by Nancy Warren
“Seven. Go back to sleep.”
They hadn’t arrived until after three, then they’d made love. She imagined if he’d slept at all, it had been for minutes. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she mumbled.
“I wish I did not have to go to this meeting, but I really do. I’ll leave you my driver’s number. He’ll take you anywhere you want to go today.”
He leaned over and kissed her.
“You trust me all alone in your place? You don’t think I’ll snoop?”
“We’re getting married. Go ahead and snoop. You should know my secrets.” The way he said those words sent a shiver down her spine. What was nice about rekindling the romance was discovering that he did have secrets and it was fun to explore them.
“I’ll call you.”
He kissed her again and then he was gone.
She rolled over, found herself on his side of the bed, and snuggled against his pillow.
Wade could barely concentrate on his meeting. He felt foolishly out of his head as he tried to focus on incomes and outflows and merger possibilities when all he really cared about was getting back to Gabby. That woman had been turning him inside out for the better part of two decades. He couldn’t wait to see what she had in store for him for the next few.
“You find our proposal amusing?” Kurt Heise asked him in perfect English.
The sarcastic comment pulled him back to the meeting. “No. Sorry. I was thinking of something else.”
Strangely, perhaps because the German businessmen could see he wasn’t particularly invested in the negotiations, they went his way more. They presented their proposals in the morning, had lunch catered in the boardroom and then in the afternoon the serious negotiating began. The four men from the German team and his people shook hands at the end of the meeting. In all business dealings Wade tried to make sure everyone walked away from the table, if not perfectly happy, at least with mutual respect and integrity intact. He felt that had happened when he left the office after bidding his guests goodbye.
He got in the car and called Gabby.
She answered right away. “Hello, husband-to-be,” she said in her sexy British accent.
“Hello, yourself.” He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. How did he ever get so lucky? Not so many hours ago he’d packed his bag and felt as though in leaving LA he was leaving his heart behind. Now, he was engaged to the greatest woman in all the world. “I thought we’d have dinner somewhere. I don’t know what your favorite places are anymore.” And he would have to change that very soon. He wanted to know everything about her. All her newest chosen restaurants, because Gabby had very definite taste and she was usually right. She would get enthusiastic about everything from the best flower shop to the best coffee shop. Simply being out on the town with her was an adventure.
Her answer surprised him. “Come home. We’re eating in.”
A lot of things about Gabby Brock had changed, but if she’d suddenly learned how to cook, this was the first he’d heard about it. Frankly, he didn’t care. He liked everything about being alone with her for one evening.
He had his driver pull over to a corner store with buckets of flowers displayed on the pavement outside. He grabbed an arrangement of daisies, roses, and something that smelled like perfume.
When he got to his townhouse he couldn’t wait to get inside the door and see her. He’d missed her so much today he felt foolish at his own craving. Even though he owned the place he knocked first and then used his key.
From the small foyer he could see the flicker of candlelight coming from the living room. When he drew closer he saw she’d also put on the gas fireplace. It was July and she’d put on the fire. It wasn’t the sticky heat of late summer, but it was still a warm summer evening. Dinner, it seemed, was a picnic on the floor. He had a nice rooftop terrace, but he knew exactly why she’d chosen this picnic spot.
A bottle of champagne chilled in an ice bucket and on the floor was a series of paper cartons. She wore the same black dress she’d worn to meet him yesterday, but her feet were bare. He walked up to her, kissed her long and lovingly. “I’ve been thinking about that all day,” he admitted. Then he gestured to the paper containers. “Don’t tell me you found our old favorite Chinese place?”
“Of course I did. I think it’s now the son and his wife running it but hopefully they’re still using the same family recipes.”
“You look good in my living room.”
“That’s fantastic news because I intend to spend a lot of time here in the future.”
He ran a finger around the neckline of her dress. “I like that dress very much.”
She said with a quizzical look, “Do you?” He could tell she was waiting to see if he recognized it.
“I do. It reminds me of this gorgeous young girl I once saw across a crowded room at a London party. She was wearing a dress just like this.”
She tilted her head. “Did she look as good in it is I do?”
He shook his head. “No one could look as good in that dress as you do.”
She laughed. “That was exactly the right thing to say.”
“I can’t believe you still have it.”
She traced the buttons of this shirt as though she were counting them. “I always save the clothes that are really special to me. Walking into my closet is a bit like going through an old photo album. This was always one of my favorites.”
He took the flowers from her and laid them on the table. Later, they’d put them in water. Later.
“Do you want a glass of champagne?” she asked him.
He kissed her right where her shoulder met her neck and she shivered. “No.”
“Do you want some dinner?”
She must know the answer to that, since he had her zipper halfway down her back. “No.”
“You’re a difficult man to please.” She already sounded breathless and turned on.
“Not when you’re around.”
The dress slid to the floor like a shadow of the past. She stepped out of it and he nearly swallowed his tongue.
Her underwear was, he was fairly certain, from her own high-end line of lingerie. If there was any body Evangeline knew how to design for it was that of Gabby Brock. The set was silk and café-au-lait colored. Even though he didn’t know much about women’s lingerie he knew perfectly well that the silk was real and that lace was probably French and worth a fortune. It wasn’t what she’d been wearing last night. Sometime today she’d gone shopping.
He needed it off and now. He kissed her, pulled her into his arms, and let all the pent-up longing out. She made a sound in the back of her throat almost like a growl and suddenly his suit jacket was on the floor. His shirt soon followed. Together they fumbled out of their clothes with more haste than style.
Her limbs were long and slender. He’d always loved her height and the way they fit so well together. As a very tall man, it was nice for him to find a woman who reached higher than his shoulder. She’d always claimed her arms and legs were freakishly long, but he liked them that way. Maybe she had to have her clothes custom made but her height and long limbs were partly what had made her so successful as a model. He wasn’t so concerned about that part, he loved the way they fit together and the way those long arms and legs could wrap around him. They made love in front of the gas fireplace too desperate for each other to make it to the bedroom. When he looked deep into her eyes as they were joined in the most intimate way, his heart rejoiced. The woman looking back was all Gabby.
He didn’t mind the flash and polish and celebrity of Evangeline, though in truth he preferred a more quiet, anonymous life, but he understood that life with a celebrity was always going to have certain challenges. However, when it was just the two of them, it was Gabby he wanted. She’d always been full of challenges and that was part of what he loved about her.
Much later, once they were wrapped in soft bathrobes, a navy one for him and a cranberry colored one for her, they sat on the floor
eating the Chinese food and drinking champagne. He leaned forward and traced the V of her robe, where it gaped. “I like you in this.”
“You’d better get used to seeing me in it. When I set off to find you yesterday I didn’t intend to fly several thousand miles and end up in New York. I brought absolutely nothing with me. Well, except one thing.”
She got to her feet and retrieved her large handbag from the couch. She opened it and pulled out something white and folded carefully. It looked like a white nightgown. Who travelled with a nightgown when they weren’t even planning to spend the night away from home? And then she glanced at him shyly and shook out the garment. “I can’t try this on for you, because everyone knows it’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride in her wedding gown before the wedding. And heaven knows we’ve had enough bad luck.”
He stared at the white gown. It was slightly wrinkled, but gauzy and romantic. “You’re going to have to explain this to me. That doesn’t look like one of your Evangeline designer gowns to me.”
She looked at the dress, looked at him and suddenly laughed. “In fact, it is. This is the very first wedding dress I ever designed. I also sewed it myself, which I no longer do. It wasn’t made with as much expertise as I have these days but I’ve never put so much love into a single garment.”
He got to his feet and strode over to her. He touched the gauzy fabric. He felt emotion well in him. “You’ve had that gown all this time? When did you make it?”
“The first time we got engaged. I finished it probably two days before I panicked and ran away. I wasn’t very mature and I certainly wasn’t in touch with my own feelings. But, I hope the dress proves one thing. I absolutely did intend to marry you.” She gazed up at him from under her thick lashes and those deep blue eyes knocked him out as they always did. “I still intend to wear it when I marry you.”
The more she said those words the more he began to believe that this time they might actually pull off a wedding. But he had a hard time believing she’d wear that gown down the aisle. “What are the fine people at Cheerio! Magazine going to say when the great Evangeline turns up at her wedding in a dress hand sewn by a nineteen-year-old with simple, inexpensive fabric?”
She leaned in and lowered her voice as though she were letting him in on a great secret. “The people at Cheerio! Magazine won’t be at our wedding. In fact, after all this curse business and the focus on me and my business, I don’t want my wedding to be a media circus or a calculated way of proving to the world that Evangeline and her business are not cursed. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that this is our life and our wedding and I want it to be small and perfect. Also, as private as possible.”
He scratched his nose. “Life never seems to go the way you imagine it will does it? Well, you’ve got the dress. Why don’t we get married at City Hall?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. That’s a fantastic idea. When?”
“As soon as is humanly possible.” He pulled her against him, crushing the dress between them and kissing the life out of her. “I have loved you and I’ve let you go too many times. I warn you now, this time I am not letting you go without a fight.”
She sighed and put her head on his shoulder. “This time, I’m not running away. I’m not running anymore.”
He’d marry her tomorrow if he could, but he didn’t want her to rush into anything she’d regret. “What about family and friends?”
“We should allow our friends and families to help us celebrate. But there is no way to do that without a huge production that I don’t want. This isn’t Evangeline getting married, Wade. This is Gabby Brock and I want to have a Gabby Brock wedding.”
“I tell you what, we’ll get married as soon as we can, only the two of us, and then throw a big party in LA to celebrate. We can throw one here, too, if you like, and maybe one in London.”
She nodded. “The parties will be for everyone else, but our wedding is just for us.” She sighed against him. “Can we really get married tomorrow?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let’s look online.” He opened his laptop and tapped away for a few minutes.
Gabby loved the competent way he did things. Each task seemed to have his full attention, whether it was making love to her or researching City Hall marriages online. She knew she was badly, deeply in love when she found herself watching his strong fingers tapping on the keyboard. She loved his hands. In fact, there wasn’t much of him she didn’t love. He glanced up as though feeling her eyes on him. “It looks pretty easy. We fill out the paperwork online and we both have to take it down to City Hall to get a marriage license. Then we have to wait twenty-four hours before we can get married. Which means we can get married the day after tomorrow.”
Unfamiliar nerves jumbled around in her stomach. He was reaching a hand to her and it was up to her to take it. She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
She settled beside him and they filled out the online form together. Then she asked, “What time are the appointments? I hope we can still get a good time.”
He shook his head. “No appointments. The marriage office opens at eight-thirty in the morning and you can show up anytime before three-forty-five and take a number. Then you wait until they call you. It says on this website it can take up to three hours.”
“Three hours of waiting at City Hall to get married?” She shook her head. “Really, Wade, I’m sure I can pull a few strings and get us a proper appointment.”
His eyes twinkled. “Maybe Evangeline could. How many strings can Gabby Brock pull?”
She started to splutter and scheme, but then realized he was right. Part of the adventure was getting married simply as Gabby and Wade not as a top financier and a somewhat tarnished celebrity. “Oh all right. I suggest we get there at eight-thirty then so at least we won’t have to wait too long.”
“We’ll take the paperwork in tomorrow and get married the day after.”
She nodded. “That’s probably better. I need to do some shopping. I’ll need shoes.” And a wedding ring for Wade.
Eight-thirty was a ridiculously early hour to get married. But she didn’t care. She’d never been so happy in all her life.
The only moment when it seemed that their perfect happiness was going to be marred was when she explained to Wade that she would be spending the night before the wedding at the Waldorf. He was completely baffled. “What? I finally got you back in my life and already you’re taking off to a hotel?”
She put her arms around him. “I don’t want to leave you even for one second. But, once a woman’s been cursed, it’s amazing how she becomes a little more superstitious. It’s bad luck for you to see me wear my wedding gown before the wedding, and I don’t want any bad luck with us. I’m spending the night at the hotel and I’ll get a car to drive me to the courthouse. I will meet you there.”
He put a hand to his forehead as though checking for fever. “All right.”
He printed off the marriage form. “When do you need to be back in LA?”
“I’ve got a laptop with me. My phone. And a wonderful staff.” She grinned at him. “Make that team. I don’t have anything that can’t be postponed, until next Wednesday. That’s when Megan O’Reilly and her bridesmaids are meeting. I’ve got to sketch out some design ideas for bridesmaid dresses, but I can do that here. I don’t want to postpone that meeting, though. Those girls are special.”
“Okay.”
“Why? Do you want me out of the way?”
“Never. I have a surprise for you.”
She kissed him. “I love surprises.” Then she kissed him again. “And I love you.”
Chapter 16
Gabby woke on her wedding day with a sense of anticipation she hadn’t felt in years. She had that wonderful feeling in between sleeping and waking that something amazing was going to happen to her and she couldn’t wait to open her eyes and jump out of bed and find out exactly what it was going to be.
And then she woke fully and saw her freshly pressed w
edding dress hanging in the hotel closet. She’d left the doors open so that she’d be able to see it before she went to sleep last night. All alone in her big bed in the hotel. Maybe she was being silly, but it wasn’t only superstition that had her sleeping apart from Wade on the night before their wedding. She savored every moment that she missed him and knew that soon they’d share a bed every night.
She felt old-fashioned and romantic. She dressed with care, putting on some of the new silk underwear she’d purchased the day before. It was Evangeline, naturally, and even she was shocked at how pricey the stuff was in retail. But the silk was luxurious against her skin. Since she had so few cosmetics with her, she kept her makeup light, which suited the simple dress.
She wore her hair long, but she did use her connections to get a very early hair appointment, so her curls shone.
When she reached the courthouse on Fourth she found her knees were shaking. She hadn’t been this nervous since her first runway show. The driver opened the door for her and she stepped out, clutching a tiny handbag. “Thank you,” she said. She paid him his fee, plus gave him a generous tip. On this day, everyone should have something to be happy about. Then she turned to where her new life waited for her.
She glanced up and Wade was walking toward her. He wore a gray suit and he’d had his hair trimmed. He was holding a bouquet of white roses. When he reached her, she thought he might make a joke about her actually showing up, but he said, “You look beautiful.”
He handed her the roses.
“Oh how beautiful. White roses were the first flowers you ever bought me.”
“I have better taste and more imagination now, but I went with nostalgia.”
“These are perfect.” She took one of the long-stemmed roses and snapped it, then tucked the single rose into his buttonhole. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready for almost twenty years.”
They walked in holding hands and found there was a couple already ahead of them. A young Latino couple. The girl wore a short organdy wedding dress and the groom wore a suit with the discomfort of a man who rarely wears one. They walked up to the counter, gave their names and were given a number. They were sent to sit on a padded bench upholstered in green vinyl while they waited. The other groom didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands. He tapped the bench beside him, then his fiancée’s leg, then he folded his hands and jiggled them up and down between his knees. He looked up, nodded. “Big day.”
