Page 5 of Bridles and Bribery

“Then why’d you say it?” Dave muttered beneath his breath. He raised the volume of his voice so she could hear what he said next. “We were just finalizing the details of our prenup.” He pivoted with Jillian to face his mother.

“As if!” Eloise Phillips gave an unladylike snort. According to Dave, she’d refused to give up her first married name through all four of her subsequent failed marriages. “We both know you don’t believe in prenups.” For such an outspoken woman, she was awfully tiny — a few inches shorter than Jillian, with a perfectly nipped-in waistline that curvy girls like herself had always envied. Instead of a dress, she was in a shimmering pantsuit of lacy, champaign colored silk. Her white hair was cut in a sassy, chin-length bob, and the diamond choker circling her neck probably cost more than Jillian made in a year. Make that several times over.

“Why don’t you believe in prenups?” Until this very moment, it hadn’t entered Jillian’s mind to discuss the pros and cons of drawing one up for them.

Dave started to speak, but his mother interrupted him. “Because if my son felt he needed to protect himself from you, he wouldn’t be marrying you.”

“Oh.” Jillian wasn’t a hundred percent sure what to say to that. “I’m not exactly bringing much in the way of assets into our marriage.” She gave him a worried look. “Maybe you should reconsider drawing one up.” Was it too late?

“No.” His voice was firm.

“Dave,” she protested softly.

“The answer’s still no.” He gently guided her toward the elevator.

“See?” Mrs. Phillips spread her hands. “There’s no point in arguing with a lawyer.”

“That never stopped you,” Dave pointed out irritably as he mashed the button with the up arrow.

“I said there was no point.” Eloise Phillips shook her head at Jillian with a see-what-I-have-to-put-up-with expression as she joined them inside the elevator. “I’m speaking from experience. Hopefully, you’ll have better luck with him.”

Dave keptan arm around Jillian as they ascended to the roof, wondering why his mother had bothered showing up for his wedding. So far, all she’d done was gripe — about how turbulent her international flight had been, how sparsely furnished his townhome was, and how little there was to do in their hometown of Heart Lake. Interestingly enough, she hadn’t griped about the fact that he was getting married on the rooftop of his office building. Nor had she uttered a single word about the fact that his fiancée was pregnant. The first time she’d laid eyes on Jillian a few days ago, however, had been priceless. He was going torelish the shocked look on her face for, well, the rest of his life.

While his mother oohed and aahed over Jillian’s wedding dress in a voice that sounded unexpectedly sincere, Dave contented himself with the fact that the woman of his dreams was about to become his bride. It was enough. More than enough.Shoot!It was everything. He was ridiculously fortunate to be marrying a woman he was so deeply in love with. They were unbelievably compatible, too. She’d squashed his loneliness right out of existence and transformed him into a happy man.

Which was why her request to see him before the wedding had nearly stopped his heart. He’d been terrified she’d gotten cold feet and decided to call off the ceremony, something he wouldn’t have been able to bear. In the short time he and Jillian had known each other, she’d become vitally important to him, second only to his relationship with God. He couldn’t wait to be her husband — to love, protect, and cherish her, and somehow convince her she was worth every last one of those sentiments.

It killed him that she didn’t seem to have a clue just how much she meant to him. Her “just a receptionist” comments never failed to make him wince. After meeting her family today, he was beginning to understand where her low self-esteem came from. It was something he intended to change as soon as possible, starting with that blasted college degree she seemed to think would make such a difference. If she truly wanted letters after her name, he was going to make sure she got them.

The elevator doors rolled open, revealing six faces that reflected a wide range of expressions. The off-duty Justice of the Peace he’d hired to perform the wedding ceremony looked relieved. Gil and his pregnant wife, Bliss, also lookedrelieved, while visibly burning with curiosity. Jillian’s parents looked downright irritated by the delay. And unless Dave’s instincts were off, which they rarely were, Jillian’s sister looked disappointed. He made a mental note to invite the Harris family to visit as infrequently as possible after he and Jillian tied the knot. Never, if he could get away with it. No one needed that kind of toxicity in their life.

The white-haired Justice of the Peace got right down to business, waving them forward to come stand in front of him. Then he dusted the sprinkling of snow flurries off the lapels of his plaid overcoat. “Let us begin,” he said simply.

Dave had no less than four outdoor heaters blasting, but they didn’t stop the winter breeze from swirling across the rooftop, bringing more snow flurries in its wake. Jillian shivered. Not caring what anyone else thought, he shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she whispered with such a grateful look that it made his heart ache. Apparently, she wasn’t accustomed to folks going out of their way for her. That was something else he intended to change, starting now.

Since their wedding wasn’t a church wedding, there was no inspirational message delivered and no scriptures read, which was a bit of a bummer. Dave would’ve preferred to pay for a stinking big church ceremony with all the trimmings, but Jillian had begged him to trim down the festivities —waydown. Like a lot of small towns, Heart Lake was a hotbed of gossip, and her pregnancy was already stirring no small amount of speculation. He had no interest in feeding that beast. On the upside, their small, private ceremony was allowing them to get married all the sooner.

After officiating their vows, the Justice of the Peacepronounced Dave and Jillian husband and wife and produced the marriage certificate for them to sign. There were no kiss-the-bride summons or welcome-to-married-life speeches. It was just over. Though Dave had paid in advance for the man’s services, he discreetly slipped the guy a tip before he headed for the elevator. Not a big one, since his no-frills performance didn’t feel like it warranted it.

Gil was the first person to step forward to congratulate them. “Nice going, late bloomer.” He slapped him affectionately on the shoulders.

He delivered a much gentler hug to Jillian. “Keep him in line, Mrs. Phillips. He’s a handful.”

“Now you tell me.” Jillian gave a delicious trill of laughter, while turning the prettiest shade of pink. “Let me guess.” She tipped her face up to Dave. “It was in the fine print?”

“You bet your boots it was, babe.” He claimed her mouth for a very thorough kiss that left her cheeks an even deeper rose.

Bliss enclosed Jillian in a hug next. Her dark, shoulder-length hair fanned around her shoulders. “Be happy together,” she said softly. She looked stunning in a winter berry cocktail dress and faux fur wrap. Both were loose fitting. Like Jillian, she was expecting.

“We already are,” Jillian confessed in a breathy voice. “So much that it scares me a little.”

While Dave inwardly debated if his new bride’s comment should worry him, Gil stepped closer to mutter in his ear, “She means she’s happy. Quit psycho-analyzing everything.”

Dave covered his relief with a snort. “Am I that transparent?”

“Only where your wife is concerned,” his best friend assured. “The one chink every man is allowed in his armor without losing his man card.”

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