by Katee Robert
There was just one stop she had to make first.
As she’d suspected, she found her dad in his office, pouring over a stack of papers. She knocked on the doorframe. “Dad?”
He didn’t glance up. “I notice you didn’t add your husband to the guest list tonight. Is there a reason for that?”
It was now or never. If she didn’t stand up to her father in this, she might as well lie back and let him steamroll over her for the rest of her life. “There’s not going to be a wedding.”
He finally looked at her. “Excuse me?”
“You can’t just step in and decide to rearrange my life to suit your campaign. If Nathan and I decide to stay married, it will be on our terms.”
A frown flickered over his face, as if he couldn’t quite put her words into context.“That’s unacceptable.
Divorcing him now could harm my chances at Senate.” “You aren’t listening.” She caught herself raising her voice and made an effort to keep control. “I love you—both you and Mom—but if you can’t just stand back and let me live my life and be happy, then you don’t have a place in it.”
“You’re serious.” He sounded almost as if he were musing to himself. Dad ran his hand over his face. “I… Perhaps we could arrange a dinner with your mother to talk about this?”
It was better than him shooting her down out of turn. “I’d like that.” It might not turn out the way she wanted, but the least she could do was try.
“I’ll e-mail you the dates and we’ll get something set up.”
Some things never changed—never would. “Okay.” Chelsea turned and walked away on shaking knees, not quite able to believe she’d just done that.
It was a step in the right direction. Now it was time to take the next step.
Since she wasn’t certain where Nathan lived, Chelsea decided her best chance of finding him was to go to his gallery. It was the one place she’d gone out of her way to avoid so much as talking about, let alone walking past, since she moved out of Spokane.
Her hands shook a little as she pulled into a parking spot on the street. Chelsea shut off the engine and stared blindly out the windshield. This shouldn’t feel so difficult. All she had to do was get out of her car and walk the twenty feet it would take to go through the door of Nathan’s gallery. What was the worst that could happen?
He could refuse to see her or he could throw her out.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to picture exactly how that would go. His face would transform with rage at seeing her. Or maybe he wouldn’t show her the tiniest bit of emotion. That would be far worse.
Chelsea smacked the steering wheel. There was no use in riling herself up. Either he would welcome her or he wouldn’t, but there was no telling which way it would go unless she got out of her car and went in. She wanted Nathan with a need bordering on desperation, and she would be damned before she let her marriage go without a fight.
She headed into the gallery, moving quickly before she could rethink her complete lack of plan. Three steps through the door, Chelsea nearly tripped over her own feet. Skidding to a stop, she pressed a hand to her mouth.
Perfect. The layout was perfect. She walked to the nearest wall and touched it. Even having never been here before, she knew this place intimately. She and Nathan had spent countless hours talking about the gallery they would one day own together, hammering out the specifics of the open floor plan for his statues with lots of wall space for her photographs and paintings.
He’d gone and created their dream.
Her chest tightened. What a fool she’d been to walk away and miss all these years with him. If she hadn’t run, she would be here with him, bringing their dream into reality. Maybe they’d have a darling little house on the edge of town. Maybe they’d have even started a family. Longing hit her once again, tears burning the backs of her eyes. She refused to lose any more years with him if there was any chance of making it right. With her chin raised, Chelsea marched back toward where the office would be.
A woman met her in the doorway, a smile on her face. “Is there something I can help you with? We’ve just put up a few new pieces from a local artist the owner chose to sponsor.”
Of course he did. Nathan might be making extremely good money from the sculptures he created, but he would never be content with that. No, he would want to spread the opportunity around to as many people as he could find who had the talent but not the means to push their reputation to the next level. It made her love him all the more. “Is the owner here, by chance?”
The brunette’s smile never wavered, but some reserve crept into her eyes. “I’m sorry. He’s out for the day. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, thank you.”The conversation she and Nathan needed to have couldn’t be done in a note. Who knew if he’d even receive it if she left one? She considered asking this woman for contact information, but Chelsea didn’t think she’d provide anything helpful. It wasn’t as if she could directly ask for his home address, after all.
“He’s often here during business hours, so I’d call tomorrow after nine.”
“Thank you. I may try that.” It might only be a twenty-four-hour delay, but defeat still threatened to bow Chelsea’s shoulders. She’d been so ready to see Nathan, to finally hash this thing out between them. She tried to keep her spine straight and her shoulders back as she walked out the front door, but it was an effort. It’s only a day. I’ve waited this long—one more day will not break me.
If only she believed her inner voice.
21
The party was a brilliant success, even by Nana’s exacting standards. It was a shame Chelsea couldn’t appreciate it. She sipped her wine and concentrated on keeping a smile on her face. “It’s really all right.”
“Chels, I may be pretty, but I’m sure as hell not stupid.” Danielle took a shot she’d scrounged up from God knew where and passed a second over. “Take this and turn that frown upside down.”
“I’m not frowning.” If she were, Nana would appear and smack some sense into her.
“No, but that smile is fake as all get-out.” Danielle pushed the shot a little closer. “It’s going to be okay. Your dude’s assistant said he’d be in tomorrow, so you’ll just head in there tomorrow morning and say exactly what you planned on saying today.”
“What if it’s a mistake? What if his not being there was fate telling me to move on with my life?”
“Do you really believe that?”
Perhaps the universe simply didn’t want her and Nathan to be together.Too many things had happened, too many coincidences, to completely write off. Maybe she should just take the hint, pick up the broken pieces of her life, and do her best to move on. Anything was better than beating her emotions bloody for something that might not be meant to be.
But she had to try.
Chelsea took the shot and nearly choked as liquid fire scorched her throat. “No, I don’t believe that.”
“Then stop second-guessing yourself.” Danielle raised her glass. “To distract you, I have some juicy gossip to share.”
The last thing she wanted right now was to be caught up in whatever her best friend had going on, but Chelsea leaned forward anyway. She needed a distraction or she was never going to get through this night. “Gossip?”
“Well, can it be termed gossip if it hasn’t happened yet?” Danielle laughed. “I have big plans for the mail guy who works on the top floor of my building.” The little law office she worked in shared a building with Harper Industries, one of the more prominent businesses in the Seattle area.
Chelsea blinked. “The mail guy.”
“If you’d seen this sex-on-a-stick man, you wouldn’t be judging me right now. He’s got arms like he’s related to Thor or something.” She held her hands out. “This big.”
“This being the same mail guy you had coffee with this week?”
Danielle looked away. “Maybe.”
“And you are choosing to seduce him inst
ead of date him because…?”
“I’d be doing the man a disservice if I didn’t seduce him at the first available opportunity. As for the dating, we’ll see. He’s nothing like my father, so it might actually be worth pursuing.”
Which was the highest compliment her friend could give. Because of her father, Danielle tended to have issues with powerful men. A mail guy was right up her alley. “Let me know how that works out.”
“Oh, I plan on it.” Danielle perked up. “Here comes your grandmother, looking devious as always.” Chelsea started to disagree, but Nana had a strange look on her face, as if she knew a secret no one else did. Her grandmother stopped in front of them. “I’m about to unveil my birthday present to myself. I think you’ll want to see this.”
It might have been phrased as a suggestion, but Chelsea knew a command when she heard one. “Of course, Nana.” She grabbed Danielle’s arm and towed her along with them.
Her best friend, of course, couldn’t keep silent. “You got yourself a present? Isn’t that kind of frowned upon?”
“Frowned upon?” Nana made a sound that might be termed a snort by someone unwise. “Child, when you get to be my age, you have to take your pleasures where you can find them.”
Danielle laughed. “Those are words to live by if I ever heard them.”
Chelsea started to cut in and turn the conversation to safer subjects, but then the double doors to the ballroom opened and her words died in her throat. The statue that rolled through the opening was nearly too big to fit through the double doors, but that wasn’t what caught and held her attention.
No, that was reserved entirely for Nathan.
Surely this couldn’t be happening? What was he doing here? “Nana?”
“He called me yesterday with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Cupid and Psyche. It’s apt, don’t you think?”
It was by far the best of his work she’d seen. The wings alone were so intricate and detailed, she had no doubt she could run her hands over them and feel every individual feather. Considering it was created from scrap metal, Psyche and Cupid should have looked mechanical—unemotional—but there was something so human about them, she took an involuntary step forward. She wanted to stop Psyche, to take away her candle perched at a precarious angle, and let them continue their blissful lives without experiencing the pain of betrayal.
Her grandmother patted her shoulder.“Sometimes true love needs a little shove to get moving in the right direction.”
Her gaze fell on Nathan. He stood there, as tall and proud as he should be, and he stared straight at her.
This was the chance she’d been so desperate for. If she looked down and moved away, he’d let her go, but who knew if he’d be there when she tried to find him again? By shunning him now, she would further damage the fragile thing between them beyond repair.
She refused to let it happen. “Danielle, please hold my drink.”
Her best friend took the wineglass, an enormous grin on her face. “Go get him, Chels.”
She managed to keep a measured pace for the first few steps, carefully avoiding the small groups of people who had gathered to appreciate the statue. But with every foot she got closer to Nathan, the urgency to have his arms around her grew, until she picked up her dress and ran. She wanted to throw herself into his arms but forced herself to stop a few feet in front of him. “You’re here.”
“I’m here. I have something I need to say to you.” He glanced around, taking in their audience. “Do you want to take this somewhere more private?”
“Here is fine.What did you want to say?” She didn’t care who was nearby or what they thought of this. This was too important a conversation to wait even the thirty seconds it would take to get into the hallway.
There was so much she needed to say as well. It had taken both of them to get to this point, and she wasn’t blameless by any means.
“I get it. I understand how I screwed up.” He brought his hand from behind his back, a familiar set of papers in them. “I signed it. I didn’t want to, but this is your choice. I want you, always and forever, and if that means I have to divorce you to start all over again, I’ll do whatever it takes. Just tell me what you want— even if that means you want me out of your life.”
He’d divorce her…for a chance to be with her. The logic was twisted at best, but it made her heart beat faster. He was giving her a choice. A real choice. Unable to contain herself anymore, she threw herself into his arms. “You. I want you. I love you so much, Nathan. I’m so sorry I walked away. I want us. I choose us.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
Nathan went tense at the familiar voice, but she’d already made her decision, and there wasn’t a single thing in this world that could change her mind. Chelsea turned to look at her parents, her father composed and her mother, clutching her pearls and looking as if she might pass out. “Mom, Dad, this is Nathan Schultz. My husband.”
Nana swept over, a small smile on her face. “Frankly, my dear, it’s about time you pulled your head out of your derriere about this man. He’s quite brilliant.”
Chelsea’s breath whooshed out. “Excuse me?”
“Darling, don’t look at me like that.” Nana smiled.
“I’ve always known the truth. How do you think your father never managed to find out?” She looked every inch a queen with her perfectly styled gray hair and stately slate-gray dress. “Now let’s get a closer look at this masterpiece. I do believe you’ve outdone yourself this time, Nathan.”
He smiled, though he didn’t release his grip on Chelsea’s waist. “Only the best for you, Mrs. Callaghan.”
“Good boy.” She patted his cheek. “Now get on with you, children. I believe you have important things to discuss.”
Mom cast a glance around at all the people watching with avid interest. “Rose—”
“Oh hush, Margaret—and get that look off your face. You’re a person, not a codfish. Can’t you see that these two are desperately in love? Happiness isn’t so common in this world that you can afford to pass up a chance at it. Don’t you agree?”
Her father glanced at Chelsea, and she found herself holding her breath. She hadn’t been lying before—it truly didn’t matter whether her father gave her permission or not. She had every intention of building a life with Nathan.
She’d already missed out on too much time with him.
But then Dad nodded.“We’ll talk about this during our dinner. Bring Nathan along.” And we’ll figure out how to spin it for the press was left unspoken.
“Yes, of course.” Chelsea moved toward the doors, keeping Nathan’s hand in hers.
They barely made it into the hallway before he swept her into his arms and kissed her with a desperation she felt all too keenly. Chelsea gripped his shirt, holding him as closely as she could manage. “I’m so sorry.”
Nathan kissed her again.“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”
“I shouldn’t have walked away.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Nathan took a deep breath and stepped back. She started to protest, but then he went down on one knee. Her breath stalled in her lungs as he pulled out an achingly familiar little black box. He smiled at her.“Since you choose us, Chelsea Callaghan, will you do me the honor of being my wife—again?”
“Yes. Oh, Nathan, yes.”
He opened the box and she gasped. The ring was exquisite, three white gold bands woven together to frame three gigantic diamonds. Nathan slipped it on her finger, and it fit as if she’d been wearing it for years. “The diamonds are for our past, present, and future.”
He stood and hauled her into his arms. She half expected him to pin her to the wall right then and there, but he framed her face with his hands and kissed her until her knees buckled. She was still clinging to him when he leaned back.
He gave her a sexy grin. “Our future starts now.”
Nathan’s grip on Chelsea’s hand was nearly
painful, but she couldn’t fault him for it. They were in unexplored territory right now in a very real way. She smiled. “Are you nervous?”
“I’ve been in a state of anxiety since you showed me the pregnancy test.” He squeezed her hand again, this time much gentler. “But I’m so happy I can’t see straight.”
“Me, too.” She’d hardly believed it when she’d missed a period, but it shouldn’t have been so surprising. They hadn’t used protection once since Gabe and Elle’s wedding.
“You know, you’re really going to have to give me a big white wedding now.”
She laughed. “Yes, I know.” She was actually looking forward to it, to claiming Nathan in a very public way as hers forever.
Epilogue
A knock sounded and they both looked up as the doctor came into the room. He gave them a giant smile. “It’s great to see you again. Are you ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat?”
Nathan’s smile practically lit up the room. “We definitely are.”
“Wonderful.” He squirted what looked like clear jelly onto a spot near her hipbone and used an electronic device to smear it around. At twelve weeks, her stomach had just started to round and no one was more delighted with the physical changes than Nathan. Chelsea could have done without the morning sickness, but he was there every step of the way, feeding her crackers and Popsicles—the only things she could successfully keep down. Just yesterday he’d helped her with her frantic search of his house to discover the source of the smell that turned her stomach. Nana’s stew, of all things.
A whomping sound filled the room, evolving into a steady swish-swish-swish. The doctor looked up. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
“Oh my God.” She looked at Nathan, still not quite able to believe this was real—that she was finally building a life with the man she loved more than anything. And she was going to have his baby.