The Stand-in Groom

by Lori Wilde

  She laughed.

  And couldn’t stop laughing.

  He ran his hand up the inside of her thigh, but not even that delicious sensation could stifle her laughter.

  “It’s not that funny, Stacy.”

  “No, it’s not funny at all.” But she didn’t stop laughing.

  “You can’t marry Mercer. This proves it.”

  “I have to. My mother bought a lace dress. The mints are in the freezer. My father insisted on taking out a second mortgage. You don’t understand. Weddings can’t be canceled!”

  “I do understand. You don’t want to admit you were wrong to get engaged to a cold fish with an ego the size of the Grand Canyon.”

  He sounded so grim her eyes got teary.

  “No, no, it’s nothing to do with me anymore. Weddings have a life of their own. They swell up and grow. They get bigger and bigger, and there’s no stopping them. My cousin is coming from Fairbanks. All the partners in Jonathan’s firm will be there. The cake will use every granule of sugar in the city. I even have a wedding gown.”

  The walls vibrated when Nick slammed the door on his way out.

  He’d blown it. He was so sure Mercer was bad news for Stacy, he’d tried to make her admit she’d rather be with him.

  All he’d done was confuse her. She wasn’t going to call off the wedding, and who could blame her? Mercer was a hotshot lawyer. If he got any splinters, they’d be in his butt from sitting around on courtroom benches pretending to earn his fees.

  Nick never for a moment thought Stacy was mercenary, but all women liked security. The only thing Nick knew for sure about his future was that construction work wasn’t for him, not even if he bought into his brothers’ business and became a partner.

  Hell, maybe he was only turned on because Stacy was off-limits. He’d never been interested in marriage, and nothing was safer than caring about a woman who was already committed to someone else.

  He didn’t need her. He could always find someone else. When was the last time a woman had turned him down? There’d been a brunette in the eighth grade whose parents wouldn’t let her date and...

  He couldn’t remember any others, but he did know it was time to jump-start his social life.

  The first thing he did when he got home was start making plans. In less than half an hour, he had dates with three different women for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And he was only warming up.

  Friday night he had high hopes when he picked up Melissa, a girl he’d dated in high school. She was twenty-four now, and she’d been married and divorced twice, something he didn’t know when he messaged her on social media. Playing the “remember when” game was fun the first five minutes, but it soon got old.

  After listening to cute-kid stories about her two daughters until he started zoning out, he took her home at ten o’clock and didn’t go inside.

  Saturday he decided against another cozy dinner for two. Instead, he took Tina, a waitress who made a point of serving him whenever he went to Ed’s Diner for breakfast, to a stock car race. She didn’t lack enthusiasm. She screamed herself hoarse and bounced up and down on the bleachers like a rubber beach ball.

  He’d forgotten dating could be hard work. When he dropped her off at home, he didn’t have enough energy left for a good-night kiss.

  Anyway, she was no Stacy.

  Things got worse on Sunday. Ginger was a blind date. A friend set them up, and Nick owed him big time for it. A good swift kick wouldn’t be payoff enough.

  Ginger refused to wear a seat belt because she liked to sit close to get acquainted. Anyway, it made her panties ride up...her black lace panties.

  When they drove home from a noisy time at the annual Italian festival on the waterfront, she tried to do some serious fondling. He had to drive one-handed most of the way to keep her contained.

  She invited him into her place.

  He declined.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have written the hot little number off so fast, Nick decided around three a.m. He’d been playing the lone wolf too long. Now instead of sleeping, he lay awake wide-eyed and agitated for the third night in a row. His dating spree had done nothing to get Stacy out of his head.

  Somewhere he had to find a nice, available woman and do an overnight. He couldn’t spend his whole life agonizing over the woman who would soon be Mrs. Stuffed Shirt.

  Monday morning, his eyes looked like the dark side of the moon. Zack got on his case, usually something Nick ignored, but his brother’s quips were about as funny as toe fungus.

  There was nothing more annoying than a reformed hell-raiser like Zack trying to sound parental and wise, unless it was a woman who wouldn’t admit she was making a big mistake.

  10

  “Mom, I’m moving to Grosse Pointe, not Australia,” Stacy said on the phone, not that she could dissuade her mother from holding the big family dinner she’d scheduled for the following day. There was nothing Alice and Ray Moore liked better than rounding up all their chicks for a meal, unless it was knowing they’d have secure futures.

  “Everyone’s coming. It’s a chance for all of us to have Sunday dinner one more time before your wedding. Three more weeks! I can hardly wait. I still can’t decide whether to take up the hem on my dress an inch or so. Do you think I look good in that shade of beige?”

  Stacy was leaning on her kitchen counter, the call on speakerphone, working her way through a stack of RSVPs. “Yes, you look great, Mom. Don’t touch the hem. I like your dress better than mine.”

  This was true. She’d gone along with the consensus of her entourage rather than waste any more time shopping for a gown. Now she wasn’t at all sure the lacy beaded bodice and billowing skirt were right for her.

  “If you really think it’s okay...”

  Alice Moore usually had strong opinions and didn’t need reassurance from her daughter. Unfortunately, she was nervous about making a good impression on Jonathan’s side of the family, but the Queen of England would have a hard time upstaging Rebecca Mercer, Stacy’s future mother-in-law.

  “Did Kirk have any luck job hunting this week?” Stacy asked.

  Better her mother should worry about a real problem instead of getting gray hair over her daughter’s wedding. Her younger brother had lost his job as a fast food manager two weeks ago and so far had no good prospects.

  “He applied for a job in Saginaw. Saginaw! I’d hate to have him go so far away.”

  If it were up to Mom, the whole family would live on the same block.

  “Maybe he’ll find something closer.”

  They’d had the same conversation yesterday, and Stacy braced herself for the inevitable.

  “I’m so happy my only daughter will be taken care of. Lawyers don’t lose their jobs. You’ll never have to worry about working yourself.”

  With five kids, Mom hadn’t worked by choice. It was hard for her to understand that Stacy loved what she did. She didn’t want to quit, but every time she brought the subject up, Jonathan said to wait and see.

  “I like working.”

  Her mother chose not to hear her.

  “Jonathan will make partner soon. You should be proud of him.”

  Was Jonathan a good lawyer? He was successful, she knew, but did he help people? Was what he did worthwhile or just profitable? Would he be offended if she asked?

  “It’s no fun watching every penny you spend,” her mother warned.

  Life with Nick would mean pinching pennies and living on hot dogs.

  “Is it such a terrible thing when two people love each other?” she asked.

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” her mother said happily. “You’ve made a good choice in Jonathan. Talk to you later.”

  Her mother hung up, and Stacy was glad her parents didn’t have to worry about her future. It was under control. The last thing she wanted was to cause them distress. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what her family would think of Nick as a son-in-law. Aunt Lucille would like his directness...
and his cute butt.

  His good humor would win over her brothers, but she doubted her parents would think of him as a good prospect. His grandfather owned Bailey Baby Products, but Nick worked as a laborer for his brothers. They wouldn’t think he was steady and reliable like Jonathan.

  Why was life so complicated? This was supposed to be the happiest time of her life. Friday her co-workers were taking her on a girls’ night out. Sunday her friends were giving her a big bridal shower. Her wedding was going to be perfect, if only she could stop thinking about Nick.

  Nick glanced at his watch when he got to the worksite but didn’t much care that he was late. His dating frenzy was taking its toll, and he wouldn’t be surprised if his own brothers fired him.

  So far, no woman had appealed to him the way Stacy did, but he wasn’t the man for her. What could he offer? He had a job he hated and no prospects of anything better.

  Another couple of weeks, and she’d be married, officially off-limits. He should just forget her. But how could he when he might see her again once the kidnappers were brought to justice.

  Cole was outside talking to a couple of strangers in white shirts and ties, probably inspectors or guys from the bank. Nick didn’t care who they were. The complexities of getting something built were a nightmare. He was surprised the wild Bailey twins had the patience to deal with all the red tape.

  “Nick, someone wants to see you in the office,” Cole called over to him.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  When the twins played good boss, bad boss, Zack always got to be the one who kicked butt. Nick ambled over to the trailer and opened the screen door, wondering if he’d finally be fired.

  “Tess?” He hadn’t expected his sister-in-law—make that sisters-in-law.

  Tess was perched on the edge of the desk with Megan behind her in the swivel chair. Zack’s wife, Megan, was dressed in white jeans and a pink tank top while Tess looked ready for work at her baby store in black dress pants and a red blouse. Why were they here?

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” Megan asked sternly. She flicked aside her long blond hair and scowled at him.

  “What did I do?”

  He could think of a whole laundry list of possibilities, but none that his brothers or their wives were likely to know about.

  “For starters, you’re late to work. We’ve been waiting nearly thirty minutes.”

  “Sorry.”

  It was the only safe word on those rare occasions when a woman—make that women—expected him to account for himself.

  “Don’t tell us you’re sorry. It’s your brothers who rely on you to do a day’s work.”

  His brothers had brought in their wives to read him the riot act? This surprised him. They usually took care of their own problems.

  “Why are you here?” He was genuinely curious.

  “I’m so disappointed in you, Nick,” Tess said. “Cole and I waited for you for several hours the other evening, but you never came.”

  “Tess, I’m sorry. I forgot.”

  For this he was genuinely sorry. Tess was a sweetheart, the caring, understanding sister he’d never had. Dinner at Cole’s had completely slipped his mind. He’d had a date with a Wayne State coed who was working her way through college modeling for art classes. It turned out she liked to get paid for other things, too, and he’d dumped her early on.

  “You were going to help Zack install our new air conditioner,” Megan reminded him.

  “Your brothers didn’t want to tell us what you’ve been up to, but we have our ways,” Tess said. “You’re goofing off at work and making a mess of your social life.”

  They were scolding him as if he were a schoolboy, but he couldn’t resent their concern. He had been acting like a jerk lately.

  Anything he could say would sound like a weak alibi, but he hadn’t enjoyed any part of his wild dating binge. Stacy made other women seem bland and dull.

  “Your mother is really worried, Nick,” Megan said, bringing in the heavy ammo.

  This was the crux of it. His mother knew what it was like to be young, pregnant with twins, and unmarried. She was afraid he’d cause that kind of pain in someone else’s life, but she hated to interfere. The two furies were here to ream him over for her.

  “She doesn’t need to worry,” he said.

  “I don’t like being a busybody,” Tess said, “but you blew off college and worked only part of one season on the ore boat. Now you’re letting your brothers down. They’d really like to take you into their business.”

  “It’s not for me.”

  “That’s your decision,” Megan said, “but when you drive our husbands nuts trying to figure you out, we don’t like it.”

  “Message received.” He grinned sheepishly but didn’t much like himself for being the family problem.

  He had one thing on his mind, and it wasn’t job related.

  “I’ll get out of their hair soon, I promise,” he added.

  He knew what he wanted to do, but it was too soon to talk about a different job. For now, his arms ached to hold Stacy, and the taste of her lips was as fresh as if he’d kissed her only moments ago. He needed to tell her how he felt, but how could he? What could he possibly offer to compete with the shyster lawyer? She must care about the guy. Nick knew her well enough to be sure she’d never marry someone just for an easy life.

  The wedding watch dragged on. After a few more dismal dates, Nick canceled a Saturday night and went instead to the company lab where he expected Marsh to be working.

  It was one week until Stacy’s wedding, and his crusty grandfather was the only person he felt like seeing, a first in their relationship. Somehow Nick felt better when he could work on something challenging in the lab.

  “Wondered if you’d show up,” Marsh said, looking up from the well-equipped bench where he was working.

  It was his way of saying, “Glad to see you.”

  “What are you working on?” Nick surprised himself by being really eager to know.

  “This dang collapsible high chair. We can’t market it until I figure out how to avoid pinched fingers. Those idiots on the payroll gave up on it.”

  “Let me see it.” He grinned and accepted Marsh’s challenge.

  A few hours later, Nick dashed out to a convenience store for a frozen pizza. His grandfather had been in the lab since morning and hadn’t bothered with lunch. They shared a somewhat soggy pizza warmed in a microwave in the employee lounge, both in too much of a hurry to get back to work to care about what they ate.

  When Nick came up with a workable way to redo the hinges, he felt better about himself than he had in a long time. It was clear Marsh couldn’t have been more pleased if he’d come up with the idea himself, but it wasn’t his grandfather’s approval that made Nick so happy. He’d finally found work that interested him.

  It was nearly midnight when he pulled into the driveway of the duplex he rented from his brothers. They’d lived there together until Cole got married, then Zack used it as his bachelor pad. It was sparsely furnished and required little upkeep, but Nick was beginning to wonder if he shouldn’t move out. They charged him too little rent, and he’d had more help than he needed or wanted from his brothers.

  He started toward the door, then stopped when a woman got out of a compact car parked on the other side of the street where parking was legal.

  Either he was hallucinating, or Stacy was crossing the street toward him. He was too surprised to do anything but watch her.

  “Hi.” She stopped ten feet away, her face dimly illuminated by the pinkish glow of the streetlight on the corner.

  “You’re out late.” He was thrilled to see her but didn’t know what else to say.

  “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “What if I hadn’t come home?”

  “Was there any chance of that?”

  Was she trying to learn whether he was seeing someone? He cared about her too much to be coy.

  “None whatsoev
er. Want to come inside? The mosquitoes are fierce.” He slapped at an imaginary bug on his arm.

  “I shouldn’t.”

  She followed him to the door, hesitated when he unlocked it, then stepped inside.

  The room was dark except for the outside light over the door spilling inside. When he shut it, he could just see her standing a few steps away.

  “I’ll turn on a light.”

  “No! I mean, don’t bother. It’s never totally dark in the city, is it?”

  “Not totally.”

  Having her there was unreal enough. In the glow from his sleeping computer, illuminated clock dial, and answering machine, she was a vision straight from his dreams, only fully dressed in white shorts and a gauzy sleeveless top.

  “I don’t know why I came here.”

  He didn’t believe that. Strange, because she usually told the whole truth and nothing but.

  “Maybe you wanted to see me.”

  He hoped she couldn’t hear the rapid beating of his heart.

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  She sounded so unhappy he felt badly for her sake.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said.

  She’d never believe how much, but the loneliness of not being with her hit him like a truckload of cement blocks.

  “My wedding is one week away, six days if you count today as being over.”

  “It is over. It’s after midnight.”

  Mention of her wedding made the mediocre pizza he’d eaten earlier turn to battery acid in his stomach.

  “It’s scary, sort of like signing my life away,” she said in a hushed voice.

  He had to agree. Mercer was a self-centered egotistical jerk, and she should be scared silly. But he hated hearing her sound depressed. He wanted the best life had to offer for her, but there was nothing he could give her that would compare to the security she’d have after her marriage.

  He couldn’t help thinking of his mother, abandoned by a guy who was too scared of Marsh to stand by her. He didn’t blame her for wanting to remarry. After his father died, she’d seemed lost.