Once Upon a Marriage

“If Marie ever knew that you’re in her life because I’d hired you to be there...you think she’d ever speak to you again? And why else would you have called to ask me to let you tell her, unless you had some crazy idea that the two of you could hit it off?”

He was not going to answer to that. Not even to himself.

“She’s too distrustful. The fact that you’ve gotten her to be friendly with you is a miracle I’m sure you can’t fully comprehend. But I saw the difference in her the moment I saw her last night. And when you walked in behind her, when she looked at you, I knew you were the reason. And I’m warning you right now—it goes no further. Be her friend, if that’s what you have to do to do your job, but in every other sense, stay away from my daughter.”

“Ma’am, I—”

“She cried herself to sleep last night. She might like you, but she doesn’t trust in relationships. And there will be other men for her to like. Men who haven’t lied to her. Because, this I know, if she ever finds out that we’ve been duplicitous with her, not only would she shut herself off from you, but you’d probably be robbing her of ever finding someone else. If she’s not already at that point.”

And Barbara would lose the trust of the daughter she adored.

“Barbara?”

“Coming! I...pulled a thread...”

The woman was nothing if not clever. And determined.

“I know my daughter, Tanner,” she said. “It would kill her to finally trust herself to a relationship and then find out that it was based on a lie. Leave her alone. And keep your mouth shut.”

The woman didn’t blink. “If you don’t, I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got,” she added.

Elliott was under pressure, unlike any he’d known before. A wedding party, a minister, was waiti

ng.

He could only think of one thing to say. “I understand.”

“I want your word on that. And you say nothing about our association.”

He stood there, arms at his sides, feeling his gun beneath his forearm. Deflated. And hating this job more than ever before.

“Mom? Do you need help?” Marie’s voice was coming closer.

“No! I’m coming! Get in place,” she called. Waited to make certain her daughter wasn’t going to appear and then turned back to him. “I need to know that you aren’t going to sell me up the river to my daughter. Not for me, although that would definitely ruin my life, but for her. I’m the one person in this world, with the exception of Gabi, who she knows she can trust.”

Maybe the woman should have thought of that before she’d hired a private investigator bodyguard to watch over her daughter.

“Tanner?”

The woman wasn’t stupid. She had every base covered.

If he didn’t agree to leave Marie alone, other than friendship, and to keep her secret, she’d do everything she could to ruin his career.

He couldn’t fault her her motivation, though. She loved her daughter and was trying to protect her.

He just couldn’t take the chance that Marie would never have anything more to do with him.

And really, she was only saying what he already knew himself. There was no future for him with Marie.

“You have my word.”

* * *

PEOPLE WERE SUPPOSED to cry at weddings. People of the female persuasion, especially. Gabi didn’t cry. But she had a tissue on hand to pass to Marie as Barbara looked into her intended’s eyes and clearly and succinctly promised to love him until death did them part.

She promised to put him first. To be loyal. He promised the same. They each vowed to always protect the other.

And Marie could hardly endure all the emotions swarming inside. Happiness for her mother. Relief. Pure joy. Envy. Fear. And a loneliness that was threatening to smother the life out of her.