He nodded. “I’m not accepting your resignation,” he said, tossing the envelope on a nearby table.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t have a choice. I’ve accepted another job that’s paying me more.”
“That’s not the reason you’re quitting and you know it. Charm said the two of you were at the Riverview for dinner yesterday.”
“And what of it?”
“I think you got the wrong impression.”
She rolled her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re free to dine wherever you want and with whomever you want. My resignation has nothing to do with that.”
“I don’t believe you, Regan.”
“You think a whole lot of yourself if you believe my wanting to advance my career has anything to do with you. I’d gotten that job offer weeks ago and was trying to decide whether I should take it or not. I’ve decided. Sorry my decision doesn’t meet with your approval.”
“Why are you doing this to us?”
“Us?” That one word made her snap. “There was never an us, Garth. I knew it and I accepted it, yet I’d come up with this brilliant idea, using all that strategy planning I’ve watched you use over the years. I figured if I could be the woman you wanted, then I could certainly become the wife you needed. Stupid me for thinking such a thing was possible. I was even willing to let love come later or not at all. But my plan backfired. After I gave you those two weeks, you weren’t satisfied. I wish you the best with your perfect woman and I hope you wish me the same with my employer.”
She hadn’t meant to go off on him and say as much as she had. But it was too late to take any of it back.
“Now please leave, Garth, and take my resignation letter with you, because it’s official.”
Twenty-One
Instead of leaving like she requested, Garth moved away from the Christmas tree, took off his suit jacket and placed it across the back of her sofa. Then he rolled up his shirtsleeves.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m about to fight, Regan. Not with you but for you. While growing up, I resented Bart for not fighting for my mom when my parents split. He never fought for her. He just fought her for me. I don’t plan to make that same mistake.”
Garth paused and then said, “Yesterday morning, after thirteen sleepless nights of pure hell, I woke up ready to admit the truth. That you had somehow done something no woman was supposed to do after Karen. You had somehow wiggled your way into my heart.”
She shook her head as if what he’d said was too far-fetched to believe. “No, I did not.”
He held up his hand. “Hold up. You had your say and now it’s time I had mine.”
He was glad she tightened her lips so he could continue. “I had made up my mind to call you last night and ask if I could take you out to dinner, so I could tell you everything. Especially what I felt in my heart. Then, unexpectedly, the woman who was supposed to meet me in Santa Cruz showed up, assuming we could hang out together for a week to make up for the time we didn’t get in Spain.”
He paused to draw in a deep breath. “The reason I took her to dinner was because I skipped lunch and was hungry. And I honestly didn’t want to burst her bubble on an empty stomach, and I didn’t want my brothers questioning me about the woman in my office. She broke the dating service’s ironclad policy by even seeking me out. You of all people know what a stickler I am for people following the rules.”
“But she’s gorgeous.”
“So are you. No comparison in my book,” he said.
“She was all over you.”
Garth heard the hurt in her voice. “But at any time did you see me all over her? I knew who I wanted, and nothing she said or did would have made me change my mind. I considered her of no significance.”
He walked across the room to stand in front of Regan. “You’re a different story. There were a number of things I had to overcome, and you helped me do that. I loved Karen and for years I refused to feel those same emotions for anyone else. However, you showed me that it was okay to be happy in a new relationship. And being happy didn’t mean I was forgetting or replacing feelings I had for the person I lost. It meant I had discovered how to tuck those feelings into a special place in my heart and move on.”
“What are you saying, Garth?”
He took a step closer to Regan. “What I’m trying to say is that I love you, Regan. I believe I fell in love with you at the Westmoreland Charity Ball. I told you why I even used that dating service in the first place. The more I saw you, the more I desired you. I figured that if I turned my attention to another woman, that would solve the problem because I honestly didn’t think I could give you the love you deserve. Now I know I can.”
A smile spread across his lips. “Whatever strategy you used on me worked. I love you and will continue to say it until you believe me, Regan. Yes, it took me fourteen days since we’ve been back to accept it. Go ahead and count it against me as being slow. But it has no bearing on the depth of my love for you. I love you, and I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much.”
He saw the tears stream down her face and then she said, “And I love you, too. I’ve loved you forever.”
Her words surprised him. She’d said she’d wanted him for a long time but had never said how long. “You have?”
She wiped away her tears. “Yes. The reason I returned to Fairbanks after just one year at the university in Los Angeles was not because of Dad. It was because of you.”
He lifted a brow. “Me?”
“Yes. Even when I knew you were hurting after losing Karen, I still wanted to be there for you.”
Her words touched him deeply. “I never knew. I love you so much.” He reached out and pulled her into his arms, then lowered his mouth to hers.
Twenty-Two
“The decorating committee has outdone itself this year,” Garth said, glancing around.
Regan thought the same thing. The ballroom of the Pavilion Hotel was absolutely gorgeous and set the stage for another Westmoreland Charity Ball. And because this was also New Year’s Eve, everyone was in a festive mood and excited for the arrival of the new year.
She was one of those people.
So much had happened since that day in November when Garth had shown up at her home, refusing to accept her resignation and then proclaiming his love for her. Afterward, he’d called the office to inform Cash and the others he was taking the rest of the day off. He’d ended up taking the next three days off when he’d insisted they fly to Kodiak to visit Walker, Bailey and the twins.
Regan had spent Thanksgiving with the Outlaws and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind, including Bart’s, as to what type of relationship Regan and Garth shared. Then they’d spent Christmas with her father and met Deena. Regan liked her immediately and concluded the attractive woman was everything her father needed. He seemed truly happy.
“You’re quiet.”
She glanced up at Garth and smiled. He looked handsome in his tux. “I was just thinking about Dad and how happy he is.”
“Yes, Franklin is happy and I’m happy for him. I hope you slept well last night.”
Regan nearly choked on her punch and glanced up at him grinning. “Who slept?” she asked, knowing he’d kept her up most of the night making love.
Jason Westmoreland’s wife, Bella, had renovated her ranch house into a bed-and-breakfast inn to be used by visiting relatives and business associates. Garth and all his siblings, as well as some of the visiting Westmorelands from Atlanta, Montana and Texas, were all staying at the inn.
Regan had met a lot of the Westmorelands at last year’s charity ball. None of them seemed surprised to discover that she and Garth were now an item. Some of the ladies claimed they’d noted an attraction between them at the last ball.
A cou
ple of hours later, Charm and Bailey came to grab Regan from Garth’s side. “There’s one of those photo booths downstairs. Let’s take a picture together,” Bailey said, grinning.
“Okay.”
There was a line when they got there, and a number of the Westmoreland ladies were there to take pictures in the booth, as well. Someone suggested a group photo and several individual and duo shots. Regan figured a full hour had passed and was surprised Garth hadn’t come looking for her. She glanced at her watch. Midnight would be in less than a half hour.
The first thing she noticed when she returned to the ballroom was that it was completely dark. “I wonder what happened?” Regan whispered to Charm.
“I have no idea,” was Charm’s response.
Suddenly a bright light came on—a spotlight. And it was shining directly on her.
“What in the world?” she turned to ask Charm and Bailey, only to discover they were no longer by her side.
Then, unexpectedly, another group of lights came on. A portion of the dance floor was lit by candlelight in the shape of a huge heart. Regan was certain she had never seen anything so beautiful. Then, with the magic of a hologram, special effects and enhanced sound, a private jet landed in the center of the ballroom floor. Suddenly the cabin door of the jet in the hologram image appeared to open, and there stood Garth. He glanced over to where she was before walking toward her with a single red rose in his hand.
She couldn’t stop the tears from falling when he stopped in front of her and presented her with the rose. Then, putting her arm in the crook of his, he walked her over to where the candlelit heart illuminated the dance floor.
Once they were there, a microphone was placed in Garth’s hand. “I have a special dance for us, but first let me introduce the members of the band. We’ll have Dillon and Micah Westmoreland with their guitars; Bane Westmoreland on keyboard; Riley Westmoreland on the piano; Canyon Westmoreland with his French horn; Jason Westmoreland and his saxophone; and Stern Westmoreland with his violin. The band will be conducted by the renowned Sampson Kilburn, who was once their music instructor. He credits their mother, Clarisse, an accomplished pianist in her own right, with making sure all seven of her sons had an ear for music.”
The onlookers went wild when the seven Westmorelands took their place on stage with their instruments. With Sampson conducting, the lights dimmed again. The music began playing and Garth drew her into his arms.
Regan was still speechless as she gazed up into Garth’s smiling face. They were dancing inside the heart-shaped area. For the past two months Garth had done everything in his power to show her how much she was loved. At night they rarely stayed apart, and every day he showed her how vital he thought she was in his life.
When the music ended, she watched as he lowered himself to one knee and gazed up into her eyes. “Just so you know, I got your father’s permission to do this,” he said, taking a small box out of his jacket. “I love you, Regan. Will you marry me?”
More tears appeared in Regan’s eyes. “Yes, Garth, I will marry you.” She felt a ring slide onto her finger. Glancing down, she saw the huge, sparkling diamond. It was beautiful and so radiant it was blinding.
He got to his feet and pulled her into his arms for a passionate kiss as the Westmoreland band started performing again.
Epilogue
A beautiful day in June
“Garth, you may kiss your bride.”
Garth had wondered if the minister would ever get to that part. He was ready. He smiled when he pulled Regan into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. After Walker, who’d been his best man, nudged him in the side, Garth released her mouth. It was then that they turned to face all three hundred guests as the minister said, “I present to everyone Garth and Regan Outlaw.”
Cheers went up and he figured it was a good time to kiss his wife again. Turning her to him, he took her into his arms again to do just that.
An hour or so later, after the photographer had taken a ton of pictures, he and Regan were making their way around the huge ballroom of the Pyramid Hotel in downtown Fairbanks. It was beautiful. After he’d told Regan how Riley’s wife, Alpha, who was a party planner, and Dillon’s movie star sister-law, Paige Novak, and several of her Hollywood friends had put together the theatrics for his proposal, Regan had been quick to hire Alpha as her wedding planner. Regan had chosen the storybook wedding theme and Alpha had delivered.
The Westmorelands were there in huge numbers, and when they saw Bart for the first time, the Denver group was shocked by how much he favored their fathers, Adam and Tomas. Of course, Bart was still in denial, although last night at the rehearsal dinner he’d tapped Riley on the shoulder, thinking he was Garth. Charm’s mother, Claudia, the love of Bart’s life, had arrived a few days ago for the wedding, and thankfully, Bart was on his best behavior.
“Hey, Garth, Regan.”
They turned to face several of the Atlanta Westmorelands. “There is a bet going on as to which of you will be flying the jet to your honeymoon,” Storm Westmoreland said.
Garth shook his head. The one thing he knew about his Westmoreland cousins was that they enjoyed betting and gambling as much as the Outlaws.
“Really?” he asked, ignoring Regan’s chuckle.
“Yes, so who’s it going to be?” Durango Westmoreland asked.
Garth shook his head. He and Regan would be leaving first thing in the morning for their honeymoon in the Netherlands. “I’ll let my wife answer that.”
All pair of eyes shifted to Regan, who said, “We both will.”
“Okay, guys, pay up.” Not surprisingly, it was Ian who won the money.
When they walked off, Garth glanced down at Regan and brought their joined hands to his lips. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
“Only once since I became Mrs. Outlaw.”
He threw his head back and laughed before leaning close and whispering in her ear. “I love you, Regan.”
She beamed up at him with what he thought was the sexiest smile ever when she said, “I love you, too, and thanks for making me the wife you need.”
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The Wife He Needs (Mills & Boon Desire) (Westmoreland Legacy: The Outlaws, Book 1) Page 16
