Kits mouth fell open. She had to say something, anything—but her very breath stuck in her throat. Mary Franklin gazed at her with eyes at first wide with surprise and then wincing as if in pain. She’d hurt Mary—the very thing she’d dreaded, and it had happened before she could blink. How could Lindsay have done this to her?
Mary recovered before Kit could and hurried toward her, arms wide open. “My dear, how wonderful.” She embraced her warmly and kissed her cheek. “Don’t stand out here in the cold. Come in and tell me all about it.” She ushered them into the wide front hall. “But where is the groom?” she asked, looking over Kit’s shoulder.
“He went off with the best man to get some food,” Lindsay said. “We thought we’d have a little celebration here.”
“And who is the groom? Do I know him?”
“His name is Ryan Holt, and he just swept Kit right off her feet. He’s really terrific. Wait until you meet him.”
Kit stood like a statue, gripping Lindsay’s bridal bouquet in her gloved hands. Lindsay always could talk and look like such a wide-eyed innocent, no matter what she’d been up to that she shouldn’t have. This time, though, she’d gone too far.
“I’m…I’m not…” Kit stumbled over the words.
Mary’s face creased with concern. “What is it, Kit?”
“She’s worried about barging in on you and Dad,” Lindsay said quickly. She stood next to Mary and shook her head in warning to Kit. “You told me you had some party or other you had to go to tonight, Mom.”
“It was canceled at the last minute, thank heavens. I wouldn’t have missed this occasion for the world. Why don’t you take off your coats and come into the living room? I want to hear all about it.”
Lindsay grabbed Kit by the arm and pulled her toward the stairs. “You know what, Mom? Kit and I would like to leave our things upstairs. Give us a minute to comb our hair. We’ll be right down.”
Kit tugged her arm free of Lindsay’s grip, but followed her up the stairs. She had a thing or two to say to Lindsay. She paused halfway up the staircase and looked back down at Mary, who still stood in the hall gazing at them with a troubled expression. “Where’s Warren?” Kit asked her.
“He’s down at the dock, of course, checking the lake level,” Mary answered, with a smile that almost cleared the worry from her face.
They must have just arrived. Warren always checked the lake first thing when they came up to Tahoe. If Kit hadn’t been late meeting Lindsay at the chapel, they’d have been here before Mary and Warren. And Lindsay wouldn’t have been able to tell such a lie to her mother.
Kit moved quickly and caught up with Lindsay. Without saying anything, they went straight into Lindsay’s room. Lindsay closed the door carefully and leaned her back against it. Kit went straight to the bed and dumped the bouquet, gloves and coat onto it.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Kit said, her voice barely steady.
“I know you’re angry.” Lindsay pushed away from the door and slipped out of her own coat and gloves.
“Angry? I’m not angry. I’m furious, shocked, upset and disgusted. Why would you do such a thing? She’s going to find out it’s not true in about ten minutes, and you’re going to look like an idiot.”
“She’s not going to find out if you and Ryan don’t tell her.”
“Exactly. Ryan will think you’ve lost your marbles and will tell Mary and Warren the truth before he dials 911 for the men in white coats to come get you. And what about Jeff? Didn’t you just vow ‘till death do you part’? Did he sign a prénuptial agreement that amended that to ‘or until it’s inconvenient for Lindsay’?”
“Jeff will understand,” Lindsay said, her face serious. “I didn’t want to tell you, but…” Lindsay let the rest of the sentence hang in the air.
“But what?” Kit demanded.
“Mom’s heart condition is worse.”
“Worse?” Kit could barely breathe the word out. She sank down on the side of the bed.
“Yes, and that’s why I didn’t want to tell her that I’d gotten married. She’s not supposed to have any shocks or stress.”
“I didn’t know. We had lunch last week and she didn’t say a word about it.”
“Well, she wouldn’t. She’s never wanted to talk about it. You know that. We always have to pretend that everything’s just fine. She was shocked enough when we told her you’d just gotten married. Think how shocked she’d be if we’d said that I’d gotten married.”
“‘We’ didn’t tell her. You did. You could have just as easily said we’d simply been to someone else’s wedding.”
“Well, I couldn’t think that fast. So this is our story and we have to stick with it. Look, it’s just for the afternoon. We’ll have a meal with Mom and Dad, then Ryan will drive us to the Reno airport.”
Kit put her fingers to her temples. “It’s not just for one afternoon as far as Mary and Warren are concerned.”
Lindsay wrinkled her nose. “Quit inviting problems. All you have to do is call them tomorrow and tell them you and Ryan agree it was a mistake to get married.”
“What about Jeff and Ryan? They’ll never agree.”
“I’ll take care of Jeff. You handle Ryan.”
“Me? He’s a complete stranger. What am I supposed to say? Excuse me. You don’t know me, but would you mind pretending we’re newlyweds? Can’t Jeff talk to him?”
“No, there won’t be enough time. We have to intercept them before they get to the front door.” Lindsay tugged her wedding ring off her finger. “Here, put this on.” She grabbed Kit’s left hand and attempted to push the ring onto her finger.
“Hey, stop. It doesn’t fit.” Kit tried to pull her hand away, but Lindsay hung on.
“It has to fit,” Lindsay said, her lips pressed tight in determination. “Mom will never believe us if you’re not wearing a ring.”
Lindsay was right. Mary wouldn’t believe them. And if she guessed the truth, she’d not only have the shock of Lindsay’s elopement, she’d suffer the pain of being left out of her daughter’s wedding.
“Here, let me,” Kit said. She forced the ring past her knuckle. It was way too small. Getting it off wasn’t going to be easy. She looked down at the intricately patterned band. It wasn’t her size or her taste, but it represented Lindsay’s and Jeffs pledge to each other. “How can you bear to part with it?”
“Because I have to. Besides, it’s only for the afternoon.” She moved toward the door. “Let’s go downstairs so we can catch Ryan and Jeff when they drive up. Remember, all you have to do is look deliriously happy, and everyone will believe you just got married.”
“I think I can manage the delirious part.” What had she gotten herself into?
Ryan turned the car into the drive between the stone pillars and slowly approached the house. “Some cabin Lindsay’s family owns,” he said to Jeff.
Jeff leaned forward in his seat and looked out the front windshield. “It’s huge, isn’t it. It was built as a summer home around the turn of the century. All part of being one of the San Francisco Franklins. I’m glad Lindsay wants to wait a bit before I’m introduced as her husband. I’m not sure I’m ready to face them.”
“You think they’re snobs?”
“Lindsay’s certainly not, so I’d say no. But they’re still an old family with old money and an only child-—except for Kit, of course.”
He slowed the car as he approached the house. Kit and Lindsay emerged from the front doorway. “What do you mean, except for Kit? She’s not related, is she?”
“Not by blood. But the family took her in as a foster child when her mother died. She and Lindsay think of each other as sisters. She caught your interest, didn’t she?”
He didn’t have time to answer. Kit and Lindsay dashed down the front steps and into the path of the car. Ryan jammed on the brakes and the car came to a jolting halt. “What the hell?” He switched off the engine and jerked the keys out of the ignition.
Kit ran up and pulled his door open. He jumped out and grabbed her by the shoulders. “What kind of crazy trick was that?” he demanded. “Don’t you know the roads are icy? I could have skidded and run you over.”
She slipped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes and kissed him smack on the mouth. He staggered a little under the force of her attack. What the…? His hands slid down her back and came to rest on her hips. He tightened his grip to push her away, but the softness of her mouth pressed against his momentarily paralyzed him. Suddenly she opened her eyes. How could he not have noticed her eyes were green?
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against his mouth.
Her words mobilized him, and he pushed her a few inches away.
“All right, you lovebirds,” Lindsay called. “Break it up, and help us carry in these groceries.”
Ryan jerked his head around. Lindsay and Jeff stood on the other side of the car, each holding a loaded grocery bag. Jeff winked at him and jerked his head ever so slightly toward the porch. He shifted his gaze to the front of the house and to the couple who stood there—the man tall and silver-haired, the woman an older version of Lindsay. They waved and smiled. He nodded, smiled back and, like a grinning ventriloquist, said to Kit, “What the hell is going on?”
“They’re Lindsay’s parents. She told them we got married today, because she doesn’t want them to know about Jeff yet. So, please, play along just for this afternoon.”
He gazed straight into her eyes. “It’s a joke, right? Jeff put you up to this.”
“No joke,” she said, and slid her hands down his chest “I hate it myself. But Lindsay’s mom has a heart condition, and the shock might be too much for her.”
“It’s a very bad idea.”
Kit turned her gaze to the scene on the porch, and Ryan looked, too. Jeff now had both bags of groceries, and Lindsay, one hand on each parent’s arm, was trying to convince them to go back inside the house. “We’ll be right there,” Kit called. The Franklins waved to them once more and let themselves be ushered through the doorway. She faced him again. “Please. You have to help me.”
“No. Lies like that always come back to haunt you. We’ll just go tell them the truth, and let Jeff and Lindsay sort it out.”
He started off toward the house. Kit stayed at his side all the way to the front steps. Suddenly, with a smothered cry, she fell. He turned toward her. She sat on the ground, one leg in front of her, the other bent under her full skirt, which spread around her on the icy pavement.
“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching down to help her up.
She batted his hand away. “I’m fine.”
He stood back and waited while she pushed herself upright. The second she put her full weight on her foot her face contorted in pain and she crumpled. Ryan caught her before she fell all the way to the ground.
He held her up, one arm around, her waist. “You must have sprained your ankle.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” she said, grabbing the front of his coat for balance.
“Yeah, right.” He swung her up into his arms.
She clutched at his neck, her hands icy.
“You’re freezing, too.” He carried her up the steps to the front door. She shivered a little and nestled her forehead against his neck.
Jeff opened the door as soon as they approached, as if he’d been watching from inside, waiting for them. Lindsay stood next to him.
“How romantic,” Lindsay said with a sigh. “You’re carrying her over the threshold.”
“Kit slipped on the ice,” he explained. “I think she…”
Before he could finish, Kit scissor-kicked her legs and slipped out of his arms. She landed solidly on both feet without flinching.
He stared at her. “Your ankle…” he began.
She wound her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “I told you I was perfectly all right.” Her tone was light, but her gaze was serious.
He reached up and pulled her hands from his neck. “You tricked me.”
“Please play along,” she pleaded under her breath. “It’s very important.” She turned and faced the Franklins, who were standing nearby, smiling uncertainly at him. “This is Ryan Holt,” she announced to them. “Ryan, I’d like you to meet Mary and Warren Franklin.”
They stepped forward to greet him, their smiles warm and welcoming now. He couldn’t refuse to shake their hands, but Kit Kendrick wouldn’t get away with manipulating him.
“Mrs. Franklin,” he said, “pleasure to meet you.” Her hand felt as fragile as a porcelain teacup in his. He barely squeezed it. Ryan turned to the older man. “Mr. Franklin, how do you do?” This time he got a firm handshake plus a friendly pat on his arm.
“Call me Warren, please. No need to stand on ceremony with family, you know.”
This was his cue. He had to cut through this tangle. He glanced at Jeff, but Jeff avoided looking at him. He turned his gaze to Kit. “We’re not really married. Are we, Kit?”
A hush fell over the group. Kit hugged his arm and tilted her head against his shoulder. “I can’t believe it, either. It all seems so unreal.”
Lindsay and Jeff both laughed. He’d have something to say to Jeff later. But right now, he was going to deal with Kit.
Mary Franklin moved toward the wide doorway to the adjoining room. “I must say you both look dazed,” she said. “But it will all seem real soon enough. Why are we standing in the hall? Come into the living room.”
She led the way into a vast room with a beamed ceiling and massive stone fireplace at one end. Ryan snagged Kit by the wrist and kept her from joining the others.
“I’m sorry, Ryan,” she whispered to him. “Really, I am. But can’t you please just play along for a couple of hours?”
He bent his head toward her. “I will not be manipulated.”
“It wasn’t my idea. Lindsay set it up. Do you think I like the idea of pretending to be married to you?” Even whispered, the words carried a feeling of vehemence.
He opened his mouth to reply and quickly snapped it shut. She made marriage to him sound positively repulsive. Is that what she thought of him? “So let’s stop this right now.” He broke away from her and strode toward the end of the room where the others were already seated.
“Ryan,” Kit called to him, but he ignored her. As he approached, Mary Franklin looked up, her eyes wide.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“No, it isn’t,” he said.
“What…” Mary began to rise from her chair, but halfway up she put her hand to her head and sank back onto the cushions.
“Mom?” Lindsay leaned forward in her chair.
“Mary, what is it?” Warren stood up to cross to her.
“Mary!” Kit cried out, and raced across the room to kneel at her side. “Are you all right?” She took Mary’s hands in hers and gazed at her face.
Mary blinked rapidly and gave a little laugh. “I’m fine. I just stood up too fast, that’s all. You know what that’s like.”
Warren seemed to take her at her word and returned to his seat, but Kit remained kneeling at her side. “Are you sure?” Kit asked.
“Of course I’m sure.” Mary patted Kit’s cheek, her hand stark white even against Kit’s fair skin.
What if Kit was right, and Mary Franklin would become ill if she suffered a shock? Ryan shifted his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Now what was he going to do?
“I want to hear what Ryan has to say,” Mary said.
Kit turned her head toward him, her gaze silently accusing him.
“Mrs. Franklin,” he began.
“Please, call me Mary. As Warren said, you’re family now.”
“Mary, then,” he said with a smile. “I feel as if we’re imposing on you and Warren. We thought we’d have something to eat and get back to San Francisco, but I don’t want to interfere with your plans for the day.”
“We couldn’t possibly have any other plans except to celebrate your marriage. This is a wonderful, happy occasion. I confess that it’s also a tremendous surprise, but a very nice one. Sit down, please.” She gestured to a nearby love seat.
He sat down. Mary shooed Kit over to sit next to him. She slid onto the love seat, her thigh brushing his in the crowded space. She leaned toward him and breathed, “Thanks,” into his ear, then straightened again. He caught the scent of roses as she moved her head and he turned to gaze at her profile. She had such a lovely neck. So lovely’ that he hadn’t noticed her very stubborn chin.
Maybe he should show her that she hadn’t cornered the market on stubbornness. He may have given in to her ploy to get him to act like a bridegroom, but he didn’t have to make it easy for her. She was the one who walked up to him and kissed him without any forewarning. Maybe he’d see how she liked being blindsided.
He put his arm casually around her shoulders. She turned and favored him with a radiant smile, the little liar. He pulled her against his side. Her smile faltered and she resisted slightly, but he increased the pressure until she let her weight sink against him.
Warren cleared his throat. “Jeff here told us he’s responsible for bringing you two together.”
“Yes, you might say my old friend Jeff is responsible for the whole thing.” Ryan glanced at Jeff sitting by himself in an easy chair. Jeff gave him his most innocent grin. Wait until he got him alone.
“It sounds like a whirlwind romance,” Mary said. It was an opening, a question.
“You could say that it was absolutely instantaneous, right, darling?” He bent his head and nuzzled Kit’s neck. She went completely rigid but didn’t pull away. He could feel her pulse pounding where his lips touched the silky skin of her neck.
He pulled back and gazed at her. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, but a red flush spread from her neck up to her cheeks. Score one for his side.
“And your parents?” Mary asked
“His parents are dead,” Kit said quickly. “Car crash five years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mary said.
His parents would be sorry to hear it themselves, since they were both under the impression they were still alive and kicking.
“And he has no other family,” Kit added.
He turned his gaze on her. What a little devil she was. A red-haired, greeneyed mass murderer.
She gazed back at him with wide innocent eyes and gave him another dose of her luminous, only-for-you smile.
“Well, Ryan,” Warren said, “you have a family now, because when you married Kit you got us as part of the package.”
“Thank you,” he replied, his voice unaccountably husky. They were really nice people. It was pretty mean to trick them like this. “Kit and I think families are pretty important So important that we’re going to start working on one of our own very soon, aren’t we, sweetheart?” And without giving her a chance to reply he bent his head and kissed her on the mouth.
She went completely still, her shoulder muscles rigid beneath his hand. If his mouth wasn’t otherwise engaged, he’d have laughed out loud. Score two for his side.
He’d meant to kiss her quickly, but her lips, at first tight and firm, softened, yielded to his and, without using any force at all, held him prisoner. He couldn’t move. Wait a minute. He could move. He put his free arm around her and pulled her closer.
“I think it’s time to break out the champagne.” Lindsay’s voice broke through the fog that had begun to creep into his brain.
He pulled away and stared at Kit. How had she done that? She’d had the same effect on him when she’d kissed him outside. He glanced around at the others. Warren and Mary were beaming and didn’t seem to have noticed anything unusual.
Jeff winked at him and grinned.
Lindsay was on her feet and heading out of the room. “Want to help me with the bubbly, Jeff?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Sure thing.” Jeff was on his feet and out of the room in an instant.
Ryan returned his gaze to Kit. She was pink to her hairline, and her smile looked a little strained.
Mary leaned forward in her chair. “I’m so delighted you came here to celebrate. Warren and I will not hear of you going back to San Francisco. You must stay here tonight. I insist Warren and I will go back, and we’ll take Lindsay and your friend Jeff with us.”
Great. That was all he needed, to be stuck here overnight as half of a supposed honeymoon couple. The whole deception had gone way too far already. “You’re very kind,” he said. “But Kit and I have already made plans for tonight, haven’t we, darling?” As the new “husband,” he must, have some rights—like where he’d spend his wedding night. And this groom was going to spend his alone in his own apartment
Kit pulled slightly away from Ryan. She’d had about all she could take of this lovey-dovey stuff. He tightened his hold on her shoulder for a second before relaxing his grip and letting her put a fraction of an inch between them.
Why had he kissed her? She understood his urge to get even, but the declaration of intent to produce children right away made him more than even. He hadn’t needed to kiss her, too.
She slanted a look at him. He must have caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, because he turned his head, his eyebrow already arched in inquiry.
“Everything all right?” he asked with a little tilt of his mouth that told her he knew darn well everything was not all right, and that he wasn’t helping matters much.
She set her jaw. “Everything’s wonderful,” she said between her teeth, while keeping her smile firmly in place. She’d probably have to have her smile surgically removed when she finally managed to get back to San Francisco.
“Jeff tells me you’re originally from Chicago,” Warren said to Ryan.
“That’s right. Jeff and I both worked for the same company in Chicago before he moved out here to work at Calvert Container Corporation. He met Kit at Calvert, introduced us, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Mary leaned forward in her chair. “Does this mean you’re moving to Chicago, Kit?”
“No,” Kit said quickly. Mary hated the idea of her moving away, and pretend marriage or not, she wasn’t going to worry her on that score.
“In fact, I’ve already moved to San Francisco,” Ryan said. “And I start my new job at Calvert on Monday.”
“What?” Kit asked, stunned.
“Yes. Isn’t it great? I got the job. I was saving the news as a surprise for you later.” He raised a hand to stroke her cheek. She nearly knocked it away.
“That’s wonderful,” Mary said.
Kit stared at Ryan. “Unbelievable.”
“Aren’t you happy, sweetheart?” Ryan asked. “Now we’ll be able to see each other day and night.”
Happy? How could she be happy? She’d been counting on never having to see him again when this interminable day finally ended.
“You look pretty surprised, Kit,” Warren said. “Apparently, he knows how to keep a secret. Are you mad because he didn’t tell you before this?”
Was she mad? She was hopping mad—at Ryan, at Lindsay, and, face it, at herself for letting herself get dragged into this mess. But she couldn’t show it—not now.
“I am mad at you, darling,” she said with as much syrup as she could stand to put into her words. “Married people shouldn’t keep things from each other. You should have told me.”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said, matching her tone, “I won’t do it again.”
He leaned toward her. He’d better not try that kissing business again. She’d been tormented enough for one day. “It’s getting pretty late,” she said brightly, and stood up from the love seat. “Why don’t I go start fixing something for us to eat? We don’t want to be setting out too late.”
“Guess what?” Lindsay said from the doorway. “While we’ve been sitting around, it’s blown up a storm.”
“That’s right.” Jeff came around from behind her, bearing a tray laden with glasses and an open bottle of champagne. “We heard it on the radio in the kitchen. The pass is closed. No one’s going anywhere until morning.”