Goody Two Shoes (Invertary Book 2) (6 page)

“My
husband
should have thought of that before he proposed to
me
.”

Josh threw back his head and laughed. The sound rumbled through her as a wave of vibrations, setting off sensations she wasn’t used to dealing with. Caroline stood and inched around the desk to get away from him.

She positioned herself beside the door to her office, and folded her arms. Josh took the hint and walked towards her. He stopped between her and the door, standing far too close for comfort.

“You need to stop jumping every time I come near you.” His words were a whisper against her hair.

Caroline’s head shot up to look at him. “I do not jump when you’re near.”

He quirked an eyebrow. Slowly, he reached out and ran his fingers gently down her upper arm. Caroline jerked away from him. Her whole body flushed with embarrassment. The man was right. She did jump when he touched her.

Josh took a step closer to her. “Close your eyes.” His voice was barely a whisper.

Caroline looked up at him and shook her head. What? Did he think she was crazy? She barely knew him.

“Trust me. The building is full of people. You’re safe here. Now close your eyes.”

Trembling, Caroline wrapped her arms tightly around herself and reluctantly did as she was told. She stopped breathing. Even though he wasn’t touching her, she was completely aware of him. She felt his body heat engulf her, and the musky scent she’d come to know as uniquely his toyed with her senses.

“You need to remind yourself”—his voice was a vibration against her cheek—“that I’m not a stranger.” His breath brushed her ear. She felt herself sway. “I’m the man you’re going to marry.” Gently, slowly, his fingers brushed her hair back behind her ear. “I plan to touch you.” His words were a warm breath against the curve of her neck. “And taste you.” His lips gently nipped at her skin. A tiny whimper stole through her lips. “Trust me.” He whispered in her ear, “You won’t want to run away. You’ll want to experience every single second.”

Suddenly his presence was gone, and Caroline felt cold. She heard her office door click shut. Her eyes fluttered open. She put out a hand to steady herself against the bookcase beside her. For a moment she just blinked, then she threw open the door. Josh was halfway out of the building.

“You’re still not getting a studio,” she called after him.

He flashed a knowing smile before disappearing into the sunlight.

Caroline leaned against the doorjamb and tried to breathe steadily. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that Josh wasn’t playing by her rules. Unlike everyone else around her, he didn’t seem to realise that she was in charge.

With a deep breath, she turned back to her office, only to see Beth standing in the doorway to the library, glaring at her.

“Can I help you with something?” Caroline asked her assistant.

“Ha!” was all Beth said before storming back into the library. She slammed the door behind her.

As soon as Caroline entered her office, there was a knock at the library window. Hamish was on the other side.

“What colour do you want for your wedding?” He waved a magazine at Caroline. “It says in here that you need a colour scheme. Going by what you usually wear, we’re thinking grey. Is that right?”

Caroline shut the window and went in search of some aspirin.

CHAPTER FIVE

On Wednesday morning Caroline was summoned to the castle—by Mitch. Josh was caught up in a conference call but wanted her to know that the wedding planner had arrived from London. The lord of the manor had used his minion to request her presence. Once again he was confused at his place in the hierarchy. People did
not
summon Caroline. Ever. Still, she was curious enough to do as she was told. This time, at least.

There was a note on the castle door for Caroline, saying that she should let herself in. As soon as she entered the foyer, her jaw dropped. The carpet that had once hidden Italian marble flooring was now gone. The rich walnut panelling had been unearthed from beneath the generic plasterboard. And snaking its way around the top of the wall was the decorative moulding that Caroline loved. It was wonderful.

“I hope you’re pleased with yourself.” Josh stood in the doorway of the grand room.

He leaned against the doorjamb, ankles crossed and arms folded. Today’s T-shirt had the Cookie Monster on it. Although he was trying his best to appear annoyed, the sparkle in his eyes undermined his efforts.

“I’m suffering here. The floors are cold, the hall is dark and someone’s got to dust all that crap up there.” He pointed at the cornices.

Caroline rolled her eyes at him. “I wouldn’t worry. It won’t be you.”

He smiled at her, and her stomach tried to climb up her oesophagus.

“At least let me get some rugs. Marble would be great if we lived in the Mediterranean. But this is Scotland. It’s like walking on an ice block.”

“Fine. You can have rugs.” He opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline got in first. “But I’m choosing them.”

He grimaced. “Make sure you don’t get those thin Persian things. I want something with depth.” He thought about it for a minute. “Maybe we can get rugs that are heated. Like electric blankets for your feet. If they don’t have something like that, I’m inventing it.” He grinned at her, clearly pleased with himself. “I invented something.”

“Well done. You’re a genius. Now where is this meeting?”

Josh threw an arm around her shoulder, which she promptly tried to shrug off. He held her tighter. “Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Or are you just tired from dreaming about me all night long?”

She wriggled to free herself. As usual, her effort was wasted.

Josh leaned in towards her ear and murmured, “Caroline, Caroline. This marriage will be no fun at all if you can’t get used to me touching you.”

“It feels strange. I hardly know you.”

“We’ll have to work on that.” He waggled his eyebrows mischievously as he pushed open the door to the kitchen.

“We were thinking a grey colour theme,” Archie was telling the wedding planner.

Great. Things just kept getting better. The domino boys had been informed of the meeting.

Archie waved at her as he kept right on talking. “We’re thinking of something like the colour of a submarine. You know, from a naval base.”

Caroline strode past Archie and held out her hand to the pristinely dressed woman with a stunned expression on her face. Her chestnut hair was in a chignon, her makeup was understated in its perfection and her black suit screamed money. Caroline suddenly felt grubby.

“Caroline Patterson. I’m marrying Josh.” She stumbled over the words. They sounded completely ludicrous. To her credit, if the woman had any thoughts on the mismatch between Caroline and Josh, it didn’t show on her face.

“Millicent Price. Wedding planner and event coordinator.”

“We’re planning the wedding’s theme,” Archie told Caroline. “We figured that ‘grey’ and ‘orderly’ were the two words that summed you up most. And what’s more grey and orderly than the navy? So how about a naval-themed wedding?”

He looked so proud of himself that Caroline almost agreed to avoid disappointing him.

“I made a collage.” James held up a large piece of grey paper. “My grandson helped me.” There were pictures of naval boats and submarines, grey balloons, a cake in the shape of a naval destroyer and several suggestions for music—all of which seemed to centre around the war music of Glen Miller’s band.

Caroline took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say.”

The men patted each other on the back.

“Told you she’d be impressed,” Hamish said.

“I still say we need something more girly. Weddings are girly,” Brian said.

“We can girly it up,” Hamish said. “Anyone know any grey flowers?”

Caroline had to put a stop to this before they’d ordered the flowers and hired a boat. “As much as I appreciate the work you’ve put in, I don’t really want a naval-themed wedding. And I would like to hear what Millicent has to say.”

They looked like she’d shot their puppy. Caroline ignored them. They got the same expressions when she filled the biscuit tin with biscuits that weren’t chocolate coated.

Millicent flicked on her iPad. “Let’s start with the basics. Where would you like to get married?”

“Church,” Caroline said at the same time as Josh said, “Here.”

He was leaning against the kitchen counter sipping coffee out of a mug shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head.

“You want to get married in the castle?” Caroline wasn’t sure what she thought of that.

He shrugged. “I thought it would be fun.”

She chewed her lip. “The restoration won’t be done in time.”

“We could postpone the work until after the wedding.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Nice try, but I don’t think so.”

“How about a church ceremony followed by a reception in the castle garden?” Millicent said. “We can set up a glorious marquee. That way we can control which aspects the guests see of the castle, and you both get the venue you want.”

Josh shrugged. “Works for me.”

Caroline nodded.

“I think you should get married beside the loch,” Archie told them.

Caroline helped herself to a cup of tea from the pot on the table in front of her. “The loch will be full of midges.”

James bit into a biscuit and spoke with his mouth full. “With any luck they’ll only bite the foreigners.”

Millicent blinked at the man before turning back to Caroline. “How about photos at the loch? That way you can have loch, castle and church.”

“Sounds great to me.” Caroline took a sip of her tea. “Josh, what do you think?”

“Whatever you decide is fine.”

He couldn’t have come across less interested if he’d tried.

“Now, the gentlemen were talking about having a grey colour scheme.” Millicent was clearly horrified by the idea. “What do you think?”

They all looked at Caroline, who was wearing yet another second-hand grey skirt suit. Although Caroline had never bothered with fashion, she was beginning to think she might have to wear some other colours.

“No, I don’t want grey,” Caroline sighed. “I like lavender.”

“Lavender it is,” Millicent said. “Any thoughts on flowers?”

“Heather,” Caroline said.

Archie threw up his hands in disgust. “You can get heather on the damn hill. Pick something he has to pay for. The man is a gazillionaire. What’s the point in marrying him if you can’t splash out?”

Caroline looked at Josh. “What kind of flowers do you want?”

Josh was munching his way through a giant bag of chips. “I really don’t care about flowers.”

Caroline felt her blood pressure rise. “Do you care about the wedding at all?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well, what ideas do you have for it?”

“Fine.” He pushed himself away from the counter and sauntered towards them.

Caroline bit the inside of her cheek to stop from commenting. Everything the man did was so unhurried. It was beyond irritating.

He pulled up a chair, swung it around, straddled it and leaned on the back with his forearms. He was so close Caroline could feel the heat coming off him.

“Okay, this is what I think.” Josh spread his hands wide. “I’m thinking a couple of hundred of our closest friends, large dance floor, great band. I might sing, but we can get someone else in too. Lots of food. I want steak. Apart from that, I don’t care what colour the thing is or what type of flowers we have.”

“So, you’re going to leave the details up to me?”

“Isn’t this what women do?”

The men gasped. “Ooh, you’re in trouble now,” Brian sang.

“I need a word in private.” Caroline’s voice was ice. She stood and tugged down her suit jacket. “In the hall. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Josh saluted her.

As soon as they were outside the kitchen door, Caroline confronted Josh. “This wedding is your idea. You need to be more involved. I have a lot on my plate right now, what with the community centre, the committees I’m involved with and the restoration of the castle. You need to pull your weight.”

Josh scratched his head as though the idea of planning a wedding was a bewildering one. “I thought women dreamed about this sort of thing. Don’t you have a plan somewhere? A list of stuff you want at your wedding? Don’t you have a scrapbook?”

“You’ve been watching too many romantic comedies. I haven’t spared a thought about getting married since I was nine, and back then my fantasy wedding involved riding on a unicorn and having a bubble machine at the ceremony.”

“We can do the bubbles, but the unicorn might be hard.”

“You’re not taking this seriously.” She folded her arms. “I’m beginning to think that you don’t take anything seriously. Do you have any idea how maddening that is? We have less than three weeks to organise a wedding. People need to be invited. Accommodation needs to be sorted. Where will two hundred guests stay? Have you thought about that? Would your Hollywood friends like to spend the night in the local B&B? I need to find a dress. I don’t even know where to look for a dress. Then there’s registering for gifts. Where would we do that? Here? America? Do we even want gifts? Not to mention the other little things that need to be sorted, like the ceremony, the best man, maid of honour, rings. There isn’t enough time to do everything and I have no idea how you expect this wedding to go.”