by Sierra Rose
The door burst open a moment later, and Billings strode purposely inside, completely immune to the fact that he’d walked in on Marcus about to take my clothes off.
“You two are needed downstairs,” he said with a lethal calm, “now.”
I sat up with a pout. “Billings, you know you can be a real—”
“You don’t want me to call in the girls to do your makeup all over again, do you?” He cut me off strategically.
My face paled, and I hurried from the room. Marcus trailed along behind but shot Billings a glare as he passed by him into the hall.
“You work for me, you know.”
Billings flashed him a smile. “Just keep telling yourself that, sir.”
The party was indeed in full swing, but the second we walked through the double doors, the entire estate erupted in applause. I jumped a little in surprise, then smiled and waved appreciatively along with Marcus until it quieted down. For a second, we all just kind of stood there. Then the band launched into its first upbeat song and the night began.
I think it’s fair to say that no one danced harder than my mother, and no one drank more than Marcus’s grandmother. Before the party was even two hours old, Augustina herself was pulling Marcus onto the floor for a drunken version of the foxtrot. I watched in tears of laughter before Max spotted me through the crowd and pulled me right onto the floor with them. We laughed and shrieked and spun round and round before the bell finally rang for dinner.
Then came the more formal portion of the evening.
The press—contained in the outer gardens during the dancing and celebrating, was finally allowed to mingle politely through the tables. I have to admit, they did so with relative grace—never stopping too long at any one person before moving on to the next. When they got to Marcus and me, no questions were permitted, but we snuggled up close and posed for what seemed like the better part of an hour.
It had just gotten comically candid—Marcus was trying to stuff a chocolate-covered Cheeto into my mouth—when I spotted someone familiar across the lawn. I couldn’t be sure, but there was something about the slinking gate, the fake—sullen smile, and the hungry looking eyes that made me think I’d seen this woman somewhere before. Then, all at once, it hit me.
It was old Snake Eyes. The woman who had so generously introduced Marcus and me at that first party at his house. For all intents and purposes—my active nemesis.
“What is she doing here?” I leaned over and whispered in Marcus’s ear.
He looked up in surprise and followed my gaze. “Oh, Gretchen? She’s been a friend of mine for years. She used to be married to a good friend of mine.”
“Call her over here.” My eyes sparkled wickedly as I took a sip of sparkling cider.
A few seconds later, Billings caught her attention through the crowd and sent her sulking our way. The closer she got, the harder it was for me to hide my glee. Don’t get me wrong, I was not a passive aggressive person. But to the woman who—just three months earlier—had tried to orchestrate my humiliating downfall in front of all these people? A little active hostility was due.
“Gretchen,” Marcus greeted her with a fixed smile before turning to me, “do you remember my fiancée, Rebecca?”
She turned her beady eyes toward me, and I met them with a triumphant grin.
“Hello again,” I pre-empted her, extending my hand. “Welcome to my home.”
She shook my hand. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“I just wanted to call you over here…and personally thank you.”
Her eyes flickered between Marcus and me nervously. “Th-thank me?”
“For the last time we met,” I explained. “You were so very helpful in connecting Marcus and me at that party—I really don’t know what I would have done without you. So yeah…thanks.”
“So you didn’t know Marcus?”
“Nope. But you introduced us, and we’re so thankful. We’re getting married and having a baby, and it’s all thanks to you. I think if you hadn’t introduced us that night, I would’ve never met Marcus. How can I ever thank you? We were thinking about naming our baby after you if it’s a girl.”
Her face turned a sour shade of green, but she flashed me a pained smile. It might actually be more apt to say that she bared her teeth at me, before melting away into the crowd.
“Look at you,” Marcus chuckled under his breath, “taking no prisoners.”
“I think that was the perfect revenge,” I murmured.
With a snap of my fingers, I gestured to Billings, who disappeared for a moment before walking slowly back through the crowd. There was an audible gasp as people began to turn, and Marcus leaned forward anxiously in his chair to see what was happening.
His mouth fell open as a gigantic peacock strutted into view.
“You…you didn’t…”
“Her name is Dolly,” I answered with a smile. “I owed you one. She’ll be free to run the grounds.”
The peacock made a terrifying braying noise and Billings closed his eyes in pained disapproval as it strained against its leash to get to the oysters.
Marcus burst out laughing.
“You never cease to amaze me.” He turned to me with a bright smile. “Never.”
“Happy…wedding present,” I giggled.
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. “I love her. She’s the prettiest peahen ever.”
“Peahen?”
“That’s what a female peacock is called. You’ll have to come out with me every morning to feed them.”
I flashed him a smile. “Of course.”
“I have a present for you too…but you’re going to have to wait until tonight.”
For as much time went into planning the party, it was over before I knew it. We needed to get a full night’s sleep before the ceremony the next day, so by ten o’clock, all the guests had been gracefully herded to the door. My mom and Amanda headed upstairs, as they were staying with us to help me get ready in the morning, and Marcus kissed me goodnight and headed off to settle in for the night at his guesthouse.
I watched the cars pull off into the night from the same window where I’d watched them drive in just hours before. Only this time, as I climbed under the covers of my massive bed with a smile, I felt like I truly belonged.
Despite my obvious nerves for the following morning, my body was worn out from all the excitement, and I passed out the second my head hit the pillow.
I slept like a rock, and it wasn’t until I heard a soft knock on the door that I slowly opened my eyes.
I sat up and looked around in confusion. It was still dark outside. Who would be knocking at a time like this? Mentally cursing Niles’ security, I padded across the floor and tightened my bathrobe before pulling the door open a crack. My fiancé was grinning back at me.
“Marcus?” I smiled automatically back, pulling open the door as he swept inside. “What are you doing here? If it’s after midnight, that means it’s bad luck to see me, you know.”
He chuckled softly and turned on a soft-glowing lamp as he took a seat on the bed. “It could never be bad luck to see you, and I had to come.”
Those ocean eyes fixed on me with a tender smile.
“I still have your present, remember?”
Chapter 22
I didn’t know what to expect as Marcus lingered on the bedspread, simply staring at me in the soft light. I really didn’t know what to expect when he sighed with a smile and got slowly to his feet.
Then he got down on one knee.
My lips parted in surprise. “….what?”
“I didn’t get to do this right before.”
My breath caught in my chest as he took my hand with that same, tender smile.
“Rebecca White. You are the only person in my life who makes me feel like I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. You scare me, shock me, make me feel like my entire world’s been flipped upside-down.”
…surely he was getting to the good part
here?
“But that’s exactly why I love you.”
He stared up at me as if I was the only thing in the room, the only thing in his world.
“Because while you are reckless and bold, you are beautiful and sweet. Someone smarter than me with the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. You challenge me every day to break down my walls and change my perspectives. You’ve expanded my horizons in ways I never thought were possible. You’ve made me fall in love.”
His voice grew soft as he reached up to wipe a tear from my cheek.
“So my dear Rebecca, mother of my child, love of my life…will you marry me?”
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even catch my breath. I just gave him a teary smile and nodded my head quickly up and down.
“Y-yes,” I finally managed. “Of course I will.”
He beamed back at me. “That’s good. I think you might have started another Cold War if you’d said no.”
I thought of Tatiana and the dressmakers and laughed. He kissed my hand, but instead of getting to his feet, he stayed on the ground, rummaging through his pocket.
“Marcus, what—”
Then he held up a ring.
A tingling chill ran up my body at the same time that a warm flush rushed all the way down to my toes. It was the ring Augustina had given him. His family ring—passed down from generation to generation. I had completely forgotten he had it.
He took off my bulky diamond and slipped it onto my finger instead. I literally gasped aloud. It was so beautiful!
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my other ring too—but from the second he’d put it on my finger, it hadn’t felt like me. It was too big, and too flashy.
This ring…was me.
A tiny thread of sparkling diamonds laced around my finger in a delicate circlet, topped in the middle with what looked like a miniature star. I couldn’t believe something so small could be so exquisite. It seemed to catch the light from every little corner of the room and send it sparkling back to me tenfold.
I held it to my chest and stared at him, utterly speechless.
The next second, he scooped me into the air, cradling me against him before lowering me down onto the bed.
“You have no idea what it does to me to see you wearing that ring. I’ve always wondered what woman would be wearing it. I’ve been waiting for her so long, and now I finally know who she is. It’s you. And you’re the love of my life.”
“That was beautiful,” I said, a tear rolling down my face.
He touched my face and we shared a tender kiss. The kiss deepened. But before anything else could happen, I pulled away, holding his face gently between my hands.
“Marcus?”
“Yeah, honey, what is it?”
“I…” my voice fell to a whisper, “I never thought I’d fall in love.”
He chuckled softly. “Well, I’m glad you did.”
“I’m serious.” My eyes swept the room, landing on my ring before resting back on his face. “This…all of this,” I pressed my hand to my stomach, “I never knew I could be so happy.”
I stroked my hand through his dark hair.
“If I’d known…I would have gone out looking for it a long time ago.”
It was one of those mental images I knew I’d remember forever. How Marcus looked, leaning down over me in the soft light. The exact expression on his face. The soft, tender smile. The way his eyes glowed and sparkled in the light. It was one of those moments that came along just a few times in a person’s life. Blink, and you might miss it.
But hold on tight, and you could carry it with you forever…
* * *
The laws of weddings be damned—Marcus slept with me that night. He slipped out just as the sun was coming up over the hill. I felt his lips as he kissed me softly on the forehead, before I slipped back off into the sweetest of dreams. I woke an hour or so later feeling usually steady. My alarm had yet to go off, and I flipped it to Silent as I tried figure out what had changed.
“Oh my gosh…” I said aloud.
I didn’t have morning sickness! The first morning yet! It had to be a sign!
Between the new ring on my finger and the calm in my belly, I was feeling about as blissed out as possible as I kicked off the covers and closed my eyes. Golden sunlight leaked in from the cracks in my curtains, and I smiled as it warmed the tops of my cheeks.
You’re getting married today, Bex. Take a breath—enjoy it. Today is your big day.
The shrill ring from a second, hidden alarm shook me out of my reverie, and I jumped up to find it as it blasted away.
“What the hell?” I panted, throwing aside clothes and shoes as I searched for the damn thing. I finally found it, buried between a hat and a watch box. “What’s going on?”
“Good morning you little bride you!”
Amanda bounced into my room, followed closely by my mother (who I could see was already clutching a tissue to her watery eyes). “The clock is mine. I thought you might disregard the first, and I didn’t want you to fall behind this morning. You know,” she tapped her temple knowingly, “just part of my duties as your—”
“—maid of honor. Yes, we’ve all heard the speech.” I laughed and chucked the mini-clock at her. “That thing’s annoying as hell.”
“It’s programmed to be.”
There was a loud sob followed by a sudden pause in the conversation as both Amanda and I turned as one to my mother. Sharon Wood may be a survivor—two kids, nasty divorce, breast cancer, and a Pomeranian who refused to potty train—but she was an emotional disaster when it came to weddings. Always had been. I could only imagine what today was going to do to her already quivering control.
“Hey, Mom,” I said carefully, coming in for a gentle hug, “you doing okay?”
She allowed herself to be held for a moment before pulling away. “It’s just…you have a little girl, raise her up as best you can, turn her loose in the world…and you adjust, you know? You take up gardening, tai chi—whatever you want. And you think you’re doing fine. ‘Cause deep down, you always think she’ll be coming right back. And then…”
She dissolved into another ear-splitting wail. I spotted Billings coming in over her shoulder, but he took one look and speed-walked the other direction.
“And then they g-go off and get m-married!”
Amanda and I threw each other a quick look then surrounded her in a monster hug, a hug intended both to comfort and subdue.
“Mom, it’s not like I’m never coming home,” I tried to calm her. “The only difference is that now when you want to visit, you’ll sleep in an ornate guest room instead of on the couch with Deevus.”
Amanda nodded helpfully. “And when Becca comes to visit, she’ll bring along a hot man who can carry out the trash, and take Mugsy on walks, and cook dinner and stuff.”
My mother sniffed and ruffled my hair like I was still five years old. “I’m so happy for you, baby,” she whispered. “I couldn’t be any happier.”
My eyes filled with tears as well. I wrapped my arms around her in a gigantic bear hug. After a minute, there was a tap on my shoulder, and I reluctantly released her.
“Hate to spoil the moment,” Amanda interjected hesitantly, “but it’s already ten after.”
My mother jumped to attention, and all at once, the sensitive, vulnerable Sharon was gone. The wedding dictator was back—and she wasn’t taking any prisoners.
“Why didn’t you say so!” she demanded. “Amanda—grab the dresses from my closet and make sure you remember the shoes. Bex—get into the shower and wash your hair.” She whipped out her phone. “I’m going to get the hair and makeup people in here…along with some coffee.”
“Don’t forget the mimosas!” Amanda called as she ran down the hall.
With an oversized grin, I skipped into the shower and lathered on my favorite plumeria scent—letting the suds and hot water soak into my skin before rinsing it all off. For the last ten days, I’d been using a leave-in deep-c
onditioner that my stylist had recommended, and I had to admit, as I ran my fingers through my dripping hair, it was softer and shinier than ever.
I probably could have stayed in there for another hour, basking in the steam and calming my ever-rising nerves, but after just five minutes, I jumped back out and dried off—making it back into the room just as breakfast arrived on a silver tray. The head housekeeper, a meticulous lady named Mrs. Cognit, had brought it in herself.
“Congratulations, Miss White. You’re a welcome addition,” she said as she backed away.
I looked up in surprise. I didn’t think we had ever actually spoken before, other than the casual passing greeting.
“Thank you very much,” I said earnestly. “I’ve very glad to be here.”
The rest of my morning could have been summed up in little moments like that. Little details and thoughtful touches that took my breath away. Lisa, my supervisor from work, had sent a bouquet of tulips along with a card signed by a dozen patients in the hospice home. Kelly, my darling barista, had driven up to the front gate and hand-delivered no less than twenty of my favorite mochas—which were quickly passed around to a grateful room. Even Teller Hamberg, my god-awful ex-landlord, took this opportunity to send back half of my security deposit (along with a note saying that if it didn’t work out with Marcus, no one would be too surprised—but that was neither here nor there). All in all, I was overwhelmed beyond words with how everyone special in my life had pulled together and come through for me.
Hair and makeup flew by, and before I knew it, there was a coded knock on the door. I looked up in excitement. Finally, after all these weeks, I was going to get to see my dress.
The door cracked open, and Tatiana slipped inside. For the first time ever, she wasn’t flanked by half a dozen Russian waifs—it was just her, carrying a long white garment bag.
“I can’t believe it’s actually time,” I said to no one in particular.
An excited hush had fallen over the room, and when Tatiana pulled the dress from the bag, it was followed by a collective gasp.
“Oh my gosh!”
It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The silk was white, yes, but it seemed to shimmer—like newly fallen snow. The beading was delicate and extraordinary—melting away like someone had simply dipped the fabric in a river of liquid silver. When I slipped it on, it clung to me like a second skin. It was strapless, like I’d requested, with a thin gauzy overlay that trailed down my back and touched the top of the floor. The train itself was a bit longer, but could be pinned up easily to provide just one more layer of the floaty, silky material.
