Read Bridegroom Bodyguard Online

Authors: Lisa Childs

Tags: #Contemporary romantic suspense, #Harlequin Intrigue, #Fiction

Bridegroom Bodyguard (8 page)

BOOK: Bridegroom Bodyguard
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He wasn’t going to patronize her with a lie, so he answered honestly. “An obscene amount, according to Garek.”

Her arm tightened around Ethan protectively, and she glanced around the condo as if looking for more intruders. He glanced around, too, just in case....

Since Garek had so easily followed him and broken in, someone else could, too. They really weren’t safe anywhere. And because they were in danger, so was his son. And if something happened to either one of them or both, what would become of Ethan?

Would Parker’s mother be able to get custody or would the baby go straight into the foster-care system? He had to protect his son and Sharon.

Her skin had grown pale, her eyes wide and dark with fear. Her voice even trembled a bit when she asked, “What do we do now?”

Ignoring the twinge of panic striking his bachelor heart, he replied, “We get married.”

Chapter Eleven

Sharon stared at herself in the oval mirror—unable to believe that was actually her reflection staring back at her. How was that her in the lacy, strapless white dress and veil? She had pulled back the veil so that she could see, so that the image would be clear.

But nothing was clear to her. Why did someone so desperately want both her and Parker dead? With the reward for their murders doubled, it was probably only a matter of time before one of the attempts was successful.

Her stomach pitched. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten. She wasn’t worried about marrying the notorious playboy Payne, either. She wasn’t about to give him her heart. The only thing she really had to lose was Ethan. And her life.

“I’ve seen a lot of brides in this room, but I have never seen one look as scared as you do,” a female voice remarked. “But then, you’re the one marrying Parker.”

Sharon turned to see the young auburn-haired woman who had been at Brenda’s house and at the police station and at the hospital with her. The young woman had been nearly everywhere that Sharon had, so maybe she should have expected her to show up here. But still, she gasped in surprise.

And the woman wasn’t alone; she had brought an enormous dog with her. As it sniffed around the bride’s room, Sharon realized it was Cujo—the K9 dog that Parker had previously and wistfully mentioned. He had brought the dog to the wedding to sniff out any bombs. But the German shepherd was disinterested in everything in the room—even Sharon.

“I didn’t mean to scare you more,” the woman said.

Sharon remembered her solicitous look from the hospital; the woman obviously knew about her tragic past. And pitied her. “I’m fine,” she said. “How about you?”

Was she upset that Parker was marrying another woman?

The young woman sighed before replying, “No. With all my brothers married, Mom’s going to have no one left to manipulate into marriage but me.”

“Brothers?”

She snorted in disgust. “Parker still hasn’t told you that I’m his sister?” She thrust her hand between them. “I’m Nikki Payne.”

Sharon clasped the proffered hand and firmly shook it. “I’m glad to meet you.” Finally...

And she felt like a fool for that fleeting jealousy she had felt—and to which she’d had no right. She and Parker were nothing to each other even though they were about to become husband and wife.

“He should have introduced us at the judge’s house,” Nikki said. “But I was still a mess from him nearly getting blown up earlier.”

It hadn’t occurred to Sharon until now how the attempts on his life must have been affecting his family. “And here
I
thought I was the mess...”

“You were,” Nikki said with the Payne directness. But then she laughed. Was she only kidding? “But you had every right. Parker didn’t even let me see the body, so it must have been bad.” She slapped her hand over her own mouth. “God, I’m so crass.”

“You’re honest and straightforward,” Sharon said. “I appreciate that—even though I haven’t been that straightforward myself.”

Nikki chuckled again. “You messed with Parker—letting him think you’d had his kid and that he didn’t even remember you.”

Was his sister angry about that? Sharon opened her mouth to apologize.

But Nikki continued, “That’s great. For all the hearts he’s broken, he deserved that!”

Sharon shook her head. “He didn’t deserve to be kept in the dark about his son all this time.”

“It wasn’t your secret to tell,” another woman remarked as she joined them in the bride’s dressing room of the Little White Wedding Chapel that Parker’s mother owned. After petting the dog that was overjoyed to see her, she held out her hand as Nikki had. “I’m Stacy Koz—Stacy Payne,” she corrected herself with a chuckle. “Logan’s wife.”

Nikki laughed. “I still can’t believe that one. I don’t know which one is harder to believe, though—you and Logan getting married or Parker getting married....”

“Me and Logan,” Stacy easily replied. “I saw Parker’s house before it nearly blew up—it’s a family house.”

Nikki shook her head. “He uses it to fool women into thinking that he might actually get married.”

“He
is
getting married,” another woman chimed in as Mrs. Payne bustled into the room. “And very soon...”

“Where’s Ethan?” Sharon asked, alarmed that the woman who had taken her little man from her no longer had him.

“He’s with his father,” Mrs. Payne said.

And that reminded Sharon why she was marrying the playboy—so that Ethan wouldn’t be taken away from her.

Mrs. Payne smiled. “All the guys are getting into their tuxes.”

“I’m dressed now,” Sharon pointed out. “I can take him back.”

Mrs. Payne stepped forward and fussed with the veil, pulling it back over Sharon’s face. “You’re so beautiful. We can’t have the baby messing with my new daughter’s hair and veil.”

My new daughter...

Sharon was grateful for the concealment of the veil now as it hid the tears that Mrs. Payne’s sweet remark had springing to her eyes. She had claimed not just Ethan as family but Sharon, too. Sharon had never really had a family.

“I may step into the groom’s quarters,” Nikki said. “I’d love to see Parker wrestling a baby into a tuxedo.”

“I already dressed Ethan,” Mrs. Payne said. “And Logan is holding him while Parker dresses.” She turned toward Stacy. “He looks very comfortable with a baby.”

Stacy laughed. “You just talked us into getting married. Give us some time before you go looking for more grandbabies.”

“You’ve already got one more than you thought you had,” Nikki pointed out.

Mrs. Payne grinned. “Having him makes me want more.”

Sharon had no intention of even consummating this marriage, let alone procreating. “Mrs. Payne, are you sure we should be getting married in your beautiful chapel?”

“We already had one wedding at the hospital,” she said with a glance toward Stacy.

Stacy smiled with pure happiness. “Logan couldn’t wait another minute before making me his wife, and he wanted Parker to be his best man.”

With the hit out on them, Parker and Sharon could wind up back in the hospital at any time—in a bed or the morgue.

“So we could get married somewhere else,” Sharon suggested.

“It would break my heart if you got married anywhere else,” Mrs. Payne replied.

But it would break Sharon’s heart if something happened to the old church that the older woman had painstakingly restored and made into her livelihood.

But that didn’t mean that there weren’t other dangers out there. Sharon tentatively touched the lace gown. “And me in your beautiful gown?”

Stacy shook her head in amazement. “How has that same dress fit all the Payne brides? We’re all different heights and sizes.”

Stacy was shorter than Sharon and much curvier. “You wore this dress, too?”

Stacy nodded. “At the hospital. I was nervous to wear it, too, and changed quickly.”

“It’s Mom’s magic dress,” Nikki remarked.

Mrs. Payne gave an unladylike snort of derision. “It’s a needle and thread and different-sized heels. And of course, beautiful brides that make it look so perfect....” She turned toward Nikki as if studying her to figure out the next round of alterations.

Nikki shook her head. “Oh, no! Don’t even start looking at me like that....” She pointed at her mother and addressed Sharon. “See, I told you—”

“I was talking about the danger that Parker and I are in,” Sharon reminded the others. “We’ve had people try to blow up the places we live or visit. I don’t want anyone blowing up your chapel to get to us.” And if the chapel blew up, the dress was sure to be destroyed...along with Sharon and her groom and everyone else in their wedding party.

“Cujo hasn’t found any explosives. And all of the Payne Protection Agency is here,” Nikki said. “You’ve never been safer than you are right now.”

But as she walked down the aisle toward her groom standing at the altar, Sharon didn’t feel safe. Not when she saw how tenderly he held the tiny boy who, also clad in a black tuxedo, was a perfect miniature of him. She felt a terror that she hadn’t felt since she was a kid.

And if it wasn’t fear for her life, was it fear for her heart? Was she afraid that she was going to lose it to the man she was about to marry?

* * *

G
OD
,
SHE
IS
BEAUTIFUL
....

Parker had been told that Sharon was wearing his mother’s dress—the same dress that all the other Payne brides had worn. But his memory must have still been screwed up because he couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone else in that concoction of white lace and silk. It looked as if it had been made for her alone—for her long, slender body. But it fitted and highlighted the curves that the ugly tan suit had hid.

She walked alone down the aisle on which so many other brides had clutched the arm of a father or a brother. She had no one...but Ethan, who wriggled with excitement in his arms as he caught sight of the woman who had been more of a mother to him than his biological mother had. As she drew nearer, Parker forgot to breathe—until one of Ethan’s flailing arms caught him in the jaw.

Even with the veil covering her face, the little boy knew who she was—and he wanted to be in her arms. And Parker was surprised that the boy wasn’t the only one—Parker wanted her arms around him, too. But even more, he wanted to hold her—to keep her safe. He was so distracted by the sudden onslaught of wants and needs that the little boy managed to wriggle loose enough to lean toward Sharon.

As she lifted her arms to catch him, she nearly dropped the bouquet. But Nikki caught it before it hit the ground. Then, as she stood there with it clutched in her hands, Nikki’s eyes widened in horror and she shook her head. “This doesn’t count....” She slid back into the pew next to their mother, whispering, “This doesn’t count, Mom....”

Light laughter rippled around the church at his sister’s reaction. And usually Parker would have laughed the loudest before adding some additional comments. But he was too stunned by the beauty of his bride to be amused by anything.

But then Ethan tugged at Sharon’s veil. And he laughed at the little boy’s determination to get his hands in her hair. Parker reached out and lifted the veil over her face. It wasn’t the time. He was supposed to do that at the end of the ceremony—before he kissed her. But he couldn’t wait to see her face. And when he saw her face flushed with color, and her caramel-colored eyes sparkling, he couldn’t wait to kiss her.

But he resisted temptation—just as Ethan resisted letting go of the veil. Parker hadn’t anticipated playing tug-of-war with his son on his wedding day—just like he hadn’t anticipated his overwhelming desire for his bride.

“Be careful,” Sharon advised in a soft whisper.

She was probably worried about the lace. But Parker was worried about
her.
Even though he had always been open and honest about his inability to commit, he had broken a lot of hearts. He didn’t want to break hers. But she was looking at him—staring up at him—as if she was as fascinated with him as he was with her.

He had been unable to commit before because of his dangerous profession. But he had never been in as much danger as he was now and yet he was standing at an altar with this woman who held his son.

The minister cleared his throat and whispered, “Are we ready to begin?”

Parker managed to loosen Ethan’s grip on the lace. His hands skimmed Sharon’s bare shoulders as he pushed it behind her back. She shivered as if reacting to his touch, and her eyes darkened.

His stomach tightened with a desire more intense than he had ever felt before. He wanted his bride. He turned back to the minister and nodded. “We’re ready....”

And he repeated vows he had sworn he would never utter—vows all about loving and honoring and cherishing until being parted by death. Her voice trembling, Sharon repeated back those vows to him.

Death...

Could he protect her from it? Could he protect himself?

His mother had thought of everything because Logan was thrusting a ring at him, which he slid onto Sharon’s trembling finger. And then she produced one for him, which Ethan tried to grab from her hand. “No, little man,” she admonished him. “That’s not for you. You’d only put it in your mouth.”

Chuckles emanated throughout the church again at her comments as she evaded the baby’s attempt to grab the ring. Then she slid it onto Parker’s finger. His skin tingled from her touch. Hell, he tingled all over from just her nearness. She was so beautiful....

He wanted to touch more than her hands; he wanted to touch her all over. Finally, the minister said the words Parker had been impatiently waiting for. “You may kiss your bride....”

He leaned down over the child she held and pressed his lips to hers. Her breath caught audibly, but then she was kissing him back—her silky lips sliding over his. Her mouth opened—maybe for air—but he deepened the kiss, consuming her as desire overwhelmed him. She tasted so sweet, so fresh and pure.

As if she had never been kissed before...

He wanted to kiss her forever. But the minister was clearing his throat again. Then a small fist smacked his cheek, bringing him to his senses, just as the guests began to clap and cheer.

Heat climbed into his face with embarrassment that he had forgotten all about the guests. They were all family—either by blood or the bond of working together at Payne Protection. There had been no one invited who wasn’t related—who couldn’t be trusted. Well, the Kozminski brothers were there, but his mother and Logan trusted them now. And they were family—by marriage.

As well as his protection, he could give Sharon family. He doubted he could give her his heart, though. He hoped she didn’t expect it, that his kiss hadn’t given her the wrong idea. He had decided so long ago that he would never let himself love anyone and he doubted he could change now. But then again, he had gotten married....

His mother had gone all out despite his pleas that she not do that. Besides the dress and the ceremony and the rings, there was a reception. Food, cake, dancing...

BOOK: Bridegroom Bodyguard
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