Prescription: Marry Her Immediately (9 page)

The remark tickled her. “My gosh, you have a funny way of putting things. I’ll bet your patients love you.”

“Mostly they’re too young to get my jokes.” Quent wondered why he couldn’t catch Amy’s gaze. He was almost certain she’d seen him come in. “Of course, I charm the pants off their parents.”

Alana burst into giggles. “I’d like to see that!”

Was Amy purposely ignoring him? She’d been cuddly enough this afternoon, although, come to think of it, she had peeled away rather quickly. Had he done something to tick her off without realizing it?

Natalie, emerging from the kitchen, interrupted his thoughts with a shriek. “I don’t believe it! Alana! You came!” She tore across the room into her sister’s arms.

Candy started screaming,
too, and their mother approached somewhat less noisily. As other guests turned to look, Quent seized his chance to slip over to the buffet table.

Amy greeted him with an inquisitive arch of the brow. “I didn’t realize you knew Natalie’s sister. She’s very pretty.”

“We’re old pals,” he said. “We met five minutes ago.”

He could have sworn he saw relief in her eyes. Well, good. If she’d been jealous, he’d laid her fears to rest. Now he needed to clear up what she was doing with Rob.

Before he could ask, she said, “What brings you to the rehearsal dinner? No offense, but I’m surprised to see you here, since you aren’t in the wedding party.”

“I’m surprised, too,” Quent admitted. “I wasn’t exactly invited. In fact, I wasn’t invited at all.”

“Now, this is an explanation I’d like to hear,” Rob said.

Quent explained that he’d been working late when a deliveryman poked his nose into the Well-Baby Clinic. The man had a delivery to make to Dr. Barr’s office but that building was locked tight.

Since the parcels appeared to be wedding gifts, Quent had signed for them and decided to bring them to Mrs. Lincoln’s house tonight. He chose not to mention that the prime attraction had been the knowledge that Amy was attending the dinner.

“It’s a good thing the Lincolns are listed in the phone book,” he said. “I took it as a sign that they wouldn’t mind me barging in. Was that pushy of me?”

“Definitely cheeky.” Amy
indicated the packages. “You should give those to Natalie as soon as she stops hollering and jumping up and down.”

“My intention precisely.” Since Dr. Barr had come within earshot, Quent turned to him and joked, “The clinic doesn’t pay enough, so I’ve taken a second job as a deliveryman. This stuff is heavy! And I doubt you’ll even give me a tip.”

“What kind of tip did you have in mind, doctor?” Patrick joked.

“I suspect a plateful of food wouldn’t hurt,” Rob said. “The man looks famished to me.”

The groom relieved Quent of his burden. “Help yourself. And thanks for bringing these.”

“It was on my way.” Quent kept a straight face through this obvious untruth, since Serene Cove, located on a slip of land that thrust into the ocean, wasn’t on the way to anywhere.

“Well, we can always use more gifts,” Patrick dead-panned in return, since everyone knew he’d inherited a house already filled with furniture and kitchenware. “I hope there’s another blender in there. You can’t have too many of those.”

Quent wanted to stick around just in case Rob and Amy wanted company. Or, especially, in case they didn’t. However, he really was hungry, and Rob had left him with no excuse to linger.

“I’m going to eat, now that I’ve been formally invited,” he said. “Anyone care to join me?”

“I’m full,” Rob said. “How about you, Amy?”

“Me, too. Help yourself, Quent,” she said.

As he took a plate and made his way along the table, Quent faced the truth. Since there was no reason for Rob to have received his own invitation tonight, the two of them must have come together.

He glanced back at them.
They made a handsome couple, but he didn’t want them to be a couple. Still, he couldn’t blame the guy. If anyone knew how irresistible Amy could be, it was Quent.

If only he hadn’t reacted so strongly last Saturday…yet he hadn’t been able to help it. He simply wasn’t ready to open his heart to Amy.

All the same, he didn’t see how he could bear to lose her to somebody else.

Amy was glad she’d invited
Rob to the rehearsal dinner. He’d had a good time, and so had she. But it had bothered her, seeing Quent’s confused expression when she took Rob’s arm and walked away.

More than confused. Hurt.

Later that night, she tossed restlessly in bed, wondering if she’d misread him. He wanted to keep her at arm’s length, didn’t he? Then why had he seemed so disappointed?

She didn’t understand him. Maybe if she’d had more serious relationships, she would be able to figure Quent out. Even her Ph.D. in psychology didn’t help, darn it.

Oh, the heck with it! she told herself sometime after midnight. Worrying didn’t suit her. Let Quent take care of his own problems. If he wanted to talk to her, he could do it in his own sweet time.

She was not going to give it another thought. Absolutely not, Amy thought, and turned over on her stomach.

Finally, her face half-buried in the pillow, she fell into a much-needed sleep. By the time she awoke, sunlight was streaming through the window.

Her first thought as she
blinked awake was, Oh, good! It’s a pretty day for Nat’s wedding!

Then she checked the bedside clock. Eleven-oh-seven. No, not possible. It must have stopped last night or gotten screwed up somehow.

Amy groped for her watch. It took a moment to focus on those tiny hour and minute hands.

Eleven-oh-eight. No question about it.

She bolted out of bed, wishing she could turn back time. The wedding started at one o’clock. As a bridesmaid, she was supposed to meet Natalie and the others at the church by noon.

Amy could have sworn she’d set the alarm for seven. But, as a teenager, she’d been infamous for her ability to sleep through buzzes, beeps and loud music. Obviously, she hadn’t lost the knack.

After grabbing her robe and some underwear, she dashed down the hall to the bathroom. By luck, Kitty wasn’t hogging the shower as she sometimes did. In fact, there was no sign of either her cousin or her aunt.

Getting ready in a hurry made Amy clumsy. The bar of soap slipped and slid into the tub. The shampoo stung her eyes. And, once she got out, her long hair took forever to dry.

Amy said a silent prayer of thanks that they’d chosen hats. As a result, she planned to wear her hair loose, so there was no need to fuss with putting it up.

The turquoise dress came with a sewn-in slip, which helped. Her panty hose ripped when Amy tried to yank them into place, but, thank heavens, she had a spare. The silver sandals went on smoothly, and she grabbed her gloves and her purse, ready to go.

It was five past noon. She’d be a few minutes late, but Natalie would understand, Amy thought as she swept down the stairs while groping inside her pocketbook for her car keys.

No keys.

Oh, come on. They
had to be here!

Her fingers probed between tissues, breath mints, her cell phone, her brush and lipstick, but found no keys. What on earth had she done with them?

Amy dashed into the kitchen to dump out the contents on the table. She stopped when she spotted a neatly handwritten note at her place. It read:

Amy groaned. Obviously, Kitty had forgotten the wedding was today. She’d run off to do a good deed, which was admirable, but she hadn’t even indicated what time she might be back or which airport she was going to. There were several in the Los Angeles area, from twenty minutes to more than an hour’s drive away.

Amy couldn’t wait. She’d have to call a cab, although the last time she’d done that, it had taken forty minutes to arrive.

As she picked up her cell phone, she remembered that Quent lived only ten minutes from here and was planning to attend the service. It
was
an emergency, after all.

When she heard his
brisk, “Dr. Ladd” on the phone, Amy was glad she’d called him. Just the sound of his voice reassured her.

“It’s me.” She sketched the situation. “Can you give me a ride? I’d really appreciate it.”

“I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

After hanging up, Amy called Nat and told her what had happened. “I’ll be at the church before one,” she said. “I’m sorry about the delay.”

“In a way, it makes me feel better,” her friend said. “Things were going too smoothly. I figured there had to be some kind of foul-up today, sort of a wedding jinx. Now it’s arrived and it isn’t bad.”

“Thanks, Nat. I won’t let you down!”

Amy double-checked her appearance in the hall mirror. The turquoise dress suited her dark coloring and the hat gave her an unfamiliar air of elegance. She scarcely recognized herself.

A couple of people over the years had suggested that, with her height and cheekbones, she ought to be a model, but she’d figured they were hallucinating. Now she could kind of see their point, although she would never have the patience to pose for hours in front of a camera.

Oh, who was she kidding? Being tall and slim didn’t make you a model. You had to be beautiful, too.

Amy made a face at herself in the mirror. She was just her plain old self, nothing more and nothing less. Besides, she enjoyed helping people through her work and she doubted she’d ever get that much satisfaction from standing around preening.

The jangle of the doorbell made her jump. How did he get here so fast? she wondered as she went to let him in.

With his blond hair still
wet from the shower, Quent looked so sexy he set her pulse racing. Beneath his open suit jacket, the tailored blue shirt clung to a damp spot on his flat stomach, highlighting the breadth of his chest and the narrowness of his hips. Amy almost dared to reach out and button the coat for him, but she was afraid she might start undoing his shirt instead.

He gave a low whistle as he regarded her. “What a knockout!”

“It’s the hat,” Amy said. “And the color. Aren’t they terrific?”

“Not to mention the woman who’s wearing them,” Quent replied. “But if you say so, of course, it’s the hat that bowled me over.”

His kidding restored her confidence. When he opened the door and took her elbow to help her step up into his SUV, Amy refrained from cracking a joke about not being a helpless old lady yet.

“If you keep this up, I might let you whisk me away to Paris,” she teased. “Like one of my many boyfriends.”

Quent’s mouth twitched, but she couldn’t tell whether he was almost smiling or almost frowning. “Did Rob invite you on a trip?”

“Rob?” she asked. “When would he find time to take a break? And please start the car! I’m in a hurry.”

“Sorry.” He got behind the wheel and pulled onto the road. “The way you said that, I wondered if you had a specific boyfriend in mind.”

Amy couldn’t believe the suspicion that cropped up. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous!”

“Of course not.”

“I was,” she admitted.

Quent cast her a droll
look. “Care to tell me who inspired this unwarranted emotion?”

“Natalie’s sister,” Amy said. “The luscious blonde.”

“You mean the chatterbox?”

She laughed. “Perspectives vary, I see.”

“Now that we’re ’fessing up, I’ll admit I was wondering how you came to attend the party with Rob.” Quent zipped through the light Saturday traffic.

“Natalie put me up to inviting him,” Amy admitted. “I’m glad I did.” Hearing no response, she explained, “He met lots of new people and I think it helped him feel more comfortable at Doctors Circle. Not everyone is as outgoing as you are.”

“No sparks?” Quent asked. “No bongo drums thrumming in the background? No sweaty palms?”

“Especially no sweaty palms.” He
had
been jealous! Outside, Amy could have sworn she heard birds singing.

She almost wished they weren’t going to a wedding. She wanted to walk on the beach with Quent and dig her toes into the sand. They could buy fried clams at a snack shack and carry them to her condo, nice and snug now that she had a new roof. They wouldn’t even have to worry about getting sand in the carpet, since it was going to be replaced next week.

Quent careened into the church parking lot and halted in front of the double doors. “Delivering you as promised, milady,” he said.

“Thank you.” Impulsively, Amy leaned over to kiss him. Her hat bumped his head, startling them both. As she reached to adjust it, Quent pulled her close and kissed her with lingering sweetness.

She melted like chocolate in the sun. All she wanted was to taste his mouth, to feel his strong hands tighten on her waist, to go home with Quent and forget everything else.

Someone thumped on the
glass and they sprang apart. Amy felt her cheeks grow hot. “Who was that?” She peered outside, but their tormenter had already gone into the church.

“I guess this is kind of a public place,” Quent said. “I’m glad we did that, though.”

“Me, too.” Her blood racing, Amy hurried outside and into the foyer.

In a side room, she found the bride, breathtaking in a storybook white gown and a hat trimmed with feathers. The high waist and flowing skirt not only reinforced the impression of old-fashioned charm, they also disguised her pregnancy.

With their different heights and coloring, Heather and Candy each brought an individual sense of style to the turquoise dress. Angie had opted for a silver mother-of-the-bride suit adorned with a blue-green scarf.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Amy told them all. “My car went on a mission of mercy.”

“All’s well that ends well,” Natalie said.

“We heard Quent was bringing you,” Heather added. “How’s that going?”

“How’s what going?” Amy asked.

“Oh, come on!” Candy scoffed. “He practically tripped over his feet getting to you at the dinner last night. I was afraid for a minute he might deck that guy you brought.”

“Quent was in a hurry to reach the food,” Amy said. “He worked the late shift, which meant he was starving.”

“I don’t believe a word of it.” Angie gave her daughter a broad wink. “Throw her the bouquet. Take my word for it. She’ll be the next to marry.”

At last the bride shooed
them all into the empty vestibule. Candy stuck her head into the sanctuary and signaled the organist that they were ready.

Although she’d known the church’s choir was going to sing today, Amy hadn’t been prepared for the swelling impact of voices as they launched into the processional. Thank goodness Candy was going first, because she needed a moment to clear her eyes.

Heather went second, followed by Amy. The airy church had been transformed into a fairy-tale setting by masses of silver-trimmed white and turquoise flowers. The music, exquisitely sung, lifted her spirits until Amy might have been floating.

Familiar faces smiled at her from the pews. As Amy paced down the aisle, she picked out Quent immediately. He sat to one side next to a likable, peppery hospital board member named Noreen McLanahan.

A shaft of sunshine through a side window bathed his strong face, which came alive as his eyes met hers. Amy felt his gaze travel down her body, awakening a swelling sensitivity in her breasts. She remembered her fantasy of walking down the aisle toward him in her own wedding gown. If only it were true. If only tonight were their wedding night…

He bowed his head to listen to a remark from his elderly companion, and the contact was broken. At the front of the church, Amy took her place beside Heather.

The organist segued into the bridal march. On her mother’s arm, Natalie stepped into view.

The bride glided majestically between the rows of well-wishers, her attention fixed on the man who waited for her. There really was something magical about a wedding, Amy thought, watching joy radiate between the husband-and wife-to-be.

They were perfect for
each other. With all her heart, she hoped that someday she might know that same happiness, that sense of coming home.

It was later in the service, when the choir began to sing “Climb Every Mountain,” that she lost the battle with her tears. Amy let them flow. There was no reason to be embarrassed when half the congregation was weeping, too.

The vows were said and the rings exchanged. The couple turned to face their guests.

“May I present to you Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Barr!” said the pastor. Applause erupted from the onlookers.

Quent was clapping with the best of them. Beside him, Mrs. McLanahan jumped to her feet—not achieving much increase in stature, since she was so short—and topped the noise with a wolf whistle.

Patrick and Natalie burst out laughing. With a wave to the elderly woman, they strode up the aisle and out of sight.

As at the rehearsal, Amy was paired with Kent Lincoln, Mike’s younger son. The six-year-old performed his task of groomsman solemnly, marching beside her with considerably more decorum than his eight-year-old brother who, ahead of them, tugged Heather into a near-lope.

Outside, limousines carried the bridal party to the Barr mansion a few blocks away. As they traced the curving driveway, Amy saw that the trees had been strung with Christmas lights, not yet aglow this early in the day. The front of the mansion, including the rounded roof of the portico, was hung with green wreaths and red and silver bows.

Christmas was still
three weeks away. Amy didn’t mind starting the celebration early, though. In fact, she loved it.

Once the limo halted in front of the house, they emerged into brisk afternoon sunshine. Inside, an enormous Christmas tree dominated the huge entryway with white lights, glass ornaments and—the bridesmaids began chuckling—silken bunnies hanging among the branches.

“Those weren’t here last year!” Heather exclaimed. “Natalie’s adding her touch, and I like it.”

Ribbons, bows, draped fabric and ornaments gave the rest of the large entrance chamber and the grand staircase a sumptuous air. Through double doors, Amy saw champagne flowing from a fountain in the living room. Waiters circulated with hors d’oeuvres and champagne flutes as workers set up a buffet table.