“I’m sorry I was so upset. I shouldn’t have just expected you to know.” He kissed her ear and trailed his lips down to her neck. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of how you are acting tonight.”
It took her a moment to realize what he said. At first she only heard him apologize. Almost like an after taste of something sour did her mind process the words about him being proud of her. “Proud of me?” She found the strength to put her hands on his shoulders and push him back.
“Yes, so proud. I didn’t know if you would ever understand. I’m glad we got that out of the way.” He went to kiss her once more.
If anything, there was a huge obstacle with spikes and a ring of fire looming between them. She leaned back, but swallowed her words. No matter what, she would keep her promise.
“Oh, you are being too good.” He raised his eyebrows. “Let’s sneak away for a while. We’ve talked to everyone.”
“There’s one couple you didn’t talk to.” A woman’s voice interrupted them.
She turned. Slate and Jade entered the foyer.
“Randolph?” She gave into her urge from before and pushed him back. Did he get back at her by inviting them without warning?
“Oh my God.” He growled from behind her.
“We wanted to wish you a happy wedding.” Jade came forward in a form fitting dress covered in oversized diamonds intertwined with what appeared to be a cord made out of money, her statement more than apparent.
In an old fashioned tuxedo and tails, Slate simply stood there shaking his head.
Her entire body broke out into a sweat. What did she expect from hiding? Again, she tried to step outside herself, but it didn’t work. Instead she was acutely aware of the how they simply stood staring at them and could pinpoint the exact moment her two worlds converged. Along with every other horrible thought running through her head, the one that stood out was that her only friends might not know not to say anything about their unique marriage.
Jade handed each of them a box. “I didn’t know if we should bring gifts.” No hug, no excitement, no laughs.
“It wasn’t necessary.” Even though her mouth seemed lined with sandpaper, she managed to speak and take the lid off the box to reveal a sugar bowl filled with artificial sweetener packets. The message clear, the present was for her artificial sugar daddy. Her friend nailed everything.
“I guess it wasn’t necessary to tell us you were married?” Jade looked between them, her eyes settling on Randolph.
Randolph opened his box. “What’s this?”
“A lock. If you want the key, you’ll have to buy it.” Jade narrowed her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. “Are you embarrassed of us? Are we only good enough to lend money to, but not good enough to invite to a life changing event? We were always on your side.”
“No.” She wouldn’t allow them to blame her husband and held her hand out. Already people were glancing their way. How many fiascos could she cause? “I asked him not to say anything, so he was just abiding by my wishes.”
“What?” Jade shook her head.
“No one is embarrassed of you. I was embarrassed of myself.” Unable to look at the faces of the people she lied to, she put the box on a side table, turned and rushed away. In her haste to flee she nearly bumped into two waiters, but even in the blur of her party, she spied her exit route. She turned and collided right into someone, the crash of crystal against marble echoing around her.
“Oh my!” Ms. Hartford gasped.
Three waiters rushed over and cleaned up the broken glass.
“I’m sorry.” She backed up. Every guest seemed to stop and stare in her direction. With her promise as broken as the glass, she bolted in the opposite direction. Randolph should have waited before telling her he was proud.
* * * *
Everyone held secrets. Everyone. Randolph learned that fact when he was a young child. No one was immune to hiding information when they felt they had no other alternative. Sometimes the information remained hidden, but many times, probably more often than not, it was uncovered.
When caught in one of these unfortunate situations, the best course of action was to address the situation in a calm, cool manner. Lucky for his wife, she was married to one of the best negotiators around, if he did say so himself.
He corralled Jade and Slate into the library, shut the door and put their gifts on one of the shelves.
“Well, we thought you were just sleeping with her.” Slate laughed.
“I thought she was my friend. We had a connection.” Jade hid her face in her hands.
“She is your friend.” He lifted his hand and paced back and forth across the floor, buying himself a moment to catch his thoughts. All night Willow tried to be the perfect wife, and he needed to help her. At last he stopped and faced them. “With knowing what you know, she was concerned you would think less of her. Please forgive her.”
Slate patted his girl. “We were shocked when the invitation was delivered. Actually it was delivered to me. Jade was my plus one.”
“You don’t understand.” Jade kept her head down.
No, he would never understand women’s relationships. He likened it to some sort of mystery like the pyramids. He tried to bend down to look her in the eye. Jade’s friendship was exceptionally important to his wife. “For what it’s worth, she adores you.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose we have to talk.”
Jade went out of her way to help Willow and deserved to hear from her, but he didn’t think his wife could handle anything more. “Maybe it can wait until after the holidays?”
She paused, but finally spoke. “It’s fine. I just thought we were part of her life. I don’t know if it will ever be the same.”
Though he wanted to get the situation tied up with a nice bow for Willow, he could only force the issue to a certain degree. “Listen, why don’t you go enjoy the party?”
Slate nodded and took Jade’s hand. “Come on baby, you wouldn’t let me eat anything, and you always said you wanted to see Randolph’s home.”
“Even dressed like this?” She lifted her head.
“Especially dressed like that,” Randolph raised his eyebrows.
His friends made their way toward the door. With the scant bit he knew about fashion, he predicted the women here would be wearing knock offs next week.
“Wait.” He hated the next words he had to say.
They turned toward him.
“You know the circumstance with our wedding isn’t the usual case.” He took a breath. “It goes without saying…” Even though he trusted these people, he needed to remind them of the most important detail.
“I think Jade’s dress and our gifts said it all. Give us some credit.” Slate held out his hand.
He shook Slate’s hand and smiled at Jade. “You’re always a plus one.”
She let out a lone laugh. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Is there more than just your contract thing between you?” Her voice lightened a small amount. All women loved romance wherever they could find it.
He froze, considering her words. Up until her question he didn’t consider it and no one asked him. Honestly, he didn’t have an answer. “I thought you were going to enjoy the party. I’ll be out in a moment.”
“When someone doesn’t answer a question, the answer is obvious.” Jade laughed.
His friends filed out of the library. He closed the door once more and stared up at the ceiling. The night he married Willow he was desperate and she was there. He never gave a second thought to entrenching her in his life. Hell, after all these weeks he didn’t really know her, didn’t know what she was like as a child, didn’t know what her favorite food was, didn’t know about her family. He only assumed she would catch on and be thrilled to be thrust into the world of excess without as much as an instruction book. Then, as icing on the cake, he told her he was proud as if she were some dog.
No wonder she did
n’t want her friends knowing they were married.
He had to find her. They needed to talk.
The thought of returning to the party made his stomach clench. He opened the door and devised another plan.
With metered steps and a smile chiseled on his face, he snuck toward the kitchen. Once through the double doors, he fought the need to wipe his brow. Before locating his spouse, he needed one critical thing. The one item guaranteed to make anyone smile, including him.
He turned toward the staff.
They all straightened.
“It’s good. All’s good.” He pointed in the direction of the locked laundry room. His timing needed to be perfect in order to make a clean getaway before he was intercepted, but he needed the magic elixir to make everything right.
From his pocket he retrieved his keys, unlocked the door and crouched down in anticipation of an attack.
Nothing.
No puffball ran toward him, barked in a mock imitation of a canine, no licks, no pawing his pants or scuffing his shoes. “Jeb?” He shut the door and scanned the room.
“Come here.” He got down on his knees and made a kissing sound. “Jebby, come here big boy.”
Still nothing.
His heart took residence in his throat. Not caring about the tuxedo, he crawled along the floor, glancing under the washer and dryer for any particularly adorable tuft of lint. “Why is everything so damn clean!” He pounded his fist into the marble floor. There wasn’t even an errant towel or piece of clothing for any living creature to hide in. “Clara!” He yelled for the head housekeeper.
“Mr. Randolph, get off the floor!” She scurried toward him.
Rather than allowing her to pull him up, he motioned for her to come down. “Where is he?” With labored breaths, he fought the need to grab the woman and shake the pet out of her.
“Who?” She joined him, and her hand instantly went to his forehead.
“The dog.” He swiped her away and cupped his hands indicating the place the animal would fit if he were here where he belonged. “Jeb.”
She looked under the washer, then the dryer and back in his empty palms. “Mr. Jeb.” Her eyes welled up.
Clara served as the hub of everything in the house. At her reaction, he knew what happened. Someone, some monster, some criminal had taken his one and only pet, the only item that made his wife smile no matter what. Sweat broke out over his body. He clawed his way back into a standing position and pulled out his phone.
“Sir, is everything all right?”
He narrowed his eyes. Junior put the dog down here and like always it he would be the one who paid. “Dimitri, put the house on lockdown, we have a breach.”
Before he pressed end, a siren rang, lights flashed, and the staff went into motion. He crossed his arms and waited. His GPS security system would be his rescue. If nothing else bankers were prepared for theft.
“Sir.” As if on cue, Dimitri rushed into the laundry room. “What’s the trouble?”
“Oh my.” Clara hid behind him.
“We have a kidnapping in the form of one canine.” He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out his wallet and produced a picture of Jeb. “Nobody comes in or out until the dog is found. I want everyone strip searched.” No one would ever say he did not take care of his wife.
“Yes sir.” Dimitri dashed away.
“Clara. Go ask every staff member if they have seen him.” He put his hand to his forehead. Why would anyone take the dog? Amid all the people, the microscopic animal could be trampled, hurt, or could have slipped away. Maybe Jeb was wandering the mansion looking for him, Willow or Nan, lost, alone and terrified. The room seemed to heat up. “Damn.” He bent over and braced himself on his knees. Somehow he would have to tell his wife her beloved animal was missing.
“Randolph! What is the meaning of this?” The click of his mother’s heels on the tile barreled toward him. “Dimitri just opened up Mrs. O’ Ryan’s purse and cards to three different plastic surgeons fell out. I swore I saw him eyeing Mr. Jamison’s toupee. He should really get a hair transplant. I should give him one of the cards from Mrs. O’ Ryan’s purse.”
“Mother!” He grabbed the woman by the shoulders. “Someone took Jeb.”
“What?” She pressed her hands to her heart. “Jeb? Someone took Jeb?”
He nodded. The woman wasn’t good at much except making things pretty, but she would never allow him to be in distress.
“Dimitri!” She let out a screech.
“Sir.” Dimitri returned without anything furry.
“I insist we look under Mr. Jamison’s toupee.” She wagged her finger toward their Head of Staff. “It’s a terrible toupee anyway.”
“Where’s the dog?” Randolph balled his hand into a fist. If he had to beat the dog out of the party he would do it without delay.
“Come with me.” Dimitri tilted his head.
The music resumed and the lights returned to normal and the party continued as he, Clara and his mother followed Dimitri through the dining room, the ballroom, and the main foyer.
A rumble of male laughter and cheers reverberated out from the billiard room.
Dimitri pointed inside.
With the same stance he used to tell a client he couldn’t finance them, Randolph took soft steps toward the entrance.
All the men huddled around the pool table, blocking his view. The yelling died down. As if they were participating in some strange unknown ritual, they threw some money into the center of the mix.
Slate added his money and waved him over. “You have to see this.”
Unable to spy what captivated all the men, Randolph shoved himself into the overcrowded room, joining his friend. “What is it?”
“I have no doubt why you married Willow.” He pointed to the table. “It was definitely for her dog.”
Randolph pushed aside someone he didn’t know to peer down at the table. His knees went weak at the sight of the fluffy, furry cue ball.
“Okay, okay.” From across the table his father scooped up the money, patted Jeb and put the eight ball in front of him. “Eight ball in the side pocket.”
Damn if the little dog didn’t push the ball with his nose. The men called to him and whistled as Jeb made his way around the green felt, a custom artificial yard for one pampered pet. The dog growled and tried to bite the ball, rounding two corners until at last he nudged the ball into one of the side pockets.
Once more the room went wild.
“Good boy!” His father held out his hand.
One of the staff held a silver platter out and Junior chose a little cracker, not one of Nan’s handmade biscuits.
“A delicacy for the dog.” His father held his finger up. Jeb sat down and the man placed the cracker into his mouth. “A dog with the taste for caviar.”
The room broke into applause once Jeb crunched down.
“Caviar!” Randolph maneuvered his way to the edge of the table. “Jeb cannot eat caviar!”
At the sound of his name, Jeb turned and trotted over to him.
He scooped up the animal and cradled him to his chest.
“That is the best caviar.” His father stood. “Over two hundred an ounce.”
“Jeb is on a special diet.” He held the dog up to his face, trying not to melt at the three black dots that created Jeb’s two eyes and his nose. Fine, he liked the dog. Maybe a little more than liked.
Jeb licked his nose.
He swore his teeth hurt. There was a reason they called it puppy love.
“Come on, Jeb is cleaning up. We will be able to buy him his own wing soon.” His father let out a hearty laugh.
“Well, why don’t we give him a little break?” He hated to stop the fun, but he was quite certain his wife wouldn’t appreciate her pet being used for monetary bets. “I need to go locate my wife.”
“All right, probably a good idea on both counts. The billiard table is still dry.” His father waved him away.
Without hesitation, he
took advantage of his dismissal. Armed with his bit of adorable ammunition, he went to find Willow.
While he may not know much about his wife’s past, he knew at least one item about her present. Once more he made it through the house, out the back door and headed toward the fruit trees. On more than one occasion he came home to find his spouse and Jeb wandering the garden.
He spotted her shoes before he found her, but like a trail of breadcrumbs it led him down one row to find her holding the hem of her dress up and simply studying one of the trees. “I take it back, I’m not proud of you.”
She turned.
“I mean I am, but not in the way it came out.” He walked down the aisle.
“I don’t think I’ve done anything to make either of us proud.” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“It’s just one of the many things we can differ on.” He joined her and handed her the dog.
“I needed a break. I don’t know if I can face them right now.” She put Jeb down and allowed him to sniff and explore. “Do they know not to say anything?”
He appreciated her concern. “They do and they understand, don’t worry. It’s all good.” Fine, he sugar coated the situation. He stepped toward the tree, taking his time to examine a leaf. The citrus scent floated around them. Jade’s question from earlier echoed in his head. He wanted to reclaim what they had at the party, or those incredible few days before the dinner. “What I don’t understand is how my father taught Jeb how to play billiards. I rescued him. He ate some caviar, I hope that’s all right.”
“He ate caviar?”
He nodded.
“You like Jeb.” She let out a chuckle.
“Guilty.” He shook his head.
“What’s the difference between pool and billiards?”
“Pool is what you play in a bar. Billiards is what you play at my house.” He exhaled. “I really have no idea.”
“Thank you for whatever you said to Slate and Jade.” She stepped closer. “You were right. Hiding didn’t work.”
On The Dotted Line Page 16
