Against All Odds

by Danielle Steel

  “I’m happy for you. I’m just sad for us,” she said honestly.

  “You don’t need to be,” he said softly. “Julie, I want you to come with me.” She couldn’t imagine it. She had a great job, she loved her family, and she had lived in New York all her life. She couldn’t move to L.A. And then he took her breath away with what he said next. “Will you marry me?”

  “Are you serious?” She was stunned. She hadn’t expected him to propose. She’d never even thought about getting married.

  “I want to do this right. I can’t ask you to make a move like that unless we’re married.” They had been dating for seven months and it seemed too soon to her, but she knew that she loved him, and she didn’t want to lose him when he moved to L.A.

  “What about my job?”

  “You can get another design job in L.A.” But not like the one she had. She was the head designer, and there was no fashion industry in L.A. Not like in New York. There were small California designers, but she worked for an important firm, and made good money. It was a lot to give up. But so was he. He seemed so perfect for her in so many ways.

  “I can’t get a job there like the one I have.”

  “You don’t need to. I make a good salary. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to.”

  “I have friends here,” she said wistfully, not many, but some she liked, people she had known and worked with for years. “And my family.”

  “I love you, Julie. Isn’t that enough? Do you want to stay single all your life? Don’t you want to get married and have babies?” She had never considered it, and had never felt ready, until she met him, but she didn’t feel ready now. Not yet.

  “I don’t feel old enough for babies.” Or marriage, she wanted to add, but didn’t. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

  “I’m not ready for babies either. But what about me? We could have a great life together in L.A. I’d be the number two man out there. And I could run the West Coast office one day. I know it’s fast, but I want you to come with me, and it just feels right to me.”

  “I don’t want to lose you,” she said, and as she clung to him, he pulled a small blue box out of his pocket and slipped a ring on her finger. It was a small but very pretty diamond ring from Tiffany. And her eyes opened wide when she saw it.

  “I’ll get you a bigger one later,” he said modestly, but he had chosen a lovely ring for her. It was round with a halo of tiny stones around it. It was delicate and looked right on her small hand. She stared at the ring for a long moment, and then back at him. He had thought of everything, and she smiled. Maybe he was right, and it was time to get married. She had turned thirty-one that summer, although she still felt young. But some of her friends had gotten married, and even had babies. “We could get married at Christmas. I have to be in L.A. by New Year’s. We could have a quick honeymoon before I have to be there.” He had it all worked out in his head. It didn’t give them much time to plan a wedding, but she had never wanted a big wedding anyway, just her family and a few friends. That wouldn’t take long to organize. “Julie, let’s do it. Let’s start a new life together.” He made it sound exciting and fun, and in the headiness of the moment, she nodded and he kissed her. When they came up for air, she whispered yes. He spent that night with her in her apartment. They made love again in the morning when they woke up, and she looked at her ring afterward and started to laugh.

  “Oh my God, I’m engaged.”

  “Yes, we are.” He beamed at her. And when he left for work, she went to see her mother at the store. She knew Kate went in early. Julie told her the news, and as Kate looked at her, and saw the ring, she felt like she had been shot out of a cannon. Another of her children was getting married, two in a year, and she didn’t know why but she still had a queasy feeling about Peter. He certainly wasn’t as blatantly wrong as Zach, far from it. Everything about Peter was right, but there had always been a faint echo in her mind about him, and she didn’t know what it was. And Julie would be moving so far away. Los Angeles felt like it was on another planet.

  “Are you sure?” Kate questioned her. “Why is he in such a hurry?” That seemed off to her too. Or maybe she was becoming paranoid in her old age, she chided herself, and the children were right that she never thought anyone was good enough for them. Peter certainly had everything going for him, a good job, a good education, a good future ahead of him. He seemed like he’d be a responsible provider and father, and he was attentive to her even now. What more could she want? She didn’t know, but Kate still sensed that something was missing.

  “Everything got rushed because of his transfer to L.A. That’s why he wants to get married so soon.” It was either that or break up.

  “What about your job?”

  “He says I don’t have to work if I don’t want to.” In many ways, Peter was the husband every mother wanted for her daughter, unlike Zach. Peter was solid, and yet Kate felt uneasy. Julie had always seemed so vulnerable, and California felt like the other side of the universe to Kate. She was torn between being pleased and terrified for her. Julie had always been her most fragile child.

  “Is this what you really want?” Kate asked her, and Julie nodded and grinned like a little girl as the ring sparkled on her finger.

  “Yes, Mom, it is.”

  “All right,” she said quietly, and put her arms around her daughter. “Then I approve.” She didn’t want to stand in her way if he was the man she wanted and knew it was right for her. Julie had a right to make that decision. Kate held her close for a moment and then mother and daughter walked through the store arm in arm. Another of her chicks was leaving the nest, and all Kate could hope was that her wings would carry her well, and that Peter would love her forever. Whatever her initial reservations about him, he seemed like the kind of man who would.

  Chapter 18

  Kate had dinner with Liam to catch up on all their news. They hadn’t gotten together for a while. He and Maureen stayed in their country house in Westport, Connecticut, in the summer, and he commuted. September had been busy for him, and he’d gone on several business trips, and Kate’s new online business was eating up her time. In some ways, it was much more time-consuming than the store, and she had to constantly update the site with new merchandise. She was having to look at more estates, find new sources to buy from, and go to more auctions, in order to have more to sell, with a much broader base, which was exciting for her.

  She reported to Liam on how well it was doing, as he had predicted and Bernard had promised. Her business had become a real moneymaker. Liam was pleased for her.

  “How are things going with Bernard?” Liam asked her cautiously, not wanting to pry into her love life. They told each other everything, but there were still areas where they tried to be delicate and discreet. Although Kate usually told him when she was dating someone, and he had met several of her men over the years, he never asked for the details, nor did she give them. But seeing her with Bernard and sensing that they were involved, had worried him for her, since he was married.

  “I saw him when he was in New York the last time,” she said cryptically, and Liam wondered what that meant. “It was fine.”

  “Are you still…seeing him?” Liam asked cautiously. “Other than for business reasons.”

  “Actually, I’m not,” Kate said with a slightly wistful look, followed by one of resignation. “You were right. His ‘arrangement’ with his wife was not what he led me to believe in the beginning. When I saw him in Paris, he acted like a free agent. But I didn’t realize that he still spends vacations with her. They were in Sardinia together for a month this summer.”

  “Maybe she dates other people too. You never know what crazy deals people make with each other, spoken or otherwise, in order to stay married.”

  “I don’t want to share someone else’s husband. I don’t need one of my own, but I’m not into time shares with men.” He smiled at what she said. “He’s very upset that I won’t agree to it, and thinks I’m too Am
erican about it. I’m too uncomfortable. It sounds like a shit deal to me.” He nodded and sensed that the decision had been painful for her. She looked sad about it, and he could tell she was uncomfortable talking about him. Liam knew she was an honest, honorable woman, and given the risks Bernard’s situation presented, and the potential for her to get hurt, he was glad she was out of it, even if it was disappointing for her.

  He knew about Justin’s baby—she had called him when Milagra was born—and he was relieved to hear that the surrogate had relinquished the baby without a problem. He had shared her concerns about that, and it was a little too brave-new-world for him. But she told him about Zach’s arrest and the electronic bracelet, and about Julie’s recent engagement.

  “Are you happy about that?” he asked about Peter.

  “I think so. He’s a little too good to be true in some ways. I know that sounds crazy, but it unnerved me at first. The kids beat me up about it, and they’re probably right. I just think no one can be that perfect all the time, but maybe he is. And she’s happy. His getting transferred sped everything up. They’re getting married on Christmas Eve, and I’m going to hate having her so far away. But I guess that’s what happens. They grow up and they fly away.” She didn’t see much of Justin in Vermont either, and he was closer than L.A. And especially now, since she was even working on weekends. Now that the affair with Bernard had ended, she had plunged into her work more than ever so she didn’t have time to think about what she had lost. She hated to admit it, but she missed him. And for her, work was always the best distraction.

  “I suppose it’ll happen to me with the girls sooner or later,” Liam said with resignation. “Elizabeth seems to be serious about a boy in Madrid, and Penny wants to move to London when she finishes school in Edinburgh. It’ll be just my luck if they stay in Europe. I thought it would be a good experience for them. I didn’t think they’d want to stay. How’s your mom, by the way? Where’s she off to next?” Keeping up with Louise allowed them all to live vicariously through her world traveling and adventures.

  “She’s not going anywhere right now. She doesn’t admit it, but I think finding herself in a hospital in Beijing and Frances breaking her arm on their last trip may have slowed her down a little. If she ever gets really sick halfway around the world, it could be complicated and very unpleasant. She never had any mishaps before and the sprained ankle wasn’t serious, but it was a wake-up call. I think she wants to go back to Hong Kong and Shanghai next year, and they’re both very civilized. She might go to Singapore too. She wants to use the Mandarin she learned, and Frances loved the shopping.” Louise was more likely to come home with artifacts and local crafts, but Frances loved buying clothes anywhere, and was a frequent visitor to Kate’s store.

  They lingered over dinner, talking about her business again, and holiday plans. Kate was having the whole family to her house for Thanksgiving, as usual. And Julie was planning to have her wedding dinner there too, since she was going to invite so few people. She only wanted the family and a handful of friends, and Peter wasn’t close to the people he’d met in New York in his brief two years in the city. And neither his brothers nor his parents were coming. It was too complicated for them over the holidays and Peter had said they preferred to visit him and Julie in L.A. in the spring. So it was going to be a tiny wedding.

  Kate and Liam left each other outside the restaurant, and she went home. Julie called her that night about some of the wedding plans. There was a florist she wanted to use, and she thought she had seen a wedding dress she liked. She was going to copy it and modify it. She wanted to wear something short for such a small wedding, and she was going to have it made where she worked after she designed it. That way she could have exactly what she wanted, and she had found a perfect heavy ivory satin for the design she had in mind. The wedding was less than two months away.

  —

  Everyone came to Thanksgiving except Zach and Izzie. She was in bed with bronchitis, and Zach didn’t want to go alone. And it was a relief not to have Zach there. But Justin and Richard came with the baby, with even more equipment since she was two months older than at their last visit. She was sweet and lively, and everyone had fun with her. And Kate was beginning to adjust to the idea of being a grandmother.

  —

  On the day of the wedding, the florist arrived at Kate’s apartment and transformed it into a flower garden with moss and branches, small vases of white freesia and lilies of the valley, and sprays of tiny white orchids. Julie had told them exactly what she wanted, and Kate was stunned at how perfect it was. Julie always had a vision that went beyond what others would have planned.

  And that night, on Christmas Eve, at eight o’clock, after the six o’clock service, the family gathered at Trinity Grace Church. Julie was wearing a short ivory satin dress with a wide belt in the same fabric and cinched-in waist, a high stand-up collar, and just enough cleavage to be enticing, but not too much so. The sleeves of the dress were long. She had added ivory satin pumps with the usual high heels she preferred. The dress had a 1950s feeling to it, and was reminiscent of Dior. Kate wore a black lace cocktail dress by an unknown designer. Grandma Lou was in emerald green, which looked well on her, and Izzie had found a loose red dress to fit over her growing belly. She was six months pregnant, and looked very pretty. And the men were wearing dark suits. Only the family was present at the ceremony. The few friends that had been invited were coming to the house at nine-thirty for a late dinner, served as a buffet. Julie had wanted seafood, and there were lobster and fresh crab on the menu. The wedding cake had been delivered that afternoon. It was a very small wedding, but every detail had been impeccably thought out by the bride.

  Julie and Peter looked ecstatically happy during the ceremony. It was entirely appropriate, but Peter couldn’t keep his eyes off her in the chic sexy dress. Julie looked very stylish. She wore her hair in a loose bun, with the same tiny orchids threaded into it that she carried in her bouquet, and they left the church as husband and wife.

  Julie’s friends who worked in fashion had dressed for the occasion, and Liam and Maureen were there, although they stayed only briefly, so they could go to midnight mass with their daughters. It was a happy and intimate evening that was enhanced by the warmth of Christmas.

  The baby slept peacefully all evening in Kate’s bedroom, and her fathers checked on her every few minutes, and had set up a monitor with a camera in the bedroom, so they could see what she was doing and if she woke up.

  Kate noticed that Willie was texting a lot that night, but he always did, keeping tabs on his various women and his friends to see what they were doing and if he was missing anything.

  “Give it a rest, Will,” Justin teased him. “No one does anything on Christmas Eve.”

  “You never know.” Willie laughed at him and slipped his phone into his pocket. Someone had just sent him an Instagram and he didn’t want his brother to see it.

  “Hot new romance?” Justin asked him as they went back to the buffet for more lobster.

  “Maybe,” Willie said noncommittally. He was twenty-five and seemed more grown up lately, and he was doing well at his job, which was so technical none of them understood it.

  Izzie and Zach seemed peaceful. She sat on the couch and he had an arm around her shoulders, rubbed her belly from time to time, and brought her dinner so she didn’t have to get up. He was sweet with her, and he looked respectable that night, and even wore socks and a suit Izzie had bought him. But no matter what he said or wore, he always exuded the bad-boy image that was so much his style. Julie and Izzie talked about the baby for a few minutes. Izzie had warmed up to the idea, and they had found out that it was a boy, and Zach was very pleased with himself.

  “I’ll come home when you have it,” Julie promised. “I don’t want to miss that.” It was due in March, and Richard had been giving her advice about everything she’d need to buy for the baby, which made both sisters giggle when he walked away. “And a bigger apartment
to put it in,” Julie whispered. “Their house looks like a children’s department store now.” They were both still over-the-top about Milagra and the whole family teased them about it.

  The bridal couple left at one A.M. to spend the night at the Plaza, where Peter had reserved the bridal suite. Everything had been packed at Julie’s apartment the day before, and the movers were coming the day after Christmas to send it to L.A.

  Peter and Julie were going to spend Christmas Day with Kate and the others, and fly to Hawaii that night for a week’s honeymoon. Peter had to start work at the L.A. office on the second of January. And before they left on Christmas Eve, Peter thanked his mother-in-law warmly for a perfect wedding. It was just what they had wanted. He hugged Kate and told her that it meant a great deal to him to have someone so wonderful as his mother-in-law. Kate felt faintly skeptical as he said it, and then chided herself for being cynical. He was the opposite of Zach. Peter was polite, appropriate, responsible, protective of her daughter, and kind to her and Julie’s grandmother. What more did she want? But she didn’t know why, anytime he paid them compliments or showed respect, Kate didn’t feel it was sincere.

  Julie left her mother’s apartment looking like she was floating on a cloud.

  Izzie and Zach left shortly after the bride and groom. She said she was tired, but both brothers and Richard stayed longer in their mother’s living room, and so did Grandma Lou, who was full of energy and in great form. She was going to Santa Fe, New Mexico, after Christmas to visit friends since she had nothing else planned.

  Justin admitted that he was sad that Julie was moving so far away. He wanted her to really get to know Milagra, but Julie had said they’d probably be transferred again in a few years. The firm that Peter worked for moved people around a lot. “She looks so happy,” he said wistfully. “I think Peter is perfect for her. And it’ll be a nice change for her not to have to work for a while and just enjoy being married, before they have kids.” He and Richard had discovered how much work it was having a baby, but they loved it, even though their carefree days were over. Milagra ran their world. Their social life had ended when she arrived, which bothered Richard more than Justin. They hadn’t had an evening with friends or gone to a movie since she was born.