The Wedding Favor Page 6

He shrugged. “You handled that so well I have no worries about how you’ll handle my mother once she arrives home.”

  Wine glass halfway to her lips, Ava paused. “Your parents.” She set the glass down and sat back in her chair. “Have you told them?”

  Mateo set his plate to the side and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table as if he was shooting the breeze with an old friend rather than discussing his mother’s reaction to his faux engagement. Ava envied his cool sense of calm.

  “Told them that I’m engaged? Yes.”

  “And?” Ava prompted when he didn’t elaborate.

  “And what?” Mateo asked, a teasing gleam in his eye. “You want to know how my mother received the news that we’re getting married?”

  Ava nodded. Nothing in Mateo’s manner indicated that he was upset or concerned about his parents’ response but then again, she reminded herself, there was still much she didn’t know about Mateo Ortega. “Tell me, please.”

  “My parents were incredibly surprised, caught off guard is probably the most accurate way to describe it.” He drank the rest of his wine and waved a hand in refusal when Ava held up the bottle. “But I think both of them understand that time is of the essence if we want abuelo to be well enough to enjoy the wedding.” He stood and pushed in his chair. “More than anything, I think they’re just upset they won’t be back in time.”

  Ava watched wordlessly for a moment while Mateo gathered up the dishes and took them into the kitchen. None of what he’d just said made any sense.

  “How can your parents know they won’t be back in time if we don’t have a date set?” she asked.

  “We’re going to set the date right now,” Mateo answered. He slipped his cell phone into his pocket and took out his keys. “I was hoping you could arrange a few days off of work.”

  Ava felt as if she were a passenger on a runaway train. “Starting when?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Mateo reached down and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. His touch was incredibly gentle. She shivered.

  “Tomorrow?” she repeated in surprise. “For how long?”

  “Here’s what I’m thinking. Tomorrow we pick out your dress and spend the day making plans. The day after tomorrow we have the wedding rehearsal and get our marriage license, and the day after that we get married.”

  “You make it all sound so easy.” Ava hardly knew where to begin to object to the three day whirlwind he’d proposed. “We can’t possibly arrange a wedding that quickly.”

  Mateo leaned down and kissed her cheek. “We can and we will, trust me. You just arrange for a few days off of work and I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll pick you up at your office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning if that’s okay with you.”

  Ava nodded. “So that’s it? You really think we can pull everything together so quickly?”

  Mateo grinned as he slipped through the front door. “After that, we just take a short honeymoon. Which I’m sure will be the easy part. Goodnight, Ava.”

  The easy part? Ava leaned her head against the door once Mateo was gone and closed her eyes. No. Nothing about any of this was easy and she wondered if she just hadn’t made the biggest mistake of her life.

  Chapter Eight

  It took Ava less time than she anticipated to clear her work schedule, which just reinforced her belief that a good administrative assistant was worth her weight in gold. “Thank you, Marti. You made that look easy.” She leaned back in her chair and smiled across the desk at the other woman. “In fact, it’s almost unnerving how well things appear to function while I’m away.”

  Marti laughed. “Don’t kid yourself. You just hit a lull in the storm and got lucky that there were no major events scheduled in the next few weeks.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “You know, Ava, it’s not like you to take any time off at all. So why don’t we schedule you a proper vacation for later in the year while we’ve got our calendars open. Then we can just plan around it as we line up events for the rest of the year.”

  Ava bit her lip but didn’t answer. Agreeing to marry Mateo had turned her whole world upside down. Planning, something on which she used to thrive, now seemed virtually impossible when every day felt like a whirlwind. Eventually she was going to have to tell Marti the truth about her engagement to Mateo. Or if not the entire truth, at least she had to share the fact she was getting married. “I’m not sure about my plans-”

  Marti held up a hand. “Don’t give me the same old excuse that you don’t want to go away alone again, boss.”

  “It’s not that,” Ava protested.

  “Then your next objection is going to be that you don’t think we can handle things around here.”

  “Not what I was going to say, and for the record, I know you all can hold down the fort.”

  Marti smiled. “Good, then there’s not a single reason that I shouldn’t book you on a singles cruise to the Caribbean.”

  Ava’s eyes widened. “A singles cruise? Marti!”

  Her assistant rolled her eyes in mock frustration. “Yes, a cruise. You know, sun, sea, relaxation.”

  They both looked up at the sound of a knock on Ava’s office door. “A cruise? You’re planning the honeymoon already and I’ve only just heard about your engagement.” It was Jessie. “Can we back this train up so I can get on board? Because I’m lost.”

  Ava greeted her realtor and waved her in. “We haven’t quite gotten to the honeymoon planning phase yet.”

  Marti held up a hand. “Whoa, a honeymoon? For Ava?” She turned to Jessie. “Since you’re so much further ahead than I am, please fill me in. I haven’t heard a single word about any of this. Is this for real?” She looked at Ava’s left hand and her eyes widened. “Oh, wait, your ring. Oh, my God, Ava, how could you hold out on me like that?”

  Ava opened her mouth but Jessie spoke first. “I actually don’t think Ava’s been holding out on us, Marti. I think,” she snuck a quick glance at Ava, “that she’s been swept off her feet by a mystery man and is rushing to the altar.”

  Marti glanced back and forth between the two women before settling her gaze on her boss. “Is she serious, Ava? That’s so not you. You barely even date. You hardly ever-”

  It was Ava’s turn to interrupt. “Okay, if you two will let me get a word in edgewise, I’ll tell you what’s been going on.” At least some of it, she wasn’t about to tell them that her engagement to Mateo was nothing more than a favor to him. “First things first, Mateo is not a stranger. I’ve known him for years.”

  “Known him how?” Marti asked.

  Jessie laughed.

  “I grew up next to Mateo’s grandparents’ house. I’ve known the entire Ortega family forever.” She glanced down at her engagement ring and smiled at the memory of Beatriz Ortega’s kind smile and warm hugs. “So Mateo and I have known each other practically forever.”

  “But you haven’t been dating for a long time, have you?” Marti asked. “So how and when did you two reconnect?”

  Jessie spoke before Ava had a chance. “Mateo put an offer in on the house Ava recently listed,” she explained to Marti. She turned back to look at Ava. “So I assume you two are going to live there now? We should pull the listing then.”

  “Wait, I’m not sure what we’re doing.” Ava twisted the ring on her finger.

  Jessie and Marti exchanged puzzled glances.

  “About what?” Marti asked. “The house or the wedding?”

  All of it. But that was more than Ava wanted to share. “You two have to realize how fast this has all happened. I’m not holding out, there’s just plenty that Mateo and I haven’t worked out yet.” Heaven knew that was the truth.

  “But you’re happy, right boss?”

  Ava hesitated only a second before nodding. “I can barely put it into words.” Was this going to be a new talent of hers? Saying just enough to be truthful and misleading at the same time? If she wasn’t careful she was going to end up running for political office. “Mate
o is a wonderful man. He’s kind and thoughtful, gentle.”

  “And handsome?” Marti grinned.

  Ava smiled. “And handsome.”

  “Well that’s something a man likes to hear this early in the day.” Mateo stood in the doorway, a teasing smile on his face. “Hello ladies, I hope you don’t mind the interruption. No one was at the front desk.”

  Ava returned his smile. It was impossible not to. There was just something so alive, so kind, so real about it. About him. “Of course you’re welcome, come in.” She quickly introduced Marti and Jessie to him. “We were just talking about you.”

  “So I heard.” He crossed over to the desk, leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

  Flustered, Ava glanced at her companions, both of whom were smiling broadly. She could feel a blush on her cheeks. How ridiculous was that? She needed to get ahold of herself and stop reacting this way to her pretend fiancé. “We’re just about through actually. Marti and I have cleared our calendar for a few days, like we talked about.”

  Mateo smiled. “Excellent. We’re on track.”

  “What month are you thinking of?” Marti asked. “I can start looking up some preliminary information on venues if you’re interested. The best places can fill up about a year in advance.”

  Ava glanced at Mateo. He wore an amused expression. He nodded at her, which she took as an indication that it was okay to share the news that they would be married within days, not months. She turned to her assistant and smiled. “Thank you, Marti. You are always so quick to offer to help and I probably don’t tell you often enough how much I appreciate that about you.” She paused for a moment and then decided to just plunge in. “The thing is…we were thinking…” but her voice trailed off. Why was this so hard? Probably because none of it felt real.

  “Ava and I are going to be married the day after tomorrow,” Mateo said.

  This elicited precisely the response that Ava thought it would. They sat as if stunned. Ava certainly understood, she was still getting used to the idea herself.

  “I’d love it if you both would come,” she said. “Although I know its last minute.”

  “No, no, of course not,” Jessie corrected her. “I’d love to come.”

  “Me as well,” Marti added. “Are you kidding? There’s no way I’d miss your wedding.” She glanced toward the open office door. “Shall I keep this quiet or are you planning on telling the team?”

  Ava took a deep breath. She needed the extra oxygen to clear her thoughts. Her world felt like a merry go round that was picking up speed. It felt insane to invite her staff to a wedding that didn’t feel real but she wasn’t about to take the chance of hurting anyone’s feelings by not inviting them all. “Of course, everyone is invited. Marti, can you please spread the word and I’ll get the details to everyone by the end of the day?”

  Her assistant nodded. “Absolutely. What else can I do?”

  Much to Ava’s relief, Mateo stepped in. “I think my family’s got almost everything covered but thank you for the offer. Jessie, we’ll talk to you soon about the house, if that’s okay. I just don’t want to rush Ava into making a choice about where we’ll live.”

  Ava smiled up at him, grateful he’d answered Jessie’s unspoken question with such finesse. He laid his hand on her shoulder and kept it there while he made small talk with Marti and Jessie. His touch was warm and comforting.

  She glanced at her watch and then at Mateo. “I think we’d better get started on our list if we’re going to try to achieve the impossible today.” Her friends wore identical confused expressions so she hastened to add, “We’re going to try to find a wedding dress.” She made a face. “Wish me luck.”

  Mateo laughed. “You’ll look beautiful in anything.” He took ahold of her hand and drew her to her feet. “The trouble is going to be narrowing it down to the one you like the best.”

  “Aww…this is so romantic,” Marti said. “Totally unexpected and a huge surprise, but so romantic.”

  Romantic. Ava could see how it would appear that way from the outside looking in. She suddenly had a handsome, attentive and devoted fiancé who wanted to marry her as soon as possible. It would be incredibly romantic, if only any of it were real.

  **

  Mateo sat perched on the edge of a dainty pink satin chair that he doubted would hold a man of his size much longer. He glanced up at the crystal chandelier that hung overhead. Opulent was the best word to describe it, and it suited the tiny bridal boutique perfectly. He just hoped it was as well secured as it was polished. He felt like a caged animal but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to even pace, while he waited for Ava.

  Maricela’s Bridal Boutique had been his younger sister’s recommendation. She knew the owner and had assured him that given Ava’s petite frame, Maricela would be able to find a dress in stock that fit her. Obviously his sister had phoned ahead because when he’d ushered Ava into the salon, Maricela had greeted them with enthusiasm. But enthusiasm was hardly the word to describe Ava’s reaction to the plethora of wedding gowns hanging from every wall. He could tell by the look on her face that she agreed with him the bridal salon looked like a jungle of satin, silk, crystals and pearls.

  “Is something this formal really necessary?” Ava had whispered just before Maricela whisked her behind the red velvet curtain. “I would be fine wearing a simple dress or suit off the rack. But if you want me to wear a wedding gown I will.”

  Mateo had smiled his thanks, unable to think of a way to adequately express his gratitude. He felt guilty as well as grateful. Before this was all over, before he said good-bye to Ava, he’d need to find a way to adequately express his heartfelt gratitude that she was willing to go along with this charade just to make his grandfather’s last days happy. But how could he thank her for such kindness and sacrifice?

  Whoever the man was that would one day capture Ava’s heart, he was going to be fortunate beyond words to call her his wife. Mateo stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the velvet curtain. Exactly how long did it take to pick out a dress?

  A moment later Maricela pulled back the curtain. “She’s found the one.”

  Mateo glanced down at this watch. Half an hour. It could have been worse. His sisters would have taken days. “Wonderful. Send her out.”

  The proprietress smiled. “Oh, no, young man, no chance I’ll let that happen. First of all, we need to make just a few alterations so you sit tight.” She smiled broadly. “And furthermore, it’s taboo to see your bride in her dress before the wedding. Bad luck is no way to start your new life together.”

  Ava appeared behind Maricela’s shoulder. “We aren’t worried about bad luck, are we Mateo?” Without waiting for him to answer, she neatly sidestepped the bridal shop owner and came into the small boutique showroom.

  Mateo stared at her, unable to speak. He couldn’t find the words to describe what a vision of loveliness his bride-to-be was. He’d always thought of her as attractive, but now that Ava stood before him, he knew he’d never seen, nor would ever again see, a more beautiful woman. He let his eyes travel over her from head to toe. Magically, the dress she’d chosen fit perfectly. He felt as if he were staring at royalty. “Ava,” was all he managed to say. He hoped she could see his appreciation in his eyes. Her smile assured him that she had an inkling of how he felt.

  “I love this dress,” she said. She went to stand on a platform in front of a set of three mirrors. She turned sideways and smoothed the front of the dress down. “What do you think? Is that what you had in mind or is it too formal?”

  “Too formal? No, Ava. It’s perfect.” Mateo marveled at how it looked as if it had been especially designed and sewn just for her. “You look incredible.” Unable to take his eyes off of her, Mateo took a step toward her, suddenly wanting nothing more in the world than to hold her close to him.

  Maricela, who had witnessed the conversation with a soft smile on her face, stepped between them. “Okay,
you can save whatever you have to say for your wedding day, Mateo.” She guided Ava back to the dressing area, sparing him a quick look back. “Remember you two have a lifetime together.”

  Mateo sat back down, suddenly feeling forlorn. What at first had seemed like the perfect solution to his problems suddenly made him feel empty. And alone.

  Chapter Nine

  Once the decision was made about her wedding dress, Ava was stunned at how quickly everything else fell into place. It helped inordinately that Mateo had a contact through his family for everything else they needed. His cousin’s best friend ran a floral shop and she was generous enough to help Ava pick out a simple yet elegant bouquet of cream and lavender roses. Another cousin who was a stay-at-home mom ran a small wedding cake business out of her home. How she managed to create such incredibly gorgeous cakes in between chasing after twin toddlers, Ava couldn’t imagine. But the sample they’d tasted had been heavenly and the designs were almost too elegant to consider eating. A brother-in-law of a cousin who was an ordained minister had agreed to officiate. The music for the ceremony and reception was safely in the hands of the Ortega family as well, Mateo assured her. So there was truly nothing else practical to concern herself with, Ava realized, except finding a way to convince Mateo that she was willing and able to pay for half of everything.

  “Considering that it’s my wedding, I feel it’s only fair I pay half of every bill,” Ava said. They’d just finished meeting with a photographer, also an Ortega family friend, who assured them that he’d be delighted to capture their happy day for posterity. The mention of which made both of them very uneasy but, like keepers of a shared secret, they’d thanked him for his willingness to squeeze them into his schedule. Ava pulled her sunglasses out of her handbag and looked up at Mateo.

  “It’s my wedding too,” Mateo answered, his smile was a tiny bit challenging and quite a bit charming.

  Although they stood near his car in a public parking lot, Ava suddenly felt they were all alone in the world. Increasingly her fiancé was having that effect on her. Which made her all the more determined to remain independent. It would be too easy to lose herself in Mateo’s world. In Mateo himself. She forced herself to focus on the matter at hand. “That isn’t a winning argument, Mateo.”