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The Manning Brides: Marriage of Inconvenience / Stand-In Wife
Debbie Macomber
Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy' - CandisJamie Warren’s biological clock is ticking. Given her single status she’s checked out different options, but every path has a dead end. There is one hope – her tall, dark, gorgeous best friend Rich Manning. Much to her surprise he says he’ll help, but has one unexpected condition – they’re legally married before the baby is born…Rich’s brother Paul is having a tough time. His wife recently passed away, leaving him devastated and with three children under four. So when Diane’s sister, Leah, arrives every night to take care of the dinner, she saves him from the verge of collapse. When she quits her job and moves in, comfort becomes something else… Will grief be allowed to turn to happiness? Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.
Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.
CEDAR COVE
16 Lighthouse Road
204 Rosewood Lane
311 Pelican Court
44 Cranberry Point
50 Harbor Street
6 Rainier Drive
74 Seaside Avenue
8 Sandpiper Way
92 Pacific Boulevard
BLOSSOM STREET
The Shop on Blossom Street
A Good Yarn
Susannah’s Garden
(previously published as Old Boyfriends)
Back on Blossom Street
(previously published as Wednesdays at Four)
Twenty Wishes
Summer on Blossom Street
Hannah’s List
A Turn in the Road
Thursdays at Eight
Christmas in Seattle
Falling for Christmas
A Mother’s Gift
Angels at Christmas
The Manning Sisters
The Manning Brides
The Manning Grooms
Praise forNew York Timesbestselling author
Debbie Macomber
‘Debbie Macomber is a skilled storyteller and a sure-buy with readers’
—Publishers Weekly
‘Just what the doctor ordered for that feel-good factor’
—Sunday Express on Hannah’s List
‘A charming and touching tale of love, loss and friendship’
—Closer magazine on Hannah’s List
‘Another touching read from Macomber’
—OK! magazine on Susannah’s Garden
‘An emotional, heart-warming and highly enjoyable read’
—Closer magazine on Thursdays at Eight
‘She’s sold seventy million books and this is another heart-tugger’
—Evening Telegraph on A Turn in the Road
‘Debbie Macomber’s books have such a lovely feel-good factor to them’
—lovereading
The Manning Brides
Debbie Macomber
Rich’s Story
Marriage of Inconvenience
Paul’s Story
Stand-In Wife
www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)
About the Author
DEBBIE MACOMBER is a number one New York Times bestselling author. Her recent books include 44 Cranberry Point, 50 Harbor Way, 6 Rainier Drive, and Hannah’s List. She has become a leading voice in women’s fiction worldwide and her work has appeared on every major bestseller list. There are more than one hundred million copies of her books in print. For more information on Debbie and her books, visit www.DebbieMacomber.com.
Rich’s Story
in
Marriage of Inconvenience
To Yakima’s Iron Maidens:
Cheryl Nixon, Ellen Bartelli, Joyce Falcon,
Jill Seshiki, Faye and Victoria Ives
One
“I’m so stupid,” Jamie Warren wailed, tossing the crumpled tissue over her shoulder. Rich Manning, who was sitting across the kitchen table from her, held out a fresh one. “I trusted Tony, and he’s nothing more than a … jerk.”
She yanked the tissue from Rich’s hand and ingloriously blew her nose. That tissue took the same path as the previous one. “I feel like the biggest fool who ever lived.”
“It’s Tony who’s the fool.”
“Oh, right. Then why am I the one sitting here crying my eyes out?” Jamie really didn’t expect him to answer. Calling Rich at an ungodly hour, sobbing out her tale of woe, wasn’t the most considerate thing she’d ever done, but she had to talk to someone and he was the first person who’d come to mind.
He was the kind of friend she felt comfortable calling in the middle of the night. The kind of friend who’d immediately drive over if she needed sympathy or consolation. They’d been close ever since they’d worked together on their yearbook in high school. Although they didn’t see each other often, Jamie had always felt their relationship was special.
“At least crying’s better than getting drunk, which is what I did when I found out Pamela was cheating on me,” Rich admitted with a wry twist of his mouth. He got up and poured them each another cup of coffee.
“You haven’t seen her since, have you?”
“Sure, I have. I wouldn’t want her to think I was jealous.”
Despite everything, Jamie laughed. “You’re still dating her? Even after you learned she was seeing another guy behind your back?”
Rich shrugged carelessly, as though the entire situation was of little consequence, something Jamie knew not to be the case. Although he’d been devastated, he’d worn a nonchalant facade. He might’ve fooled everyone else, but not Jamie. His flippant attitude couldn’t camouflage the pain.
“I took her to a movie a couple of times,” Rich continued. “I played it cool. But as far as I’m concerned, it was over the minute I heard about that other guy.”
“It’s over with me and Tony, too,” Jamie murmured. Just saying the words produced a painful tightening in her chest. She was truly in love with Tony and had been for nearly a year. They’d often talked about getting married and raising a family together. Jamie wanted children so badly. The weekend before, they’d gone shopping for engagement rings. Her mother, who was crazy about him, had been thrilled. Since Jamie was over thirty her mom tended to worry about her marriage prospects, but even she said that waiting for a man like Tony Sanchez had been time well spent. Sharing the bad news with her widowed mother had been almost as upsetting as learning about the betrayal itself.
“You’re sure the other woman’s baby is his?” Rich asked, reaching for her hand. “She could be stirring up trouble.”
“He didn’t bother to deny it.” In the beginning, Jamie had hoped the woman was lying. She’d searched Tony’s face, praying it was all some malicious joke. His beautiful dark eyes had turned defensive, but gradually the regret, the doubt, had shown, and he’d slid his gaze away from hers. It had been a mistake, he’d told her, a momentary slip in judgment. A one-night fling that meant nothing. He felt terrible about it and promised nothing like this would ever happen again.
Tony was cheating on her before they were even married, and Jamie didn’t need a crystal ball to know that pattern would almost certainly continue.
“This isn’t the first time,” she admitted, biting her lower lip to control the trembling. “Margie, in New Accounts, mentioned seeing Tony with a blonde a month or so ago. He’d told me he was out of town and I … I was sure it was just a case of mistaken identity. I should’ve known then.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Rich said, bending to brush a wisp of dark brown hair from her temple. “There were plenty of signs that Pamela was playing me for a fool, too, but I was so taken with her—”
“Bust line. Which was always your primary interest.”
“That’s probably why I never dated you,” he countered, grinning.
Jamie smiled. The joke was an old one between them. When they’d first been assigned to work together on the yearbook, Rich had been a popular football player and she’d been a nondescript bookworm. They’d clashed constantly. One day, after a particularly nasty confrontation, she’d shouted that if she had a bigger bust, he might actually listen to her. Rich had gone speechless, then he’d started to laugh. The laughter had broken the ice between them and they’d been friends ever since. The best of friends.
“I hear there’s help in the form of surgery,” he teased, leveling his gaze at her chest.
“Oh, honestly.” Her breasts weren’t that small, but it was comfortable and easy to fall into their old banter. Focusing on something other than what a mistake Tony had turned out to be provided her with a good—if momentary—distraction. She’d wasted an entire year of her life on him. An entire year!
Rich reached for his coffee, then leaned back in the chair and sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if anyone’s faithful anymore.”
“I’m the last person you should be asking that,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. She didn’t blame Rich for having doubts. Relationships all around her seemed to be failing. Friends, whose marriages had appeared strong and secure, were divorcing. At work affairs were rampant. Casual sex. Jamie was sick of it all.
“When Mark Brooks cheated on my sister Taylor, she took that teaching position in another state,” Rich went on to say. “You know, I never much liked Mark. From the first I felt there was something off about him. I wish I’d spoken to Taylor about it.”
“I felt so bad for her.”
“The whole family was worried. Then she moved to the backwoods of Montana and a few months later, she married Russ Palmer. Everyone was sure she’d made a terrible mistake, marrying a cowpoke on the rebound, but I’ve never seen her happier. And now Christy’s married to Cody Franklin.”
“Christy’s married to whom?”
“The Custer County sheriff. She’s living in Montana, too.”
“But I thought she was engaged to James Wilkens! Good grief, I was at her engagement party just a few months ago.”
“It’s a long story, but James is out of the picture.”
“Christy dumped James?” It was hard to believe. Jamie had assumed they were perfect for each other. They’d acted like the ideal couple at the engagement party, sipping champagne and discussing wedding dates with their families.
Rich chuckled. “If you’re surprised by that, wait until you hear this. While Christy was still engaged to James, she was married to Cody.”
Jamie was shocked. She didn’t know Rich’s youngest sister well, but she would never have imagined Christy doing anything so underhanded. “I am surprised.”
“There were mitigating circumstances and it’s not as bad as it sounds, but Christy is yet another example of how fickle women can be.”
“Women?” Jamie protested. “Men are notoriously untrustworthy—they always have been.”
