Читать книгу A Ring For Christmas - Joan Elliott Pickart, Cathy Gillen Thacker - Страница 13

That evening Maggie and her best friend Patty sat on the floor in Maggie’s minuscule living room eating takeout pizza, sipping sodas and going through a tower of bride magazines page by page.

The two had been friends since elementary school and now, at twenty-five years old, neither could imagine dealing with the ups and downs of life without the other’s support.

Patty taught first grade at the same school she and Maggie had attended. Patty’s parents had been killed in an automobile accident five years before, so now every spare cent she had went toward putting her younger brother through college.

“Look at this,” Patty said, tapping one fingertip on a page of the magazine in front of her. “Tiny Christmas balls nestled in the bridesmaids’ bouquets. Do you like that idea?”

Maggie wrinkled her nose. “It’s a bit much, I think. I don’t want to overdo the Christmas theme.” She laughed. “After all, this is a wedding, hon, not an office party.”

“True,” Patty said, turning the page. “Forget the icky ornaments.” She took another bite of pizza and looked at Maggie. “It’s so strange to be sitting here doing this, Maggie. I get so caught up in it, I have to keep reminding myself that we’re not really planning your wedding.”

“I know,” Maggie said, sighing, “but this is the closest we’ll ever get to actually doing that, so enjoy.”

“Don’t get me started on that subject,” Patty said, shaking her head. “The fact that you won’t even consider the possibility of falling in love and getting married because—”

“Patty.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up.” Patty paused. “This whole project is weird. Who ever heard of a bride who didn’t give a damn about the plans for her own wedding? Are you sure this Precious person is playing with a full deck?”

Maggie shrugged. “Luke said Precious would just as soon get married wearing jeans at a courthouse. This production is to satisfy the mothers. Mothers I don’t have to deal with, which is a blessing. This will be the wedding of…well, my dreams. Roses and wishes and…Anyway, I intend to thoroughly go for it because nothing like this will ever happen again. The only person I have to report to is Luke.”

“Luke St. John,” Patty said wistfully. “I’ve seen his picture in the newspaper. He is so gorgeous, he’s hot! To think that you actually danced with him at his brother’s wedding reception.” She stared into space. “To be held in the arms of Luke St. John must have been heaven on earth.”

“Close, very close,” Maggie said, nodding. “He’s a marvelous dancer, made me feel like I was floating on a cloud and…” Sudden heat stained her cheeks a pretty pink. “Forget that. Do you think having the bridesmaids wearing green is corny? Maybe I should start over in my mind and not address the Christmas thing at all.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Patty said. “People will expect a festive touch. Besides, it’s what you want. Right?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then it’s settled. Stay with the Christmas theme, but don’t go over the top. What did your sister say about all this?”

“Janet said it was nuts,” Maggie said, smiling, “but that she’d be delighted to be fitted for a beautiful dress even if she doesn’t get to actually wear it anywhere. As a single mom with three kids, she said they don’t provide fittings—la-di-da—in the thrift shops where she buys her clothes.”

“How funny.” Patty laughed, then frowned. “What was your mom’s reaction? She must think Precious has a screw loose.”

“She didn’t dwell on Precious’s mind-set,” Maggie said. “Eat that last piece of pizza. I’m stuffed.”

“No problem,” she said, reaching for the slice. “So what did your mom focus on about this crazy situation?”

“She’s worried about me, Patty,” Maggie said quietly. “She’s afraid that I’ll spend all these weeks planning my dream wedding and then fall apart when I have to face the reality of it being for someone else.”

She sighed. “In fact, she’s concerned about me being a wedding coordinator in the first place. She thinks it was a stupid business for me to start considering I’ll never have a wedding of my own. She’s afraid I’ll spend my life being so sad because I’ll be constantly reminded that…Oh, you know.”

“What I know,” Patty said, shaking her head, “is you won’t budge on the subject of your not getting married, and your mom and Janet—and even your brother, for all I know—are on the same wavelength about it. I’m totally outnumbered when it comes to convincing you otherwise.”

“So don’t try. Heavens, look at this picture in this magazine. The bridal bouquet has green and red candles in it and they’re lit, for heaven’s sake.”

“It boggles the mind,” Patty said, laughing. “Talk about being hot. Which brings me back to the subject of Luke St. John. You said he’s really nice, not snooty even though he’s as rich as Midas?”

“Yes.” Maggie nodded. “He’s very, very nice.”

“And he has a sense of humor and a good relationship with his family and dances like a dream and looks as good in jeans as he does in a tux and…Maggie, you’d better be very careful during the weeks ahead. You’re going to be seeing a lot of Luke because of this wedding. Luke sounds like he’s capable of smashing hearts to smithereens. I don’t want one of those hearts to be yours.”

“Believe me, I don’t either,” Maggie said. “I’m very aware of Luke’s…attributes, shall we say. But fear not, because I’m on red alert, the walls are up, the door is barred. There’s not a chance on earth that I’ll fall head over heels in love with Mr. Luke St. John. Nope. That isn’t going to happen.”

“And now,” Luke said, “I have to make certain that Maggie falls head over heels in love with me.”

Mason St. John chuckled. “That’s definitely top of the list considering you want to marry Maggie Jenkins, have a slew of little St. Johns, then grow old and creaky together.”

“Right,” Luke said, then cut a chunk out of the enormous steak on the plate in front of him.

Father and son were dining at Mason’s club, which he had yet to convince Luke to join. Luke had made it clear several years before that he’d consider a membership once the private establishment got with the program and allowed women to join.

“I must say, Luke,” Mason said after consuming several forkfuls of succulent roast beef, “that I’m impressed with this plan you’ve come up with. It’s brilliant. And I’m more than happy to cover things for you at the office as this scheme unfolds.”

“I appreciate that, Dad. Remember, not a word of this to Mom. She couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it, plus she’d be calling me constantly with advice about how to win Maggie’s heart.”

“That she would, bless her,” Mason said, smiling. “I just wish you’d…Oh, Lord.” His shoulders started shaking with laughter as he pressed his napkin to his lips.

Luke frowned. “Don’t go there. I thought you were going to get us kicked out of here earlier because you were laughing so loud. Just don’t think about it.”

“I’m trying not to, but…Clyde and Precious?”

“I forgot to think of names for my fictitious bride and groom before I went to see Maggie. I was under pressure. I realize they’re grim but…” Luke shrugged.

“What’s Clyde’s last name?” Mason said. “Is he a St. John? Clyde St. John.” He started laughing again. “I can’t handle that.”

“Okay, okay. Knock it off. All right, let’s see. Clyde’s mother is your sister and she married…Who did she marry?”

“John Smith.”

“That’s really original,” Luke said, rolling his eyes heavenward. “All right. Whatever. Clyde Smith is going to marry Precious, um…Peterson.”

“Precious Peterson?” Mason said with a hoot of merriment that drew several frowns from other diners. “Sorry. So this extravaganza is the Peterson-Smith wedding. Got it. Having it during the Christmas holidays is a nice touch. Very romantic.” He took a sip of wine. “What happens next?”

“I wait for Maggie to make some decisions and contact me so I can pass on the data to Precious and Clyde. Well, Precious at least. Clyde will go along with things just like any other groom would. Your favorite nephew is a laid-back, go-with-the-flow guy.”

“Ah,” Mason said, nodding.

“I have to concentrate on Maggie, chip away at those barriers of hers, get her to allow herself to fall in love with me.”

“Ah.”

“There’s a special…something…already happening between Maggie and me, Dad, I know there is. It’s rare, important, real. You should have seen her face when she thought I wanted her to plan my wedding to some other woman. She tried to hide it, but she was upset, I know she was. When I finally told her that it was cousin Clyde’s wedding, she just lit up. She feels something for me, she cares. I have to nurture that, make it grow, get her to trust me, come to love me as I love her, then agree to be my wife for all time.”

“Ah.”

Luke glared at his father. “Can’t you say anything else besides ‘ah’? A little advice would be helpful here, you know.”

Mason set his fork and knife on the edge of his plate, folded his arms over his chest and looked at his son.

“Love is very complicated,” Mason said quietly. “But at the same time it’s very simple.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain. You construct a sturdy foundation together and build on that as the years go by. One of the bricks in that foundation, Luke, is honesty. Your plan to win Maggie’s heart is based on duplicity.”

“But—”

“I know, I know,” Mason said, raising one hand. “You’re convinced that if you try to court Maggie, she’ll refuse to see you, won’t run the risk of finding herself in a serious relationship. I understand the need for this plan you’ve come up with. The thing is, will Maggie understand when she knows the truth? Women don’t like to be duped. This whole thing could backfire on you.”

“You’re thoroughly depressing me,” Luke said, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, in all fairness, I don’t see where you have any choice but to do it this way,” Mason continued. “The usual wine-and-dine scenario is not going to work with your young lady, so you’ve been forced to come up with an alternative approach. A very clever one, I might add.”

He chuckled. “Except for the names! I want you to be happy, Luke. I hope your dream for a life with Maggie becomes your reality, I really do.”

“Thanks, Dad. This plan will work. It has to. A future without Maggie is not something I’m willing to accept. I’m going to win the heart, the love, of Maggie Jenkins.”

At one o’clock the next afternoon Maggie entered a popular downtown restaurant and immediately scooted into the ladies’ room. She stood in front of the long mirror above the half dozen sinks and glared at her reflection.

She was nervous, she thought, and furious at herself because she was. Luke had called her early that morning and asked if it would be too much trouble for her to meet him for lunch.

He was waiting for a scheduled long-distance call regarding a case he was about to wrap up and couldn’t leave the office to come to Roses and Wishes. The afternoon was jam-packed with bringing his father up to date on Luke’s ongoing cases.

He’d spoken with Clyde and Precious, Luke had told her, and wanted to pass on the information he had and blah, blah, blah.

“Oh, sure,” Maggie said, still glowering at her image. “Lunch? Do lunch? No problem.”

Right, she thought dismally. No problem, except for the fact that she was a nervous wreck. That was so dumb. Dumber than dumb. Luke was a client of hers, of Roses and Wishes, nothing more. They were working together to coordinate the wedding of his cousin Clyde and the bride-to-be Precious. The end.

The really humiliating part was that she knew why she was shaky about seeing Luke. Last night she’d had the most sensuous dream imaginable about the two of them. Goodness. She’d wakened in the night all…all hot and bothered, and try as she may she couldn’t erase the pictures in her mind of a naked Luke reaching for a naked her, taking her into his naked arms and…

“Stop it.” Maggie spun around and stomped out of the ladies’ room. “You are just so ridiculous.”

She gave her name to the hostess and was immediately shown to a table at the far end of the large room. Luke stood as he saw her coming.

Thank the Lord, Maggie thought giddily, he has his clothes on. Nice suit. Very lawyer-looking suit. Did she look frumpy in white slacks and a flowered blouse? She should have worn a skirt or dress but hadn’t wanted to arrive there with naked legs and…Oh, God, she was totally losing it.

“Hello, Maggie,” Luke said, smiling, when she reached the table. “It’s nice to see you.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “See me?” She shook her head slightly and slid onto her chair. “Yes, of course, nice to see me. It’s nice to…see you, too, Luke. I really like that suit you’re wearing. Excellent suit. I’m so glad you’re wearing that suit.”

Luke frowned. “Are you all right?”

“What? Oh, yes, of course, I am.” Maggie busied herself spreading the linen napkin on her lap. “I just didn’t sleep very well last night and—” she looked at Luke again “—I’m hungry.”

“Well, we can fix that easily enough.” Luke signaled to the waitress. “Order whatever you’d like.”

The waitress appeared at the table. Maggie ordered the first thing she saw on the menu and told herself to get a grip. Luke asked for a steak sandwich and home fries.

“I really appreciate your coming all the way downtown,” Luke said as the waitress hurried off.

“Not a problem,” Maggie said. “Did you receive the call you were waiting for?”

“Call? Oh. Yes. Right on schedule.” Luke took a sip of water.

Man, I’m crummy at this cloak-and-dagger stuff, he thought. He’d nearly forgotten about his imaginary “appointment” with the telephone. He’d decided to push his luck and attempt to meet with Maggie somewhere other than at Roses and Wishes. The long-distance call had been a great idea, but he’d blow it big-time if he didn’t remember what he’d told her.

“What was it you wanted to discuss with me about your conversation with Precious and Clyde?” Maggie said.

“Why don’t we enjoy our lunch first, then get into all that after we eat,” he said, smiling.

“But you said you have a very busy afternoon,” Maggie said.

“Yes, so I do,” Luke said, frowning. Really crummy at this. “All right. Precious and Clyde will be arriving in Phoenix in the middle of December, so the holiday wedding is great. Right on the money.”

Maggie smiled. “Good. I’ve chosen the flowers and the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses with a Christmas theme in mind. Did you ask Precious about her dress size and those of her friends?”

“They’re exactly the same as yours, your sister’s and your best friend’s.”

“Isn’t that something?” Maggie said. “Then it will just be a matter of nip and tuck.”

“Indeed.”

Their lunch arrived and Maggie was amazed to find that she’d ordered grilled salmon and steamed vegetables, which weren’t exactly her favorite foods but would do in a pinch.

“Now then,” Luke said after they’d taken the edge off their appetites. “Clyde and Precious said that they will have just made that long flight from London a couple of weeks before the wedding. They’d prefer to not have to pack their suitcases again and go winging off on a honeymoon right away, which makes sense.”

Maggie cocked her head slightly to one side. “They don’t want a honeymoon?”

Get this right, fumble-brain, Luke ordered himself. He wanted to plan that oh-so-important honeymoon trip with Maggie when she was engaged to marry him. It was something that they should do together for real, not as part of this charade.

“They’ll have a trip later on,” he said, narrowing his eyes in concentration. “So what they want is a honeymoon suite here in Phoenix for a few days following the wedding.”

Maggie nodded slowly. “I understand. Well, I really don’t know what’s available because my couples have always left town after the reception. I’ll visit some honeymoon suites in the posh hotels and report back to you.”

“I thought I’d do that investigating with you,” Luke said. “I’ll have the time once I bring my father up to speed on my cases at the office, and as the old saying goes, two heads are better than one. You don’t mind if I tag along, do you?”

A teenage boy appeared at the table at that moment to refill their water glasses, and Maggie fought the urge to jump up and hug him for giving her a moment to gather her racing thoughts before answering Luke’s question.

Visit honeymoon suites with Luke St. John? she mentally repeated. Honeymoon suites, where people did what she and Luke had been about to do in her wanton dream? That was not a good idea at all. No, it was a bad plan. Bad, bad. And dumb and dangerous and—

“Maggie?”

But what reasonable excuse could she dish out to Luke as to why he shouldn’t come along on the honeymoon-suite tour? she asked herself frantically. Sorry, Mr. You Melt My Bones, but there’s a very good chance I might tear your clothes off in one of those romantic suites and get you naked as a jaybird, just like in my dream? Yeah, right, she’d just lay that on him. Not.

“Maggie, are you with me here?” Luke said, leaning slightly toward her.

“What?” she said. “Oh, yes, sure thing, Luke. You can come along to look at the accommodations if you like. But doesn’t that sound just a tad boring to you?”

“Nooo,” Luke said slowly, then smiled. “Not at all. Not even close.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”

Because he’d be envisioning the two of them in each of those suites, newly married, husband and wife, about to begin their honeymoon here in Phoenix before leaving on their dream trip. No, that didn’t sound the least bit boring.

“Why not?” he said. Quick, St. John. Come up with something reasonable. “Because, like you, I’ve never seen a honeymoon suite in any of the ritzy hotels in town. It will be informative, interesting. Anytime a person has an opportunity to experience something new they should jump at the chance. It’s good for the gray matter.” He tapped his temple with a fingertip. “Know what I mean?”

“Not really,” Maggie said, frowning, “but I’ll take your word for it.” She paused. “I think it would be best if I made actual appointments for our inspections. I’ll get back to you on that.”

“Fine. And you said you’d decided on the flowers for the wedding. What did you choose? No, wait, let me guess.” Luke drummed the fingers of one hand on the table. “Hmm. You named your business Roses and Wishes. I’m betting that the bridal bouquet is roses, red for the holiday theme with some kind of Christmassy greens and those fluffy things that look sort of like snow.”

“Baby’s breath,” Maggie said hardly above a whisper as she stared at Luke.

“Yeah, that’s what it’s called. How close did I come to being right?”

“That’s exactly what I chose, but…but how did you know?”

Luke reached across the table and covered one of Maggie’s hands with one of his. He gazed directly into her big brown eyes and when he spoke again his voice was slightly raspy and very, very…male. Maggie shivered.

“I knew because you’re Maggie,” he said. My Maggie. Forever.

“Oh,” she said. Get your hand back, Maggie Jenkins. The heat—the heat from Luke’s hand was traveling up her arm and across her breasts that were suddenly achy and…Get your dumb hand back. Sometime within the next hour. “Huh? You knew what flowers I’d pick right down to the baby’s breath because I’m Maggie? I don’t think that makes sense.”

“It does to me,” he said, tightening his grip slightly on her hand. “Yes, ma’am, it certainly does.”

“Would you care for some dessert today?”

Maggie snatched her hand from beneath Luke’s and looked up at the waitress.

“Dessert,” she said, hearing the thread of breathlessness in her voice. “Dessert is a good thing. Yes, it certainly is, but I’m much too full to eat another bite of anything so…no, thank you.”

Bingo, Luke thought. Maggie was flustered and that was dynamite. The heat that had rocketed throughout his body as he’d held her hand had traveled through her, too, he was certain of it. Her cheeks were flushed a delicate pink and her voice was trembling slightly. Fantastic.

“And you, sir?” the waitress said. “We have a scrumptious Black Forest cake today.”

“A man certainly can’t pass up Black Forest cake,” Luke said. “Why don’t you bring me a slice. With two forks, just in case the lady changes her mind and decides to share it with me.”

“You bet,” the waitress said. “I’ll be right back.”

A busboy cleared their dishes, and moments later the waitress set an enormous slice of cake in the center of the table and placed a fork in front of Maggie, then Luke.

“Enjoy,” the woman said, then zoomed away.

“Help yourself, Maggie,” Luke said. “Look at that creation. Chocolate cake with whipped cream between the layers and all those cherries in sauce dribbling down the sides like a delicious waterfall. How can you resist a treat like this?”

What she wanted to know, Maggie thought miserably, was how could Luke make the description of a slab of cake sound like the most seductive thing she had ever heard in her entire life? The man just didn’t quit.

“Well, maybe just one bite,” she said, picking up the fork. She filled her fork, making sure it included one of the fat, gooey cherries. “Mmm.”

“Oops,” Luke said, reaching for a napkin. “You’ve got a dab of cherry sauce. I’ll get it for you.”

He leaned across the table and gently, so gently, dabbed at the spot of sauce, then shifted his eyes to look directly into Maggie’s.

Her bones were dissolving, Maggie thought, unable to tear her gaze from Luke’s. There was nothing sensuous about having her sloppy eating mopped up like a toddler in a high chair, darn it, but…Oh, yes, there was.

There was something so intimate about Luke tenderly stroking that napkin by her lips as though it was the most important thing he had ever done. She was going to slide off that chair and turn into a puddle on the floor.

“All better,” he said, his voice husky. “Good cake?”

“Mmm,” Maggie said dreamily. “The best cake I’ve ever…really yummy.”

“Well, it’s sure calling my name.”

Maggie watched with rapt attention as Luke leveled a serving onto his fork, lifted it to his mouth, then closed his lips—those, oh-so-kissable lips—over the treat, then slowly pulled the fork free.

“Mmm,” he said, closing his eyes as he savored the taste.

She couldn’t handle this, Maggie thought frantically. She was going up in flames, burning inside with a heat like nothing she had ever experienced before.

Luke set the fork on the table and reached over to take both of Maggie’s hands in his.

“Ah, Maggie,” he said, “what are you doing to me? What is this thing that spins out of control between us?” It’s love, Maggie Jenkins. True and forever love. “You feel it, I know you do.”

“No, I don’t,” she said, trying to pull her hands free. Luke tightened his hold. “Well, yes, I do, but it’s just physical attraction between two people who are…physically attracted to each other. I would call it lust, but that’s kind of a tacky word. It’s certainly nothing to be pursued or acted upon or…May I have my hands back now, please, Luke?”

“In a minute. So you admit that you’re physically attracted to me?”

“Well…yes.”

“You desire me? Do you, Maggie? Lust is a tacky word. Desire is something else entirely.”

“Semantics.”

“No, Maggie, emotions. Emotions are intertwined with desire. I truly believe that. The tricky part is to know what those emotions are, what they mean, unwrap them layer by layer like a wondrous gift.”

“That’s very poetic,” Maggie said softly.

“I’m not attempting to be poetic. I’m just expressing how I feel. I want to know what that gift holds for us. Don’t you?”

Maggie pulled her hands free and shook her head. “No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Luke, you just don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me. Please, Maggie. What are you afraid of? Why are you so determined to never marry, to plan weddings for so many brides but never one for yourself? Why have you built those tall, strong walls around your heart? There’s something happening between us that could be very important, but whenever I bring it up you act like you’re about to bolt. Talk to me. Please.”

Maggie clutched her hands tightly in her lap and stared at them for a long, mind-searching moment. She nodded slowly, then met Luke’s gaze again.

“All right,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Perhaps I should tell you the truth about me, why none of the weddings I coordinate will ever be mine, why I’ll never be a bride.”

Luke’s heart thudded so wildly he could hear the echo of it in his ears.

“It goes back as many generations as my family has been able to track, without skipping even one,” Maggie continued. “There’s no escaping it, no reason to believe it won’t continue on and on into infinity.” She sighed. “Oh, people try to beat the odds—my mother, sister, my brother—but it’s foolish to do that because it’s hopeless.”

“My God, Maggie,” Luke said, feeling the color drain from his face. “Is it a disease that can’t be cured?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call it a disease exactly, but there is definitely no cure for it. It happens over and over and over again. It’s harsh and heartbreaking and I don’t intend to allow it to happen to me. I will never, ever get married.”

“What—” Luke cleared his throat “—what is it? Does it have an official name?”

“Yes, it definitely has a name,” she said. “We’re all doomed. It would be so foolish to believe I would be spared, because it wouldn’t happen, Luke. My mother, sister, brother all thought they could escape from it, but…” She shook her head.

“What is it?” he said, leaning toward her. “You’re ripping me up here, Maggie. What is it?”

Maggie took a shuddering breath, then blinked against sudden and unwelcome tears.

“It’s…” she said, a sob catching in her throat. “It’s the Jenkins Jinx.”