The Marriage Contract (15 page)

When the
singing stopped, Devin said, “Make a wish, Cara.”  Everyone around her chanted
his words, but all she could concentrate on was Devin.

Cara filled her
lungs with air and then forced it out again, blowing out all of the thirty-five
candles on her birthday cake.  When she stood up straight and looked into the
crowd, everyone clapped.  She only wished she could do the same.  She’d just
wished for the one thing she could never have. 

Devin.

# # #

Chapter Eight

Cara sank down
into the wing chair next to the table full of colorfully wrapped presents just
as Elsie took hold of the microphone.  Karaoke music blared as her mother stood
to the side, holding a camera, ready to capture the moment on film.  Her father
disappeared to the den with Larry from the hardware store.

And Devin
disappeared to the back of the room as soon as Roger stood by her side.  Penny
immediately gathered up to his side.  Although she didn't want to be, Cara was
acutely aware of where Devin was at all times.  Was it her imagination, or was
he really avoiding her whenever Roger was around? 

As Roger handed
her the first gift to unwrap, she couldn’t take her eyes off Devin.  He slumped
against the doorjamb, holding the glass of champagne her mother had just passed
out to everyone for the toast.

“Cara?”  She
looked at Roger, who wore a look of bewilderment.  “Aren’t you going to open
your present?”

Cara glanced
down at her lap and realized she was holding a long black velvet jewelry box
adorned with a thick white ribbon tied into a large bow.  She didn't remember
taking it in her hands.  “Oh, yes, of course.”

She tore open
the card to find it was a gift from her parents, a strand of pearls.  What
followed next was an array of gag gifts given by some of her friends from
Boston.  The beautiful royal blue nightie, given to her by Louise with a note
to “get a life” got the best response from everyone in the room. 

Except from
Devin.  With Roger's quip remark to “put it to good use,” Devin shifted
uncomfortably, turning his attention away from all the hoots and giggles.  Even
from the distance, she could see the tightness in his jaw, his whole body for
that matter.

Roger handed
her his gift and kissed her lightly on the cheek.  The box black velvet like
the one her parents had given her, but much smaller.  Her heart pounded
furiously in her chest, drowning out the next wave of song coming from the
speakers in the back of the living room.  She didn't want to open it.  It was
so unexpected.  Was Roger really going to ask her to marry him?  And in front
of all these people?

She cradled the
box in her sweating palm for a long agonizing moment.  She had the vague
feeling opening the innocent looking package was the equivalent of opening
Pandora's Box.  One quick motion and it was done.

Relief washed
over her.  Her eyes focused on the single diamond centered elegantly in a black
gold setting.  Roger had given her a diamond pendant.  Her smile couldn't have
been bigger.

“I knew you'd
like it,” Roger said, misreading her expression.  “I've been working with a
jeweler for months now to find the perfect diamond for you.”

“It's
beautiful,” she said, looking at the gift.  “I'll treasure it always.”

Now that the
table was empty and the last gift was unwrapped, the crowd applauded.  Standing
up, Cara closed the box and handed it to Roger.  She was about to thank the
crowd, but Devin stopped her.

“There's one
more,” Devin called out from the back of the room.  Her blood thickened when
Penny brushed her polished fingers across his back.

“Really?”  She
turned toward the table where all the gifts had been placed.  There was nothing
on the white linen covered table but a balled piece of wrapping paper and
ribbon that hadn't landed in the trash bag.

“Look
underneath.” 

She pushed
aside the cloth and looked underneath.  She found a large box with a small card
tucked between the stiff gold ribbon adorning it.  With Roger's help, she
reached down, picking it up and plunking it on top of the table.  Cara opened
the card and read the writing. 

“There are some
things just too precious to leave behind, Devin.”

Her heart
melted like warm honey when she looked up and saw his face.  In a million years,
she knew she'd never forget that soulful look Devin gave her.  The distance
between them seemed minimal now.  She could almost hear his thoughts, his
heartbeat.  The fact that Penny was standing right next to him was suddenly of
no consequence.  Devin was with her at that moment, and no one else in the room
seemed to matter.

One pull and
the bow came undone, falling to either side of the box on the table.  She
lifted the lid and pushed away the tissue paper.  Her heart melted and her lips
trembled. 

She had to
clamp her teeth down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

“The wooden
Carousel,” she whispered, holding back the tears threatening to break her
control.  She turned and looked at Devin and saw a shimmer of light in his
eyes.  More emotion passed between them in that moment than ever had during
their entire friendship.  It wasn’t special just that he'd known how much she
wanted this carousel.  After all, it was just an object.  But it was a gift
from his heart and that mattered most. 

Moisture filled
her eyes but she didn’t care if anyone saw or thought her reaction was
strange.  She let her tears fall freely down her cheeks.

This was it,
she realized.  This was the very thing she’d been missing all along.  She
didn’t need a man to take care of things for her.  She needed someone to take
care of her heart.  And no one she had ever met in her life had ever done that
better than Devin.

 “I guess that
about does it,” Roger said, putting his arm around Cara. 

With that
single point of contact, Cara saw Devin's whole body stiffen.  The precious
moment between them had been shattered by one simple word.  He grabbed a bottle
of champagne from the bar and stalked out of the room.  Penny followed on his
heels.

“Thank you,
everyone,” Cara announced, forcing her lips to form a smile.  Her hands
trembled and her heart tore in two.  Devin had left with Penny.  Cara suddenly
thought she’d die but she fought to hide her emotion from all the eyes bearing
down upon her.  “Please, there’s plenty of champagne, so have fun.”

“Happy
birthday, honey,” Harold said, reaching out to give her a hug. 

“Thanks, Dad. 
Careful, your wires will come undone.”  She leaned forward and tugged on the
wire coming from his pocket. “Who’s winning?”

His face
registered shock that he’d been found out, and he placed a finger at his mouth
to shush her.  Then he grumbled, “Damn Yankees.” 

If only he knew
her mother had orchestrated the whole thing. 

Roger was by
her side again, yawning and scratching the back of his neck. 

Cara took a
deep breath.  “Poison ivy still bothering you?”

“The way my
skin looks, I feel like a burn victim.  I’ve been thinking...”  He averted his
gaze and she knew she wasn’t going to like what was coming next.

“You’re going
back to Boston,” she said, sparing him.

He cocked his
head to one side and exhaled.  “I should probably see a specialist for this
rash.  It’s getting worse.”

She tried to
act disappointed, but in the end, she lost the battle.  This whole week had
been one big farce.  Roger’s leaving somehow felt like a relief.  “I’m sorry
it’s getting too much for you here.”

His eyebrows
darted up.  “No, it’s not that at all.  Things have actually been...bearable.”

She managed to
laugh.  “When you cocoon yourself in my father’s den the way you do, how could it
not be?”  She took him by the hand.  “We never did get around to going on that
trip to Nantucket.”

He squeezed her
hand and began to say something, but his expression changed.  “Why don’t you go
with Devin?”

A chill raced
through her.  No, the thought of being with Devin didn’t leave her cold.  Quite
the contrary.  But the fact that Roger seemed unaffected by her spending so
much time with another man did.  She didn’t bother to ask him if he’d be
jealous, because she already knew he wouldn’t be.  She quietly contemplated
what that said about their relationship.

“Maybe.”

Roger bent down
and kissed her forehead.  “I’m bushed.  Do you mind if I call it a night?”

“No, of course
not.”  She gave him a hug, but her arms felt empty. 

As soon as
Roger climbed the stairs, Ruthie sashayed over to Cara.

 “Where on
earth is Roger going?” she asked, handing Cara a fresh glass of champagne. 

“To bed.”  And
as if she felt the need, she added, “He’s been working hard these last few
days.”

To Cara's great
relief, Ruthie stifled a retort.  Instead she said, “Devin was just looking for
you.  Did he find you?”

“No.”  Cara
looked around the room but she saw no sign of Devin or Penny.  Her stomach
twisted into a tight knot.  “Maybe he left.”

“Oh, I don’t
think he’d leave without saying good-bye and giving you a birthday kiss.” 
Ruthie’s face was telling, leaving no room for misunderstanding her meaning.

Cara groaned,
taking a generous sip of champagne.  “I think he’s saving that for Penny.”

“Don’t be too
sure.”

Ruthie reached
into the box behind the bar and pulled out a full, uncorked bottle of champagne
and two clean crystal glasses from the tray, holding them out to Cara. 

“Why don’t you
go look for him?”

Cara didn't
hesitate grabbing the glasses and the bottle. 

She was nuts,
Cara decided.  Not her mother, but her.  She’d become completely immune to her
mother throwing Devin at her, but now she was actually following Ruthie's
advice.  Of course, she had no intention of acting on any of the wild feelings
for Devin that had been haunting her.  Roger was asleep upstairs and it just
wouldn't be right.

Besides, Devin
was her best friend.  And right now that was what she wanted more than
anything.  Plain and simple.  

Much to her
relief, Cara found Devin alone.  He sat on the back porch, one long leg lifted
over the railing, the other foot touching the floorboards, his back pressed
against the post.  He was looking out at the ocean, lost in thought, clutching
the bottle of champagne she’d seen him take from the bar.

“Deja vu,” she said
quietly, so as not to make him jump.  “I seem to recall us doing this very same
thing seventeen years ago on my eighteenth birthday.”

His lips lifted
to a slow, sexy smile she found irresistible.  “You’re just as beautiful now as
you were then.”

Her resolve
melted.  Devin had never talked like that to her before.  It was a simple line,
as old and used as they come, but hearing it from him in his deep, husky voice
made it sound brand new.

“Thank you.”

The sound of
the waves crashing into shore roared around them.  The gentle breeze coming in
with the tide brought a pungent scent of salt to the night air.  The silence
between them was deafening.  If she didn’t do something--and fast--there was no
telling what would happen.

“Where's
Roger?”

“Turned in early. 
All this excitement was a little too much for him.”  She hesitated a moment. 
“I expected Penny to be hanging all over, ah, around you.” 

A number of
emotions flashed across his face, disappointment, satisfaction, before it
settled on relief.  “She had to get her beauty sleep.”

Cara sucked her
cheeks in slightly to hide her own satisfaction.  “What a shame.  You’ve been
keeping her up nights?”

His eyebrows
furrowed.  “What gave you that idea?”

The little
gropefest I saw the other night might have something to do with it. 

“She is a very
attractive woman.”

“Yes, if you
want to make a career of it.  Which she has.  But that’s not what I’m looking
for.”

“Really.  What
are you looking for, Dev?”

The heat in his
eyes simmered as he gazed washed over her.  This was not the look of a man
hungry for his friend's advice.  He was hungry all right, but in a primal way
that made her whole body tingle.  She was about to get devoured...and the
thought of it made her tremble with excitement.

“That’s what I
came here to find out.”

He took a deep
breath, expanding his chest against his shirt, leaving Cara shivering with
anticipation.  The tight knot she’d felt all night begged to be released.

Devin lifted
from the porch rail and advanced toward her, taking Cara’s hand.  A gentle
breeze brought with it the scent of the sea intermingled with the scent of
Devin’s aftershave.  He squeezed her hand, the contact immediately triggering a
chain reaction that magnified her senses, leaving her pulse pounding.

“Let’s go,” he
whispered against her ear, tickling her skin.

“Where?”

“I don’t know. 
We’ll figure that out when we get there.”  He grabbed his bottle of champagne
and hers and turned toward the stairs.

“Wait.  I can’t
leave my own birthday party,” she said.  Although she probably wouldn’t need
more than a little nudge to follow Devin.

“Yes, you can. 
Deja vu, remember?  We did this on your eighteenth birthday.”

Giddy
excitement filled her.  It felt just like something they use to do when they
were kids.  Which, for some strange reason, Cara found exhilarating. 

She ran toward
him.  “Let’s get out of here while we still have the chance.”  

# # #

Chapter Nine

Thirty minutes
later, the two of them sat on the sand by a crackling campfire on the stretch
of beach in back of Devin’s cottage.  Bruno stretched out on the sand, sleeping
peacefully as Devin stroked his newly cleaned fur.  Cara was well on her way to
polishing off the first bottle of champagne.