by Amie Denman
Autumn laughed. “Adorable or not, I left him in his pajamas to cut down on laundry. This is a very messy age for eating.”
Julie shrugged. “I’ve seen worse in the college cafeteria, and I showed up in something only slightly better than pajamas myself.”
“Where’s Jessica?” Autumn asked.
“Still sleeping, which is another reason I slipped out of the room without searching around for clothes. Hope you don’t mind your guests going casual,” Julie added, turning her attention to Luke.
“Are you kidding? I almost came to breakfast barefoot.”
Julie didn’t catch the joke because Autumn had kept her feet under the table at dinner the night before so she wouldn’t draw attention to herself. But Autumn tried and failed to suppress a laugh. She exchanged a glance with Luke and then looked back across the table at her cousin. Julie had always had a reputation for being perceptive and smart. Although she was six years younger, Autumn had valued her intelligence and friendship.
Until now.
Julie’s sharp eyes were flitting from Carter, to Autumn, to Luke and then back to the beginning of the circuit, and for the first time Autumn realized she was in grave danger of someone in her family guessing her secret.
****
He shouldn’t be nervous. In the five years he’d owned the Paige Ellen, he’d hosted business associates, a United States senator, and one member of the Spanish royal family. He traveled in circles with people who owned castles, islands, and the world’s most expensive automobiles. Enough diamonds had spent the night in his yacht’s safe to buy a mansion.
But hosting the Benedict family, making the day perfect for his best friend’s wedding, took Luke back to a time in his life when he had to prove himself every day. When any mistake might reveal him for a pretender when he battled his way into boardrooms with his ideas.
Grady’s family would never shame or belittle him, it wasn’t that he had to prove to them how much he cared about them. It was that the consequences for letting them down loomed so large. After all they had given him—even, he suspected, covering his tuition when he couldn’t borrow any more money and the long hours working after class weren’t enough—he owed them.
All of them.
At breakfast, as he’d listened to Autumn’s cousin Julie go on about finishing college and maybe considering grad school, an idea had struck him. He would put money in a trust for the next generation of children born into the Benedict family, starting with Autumn’s son Carter and including any children Grady and Kelly would have. And any future children Autumn would have, of course, no matter how much the thought caused a wrinkle in the lining of his good intentions.
He had no right to interfere with her life or question anything she did, despite the…connection…he thought they had.
He’d clearly been wrong about that.
Luke stood on his private deck overlooking the back of the Paige Ellen where he could watch his tender bring in the orchestra he’d hired for the wedding and reception. There was already a grand piano on board, but Maria had secured a quintet whose members were all part of the Athens Symphony Orchestra. Three men and two women, each carrying an instrument in a black case and a garment bag, stepped carefully onto the lowest deck of the yacht. He smiled as he watched them look up around the yacht with appreciation. They probably played some of the most elegant and impressive arenas in Greece, but they were still impressed by his yacht.
The extra caterers and bakers Maria had hired had already arrived and were, he imagined, busy in the ship’s galley. By nightfall, all the extra people would go back to shore, and his yacht would again have only its crew and guests.
“Stop worrying.” Maria came to stand next to him on his deck. She was the only other person on his yacht who would enter his private office and lounge and also had the gift of reading his mind.
“I’m not,” he said, smiling.
“Are you really able to buffalo people in business meetings?”
“I don’t have to,” he said.
Maria laughed. “Good thing.” She gestured to a man hauling a huge instrument onto the yacht. “I always feel sorry for the bass player. The violin players have it made with their nice little instruments.”
“I’m sure the bass players had a choice, and they decided to go big.”
“Your motto,” Maria commented.
“Compliment?” he questioned.
“On a day like today, it sure is. Your yacht is finally paying off since you get to use it to help out the people you care most about in the world. And they’re really nice people,” she said. “Like a too-good-to-be-true family.”
“They’re true. I’ve known them all my life.”
“Lucky you.” They were silent a moment as they watched Autumn and her mother walk onto the sundeck, each of them with one of Carter’s hands. “He’s such a cute kid,” Maria said. “It makes me miss those days when my boys were little. They were a handful and I don’t even know how I managed, even with my husband’s help before he…”
Luke knew about Maria’s husband who owned a restaurant and had an affair with one of his cooks. The divorce had happened long before he met Maria and she became his trusted personal assistant, but he knew the scars lingered.
Below them, Autumn pointed out a seagull to Carter and he looked up and mimicked its caw-caw sound as Autumn took video with her phone.
“I’m hoping for grandchildren one of these days when my boys finally meet the right woman,” she said, smiling and squaring her shoulders, back to the cheerful efficient woman she usually was. “Or maybe I’ll get to babysit your kids one of these days when you finally get swept off your feet.”
Luke felt his heart still. Maria never made comments about his love life, even though he suspected she was one of the few people who knew that his wife’s accident had not left him as emotionally devastated as it should have. He had hardly admitted to anyone beyond his mother and his aunt that his marriage had been more style than substance. Only one member of the Benedict family knew that fact, even though he doubted she would ever reveal it. Autumn knew something more, too, that he’d revealed in a moment of weakness.
Maria’s expression was pure caution as if she feared she’d said too much, but Luke smiled. “It’s okay,” he said. “I might say the same thing to you. Maybe there’s a Greek tycoon hidden somewhere amidst these islands just waiting for you.”
She laughed. “Waiting for a middle-aged woman from Michigan with wrinkles and a few extra pounds who isn’t afraid to open her big mouth.”
“Exactly. You could be his dream woman.”
“If you happen to see this man, you know where to find me,” she said, holding up her phone. “I’m going to go make sure the orchestra members find their lounge and changing area and I’ll check on the cake and food while I’m below deck.”
After she left, Luke continued to watch, unseen, as Autumn and her mother played with Carter in the sunlight. The boy wore a blue outfit with white shoes that looked tiny from above. He laughed and pointed with his little hands at seagulls and boats while his two chaperones took turns keeping one of his hands firmly in theirs and taking pictures. Luke didn’t know much about children, but he did know the boy was too young to remember the trip on the yacht, although he might see the pictures someday.
It occurred to him that he had been about Carter’s age when he lost his own father to a small plane crash. He didn’t remember his father and had only pictures, but he knew his father had been a dreamer, an inventor. Working as an airplane mechanic at a small airfield outside of Detroit, he thought he had a great modification for a motor. Using his employer’s plane to test his theory without permission had compounded the ruin of the crash that killed him and left behind a wife and son.
The irony of Luke’s own career choice and his passion for inventing vehicle safety and innovations was usually pushed to the rear of his mind. It had come roaring back when his wife chose to get behind the wheel of a test vehicle he�
�d brought home. Luke would never forget emerging from a long hot shower at the end of a difficult day to find his wife’s purse and the car with the prototype braking system gone. He’d lost more than just her that day, but he pushed the thought from his mind as he always did.
On the deck below, Carter took a tumble and his mother picked him up, kissing his face and holding him close. Luke shoved back from the railing. He had a wedding to oversee, and he wasn’t too important to go look after some of the details himself. Staying busy and paying attention to the little things had been his secret to success his entire life.
Chapter Five
This was her third time being a bridesmaid, Autumn thought, as she gave Carter a kiss on the forehead. She’d been included in a fourth wedding party for a high school friend, but the wedding was within a week of Carter’s due date and she had dropped out well ahead of time allowing her friend to replace her. Autumn tickled her son’s cheek and then handed Carter to her cousins Jessica and Julie. The child looked at her with trepidation for only a moment. The gleaming sunny surfaces of the yacht with unfamiliar people and sounds had Carter a little uncertain, and Autumn hoped he could get through the day without a melt-down.
She hoped the same for herself. It was emotional sharing the wedding journey with her brother and her good friend Kelly. She had a thousand wishes for their happiness, and she was grateful for the joy the marriage brought to both their families. Had she brought joy? Carter was much loved and she knew her parents loved being grandparents, but Autumn was also well aware that there was always a little shadow over the joy because she refused to tell anyone about his father.
That secret didn’t get any easier to keep with time and, she suspected, it was going to get a lot worse. It had seemed like the right choice at the time, but lately she’d begun to wonder.
The orchestra paused, and the momentary silence focused Autumn’s attention. She moved to the back of the upper deck to join the wedding party while they awaited their short walk down an aisle between rows of white chairs. There were only a dozen chairs for the guests because the wedding was so far from home, but the bride and groom had invited any crew members who were available to sit down and watch their wedding.
It all felt intimate, festive, and joyous.
The quintet began the opening measures of the traditional wedding march, and Autumn took the arm of one of the groomsmen. She walked slowly between the chairs to the space on the deck where her brother waited with his best man Luke. With each step, she felt the force of Luke’s attention as if he were waiting for her and she was his bride.
She felt her face and neck heat and the world seemed to shift under her. She gripped the arm of the groomsman at her side for balance and he looked down at her with a momentary look of surprise and concern.
Keep it together, she warned herself. Do not draw attention to yourself at your brother’s wedding. This is about him.
She gave the groomsman a reassuring smile and then sought out her son in the front row, taking confidence and courage from seeing the top of his head with its swirls of light hair. Every move she made, everything she did was for Carter’s happiness and future. Her life belonged to her child. Autumn split off from her groomsman and stood alone on the bride’s side of the makeshift altar as she waited for the maid of honor to walk down the aisle.
The yacht’s captain wore a dark blue dress uniform and held his broad shoulders straight in a military posture. Being the captain of a ship as large as the Paige Ellen had to take some serious training, she thought, and he was probably former Navy. This is good. Think about something practical such as job skills and training. Maybe she should try using her graphic design degree instead of working as a school secretary. She could work from home and build up her own online business, start saving money for Carter’s future.
The orchestra shifted to a brighter and louder movement in the Wedding March and all the guests stood. She caught Carter’s eye as he looked over her cousin’s shoulder and she waved at him. He was being so good and quiet. What a treasure he was.
The bride began her slow walk down the ship’s deck. Kelly wore a white gown with a sweetheart necklace and narrow lace-covered straps over her shoulders. The full skirt was ballerina-style with layers of tulle and sparkling sequins on the outer layer. The look suited the dance major who had plans to open her own studio as soon as the honeymoon was over. More than just the beautiful dress, Kelly radiated joy with every step.
Autumn couldn’t stop watching the bride, thrilled for her but also aching in her heart for the same kind of happiness that lit Kelly’s face and eyes. Without thinking, Autumn glanced over at the man she’d had a crush on for years and now shared a permanent—although secret—bond with for the rest of her life.
Luke was looking straight at her with an expression that took her breath away. He wore a dark suit that fit perfectly over his broad shoulders, and his clean shave showed off his perfect jaw and perfectly kissable lips. She knew how those lips felt and the way his skin on hers lit a fire.
The music stopped, but Autumn’s gaze was locked on Luke’s and she was afraid he and everyone else there knew exactly what she was thinking. She took a quick glance around, but mercifully it appeared that everyone was looking at the bride and groom. Thank goodness. Autumn resolved to keep her thoughts on the wedding instead of the way her fingers had relished Luke’s muscular shoulders and—
The ship’s captain cleared his throat and began. “We are gathered here today with these friends and family members to…”
Yes, of course. Her brother marrying the love of his life. Autumn had been to dozens of weddings—including Luke’s five years ago when she was just twenty-three and had tried not to cry as her childhood crush married someone infinitely more suitable for him. A girl whose family also owned part of the manufacturing chain for the auto industry. It seemed like a perfect match, and the entire wedding had been expensive but…impersonal.
Although they were on a yacht that had to cost more millions than she could imagine, this wedding was personal. And beautiful. And she was not going to waste another moment of it wondering what might have been…with Luke…if…
“The bride and groom have written their own vows,” the captain announced, and Autumn tuned in and listened with all her heart to the words of love for and by her brother Grady. A tear stung her eye and then rolled down her cheek, but she didn’t care. It was completely acceptable to cry happy tears at a wedding. She looked out at her parents in the front row and her cousins with her son in the second row, and she felt overwhelmed by love and gratitude.
****
Luke was sure he’d never seen anyone look so beautiful and so happy. As long as he lived, he didn’t think he’d ever forget Autumn’s expression as her brother said his vows and then she looked lovingly at her family, including her son, in the audience. If anyone ever looked at him with such deep love, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. Wasn’t sure he’d deserve it.
He tried to remember his own wedding five years ago. He had done everything just as he was supposed to. Had followed the instructions and plans without disappointing his bride or her family. His own relatives—his mother and aunt—had cheerfully gone along with all the extravagance, but he’d felt as if they thought something was off. At the time, he thought they were upset about having to share him, but later he realized they might have seen what he was getting himself into. And what he wasn’t.
This wedding was night and day from his own, and he hoped with every nerve in his body that it would end better for Grady than his own had. Of course he wanted Kelly and Grady to grow old together, but more than that he wanted them to have what he and Vanessa had not.
As Luke watched Autumn’s face, he realized there was only one person who had ever looked at him with such love. Except she wasn’t looking at him now. She seemed to be trying to look everywhere else. Any chance he might have had with her was almost certainly gone. They’d had one night, but then she’d gotten together with som
eone else…had a child. Whose child? He glanced out at the audience where one of Autumn’s cousins bounced Carter on her lap. Had Autumn told Maria he was eighteen months old? Eighteen months plus nine months…that was…
He squinted, trying to do the math and figure out how long after spending the night with him Autumn had gone to bed with someone else.
He wished he had a clearer memory of that night they’d spent together. It was in that long period of brain fog he went through after his wife’s death. Weeks, months…nearly a year of blaming himself, the investigation, her family’s bitter accusations and blame and then his extended trip to Europe where he tried to distance himself from everything.
He had no way of knowing she would drive that car to pick up dinner. She’d never taken one of his before, but then he also hadn’t returned her call earlier in the day and didn’t know her car was in the shop with an electrical problem. If he’d returned her call, if he hadn’t gone straight to the shower instead of seeking her out in her private office at home and talking with her…
Thinking about her at this wedding was probably natural, that’s what a psychologist would say. But he wasn’t thinking about how much he missed her. Instead, he was trying to piece together those months after her death and remember where Autumn had fit in. A flash of memory hit him as the audience applauded the bride and groom’s first kiss. He remembered the meeting the next morning at work. Remembered being barely able to concentrate as he spoke with the French auto engineers who’d flown in. He could ask Maria exactly when that was. Not that it mattered.
He put an appropriate smile on his face, hiding his thoughts, as the entire bridal party and guests began to move toward the dining room where the reception and celebration would begin. Autumn leaned into the second row of seats and reached for her son. For some reason, the boy looked up and Luke looked straight into his eyes for a moment, and what he saw there stopped him cold.
