Anything You Want (33 page)

The light yellow sundress was as close to a white dress as she’d been able to find. She hadn’t spoken to Kat since her friend had threatened to talk Luke out of the marriage and so didn’t have a girlfriend to dress shop with. And it didn’t seem like something she should do alone. The sundress wasn’t especially dressy, but Luke wore tan khakis and a pale blue button-up shirt so she didn’t think he cared she wasn’t in heels.

Her clothes were getting harder to fit into every day and she was grateful the dress had been a bit billowy—meaning too big—to start with.

She smoothed the front of the dress and looked around the room.

If they could get on with it and get it over with then she’d quit thinking about it and the butterflies would go away and she’d quit feeling like puking.

But Luke was out in the hallway on his phone. For the second time.

The Judge was sitting behind his desk reading something from the stack of papers in front of him and the admin looked terribly bored. The office hadn’t opened until eight-thirty and with Luke’s phone calls it was now eight fifty-six. She knew because every time the judge checked his watch, she glanced at the wall clock.

What possible emergency a restaurateur needed to deal with this early in the morning was beyond her, but apparently Marc was nowhere to be found—ever since yesterday afternoon—so Luke was the guy. She refused to think or wonder or worry about Marc.

“Sorry about that.” Luke re-entered the chamber with a smile. “Just a few, um, issues.”

“That Marc couldn’t handle?” She almost couldn’t believe she’d said his name without crying or choking.

“He’s not there.”

She scowled at the brass desk lamp in front of her. As far as Marc knew she was at the airport preparing to get on a plane. To Nashville. Out of Luke’s life.

Out of his life too.

She squared her shoulders. If he thought he was going to be invited to their place for barbecues, he was crazy. “Let’s go,” she said resolutely.

Sleeping with Marc had been a dumb thing to do. Trusting him, falling for him, had been completely stupid and irresponsible. Well, she was done with all of that. She was going to start doing the right thing, for the right reasons. Responsible and logical were her new favorite adjectives. It was about damned time too.

Marrying Luke made sense. It was good for her and her child and could be good for him too. It was going to be fine.

Fine.

What a great word to describe what should be the most important relationship in her life.

She was about to start giggling hysterically when the judge finally pushed his heavier-than-average frame away from his desk and out of his chair.

“Let’s get started. Luke Hamilton, do you take this woman, Sabrina Cassidy, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Luke wouldn’t look at her. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. “I do,” he finally managed.

The judge turned to look at her. The butterflies dive-bombed and she literally had to swallow twice to keep from lunging for the wastebasket.

“Sabrina Cassidy do you—”

Oh, God. She couldn’t do this. She loved Luke but she
loved
Marc. How could she live with Luke and see Marc all the time and not shrivel up from the wanting and needing, but never having?

“—take this man, Luke Hamilton—”

She felt a little faint. She had run away from Luke before. Now she was going to actually reject him. Out loud. In front of other people. But she couldn’t marry him.

“—to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

She took a deep breath, said a little prayer and opened her mouth. “I—”

“Oh,
hell
no.” The growl came as the office door bounced off the inner wall.

Everyone turned at once.

Sabrina’s heart knew who it was—and thudded accordingly—even before she saw him.

Marc looked pissed. And disheveled. And bloodshot.

She was thrilled. He was here to—

“What are you doing here?” Luke asked. But he certainly didn’t demand it, or bellow it, or act all that shocked or displeased.

“Sabrina has a plane to catch.” Marc started toward her.

The dangerous glint in his eyes made her blood hum rather than freeze as was probably more common for hunted prey. In fact, she took a step toward him.

“She didn’t mention that,” Luke said calmly.

“Marc,” she started.

“Don’t.”

His voice was low, full of warning, his eyes directly on her. He stooped as he got near and before she knew it he had her scooped up in his arms.

“Marc, you can’t—”

“Watch me.” He turned and headed out the door.

The last thing Sabrina saw over Marc’s shoulder was Luke’s grin.

“What are you doing?” Sabrina demanded as they headed through the atrium of the courthouse. “Are you insane?” She kicked her legs but Marc’s hold was firm.

“Knock it off. You’re causing a scene.”

“I’m—” She stopped as they passed a security guard. She’d successfully done that to him once before. But she didn’t really want to get away this time.

He was literally carrying her away from Luke, preventing their marriage. That had been his intention all along. Since Wyoming. But if she fought him, it would be fighting to go back in and become Luke’s wife.

In Marc’s arms she realized that she couldn’t do that.

He set her on her feet next to the curb outside the courthouse two minutes later. Then he stood looking down at her, a mixture of emotions on his face.

Finally she asked, “What?”

“You deserve a real wedding dress. And a church.”

Crap. When he said stuff like that it was hard to be mad.

“It was spur of the moment.”

“I know. It shouldn’t be. When you mean it, it should be…intentional.”

Or deliberate, she thought. That word again. And if she was imagining the look in his eye she was going to commit herself to the insane asylum.

“You’re right,” she said softly.

“You’re
not
marrying Luke today.”

“Obviously,” she said dryly.

He didn’t smile. “Go to Nashville. Then, when or if you come back and you still want to marry him, I won’t interfere.”

His words sucked the air from her lungs. It wasn’t about keeping her away from his best friend?

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I want you to have…” He trailed off and swallowed.

“What?” She stepped closer. “What do you want me to have?”

“Anything you want,” he said huskily.

“Maybe what I want is here.”

“I would love that. But you won’t know for sure unless you go.” He stepped back from her. “You have to know that you’re
choosing
whatever it is. Not settling because you didn’t have a choice.”

She pressed her lips together. She understood. If she came back it had to because she
wanted
to come back to Justice. Not the way she’d come back from Seattle. Coming home then had been a last resort, the only option. If she came back from Nashville it would be because she chose it over all the other possibilities.

“I might not advance in the competition,” she said.

“You’d better pull out all the stops.”

She just watched him, memorizing his face, his scent, the feel of him with her.

“You’ll have to take a cab to the airport. I can’t watch you leave.”

She felt her eyes widen. “You trust me to get on the plane?”

“I do.”

The two words sent a shock through her. The man she loved was saying
I do
to her today after all.

Finally she nodded. “Okay.” She couldn’t say goodbye to him at the airport anyway. It was bad enough now.

He gave her an envelope and pushed her into the backseat of a cab sitting at the curb. “Knock ’em dead, Seattle,” were his last words.

She felt the tears well up as the cab pulled away. She tore into the envelope hoping for a love letter. Instead it was the print out of her flight itinerary, hotel information and five hundred dollars. She realized she didn’t even have a toothbrush with her—much as he’d found her in Wyoming.

Chapter Fourteen

It only took Marc one day to figure out he couldn’t live without her.

“Luke, can I have a minute?” he asked from Luke’s office doorway.

Luke was at his desk, his head bent over paperwork. “Yeah, come on in.” He didn’t look up. “I wanted to talk to you too.”

“Let me go first. Brad charges by the hour.”

Luke looked up then. “Brad?” He saw Brad Conner, their attorney, standing with Marc. “What’s going on?”

“I have some things I’d like to go over with you.”

Luke set his pen down and leaned back, looking wary. “Things like what?”

Marc took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Luke’s desk and Brad took the other. “I’d like you to buy me out.”

“Buy you out?” Luke looked from one man to the other. “What are you talking about?”

“I want out of The Camelot. I assumed that you’d rather buy my half than take on another partner.”

“I don’t want another partner,” Luke said.

Marc nodded. He’d known that but it was an option that should be presented. He hated this. He loved this restaurant, loved that they’d done it together, loved what it had become. But it was here and Sabrina was in Nashville. There really was no decision to be made.

“But I don’t want to buy you out either,” Luke said.

Marc sighed. “I know. But it’s the only option. I’m leaving Justice. I don’t know for how long. I need to have this settled before I go.”

“You’re going to Nashville?”

Marc was surprised by the calm question. “Yes.”

“She’s winning then?”

She’d only made it past the first round at this point, but she was in the lead and Marc knew she’d go all the way. “Yes.”

“And you’re glad about that?” Challenge glinted in Luke’s eyes.

Marc shifted in his chair, trying to hold his temper, which was very close to the surface when it came to Luke, Sabrina and her music. “Yeah, I’m glad. It makes her happy.”

Luke nodded. “It does. More importantly, her being happy makes
you
happy.”

Suspicious, Mark said, “Absolutely.”

“In fact, you’d go to great lengths to make her happy.”

Marc narrowed his eyes. “Absolutely.”

“She asked you to come?”

That was a good question. She hadn’t but Marc couldn’t forget the look on her face at the curb in front of the courthouse. She loved him, he knew it. She wouldn’t mind him showing up in Nashville.

“No. But I’m going anyway.”

“I can’t believe you let her go.”

Marc came to his feet. “I’m not going to stand in her way, Luke. How I feel doesn’t matter. It’s about her. Shut the hell up about making her stay here.”

“I’m not talking about her staying. It’s about
you
staying.”

Marc’s anger fizzled like a match blown out. “What are you talking about?”

“Why didn’t it occur to you to go with her right away?”

“Because—” He stumbled on that one. It had occurred to him. He finally shrugged. “This is home. Where I belong.”

Luke paused and leaned forward, arms on his desk. “We’ll still be here when you come back. This is your home, your family, no matter where you are. I know that’s the most important thing to you. But we’re going to be here. You can go. Expand your family.”

Marc stared at the man who he considered a brother. Luke had always known him better than anyone but he was stunned to find Luke knew something that Marc hadn’t even realized until Sabrina showed up and made him want something more. He’d felt anchored to Justice because he was afraid to go. He’d lost one family, he didn’t want to lose another, to leave them when they meant the world to him.

But he knew it was true. They would be there, loving him, supporting him, no matter what.

Was that why it hadn’t occurred to him to go with her? That they could be together regardless of where she needed to be?

“So you think she should be with me?”

“Of course.”

Marc slumped into his chair. “How long have you felt this way?”

“Since the hospital.”

“Because you realized I was taking it seriously with the books and all?”

“Because she’s never looked at me the way she looked at you.”

Marc didn’t know what to say to that, other than, “We didn’t mean for it to happen, to hurt you. I really did think, at first, that I was just keeping you apart for your own good.”

“Yeah. I know. That’s why I haven’t flattened you for going after her.”

They sat, not quite able to smile, but at least more comfortable together than they had been for several days.

“Can we let Brad leave?” Luke asked.

The other man sat watching them both with a bemused expression.

“What about The Camelot, the kitchen, while I’m gone? I have no idea when I might be back and then I don’t know if it will be to stay,” Marc said. This was all very new and he felt vulnerable. He was going out into the world without a plan, without a safety net. Yes, his family would still be here, but he was going to have to make his way.

Thank goodness he’d have Sabrina.

“We’ll get a chef, but there’s no reason you can’t be a co-owner and not be within the city limits of Justice twenty-four seven.”

Marc was amazed as he processed what Luke was giving him.

Then something occurred to Marc. He scowled at Luke.

“What if I hadn’t showed up at the courthouse?”

Luke shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “I would have done it.”

Marc stared at him. “You would have married her. Even knowing that I’m in love with her?”

“She deserves a guy who will fight for her. Even fight me. The one who would do anything for her. If you would have let her marry me then you’re not the guy.”

Incredibly defensive, possessive and jealous, Marc growled, “I
am
the guy.”

“Which is why you’re going to do the one thing no one else has ever done.” Luke slid a piece of paper across the desk to Marc. “Go after her.”

It was a seat confirmation on the next flight out. In Marc’s name.

“Damn, she’s good.” Derek was the lead guitar player for the band accompanying Sabrina tonight.