A Bride by Christmas Read online

  “You’re so brave, so strong, so willing to move forward and dismiss those superstitions as nonsense and…”

  The color drained from Luke’s face and he dropped his hands from Maggie’s shoulders.

  “If you can have that kind of courage,” Maggie said, an errant tear sliding down her cheek, “then I should be brave, too, not hide behind my fears, my belief in the Jenkins Jinx.”

  “Maggie, listen to me. Okay?” Luke said, his voice raspy. “I have to tell you something. But as you’re hearing what I have to say, remember that we love each other. We do. We have a wonderful future together just waiting for us to step up and start living it as husband and wife. Will you do that? Remember that?”

  “Yes, all right, but you’re suddenly so… What is this thing you have to tell me?”

  Luke got to his feet, walked around the small room, then sat back down, taking Maggie’s hands in his.

  “Maggie, my darling Maggie,” he said, looking directly into her eyes, “I never…I never believed in any of those superstitions.”

  “Pardon…me?”

  “I’d never even heard of most of them, had my secretary find them for me on the Internet.”

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “I was desperate, don’t you see?” he said, giving her hands a little shake. “I didn’t know how to get you to demolish that wall protecting you from the Jenkins Jinx.

  I thought if you continually witnessed me dumping superstitions that I had supposedly believed in all of my life, you’d come to realize that you could do that with the jinx.”

  “You didn’t believe that having goldfish in the house is bad luck?” Maggie said, her voice rising.

  “Ah, Maggie, I had a whole aquarium full of goldfish in my bedroom when I was a kid.”

  “You—you lied to me? About the superstitions? All this time you’ve been telling me lie after lie, reciting one superstition after another?”

  “They weren’t lies, exactly. It was part of a master plan I had to win your love, your heart, to blow the Jenkins Jinx into oblivion so we could be together forever. My father helped me a bit. You know, that night in the pizza place with the acorn and—”

  “I don’t believe this,” Maggie said, yanking her hands free. “What else, Luke? What else did you lie about?”

  “I wish you wouldn’t use that word,” he said, grimacing. “It was a plan. The Plan—in capital letters.”

  “What else, Luke St. John,” she said, her voice ringing with fury.

  Luke took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, puffing his cheeks.

  “The wedding,” he said quietly.

  “What wedding?” she said, totally confused.

  “Precious and Clyde’s.”

  “What about it? What kind of lies could you possibly tell me about their wedding?”

  Luke cringed. “There is no…no Precious and Clyde, Maggie. I made them up. I needed a way to stay close to you after you knocked me over, captured my heart, at Ginger and Robert’s wedding. The Plan—I bet you’re getting tired of hearing those words—The Plan was for you to coordinate your own dream wedding with me next to you every step of the way.

  “Then hopefully you’d fall in love with me, just as I already loved you, and everything would be ready for us to get married just the way you’d always dreamed of.”

  “That’s why you kept hedging about the invitations to Precious and Clyde’s wedding,” Maggie said, nearly shrieking. “You couldn’t ask them about the wording they wanted because they don’t exist. And…and…we weren’t picking out a honeymoon suite for them it was—”

  “For us, don’t you see? I wanted our wedding to be perfect for you, exactly what you yearned for. And it will be because you’ve seen to every detail just the way you want it. I did it for you. Us. You.” Luke dragged a restless hand through his hair. “Ah, Maggie, please tell me that you understand that what I did was out of love for you.”

  “What I understand,” she said, getting to her feet and wrapping her hands around her elbows, “is that you are a liar. You are despicable. You made a fool of me. Must have laughed yourself silly when you reported back to your father about the great progress you were making with your ever-famous plan.”

  “No, it wasn’t like that,” he said, throwing out his arms. “I had to have something to fight the Jenkins Jinx with because you had it wrapped around you like a fortress. And now you love me. And now you have doubts about there being a jinx on your family and—”

  “No, I don’t,” she said, lifting her chin and ignoring two more tears that slid down her face.

  “What?” Luke said hardly above a whisper as he got to his feet.

  “I have no doubts whatsoever that the Jenkins Jinx exists, is very, very real, and I am its latest victim,” Maggie said, her voice trembling. “I fell in love with a dishonest man, a liar, a schemer, a game player, a damnable planner.”

  “No! You fell in love with a man who loves you so much he was willing to do anything within his power to win your love in return. Because of your belief in that jinx I had to resort to whatever I could do to accomplish that goal. Lies? No, not really. Well, sort of, but—”

  “Get…out,” Maggie said, tightening the hold on her arms. “Get out of my home and my life.”

  “Maggie, no,” Luke said, “don’t do this to us. Don’t send me away. We’re in love with each other, can have a wonderful life, have babies, grow old together. The superstitions aren’t real, don’t exist, and neither does the Jenkins Jinx. You’re free to love…me.”

  Luke drew a shuddering breath and extended one hand toward Maggie. “Please, Maggie?” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Marry me? Please?”

  Maggie’s trembling legs refused to hold her for another second and she sank onto the sofa, a sob catching in her throat.

  This wasn’t happening, she told herself frantically. Oh, please, this wasn’t happening. Luke had been playing games with her, with her emotions, her heart, her…There was no Precious and Clyde? How could people who had become so real to her not even exist? And all those dumb superstitions were part of a nasty, devious plan to…

  How could Luke do this to her? Live a lie day after day, night after night as they made love? He wasn’t remotely close to who she had believed him to be. She was a victim of his duplicity.

  And she was the latest victim of the Jenkins Jinx.

  “Maggie?”

  “Leave…me…alone,” she said, then covered her face with her hands.

  Luke’s shoulders slumped and he dropped his chin to his chest for a long moment before raising his head again to stare at the ceiling in an attempt to gain control of his emotions as an achy sensation gripped his throat.

  He’d lost the war, he thought miserably. He’d fought the good fight, won some battles, but the ultimate victory was not his to claim. Maggie was sending him away.

  She was once again behind the walls, clinging to the jinx, never wanted to see him again. There was nothing more he could do. The only woman he had ever—would ever—love was not his to have and he now understood what a broken heart felt like. This was the greatest pain, the most chilling loss, he had ever experienced.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, looking at Maggie. “I never meant to make you cry. I never meant to hurt you. What I did, I did out of love for you so we could be together forever. But I was wrong. I did it all wrong and I’m so damn sorry.” He swallowed heavily. “Goodbye, Maggie.”

  Luke turned and walked slowly from the room, then down the stairs and out the front door of the Victorian house.

  Maggie dropped her hands from her face and clutched them tightly in her lap as she gave way to her tears. She rocked back and forth, hardly able to breathe as the tears flowed and the sobs echoed in the silent room.

  She finally shifted and curled into a ball of misery on the sofa, crying until there were no more tears to shed. Her head hurt and her heart ached for all that might have been but would never be.

&n
bsp; Exhaustion finally claimed her and she slept fitfully, having taunting dreams of acorns, rocking chairs, goldfish and roses. Roses that died, their petals falling and disappearing into oblivion until there was nothing left.

  Nothing.

  Eleven

  After three days and nights of weepy misery Maggie had had enough of her own gloomy company. On Saturday afternoon she called Patty and asked her if she was free to come over. Patty arrived an hour later, took one look at Maggie’s pale cheeks and pink, puffy eyes and demanded to know what was going on.

  “Tell all,” Patty demanded, plunking down on the opposite end of the sofa from Maggie.

  And Maggie told all. She sniffled her way through the tale of Luke’s deception, of his diabolical plan, the endless string of lies he had told. She confessed her love for Luke and announced in no uncertain terms that she was the latest victim of the Jenkins Jinx.

  Patty’s mouth dropped open at times and she had to tell herself to shut it as Maggie went on and on with her story.

  “I know I have to cancel all the arrangements I’ve made for the imaginary Precious and Clyde’s wedding,” Maggie said, dabbing at her nose with a tissue, “but every time I pick up the phone I burst into tears. I’m a wreck. A mess. I may never recover from this disaster. And I’m just so sad.”

  “That’s very obvious,” Patty said, nodding. “Whew. This whole thing is… Wow. Maggie, I don’t think you’re going to like what I’m about to say, but in my opinion this scheme, plan, whatever, of Luke St. John’s has got to be the most romantic thing I have heard in my entire life.”

  “What?” Maggie said, jumping to her feet.

  “Sit,” Patty said, pointing to the sofa cushion.

  Maggie sat. “How can you say that? Romantic? Ha! There is nothing romantic about lies, Patty. Oodles and oodles of lies. Luke doesn’t have a superstitious bone in his body, but he made me believe that he… Romantic? Are you crazy?”

  “Slow down. Calm down,” Patty said, patting the air with the palms of her hands. “Let’s back up here. You and Luke were very attracted to each other from the moment you met. Correct?”

  “Well, yes, but…”

  “If he had suggested at Ginger and Robert’s reception that you two date each other, discover just how far that attraction might take you, you would have refused. Correct?”

  “Yes, of course,” Maggie said. “Something extremely intense happened between us, and I wouldn’t have set myself up to have my heart broken by becoming involved with Luke, then falling prey to the jinx. No. No way.”

  “And Luke,” Patty continued, “smart man that he is, realized that at some point and knew he had to come up with an untraditional way to continue to see you. He was determined to be with you, Maggie, no matter what. Think of the time and energy he spent putting his plan into motion and keeping it going.”

  “Those lies kept things going, all right,” Maggie said, glaring at Patty.

  “A hunk of stuff like Luke can snap his fingers,” Patty said, deciding to snap her fingers, “and have just about any woman he wants. But he wanted you, Maggie Jenkins, and he worked very hard to get you. That, my dear friend, is romantic to the max.”

  “But—”

  “Oh, Maggie, sweetie, the man is so in love with you it just melts my heart. You left him no choice but to be tricky, do anything and everything to be near you, and it was successful because you fell in love with him, too. And what did you do? You threw him out and declared him to be a jerk, or whatever choice description you nailed on him. You need your head examined.”

  “How can you say that? Whose side are you on?” Maggie said, nearly shrieking. “I thought you were my best friend, not Luke’s. I’m talking about lies here, and deception and—”

  “And love.” Patty sighed wistfully. “Romantic love. Forever love. Will-you-marry-me love. Love in its purest and most beautiful form and—”

  “You’re getting gushy and mushy,” Maggie mumbled. “Really nauseating.”

  “Well, what would you call it? Maggie, think about it. Really think about all that Luke did to win your heart. It just blows my mind. Good grief, the man was so desperate and determined he even asked his father to help him in his quest to… Oh, wow.”

  Maggie frowned and stared into space.

  “Are you thinking?” Patty said, leaning slightly toward her.

  “Yes, but… Well, he did spend a lot of time schlepping around with me to find the perfect honeymoon suite, despite his busy schedule. And he did memorize all those superstitions so he’d be ready to slip them in where he could. And he did keep telling me to plan the wedding of my dreams, all the details, details, details for Precious and Clyde because—”

  “Because he was hoping and praying it would really be your wedding because you would be marrying him,” Patty said, nodding. “Now you’re getting it. Now you’ve got to admit that this whole thing is unbelievably romantic.”

  Maggie flattened her hands on her cheeks. “My gosh, Patty, what have I done? All I heard was that he lied to me, was playing a role to carry out his infamous plan and… In the very next second I was convinced that I had fallen prey to the jinx, was in love with the wrong man and… All I could hear was what he had done, not why he had done it. Then I tossed him out into the snow.”

  “That’s a stretch,” Patty said, laughing. “This is Phoenix, remember?”

  “You know what I mean. Oh, Patty, I love Luke so much, and he loves me so much, and because of my lifelong fears I lost him. I was so horrible to him, so nasty, so…despicable. It’s over. Done. Finished. And I have no one to blame but myself. I’m so dumb.”

  “Yep,” Patty said. “You’ve got that straight.”

  “Well, thanks a lot,” Maggie said, narrowing her eyes.

  “Well, for crying out loud, Maggie, you sit there like you’re sentenced to weeping buckets for the rest of your days.”

  “I am!”

  “Fine.” Patty got to her feet. “One thing is very clear here.”

  “It is? What?”

  “You don’t love Luke as much as he loves you.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “How can you say that?”

  “Easy,” Patty said, shrugging. “I opened my mouth and the words popped right out. What else can I think? Luke knocked himself out to win your heart. The man made a plan. You? You’re just throwing up your hands and feeling sorry for yourself. He fought for you. You’re resigned to going through life with a sinus headache from crying. Nope. You don’t love him as much as he loves you. No way.”

  Maggie jumped up again. “I certainly do. I love him with my whole heart and soul and mind and body and…Forget the body part, because some things are private. But I love him, Patty. I do. You think I can’t come up with a plan to try to win him back, get him to forgive me? Well, ha! Just watch me. I’m leaping into action. I am woman. Hear me roar.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Patty said, settling back down on the sofa. “Okay, let’s brainstorm. Your whole future happiness—and Luke’s, too—is at stake here. Let’s take it from the top. Think…plan.”

  “Damn that plan,” Luke said. “I lost the woman I love because of The Plan, which I thought was so terrific, so brilliant.”

  “I tried to warn you that women are really touchy about duplicity, son,” Mason St. John said, shaking his head.

  The pair was having lunch at Mason’s club at the same time Maggie was pouring out her heart to Patty. Luke had managed to choke down about half of his meal before giving up, his appetite gone.

  “Yes, you did warn me,” Luke said dully. “But did I listen? No, not me. I just plowed ahead with The Plan and now I’m paying the price. I am one very miserable man. The thought of never seeing Maggie again, not having a future with her as my wife, the mother of my children is… Hell, what a mess.”

  “Indeed,” Mason said, taking the last bite of his lunch. “Dessert?”

  “No, thanks. I’m not hungry. And I can’t sleep at night and I’m agi
ng before my very eyes. I’m a complete and total wreck.”

  “Mmm,” Mason said, patting his lips with a linen napkin. “Care for some advice from your old man?”

  “You actually have some for me?” Luke said, raising his eyebrows. “After the disaster I made of this situation?”

  “Yep. My advice is…time. Give Maggie space and time to really think this through. Luke, women can run circles around men in the wisdom department. They think deeper, more detailed and emotionally than we do, God love ’em. Allow her to sift and sort what happened, what you did and why you did it. Be patient and wait.”

  “How long?” Luke said, his shoulders slumping. “Until Maggie visits me in a nursing home and tells me she still thinks I’m despicable?”

  “Now that,” Mason said, chuckling, “was funny.”

  “There’s nothing funny about this, Dad. I’ve lost the woman I love!”

  “So it would appear,” Mason said, pointing one finger in the air. “But I’m not convinced of that yet. Time, Luke. Space. Patience. That’s your new plan.”

  “The word plan should be banned from the English language,” Luke said with a snort of disgust.

  “Well, that’s my advice, son. Oh, and do me a favor. Don’t come back to the office this afternoon even though we decided we needed to work on that project we’re facing. I don’t think I can take any more of your sunshine mood. Go for a walk, take in a movie, get drunk, do something, but spare me.”

  “Thanks a bunch,” Luke said glumly.

  The following week went by so slowly, and Luke double-checked the date with his secretary so often that she was eyeing him warily and he decided he’d better knock it off.

  In the early afternoon of the Friday following lunch with his father, Luke sat in his office staring into space, something he’d done a great deal the past few days.

  He should fire himself for lack of productivity, he thought. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but Maggie and that god-awful final scene in her living room. Time? Space? Patience? So far it was getting him zip. He hadn’t heard one word from Maggie, and the knot in his gut continually reminded him he was terrified that he never would.