An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [77]
“You heard me,” Chase said stiffly.
“You want the billboard to read BRIDE WANTED?” The fat cigar moved as if by magic from one side of his mouth to the other.
“Yes, with the phone number I gave you. The answering service will be screening the calls.”
“You considered what sort of women are going to be responding to that advertisement?”
Chase simply nodded. He’d given plenty of thought to that question. He knew what to expect. But there was bound to be one who’d strike his fancy, and if everything went as he hoped, he’d strike her fancy, too. That was what he was looking for, that one in a thousand.
He was well aware that it wasn’t the best plan. If he had more time to get to know a woman, he could prove he’d be a good husband, and God willing, a father. He wasn’t like a lot of men who could blithely say the things a woman wanted to hear. He needed help and the billboard would make his intentions clear from the first.
“I’ll have my men on it tomorrow morning.”
“Great,” Chase said and grinned.
The wheels were in motion. All he had to do was sit back and wait for his bride to come to him.
One
Lesley Campbell glared at the calendar. The last Saturday in June was to have been her wedding day. Only she wasn’t going to be a bride. The wedding dress hanging in the back of her closet would eventually yellow with age, unworn and neglected. Given Seattle’s damp climate, the lovely silk-and-lace gown would probably mildew, as well.
Enough self-pity, Lesley decided, and with her natural flair for drama, she squared her shoulders. She wasn’t going to let a little thing like a broken engagement get her down. Even losing money on the deposits for the hall and everything else didn’t matter. Not really. Her life was full. She had good friends—really good friends. Surely one of them would realize the significance of today and call her. Jo Ann wouldn’t forget this was to have been her wedding day and neither would Lori. Lesley couldn’t ask for two better friends than her fellow teachers, Jo Ann and Lori. Both would have been her bridesmaids. They’d remember; no doubt they were planning something special to console her. Something unexpected. Something to chase away the blues and make her laugh.
Her mother and stepfather were traveling and probably wouldn’t think of it, but that was okay. Her friends would.
The hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach seemed to yawn wider; closing her eyes, Lesley breathed in deeply until the pressure lessened. She refused to give Tony the power to hurt her. The fact that they still worked together was difficult to say the least. Thank heaven, school had been dismissed for the summer the week before and she had three months to regroup and recuperate.
Lesley opened her refrigerator and looked inside, hoping some appetizing little treat would magically appear. The same shriveled head of lettuce, two over-ripe tomatoes and a soft-looking zucchini stared back at her. Just as well; she didn’t have much of an appetite anyway.
Men—who needed them? Lesley shut the refrigerator door. Not her. She refused to become vulnerable to any man ever again.
Several of her friends had tested their matchmaking skills on her in the past few months, but Lesley’s attitude was jaded. Whose wouldn’t be?
The man she loved, the man she’d dedicated five years of her life to, had announced six months before their wedding that he needed more time. More time. Lesley had been incredulous. They’d dated their last year of college, gone through student teaching together. They even worked at the same