Flashing a smile in her direction, Elliot pulled the car into a spot in long-term parking. “We are.”
“Wait a minute,” she sputtered. “I’m not prepared to go anywhere overnight. I don’t even have my toothbrush.” Or a change of clothes, she added silently.
Elliot just grinned at her. “Surely you didn’t buy Cassie’s story last night? I told her about my plan, and she offered to get your suitcase ready. You have nothing to worry about.” He opened her door for her and grabbed two suitcases out of his trunk and headed, whistling, toward the airport. Rebecca stood next to the car for a second, now wide-awake. This is crazy, she thought, watching Elliot. Heaven only knows what Cassie packed for me. I could be wearing tight dresses for the next few days.
She followed Elliot slowly across the parking lot, her mind wandering. Could he be taking her somewhere to get engaged and then married? It seemed like he’d been talking about weddings for several weeks, although he’d never said anything about them getting married.
Elliot glanced over his shoulder and called, “Hurry up, slow poke, or we’ll miss our flight!”
Rebecca had just decided that this would be the perfect way to marry Elliot–to leave Chicago single and return married with no one the wiser–when they walked through the airport doors. She started to head for the ticket counter, but Elliot shook his head. “I checked in online,” he told her, laughing at her expression.
It wasn’t until they were standing in the security line that he finally let her see her ticket. “Pellston, Michigan?” she asked, trying not to sound disappointed.
“I thought it would be fun to visit Locke for a few days,” he said, watching her closely. “Why, were you hoping for somewhere else?”
“No, it’ll be great to see him again.” Rebecca didn’t really know what she’d been expecting, but a return trip to Michigan wasn’t one of them. “Are we going to his house on the island?”
“That’s the plan,” Elliot told her.
She sat on the plane next to him and fell asleep almost as soon as they were in the air, Elliot’s arm around her. She woke up when he shook her gently. “Look out the window,” he said softly.
The leaves were in their full glory this far north, and she caught her breath as the plane moved closer and closer to the ground. “I’ve never been to Mackinac in the fall. It’s beautiful.”
He smiled faintly and put his hand in his pocket. It looked like he was checking to make sure he hadn’t misplaced his car keys. Or a ring. “I hope you think so in a few hours,” he muttered under his breath.
Rebecca opened her mouth to ask him what he’d meant by that, but he stood up before she could say anything. He kissed her when she rose out of her seat and held her hand as they waited for their luggage at the plane’s exit.
Locke had left his car parked for them in short-term parking, and Elliot was quiet as they drove to the ferry. “Isn’t Locke taking us across the lake?” Rebecca asked, watching the waves surge against the dock. “I thought we were here to visit him.”
“Hm?” Elliot had his hand in his pocket again. “Oh, Locke. We’ll see him in a little while. He had things to do up at the house so I told him we’d meet him there.”
“Okay,” Rebecca said slowly. The closer he got to Mackinac Island the stranger he acted. She grinned at him and slipped her arm around his waist. “This is fun,” she told him, hoping she wasn’t reading more in his actions than was really there. “I’m glad we came.”
Some of the nervousness left his eyes when she said that, and he bent down to kiss her, long and slow. “I’m glad you think so,” he told her breathlessly when they parted. “I’ve been planning this trip for a while now.”
“How long exactly are we staying?” she asked, finding a seat on the ferry and watching as his hand disappeared back into his pocket.
He shrugged. “As long as you want. I can work from up here, and I already talked to your boss. She said Friday was the last of most of your story sessions and the next ones weren’t starting for another week or two, so if you wanted to take a little time off she wouldn’t mind.”
“So that’s why you were talking to Sarah!” Rebecca exclaimed. “I thought you said something about a column on literacy.”
“I might still do that,” he said, pulling her closer to his side. “You never know. Maybe I’ll write it next month.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, Rebecca just laughed softly. “You went to a lot of trouble for me,” she said fondly, looking up at him and touching his cheek. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He leaned his forehead against hers and exhaled. “Let’s hope you never have to find out.”
They wandered down Main Street hand in hand after making arrangements for their luggage to be sent to Casa Shaw, stopping in front of the used bookstore that Locke had taken her to.
“I saw you, you know,” he said abruptly. “That day I took Nicole on that stupid carriage ride, I saw you and Locke go in here. I think I would have given anything to switch places with him at that moment.”
Squeezing his hand, she started walking again. “I know,” she sighed. “I felt the same way. Even though I love Locke, I wanted to spend the whole week with you.”
He stared at her and opened his mouth as though he were going to ask her something. Then he closed it and walked purposefully toward Locke’s house. “Let’s go to the house for lunch,” he said, his arm now firmly about her waist. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”
But when they arrived at the house, Elliot didn’t go up the steps that led to the front door. Instead, he headed toward the beach. “I thought you were hungry!” she said, laughing at his quickening pace. “The food’s that way, Elliot.”
He stopped walking, allowing her to go ahead of him. “No, it’s not,” he whispered, his hands curled around her shoulders. “Look.”
Someone had laid a blanket on the sand. There was a large picnic basket in the center, anchoring the blanket against the wind. “How did you do this?” she asked, stepping cautiously toward their lunch. “Did Locke–”
“Ssh.” Elliot placed a finger against her lips. “I don’t want to talk about anyone except for you and me this afternoon.” He sat down and patted the space next to him. “Come on,” he urged. “Your lunch is calling.”
They were halfway through the contents of the picnic basket when Elliot cleared his throat and glanced at her sidelong. “Have you forgiven me yet for writing that column?” he asked, flushing slightly.
“The column?” Rebecca placed a piece of cheese in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah, I have. I still don’t know why you couldn’t just have said those things to my face, though.”
Looking embarrassed, Elliot gave her another bottle of juice. “Well, I was desperate. And I couldn’t stomach facing another rejection.”
“So you decided it’d be more fun to be rejected in front of thousands of people than alone in your living room.”
Elliot paused for a second before saying anything. “Well, if you put it that way, it does sound kind of irrational. But I got what I wanted in the end.” He looked over at her, a look so intense she caught her breath.
“And what was that?”
He stood quickly and brushed the crumbs from his pants. “Come with me for a minute,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
Laughing, she stuffed their discarded lunch in the basket, her eyes dancing when she saw his foot tapping the sand impatiently. “You don’t want some poor unsuspecting bird to get a hold of this stuff,” she admonished.
Muttering something that sounded like, “If a bird’s stupid enough to eat my lunch, it deserves a stomachache,” he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the beach, scowling even more when she patted him sympathetically on the arm. When she kissed his chin, he grinned down at her.
“I’m a little nervous,” he confessed. “I’m taking a bit of a risk here, you know.”
Rebecca’s eyebrows rose. “You are? What have
you done now?”
He tucked her hand in his jacket pocket and smiled. “You’ll see in a minute.”
The rocks where Locke had unburdened his heart so many weeks ago were just ahead, and Elliot helped her climb up. They stood at the water’s edge for a long time, Elliot’s arms around her waist. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed in contentment.
“This is the place where I finally realized I was still in love with you.” Elliot’s voice rumbled in her ear. “I saw what you did for Locke, and I knew I had to win you back somehow. It was torture that whole week, watching the two of you become close. I was so worried you were developing the kind of relationship that would lead to love, not friendship.”
“But you knew it wouldn’t,” she reminded him gently. “I know Locke told you he considered me a little sister.”
“He did.” Elliot sounded surprised. “And I can’t tell you how glad I am. All those sleepless nights I spent in that house, wondering what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just tell you how I felt and get on with things?”
Rebecca smiled to herself. It made her feel just a little bit better, knowing that Elliot had shared her doubts. “The uncertainty almost killed me,” she said. “Deep down I knew all those columns were about me, but part of my brain couldn’t help but think that I was totally and completely misreading you. Until the last one, of course.” She looked up at him and smiled into his eyes. He swallowed, hard, then took a step away from her.
“I think I’m ready to turn over a new leaf,” he said, his voice sounding strange. “Starting right now.” As though his legs could no longer hold his weight, he sank down onto his knees in front of her and pulled something out of the pocket his hand had been in all day.
“I love you. You know I do. I can’t go a day without hearing your voice or seeing your smile or knowing that you’re happy. I want to be able to smell your perfume every second of every day, in my home, on my clothes, in my car, to know that I don’t have to leave when it’s bedtime...”He ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up in little tufts. “I don’t know if it’s too soon, but this is...”
He opened the box to reveal the single most perfect engagement ring Rebecca had ever seen. She could feel the tears streaming down her face, but for once she didn’t care that she was crying because of Elliot. “Are you asking me to marry you?” she asked.
“I’m asking you to consider the option, when you’re ready.” His voice was hoarse with emotion.
“And what if I’m ready now?”
He started and almost fell off the rock. When he’d righted himself he got to his feet and grasped her hands in his. “Then I have something to ask you. Will you marry me, Rebecca Done?”
Laughing through her tears, she nodded her head and threw her arms around his neck. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she cried, his shirt becoming damp under her cheek. “I love you. I never stopped loving you. I didn’t really even try.”
He kissed her then, letting all the past anxiety and worry and disappointment finally seep out of them and wash away in the lake beneath them. When he pulled away at last, he slid the ring on her finger, his face jubilant.
“Let’s go,” he said exultantly. “We have a lot to do today.”
Her face matching his, she laughed at his excitement. “What do you mean? We have months to plan a wedding. It doesn’t all have to happen right now.”
“You did just agree to marry me?” he asked, swinging her down off the rocks and twirling her around like a top.
“I did,” she gasped. She couldn’t stop laughing. She didn’t know if she wanted to stop.
“Then we’re doing it today. You said you wanted a small wedding, right?”
Rebecca squirmed out of his grasp and stared at him. “Are you suggesting we elope?”
He made a face. “I guess you could call it that,” he said, “but that’s not what we’re really doing. Come on up to the house. You’ll see what I mean.”
They half ran across the beach, past their lunch spot that had been cleared away, and up to Locke’s house. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside. As soon as they reached the front door, it flew open to reveal not only Locke, but Cassie and Jen as well.
Locke took one look at Elliot’s face and stepped forward to thump him on the back wordlessly. Cassie and Jen, however, stared at Rebecca expectantly.
“Well?” they chorused, trying to see her left hand.
She pulled it from Elliot’s and they immediately surrounded her, hugging first Rebecca and then Elliot. “Welcome to the family,” Cassie said to Elliot, her face alight with happiness. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to say that.”
Elliot reclaimed his fiancée from Jen and pushed her inside. “Wait a minute,” she protested. “What’s going on?” It occurred to her that she’d been saying that an awful lot over the past few days. She wondered if it would ever sink in.
Elliot pulled a piece of paper, much folded, from his pocket. “I happen to know that you wanted a small wedding,” he said, smiling slightly at her look of surprise. “You told me exactly who you wanted to be there, in fact. Let me read this for you. ‘Cassie and Michael, obviously. And Jen and Scott. Haley, but not Nicole’.” Cassie snorted and tried to snatch the paper from Elliot, but he held it above her head where she couldn’t reach. “‘And Locke. Definitely Locke’. You also said you didn’t care if the rest of your family was here, so I didn’t bother with them. I hope you don’t mind.”
Rebecca could only blink at him. “This is all awfully fast,” she said faintly. “We don’t even have a marriage license.”
“Actually, we do. Michigan law states that only one of the people getting married needs to actually be present to get a license. Where did you think I was last week? I hopped on a plane and got one.”
“Didn’t they need my consent?” Rebecca asked, not recognizing the sound of her own voice.
“All I had to do was bring your birth certificate, which your sister got for me.” Cassie smiled hugely and did a little curtsey. “So we’re ready to go as soon as you are. Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet.” Elliot’s voice was teasing, but she could see a hint of panic in his eyes.
“Not this time,” she assured him. “But I don’t have a dress...”Her voice trailed off when she saw the smirk on Cassie’s face. “Never mind,” she sighed. “I didn’t really want to shop for wedding dresses, anyway. All that fuss and bother over a bunch of tulle and lace.”
“Tulle and lace?” Cassie planted her hands on her hips, obviously affronted. “Who do you think I am, Nicole’s wedding planner? I’ll have you know there’s not an inch of tulle in your dress.”
Elliot was staring at her. “So you’ll do it? You’ll marry me today in Locke’s back yard?”
She grinned at him, fervently as excited as he was. “Only if we can do it in the library,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.
“I told you that was what she’d say.” Locke smirked at Elliot and embraced the two of them. “It’s already set up in there. Now go get dressed!”
Cassie nearly pushed her up the stairs and into the bedroom she’d used before, all the while talking about how splendid it was to have another eloper in the family. “I don’t think William will be nearly as heartbroken to miss my big day as he was for yours,” Rebecca said wryly. She had a feeling William and Elisa wouldn’t even register the fact that she was no longer single for quite some time.
“You’re probably right, but you can’t tell me you really care.” Cassie’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Look where it got me… Out of the house and independent. Of course, you’re already doing that, but that’s beside the point.”
Jen closed the door behind them, and Haley appeared from the bathroom to beam at Rebecca. “I’d hug you, but we’ve got things to do,” she said, motioning for Rebecca to get into the shower. “Hurry up and get clean. Then the fun begins!”
As she stood under the water, Rebecca marveled at how fast thing
s had changed for her. Six weeks ago she’d been playing girl detective and nabbing the thief who’d been pilfering the family fortune. A month ago and she was proclaiming her love in front of thousands of people downtown Chicago. And today she was getting married. It seemed so surreal, but yet she wouldn’t change a thing.
The girls were already dressed when she emerged from the bathroom. “I hope you don’t mind,” Cassie said, towel drying her sister’s hair. “Elliot and I decided that you wouldn’t really want a large wedding party, so I’m your matron of honor and Locke is best man.”
“That’s perfect. I wouldn’t have done any differently.”
With three people fixing her hair and doing her makeup, it took hardly any time before Cassie finally brought out her dress. “Most of the credit for this day goes to Elliot, you know,” she explained. “He helped me choose your dress, too. He seemed to have very decided opinions on how you should look today. You’re lucky I agreed with him. Just step into it,” she advised, “and then you can see yourself when you’re all put together.”
Jen zipped up the back and they led her to the mirror that Cassie had confiscated from another room. Rebecca gazed at her reflection, wondering if the woman looking back was really her. The dress was stunning in its elegance and simplicity, and she had to give Cassie and Elliot credit. She couldn’t have picked a better dress if she’d tried.
She stared at herself for a long time. The woman in the mirror looked like her; at least, she had the same face, but there was a marked difference. For the first time in seven years, she looked happy. No, more than happy, she realized. She looked joyful. She spun around and embraced her sister and her best friends, careless of the wrinkles Cassie was squawking about. “I don’t care about wrinkles,” she said, her voice betraying her joy. “I’m getting married in a few minutes. Can you believe it?”
Throwing fashion caution to the wind, Cassie hugged her back. “Of course I can believe it,” she told her sister, her eyes suspiciously bright. “I just got a text from Michael. Your groom is pacing the halls downstairs. Give us one minute before you come down.” After one last embrace, the three women disappeared down the stairs.
The Ex's Confession Page 39
