Society Wives: Secret Lives: The Rags-To-Riches Wife

“But what if that’s not enough? We’ll be trapped in a loveless marriage.”

“I don’t see marriage to you as a trap. I see it as a gift. I’ll be getting a smart, beautiful wife and the mother of my child.”

“And love? Don’t you even believe in love, Jack?”

“There are all kinds of love. Love of family, love of a parent and child, love of a friend.”

“What about love between a man and a woman, a husband and wife? Don’t you believe in that?” she asked. “Don’t you want that?”

“I believe that there are some people, like my parents, who find that kind of connection. I don’t know if it starts out that way or if it’s something that grows over time out of respect and caring for one another. What I do believe in is the power of hormones between a man and a woman,” he told her. He drew his fingertip down her cheek and Lily could feel her already nervous stomach flutter at his touch. “I still want you, Lily. And I think you want me.”

She swallowed past the knot that seemed to have lodged in her throat. “You’re talking about meaningless sex.”

“I’m talking about desire, passion. It’s still there between us. Just like it was that night.”

It was true, Lily admitted silently. The pull between them that had drawn her to him that night and that had led her to breaking all her personal rules by sleeping with him was still there. In fact, it was even stronger now that she’d gotten to know him better. “What if desire isn’t enough to make it work?”

“It’s more than a lot of people have,” he said. “I think we owe it to our baby to at least try.”

Once again he made the whole thing sound so simple, so logical. Jack was a good man, an honest man and she had no doubt that he would be a good father to their child. Yet, it felt wrong to start any marriage this way.

“It’s your call, Lily. You know how I feel, that I think the two of us marrying is the right thing to do for our baby’s sake. So what’s it going to be? Should I go out there and tell everyone that the bride has changed her mind and there isn’t going to be a wedding after all? Or do I go out there and tell the minister to get the show on the road before the ice sculptures melt?”

She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “Tell the minister to get the show on the road,” she told him.

“You won’t be sorry, Lily. I promise.”

She certainly hoped Jack was right, she thought as he disappeared out the door. When she heard the bridal march start once again, Lily picked up her bouquet. As she exited the powder room and started toward the garden where she would pledge to become Jack Cartwright’s wife, she prayed she wasn’t making a mistake that both of them would live to regret.

Six

As he returned to his position at the altar, Jack didn’t miss the looks and whispers that followed him. He glanced over at the front row on the right where his mother sat on the edge of her seat, her white gloves clasped tightly in her hands, a worried expression on her face. His father met his gaze and when Jack nodded, John sat back and took his wife’s hand.

“Everything okay?” Scott asked in a low voice.

“Everything’s fine.”

Despite what he told his friend, he wasn’t at all sure everything was fine. Lily had looked terrified when he’d found her in that powder room. She’d been hit by a major case of cold feet. He couldn’t say he blamed her. Her entire world was being turned upside-down. Not only was she pregnant with his baby, she was marrying a man she knew very little about and she was becoming a member of the Cartwright family. In his opinion neither of those things would inspire much confidence.

He wasn’t sure which was more daunting—marrying him or marrying into his family because, as much as he loved his family, he knew being a Cartwright wasn’t always easy. A lot of expectations and responsibilities came with the family name and the fortune. He’d had his entire life to learn to deal with both. Lily had had less than two weeks.

When the first chords of the bridal march sounded once again, he stared at the entrance. Despite the fact that she’d agreed to go through with the wedding, he wasn’t at all confident that she would. And just when he thought she had decided against marrying him after all, there she was—standing at the entrance beneath the flowered arbor.

She was beautiful, he thought as she stepped up to the end of the white runner. He’d heard the old wives’ tale about women who were pregnant having a glow about them. He’d never put much stock in it, never had reason to before now, he guessed. But Lily was living proof that it was true. She glowed. She’d put her hair up in some kind of twist thing, but little pieces had slipped free and fell around her face. The effect of the deep red strands against that creamy skin was striking. And just as he had done when he’d seen her for the first time at the ball five months ago, he was unable to take his eyes off her. There was something about her, something beyond her beauty and the physical chemistry that drew him to her, just as it had drawn him to her that long-ago night.

He could see the stress swirling in those ghost-blue eyes of hers as she started down the aisle. He didn’t miss the slight tremor in the hands that were holding the bouquet either. When she finally reached him, she looked as though she still might turn and run. So he reached out and caught her hand. Judging by the Reverend Lawrence’s frown, he’d just committed some kind of sin. Evidently touching the bride at this point in the ceremony was a big no-no.

Too bad, Jack thought. Rules or no rules, if holding her hand made any of this easier for Lily, then that’s what he intended to do.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony,” the minister began.

Jack could feel three dozen pairs of eyes on his back, watching him, watching her, watching them. He’d shocked his friends and business associates when he’d announced that he was marrying Lily … and that he was going to be a father. He’d known they had had some reservations, but they also knew that when he made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. So they’d wisely kept most of their reservations to themselves. Fortunately, his family had rallied behind him with their support.

“If there be anyone here who knows why these two people should not be joined in wedlock, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Lily tensed beside him and he half expected her to object. Wouldn’t that be a first? he thought, amused at the image of the bride objecting to her own wedding. Talk about a scandal on top of a scandal. He could just see the headlines in Bunny Baldwin’s Social Diary. Jack Cartwright’s Bride Bolts from Shotgun Wedding. Poor Bunny, the lady must be giving them hell in heaven because she was missing some of the juiciest gossip to hit Eastwick in years.

His thoughts wandering, Jack felt Lily squeezing his hand. Shaking off his musings, he looked down at her, noted the anxious look in her eyes, the twin spots of color on her cheeks. He knew she was trying to tell him something. But what? That she was scared? That she had changed her mind?

“Jack. Jack.” The minister repeated his name.

Jack jerked his gaze over to Reverend Lawrence and realized then that he’d missed something.

“Do you, John Ryan Cartwright, take Lily Miller to be your lawfully wedded wife, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health? Do you promise to love her and honor her, forsaking all others until you are parted by death?”

“I do,” Jack said firmly.

“Then repeat after me. I, John Ryan Cartwright, do take thee, Lily Miller, to be my wedded wife.”

“I, John Ryan Cartwright, do take thee, Lily Miller, to be my wedded wife …”

“For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health,” the minister continued.

“For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,” Jack repeated.

“I promise to love you and honor you, forsaking all others, until we are parted by death.”

Repeating the vow, he never took his eyes from Lily’s face as he said, “I promise to love you and honor you, forsaking all others, until we are parted by death.”

After Lily repeated the vows to him, the reverend asked for the rings. Jack took the ring from Scott and turned back to face Lily.

“Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Jack said and he slid the platinum band onto Lily’s finger as he pledged himself to her.

The minister turned to Lily, who took the ring from his sister, then, sliding the ring onto Jack’s finger, she said, “With this ring, I thee wed.”

Moments later, Reverend Lawrence said, “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Jack kissed her. He’d meant for the kiss to be brief, a simple brush of his lips against hers. It was tradition. It was expected and he didn’t want to add to Lily’s stress by keeping her on display any longer than necessary. But when his mouth touched hers, he lingered. Only for a moment, but long enough for the taste of her to fill his head, long enough for his pulse to begin beating like a jackhammer, long enough for him to remember why they’d found themselves standing before a minister exchanging vows in the first place.

And judging by the look in Lily’s eyes, she was remembering, too.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Reverend Lawrence said. “May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. John Ryan Cartwright.”

It was done, Jack told himself as he and Lily turned to face the applauding guests. He and Lily were now man and wife. The pianist hit the keys again, and as the joyful tune rang out, he placed Lily’s hand on his arm and led her down the aisle.

An hour later, Jack decided he’d had enough. From the look on Lily’s face, she had, too. “Excuse me,” he told his longtime friend and fellow attorney Dan Granger. “I’d better go rescue Lily before my mother ropes her into joining her bridge club.”