Christmas with the Best Man Read online

  She lowered her chin and gave him a speculative look. “I don’t think I have enough medical training to save you from Grace’s wrath if you’re not there on time.”

  He laughed. Helena did too. It had a sincere ring that sounded as if it came from her heart. He’d always liked that about her. She had a sense of humor. “Then I guess I need to get moving.” He started down the hall.

  “That would be my suggestion.” She headed the other way.

  Elijah stopped and looked back, his attention drawn to her hips. It was a shame her scrubs had been disguising those full curves for so long.

  Minutes later he was under a hot shower. He was surprised he hadn’t needed a cold one after seeing Helena. How spectacular she’d looked still amazed him. At least he’d managed not to make a fool of himself. This sudden interest—no, infatuation—in Helena was crazy. He’d seen many woman in formal clothing yet had not reacted this way.

  He was probably overtired from covering for Charles when the ER had been impossibly busy. Or maybe it was due to the wedding hoopla he normally stayed clear of. There was something out of sync with the universe for him to have had such an intense reaction to Helena. Especially when she was clearly not his type.

  Half an hour later he shrugged into his black overcoat, adjusting it over his tuxedo. Wrapping his groomsman’s gift, a scarlet red scarf, securely around his neck, he popped a short black top hat on his head. It might be the silliest thing he’d ever worn if it wasn’t for the fact that it was so cold and not wearing a hat was even more ridiculous.

  He received more than one interested look and a few grins as he made his way through the older part of the building to the lobby and out the front entrance of the hospital. His idea of dressing up was putting on a pair of slacks and a collared shirt. Casual was his style, less dog and pony show. He worked hard and liked to relax and have fun when he was off duty. Only when he couldn’t avoid it did he put on a suit for a medical meeting. To be wearing a tuxedo was taxing. The only reason he was doing so was because he loved his brother. Elijah wished him well. It had been hard on Charles when he’d lost his wife and had been left with two small sons to raise. Elijah was glad his brother had found love again, happiness.

  Elijah pulled on his black gloves as he went down the stone steps to the street to catch a cab. It would get him to the park entrance nearest Shakespeare Garden and then he would have to walk from there. Just as Helena had told him more than once, he’d be cutting it close on time.

  The taxi driver put him out at the curb and he hurried down the path. Thankfully, having grown up in New York, he knew Central Park well. He’d heard of people getting lost in the massive acreage. As a child, he and his siblings had played there. More than once they had picnicked in the Shakespeare Garden area among the trees and foliage. Those had been sunnier days, both literally and figuratively. Ones from a long time ago.

  He hurried up a slope and made a left turn at a sign reading “Grace and Charles” with a large red bow on it. Up another rise he followed another path into an open area surrounded by snow-tipped trees. Smaller trees in the area were decorated in white lights that were shining brightly in the dimming daylight.

  An arch made of red poinsettia and more white lights were at one end of the open space and facing it were rows of white chairs with red bows tied to the ones closest to the aisle. A few people were already taking their seats. Tall portable heaters were stationed around the ceremony area. At the other end of the field was a huge tent with four low round fire pits that glowed. His family was standing around them.

  Elijah took a deep breath to fortify himself for what was coming.

  As he approached, Charles left the group and walked toward him. “I thought I’d have to send Zac after you.”

  “I told you I’d be here.” Elijah grinned at his brother. As twins, they had always been close. It wasn’t until they were eighteen that they’d had secrets between them. Elijah carried that guilt and regret to this day.

  “Yeah, but I know better than most that you’re always five minutes behind.”

  Elijah gave him a wry smile. “Funny, big brother. I’ve heard it all before. Just because you were born before me it doesn’t mean I’m one step behind you.”

  “About following in my footsteps, how’re things at the hospital?” Charles asked as they continued toward the tent.

  “Under control. We managed to get the patients waiting down to a reasonable headcount before I left.” Elijah couldn’t fault Charles for his dedication to his job, even on his wedding day. “What you need to be worrying about is that beautiful bride of yours. I’ve got the ER covered. Enjoy the day, your honeymoon and let me handle the rest.”

  “I’m trying. I guess most of my worrying has to do with nerves.”

  Elijah didn’t doubt that. The thought of a wedding made him edgy as well and he wasn’t the one getting married. He looked around. “So where are the rugrats?”

  “Max and Cameron are with Grace. They’ll be coming down the aisle ahead of her.”

  Elijah gave him a brotherly pat on the back. “I hope you have them bundled up. It’s cold out here.”

  Charles laughed. “I know. But this is what Grace wanted. I love her so that’s what we’re having.”

  That kind of love Elijah couldn’t comprehend. He’d never felt that for a woman. Didn’t think he ever would. He understood wanting, enjoying, appreciating a female but loving one the way his brother did Grace wasn’t something he’d experienced. More than that, Charles had been able to find it twice. Elijah didn’t plan to have it even once.

  They approached the group of people creating a semicircle around one of the fire pits. His mother and father were there, standing close but not too close. His two younger sisters, who were dressed the same as Helena had been, except for white capes over their shoulders, stood off to the side, talking to Zac, his other brother, who was dressed like Elijah, down to the red scarf and hat.

  This was his family. The one he loved and had betrayed. He’d kept an ugly secret from them that he had no right to. He had hurt his mother, who had done nothing but love and support him, to protect his father. He blamed himself for the farce they all were. And for the horror of the media circus they had become.

  He took his sister Penny in his arms for a hug. “Hey, sis. You look great. Big change from that flight suit I usually see you in.” Turning to the other woman, he gathered her to him. “Good to see you, Miranda.”

  “You look nice, Elijah,” his half-sister said. “Love the hat.”

  “Thanks.” He slapped Zachary on the back and stepped over to his mother. The harsh look she’d worn as she’d watched him and Miranda embrace turned to one of warmth as she gave him a tight hug. His father came up beside them and extended his glove-covered hand. Elijah hesitated a moment before taking it. “Father.”

  It was still difficult for Elijah to face him. The years had gone by and the pain had eased but all that had happened still hung like a bad smell between them. It couldn’t be erased. Elijah glanced at Miranda. The issue was a living, breathing person among them.

  He’d been eighteen when he’d been on his way to meet a high school friend in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City. Passing a café, he’d glanced in the window to see his father sitting at a table with a woman and a girl of about twelve. Elijah hadn’t recognized them. He’d stopped and stared. It hadn’t been the type of place Hugo Davenport would frequent. Not thinking twice, Elijah had entered the café and approached the table.

  “Hey, Dad. It’s a surprise to see you down here.” Elijah had stood there, grinning.

  The shocked then stricken look of his father’s face had created a sick feeling deep in Elijah’s middle. His father had been caught. That was the moment Elijah had grasped he’d stepped into something dirty. He’d glanced at the woman, who had worn a worried look as she’d glanced
between his father and him.

  “Uh, Elijah. I h-hadn’t expected to see you,” his father had stammered.

  He’d given his father a pointed look. “I hadn’t expected to see you either.”

  Elijah had watched the woman fix her frightened eyes on his father.

  “Daddy, can you pass me the ketchup?” the girl had asked.

  Elijah’s attention whipped to the child. Daddy! What was going on here? Yet he already understood too clearly. Apparently, something had been going on for some time. His stomach roiled. He had to get out of here.

  His father quickly stood. “Eli, it’s not what you think.” Panic filled his voice.

  Elijah didn’t wait to hear more. He made it to the sidewalk before his arm was caught and he was turned to face his father.

  “Son, I never wanted you or anyone else to find out like this. Think twice about what you’re going to do. This could destroy your mother. The rest of the family.”

  His father should have been the one to think about that. “So what do you want me to do?” He was yelling. His heart was pounding. All he desired was to run.

  “Calm down. We don’t want to make a scene.”

  How like his father to worry about the family name while he was out ruining it. Protect the family name at all costs, Elijah had heard all his life.

  “I want you to keep quiet about this. The affair ended long ago but... I do have a responsibility to Miranda.”

  Elijah leaned toward him and all but spat the words, “You have a responsibility to Mom, to me, Charles, Penny. Your other family.”

  “And I’m meeting that responsibility. What would be gained by telling everyone about Miranda? Hurting your mother?”

  Stepping back, Elijah glared at his father then turned and walked off. The event changed his life and his relationship with his father forever for over the next five years Elijah carried his father’s secret. It’d gnawed at him like a rabid dog all that time until the day had come when the media had found out and all hell had broken loose. But with that Elijah had found relief yet he still carried the weight of having known and not said anything. Blamed himself for the lack of strength to tell everyone that the head of their perfect family was not perfect.

  Elijah had been taught not to show emotion. His family was so well-known the media were interested in them. If he displayed his feelings they could be used against him or his family. Elijah had perfected concealing how he felt over the years of keeping his father’s secret. The skill had served him well when it came to his personal relationships also.

  By all appearances, his parents, his father in particular, had gone on as if nothing had ever happened. His parents’ marriage had been one to admire by anyone looking from the outside but Elijah knew better. After the media had gotten involved and all the smoke had cleared, his parents had remained married but it was just for looks. His father did his thing and his mother hers.

  They remained devoted to the hospital and fund-raising that went along with the Davenport legacy. For generations the Davenport family had been associated with the hospital both as physicians and philanthropists and his parents wouldn’t let that change for any reason. Now his parents showed up as a couple and smiled for the pictures but there was nothing real between them any more. Everything looked all clean and shiny on the outside but was rotten to the core on the inside.

  Elijah wanted nothing to do with that kind of relationship. How could he ever trust anyone on an intimate level? His father had been bigger than life in Elijah’s eyes until he’d tumbled far and broken. It was safer not to get involved with anyone. Caring too much hurt. Going from one woman to the next meant his heart never became entangled and that suited him just fine. Appearances meant everything to his parents. Their example of love was a hollow thing. Nothing he was interested in being a part of.

  As the years had passed he’d learned to first accept then love his illegitimate half-sister. What he hadn’t been able to set aside was his father convincing him to keep the ugly secret from his brothers and sister, and especially his mom. Elijah wasn’t sure who he was more disappointed with, himself or his father.

  These days he and his father managed to remain civil, just barely.

  “How’re things in the ER?” his father asked, sounding genuinely interested.

  At least they had that in common. His father had been the head of the ER before he’d retired and Charles had taken over after him. Elijah only wished his father had given his family as much attention as he had his patients. “Busy, as you can expect during a storm.”

  “I remember those days.”

  “Hey Eli, it’s time to go to work,” Charles called. “The bride said I was to be up there, waiting for her, at six o’clock sharp.”

  “Then we should be headed that way.” Elijah started around the fire pit toward Charles, tugging at his scarf. Whoever had come up with the idea to wear this get-up and have a wedding in freezing weather must be crazy. Or in love. That was Charles. And he was so in love that he would agree to anything.

  Miranda and Penny had already disappeared. He assumed they had joined Grace. The chairs had filled up while he had been greeting his family. The wedding wasn’t a large one but a number of important people in the city were attending. He recognized some of the staff from the hospital as well. Each was bundled up as they waited for the ceremony to begin. They would be as relieved as him to get inside the tent for the reception dinner.

  Minutes later Elijah took his position beside Charles at the front of the ceremony area near the arch of bright red poinsettias with greenery and lights. Snow drifted down as the harpist began to play a Christmas carol.

  Who in their right mind got married outside in the middle of winter in New York? Elijah tried not to make a show of stomping his feet but they were freezing. This couldn’t be over soon enough for him.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THIS WAS THE most fairy-tale-like wedding Helena had ever seen or been a part of. Grace looked lovely. A more beautiful bride Helena had never seen.

  Grace wore a long-sleeved, high-necked white dress, with a long white faux-fur cape. A circle of the same fur encircled her head with a small red poinsettia pin attached. She carried a bouquet of poinsettias. Grace had planned a perfect holiday wedding.

  The event director began to line up Charles’s sisters, Penny and Miranda, while the harpist played “Silent Night.” Helena took her place just ahead of Grace and her father. When the wedding march music filled the air and the director sent the first attendant down the winding path through the trees, Helena adjusted the short white fur cape around her shoulders and put her hands into the matching muff, making sure the flower attached faced forward. Glancing behind her, she smiled at the picture Grace made as she bent down to speak to Charles’s boys, both in black double-breasted coats and paper-boy hats.

  Helena walked down the path when told and out into the open. It was snowing. Under the trees, she hadn’t realized that. After lifting her face to the sky for a second, she continued to the top of the aisle. Charles and his groomsmen, Zac and Peter, also ER doctors from the hospital, were all waiting at the end. But none of the other men held her spellbound. Only Elijah. The corner of one side of his lips lifted as she met his gaze. Heavens, he was handsome. Hat and all. He was an old-world duke, dashing right up to the red rose in his lapel. Even his wayward hair was in place. Elijah had applied more than a little effort to making himself presentable. The results were impressive.

  As she made the turn to where she was to stand, he winked at her as if to say, See? I made it on time. She couldn’t hide her answering smile. She took her spot and watched as Grace, escorted by her father, came forward to meet Charles. She glanced at Elijah. His playful appearance of earlier had disappeared. He had taken on a shadowy look. What was his problem?

  Her focus returned to Charles and Grace yet sh
e kept glancing at Elijah as the vows were being exchanged. One corner of his mouth did finally quirk upward, as if he found humor in the proceedings. The best she could tell, he liked Grace. Did he have a thing about weddings? Some men believed they were silly and a waste of time. Then again, maybe he was just cold.

  For her, weddings were a new beginning. A beautiful outward expression of love, security, and a promise of tomorrows to come. Despite how deeply she’d been hurt in the past, she still dreamed of having that happily ever after. The right man, children, grandchildren and growing old together. She couldn’t give up believing her dream mate was out there somewhere.

  Helena focused her attention on Grace and Charles and the soft smile between them. She wanted that silent communication, that bond. She’d been asked out, had even had a few relationships, which had lasted no longer than a couple of months. Still, she was cautious and she wasn’t ashamed to put up front what she wanted in an intimate relationship. She knew well what a superficial connection looked and felt like. Never again! Everlasting love was what she was looking for, someone who would be there for her through the happy as well as the tough times.

  A few minutes later she stood beside Grace and facing Elijah as the bride and groom exchanged rings. She smiled as the minister pronounced them husband and wife before they kissed and headed up the aisle. She looked at Elijah, who stepped toward her. He had a smile on his face now.

  She grinned at him as she took his offered arm. It was strong, secure, and steady. Even through his thick coat she appreciated his warmth. A hum of awareness zinged through her body. What was going on?

  They’d taken a couple of steps when he leaned down close and said, “I was watching your face. You love this stuff, don’t you?”

  He’d been watching her? “What’s not to appreciate about true love?”

  He snorted. “You do know that a wedding is the only funeral you go to where you smell your own flowers.”