Hannah shook her head. “Neither can I.” She hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night. All she could think about was her sham of a marriage that was about to happen. Of course, she understood they really had no choice if they wanted to adopt Emily. Did the thought of being Jackson Pierce’s wife send a tingle up her spine? Well, yeah, fine. But that still didn’t mean they were destined for a life-long marriage. She glanced over at Emily, who stared at her, sucking her pink pacifier. She smiled at the baby, laughing as Emily smiled back and the pacifier popped out. Looking at the adorable baby she had no doubts—she was about to secure Emily a real home. She was about to do what no one had ever been willing to do for her, and nothing, nothing mattered more than that.
“I didn’t know Emily was coming with us,” Allison said, crouching down to tickle Emily’s toes.
“Neither did I. Mrs. Ford called this morning, saying that Jackson had asked her if Emily could come to the wedding.”
“Wow, she agreed on such short notice?” Allison asked, rising.
“He can be very persuasive,” Hannah said, smoothing her hand over her simple winter-white suit. She bit on her lower lip as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a woman about to attend a business meeting. Sure, her hair looked okay, she left it loose and allowed it to tumble naturally around her shoulders. That had nothing to do with the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about Jackson running his fingers through her hair. And the extra dab of lip gloss? Merely for the moisture protection against the harsh winter wind.
“And extremely hot,” Allison said with a smirk.
Hannah refused to take the bait. She was already feeling torn—if Allison detected a glitch in her armor she was done for. “Who, Jackson? I guess if you’re into that sort of look.”
“Uh, if you’re a living, breathing woman you’d be into that look. Don’t even try to deny you’re attracted to him, Hannah. You never did tell me what went on at that cabin.”
Hannah frowned. “I spent all my time trying to convince him to adopt Emily. I told you, we are only doing this for Emily. That’s it.”
“Mm-hmm,” Allison said, her sly smile turning into a wide, I-don’t-believe-one-word-of-this grin.
“I barely even know the man,” Hannah said, grabbing her purse and avoiding eye contact.
“Really? It certainly looked like you two knew each other, I mean the way he gallantly rescued you.”
“He rescued his niece. That’s it.”
“I know you, Hannah. There’s way more going on here,” Allison said, the teasing in her voice gone.
Hannah tucked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what to tell you. He’s different from anyone I’ve ever met. And he’s got major issues. But there’s something,” she said, trying to put into words something she really didn’t understand herself. “He makes me feel safe and scared at the same time. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
“No, that kind of sounds like love,” Allison whispered.
Hannah brushed off the notion. She couldn’t love anyone like that and she was wise enough to know that no one would love her like that. Her dreams of happily-ever-after, they were only that—dreams.
Gravel crinkling under the weight of an approaching car allowed Hannah to escape any more questions. Allison’s eyes locked on hers like a deadbolt before running over to the window, pushing aside the curtain. “Well, well, a black Audi stretch limo.”
Hannah swallowed nervously and felt her face getting warm. Had Jackson done that? He hadn’t told her he’d be sending a limo.
“Now I wonder who could have done that? The tall, dark, handsome man who’s about to be your husband?” Allison asked, tapping her manicured finger on her chin, not even trying to contain her grin. “And here comes the driver.” Allison whipped open the front door before the man could ring the bell.
“Ms. Woods?” the straight-faced man asked to neither lady in particular.
“She’s right over there,” Allison said, holding the door open even wider.
“Yes,” Hannah said with a glare at Allison.
“I’m here to take you to the chapel,” he said graciously, extending his arm in the direction of the waiting limo.
Hannah’s eyes darted from the shiny black limo to the man. “Chapel?” They were supposed to meet at City Hall. As if sensing Hannah’s confusion the driver slipped an envelope out of the interior pocket of his pristine black coat.
#p#分页标题#e#
“Ms. Woods, this is from Mr. Pierce,” he said with a smile, handing her the white envelope. Hannah gave her friend a shake of the head and turned around for privacy. Thick, black bold script stood out on the pristine white card.