by Nancy Warren
“Sure is,” Wade said. Then he smiled at the couple. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. You too.”
She was suddenly filled with affection for this young couple. She thought she might think of them every year when she and Wade celebrated their wedding anniversary.
The young woman kept glancing towards the door. “Where are they?”
“They’ll be here,” her groom promised without much conviction.
“If they blow us off, who’s going to witness our marriage?”
She and Wade looked at each other. Witnesses? They needed witnesses? Somehow they’d missed that bit of information when they’d prepared for today.
They both knew people in New York they could call but the whole point of this event was for it to be only the two of them.
The other couple’s number was called. At the same time, two other couples came in together.
The young woman said, “I hate to ask you guys, but would you be our witnesses?”
Her affection for the sweet young couple grew. “Of course. We didn’t even know we needed witnesses—could you do the same for us?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
And so the four of them headed into the chapel. It was badly named since it was basically a boring square room. However, the officiant was a cheerful man with dark hair and a mustache who seemed to love his work. He didn’t blink when they explained they would be the witnesses for each other. “Efficient,” he said. “I like that.”
The young man handed Wade a camera. “Do you mind? Our friends were supposed to take pictures.”
“Not at all.”
And so, Gabby and Wade witnessed Pilar and Hernando’s marriage and Wade was the official photographer. She still felt emotion well up inside her even though the ceremony was short and she was watching people she didn’t even know. She felt hope for this couple, so filled with happiness and confidence for the future, hope for her and Wade, who’d had to wait so long to find each other again. When the officiant proclaimed them married, the young man took his bride into his arms and kissed her hard.
And then she and Wade were the ones getting married. In all her dreams of this day—and she’d had plenty of them over the years—she had never imagined herself being married in New York at City Hall. But it was so simple. She didn’t have to worry about looking her best, worry about what pictures would be leaked to the media. Instead of hand picking the photographers who’d be allowed in, she had an amateur snapping photos with Wade’s cell phone.
She didn’t need to feel that she was representing the Evangeline brand. She didn’t have to worry about anything except enjoying this moment and this man and finally wearing this dress that she had sewn herself with such love so many years ago. When the four of them were walking out, Pilar said to Gabby, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you look exactly like someone famous. I can’t place it.”
Gabby smiled at her. “I get that a lot.”
Once they were back out front, the young couple’s friends arrived with balloons and flowers and many apologies for being late. They said they hadn’t been able to get a babysitter in time.
Wade shook hands with Hernando and Gabby hugged Pilar. “Good luck,” she said. And she really meant it.
He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the pictures, holding the camera so she could see too.
Gabby had been photographed by top photographers all over the world. She’d been airbrushed and retouched and paid a fortune for her image. And here she was, on the most important day of her life, checking her wedding photos on a cell phone. The notion made her ridiculously happy.
They passed three more couples on their way to be married. And then they were outside, and Wade’s car swooped over to pick them up.
Wade opened the back door and she got in. A picnic basket sat on the seat of the limousine which drove them to Central Park. Wade popped the bottle of champagne that was cooling and poured two glasses. “To my beautiful bride.”
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. “To us.”
Inside the picnic hamper were tiny quiches and croissants and fresh fruit and cheese, which they ate while they drove. She’d assumed that they would get out and walk around the park or something but the driver didn’t stop. “Where are we going?”
“That’s your surprise. We’re going on our honeymoon.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Our honeymoon? I don’t have any clothes!”
His glance was deliciously wicked. “It’s your honeymoon. You will not need clothes.”
Gabby, a woman who had worked so hard to control her life and her image and her business, laughed with delight and sat back. She had no idea where they were going, but she imagined a woman with a credit card could find the essentials. And Wade was right. She didn’t imagine she would have any immediate need for clothes.
When they pulled into a private airfield, she said, “You chartered a plane?”
“My company owns it.”
“And it’s taking us where?”
“A very nice resort in the Bahamas. I know you have to be back on Wednesday so we’re only staying four days. We’ll take a proper honeymoon later. There are so many places I want to show you.”
She knew exactly how he felt. She wanted to show him all her special places, too, and imagined they would make plenty of new memories. “And I you.”
When Gabby returned to her office in Los Angeles she was lightly tanned, relaxed in body and spirit and filled to brimming with optimism.
“Isn’t it a beautiful day?” she asked the receptionist as she strode into the doors of Evangeline design. The young woman nodded nervously. “Yes ma’am. It is.”
Gabby laughed and placed one of the daisies she had picked from her own garden this morning and laid it on the girl’s desk. “Cheer up. Things can’t be that bad.”
Her good mood continued until she got to the reception area outside her own studio where Salvador ran the everyday operations.
He glanced up at her and while he got to his feet, kissed her on both cheeks and told her she looked sublime, she could see he was only going through the motions.
“Why the long faces around here?” she asked.
“Eve, we have to talk.”
She knew in the deepest part of herself that nothing was so very bad that it couldn’t be fixed. She said, “Come on through.”
“You haven’t seen the papers?” In his hands he held one of those horrible tabloid rags.
She felt the tiniest simmer of temper. Could those wretched sewer rats not find someone else to destroy? Then realized that it didn’t matter. She said, “Oh my goodness, what are they up to now?”
She held her hands out for the paper and Salvador scanned her desktop before handing it over. He said, “Is there anything sharp or deadly I should worry about?”
“Oh, honestly, it was only that one time. And I wasn’t aiming at you. I was aiming for the wall.”
“You’ve got a very bad aim when you’re angry.” He rubbed his shoulder in memory.
“I promise not to be angry.”
She took the paper and spread it out in front of her and perused the article Salvador had highlighted. “Well, at least they spelled my name right.”
Naturally, the byline on the article was Wolf Dixon, the man who seemed to have made it his personal mission to make her life miserable. But, what Wolf Dixon did not know was that she had an impenetrable barrier surrounding her. She’d married the man of her dreams, she was in love, and this sad little man was not going to ruin that.
The headline screamed, “Cursed Dress Designer Dumped by Fiancé.”
The main photograph had been taken at Señor Hooch and showed her sipping her margarita. The second photograph showed her running like a madwoman through the lobby of the hotel where Wade had been staying. She skimmed the first few paragraphs of the article and began to laugh.
Salvador took a step towards the doorway. “Should I call somebody? You need coffee?
Water? A tranquilizer? Your therapist?”
“No, none of those things. Oh, that poor ridiculous man.”
She had no idea how much Wolf Dixon had been fed by various people who may have seen her crazed flight after Wade or overheard snatches of her conversations. Maybe the desk clerk waiting for his big acting break had made a few extra bucks. Someone at Señor Hooch clearly had. It didn’t matter. Dixon had cobbled together a story about her being dumped by her fiancé, then getting embarrassingly drunk, though, fine journalist that he was, he’d preferred the term ‘trashed’ and then running like a crazy person after the man who’d dumped her.
Salvador said, “Well?”
“Apart from two grammatical errors and a couple of typos, it reads quite well. All garbage, of course.”
“Three more brides cancelled their orders this morning.”
“Good,” she said briskly. “That gives me more time for the bridesmaid dresses I’m designing.” She pulled out her initial sketches. “Can you get these transferred to computer? I want a quick turnaround on these dresses. Oh, and get my PR consultant on the phone. I want to have a press conference.”
Before he left she stopped him. “Salvador, darling, I have to ask. Who’s behind the leaks?”
His steps faltered. He turned. “You don’t think it’s me, do you?”
“No. Of course not. I’ve had a clearer head in the past few days and I did wonder if it was you. But we’ve been together a long time. I trust you. But I think you know who’s been leaking information too.” Salvador was smart, and in touch with the staff in a way she wasn’t.
He didn’t deny. He came back and sat down across from her. “I might be able to make an educated guess. What are you going to do?”
The old Gabby would have fired the person on the spot, but she was discovering a softer side. “I suppose it will depend on why they did it.”
“Because they are still friends. She and Emise stayed in contact. I don’t think she realized she was being pumped for information.”
Emise was the woman who had cursed her. “Of course. How could I have been so stupid? It’s the other seamstress who was there that day. Sonja, isn’t it?”
Salvador didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
“Send for her. Tell her we both want to see her in my office, now.”
He didn’t move. “Eve. I beg of you, don’t do anything rash. We have a human resources department. We can work something out that leaves you untouchable.”
She shook her head. “No. I would like to speak to her.” She smiled at him. “Don’t worry.”
When Sonja entered the studio she appeared both frightened and defiant. Gabby didn’t like disloyalty, but she had an odd sympathy for this girl. She’d been loyal to her friend, if not her employer. “Sit down,” she said.
Salvador motioned her to a chair and took the second one himself.
There was a moment’s silence. She said, “I’m not going to ask you if you’ve been leaking confidential information that has been used in negative media reports. What I am going to say is that I am sorry.”
Both Sonja and Salvador stared at her with similar expressions of shock on their faces.
“I’m sorry I didn’t handle myself better when Emise made that mistake. If you’re in contact, I hope you will express my feelings to your friend. However, Evangeline is a team. We need to act as a team.”
No one said anything so she continued. “I’m offering you two choices. If you’re happy here, you are welcome to stay. I’m making some changes to the business model and there will be greater opportunities. Naturally, I will expect that no more confidential information gets leaked. If you’d like to leave, I can arrange a similar position with another designer. The job is in children’s wear.”
“There’s an actual job?” Salvador asked.
“Of course there is.”
Sonja’s face grew bright red and then pale.
“You can think about it if you like.”
“No.” The young seamstress spoke at last. “I’d like to stay.”
“Very well. There’ll be no more said about it.”
Sonja rose stiffly. When she got to the door, she turned and said, “Thank you.”
Salvador waited until she was gone, then said, “Where were you? At an ashram or something?”
She chuckled. “So much better. I was on my honeymoon.”
Salvador stood and said, “Come here.” He kissed her on both cheeks and then hugged her. “Congratulations!”
When he left, she put the ridiculous article out of her head and got to work.
Wade texted her in the middle of the morning. “I miss you.”
And he’d attached a photo from their honeymoon of the two of them on a sailboat he’d chartered. Luckily Gabby had managed to find the essentials she needed in the clothing shops at the stunningly beautiful resort. These included two brand-new bikinis, a pair of casual sandals, a colorful sarong wrap and a big floppy hat to keep off the sun. She’d also bought a couple of very casual beach dresses for dinners and their one excursion into town.
She and her brand new husband had made love and sailed and snorkeled, they’d eaten wonderful meals. And they had talked. Endlessly, it seemed, of everything they’d stored up for the last twenty years. They’d talked about the future and how they’d make it all work. She’d found time to sketch out a few of her ideas for the bridesmaid dresses.
She’d been inspired by the intense colors of the water and the tropical fish. She’d felt her creativity bloom and could hardly keep up with all her ideas. Marriage seemed to agree with her.
Later in the morning, needing a break, she walked down a floor to the couture area and consulted with her design team on fabrics and colors. She wanted to have a full presentation when Megan and her fellow bridesmaids arrived at four in the afternoon. She also had a few other tasks to take care of. The atmosphere was warmer than usual. She had a feeling that her uncharacteristically diplomatic handling of Sonja had somehow become known.
When Sarah, her PR consultant called she said, “Sarah, how lovely to hear from you,” forgetting that she was the one who had asked Sarah to call her.
There was a tiny pause. “You sound surprisingly cheerful for someone whose fiancé dumped them and then they got drunk and chased after him.”
“At least I was wearing a very pretty dress when I went chasing after Wade. If one’s going to have one’s picture plastered all over the cover of a tabloid newspaper, one at least likes to look one’s best.”
Sarah didn’t seem in the mood for jokes. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
“I’m in the mood for good news.”
In fact, she didn’t believe any news today could be bad news. She was too happy. “Our investigator was able to track down Emise, your seamstress.”
“That’s the good news?”
“It is good news. She happily took the money, which of course we called severance pay, and then signed a nondisclosure agreement.”
Gabby tried to be philosophical. The woman had done her a favor in a strange way. If it hadn’t been for that curse she never would have foolishly announced to the world that she was engaged to Wade. She wouldn’t currently be wearing his ring and her name would not be Gabrielle Brock Davenport. “And here’s the funny thing,” Sarah continued. “After she took the cash and signed the nondisclosure agreement she told our investigator that she’s not a Gypsy. She’s Hungarian. And she doesn’t know any curses. Apparently, what she muttered were the words to the first verse of the Hungarian National Anthem.”
For the second time that day Gabby broke into a peal of laughter. There was nothing musical or delicious about this laughter. It was a throaty, horsey laugh. Her eyes were streaming when she finally got herself under control. “I’ve been feng shui’d, I’ve been smudged, had my future predicted by Tarot cards and Lord knows what else. And there never was any curse?”
“There never was any curse. Now, about the press confere
nce. There are a few ways we can do damage control. I have to ask, is there any truth at all to this rumor that you have a drinking problem?”
She chuckled once more. “Let me just say that I have never before set foot inside Señor Hooch and, as much as I enjoyed my single margarita, I don’t make a habit of drinking to excess.”
She could hear the relief in Sarah’s tone. “Good. Is there any other falsehood in Wolf Dixon’s article? Which, I’m sure you know, has been picked up all over the place online.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. There is one other tiny falsehood in the article. Wade and I did not break up. In fact, he will be with me at the press conference.”
“Good. That’s good. You two appearing together will go a long way to improving public perception. But, it would be fantastic if you could use that press conference to set a date for your wedding.”
Oh this was just too much fun. She sat back and put her feet up on her desk, something she almost never did. She said, “I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
Sarah put on her tough voice. “Do we really have to go over this again?”
“We can’t set the date because Wade and I were married quietly in a private ceremony in New York six days ago.”
Chapter 17
There was silence for a moment. She had the pleasure of knowing she had rendered her communications expert silent. “Wow! Congratulations. So that’s what you’re announcing?”
“Yes. And I’ll also be releasing an official photograph or two of the ceremony.”
“Fantastic. I’ll get my staff onto the press conference right away. Where do you want to have it? At your home?”
“No. My husband is not a media personality and he prefers to keep our home life private. We’ll have the media conference here at Evangeline. I will have a business-related announcement too.”
