* * *
—
After the ceremony, everyone drank champagne and the band started playing. Zack asked Ruby to dance with him, after Ross and Kendall had their first dance. Ruby felt so familiar in his arms that it made Zack want to cry as he held her, thinking about what a fool he had been.
“I don’t suppose you’d want to try again?” he asked softly. Their divorce had been final for six months. She’d been ridiculously reasonable about it, and wouldn’t take most of the enormous settlement he’d offered, just enough to live on comfortably for the rest of her days once she stopped gardening, if that ever happened, and maintain the Deveraux mansion, which would belong to Kendall and Nicholas one day. And Ruby wouldn’t stop working for a long time. She was only fifty-two, and with her freedom and her work, she felt fully alive again, and excited about the future.
“No, I wouldn’t want to try again,” she answered his question, “but I’ll always be your friend, Zack. That’s how we started, and how I want it to be. We have wonderful children, and we should always be friends.” They hadn’t even been friends for years now. He nodded, with a lump in his throat when he heard her answer. He knew he would never find another woman like her. He had totally missed the boat for their entire marriage. “Besides, you can’t marry your gardener, it’s not dignified. You need someone a lot jazzier than that.” He laughed, and when the dance ended, she went to talk to her son, Nick, and Sophie.
Ruby smiled thinking of how it had all turned out. A cabinetmaker, a gardener, and a house flipper. Hardly lofty aspirations, but they had each found exactly the path they wanted. And as she had said to Kendall, sometimes the simplest solutions were the best ones. All three of them were happy. Zack was the computer genius, the stuff of which legends were made. She had discovered that it was much harder to love a legend than an ordinary person.
She watched Kendall dancing with Ross. She had taken off the veil and the tiara, and the gown looked exquisite on her. Ruby wished that Eleanor and Alex could have seen it, the grandparents who had saved her. But she was sure that they were watching from somewhere. Their wedding had been eighty-two years before. And the wedding dress Kendall was wearing was just as beautiful as the day Eleanor had put it on. The history they all shared was remarkable and precious, like the house Zack had given back to them. It had been his greatest gift to her.
Ruby was smiling, thinking about it, as James Beaulieu walked up to her, looking very dashing in a perfectly tailored dark blue suit. He was impeccable with his silver hair and immaculately trimmed beard. She had brought him to the wedding with her. He was the mystery guest no one had expected, nor had she. He had arrived in her life at just the right time. Both of them divorced, and looking forward to new adventures, living together on the property their families had owned for nearly a century, and the Deveraux for even longer.
As James led her onto the dance floor, Ruby said something to him in a whisper and he laughed as they circled the floor so elegantly that people stopped to watch them. They looked perfect together and totally at ease with each other.
The Deveraux mansion and the Jeanne Lanvin wedding dress Kendall wore were alive again, as history lived on, never to be forgotten.
To my Beloved children,
Beatie, Trevor, Todd, Nick,
Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa,
Maxx, and Zara,
Be Wise, Be Lucky, Be Kind,
Be Loving, Be Loved, Be Happy,
all my wishes for you
for wonderful lives
and keep the love that we share
close to you always,
just as I cherish you.
with all my heart and love,
Mom/d.s.
By Danielle Steel
THE WEDDING DRESS • THE NUMBERS GAME • MORAL COMPASS • SPY • CHILD’S PLAY • THE DARK SIDE • LOST AND FOUND • BLESSING IN DISGUISE • SILENT NIGHT • TURNING POINT • BEAUCHAMP HALL • IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS • THE GOOD FIGHT • THE CAST • ACCIDENTAL HEROES • FALL FROM GRACE • PAST PERFECT • FAIRYTALE • THE RIGHT TIME • THE DUCHESS • AGAINST ALL ODDS • DANGEROUS GAMES • THE MISTRESS • THE AWARD • RUSHING WATERS • MAGIC • THE APARTMENT • PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN • BLUE • PRECIOUS GIFTS • UNDERCOVER • COUNTRY • PRODIGAL SON • PEGASUS • A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
PURE JOY: The Dogs We Love
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
For Children
PRETTY MINNIE IN PARIS
PRETTY MINNIE IN HOLLYWOOD
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, Child’s Play, The Dark Side, Lost and Found, Blessing in Disguise, Silent Night, Turning Point, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
daniellesteel.com
Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Twitter: @daniellesteel
Instagram: OfficialDanielleSteel
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The Wedding Dress Page 27