Goody Two Shoes (Invertary Book 2) (14 page)

She rolled over to find a note on the floor beside the couch.
Have a meeting with Mitch that I can’t blow off. Otherwise I’d be here with you, beautiful.
Caroline felt her heart stutter at his words. She glanced to the clock on the mantel and squealed. She was late. Very late. Damn Josh for not waking her. She set out at a run for the stairs and the bathroom.

When Caroline arrived at the community centre, the local newspaper editor was waiting for her.

“Malcolm, you’re keen to get into the library this morning.”

He patted his ample belly and frowned. “I’m not here for the library, Caroline. I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” The insides of Caroline’s eyelids were lined with sandpaper. The last thing she felt like was a chat. “Just let me open up and we’ll go into my office.”

He nodded solemnly.

Once in her office, Caroline sat behind her desk and Malcolm took the only other chair in the room. She wished she’d had time to make some strong tea before dealing with the local newspaper editor, but, from the look on his face, caffeine wasn’t going to help her anyway.

“I had a phone call this morning.” Malcolm curled his lip in disgust. “An anonymous tip.” He sucked in a breath. “It was a woman. She told me that you and Josh McInnes are getting married.”

Caroline felt everything within her still as her head throbbed furiously.

“I’m sorry to bring this to you, but I have to check everything that comes over my desk. Plus, the woman became angry when I said I didn’t believe her. She said she was going to call the Glasgow press.”

To stop them shaking, Caroline folded her fingers on the desk in front of her. “Do you think she did?” Caroline was pleased her voice sounded a whole lot calmer than she felt.

“She was pretty angry with you, so I’m guessing that she did.”

“Do you think they took her seriously?”

“They don’t know you as well as I do, so they won’t realise it’s a silly story made up by someone who has a grudge to bear. But there’s a good chance they’ll send someone to check out the tip.”

Caroline pulled a notebook and pen towards her. She needed to make a list. Things were always easier to handle when she had a list. “How quickly will they do that?”

Malcolm stilled with his hand halfway through a belly rub. His keen eyes focused in on her.

Caroline kept her face blank. “You worked in Glasgow for years. You must have an idea how fast they will get here?”

“Tomorrow would be my guess.” He studied her for a moment. “First they’ll make some phone calls to see if Josh is actually here, then they’ll check you out, and if they think the story has merit they’ll send someone up here.” He leaned forward in his seat. “It’s not true, is it, Caroline? Are you really going to marry Josh McInnes?”

Caroline took a deep breath. “Yes. It’s true.”

“Holy smoke.” Malcolm’s mouth fell open.

“Indeed.” She rubbed her temple.

The editor’s expression was apologetic. “You know I can’t sit on this. I have a business to take care of, and this is the biggest story we’ve had in Invertary since the Battle of the Bras.” His face softened towards her. “I’m really sorry, Caroline. I’ll have to run with the story.”

“I know. But there must be something we can do about the rest of the press. We don’t want the town overrun, do we?”

“Well…” He scratched his unruly hair, making it look much worse. “I wouldn’t say no to an exclusive, but I don’t see how we can keep the press out of town.”

Caroline pursed her lips. “Leave that to me. Would you mind spreading the word? Emergency town meeting in the church hall tonight.”

Malcolm seemed confused, but nodded. “Sure, but I don’t see how even you can stop this.”

“You’d be surprised what I can do when I put my mind to it.”

The editor shook his head. A knowing smile curled his lips. “No, I really wouldn’t.”

“We have a problem,” Caroline said in Josh’s ear.

Josh tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear while he grabbed a coffee mug from the cupboard. Her lilting accent sent shivers down his spine. His brain flashed a replay of the night before on the inside of his eyelids. He wanted to let out a growl. But he didn’t. Caroline was nervous enough around him without him channelling his inner animal. Instead he aimed for casual. “I know we have a problem. I’m here in the castle and you’re not with me.”

She ignored him. No surprise there. “The press know about the wedding.”

Josh shrugged as he reached for the coffee pot, which his dad had been hoarding at the dining table. He was surprised the press had taken this long.

“You need to expect this sort of thing, babe. You’re marrying a superstar.”

His dad grunted into his coffee. Josh could practically hear Caroline roll her eyes on the other end of the line. He grinned.

“I won’t have the town overrun with press.” She sounded like she had some say in the matter.

“There’s nothing you can do about it. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but you’ll get used to it, and after the wedding they’ll move on to something else.”

“I don’t accept that. This is my life, and no matter what you or anyone else thinks, I will have control over it.”

Yeah, good luck with that.

“There’s a town meeting tonight at 7:30, in the church hall. I need you to be there.”

“Won’t that cause more problems?”

She sighed heavily, taking him right back to the sounds she’d made the night before. He shuddered. She was definitely too far away from him.

“You aren’t going to be mobbed, Josh. I know you think everyone in Invertary is dying to get close to you, but you have to trust me when I tell you that you aren’t that big of a deal.”

“Whatever you want to believe, baby. Whatever you want to believe.”

“Just be at the meeting,” Caroline ordered, then hung up.

He shook his head at the phone. His woman had some serious control issues. As he lifted his coffee to his lips, the drilling started.

His dad moaned. “Please tell me that isn’t in my head.”

Josh frowned at him—he’d spotted the empty whiskey bottle on the floor beside the sofa this morning. “No it isn’t. But you’d deserve it if it was. You made an ass of yourself at dinner last night. You could have made an effort with Caroline. You embarrassed the family.”

“This sham of a wedding is embarrassing me.”

“Dad.” Josh tried to soften his voice. It was obvious from the fact his father was living in the TV room that the guy had his own problems. “Caroline is a good woman. I’m marrying her. If you can’t support us that’s your problem, but you need to keep your mouth shut about it.”

“As your father—”

“I’m thirty-five. I don’t need or want your approval. But I would like to have you involved.”

“I can’t do that. You’re being a fool.”

“Seems to me I’m not the only one.” He put his hand on his dad’s shoulder. “Do us all a favour. Stop worrying about my love life and sort out your own.”

He left his dad grumbling into his coffee and went to the study to make some calls—if he could manage to hear anything over the drilling, hammering and sawing.

Caroline closed the library early, again. She was beginning to spend more time out of the centre than working in it. At this rate she’d have to refund a percentage of her wages for the time she was missing. Not to mention she could add being irresponsible to her list of sins. Lying. Stealing books. Taking care of personal business on work time. She didn’t recognise herself anymore.

She pushed open the door to her best friend’s lingerie shop, and was ashamed that part of her was hoping Kirsty wasn’t there. No such luck. Kirsty grinned at her from behind the counter. As usual she was stunning, in a long green dress with spaghetti straps. After years of watching her cover her scars, it still surprised Caroline to see Kirsty wearing clothes that revealed them. She was proud of her friend.

“Hey,” Kirsty said. “You shopping?”

Caroline shook her head. She took a deep breath.

“I need to talk to you about the town meeting tonight.”

Kirsty folded her arms over her chest, flashing the huge engagement ring Lake had bought her for Valentine’s day.

“I heard about that. Do you know what it’s about?”

Caroline looked around the shop. She was the only one there. Kirsty watched her closely. “Magenta is on her break. It’s just us.”

Caroline took a deep breath. “I’m getting married to Josh McInnes.” The words came out on a rush of air. “He isn’t into romantic relationships. He thinks marriage should be arranged for mutual benefit, like they did in the past. Apparently he’s been looking for a wife for some time and thinks I fit the bill.”

Kirsty didn’t move a muscle. Caroline began to fidget with the strap of her handbag.

“The wedding is in two weeks and I’d like you to be my maid of honour.”

Kirsty continued to stare. Caroline’s mouth went dry.

“So, the press have gotten wind of the wedding and the fact Josh is here. The meeting tonight is to discuss how we’re going to handle everything. We’d like to keep them away from the wedding if possible.”

Nothing from Kirsty. In fact, she looked more like one of the mannequins in her shop than the famous model she used to be. Caroline let out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh for goodness’ sake, say something. It’s not that shocking. It’s not like I’ve outlined a plan for world domination.”

Kirsty shook herself. “You may as well have.” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “What are you thinking? You can’t marry a man you don’t know and don’t love. An arrangement for mutual benefit? What the heck does that even mean? Have you lost your mind?”

“Keep your voice down.” Even though they were the only two in the shop, Caroline didn’t want to take any chances.

“Keep my voice down?” Kirsty’s voice rose an octave. “My best friend has lost the plot and you want me to keep my voice down?”

The door pinged as a customer came in.

“Sorry.” Kirsty rushed towards the woman. “I have to close. Family emergency. Someone is having a mental breakdown.”

She ushered the poor woman out of the shop, locked the door and flipped the sign to
closed
. Turning back to Caroline, she put her hands on her hips and glared. “Explain, Caroline Patterson. Right now.”

Caroline flopped down onto the stool beside the counter. “There’s nothing to explain. He asked me to marry him last Monday. I said yes. We’re getting married the Saturday after next.”

“Have you been dating? When did you meet him?”

“No, we haven’t been dating. I met him for the first time about an hour before he proposed.”

“Tell me it was love at first sight? That there were fireworks?”

“More like a business contract. We shook hands.” She found it hard to look Kirsty in the eyes.

“What have you gotten yourself into?” Kirsty let out a heavy sigh.

“You know me, Kirsty—when was the last time some guy asked me out, let alone proposed? Opportunities like this don’t just fall in my lap.”

The look of pity in Kirsty’s eyes made Caroline blush. “No, they don’t, but this isn’t you. You’re the romantic one. You’ve got a house full of romance stories all about women being swept off their feet. You, more than anyone, should wait until you fall in love. You deserve that.”

“And how long do I wait? I’m thirty-one. I’ve met pretty much every man in Invertary now. Surely if Prince Charming was here I’d have found him? This is a good opportunity for me. It’s a chance at having a family of my own. How could I pass that up?”

Kirsty crouched down in front of her and put her hands over Caroline’s. “You were always the one with dreams about weddings and falling in love. I was the one who didn’t believe.”

“And now you have Lake and you’re happy. And I have Josh. It may not be hearts and roses, but it’s not exactly a hardship. There are women all over the world who would kill to be in my shoes.”

“It doesn’t matter how many women would like to be in your place. It doesn’t matter how he looks or how wealthy he is. All that matters is that you make a life with a man you love. A man who loves you. And you’re not doing that. Caroline, can’t you see how wrong this is?”

Caroline felt her stomach turn over. “I want a family before it’s too late. Josh seems nice enough and he wants to be with me. He seems committed. He’s in it for the long haul.” She tried for a light-hearted grin. “Plus, he’s letting me restore the castle.”

Kirsty sighed, but returned the smile. “You deserve better than this.”

“You’re the only one who thinks so.”

“Fine.” Kirsty stood and straightened the skirt of her dress. “So what do you want me to wear as maid of honour?”

Caroline felt her shoulders sag with relief. “I’m going to London next week and I’ll have them send a couple of options to you.” She smiled sheepishly. “I have a dress fitting at Harrods.”

Her best friend grinned. “Now there’s a sentence I never thought you would say.”

“Yeah, it’s right up there with ‘I’m marrying a world-famous singer.’”