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The Heir's Convenient Wife
Myrna Mackenzie
The Wedding Belles' photographer, Regina, captures picture-perfect memories for brides and grooms to treasure. But looking at her own wedding photo makes her realize she barely knows the man she conveniently wed…. Dell O'Ryan was always brought up to do the right thing, to be responsible.So when his no-good cousin landed the beautiful Regina in a whole heap of trouble, Dell stepped in to save the day. One convenient marriage later, they are practically strangers, and now Dell has decided it's time to date his wife….
The Wedding Planners
Planning perfect weddings…
finding happy endings!
It’s the biggest and most important day of a woman’s life—and it has to be perfect.
At least that’s what the Wedding Belles believe, and that’s why they’re Boston’s top wedding-planner agency. But amidst the beautiful bouquets, divine dresses and rose-petal confetti, these six wedding planners long to be planning their own big day!
But first they have to find Mr. Right….
This month:
The Heir’s Convenient Wife
by Myrna Mackenzie
Photographer: Regina’s wedding album is perfect.
Now she needs her husband to say I love you!
And don’t miss the exciting wedding-planner tips and author reminiscences that accompany each book!
Myrna remembers her own wedding through the photos that mean so much to her:
“When I realized that I would be writing a story about a wedding photographer, I felt a special connection, not because I’m a photographer, but because wedding photographers record stories much as writers do.
Of course, I had to pull out my own wedding photos and live the story over again. There we were, my friends and I, getting ready for our walk down the aisle, pulling out cans of hair spray and fastening each other into our dresses. There’s my husband with his brothers, clowning around for the photographer. There he is playing tennis that morning. It’s a day that’s frozen in time, caught on film forever, the beginning of a story. There we are, my husband and I, smiling as we begin our new adventure together.
Not everyone in those photos is still in my life, of course. Lives change, people move and sometimes we just forget to stay in touch. But during the course of writing this book, an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, who had been my maid of honor (and I hers), called me out of the blue. It was coincidence, but it made me think about my wedding and the turns our lives had taken since that day (my husband and I happily continue the adventure, but I don’t use hair spray anymore. He still plays tennis.).
Wedding photos do tell stories, and now and then it’s good to look at them and remember how a fairy tale begins. Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who met, not realizing they would get married, but did….
Or…in the case of Regina and Dell, the hero and heroine of my story: Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who never thought they would stay married….”
For Myrna’s latest news, visit www.myrnamackenzie.com.
And don’t miss http://harlequin-theweddingplanners.blogspot.com for more wedding fun!
The Heir’s Convenient Wife
Myrna Mackenzie
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
Planning perfect weddings…finding happy endings!
In April: Sweetheart Lost and Found
by Shirley Jump
Florist: Will Callie catch a bouquet and reunite with her childhood sweetheart?
In May: The Heir’s Convenient Wife
by Myrna Mackenzie
Photographer: Regina’s wedding album is perfect. Now she needs her husband to say I love you!
In June: SOS Marry Me!
by Melissa McClone
Designer: Serena’s already made her dress, but a rebel has won her heart….
In July: Winning the Single Mom’s Heart
by Linda Goodnight
Chef: Who will Natalie cut her own wedding cake with?
In August: Millionaire Dad, Nanny Needed!
by Susan Meier
Accountant: Will Audra’s budget for the big day include a millionaire groom?
In September: The Bridegroom’s Secret
by Melissa James
Planner: Julie’s always been the wedding planner—will she ever be the bride?
Regina is the photographer at the Wedding Belles.
Here are her tips on how to get picture-perfect
memories from your big day:
Shop around. Photographs are more than a simple record of an event. Different photographers have different styles, so visit several and examine their work to make sure that your wedding day images will be all you want them to be.
Plan ahead. Photographs are the story of your wedding. Where do you want that story to begin? The shower? The rehearsal dinner? A wedding breakfast? Be clear and make your needs known.
Your photographer will probably have ideas for places to take shots of the wedding party, but consider scouting out areas on your own. Think of places that have special significance to you and your groom, especially places you might want to return to on subsequent anniversaries for an annual photo to chronicle your special relationship.
In this digital age, it’s possible to choose only perfect photos, but consider the fact that some of the less-than-perfect moments may be the most precious. So don’t discard a photo just because it’s not a flawless moment. Look for the real and heartfelt shots, not just the pretty ones. This is the story of your day, and you’ll want to cherish every tear and every smile.
Take lots of photos, even more than you think you’ll want. If you can’t afford all professional shots, enlist friends. There is so much that you, as the bride, will miss, that you’ll want tons of pictures to record those special times that may slip your notice. A wedding day is a one-time opportunity, so this is a case of more is better than less.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER ONE
IT WAS a hot day in Boston when the curtain finally lifted from Regina Landers O’Ryan’s eyes and she realized that she had made the biggest mistake of her life nearly a year ago. Now, because of her mistake, marrying the wrong man—or rather allowing him to marry her—her husband was paying the price. That had become clear this past week.
“Well, no more,” she whispered to herself as she watched the clock hands move forward. Dell would be home soon. Normally she wasn’t here when he arrived. She usually stayed in the darkroom developing photos for The Wedding Belles, the business where she and her friends worked making wedding dreams for other people come true.
The irony of the situation didn’t escape Regina. Her business dealt in the kind of romantic dreams she no longer believed in. Still, she wasn’t the one at issue.
Dell might still find the woman he would have chosen had he been given a choice. It was long past time to free her husband from his bonds.
Regina sat down to wait.
The minute Dell walked through the door of the tasteful mansion where he’d lived his whole life, he knew that something was different. And it wasn’t the ghosts of old O’Ryan aristocrats that were raising the hair on the back of his neck.
Regina was perched in the hallway on a Victorian settee that had been in his family for generations and was just as uncomfortable as it looked. That in itself set off warning bells. Regina was never waiting for him when he got home. She rose to meet him now.
He looked into her concerned brown eyes. She was holding a sheath of papers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“We need to talk.” Her soft voice came out unevenly.
“We need to talk now,” she repeated, clearing her throat and managing to sound firm and determined though she was clearly on edge.
“I see.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t, but I do. Finally.”
Regina held out her hand and he saw that the top sheet was a page torn out of a local magazine. “Have you seen this?” she asked.
He hadn’t. The publication masqueraded as an event guide for the city of Boston, but the real draw was the bits of gossip sprinkled throughout its pages.
Dell lifted a brow. “Not my usual cup of tea.”
She blushed slightly, and Dell realized that he’d rarely seen her blush. But then, he didn’t really know Regina all that well. Their brief marriage had been entered into hastily for the sake of convenience, and they had spent very little time together. Like his parents had, they occupied this house as virtual strangers. But the delicate pink that tinted Regina’s cheeks and dipped into the shadows at the vee of her pale yellow blouse definitely made him aware of her in ways he hadn’t been when he’d entered the room. That was a surprise. It was also obviously bad timing.
Regina nodded, and for a moment Dell wondered if she had read his mind. “No, I suppose this wouldn’t be the kind of thing a man like you might read,” she said, “but I’ve verified the facts. They’re true.”
She turned away, her voice muffled, but she held her head high, her straight brown hair brushing her shoulders. Regina was a woman with generous curves, but she seemed thinner than he remembered her being when she’d fallen into his world just over a year ago. Was it any wonder? She’d been through a lot these past few months.
Dell rubbed a hand over his jaw. If Regina had suffered unhappiness, the blame was partly because of events that he had unintentionally set in motion. “You’ve verified the facts? So, tell me what they are, Regina.” His voice came out too rough, and she turned to face him again.
“You were well on your way to marrying Elise Allenby when you—when we—”
“When we wed,” he offered.
“Yes, but you did that to help me. You were supposed to marry Elise. Everyone was expecting an engagement announcement from the two of you. I didn’t know. If I had, I wouldn’t have—at least I hope I wouldn’t have said yes.” Distress filled her voice.
“Don’t do that, Regina,” he commanded. “You didn’t destroy my love life if that’s what you’re thinking, and Elise and I hadn’t even discussed marriage. I’m not a heartbroken man.” But she was right in a way. Before the events of the past year had changed everything, he had wondered if he should deepen his relationship with Elise. It had been a purely practical consideration. Dell had never been a romantic man. His life revolved around the O’Ryan empire, and Elise came from a highly respected family and was an intelligent and beautiful woman. She knew how to conduct herself at events and would have graced his table admirably when he had to entertain. He hadn’t done any entertaining since his marriage to Regina.
But that had been his choice and not Regina’s fault. He hadn’t wanted to make demands given the circumstances. He hadn’t felt he’d had the right to demand anything of her.
“Is she a heartbroken woman?” Regina asked, lifting her chin.
He blinked. “I don’t know.” What he didn’t tell her was that Elise had come to his office the day after he’d married Regina in a private ceremony. It was the most emotional he had ever seen Elise. It was, in fact, the only time he’d seen Elise give vent to her emotions. But that had been almost a year ago. Still, it rankled that in trying to keep from hurting one woman he might have inadvertently hurt another.
Dell grimaced. “Why is this rag writing that kind of story now?” he demanded, taking a different tack. “It’s old news.”
“It’s not old news to me. I don’t want to think that I might have been the cause of another woman’s pain.”
