Over the next week, Dana's reluctance vanished with an onslaught of official courtship. During the day, she worked frantically on the myriad details of Jenna's wedding. Evenings, however, were reserved for Alex. They went to movies, saw a touring Broadway musical, and he treated her to dinner at various restaurants, from the exclusive Cafe Annie to trendy neighborhood spots in the Montrose area.

At first Dana was concerned about encountering a society reporter and reviving the unwanted publicity. Then she relaxed. So someone saw them together and told the world they were a couple? Dana was almost ready to shout it from the rooftops and say "consequences be damned."

Whenever fears of Alex's reasons for pursuing her arose, Dana rapidly subdued them. It was pointless to keep on searching for ulterior motives. The media glare was over and business at "Arrangements by Dana" was booming. Both she and Alex had recovered from the devastation caused by his canceled wedding. Now they were together because they wanted to be.

It was raining the morning of Jenna's wedding. Not just a sprinkle, but a raging downpour. Dana looked out to see water gushing in currents along the curbs. She groaned. But Jenna's and Jack's laughter as they arrived toting oversize umbrellas reassured her. A hurricane could be churning in the Gulf and they wouldn't fuss. Dana might not be able to erase all the tension about something going wrong with the wedding, but at least she wouldn't have to fret about the principals failing to show at the appointed hour.

The white folding chairs in the parlor were filled with guests when the pianist's fanfare signaled the ceremony's start and Jenna slowly descended the staircase toward the trellised archway where Jack waited. From her spot at the end of the hallway, Dana had full view of the procession, but rather than watching the bride, her eyes were on Alex just as his were fixed on her. All week he'd kidded her about a double wedding and right now Dana wished she were the one standing at that improvised altar, with him at her side.

As she witnessed the age-old vows, Dana made a decision. Alex had asked her to marry him repeatedly. Tonight, once the guests were gone and they were alone, she would tell him yes. Perhaps she was unduly influenced by the beautiful ceremony or the radiant faces of Jack and Jenna. Yet Dana knew there was more to it than that.

The simple truth was she loved Alex and saw no value in waiting. So people might talk at the speed with which they'd gotten together. She no longer dreaded such scuttlebutt. As Alex had once intimated, there were no timetables to falling in love. No explanation for it, either. Love was a wonderful mystery. Who should know that better than Dana, who'd made a career of romance?

When the piano erupted in music and photographers began snapping the bride and groom, Dana remembered her duties and sent the maids passing through the crowd with trays of champagne-filled flutes while Stephanie supervised the food table. Satisfied that all services were moving smoothly, Dana hurried to the kitchen to check on things there. Alex came up behind her, folding her in his arms and covering her neck with warm quick kisses. She spun around to face him and responded unhesitantly to a more passionate kiss.

"I wish that had been us getting married," he murmured, echoing her earlier thoughts.

"Perhaps it can be."

"Do you mean–"

"Later," Dana whispered, kissing him once more before rushing off to attend to the reception.

Chapter 17
Chapter 15
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