by Katie Dowe
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You are the daughter of Simon Myles and we both know of his reputation. Now you are going to be the wife of one of the richest men in the world and who in essence controls the medical field. You are going to be treated differently.”
Savannah stared at her for a moment and then got to her feet. “I had hoped that my work over the years and my commitment to the job would speak for itself but I guess I was wrong. Are you finished?”
“Yes, and, my dear, if you think that marrying a man like Gavin Parker means that you get to live your life the way you used to, then think again.”
Savannah left without another word.
*****
“You are not eating,” he said softly as he watched her toyed with her food.
“I am not very hungry,” she said without looking up at him. He had suggested that they celebrated their engagement by going to Louis’, one of the most exclusive restaurants uptown where it was nearly impossible to get reservations but for a man like Gavin Parker she suspected that doors were flung wide open without hesitation! He had not given her a ring and she had not asked for one. She did not really care anyway.
“You need to eat. We could order the duck if the lamb is not to your liking,” he suggested.
“I am sure you could and for your information I am a doctor and I know how to sustain the child I am carrying,” she told him heatedly.
Gavin put aside his silverware and leaning over he tilted her chin up. “What is it?”
“You had to tell the press that we are engaged?”
“They were going to find out sometime, Savannah, so I beat them to the punch and told them upfront. Why?”
“I am treated at work as some rich man’s girl,” she told him as she moved out of his hold on her chin. “I worked hard to become a doctor and getting pregnant and agreeing to marry you changed all that. I am a joke. All people could see was that I am getting married to Gavin Parker, the pharmaceutical giant!” she said acidly. “I went into a patient’s room to do a check and the child’s mother could not stop talking about how lucky I am and how I would not have to practice medicine anymore. I almost told her to go to hell!”
“Who are you most angry with, Savannah? Me or you?”
“You, dammit!”
“Why?”
“I just told you.”
“I cannot stop the way people’s minds work. I cannot control what they say. You are a damned good doctor and you know that. Being with me will never change that. I for one do not give a damn about what people say about me. If I did I would not still be in the business I am. It’s none of their business what you do when you marry me and you should start telling them that. I hold sway over a lot of people, Savannah, and I can use that sway but I have a feeling that it would only piss you off even more. This is a good thing we are doing! I am marrying the woman I love and she is carrying my baby and I am not going to let you or some petty people piss on what I am feeling now.” He got to his feet and flung the snow white napkin onto the table. “I am going to the men’s room and when I come back if you want to leave please let me know.”
Savannah stared after him as he strode towards the back and disappeared. He commanded respect and second looks. She had seen when they came inside the restaurant how heads turned towards them and how the Maître D hurried to find them a table. It was going to be that way wherever they went because she had somehow caught the attention of a very powerful man! He was right! She was taking her anger and frustration on him and letting what she felt because people were treating her different to ruin their celebration. He had bent over backwards to do everything for her and all she had shown him was constant resentment and anger. She was stronger than this and she should not allow anyone to get beneath her skin.
She straightened as he came back to the table, his grey eyes seeking hers.
“I ordered the crème brule. I hope that’s okay with you,” she said softly as she looked up at him.
“Does that mean-”
“Could you sit, please? I am having a crick in my neck just looking up at you.”
He sat down and looked at her curiously. “Are we okay?”
“We are.” She leaned over and wrapped her hands around his neck. He stiffened as she nibbled on his bottom lip. “I am sorry for being such a bitch.”
“You are forgiven,” he told her hoarsely, his breath fanning her lips.
“Good.” She settled back against the plush seat. “Now let’s enjoy dessert and then get out of here.”
“Not before this.” His hand shook slightly as reached into the breast pocket of his jacket to take out a dark blue velvet box.
“I wonder what that is?” she said softly.
He snapped the box open and Savannah stared at the princess cut diamond surrounded by glittering emerald stones. “Savannah Lois Myles, would you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife?”
In response, she held out her left hand. He took her slender ring finger and slid the ring onto it. It fit perfectly and sent myriad of lights flashing as it reflected the subdued lights overhead.
“Like it?” he asked her softly.
“It’s exquisite and must have cost a fortune.”
“Savannah-”
“I am not pissing on the moment, Gavin,” she said with an impish smile as she used his words. “I am just saying that I will never be able to wear it to work.”
“Such a pity,” he drawled as he lifted her hand to his lips. “It would give those petty minds something else to talk about.”
“You are right,” she said with a smile. “I might just wear it tomorrow for spite.”
“That’s my girl.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. They were never aware of the reporter in the corner who had been unobtrusively taking pictures!
*****
His lovemaking that night after he took her back to his apartment was slow and tender, causing her the tears to wet her cheeks. He had taken off the sparkling silver dress she had worn to dinner and passed his hands over her body lingering on the small rise of her belly. He had pleasured her in ways that had her clinging to him when he finally came over her and entered her slowly. He had shown her he loved her without ever saying a word and had almost wrung the words from her as she buried her face into his chest!
He had fallen asleep before her. She had pretended to sleep but she had been doing some thinking. He made her feel special. He went out of his way to make her feel contented and needed. When he made love to her she reached for the moon and she knew that as long as she lived she would never feel that way about anyone ever again! She had not open up to him but he had told her of his resentment for his mother and how he had felt when she left them. She still held on to past hurts and pain as Carissa had reminded her about that. She bent her head to his chest and breathing in his scent she fell asleep.
*****
“I am so happy we finally got a chance to get to know each other. I know that Gail is planning this huge engagement party this weekend-”
“Which I specifically asked her not to do,” Savannah interrupted. She had agreed to have lunch with her future mother–in-law reluctantly as she was not sure how it was between her and Gavin.
“Gavin is pretty excited about tying the knot and so is Gail. I am afraid you are not going to be able to stop her.” Greta eyed the beautiful woman sitting opposite her at the corner booth of the exclusive restaurant and could not help but admire her coolness. She was wearing her scrubs and her belly was very obvious in the loose top. Eyes had turned as they entered the restaurant and Greta had noted with satisfaction the amount of interest they were generating but it did not seem to matter to the younger woman. She was not even wearing her spectacular ring! “I know Gavin told you about our history,” she began as soon as Savannah started sipping her cream of pumpkin soup.
“Somewhat,” Savannah said briefly as she looked at Greta. The woman was wearing a discreetly expensive blue and white cotton
dress that left her still smooth arms bare. Her brunette hair was pinned back into an elegant chignon and she made Savannah felt untidy and disheveled. “Why?”
“I was not a very good mother and I came back seeking to make amends, but my son is as stubborn as they come,” she said with a shaky laugh.
“I am sure he will come around,” Savannah said politely.
Greta let forth a tinkling laugh that had heads turning again. “A very diplomatic way of saying it’s none of your business.”
“It really is not.”
Greta leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. “I am going to be your mother–in-law and I am not asking to take the place of your mother which I know could never happen and I am going to be a grandmother to that baby you are carrying. I want to get a chance to be a part of his or her life and I am asking you to intervene with my son so that I can get a foot inside the door. I just need that and I will do the rest. I have seen the way he looks at you, my dear, and I know how he feels about you. Please do this for me.”
Savannah stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “Are you really sorry?”
“For the way I treated Gavin and Gail? I am. If I had it to do all over again I would do better. I was spoiled by my first husband and I was selfish on top of it. I expected that same treatment even when he died and I tried to find it elsewhere. I am not like you and Gail and the countless other women who are independent and have careers. I was not ambitious enough I guess and I depend on my looks to get me through life. I love my children, Savannah, and I want a chance to show them that.”
“I will do what I can.”
*****
“I don’t know half these people,” Savannah muttered as her hands tightened on Gavin’s. The ballroom of the five star hotel that belonged to Ryan was filled with people milling around. Almost the entire hospital staff was present as well as many in the business circle and the elite of society.
“Neither do I. Relax,” he chided as he wrapped his arm around her waist, his fingers splayed possessively over her belly. She was wearing a bright red dress that only came to her knees and showed the slight bump of her pregnancy. Her hair was piled on top of her head and secured by a jeweled comb. Emeralds dangled at her lobes as a part of the set Gavin had given her. “They are just people.”
“I don’t care about that. I hate crowds.”
“You deal with hundreds of people every day.”
“That’s different. I am not exactly social,” she muttered.
“No!” he said teasingly as she looked down at her. “I never would have guessed.”
She sent him a retiring look before they were swarmed by people congratulating them. Cameras flashed from every corner of the vast room and she was introduced to the wives of the members of his club, those who had been able to make it. Her father and Carissa were sitting with his mother and sister and she smiled as she saw Gabby looking adorable in a flouncy pink and white dress. She had spoken to him about his mother and he had told her he was sorting it out. “What about you?” he had asked her.
“What about me?”
“You have issues with your dad and that lovely woman he is seeing baby. Have you dealt with that?”
She had shivered at the endearment and the look in his eyes as he watched her putting cream onto her skin. “I need time.”
He had hunkered down and put his hands on her bare thighs. “You have forgiven him for what he did to you. Why can’t you forgive her for taking your mother’s place?” He had hit the nail right on the head and she had gone still at that.
“That’s not-”
“That’s exactly it,” he had interrupted her gently. “No one will ever take her place, baby, and when you are ready to talk, I am here.”
Later that evening, when they made their way onto the dance floor, she put her hands around his neck and looked up at him.
“What?” he quizzed.
“I am just wondering if you are going to be like this for as long as we are married,” she said with pretend casualness.
“If you mean I am going to love you as long as I have breath in my body then the answer is yes,” he said softly.
“That’s all I wanted to know.”
Chapter 12
Alexis Murphy handed Savannah the bouquet of orchids mixed with daffodils. They had rekindled the brief friendship they had had before Alexis had gone missing. The girl and her husband had been at the engagement party and Savannah had asked her to be her matron of honor and she had accepted readily. “Who would have thought that we would hook up back like this?” Alexis said with a shake of her head. She was wearing a lovely champagne colored dress that hugged her curves and floated down to meet her knees. The September morning was still hot enough for them to wear something light. Gail was the only other attendant along with Alexis’ husband, the handsome cowboy Kurt Murphy. Fabian was his Gavin’s best man. They had both discovered that they were having a son and Gavin was out of this world happy!
“I am so happy we did,” Savannah said as she hugged her friend. “And life on the ranch sure agrees with you.”
“I am also pregnant again. My husband wants another girl he can spoil but I am praying for a boy this time,” she said with a tender smile as she touched her still flat stomach. They both turned as Gail and Greta came into the room. They had gotten dressed at Gail’s place while the men had stayed at Gavin’s apartment.
“Look at you!” Greta said, clapping her hands as she looked at the beautiful woman who was marrying her son. “You look sensational and that dress!”
“It’s not too simple?” Savannah asked as she got to her feet and turned to the mirror.
“It’s perfect for you, darling.”
The dress was a Romano’s original and she had rifled through the several that had been sent to her and had chosen the deceptively simple sheath like ice blue dress with the scalloped neck and long see through sleeves that came to points at her wrists. Her hair was caught up on top of her head and dotted with pearls. Diamonds dangled from her lobes and around her neck.
“Your dad is waiting downstairs, Savannah, it’s time.”
*****
“You are not nervous, are you?” Fabian asked in hushed tones as he stood next to his best friend.
“Do I have any reason to be?” Gavin glanced at his friend briefly before looking back at the open doorway. The chapel was full to capacity and the press was there to capture the moment.
“I never thought I would see the day.”
“I knew I would,” he said with a smile as he saw his sister walked in with Kurt. “I am marrying my heart.”
Savannah’s eyes met his the minute she entered the chapel and somehow everyone standing there paled into nothingness! She had spent the night with him because he had told her that there was no way he was sleeping without her just because of some stupid tradition. “I have gotten used to sleeping next to you or with my dick buried inside you, baby, and I don’t aim to give that up not even for one night.” His words sent shivers up and down her spine even now.
“I want you to be happy,” her father whispered as they made the walk towards her groom.
“I am,” she whispered back.
He nodded as he handed her over to Gavin and stepped back.
“We will begin,” the minister intoned. “Please be seated. We are gathered here to witness the joining together of this man and this woman as they become one. Marriage is a serious commitment which requires a lot of work and dedication. It is a beautiful institution that is of course honored by God. Gavin Richard Parker, you have made it clear that you have decided to take this woman to be your wife. You have also expressed your wish to say your own vows so I am going to allow you to do so just now.”
Savannah’s eyes flew to his in surprise! “I did not-” she whispered.
“It does not matter,” he whispered back as he took her hands. “Savannah Lois Myles, I know you enough to tell that if I had suggested to you that we should write our own v
ows you would be scrambling to find the words or you would say a blatant on.” He smiled at the look she gave him. “I wanted to do this because I wanted to set the record straight. There has been a lot of speculations in the press about the reasons we are doing this and normally I would not give any thought to it but I want the world to know how I feel about you. The truth is I have never met another woman who comes close to measuring up to you. I have never met a stronger, more beautiful, and delightfully obstinate woman like you and I am head over heels in love with you, my darling. You changed my mind about love and relationships, you changed my way of thinking, and for that I am humbled. I am going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you and I promise that I will treasure you for the rest of my life. You are the love of my life, you are my life, and I want to publicly announce that to you before all of the people gathered here. I love you, Savannah.”
Savannah could not breathe and she had to blink to get the tears out of her eyes. He had floored her and maybe he had planned on doing that all along but she felt as if she was floating on air!
“An incredibly beautiful and-” the minister began before she interrupted him.
“I would never in a million years agreed to do something like this,” she declared huskily as she tightened her fingers around his. “You know me well. The fact is you are the one who changed me, Gavin. With your persistence and the absolute refusal to take no for an answer.” Her throat clogged up and she lifted his hands to her cheek. “I have never met anyone like you and I also want to publicly declare that I love you with all my heart!” She smiled tremulously as his grey eyes flared and his hands trembled. “You are the most amazing man I have ever known and I am so humbled to know that you are with me and will be with me for the rest of my life. I love you.”
He preempted the section where the minister would tell him to kiss his bride and pulling her into his arms he took her lips with his in a kiss that had her clinging to him tightly! They would have gone on if Fabian had not reached out and touched Gavin discreetly on the shoulders in order for the ceremony to continue!
