The Girl of His Dreams (Bachelor #1)

by Janet Nissenson

  Tessa took her daughter by the hand, then brought her over to Aubrey. “Gilly, say hello to Mummy’s friend. This is Aubrey. Aubrey, my daughter Gillian. Gilly for short. She - she was named after her grandmother. Her maternal grandmother.”

  Aubrey sunk down onto her haunches to greet the child, an awestruck expression on her face. “My God, she - she looks just like I did when I was about her age. There’s one picture in particular hanging on the wall of my parents house where I look almost exactly like your daughter, Tessa. Even the dress and shoes are almost the same.”

  Gilly was wearing an adorable little summer dress, white cotton printed with blue and yellow daisies. Her frothy, pale blonde curls were bunched on top of her head and fastened with a yellow daisy clip, and on her dainty feet she wore a pair of white sandals.

  Gilly was staring at Aubrey in some confusion, glancing up at her mother with a little frown, then looked back at Aubrey. “Mummy, why does lady look like you?” she asked a bit apprehensively. “Is she your sister?” She smiled shyly at Aubrey, pointing at herself. “I’m a sister. I have a brother. Liam. He’s sleeping ‘cause he’s just a baby.”

  Aubrey was clearly enchanted with Gilly, whose vocabulary seemed to be increasing on a daily basis. “You’re a lucky little girl, Gilly. I have two brothers, but they’re both older than I am. How old is Liam?”

  Gilly looked uncertainly at Tessa, who replied that Liam was four months old, while his big sister, who shared a birthday with her father, had turned two in April.

  “Hopefully the baby will sleep right through lunch, considering I just finished nursing him half an hour ago,” Tessa told Aubrey, crossing her fingers. “But Liam’s a good sleeper, and a good eater so we’ve probably got at least an hour before he wakes up.”

  Aubrey took notice of the three place settings on the dining room table. “Your husband won’t be joining us for lunch?”

  Tessa shook her head. “No. Ian’s having lunch with the hotel manager and some of his department heads. When he offered to come along on this trip with me, he decided he might as well tend to some business while we were in town. So it’s just the three of us. Please, have a seat and we’ll eat. Just let me get Gilly settled and then I’ll get our drinks.”

  Aubrey pulled out a chair at the elegant dining table as Tessa lifted Gilly onto her booster seat and placed a cloth napkin on her lap. As Tessa fetched drinks from the kitchen, Aubrey continued to gaze around the room in wonder.

  “I feel like a bum dressed this way in these surroundings,” she confessed as Tessa set a bottle of Pellegrino water by her place. “Especially considering how nice you look. Guess I should have dressed up a little.”

  Tessa glanced at Aubrey’s floaty yellow and orange print sundress and bright yellow flip flops. “You look fine,” she assured. “It is summer, after all. As for myself, old habits are hard to break, so I always find myself dressing up when we’re visiting one of our hotels.”

  At Aubrey’s quizzical look, Tessa explained, “I traveled with Ian on all of his business trips for a couple of years, before I had Gilly. And he’s something of a stickler for presenting a professional image. He insists on very strict dress codes at his office, and as the Managing Director he holds himself to even higher standards. And while I don’t travel with him on business very often these days, I suppose it’s still important to me that I maintain that same professional image.”

  Aubrey gazed at Tessa’s chic coral sheath dress and nude high-heeled sandals a bit wistfully. “This reminds me of a book I had when I was a little girl - the one about the country mouse and the city mouse. You and I could pose for a grown-up version of it right about now.”

  “Don’t be silly,” replied Tessa as she took her seat. “Besides, I never dressed like this until I met Ian. Couldn’t afford to. Most of my clothes came from places like Forever 21 and Marshalls, and it wasn’t a very extensive wardrobe. Still, it was better then when I was growing up. I’m pretty sure everything I owned was a hand me down, at least until I was old enough to get a part time job and earn a little money.” She waved a hand dismissively. “But that was a long time ago, and best forgotten. Let’s enjoy our lunch, shall we?”

  Lunch consisted of a delicious chopped salad, a platter of assorted gourmet sandwiches, and a bowl of fresh fruit. As though by unspoken agreement, they only made small talk during the meal, postponing the discussion about the elephant in the room for as long as possible.

  Aubrey grinned at Gilly as the little girl munched daintily on the strawberries and melon Tessa had cut up into small pieces for her. “She’s a real little lady, isn’t she? God, when I was her age I probably would have been crawling over the furniture or shoving food into my mouth with my hands. And I definitely wouldn’t have kept my pretty dress clean this long.”

  Tessa smiled at her daughter tenderly, wiping a drop of juice from the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “She is a Gregson, after all. And Ian’s family is looked upon almost as royalty in England. But they’ve been wonderful to me, very welcoming and loving, and I’ve always felt like one of them. When Ian brought me to spend Christmas with his family the first year we were together, it was the best holiday I’d ever known, the first time I’d ever known what it was like to have a family of my own. And now that we have Gilly and Liam - well, it’s my fondest dream come true.”

  Aubrey’s smile faded rapidly. “I’m sorry it was like that for you growing up,” she murmured. “I mean, you’ve hardly told me anything about your - your mother, but even from the little I know I can’t imagine how hard it must have been. I’ve always counted my blessings that I got adopted by such wonderful parents, but I’m not sure I ever realized just how lucky I was.”

  Tessa gave a brief nod, not wanting to think about how different her life might have been if her mother had done the right thing and given her up for adoption, too. “As I said, all the bad things that happened to me are in the past, and I have the most wonderful life anyone could ever dream of now.” She stood, desperately needing a distraction at this moment. “Would you like some coffee or tea now? I know Gilly’s been waiting very patiently for Mummy to bring out the cookies. Haven’t you, baby?”

  Gilly’s blue eyes sparkled at the mention of cookies, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Cookie! Please, Mummy?”

  Tessa dropped a kiss on the top of her daughter’s curly head. “Give Mummy just a minute, baby. Aubrey? What can I get for you?”

  “Tea, please. Never been much of a coffee drinker, unless it’s one of those frothy things with tons of caramel syrup and whipped cream. Jordan used to tease me that - ”

  Tessa gave her a sympathetic glance as she transferred the tea service from the sideboard to the table. “It’s okay to say his name, you know. You might be furious at him right now, but that doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring for Jordan. And I know how much he regrets the way he handled this whole situation. But - no. Here I go again, sounding like I’m sticking up for him. And I won’t take sides, Aubrey. The two of you need to work things out on your own. I suppose I’m so happy in my own marriage that I can’t help wanting the same sort of happily ever after for everyone.”

  Aubrey sighed as she accepted the cup and saucer from Tessa before selecting a tea bag from the assortment on the tray. “You’re a romantic, I can tell. But it’s sweet of you to want a happy ending for me and Jordan. I guess I want that, too, but only after I make him sweat it out for awhile. And grovel, of course. I’m going to insist on lots of groveling. If I decide I can forgive him, that is.”

  Tessa laughed as she placed a plate with two dainty butter cookies and a plastic sippy cup of milk in front of Gilly. “I’ve got a feeling Jordan will do as much groveling as necessary to get you back. Here’s your cookies as promised, Gilly.”

  Gilly beamed. “Thank you, Mummy.”

  Aubrey gave a little shake of her head, as if in disbelief. “I can’t get over how well behaved she is, Tessa. You and your husband have done an i
ncredible job raising her. And it’s so cute how she calls you Mummy instead of Mommy. Very British.”

  “Yes. Even though we’re raising our family here in the States, it’s important that they’re exposed to their English heritage, too. And since Ian always refers to me as Mummy, it was only natural that Gilly picked up on that.”

  The two women continued making small talk as they sipped their tea and nibbled on cookies, still avoiding the main reason for their meeting this afternoon. It was only after Tessa set a wiggling Gilly on her feet, the little girl making a beeline back to her dolls and teddy bears, that Aubrey broached the subject.

  “I told you on the phone last night that my parents were very supportive of my coming here to see you today,” began Aubrey. “That they thought it was important for me to find out if there was any sort of connection between us. What I didn’t tell you,” she continued, a bit more hesitantly, “was that my parents told me my birth mother - well, that she already had another child when she was pregnant with me. They have no idea if that child was a boy or a girl, or how old the child was. But evidently my birth mother refused to even consider giving her other child up for adoption, and that she kept changing her mind about whether to give me up or not.”

  Tessa’s tea cup clattered to the saucer, forcing her to hold onto it with both hands to steady it. “Oh, God,” she whispered unsteadily. “That last part - about your mother changing her mind constantly - that’s definitely something my own mother would have done, given how unstable and emotional she was.”

  Aubrey gave a small nod of acknowledgment. “That was my father’s opinion, too. When he learned about your mom’s illness, the bipolar disorder, he surmised that she might have been persuaded to give me up because she wasn’t in any condition to care for an infant. And, there’s more, Tessa.”

  Impulsively, Aubrey reached across the table to squeeze Tessa’s hand. “My mother was able to get in touch with the social worker who helped to coordinate my adoption. The woman - Ines - is the sister of one of my mom’s old friends from Albuquerque. And not only is Ines willing to meet with you and me, but as it turns out she relocated to California about a decade ago. She lives near Palm Springs now, and all I have to do is call her to set up a time to talk.”

  Tessa pressed a hand to her heart in a futile attempt to calm its frantic beat. “How - how far away is Palm Springs from here?”

  Aubrey grinned. “Two hours give or take, depending on traffic. So - feel like taking a little road trip tomorrow? I’ll drive.”

  ***

  “I feel like I’m going to throw up. And I know for a fact I’m not pregnant again, mostly because I never really got nauseated during either of my pregnancies. And it’s also not the fact that it’s already over a hundred degrees outside since you’ve had the air conditioner on full blast for the last hour.”

  Aubrey patted Tessa reassuringly on the shoulder. “Relax, would you? God, you’re strung tighter than a bow right now. Is it really that upsetting to think that you and I might end up being half-sisters?”

  Tessa shook her head. “Of course not. I already feel some sort connection with you, Aubrey. I did the first time I saw you in that ballroom. I’m just not sure I’m ready to learn certain things about my mother. Things that are only going to upset me.”

  “We can still turn around and go back to San Diego,” offered Aubrey. “Or since we’ve come this far we can just hit the outlet malls instead. After we stop for brunch, of course. I haven’t been out this way since college, but I know a great place for huevos rancheros and Bloody Marys.”

  Tessa shuddered. “Now I really do feel nauseous. And I wouldn’t dream of not seeing this through. One way or another, Aubrey, both of us need to find out the truth. So, come on. Let’s keep our appointment, shall we?”

  They got out of the Land Rover that Aubrey had borrowed from her father, given that she didn’t have a vehicle of her own right now, and walked side by side up to the front door of the condo where Ines Santiago resided. Tessa took a deep breath, exchanged a look with Aubrey and nodded, then resolutely rang the doorbell.

  The petite woman with gray streaks in her dark hair who opened the door didn’t bother to hide the shock she must have felt as she noticed the unmistakable resemblance between the two women standing on her doorstep. She placed a hand over her heart as she gave a slight shake of her head.

  “My goodness. I don’t know which of you is Aubrey, but when you told me on the phone that both of you looked exactly alike I didn’t realize it would be this close. Or that both of you would look so much like - well, like Gillian. Come, come in, please. It’s that time of year, unfortunately, where it’s already in triple digits by mid-morning. But it’s nice and cool in the house, and I’ve got a pitcher of iced tea all ready.”

  Tessa and Aubrey walked inside the small but airy condo, the air conditioning a pleasant respite from the broiling desert sun outside. Ines motioned them into the living area, which had been decorated in tones of burnt sienna, turquoise, and cream, where they took a seat on the comfy sofa while their hostess poured tall glasses of ice cold tea.

  Aubrey took a long, grateful sip. “Mmm, this really hits the spot after that drive. Thank you so much, Ines. For the tea and also for agreeing to see us so quickly. And so that we don’t keep you guessing, I’m Aubrey, and this is Tessa.”

  “I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you too much,” offered Tessa. “Or that you had to change your plans in order to meet with us.”

  Ines gave a firm shake of her head. “Not at all. As I told Aubrey over the phone, I only work part-time now. I’m technically retired, but my husband spends so much time on the golf course that I was getting bored sitting home every morning. So two or three mornings a week I volunteer at a local shelter for abused and homeless women and children. Hard to break the habit after so many years, I suppose. And the need is greater than ever these days.”

  Ines took a seat in a high backed wicker chair as she glanced at the two women seated on the sofa. “It really is remarkable, you know. The resemblance, I mean. I’ve seen identical twins who didn’t resemble each other as much as you two. Though there are some subtle differences, of course. Tessa, I’d guess you’re a few years older, while Aubrey definitely gets out in the sun more often. Aubrey’s a couple of inches taller, and a bit leaner, and of course your styles of dress are very different. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to tell you apart.”

  Aubrey nodded. “Imagine our shock when we met face to face for the first time, not having known about the other’s existence until then. And then I got an even bigger shock when my parents told me that my birth mother already had another child while she was pregnant with me. When I shared that news with Tessa yesterday, well - we were pretty sure that could only mean one thing.”

  “But we need to confirm our suspicions,” ventured Tessa. “Need to hear the whole story from you, Ines. We’re hoping that you’ll be able to tell us what we need to know.”

  Ines set her glass down, then leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. “You want to know if the woman who gave birth to Aubrey - and subsequently gave her up for adoption - was your mother, Tessa. Which, of course, would make the two of you half-sisters.”

  Tessa took a deep breath, then nodded. “Yes, that about sums it up. And we know that legally Aubrey would need to petition the courts to get the adoption records unsealed, but given that she’s well past legal age and that my mother died almost fifteen years ago, we were hoping to get past those sort of formalities.”

  Ines smiled wryly. “It does seem a bit unnecessary at this point, doesn’t it? Especially since all of the clues are beginning to add up all by themselves. And since I’m not officially employed by the Albuquerque social services department any longer, I don’t see any harm at all in telling you girls what you need to know.” She looked first at Aubrey, then back at Tessa. “And I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt that you had the same mother. I remember her ve
ry well - Gillian Pedersen. One of my most difficult and heartbreaking cases. Difficult because she must have changed her mind a dozen times about giving you up for adoption, Aubrey. And heartbreaking because she refused to even consider doing the same with you, Tessa.”

  Automatically, Aubrey reached for Tessa’s hand, squeezing it in a silent plea for comfort. Wordlessly, Tessa scooted a little closer on the sofa and wrapped an arm around Aubrey’s shoulders, much like an older sister would offer support to her younger sibling. Somehow, simply by finally hearing the truth spoken out loud, the odd connection that Aubrey had experienced the first time she’d seen Tessa was instantly magnified. As Tessa glanced over at her uncertainly, Aubrey knew that she must be feeling the exact same thing.

  It was Tessa who spoke first, her voice a little husky and definitely unsteady. “Please. Will you tell us everything that you can? From the beginning, I mean. How did you come to be involved with my - our mother’s case?”

  Ines nodded. “I’ll try to be as concise as possible. As I mentioned, I worked for the city of Albuquerque in their social services department. My specialty, if you’d call it that, was helping women and children. Most times the women were fleeing abusive situations, domestic violence, that sort of thing. Other times they were simply down on their luck and had found themselves living on the streets. We always tried to give priority for shelter beds and housing to the women with young children, especially if they were pregnant - like your mother was when I first met her.”

  Aubrey stole a quick glance at Tessa to see how she was holding up thus far, and once she was satisfied that her half-sister was listening to Ines with a stoical expression on her face, she relaxed just a bit.

  “Gillian had taken shelter in a Catholic church not far from where my office was located,” continued Ines. “I’d known the parish priest there for many years, ever since I was a teenager. When he came upon Gillian, and discovered that not only did she have a little girl with her but was also expecting another baby, he called me right away.” She paused, smiling sadly in remembrance. “You were the prettiest little thing I’d ever seen,” she told Tessa. “With those long blonde curls and big blue eyes. Even wearing clothes that were a size too small and falling apart at the seams, you were adorable. And your mother clung to you like her life depended on it, Tessa. She refused to come with me until I swore on a statue of the Virgin Mother inside the church that she wouldn’t be separated from you.”