Читать книгу Married Right Away - SUSAN MEIER, Susan Meier - Страница 11

Standing in the small alcove off to the right of the courtroom in which he and Savannah would get married, Ethan turned at the sound of a side door opening. When he saw his parents, Penny and Parker McKenzie, he drew in a quick breath.

“Mom! Dad!”

Josh Anderson, the coconspirator who had been pressed into service to be Ethan’s best man, and Olivia Brady, Josh’s fiancée, both froze in surprise.

“Ethan McKenzie,” his mother scolded, sounding exactly as she had when he was ten. Slim and beautiful in her teal-blue suit, with her blond hair pulled in a severe chignon, Penny McKenzie looked every bit the part of a Washington hostess. “How could you possibly get married and not tell your parents?”

“I—I—I don’t know,” Ethan said, too shocked by their appearance to quickly come up with a suitable lie.

“Hilton told us about the baby,” Ethan’s father, Parker, said. In the sophisticated black suit that complemented his salt-and-pepper hair, he looked as rich, powerful and polished as his wife. He reached around Ethan to shake Josh’s hand. “Hi, Josh, good to see you again. Who is this?”

“This is my fiancée, Olivia,” Josh said, as Olivia stepped forward.

While Josh introduced Olivia, Ethan realized how odd this relationship must look to his parents. Even Ethan had never suspected Josh and his secretary had more than a professional relationship, but it was clear now that they loved each other and were happy. In spite of being dressed in a tuxedo Josh was more relaxed than Ethan had ever seen him, and Olivia, wearing a bright-red dress that complemented her sunny yellow hair and peaches-and-cream complexion, simply glowed.

“Nice to meet you, Olivia,” Parker and Penny said, both shaking Olivia’s hand.

“Hilton also explained that when you told him your girlfriend was pregnant,” Penny said, picking up the account her husband had started. “He spilled the beans about your father’s impending vice presidential announcement, and the two of you realized you needed to get married as soon as possible so the pregnancy didn’t detract from the campaign.”

“And I appreciate that,” Parker said sincerely, catching Ethan’s gaze. “However, you still should have invited us to the wedding.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Ethan apologized contritely, but inside he was marveling at Hilton’s brilliance. Having the family friend leak that Ethan was getting married gave the first breath of life to the story that would keep Parker’s career safe, and Ethan’s parents’ involvement innocent. They were here, they were participating, but they didn’t really know anything. Yet they believed they were privy to the bottom-line secrets. It would play perfectly in the press. “Everything just happened so fast—”

“Because you’re going to have a baby!” Penny interrupted, reaching up to lay her palms on her son’s cheeks. “My baby is going to have a baby.”

Once again overcome with his own emotion about having a child, Ethan knew exactly what his mother was feeling. “I almost can’t believe it myself, Mom.”

“We couldn’t be happier,” she said, then hugged Ethan fiercely. “In this day and age, the timing means nothing. I’m glad you’re not letting it concern you because it certainly doesn’t concern us. I’m ready to shop for the nursery with your new wife….”

Ethan saw Olivia and Josh exchange a quick look and he knew why. The comment underscored the fact that Savannah was going to have to deal with Ethan’s mother for the next few months, but more than that, it reminded Olivia and Josh—and now Ethan—of something they should have thought of from the minute they laid eyes on his parents. Savannah wasn’t expecting to meet his famous family today. She was on the other side of the courtroom, in her new white suit, probably getting rid of last-minute jitters by talking with her friends, completely unsuspecting of her fate.

He prayed a silent prayer that she didn’t mind surprises. “You’re going to have to talk to Savannah about the nursery, but right now,” he said, glancing at his watch, “you better go into the courtroom and take a seat. The judge will be here any minute. He said we’d start at three o’clock sharp and I have no reason to doubt him.”

At that his mother’s expression changed marginally. “Honey, did you hire a photographer?”

“No,” Ethan said, glad that at least this much of his explanation wasn’t a lie. “We threw this wedding together on short notice, Mom. Savannah and I figured we could pose for pictures at a studio later or you could have someone at the reception you’re undoubtedly going to host.”

Penny had the good grace to laugh and not try to pretend she wasn’t already planning some kind of party for the newlyweds. “Studio photos are fine,” she said. “But I wanted pictures of the ceremony. I knew you were pressed for time. I also knew you weren’t thinking about details, so I called someone. He’s probably out front now.”

“Mom!” Ethan gasped. Not only was he about to force Savannah to meet his family long before she was prepared, but he was also about to ask her to endure an impromptu photo session. “I can’t just…we can’t just—”

“Savannah will be fine with it,” Penny assured Ethan with feminine confidence. “All women want photos of their wedding. Trust me, she will thank me.”

“Yeah, it’s okay, Ethan,” Olivia said, sending Ethan the message with her expression that it would be better for Ethan to trust that Savannah could handle this than to argue and raise his parents’ suspicions.

“Okay,” Ethan said.

“Now that that’s settled…” Josh said, taking over the way Ethan knew a best man was supposed to when the groom was nearly on the verge of panic from unexpected complications. “Olivia, why don’t you take Ethan’s parents out to their seats and we’ll catch up with all of you after the ceremony?”

“Great,” Parker said. He held his wife’s elbow to escort her to the courtroom and Olivia led them out the door.

When they were gone, Ethan sagged. “What the hell am I doing?”

“You’re fixing a problem,” Josh said simply. “Keeping a secret that needs to be kept.”

“You see, that’s just the trouble,” Ethan said, pacing now. “For something that’s supposed to be a secret, a hell of a lot of people are involved.”

“Who?” Josh asked sweeping out his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “The only people who know are me, Hilton and a couple of Savannah’s friends.”

Ethan caught Josh’s gaze. “And Olivia.”

“Olivia is Savannah’s friend. So she goes into that general category. But more than that if you hadn’t found out the real details and told us, Olivia wouldn’t know. When Savannah was in Atlanta three months ago and she started leaking bits and pieces of this story she didn’t tell Olivia she was already pregnant. Olivia thought she was only considering the procedure not in Atlanta for an exam.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Ethan said, the speed of his pacing increasing.

“You’re just nervous.”

“Because I suddenly realize how much I’m asking of Savannah.”

“From what I remember of her, Savannah is very resilient.”

“She better be because I have a sneaking suspicion that my mother might have also called the press.”

Josh burst out laughing.

“Oh, funny. Very, very funny!”

Before Ethan could have a full-scale tirade, the side door of the courtroom opened again. The judge’s secretary poked her head in. “Judge Flenner says to tell you we’re ready.”

“Okay,” Ethan said. He took a long breath and straightened his shoulders.

Josh slapped him on the back. “You’ll be fine.”