velvet tunic and leggings, she made her way to her car.
The spa was surprisingly busy for a Monday afternoon. Although she got in for her manicure right away, thanks to a last-minute cancellation, without an appointment for her facial, Renee was directed to the waiting room for what she knew could be a rather lengthy wait. She knew that because she’d shown up without an appointment lots of times over the past three months.
Unperturbed, however—hey, where else did she have to be?—she settled back in her chair, gazing at the pale pastels and silk flowers that adorned the room, tuning her ear to the muted strains of a delicate Bach piano concerto. And she tried to find some peace of mind in the soft beauty that surrounded her. But when even the soothing environment of the spa’s waiting room couldn’t calm her, she closed her eyes and tried to think of something—anything—besides her impend—uh, upcoming wedding.
Unfortunately, as usually happened, the moment she cleared her mind, Garrett entered it. Oh, well. At least, this time, he wasn’t naked. Well, not too naked. She remembered him the way he’d been on New Year’s Eve—with just a few more buttons unbuttoned than had actually been unbuttoned at the time—heard his low, masculine laughter, felt the brush of his warm, rough skin against her own, recalled the heat and scent of him as he lowered his head to hers again and again and—
“Renee? Renee Riley? Is that you?”
Her eyes snapped open at the summons, and the heated images of Garrett dissolved in a fine, fleeting fog. Immediately, though, another member of the fabulous Fortune family replaced him—Kate Fortune, the matriarch in charge of the whole shebang, Fortune Cosmetics as well as the Fortune clan.
“Hi, Mrs. Fortune,” Renee said with a heartfelt smile, genuinely happy to see the other woman.
She liked Kate immensely, having met her on a number of occasions, usually when she was with Kelly, who worked as Kate’s social secretary. Well, who used to work as Kate’s social secretary, at least. These days, of course, Kelly had her hands full with almost-two-month-old Annie—not to mention Mac. But that was another story.
“Oh, please,” Kate said with a smile as she folded herself into the chair beside Renee’s, “how many times do I have to tell you—call me Kate.”
Renee smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Kate shook her head ruefully, but smiled. “So how are you, dear? Kelly tells me you’re getting married this month.”
Another roll of nausea swept through Renee’s belly. Striving for an enthusiasm she was nowhere close to feeling, forcing a smile that felt anything but happy, she said, “Um, yeah, as a matter of fact, I am, uh…getting married. This month. Yepper. Getting married. That’s me.”
Kate’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Well, my goodness, don’t be so overjoyed. That smile is about to blind me, and you’re making a spectacle of yourself with that dance of joy.”
Renee did manage a chuckle at that. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just…”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Never mind.”
Kate eyed her thoughtfully. “Kelly seems to be of the opinion that the man you’re planning to marry isn’t quite…oh, shall we say…Mr. Right.”
“Well, who’s to say what constitutes Mr. Right. Right?” She forced another chuckle that she hoped sounded carefree and gave a toss of her head that had always gone a long way toward convincing people she was completely consumed by joie de vivre. Whatever that was.
But Kate Fortune was much too perceptive to buy the act. Renee had long ago gotten the feeling that Kate saw way more than people wanted her to see. And there was a keenness to the way she was eyeing Renee that was more than a little unsettling. As if she were making plans—big plans—for her immediate future.
“Kelly was right,” Kate said softly. “You’re about to make a terrible mistake, aren’t you, dear?”
Renee gaped at her. Certainly Kelly had often enough criticized her decision to marry Lyle, telling Renee she should wait for the real thing—true love—regardless of her obligation to her father. As if Kelly had any right to make judgments on that score, seeing as how she’d married for reasons only marginally better than Renee’s. In spite of the reasons for it, though, Kelly’s marriage was turning out to be a better arrangement than anyone had thought it would be. She and Mac had come to truly care for each other.
It was something that had served to hearten Renee over the last few months, allowed her to tell herself that she and Lyle could make a go of it in the long run. Maybe, in time, the two of them really would have feelings of affection for each other, as Kelly and Mac did. Maybe. In time. She supposed it was possible.
But then, theoretically speaking, it was also possible that the earth might go spinning out of its orbit any minute now and crash into the sun.
So all Renee could manage in response to Kate’s admonition was a softly uttered, “Excuse me?”
“Kelly’s worried about you, dear,” Kate said. “As any good friend would be. She’s afraid you’re making a colossal error in not marrying for love, one you’ll live to regret.”
Before Renee had a chance to object, Kate, evidently having read her thoughts, hurried on. “Yes, I know, Kelly was in much the same boat, having married for reasons other than love herself. Which is why she knows what’s in store for you if you make the wrong decision. Why don’t you tell me all about it?”
Renee knew that was the last thing she could do. Kate was a nice woman, and she seemed to genuinely care about what Renee was going through, but this wasn’t a conversation to have with someone who wasn’t a close friend or family member. Kate was a local icon and a massively successful businesswoman, the last kind of person Renee would think of turning to when it came to girl talk.
In spite of that, however, she heard herself say, “Mrs. Fortune, what do you think is more important? Family obligation or true love?”
Kate offered her a knowing smile. “Well, certainly it’s no secret how important I think family is. But that true love business, well… There’s a reason poets and troubadours have stayed in business for thousands of years.”
Renee thought about that, then said, “But lawyers and accountants have stayed in business for a long time, too, working out the details of marriages that take place for economic and social reasons.”
“True,” Kate conceded. “But they don’t have as much of that kind of work as they used to.”
“Neither do the poets and troubadours,” Renee pointed out.
Kate didn’t disagree. What she did say was, “You don’t love the man you’re going to marry, do you?”
“No,” Renee replied without hesitation, knowing there was no point in denying that. “I don’t love him. But he’s a good man, and the arrangement will benefit my family.”
Kate nodded. “And you think that’s very important.”
“Yes. I do. And in time, it’s possible that I could come to love him.” Unfortunately, Renee didn’t utter the words with quite the conviction she had hoped to. She didn’t quite feel the conviction
