Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle (66 page)

“It worked! Listen to this. ‘Dr. Kate’s counterfeit groom broke his silence on TV newsmagazine show
NewsWire
when he proclaimed his love for the well-known author and syndicated relationship columnist.’ Blah, blah, blah—backstory and quotes from the interview. Ah, here we go. ‘It seems, even in the case of unpredictable disasters, Dr. Kate’s own brand of relationship magic works like a charm. Even for herself.’”

Kate sank to the cement ledge overlooking the harbor. Through the phone, she heard the rattling of newspaper pages. “There are a dozen more just like it. And I caught it on several cable news programs this morning too. They keep running the portion of the interview where Lucas says”—she lowered her voice—“‘I guess I’m laying it all on the line. I love her. I have for a long time, and I always will.’ Oh, man, he has every woman in America fanning her face, Kate. I’ll bet your book is flying off the shelves as we speak.”

I can’t believe it. How have I gone from—

Something Pam had said earlier popped into her mind.
“It worked.”
The words had been buried beneath the good news, but now they surfaced like a piece of driftwood through the sand, uncovered by the relentless wind.

Kate interrupted Pam. “Wait. You said ‘It worked.’ What did you mean?”

The rustling of paper stopped. A seagull swooped down and landed in the harbor, bobbing on the waves beside a fat buoy.

“You haven’t called him?” Pam’s tone revealed shock.

Dread filled Kate, numbing her to the fingertips. “What’s going on, Pam?” Her thoughts spun. Terrible thoughts that tortured her. “Was this just a ploy to fix my book sales?” She could choke on the acid that rose in her throat. Had Lucas only been pretending?

“No, sweetie, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?” Her voice quavered.

Pam sighed loudly. “You should hear this from Lucas. Why didn’t you call him?”

Kate suddenly felt like a fool for driving all night like this was some 911 emergency. “I wanted to talk to him in person.” Her answer was feeble. Kate swallowed the acid and her pride. “I’m here now, on Nantucket.”

“Oh, I am such a dolt!” Kate imagined Pam smacking her own fore-head. “I’ve ruined everything. Go. Go talk to him. I’m hanging up now.”

“No, wait. Pam!” A click, then a dial tone buzzed in Kate’s ear. She jabbed the Off button and gulped three breaths of air, laden with salt and exhaust fumes. What was going on? Had Pam called Lucas and devised some scheme to get her book sales back on track? What if Lucas hadn’t meant any of it? But why would he have put himself through it if he didn’t love her?

Uh, the money?

She felt like a sailboat, pushed at the whimsy of the wind, and she’d just suffered a gust from an unexpected direction.

But this was the new Kate. The one who didn’t have to plan every action. She was going to go with the flow. And right now, she needed to find Lucas, find out if he meant what he said.

Kate stood, hitching the bag on her shoulder, and turned toward town.

When she reached Main Street, she hailed a cab and gave him the address. Though she hadn’t slept, the phone call and nervous energy at seeing Lucas again kept her alert.

What will I say to him? Do I have the courage to face him? To put up my sails and let the wind take me where it may?

Her muscles tightened until they cramped. She relaxed her hold on the leather handle of the overnight bag as Lucas’s words returned to her:
“Love isn’t some item on a checklist.”

Maybe sometimes you had to loosen your grip. But it was scary. It required trust and faith. Two things she ran short on.

If there’s anyone I can trust, it’s Lucas.
Kate allowed herself that. Reminded herself it was true. He’d never given her any reason to distrust him.

“I love her. I have for a long time, and I always will.”
She’d played his words over and over on the drive, drinking them up, soothing her troubled spirit with the promise. But now she wondered if he meant them.

A picture of her mom flashed in her mind. She was hunched over the kitchen table in her terry bathrobe, a bottle of scotch in her bony hand. A photo album was open on the table in front of her, and her hand smoothed over the glossy page as if she stroked the face in the photo. How many times had she seen her mother like that, dying one memory at a time?

Kate shook the thought. She wasn’t her mother. And Lucas wasn’t her father. It was like he’d said all along. She needed to stop analyzing and let herself love him. Let herself be loved, if he was willing. She couldn’t think of anyone more trustworthy.

When the cab pulled in the drive, Kate withdrew some cash and paid the driver, then gathered her bag and exited the car. Lucas’s old truck was in the drive. He’d surely heard the cab on the gravel, yet even after it pulled away, the front door remained closed.

Kate walked toward the house and up the steps, hesitating on the porch. Lifting her hand, she rapped on the wooden door, anticipating Bo’s loud, gruff bark. But the only reply was the sound of the wind swishing through the trees. The small window in the door revealed only darkness. She knocked again. Maybe he was in the shower. It was still early for a Saturday, though Lucas was normally out and about by now.

She bit her lip, wondering if she should enter. Before she could dissuade herself, she twisted the knob and stepped inside.

“Lucas?” The rich aroma of brewed coffee permeated the house. The bedroom was empty, the blankets a tangled heap at the foot of the bed. The bathroom was dark, and several crumpled towels littered the floor. She smiled.

“Lucas?” In the kitchen, his empty Nantucket mug sat on the table. The coffeemaker was still plugged in. He must’ve taken Bo for a walk.

Kate exited through the back, passing the gazebo, tracing the numerous footprints down the sandy path. The beach was empty except for a few gulls, plucking through the wet sand. Kate looked down the shoreline toward the Wrights’ house. The beach was deserted as far as she could see.

She looked the other direction, and her eyes paused on two figures: a man and a dog.

Lucas.

Her feet carried her down the shoreline, her heart pumping in rhythm with her quick steps. Halfway there, Bo spotted her and lumbered toward her, but Lucas stared out across the ocean, oblivious to her appearance. Bo reached her side and barreled into her leg, tail wagging.

“Hi, boy.” At least Bo was happy to see her again. It was Lucas she was unsure of.

Kate looked at Lucas in time to see him turn. He stilled, watching her approach. She closed the distance between them with long, eager strides. As she neared, she tried to read his expression, but the sun glinted over his shoulder, making it impossible to decipher.

She stopped a car’s length away, suddenly uncertain. Would he welcome her home after she’d left so suddenly? He’d asked her to stay, but would he forgive her for leaving?

Fear left her mouth dry, sucked the words from her lips. It clawed at her throat and churned her thoughts like sand in the surf. Her limbs felt as stiff as a ship’s mast. Tears glazed her eyes, and she told herself it was the biting wind.

Then he moved, walking toward her, stopping just a touch away. “You came back,” he said.

His eyes were just the way she remembered, warm and soft. Welcoming.

“I had to see you,” she said.

“Why?”

All the words she’d planned in the car scattered like startled gulls. Pam’s call had changed everything. She was no longer sure of anything, least of all, Lucas’s feelings.

“I saw the interview.”
Was it all a ruse, or did you mean it?

“I was hoping you’d watch.” He tilted his head. “Are you angry?”

He was remembering the voice mail she’d left. Her anger had drained away with his proclamation of love. “No.” The wind kicked up, and she pulled her sweater tighter. She had to settle this before her heart jumped through her rib cage. “Pam called.”

He tucked his hands in his pockets. “She told you, then?”

Suddenly, Kate realized it didn’t matter why Lucas had done the interview or what plan Pam had been talking about. She’d come to tell Lucas how she felt, and she was going to do it.

“She didn’t tell me anything.” Kate gathered her courage and drew a shaky breath. “I realized something last night while I watched you on TV.”
“I love her. I have for a long time, and I always will.”
His words were a pedestal for her courage.

“What’s that?”

Kate swallowed the fear and took a step closer. The wind ruffled his hair, and she smoothed it from his face, then trailed her fingertips down the rough plane of his jaw. “I love you.”

She ignored the burning in her eyes and plunged forward, a sail- boat into the wind. “I don’t know when it started or how it happened. I only know that you captured my heart, and I don’t want it back. I want to stay here forever. I want to wake up to your stubbly, scratchy face and lie next to you in bed, even if you snore loudly enough to peel the paint off the walls. I want to—

Lucas broke off her words with his kiss. Kate felt his fingers sliding into her hair, knocking her cap to the ground. She relished the tenderness in his touch, and as he claimed her, she gave herself fully to him.

When she finally pulled away, it was only to look him in the eyes. “Did you really—love me from the beginning?” She had to know if it was true. Had to see him face-to-face when he said it.

One corner of his lip drew up. “Yeah.”

She let it soak in. “And that’s why you took me as your bride?”

He cupped her chin. “The only reason.”

Kate released her pent-up breath. It was true, then. Everything he’d said, everything that mattered, was true.

Lucas reached into his pocket and withdrew something. He took her hand and opened his palm.

“My wedding band,” Kate said.

He looked her in the eye, pausing with the ring at the tip of her finger. “I love you, Kate Wright. There aren’t enough miles on the earth to separate you from it. I want you to be mine.” He squeezed her hand. “Fully mine.” He looked at her, looked into her.

“I want that too.” Kate said.

Lucas slid it in place. It was right where it belonged.

I’m right where I belong.

He placed a kiss on her mouth and wrapped his strong arms around her. She felt safe in his arms. Loved. Cherished.

“Forever this time?” he asked.

She snuggled into his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of him, all musky and woodsy.
Man, I missed that.
“Forever.” She smiled at the taste of the word on her tongue. No temporary arrangement this time. No twelve-month escape clause. She wanted in, and she never wanted out again.

She fingered the wedding band with her thumb. “My finger has felt naked since I took it off.”

Lucas lifted her hand and kissed it. “Too bad I didn’t accept the money for the interview. Could’ve bought you one heck of a diamond.”

Kate squeezed his hand. “I could put the other one back on.”

“Don’t you dare.” Lucas gave her a mock glare before pulling her back in his arms. “Did Pam tell you I called her?” He asked against her hair.

“You called
her
?” Kate couldn’t imagine why he’d do that.

“I told her I loved you and asked what I could do to save your career and—” Lucas swept Kate off her feet, as a wave rushed under their feet. He set her down up shore on the dry sand. “Didn’t think you’d want your shoes wet.”

Bo bumped Lucas’s thigh, a slobbery tennis ball in his jaws. Lucas tossed the ball a long ways down the beach.

“What did Pam say?” Kate slipped her hands into Lucas’s, savoring the security of his warm grip.

“She said women love a fairy-tale romance.”

Kate laughed, joy bubbling inside for the first time in a long time. “And you love being the knight in shining armor.”

His shoulders rose in a shrug and he gave her his crooked grin. “If the armored boot fits . . .”

Kate elbowed Lucas then fell in step beside him as they walked toward home.

Home.

The word had a nice ring to it, and she felt a smile lift her lips. It wouldn’t matter where she was or what she was doing, home would always be wherever Lucas was.

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed reading about the special love between Lucas and Kate. I so appreciate you and the time you spent going on this journey with me.

In
The Convenient Groom
, Lucas’s love for Kate represents in many ways Christ’s love for us. Lucas is a hero in every sense of the word. If reading about such a man leaves you frustrated or disappointed with your own mate (Where’s my knight in shining armor?), or lack thereof, know that there is only One who will never fail or forsake you. It is human nature for us to build our lives and rest our hopes on what is tangible. But substitutes—whether they are material or human in nature—are pale substitutes. Worse yet, they are a weak foundation that’s bound to fail us when tested by life’s storms.

I hope you have discovered that Christ is the creator of love (and everything else!) and that you are receiving the full benefit of His grace and mercy. I wish you the very best!

In His grace,
Denise

Acknowledgments

My deepest thanks go to all the people who had a hand in the making of this book. Thanks to my editor, Amanda Bostic, and the amazing team of creative, talented people in Thomas Nelson’s fiction department. I’m truly honored and blessed to work with you. Thanks to Leslie Peterson for helping me polish the story. Thanks to my wonderful agent, Karen Solem, and my critique partner, Colleen Coble, who squeezed in my chapters while on her own tight dead-line. Thanks to my writing buds, Kristin Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, and Diann Hunt: you bless my life in immeasurable ways!

A special thanks to my readers—you make it all worthwhile! I’d love to hear from you. E-mail me at [email protected], or visit my Web site at
www.DeniseHunterBooks.com
.