A Bride After All Read Free

had been enough of a child himself to not want competition from some sweet-smelling adorable infant.
    Claire hadn’t thought about Steven in months, or their home in Chicago, or the life she’d had there. But he’d phoned her today, to tell her he was getting married again. Had he thought he’d needed her permission? Or maybe he’d just wanted to rub it in. See? Other women find me lovable. I told you it was you, not me. You’re the one with the problem, babe.
    Maybe this time Steven had found the right woman for him. One who was content to be Steven’s wife, and nothing else, no one else. He was very, very possessive. Claire hadn’t seen that side of Steven when they were dating, but once they were married, everything had changed. When she’d been late to dinner because of an emergency at the pediatric office she worked in, or tried to share a story about something that had happened during her day, or sought his comfort when parents had been forced to hear frightening news about their child, Steven’s only answer had been, “Quit. I need you more than they do. I don’t see marriage as a part-time job, damn it.”
    Not for her, anyway. He’d never think that he should quit his job and stay home so that he’d be there when she got home. But Steven was a real “I’llget the meat, you keep the cave warm” kind of throw-back, with an increasingly frightening penchant for jealousy that had her rushing home from work, mentally preparing her apologies.
    She’d stuck it out for six months, even if the marriage had been over only a few weeks into it.
    It had been difficult, admitting that kind of defeat, and especially so early in the marriage. But the day she’d spotted his car behind her, following her from the office to the supermarket, had put the topper on it for her. She’d moved out the next day while he was at work, leaving behind everything except her clothes and most personal possessions. He could have the house, the furniture, all the wedding presents. She just wanted out, needed to be out, before Steven took the next step in what was clearly a poisonous situation—physical violence.
    She’d called her brother, flown to Allentown on the first flight out, and begun working in his office the following Monday after finding a furnished apartment in nearby Bethlehem. She’d given Steven everything in the divorce, and then taken back her maiden name.
    Life went on, or so they said, and she was determined to get on with hers.
    Except she probably hadn’t. Gotten on with her life, that was.
    So now, three years later, while Claire was pretty much still treading water, Steven was getting married again. Well, good for him. Maybe he’d changed,wised up. Or maybe this marriage would be strike two. Steven and his bride-to-be were not her concern.
    Which didn’t mean Claire hadn’t considered calling the girl and giving her a friendly heads-up, except for the fact that women in love rarely listened to soured ex-wives.
    Claire flinched as someone knocked on the side window of her car. She’d been sitting there, her hand on the key that was still in the ignition, wasting time she didn’t have to spare.
    She turned and smiled at Marylou Smith-Bitters, who had now stood back to give her room to open the car door. Claire had first met Marylou last Tuesday, when she’d helped translate for a new member of her parenting class who still needed to formally register. Not that Claire’s Spanish was very good, but it was infinitely better than Marylou’s, which was pretty much limited to ordering sangria and paella.
    “Hi, Marylou. Hang on a sec,” she said as she exited the car, and then opened the back door to extract her purse and briefcase. She reached back to grab Susie, the infant CPR mannequin she’d borrowed from her brother’s office.
    Marylou looked at the mannequin, a smile curving around her collagen-enhanced lips (not that Claire could tell—but Marylou had confided in her when they’d gone for