The Sometime Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

supposed to be part of her wedding gift! I thought she was making those for the...wedding.”
    “Couldn’t wait to see your face, she said. And you’ll have to really butter her up on this one too, sweetness. She did a divine job. Absolutely divine! You would think the Royal Family was coming to tea, and not just your wedding party.”
    Carrie swallowed hard and tried to summon her courage. “Grandma...?”
    “Yes, dearie?”
    “What time is the shower again?”
    “Land sakes, child, you are a nervous bride, aren’t you? Four o’clock, same as it was last time you asked. But don’t worry if you’re not here right on the button. Just don’t make us old gals wait too long. You know how it is with us geriatrics. We tend to nod off after a while when nothing’s happening!”
    “Don’t worry, Grandma,” Carrie said into the receiver, “I promise not to put anybody to sleep.”
    Grandma Russell chuckled. “From what you’ve told me, you and that handsome groom of yours will be sure to wake up any crowd!”
    “Right,” Carrie agreed, feeling the fire of deceit spread from her temples to her collar bone.
    “Can’t wait to see what he looks like, dearie,” Grandma Russell crooned into the phone. “Me and the girls have been speculating all day.”
    “That makes two of us,” Carrie said quietly, hanging up.
    “What’s that?” Mike asked from the landing.
    Carrie looked up, startled. “Oh Mike, I didn’t hear you come in.”
    “No?” he asked. “Could have sworn you said something about the two of --”
    “Oh no,” Carrie said, with a blush. “That was my grandmother. Just got off the phone with her about...”
    “Some of those plans that needed canceling?” Mike ventured.
    Carrie gave him a shaky smile. “More or less.”
    “Say, you alright?” he asked, taking the steps two at a time and coming up to where she sat trembling at the bend in the stairs. “Because to tell you the truth, Carrie, you don’t look so hot.”
    “Bet you say that to all the girls,” she said, twisting her lips into the best imitation of a smile she could muster.
    “Actually,” he told her, “it’s just the opposite.”
    “Now I see why you’re not married.”
    Mike crossed his arms over in front of him and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “This has something to do with Wilson, doesn’t it?”
    Carrie vehemently shook her head as moisture brimmed in her eyes.
    Mike cocked his chin and scrutinized.
    “Okay,” she admitted, making an inch wide motion with her thumb and forefinger. “Maybe a little...”
    Mike shook his head and held his ground.
    “Alright already! More than a little bit, Okay? What is it exactly you want me to say?!” she asked, as coal-hot tears streamed down her cheeks. “That my life is a total mess? That everyone in my hometown is expecting me to show up for a bridal shower tomorrow -- with my groom-to-be -- and my groom-to-be has dumped me for a woman with a better financial portfolio?!”
    Mike dropped down on the step beside her and draped a steadying arm around her trembling shoulder.
    “You don’t have to be nice to me,” she asserted, trying her damndest to set her jaw but failing miserably.
    “I know,” Mike said, reaching over and raising her chin. “But I want to be."    
    “But why?” Carrie asked with a sniff. “What could possibly be in it for you? I’ve already told you I want nothing more than...
    “Carrie, I have a question,” Mike asked, searching her bleary eyes.
    “About what?”
    “The people at this shower. Do they know...? I mean, have any of them actually met Wilson?”
    “Well, only Paulette. But that was over a year ago.”
      “So then, she might not notice if Wilson has changed a bit? Lost some weight? Shaved his beard?”
    “Lost some weight? What in the world are you talking about? Wilson was -- and always will be -- the ultimate bean pole! And he never had a beard!”
    Carrie stared in amazement as Mike’s lips curved into a