Special Order Groom

by Tina Leonard

  “Maybe you should listen to your fiancé the doctor and give the home pregnancy test a whirl,” Kathryn suggested.

  “Ugh!” She shot Kathryn’s burgeoning stomach a frightened glance. “It’s nerves, nothing more.”

  “Then you better settle them, Crystal.” Kathryn moved to a more comfortable position on the large sofa. “You’re planning the biggest day of your life—well, until you decide to have children. You want it to be everything you ever dreamed of. Everything you ever did for any other bride.”

  “She’s right, Crystal,” Genie agreed. “I loved what you did for me.”

  “It was just shoes and a dress,” Crystal said glumly. “That’s all I’ve ever given any bride, I suppose.”

  “Not Janet or me,” Genie said. “You gave us incentive to be ourselves.”

  Crystal snapped her fingers. “Maybe that’s the problem! I’ve got good-girl blues. Every night Mitch and I sleep together and I love having him with me. But somewhere in the night, my mind reminds me that we’re putting the cart before the horse by making love so much. So I throw up.”

  “Nope,” Kathryn disagreed. “Making love is a calming thing. It should be done as often as possible if you love your man. You wouldn’t feel guilty about that.”

  She did. She felt guilty for making love with Mitch and enjoying it so much when she wasn’t ready to give him her whole heart. Was she satisfied with the agreement they’d struck?

  “I wish I’d made love with Tom more before we got married,” Kathryn said softly. “Because of my…um, situation in high school, I felt like I should wait until after I got married before I engaged in sexual relations. But that really didn’t work, either,” she said, her tone sad. “My over-eager ovaries immediately reacted to lovemaking with a pregnancy, and my husband walked out soon after saying we weren’t as compatible in bed as he thought we’d be. He travels a lot now, and I know it’s to avoid my…um, our marriage. So I’d say make love all you can, particularly if you’re enjoying it. That would be my advice.”

  “I am so sorry, Kathryn! I had no idea.” Crystal went to the sofa to hug her friend.

  Janet and Genie patted Kathryn’s hands and shoulders.

  Kathryn laughed, full and throaty, and resolutely pushed their hands away. “I’m not looking for sympathy today, although I thank you for your concern. I just want you to know that you’re probably not suffering from good-girl blues, Crystal.”

  “Probably not.” But she wished it was as simple as sexual conscience. The real problem glimmered into focus as she thought through Kathryn’s story.

  She and Mitch lay in bed together every night. They made love. They talked about general things. They co-planned some of their honeymoon travel details.

  They did not talk about Mitch, she suddenly realized. Any time she had asked him about his practice or his life before they had met each other again, Mitch kissed her. Or he tickled her. Or he made love to her.

  But he never, ever talked about his life. All she knew was that he seemed to be taking a break from practicing medicine.

  Her stomach clenched tight as she fought a wave of nausea. In ten days she was marrying a man she hadn’t known in a long time—and the years in between the times they’d dated were a blank.

  For a woman who wanted a safety net, she was jumping without one.

  “What you need,” Genie said cheerfully, “is your bridesmaids to take your place.”

  “What?” Crystal wasn’t sure where that fit in.

  “You need to be the customer, and we will be the bridal consultants!” A grin lit her elfin features.

  Crystal held back a groan. “I don’t know—”

  “You need motivation! Once you get started with wedding preparations, you’ll forget all about your nerves. You just need help!” Genie jumped to her feet. “There are three of us to take little ol’ you in hand. We’ll each choose a gown we think you’d be scrumptious in, and you can select one of our ensembles!”

  “Just think,” Kathryn said dryly, “we have a variety of taste, Crystal. This should be fun.”

  “Being a victim is never fun.” But she sat back against the sofa, too frozen by her realization to refuse their offer. “I could probably use a kick start.”

  “Oh, it’s much too difficult to do everything for yourself!” Janet airily stated. “If you were a doctor, you wouldn’t necessarily heal yourself, would you?”

  Physician heal thyself doesn’t work with me, Mitch had said.

  Chills swept her. “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, then. Let’s go, girls.” Janet went off, the other women following her.

  Crystal sighed, making herself relax. She picked up the phone next to the sofa and dialed Mitch’s parents’ house.

  “Hello?”

  His voice on the line after two rings startled Crystal. “It’s Crystal, Mitch.”

  “Hi! I’m on the other line with the caterers. Do you want to hold or what?”

  “I want to talk to you. When you have time.”

  “I’m going to have all night,” he said, his tone suggestive.

  She closed her eyes. “Mitch, something just occurred to me.”

  “Can it wait until after I tell the caterers what kind of libations we want at the wedding?”

  “Mitch, you haven’t been going to Dallas,” she said on a rush, “and all of a sudden, I realized you don’t seem to be working. Or not very much. Not that I’m familiar with the hours a cardiac surgeon works, but—”

  “Let’s talk about this tonight, okay? I’ve got to get back to the caterers. But I’ll bring something over for dinner, if you think you’ll be hungry. How are you feeling?”

  Sick. She wanted to say, I feel nervous and tense and in doubt.

  Genie came into the salon with her choice of wedding attire and Crystal swallowed. “I feel…like I’m falling.”

  “I’ve fallen for you, too, babe. Talk to you later.”

  She hung up, eyeing Genie and the short mini-dress sparkling at her. “Um—”

  “Short and white, clean and bright!” Genie chirped. “Modern fairy-bride attire.”

  “I’m not Tinkerbell, though.” Crystal told herself to give her bridal consultant’s suggestion a fair consideration.

  “But you’ve got great legs. You should lose those long skirts you wear and show your groom a little skin.”

  “You think standing at the altar is the time to make a fashion change?” If she made a major change in her approach to clothing on her wedding day, she might feel self-conscious.

  “You looked great in that red dress you wore at your party, and that was very short.”

  “Aunt Elle picked that out for me.” Crystal would never have chosen anything like that, always wishing to appear professional and calm.

  “And I thought you looked sensational. So did Mitch.” Genie grinned at her. “Try it. You might like it.”

  Janet came out into the salon, holding a long, lavish ecru gown encrusted with seed pearls and sequins. The neckline was sweetheart and the sleeves were cap-style.

  “That one is lovely,” Crystal said reluctantly. “Very elegant. Very romantic.”

  “You’d look like a princess,” Janet said, “and every woman should feel like a princess on her wedding day.”

  Crystal folded her lips. “I’m sure you have a point—” The trouble was, she felt more like a fraud than a princess. But she resolved to try the dress on.

  Kathryn came in with nothing in her hands. Crystal raised her eyebrows.

  “I couldn’t find anything. Nothing in here seems to jive with who you are,” she said apologetically. “I’m sorry, Crystal.”

  Relieved, Crystal jumped to her feet. “That’s what’s bothering me! I don’t need a wedding gown at all! I need to elope!”

  “Why?” Kathryn frowned at her. “Just because I can’t find the real you in lace-over-satin? Give me a chance. You’ve got catalogs galore, and a trip into Dallas wouldn’t be amiss.”

  B
ut Crystal shook her head, her stomach easing. “I think I’m not a big-wedding kind of girl. A basic elopement would suit me fine.”

  “I think your mom would be terribly disappointed,” Kathryn said. “Not to mention Mitch.”

  Crystal studied the glittering diamond on her hand for a moment before saying, “I know.” Mitch wanted a big wedding to help her erase her worries about him being a man she could count on.

  But after all these years, she didn’t know him the way she once had—and she had a bad feeling their marriage of convenience wasn’t quite fifty-fifty in honesty. “This is such a bad idea,” she said in a whisper none of her friends heard as they planned her dream wedding.

  The door opened, and Kathryn’s husband, Tom, surprised everyone by walking in the door. He saw his heavily pregnant wife with the long skirt of satin and sparkles Janet had selected for Crystal, and went ecru himself. “Your mother told me you were here. I need to talk to you, Kathryn.”

  The wondrous fabric fell from Kathryn’s fingers. “I didn’t know you were back in town, Tom.”

  He glanced at Crystal and Janet and Genie with some unease. “I’m only in for the afternoon. Actually, I just came here to tell you…to tell you—”

  “Tell me what?”

  Crystal watched hope flare in Kathryn’s eyes. She waited breathlessly for Tom to finish. Maybe there were happy endings, maybe her friend would have a chance for a happy marriage—

  “I’m getting married as soon as our divorce is final,” he stated, before turning and walking back out the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  “It was horrible!” Crystal told Mitch as they ate a dinner of pizza and beer. The dogs sat outside the kitchen window dolefully watching them; the cats ignored them. Crystal had set her painted teacup on the table but found herself unable to use it. Kathryn had been shattered by her husband’s announcement, and Crystal was heartbroken for her.

  She was also more worried than ever about marrying Mitch, conveniently or otherwise.

  “He just walked out. Just left her standing there.” Crystal could completely relate to the suffering and emptiness of being dumped. “I don’t think I can eat any more.” She pushed herself away from the table and put her plate in the sink.

  “You’ve got to eat sometime,” Mitch said. “As a doctor, I advise you against forgoing this pizza. It’s pretty good.”

  “You don’t seem sorry for Kathryn at all,” Crystal said. “I know you’re one of the few people she’s ever counted on.”

  He sighed. “Crystal, she’ll come to me when she’s ready to talk. I’m sure right now she’s trying to be respectful of our relationship.”

  “You mean that she won’t come to you because of me?” Crystal couldn’t bear that.

  “Well, obviously, it’s a bad situation for her, but she’s known for a while that Tom was a slime.”

  “She’s pregnant!”

  “And she’s tough. She’ll make it through this. She’s never been a fainting flower of a female.”

  Crystal turned around to face him. “Are you suggesting I’m fainthearted?”

  “No. You just have different approaches to men.”

  “I don’t have any approach to men!” Crystal glared at him.

  “That’s my point. She’ll find another man. She won’t hide from her pain. And no, I’m not taking a shot at you.”

  Crystal crossed her arms. “Are you speaking from experience, then? Are you hiding something from me?”

  He put his pizza down, clearly unhappy with her observation. Indecision folded his finely shaped lips and creased a line between his eyes. He set his jaw squarely in irritation.

  She seated herself at the table again and clasped his hands over the plates. “Mitch, maybe it’s time we talk and get everything out in the open. Everything. We can do it before, or we can do it after, but it looks to me like doing it before is better than saving it all for later.”

  “I’d like to take that as a sexual innuendo—”

  She shook her head and skipped the smile.

  He sighed. “I’m being sued for negligence.”

  The single sentence shocked Crystal.

  “And to be perfectly honest, I don’t think I want to practice medicine anymore,” he said. “And that’s the confession I’ve been hiding, Crystal.”

  TO SAY THAT HE HADN’T wanted to tell her his secret was an understatement. Being so close to having her forever, he wanted to present himself in the very best light possible. Yet, like Bess, keeping his secret inside him hadn’t felt right.

  Once upon a time, he and Crystal had shared everything. That was the way he remembered her, as his best friend, as the girl he loved to talk to and be with and kiss for hours.

  He’d known he was being selfish—but God help him, he in no way intended to have a sham marriage. And that was something else they needed to get straight. “Confession’s painful,” he said tiredly. “I’d rather get a shot.”

  “What do you mean you’re being sued? You weren’t going to tell me?”

  His chest rose and fell with a regretful sigh. “We weren’t going to use the same funds or have the same bank account, as I recall, so there was no danger of your money being affected—”

  Crystal stood up. “Is there a reason you haven’t told me this?”

  “It’s not something I relish.” He also stood but made no move toward her. “In fact, the only way I’ve been able to even forget it long enough to be able to sleep is…when I’m with you at night.”

  CRYSTAL TRIED TO PUT a brave face on what Mitch had told her, but she still felt as if she’d been left standing at the prom without a date. How could he not have told her?

  On the other hand, maybe it didn’t change what they’d agreed to, she argued with herself.

  Her mother had called it right. She’d never gotten over him, so she’d hidden away, shielding her broken heart.

  Okay, so their marriage of convenience would be missing some vital ingredients, Crystal thought later as they made love in her bed, surrounded by sleeping pets on the floor, under the bed and along the bookshelves. But she and Mitch were happiest in each other’s arms, and that had to be as good a place to start as any.

  They both slept through the night without waking.

  “I HAVE A NEW LEASE on life,” Bess told Crystal when she visited her mother the next day.

  “I’m feeling pretty repaired myself.”

  “Have you picked out a gown?” Bess beamed. “I want to hear every detail. I want to hear about the lace, the length, and how the sequins are going to sparkle as much as that diamond Mitch gave you.”

  Elle and Martin smiled approvingly. Crystal felt a small clutch of dismay but forced it back. “I haven’t quite picked one out yet—”

  “Oh, Crystal,” her mother said sorrowfully.

  “But I’ve narrowed it down to a few choices!” she quickly inserted.

  “And you owning a bridal salon, too,” Bess said ruefully. “Why, you’re just trying to placate me. I know you too well, Crystal Star Jennings. Once you make up your mind, you’re fast as lightning. What girl doesn’t jump to pick out her wedding gown?” She folded her lips. “I don’t need to be a mind reader to know that as soon as the doctor proclaims me fit, you two will call off this supposed engagement.”

  “We’re not calling anything off,” Crystal insisted.

  “Good, because I put an announcement in the Lover’s Valley Herald.” Bess held out the paper so that Crystal could take it.

  She did, reluctantly, her eyes stretched with disbelief and a fresh sense of panic. “Mother! I wasn’t planning to invite the entire town to the wedding!”

  Her three family members stared at her in dismay.

  “Mitch said it was just what he wanted,” Elle said plaintively. “He did say he wanted to have a very public affair. He suggested the gym, in fact. I believe he said that, in order to erase old ghosts, the two of you needed to return to the scene of the original disappointment. Meaning the p
rom night that never was.”

  Crystal felt tremors begin to shake her stomach. “I’m not certain I’m ready for such a big step.” How could she allow the whole town to witness her humiliation if—

  It’s not like last time, she told herself sternly. Mitch wants to marry me. And church or gym, it didn’t matter. The high school gym was actually the more practical choice since it was larger. But she got goose bumps thinking about returning there for a sentimental occasion. She’d spent hours helping decorate it for prom night.

  “Is that even a diamond, or just cubic zirconia to fob me off?” Bess wanted to know. “Something you can simply toss in the trash when this charade is over?”

  “I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Crystal said on a groan. “When did you become so suspicious-minded?”

  “Since you’ve avoided the altar for years.” Bess shook her head. “My only child, my daughter, the light of my life. An avowed bachelorette, a cellophane-wrapped leftover of her own making. I just simply do not comprehend the problem. If you weren’t such a beautiful, sweet girl maybe I could understand, but my daughter deserves the best man in the state of Texas.” She crossed her arms. “And I don’t think I’m tooting my own horn too much to say that I did a damn fine job raising you to be such a special woman. It isn’t right for you to leave your charms in a box in a dark closet where they can’t be shared with people who have so much less.”

  Crystal gritted her teeth, positive she felt hives breaking out along her back. “Mom, in two days, I will be a bride. Even if it kills me. You’ll just have to wait until the happy day for proof. Other than that, I wish you’d keep your dire proclamations to yourself. Please. You’ll get your chance to be a beaming mother of the bride, I promise.”

  “If you’re happy, I’m happy,” Bess said primly. “I just want you to be happy.”

  “I’m not as happy as I am confused!” Crystal gathered up her purse. “I’m feeling distinctly disoriented after having this conversation.”

  “Mitch can probably prescribe something for you,” Bess said brightly. “Kissing him three times a day, maybe?”