Groom On The Loose

“You still blame me for Niki’s breaking off your engagement?”

“Damn right, I do. You’re Niki’s best friend. Your opinions have always had a strong influence on her.”

“Not that strong,” she snapped. “When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours, Lawton? Niki’s a grown woman who’s more than capable of making her own decisions. She never was the breakable china doll you always assumed her to be.”

The words cut him to the quick, wounding his male pride. He lashed out at her in kind. “Are you telling me you didn’t try to discourage Niki from marrying me?”

She didn’t respond. Her wordless answer spoke volumes.

He gave a bitter smile. “That’s what I thought.”

She folded her hands primly on top of her desk and met his gaze head-on. “This whole conversation is pointless. Your engagement to Niki is over. Why do you insist on dwelling on the past?”

“Because the past has a way of grabbing you by the throat and not letting go,” he hollered. “Do you have any idea what my life’s been like these past few months?”

She frowned, opening her mouth to answer.

Only he didn’t give her the chance. “It’s been a living hell. Speculation over my broken heart has been the grist that’s kept this town’s gossip mills churning. I’ve endured the pitying looks, the sympathetic words. I’ve even tolerated the old ladies from the neighborhood who want to mother me. They ply me with cookies and cakes one minute, and try to fix me up with their granddaughters the next.”

The anger level of his voice rose with each word he spoke. But, once vented, nothing could stop the flow of frustration. “And now my colleagues at the clinic are encouraging me to get on with my life. They have some insane notion that my patients and their parents would feel more comfortable with a pediatrician who’s happily married with a family of his own.”

He paused to draw in a ragged breath. He felt winded, without having exerted himself. The strength seemed to have gone out of his legs. His exhaustion was an emotional state, he realized, not a physical one. He’d just revealed his innermost feelings to Cassie Andrews, a woman he barely trusted, let alone cared enough about to confide in.

Greg sat down hard in the chair he’d recently abandoned. Oddly enough, despite the weariness that seemed to have crept over his extremities, he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his heart. Purging himself of months of pent-up anger had had an emancipating effect.

“Is that what you want?” she asked, breaking into his troubled thoughts. “To be happily married?”

“Hell, no,” he bit out. “I want to be left alone. I want to get all these helpful people off my back.”

“And you think you’ll accomplish that by hiring me to be your ’girlfriend’?”

He averted his gaze, refusing to look at her. “It would be a start.”

Silence strained between them. Cassie’s tone was quieter, gentler when she spoke again. “Greg, I know you don’t want to believe me, but I truly am sorry for what happened between you and Niki.”

He’d heard the same words said a hundred times in the past eight months. Somehow, hearing them from Cassie only made him feel worse. “I don’t need your pity.”

“No, but you need my help. That is, if you still want it.”

In one way or another, women had caused him nothing but trouble these past few months. He’d just as soon give up on the entire gender. Unfortunately, at the moment, he didn’t have much of a choice but to accept Cassie’s offer.

He sighed. “I still want your help.”

“Fine, then it’s settled,” she said, her tone clipped and businesslike. “I warn you, my service doesn’t come cheap. It’ll cost you.”

It already has, he admitted silently. “Coming from you, I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

He stood to leave.

This time she didn’t protest.

She rose to her feet. For a moment neither of them moved or spoke. In the small office, they stood within inches of touching. Up close he couldn’t help but notice the delicate beauty of her face, the silky texture of her blond hair and the slender curves of her body. Though she stood at chin level to his six feet three inches, she seemed smaller somehow, more vulnerable.

The thought surprised him. Vulnerability was not a trait he would normally associate with Cassie Andrews. A pampered beauty, yes. But never a shrinking violet.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said, anxious to leave.

She forced a smile. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

A lie if he’d ever heard one. He almost smiled.

He turned to leave.

“Greg…”

He stopped, glancing over his shoulder at her.

“About Niki…” For once she seemed hesitant, uncertain. “There are a lot of other women out there. Did you ever stop to consider, maybe she just wasn’t the right one?”

“Not for a minute,” he said, with a confidence he didn’t really feel. With that, he left her office and didn’t look back.

* * *

Three weeks later Cassie stood in her office’s storage room, knee-deep in preparations for Greg Lawton’s party. Why she’d ever agreed to host his party as his “girlfriend” was beyond her. Guilt, she supposed, had played a major factor in her decision. Somehow he’d gotten to her. Those eyes, she decided, those vulnerable blue eyes. She’d always been a sucker for a man with a pair of baby blues.

It didn’t seem fair that someone as irritating as Greg Lawton should have been blessed with such soulful eyes. They were windows to every emotion he tried so hard to hide. Three weeks ago she’d been on the brink of telling Greg exactly what he could do with the guilt trip he’d been trying to force upon her. But then she’d looked into his eyes and seen the pain hidden beneath the anger. Cassie sighed. And that was why she was stuck hosting a party for a man who gave new meaning to the word perfectionism.

Since their initial meeting, Greg had called her daily with helpful suggestions. From the practical to the mundane, he had an opinion on everything. She’d begun dreading the sound of a ringing telephone. Only one thought sustained her. After tomorrow, she’d never have to see Greg Lawton again. Any wrong she might have done him—real or imagined—would be wiped away with this “favor” she’d agreed to do. The slate between them would be clean.

“I can’t find the napkins,” Mitsi announced, demanding Cassie’s attention.

“They’ve got to be here,” Cassie said, wading through boxes of supplies. “I know we ordered them.”

Mitsi pulled open a lid. “Wait, here they are. Ten blue-and-white-checked tablecloths with fifty matching napkins.”

Cassie made a check on the inventory list. “All right, now about the decorations—”

The telephone rang.

Her stomach clenched reflexively. It couldn’t be…surely not…she stared at the phone in dismay. She swore that if it was Greg calling again she’d scream.

Mitsi, surrounded by boxes, shot her a helpless glance.

“Don’t move,” Cassie ordered. “I’ll get the phone.” She snatched the phone from its cradle. “The Talk of the Town, Cassie speaking.”

“Cassie Andrews?” an unfamiliar male voice asked.

“That’s right. May I help you?”

“Yes, I believe you may.” He sounded relieved. “My name is Howard Benning. I’m an attorney with the firm of Benning, Hart and Richland.”

Lawyers, Cassie thought to herself, made very good clients. They had little time and lots of money to spend. Her tone brightened appreciably. “Yes, Mr. Benning. How may I help you?”

“I need to meet with you as soon as possible, Ms. Andrews.”

Cassie glanced at her watch. It was late, nearly four o’clock. She still had to sort through the supplies for Greg’s party. “We’re closing soon, Mr. Benning. And tomorrow the office is closed. I could meet with you, say, Monday at nine o’clock.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Andrews. But that would be much too late.”

“I see,” Cassie said carefully. It wasn’t unusual for clients to call with last-minute party plans. As long as they had the money to spend, they expected her to perform miracles on short notice. “Mr. Benning, I’m sorry. But I’m already booked for the next couple of days. I don’t think I’d have time to help you with a party—”

“Oh, this isn’t about a party,” he assured her.

Cassie frowned. “It isn’t? I thought you said—”

“I need to meet with you concerning a legal matter.”

Her shoulders stiffened. Her tone became guarded. “Look, Mr. Benning. If you’re calling about that incident at the Blakewells’ house, I want to make it clear that I had nothing to do with the guard dogs getting loose. I was just there to host a party, not to baby-sit their killer mutts—”

“Let me assure you, Ms. Andrews, I know nothing about a Blakewell incident. I’m calling in regard to the estate of Melanie and John Reynolds.”

Her mind went blank. “Who?”

“Perhaps you are more familiar with Mrs. Reynolds’s maiden name, Melanie Greene. I believe she was a classmate of yours in college…”

Melanie Greene. A picture formed instantly in her mind. Melanie, a pretty brunette, with a sweet smile and a bashful personality. They’d shared a dorm room their freshman and sophomore years in college. Junior and senior year, they’d moved to an apartment. Cassie had been close to this soft-spoken woman, as close as a sister.

Cassie’s heart clutched. “Mr. Benning, did you say estate?”

“Yes, Ms. Andrews, I’m afraid so. I’m sorry to have to tell you this over the phone, but your friend and her husband died in an automobile accident nearly two weeks ago. Since they were living overseas at the time and there are no next of kin, we’ve had a difficult time tracking you down—”

The lawyer’s words brought another painful memory to mind. Melanie had been orphaned at the age of twelve. She’d spent her growing years in the foster care system. Melanie’s parentless state had drawn Cassie to her. They’d shared a common bond. While Cassie’s parents were alive and well, they’d had little time to spend with their only daughter.

“Oh my God,” Cassie murmured as the reality of the situation finally hit her. Her friend was dead. She’d never see her again. Cassie’s knees buckled. She sat down heavily on a nearby chair.

Mitsi glanced at her sharply. “Cassie, what is it?”

Cassie shook her head.

“I know this is a shock,” Mr. Benning said. “Again I must apologize for being unable to inform you of this tragedy in person.”

“Mr. Benning,” she said, the words sounding flat and lifeless. “What about Jessica, Melanie’s baby? Is she all right?”

Six months ago, when her friend had called with the news of her daughter’s birth, Cassie had promised to look after Jessica if anything ever happened to Melanie. Tears threatened. Who’d have ever thought the promise would become literal?

“Ms. Andrews, I’d rather not discuss this over the phone. It’s…complicated.” He sounded harried, though his tone was insistent. “This is an extremely delicate situation, one that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.”

Cassie rubbed her stinging eyes. “Very well, Mr. Benning. Tomorrow I have a party at noon. I could meet with you earlier in the morning. Say, ten o’clock.”

“That would be wonderful,” he said, his relief obvious.

After making plans to meet in the lobby of a downtown St. Louis hotel, Cassie slowly hung up the phone.

“Cassie, what’s wrong?” Mitsi asked, her concern obvious.

Tears blurred her vision. Cassie drew in a shaky breath. “I’ve just lost a good friend. A classmate of mine from college.”

“Aw, honey.” Mitsi made short the distance between them. In seconds Cassie was enfolded in a backthumping embrace.

Tears flowed freely now. She allowed herself a brief moment to lean on someone else’s shoulder. Soon, however, she struggled to pull herself together, uncomfortable with the show of emotion. “Look at me, blubbering like a baby.”

Mitsi tsked. “It’s okay to cry, Cassie. You need to grieve.”

“I don’t have time. I have a party to plan.” Cassie wiped away the lingering tears with the back of her hand. Experience had taught her that emotion led to vulnerability. Vulnerability led to heartbreak. She stood, picking up the inventory list. “Now, where were we?”

“Cassie, are you sure you’re up to this? Why don’t you go home? Let me handle the inventory.”

“I’m fine. I have to be,” she said firmly. “I promised Greg Lawton a perfect party. Nothing is going to stand in the way of my delivering it.”

Mitsi looked at her uncertainly, then shrugged. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Cassie followed her assistant to the boxes of party supplies. She felt the prickling of tears at the back of her eyes, but she refused to allow them freedom. She had a job to do. Once and for all she was going to prove her capabilities to her biggest skeptic…Greg Lawton.

The next morning Greg stood outside on his patio, sipping a cup of strong coffee and watching as two of Cassie’s workers set up tables in his backyard. He glanced at his watch. Almost ten o’clock and no sign of Cassie. Not that he expected her to be there at the crack of dawn. But a phone call assuring him of her imminent arrival would be a welcome relief.

A scowl touched his brow. Dammit, since when had he become so dependent upon a woman? The last time he’d made that mistake, it had led to nothing but heartache. He had no doubt Cassie would prove herself as unreliable as all the other women in his life. Perhaps even more so. He should be counting the hours until this “business arrangement” of theirs was over.

But he wasn’t. The thought of not seeing Cassie again left him feeling empty inside. As empty as this big, old house of his, the one he’d bought for Niki before she’d ended their engagement.

Greg took another swig of coffee, trying vainly to wash down the lump of emotion that seemed to have caught in his throat. The truth was he’d gotten used to Cassie, to calling her, seeing her. He’d grown accustomed to her voice. It was as smooth as silk and as sweet as honey. Except when she was irritated—which was more times than not.

A smile teased his lips. He had to admit, he liked watching that tiny crease, the one between her golden brows, form whenever she was angry. And he liked to watch her struggle to control her temper—and fail. The verbal battles he’d had with Cassie these past few weeks had taken his mind off his own problems.

He’d never felt better, more alive…in months.

The workers struggled with a table at the far corner of the yard, dropping their burden on the grass beneath the shading branches of a large pin oak tree.

“Are you sure that’s where the table’s supposed to go?” Greg called out to them.

One of the workers, a young man with a head of dark, curly hair, pulled a sheet of paper from the back pocket of his jeans and studied the paper with a frown. “Yes, sir. It says right here—table number four, under the oak tree. Cassie’s orders.”

Greg sighed. “Well, she should know.”

“Yes, sir,” the worker agreed. With a nod, he continued his job and ignored Greg.

Three weeks ago, Cassie had marched into his life—by his request, he reminded himself—and had turned it upside down. She’d gone through his house, inspected his bathrooms, measured his floor space and listed his home’s deficiencies. Like a drill sergeant, she’d taken control, giving orders and expecting him to follow them. And, by golly, he’d done exactly as he was told.

He’d put his complete trust in her.

He glanced at his watch again. He just hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.

The lobby of the hotel was large, with high atrium ceilings and pink marble floors. Potted palms were scattered about, complementing the red and green furnishings in the lounge area where Cassie was to meet the lawyer, Mr. Benning.

She shot an impatient glance around the lobby, but saw no one resembling Mr. Benning, who had described himself as a middle-aged, slightly heavy, slightly balding lawyer.

Just when she was about to give up, a breathless voice sounded behind her. “Ms. Andrews?”

Cassie whirled around, spotting a short, pudgy man hurrying toward her. “Mr. Benning?”

He nodded as he removed a neatly pressed handkerchief from his breast pocket and mopped his perspiring hairless head. He’d exaggerated the slightly bald part, Cassie noted wryly. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said. “It was a difficult night.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Cassie murmured politely. It wasn’t unusual for a person to have problems adjusting to travel.

Mr. Benning glanced around the quiet lobby. He pointed to an empty set of table and chairs. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

Cassie led the way. She felt his assessing gaze follow her. Self-consciously, she tugged at the hem of her lemon yellow sundress. Not knowing how much time she’d have to spare, she’d come dressed for Greg’s party. Now she wished she’d worn something a bit more professional.

They took their seats and faced each other awkwardly across the table. Mr. Benning was the first to speak. “Ms. Andrews, once again, let me say how sorry I am for your loss. You and Mrs. Reynolds must have been close friends.”

Her throat tightened. Cassie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The pain was still too fresh. She watched as Mr. Benning lifted a briefcase onto the tabletop. Locks snapped open, startling her. Cassie took a deep breath, willing her strained nerves to be calm.

“As I mentioned over the phone, our meeting is in regard to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds’s estate.”

Cassie leaned forward in her seat. “Mr. Benning, I don’t care about the estate. I want to know about Jessica. Is she all right? I promised Melanie—” Her voice caught. She paused, allowing herself a moment to compose herself, then continued, “I need to be sure she’s taken care of.”

Mr. Benning gave her a considering glance. “Ms. Andrews, let me assure you, I believe Jessica will be in very good hands.” He pulled out a pair of glasses and perched them on the edge of his nose. Glancing at her over their rims, he said, “First of all, you’ve been named executor of the Reynolds’s estate.”

“Me?” Cassie asked, pointing a finger to her chest.

“That’s right.” He shuffled through a stack of papers. “You’ve also been named sole guardian of Jessica.”

“S-sole guardian?”

Mr. Benning nodded and handed her a pen. “As guardian you will assume full custody of Jessica. I’ll need your signature on these papers.”

Pen in hand, Cassie stared at him, letting the shock settle over her. Melanie had named her as legal guardian of her daughter? The idea seemed overwhelming, impossible.

“Mr. Benning, surely there’s someone else more qualified to take Jessica. What about John’s family?”

Slowly, Mr. Benning removed his glasses. “There is no one else, Ms. Andrews. Mr. Reynolds was raised in the foster care system, as was Mrs. Reynolds,” he said. “It was the Reynolds’s final wish that you were to be given full custody of their daughter. Now if you feel that you are unable to take on this duty…”

As the lawyer’s words droned on, Cassie struggled to draw a breath. An icy fist had gripped her chest. Panic, pure and simple, lay at the root of her troubles. She was twenty-five years old, just starting her own business and living in a one-bedroom apartment. She didn’t know how a baby would fit into her life. She wasn’t being selfish. Just honest. She doubted her own maternal capabilities.

“Mr. Benning, I don’t think I can do this,” she said, interrupting his speech. “I’ve never taken care of a baby. I don’t know if I could handle the job.”

“I see.” He sat back in his chair, looking disappointed.

Cassie stared at him uncertainly. “What’s going to happen to…to Jessica if I don’t assume custody?”

He sighed. “She’ll be turned over to Social Services. Chances are good she’ll be adopted by a young couple looking for a child.”

“And if she isn’t?”

He spread his fingers in a helpless gesture. “If she isn’t adopted, then she’ll be put into the foster care system.”

The words shook her. Cassie sat in numbed silence. She recalled the late-night talk sessions she’d had with Melanie in college. The times when her friend had revealed the painful memories of growing up unloved and unwanted in foster homes. Cassie wondered how she could live with herself if she allowed her friend’s child to be put in a situation where she might repeat her mother’s own fate.

“Baby Jessica is a healthy little girl,” Mr. Benning assured her. “There’s no physical reason to keep her from being adopted. I’m sure there’s no need to worry—”

“I can’t take that chance,” Cassie said suddenly, startling the older man as well as herself. “I won’t allow Jessica to grow up without a parent.”

He blinked. “Are you saying you are willing to take Jessica?”

Cassie’s throat went dry. She couldn’t speak.

Never before had she been expected to make such a rash, life-altering decision. She needed time to mull through her options. But time was the one thing she wasn’t to be allowed. If she said no, she’d be cutting off all ties with a woman she’d considered a friend—a decision, she had no doubt, that would cause her to spend the rest of her life struggling with a guilty heart. But if she said yes and failed as a surrogate parent, the consequences of her actions would be costly. She might be setting herself and Jessica up for heartbreak.

“Mr. Benning, months ago, Melanie asked me to look after Jessica if anything ever happened to her.” Cassie took a deep breath. “I never thought I’d be held to that. But if Melanie trusted me enough to name me as her baby’s guardian, then I don’t have a choice but to accept.”

The lawyer studied her for a long moment, his gaze hard and assessing. Then, seeming satisfied, he said, “Very well, Ms. Andrews. Now that the decision has been made, let’s get the paperwork out of the way so that you can meet Jessica.”

Cassie glanced around the lobby. “She’s here?”

Mr. Benning pointed a finger at the high atrium ceiling. “She’s upstairs in my suite with my secretary.”

A shiver of trepidation traveled through her. She glanced at her wristwatch. Fifteen minutes had passed since she’d walked into the lobby of the hotel. Fifteen of the most important minutes of her life. She had a feeling her world would never be the same.

Up until a few months ago, she wasn’t sure she could take care of herself, let alone be responsible for someone else. Her parents had been skeptical when she’d started her own business. She wondered what they’d say when she told them she was going to raise a child.

Cassie gathered a firm grip on her self-confidence. She had proved herself to be a successful business-woman. If she could arrange a sit-down dinner party for twenty on two hours’ notice, raising a baby should be a snap.

Party?

Cassie drew in a sharp breath and glanced at her watch again. In all the excitement, she’d completely forgotten about Greg’s party. It would be starting in less than two hours.

She gave a silent moan. Greg expected her to fail as a hostess; she could see it in his eyes every time they’d met to discuss her duties. She’d been determined to prove him wrong.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

It looked as though Greg Lawton might just have another chance to say “I told you so.”

At eleven forty-five, the doorbell rang. Greg glanced around his bustling house and felt a surge of panic. He muttered an oath beneath his breath. “Don’t let it be a guest.”

His house had never been so full. The caterers had arrived. The servers were setting up shop on the patio. And the bartenders were busy uncorking the wine bottles and tapping the beer keg. Everyone was here, except for Cassie.

She had promised him she would be there. He was counting on her to help pull off this party. But it would appear Cassie was pulling a no-show. Greg muttered another oath. He swore this was the last time he’d put his trust in a woman.

Greg yanked open the front door, sending the brass knocker clanging against its perch.