Strange Neighbors (35 page)

   "Wow! That's a lot of pressure."

   "Tell me about it."

   "So what else will change if you marry a shapeshifter? Does anything happen to you?"

   "No. I won't change at all. He likes to stay in human form, so things shouldn't be that different."

   "Okay. So what are you worried about if that's the case?"

   "I feel like I'm letting you down. We had all these dreams of going clubbing on my weekends off and leading the Sex and the City lifestyle for a few years. Here I am looking at marriage to the first man I met on day one in the city!"

   Roz chuckled. "Merry, don't worry about me. Hell, if I found a hottie like Jason, I'd leave you in the dust."

   "Oh, nice. Thanks."

   "Hey, I'm just being honest. And that's part of your problem, hon. You're too nice. You love him, right?"

   "More than I thought possible."

   "So why are you worrying about me? You can't please all of the people all of the time. Sometimes you have to make a choice. I know you. You'll bend over backwards trying to take care of everybody and make sure everyone is happy."

   "You're right. I hate that about me."

   "Don't hate it, just accept it. It's who you are. You're a caretaker. Look how long you took care of your father and brother."

   "I know. I put my life on hold for years! And I just set out on my own."

   Roz stared at her tea. "So where were you going?"

   "Going?"

   "Yeah, your journey. Your life. You wanted Sex and the City. Well, you have sex and the city. Where did you ultimately want to wind up?"

   Merry shrugged. "Well, eventually happily married to the man of my dreams. Maybe have a kid or two. I'm not sure I want to drive a minivan, but the rest of the American dream sounds pretty good."

   "Okay. What about your job? Do you want to continue working?"

   "Of course. I have no idea what I'd do with myself all day if I didn't."

   "Can you do that if you travel between two homes?"

   "As a nurse, I'm lucky in that respect. I can work

per diem. Sort of like a substitute teacher. I sign up as available on the days and times I want to work and they call me in when they need someone."

   Roz leaned back against her chair. "With the huge need for nurses everywhere, you should be able to work pretty much whenever you want. That sounds perfect. So what's stopping you?"

   Merry shrugged. "I don't really know. I wonder what people will think about the whirlwind—"

   "There you go again! Stop worrying about everyone else. You're making me a little crazy, Merry. Ever hear the saying, 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth?' Well, it seems like you're looking a gift falcon in the beak. Unless there's something else about his nature you haven't told me."

   "No, I've told you everything I know."

   "And has Jason told you everything?"

   "Yes. I grilled him pretty thoroughly. He said if I ever have any more questions, just ask. He won't hide anything from me again."

   "That's right. He didn't tell you before he proposed. What did he have to say about that?"

   "He wanted to. He was afraid of losing me. He admitted he screwed up."

   A tear shimmered in the corner of Roz 's eye. "I wish I had someone who loved me that much, be they falcon or human. Not a werewolf, though. I don't think I could handle something that shreds human beings, even once a month."

   The blond head sitting behind Roz turned around.

   "Konrad!" Merry exclaimed. "I didn't know that was you sitting there."

   He smiled. "Fancy meeting you here. Mind if I join you?"

   Roz whispered, "How about it, Merry? Are you all talked out?"

   All talked out? Is that what she was doing? Just letting me talk to hear the sound of my own voice? Merry knew better than that, though. It seemed as if the more they talked the more she knew what she wanted. Roz probably realized she'd figure it out. But would it have killed her to just offer an outsider's opinion?

   "I'm good now, Roz . Thanks for listening."

   "Anytime. Just invite me to the wedding."

   "Invite you? I want you to be my maid of honor."

   Konrad rose. "So, you and Falco are getting married?"

   "Don't say anything about it to anyone, okay? I think he should know before anyone else does."

Merry had parked her car in the alley and stepped through the back door just as Ralph and Dottie wheeled their suitcases off the elevator.

   "Hi Dottie, Ralph, are you going somewhere?"

   "Yes. Jason is sending us on a scouting mission," Ralph said.

   Dottie's uncharacteristic sweet expression said she was happy about it.

   "Oh? What kind of scouting mission?"

   "I don't know if we're supposed to tell you or not. He might be saving it for a surprise." Ralph winked.

   She squinted. "Hmm… Now the curiosity will drive me crazy. Is Jason home?"

   "I think so. He made all the arrangements this morning." Ralph checked his watch. "We'd better get going. Don't want to miss our flight."

   "Let me hold the door for you." Merry hurried back and opened the door she had just come through.

   As the couple rolled and hefted their suitcases outside and down the steps, Ralph said, "Thanks. We'll see you in a couple of weeks."

   "Have a good time." Merry had never seen Dottie so quiet—or Ralph so happy. Something weird had to be going on.

   She had planned to see Jason anyway to give him the news of her decision. He'd probably be over the moon. Should I change into sexy underwear? Nah. If we're going to be married, he may as well get used to seeing the regular stuff.

   She proceeded straight to the elevator, used her key card, and punched the P button for his penthouse. Suddenly she couldn't wait to tell him. Had the elevator always taken this long to reach the top floor?

   Her mind raced with all the details they'd have to arrange. Pick a date. Apply for a marriage license. Arrange for a church or chapel, find a minister or Justice of the Peace, or maybe a cruise ship captain? By the time she reached his place, she had ruled out the cruise ship idea. Their privacy could be invaded if he was recognized, and she wanted him all to herself.

   The elevator doors slid open and she strode into the apartment. Not seeing him, she called out, "Where's my gorgeous lover?"

   A grunt echoed from the exercise room. Oh good. He's here!

   She rushed toward the noise and burst into the room. A guy she didn't recognize stood behind Jason as he lay on the exercise bench, pressing a barbell over his head.

   "Oh, sorry to interrupt," she said.

   Jason grinned. "Grab this thing, will you, Henry?"

   The other guy helped him set the weighted steel bar into the holder. He sat up without using his hands.

   "Merry, this is a buddy of mine, Henry Gilson. Henry, this is my girlfriend, Merry."

   "Correction," Merry said with a smile. "I'm his fiancée." She flashed the beautiful ring she had finally put on her finger.

   Jason's eyes opened wider. He leapt off the bench, crossed to her, and kissed her soundly. Gazing into her eyes, he said, "That's the answer I was waiting to hear."

   Henry extended his hand. "Congratulations." After he shook both their hands, he said, "I'd better get going. It sounds like you two have something to celebrate."

   Jason held Merry close. "We sure do. Thanks for coming over at the last minute, man. I was getting flabby."

   His friend laughed. "If you're flabby, I'm obese."

   "Well, thanks for spotting me. I'll call you in a few days if you wouldn't mind helping me out again. I don't think Merry could handle two hundred and fifty pounds."

   Henry laughed. "Yeah, call me anytime, man. We can't let anything happen to our star pitcher."

JASON NUZZLED MERRY'S NECK AS THEY PLANNED their wedding. He couldn't believe she had finally agreed—to everything.

   She pushed his head away and giggled. "Cut that out. If we get sidetracked, none of this is going to happen."

   He sighed. "Oh yeah. It would be just terrible to get sidetracked with sex, wouldn't it?"

   "Are you being sarcastic?"

   "A little bit."

   "Okay, I'll get off your lap then."

   She tried to stand, but he wrestled her down and pinned her to his growing erection. "You're not going anywhere, sweetheart. I'll cooperate. We'll plan first and have celebration sex afterward. How's that sound?"

   "Perfect." She smiled and kissed him.

   Now that she had said yes, a huge weight had been lifted. "Let's see. I guess we need to figure out who, what, where, and how. We know the why. You're marrying me for my money, right?"

   "Oh, absolutely." She rolled her eyes.

   "Now who's being sarcastic?"

   She chuckled. "Okay, okay. Let's start with when. That seems to be the most urgent thing since we have a deadline. Let's figure that out first."

   "How about tomorrow?"

   She gasped. "You can't be serious!"

   He laughed. "You're so fun to tease." Of course she wanted the beautiful white wedding. What woman didn't? But pulling it off in a short amount of time would challenge the best wedding planner. He'd have to agree to give her some time, despite his urgency.

   "How about right after the holidays?" he asked.

   "Which holidays? Christmas and New Years? Or Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day?"

   "Valentine's Day is too late. We need to be in Florida by mid February and you do want a honeymoon, don't you?"

   "Hell yeah."

   "So how about January?"

   "I guess we could get everything arranged by late January. It's a good thing we're not trying to do this in June."

   "For many reasons," he said, hinting again at the end result if this didn't happen.

   She nodded and stroked his cheek. "Okay, how about the second Saturday after the holidays, which is my weekend off?"

   Her continuing her job blindsided him. "You're going to work up until the last minute? I thought you'd need some time to get everything ready."

   "Well, I should give them plenty of notice. It's not easy to replace nurses. There's a nursing shortage, you know."

   "But that's not your problem."

   "I know I haven't been there very long, but I've already made some nice friendships among the coworkers on my shift. I don't want to leave them in the lurch."

   "Then we'll have to hire a wedding planner to help you get everything done."

   "No. I don't want one. I've heard too many horror stories."

   "Really? Like how many?"

   "Okay, one. A friend back home hired a wedding planner. She said the woman kept talking them into things and drove up the costs until her parents had to take out a second mortgage to pay for it."

   "I'll pay for it. Your father doesn't have to worry about that."

   "We'd better ask him if that's okay. He's a proud man, Jason."

   "We could always elope."

   She gave him the stink eye.

   Damn, this is becoming complicated. "Okay. How about if we pay him a visit soon. Maybe we can talk to your family's minister at the same time. I don't want any media circus, though."

   "So no inviting Lila, then."

   "God, no!"

   Merry laughed and Jason rolled his eyes when he realized he'd been had. Then her expression sobered. "You know what they're going to think, don't you?"

   "How lucky you are to have such a devilishly handsome and smart fiancé?"

   "There you go again."

   "There I go what?"

   "Being sarcastic."

   "Who's being sarcastic?"

   She grinned. "Okay, okay. So they might think that— or they'll think we're getting married in a hurry because I'm pregnant."

   He gasped. "You're pregnant?"

"No, silly! But everyone is going to think I am."

   He kissed her shoulder. "Can't we just tell them the truth?"

   Her eyebrows rose. "That you're a shapeshifter who might go nutty without me?"

   "Hell no. Just tell them that I'm nuts about you and I want you to go to Florida with me in February. Tell them I can't live without you and won't live with you unless we're married."

   "Can't live with me, can't live without me, huh?"

   "You said it, I didn't. Just remember it's our decision, no one else's."

   Merry sighed. "Yeah, I'm just anticipating all the possible problems before they happen."

   "They might not happen. In fact, if you go into it with that attitude you might cause them to ask questions. If you just act happy and excited, they probably won't question it at all."

   "Yeah, right."

   "Okay, how about this. Let's compromise. Give your job a three week notice as soon as you can. We'll get our marriage license on your next day off and we'll call a minister to book the church as soon as that's done. Then send out the invitations right around Christmas. Once everything is in motion, I think people will accept that it's going to happen. If anyone is rude enough to ask if you're pregnant, say no. And speaking of Christmas…"

   "Yes?"

   "Let's invite everyone here for Christmas. That way you can meet my family and I can meet yours and no one's feelings get hurt."