my favorites. This strange-looking frog turns out to be a lovely young woman who is…”

  “A princess,” Heather and Courtney said in unison.

  “No, a librarian.” Hugging the book to her bosom, she wiped the tears away before turning to Ira with a brilliant smile.

  “Tell David I love him and I think we should get this show on the road and get married.”

  “IT’S STILL NOT TOO LATE to play Dean Martin’s ‘Everybody Loves Somebody’,” her father whispered as he took her by the arm in preparation for walking down the aisle.

  “Forget it,” she whispered back. “Don’t you have any words of advice for me, Daddy?”

  “You haven’t called me that since you were twelve,” he said gruffly. “As for words of advice, you don’t need them. You’re a smart cookie, but just remember that underneath it all you’ll still always be my little girl. Uh-oh, there’s our cue.”

  As she walked down the aisle on the arm of her father, Anastasia was filled with a wonderful sense of rightness. She’d been afraid that after years of avoiding matrimony she might experience some panic at the last minute. But her request for a year-long engagement, during which she and David had lived together, had convinced her deep down that he was the man for her—the special soul mate who truly understood her. And on those rare occasions when he didn’t, he was willing to listen while she translated for him.

  He was waiting for her at the altar, looking sexy as could be in a dark tux. She saw his gorgeous blue eyes widen with appreciation at his first sight of her in her wedding gown. She could feel his love for her as she walked closer to him. And then she was there, by his side, her hand in his.

  The actual ceremony passed in a blur until the minister said, “Do you, Anastasia, take this man, David, to be your lawful husband, to love and honor and cherish him from this day forward?”

  There was a brief pause as everyone in the church held their breath.

  Leaning forward over the balcony railing, all three fairy godmothers yelled at the top of their lungs, “She does! She does!”

  Turning her head, Anastasia gazed back at the otherwise-empty choir balcony, almost as if she could hear them.

  Then, with a flash of her sassy grin, she faced the minister, the same one she’d inadvertently punched in the nose at her christening as a baby, before turning to David and s
aying, “I do. Soitenly, I do!”

  “SHE SAW US,” Hattie murmured in awe.

  “Or heard us,” Muriel said. “Or thought she did.”

  Betty tried to unobtrusively wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her long-sleeved T-shirt before shooting her sisters a warning glance. “These are tears of relief, in case you’re wondering.”

  “Well, these are tears of joy.” Hattie didn’t even bother to wipe them away with her handkerchief. “I’m so glad that we’ve finally accomplished our mission with the Knight triplets. All three of them are with their soul mates now.”

  After blowing her nose loudly enough to do a foghorn proud, Betty resumed her position of authority. “Yes, well, there’s just one thing I have to say to you two.”

  “What’s that?” Hattie asked nervously.

  “Damn, but we’re good!” Betty rewarded her two sisters with a high-five slap in their hands. “Let the celebrations begin!”

  eISBN: 978-14592-7457-0

  TOO SMART FOR MARRIAGE

  Copyright © 1998 by Cathie L. Baumgardner

  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 publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  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.