Jacqueline Diamond - The Stolen Bride

Much as he welcomed the news, Joseph had to make sure it was valid. “Could there be a misunderstanding?”

“She talked to me that afternoon, right before I got hit.” Erin spoke in a dull, shocked tone. “I said the whole thing with Chet was a mistake. I planned to give him the bad news in person the next day.”

Joseph couldn’t believe Dever had lied so baldly. “Maybe you accepted him and then had a change of heart.”

“I don’t see how that could have happened,” Erin said. “Chet described how overjoyed I was when I called. He said I could hardly wait to walk down the aisle. I’m not the kind of person who would say that and then change my mind a few hours later.”

“When he told you, didn’t you wonder why you’d agreed? I mean, you ought to know whether you love him or not.” He knew he was being rough on her, but it was nothing compared to the storm that would sweep over Sundown Valley if Erin Marshall left Chet Dever at the altar.

“I believed everything I was told. I couldn’t rely on my memory or my feelings.” She sounded dazed. “I didn’t trust my perceptions.”

What a violation! What Dever had done might not be a crime, but it ought to be. “You can’t marry him.”

Erin dropped her cell phone into her purse. “What a mess! Everyone’s going to be so upset. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with them.”

“The only person you have to deal with is your fake fiancé,” he said.

“No.” Tears welled in her eyes. “There’s my mom. And all those people out there.” She started to shake. “I’m sorry. I know I ought to be able to take care of myself, but I can’t think straight.”

Joseph couldn’t help it. He knew he was compromising his investigation, but he wrapped his arms around Erin and pulled her against him.

She needed him. He’d never believed such a thing could happen, in view of their past and their relative situations in this community. Regardless of whether he crushed his career along with her wedding dress, he refused to let her down.

“Come with me,” he said. “I’ll help you sort it out.”

“You don’t have to.” She rested her cheek on his chest. “This isn’t your problem.”

“Tell me how many people you trust right now, besides me.”

“My mom,” she said.

“Even if she’s under Lance’s influence?”

“No.”

“So there’s just me,” Joseph pointed out. “That makes it my problem.”

Soon enough, she’d have all the support she needed—from lawyers, security guards, accountants, whatever. But for this small, precious space of time, she needed a friend and she’d turned to him. “Let’s get the heck out of here.”

“Thank you.” Erin’s eyes looked huge as she peered up at him. “I can’t tell you how much this means.”

“Cops are the modern equivalent of knights in shining armor, aren’t we?” he teased, and reached for the door.

Eerily, the knob turned just before he touched it, and someone in the hall pulled it open.

Erin stared in dismay at the man standing in the doorway. In his tuxedo, Chet loomed larger than life, his chiseled face set in an unaccustomed scowl.

He was a big man, several inches taller than Joseph although less tightly knit, with anchorman-perfect dark blond hair and an air of authority that swept people before him. Until now, Erin hadn’t dreamed of standing up to him—at least, not lately.

Since she’d awakened in the hospital, Chet had taken command of her life the way her father used to do. Bruised and aching, uncertain about what had happened, she’d been grateful for his strength.

She wasn’t ready for this confrontation. She hadn’t weighed her plans or gathered her courage. On the other hand, that might take days, and she needed to stop this wedding in its tracks.

Behind Chet in the hallway, Tina hovered uncertainly. Whatever she’d told the groom, the news had annoyed him. His guilty conscience had to be pricking, Erin thought with a trace of her old resilience.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “I do not want my bride harassed.”

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” Joseph thrust out his hand. “I’m Detective Lowery.”

Chet ignored his hand. “I know who you are.” It was unusually churlish of him, Erin thought.

“Everyone knows who you are.” This last came from Tina’s brother, Gene. Thin-faced and sharp-featured, he, too, wore a tuxedo, since he was Chet’s best man as well as his campaign manager. He and Joseph had disliked each other in high school, she recalled.

Joseph’s eyes flicked over Gene with the barest of recognition and returned to Chet. His air of quiet watchfulness impressed Erin. “Miss Marshall is assisting with an investigation.”

“Well, Detective, your time is up,” Chet said. “We’re having a wedding here and I don’t recall your being invited.”

“If you’re looking for trouble, take it elsewhere,” Gene added.

Tina’s cheeks reddened. “He just wanted to ask a few questions.”

“He’s exceeding his authority,” returned her brother. “And he knows it.”

Erin felt the tension in Joseph’s body. It was obvious that Chief Norris would hear about his intrusion, given his son’s attitude.

If she planned to retake charge of her life, Erin decided, she had better start now. “Joseph was just leaving, Chet, and so am I. I’m sorry but I can’t marry you. In fact, under the circumstances, you’re the one who should be saying you’re sorry.”

The groom’s reaction was subtle but unmistakable: a tightening around the eyes, a flare of the nostrils. Erin’s chest squeezed. Something about him frightened her.

Tina gasped. “Five minutes ago, you were fine. What on earth is going on?”

“Five minutes ago, I was deluded,” she said. “Tina, I was going to turn Chet down the day of the accident. He lied to me.”

“Tell me what kind of nonsense this man’s been spouting.” Chet reached for her shoulders, a gesture he frequently used, she realized, when he wanted to assert control.

She stepped away. “He didn’t have to tell me anything. I called my boss in Tustin. According to her, I was planning to turn you down before I got hit. I never promised to marry you. You lied to me.”

At some level, Chet must have been prepared for her accusation, because he immediately changed tactics. “You’ve been promising to marry me for the past six weeks. If anyone lied, it was you.”

Erin could hardly believe his nerve. “I was flat on my back in the hospital with a head injury! You convinced me we were engaged.”

“The hospital released you a month ago. You could have called off the ceremony at any time. No one forced you to do anything, Erin.” He spread his hands placatingly. “Look, this is an obvious case of prewedding jitters. We’ve got a whole ballroom full of guests waiting for us to walk down the aisle. Do you want to humiliate your mother in front of her friends?”

This last statement stopped her. By refusing to move home again after her father’s death, she’d already let her mother down once and left her vulnerable to an opportunist like Lance. The last-minute cancellation of her daughter’s wedding would embarrass Alice in front of Sundown Valley society. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way.

That wasn’t a good enough reason for Erin to marry the wrong man, however. And if she hadn’t already been convinced there was something amiss, Chet’s behavior these past few minutes had made it crystal clear. Instead of showing concern for her happiness, he’d done nothing but try to finesse her.

“When I told you I didn’t want to rush things, you described how eagerly I accepted your proposal and how I insisted we get married right away,” she said. “You stage-managed the whole thing.”