Must-Have Husband

home!” he bellowed. “My two favorite sisters in the world.”
    “We’re your only two sisters,” Linda replied smartly before making her departure. “If you guys will excuse me,” she told the others, “I have a husband to find.”
    Connie’s brother strode over and took Mac’s hand. “You must be Connie’s intended. I’m Ollie.”
    “Adam McCormack, but my friends call me Mac.” He shook Ollie’s hand. “Good to know you.”
    “Ollie?” Elizabeth said in her gracious-hostess tone, why don’t you show Mac to the blue room upstairs while I help Connie unpack?”
    “No problem. Can I help you with that?” he asked, referencing Mac’s backpack.
    “Thanks. I’ve got it,” Mac said, hoping his eyes didn’t betray him as he looked around. This place was a palace, nearly as large as a museum. Heck, maybe it was even bigger than some of them. The real difference was, when showtime came, Mac was well aware that he’d be the one on display.

    “What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked as Connie unpacked her bags.
    Connie turned her back on her mom to hang a few things in her closet. “Like I told you, Mac is my fiancé. We’re engaged.”
    “Since when?”
    Connie paused in sliding her cotton shirt onto a hanger. She hadn’t had occasion to use all her clothes. Being lost in the forest had spared some of her wardrobe. “Since…he asked me to marry him!” Having her mom believe in the charade was just as important as convincing her grandfather. It was one for all, and all for one in this family. If her folks didn’t buy in, her Grandpa might grow skeptical too.
    Her mom strode over and leaned into the door jamb of the closet. She stared straight at Connie, who stood there with that blasted hanger hovering in midair. “And, when was that? Precisely?”
    “Um…” Connie hooked the hanger over the closet bar and quickly tried to calculate a reasonable date. But it was hard to focus on a mental calendar with her mom trapping her in that cool blue stare. “It was shortly after Walt dumped me,” she added hastily before hurrying back to her suitcase to grab another armful of clothes. “At first I worried it was a rebound thing. But nope! We’re solid.”
    “Gracious. That’s all clean? Didn’t you wear anything while you were gone?” Suddenly seeming to recall her daughter had been with Mac, Elizabeth bit her lip. “Don’t tell me you and he… Not with Linda along!”
    “For heaven’s sake, Mom. You know me better than that. Besides, it’s not like Linda’s a saint, you know.”

    A few bedrooms away and just down the hall, Linda drew the curtains, hearing the shower running. It had been too long since she’d seen him; she couldn’t wait. Beau was her everything. Her sun and the moon, with a nice smattering of stardust too. She’d been so lucky to find him, and now she was eager to remind him how happy she felt. She slipped from her clothes and laid her hand on the bathroom doorknob, turning it gently. Every room in this house was its own master suite, complete with a well-appointed bath. While she didn’t live here anymore, she could still appreciate the amenities this house had to offer.
    Not that she minded the cute bungalow she shared with Beau in the city. She found it charming, in fact, and had worked hard to make their small house feel like a home. Beau worked hard too, toiling relentlessly in medical school. She couldn’t be any more proud of him, or any more determined to help support his dream by keeping things together on her accountant’s salary. Linda had always been good with numbers and was proud of what she did. She also was infinitely pleased that she and Beau were getting by without any help from her exceedingly wealthy family. He had a part-time job in the lab, and together they were making it. Once he had passed his boards and begun practicing, they’d be better off still. Linda sneaked into the bathroom, thinking how much she loved her life.
    The room was steamy and warm, the full length of the mirror fogged with steam. Repressing a giggle, she pressed open the double shower door and stepped inside.
    “Who’s there?” Beau asked, still lathering his hair.
    She wrapped her arms around him, her forearms slipping against his hairy, muscled chest. “Who do you think?” she asked above the rush of the water.
    He rubbed the lather from his eyes and spun slowly to face her in the steamy downpour. “I was hoping to hell it was my wife,” he said, his