Live-In Position (62 page)

“Come on, we only have four hours to prep and dress you.” Allison grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hallway. We stood quietly at the top of the stairs where Felicity appeared, a little out of breath.

“It’s all clear,” she huffed and headed back down the steps.

Allison pulled and Ilene pushed me toward Ilene’s room, both of them forming a protective shield around me. Once inside I was shoved into the bathroom and instructed to shower. The steamy hot water felt wonderful against my tensed muscles. Standing with my head directly under the spray, calmness began to settle in and my nerves subsided, but the rumble of my stomach brought my attention to the need for breakfast. I climbed out of the shower and into a fluffy purple robe that was waiting for me.

My eyes immediately settled on the tray of food sitting on the dresser on the far side of the room. I made a dash towards the cookies and cheese and felt bad for anyone who got in my way.

“Collin is much smoother than I have ever given him credit for.” Allison smirked at me.

Having just stuffed a croissant into my mouth, I couldn’t answer. I furrowed my brow in confusion.

“He sent up the food so you wouldn’t get sick.” Her smirk melted into a smile, but the moment was over in the blink of an eye. “Make a plate and sit down. We have things to get started on.” With a roll of her eyes she walked to the other side of the room.

I took a seat and nibbled on a bagel with an inch of cream cheese and strawberry jelly on top. It was like a party in my mouth with every bite. The tugging of the towel from my head brought my attention to the person standing next to me.

“What are you looking for? Swept up, pulled back tightly, loose curls?” The bleached blonde tilted her head at me, waiting for my response.

“Um…my hair doesn’t hold curls. They just fall out.” I took another bite.

“Do you want curls?” It seemed she felt challenged by my statement.

“Just have a backup plan when they fall out,” I snorted.

She got down to business, brushing, teasing, wrapping and rolling my hair up. Wrapped in curlers atop my head, she secured a plastic cap over my head and turned on a hair dryer that was stuck in a long tube. While my head began to heat up, a small woman appeared with an apron full of brushes. If it weren’t for the makeup boxes set up behind her, I could easily have mistaken her for a painter.

“I think we should go with a neutral smoky look. How about you?”

“You should go more glamorous on your wedding day,” Larissa chimed in as another hair stylist worked on her blonde tresses.

“No, she should stick with the smoky look,” Allison added, closely watching the woman painting her toenails.

“I’ll stick with neutral.” I rolled my eyes.

“Look!” Victoria jumped in front of me and twirled.

Her large ringlets were half pulled up. They flowed over her shoulders and down her back. When she spun back to face me, her green eyes were lit with excitement.

“You look beautiful.” I fought not to tear up.

“Can I go show Daddy?”

“No,” Allison called out. “He’ll see you when you come down the stairs.” Victoria pouted.

“Why don’t you go grab something to snack on, okay? It won’t be too much longer.” My look of sympathy wasn’t doing anything for her, but she went to the food tray regardless.

It would be another two hours before everything was finished. Ilene and Juliet had already gone down to take their assigned seats, while Allison nitpicked at me, making last minute adjustments. Larissa finally pulled her away just as my father appeared in the doorway.

“Look at you.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “You look beautiful.”

“Dad, don’t make me cry,” I warned him lovingly as we embraced.

“Pawpaw!” Victoria squeezed between us and hugged him.

“Oh my, stand back, let me see how beautiful you are.” She backed away and spun around. “You look like a princess.” He knelt down and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.” She beamed with pride and curtsied.

“It’s time,” Felicity whispered from out in the hall.

“You ready?” My father’s eyes searched me for an answer.

“Yes, I am.”

With my arm through my father’s and Victoria leading the way, we walked down the hall to the top of the stairs. Just before I could step out and look for Collin, Felicity stopped us. She ushered Victoria to go ahead. Victoria was halfway down the stairs when Felicity motioned for us to follow.

It only took one step for me to start thinking over everything that had happened since walking into the Bishop’s home. When I first started working as Victoria’s nanny, I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle it. But then I fell in love with Victoria. Now my eyes fell upon the strong handsome face that had once caused fear, anxiety, and anger. Now his eyes held only awe and adoration. Taking the hand my father offered to him he pulled me closely to his chest.

“You look beautiful.” His whispered words wafted over my face in a minty breath.

Pulling me to his side, we faced our guests and walked toward the priest. Most of the faces were unfamiliar. A brief moment passed when Ilene’s words from the night before filled my mind. The wives in his social group were so different from me and held different expectations. Insecurity suddenly swept through my body.

Our steps came to a stop, and I looked into the smiling face of the priest. Collin and I stole glances at one another as words of love, respect, and support were spoken from his lips. The moment we faced each other, my resolve broke down. The emotion I saw in Collin’s eyes didn’t help either.

A lone tear formed in the corner of my eye as he vowed to love me until death. When it was my turn to make my vow to him, the tear fell and my lips quivered. Holding back the damn of emotion rising inside, I pledged my love and devotion.

The time had come to seal our union with a kiss. A smile spread over Collin’s lips as his arms circled my waist. Pulling me to him, he kissed me gently before sucking my bottom lip into his mouth. I pulled back laughing, but he dipped me back and kissed me deeper. Righting us again, the priest announced us as Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. Guests stood and cheered politely.

Strangers full of congratulations and best wishes approached us one by one. It was almost too much. When Max pulled me into his arms and spun me, I welcomed the familiarity. Larissa was wiping away tears as she kissed my cheek.

Stepping aside, she made room for my father and Carla to approach. My dad hugged me tightly before moving on to shake hands with Collin. It was then that Carla’s entire body engulfed me, almost knocking me over. Her tears wet the side of my face and only helped unleash the flood of tears I’d been holding back. Next in line were Juliet and Connor. Connor kissed my forehead.

“I knew you were special.” He smiled down at me and moved on to hug his son proudly.

“It was beautiful. You are beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to be here.” Juliet held my hand in both of hers.

“Of course.” I wiped away the tears still dampening my cheeks.

Ilene and her man-friend, Drake Pentworth, stepped forward with proper hugs and kisses. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from her. After a kiss to Collin’s cheek, she pulled Drake into a group of socialites to mingle and to show him off, I’m sure.

When my eyes fell on Jonathan, I stiffened at Collin’s side. He wrapped his arm around me tightly and kissed my head.

“John.” Collin’s formal tone was different from how he had greeted the other guests.

“Congratulations,” he shook Collin’s hand, “to both of you.” He reached for my hand, but I only looked at it before scowling. “Allow me to introduce my date, Helena Griffith.” He motioned to a tall, light brown-haired woman with large chocolate eyes and pencil-thin eyebrows. She could have been a model, but the conservative nature of her attire took her out of that category.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I forced a smile. A quick glance around put me at ease. Allison was nowhere in sight.

“Pleasure.” Helena responded with a smile that would make both Crest and Colgate jealous.

“Helena Griffith?” Collin’s brow furrowed. “Aren’t you the attorney who defended Dr. Erickson in his malpractice suit two years ago?”

She smiled proudly. “Yes, I am. I’m glad to have gotten him free of those ridiculous accusations.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What are you doing here?” Allison’s shrilling made me groan.

Jonathan turned to look behind him. “I’m congratulating your brother and his new bride.”

Allison walked around him. I couldn’t help but notice how Jonathan’s eyes followed her stomach. She stopped next to me and examined Helena.

“You must be the new ‘friend’ my boys have talked about.” Allison extended a hand to her. I had to admit, I’d been expecting a Jerry Springer throw down and was impressed with her control, even if she was still being snotty.

“You must be Allison.” Helena fidgeted for a moment under Allison’s stare but shook her hand quickly.

“Thank God you are keeping him busy and out of my hair,” she spoke flippantly before turning to Collin and me. I’m not going to lie. She shocked the hell out of me with her lack of interest in Jonathan’s new girlfriend.

“This dress really did do well, didn’t it?” She fingered the skirt lightly. “You look lovely.”

Standing on the tips of her toes, she gave Collin a large hug and kissed his cheek. “I’m so happy for you, even if you are the biggest cliché possible.” There was a quick wink to me before she turned and tripped over another guest’s foot.

Collin had Allison by the shoulder to steadier her, but Jonathan had been quicker. His arms were under her, straightening her up. Collin released her arm as she pushed her ex-husband away from her.

“You need to be careful.” Jonathan sounded like he was begging instead of ordering her.

“Collin had me, and it was an accident. I’m fine.” She turned to walk away.

“Someone should be taking care of you,” he blurted out.

My eyes shifted to Helena. Embarrassment was on her cheeks, but a scowl was brewing on her brow.

“I can take care of myself!” Allison yelled over her shoulder as she walked away.

Jonathan and Helena excused themselves to go mingle with others.

“Well, that was interesting,” Collin whispered into the side of my head.

“Did you see how he watches her?” I whispered back. He nodded, but talking wasn’t going to be possible as we received one guest after another.

Miranda waddled up with Benji holding her arm. I quickly bent down and put my ear to her stomach. She laughed.

“It can’t be much longer now.” Collin shook hands with Benji.

“We are only a week away.” Benji’s proud smile was matched by Rand’s.

“You shouldn’t have traveled this far along.” I kissed her cheek.

“Yeah, like I would miss this,” she snorted. “Besides I needed to get out and do something before I’m stuck at home with a newborn for weeks.”

I wished they would join us for the reception dinner at the restaurant, but I understood her need to get home. Kissing her goodbye, I made her promise to call me the moment she had the baby. Benji swore I was on the list, right at the top. With their well wishes, they headed back to Seattle.

Collin and I hadn’t had a moment alone, and when we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by even more happy chaos. Guests wanted to make toasts, give gifts, pass along advice. Eventually Collin was pulled off into a group of colleagues. At the same time, I was drawn into a group of doctors’ socialite wives.

They asked questions but avoided the fact that I had been Victoria’s nanny. Instead, they wondered if I planned to legally adopt Victoria, would I be joining the PTA—they meet every Wednesday, you know—would I like to come for teas and brunches? For the second time today, Ilene’s words clouded my thinking. Phone calls were promised from most wives before the night was over. All I wanted was a moment alone with my new husband.