Runaway Bride (Across the Stars: Book 2) (2 page)

“It has to be done her way or she isn’t satisfied.” Lexie turned her attention to the scenery as he drove away from her apartment.

“She’s involved in your life because she loves you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Hey, you’ll be happy to know that I received a nomination for the Florida Heart Surgeon of the Year award.”

“That’s great, Nick.”

“I feel bad for the other doctors.  I mean, I’ve gotten this award for the past three years and I had another stellar year.  I don’t think the others have a chance.”

She decided not to respond.  While she didn’t begrudge anyone a healthy dose of self-esteem, sometimes Nick seemed to have too much of it.

“This has been a perfect year, Lexie,” Nick said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it.  “I got a nice promotion, moved into an amazing beach house, will marry you and will win the award.  All I need is a Porsche and my life will be complete.  I’ll be getting that shortly after we return from our honeymoon.  Of course, we’ll get you a car to match.  It doesn’t have to be a Porsche, but I want it to be the same color.  I was thinking red.  I’ll look great in a red car.  You will, too.”

“Sure, Nick.  Whatever you say,” she replied.

“I promise that I’ll be there for the engagement party.  I got Ken to fill in for me at the hospital, so there’s nothing keeping me away from you on that day.”

“Well, you are the groom.  It’s only fitting that you’re there.”

He kissed her hand.  “I will be.  Then you can have me all to yourself for two weeks while we cruise the Caribbean.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“It will be.” He kissed her hand again and winked.  “It will be.”

Chapter Two

Mark found Chris in his cubicle at work and patted him on the back.  “Hey, Chris.  How’s it going?”

Chris looked up from his computer.  “Hi, Mark.”

“That was a good wedding you and Caitlyn had.” He pulled up a seat and sat next to him.

“Thanks, Mark.  It turned out better than I thought it would, especially after the big showdown with her mother.”

“Yeah, I know.  Her mother is hard to deal with.”

“I’ve learned if you say no and hang up, things are easier.  Caitlyn likes it when I do that, too.”

“The agency picked a great life mate for you.” Mark recalled how scared Caitlyn had been when Chris almost died.  “You’re a lucky man.”

Chris smiled.  “I know.”

“So,” he leaned back in his chair, “do you see Lexie much?”

“Not really.  She and Caitlyn aren’t that close.  She’s twenty-four and Caitlyn is thirty-two.  They might be sisters, but they don’t spend much time together.”

“But they must see each other from time to time.”

“Sure, if there’s a family get-together or a wedding.  Caitlyn and I will be at Lexie’s engagement party.”

“When is that?”

“Two weeks.”

Mark stifled the urge to groan.  He had to see Lexie sooner than that.  All he had were three weeks before Lexie got married.  “Do you know where Lexie lives?”

“I can find out.” Chris paused and studied him.  “Why do you want to know so much about Lexie?  I saw you talking to her at the restaurant.  She’s supposed to marry the doctor, what’s-his-name.”

“On this planet, until the bride says ‘I do’ at the altar, it’s not official.  Just because she’s engaged to him, it doesn’t mean she has to marry him.”

“Or until you perform the bonding ceremony with her.  Are you planning to do that?”

“Not until after I marry her the way she expects to be married.  I think that will be important to her.”

“Probably.  Her mother sure makes a big deal out of it.” After a moment, Chris asked, “How do you think you’ll get her to marry you instead of the doctor?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I will.”

“You sound sure of yourself.”

“That’s because I am.  She’s meant for me.”

“How can you know that?”

Mark shrugged.  “I just do.  It’s a feeling I have.  But I need your help.”

“With what?”

“Getting a chance to talk to Lexie.  Do you know where she lives?”

“No, but I can ask Caitlyn.”

“Great.” Now Mark could figure out a way to run into her by “accident” and talk to her.  He was sure once she got to know him, she’d realize they were meant to be together.  Turning his attention back to Chris, he said, “Be sure to let me know her address when you find out what it is.”

“I will,” he replied, “but if she’s happy with the doctor, you’ll leave her alone, right?”

“She’s not happy with him.  If she was happy, I wouldn’t intervene.  But,” he added when he saw the apprehensive look on his friend’s face, “if I find out otherwise, I’ll leave her alone.”

Relieved, Chris nodded.  “Okay.”

Mark headed back to his cubicle and sat down at the computer to work, excited about the next time he’d get to see Lexie.

***

Lexie finished her last hair appointment of the day and left work.  The last thing she felt like doing was trying on her wedding dress, but she knew she’d never hear the end of it if she didn’t, so she drove over to her parents’ house.  It’d been a grueling day; she couldn’t seem to style anyone’s hair right on her first attempt.  All she wanted to do was go home, kick up her feet and watch TV.

She turned on the radio and let her mind wander as a commercial played.  Most of her drive was a lot of stop and go traffic, something she didn’t mind if there was good music but all the songs that were playing seemed to be sentimental love songs.  And for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why they annoyed her.  Frustrated, she turned the station to the news.

When she reached her parents’ house, she pulled into the drive and turned off the ignition.  She stared at the house for a moment.  As long as she stayed in the car, she wasn’t any closer to going home.  With a sigh, she dragged herself out of her car and went to the front door.

Her mother threw it open before she had a chance to knock.  “Oh, Lexie, you will die when you see this dress!” Without waiting for Lexie to answer, her mother pulled her into the house, shut the door and urged Lexie down the hallway.  “I can’t wait to see how you look in it.  I got the camera so I can take your picture.”

Lexie forced a smile as her mother led her up the stairs to her old bedroom which had been transformed into a room where her mother had a daybed, a plush chair, a bookcase full of magazines and a computer.  Lexie’s wedding
dress was resting on the chair.

Her mother picked it up.  “What do you think?”

“I think the pearls embedded into the dress is too much,” Lexie admitted.

“Pearls make the dress that much better.”

“And that much more expensive.  Mom, I know you want this to be the best day of my life, but can Dad really afford everything we’re doing?”

“Your father has been saving up for your wedding day ever since Caitlyn chose that DJ to marry.  We had one daughter who didn’t do it right.  We won’t make the same mistake twice.  Now, I want you to put it on so I can take a picture of you in it.”

“Alright.”

Lexie waited until her mother left the room before she changed into the gown.  She had to admit she felt like a fairytale princess as she examined her reflection in the mirror, and as much as she hated to admit it, the pearls did make it that much better.  But it was too much.  The live orchestra, the doves, the elaborate reception, the expensive dress…  She didn’t even want to think of how much money her dad had spent so far on the wedding.

“Knock, knock,” her mother said as she opened the door.  She gasped and motioned to her.  “Oh, Lexie…you’re gorgeous.  When the doctor sees you wearing that dress, he’s going to thank his lucky stars he’s marrying you.” Coming over to her, she fluffed the back of her dress and spread it around her.  “Your dad is going to be sorry he didn’t see you in this.”

“He’ll see me on my wedding day.”

“Oh!  And in the picture.” She lifted the camera to her eye and snapped a couple pictures of her.  “The doctor won’t see these, of course.  He won’t see you in that dress until your wedding day.  We don’t want there to be any bad luck.” She winked and ejected the SD memory card from the camera.  “I’m going to download these immediately.”

“Can’t you let me change out of this dress first?”

“Don’t you want to see how you look?”

“I saw myself in the mirror.”

“And?”

With a nod, Lexie admitted, “It’s an exquisite gown.”

“And that is the type of dress you’re meant to wear.” Her mother hugged her.  “I’m so excited for you!  You’ll never want for anything.  The doctor is going to provide everything your heart desires.  It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“I know, Mom.”

She kissed Lexie’s cheek.  “I’m so proud of you.  Alright.  I’ll leave the room while you get back into your clothes.  Then I’ll download the pictures and see which one turned out the best.”

As her mother turned to leave, Lexie called out, “Thanks, Mom.  For everything.”

Her mom smiled and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Her mother meant well.  All she’d ever wanted was for her to have a good life.  Lexie couldn’t fault her for that.  She only wished that she could get excited about marrying Nick.  If she could, then she’d feel much better about everything.

***

Lexie drove into the parking spot of her apartment complex and let out a long sigh of relief.  Now she could spend the rest of the night on her couch, watching TV and relaxing.  Maybe she’d rent a movie tonight.  She made it halfway to her apartment when someone called her name.  When she turned around, she blinked in surprise.

“Mark?” she asked, slipping the strap of her purse over her shoulder.

Mark jogged on over to her.  “Hey,” he greeted, slightly out of breath, “I’m glad I found you.”

“You are?”

“My car broke down, and I left my cell phone at work.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he added, “I’m having one of those days.”

“I know what you mean.  Where’s your car?”

“A couple blocks from here.  Thankfully, I managed to pull over into a vacant parking lot.  I’d hate to think of what would have happened if it stalled out in the middle of traffic.”

She grimaced.  “Me too.” Pulling the strap of her purse off her shoulder, she unzipped it and took out her cell phone.  “I can call you a towing company.”

“Thank you, Lexie.  I appreciate it.”

“It’s nothing.  I have a ton of minutes on my phone.” She grinned and dialed the number Caitlyn gave her a year ago.  “My sister knows a towing place that’s honest and quick.  She used to have an old junker that broke down all the time until our parents bought her a new car.”

“That was nice of them.”

She nodded and put the phone to her ear.  “Which parking lot is your car in and what type of car is it?”

“It’s in the old grocery store parking lot on Jefferson, right before you get to Reed, and I drive a Camry.”

On the other end of her phone, a man picked up the line.  “Simon and Haskell Towing.”

After she told the man where Mark’s car was, she hung up and slipped the phone back into her purse.  “Come on.  I’ll drive you to your car.”

“Are you sure?” Mark asked as she went to the driver’s side of her car.

“You’re my brother-in-law’s best friend.  My sister would kill me if I let you walk back there.”

He chuckled.  “Well, in that case, it’s only fair I keep you alive since you called the towing company for me.”

Pleased he could play along with her joke, she hopped back into her car and waited for him to get into the passenger seat before she started the car.  As she backed out of her spot, she asked, “How is my sister doing?”

“Good.  Chris is the happiest guy I’ve ever seen.  He can’t stop smiling.”

She chuckled.  “I could tell he was head over heels in love with her.” Her sister’s first husband had had the same look on his face when she married him.  Caitlyn was lucky.  She’d been married twice and both times to men who were wonderfully devoted to her.  “I’m glad she’s with him.”

“They’re meant for each other,” Mark replied as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the street.  “There’s no denying that.” After a moment of silence, he added, “Do you talk to Caitlyn often?”

“No.  I know we’re sisters, but we don’t have anything in common.”

“I don’t know.  I’d think that coming from the same family, you two would have something in common.”

“Well, we have our parents and brother in common, but our personalities are different.  Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No.”

“Have you known anyone else who was different from their brother or sister?”

“I don’t know of anyone who has the same situation you’re talking about.  I can see how it’s possible though.  You can share similar genes, but you’re still your own unique person.”

“Exactly.” She pulled up to a red light and scanned the road ahead of them.  “Your car is in that parking lot up there, right?” She pointed to the deserted lot two blocks away from them.

“Yes, that’s the one.  My car is the lonely blue one.”

She chuckled and glanced at him, noting the twinkle in his eye.  “I didn’t think cars got lonely.”

“Sure, they do.  It’s why you see cars gathered together in one area of the parking lot at a store.”

“I don’t know.  I’ve seen a couple that are parked away from others.”

“Those are the shy ones.”

Amused at his joke, she drove forward when the light turned green.  “I hate to break this to you, but cars aren’t like people.  They don’t have feelings.”

“I respectfully disagree.  I was telling Chris that I was thinking of getting a new car, and the next thing I know, my car stalled out in the parking lot.”

“That is probably a good sign you need another car.”

“I don’t know.  I actually feel guilty about giving it up.”

She drove into the left merge lane and waited until the traffic cleared before driving into the parking lot.  “You get sentimental about cars?”

He shrugged.  “It’s silly, isn’t it?  But when I first came here, it had the same color as the apartment place I used to live in.  I guess it was the only thing familiar to me at the time.”

“Where did you used to live?”

“Somewhere far from here.”

She pulled her car next to his and shifted into ‘park’ before she turned to him.  “Are you from another country?  You seem to have a slight accent, but I can’t place it.”

His blue eyes met hers and he offered her the most charming smile she’d ever seen on a man’s face.  “Maybe some day I’ll be able to tell you.” Curious about his answer, she got ready to ask him for a hint when he added, “That towing company is fast.”