Apparently AJ had issued a firm edict to his bride-to-be, because Dana received no more contacts from Sarah. He, however, phoned daily to monitor her activities, a practice which grated on Dana's already-raw nerves. AJ and Sarah's accelerated wedding date had her working against the clock and she simply couldn't tolerate more demands.

When AJ made a third drop-in visit the next Thursday, Dana was ready to throw in the towel and cry "enough!"

"I see everything's progressing as planned. This arrived at my mother's house yesterday." He stood on the front step, brandishing one of the thick vellum invitations in his hand.

Dana found his actions offensive, as if he was astounded that she was on schedule. AJ McLean had no reason to doubt her ability to get things done and it was time to put him in his place. "Am I the exception or do you micro-manage every one of your business transactions? Is it common practice to peek over the shoulder of the record producers, and song writers and proofread your secretary's letters?"

AJ ruffled his forehead. "Sorry. I didn't realize that's what I was doing. From all appearances the preparation is running along quite smoothly."

She was not placated. Smoothly, my foot. If he only knew half of what it took to achieve that impression. Most weddings required a full year of preparation – six months at a minimum. The few weeks she'd been given for this one was a major push.

But no use complaining to him of the brouhaha at the printer's brought about by the rushed-up invitations, or mentioning the untold hours spent addressing each envelope in ornate calligraphy. Dana could go on and on. But to what purpose? AJ hadn't coerced her into taking the job. She'd accepted it willingly. And pressing the point wouldn't generate any sympathy; probably just cause another check to be thrown her way.

Rather then inviting him in, Dana stepped outside and closed the door behind her. No matter what the provocation, she would maintain her equilibrium. It was a lovely April afternoon, the sky a flawless blue, the temperature near perfect. Dana had no wish to ruin her day with a tedious AJ McLean confrontation.

She wondered why he'd really come by. Surely one of his pesky phone calls could have sufficed to acknowledge that the invitations were being received.

AJ walked over to the porch swing, unbuttoned his shirt, and sat down, a shove of his foot sending the swing in motion. It appeared that AJ intended to stay and chat for a while, a notion which piqued Dana's interest even further.

She eased onto the porch railing and leaned against a supporting post. While waiting for AJ to make the first move, she focused her attention to the street. A young family was peddling on a bicycle built for two – converted now to three, with the addition of a baby seat for their chubby toddler. Could she visualize AJ and Sarah in this picture of domestic bliss? Not a chance. It was difficult enough to see them as a happy couple, much less as a devoted trio.

"By the way, have you heard from Sarah?" he finally said.

So that's the real purpose of your visit. "No. Should I have?"

"Not necessarily."

"Then why are you asking?" And asking me instead of her? "Also, why did you make a personal trip to do so?"

"Maybe it just gave me an excuse to see you." He casually framed the swing back with his arms as he maintained its motioned.

Dana tried to shuffle the ridiculous surge of pleasure rising from his words, despising herself for feeling as she did. She wasn't in the habit of coveting other women's fiancés, and she couldn't afford to start now – especially not with this man, who was all too capable of punching her buttons. Good thing he was such a irritant or she might need that lobotomy after all to avoid falling for engaging brown eyes and that enigmatic grin. . .

"Does Sarah know you're toying with the hired help?" Dana's voice was deliberately tart. She had to remind AJ, as well as herself, of their positions. After all, he was going to be married in two weeks. And she'd been retained to ensure that the nuptials came off without a snag.

He smiled. "Don't trouble yourself about Sarah. She's not the jealous kind. Even with 'hired help' as beautiful as you."

Dana worked at hiding a blush. Despite the pleasant morning, suddenly she felt transported to Houston in midsummer, when the heat and humidity turned the city into nature's own sauna. Her cotton shirt was beginning to stick to her skin and her hair felt hot on the back of neck.

It was difficult not to be taken in by the compliment, even through it was likely as hallow as the statement that Sarah wasn't the jealous type. Having met the young woman, Dana knew AJ's assessment was inaccurate. Sarah had clung to her guy like plastic wrap and emitted "he's taken" signals to Dana whenever the three of them had been together.

Of course, in this instance, Dana could hardly blame Sarah. He was handsome, maybe too handsome for his own good. He was charming to boot, when he put his mind to it. Like today as compliments rolled effortlessly off his tongue and kept her off balance. "Uh. . .do you need anything else. . .?" Dana stammered.

The blush could no longer be suppressed once she caught the glint in those intriguing eyes of his. AJ knew he was disconcerting her and he was reveling in it. Did Sarah know what she was letting herself in for? AJ would manipulate her shamelessly, and one smile from him would have her begging for more.

Sarah Martin might be a major nuisance but right now she had Dana's sympathy. Dana stood up. The flashback of AJ's fiancée had provided the impetus she needed for ending this fruitless conversation. "If we have no other business, then I trust you'll excuse me," she said formally. "I have an engagement across town."

AJ stood, also, re-buttoning his shirt. He retrieved a business card from his pocket along with a pen to scribble on the reverse side. "This is my secretary's name and number in case I'm out of touch. She'll know where to reach me. Now I better let you get to that. . .engagement." He tipped his hand in an informal salute and left.

The information about AJ's secretary was superfluous since he continued to call Dana everyday. At first, the conversations had been short and to the point, centering solely on details of the upcoming rites. Now they were talking longer and more personally, straying to such desperate subjects as movies, a recent exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum, an upcoming concert at Jones Hall, even the Astros or Rockets sports teams.

Then as if to demonstrate that Sarah was not forgotten, and that the call was in fact business-based, AJ closed each discussion on a note related to his wedding. Like a chameleon changing its colors, he then switched back from friendly banterer to pompous inquisitor, managing to antagonize Dana in the process. The worst part was that no matter how aggravating the end of the previous call, she'd actually be looking forward to the next one.

"I must be losing it," she muttered aloud. "Feeding on a relationship that doesn't even exist and simpering like a teenager over a man I don't approve of." Maybe the pressure was getting to her. Or maybe the lack of an adequate social life of her own was causing her to react to AJ this way. She gave a sigh of relief when, on Wednesday, AJ told her he was leaving town, reiterated his secretary's number, and said that he'd check with Dana when he returned.

Considering his pattern of late, she expected to hear from him anyway, but there was no word until Saturday, when he once more appeared on her doorstep. We have to quit meeting like this, Dana started to say when she answered the bell.

"I've been in Denver," he said as if feeling the need to explain. "Just got in this morning."

It must've been a demanding trip, because he looked tired, and a touch of weariness in his face. Probably working too hard to get business out of the way before the honeymoon, she surmised. Dana shook her head; she was definitely losing it if she'd begun to fret about AJ's health.

"Miss me?" he asked, not so tired that he couldn't still be flip.

"Hardly," she lied, realizing she'd done just that, her attraction seeming to have grown even stronger during her brief vacation from his meddling. "I've been too busy with wedding details to give the individual participants much thought." There, that should put him in his place, even if the declaration was a blatant distortion of the truth. She'd thought about him, fantasized about him, and just as she once feared, dreamed about him.

"Got any of that good coffee? I could use a cup." Warily, Dana invited him inside and led the way to her kitchen. While AJ had been away she'd resolutely concentrated on every fault she could attribute to him, and in mantra fashion recited their failings frequently. The way he was overbearing, always determined to have the upper hand. . .his arrogant attitude and unorthodox approach to marriage.

Dana began to deduce from his behavior that AJ didn't love Sarah – not by Dana's definition of love. He was marrying for convenience, she suspected. There was simply no other explanation. One more blot on his character as far as she was concerned. Not that the blot was having much effect on her at the moment as she daydreamed about caressing away those worry lines on his forehead.

Straightening her back, Dana again resolved to remember how lucky she was not to be the woman promising to spend the rest of her life under his thumb. "I'm getting ready for a bridesmaids' luncheon. Is there a problem you wanted to talk over?" Her voice was polite, but any warmth was intentionally absent. She continued the task he interrupted, slicing vegetables for a molded salad, not daring to let down her guard for even a second.

"Why are you being so suspicious?" He nabbed a celery stalk, all the while smiling knowingly as through he saw through her indifferent act. "I promised I'd check with you when I got back in town and that's what I'm doing. Are there any decisions still hanging?" He leaned against the cabinet, ankles crossed, tasseled loafers anchoring him at a comfortable angle.

"I should hope every decision had been made," she answered peevishly. "The wedding's only five days away." She moved in front of him to take a carton of sour cream from the refrigerator.

Suddenly he said, "Would you like to grab a late breakfast?"

Dana had expected everything but this invitation. Startled, she stared up at him. "I don't think that a good idea, do you? Besides, I have that luncheon in a few hours." Can't you just leave me alone? Dana thought.

AJ had shocked himself as much as Dana by asking her to breakfast. The only excuse he could make was that exhaustion had affected his judgment. He detoured by her place on the way home from the airport for a quick update, nothing more. The business trip had been successful, but he was tired to the bone after a series of twelve to sixteen hour workdays. He'd merely dropped by to make sure there were no glitches to handle. He certainly hadn't meant to give her the impression he was coming onto her.

He remembered her earlier comment about "toying with the hired help." Now she'd be convinced that he'd done precisely that. Maybe he had acted chummier than he should have. Why, he didn't know. It just seemed to happen. And it was up to him to see that it – whatever "it" was – didn't happen again. AJ resolved on the spot that his involvement with Dana Evans would be kept to a minimum from here on out.

There would be no more phone calls monitoring her progress. . .AJ knew Sarah could rightly claim that those calls weren't all business. He'd used them as a respite from work and had found in Dana a person who shared an interest in an amazing number of topics. But this was the end of sharing. If he needed respite, he'd talk to his future wife. And if their wedding needed discussing with Dana, he'd leave those details to Sarah and live with the results, no matter what.

Days went by without AJ contacting Dana again. Considering the awkwardness of their last encounter, she was glad he hadn't. Now if only there were some way to purge him from her thoughts. But it wasn't going to be easy. She might be free from his physical presence, and those telephone conversations, but she escape entirely.

"Sarah called while you were out," Stephanie said, handing Dana a pink message slip.

"What did she want this time?" Dana sighed.

"She didn't say. Probably wants to change the color scheme from lime green to mint green," Stephanie guessed.

Sarah had phoned several times, that too frequent whine of hers setting Dana's teeth on edge like fingernails scraping a chalkboard. Sarah kept fine-tuning the wedding arrangements with a series of superficial changes that accomplished little, other then adding work for Dana.

The more she was exposed to the young woman, the more persuaded Dana became that Sarah Martin wouldn't hold the interest of someone like AJ for long. There was no display of wit or intellect or creative thought. Of course, it could be that none of these omissions mattered to AJ. Sarah was a gorgeous woman. Perhaps, all he sought was a decorative ornament on his arm or a mate willing and able to produce attractive children.

Handing Dana the morning paper, Stephanie pointed to a three-inch column. "Guess who?"

Dana knew the answer without looking. AJ and Sarah were constantly in the society pages being feted at a party upon party, celebrations hosted by friends and associates.

"Obviously, Mr. McLean had given up the battle for low-profile nuptials," Steph said.

"Yes," Dana answered. "He might be able to restrain Sarah, but it can't conquer all. The marriage is receiving the full measure of hoopla, regardless of AJ's wishes."

Sarah was probably enjoying a touch of retribution right now. On the plus side for Dana, Torrence Place had been mentioned several times and as a result, a number of inquiries had come in relative to future bookings.

Dana hadn't become involved with clients to this extent before and she emitted a silent thank-you when her appointment book showed that soon the painful association would end. Hopefully, her schoolgirl crush on AJ would disappear at the same time. Today was Wednesday; she had to get through tonight's rehearsal, then the ceremony and reception tomorrow. By the weekend she'd relegate AJ McLean and his bride to the past and return to business as usual.

The rehearsal went off without a hitch. No complaints, no changes, and – surprise, surprise – Sarah had even managed to cork that whine of hers. Now there was only one more day.

The sky was still dark with luminous ivory moon visible from her window when Dana awoke to the sound of an insistent alarm the next morning. Oh no, not time to get up already! She slapped the snooze button, then laid there, her mind starting to function, but her body rebelling. The alarm sounded again and Dana dragged herself off to the shower.

An hour later, she sat in the kitchen, slowly sipping coffee, trying to fully wake up. Dana was not a morning person and the idea of crawling out of the covers before six a.m. was sheer torture. It was one of the reasons she left her public relations job and gambled on being her own boss and setting her own hours. As breathtaking as sunrises might be to the eye, few people actually wanted to get married then. So it was only on rare occasions like this, when the preparations were more complicated then usual, that she had to rise before dawn.

Another hour and three cups of coffee later, Dana was hard at work dressed in tailored brown slacks, a crisp white cotton shirt, and a cooking apron. Her hair was held back with an emerald barrette, her only jewelry plain gold hoops.

Despite Sarah's inclinations toward overblown opulence, the wedding promised to be a lovely affair. Sarah and AJ would stay the night and tomorrow Dana would be rid of them forever. Hallelujah! Maybe then she'd regain her sanity. But first things first.

The morning passed smoothly. Dana managed to keep her thoughts about AJ under control and treated the wedding as any other. Torrence Place had never looked so good, the dark woods rubbed to a fine luster, the crystal chandeliers sparkling.

AJ arrived midafternoon, nodded a curt hello and disappeared upstairs. Ingrate. After all she'd done to get this wedding together, he could at least show some appreciation.

On second thought, I should be the grateful one. This was just the ticket for reinforcing her resolve. Another of those reality checks she'd been dependent upon lately to keep her head clear about AJ McLean.

Dana heard the clock chime the half hour. It was three-thirty and in thirty minutes the wedding was to begin. Everyone had arrived – the groom, the best man, the maid of honor, ushers, friends, and members of both families. Everyone but the bride.

Chapter 4
Chapter 2
Table of Contents
Hosted Stories