She felt a bit dazzled by it all, but she managed to smile at the young man and thank him when she was out of the car and on her feet. Zane was instantly at her side.
“Our luggage will be taken care of,” he told her. “Your suitcase will be brought to the bedroom you’ll be using tonight.” She wore a strange expression, and Zane hoped that her confidence wasn’t already slipping. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Gwen lifted her chin. It was true that she wasn’t accustomed to such luxurious surroundings, but she’d never been afraid of meeting new people, and that was really all she was going to be doing.
“I’m fine,” she said. When he still looked a little uncertain, she added, “Zane, I really am. Stop worrying.” She took in a breath. “Shall we get started?”
He offered his arm, grinned and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
The first couple to greet them was Dallas and Maggie Fortune. Zane and Dallas shook hands, Zane kissed Maggie’s cheek, and said, “Gwen, this is my brother, Dallas, and his wife, Maggie.” To his brother and sister-in-law he said, “This beautiful lady is my very special friend, Gwen Hutton.”
Gwen saw surprise in both Dallas’s and Maggie’s eyes, but they shook her hand and smiled warmly. Smiling herself, she murmured, “Very nice meeting you.”
That was just the beginning. By the time everyone went into the designated tent for the wedding ceremony, Gwen’s head was spinning with names and faces. Not so much that she didn’t notice the elegant decorations inside the tent, however. It was all so lovely, so tastefully done, she thought emotionally. She had never pined for great wealth, but from what she’d seen so far today, wealth did have its advantages. If she had to pay for a wedding, for example, it would have none of the glamorous pageantry of this affair. Her thoughts drifted to the future, and she hoped ardently that when the time came for her children to marry she would have the financial means to at least help them pay for a memorable wedding.
She remained emotional throughout the ceremony. The bride was beautiful in a stunning white gown, and the groom was extraordinarily handsome in a formal gray cutaway suit. Their attendants were beautifully attired.
Zane and Gwen had been seated in the second row of chairs, almost directly behind Zane’s father, Ryan, and the bride’s mother, Lily Cassidy. Gwen was positive she had never met a more beautiful woman than Lily, who possessed an exotic, ageless beauty. Gwen recalled meeting Cole Cassidy, Lily’s son, and his fiancée Annie, and then meeting a young woman named Maria Cassidy, who had been standing alone. Was Maria another one of Lily’s children? Gwen wondered. If she was, she was very different from the rest of her family. Of course, Gwen reasoned, she hadn’t yet met Hannah Cassidy, or rather Hannah Malone, she amended just as the minister said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
As the bride and groom kissed, people began rising. Parker and Hannah, arm-in-arm and wearing big smiles, swept down the aisle.
Gwen and Zane stood up. “It was a beautiful wedding,” Gwen said huskily, still feeling emotional.
“I think weddings are catching,” Zane said with a laugh. “There’ve been almost a dozen of them among my friends and family in less than two years. Did I tell you I’m the last holdout in the Fortune family?”
“I don’t remember your mentioning it,” Gwen said rather dryly. “But I knew there had to be a reason why your female relatives believe it’s your turn.”
“And speaking of my single status, Gwen, you’ve been doing a great job. I’ve overheard comments. ‘Who is she?’ ‘How did Zane meet her?’ ‘She’s quite lovely, isn’t she?’ Things like that. You’ve got them all talking and wondering.” Zane took Gwen’s elbow and steered her into the aisle.
“Then I guess I’m earning my pay,” Gwen said, deliberately striving to sound a bit sarcastic. She’d been slowly but surely becoming unnerved being with Zane. It was extremely discomfiting to look directly at him, especially into his cobalt-blue eyes. It wasn’t just his outstanding good looks that troubled her, either, it was him! All of him— his aura, his smile, his voice, his grace of movement. In truth, she could find no flaw in Zane Fortune. He was intelligent, friendly and charming. And he exuded a sex appeal that any woman would have to be totally numb not to feel. It was especially prevalent when he touched her as he was doing now, with a completely innocent hold on her elbow to escort her from the wedding tent.
Gwen wasn’t at all numb, and her involuntary reactions to Zane were making her nervous. The second they were outside the tent, she moved her arm just enough to discretely get rid of his hand.
She could see that the mingling had begun again. People were milling, talking and laughing. “Come on,” Zane said. “You have to meet the bride and groom.”
“Of course,” she murmured, and once again he took her elbow, this time to steer her toward the newlyweds. After introductions, Gwen offered congratulations and best wishes. Since others were waiting to do the same, she and Zane didn’t linger. But she’d sensed something from Parker Malone that she’d felt with no one else today.
“Does your friend know I’m a paid date?” she asked sharply.
Zane was startled. “Absolutely not! No one knows, and I’d just as soon keep it that way. What made you think Parker knew about our arrangement?”
Gwen felt a little foolish. “Obviously I misunderstood his, uh, scrutiny.”
“He’s curious, Gwen, same as everyone else. He might be even more curious than most because we’re good friends and I never mentioned you to him. Which I couldn’t do, of course, since you and I only met yesterday.”
“You sound angry. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“I’m not angry. Look, we’ll be eating soon. Maybe you’d like to go to your bedroom and freshen up.”
Gwen eagerly grasped at the opportunity to be alone for a few minutes. “Yes, I would. How do I find it?”
“There are people in the house directing traffic. Most of the family will be staying overnight. Just tell anyone your name and someone will show you to your room. I’ll go over and talk to Dad and Lily while you’re gone.”
Grateful for his thoughtfulness, Gwen laid a hand on Zane’s arm. “Thank you.”
Zane grinned. “Maybe I’m not as bad as you thought, huh?”
Gwen flushed. “If I gave you that impression, I apologize. See you later.”
Zane walked over to Ryan and Lily. “Great wedding, Lily,” he said. “Hannah is very good at her craft.”
“Yes, she is,” Lily agreed, obviously proud of the career Hannah had built around planning weddings and other special events.
“Zane,” Ryan said with a broad, approving smile, “your companion is a lovely girl. Is it serious this time?”
The one person Zane didn’t want to lie to was his dad. Lily, with her usual tact, saved him from doing so. “Ryan, darling, why don’t we just wait and see?” She smiled at Zane. “We’re all very glad you brought Gwen with you today.”
“Thanks, Lily. So, when’s the big day for the two of you?”
