Annette Broadrick - The Groom, I Presume?

“As much as I fuss about Megan always playing mother-hen with me, I’m really grateful to have her in my life. Mollie, too. It’s strange to think about it. Mollie’s only two years older than me, and she’s already been married eight years and has three children. Wow. It’s hard to realize time has gone by so quickly.”

“She seems happy enough.”

“Oh, yeah. Deke’s obviously crazy about her and it’s easy to see how she feels about him.” For a moment she was caught up in her memories. “I wouldn’t have dreamed when I watched them get married that I would still be single so many years later.”

Chris watched her through his lashes. Damn, but it was good to see her, to be with her again! He’d pushed his feelings for her away for so long that he’d almost convinced himself that they were no longer there… or real. This time with her had quickly disabused him of that notion.

They’d been out there on the bluffs for almost an hour and he still hadn’t told her what he needed to tell her. Dear God, but he hated this.

She was staring out over the river to the surrounding hills, looking relaxed enough. He still held her hand in his. She might look relaxed, but there was a slight tremor in her fingers.

“Maribeth?”

She slowly turned her head toward him. “Hmm?”

“Bobby called me last night.” His voice sounded harsh to his ears.

He felt her hand stiffen in his. She tugged, silently requesting release, which he reluctantly gave her.

She watched him warily, and he knew that on some level she had been expecting something like this. Regardless, it didn’t make his job any easier.

“He was in Las Vegas.”

She had been bracing herself for something, even though she wasn’t certain what it was. All kinds of thoughts had dashed around in her head. He was hurt. He was going to postpone the wedding, he was—What? Why would he have called Chris and not her? Why—?

“Las Vegas? What in the world is he doing there? He said he’d be in Oklahoma this week and would be through there by tomorrow.”

“He asked me to come down here to see you.”

She fought to hang on to her composure. “Why? What is it, Chris? Just tell me.”

He reached for her hands, already feeling the coldness that had washed through her. “He wanted me here because he didn’t want you to be alone when you heard his news.”

“What?” she whispered.

“Bobby got married last night.”

She stared at him blankly for a long moment without blinking. When the silence seemed as if it would stretch into infinity she silently mouthed the word “married?” as though it was a foreign word she’d never heard.

Chris waited, knowing there was nothing else he could say. There was no way to make this easy for her. He could almost see the pain as it seemed to inch its way into her consciousness.

As though finally remembering to breathe, she took a quick breath, then released it. Another moment passed, another gasp of air followed, as though she had to remind herself of her lungs’ continual need for lifesustaining oxygen.

“I don’t understand,” she finally said. Her mouth quivered, then was still. As though searching for words that might make some sense to her, she asked, “Why would Bobby call you and say such a thing? Bobby would never…”

What little breath she had, suddenly deserted her. She paused, her hand pressed against her throat, her eyes mutely pleading for him to tell her that this was all a joke.

Chris could feel her pain just as surely as if it was his. In many ways, it was. He would have done anything in his power not to hurt this woman.

“Chris, surely he was teasing. Surely he didn’t really mean that he—” Her breath was coming in short pants, as though she’d been running hard.

“He said that a bunch of the group had been out celebrating, partying. He admitted that he didn’t remember too much about the night. Vegas was mentioned, it was like a joke or something. He couldn’t fill in details and I didn’t ask for any. When he woke up the next day he realized what he had done. He knew he had to let you know. He found that he couldn’t call you and just tell you like that. So he called me, instead.”

She looked at Chris with dawning awareness. “All this time you’ve been here…we’ve been talking about the past, and the wedding…” Her voice trailed off. She spoke as if to herself. “I was even discussing my sex life with you, for Pete’s sake.” Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and Chris felt as though he’d been punched in the gut. “All this time you knew that Bobby had—That Bobby-”

Suddenly she jerked away from him, jumping to her feet. “I don’t believe you,” she said in a hoarse voice, her back to him. “Why, the whole idea is absurd. The invitations have all gone out, everything’s been planned for months… for years! Bobby wouldn’t suddenly do something so—” Her voice broke. Without looking at him, she walked back to the car. In a low voice, she said, “I’d like to go home now.”

Chris reluctantly followed her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right at the moment, do you?” he asked reasonably. “That’s why I brought you out here. So you could have some time alone, to get used to the idea.”

The look she gave him was chilling. “Get used to the idea? How, exactly, do you propose I do that? Am I supposed to calmly dismiss and forget the past fifteen years of my life?”

“No. Of course not. Damn it, Maribeth. I know I didn’t do this right, but how the hell do you tell a person something like this? You had to know. He sure as hell left it a little late to pull a stunt like this, then leave it for me to tell you. I came as soon as I could.”

“Fine.” Once again she turned away, this time opening the door to the car and getting inside. “You’ve told me. Thank you very much. Now I’d like to go home.”

She’d left the door open. Chris took advantage of that by hunkering down beside her. Taking her hand, he said, “Don’t shut me out, honey, okay? I know you’re hurt by this. But I’m here for you. You’ve got me. Does that help?”

Gentleness from this particular man was more than she could handle. The tears she’d desperately been fighting to contain finally spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. She could do nothing to stop them.

Awkwardly he pulled her into his arms. The sudden reminder of his after-shave teased her senses, whisking her away to a younger, more innocent time.

“I don’t want to cry,” she said fiercely into his shoulder, ineffectually wiping her eyes.

“You’re entitled,” he murmured. He fumbled in his back pocket and brought out a crisp, neatly folded handkerchief, silently offering it to her.

She straightened, taking the handkerchief and energetically wiping her eyes and cheeks. “How could he do something like this?” Her voice broke and she jammed her fist against her mouth to muffle a sob. She waited until she could gain some control before saying, “It’s like a nightmare, a scary dream brought on by prewedding jitters. It’s like some kind of a test. What would you do if you planned a wedding and your fiancé didn’t show up? It’s a giant, cosmic joke. Isn’t the bride being left at the altar a cliché?”

“Look, why don’t we go back over there and sit for a while? I know I’d be more comfortable,” he added lightly, glancing down at his awkward position beside the small car. “Maybe we can work out some kind of plan.”

Maribeth glanced at Chris and tried to smile. She wasn’t certain how successful her attempt was, but she reminded herself that she had to stop thinking of herself for a moment. Bobby had put both her and Chris into a horrible situation here. Why should she take her feelings out on Chris? He was only trying to help.