Two Nights with His Bride (11 page)

“Dad was just telling me you’re thinking of setting up a camp,” Austin said.

“Yeah.”
Gabriel took a sip of beer. “I’ve been looking at camps where kids like Josh can do the things no one thinks they can do anymore. Y’know, horseback riding, swimming, that kind of thing. The more I looked at them, the more I thought we should have something like that here, locally. There’s nowhere in the world better for outdoor fun than Montana, especially for kids.”

A slow smile stretched across
Wyatt’s face. “That’s a great idea.”

Gabriel ignored him and kept his focus on Austin. “I was hoping you knew of some land I could rent on Copper Mountain, outside the national forest.”

“I’ll definitely put some feelers out. How are you thinking of funding it?”

Gabriel’s gaze shifted to his beer. “Don’t know yet. I’m thinking it’s a long-term goal. I have a little saved up from the Air Force,
but I…” He hesitated. “Keep this between us, but I just bought a ring and hope to use the rest as a down payment on a house for me, Molly and Josh.”

All the men at the table grinned, and Aaron slapped Gabriel’s back. “That’s great news! I’m really proud of you.”

Watching his father get choked up over his not-son’s news made Wyatt’s throat swell, trapping his congratulations. Why hadn’t he followed
his father’s example when he’d been younger? Aaron had always known where the blame for his marriage break-up lay. Though he’d never claimed Gabriel and Camila as his own, he’d never shunned them the way Wyatt had.

“I’m signed up for a nursing course that starts in a couple weeks,” Gabriel said. “Hopefully I’ll get a job close by and can start saving again. Then I can think about renting land,
buying equipment and horses…”

Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his mouth. He had some money he could give Gabriel, whether he wanted it as a gift, investment or loan. Wyatt didn’t care whether he ever got it back. He owed Gabriel far more than money. But he also knew Gabriel would never take it, so he bit his tongue.

“Anyway,” Gabriel said, his focus shifting to Wyatt, “I heard you had quite the weekend.”

Wyatt drew back. “Who told you that?”

“Molly. Someone put something on Facebook about Nancy Parsons’s bachelorette party being on the river, and there was a picture of you.”

He tried to hide his grimace behind his beer. “Yeah. That picture…it caused some problems.”

Austin nudged him. “You were about to tell me about Jared Lovell not being the prince he seems.”

Wyatt instinctively glanced around.
“You know what? Town’s been crawling with paparazzi since she announced she was getting married here. We probably shouldn’t talk about it.”

Aaron’s face grew troubled, and he cracked his knuckles. “Do we need to be worried?”

Wyatt hesitated. “Honest answer? I think so.”

Even as the words came out, Wyatt second-guessed whether he should be saying them. If he peered deep inside himself, he could
see a dozen reasons why he should move on and let her live her own life.

But one thought plagued him more than the others. He’d walked away once because it had been the right thing to do. This time, walking away would be so, so wrong.

*

“Don’t look, don’t
look!”

Nancy kept her eyes closed as Jared’s sister, Mallory, a designer who had just launched
her own fashion label, led her through the door of Jared’s bedroom in Malibu. Nervous anticipation bubbled through her. She’d been looking forward to the final dress fitting for months, though she’d had some misgivings when Jared had convinced her to let Mallory design the dress of her dreams. Mallory and Nancy had vastly different tastes, so Nancy had meticulously described exactly what she’d wanted—simplicity,
elegance. A more upscale version of the dress her mother had worn, which had been handmade by her grandmother and aunt. She’d shown Mallory her parents’ wedding photo and explained the changes she wanted. Mallory had been working for months and even gone to Paris recently to get fabrics and more inspiration. She’d measured every single bit of Nancy’s body, and Nancy was ready to
burst with excitement to finally see her dress. “Can’t I just peek a little bit?”

“No, I want you to get the full effect all at once. Put your arms up.”

Difficult to do when she was wearing a corset this tightly cinched. She’d been corset training for a year, trying to give herself some of the curves she’d always lacked. Once upon a time she’d dreamed of implants, but Jared had put a stop to
that dream, saying
How many First Ladies of California have had boob jobs?

Being the governor’s wife was still a dream several years off, but Jared made all his decisions with both eyes on the future. That was one of the things that had attracted her to him—he was a planner, like her. He set goals and let nothing stand in his way. He would succeed, no matter what.

And she would be standing beside
him, wearing a blush-pink skirt suit and waving at the crowd of fervent supporters, when he did. The thought was…well, terrifying, now that she thought about it.

The corset’s boning dug into Nancy’s skin as Mallory helped her step into the dress. It tickled her ankles, her thighs, her ribs as Mallory pulled it up Nancy’s body and fastened what seemed like a hundred buttons running up her spine.
The dress felt heavy—tight and strapless up top and loose around her legs. She kept her arms in the air and couldn’t hold back her grin as Mallory smoothed the fabric down and adjusted the back of the skirt.

Letting out a nervous-sounding breath, Mallory said, “Okay, open your eyes.”

The first thing Nancy saw was Faye’s face, contorted into an I’m-trying-to-smile-but-oh-God-it-hurts grimace.
The second thing she saw was the wide, blue Pacific through Jared’s wall-to-ceiling bedroom windows behind Faye.

Then she turned and caught her own reflection in the mirror. She gasped in horror. “Oh, my God.”

Feathers. The dress was covered in millions of white feathers except for the ten-foot long train, which was peacock feathers—
peacock
feathers—starting with a single feather that looked
like it was poking her in the butt and then spreading out from there in a long, horrible tail.

It was hideous.

“Let me show you the best part!” The excitement in Mallory’s voice should’ve been infectious—and Nancy certainly did feel queasy as Mallory pulled a hidden cord and the peacock feathers grew erect, fanning out in a massive display of color behind Nancy’s head, just like a peacock would
do when trying to impress his mate.

“Don’t you love it?” Mallory asked hopefully.

She shook her head, feeling numb. “No. It’s…”
Ghastly. A nightmare.
“It’s not me at all. It’s not the dress I described.”

Mallory’s eyes hardened, her hands perching on her hips. “You’re right. It’s a thousand times better. The dress you described was banal, clichéd. This is a dress to launch a career with.”

“But I’m not trying to launch a career. I just want to get married. In Montana. In June. Have you ever been to Montana in June? It’s going to be humid. I’ll
molt
.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. You’re not an actual bird. You won’t molt.”

“And if she
were
an actual bird,” Faye butted in, “she still wouldn’t have those feathers. Only males do. The clue’s in the name. Pea
cock
.”

Nancy wasn’t in a joking
mood. “Please, Mallory.
Please
tell me this is a joke and you have my real wedding dress in the closet.”

Mallory’s jaw trembled, and Nancy wished she could reel back all the words she’d just said. She pressed her fingertips into her throbbing temples. “Look. I’m—”

“You know what your problem is? You don’t know anything about fashion.”

That was true enough. Fashion seemed so arbitrary. Sometimes
one of her outfits made it into both the fashion dos and fashion disaster pages, and Nancy had no earthly clue why. She wore what her stylist told her to.

And her stylist would probably drool all over this wedding dress.

“Mal, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear before, but I want the banal, clichéd dress I described to you. I’m sure you can find someone else to wear this one.”

“Stacia’s already put
out a press release that I’m designing your dress, and she’s negotiating exclusive photos for a couple of big magazines. I will
not
be known for boring clothes, Nancy. I’m sorry, but I’m putting my foot down. This is the dress.”

Faye’s jaw slackened as her gaze darted between the two women. Nancy felt the same shock. “What do you mean, you’re putting your foot down? I’m the freaking bride!”

“No need to shout at me. Just trust me on this. This dress is so much better than anything you have in mind. I used your design as inspiration—see? It’s white…mostly, and it’s strapless. I just added my own twists. That’s fashion.”

No, it was a disaster. “I need a minute alone. Can you take this thing off me?”

“Leave it on. You’ll get used to it. Just don’t move. Or sweat. Or touch it.” Mallory
left the room with one last look of pride at her creation before shutting the door behind herself.

“Oh my God,” Nancy bit out through gritted teeth. “They’re going to call me Bride of Big Bird.”

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Faye tentatively reached out a finger but yanked it back before she touched the dress. “How many pigeons do you think she plucked for this?”

“I’m very afraid these
are from swans. And don’t even get me started on the peacocks. If I wear this dress, PETA will boycott everything I ever do from now on—and I’ll be right there in the picket line with them. Can you hand me my phone? I need to call Jared.” He was shooting on location in Mexico, so she wasn’t sure she would get through, but he picked up after the second ring.

“Hey, Bunny! How are you?”

“We have
a problem.”

“No problem’s unsolvable. Shoot.”

Relief began to flow across her rock-hard shoulders. “I just tried on the wedding dress Mallory designed.”

“I love hearing you talk about your wedding dress. Makes it all feel more real, know what I mean? Did you get all emotional and decide you wanted to share the moment with me?”

She hesitated. “In a way. I’m really sorry—I know you wanted to
give her work some exposure, but I can’t wear this dress. It’s not me at all. It’s…it’s…”

Big Bird
, Faye mouthed.

Tension snapped over the phone line. “What do you mean it’s not you?”

“It’s not my style.”

Jared sighed. “Look, Bunny, this wedding is a really big opportunity for Mal. The spotlight will be on your dress, and that means it’ll be on her work.”

What about me?
“I understand that,
but—”

“To be honest, I’m pretty surprised by your selfish attitude. You’re helping out all those small businesses in Marietta by hiring them, even though I’ve warned you time and again they won’t be up to a job that big. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your own sister-in-law, a woman who’s actually proven how competent and talented she is?”

Nancy’s nostrils twitched as she tried to control
the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “Please don’t call me selfish just because I want to choose my own wedding dress.”

“You’re twisting my words again. I didn’t call you selfish. I said you had a selfish attitude. Big difference.”

Not to her there wasn’t. “We need to talk about this.”

“Can’t right now. Keep in mind that this wedding isn’t just about you. I know you’re the bride, but
you’re not a Bridezilla. That’s just not who you are. Okay, I gotta go now. Love you.”

Nancy hung up, her arms flopping at her side as all the fight drained from her. “I have to wear this stupid dress.”

“Oh,
hell
no you don’t. We’ll go shopping—”

She rubbed her forehead. “If I wear something else, it’ll publicly humiliate Mallory. Worse, it could ruin her if the fashion world finds out her
own sister-in-law wouldn’t wear something she designed specifically for me.” She let her head fall back and stared at the ceiling. “We should’ve eloped.”

“And miss all the photo opps?” Faye’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Please help me stay positive here. I’m really struggling.”

“Okay, look at it this way. At least…um… No, I got nothing.” Her cell phone rang, cutting her off. “Phew. Saved by
the ringer. Hello?” Her gaze darting to Nancy’s, she grinned. “Oh, hi, Wyatt.”

Nancy’s belly clenched, spreading liquid warmth through places she didn’t want to be warm and wet.
Memories. That’s all.

“Checking up? That’s sweet of you. Yes, the doctor scanned her head and gave her the all-clear, but you called at just the right time. I think she could use some advice.”

“No,” Nancy whispered,
waving her arms. “I don’t want—” Faye shoved the phone to Nancy’s face. “Wyatt! What a surprise.”

“Hey. You need some advice? Dump Marco and get together with Ned.”

Nancy blinked a few times before she realized he was talking about her pool-boy lover and single-dad neighbor in
Sultry Suburbs
. “You watch my show?”

“Only with my blinds down. If you tell anyone, I’ll tell your dad how you used
to spy on me from the hayloft when I used the shower next to the stables.”