Substitute Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 2) (15 page)

Julie was cheering her on, and Rose was supposed to be
cheering for James, but mostly she was just laughing.

She’d she been dating James for the last three months, and
she couldn’t remember ever being happier. At times, it felt like they’d known
each other forever, and at other times it was like they were just getting
acquainted. Because they were in a professional relationship before, some parts
of their life had never been touched.

Until now.

Now she was part of James’s life fully—and of Jill and
Julie’s too. It was exactly what she wanted.

She had started college last month, and she was trying to
work her schedule so she could graduate as soon as possible. The classes so far
weren’t terribly hard, so she was hoping to stack a lot of them in a few
semesters.

Kelly would still graduate before her, but not by a whole
lot.

“I won,” Jill declared, dropping her piece on the last
square.

“Yay!” Julie shouted, doing a little jig of victory. “Hooray
for us!” It might have been Jill’s success, but that meant a victory for both
of them.

James was making a lot of exaggerated groans, making the
girls laugh. Then he told them to put the board game away and get ready for
dessert.

Rose watched the girls’ faces and wondered what was on the
menu for dessert. Jill and Julie both looked like they were suddenly hiding
secrets, and they scurried away, stifling giggles.

James looked bland and unconcerned.

“What’s for dessert?” Rose asked, getting up from the floor
and moving to sit on the couch, where it was more comfortable.

“Nothing too exciting.”

She peered at his expression and decided he was hiding
something too.

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

“Why do you think something is going on?”

“Because all three of you are acting weird. Do you think I can’t
recognize that by now?”

“You’re imagining it.” He leaned over and kissed her on the
cheek. Then added, “I’m going to see what’s taking the girls so long.”

Rose sighed. He was definitely up to something. It wasn’t
her birthday any time soon, and she hadn’t done anything lately worthy of
celebration. She was still trying to figure it out when the door to the family
room opened again and Julie came out.

She’d changed into her favorite pink ruffled dress and was
holding a single pink rose.

Rose blinked at her. “Why did you put that on, honey?”

Julie was almost shaking from what looked like joy and
excitement, but she managed to hold onto a mostly sober expression as she stood
in front of Rose and offered her the rose.

“Thank you,” Rose said, accepting the flower with a melting
kind of sentiment. “What is that for?”

“Rosie…Rose Beaufort,” Julie said, speaking carefully, as if
afraid she’d get it wrong. “You were our nanny, and we loved you, and now
you’re not our nanny, and we love you more. We never want you to go away. We
want you to be with us always.” She took a deep breath, as if relieved she’d
gotten all the words said. She’d clearly memorized them, since they were
clearly written by someone much older than her.

Rose was still clueless, staring at the little girl and the
rose and having absolutely no idea what was happening here.

Then Jill came in, wearing a long green dress with her hair
pulled back with a ribbon. She was also carrying a single pink rose, and she
walked over to give it to Rose.

“Rose Beaufort,” Jill began, a smile underlying her
seriousness. Her speech was smoother, but obviously memorized and practiced
too. “You’ve helped us and taken care of us and made our lives better. We
wouldn’t be nearly as happy as we are without you. You’re part of our family,
and you always will be. And now we want to make you a part of our family for
real. We want you to be our mommy.”

“Our mommy!” Julie chimed in. From the shushing gesture Jill
made, this was obviously out of turn.

Rose’s fingers were starting to tremble and the room started
to blur as she finally realized what was happening here.

She looked instinctively toward the door, where James was
coming in. He was still wearing his jeans, T-shirt, and bare feet, but he was
also holding a single pink rose. He walked over, offered it to her, and then he
got to his knees in front of her.

Rose made a silly gasping sound and covered her mouth with
her hand, hardly believing this was happening.

James pulled a little box from his pocket and opened it to
display the beautiful amethyst ring he’d given her for their fake engagement.

She felt a sudden drop in her gut at the sight of it until
he started to speak.

“I love you, Rose Beaufort,” he said, his voice hoarse and
his hazel eyes absolutely earnest. “I love you with everything that’s in me to
love, and my daughters love you just as much. We want you to be a Harwood now.
My wife and their mother. I used to be looking for a substitute for something
that was missing in my life, but now I know that you’ve created a space in my
life, my heart, that simply wasn’t there before you.  I picked this ring out
for you, but I didn’t give it to you the way you deserved the first time. So I
hope you’ll wear it now—now that I can offer it to you for real, in the right
way. So would you do us that honor? We promise to love you the rest of your
life.”

Rose was choking on the emotion, the roses in her lap, her
eyes filling with tears.

Julie whispered, “Please, please say yes!”

“Yes!” she burst out. “Of course, I will.” And then she really
did burst into tears.

James got up to take her in his arms to kiss her, and the
girls were hugging and kissing her too.

They all ended up on the couch together, with Jill
explaining that her daddy had messed up his lines a bit and gone off script—evidently
the part about the space in his heart hadn’t been in their original play—and
Julie was asking if she could please be a flower girl in the wedding and if she
could wear a dress down to her feet.

James wasn’t saying anything. He had her wrapped up with one
arm, and he was gazing at her face, as if he couldn’t believe that she’d said
yes.

And Rose knew—with no reservations or insecurity—that all of
them loved her completely, exactly as she was. She almost pitied other women
who just got to marry a single man.

Because she got to marry an entire family.

“Who is Kelly talking to out there?”
Deanna asked, peeking through the lace curtains in one of the back bedrooms of
the old Beaufort house, a room they’d temporarily turned into a dressing room
for the bride.

Rose’s hair and makeup were done, although she was still
wearing a satin bathrobe, and she moved next to her sister to look outside at
the beautifully decorated backyard and garden. Kelly was out there, already
dressed for the wedding, looking sleek and gorgeous in a deep rose sheathe dress
and high heels. She was talking to a grinning young man who had a casual,
breezy air and was very good-looking. “I don’t know who that is. Grandmama, do
you know?”

Their grandmother walked over slowly and glanced out the
window, her face changing slightly as she did. “He is a Blake.”

Rose understood her grandmother’s thought processes enough
to understand this description. Blake must be his last name, and his family
must have a long-standing history in the area. “How does Kelly know him?”

“The Blakes are a very good family.”

“What is his first name?”

Mrs. Beaufort gave a little shrug. “Peter, perhaps.”

“Oh,
Peter
,” Deanna said, as if a light had finally
gone on in her head. “She knows him from college, I think. She’s talked about
him some, but she’s been very clear that they’re only friends.”

Rose laughed, unsurprised that her sister would have
stressed the nature of the relationship, given how prone their grandmother was
to trying to manage their lives and partners.

Her grandmother tsked her tongue and said under her breath,
“The Blakes are a very good family indeed.”

Deanna met Rose’s gaze in silence, both of them
understanding that this boded something significant for Kelly.

Then Deanna shook off the thought and said with a smile, “I
think you better get your dress on now. There’s really not that much time
before we need to go down.” She was dressed for the wedding party too, in a
dress that matched the one Kelly was wearing.

Their grandmother was already lifting the vintage lace
wedding dress, and Rose felt a thrill of excitement at the sight.

She couldn’t believe she was actually going to wear that old
dress, as one of the Beaufort women had done almost a hundred years ago.

She couldn’t believe she was actually going to be married to
James in a little over an hour.

“James is going to be speechless when he sees you in this,”
Deanna said, a look of warm affection on her face. “You’re going to be so
incredibly gorgeous.”

Rose felt gorgeous—even before she put the dress on. And,
what was more, she felt loved and loving and
happy
, knowing her family
was down waiting for her. The girls were so excited about being flower girls
this afternoon, and James…

There was no way she could ever doubt how much he loved her.

“He’s already seen me in this dress.”

“Well, he was speechless back then, if what Kelly tells me
is true, and he’s even more crazy about you now, as any fool can see. I’ve
never seen a man who seems to have grown even more in love every time I see
him.”

Rose loved the idea, although she would never have believed
it possible a year ago—even eight months ago.

Deanna and her grandmother helped her on with the dress, and
Rose sucked in a breath as they fastened the top buttons at the back. They’d
had to make adjustments to the bodice to accommodate Rose’s larger breasts, but
now the gown fit perfectly, falling smoothly over her body to the floor.

“It’s perfect,” Deanna said, covering her mouth with her
hand for a moment as she stared. “Absolutely perfect.”

Rose glanced over to her grandmother, even though she knew
that the woman was never openly affectionate, or even admiring. They all knew
that about her. She showed her love in different ways.

So Rose’s eyes burned with emotion as her grandmother
murmured, “Georgina Beaufort would be proud to have you wear this dress.”

“Thank you,” Rose managed to say, reaching over to squeeze
her grandmother’s hand.

The old woman leaned over to kiss Rose’s cheek, a rare
gesture and one that flooded her chest with feeling.

Then her grandmother murmured at her ear, “Georgina was in
the same condition as you when she wore this dress.”

Rose didn’t understand immediately, and she was frowning as
she straightened up. Then the words clicked in her brain and she gasped,
looking down at her mostly flat belly. “What?” she choked. “
What
?”

Her grandmother didn’t answer, looking perfectly oblivious.

“I’m not—” Rose couldn’t even get the words out. There was
no way—no way—she could be in the same condition Georgina Beaufort had been on
her wedding day.

Pregnant.

“Don’t worry about it,” Deanna said, obviously having heard
the words too. She was smiling in a comforting way, but there was a question in
her eyes that made Rose shiver. “You know how she is. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Their grandmother just smiled, as silent and enigmatic as
one of the Pride.

“It’s nothing,” Deanna said again, obviously trying to get
Rose back on track, since she hadn’t yet been able to do anything but stare.
“Turn around again. I’ve got to get the rest of these little buttons hooked.
There are about a million of them, you know, and they take forever.”

***

Later that evening, after the
reception, James complained about that very same thing, after he and Rose had
fallen into a bedroom together, halfway in an embrace. Except he was complaining
about how hard it was to get the buttons undone—so he could get the dress off.

Rose hadn’t said anything to him about what her grandmother said.
There was too much going on, and all day they were both too distracted.

It was beautiful wedding—in the garden of the Beaufort
house. The reception was lovely, and Jill and Julie were practically exploding
with excitement the whole time.

The wedding night was nothing to complain about either.

But, the following morning, on the way to the airport for
their honeymoon in Hawaii, Rose made a quick stop at a drug store to buy a
pregnancy test.

Just in case.

***

The third book
in the Beaufort Brides series, Accidental Bride (about Kelly) will be released
in December.  If you haven’t already read it, Hired Bride is the first book in
the series, about Deanna and Mitchell. An excerpt from Hired Bride follows.

If you’d like to
keep up with my new releases and sales, you can sign up for my low-volume
newsletter
.

When her grandmother came over a few
minutes later and took her arm in a steely grip, Deanna knew she was going to
be bullied into an introduction.

Her grandmother only acted like this when she was on a
mission, which usually meant she’d found a new eligible man.

“I was talking to Mrs. Damon,” Deanna began, knowing the
objection was useless, even as she said it.

“She will understand.” She was heading toward the far side
of the room, and Deanna could see who was standing directly in their path.

Mitchell Graves.

“Grandmama,” Deanna said in a low voice, feeling a flush
rising in her cheeks. “There’s no sense in introducing me to—“

“He is single.”

“I know, but he isn’t…I mean, he won’t…”

“He comes from no family, but he is rich. Talk to him. Maybe
you’ll like him.”

Deanna almost groaned. She’d been through this many times
before, and she was usually confronted with either sympathy, amusement, or
faint disgust, depending on the character of the man in question.

Deanna wasn’t sure what Mitchell Graves’ character would be,
but she somehow knew he wouldn’t appreciate being seen as a potential tool for
restoring the fortunes of a failing Savannah family.

“Mr. Graves,” her grandmother said, her sharp voice breaking
into the conversation between Mitchell and George Fenton without any warning at
all. “This is my granddaughter, Deanna. You should meet her.”

Deanna’s cheeks were burning hotly now. She was used to her
grandmother’s blunt habits and brazen fortune-hunting, but she could very
clearly see herself through Mitchell’s eyes. He would think they were nothing
but a source of contempt and mockery.

She hated feeling that way—about herself and about her
grandmother.

“Grandmama,” she murmured, shooting an apologetic look at
the men. “We’re interrupting.”

“It’s no problem at all,” George Fenton said with a smile.
He was Gina’s brother—a polite, middle-aged man whom Deanna had met a few
times. “We shouldn’t have been discussing business at a party anyway. Good to
see you again, Mrs. Beaufort, Miss Deanna.”

Mitchell had lifted his dark eyebrows and was studying her
grandmother as if she were a strange specimen under a microscope. Then he
turned his eyes to her with a look of cool amusement. “It’s nice to meet you,
Miss Deanna.” He pronounced the last words with an emphasis that she
immediately understood as mockery.

Her shoulders stiffened. She might be embarrassed by her
grandmother’s behavior herself, but that didn’t give this man any reason to
look down on them that way. “It’s nice to meet you too. Sorry for the
interruption,” she said, with as much composure as she could muster. “We’ll let
you get back to your conversation.”

She turned to leave, resenting the hell out of Mitchell’s
arrogantly amused expression.

“You will stay here,” her grandmother said firmly, giving
her the look the sisters had always called her “evil eye”—the one that allowed
no dispute. “There is no interruption.”

Deanna was about to object, partly because she wanted to
sink into the ground to get away from this conversation and partly because she
had no interest in talking to this man, who seemed to become more of an ass as
the moments passed.

But her objection would upset her grandmother. She would act
angry but would actually be hurt. Then Deanna would feel guilty. Then her
grandmother would sulk for a few days, and the whole household would be thrown
out of whack.

It just wasn’t worth it. She could talk to Mitchell for a
couple of minutes and not risk anyone being hurt. So she sighed and turned
back.

“I will let you get acquainted,” her grandmother said with a
nod of satisfaction, before she turned and walked away.

Mitchell’s expression changed from amusement to an acute
observation that looked almost disdainful. As if he was judging her. As if he
thought she was weak or spineless or silly. As if he knew her at all.

She liked this man even less now than she had the moment
before.

“So, what brings you here tonight?” she asked, since she had
to say something.

“Business,” he said, his eyes drifting around the
well-dressed crowd. “This ridiculous, outdated ritual isn’t exactly my scene.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought it was.” Her tone might have
been a little cool, but everything in his look and tone seemed to be judging
her, judging
them
, and she didn’t appreciate it.

“How old are you?” he asked, his eyes landing on her face
again.

She stiffened. “What kind of question is that?”

“It’s a simple enough question. I don’t believe in standing
on ceremony, and I wanted to know.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because you look like you’re too old to still be under your
grandmother’s control.”

She gasped in indignation. “I’m not under my grandmother’s
control.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Is that the story you’re
going with?”

He was still ludicrously handsome, even as she wanted to
scratch the skin off his face. She snapped her mouth closed to keep herself
from telling him exactly what she thought of him. Instead, she turned on her
heel to walk away from him.

She was sorry if it would disappoint her grandmother, but
there was no way in hell she was going to spend any more time with this jackass.

Her grandmother’s dreams of a rich marriage weren’t going to
be fulfilled with Mitchell Graves. That was for sure.

***

You can find out more about Hired
Bride
here
.