Renee Roszel - Married By Mistake!

“No problem.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. “I can wait.” He pursed his lips as though working to change the subject, bless him. “Where’s Damien?”

Grateful to have something else to think about, Lucy sighed. “He’s in the Denver airport, snowed in. His book tour is just about over. Two more cities.” She took another sip of coffee, then smiled with recollection. “When I talked to him a half hour ago, he pretty much said the tour was over as far as he was concerned. To quote him, he said, ‘I don’t care if my book is number one on the New York Times bestseller’s list and my publisher drops dead from apoplexy. I’m damned sure going to be with Helen and my baby girls as soon as this snow lets up!’” She was happy for her little sister and the staunch supporter she had in her husband. “Damien’s a wonderful guy.”

She noticed that Jack was looking at her in his direct, serious way. His vivid gaze was contemplative. She took a quiet minute to stare back, filling her eyes and her heart with him. It was awfully good to have him there.

His thick brown hair tapered tidily to his starched white collar. His silk tie was loosened at the neck, making him look less like a successful restaurateur and more like the teenage rebel she’d first known.

He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves, exposing sturdy forearms. Strong, protective arms that had lifted her out of a tree when she’d gotten herself stuck. Arms that had held her down so that the doctor could stitch up a gash in her thigh after she’d fallen off her bike. She bit her lip at the memory of how she’d shouted at him, telling him she hated him and would despise him forever. Of course she hadn’t meant a word of it. He’d laughed at her, telling her she was crazy for him and she knew it.

She half smiled at the memory. She’d had a terrific crush on him back then. She supposed she hadn’t hidden it well. Running a restless hand through her eternally tousled hair, she had an urge to snuggle in his arms the way she had when she’d been a frightened child. She needed some good, old-fashioned comforting.

“The babies weren’t due until April, right?”

His question pulled her from her musing, and she flushed, wondering if he would be embarrassed to know she’d been thinking about his arms, of all things. She nodded. “April second. Two more weeks.” Her heart twisted and she had to blink back guilty tears. “Oh, Jack—the whole thing was my fault.”

He chuckled, showing a flash of teeth. “You got Helen pregnant?”

She did a double take, then couldn’t help but laugh at his joke. “Jack, your restaurants keep you too busy. You need to take a course in human sexuality.” She shook her head in mock incredulity, but felt less depressed because of his teasing. Still, as her thoughts returned to the events of the night, her buoyant mood faded. “Really, if I hadn’t been so—so upset, Helen wouldn’t have suggested we take a walk and we wouldn’t have been in the middle of nowhere when she went into labor.”

“Sometimes twins come early, I understand. Don’t blame yourself.”

She glanced at him again, and this time when her lips twitched upward, there was wistful gratitude there. “Did you take a course?”

A dark eyebrow rose. “You just told me I needed to.”

“Not that course.” She slipped into the crook of his arm, yawning again. “Another course—where you learned all the right things to say.”

His pleasant chuckle reverberated through her. Very vaguely, she sensed her coffee cup being lifted from her fingers as overwhelming exhaustion and Jack’s snug closeness ushered her into the land of Nod.

Lucy, Jack and Elissa visited Helen that afternoon after everybody had had a little rest. Just as visiting hours were ending, Damien Lord dashed in, rumpled, unshaven, the image of a man possessed. Lucy smiled at him as he rushed by. He was such a handsome man, eye patch, scars and all.

“Darling.” He took Helen in his arms. “You look wonderful.”

Helen kissed Damien long and lovingly, her arms tight about his shoulders. When the kiss ended and Damien drew away enough to look at her, she held his face between her hands. “You look tired, honey.”

He grinned, relief etched on his face, then kissed the tip of her nose. “I just became a father. It takes a lot out of you.”

“No kidding.” Helen slipped her arms around his neck again. “Well, since you’re in such a delicate condition, maybe you’d better lie down beside me and rest.”

Jack cleared his throat and stood. “Sounds like our cue to leave, ladies.”

Damien turned, finally acknowledging them with a wave and a striking smile.

Elissa got up from her chair and smoothed the wrinkles from her wool skirt. “Well, I know I should get back. Jule’s become a great right hand for me at the inn, but I think I’ve left her alone long enough for one day.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, Helen.” Lucy approached her sister and squeezed her fingers. Bending forward, she kissed her brother-in-law’s whisker-roughened jaw. “You get some rest, too—Daddy.”

Helen took hold of her sister’s hand and turned toward Jack and Elissa. “You two go on and get the car. I need a second with Lucy.”

Jack slipped an arm around Elissa’s shoulders and led her from the room. “It must be a secret club, and we don’t know the handshake.”

“Well, when we start our own secret club, they’ll be sorry,” Elissa said with a laugh.

After they were gone and the door closed, Helen released Damien and indicated the opposite side of the bed with a pat. “Sit here, honey. I need to talk to my sister for a minute.”

Lucy felt embarrassed and shy. “Look, Helen, you’ve already thanked me for helping you with the babies. But it was my fault we were out there—”

“Hush!” Helen touched Lucy’s mouth with her fingertips. “I suggested the walk. I flew from New York Against Damien’s wishes and the doctor’s orders, so enough about fault. We’re fine, and we’re here to celebrate a whole bunch of birthdays, and...” Helen’s expression grew sly. “And one other important and wonderful event!”

Lucy grew confused. She looked at Damien who appeared equally puzzled, though he smiled. “I don’t know what she’s talking about, either, but...” He took Lucy’s hand and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “How can I repay you for saving Helen and my little girls?”

His expression was so full of emotion, Lucy’s eyes filled with tears. Pulling her lips between her teeth, she swallowed to get control of her voice. “I’m glad...” The words were so weak and shuddering, she stopped, trying again. “I’m glad everything turned out okay.”

“Now don’t make me cry, you two. It hurts,” Helen interrupted, sounding a little quivery herself. “Will you let me say something that’s very important?” She propped herself up on her pillows to have better eye contact with her sister. After getting comfortable, she took both of Lucy’s hands in hers. “Do you realize you’ve fulfilled all the requirements of the myth?”

Lucy was baffled. She looked at Damien in time to see his expression change from soft concern to wariness. “What are you saying, sweetheart?” He touched Helen’s hair, smoothing it along the pillow.

His wife glanced at him, her expression loving. “The D’Amour myth.” She returned her gaze to Lucy, her features animated. “You’re going to marry Jack.”

Lucy had never been so completely blindsided in her life. Not even by Stadler’s appalling letter yesterday, telling her he was breaking their two-year engagement to marry someone else. After she’d waited a year, then nine more lonely months while the Shakespearean troupe extended their tour of Australia again and again. She had been devastated by Stadler’s cruel blow. But this? This was insane!