Brides and Grooms Box Set: Marriage Wanted\Bride Wanted\Groom Wanted (3 page)

“You’ve had someone checking into my affairs, haven’t you?” Susan lowered her voice to subzero temperatures. “You can’t rule my life, Nash. I’m going to marry Kurt and that’s all there is to it.”

“I gathered as much from Savannah Charles….”

“You’ve talked to Savannah?”

Nash recognized his second mistake immediately. He’d blown it now, and Susan wasn’t going to forgive him.

“Stop meddling in my life, Nash.” His sister’s voice quavered suspiciously and seconds later the line was disconnected. The phone droned in his ear before he dejectedly replaced the receiver.

Needless to say,
that
conversation hadn’t gone well. He’d like to blame Savannah, but it was his fault. He’d been the one to let her name slip, a stupid error on his part.

The wedding coordinator and his sister were both too stubborn and naive for their own good. If this was how Susan wanted it, then he had no choice but to abide by her wishes. Calling her had been another mistake in a long list he’d been making lately.

His assistant poked her head in his door, and he gave her his immediate attention. He had more important things to worry about than his sister and a feisty wedding coordinator who lived in a dreamworld.

* * *

“What did my brother say?” Susan demanded.

“He wanted to know about you,” Savannah said absently as she arranged champagne flutes on the display table next to the five-tier wedding cake. She’d been working on the display between customers for the past hour.

“In other words, Nash was pumping you for information?”

“Yes, but you don’t need to worry, I didn’t tell him anything. What I did do was suggest he talk to you.” She straightened, surprised that he’d followed her advice. “He cares deeply for you, Susan.”

“I know.” Susan gnawed on her lower lip. “I wish I hadn’t hung up on him.”

“Susan!”

“I…He told me he’d talked to you and it made me so mad I couldn’t bear to speak to him another second.”

Savannah was surprised by Nash’s slip. She would’ve thought their conversation was the last thing he’d
mention. But from the sound of it, he didn’t get an opportunity to rehash it with Susan.

“If he makes a pest of himself,” Susan said righteously, “let me know and I’ll…I’ll do something.”

“Don’t worry about it. I rather enjoyed talking to him.” It was true, although Savannah hated to admit it. She’d worked hard to push thoughts of Nash from her mind over the past couple of days. His attitude had annoyed her, true, but she’d found him intriguing and—it bothered her to confess this—a challenge. A smile came when she realized he probably saw her the same way.

“I have to get back to work,” Susan said reluctantly. “I just wanted to apologize for my brother’s behavior.”

“He wasn’t a problem.”

On her way out the door, Susan muttered something Savannah couldn’t hear. The situation was sad. Brother and sister loved each other but were at an impasse.

Savannah continued to consider the situation until the bell over the door chimed about five minutes later. Smiling, she looked up, deciding she wasn’t going to get this display finished until after closing time. She should’ve known better than to try.

“Nash.” His name was a mere whisper.

“Hello again,” he said dryly. “I’ve come to prove my point.”

Two

“Y
ou want to prove your point,” Savannah repeated thoughtfully. Nash Davenport was the most headstrong man she’d ever encountered. He was also one of the handsomest. That did more to confuse her than to help. For reasons as yet unclear, she’d lost her objectivity. No doubt it had something to do with that pride of his and the way they’d argued. No doubt it was also because they remained diametrically opposed on the most fundamental issues of life—love and marriage.

“I’ve given some thought to our conversation the other day,” Nash said, pacing back and forth, “and it seems to me that I’m just the person to clear up your thinking. Besides,” he went on, “if I
can
clear up your thinking, maybe you’ll have some influence on Susan.”

Although it was difficult, Savannah resisted the urge to laugh.

“To demonstrate my good faith, I brought a peace offering.” He held up a white sack for her inspection. “Two lattes,” he explained. He set the bag on the corner of her desk and opened it, handing her one of the paper cups. The smell of hot coffee blended with steamed
milk was as welcome as popcorn in a theater. “Make yourself comfortable,” he said next, gesturing toward the stool, “because it might take a while.”

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Savannah felt obliged to say as she carefully edged onto the stool.

“It’s a great idea. Just hear me out,” he said smoothly.

“Oh, all right,” she returned with an ungracious nod. Savannah might have had the energy to resist him if it hadn’t been so late in the day. She was tired and the meeting with Susan had frustrated her. She’d come to her upset and unhappy, and Savannah had felt helpless, not knowing how to reassure the younger woman.

Nash pried off the lid of his latte, then glanced at his watch. He walked over to her door and turned over the sign so it read Closed.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

“It’s—” he looked at his watch again “—5:29 p.m. You’re officially closed in one minute.”

Savannah didn’t bother to disagree. “I think it’s only fair for you to know that whatever you have to say isn’t going to change my mind,” she said.

“I figured as much.”

The man continued to surprise her. “How do you intend to prove your point? Parade divorced couples through my wedding shop?”

“Nothing that drastic.”

“Did it occur to you that I could do the same thing and have you meet with a group of blissful newlyweds?” she asked.

He grinned. “I’m way ahead of you. I already guessed you’d enjoy introducing me to any number of loving couples who can’t keep their hands off each other.”

Savannah shrugged, not denying it.

“The way I figure it,” he said, “we both have a strong argument to make.”

“Exactly.” She nodded. “But you aren’t going to change my mind and I doubt I’ll change yours.” She didn’t know what kept some couples together against all odds or why others decided to divorce when the first little problem arose. If Nash expected her to supply the answers, she had none to offer.

“Don’t be so sure we won’t change each other’s mind.” Which only went to prove that he thought there was a chance he could influence her. “We could accomplish a great deal if we agree to be open-minded.”

Savannah cocked one eyebrow and regarded him skeptically. “Can you guarantee you’ll be open-minded?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered, and she was impressed with his honesty. “But I’m willing to try. That’s all I ask of you.”

“That sounds fair.”

He rubbed his palms together as though eager to get started. “If you don’t object, I’d like to go first.”

“Just a minute,” she said, holding up her hand. “Before we do, shouldn’t we set some rules?”

“Like what?”

Although it was her suggestion, Savannah didn’t really have an answer. “I don’t know. Just boundaries of some kind.”

“I trust you not to do anything weird, and you can count on the same from me,” he said. “After all—”

“Don’t be so hasty,” she interrupted. “If we’re going to put time and effort into this, it makes sense that we have rules.
And
something riding on the outcome.”

His blue eyes brightened. “Now there’s an interesting
thought.” He paused and a smile bracketed his mouth. “So you want to set a wager?”

Nash seemed to be on a one-man campaign to convince her the world would be a better place without the institution of marriage. “We might as well make it interesting, don’t you think?”

“I couldn’t agree more. If you can prove your point and get me to agree that you have, what would you want in exchange?”

This part was easy. “For you to attend Susan and Kurt’s wedding. It would mean the world to Susan.”

The easy smile disappeared behind a dark frown.

“She was in this afternoon,” Savannah continued, rushing the words in her eagerness to explain. “She’s anxious and confused, loving you and loving Kurt and needing your approval so badly.”

Nash’s mouth narrowed into a thin line of irritation.

“Would it really be so much to ask?” she ventured. “I realize I’d need to rely on your complete and total honesty, but I have faith in you.” She took a sip of her latte.

“So, if you convince me my thinking is wrong on this marriage issue, you want me to attend Susan’s wedding.” He hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Deal,” he said, and his grin reappeared.

Until that moment, Savannah was convinced Nash had no idea what he intended to use for his argument. But apparently he did. “What would you want from me?” she asked. Her question broke into his musings because he jerked his head toward her as if he’d forgotten there might be something in this for him, as well. He took a deep breath and then released it. “I don’t know. Do I have to decide right now?”

“No.”

“It’ll be something substantial—you understand that, don’t you?”

Savannah managed to hold back a smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“How about home-cooked dinners for a week served on your fanciest china? That wouldn’t be out of line,” he murmured.

She gaped at him. Her request had been generous and completely selfless. She’d offered him an excuse to attend Susan’s wedding
and
salvage his pride, and in return he wanted her to slave in the kitchen for days on end.

“That
is
out of line,” she told him, unwilling to agree to anything so ridiculous. If he wanted homemade meals, he could do what the rest of the world did and cook them himself, visit relatives or get married.

Nash’s expression was boyish with delight. “So you’re afraid you’re going to lose.”

Raising her eyebrows, she said, “You haven’t got a prayer, Davenport.”

“Then what’s the problem?” he asked, making an exaggerated gesture with both hands. “Do you agree to my terms or not?”

This discussion had wandered far from what she’d originally intended. Savannah had been hoping to smooth things over between brother and sister and at the same time prove her own point. She wasn’t interested in putting her own neck on the chopping block. Any attempt to convince Nash of the error of his ways was pointless.

He finished off his latte and flung the empty container
into her garbage receptacle. “Be ready tomorrow afternoon,” he said, walking to the door.

Savannah scrambled awkwardly from the stool. “What for?” she called after him. She limped two steps toward him and stopped abruptly at the flash of pain that shot up her leg. She’d sat too long in the same position, something she was generally able to avoid. She wanted to rub her thigh, work the throbbing muscle, but that would reveal her pain, which she wanted to hide from Nash.

“You’ll know more tomorrow afternoon,” he promised, looking pleased with himself.

“How long will this take?”

“There are time restrictions? Are there any other rules we need to discuss?”

“I…We should both be reasonable about this, don’t you think?”

“I
was
planning to be sensible, but I can’t speak for you.”

This conversation was deteriorating rapidly. “I’ll be ready at closing time tomorrow afternoon, then,” she said, holding her hand against her thigh. If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to have to sit down. Disguising her pain had become a way of life, but the longer she stood, the more difficult it became.

“Something’s wrong,” he announced, his gaze hard and steady. “You’d argue with me if there wasn’t.”

Again she was impressed by his sensitivity. “Nonsense. I said I’d be ready. What more do you want?”

He left her then, in the nick of time. A low moan escaped as she sank onto her chair. Perspiration moistened her brow and she drew in several deep breaths.
Rubbing her hand over the tense muscles slowly eased out the pain.

The phone was situated to the left of her desk and after giving the last of her discomfort a couple of minutes to ebb away, she reached for the receiver and dialed her parents’ number. Apparently Nash had decided how to present his case. She had, too. No greater argument could be made than her parents’ loving relationship. Their marriage was as solid as Fort Knox and they’d been devoted to each other for over thirty years. Nash couldn’t meet her family and continue to discredit love and marriage.

Her father answered on the second ring, sounding delighted to hear from her. A rush of warm feeling washed over Savannah. Her family had been a constant source of love and encouragement to her through the years.

“Hi, Dad.”

“It’s always good to hear from you, sweetheart.”

Savannah relaxed in her chair. “Is Mom around?”

“No, she’s got a doctor’s appointment to have her blood pressure checked again. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Savannah’s hand tightened around the receiver. She didn’t want to mislead her parents into thinking she was involved with Nash. But she needed to prove her point. “Is there any chance I could bring someone over for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Of course.”

Savannah laughed lightly. “You might want to check Mom’s calendar. It’d be just like you to agree to something when she’s already made plans.”

“I looked. The calendar’s right here in the kitchen
and tomorrow night’s free. Now, if you were to ask about Friday, that’s a different story.”

Once more Savannah found herself smiling.

“Who do you want us to meet?”

“His name’s Nash Davenport.”

Her announcement was met with a short but noticeable silence. “You’re bringing a young man home to meet your family? This is an occasion, then.”

“Dad, it isn’t like that.” This was exactly what she’d feared would happen, that her family would misinterpret her bringing Nash home. “We’ve only just met….”

“It was like that with your mother and me,” her father said excitedly. “We met on a Friday night and a week later I knew this was the woman I was going to love all my life, and I have.”