Some Like Them Rich

by Shirley Hailstock

  And I was thinking about it. Jack and Lila had found love. Casey was offering me the opportunity to get what I wanted. Why was I hesitating? Why was Don here acting like a protective father?

  “Just a minute. Let me try the dress on and see if it needs returning.” I went up the stairs, refusing to answer his question.

  Jack and Lila were right. The dress was perfect. It was royal blue, a color that looked great on me. It had gentle folds that crisscrossed over the bodice and back. Spaghetti straps made of rhinestones looped over the shoulders and the skirt fell in straight folds to the floor.

  I whirled around, smiling at the way I looked in the mirror, feeling the soft swirl of cloth about my legs.

  I didn’t want to take it off, but I knew Don was waiting for me downstairs. I looked at the price tag and gasped, but I’d suck it in and pay for it. This was my best friends’ wedding. The dress was the least I could do.

  But I might be living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of the year.

  “I’ll take the dress,” I said, returning downstairs. Don was standing in the living room looking out of the big picture window at the ocean in the distance. He turned a second after I spoke. I wondered what he’d been thinking. “You can let the charge go through.”

  He nodded and started for the door. Something around my heart contracted and I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Don,” I called as he approached the door. He stopped, but took a couple of seconds before turning back. “Can we talk?”

  “Do we have anything to say?” he asked.

  “We must.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “Because you’re here. You could have had the dress sent over, but you brought it.”

  “I told you no one else was available.”

  “It wasn’t an emergency, Don. The wedding isn’t taking place today. The dress could have been sent tomorrow or even the next day. And you obviously have personal guests that you left to come here.”

  “Personal guests? How would you know that?”

  “I was at the ferry this morning. I saw you greet them. She’s very pretty.”

  “Thank you,” was all he said. I’d hoped for an explanation of her relationship with him, but that was not forthcoming.

  “So why did you really bring the dress?”

  He looked at the floor then up at me. “I felt I needed to apologize.”

  “I’m not one of the hotel guests. You don’t have to give me the customer service treatment.”

  He sighed. His eyes closed for a moment, then opened. At that moment he started toward me. I had an urge to run, move, do something, but like an indecisive idiot I stayed where I was.

  One of Don’s arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me into his body. With the other one, he raised my chin until I was looking at him.

  “You are such a gorgeous bitch,” he said. Then he kissed me, his mouth descending hard on mine. His hand moved from my chin to the crown of my head and held my mouth to his. I’d heard of and read about punishing kisses before, but if this is what that was supposed to be, it failed miserably.

  I’d missed seeing Don, missed having him hold me, missed talking to him, seeing him on the beach in the mornings, and missed kissing him, snuggling up to him in bed.

  I melted in his arms, sliding into the kiss as if we’d always been part of a couple, a pair, an us. His mouth softened against mine. The hard hands that kept me immobile encircled me in a caress. My arms went around his neck and I gave up any thought. I was happy where I was, content to remain there for as long as I could. His arms tightened and the kiss changed direction. His tongue invaded my mouth, sweeping around in a sensation that was both tickling and erotic.

  My body tingled. I leaned into him, aligning my body to fit in all the places that aroused pleasure in me. I felt myself moan, the action involuntary. I was almost at the point of tearing Don’s clothes off and taking him right on the foyer floor. But suddenly I was free. Cold air rushed in where heat had been turning me to liquid.

  Don turned and was gone. The sound of the door closing echoed through the empty house. I sat down on the floor where I’d been standing, that hollow feeling growing larger inside me.

  Weddings entailed a lot of details that needed attention. I’d promised Jack and Lila to take care of some of them. But I couldn’t do it right now. I needed to get out of the house. I needed to find a place where there were no images of Don Randall. I’d promised Casey I’d have dinner with him at seven. There wasn’t much time. But I was going to take it and get out of here.

  The beach was my only option, but not our beach, not the one where I met Don, the one where we talked about ourselves, our dreams. I got in the car and headed for the other side of the island. There wasn’t much that interested me, too many people having fun. Finally I found a place to pull over. It was on a hill, above the ocean. Sitting down in the sand with my pad and pencil, I could think of nothing to write except sympathy passages. I worked nonstop for an hour, refusing to allow myself to think about Don.

  But there was Casey. I checked my watch and nearly jumped up. I was going to be late for our date. Rushing back to the house, I showered and dressed. When he rang the doorbell, I only needed to finish my hair and makeup.

  “It’s open,” I called from upstairs. I watched him come in. “I’ll be down in just a minute.” It actually took me ten minutes to get everything done. “Sorry,” I said, entering the living room. Casey stood at the exact place Don had stood earlier this afternoon.

  Casey turned. “It was worth the wait,” he said, obviously appreciating my outfit. I wore red. Tonight I felt like it should be about me. I wanted to be noticed. I wanted every man in the room to know that I was there.

  “I have a reservation. We should go.” Casey checked his watch.

  Grabbing a wrap, I slipped it over my shoulders and went through the door. Casey took my arm and guided me to the car. It wasn’t until he was driving along the beach road that I realized he was heading for the St. Romaine.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer, but needing it confirmed anyway.

  “Often I tend to stay around the hotel, but tonight I hoped you wouldn’t mind going a little farther.”

  I could have kissed him.

  “I made a reservation at the Seaport. The concierge highly recommended it.”

  My elation slipped. If he’d spoken to the concierge, then undoubtedly Don knew where he was going and that more than likely I was the person he was going with. Shrugging off thoughts of Don, I turned my attention back to the man I was with.

  It only took twenty minutes to reach the Seaport. As its name implied, it was a seafood restaurant. The motif was seashells and miniature ships everywhere. We were shown to an out-of-the-way table near the wall.

  Dinner was a success. I laughed at Casey’s jokes and genuinely liked him. He was interesting, didn’t talk about himself much. While he loved his son, Joel was not the primary topic of conversation. We spoke about art, books we read, places we’d seen or wanted to see, movies. When we got to our families, I steered away from the absolute truth. I remembered I was still playing a role and that Don was the only person who knew the truth about me.

  There he was again, invading my thoughts. I was with Casey. I was having a wonderful time. I wouldn’t let Don encroach upon that.

  “I heard about your friends,” Casey said when the coffee was served. “They’re getting married.”

  I nodded. “The wedding is in a week.”

  “Is that enough time? When I got married, my wife took almost a year with the planning.”

  “Usually it does take that kind of time when you have to order gowns, order invitations, reserve the church and hall.”

  “I don’t see why that would take more than a few weeks.”

  “There is a large demand for space, and of course there is the family argument.”

  We both laughed. “There is that,” Casey said.
“It came to a point when we almost eloped just to stop everyone from fighting.”

  “But the day turned out gloriously, right?”

  “It was perfect. My mother cried. Her mother cried. I was never so happy.”

  “That’s wonderful,” I whispered. I wondered why he wanted to marry me. Obviously he was still in love with his wife.

  “You might be thinking that I could never find that kind of love again.”

  “It did cross my mind.”

  “I don’t expect to. I’d be content with only a fraction of it.”

  “So you believe there is only one true love for everyone?”

  “Not exactly. I believe that love grows, that you can fall deeper in love with someone as time goes on.”

  “And you’re willing to settle for that?”

  “I don’t look at it as settling. As I told you, I am in love with you.”

  I bit my tongue, but I still asked the question that was on my mind. “You believe that if you married me in time I would grow to have the kind of love you’ve experienced before?”

  “I do,” he said with the same reverence he would use for the marriage vow. “I haven’t been looking for women. I resigned myself to being alone, rearing my son and taking what life gave me. But meeting you changed that for me.”

  “It did?”

  “I can see you’re very beautiful. You probably have male friends falling all over you. You may have other marriage proposals. But I do love you. And I can promise you that if you do marry me, there will be no one between us.”

  “Casey …” I started.

  “You do feel a little bit of love for me, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do.” He stopped me before I could say but …

  “I know we could be good together. I can keep you in your current lifestyle, and in time you’d come to love me.”

  It sounded plausible. In fact, it sounded exactly like the life I intended to find when I embarked on this adventure.

  “Will you marry me, Amber?”

  I thought about it. It was as good as it would get. I’d have what I wanted and Don could go to hell.

  “Yes,” I said.

  Casey got up then, a huge smile on his face. He pulled me out of the chair and kissed me. After a moment, my arms snaked around his neck and I joined him in the kiss.

  “You did it!” Jack nearly jumped up and down when I told her I was engaged. “I am so glad.”

  “What about Don?” Lila asked. She couldn’t have spoiled the moment more if she’d stepped off a cliff. I wanted them to be happy for me. I wanted them to embrace Casey, not ask about Don.

  “Don has nothing to do with this,” I said, my voice a little strained. Images of Don hugging the woman at the pier came to me. “Besides, I think he has other women on his mind.” And possibly in his bed, I added silently. That thought almost made me gag. I covered it with a cough.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When you two left for Boston, I saw Don at the pier. He was quite intimate with a beautiful woman who got off the ferry. But let’s not talk about Don. Show me the gown.”

  Thankfully the two of them got excited about what they’d bought. Quickly, they started to pull dresses, underwear, and shoes out of bags.

  “Are we going to make this a triple wedding?” Jack asked, hope in her voice.

  “I’m afraid not,” I said. “Casey and I decided to wait until we were back on the mainland. We want to get to know each other a little better.”

  “Did you tell him?” Jack asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Shouldn’t you base a relationship on honesty?”

  “I suppose, but then we wouldn’t be here.”

  “Good point,” Lila said.

  “Casey is leaving in the morning. He’s stayed longer than he expected. I’m going to meet him and spend the day, but I’ve made a lot of arrangements. There’s a list on the kitchen counter of the florists. The plans for the yard and the inside have been sketched out. I printed the pictures. The bakers included photos of cake designs. You choose the one you want. The minister had no problem with the change of venue. He’ll be here at five.”

  I stopped, trying to remember the other details I was charged with.

  “The dress you chose is fabulous.”

  “I knew you’d like it,” Jack stated.

  “Oh yes,” I said. “You both have several messages by the phone in the kitchen. Apparently, word is out about the wedding and some of your friends are planning to come up for the nuptials. I’ll see you around dinnertime, but don’t count on me. Casey is taking me to dinner.”

  “Casey, Casey, Casey,” Jack said. “Who would have thought it?”

  With a wave, I ran out. I didn’t want to stay around Jack. I knew she favored Don. But we didn’t all get what we wanted in life.

  Casey pulled to a stop in front of the house just as I reached the porch. Bounding down the stairs, I opened the car door and got inside.

  “Hi, Joel,” I said as I took my seat. He smiled widely as if he was glad to see me. “Are you ready for our picnic?”

  “Yes, did you bring a swimming suit?”

  “I have it on under my clothes.”

  “Dad says we can swim in the ocean again.”

  “That’s right.” During our last picnic, the three of us had gone to the ocean. We looked like a family. I wondered if Casey was trying to instill that in me by choosing to spend the day there.

  “We have a pool in our backyard,” Joel said. “But the beach is so much fun.”

  “It is,” I agreed. Although I hated the grittiness of sand, I didn’t want to spoil the child’s happiness.

  “Are we going to the same beach?” I asked Casey.

  “Is that all right?”

  “It’s perfect.” Farther away from the St. Romaine was fine with me.

  For several minutes we drove without speaking. Joel settled in the backseat and looked at the sea on our left.

  Casey broke the silence. “I hear the brides are back.”

  “I picked them up this morning. They are well into the planning.”

  “Is that the kind of wedding you want?”

  “Every woman dreams of orange blossoms, white gowns, and a church full of family and friends. They’re not doing that, at least not on a grand scale.”

  “I thought they would want all the trimmings.”

  It was an opening. Here was where I could tell Casey that I wasn’t the heiress or the rich girl that I pretended to be. The limousine that brought us here was hired. It was taking all our savings to finance this summer. The words were on my tongue. Casey deserved to know. Jack had said trust was one of the essentials to a marriage. But somehow no words came. I didn’t utter a sound about my status.

  “Isn’t that what you want?” Casey prompted.

  “I thought I did.” I looked out at the ocean. “For years I’ve dreamed of a huge wedding with twelve bridesmaids and all my family and friends in attendance.” I looked back at him. “But now I think a small, intimate ceremony would be much better.”

  He nodded.

  “What would you like?” I asked.

  “Well, I’ve gone through the big wedding. I think a small ceremony would be best, but it is your first time. Are you sure you’d be satisfied?”

  “I’m sure,” I said. It seemed the right thing to do. Of course, Jack and Lila would be there. My parents would come up from Florida. The Disney park could survive a few days without my father. I could almost hear him saying those words. They’d been to visit me several times since moving away. Yet I hadn’t called them with the news of my upcoming marriage.

  Outside of Jack and Lila, I’d told no one.

  Chapter 22

  The table we were led to at the restaurant was on the opposite side of the room, far away from the one Amber and I had shared just over a week ago. I couldn’t believe only a week had passed since I spent the evening here and subsequently, the rapturous night on the beach with A
mber. I’d relived that night hundreds of times in my sleep and during daydreams that came upon me at the oddest and most inconvenient times. The absurdity of the night’s outcome hung over me like a personal rain cloud.

  Before my father arrived, Jeff had called me out on it during one of my morning rounds, asking if something in my life had changed. Apparently, there was something different about the way I’d been acting. And it was noticeable. I covered my behavior by telling him I was tired and had a lot on my mind. Both statements were true, but not for the reason Jeff thought. And he wasn’t the only person who’d mentioned changes in me. I was going through hell and there wasn’t a soul I could tell about it. The one person I wanted to talk to was off-limits.

  Amber.

  Not because she had set a limit. Because I had. When she said she was going out with Casey Edwards the very morning I was bringing her home, I felt as if the world was ending. After an earth-moving, soul-shattering experience, how she could throw me such a sucker punch was unbelievable.

  Never had I met such an unreasonable woman.

  “Do they still serve that crab imperial dish here?” my sister Tasha asked. “It was delicious the last time I was here.” Tasha was the woman Amber had witnessed me hugging at the pier.

  “They do,” I told her. “And it’s just as good as you remember it.”

  I knew it was. I’d eaten it the night I brought Amber here. I’d tried to convince my father and sister to eat somewhere else, but Tasha wanted to come here.

  The place had Amber overtones everywhere. I remember how the light hit her face, how she smiled when we talked about things we’d done in our youth.

  “I’ll have the lobster Thermidore,” my father ordered. He was very predictable. He always ordered the same thing or something similar. Not a risk taker when it came to food, he did risk quite a few major life changes, including taking over the hotel business when his own father died suddenly.

  Raleigh St. Romaine took two ailing hotels and turned them into a first-rate chain. He’d taught his children to enjoy the finer things in life. He also taught us the value of money and to keep our heads out of the clouds.