Marry Me (11 page)
Authors: Kristin Wallace
So now Julia had turned into some kind of therapist. She hadn't realized counseling would be part of the job description. Her next challenge? Planning a wedding from the beginning. The bride and groom were Annie Truman and Todd Baldwin. Julia didn't even have the luxury of her assistant running backup during the first meeting because Betsy had to take another client to look at venues.
“It's only an initial interview to find out what they're thinking,” Betsy had explained earlier. “Just don't stare at the scar.”
Scar?
Julia picked up the phone and dialed her stepsister.
“Hello?”
“Sarah? Baby all right?”
Julia could hear the smile in Sarah's voice. “She's restless actually.”
“Sounds normal. Listen, I need the scoop on Annie Truman and Todd Baldwin. They're going to be here in fifteen minutes, and all Betsy said was don't stare at the scar, which as usual makes no sense.”
“Oh, I'd forgotten about Annie and Todd's wedding,” Sarah said. “What a beautiful story. They're like one of those Hallmark movies.”
“Can you give me the shortened version of this beautiful story? I don't have much time.”
“Annie and Todd were engaged a year ago, but then they were in a terrible car accident. Annie was fine, but Todd was badly injured. He was in a coma for nearly a week, and they weren't sure if he would survive. When he did come to, they realized he'd lost parts of his memory. The Annie parts.”
“Sounds awful.”
“I know, but Annie wouldn't let go. They've had to relive their courtship, and now they're planning their wedding again.”
The little bell over the door jangled, and Julia looked up. A young woman with wispy, light-brown hair and a tall, unnaturally thin man came through the door.
“Listen Sarah, I have to go. They're here.”
“Okay, but call me if you have any questions. I'm sitting here going out of my mind anyway.”
“Will do.”
Julia stood as the couple approached. Despite the admonition, she looked for a scar right off. It wasn't hard to spot. A jagged, pink line ran from the top of his cheekbone to the temple and up into his hairline. Julia gulped. Todd was lucky all he'd lost was part of his memory.
“You must be Annie and Todd,” she said, holding out a hand.
“It's the scar. Gives me away every time,” he said, with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Annie smacked his arm. “Maybe you should wait until we know her a little better before you bless her with your comedic wit.” She turned to Julia. “Yes, I'm Annie, and this is my fiancé Todd. And you're Julia.”
“This hair gives me away every time.”
Julia looked at Todd, and they shared a little moment of understanding. He grinned, and Julia suddenly understood why a woman would stay with him even if he did lose his memory and had a scar.
“Please have a seat,” Julia said, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk.
Betsy had helped start a file for the wedding earlier, and now Julia opened it with a feeling of dread.
“I'm supposed to find out what kind of wedding you want,” Julia said after studying the first page. “Something small and intimate, or a large celebration. Traditional, or modern? A theme you'd like to have, or a place in mind where you want to get married.”
“We'd like to get married out by Lake Rice,” Annie said after a quick glance at her fiancé.
“Sounds good,” Julia said, relieved that something finally made sense. “By the waterfall would be lovely.”
Annie shook her head. “No, not by the waterfall. Next to the road.”
“The road?”
“Where the accident happened,” Annie said, with a gentle smile.
“You want to have your wedding in the same spot where you both nearly died?” Julia asked, shock flooding through her.
“We're not crazy,” Annie said, the smile still playing on her lips. “The site of the accident is sort of where our relationship began. Again. We think it's fitting to pledge the rest of our lives together there.”
Julia looked at the two of them and marveled at their closeness. The way Annie gazed at Todd. The softening in his voice when he spoke to her. The way their hands naturally gravitated toward each other. Julia's breath caught as she realized what she was seeing.
Loveâ¦
A smile bloomed on her lips. “Sounds perfect.”
****
That evening, Julia arrived at the house only to find several cars parked out front. Avoiding the front, she slipped in the kitchen door. Voices drifted out from the living room. Women's voices. Curious, she drifted down the hall and peeked around the corner.
She'd barely gotten a chance to eavesdrop when a baritone voice whispered in her ear.
“What are you doing?”
Julia nearly jumped out of her skin. Even as she spun around, a hand clamped over her mouth. Seth's blue eyes twinkled down at her. Julia glared with all the fury she could muster. He dipped his head back toward the kitchen and proceeded to drag her down the hall. Once they were safely in the kitchen, Julia punched him in the arm. It felt good, so she did it a couple more times.
“Ouch,” Seth complained over his laughter, even as he held up his arms in an attempt to protect himself.
“You scared me to death.”
“I couldn't resist,” he said. “I came in to check out the leftovers, and I saw you skulking around at the living room door.”
“I wasn't skulking.”
“What were you doing then?”
“It's not like they were passing state secrets,” she said, drawing herself up to full height. “I was curious.”
He arched a single brow. “About Grace's Bible study? I didn't think you were interested in religion.”
“I'm not.”
“Just interested enough to listen in at the door?”
Julia glared at him again. “Maybe, but I'm still not buying into the whole God thing.”
“I know, I know,” he said, holding up his hand in surrender. “You're much too logical to believe in things like faith and love.”
She ignored the sarcasm. “Love is a nice concept, but I'm not sure it exists outside of movies and novels. I've certainly never seen proof of it.”
“Never?”
“No.”
Even as she said it, a picture of Todd and Annie flashed through her mind.
Seth must have noticed the change in her expression because his own gaze sharpened. “Something come to mind?”
“Do you know Annie Truman and Todd Baldwin?” she asked, looking away.
“Sure. They're members. I've counseled them since the accident. They're an extraordinary couple.”
“I'm planning their wedding.”
“They certainly do represent the picture of true love. Makes you rethink your “love doesn't exist” motto, doesn't it?”
Julia sputtered, trying to think of a cutting remark, but even she couldn't deny Annie and Todd had something rare.
“It's all right to let yourself believe in something, Julia,” Seth said, in an extremely gentle voice, like an animal rescue activist trying to calm a wild bird.
“What is it you think I should believe in?”
“You could believe Grace and Sarah love you, and always have. You could believe there is a God who loves you, too. You could believe you're an amazing woman who deserves His love.”
He'd drawn closer during his speech until he was standing directly in front of her, and just like at the park that first day, their blasted soundtrack started up again. He must have heard the music too because she saw, rather than heard, his quick, indrawn breath. As if in a trance, he reached out and twined a lock of her hair around his fingers. The touch seemed to transfer from his hand right to her scalp.
Voices cut through the stillness. The Bible study had finished. In an instant, Seth moved across the room. All four women came to an abrupt halt when they realized the kitchen was already occupied. So abrupt they ended up banging into one another like characters in a slapstick comedy. Varying degrees of the same curious stare flashed across their faces.
Julia recognized Sarah's mother-in-law, who looked interested if a bit puzzled. Grace's neighbor, Mary-Ellen Carter, was among the group, and she was definitely on the scent of gossip. Julia could see the woman's nose twitch as she sniffed for a tidbit.
Julia's gaze switched to the last member of the group. This one was a stranger. A hostile stranger. Then she realized the beady-eyed, edge of insanity stare seemed familiar. She absolutely recognized the store window display get-up. De-age the woman by about thirty years, and she'd be looking at Amy Vining.
Which explained why the woman looked as though she wanted to plunge a knife in Julia's back. No doubt Mrs. Vining knew about her daughter's obsession and figured Julia was the competition.
“Well, hello,” Grace said. “I didn't know you two were home.”
Seth leaned against the counter. “I came to scrounge in your refrigerator and found Julia already here.”
Grace smiled. “I'm glad you got a chance to visit. Julia, I think you know everyone here, except for Sylvia Vining. I believe you met her daughters, Meredith and Amy.”
Hunch confirmed, Julia held out her hand. “Yes, I have met them.”
Mrs. Vining's glare was worthy of a queen, but deeply engrained Southern manners compelled her to take the offered hand.
Man, the woman sure knew how to drop the temperature in a room, Julia thought. No wonder Meredith had been so anxious to get away.
“I wasn't aware you had met Meredith,” Mrs. Vining said.
“She's planning the music for a wedding we're doing. We hit it off, and I met her for breakfast the other day. You must be so proud of all she's accomplished. Such a rare talent.”
Mrs. Vining practically quivered with rage. “Of course I'm proud of Meredith. Both of my daughters are accomplished. Amy is going to be an example in the community one day.”
“How nice for her.”
“Young people like my daughter and Seth will be the beacons of leadership for the next generation.”
Julia glanced at Seth, who looked a little dazed at the prospect of being a “beacon of leadership”. Her gaze flitted back to the Bible brigade, in time to see the other women roll their eyes in unison. Something told her Mrs. Vining had made such grandiose statements before.
Grace broke into the awkward silence. “Well, ladies, it was delightful as always.”
The women took this as their cue and filed out the back door.
“Sorry about Sylvia,” Grace said, once her friends were gone. “She's always been a bit too involved in Amy's life.”
“From what Meredith said it's more like an obsession. I'm sure it's a big reason why she left in the first place.”
“It's unfortunate when a parent favors one child so heavily over another,” Grace said, not bothering to deny the assertion. “Anyway, I left plates for you both in the refrigerator. All you have to do is heat them up. I'm off to check on John, then I'm going to bed. You two carry on with whatever you were doing.”
The last line was delivered with a little wink, which made Julia shudder. Surely Grace didn't know what was going on in here before she came in.
Grace paused for a moment. “And Julia?”
“Hmm?”
“Next time, come on in and join us in the Bible study,” she said as she slipped through the doorway.
On second thought, Grace probably did know.
Julia glanced at Seth, but he wouldn't look at her. Instead, he went to the refrigerator and pulled out the two prepared plates. He shoved one in the microwave and punched out numbers in a quick staccato motion. Then he stood there with his arms folded across his chest watching the revolving dish.
The microwave dinged and he repeated the same procedure with the second plate. He still didn't pull his gaze away from the appliance.
“What's gotten into you?” Julia asked.
“Nothing.” His voice was as blunt as his fingers.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.”
“Are you mad at yourself then?”
His head swung around, and she reared back a little at his harsh expression. “I think it's probably best if we don't talk about this right now.” He picked up the first plate and headed for the back door. “Your dinner will be ready in a minute.”
“Where are you going?”
“My apartment. Tell Grace I'll bring her plate back in the morning.”
“Waitâ”
The only sound was the crack of the screen door as it slammed shut.
Seth's goal for the day. Avoid Julia Richardson at all cost. Whatever had possessed him to touch her last night? It may have only been a lock of hair, but he'd crossed a line. Now he knew what it felt like to feel the silky strands curl around his fingers. Dangerous knowledge for a man who'd been alone as long as he had. He had a sneaking suspicion all those people who kept trying to fix him up knew something he hadn't even wanted to acknowledge.
Being attracted to Julia wasn't the problem. No, the real problem was he liked her. Even the sarcasm had begun to grow on him. She was smart, funny, and in her own way, caring. Not to mention perceptive. He couldn't forget her uncanny ability to see right into his soul.
There was a primordial soup of guilt and frustration, along with an unhealthy dose of overactive hormones, swimming around inside him at this point. Guilt because he somehow felt as if he were betraying Beth, and frustration that the person responsible for the hormone surge was wrong for him in every conceivable way. All of which had sparked a killer rage.
As he drove to the park the next morning, he fought to contain the tide. He hoped the weekly basketball game with the guys would help take the edge off. He figured any type of physical activity at this point might help.
He was the last to arrive. Ethan Thomas and Eric were already warming up, and Meredith's fiancé, Brian Lawson, was stretching out.