“If I ever figure out how to actually inherit it.”
“You will.”
He nudged her with his elbow. “Hey, you don’t happen to have any girlfriends who might need a husband, do you?”
Mimi glared through him like he was from Mars.
Lights began highlighting one nude statue and then the next, creating shadows on the stone walls. Bai excused herself from the people she was talking to and the three of them sat down.
The music got louder as the first model strode out from the staging area. Before the show was fully underway, Mimi kissed his mother on the cheek. “I love you so much, Mamabai.”
* * *
As Mimi watched the runway show with Jin on her right and Bai on her left, thoughts paraded across her mind as swiftly as the models on the catwalk.
She was haunted by what Jin had said to her about how they’d present it to his mother if they really were to marry. Old friends...a union based on history. His words lodged in her throat.
Firstly, because they were true. With Jin betrayed by Helene, and Gunnar turning out to be hardly what Mimi had hoped for, it made sense even to her that marrying a longtime friend, with whom you knew what you were getting, didn’t sound half bad.
Although, the words were agony in what they didn’t say. Time and again, Jin took pains to make it clear that he didn’t share the yearnings Mimi had been harboring all these years. She knew he didn’t, but hearing the constant confirmation in the midst of marriage proposals was a lot to take.
The final dagger to her heart was when he asked if she had any girlfriends who might want to get married. Unimaginable, him with one of her friends, even if it meant a way for him to save the label and Bai’s dignity. As excruciating as it was to watch Jin with Helene during the years they were together, at least Mimi hadn’t previously known his bride. Which had given her a certain distance that helped her keep her emotions under wrap.
Even though she’d said no, Jin’s proposal was out there in the ether. Regardless of the outcome, it had happened and she couldn’t stop mulling it over. Marrying him might be the worst decision of her life. Not marrying him might be the worst decision of her life. What if marrying him was a way into her secret wishes? What if his platonic feelings changed? That happened all the time. People moved toward each other in marriage. Grew to lo—
“This should be you, Mimi,” Jin said, gesturing with his head as a line of models strode the catwalk for the finale. Leo Berringer, flanked by two models in the star pieces of his military vibe collection, closed the show. “This will be you.” If she was being honest, Mimi could see herself in the designer’s shoes. She knew she had talent and was a tireless worker.
She whispered into his ear, “Yes. This is what I want.”
Although she hated the bargain he was suggesting rather than just hiring her as his designer, she understood his reasoning. Presenting a twenty-eight-year-old junior designer as his wife would be easier for the public and the industry to comprehend. It made perfect sense.
For him. He didn’t have the emotional issues that complicated the proposition.
After the show, they went back to the Chinatown flat and Jin ordered food. Bai commented, “It still smells like Helene in here.”
“What did Helene smell like?” Jin asked in earnest, surprised by his mother’s comment.
“Lies. Same as your father.”
How painful it had been for Bai to see Jin’s marriage fail. Her only son, a man filled with innate decency, disgraced by a woman who didn’t see how precious he was. How he deserved to be valued like the finest jewel.
If Mimi were ever lucky enough to be with someone like Jin, she’d guard and keep him as if her life depended on it. Because it would.
It could surely help avenge the hurt Helene had left behind if Jin was to marry someone worthy of him. Someone Bai liked.
“What a lot we are,” Bai said, looking to Jin and then to Mimi, “three broken hearts. And Aaron still single.” Little did Bai know who really had the ability to shatter Mimi’s heart.
“What’s wrong?” Bai asked Jin as they sat down at the table to eat. Her son massaged his temples, distraught.
“Just tired,” he clipped. Maybe going to the Leo Berringer show today had taken its toll on him, exacerbated his worries. And protecting his mother by keeping mum about the will must be so difficult for him.
Mimi knew firsthand what a burden secrets were to carry.
She recognized frustration on Jin’s face. His dark eyes spearing through everything they surveyed and the tight set of his straight lips. Breathtakingly handsome as always, but the weight of the world was bearing down on his strong shoulders. How much more could he handle?
He might lose everything.
During late nights over cocktails or coffees, Jin had told Aaron and Mimi about his plans for LilyZ. He looked forward to returning to the practical yet refined clothes that Shun had founded the company on.
Comfortable and tailored clothes with a bit of retro thrown in was exactly what Mimi longed to create. Pieces that would look great on every woman, that she could wear to work, on a date night, or out to dinner with the kids, as well. Couture, but that made sense in a wardrobe.
Jin offered her a chance to do just that.
In return, all he asked for was a year of pretending when they were in public. Twelve months that would transform her life. Couldn’t she put her personal cautions aside to let her professional instincts soar? To design for a label she’d always had a connection to. Where she knew that in Jin she’d have a fair boss who wasn’t threatened by other people’s talent.
Okay, she wouldn’t have come by her title on a conventional track but what difference did that make? She’d prove any naysayers wrong with her dedication and work.
If her parents were alive, they’d tell her to embrace her good fortune and make the most of it.
And what about Bai? A woman who had looked after Mimi and her brother when they needed someone the most? At eighteen and twenty respectively, she and Aaron really had no one after their parents died and Bai made sure to either see or talk to them every single day.
Shouldn’t Mimi do this for her? To ease the pain of Wei’s mistreatment? To balm the sting of Jin’s divorce? To protect her from the embarrassment of LilyZ’s demise?
If not for her own career, and if not for Bai, shouldn’t Mimi do this for Jin? Even as a teenager he’d been a spokesman for the label and the legacy his grandfather had left. Jin never once said a bad word publicly about his father. Even though he grew up in unstable chaos, Jin had always held his head high.
How many times had he had to go to the studio to make peace when Wei had upset a valuable employee? How often had a shipment been late due to Wei’s indecisiveness? Or when Jin didn’t even know that a vendor’s bill hadn’t been paid and he’d have to come good even if it meant taking money from one account to pay another?
“Aren’t you hungry?” Mimi blurted to Jin, who hadn’t touched his food.
“Sure. I’ll eat in a bit.” His voice sounded distant.
Hadn’t this amazing man suffered enough? Wouldn’t she do anything for him? Isn’t that what her heart told her? Even though she’d never have what she wished for with him, wouldn’t it be enough knowing how much she could help him by accepting his request?
Could Mimi be willing, and able, to make this dangerous move? It might destroy her. It meant a year of salt applied directly to open wounds every single day. Every night. Was she tough enough? Would it be worth it?
With one yes she could secure for him the thing he cared about the most. She looked at him again, chin in his hand, staring off into space. The bond they’d create by doing this together would transcend romance.
Or would she really always be hoping against hope that something more would blossom?
That would be her personal b
attle to fight. A measure of her devotion to him.
She reached across the table for Jin’s hand. He took hers, absentmindedly, while still lost in thought. The shiver went through her, as it always did when she had any physical contact with him. But touching could be kept to a minimum, and only for show.
She was going to do this.
For the people she cared about.
For the only man who ever mattered to her.
“Mamabai,” Mimi began, unsure of the words to use but propelled forward by an unseen force. “We have something to tell you.”
His eyes opened in surprise.
“Yes?” Bai signaled her attention.
“Jin and I have decided to get married.”
* * *
Jin’s mother looked to him in shock. “You and Mimi? Married?” A wise grin came across Bai’s pale lips.
Eyes darting back and forth across the room, Jin knew he needed to respond. After Mimi had initially refused his proposal, it seemed she’d changed her mind. She had, however, neglected to inform him of the news.
He turned to her with a squint. She had taken his hand when she made her announcement. There they were still, linked at his kitchen table.
Ready. Set. Go. He began the hoax by stroking the top of Mimi’s hand with his thumb. Even though he’d held her hand a hundred times before, he was surprised again by its remarkable suppleness.
“Yes, Mom, we wanted to tell you when we were home alone, that’s why we didn’t say anything earlier today.” Jin’s mind suddenly whirled with all the truth-bending and excuses this arrangement was going to necessitate.
Mimi concurred with a lilt to her head that was almost a parody of a blushing bride. She released his hand. Strangely, Jin instantly missed her touch.
Tears pooled in Bai’s eyes.
“Mom.”
On one hand, he’d like nothing better than to make his mother happy. On the other, he and Mimi were now out-and-out lying to her, and he didn’t anticipate how uncomfortable that was going to make him feel. All in all, though, Jin believed this masquerade was for the best so he bowed his head to Mimi with a silent gratitude he hoped she’d register.
“I have to confess,” Bai said as she placed her hand at her neck, demurely composed. “I’ve always wished for this. In my heart, I’ve long thought you two belonged together.”
“You did?” Mimi asked.
“Look how you’ve stayed the best of friends all through the years. You’ve supported each other through thick and thin. You laugh together. You’ve cared for each other. Haven’t we seen that’s what matters?”
“That’s the conclusion we came to,” Mimi piped up. “After Helene and after Gunnar, Jin and I realized that what matters is our friendship. That we could grow a life together out of that. We decided to make a practical decision and partner up.”
How was Mimi saying all of that so calmly? She was a brilliant actress.
Right before his very eyes and ears, Mimi was solving his first set of problems. He’d inherit LilyZ as was his due. He wanted to grab her and hug her and thank her a million times over for that alone.
He vowed to himself he’d make this worth her while. He wouldn’t ruin anything for her. She’d have her big and true love later in life. This was just for a year.
“Jin has been so good to Aaron and I.” Mimi smiled sweetly to her future mother-in-law. The thought of which again caused Jin to flinch a bit at the lie they were espousing.
“You two have meant just as much to me,” Jin chimed in. “Mimi will also sign on as our new designer.”
Bai’s eyes danced with her continued delight. “Yes. As it should be.”
“We figured it would make more sense outwardly if we got married at the same time. So that people will understand us as a design team and not focus on Mimi’s lack of experience.”
“It will be my honor, Mamabai, to help grow LilyZ to where Jin wants to take it.”
In that moment, Jin wanted to take Mimi in his arms and give her a kiss, as a soon-to-be groom would. He wasn’t sure if the impulse was to put on a convincing show for Bai, or simply out of appreciation. In any case, he held himself back.
“Have you thought about your wedding?” Bai asked excitedly.
Jin most certainly hadn’t, as this was all happening so fast. With Helene, he’d had a traditional wedding. They’d walked down an aisle, him in a tuxedo and Helene in, now that he thought about it, an awful puffball of a wedding dress.
As a matter of fact, Mimi had been one of the bridesmaids, looking better than the bride in a simple pewter-colored gown. They’d had a reception with a deejay and food he couldn’t remember before departing on their honeymoon to Bermuda where Helene ordered cocktails with breakfast every day.
“I think under the circumstances, given that Jin and I are old friends, and that it will be a second marriage for him, we should just have a courthouse ceremony with you and Aaron in attendance,” Mimi answered Bai.
“I thought you always wanted a traditional wedding,” Bai said. “Wasn’t it a tasteful gown with forest green velvet trim and a pearl headband rather than a veil?”
Mimi mulled that over, a troubled expression coloring her pretty face. She said finally, “I was a lot younger then.”
Jin and Mimi needed to talk about this in private. He did not want her disappointed.
Bai gushed. “I’d like to do something for you kids.”
“We’re not exactly kids,” Jin protested.
“Let’s have some friends join us for a nice dinner somewhere. Mimi, can I buy you a dress?” Bai still didn’t know that every dime she spent came out of Jin’s personal pocket, that in reality LilyZ was on the brink of ruin. He and Mimi would need to turn that around.
Strangely, Jin suddenly thought that with Mimi by his side anything was possible.
CHAPTER FOUR
“WHY DID YOU shock the heck out of me by announcing to my mom you’d agreed to marry me without first letting me know?”
After they’d put Bai in a taxi, Jin walked Mimi home to Aaron’s. The cold night sky didn’t empty the New York streets as neon lights still blinked in storefront windows, horns honked, pedestrians boldly jaywalked and dog walkers did their diligence.
“It just slipped out.”
“Slipped out? After you had given me a firm no?”
“You’re angry. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not angry but it might have been nice to know I was engaged before my mother found out.”
“I know. But isn’t that why you insisted I come to the Leo Berringer show? So I’d see what I could be doing and change my mind? And that’s why you invited your mom. To tug at my loyalties.”
He laid his palm flat over his chest in mock indignation. “Special Agent Mimi on the job again. You saw through my master plan.”
“It worked.” Mimi hadn’t actually meant to blurt her acceptance to Bai without talking to Jin about it first. However, thinking about the career opportunity combined with her devotion to the Zhangs brought it swirling together in her brain all at once. She’d decided to leap before she changed her mind. “I hope fooling Mamabai is the right thing to do, Jin. I can’t say I like it.”
“Thank you for caring that much.”
Later that night, she tossed and turned in Aaron’s sofa bed, unable to get the day’s proceedings off of her mind. She was second-guessing her decision to help Jin in a way that might cost her too much.
Reaching over to the side table, she grabbed the thimble Jin had given her as a stand-in for an engagement ring. Fitting it over each of her ten, she found it was most comfortable on her ring finger.
Twirling it around and around, she convinced herself that she could see this deal with Jin through. Although during the night, she woke experiencing a translucent hallucination of children’s laughter filling Jin’s apartmen
t.
In the morning she went straight to the studio. Although it was early, Jin was already there at work and let her in.
“Good morning, fiancée,” he greeted her with a friendly uptick.
“To you, too, dearest husband-to-be.” If he was going to play, so was she. “Can I ask you something? It was nice of your mom to offer to buy me a dress. But do you agree that we’re not going to go the formal gown route?”
“Whatever you want.” He sat down at his desk then glanced up at her. “I know you and my mom always talked about all of that wedding floof. You should have it. Someday. Wait until you fall in love and I’ll throw you a huge wedding with every little detail.”
Oh, that was rich! Jin was going to pay for her real wedding somewhere down the road. Mimi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She stared at him, into those deep, dark orbs of his. The knife’s-edge cheekbones that gave his face its exquisite angles.
He didn’t have the slightest idea what he was talking about when he spoke of her finding love from which a genuine marriage grew. She did give second best a try with Gunnar, but there would be only one love for her. Always had been and always would be.
“What I was saying—” she gamely tried to regroup, her voice a bit wobbly “—is that I’d like to make a dress to wear to the courthouse, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course. What are you thinking?”
“Off-white?”
“I’m sure we have some silk dupioni you can use.”
“That would be great.”
“And didn’t my mom say you were talking about forest green velvet trim? I’m sure we have some of that somewhere, too. From the winter collection three years ago.”
“That was if it was to be a gown. Let me just start a dress.”
“Yeah, you might want to save that for your honest-to-goodness wedding later. Why waste it on this?”
Waste. He was referring to this wedding as a waste of good materials. She knew what he meant, that the ceremony was just a formality to put their charade in motion. Nonetheless, the words burned.
His Convenient New York Bride Page 5