Newlywed Games

by Mary Davis

  “MEGHANN?” BRUCE LIFTED HER CHIN WITH A LIGHT TOUCH of his finger. The tenderness in his eyes was heart wrenching. “Ah, Meg…what you do to me.”

  His hand cupped her face, and the gentle touch sent shivers coursing through her. He was going to kiss her and she was glad. She wanted him to do it. Now. Here. with no one around to see them.

  But even as she leaned toward him, his hand fell away, and he turned back to grip the steering wheel.

  Then, without a word of explanation, he turned the key in the ignition.

  Mortified, Meg sat there, gripping her hands together in her lap. She was such an idiot! Why would he even think about kissing her? She was a friend, nothing more. Someone he’d promised to help.

  The sooner she got that through her stupid head—and her foolish heart—the better off she’d be.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  NEWLYWED GAMES

  published by Palisades

  a division of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

  2000 by Mary Davis

  Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version

  1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House

  Also quoted:

  Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT)

  1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Palisades is a trademark of Multnomah Books, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.

  For information:

  MULTNOMAH BOOKS

  12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200 • COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Davis, Mary, 1963- Newlywed games / by Mary Davis. p. cm.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-77876-5 1. Mothers and daughters—Fiction.

  I. Title PS3554.A93723N4 2000 813′.5-dc21 99-08972

  v3.1

  To the Lord who made all this possible.

  To my husband. You have always stood

  behind me and believed in me. Moine!

  And to my mom and sister.

  Thanks for your encouragement and help.

  A special thanks to my editors, Julee and Karen,

  for all their help and hard work.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say…“Let us do evil that good may result”?

  ROMANS 3:7–8

  Prologue

  BRUCE HALLOWAY HAD LOOKED UP WITH A START WHEN HE heard the ruckus outside his office window. It sounded like an all-out war with all the shouting and crying going on. He pushed out of his leather executive chair and moved toward the window to see if he could break up the commotion.

  Meghann? What on earth are you doing?

  His office, located on the first floor of the Palace Hotel, overlooked a small grassy patch with a dogwood tree and a flower bed. One of his employees, Miss Meghann Livingston, rose on some sort of stepladder from the center of the excited crowd that had gathered around the tree.

  Was she out to break her pretty little neck?

  With the thinning fall leaves, he could see a small gray kitten perched up in the tree. From what he could discern, the terrified cat belonged to the crying little girl and it had been chased up the tree by the still barking corgi, who apparently thought he could climb up after his prey.

  When Meghann reached for the frightened, cross feline and was hissed at and clawed, Bruce made a bee-line for the chaotic group. He reached them just as Meghann captured the kitten. It took all his skills, but he managed to soothe the little girl, calm the distressed maid, who was acting as baby-sitter, and appease the agitated dog owners all while keeping his fearless employee from tumbling from the rickety ladder with needle-sharp claws in her neck, hand, and shoulder.

  Back in his office with Meghann, Bruce said, “Why didn’t you come ask for help?”

  “It was just a poor, defenseless, little kitty, hardly anything worth calling out the cavalry for.”

  He took her wounded hand and turned it over, surveying the damage. She had multiple scratches on both sides of her right hand and forearm but nothing that was bleeding much. “Hardly defenseless.” Leave it to Meghann to jump in and try to take care of the situation.

  He sat her on the couch and retrieved a wet washcloth and first-aid kit from the private restroom off of his office. He sat next to her and gently cleaned her wound-riddled flesh. She grimaced at the pain but didn’t complain or cry out.

  As he sat ministering to her injures, touching her warm, silky skin, it felt as if jolts of electricity coursed through him. What he really wanted to do was pull her close and wrap her in his arms, but with great effort he restrained himself.

  He had made a point to keep a professional distance from all the female staff, this one in particular. From the moment he was introduced to her and shook her slender hand, he felt some sort of unexplainable connection he hadn’t been able to shake. So he put extra effort into keeping their contact minimal and strictly business.

  But now he feared his resolve was quickly dissolving with her sitting here, letting him treat her scrapes. He also feared she was far too intriguing to avoid any longer.

  It was the middle of December and the fresh blanket of snow that had covered the ground the night before had melted in the strong Colorado sun. The Palace Hotel’s Christmas party was winding down by the time Meghann had joined the festivities. She hadn’t cut her shift short like so many others had. No, Meghann stayed at the front desk until her shift was over, allowing her coworkers to enjoy the party. He was starting to have a nice conversation with her over a cup of eggnog when a sultry voice from his past brought him up short.

  “Bruce Halloway!”

  It could be none other than Charmaine Altman. His ex-girlfriend was a stunning five-foot-eight glamorous platinum blond, not a flaw to be seen…on the outside anyway. He wanted to ignore her in hopes she would go away but knew that would be rude, and so, he turned to her. “Charmaine.” He had thought he had gotten away from her for good.

  “You are a hard man to track down.”

  But you still managed it.

  She extended her slim manicured hand to him wit
h her long blood-red nails. He wasn’t about to take her hand, and he stretched his arm around Meghann’s chair. “I’ve been here.” He hoped she wasn’t going to make a scene.

  “Who’s this?” she said as if she had only just noticed Meghann sitting with him. “The latest flavor of the month?”

  Bruce’s lips tightened. “She’s a friend.” But he hoped she would become more.

  Those perfectly sculpted brows arched. “A friend?” She turned her gaze on Meghann and studied her. “Since when do you have friends of the female persuasion?”

  Meghann shifted in her chair uncomfortably. She hadn’t missed Charmaine’s malicious tone or piercing glare.

  “I know you can do better than this. She’s hardly anything worth getting jealous over.”

  He heard Meghann take in a quick breath and sensed she would like to give Charmaine a piece of her mind, but Bruce was faster. “That’s enough!” He stood face-to-face with his adversary. He could put up with a lot by the grace of God but not her insulting Meghann, a true beauty.

  Charmaine took a step toward him. “I always could get a reaction out of you.” She raised a haughty brow, obviously pleased with herself.

  He stepped back, refusing to let this woman get to him. Why couldn’t she leave him alone? He wondered what Meghann thought of their exchange and was almost afraid to turn to her, but he did.

  “Let’s go.” He held out his hand to her. “I’ll take you out for dinner.” He figured an all-out retreat was his best defense before Charmaine got really ugly, or he said something he would regret. He wasn’t sure Meghann would accept the invitation because their relationship had always been strictly professional, but she rose and went with him without hesitation, most likely to escape any more of Charmaine’s tawdry remarks.

  They had almost made their escape when they were sidetracked in the lobby, and Bruce had to excuse himself to take care of some business. The business took longer than he anticipated, requiring an immediate trip out of town. On his way back to tell Meghann he would have to put off their dinner engagement, Charmaine waylaid him in the hall.

  “I must say I didn’t expect you to abandon your little friend so soon, but I can’t say I’m sorry about that.”

  “I haven’t abandoned Meghann.” At least not yet. He wasn’t about to tell Charmaine he was going to have to cancel on Meg. “I’m in a bit of a hurry.” Mostly to get away from her.

  She batted her lashes. “I thought maybe we could get together.”

  “No.” He tried to step around her, but she expertly slid herself in his path.

  “Well, then a drink…for old time’s sake.”

  He looked her straight in the eyes. “I’m really not interested.”

  She held up her hands. “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  He was relieved when she sidestepped out of his way, but then was caught off guard when she tripped and clutched at the front of him to regain her balance.

  She pasted on a sweet, innocent smile. “Pardon me.”

  As he grabbed her to set her aside, Meghann opened the door and witnessed them. His eyes locked with hers for an instant, and as clearly as if she had shouted it at him, he could read in her disbelieving eyes, You used me!

  He hadn’t. Never in a million years.

  Embarrassment and hurt flamed to her face, then she ran away.

  “Meghann, wait!” He shook Charmaine off and hustled after Meghann. He searched for her but couldn’t find her anywhere. Why did she have to choose that very moment to come down the hall? She didn’t understand. How could she with the damaging evidence?

  Meghann, where are you? Let me explain, please!

  Several months later, Meghann shifted in the hard chair as sounds gushed in from the hospital hallway, battering her. A straight-back chair with what little padding it offered did not make for a good bed. She didn’t know what time she drifted off or how much sleep she got, but apparently enough to make her stiff. She moved slowly to her mother’s bedside, trying to work out the kinks in her shoulders. Her mother had collapsed two days ago and slipped into a coma. Meghann had insisted on staying through the night against the hospital staff’s recommendations. She wanted to spend every last minute with her mom.

  Beep…beep…beep.…The monitor continued to measure out each beat of precious life.

  Contrary to the doctor’s prediction, her mother lasted through the night. That had to be a good sign.

  Thank you, Lord!

  “Good morning, Mom.”

  Heavy lids fluttered open. “I’ve had better,” her mother rasped out.

  “You’re awake!” Tears sprang to Meghann’s eyes. Her prayers had been answered.

  “I woke up some time ago. The doctor and the nurse have both been in to poke at me while you slept.”

  Meghann sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed back the hair from one side of her mom’s face, feeling more like the parent instead of the child. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “You looked so peaceful sleeping there.” Her mother patted Meghann’s hand. “It reminded me of when you were a baby and I would slip into your room to watch you sleep.”

  A heavyset nurse that Meghann recognized from the day before entered the room. The nurse picked up her mother’s chart and looked at Meghann. “I see you’ve woken up, too, and have seen the good news for yourself.” The nurse scratched something onto her mother’s chart. “It seems she’s pulling out of this.”

  This? Don’t they even know what’s wrong with Mom?

  “Congratulations on your new marriage.”

  The nurse was looking right at Meghann so she could only assume the woman was speaking to her. “Marriage?”

  “I heard you tell the doctor you just got married.”

  When did I tell the doctor that?

  “Did I ruin a surprise?” The wide-eyed nurse tucked her multicolored pen back in her uniform pocket.

  Meghann searched her brain for conversations with the doctor the previous day. Had she mentioned marriage? Only when the doctor told her to talk to her mom and give her something to fight for. She had told the doctor the thing that would make her mom happiest would be if she told her she had just gotten married. The nurse must have only heard a piece of the conversation. Why didn’t some people get their facts straight before pouncing on every bit of gossip they thought they heard? Meghann opened her mouth to set the record straight when her mother’s tired voice stopped her.

  “Oh, darling, I’m so happy for you.”

  Meg’s protest died in her throat with her mother’s smile and bright eyes. Did her mother really look better or was it her imagination?

  “It must be that nice young manager you’re always talking about.”

  “A-assistant manager,” was all she could manage to say. Did she really talk about him that much?

  “My daughter always tried to play down her relationship, but a mother can tell. I knew she was hiding something.” Her mother turned back to her then. “His name’s Bruce, right, honey?”

  Her affirmation came out as a squeak, then she cleared her throat with a nod. “Bruce Halloway.”

  “Meghann Halloway. Doesn’t that have a nice sound to it?”

  Meghann thought so. But exactly how did she suddenly become Mrs. Bruce Halloway? More important, how did she tactfully become unmarried to her boss?

  The doctor came in then, giving Meghann the chance to collect her thoughts. Her mother looked so invigorated with the news of her marriage. She would be disappointed to find out it was all a misunderstanding.

  The doctor brought her out of her thoughts. “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up. She’s improved since I was last here, but she’s not out of the woods yet.”

  Keep it up? But…but…it’s not true!

  She looked from the doctor to the smiling nurse to her ill mother. A weak smile pulled at Meghann’s mouth.

  I guess I’m married…for now.

  One

  “I’M GOING TO KILL MY MOTHER!”
<
br />   “No, you’re not.” Meghann’s friend Jennifer tried to console her, but she knew better.

  Slouched on her gingham-covered sofa, Meghann Livingston rolled her head to the side with a sigh and gave her friend a weary pout. “Yes, I am going to kill her. When I tell her I have no husband, she will collapse again…only this time at my feet.”

  Meghann’s mother had recently been released from a Florida hospital after being treated for what the doctors were calling overexhaustion for lack of a better, more accurate diagnosis. Truth was, they didn’t have a clue what was wrong with her mother. Other than a slight potassium deficiency, all the tests came back negative. Even the CAT scan revealed nothing.

  Meghann shook her head. It just didn’t make sense. A person didn’t just faint and slip into a coma for no reason. But that’s what her mother had done. It had been a terrifying time, but thankfully her mother seemed to be recovering. And the doctor had said she should take it easy and rest or the next time could be worse.

  The next time?

  No! If Meghann could help it, there would be no next time. Only one thing could be worse than almost dying, and that wasn’t going to happen. Her mother was all she had.

  Why were you driving yourself so hard, Mom? Was she that lonesome? So much so that she had to fill her every waking moment?

  It was no wonder Meghann had said what she had, that she’d tried to give her frighteningly ill mother some hope…some shred of something to hold on to. No wonder she’d avoided setting the misconception straight and lied through her teeth. It was everything her mom wanted for her.