The Manning Grooms (19 page)

The elevator ride seemed to take an eternity. As if James couldn’t keep himself from touching her in some way, he reached out and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. His knuckle grazed her skin.

“I can’t believe you’re willing to marry me,” he said.

“I feel like the luckiest woman alive.”

“You?” He held his hand to his brow. “I want you so much I think I’m running a fever.”

“I’ve got a fever, too. Oh, James, we’re going to be so good for each other.”

“Don’t,” he growled.

“Don’t?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Summer. I’m weak enough where you’re concerned. Much more of this, and I’m going to make love to you right in this elevator.”

Summer smiled and moved against the back wall. “You’re so romantic, James—and I mean that.”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like you know exactly what I want. Your eyes are telling me you want it as much as I do.”

The elevator eased to a stop, and the doors slid open. Summer’s heart pounded fast as neither of them made the slightest effort to leave.

“We were going to call our families,” she reminded him just as the doors started to close.

James swallowed hard. “Yes, of course.”

With precise movements he led the way out of the elevator and down the hallway to his room. She noticed that when he inserted the key his hand trembled slightly, and she loved him all the more for it.

“The phone’s over by the—”

“Bed.” She completed his sentence, and the word seemed to stick in her throat. She walked across the room and sat on the edge of the mattres, then picked up the phone to dial the familiar number.

It might’ve helped if she’d taken the time to figure out what to tell her parents. But she was afraid she’d lose her nerve.

She couldn’t put into words what she felt for James. She’d never loved anyone this way, this much, and she believed he hadn’t, either. They’d each been in love with someone else, and that other person had caused deep pain. This time was different.

She knew, even before they answered the phone, what her mother and father were going to say.

“James,” she said, in a panic, banging down the telephone receiver and holding out her arms. “Please, could you kiss me first?”

She glanced over at the man she’d marry in less than twenty-four hours, and his face was a study in raw sexual need. He walked across the room. The bed dipped as his weight joined hers. With loving care he gathered her in his arms and claimed her mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual.

He broke away, and his breath was hard and labored. Eager for the taste of him, the touch and feel of him, she brushed her lips over the curve of his jaw, then brought her mouth back to his.

“Maybe you should call your father first,” she whispered when she pulled away.

“All right,” he agreed. Reluctantly he sat up and reached for the bedside phone. Summer knelt behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head against his shoulder.

“Dad, it’s James,” she heard him say.

“Fine…yes, Vegas is just fine.” Summer could hear a voice on the other end of the line, but she couldn’t make out what was being said.

“I’m calling to let you know I’m getting married.”

The voice went silent.

“Dad? Are you still there?”

The faraway voice returned, this time speaking very fast.

“Dad…Dad…Dad.” Each time James tried to cut in, he was prevented from saying anything.

In frustration, he held the phone away from his ear. “I think you’d better talk to him.”

“Me?” Summer cried. “What do you want
me
to say?”

“Anything.”

Summer took the receiver and covered it with her hand. “Just remember this when we talk to my parents.”

“I will.” He kissed her briefly.

“Mr. Wilkens,” Summer said. It sounded as if the line had suddenly gone dead. “My name’s Summer Lawton. James and I have known each other a year. I love him very, very much.”

“If you’ve known my son for a year, how is it we’ve never met?”

“I live in California.”

“California?”

“Anaheim. I’m an actress.” She might as well give him all the bad news at once. She didn’t dare look at James.

“An actress?”

“That’s correct.”

“You’re sure you’ve got the right James Wilkens? My son’s the superior court judge.”

“Yes, I know. James and I are going to be married tomorrow evening at seven but we’re planning a larger ceremony in April. We felt it was only right to tell you about our plans.” Convinced she’d done a miserable job, Summer handed the telephone back to James.

Father and son talked a few moments more, and the conversation ended with James abruptly replacing the
receiver. He looked at Summer, but she had the strangest feeling he wasn’t seeing her.

“James?”

“He’s decided to fly in for the ceremony.”

“That’s great. I’ll look forward to meeting him.”

“He’s anxious to meet you, as well. He hasn’t set eyes on you and already he thinks you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Summer laughed and slipped her arms around James’s neck. “He could be right.”

James grinned up at her. “I know he is.”

“I love you, James.”

“I know. I love you, too. Now it’s time to make that call.”

Summer had been delaying the inevitable and knew it. She stared at the phone, expelled a heavy sigh and said, “All right, I’ll call my parents. Be prepared, James. They’re going to have a lot of questions.”

“They couldn’t be any worse than my father,” he muttered.

“Wanna bet?” Summer punched out the number to the family home a second time and waited. It was the decent thing to do, call her family with the news of her marriage, but if they just happened to be away, out of town themselves, no one would blame her and James for going ahead with the ceremony.

Four rings. Summer was about to hang up.

“Hello,” her mother answered cheerfully.

“Mom,” Summer said. “It’s me.”

“I thought you were in Vegas this week with Julie.”

“Julie couldn’t come.”

“You went alone?” Summer could hear the disapproval in her mother’s voice.

“I met a friend here. That’s the reason I’m calling.”

“Your friend is the reason? What’s the matter? You don’t sound right. You’re gambling and you’ve lost everything? Is that it?”

“Mom, it’s nothing like that.”

“I never did understand why you’d go back to Vegas after what happened there last year.”

“Mom, can I explain?”

“All right, all right.”

“I’m calling to tell you—”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Just say it.”

Summer rolled her eyes. She knew where her flair for drama had come from. “I’m getting married.”

Her mother screamed, and the next thing Summer heard was the phone hitting the floor. Her father’s voice could be heard in the background, followed by moaning and crying.

“What the hell’s going on?” It was her father on the line.

“Hi, Dad,” Summer said casually, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “I called to tell you and Mom that I’m getting married tomorrow evening.”

Summer’s father said nothing for several seconds. “Do we know this young man?”

“No. But he’s wonderful, Dad, really wonderful.”

“Like Brett was wonderful?” her mother shouted into the extension.

“Helen, get off the phone. You’re too emotional to talk any sense.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Hank Lawton. This is our little girl who’s marrying some stranger.”

“His name’s James Wilkens. He’s from Seattle and, Daddy, I’m crazy about him.”

“He’s an actor, isn’t he?” her mother demanded. “What did I tell you over and over again? Stay away from actors. But do you listen to me?”

“Mom, James is a judge.”

Silence.

“Mom, Dad, did you hear me?”

“What kind of judge? Beauty pageants?” This came from her mother.

Summer almost groaned out loud. “No. Superior court. He was recently appointed to the bench and he’ll run for election to his first full term this November.”

“A judge, Hank,” Helen said softly. “Abby’s daughter married that attorney, and we never heard the end of it. Summer’s got herself a judge.”

“Would you like to talk to James?” Summer offered. It only seemed fair that he talk to her family, since he’d put her on the phone with his father.

“No,” her father surprised her by saying. “When I talk to him, it’ll be face-to-face. Pack our bags, Helen. We’re headed for Vegas.”

“S
ummer,” James said patiently when he saw her distress, “what did you expect your family to do?”

“I didn’t think they’d insist on coming here,” Summer answered. “I wanted it to be just you and me. We can involve our families later, in April. I felt obliged to let my parents know what we were doing—but I didn’t expect anything like
this.
”

“You don’t want them to come?”

“No,” she said quickly.

In some ways James could understand her regret. If truth be known, he would’ve preferred his father to stay in Seattle. As it was, James’s time with Summer was already limited, and he didn’t want to share with family the precious few days they had left.

“I’m afraid once you meet my mother, you’ll change your mind about marrying me,” she moaned.

“Honey, it isn’t possible.”

“My mother—she sometimes doesn’t think before she speaks.”

“I see.” James felt he was being diplomatic by not mentioning that Summer possessed the same trait.

“My dad’s really great…You’ll like him, but probably not at first.” She gazed at James with large, imploring eyes. “Oh, James, he’s going to give you the third degree. I’ll bet he’s having a background check done on you this very minute.”

“I don’t have anything to hide.”

“See, Dad’s been working with the seamy side of life for so many years, he suspects everyone.”

“He’s a policeman?”

Summer nodded. “I don’t think he trusts anyone.”

“Summer, if twenty-odd years down the road our daughter phones to tell us she’s marrying a man neither of us has ever met before, you can bet I’ll have a background check done, too.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” she said, biting her lip. “We aren’t going to have much of a honeymoon.”

James chuckled. “Wanna bet?”

Summer grinned.

If this woman’s smile could be bottled, James thought, it would be the most potent aphrodisiac ever made. He couldn’t look at Summer and not want to make love to her.

“What about Julie?” James said in an effort to get Summer’s mind off her parents’ imminent arrival.

“Oh—I nearly forgot my best friend.” She reached for the phone and called Julie’s cell.

Since there were a number of things to do before the
actual ceremony, James walked over to the desk and sat down to write out a list, not wanting to forget anything.

He was only half listening to the conversation between Summer and her roommate when he heard Summer’s soft gasp and the mention of Brett, the man she’d once loved. James’s ears perked up, and his fingers tightened around the pen.

“What did you tell him?” Summer asked in low tones. This was followed by “Good. Then you’re coming? Great. You might want to talk to my parents and see if you can fly in with them. I’m sure they’ll be eager to pump you for whatever you can tell them about James.” After a few words of farewell, Summer replaced the receiver.

James turned around in his chair, wondering if she’d volunteer the information about Brett.

“Julie’s flying in, too. I suggested she catch the same flight as my parents.” She seemed self-conscious all at once.

Her eyes avoided his.

“So I heard.” James waited, not wanting to approach the subject of her ex-fiancé, hoping she’d save him the trouble.

After an awkward moment, she blurted out, “Julie…Julie said Brett phoned.”

James relaxed, grateful she chose not to hide it from him. “Did she find out what he wanted?”

“No. She hung up on him before he got a chance to say.”

James had the distinct feeling he was going to like Summer’s roommate.

Summer’s shoulders moved in an expressive sigh. “I don’t think either of us is going to be nearly as happy once our families arrive.”

“How bad can it be?” he asked. All he cared about, all that was important, was marrying the woman he loved.

“My mother’s going to insist we follow tradition and not see each other all day.”

James frowned. He wasn’t keen on that idea.

“My dad will keep you occupied with a whole bunch of questions. If you’ve got the slightest blemish on your record, he’ll find it.”

“I don’t. Trust me, sweetheart, my background’s been scrutinized by the very best. Your father isn’t going to find anything.”

She laughed softly. “In which case, Dad will probably thank you repeatedly for taking me off his hands.”

James laughed, too. “Never mind. By this time tomorrow, we’ll be husband and wife.”

Summer’s parents arrived early the following morning with Julie in tow. By chance Summer met them in the lobby on her way down for breakfast. James had called her room an hour earlier, before she was dressed, to tell her he was headed for the coffee shop. Summer had been too nervous to eat then, but had developed a healthy appetite since. She’d need fortification in order to deal with her parents.

“Mom! Dad! Julie!”

They threw their arms around her as if the separation had been ten years instead of a few days.

“I called Adam and told him his little sister’s getting married,” were the first words out of her mother’s mouth. “He’s taking time off work and he and Denise are driving in for the wedding.”

“Mom,” Summer protested, “James and I are having another ceremony later.”

“Fine,” Helen Lawton said briskly, “Adam will be there, too. Now stop fussing. It isn’t like I held a gun to his head and told him he had to come. Your brother
wants
to be here.”

“Daddy.” Summer hugged her father. Stepping back, she placed her hands on her hips. “James is squeaky-clean, right?”

“How’d you know I had him checked out?”

“You’re my father, aren’t you?” She slipped her arm around his waist.

“How’d you ever meet a man like this?” Hank Lawton wanted to know. “He’s as good as gold.”

“Yes, I know. He’s wonderful.”

James appeared then, coming from the direction of the coffee shop, a newspaper under his arm.

Summer made the introductions, and while Julie and her family checked in to their rooms, Summer and James reserved a table at the coffee shop. They sat next to each other, holding hands.

“Are you ready for all this?” he asked her.

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “My brother’s taking the day off and driving in for the ceremony. I thought we’d have a small, intimate wedding.”

“It is small and intimate.”

“My brother and his wife have three little kids, who’ll probably cry through the entire ceremony.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t,” James said and gently squeezed her hand. “I suspect folks will talk about us the same way when we drag our children to family get-togethers.”

“Our children,” Summer repeated. She felt weak with pleasure at the thought of having a family with James. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m looking forward to being a mother.”

“Not nearly as much as I am to making you one,” he said in a low voice. The teasing light left his eyes. “If you have no objections, I’d like a large family. Maybe four kids?”

“Four.” She nodded. “I’d love to have four children. We’re going to have a good life, James. I can feel it in my heart. We’re going to be so happy.”

“I feel that way, too. Being an only child, I was always drawn to large families. I suspect that’s why I’ve been such good friends with the Mannings over the years.”

“Christy’s family?”

He nodded. “She’s the youngest of five.”

Her parents and Julie appeared just then, and ever the gentleman, James stood until the ladies were seated.

“I hope you don’t mind if we steal Summer away from you for the day,” Helen said even before she looked at the menu. “We have a million and one things to do before the wedding.”

“We do?” Summer didn’t know why she bothered to
protest. She’d realized this would happen the moment her parents announced they were coming.

“First, we need to buy you a dress.”

Silly as it seemed, Summer hadn’t given much thought to her attire. A nice suit would do, she supposed, something flattering and stylish. The elaborate gown and veil could wait for the April ceremony.

“Then there’s the matter of finding a preacher.”

“The hotel provides a justice of the peace,” James said.

“Do you object to a man of the cloth?” Hank asked sternly.

Summer wanted to leap to her feet and tell James this was a test, but she bit her tongue. Sooner or later her soon-to-be husband would have to sink or swim on his own with her family.

“Not at all. I’d prefer one myself.”

Summer had to restrain herself from cheering. James had passed with flying colors.

“I’ve got the names of several ministers from our pastor in Anaheim.” Her father patted his shirt pocket. “We’ll leave the women to do their thing, and you and I can find us a proper preacher.” His tone implied that his little girl wasn’t being married by any justice of the peace.

“What about rings?” Helen asked.

“I thought I’d pick up a couple of plain gold bands for now,” James explained. “I’d like Summer to wear my mother’s diamond. She can choose the setting at a later date, and it’ll be ready before the April ceremony.”

Breakfast wasn’t the ordeal Summer had expected. Julie sent her curious looks now and then, and Summer knew her friend was waiting for an opportune moment so they could talk.

“We’ll meet again at what time?” Helen asked, glancing at her watch.

Summer’s father studied his, while Summer and James gazed longingly at each other.

“Six,” Helen suggested.

“That late?” Summer protested. They were being cheated out of an entire day. No one seemed to appreciate that her time with James was already limited.

“I’ll see to everything,” her mother assured everyone. “Hank, all you need to do is get James to the chapel on time.”

“Don’t worry about my not showing up,” James said. “I’m deeply in love with your daughter.”

Julie’s elbow connected with Summer’s ribs. “What did I tell you?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Julie had more than gloating on her mind, and so did Summer’s mother. When they’d finished their coffee, Helen organized a shopping expedition. She made it clear that a suitable wedding dress wasn’t the only thing on her list. If her daughter was about to marry a superior court judge, she’d go to him with a complete trousseau.

The minute Summer and Julie were alone in the store, her roommate grabbed Summer’s arm. “I heard from Brett again,” she whispered.

“Did he phone?”

“No. This time he stopped by the apartment, right before I left for the airport.”

“No.” Summer closed her eyes, not because she had any regrets or because she harbored any doubts about James.

It was as if Brett possessed some kind of radar that told him when he could cause her the most trouble.

“He’s been asking about you. Apparently he talked with a couple of the cast members at Disneyland. Steve and Karen? Do those names sound familiar?”

“Yes.” Summer clenched her fists. “I can’t tell you how much this irritates me.”

“You? The man’s been making a pest of himself all week. According to Brett, you’re pining away for him.” Julie made a melodramatic gesture, bringing the back of one hand to her forehead. “You’ve been unhappy ever since the two of you split up—he says.”

“Oh, puhleese.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“If I was pining for anyone,” Summer said, “it was for James.”

“Exactly. I told Brett that, too.”

“Thanks.”

“I explained, with a great deal of satisfaction, that you’re involved with someone else now, and he should stay out of your life.”

“Good grief, he’s married and about to become a father. The man has no principles.” The thought of Brett trying to reestablish their relationship while his wife
was pregnant with their child made Summer sick to her stomach. “I’m glad to be rid of him.”

“You couldn’t be getting married at a more opportune time. I’m telling you, Summer, from the way Brett argued with me, your marriage is about the only thing that’ll convince him it’s over.”

“You did tell him I’m getting married, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t believe me. He accused me of fabricating the whole thing.”

“Girls, girls.” Helen returned with a salesclerk.

“I wonder how long it’ll be before she considers us women?” Summer asked her friend under her breath.

By evening Summer felt more like a French poodle than a bride. She’d been shampooed, her nails polished, her hair curled, her body massaged and moisturized. She’d been in and out of more clothes than a New York fashion model. And she was exhausted.

The idea of a white suit for the wedding was one of the first ideas to go. Before Summer could argue, she was draped in satin and silk from head to toe.

“You look absolutely stunning,” Helen said.

Summer wasn’t sure she could trust her mother’s assessment. Her eyes went to Julie.

“She’s right.”

“But what about April?”

“What about it?” Helen’s hands flew into the air. “You’ll wear the dress twice. Big deal. No one needs to know.”

She tried another arguement. “It’s so much money.”

“My baby girl only gets married once.”

Well, no. She’d be getting married twice—to the same man, but still, there were going to be two ceremonies.

Julie arranged the veil and the long train for the photographer who was on his way, then handed Summer the intricate gardenia bouquet. “If you’re going to throw that, just be sure and aim it my way.”

Summer smiled. “You got it.”

“Not yet, I haven’t,” Julie reminded her.

A knock sounded at the door, and Helen answered it. Summer didn’t pay any attention, assuming it was the photographer her father had hired.

A few minutes later, Helen introduced the tall, balding man. “Summer, this is James’s father, Walter. You should’ve told me he was a retired superior court judge himself.”

Summer would have been happy to, had she known.

“My, oh, my,” Walter said as he entered the room. He stood in front of Summer, hands on his hips, and he slowly shook his head. “And where did my son meet such a beauty?”

“Here in Vegas,” Summer said. “A year ago.”