Kelly met the older woman’s eyes in the vanity mirror. “I look like a watermelon stuck on a toothpick.”
“You sure do—and I’m so jealous. There’s nothing like a pregnancy to give a woman a special radiance, and you’ve got it in spades.” Just as Kate stepped back to give her one last critical look-over, the door whooshed open again.
Mollie Shaw charged in with a brilliant smile, her long red hair swinging halfway down her back. “There’s our bride! I figured you’d be having some last-minute jitters and wanted to tell you that everything’s ready, nothing to worry about Hi, Ms. Fortune—man, do I love that smoky blue dress. It’s so elegant, looks wonderful on you. And, Kel, you couldn’t possibly be more gorgeous....”
Mollie gently tugged Kelly’s veil just a little down on the right. “...and now you’re perfect. The music’s going to start in just a minute or so. Remember what I told you about taking three deep breaths?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m going back out—but you know I’ll be around to help during the reception. Everything’s going to be fine, sweetie. Trust me.”
Nothing was going to be fine. But Mollie had already charged back out the door before Kelly could get a word in—much less find the courage to announce her escape plans and that the whole deal was off.
“That girl’s face is so familiar,” Kate said absently.
The comment confused Kelly enough to distract her—at least for a second. “Well, sure she’s familiar—you know Mollie, Kate—”
“Yes, and she’s been a godsend. Lucky for all of us that your friend was already in the wedding planner business. As young as she is, she’s really a dynamo. I don’t know how we could have put all this together in two short weeks without her. It’s not that. It’s just that her red hair and green eyes are so distinctive, and every time I see her face I think I should recognize her from somewhere else, but I just can’t place it. Well...it certainly doesn’t matter now. Especially when we’ve only got a few more seconds, and there’s something I really want to tell you.”
Kate fixed the veil one more time. Her way. If she noticed the bride’s crepe white pallor or the frantic alarm in her eyes, she never let on. “Kelly...I’m so honored that you’re letting me be the one to give you away. I’m sorry your mom isn’t still alive to be part of this—she’d be so proud. But I want you to know, I couldn’t care more if you were my own daughter.”
Well, spit. Her conscience was already suffering from muck-deep guilt, and Kate’s words only made her feel worse. She had to tell Kate that her mind was made up; the wedding was off—there was no way she could possibly go through with it. But somehow she couldn’t get the words said.
Kate had done so much for her. Four years ago when Kate had plucked her from the pool of clerks and given her the job as her personal social secretary, Kelly’s whole life had irrevocably changed. Most people found her boss to be irascible and ruthless and domineering. She was all those things—even to her family—but never to Kelly. Their working relationship had long turned personal. Kate was the one who had picked out the cream satin wedding dress with the pearl-studded collar and cuffs. The simple style with the subtly draping pleats almost hid her beachedwhale-size tummy, and heaven knew it was the most glamorous, gorgeous dress she’d ever owned. And it wasn’t just the blasted dress. Kate had paid for the wedding, the clothes, everything, even made all the arrangements to have the ceremony at the Fortune company headquarters—probably the one place on earth where they could control security and be completely protected from the media.
Kate had private reasons for wanting this wedding to happen. Kelly realized that, but it didn’t make her debt of gratitude any less. She’d still been treated like a daughter. “Kate, I had no idea that you were going to go to so much trouble and expense—”
“Nonsense. Your friend Mollie did all the legwork. I just helped with a bit of the organizing. It was a joy to arrange, no trouble at all.”
Kelly knew better. She’d never asked for any of it, but every detail from the out-of-season gardenias to the designer dress to the champagne reception was a measure of how much trouble her boss had gone to. She also hadn’t realized how much Mollie and Kate had conspired behind her back until everything was already done. Another layer of guilt troweled on her conscience. They’d both been so wonderful to her. She really didn’t want to show her ingratitude by hightailing it for the front door at a wallowing gallop, but there was only one word screaming in her mind. Escape.
Abruptly she heard the first strains of the wedding march. Adrenaline bolted through her bloodstream, and a lump clogged her throat bigger than the Rock of Gibraltar. She couldn’t go through with this. She just couldn’t.
“There now.” Kate also heard the music and firmly, securely, tucked her arm in hers. “Here we go...just think calm and put a smile on, and don’t worry about a thing. Everything’s going to work out.”
Nothing was going to work out, but it seemed like only a millisecond passed before Kate had effectively herded her the few steps across the hall to the long, tall set of double mahogany doors. She could see Sterling, Kate’s husband, waiting just inside. And Renee Riley, her maid of honor, shot her a wink, before starting her walk-down-the-aisle thing. Kate’s grip never loosened when Kelly cast a swift, frantic glance over her shoulder.
The exit wasn’t visible from here, but she glimpsed the lobby windows. Outside, holiday decorations still wreathed the streetlights and snow was clearly pelting down in a stinging fury. Not untypical of a New Year’s Eve in Minnesota, the winter wind was howling like a banshee. The snowstorm had been building momentum since midafternoon, as if the weather gods had figured out her state of mind and were sending an omen. This was a bad idea. A disastrous idea.
In fact, she made a prompt New Year’s resolution to never again get married for as long as she lived.
But in those teensy milliseconds, Kate had propelled her to the middle of those open doors, in full view of the guests. The place wasn’t recognizable as a conference room. In one sweeping glance, Kelly saw the red velvet carpet, the satin ribbons draping the chairs, the dais at the front of the room transformed with pots and sprays of fragrant gardenias and baby’s breath and heart-red roses. She also saw the guests all rising in traditional respect for the bride and thought: they weren’t gonna like it when she cut and run.
The minister smiled reassuringly at her from the front of the room. She thought: his smile was gonna disappear fast when the bride hiked up her skirts and took a fast powder.
The gathering only seemed crowded because every chair was filled, the room stuffed with people, yet the guests couldn’t number much over thirty. She knew every face. They were either Fortunes or related kin—none of her own family, because she had none...not anymore—but God knew the Fortunes had taken her in as if she were part of their clan. Everyone knew when and how she’d gotten into trouble. Everyone had gone out of their way to stand by her, and their choosing to attend the wedding was another measure of that support.
An already catastrophic situation just kept getting worse. Undoubtedly they were expecting to attend the usual nice, peaceful, happy ceremony. Instead all they were going to get was a mortified bride running helter-skelter into a snowstorm. In cream satin shoes and no coat.
Kate gripped her arm more securely, urging her forward, yet her hold was never really that tight. Kelly knew she could shake free. It was just a matter of picking her moment. This marriage wasn’t just a mistake. It was a mistake the size of an earthquake. Maybe she’d have to leave the country under an assumed name to live this down, but she simply couldn’t go through with it.
But then this strange thing happened.
It