A Bride's Tangled Vows. Dani Wade
a very interesting area of study.â Christina should know; sheâd studied every case history, textbook explanation and word-of-mouth example sheâd been able to get her hands on. The stroke damage had healed; still, Lily had not come back to them.
âYouâre gonna make a wonderful nurse someday, Nicole,â Nolen said, beaming as if she were his own grandchild.
âYes, you are,â Christina agreed. Sheâd encouraged Nicole from the moment the girl had come around asking questions about Christinaâs duties. Now the young woman was a nursing student at the university forty minutes away and helped Christina with Lily on certain nights and weekends.
Christina went through the motions of checking Lilyâs pulse while Nicole and Nolen quietly discussed some problems sheâd had with her car this week.
Christina laid her hand on Lilyâs forehead, noting the normal temperature, and scanned the monitors beeping nearby through habit. But there, the professionalism ended. She leaned closer to Lilyâs ear.
âHeâs home, Lily.â She sighed. âHe doesnât like it, but for now, heâs here. Iâll bring him to see you soon.â
There was no indication that Lily had heard, just the beeps of the monitors. Lilyâs thin, pale features never moved; her eyes never opened. But Christina had to believe she was happy to know her son was back under Blackstone Manorâs roof. She wouldnât be happy about her fatherâs machinations, though. To force two people to marry... Christina shivered as she remembered the feel of Aidenâs intense gaze penetrating the thin veneer with which she protected her emotions.
The housekeeperâs arrival drew her from her thoughts. âSo whatâs this I hear about a wedding?â Marie asked, marching in, still dressed in the apron printed with the words âI make this kitchen hotterâ the sixty-five-year-old wore whenever she knew James wouldnât catch her.
Christina wanted to groan. How had the news spread through the house so fast? Sometimes she thought the staff had the place bugged.
âItâs more of a business agreement than a wedding,â Christina said, a slight wave of dizziness rushing over her at the thought. âIf there is a wedding...â She wasnât entirely sure Aiden would go through with it, once that hot streak of defiance cooled. Could she, if it gave her the legal right to protect Lily?
But she couldnât share a bed with him. Surely, they could get around that part....
âItâs unnatural, is what it is,â Nolen interjected. âTwo strangers entering into something as sacred as marriage.â
âAnd those words of wisdom brought to you by a lifelong bachelor.â Marie grinned. âBesides, they arenât strangers. Theyâve known each other since they were kids.â
There were flutters of panic in Christinaâs chest as she remembered that last face-to-face meeting with a seventeen-year-old Aiden. Sheâd mooned over him from afar every time she came to visit Blackstone Manor. Sometimes the hope of seeing him had drawn her just as much as Lilyâs company, but that day had taught her well how little he felt for her. Whenever sheâd come near him, heâd demonstrated the same unpleasant endurance as her parents, who also looked at her as a pest that they wished would disappear. Heâd called her invader many times over the years sheâd hung around, aching for a bit of Lilyâs attention. Yes, that was definitely how heâd seen her time here at Blackstone Manor. After that final rejection, sheâd stayed as far away from Aiden Blackstone as possible.
Nolen wasnât letting this go. âIt is unnatural, Iâm tellinâ you. This isnât a good thing. James is manipulating them, and Aiden, his own grandson, into marrying for his own damnable purposes.â
âAnd what purposes would those be?â Marie asked, her hands going to her hips.
Christinaâs mouth was already open, but Nolen spoke first. âBuilding some god-awful legacy. As if he hasnât introduced enough unpleasantness into this world. He threatened his own daughter if they didnât do what he wanted.â
âOh, I bet thatâs all talk.â Marie looked sideways at Christina with a worried frown pulling all her wrinkles in a southern direction. âIs this true? Is he forcing you into something you donât want?â
This was getting way out of handâand way more personal than Christina wanted. âNo. I volunteered. And nothing has been decided yet.â But I will take care of Lilyâand all of you.
Marie went on, her frown softening a little. âMaybe our Christina is exactly what Aiden needs right now. These things happen for a reason, I do believe.â
Christinaâs heart melted with Marieâs sugar-scented hug, but she doubted anything she did would soften the hardened heart of the Blackstone heir.
âYou never know what might happen in a year,â Marie said with a sly smile. âBesides, family takes care of their own. Sheâll be fine here with us.â
This conversation was almost unbelievable. If Christina hadnât been in Jamesâs room, she wouldnât have believed the situation herself.
Christinaâs mind echoed with Marieâs words. A year was a short time in some ways, a long time in others. Would she come out on the other side whole? Or with a broken heart to go with her divorce decree?
As long as Lily and the rest of her family were safe and cared for, it would be worth it for Christina. Marie was right. These people were her family, as close as sheâd come to having one since her parents had divorced when she was eight. Who was she kidding? Her family had never been real.
As a child, Christinaâs sole purpose in life had been as a pawn in her motherâs strategy to extort more and more money from her father. Thatâs where Christina had learned what two-faced meantâher mother all lovey-dovey when Dad showed up, abandoning her at her society friendsâ houses when she was no longer useful. A hard lesson, but Christina had learned it well.
Sheâd promised herself when sheâd turned eighteen that sheâd never go back to that kind of situation; never again have no value outside of what she could do for another.
So was she truly willing to become James Blackstoneâs pawn?
* * *
âWhen are you heading back? That Zabinski woman is killing me.â
He didnât want to think about Ellen Zabinski right now. He had enough problems on his hands. After a solid twenty-four hours of thinking, Aiden knew what he had to do. He still didnât want to, but this choice was inevitable.
âIâm not.â
The dead silence would have been amusing if Aiden wasnât in such a bind. His assistant Trishaâs silence was as rare as some of the art he imported. While he waited for her to recover, he paced across his bedroom to gaze out the back window. He compared the view of the lush country yard, the gentle sway of the grass and tree branches in the breeze, with the constant motion of the city. The very sereneness made him want to fall asleep. Not in a good way. Why would he consider uprooting his busy life, even if it was only for a few months?
A myriad of reasons not to do this rambled through his mindâwork, taking a stand against his grandfatherâs high-handedness, a lack of interest in the mill and a whole host of other things. Then his gaze fell on the chestnut-haired beauty strolling across the lawn to talk to the gardener. Christina smiled, stealing his breath. Her stride was sure, and those hips... As she spoke, her hands gestured with elegant grace to illustrate her words.
He should be worried about his momânot her nurse. But as Christina looked up into the fifty-year-old weeping willow in the backyard, exposing