Blushing in Boston (At the Altar Book 7) Read online

  "Yes and no." Brenda took a sip of her iced tea. "I'm not asking her for money. I'm getting married. A week from today." She watched her sister's face carefully as her words registered.

  Brianna's eyes widened. "That's great! I had no idea you were even dating anyone! What's his name?"

  "No clue. That's what I need your help with. I contacted a matchmaker a few weeks ago. She introduces people at the altar." Brenda's eyes met her sisters. "Mom's going to have a hissy fit."

  Brianna stared at her sister for a minute before throwing her head back and laughing. "Oh, this is awesome! I thought for a minute there you were pregnant. You haven't even met the freak! Mom's going to kill you!"

  "Do you think? I'm so glad I asked you to help me." Brenda folded her arms across her chest and glared at her sister. Why couldn't she at least pretend to be sympathetic?

  "Are you kidding? There's no way I can help you with this. I guess I can video your death so I can serve as a witness against Mom!"

  "You're just making it worse. Now, how are we going to tell her?" Brenda was certain Brianna could come up with a plan. Her sister had been forever scheming when they were growing up.

  Brianna laughed. "We? There's no we in this. You agreed to marry a stranger, and you need to tell Mom. I am not throwing myself under that bus."

  Brenda gave her sister a pleading look. "Please? I want you to be my maid of honor!"

  Brianna shook her head. "You're just saying that to butter me up! I'll be your maid of honor, if you survive today."

  "Come on, Brianna! You get through to Mom better than anyone."

  "Next thing I know you're going to be asking the two of us to shop for a wedding dress with you!" Brianna shook her head. "Yeah, I'll help you. I don't know why, but I'll help you."

  "Because you're the best sister in the whole wide world!" Brenda was relieved to have her sister on her side.

  Brianna sighed. "You only like me best because you can talk me into doing these crazy things!"

  "I think it's the other way around. Who got the other in trouble constantly when we were growing up? I wasn't the ringleader back then. Besides, Brooke is more than a little bit insane!" Brooke was the youngest of the Holt girls, and she made both of her older sisters crazy with her antics.

  Brianna nodded emphatically. "She is that. I'm glad she's off at college right now. Are you going to invite her back for the wedding?"

  Brenda shrugged. "I haven't really thought of it yet. I guess I probably should."

  Brianna grinned. "Maybe she'll be too busy to come back. I think it's midterm time!"

  Brenda laughed. "We can only hope."

  They talked for a little bit longer, before ordering a sweet tea for their mom. Brenda looked up to see their mother walking toward the table. She stood and hugged her mom, kissing her cheek. "Hey, Mom! How was your week?"

  Brandi looked back and forth between her two daughters. "I have no idea what you two are up to, but I know it's not good. Why am I here?" She slid into the booth beside Brenda.

  Brenda wished her mother had sat next to Brianna. Then she wouldn't be able to reach her. "Well, I have some news." She tried to make her voice strong, but she couldn't.

  "What kind of news? You're not pregnant are you?" What was wrong with her family? Didn't they know her at all?

  "Mom! Of course not! Why would you even ask me that?" Brenda shook her head.

  Brandi shrugged. "I'm just ready to start having grandbabies! Brianna doesn't seem to be in any hurry. She's been married for two years and no kids!" Brandi glared at Brianna. "Does this mean you're not pregnant?"

  "I already said I'm not. I am getting married."

  Brandi grinned. "Married? When do we get to meet him?"

  "Saturday morning!" Brenda didn't add that that's when she'd be meeting him as well.

  "Sounds good! Are you bringing him by our house?"

  "Not exactly," Brenda said.

  Brandi gave Brenda a suspicious look. "Where exactly? What are you telling me?"

  Brenda shrugged. "You'll be meeting him at the church."

  "The church? Our church?"

  Brenda nodded. "Yes. Wear something suitable for a wedding."

  "Brenda Jo Holt! Are you telling me you're marrying a young man without even introducing him to us first?" Brandi's eyes were narrowed.

  Brianna smiled at her mother. "I get to be the maid of honor!"

  "If you're not pregnant, what's the hurry? Why can't we meet him first?"

  Brenda took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. She'd rehearsed this over and over in front of the mirror the previous evening, but everything she'd said then was gone from her mind. "We're being introduced at the altar. I contacted a matchmaker a few weeks back, and that's how she introduces couples."

  "You're marrying a stranger? A man you've never met before? Have you lost your ever-loving mind?" Brandi's face was red, and her voice was loud enough that people were turning their way.

  "Mom, keep your voice down. You're embarrassing me." Brenda had never seen her mom quite so angry. "I'm shopping for a wedding dress today."

  "And a maid of honor dress!" Brianna interjected.

  Brenda glared at her sister. She wasn't being at all helpful. "I thought maybe you'd want to come."

  "You'll probably need to get a mother of the bride dress while we're out," Brianna said with a grin.

  "You encouraged your sister to do this, didn't you?" Brandi glared at Brianna.

  "Hey, don't blame me! She's the doofus who can't find a man so she contacted a silly matchmaker! I only found out an hour ago."

  Brenda took a deep breath, wondering how she ended up with these crazy people for relatives. "I thought you want grandkids! I'm willing to provide them. But I need to get married first. I'm doing that on Saturday. It would be great if you were there and supporting me."

  "You're not going to leave it to me to tell your father, are you?"

  Brenda shrugged. "I was kind of hoping you would."

  Brandi closed her eyes. "He's not going to be happy with this, but I'm not going to try and stop you. I guess we're going wedding dress shopping."

  Brenda leaned over and hugged her mother. "Thank you!" She may not have needed her mother's permission to marry, but having her approval mattered.

  * * *

  Five hours later, Brenda returned home. She had a wedding dress over one arm in a black garment bag. She'd also purchased a pair of high heels to go with it. She hated wearing heels, but she wasn't much taller than a hobbit, and she felt like they gave her more confidence.

  After hanging the dress in her closet in her bedroom, she fell backward onto her bed. Pulling her phone from the pocket of her jeans, she quickly called Michaela. When the phone was answered, she said one word. "Saturday."

  "Saturday?" Michaela asked.

  "You told me to let you know when the wedding is. Saturday."

  Michaela squealed. "Did Lachele say anything else?"

  Brenda thought about that for a moment. "She said the beginning of our marriage would be rocky. Why would she say that?"

  "No idea! She didn't say anything like that to me. Of course, she didn't know what my honeymoon would be like."

  Brenda laughed. Michaela had told her that she and Jon had had a terrible time trying to consummate. Every time they started kissing, someone or something would interrupt them. With as nervous as she was, she'd be praying for interruptions like that.

  "I just hope she's right and that everything will work out in the end."

  "I'm sure she is. I trust her implicitly."

  "Why does she have purple hair?"

  Michaela laughed. "You're just now asking me that?"

  "It seemed like a good time."

  * * *

  By Friday afternoon, Brenda was extremely nervous. She'd talked to her supervisor about getting married, and as she'd expected, she hadn't been able to get any time off work. She'd have to work on Monday after the wedding.

  As she was gatherin
g her things from her desk right before leaving, one of her work friends stopped at her cubicle. "A few of us want to take you out tonight. We thought it might be a good way to get over being nervous." Janelle was one of Brenda's favorite people at work.

  Brenda thought about it for a moment. She had a lot to do. "I guess I could go out for a little while. I need to finish packing up my apartment."

  "When do you have to be out?" Janelle asked, falling into step beside Brenda on their way to the elevator.

  "My lease is up in five weeks. I still need to give notice," Brenda said. "I would like it done as soon as possible, so I can concentrate on my new husband."

  "You never told me his name," Janelle said.

  Brenda shrugged. "Nope. I haven't." If she knew it, she would definitely tell her.

  "Why are you being so mysterious? Where did you guys meet?"

  "At church." Brenda said the first thing that popped into her head. It would be weird for her to admit she'd never met the man she was marrying the next morning. And it was true—sort of. She'd meet him at church. Tomorrow.

  "Oh, that's sweet! I'm glad he makes you so happy."

  Brenda just smiled. "Where are we going?" She'd never been with Janelle outside work, but she liked her a great deal. Whenever their lunch breaks coincided, they ate together.

  "Oh, this little Italian place I discovered. Why don't you ride with me? I can bring you back to your car when we're done."

  Brenda thought about that. "I'd rather be able to go home from the restaurant. Why don't I follow you?"

  "I'll ride with you and have Lesli bring me back. No biggie."

  "Sounds good."

  Janelle talked the whole way to the restaurant, discussing the people they worked with. The group of women waiting for them surprised Brenda. She hadn't been working for the financial company for long, and she was really shocked that so many people had wanted to come. There were fifteen women in all.

  Once they'd placed their order, the women started pulling gift bags out from under their chairs. Janelle handed Brenda her present first. Brenda blushed as she opened it. A tiny sexy teddy was in the box.

  Brenda shook her head as everyone laughed. "Oh, you shouldn't have! You really, really shouldn't have."

  Two

  Brenda went to the church the next morning, dragging a small suitcase behind her. She packed enough clothes to make it through the weekend and something to wear to Monday morning at work. She have to stop by her apartment after that when she needed more clothes. They'd need to arrange to move everything to his place anyway, so she thought it would just be easier.

  It was so hard knowing exactly what to do, because she didn't know where she'd end up. She went into the bride's room at the back, and found her two sisters and her mother there waiting for her.

  Her mother bustled over. "There you are! I was beginning to think you'd chickened out."

  Brenda shook her head. "I didn't chicken out! I said I'd be here and I'm here." The gate caging the fox was opened, and Brenda ran for it! She could hear the men on horseback and the hounds following her! Could she make it?

  Brooke stepped forward and hugged Brenda. "I can't believe you're marrying a stranger. It's going to be so creepy to go to bed with a man you've only kissed once or twice and have to—you know." Brooke looked over her shoulder at their mother who was frowning at her.

  "You'd better not know, young lady!" Brandi said with a frown. "You're just eighteen."

  Brooke grinned. "Of course, I don't know anything, Mom! I'm a good girl!" She winked at Brenda when her back was to their mother again.

  Brenda didn't ask, because she really didn't want to know if her baby sister was sexually active. "I need to get dressed. Dr. Lachele is going to be here in a few minutes, and I'd like to at least be wearing my dress when she gets here."

  All four of them sprang into action. "What did Dad say?" Brenda asked. as she pulled her dress over her head with the help of her sisters.

  Brandi frowned. "He wasn't happy at first, but after a few minutes, he said he would be happy if you were happy."

  "I guess we'll see, won't we? She matched up my friend Michaela, and Michaela says her husband, Jon, was created by God just for her." Of course, that was something Michaela would say.

  Brandi shrugged. "I'm glad Michaela is happy. I hope this matchmaker does just as well for you." She didn't look convinced.

  Brenda smiled. "So far, there's not a single divorce among the people she's matched up. I did have to sign a contract saying that I would stay with him for a year." She pictured herself in a dank, dark basement of a building, her hands chained above her head. A man feeding her bread and water twice per day, while she mumbled about contracts.

  Brooke fastened Brenda's pearl necklace. "I'm excited just to see what he looks like! Don't you think it's going to be really weird kissing a man for the first time in front of everybody?"

  "I'm not letting myself think about that."

  The door opened, and Brenda saw a head covered in purple hair come into the room. "What aren't you letting yourself think about?"

  "Dr. Lachele, you made it! I'm not letting myself think about kissing my new husband for the first time in front of everyone. It just makes me feel awkward."

  Dr. Lachele grinned. "Trust me. It might feel awkward, but you two really are going to hit it off." She walked into the room, obviously very at ease with the situation.

  "This is my mother, Brandi. Mom, this is Dr. Lachele. And this is my sister Brianna; she's going to be my maid of honor. And my younger sister, Brooke. Please don't judge our family on Brooke." She wondered if her sister would benefit from Dr. Lachele's other services.

  Brooke glared at Brenda. "Be nice to me!"

  Brenda made a face at her younger sister before turning back to Dr. Lachele. "Can you tell me any more about him? Are you sure he's not a mass murderer?"

  Brandi's eyes widened. "It's a little late to be asking that, isn't it?"

  Dr. Lachele just laughed. "His psychological profile would indicate he is not a mass murderer. Now, I can't make any promises. I just know what I learned when I spoke with him. If he starts chasing after you with an ax, give me a call."

  There was a knock on the door, and Brandi rushed to see who it was. She opened the door wide. "We're all decent."

  Brenda smiled as her father walked into the room. "Daddy!" She rushed into his arms. "I'm glad you came."

  "Whether I like the way you're getting married or not, I'm not going to miss your wedding." Her father's eyes landed on Dr. Lachele. "I'm Brian Holt."

  Lachele nodded at him. "It's nice to meet you. Are you ready to play father of the bride?"

  He shook his head. "Maybe I would be if I'd had the opportunity to meet the young man, but not knowing who he is, it's a little scary for me. It's going to be hard to give my baby away to a total stranger."

  Dr. Lachele nodded. "I can understand that. I promise he's a good man." She looked at the clock on the wall. "I need to go meet with the groom. Sometimes they're nervous too."

  * * *

  Daniel paced back and forth in the room he'd been put into when he'd arrived at the church. Dr. Lachele had promised him that the woman had a brain, and that was the most important thing to him. That and she was ready to have children. And she wasn't hideous, of course.

  The door open and he jerked in that direction. "Dr. Lachele. I'm glad you made it."

  "I wouldn't miss one of my weddings. Are you ready for this?"

  He shrugged. "As ready as I'm going to be. Is she ready?"

  "She's nervous. Her father is convinced you're a mass murderer. It might be good for you to try and convince him otherwise, before you take off with his daughter."

  Daniel grinned at that. No father had thought he was a mass murderer since his high school prom. And back then, he dressed like one. "I'll do my best. Am I expected to stick around after the wedding?"

  Lachele shrugged. "A reasonable length of time. No meal will be served, but there w
ill be a wedding cake. You can stick around long enough to cut the cake, be polite, and meet her family."

  He glanced at his watch. "I was hoping to have some time to get some work in today."

  "What's wrong with you? Work on your wedding day! Why would you want to?"

  "Other people jog for fun, play games for fun, watch sports for fun. My fun is my work. I like what I do. I love making money. If a man is fortunate enough to enjoy what he does as much as I do, why wouldn't he work all the time?" Daniel had never understood the mindset of hating your work. If you loved it, you should simply do more of it. What else was there to do?

  Lachele frowned at him. "Because there are other things in life. You need to get a dog."

  He blinked a few times. "How would getting a dog make any kind of difference to the conversation?"

  "I think it would be really good for you to have something or someone that completely relies on you. So you can see what you're missing out on in life."

  "If all goes well, I'll have that in a wife and child soon."

  Dr. Lachele nodded sadly. "You have a lot to learn." She left the room, leaving him standing there staring at the closed door.

  He glanced at his watch again. Only ten more minutes before the wedding. Hopefully they could be out of there by noon at the latest.

  * * *

  Brenda felt like she'd just run a seven-mile race as she clung to her father's arm and walked up the aisle. The man standing waiting for her looking impatient, didn't seem all that interested in what she looked like. Surely he was just nervous.

  When she reached the front of the church, and her father put her hand in his, she felt as if she'd choke on her own breath. He held her hand firmly in his, and she stared up at the stranger beside her, thinking how handsome he was. He had dark hair and eyes she wanted to get lost in.

  Daniel looked down at the pretty blonde beside him, hoping she was nothing like his last five dates. She didn't look particularly intelligent, but looks could be deceiving. He noticed the fear in her blue eyes and leaned down to whisper, "I promise I don't bite."