A Cold Dark Promise (Cold Justice #8.5)(38)

Equally concerning was that Frazer and Ashley were out of town. Were they all together? Were they aiding Alex in his search for Jane Sanders’s daughter? Or were they busy doing other things?

They all had important jobs. She understood that. The world didn’t stop just because she’d decided to get married, but…

Jed Brennan had given her various vague explanations about where her co-workers were and what they were up to. He’d sounded more and more strained in his answers. She couldn’t shake the unease that Jed was lying to her. They were all lying to her.

Her teeth clenched.

Jed had also piled on the work this week, and she’d barely had time to breathe let alone worry. She’d worried anyway. She was good at multitasking.

The rehearsal dinner had been canceled. Half the wedding party were absent and there hadn’t seemed much point. Didn’t matter. They could wing the ceremony just as long as everyone turned up.

She caught a drop of dew on her finger from a small green leaf. She didn’t doubt Alex’s love or devotion, but there was something he wasn’t telling her. She just didn’t know what it was. Or maybe she was being na?ve.

She pulled the leaf off a vine and rubbed it between her fingers, inhaling the fresh, fragrant scent.

Maybe Alex had arrived in France and realized how clingy Mallory was. Or the idea of settling down with a wife and child was too much pressure for a former assassin. Or maybe he’d been pulled back into his old life and liked the excitement of it. Or he didn’t know how to extricate himself from a certain situation or was burdened with that old insecurity that he wasn’t good enough for her, which was bullshit.

No more lies…

They’d made a promise to one another while waiting for her sister’s body to be uncovered in the woods behind Mallory’s childhood home. No more lies. It was the only vow that truly mattered to her. What if Alex had broken that vow before they’d even got started on their lives together?

Could she trust him?

The question bothered her as much as the answer.

The wedding ceremony was set to take place in the gardens at the back of the hotel. The forecast was for a perfect, spring day full of sunshine and good cheer. Chairs were being set out in neat little rows and an arbor was being filled and covered with living plants and fresh flowers even as she walked across the bare earth between the twisted vines. The reception would be held in the massive tasting room, closed to the public for the weekend.

They’d gone for a lilac and gray color scheme with a “rustic elegance” theme, whatever that meant. To her it meant less worrying about the details. To the wedding planner it apparently meant something else entirely.

She strode through the vineyards just bursting into life, determined to walk herself out of her funk. After another mile, she turned around and headed back toward the vineyard. The soil felt good under her boots. The baby kicked in agreement and she smiled. He or she was the reason she’d changed her mind about getting married sooner rather than later. She and Alex might not be the most traditional couple, but she wanted them to be traditional in this.

The baby turned inside her, and Mallory figured he or she sensed her unease. She placed her hand on her bump.

He’d be here. Alex loved her as much as she loved him. She trusted him, she realized, without reservation. Wedding jitters had gotten the better of her, and she was worried about him.

A twig snapped, and she looked up sharply. She hid her disappointment as her mother stepped into view through the vines.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Margret Tremont asked worriedly.

Mallory paused and stretched out her aching back, not answering the question. “Figured I’d get some exercise before all the madness starts.”

Her mother wore a blue sweater and black leggings and tall, black boots. Her skin glowed with health and vitality though her eyes held questions. Questions Mallory didn’t want to answer.

She began walking, hoping movement could somehow delay the inevitable. No such luck.

“Where’s Alex? The groom is usually here by now.” Her mother’s voice was quiet, yet carried across the valley on the thin, morning air.

“He’ll be here.” Mallory spoke with more confidence than she felt.

“What if he isn’t?” the senator pressed.

“Then he’ll be late for his own wedding.”

“Why haven’t we seen him all week?” Margret Tremont was nothing if not determined.

Mallory didn’t answer.

“You’re willing to risk public humiliation if he doesn’t turn up?”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll risk the nebulous concept of humiliation by not assuming the worst and by getting ready for my own wedding because he will be here.” And he would. He loved her, she knew he did. She swallowed the knot of emotion that wanted to form. Her true fear wasn’t that he was going to jilt her at their wedding. What if something had happened to him? Something terrible, and she was here worrying about a stupid ceremony?

Were the others trying to help him? Trying to find him? Why wouldn’t anyone tell her anything?

Mallory suddenly wanted to cry. She wanted to curl up in a ball and sob. But she would not break down. Not until she knew for certain. She had more faith than that.

Pregnancy hormones were a bitch.

She tipped up her chin and whistled for her dog. Then she took her mother’s hand.