Heather Macallister - Jilt Trip

Left standing at the entrance was the maid of honor.

And the bride on the arm of her father.

An icy, regal beauty, Dee Ann looked lovely. Her blond hair was upswept and her dress was a stark column of beaded satin. A cathedral train swirled behind her.

Nikki almost felt sorry for her. Dee Ann had obviously decided that the sound of the wedding music would bring Carter to the altar.

How could Nikki stop this? What could she say? For one hysterical moment, she thought about blurting out the truth, but no one would believe her.

Frankly, she found it hard to believe herself.

A small woman dressed in black fussed with the bride’s train. No doubt the wedding coordinator or her assistant.

Nikki hissed and beckoned, but the woman ignored her. Creeping forward, Nikki tried again. “I have to talk with you!”

The wedding coordinator, her mouth set in a reproving O flitted toward her. “Shush! We’re taping.”

The music grew louder and the maid of honor hugged Dee Ann before starting down the aisle.

This was awful. Surely they’d noticed that Carter wasn’t there yet?

“You’ve got to stop her!” Nikki implored the woman.

“I’ll do no such thing!”

Nikki lunged toward Dee Ann.

The woman, surprisingly strong for her size, restrained her.

The organ swelled and Dee Ann stepped over the threshold as Nikki watched in horror. “No! The groom isn’t there!”

“What are you, hon, an ex-girlfriend?”

Ex. If only she were. “I—he…he’s sick.”

“What do you mean, sick?”

“He suddenly collapsed and…appendicitis, I think.”

The woman’s fingers dug into Nikki’s arms and her face whitened.

“Tell Dee Ann not to worry.” Nikki pried the coordinator’s fingers off her arm. “We’ve taken him to get medical attention. But…” Trailing off, Nikki pointed to the empty doorway.

With a screech, the woman whirled through it.

Nikki didn’t stay to see the disaster unfold. Running down the gray marble steps of the church, she hurried toward one of the three limousines parked in front.

“Did you stop her in time?” Julian asked and opened the car door.

Gasping for breath, Nikki shook her head as she climbed in.

“Oh, boy.” Opposite her, a sweating Saunders supported a still-unconscious Carter.

“Oh, boy?” Bob’s voice cracked from the front seat. “That’s all you have to say? After…after…” He buried his head on his knees.

Julian slammed the driver’s-side door and put the car in gear. Nikki swiveled toward him and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Is Bob up to this?” she asked in a low voice.

Julian shrugged.

With raised eyebrows, Nikki nodded to a quiet Saunders. Shaking his head, Julian rolled his eyes.

Bob moaned.

Nikki reached a decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret. “Bob, why don’t you stay here and go home with your wife and kids. We need someone to tell us what happens.”

“Lucky stiff,” Saunders muttered.

“Thank you.” Bob sounded so pathetically grateful that Nikki regretted involving him. But he’d been the first one to notice something amiss. He deserved the credit.

Not that he wanted credit for everything they’d done today, she supposed, watching as the mild-mannered accountant scrambled out of the car, bumping his head in his haste.

It would be all right. Nikki planned to take sole responsibility, even if she had to lie to protect the others, though she doubted it would come to that.

Carter could be reasonable, she thought, glancing at his sleeping face. And unreasonable, though she’d seen more of that side than the others had.

Bob slammed the door and without looking back, ran toward the church steps.

Nikki relaxed against the plush seat as Julian pulled away from the curb.

“Think he’ll crack?” Saunders asked, looking as though he, himself, was considering it.

Nikki shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t let him take any blame. He wasn’t that involved.”

Saunders sighed. “You know, it might not be up to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve broken some laws here.”

Nikki chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Which ones?”

Saunders gaped at her. “Kidnapping comes to mind.”

She gestured to the sleeping Carter. “He fell ill and we’re seeking medical attention.”

Julian snorted. “The real crime is bottling that bilge and calling it champagne.”

Saunders threw up his hands in a gesture of frustration and Carter shifted at the movement, his breath fluttering the ends of the scarf.

“I think we can take the scarf off his head now.” Nikki tugged on the knot. “Did you have any trouble?” She’d been afraid to ask.

“Nah.” Julian signaled a right turn. “We told the other drivers that the old lady snored when she was asleep.”

Old lady. Nikki grinned.

Saunders appeared to have calmed down. “Was it really bad back there, Nikki?”

“Yes.” She stared out the tinted window, seeing not the lush palms lining the boulevard, or the restored Victorian houses, but Dee Ann standing in the church, waiting to walk down the aisle.

“How…how far…?”

Nikki knew what Saunders was trying to ask. There was breathless silence in the car. “She was walking down the aisle before I finally got the coordinator to listen to me. After that, I ran.”

“Good call.” Julian’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.

Saunders looked over at her. “What did you say to her?”

What had she told that woman? “That Carter was sick. I might have mentioned appendicitis.”

“Appendicitis?” he asked sharply.

Nikki shrugged. “It was the only emergency disease I could think of.”

“Hmm.”

“That’ll let Dee Ann save face at least,” Julian commented as he turned onto Seawall Boulevard.

After that, no one said much.

Nikki stared out the car window as mile after mile of Galveston Island rolled past. The bright midday sun reflected off the murky Gulf of Mexico. Drilling rigs speckled the horizon and sea gulls circled the beach, looking for food scraps among the trash.

Against her will, she recalled the countless times she’d made this same drive with Carter to the same destination: their boat, the Honey Bee.

The happiest moments of their brief time together had been spent on the Honey Bee. They would leave Belden Industries behind, sometimes without warning, without planning. Carter would appear in the door of her office with a look she immediately recognized and she’d turn off her computer, grab her purse and meet him at the elevator.

The Honey Bee had no telephone. No fax machine. A radio and portable television, yes, but they didn’t watch much TV. Life was slow. Simple.

They were together and it was enough.

She gazed at the man sleeping next to Saunders.

Carter was driven to succeed and his successes were never enough. As soon as he’d conquer one goal, he’d set himself another.

And Nikki had been right there beside him. She’d been fascinated by him, by his single-minded devotion to the business he’d built. The problem, she knew now, was that there had been too much hero worship on her part. After a while, the very qualities which had drawn her to him, pushed her away.

He hadn’t changed. She had.

But now, she suspected he’d changed, too. There had been a time when he wouldn’t have hesitated to call off a wedding for a lot less evidence than Nikki and the others had gathered. Belden Industries was everything to him and he was everything to it. Without Carter Belden as its head, Belden Industries wouldn’t survive.

Carter Belden worked for no man—or woman. If Victor Karrenbrock gained controlling interest, Carter would walk away, but would leave his essence behind.