Do you take this rebel - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,56
joy, one little spark of hope, but Cole’s somber expression wasn’t encouraging. He was there to make a deal, not a love match.
He opened the car door for her without speaking, then got into the driver’s side and started the engine. He glanced her way once, then focused on the road. Not until they were parked in a secluded spot along the river did he face her.
“Well?”
“I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll marry you.”
He responded with little more than a nod of satisfaction. “Will next weekend suit you?”
Cassie bit back a cry of dismay. What had she thought, that he would allow her time to plan something lavish? Had she honestly expected him to let her carry out the charade that this was the wedding of her dreams, the start of a happy life for two people deeply in love?
“Fine,” she said tersely.
“At the church or at town hall?”
Cassie didn’t think she could bear either one. “At home, in the garden,” she said, ready to fight for that much at least. “I’ll speak to Pastor Kirkland about it.”
“What time?”
She had always dreamed of a wedding at sunset with color splashed across the western sky. “Seven-thirty,” she said, allowing herself this one romantic touch, even if it would mean nothing at all to the man beside her. She hesitated, then asked, “Will you be inviting your father?”
Cole nodded. “I can’t see any way around it.”
“Anyone else?”
“No.”
“I’ll want my friends there.”
“Whatever,” he said, looking completely uninterested in the details now that the decision had been made.
It seemed as if there was nothing else to discuss, not about the ceremony itself, anyway. But there was one thing—the most important thing—that couldn’t be ignored.
“Cole, how do I explain this to Jake?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “Why not try the truth? It’s about time, don’t you think?”
“He’s nine. He won’t understand the truth, not all of it, anyway.”
Cole sighed. “No, I suppose not.” He turned slightly toward her, removed his sunglasses and met her gaze directly for the first time all afternoon. “He needs to know I’m his father. We can tell him together, if you’d like.”
She nodded. “That would be good, I think. And I want him to know that we loved each other back then,” she said fiercely, regarding Cole defiantly, prepared to fight for that, too. “I don’t want him to think for a single second that he was a mistake. Nor do I want him to figure out that this marriage is nothing more than a bargain I made with the devil.”
“The devil, am I? I’ve been called worse.” For an instant Cole’s expression softened. “I suppose it won’t be much of a lie, telling him that we loved each other. Back then what we had was pretty special.”
Her heart flipped over at the wistfulness in his voice. “Do you think…? Can we get that back again?”
He didn’t answer right away. Eventually he slid his sunglasses back into place and looked away. “I honestly don’t know,” he said in a voice devoid of emotion.
Determined now, she put her hand on his arm, felt his muscle jerk beneath her touch. “We have to try, Cole,” she said urgently. “For Jake’s sake, if not our own.”
Cole’s only response was to reach for the key and start the car, his gaze straight ahead. His silence told her all she needed to know. He was nowhere close to forgiving her. In fact, it seemed as if he might not even intend to try.
Saturday dawned under a blazing sun. As wedding days went, Cole supposed this one was picture perfect, but there was none of the joy he’d once expected, none of the anticipation. In fact, all he felt was an aching sense of loneliness, accompanied by the certainty that a few words spoken today at sunset were unlikely to alter that feeling in any way.
Refusing to dwell on his dark mood, he spent the morning working at his computer, then headed for Cassie’s. To her mother’s dismay, they had dismissed the traditional superstition about the groom not seeing his bride before the wedding and agreed that today was the perfect time to tell Jake the truth about Cole being his father. At least he would have a few hours to get used to the idea before the ceremony. Cole also intended to ask his son to be his best man.
When he arrived at the house, he was surprised by the whirl of activity going on. Flowers and chairs