Free Stealing the Groom by Sonya Weiss Page B

new black suit with a tie undone and hanging loosely down the crisp white dress shirt, Chad didn’t look like best-friend Chad. He looked like handsome-do-damage-to-her-heart-if-she-wasn’t-careful Chad.
    He hadn’t shaved so he had the five o’clock shadow from this morning. Shifting her gaze away from how good he looked, she tugged at the material of her dress and then smoothed it gently back into place. “I’ve heard nothing about a holdup with the marriage license, so it’s easy to conclude that somehow our grandfathers got it pushed through. It seems we’re approaching the no-turn-back zone. Now would be a good time for one of your famous plans.”
    He crossed his arms and leaned against the end of a display cabinet holding an assortment of clutch purses. His gaze trapped hers, studying, assessing, his eyes giving no hint of what he was thinking.
    When he spoke, his voice was devoid of emotion. “I don’t have a plan A or even a B, Ame. I seem to be stuck in the middle of plan C.” He shrugged when he finished speaking.
    Amelia waved toward the store’s large picture window, her voice low and desperate. “We have to do something . They’re all out there waiting for us and if we don’t formulate a plan, then in about ten minutes you and I are going to become man and wife.”
    “You should have thought about that before you ran off with me and ruined things with my first fiancée. And I’m not going to give up my family’s company for an old man’s eccentric whim.”
    “But I don’t want to marry you and you don’t want to marry me.” She hesitated, licked her dry lips, then added, “Do you?”
    One heartbeat.
    Two heartbeats.
    Three heartbeats.
    He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I already told you that I don’t. But I’m fresh out of options.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of ring cases. “My grandfather picked these up at the jewelry store. They’re plain gold bands, but then again, this isn’t a match made in heaven so I’m assuming it doesn’t matter to you.”
    She laughed despite herself. “Calling me and you a match made in heaven is like saying the Grand Canyon is a little hole in the ground.”
    “Fortunately, we’ve only got to survive six months of this before my grandfather gives me the company shares,” he observed.
    “Think a marriage between reluctant partners is where television producers got the idea for those survival story shows?”
    He laughed. “Maybe.”
    She frowned and he asked what was on her mind.
    “I don’t know. Just a feeling I’ve got about all this. Something doesn’t feel right.”
    “We’re getting married. Of course it doesn’t feel right,” he said impatiently.
    Amelia sighed, wondering if the thought of getting married had made her paranoid. “I guess you’re right.”
    He handed her the case containing a wedding band for him. “Time to clean up another one of your messes. Shall we?”
    “Be patient. I’ll think of something,” Amelia said, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm.
    “Will that be before or after our twentieth wedding anniversary?”
    “Ha ha. We’ll just make one of those lists you’re so crazy about. With lists, life always runs smoothly.” She patted his arm.
    “Dammit, Ame. This is really not the time for you to poke fun.”
    Using humor helped her keep the panic at bay. She’d wanted to protect him from the wrong bride, not become the bride. She liked her lifestyle just fine, thank you. Part of her wanted to fling caution to the wind and say to hell with it.
    Part of her wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
    She slid a glance toward him. Who knew? Maybe this unexpected glitch would end up working out well for both of them. She could relax knowing his future was safe and he could relax knowing Walker Industries wouldn’t tank. Win-win situation all the way around. Plus, while she was acting as his wife, she could implement a little plan of her own. She could teach Chad how to