I returned to the bedroom to find Will dressed in a grey suit and a tie. He looked at me.
“Wow! And I thought I liked your club dress. You’re gorgeous.”
“You’re biased and blind.”
“No, I’m not. I had better get you out of here now before I start thinking too much about how you look and we won’t be able to leave.”
We drove to the main house and wandered around the hotel. It was still light outside, but getting very close to sunset. Luckily, the shoes didn’t hurt too much. We ended up on an outside terrace with a gorgeous view of the well-manicured grounds. For a moment, as we leaned against the stone railing, I felt like we were Lord and Lady of the Manor. I noticed that we were completely alone.
Will held me there for a few minutes and kissed me gently. “I have something to ask you now.”
I gulped and hoped that Will didn’t hear it. I had what felt like millions of butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t believe I was here with him doing this. I marveled as I watched Will get down on one knee and look up at me.
“I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you. I want to love you forever. Will you marry me?”
It was all I could do to summon my voice to answer. “Yes.”
He had a box in his pocket and opened it to find a very large diamond ring in a platinum setting with smaller diamonds around it and around the band itself. He placed it on my finger and it fit. He then kissed the ring on my finger.
Will stood up and looked at the ring on my finger and then into my eyes. I am sure they registered the perfect happiness I felt in that moment. He kissed me more passionately than I think he ever had and then held me there for a while, not wanting to let go and have the moment end.
We finally went inside for a private dinner in a small dining room that could have held a much larger group. A special table was set up for us in front of a window that overlooked the grounds.
The diamond on my finger sparkled in the candlelight and I was mesmerized by it as I picked up the glass of champagne that had been poured for me. I was having difficulty grasping the fact that I was engaged to the perfect man sitting in front of me. What was even more difficult to comprehend was my distinct impression that he felt the same way when it came to me.
I was thinking at that moment in my amazement, “You really do love me.” I actually said it out loud without meaning to do so. I didn’t realize I had until he responded.
“Yes, I do, more than anything.”
“It’s hard to believe that this is all real sometimes, particularly when everything is so perfect like today.”
“I wanted it to be perfect. I’m glad you feel that way.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“I think you have it backward.”
How he could think that way was mind-boggling to me. Does he not realize how perfect he is? Does he not see me for the very ordinary person I am? I changed the subject by getting down to brass tacks. “So when do you want to get married?”
“If it were entirely up to me, we would marry immediately in Gretna Green or Las Vegas, but I know that you, your parents and my parents, for that matter, would want us to do it right. We’re going to have to keep things close to the vest though. It’s going to be difficult to keep the details from leaking out. I don’t want helicopters flying overhead or anything like that.”
“Ooh, I didn’t even think about that.”
“The minute the paparazzi see the ring on your finger, the countdown to our wedding will begin in the press. You won’t have a moment’s peace, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t care as long as I get to be with you.”
“I hope so.” Will grimaced briefly and then the smile returned to his face.
At the cottage, a bottle of champagne waited for us by the fireplace alongside a vase of carousel roses. I leaned back on the sofa into Will’s arms and sipped a glass of champagne.
“Shannon MacKenzie. I like the sound of that. It sounds right.” Will smiled broadly.
As Will said what would be my new name, a wave of excitement hit me. I put my glass down, took his from him, and pulled him toward me almost roughly. I kissed him hard and he leaned back and laughed.
“Shannon MacKenzie,” he whispered. I kissed him hard again.
“I’m going to have to remember that in the future. That really gets you hot, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” I almost moaned. I kissed him again and used my hands to get my point across. Then, it was all I could do to not rip the dress as I tried to get it off quickly.
The next morning, I found myself alone in one of the cottage’s three bedrooms. Will and I had made the rounds in the house over the course of the evening and ended up together in a twin bed. I couldn’t hold him close enough to me that night and the twin bed helped, but it didn’t make for the most comfortable night’s sleep for either of us.
I stood up and, when I heard the voice of the Butler talking to Will, I ran into the master bedroom since I was nude.
Will came in as I was putting a brush though my hair. He was dressed. I wasn’t. He put his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck.
“Breakfast is waiting for us.”
“Let me get dressed.”
“If the Butler wasn’t here, I wouldn’t let you.”
He turned my face toward him to kiss him as he continued to hold me, and I agreed to meet him at the table in a minute.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked as I picked at some fresh fruit on my plate.
“Well, I thought we’d have a relaxing day. And then, tonight, we’re having a little dinner party here.”
“Dinner party?”
“Engagement party, I guess.”
“Who with?”
“A few people. Nothing big. Just my parents, my sister Emma, my sister Olivia and her family, a few friends of mine, Pam and Jane.”
“Doesn’t sound small.”
“It will be low-key, I promise.”
“You said your sisters were going to give me a hard time. That doesn’t sound low-key.”
“In front of others, they’ll be on their best behavior. Just don’t let them corner you alone.” He chuckled.
After breakfast, we showered together, got dressed and took a long walk around the hotel grounds. It was still a little grey outside, but the grounds were green, sculpted and breathtaking. We returned to the terrace where Will proposed and kissed there for a while despite the fact that we were not always alone.
After our walk, we entered the hotel for afternoon tea. The salon was all dark woods and reds. The tea was very formal and included champagne. Will and I were seated next to each other, and turned toward each other. Despite the beauty of the surroundings, the wonderful fare and the glint from my ring, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Will as I marveled at the fact that I was engaged to this beautiful and loving man.
After tea, we strolled back slowly to the cottage, where we would have some time alone before meeting our guests at the main house. Having gotten caught up in each other upon our return to the cottage, we ended up running a little late and had to hurry to get ready to meet our guests.
Will had another of Emma’s selections for me that night, a cocktail dress with spaghetti straps that had black lacy material over cream satin. It was form-fitting and I was really worried that it wouldn’t fit. Thankfully, it did. It came with a pair of black satin pumps with a matching evening bag. Will joined me in the bathroom and ran his hands up and down the sides of my dress.
“You look sexy.”
“I don’t think sexy was what I was going for tonight since we’ll be having dinner with your family.”
“Okay, strike that then. Gorgeous. Of course, you always look sexy to me.”
I looked in the mirror and was shocked that I actually looked somewhat good next to my movie star soon-to-be-husband in his designer black suit.
Over the previous two nights, I had felt like Cinderella between my engagement to Prince
Charming, the palace where we were staying, and my clothes that were far nicer than anything I’d ever worn before. I kept waiting to wake up and find that I was back in law school dreaming.
Chapter Thirty-Five
When we arrived at the wood-paneled and candlelit private dining room reserved for our party, our guests were all there waiting for us, standing around talking in groups with drinks in their hands.
I recognized only a little more than half the faces in the room. I could tell that the ones who didn’t know me were sizing me up as I entered the room, especially the two women slightly older than me who bore a striking resemblance to Will.
Will held my hand and didn’t let go as he led me around the room to make introductions.
We first greeted his parents, who were very warm in their congratulations. I then met Olivia, Will’s eldest sister, her husband, and their five year-old daughter. Olivia was tall and dark-haired like her brother, but with very feminine features similar to that of a china-doll and had more of the look of her mother than Will did. Her husband, Geoffrey, was taller than Will, fair-haired and with a fair complexion. Their little girl, Emily, had the china-doll face of her mother, but with lighter hair and skin, more like a blend of her parents.
After introductions, Emily was the first to speak. “Is Shannon going to be my Auntie?”
Will picked her up, gave her a hug, and responded in the affirmative.
Olivia then spoke, “Welcome to our family. We’re couldn’t be more happy for you and Will.”
“Thank you,” was all I could say. I was nervous.
I then met Will’s middle sister, Emma. But for the fact that I knew she was a few years older, I would have thought that she and Will were fraternal twins. She had brought her boyfriend, James, with her. James looked to be of my relative gene pool, with dark brownish-red hair, brown eyes and freckled skin that was darker than mine. Red hair definitely became him.
I took the opportunity to thank Emma for shopping for me.
“Emma, I can’t thank you enough for all this. You have excellent taste. I loved the blue dress from last night as well. I don’t know how you managed it, but they both fit perfectly.”
“I can’t take complete credit for it. Will got your sizes and relative measurements from your clothing and shoes when he visited you in Berlin.”
I looked at Will questioningly, wondering when he had time to do that.
She continued, “I had them translated into British sizes. I then called your sister to find out what you liked.”
“What did she think you were doing?”
“I told her you were going to a party with Will. She asked a lot of questions though. You’re going to have to call her soon if you haven’t already.”
I just then realized that I hadn’t had a chance to call my family. I had thought about it that morning, but the time difference meant that it was the middle of the night in California and then the day got away from me.
“Well, you did an excellent job. These clothes seem to fit like they were made for me.”
“You look beautiful. I’m glad you like them. Hopefully, sometime in the near future, we’ll be able to go shopping together.”
“Absolutely. I hope you come to L.A. soon to visit.”
“I’ll plan on it.”
Will then led me to greet his friends from Shepperton. Pete had a girlfriend with him, but Niall and Damon were stag. The guys all gave me cheek kisses and hugs. I could see a little envy in Niall’s green eyes and he hugged me a little tighter than he should have considering I was engaged to one of his best friends.
“You’re gorgeous,” Niall said in my ear. He spoke to me like Will did and it made me uncomfortable. The fact that he looked at me as if I wasn’t wearing anything didn’t help.
Pete then introduced me to his girlfriend, Susan. Susan, a tall, thin and fair woman, looked almost as awed by our surroundings as I was. She seemed to be comfortable around Will though, like she had known him for a while. I assumed that Pete and Susan had been together for a long time.
I then met Will’s roommate from his university days, Patrick, Patrick’s girlfriend Sarah, and two of Will’s supporting cast-mates from his first big film, the third installment of The Adventures of Henry Blake, Jane and Gerry, along with their respective dates.
Finally, we greeted Pam and Jane, who were both practically jumping up and down when they saw us headed their way. Pam looked at me almost like she didn’t recognize me.
“Look at you! You’re so beautiful. My God!”
“She always is,” Will interrupted.
“Let us see the ring.” Pam was impatient.
I held up my left hand for them.
“Wow! Congratulations again,” Pam gave us both hugs and cheek kisses as did Jane, although Jane blushed after kissing Will.
Will’s mother came over to us at that point and asked that we all take our seats. We were led to the two seats in the middle of a long table on the side that faced the windows. There were ten seats on each side of the table with a chair for little Emily on one end where she could be flanked by her parents.
Will’s parents sat directly opposite us and the rest of the guests fanned out on either side. Will sat to my left, continuing to hold my left hand. Emma and James sat to my right. Pete and his girlfriend were on the other side of Will. I noticed Pam toward the end of the table on the opposite side of me and that Niall was sitting next to her. I smirked as I realized that Niall now had found another redhead to draw his attention.
As we sat down, we were served champagne and Will’s father led a toast to start the evening, congratulating Will on his brilliant choice of fiancée and welcoming me to the family.
I smiled and mouthed the words, “Thank you.” Had it not been for the candlelight, I’m sure it would have been clear that I was blushing. Will squeezed my hand under the table and started playing with my engagement ring with his thumb.
After the toast, we were served wine and soup to start. It appeared that this was going to be a multi-course meal. I was nervous and played with my soup a little before tasting it. Nerves were killing my appetite.
Will must have noticed because he leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Relax.” Then he kissed my neck just under my ear. With everyone looking as he did this, the last thing I was going to do was relax. When he noticed that this seemed to have the opposite effect, he took my left hand between both of his and started to massage it.
I decided that I should probably go to the restroom and splash a little cold water on my face. I excused myself and Will followed me until I got out the door. As soon as the door closed behind us, he pulled me close and kissed me.
“Are you going to be all right?”
“I’m fine. This is wonderful.”
“Are you sure?” He didn’t believe me.
“I’m just a little overwhelmed. A little cool water will make me human again.”
“Okay. Don’t be too long. I love you.”
“I love you.”
He kissed me again, let me go, and returned to our guests.
I hadn’t been in the ladies’ room too long before Pam joined me. As she entered, I was putting a cold wet towel on my face.
“Where did you get that dress and those shoes?”
“A surprise from Will. His sister, Emma, picked them out.”
“Wow! You look stunning. But are you okay? You looked a little terror-stricken there for a minute.”
“Oh my God! Do you think everyone noticed?”
“No. I just know you.”
“This has been a bit overwhelming. I certainly didn’t grow up poor by any stretch of the imagination, but this is all just too much: movie star fiancé, massive diamonds, designer clothes, world-class hotels. I keep waiting to wake up.”
“You’re not the only one. You know Will is putting Jane and me up here as well.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I asked rhetorically.
Pam answered anyway. “Will thought it wou
ld be too far for Jane and me to drive home tonight. I guess most of his family and friends don’t live that far from here. Thanks to you, besides staying at this palatial estate, I flew first class and had my own suite at a luxury hotel in Berlin. Not quite the starving student tour of Europe we planned, is it?”
“No, but at least you don’t have twenty people out there wondering how you could possibly be good enough for someone like Will.”
“I don’t think they’re thinking that.”
“How could they not?”
“Because you’re a class act, Shannon. It’s obvious. You belong in this world.”
“I don’t feel like I do. I feel like a fish out of water, and that Will’s friends and family will realize I don’t fit in his life.”
“They won’t. Besides, even if they did, which they won’t, it wouldn’t matter because Will thinks you do. He loves you. It’s obvious. Now let’s get back in there and enjoy your party.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“What are friends for?”
Before we walked in the room together, I thought I would return the favor. “By the way, I noticed that you were sitting next to Will’s friend, Niall.”
“Yes. I met him. He’s very good-looking.”
“I should warn you. He has a thing for redheads.”
Pam stood up a little straighter and smiled. “Really? I’ll keep that in mind.”
We walked into the room together and no one seemed to make anything of it as it was not uncommon for women to go to the restroom in pairs. They didn’t seem to guess that Pam had gone to pry me out of there.
I sat back down at the table and Will grabbed my hand again. He turned to look at me and asked, “Better now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just needed a few minutes.”
“I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”
I squeezed his hand in response.
The salad course was served next. I picked at it a little, still having butterflies that were interfering with my appetite, but I knew I had to eat something in light of the champagne I had and the fact that I was currently drinking wine.
Away From the Spotlight Page 25
