Font Size
Line Height

Page 1 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

The Gilded Cage

“ Wildflower isn ’ t happening,” Andrew announced. “ Grandma Katherine thinks it ’ s the wrong look for our family. She told me she ’ s booked the country club for our reception.”

“ What?” Emily stared at him as he began pacing the length of his huge living room.

Even after six months of living together, it still felt more like “ his” house than “ theirs.”

Andrew stopped and fixed her with one of the irritated glares she was becoming all-too-familiar with.

“ Don ’ t look at me like that!” he snapped. “ You know how Grandma gets. There ’ s no point in arguing with her.”

And just like that, Wildflower, the quirky downtown restaurant where Emily and Andrew had gone on their first date, was suddenly off the table.

Another piece of her dream wedding crumbled like a delicate meringue under his grandmother ’ s heavy heel.

Emily could guess at Grandma Katherine ’ s reasons for nixing Wildflower. Too small. Too weird. Too… Emily.

“ You understand, right?” Andrew demanded, his handsome features taut with anxiety.

Emily swallowed hard, forcing down the automatic It ’ s okay rising in her throat.

Her Majesty strikes again , she thought bitterly.

Eager to get on Grandma Katherine ’ s good side, she ’ d already given in to all the demanding old lady ’ s other demands about their wedding plans.

But Wildflower was important to Emily, so she dug in her heels for once. It ’ s my wedding. I should get to choose at least one thing about it!

“ But Wildflower was where we had our first date,” she protested. “ You agreed it would be romantic to come full circle.”

“ That was before I really thought it through,” Andrew said, dismissing three months of wedding planning with an irritated wave of his hand.

“ I mean, Grandma is right. Wildflower is charming for a date, but for a wedding reception? My family ’ s big, you know that.

It would be way too crowded. And the food is okay, but…

” He wrinkled his nose. “ Experimental.”

Emily ’ s fingers worried at the tassel of the decorative pillow squished between her and the arm of the long leather sofa… a sofa Andrew ’ s mother Beatrice had selected. Just like every other piece of furniture and décor here in his McMansion.

None of it was her taste, and if she was going to be honest with herself, she thought the house was butt-ugly, too. It had zero charm or character. She quashed the thought, ashamed to feel so ungrateful for everything Andrew was doing for her.

“ I thought that was why we loved it,” she argued, even though she ’ d learned the otherwise assertive Andrew never went against his grandmother ’ s wishes. “ Chef Artemis promised to create a special tasting menu for us! She ’ s so excited about designing our menu!”

Andrew ’ s irritated frown returned. He loomed over her, his blue eyes flashing with annoyance and a glitter of gold that made Emily instinctively straighten her posture.

“ Emily,” he growled.

She knew what that meant. Behave. Don ’ t push him.

But she couldn ’ t let it go. “ Why can ’ t your grandmother let me pick just one thing?” she pleaded. “ It ’ s our wedding. Not hers.”

Grandma Katherine had even curated Emily ’ s wedding dress. She ’ d graciously allowed Emily to choose a gown from a limited selection of Brunborn-approved designers.

“ Weddings are about families , Em. Don ’ t be selfish.

” He fixed her with a hard stare. “ Grandma reminded me that my parents were married at Highland Hills. Grandma and Grandpa, too. It ’ s where we Brunborns celebrate our milestones.

” His mouth twisted. “ And it ’ s a hell of a lot classier than Wildflower.

Besides, Grandma is paying for the reception, so she gets the last word. ”

Her eyes burned with rising tears of frustration and betrayal at her fiancé’s words. Then she thought of something, and hope flared.

“ But we ’ re getting married next month,” she pointed out. “ Isn ’ t it much too late to switch venues?”

Andrew grinned down at her. “ Not when you ’ re Grandma Katherine. If she wants something, she makes it happen.”

There was no way Emily was going to win this argument. She ’ d been a fool to even try. She looked away.

I should be grateful that Andrew and his family are paying for everything. That ’ s what Emily told herself every time doubts crept in.

The designer dress fittings, the lavish four-tier cake from Spokane ’ s trendiest bakery, the luxury honeymoon to Bora-Bora… these were luxuries she ’ d never imagined having.

Growing up with a single mother who ’ d worked two jobs just to keep the lights on, Emily used to fantasize about weddings like this while flipping through bridal magazines at the library.

Now she was actually having one, with a guest list of over six hundred people. Most of whom she ’ d never met.

And it was turning into a nightmare rather than a fantasy.

Ever since she and Andrew had announced their engagement to his family last Christmas, her wedding had turned into Grandma Katherine ’ s event.

Andrew ’ s grandmother had already convinced them to change nearly everything about the wedding that Emily had originally planned.

And from the beginning of their engagement five months ago, Andrew had made it clear Katherine called the shots in the Brunborn family.

Emily could still remember Grandma Katherine ’ s disgusted expression when Andrew had introduced her to his family at Christmas and announced he ’ d proposed to Emily.

The elegant older woman ’ s gaze had swept Emily from her discount shoe store boots to her drugstore makeup, measuring and finding her lacking in a single glance. She ’ d made Emily feel instantly out of place.

“ So, you ’ re marrying your little secretary?” Katherine ’ s voice had dripped with condescension. “ What an interesting choice for a bride, Andrew.”

As Emily ’ s face heated with humiliation, Katherine ’ s cold blue gaze had sharpened. She added in an insincere tone, “ But I ’ m sure you have many redeeming qualities. Welcome to the family, Emma.”

“ My name is actually Emily , Mrs. Brunborn.”

“ Emma, Emily…” Katherine had waved dismissively. “ Let ’ s just call you ‘ Emmie. ’ It ’ ll make things easier for everyone.”

Andrew knew Mom was the only one who ’ d ever called her “ Emmie.” But instead of standing up for her, Andrew ’ s hand had tightened around Emily ’ s in silent warning.

Katherine ’ s usurpation of that beloved nickname had set the tone for Emily ’ s every interaction with Andrew ’ s relatives since then.

Emily had spent the rest of Christmas dinner perched tensely on her chair, terrified of using the wrong fork or spilling red wine on the antique damask linen tablecloth.

She ’ d ventured to make conversation when it seemed appropriate, only to have her remarks dismissed with polite disinterest (Andrew ’ s parents) or snarky sarcasm (Andrew ’ s obnoxious older brother Grant).

By dessert, she ’ d fallen silent, speaking only when directly addressed, which happened exactly twice.

She ’ d never seen anyone command a room like Katherine.

When the Brunborn matriarch spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing to focus on her. Including Andrew, who in every other context was assertive to the point of domineering.

It had been weird watching her confident fiancé transform into an anxious, approval-seeking man-child in Katherine ’ s presence, just like every other adult around the dinner table.

Even worse, since that night, Andrew had grown more and more judgmental of Emily. The way she spoke. How she dressed. Her table manners. Her opinions on art, politics, wine.

His criticisms had really taken off once Emily began planning their wedding.

“ I ’ m just trying to help you fit in,” he would say when she objected to Grandma Katherine ’ s orders to change this or that about their plans. “ You ’ re going to be a Brunborn. There are expectations .”

The charming, funny Andrew, who ’ d pursued her for months, who ’ d told her she was a breath of fresh air in his stuffy world, had vanished completely since Christmas. In his place stood an increasingly cold, controlling man who seemed to find fault with everything she did.

Now, Emily smoothed her hands over the skirt that Andrew had told her he liked. Compromise is the key to a happy marriage , she reminded herself. “ Why can ’ t we pay for the reception, ask Chef Artemis to cater it, but hold it at your grandmother ’ s country club?”

Her salary as his executive assistant, while generous, wouldn ’ t stretch to hosting a dinner for their large family. But Andrew was rich.

He checked his watch, a vintage Swiss timepiece that had belonged to his late grandfather. “ Didn ’ t I say it was a done deal? The club had its own caterers. Call the wedding planner and tell her to cancel Wildflower.”

She drew a breath to protest. Andrew glowered down at her. He growled, “ Do it today , Emmie.”

And just like that, she ’ d lost the last thing about the wedding that was theirs . Emily nodded, though her chest tightened. Is this what the rest of my life is going to look like?

“ Good girl.” Andrew leaned down and pressed a brief, distracted kiss to her forehead.

“ We want this to be perfect, don ’ t we?

” he said, in that why can ’ t you just be reasonable?

tone she ’ d grown to hate. “ And Grandma Katherine knows what perfect looks like. Trust me, this is going to be the wedding of the summer.”

“ So, eloping to Vegas is out of the question?” Emily asked, trying and failing at a joking tone.

His glower returned. “ Not funny. Tell you what: I ’ ll call the wedding planner myself. Don ’ t worry, everything will be perfect.”

As he strode from the room, Emily slumped against the sofa back.

Perfect . The word haunted her lately.

Perfect dress, perfect flowers, perfect venue. Perfect bride.

How am I ever going to live up to Grandma Katherine ’ s standards?

And do I even want to?