Bride by Mistake

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Text copyright © 2013 Marilyn Shank

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Montlake Romance

  P.O. Box 400818

  Las Vegas, NV 89140

  ISBN-13: 9781612186931

  ISBN-10: 1612186939

  This book is dedicated to two amazing women who constantly brighten my world: my daughters Debbie and Mindi

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PROLOGUE

  LIZA O’MALLEY HELD her breath as she dialed her twin sister’s phone number. She and Meg were always totally honest with each other, so pulling off this little scheme would prove a challenge. But Meg was dangerously close to making a decision that had the potential to ruin her life, and Liza couldn’t let that happen.

  She tapped her pen on the blotter of her desk. As an attorney with Burns, Logan, and Grant, a top-notch Kansas City law firm, she handled lots of divorce cases. In fifteen minutes, she would meet with Ramona Henderson, a high-strung, fortysomething woman filing for divorce and determined to annihilate her husband in the process. But Liza needed to talk to Meg first. She had to be certain her sister’s plans hadn’t changed.

  “Hi, Meg,” she said when her twin answered. “Are you still coming to Kansas City on Friday?”

  “You bet I am. I can hardly wait.”

  “No doubt you’re ready to escape that little burg you moved to and enjoy big-city life again,” Liza teased. “You’re a city girl at heart. Why don’t you admit that and move back?”

  “You know I love Meadow Springs. But I will admit that I need a break. The ballet school is stressing me out right now, and I have a big decision to make.” She hesitated a moment, then added, “I think Martin intends to propose to me soon.”

  Liza’s heart fluttered wildly at the prospect. Having Martin Landsburg propose to Meg was her biggest fear. Her twin had dated the man for nearly two years, but whenever Meg spoke of Martin, Liza didn’t detect any excitement in her voice. Meg didn’t feel passionate about him, which in Liza’s book spelled disaster. Didn’t she deal with disillusioned clients every day? People who had ruined their lives by marrying the wrong person? And Meg, who wanted a family above all else, would probably accept Martin’s proposal. That’s why this plan had to work.

  “Want me to pick you up at the airport?” Liza asked.

  “No, I’ll just catch a cab so you can finish your workday. At least we’ll have the weekend together. I’ll get to your condo around six.”

  Liza expelled a relieved breath. Everything was falling nicely into place. “I can’t wait to see you,” she said.

  “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” Meg sighed. “Listen, if it’s okay with you, I just want to relax and spend some quality time with my sister.” She sighed again. “That sounds like pure heaven.”

  “Sounds great to me too,” Liza said, knowing full well this wasn’t going to happen. She had something entirely different in mind for Meg. If her twin had a clue as to what lay ahead, she’d cancel her trip in a New York minute.

  But sometimes sisters did things for each other. They intervened in each other’s lives when it became necessary. And what Liza was about to do ranked as a major intervention.

  “I just want to hang out with you, Liza. I’ve missed you.”

  “There’s no one in this world I’d rather spend time with than you,” Liza said. While the statement was true, this coming week wouldn’t be one the twins would spend together.

  Liza’s secretary motioned to her, which meant that the temperamental Mrs. Henderson had arrived. No one dared keep this woman waiting. “Love you, sis,” she told Meg. “Gotta run now. Duty calls.”

  “I intend to occupy all your free time next week. So no overtime, okay?”

  Liza chuckled. “Overtime’s not on my agenda. Travel safe, okay?”

  “Okay. Love you too.”

  After she hung up, Liza buried her face in her hands. She tried hard to be honest and ethical in both her professional and her personal life, but what she was planning for Meg didn’t fall into either category. It was sneaky, deceptive, and borderline dishonorable.

  But while she’d recently had major doubts about her plan, she had to proceed. She couldn’t stand by watching while Meg ruined her life.

  CHAPTER 1

  “AH, VACATION. I desperately needed a break from little girls in tutus and their demanding mothers,” Meg O’Malley told her twin sister as they sat at Liza’s kitchen table, sipping iced tea. The tension Meg had felt for weeks eased from her neck and shoulders.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Liza said. “Since you moved to Meadow Springs, we’ve barely seen each other.”

  “True. But now we’ll have more than a week to eat in tearooms, watch movies, and haunt every bookstore in Kansas City.”

  Liza frowned and drummed her manicured nails on the table. “There’s one little problem.”

  An alarm bell clanged in Meg’s brain. Liza would call an oncoming tornado a little problem. “I know you’re busy at the law firm, sis. But we’ll work around your schedule.”

  “It’s more than my job, Meg. I haven’t told you yet, but I’m engaged.”

  “What? You don’t even have a steady boyfriend. How can you possibly be engaged?”

  “It just happened. You know, like fate.”

  Meg shot Liza a skeptical glance. “Fate? You don’t believe in fate. What’s this guy’s name, anyway?”

  “Zach Addison.”

  Meg’s heart took a nosedive. All through high school she’d idolized Zach Addison. Just hearing his name again made her heart race. “I can’t believe what you’re telling me. I know you and Zach have been good friends since high school and that you sometimes hang out together, but I never dreamed you’d fall for him.”

  “Don’t panic, sis. It’s only pretend. Zach and I are still just buddies—nothing more. But his grandmother is ill. Eloise has always wanted Zach to remarry and move on with his life. So he asked me to pose as his bride-to-be. Zach wants to make his grandmother’s last days happy ones.”

  “Well, that’s very thoughtful of him.” Meg sighed. “But you and I won’t have any time together. You’ll be busy with your fiancé—pretend or otherwise.”

  “There’s another problem,” Liza continued. “Our law firm was sending one of the partners to a convention in Chicago. Unfortunately, he needs emergency surgery, and I’m taking his place. I leave tomorrow, and I’ll be gone more than a week.”

  “What?” Meg cried, unable to believe what Liza was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me all this when we talked on the phone? I would have rescheduled my trip for a more convenient time.”

  “Because I need you here. Zach is announcing our engagement at his grandmother’s surprise eighty-fifth birthday party a week from Sunday.”

  “Then he’ll have to announce it without the bride present.”

  “Not necessarily. There’s another way.”

  “Which is…”

  “My identical twin can
fill in for me.”

  Suddenly the pieces to this convoluted conversation fell into place. “You mean you let me fly here from Illinois just to play Zach’s pretend sweetheart? Well, the answer is no, Liza. Absolutely not! And you have some nerve even asking when I’m practically engaged to Martin!”

  “Relax, will you? It’s make-believe and just for a little while.” Liza crossed her arms and pouted. “I thought you’d be excited. You had a king-size crush on Zach in high school.”

  “I also had king-size crushes on Tom Cruise and the electronics guy at Walmart.” But neither man could hold a candle to Zach Addison, Meg had to admit.

  The stress that had eased from Meg’s neck and shoulders returned with a vengeance. And to her dismay, she felt a tug of excitement as well. If she could play pretend fiancée to any man on the planet, she’d choose Zach Addison, hands down.

  While he’d barely noticed her in high school, Meg still compared every man she met to Zach. And most came up lacking. But she’d never tell that to her attorney sister. Liza would work her over like a criminal without representation.

  “Come on, sis. I never ask for favors.”

  Liza’s mournful expression caused Meg to squirm. “I don’t mind switching clothes or cars. But I’m not ready to step into your life, Liza. Surely you can understand that.”

  “We traded places a lot in high school. Remember the time you hadn’t studied for your algebra test? Who took it in your place?”

  “You did,” Meg admitted.

  “And remember prom night? You were so upset about going to the dance with Raymond Johnson, you were throwing up in the bathroom. So who went to the dance instead? With Raymond Johnson, super geek?”

  Meg sighed. “You did.”

  Liza leaned forward and squeezed Meg’s hand. “And I’d double for you in a second if you needed me to. Look, Meg, if you help me this time, we’ll never trade places again. Word of honor.”

  Liza had just won her case, and they both knew it. “Okay, okay,” Meg conceded. But the moment the words slipped out, she knew she’d made a mistake.

  One whopper of a mistake.

  “Oh, thank you, sis,” Liza said. “I’ll bring you a present from Chicago.”

  “Make it something really big,” Meg said. “Like a yacht.”

  Liza giggled with relief.

  “You can stay at my house if you want,” Meg said. “It’s an easy drive from Meadow Springs to downtown Chicago.”

  “Maybe I will. While first-class travel is pretty nice, I’m sick of big hotels.”

  Meg reached into her purse and passed Liza her house key. “Now go call Zach and tell him I’m filling in for you.”

  Liza shrugged. “That will just complicate things.”

  “But won’t Zach be suspicious?”

  “Why would he? We looked exactly alike in high school and still do. Even Mom can’t tell us apart. I’ll take over when I return, and Zach will never know the difference.”

  “Bad idea, Liza. Really bad idea.”

  “Trust me, it’s easier this way. Besides, Zach wouldn’t be comfortable pretending to be engaged to you. He avoids women since his divorce. I’m no threat, since we’re good friends, but if I tell him you and I are trading places, he’ll call the whole thing off. And with his grandmother being so sick, that would be a shame.”

  Liza had just made a case for not telling Zach. Meg sighed again and felt too tired to debate any longer. Besides, she’d learned long ago that winning an argument with a trial lawyer wasn’t possible. “Can we do something fun now?” she asked. “Like see a movie?”

  “Sure. Right after I cut your hair.”

  Meg frowned. She’d always worn her auburn hair longer and curlier than her sister’s.

  “Just a trim, kiddo. I promise.”

  “I do need a haircut,” Meg admitted. “But go easy.”

  When Liza finished, Meg examined her image in the mirror. Her runaway curls had definitely been tamed. “I look exactly like you now,” she observed. “Sort of lawyerish.”

  “Still want to go out?” Liza asked.

  Meg yawned. “Let’s just order pizza and watch a movie here.”

  “Anything you say.”

  They ate their pizza at the kitchen table, then moved into the living room to watch Sleepless in Seattle. When it ended, Liza said, “Tomorrow’s a big day for us, so we’d better turn in. I fly out early in the morning, and Zach’s picking you up at eleven.”

  Meg bolted upright at the startling news. “Why is Zach picking me up at eleven?”

  “He’s taking you to lunch, sweetie. So you can discuss your pretend engagement.”

  Meg wished like crazy she’d just stayed in Meadow Springs. As the evening unfolded, it had crossed her mind several times to book a return flight home. But she couldn’t. She’d promised Liza to do her this favor, and she’d honor her promise if it killed her.

  And it just might.

  Meg paced Liza’s living room, feeling as anxious as a prisoner up for parole. She caught sight of her image in the hall mirror and decided the new haircut made her look more sophisticated. Not at all like the curly-haired, hassled owner of a ballet school that she really was.

  The doorbell rang, and when she opened the door Meg caught her breath. There he stood, Zachary Addison in the flesh! Never in Meg’s wildest dreams could she have imagined the tall, darkly handsome, well-muscled man Zach had become. She opened her mouth to speak but her vocal cords went on strike.

  Zach grinned. “Hey there, Liza-Lou. Are you excited about our engagement?”

  Meg swallowed the panic bubbling up in her throat. She couldn’t speak, but she did manage to nod.

  As Zach entered Liza’s living room, Meg tried not to stare. He wore taupe slacks and a tan sport coat that accented his broad shoulders. His bronze tan, jet-black hair, and killer gray eyes left her breathless. He turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Thanks for helping me out, kiddo. You’ve gone beyond the bonds of friendship.”

  Meg gazed into those dark gray eyes staring fondly at her and tried not to explode. Finally she said, “Glad to help.”

  Three words. They sounded weak and high-pitched, but at least they were words.

  Zach studied Meg closely, and she hoped her eye wouldn’t twitch. When she got really nervous, her body parts didn’t always cooperate.

  “Your hair looks different today. It’s curlier.”

  “I needed a change.”

  “Very becoming.”

  “Do you still plan to announce our, um, engagement at your grandmother’s surprise party a week from Sunday?”

  “Sure do. Just like we discussed. We’ll finalize our plans over lunch today. Are you hungry?”

  Thanks to Liza’s shenanigans, Meg had barely eaten since her plane landed on Missouri soil. As a food connoisseur, she didn’t count pizza and diet soda as a meal. “Lunch sounds great,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “That’s a surprise. You usually just pick at your food.”

  Oh, yeah. Meg had almost forgotten she was Liza. While she had a healthy appetite, Liza ate like a bird.

  “How’s Chaz on the Plaza?” he suggested.

  “Fine and dandy.”

  Meg couldn’t believe she’d just said “fine and dandy.” But the prospect of eating lunch with her high-school fantasy made thinking logically impossible.

  Zach grabbed Meg’s hand and led her out to his car. The warmth of his fingers wrapped around hers caused Meg’s heart to rebel. Five more minutes of hand-holding, and she’d be spouting pure gibberish.

  He opened the door to his silver Lexus and Meg slid in. And thirty minutes later, they entered an upscale restaurant in the Raphael Hotel. As Zach placed his hand on the small of Meg’s back and guided her toward a table, her heart danced like a marionette. What is happening? she wondered. Zach’s slightest touch set off a torrent of feelings inside her. It seemed that her emotions were no longer under her control.
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  “Did you change something besides your hair?” Zach asked as the two of them settled at a table and the waiter handed them menus. Here it comes, Meg thought, as Zach’s intense eyes searched hers.

  She swallowed hard. “Nope. Why do you ask?”

  “You seem different today.”

  “I am different. I’m nervous about the fraud we’re about to perpetrate.”

  Zach chuckled. “Spoken like a true attorney. Relax, Liza. And this isn’t fraud—just pretend. Gram’s spoiled me since I was a little boy. And with her health in jeopardy, she’d like to think another woman will spoil me after she’s gone.”

  While Zach kept his tone light, Meg saw sadness reflected in his eyes. “I’m sorry she’s ill. You love her very much, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “As a kid, I practically lived with Gram and Granddad. My folks were always away on business.”

  “Can medication or surgery help?”

  “As I told you earlier, she has heart problems. And according to Ian, surgery’s not an option.”

  Meg didn’t know who Ian was but figured this wasn’t the time to ask. “I see. I wouldn’t want us to hurt her.”

  “We won’t hurt her,” Zach affirmed. “Believe me, what we’re doing will make Gram happy.”

  “But won’t she suspect? My grandmother always knew when I told a fib.”

  “Gram will be thrilled when I announce our engagement. She won’t be looking for loopholes.”

  Meg sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

  “What are you having?” he asked.

  Meg bit her lip as she studied the options. “I can’t decide between the top sirloin and the Kansas City strip,” she said.

  Zach quirked an eyebrow. “Liza O’Malley eating meat? What happened to that vegetarian diet of yours? Most of the time you fuss because there’s nothing vegetarian on the menu.”

  Meg felt a zing of panic as she reminded herself, once again, that she was Liza. “Oh, um, I eat meat occasionally,” she murmured. “A recent study showed some vegetarians don’t get enough protein.”

  “Hmm. That makes sense.”