Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six (61 page)

“David betrayed?” Andie took a knife and cut off a wedge of her sandwich: a crunchy baguette stuffed with smoked duck, arugula, blue cheese, and cherries, smashed by heavy iron plates before grilling. “Michal didn’t betray David, she saved his life.”

“True, that.” Leroy licked his lips and stuffed more corned beef and pastrami in his mouth. He chewed on it a few seconds and swallowed. “But David was betrayed by the younger sons of Saul, who stirred up their father against him. They were also jealous of Jonathan, their eldest brother, who’d pledged his loyalty to David. Don’t you remember when Saul threw his javelin at Jonathan, too?”

“Of course I do. I wonder who finked on Jonathan, and figured it wasn’t Michal or her sister, since they both had crushes on David.” Andie chewed on a piece of her sandwich. The tart cherries burst against the peppery greens and cheesy smoked flavor of the duck. “Mmmm … This is so good. So, is the script ready?”

“The wedding scene is,” Leroy said, wiggling his eyebrows. “We’ll need you to go through all of the props and approve them.”

Andie dropped the sandwich, her jaw wide open. “We’re going to have a wedding scene between Michal and David?”

“Of course we are, and it gets even better. Your wedding with Cade will be the dry run for the scene.”

“Oh my! That’s wonderful. I can’t believe it.”

Cade walked up, wheeling the stroller with a sleeping Bret inside. “Can’t believe what?”

“Our wedding, it’s going to be a production.” Andie clasped her hands. “Leroy’s written a scene for his new play,
David Betrayed
.”

“The wedding will be at the end of Act 3, right before the conspirators force King Saul’s hand,” Leroy explained. His cheeks were pink with pride, and he swiped his hair from his forehead. “It’s going to be a grand, royal wedding. The princess of Israel weds the young upstart.”

Cade’s brows lowered, and his gaze honed in on Andie. “Is this what you want?”

“Sure, but how about you?”

“I’m fine with it,” he said. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?” Andie’s stomach squeezed, and an ache pressed against her side. Why did she have the feeling Cade was less than pleased about the King David wedding?

“No announcement anywhere. No leaks to reporters, social media, nothing. Every guest is on a need-to-know basis.”

“Oh, but that would defeat the purpose of using the wedding as a trial run for my play,” Leroy said, before clamping his hand over his mouth. “Of course, it’s your wedding. Except …”

“I’ll foot the bill to keep it private.” The muscles on Cade’s forearms tightened. “I’m not shooting the messenger, but tell your boss to keep a lid on it. We’ll do it as your proof of concept or the dress rehearsal, whatever you need, but no publicity.”

“Sure.” Leroy swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m sure Mr. Silver will do whatever you ask.”

“Good. Glad we understand. No funny business.” Cade’s voice was firm.

“No funny business,” Leroy repeated, sounding less than sure.

Cade ate his sandwich in silence while Andie and Leroy discussed his new play,
David Betrayed
. She was so animated and excited that if she were a hot air balloon, she’d zoom straight into the stratosphere. As for Leroy, the man was positively drooling over the prospect of having a very pregnant Andie star as the virginal Michal on her wedding night with David, complete with the pretend consummation in a historically accurate wedding tent, and actors for the parents of both parties standing by, or were they planning on having Andie’s parents play the king and queen?

Wasn’t going to happen. Cade crushed the empty paper cup in his fist and tossed it in the trash. She could have her royal wedding, but once the rice was thrown or the pottery broken, he would abscond with his bride back to the twenty-first century. Besides, the detailed set up of the wedding tent would cost time and push the wedding too close to Andie’s due date for comfort.

Bret woke up, bawling with hunger. Andie didn’t bat an eyelash, so absorbed was she at looking over Leroy’s shoulder at his website where he’d put up a draft of the scene. In fact, she was trying to memorize lines already.

Sighing, Cade dug through Andie’s purse for the cold pack containing the baby food and a bottle of formula. A spear of guilt pricked his conscience. He’d foisted so much on Andie this past year, his son for her to adopt, and of course getting her pregnant. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have another life before he came around. He should accept that she had interests and activities besides family. It wouldn’t take away from her being a good wife and mother. Not one bit.

Cade hefted Bret from the stroller and laid him in the crook of his arm. “Hold still, buddy. Food’s coming.”

With a single hand, he snapped on the baby’s bib and ladled food in his son’s gaping mouth. The boy sure could eat, except food still ended up splattered everywhere.

“Having trouble there?” Andie giggled and wiped Bret’s chin. “Here, let me.”

“I can feed my son.” Cade didn’t mean to sound so strained, but the thought that he’d trapped Andie with the babies drilled deep in his gut. Andie was a vibrant and creative woman—a bird who should fly free wherever the wind took her.

“Of course you can, sweetie.” Andie’s dimple deepened, and she winked. “Do you think he can be the ringbearer at our wedding?”

“He’d be liable to lose the ring. Throw it somewhere.” Cade kissed the top of Bret’s head. “Maybe in a few years, not that I want our wedding to be delayed. Have you set a date?”

“Yes, but it’s secret. Remember? You didn’t want anyone to know.”

Well, duh, that shouldn’t include the groom. He’d get her alone and find out later. She seemed awfully excited about this, but it wasn’t as if she had infinite time with the baby coming.

“As long as it’s before Bonnie is born,” Cade said, hoping he didn’t sound like a nag.

“I’ll try,” Andie said. “Don’t you want her to be the flower girl?”

“No,” he grunted. “This isn’t a dog and pony show.”

“Oh, the dogs!” Andie seemed to get a bright idea, but quickly calmed her face. “Okay, we’ll make sure it’s secret and soon. Leroy, what plans do we have to keep people from knowing?”

“Decoys,” Leroy answered. “We’ll do the mock-up wedding several times that week with drama students auditioning for the role. That way, no one knows for sure which event is the real wedding.”

“Sounds okay then.” Cade said, managing to cap the empty baby food jar and shake the bottle of formula before sticking the nipple into Bret’s mouth. All with one hand. Ha. He was becoming a pro dad.

“Nothing to worry about,” Leroy said. “We’ll even have the wedding doubles on hand before your wedding, so if we see paparazzi, we sneak you two out the back.”

Sheesh. All this work just to get his precious marriage license signed. Why were women so into the entire wedding hoopla? Guess someone had to keep the wedding industry in business.

Cade hooked a glance at Andie. She seemed to be on cloud nine, with a slight blush coloring her cheeks and a faint smile.

“Whatever makes you happy, darling,” he said to reassure her.

Yeah, and once he found out the details, he was hiring his own security team to keep the press as well as any bad guys and his mother at bay.

# # #

“I’ve finally set a date two weeks from now,” Andie said to Cade later that night, after they had gone to bed. It was easier to talk to him in the dark while cuddled in the waterbed. She knew he wasn’t entirely happy with the plan, but hey, she compromised, didn’t she? If he didn’t want his mother to be present, who was she to force it? Besides, she was the one who was going to be married while nine months pregnant.

Cade swept her hair over her face and tucked it behind her ear. His white teeth gleamed in the darkened room. “Whatever makes you happy.”

Grrr … Andie had heard him say this line way too often the past few days. What it really meant was that he wasn’t happy.

“Cade? Earlier, when you wanted to talk, what was it about?” A knot tied in her throat. “Are you having cold feet?”

“No, I’m sure I want to marry you, but it seems you’re upset about my schedule.” He backed away from her and propped his head on his elbow. The moonlight streaming through the window highlighted the chiseled angles of his masculine face. “You know you’re welcome to come to the city with me, too. In fact, I’d rather you stayed with me the entire year, except it’d be hard to travel with the two babies.”

“I know, and the two dogs, too.” Andie sighed. “I feel like I missed out on just being with you alone, just the two of us. I mean, I want Bret and Bonnie, but sometimes, I wish I could have been with you without all of these responsibilities.”

“Oh, Andie.” He touched her cheek. “I foisted all this on you, didn’t I? Bret, at least, and then the condom failure.”

“We both forgot. And you know, life is life, and life happens.”

“Yes, but I understand how you feel.” Cade’s voice deepened. “It would have been nice to be just the two of us. You could travel to all my games and meet me outside the locker room. We could stay out late and hop on a plane whenever we felt like it. But we’ll work something out. I’ll hire someone to help you with Bret and Bonnie, and all of us can travel together, at least to some of the games.”

“I’m sure I’ll get tired of it eventually. It’s just that I want to be together with you, and not separated for a large part of the year.”

“I could quit football.” Cade intertwined his fingers with hers.

“No, don’t. I want you to be happy, too.” Andie cupped her hand over his fingers.

“I’ll have to eventually. Every athlete has to think about his exit strategy. Whatever it is, you’re definitely going to be a part of it.” He gave her hand a squeeze.

Of course. That was the kind of guy he was, always including her in all his calculations. But, had she considered him with the grandiose wedding? After all, Cade had wanted a quickie at the city hall.

“Do you like our wedding plans?” Andie asked.

“It’s not the wedding that’s important,” Cade said. “It’s our family. That’s much more important than a wedding.”

That was a non-answer. Okay, so he wasn’t pleased, and she had been too pushy. Wasn’t it the bride’s prerogative to dictate the wedding? Except she’d gone too far with insisting they wait for his mother to contact him.

“I agree,” she said, hoping he’d forgive her. “I’ve been a brat, insisting on your mother to be here. Now that I worry she’d be in danger, I agree with you that she shouldn’t be invited.”

He feathered a kiss on her forehead. “It’s not that I don’t want her. Okay, well, actually I don’t want her if she’s still a junkie. I tried to help her. I sent her to rehab, and she either ran off or got herself kidnapped. If she’s using, or extorting and blackmailing people, she could be a danger to our family. It’s not just me and you. It’s Bret and Bonnie, too.”

Gulp. Andie’s muscles tightened and she swallowed. “I just want her to come clean and get the help she needs.”

“So do I, but using our wedding to lure her home is not the answer.” Cade gave her a squeeze. “I’ll never forgive myself if she causes harm to you, Bret, or Bonnie. Ever.”

“Oh my. I was so stupid. You must think I’m an idiot to be insisting she show up just so your side of the church wouldn’t be empty.”

“You meant well.” He pulled her closer and rubbed her back. “In fact, you were considering my future relationship with her, but this isn’t a fairy tale and happy endings aren’t guaranteed in life.”

“I want us to have a happy ending.” Andie rubbed her hand over Cade’s protective chest and snuggled in the crook of his neck, inhaling his manly scent.

“I don’t want us to ever have an ending.” Cade’s lips descended over hers, gently exploring every corner of her mouth. She opened herself to him, bared herself and allowed him to possess her with heartfelt love and exquisite tenderness.

No, never ending.
Her thoughts fled as she wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders and laid her claim to the man who’d been nothing but good to her.

“Michal wasn’t pregnant when she wed David,” Andie sat on the couch in between Sylvia and Leroy, holding onto a swatch book of fabrics.

“A small detail, but it doesn’t matter,” Leroy said. “Who’s to say the historical Michal wasn’t chubby.”

“Excuse me?” Andie shot daggers at the clueless man.

“Ahem.” Sylvia cleared her throat loudly. “Let’s just say David got Michal pregnant and King Saul was holding a shotgun.”

“A javelin,” Andie said. She wasn’t really pissed at Leroy. After all, he was a young, single guy, entirely into his scriptwriting. ”Although if I were David, I wouldn’t trust anyone with a javelin.”

“Ha, that gives me an idea,” Leroy said. He pulled out a notebook and scribbled into it. “I remember now, I saw a draft of
Michal’s Window
. Not sure this scene made it into the final version, but King Saul was having a javelin throwing contest with David and his sons in the dining hall. Oh, and David missed badly. Everyone was laughing and then Ishby, Michal’s baby brother, let the bunnies David had gifted them loose. It was hilarious.”

“Really? Where was that scene?” Andie rose from the sofa and looked at her bookcase. “I don’t remember it.”

“I think it got edited out, but I followed the author on social media and found her Critique Circle posts,” Leroy said. “Those baby bunnies were so cute, hopping around the royal palace. The servants chased them, and the entire dining hall turned into a big mess.”

“Oh, that would be funny.” Andie laughed, slapping her thigh. “Can you contact the author and ask her to let me read her deleted scenes?”

“Definitely,” Leroy said. “She’s really nice and even invited me to join her street team. Oh, and there was another one where Michal and Merab were skipping over rocks at a river and, oh, oh, the bat cave where Ishby had a fright, ha, ha, never mind.” He stifled a chuckle. “Shall we put in something funny for your wedding?”

“Sure. The bat cave sounds like something my dad would like. Let’s work with him on the script. He’s an expert on that time period.” Andie rubbed her hands together. This would be the perfect project to get her father involved.

“Well, we don’t have that much time,” Sylvia said. “I’ve got to get you measured and get started with the Israeli wedding gown. It won’t be as intricate as Michal’s in the book, because obviously we don’t have time for all the beadwork.”

“Not to mention the silk and jade were not historically accurate,” Leroy said. “The author used a lot of creative license.”

“We could, too,” Andie said. “What’s to stop us from having a little fun?”

“Oh, this is going to be a cool reenactment.” Sylvia clapped her hands. “I want to be your maid, Naomi.”

“Don’t be my maid, be my best friend,” Andie said. “Leroy, you don’t have to follow
Michal’s Window
exactly, do you? This is your story, after all.”

“Yes, you’re right. This is
David Betrayed
.” A smile gleamed on his face. “Sylvia, how about if you’re the betrayer? You pretend you’re Michal’s best friend, but in reality, you’re in cahoots with one of her evil brothers.”

“Oooh, love it. Are any of the evil brothers hot?” Sylvia bounced on her seat. She reached over and tugged Andie’s shoulder. “Sorry about that, bestie.”

“No worries,” Andie said. “I know it’s only a play. What other characters will we have?”

“I’ll make sure the evil brothers are not hot,” Leroy said, sticking his tongue out at Sylvia. “As for your question, Andie, there’s David’s father, Jesse, and his mother, some of his brothers too. David was the baby of the family.” Leroy consulted his tablet. “There’s also the priest who officiates the wedding, Elihu, Michal’s tutor. We’ll match up your guest list with the list of extras.”

“There’s Michal’s elder sister, Merab, and her husband Adriel,” Andie reminded him.

“Cut, cut.” Sylvia chopped one hand over her palm, standing. “I don’t have time to make everyone’s costume.”

“Not a problem,” Leroy said. “We’ll raid the Christmas Nativity closet. I’m sure some of them could be dressed like shepherds.”

“This is going to be the most memorable wedding,” Andie said. “Okay, measure me, but leave some room, since I’ll be growing bigger every day.”

She patted her belly which was nice, firm, and very round. “I can’t wait, can you, Bonnie?”

# # #

“Word with you?” Cade collared Ronaldo in the locker room of the university where he had obtained workout privileges.

“Only if you run through the property my aunt’s looking at buying.” Ronaldo hooked his thumb toward the door. “I want to check out the views on foot.”

“Did you offer Andie a job working on set designs?”

“What if I did?” Ronaldo rubbed sunscreen on his arms and shoulders. “She’s very talented and knowledgeable.”

“Exactly, but she’ll also have two babies to take care of. Have you considered how everything’s going to change once Bonnie’s born?” Cade tied his shoelaces and stretched his hamstrings.

“Am I an idiot?” Ronaldo leveled a pointed stare at him. “Of course, she’ll be busy, but this is something she wants to do. In fact, she’s coming up with a business plan for me to use the facilities year round.”

Cade wiped his hair over his forehead and fastened his baseball cap. Everything was happening too fast. Andie had just gotten off bedrest, and now she was overloading herself with commitments. He’d promised himself he’d let Andie have free reign to work on interesting projects, but he’d be dammed if he’d let Ronaldo rope her into one of his schemes and take advantage of her.

“You need to run this by me. She plans on traveling with me after football season starts. She won’t be available to run your little business. What is it, a concession stand?”

“Save your insults.” Ronaldo wedged his wraparound sunglasses on top of his head. “This is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime with Andie getting in on the ground floor of a new resort.”

“New resort?” Cade grabbed the tube of sunscreen and slathered it over his shoulders. “What exactly does your aunt plan on doing to this peaceful, little town?”

“Revitalize it. Bring in big businesses, tourist dollars, take this sleepy community into the twenty-first century. I mean, look at these lakes, surrounded by waterfalls, gorges, and lush forests. That dilapidated ski resort, Watkin’s Peak, is only fit to be bought out. Eventually, we’d have to lobby the state to put in a super highway. I can’t believe they only have two lane roads here.”

“Sure, nothing like those twelve lane highways in California.” Cade was being sarcastic, but it was probably lost on his buddy.

“Absolutely, they should start with at least four lanes,” Ronaldo said in all seriousness. “This place has megabucks potential. The wine trail, the history, including the railroads, fishing, hot air balloons, gliding, seaplane rides, even jet skis in selected marinas.”

“You’re forgetting one thing,” Cade said. “Snow and ice half the year. This isn’t Aspen, you know. The hills aren’t tall enough to get that vertical drop you need for winter sports.”

“Mere details. I’m a big picture type of guy.” Ronaldo sniffed. “First, we need to check out the property.”

The two friends took a shortcut through the back of the bird sanctuary, then crossed over a hill full of rare firs, or miniature Christmas trees. The air was heavy with the perfume of crocuses, daffodils, and hyacinth. After a mile of natural beauty, they descended into a valley skirting the vineyard waking from its winter slumber.

The fragrant flowers blooming infused the air with the scent of paradise. Who would have guessed that such a place would exist in upstate New York? But Cade had read that grape growing was possible here only because the tempering effects of the long deep lakes protected the growing grapes from extreme temperatures, while the steep slopes provided great drainage, crucial for grape vines.

“Look, whatever you do with the wedding,” Cade huffed as they entered the property. “Make sure to keep it secure. I don’t want any interference by the media. You think you can do that?”

“Definitely. Nothing to worry about. My lips are sealed, and now that Andie isn’t going to announce it on social media, everything should go off without a hitch. After all, if your mother were somewhere in the South Pacific, she couldn’t very well catch a flight so quickly and sneak back into the country.”

Cade’s shoulders slumped, and he expelled a sharp breath. “I really don’t care about her, other than she stay away from my family. I’ll never forget Andie lying there, almost dead.”

“Except as long as your mother is out there somewhere, she’s a loose cannon. How do you know she won’t ‘show’ up unexpectedly?”

They chugged past a lone hiker using a pair of hiking sticks or trekking poles. The way she moved, it would take her all day to make it up the hill. Was she also here to check out the property? It was too bad this pristine wilderness would soon become commercialized.

“Maybe we should put out feelers and let her know she’s not welcome.” Cade pumped his arms as they approached an uphill segment. “I hate to ask, but is this something the FBI might be able to help with? Get the word out that she’s not to come?”

The shorter man’s quick strides allowed him to keep abreast with Cade. “I can ask my brother to arrange that. We still have some agents infiltrated into the gang. If anyone is in touch with her, they could pass it on, if they were properly motivated.”

“What does that mean?” Cade stumbled on a tree root, but he caught himself and slowed his pace.

“We got to throw them a bone. Give to get. You know how it is.”

“What would be the bone?”

“Don’t you worry about it, leave it to the agency.” Ronaldo stopped on top of a hill. He shaded his eyes from the sun and gasped. “Look at this view. I can picture putting a hotel on this spot, including a couple of five-star Michelin restaurants. This vista beats the French Laundry in Napa Valley.”

“Uh, except who around here is wealthy enough to dine at a Michelin five-star?”

“Football players and their wives.”

“Football players? Where? We’re miles from the city.”

“Not after we build a new stadium and move the team.”

“Move the team? Is Dinah Silver going to move the Flash?”

“Oh, no, not the Flash. She’s dating Herbert Van Roekens, the owner of your team, the New York Warthogs.”

Cade slapped the top of his forehead and turned away from the view. Even though this development would be the answer to his and Andie’s dilemma, it would change the entire character of the Finger Lakes region, and not for the better.