Newlywed Games (17 page)

She’s My daughter, son. Do you deserve her?

The uncomfortable feeling in his gut grew more intense, but he ignored it. He’d treated her well, done
what he could to help with her mother, covered for her, played the role.

Lied.

Well, yes. There was that.

“How can goodness be a partner with wickedness?…‘Therefore, come out from among the world, and separate yourselves from them,’ says the Lord. ‘I will be your Father and you will be my sons and daughters.’ ”

“Could we put the top down?”

Bruce jumped at Meg’s question, turning back to face her. He took in her beauty, her sweet spirit, and his heart was pierced.

Make me worthy, Lord. Help me know what to do. And give me the courage to do it.

She arched her brows at his silence. “The top?” she repeated. “Can we put it down.”

He nodded quickly. “Sure. No problem. After our next stop.”

Said stop was a quick trip into a bakery to get some croissants they didn’t need. She seemed to be making up errands as she went. Was she trying to buy time or just having as much fun driving his Vette as he did? The pleasure he had watching her enjoy his toy was unexpected. He was calm, even though someone other than himself was behind the wheel of his prized car. At least he could know without a doubt that God was working on him in the area of surrendering his possessions.

“I’ve never been in a convertible with the top down.”

He glanced up at the sky. “It’s a little cool.”

“It’s a beautiful day,” she said, extending her hands
up to the clear blue sky to convince him.

“The wind makes it seem colder, but if you don’t mind, neither do I.” He showed her how the vinyl roof detached, and they were off. She wasn’t a careless driver, and he marveled again that he trusted her with his car. But could he truly trust her or anyone fully? Could he confide in her and not have it used against him?

Meghann pulled into a strip mall a block away and parked in the first available space. “You can stay in the car. I’ll only be a minute,” she said in a rush as she jumped out of the car.

He stared after her as she crossed the lot. This was it. This was the secret errand. At least now he was sure her resistance to him wasn’t personal. She had put the top down and got out in a hurry to make sure he stayed put. He smiled to himself. It would take more than that to hold him back. He quickly put the top up, retrieved the keys from the ignition, and took off after her.

Meghann’s attempts to get rid of him amused him. He played dumb and remained her ever-diligent shadow, wondering what it was she wanted to do by herself. He figured he might not find out if he didn’t give her a little space. Suddenly an ugly thought jumped up from the back of his mind: Did she have a boyfriend?

The wave of jealousy that swept through him was so strong it almost knocked him to his knees. For a heartbeat, his mind pounded with angry questions: Was she trying to meet him? How long had she known him? How could he have let her play him for such a fool?

Then reason whispered through his mind: If she
had a boyfriend, surely she wouldn’t use Bruce for her make-believe husband. If Meg had a man in her life, she would have used him when trying to placate her mother, wouldn’t she? The only way to find out was to give her some slack and follow her. He watched her walk halfway down the line of stores. Keeping her in sight, he took note of the store she ducked into at the far end.

The parking space she picked was as far away as she could get. He strolled down to where she disappeared. Nestled in between a bridal shop and a tuxedo rental store was the quaint jewelry store she entered.

He peeked through the window and saw her looking in a display case. She appeared to be waiting for one of the two sales people to be freed up from the customers they were helping. She was by herself so she wasn’t meeting anybody. Unless
he
worked here. Bruce took a closer look at the two clerks; one was an older man in his fifties and the other was hidden behind a customer’s head. But he could see her hand with long painted red nails and multiple rings.

He ruled out that Meghann was meeting another man, and his jealous tide evaporated. What could be so embarrassing about a jewelry purchase that she needed to keep it a secret? New earrings? A watch battery, perhaps? Top international spy stuff.

It couldn’t hurt to find out. He opened the door and strode up behind her. “Those are nice,” he said, looking over her shoulder into the display case of pearls.

Meghann jumped at his sudden appearance. “Wh-what are you doing here?” she said, catching her breath.
“I thought you were waiting in your car.”

He leaned back against the display case, not taking his eyes off her face. “We could have parked closer,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

She quickly looked back down to the display in front of her. “You could have stayed in the car,” she retorted softly.

He gazed at the top of her head. “Are you looking to buy or just looking to avoid me?”

She didn’t respond or look up. He wished he could see her reaction. Looking down into the case that had her rapt attention, he spotted a pair of delicate dangly pearl earrings and pointed to them. “Those would look nice on you.”

She looked up at him in surprise.

“May I help you?” the older male clerk said.

“Oh…yes.” Meghann rifled through her purse.

Bruce turned to face the man as well and gave him a smile in greeting.

“I would like to make a payment,” Meghann said into her purse.

“Livingston, isn’t it?”

Meghann stopped her pursuit. “Yes.” She seemed surprised the man remembered her. Bruce wasn’t. She was a woman who would stay in a man’s memory. He should know. After their first meeting at work, he’d tried for months to forget her but couldn’t shake her loose from his head. Or was it his heart? He’d resisted starting a relationship with a subordinate, and finally had decided the best thing he could do was just avoid her altogether. That plan had lasted all of a few days. He
thought of her more than ever. So he gave up and decided to ask her out. If it was God’s will for them to be together, then He would work things out. But then the Charmaine Altman Christmas fiasco happened, and she pulled back.

He studied her as they stood there, waiting.
She’s not pulling away now…well, not often.

Maybe things could work out for them, after all.

“I remember you,” the salesclerk said. “It’s not often the woman comes in alone to pick out a wedding set. The man, yes, but not the woman alone.” The clerk turned to Bruce and asked, “I take it you approved of her choice, sir? She deliberated over it a long time. I told her she wouldn’t regret spending the extra money.”

“I definitely approve,” Bruce said and gazed fondly at Meghann.

“Spoken like true love. I’m Nick Moss.” He extended his right hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

Bruce clasped his hand. “Bruce Halloway. Nice to meet you, too.”

Meghann produced the paper she was searching for. The man took the paper. “How does your ring fit?” He looked at Bruce. “She wasn’t sure of the size.”

“Perfect.” Bruce glanced at his ring, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Just like my sweetheart.”

The man’s smile broadened. “I see you two have already put those rings to good use.” He unfolded the paper and looked from Meghann to Bruce then back to Meghann. “How much did you want to put on this?”

Meghann started to speak. “Uh—”

Bruce cut her off. “I’ll go ahead and pay it off.”

“But—”

Bruce squeezed her shoulder and continued as if she had said nothing. “And I’d like to see those.” He pointed to the pearl earrings he had noticed.

Mr. Moss unlocked the display and removed the earrings.

“Is it all right if she tries them on?”

The man nodded and handed one of the earrings to Meghann. When she didn’t take it right away, Bruce did. “Try them on for me, kitten, please.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he gave her his most endearing smile.

She gave in and removed a gold stud from her ear. When the dainty pearl earring was in place, she looked in the mirror Mr. Moss provided.

“Beautiful,” Bruce said softly. “And the earring is nice, too. Do you want them?”

“What?”

“The earrings. I’ll buy them for you.”

Her eyes widened. “No!” She quickly removed the earring from her ear and laid it on the counter.

Bruce could have kicked himself. Why had he done that? Of course she wouldn’t accept jewelry from him. Was it his subconscious testing her?

“I guess not today.” Bruce smiled at Mr. Moss and pulled out his wallet to pay for the rings. It pleased him she wasn’t a money-grabber like so many people these days. So why did he feel like such a heel?

Outside the door he drew her to a stop and took her left hand in his, getting a closer look at her wedding ring. He had studied his many times but never hers. “very
nice.” He gazed in her eyes. “I approve,” he said huskily.

He glanced in the store window to see the clerks talking and pointing at them. “Mr. Moss is watching. Shall we give him something to talk about?”

“Something…to talk about?”

Her breathless little echo of his words—combined with the flash of anticipation he saw spark in her eyes—dissolved whatever control he’d been exercising. He drew her close, lowered his head, and did what he’d been wanting to do for days.

He kissed her. Really kissed her.

And he didn’t intend to come up for air until it was absolutely necessary.

M
EGHANN STILL COULDN’T BELIEVE HE HAD PAID FOR THE
rings. She’d struggled with the idea, wondering how she could afford it, and finally decided it was the right thing to do. But she had only made her down payment on the rings. The gratitude inside her for Bruce’s kindness threatened to overflow.

It had mortified her when he came into the jewelry store. She’d been so careful not to mention anything about it, so sure had she been that he’d tease her for buying such a thing. Instead, he had paid for them.

Appearances are everything, remember?

Maybe so, but she would enjoy them nonetheless.

As much as you enjoyed that kiss?

Just the thought of it made Meghann’s toes curl. It had been sudden—and utterly wonderful. When Bruce had finally lifted his head and set her away from him, her heart was racing like a runaway train and she felt light headed. She’d wondered if her legs would support her. Embarrassed at how deeply the kiss had affected her, she glanced up at him—and had to fight not to
burst out laughing. He looked like someone had smacked his head with a baseball bat. His eyes as he looked down at her were wide and dazed…and they’d stood there in silence, both too dazed to comment.

Bruce paused now at the door to his apartment. He looked down, then glanced at her. “I’m sorry for that stunt I pulled at the jewelry store.”

Stunt?
“I don’t understand.” Was he sorry he’d paid for the rings? Or was it kissing her that he regretted? “I’ll pay you back for the rings.”

“You don’t need to. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

His eyes shifted away from her, and it was clear how uncomfortable he was. Her heart plunged. If he was feeling this badly about kissing her—

“I’m talking about my offer to buy you the earrings. It was inappropriate.”

Relief so powerful that it made her giddy washed over her. She smiled at him. Actually, the offer had touched her. “Please don’t feel bad. It was sweet of you, but I just couldn’t accept an expensive gift like that.”

“My point exactly. And if you thought I was insinuating anything…well, please know I wasn’t. And accept my sincere apology for any offense to you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I wasn’t offended.”

He cocked her a smile and bowed, every inch the perfect knightly gentleman. “In gratitude for the lady’s graciousness, will you permit me to escort you and your mother out to dinner?”

She laughed, touched by his sincerity and gallantry.
Who could resist a man—and a smile—like the one before her? She made a curtsy. “Why, my lord, I accept with sincerest gratitude on behalf of myself and my mother.”

Seemingly pleased with her response, he opened the door and followed her into his apartment. Her mother wasn’t up yet, which made Meg wonder if she hadn’t slept well last night. With a worried glance at the clock, she moved to go check on her.

“I’ll make reservations for seven o’clock. Is that all right with you?” At her nod, Bruce left to make the arrangements, while she peeked in on her still sleeping mother. Nothing seemed amiss…her mother’s breathing was deep and regular.

With a shrug, she went back to the living room.

“All set,” Bruce said, hanging up the phone. “Reservations are for seven. We should leave here around 6:40. Is that enough time? I can make it for later.”

“No, that’ll be fine. I’ll take a quick shower before waking Mom. Where are we going?”

He smiled and raised his eyebrows. “It’s a surprise. Dress up a bit. I’ve got to run in to the office. I’ll be back in an hour to change clothes.”