Stealing the Groom (8 page)

She planned to remain right here at home, staying in the same bedroom she used whenever she came to town. Once this sham of a marriage was over, she could go back to her apartment in the city and get back to her life.

As Chad’s ex-wife.

Ugh. Would their friendship ever be the same again?

Rising from the tub, she toweled off and slipped into a clean pair of jeans and a peach vee-neck T-shirt. She gathered her damp hair up into a loose ponytail, and barefoot, headed down the stairs to tell her sisters about the wedding. She wanted to tell them before her grandfather got home and delivered the news in his rather abrupt way.

Abby had moved in with their grandfather after he’d fallen last summer and needed someone with him to help. She knew Abby benefited financially from the arrangement, hoping to save enough to buy the building attached to the diner so she could expand.

Ann had her own house, but stayed over whenever Amelia came into town so that they could spend time together as a family.

Amelia slowed at the sight of Abby stretched out on the sofa. Abby still worked as hard today at the diner as she had in the days after their parents’ death.

Their grandparents were so grief-stricken that Abby had stepped in and helped raise her and her sister. She’d taken over running the family diner, working early-morning hours before school and late into the evening after school. Their grandfather eventually had signed over the diner to Abby.

As if sensing a presence, Abby opened her eyes and smiled sleepily, letting the pillow she was holding slip to the hardwood floor. “Hey, you. You’re back from your man-grabbing adventure. How’d it go?”

Amelia laughed, knowing the last thing Abby wanted was a man in her life after her own disastrous marriage ended. “Things were interesting, to say the least. Where’s Ann?” She bent to pick up the pillow and tucked it back onto the sofa.

“She got here while you were in the bath.” Abby narrowed her eyes then sat up abruptly. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m not sick, but I do have to tell you something important. Hang on a second.” She called out to Ann and her other sister emerged from the kitchen holding a glass of iced tea.

“Well, I see our thieving sister has returned.” She came into the living room and perched on a flowered stool. “You look sick.”

“That’s what I said.” Abby shot Amelia a worried glance.

Amelia sighed. “No, guys, I’m not sick. The thing is…”

“You have a wedding ring on!” Ann shrieked.

“Please tell me that you did not steal and then marry Chad Walker,” Abby said.

“Okay, but I did.”

Abby pressed a hand to her chest. “What? How did that happen?”

Ann said drily, “Stealing a man is lot more complicated than you imagined, I take it?”

Abby said, “Married… You’ve always been so opposed to settling down. Have you thought about how this is going to change your life?”

“It won’t.”

Abby’s laugh was not one of amusement. “Take it from me, marriage always changes things.”

Amelia rocked back on her heels and looked at her sisters. “At first, I thought marrying Chad might interrupt my life, but after thinking it through, I realized that it won’t be so difficult.”

“Amelia, what’s going on?” Abby said in her don’t-give-me-any-nonsense voice.

Amelia explained the events that had led up to her hasty wedding.

“God, Amelia,” Ann said. “You’ve always been too impulsive for your own good, but you’ve really outdone yourself this time.
Married
. I can’t believe it.”

“I’m a wife in name only, which I will remain for the six months it takes for Henry to give Chad his company shares. In the meantime, while I wait for the six months to pass, I can still travel to take photographs on assignment like I’ve been doing.”

Amelia warmed to the idea as she shared her thoughts with her sisters. It was perfect. “I’ll hang out here with you guys. I can help at the diner, plus still be available when Chad needs me to appear at a social function with him.”

Her sisters exchanged knowing glances.

“What?”

“So Chad is okay with this living separately arrangement?” She heard the disbelief in Abby’s voice.

Amelia shrugged. “I didn’t really discuss it with him, but why wouldn’t he be okay with it?”

The doorbell pealed.

“My guess is that’s the groom,” Ann said with a delighted grin. She motioned Amelia toward the door. “You get that and I’ll get the popcorn because this is going to be quite a show.”

“Puh-lease. I know Chad and I know he’ll understand and see my point of view. After all, I’m helping him out with his company—it’s not like I’m the villain here,” Amelia said as she went to get the door.

Her stomach twisted as she remembered the look on Chad’s face when he’d repeated his vows.

At least she hoped she wasn’t the villain.

But she couldn’t be sure.

Chapter Seven

Amelia checked the peephole, then looked over her shoulder at her sisters. “Chad’s here.”

She nudged a pair of shoes that were on the floor in the way and tugged open the door.

He’d changed his clothes and now wore a pair of blue dress slacks and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had one arm on the frame of the door as he leaned against it.

So ruggedly handsome.

Amelia’s heart performed a crazy dance.

She peeked out the door behind him, not seeing the limo. “So where’s your ride?”

“I drove myself. We need to talk,” Chad said stiffly, gesturing toward her then back at himself.

“About what?” She stepped to one side to give him room to enter into the house.

“Well, helloooo, Chad,” Ann said, drawing out the word with a slight smirk.

“Welcome back. I hear you left as our friend and returned as our brother-in-law,” Abby said.

Standing in the small foyer area, his gaze drifted past Amelia to Abby and he waved in response to her sister’s greeting. Then he put his hand on Amelia’s arm and leaned close to her ear. “I’d like to speak to you privately if you don’t mind.”

“Let’s go outside.” Amelia shot her sisters a look for their teasing antics.

He didn’t move his hand from her arm and tingles chased along the nerve center of her spine. Amelia wondered if his body had the same tingles. Not that she should be thinking about his body, with or without tingles.

She moved away from his touch and stepped outside onto the wraparound porch. Threading her way around the colorful clay flowerpots she and her sisters had painted, she sat on the wooden swing that creaked softly as it swayed in the breeze.

The swing was one of the places she’d loved to sit in the summertime during a soft rain. In high school, she and Chad used to sit together on the plump cushions and talk about the football games when he visited her grandparents.

“What’s up? I thought you were working all night.”

“I arrived at the estate to discover my wife missing.”

“So-called wife, and I live here, Chad.” Amelia stressed the word here.

“No, you used to live here. Your place is with me now.” Shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, he said, “We have to live under the same roof in order for people to believe the marriage is real.”

Amelia pushed against the porch with her foot to set the swing in motion. “People being the board of directors?”

“Exactly. I don’t want them to think I’m some impetuous flake who plans a wedding with one woman and runs off with another, unless it was for true love.”

“There’s no way they could possibly know our living arrangements.”

“You know that’s not true with the way rumors fly around this town. How long do you think it’d take for the truth to come out?”

Amelia took a breath and said calmly, “I think it would be better if we maintained separate living arrangements
.” Better for her peace of mind.

“Amelia, I’m not going to argue with you about this. Trust me when I say us living together is the only way to keep up the charade. Besides, we’re friends so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

His gaze traveled over her in a way that made Amelia feel restless. Definitely not friend-like.

She took another breath and rose to pace back and forth, stooping to rub her bare toe when she stepped on a small pod blown from the tree in the front yard. Pitching it off the porch, she began pacing again. “Fine, but the very second the six months are over, I’ll move back here with my sister until it’s time for the annulment or divorce or whatever we have to get. Assuming I’m not already off on assignment, of course.”

“Agreed.” Chad nodded with a relieved expression on his face.

She stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips. Lifting her chin, she narrowed her eyes. “You sound worried. Afraid I’ll fall in love with you or with your money?”

“I don’t think that’s an issue.”

Odd. He didn’t meet her gaze. That usually meant he was thinking something he didn’t want to tell. Was it love or money he was thinking about? Hmm…

“I would hope you’re not delusional enough to fall for someone like me.”

“Look, you’ve been acting strange ever since the kiss at the cabin. If that’s the case, stop worrying. I have no intention of falling in love with you. An uptight workaholic is hardly my idea of Prince Charming. So don’t get all melodramatic about it.”

“Likewise.”

“This situation is so ironic. I was determined to save you from marrying and yet here we are.”

“Yes, here we are,” Chad said in a less than enthusiastic tone.

“From a childhood promise to man and wife. Who would ever have guessed?” Amelia sat on the top porch step and rested her elbows on her knees. She noticed the way a handful of fireflies rose slowly toward the sky and lit up the early evening as they journeyed. Nature’s romance lights, her grandmother had once said, and laughed when Noah swept her into a dance beneath the stars.

Chad joined her on the step, the side of his leg pressing into hers. “We were young and dumb.”

Amelia scoffed, “Back in high school, you were always negative whenever you saw me watching a romantic movie. One of these days, Chad, love is going to bite you hard.”

“Not me. But maybe for you someday. You always said if you ever married you wanted to find someone as adventurous as you are. After our annulment, you can go find him.”

“I want to get married as badly as I want to grow a third eye.”

“I’d say you’re too late to avoid getting married,” Chad said.

“But it’s not real. I can serve out six months. I think.”

Chad laughed. “You make it sound like a prison sentence.”

“Sorry. Spending time with you isn’t
that
bad.”

“You really know how to build a guy up, wife.”

“I’ll work on it. Maybe I should make a list about that.” Amelia sent him a cheeky grin.

“Poke fun all you want, woman. I get things done.”

Amelia sighed. “Let’s not get on the merry-go-round again of how organized and wonderful your life is versus mine.”

“I could teach you how to be more disciplined,” Chad offered.

“What
fun
. Could you?”

Chad laughed again. “I’m serious.”

“Sadly, I know you are.” She turned her head and met his gaze, then lowered her eyes to his lips. She jerked her gaze back up as his grin faded.

“I brought you something,” Chad said quickly, avoiding her gaze and breaking the spell.

He stretched his leg out and reached into the pocket of his pants to pull out an older ring box. “This was my great-grandmother’s diamond. I thought it would make our marriage appear more realistic if you wore the family heirloom.”

He reached for her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger to nestle against the wedding band he’d given her in Honeymoon Hills. His hand felt warm against hers and the same sparks she’d felt whenever he touched her lately zapped her again.

Of course that was easily explained. She was tired, her defenses down, and Chad was a good-looking man. Any woman would feel touchy-feely zaps. Even someone who had not looked at him as an actual guy her entire life.

She admired the diamond. “You do know people will still talk. They’re going to be suspicious that you ended up with a different bride.”

“Grandfather called a local reporter who was delighted to get the scoop and issued a statement that will be in tomorrow morning’s paper. The article will say I came close to making a mistake by marrying someone else and when I knew it was you I loved, we couldn’t wait a moment longer to wed so we eloped.”

“Sounds like a cheesy made-for-television movie. Some people won’t be so easily fooled. How are we going to pull that off?”

“We’re going to give the performance of our lives as a couple madly in love every time we’re in public.”

Amelia twisted the unfamiliar weight of the ring around on her finger. “I don’t know if we can be that convincing.”

“No?” He placed a finger beneath her chin, lifting her face until their eyes met. He leaned forward in slow, minuscule movements and Amelia’s lips parted in anticipation.

He pressed his lips to hers, whispering against the softness, “Anyone watching us right now would believe we’re deeply in love. I think we’ll manage to fool a lot of people.”

“As long as we don’t end up fooling ourselves, right?” Amelia whispered back with a short laugh.

When he swiftly pulled away, she almost fell forward into his lap. Still trying to settle the dizziness that overcame her with his near-kiss, she felt him pat her knee. “Don’t worry. Even if I were the falling-in-love kind, you’re the last woman I’d ever fall in love with.”

“On that flattering note”—Amelia pressed a hand on his shoulder for leverage as she rose—“I think I’ll go in and pack a few of my things.”

He caught her hand. “That wasn’t an insult. I was referring to your free-spirit nature.”

“Okay.” She tugged her hand free.

Their friendship was important to both of them, so why’d she feel so let down? Was that foolish crush rearing up? Was that why was she suddenly so ready to push the envelope while he was still Mr. Reluctance?

…

Chad followed her into the house and waited downstairs while Amelia went upstairs to pack. Bracing himself for the grilling he suspected was coming from her sisters, he settled himself in an overstuffed armchair across from the sofa.

He’d spent as much time at their house growing up as he had his own. Her sisters had always treated him like a brother, which meant they believed they had the right to pry into his life and offer unsolicited advice.

He didn’t have to wait long for the grilling.

“How in the heck did Amelia force you into marriage?” Ann started.

“Seriously,” Abby continued, “you guys have been friends forever and…
nothing
. Then on the day you’re supposed to marry someone else you end up having a shotgun wedding with our sister. What the hell has gotten into you two?”

Chad narrowed his eyes. “No one forced me into anything.”

Both sisters gave him wide grins.

“So then you
wanted
to marry Amelia?” Ann asked, then pointed a finger toward the kitchen. “Would you like a glass of iced tea?”

Chad blinked at the abrupt switch. Ann was as known for her rabbit-hopping conversations as Amelia was for her impetuous actions. “No.” He wiped his palms down the sides of his pants, wishing Amelia would hurry.

“No to our sister or no to the tea?” Abby asked.

His brows creased. “I have a feeling anything I say will be used against me.” He was so out of his league with these two.

“So out with it! Why did you marry Amelia? Don’t give us that bull story about your grandfather and the company,” Ann prodded.

He heard Amelia bumping down the stairs with her suitcases and jumped up to help her, relief flooding through his veins that he could escape.

What bull story? How could they not understand he had to marry Amelia to save the company? With the trouble the diner was in financially, Ann of all people should understand that.

His wedding to Amelia had been a company-or-death situation. Of course he hadn’t wanted to marry his best friend and risk what they had. Yet in the last twenty-four hours they’d not only kissed—something that was strictly off-limits—but now they were married.

What. The. Hell.

Interrupting his thoughts, Amelia handed over the suitcases with a compassionate grin. “On the hot seat?”

“Something like that. I’ll go put these in the car.”

“I’ll be out in a second.”

Chad beat a hasty retreat, rattled that Amelia’s sisters didn’t believe his reasons for marrying but more rattled that he couldn’t convince himself.

He stowed the suitcases in the trunk and returned to the house to meet Amelia. Once she exited the house, he escorted Amelia to the passenger side of the ’66 Mustang he’d restored in high school. He helped her in and then walked to the driver’s side and got in.

Amelia was quiet, and that made him nervous.

Was she regretting this sham of a marriage? Was she resentful that her efforts to help him had forced her into a marriage she didn’t really want?

She deserved someone who would love and appreciate her. Someone who loved and accepted her for who she was. Someone like…

Him?

She was beautiful, sexy, and fun. It’d be so easy to fall for her if he didn’t keep his guard up.

He shoved the thought away. He wasn’t going down that road. No way. Not gonna happen. He knew from watching his father’s life fall apart that Cupid was a nasty bastard with a mean streak. That was one arrow he was determined to avoid. She placed her hand on his thigh and he jerked his leg upward, the back of his thigh contracting painfully.

“What’s wrong, Chad?”

“Nothing,” he said more sharply than he intended, and he heard her quiet sigh in the close confines of the car.

They drove through the main streets of the town in silence, his mind reeling.

“Stop the car,” she said after he drove past the park where they’d often played as kids.

He pulled the car over onto the side of the grass and she pushed open the door when he cut off the engine.

“C’mon. Race you.” She got out and started running toward the center of the park.

Chad took off after her and when he reached her, she was trailing her hand along the side of a tree near the basketball court. He watched her for a second, then said, “I’ve got stuff to take care of at home.” He pushed a button on the side of his watch to make the face light up.

“Back to scheduling every moment?”

“You’ll get used to it.”

A satisfied smile played about her lips, as if she knew something he didn’t. “Our tree is still here.”