“No.” She vetoed the idea too promptly, too sharply. “Today is Nate and Miranda’s wedding day.” Softening her tone, she thought she managed to sound reasonable, thoughtful. Sensible even. “We’re not going to announce that we’re pregnant today.”
“It’s time, Peyton.”
She knew that. They’d kept the secret for six weeks now. She was halfway into the fourth month of the pregnancy. Her clothes no longer fastened at the waist. In another month, she wouldn’t be able to disguise the hard, round bulge that would replace the flat planes of her stomach. In another month, she’d have to face the raised eyebrows, the whispers and speculation behind her back, the happy congratulations that would remind her what a fraud her marriage really was.
But she didn’t have to face it today.
Not today.
“It’s Miranda’s day, Matt. Not ours. Let her have all the glory this once. I don’t want our news to steal even one minute of it.”
“We’re not stealing anything from Miranda. She’ll be happy for us. Nate will be happy for us. The whole family will be happy for us.”
“But it’s their day, Matt. Let everyone just be happy for Miranda and Nate today.”
“Happiness isn’t quantitative, Peyton, with only so much allotted for each occasion. This is the last time my family will be together in one place for a long time. It’s the best opportunity I’m going to have to tell them all at once.”
“You can tell them separately. They’ll be just as happy. But today, the focus is on Miranda and Nate and I think that’s exactly the way it ought to be.”
His frown announced itself with a chilly sigh. “I don’t want to have to make a long-distance telephone call in order to let my parents know they’re going to have a grandchild. You didn’t want to tell them earlier in the week because you thought they should have time to get used to the idea of our marriage. You wanted to get to know them a little first. You wanted them to get to know you. Now, they’re leaving in the morning. When else will I have a chance to tell them?”
“Offer to take them to the airport and tell them then. Or tell them tonight after Miranda and Nate have left the reception.”
“That’s not the way I want to do it.”
“None of this is the way you wanted to do it, Matt.” She was edgy and more than a little rattled by his sudden resolve to make the announcement. For weeks now—six to be exact—she’d been cocooned in a lovely little fantasy world. A world in which she and Matt were lovers, honeymooners, left mostly to themselves at Danfair. A world in which she never mentioned the baby and neither did he. A world in which she pretended for lovely, uninterrupted interludes that it was the passion—that alluring, mystical, irresistible spark—that had brought them together, that kept them sharing a bed, that seemed to grow more heated and powerful with every moment they spent together. It was a world in which, for six weeks, she could pretend everything was perfect.
Under the circumstances, of course, nothing could be perfect. But still, she believed they had made real progress in their relationship. They were still too cautious with each other, still uncertain about the boundaries in this temporary marriage, and yet, there were moments—quite a number of them, actually—when she felt they were forming a true friendship. And she wasn’t ready to give up that illusion.
Not yet.
Not today.
She found a smile for him as she reached across the console and took his hand. “Not today, Matt,” she said. “Please?”
He looked down at her hand, ran the pad of his thumb lightly along her skin. “They’re not going to be upset with you, Peyton, if that’s what you’re afraid of. They’re not going to think less of you.”
Was it her imagination or had his voice laid a definite stress on one word? You. They’re not going to be upset with you. They’re not going to think less of you. “I know,” she said. “Your parents have been so wonderful to me already. I honestly can’t see them getting upset about anything.”
“They save their energy for better things.” He looked at her, a sadness in his eyes that she was coming to recognize as a part of him. He was a wonderful man, loved and respected by family and friends. He was the kind of man people in trouble turned to first. He was the can-do guy, the person who could get something done, the man who ran a foundation that truly made the world a better place. And yet, the sadness remained, a mystery she couldn’t quite get her mind around, the answer to a question she didn’t know how to ask.
“I want to tell them, Peyton,” he repeated. “Today.”
The fear rose unbidden and formed a lump in her throat. She didn’t know why she felt afraid of acknowledging publicly what she acknowledged privately every day. The baby was a fact, already a part of her life, already occupying a place in her heart, already changing her irrevocably. She knew, somehow, that the announcement would bring a change in Matt…and that’s what bothered her. “Wait,” she said. “Please.”
The look he gave her settled the fear, eased her tension. “We’d better get inside,” he said, opening his car door. “We don’t want to miss the wedding. You know Miranda. Her wedding will start precisely as scheduled, with or without us.” He was out of the car then, coming around to open her door, offering his hand in assistance.
Peyton took it without reservation, feeling lucky—so very lucky—to be with him.
Regardless of the circumstances…and no matter how long it lasted.
THE WEDDING WAS SMALL. Just family and a few close friends. Not at all the huge gala affair anyone who knew Miranda would have predicted. But Ainsley thought it was perfect, down to the last detail. Miranda had changed since Nate and his children had come into her life. She seemed less regimented, more flexible, simpler. And happy. Ainsley had never seen her sister wearing such a pure glow of happiness.
Pressing her shoulder into Ivan’s arm as she sat beside him on the church pew, she absorbed the warmth of him, the delicious vitality of him. Happiness was contagious, she believed. Just look at her siblings. Miranda and Nate. Matt and Peyton. Andrew and Hayley—her latest successful match—who in the past six weeks had become almost inseparable. All four Danvilles had fallen in love with their perfect match. Thanks to her, Ainsley Danville Donovan, baby of the family, and apprentice matchmaker. Of course, she’d had a little help along the way. Ilsa. The twins. But it had been Ainsley who first saw the possibilities, and she felt she deserved to take full credit for that, if nothing else.
“Counting your blessings?” Ivan whispered, his head bending close to hers.
She nodded, smiling up at him, unable to believe anyone else in the whole world could be as happy as she. And yet, as she watched Nate slip a wedding ring onto Miranda’s left hand, heard the promises they exchanged, she thought it must be possible. Because there was her sister, looking as if she’d just discovered paradise.
Ainsley had known for a long time that she wanted to be a matchmaker. She’d known in her heart she’d be good at helping people find the true treasure they sought. She’d known deep down that helping others find love was her life’s calling, as meaningful in its way as her parents’ humanitarian mission. Love was important. Finding a life partner gave new energy to every other purpose. Just look at Andrew. At Christmas, he’d had a broken ankle and the mistaken belief that love was something to be avoided. Then on New Year’s Eve, he’d been introduced to Hayley in a whole new light and now, on Valentine’s Day, his photographs reflected new depths of awareness and sensitivity that even Ainsley hadn’t suspected he could reach. He’d actually documented his fall into love, photographing Hayley almost exclusively, including her even in his signature landscape portraits. Love could change the world. Ainsley believed that with her whole heart.
“It’s my privilege to present to you—Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Shepard…and family.” The minister stepped back as Miranda and Nate kissed and then gathered Cate, Will, Kali and Kori into a big hug. The older twins looked a little embarrassed, but the younger ones beamed with excitement. The small group of guests stood to applaud, and then the whole group of Shepards moved down the aisle in a happy, halting procession.
Ainsley clapped enthusiastically, caught an approving smile from Ilsa Fairchild Braddock who was sitting two rows back, and felt that she’d finally found her niche in the world, finally proved she belonged in the rather extraordinary family of her birth.
“Ready?” Ivan slipped the strap of her purse up onto her shoulder, then placed his hand at the small of her back to urge her forward. “It’s time for my favorite part of the wedding.”
“You can’t be hungry already. You ate about a million peanuts before we got here.”
“Why do you think the food is my favorite part of weddings?” he asked, trying to sound indignant. “I could have been referring to kissing the bride.”
She laughed. “You could have been, but I happen to know you have the appetite of a small whale.”
“But did you know that I save all my favorite kisses for you?” He pressed one to her ear. “Oh, Matt.” Catching sight of his brother-in-law, he pitched his voice to reach Matt. “Would you mind if Ainsley and I rode to the reception with you and Peyton? We came early with Miranda to help with all those important, last-minute details—” He raised his eyebrows and exchanged one of those male-superior looks that indicated it was only women who were concerned with details. “So we have to hitch a ride to the coffeehouse.”
“Sure,” Matt said. “Follow me to the parking lot.”
Ainsley sensed tension, noted the effort her big brother put into sounding breezy and unconcerned. She glanced at Peyton, who offered a bright smile. A too-bright smile, maybe? From the first, Ainsley had felt there was something not quite right about their elopement, something that didn’t ring true about their secret romance. She’d alternated between being a little miffed that she’d missed the signs to convincing herself that Matt and Peyton had simply done a great job of keeping their private moments private. But the feeling lingered. And today, she felt as if she could reach out and touch their tension. She was suddenly certain it was not her imagination…and just as sure she had to find out what was going on and do something about it.
When it came to family, a matchmaker’s work didn’t necessarily end at the wedding. Sometimes, the course of true love needed a little extra assistance.
THE RECEPTION was on its last legs. The toasts had been made, the dinner eaten, the cake cut, the pictures taken, and now the adults were winding down and the kids were revving up. The deejay was reduced to playing tracks from the Living La Vida Mickey CD by request, and the children had long since taken over the dance floor. Kali, Kori and their buddy, Calvin Braddock, had discovered the delights of the karaoke microphone.
“Kali Shepard!” Calvin’s voice blared like a seasoned newsman. “You just got married! What are you gonna do next?”
Kali took the mike. “I’m going to Disney World!” she shouted, the sound reverberating with childish energy. “Kori Shepard, you just got married! What are you gonna do next?”
“I’m going to Disney World!” Kori didn’t bother with the mike. She yelled instead.
Then the two girls jumped off the dais to bounce around the dance floor like bunnies. Calvin, who was nobody’s fool, regained possession of the microphone. “Calvin Braddock,” he rumbled in a deep voice to an imaginary clone. “You just won the Super Bowl. What are you gonna do next?” His voice rose to a normal little-boy falsetto as he took on the other persona. “I’m going to Disney World!”
“We’re going to Disney World!” The girls whooped and bunny-hopped some more.
“How much sugar do you think they’ve had?” Miranda asked with an unconcerned smile, her chin propped on her hand.
“At least a pound apiece,” Nate said, watching his youngest twins cavort and somersault in their frilly dresses, one pink, one red. “They’re not going to sleep a wink tonight. Who’s idea was it to take them to Disney World, anyway? I thought this was supposed to be our honeymoon.”
“It is,” Miranda laid her head against his shoulder for a minute. “First we take the whole family to Walt Disney World, then the kids go to your mother’s, and you and I go off on our cruise.”
“Ah, the carrot in front of the donkey’s nose. So that’s how you persuaded me this was a good idea.”
“I think we should just count our blessings that we didn’t offer to take Calvin along, too.”
“Well, I’m not a complete idiot,” Nate said. “Except when it comes to you.”
Their smile was intimate and full of promises. Peyton looked away, feeling that simply by witnessing it she’d intruded on their privacy. Ainsley, who was sitting next to Peyton at the table, obviously had no such qualms. She was watching the newlyweds with interest, a glint of satisfaction sparkling in her eyes. Ivan, Andrew and Hayley, Linney and Charles, and Matt and Peyton filled the other seats at the round table, which was covered with a white cloth and decorated with Valentine hearts and red and pink roses. The whole Danville family, Peyton thought, her gaze traveling the circle. One set of parents, their four children, and their respective mates.
Miranda and Nate had invited a crowd to the reception, many more than had attended the small wedding, but the coffeehouse had cleared out as midnight approached, and only the die-hard friends and family were left.
Connie and Rick were still here, of course, although Scarlett had left with Covington Locke some long time ago. Peyton hadn’t even attempted a protest this time. She’d had numerous run-ins with her mother lately about the wedding gift that was just waiting for an okay. The decorators were on retainer, all Peyton and Matt had to do was say yes. They kept saying no. Which aggravated Connie, which made her more determined to get her way, which kept Peyton on edge. Which only meant that she simply hadn’t had the energy to fuss about the way Scarlett was allowed to run wild.
Andrew suddenly pushed back his chair and stood up, picking up his champagne glass. “I have something to say.”
“Not another toast,” Miranda groaned. “I’m already sloppy with good wishes.”
Andy made a face at her. “Not everything is about you, Miranda,” he said with a grin. “This happens to be about Hayley. And me.” His eyes turned to his parents, seeking their approval and blessing. “I’ve asked her to marry me and, you won’t believe it, but she actually said yes.”
The table filled with immediate oohs and aahs, congratulations, and one enthusiastic “Yes! The matchmaker scores again!” Ainsley whooped and jumped to her feet, pumping the air with her fist. Cal Braddock picked up the action from across the room and repeated it into the microphone, which sent Kali and Kori bouncing and tumbling wildly around the dance floor, giggling uncontrollably. The irresistible sound of children laughing proved contagious and soon everyone had joined into the spirit of celebration.
Linney and Charles got up to embrace Hayley, welcoming her to the Danville family with the same graciousness they’d offered Peyton earlier in the week. Somehow the memory brought a mist of tears to her eyes, a wistful smile to her lips. Lately, hormonal surges zapped her energy and left her weepy. Or maybe it was simply the knowledge that she was deceiving this wonderful family. Matt’s hand brushed her shoulder and lingered at her back as he stood, too. “I have an announcement to make, as well.”
Peyton realized what he was going to say too late to stop him.
Of course, she couldn’t have stopped him any more than she could stop the life events her choices had already set into motion. She wasn’t ready for this moment, and yet, she didn’t know why the announcement seemed so momentous—perhaps because it was so irrevocable, perhaps because it deepened the deception, added another layer to her guilt. But ready or not, here it came.
“Mom. Dad.” Matt lifted his glass to them, then to the next table over, where Peyton’s parents sat. “Connie. Rick. Congratulations, you’re going to be grandparents!”
Peyton’s heart sank even as she revived her smile to reflect a happiness she wanted desperately to feel. She did her part, as she had done for the past six weeks. She held Matt’s hand in a death grip and pretended that the only thought in her head was her incredible good fortune. A husband. A baby. A future filled with the kind of love and acceptance this family gave so freely.
She was hugged and patted, coddled and crooned over, but Matt deflected any questions as easily as he seemed to do most everything else. He held her close to his side, protectively, lovingly, as if she was the most precious gift in his life, and Peyton realized that under a different set of circumstances, this would have been one of the happiest times of her life.
But she knew, even if no one else suspected, that Matt’s arm around her was there for the sake of appearances. His smile singled her out only because others were there to notice. His laughter was warm and genuine only because he wanted to convey to everyone present that everything was right in his world.
And Peyton understood suddenly that he was totally convincing because he’d been playing a role all his life. She’d watched him at the Foundation, seen the way he adjusted his demeanor to fit the expectation of whatever situation confronted him. He’d been juggling responsibility of one sort or another his entire life. Charles and Linney were truly wonderful people, selfless and committed, and yet they had sacrificed being present in their children’s lives for what they perceived to be the greater good. As the oldest, the firstborn of his generation, Matt had naturally taken up the role vacated by his father—head of the family, head of the Foundation, expected to be as selfless in his roles as his parents were in theirs. No wonder she felt at times that he was soul weary and simply going through the motions of living.
“Are you okay?” Matt leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath warm against her face. “You look…pale.”
Was he really concerned? Or simply reminding her that she, too, had a role to play tonight? “Fine,” she said, seeing him in a different light, seeing everything from a whole new perspective. “Just fine.”
And then she smiled at him. A real smile. A smile meant to cut through his defenses and touch his heart. A smile that said everything was right in her world and that, somehow, she was going to make everything right in his world, as well.
His hand tightened at her waist and he leaned in to brush a kiss across her lips. Her body responded as it always did to his touch—with instant, embarrassing heat—and his body answered in kind. That part of their relationship, at least, was real. Even as accomplished an actor as Matt obviously was couldn’t fake the passion that virtually possessed them behind closed doors. They had that…and a baby on the way.
There was no reason to feel guilty about the choices they’d made. They were adults. They were married. And although she hated to admit her mother might have been right, Peyton thought perhaps change was exactly what Matt needed in his life. And change was one thing she was confident she could provide. “I’ve never been so happy,” she said softly, just for him to hear…and ponder.
It wasn’t the truth yet, but it would be soon. Very soon.
“This is so exciting,” Ainsley said, her dimples flashing with her pleasure. “Another wedding and a baby. Mom, Dad, you’re going to be making more trips home.”
Andrew agreed with a nod. “Since Ainsley got married at Halloween, Matt after Christmas, and now Miranda at Valentine’s Day, Hayley and I thought we’d carry on the holiday tradition and get married on the Fourth of July.”
“That doesn’t give us much time to plan,” Miranda said, clearly already thinking ahead. “Of course, it’s more time than Ainsley and Ivan gave me.” She turned to Hayley. “And it won’t hurt my feelings if you and Andrew want to plan the whole thing yourselves.”
“Give us a break, Miranda.” Ainsley laughed. “Hayley, take my advice and let her take care of all the details. Otherwise she’ll drive Andrew nuts reminding him to remind you to take care of them.”
“You forget, Baby, that I’m a changed woman.” Miranda snuggled her hand in Nate’s, gave him that private smile again. “I have a family of my own now and the rest of you will have to manage your own details from now on.”
The family’s laughter was good-humored, if skeptical, of her new philosophy.
“So,” Linney said approvingly. “We’ll have another wedding in July and a baby in the fall.”
Peyton felt Matt tense beside her, and stepped in to rescue him from himself. “A little sooner than that, actually,” she said, casting Matt an I’ll-handle-this smile. “Matt and I have done things a bit backward. A first for both of us.” She squeezed his hand, trying to ease his tension. “The baby might even be here in time for the wedding.”
If that surprised anyone, it didn’t show. There was simply another round of excited comments, some discussion from Miranda—mostly with herself—about whether to schedule the baby shower before the wedding shower or vice versa, and a few questions to Peyton about how she was feeling, if she’d found a doctor, and if she’d had an ultrasound. It was a subject most interesting to the women, a subject that didn’t exclude the men, but left them unsure how, and if, they wanted to be included. Nate was the only one of the men to venture a comment. “It could be twins,” he said. “They run in the family, you know.”
“Not in my family they don’t.” Peyton laughed and realized it felt good. Genuinely good. She had absorbed Matt’s worry these past weeks, worried about what someone else might think, allowed his expectations that he would somehow disappoint his family to rob her of the pleasure of anticipation. The arrival of this baby—hers and Matt’s—should be anticipated with wonder and the expectation of joy. No matter what the circumstances of conception, she wanted this baby. She believed Matt did, too.
It was time for him to realize that their mistake held the possibility of more blessings than his heart could hold.
And it was time for her to admit she was falling in love with the man—and the life—she had so unexpectedly chosen.