The Wedding She Always Wanted

by Stacy Connelly

  Emily had barely said the words when she heard a soft knock on the open bedroom door. A wide-eyed young woman with short brown hair stuck her head inside. “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t think I was at the right house and…”

  The woman—Lauren, Emily assumed—went completely silent when she saw the turquoise cashmere sweater Angela held up. “Is that…Are these the clothes?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Whatever you like,” Emily offered.

  “Lauren just got a job with a law firm,” the older woman said, as much pride shining in her eyes as when she talked about her daughter, Anna.

  “I’m only the receptionist,” Lauren clarified quietly.

  “It is a good job, a professional job, and you need to look the part,” said Angela.

  Emily nodded her agreement. “By the time we’re done, you’ll have the perfect business wardrobe, and maybe a few outfits for fun on a Friday night.”

  Lauren gave a soft laugh as she fingered the sleeve of an emerald-green silk blouse. “Somehow I don’t think I’ll find a jogging suit and spit-up rag in here. My idea of a fun Friday night is playing with my two-year-old son.” A mother’s joy lighting her expression and adding a soft beauty to her otherwise plain features, she asked, “Would you like to see a picture?”

  When Emily nodded, Lauren pulled out her wallet and showed photos of a chubby-faced, smiling toddler.

  “He’s beautiful,” Emily declared.

  “He’s what I work for, why I want a better life. And I’m so lucky to have found Angela. She helped me get this job. If not for her…” Lauren’s voice trailed off. She didn’t even want to mention what her fate might have been.

  “You don’t have any family who can help you?” Emily asked.

  Running her thumb over her son’s face, the young woman shook her head. “I was a senior in high school when I met Ben’s father. My parents didn’t like him. They said he was a user, told me to stay away from him. Obviously, I didn’t listen,” she said with a wry smile as she tucked the photos and wallet away. “I ran off to be with him. Only, my parents ended up being right, but by then it was too late. I was pregnant, and as far as my family was concerned, I’d made my decision, and I had to live with it.”

  At eighteen, Emily had done the same thing—defied her parents and snuck behind their backs to date Connor. What would have happened had she run off with him, only to come home pregnant and alone? She tried to imagine her parents turning their backs on her but couldn’t. Their disappointment and disapproval would have been a heavy burden to bear, but she knew they loved her enough to welcome her back home.

  Where they would have used her past mistakes to keep her firmly in line.

  Emily tried to shove aside the unkind thought, but she knew the truth, just like she knew without a doubt that her parents would see her relationship with Javy as a mistake.

  But from now on, she was playing by her own rules and doing what she wanted. And even though any relationship with Javy was bound to be short-lived, she planned to enjoy every minute. Beginning with their date that night.

  “Maybe this one. Or this…”

  Emily turned her attention back to the two women, who were having a hard time matching up the different pieces into coordinating outfits. Reaching past them and into the closet, she pulled out a pair of charcoal gray slacks to go with the turquoise sweater. “Here. Try this.”

  Seconds later, Lauren stepped out of the bathroom to model her new clothes. “What do you think?”

  Looking at Lauren, Emily tried not to smile. The two pieces combined made a lovely outfit, but the sleeves slid past Lauren’s fingertips, and she stood in a pool of gray wool. With her delicate features and short hair, she looked like a little girl playing dress up.

  Emily tilted her head. “I think it will be a wonderful outfit once it’s tailored—”

  “She can roll up the sleeves of the sweater, and a hem will do fine for the pants,” the older woman insisted, not refusing Emily’s advice as much as admitting a hem was the best she could do.

  But to truly fit correctly, the outfit needed more than a simple hem….

  “You know, my cousin has a friend who’s a dress designer,” said Emily. “She went to a local fashion institute, and I remember her saying she spent hours learning how to tailor clothes. I wonder if we could arrange for some of the current students to alter the clothes for extra credit.”

  “Do you think they would?” Lauren asked.

  The hope shining in her eyes made Emily wish she’d never said a word. What did she know about what the design students could or couldn’t do? She shouldn’t have gotten Lauren’s hopes up when she had no idea….

  “Perfect!” Angela exclaimed. “Emily, you will arrange this for us, yes?”

  With both women looking at her with such expectation, what else could she say but…yes.

  After Angela and Lauren left, their arms weighed down with bags stuffed with clothes, Emily gathered the many now-empty hangers. She hadn’t expected to enjoy the afternoon as much as she had, but the women had given Emily’s spirits a lift she hadn’t even realized she needed.

  Wondering what more she could do to help the charity, Emily didn’t notice that her mother had entered the bedroom until Charlene said, “I saw those two women as they were leaving. Do you have any clothes left?”

  “Of course.” Emily crossed her arms at her waist. She hated that every conversation with her parents right now turned into an argument. Why couldn’t they be happy for her? Or, if that was too much to expect, couldn’t they at least respect her decision to move out?

  Instead, she felt like she had when she was five and cut her own hair. For weeks her mother had shaken her head in a combination of disappointment and hope that her scalped bangs would grow out before anyone noticed.

  Emily met that same look in her mother’s eyes now, as if she were making some foolish mistake that Charlene was hoping she would quickly grow out of.

  Replacing the empty hangers on the rod, Emily said, “The things I gave away were outfits I haven’t worn in months, and they are all going to a good cause.”

  Lauren had hugged Emily before she left, the shy, awkward embrace revealing that she wasn’t accustomed to such displays of affection. “Only a few months ago, I prayed for someone to help me and my son,” the young woman had whispered. “First, I found Angela, and now, you. I can’t thank you enough, Emily.”

  Emily had never been the answer to anything before, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the light in Lauren’s eyes as she tried on one outfit after another. Even though the clothes hadn’t been perfect fits, it had been like watching an impromptu fashion show.

  Donating more clothes would help the charity, but was there some way to combine the clothes and the fashion show into some kind of money-raising opportunity? An event where everyday women, not high-paid models, walked the catwalk and the clothes worn were donated items instead of haute couture originals?

  Caught up in the possibilities, Emily almost missed what her mother was saying until two words struck out at her.

  “I’ve decided to have Dan Rogers’s dinner party next weekend.”

  “Next weekend?” The Delgado’s reopening was that same weekend, an event she was looking forward to almost as much as she was dreading her mother’s dinner party. “What night?”

  Charlene frowned. “Friday. Why?”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Emily said, “I have plans on Saturday and I was worried….”

  “Worried what?” her mother asked, expectation written in the lift of her eyebrows.

  Obviously Charlene thought her dinner party superseded any plans Emily might have made. “I was worried there might be a conflict, but there isn’t.” Trying to summon up a proper amount of interest, she asked, “How many people will be attending?”

  “Six. I was thinking of having a seafood theme—lobster bisque, crab legs….”

  “Hmm, my favorites.”

  “It tu
rns out seafood is Dan’s favorite, too.”

  They spoke for a few more minutes, discussing whether or not to have the meal catered or to bring in a personal chef, as well as what desserts might be on the menu.

  “Am I keeping you from something?” her mother asked, catching Emily glancing at the bedside clock and pinning her to the spot with a pointed look.

  Emily had known this conversation was coming. If she was going to make her own choices, then she was going to have to learn to accept her parents’ disapproval. Ignoring the nerves turning her insides into origami, she said, “I have a date tonight.”

  “A date? With whom?”

  “Javier Delgado. He was Connor’s best man, and they’ve been friends for years.”

  Her mother’s frown told Emily that while Charlene might have reluctantly welcomed Connor into the family, the same invitation didn’t extend to his friends. “Emily, are you sure you’re ready for this? What do you even know about this man?”

  She shrugged. “I know I like being with him.”

  “If you want to go out, your father and I know plenty of young men from good families—”

  “Men like Todd?” Emily couldn’t help asking.

  Charlene flinched. “Is that what this is about? Moving, giving away your clothes, going out with this man…Are you punishing us for not protecting you from Todd?”

  “No. Of course not. Todd fooled all of us, but he’s the only one to blame for that.” And she could only blame herself for letting things go as far as they had. “It’s not your fault, and I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

  “I’m glad you did, Emily. I’m sure this experience with Todd has shown you that there are men in the world who will use you to get what they want….”

  Knowing where her mother was going, Emily shook her head. “Not Javy.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because he told me…” He’d also told her she needed to confront her parents.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “He told me he wouldn’t take money from our family again.”

  “Again?”

  “The money you gave Connor to leave town…” Her mother recoiled at the reminder. “He gave it to the Delgados to save their restaurant.”

  “And what exactly did he hope to gain by telling you that?”

  “Nothing. He thought I already knew,” Emily replied pointedly.

  Charlene sighed. “After Connor left, your father and I didn’t see any reason to tell you.”

  “Not telling me is the least of the problem! Why couldn’t you…Why haven’t you ever trusted me to make my own decisions?”

  “Including the decision to run off with a man your father and I disapproved of when you were eighteen?”

  “This goes back so much further than Connor. I feel like I’ve spent my whole life with you and Daddy watching over my shoulder, just waiting for me to repeat some huge mistake!”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Charlene insisted, even as she rubbed a spot on her crystal watch face and refused to meet Emily’s gaze.

  “No, it’s not.” She wasn’t being ridiculous, but she couldn’t force her mother to talk. “Although it is almost funny. You don’t even trust me enough to tell me why you don’t trust me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for my date.”

  As Emily turned toward the bathroom, Charlene called out her name. Looking back, Emily could see the debate playing out behind her mother’s normally reserved features. She waited, hoping her mother might finally open up, but at the last moment Charlene said, “Everything your father and I have done has been in your best interests. We never wanted to hurt you.”

  Frustrated by an explanation that didn’t explain anything, Emily nodded. Her parents did love her. She had no doubt of that. She could only hope they would understand that, from now on, as much as she loved them, as much she didn’t want to hurt them, she could look out for herself.

  Javy had everything set for his date with Emily, and he was looking forward to the evening with an eagerness fitting for a first date—if he were thirteen and this were his first date ever.

  For a grown man with his experience, this should have been a typical night. But he couldn’t ignore the feeling that if he let it, this could be more….

  Doing his best to shake it off, he just grabbed his keys. He was heading for the door when his cell phone rang. He answered the call as he hit the button for the garage.

  “Hey, it’s Anna,” his cousin responded to his greeting. “I talked to my mom a few minutes ago, and she is thrilled. She said Emily gave the charity a ton of clothes.”

  Javy listened with half an ear as his cousin raved about fashion. He had already backed down the driveway and pulled onto the street before Anna switched gears to the Wilsons’ house.

  “And she says the house is a mansion, with these amazing columns and this huge fountain out front!”

  “Yeah? Well, I guess I’ll see for myself tonight, when I pick Emily up for our date.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “If this is about Emily and Stephanie being too much alike, you’re wrong.”

  Expecting an argument, Anna surprised him by saying, “I know. I misjudged her. Emily’s stronger than I thought, and she’s a woman who knows what she wants.”

  “I thought so from the moment I met her.” He was glad other people were starting to see the strength beneath Emily’s beauty. He hoped Emily was starting to see it herself.

  “Which brings me back to my question…Are you sure dating Emily is a good idea, considering your track record?”

  His hand tightened on the wheel as he stopped at a red light. “So I’ve dated a lot of women. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing if you’re nineteen, but you aren’t.”

  At nineteen, he’d been reeling from his father’s death, nursing a broken heart, thanks to Stephanie’s desertion, and struggling to make ends meet at the restaurant. Dating had been the last thing on his mind, and okay, so maybe playing the field had been a way of making up for lost time, but still…

  “Isn’t that better than getting serious about a woman when I’m not interested in marriage?” he asked, even as he wondered if the old excuse still rang true.

  “And what about Emily?”

  “Emily wants to have a good time. To branch out and spread her wings. She ended an engagement days before her wedding. Believe me, she’s not looking for anything serious.”

  Which was probably the only reason she was with him, Javy thought, feeling somewhat grim at the realization.

  “Emily wants to get married and have a family.”

  “What?” The light turned green, and Javy hit the gas hard enough to send his tires squealing, but zero to sixty couldn’t outrun the speed of sound or his cousin’s voice. “She said that?”

  “She didn’t have to, Javy. She was days away from getting married before the wedding was called off. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

  “Yeah, it tells me Emily was about to make a huge mistake, and she’s lucky Connor was there to stop her.”

  The silence from the other end of the line told Javy his response wasn’t what his cousin wanted to hear. The chill in her voice confirmed that thought when she said, “I guess it’s unfortunate Connor isn’t here now, isn’t it?”

  Anna’s words were still ringing in his thoughts when he stepped inside the Wilsons’ house a half an hour later. Her mother hadn’t exaggerated when she’d called the place a mansion. Following the maid through the travertine foyer, he felt like he was walking through a museum. Gorgeous vases rested on carved pedestals, sculptures posed in backlit niches, and the walls were decorated with floor-to-ceiling paintings.

  The museum-like feel continued as he stepped inside a study, not so much because of the room’s mahogany and leather furnishings, but because of the way Gordon Wilson, seated behind an enormous desk, stared at him as if he expected Javy to run off with the Mona Lisa.

  Javy hadn’t arriv
ed at this meeting unprepared, but his conversation with Anna had left him feeling off balance. Was his cousin right? Did Emily want commitment, marriage and family, everything he’d avoided for the past ten years?

  Or maybe the more important question was, did she want those things from him?

  “Your friend Connor sat in here a week ago,” Gordon said without preamble. “We were both relieved Emily escaped marriage to a man who would have hurt her.”

  “I’m not out to hurt Emily,” Javy insisted, wondering which of them he was trying to convince. If he couldn’t give Emily the family and life she wanted, he should begin laying the groundwork for backing off now. He should let Gordon Wilson think what he would and start making his excuses to Emily for not seeing her again.

  He never walked into a situation without establishing a way out. He knew all the escape routes. Work, family, he had the emergency excuses down pat. With the women he dated, he rarely needed them, but like a flight attendant discussing water landings for trips over desert-dry areas, his excuses were still at the ready.

  And yet the thought of letting Emily go threatened to carve out all the anticipation, joy and excitement from his life, leaving him…leaving him in the same shape he’d been in after Stephanie ran off.

  Seeing the doubt written as clearly as the lines forming on the older man’s forehead, Javy took a deep breath and decided to lay all his cards on the table. “I’m not Emily’s ex-fiancé. I don’t have a pregnant girlfriend on the side, and I’m not interested in your money. In fact, I think this is the perfect time to give you this.”

  Pulling out his wallet, he withdrew a folded piece of paper and flipped it onto the leather blotter on Gordon Wilson’s desk.

  The older man’s silvered eyebrows rose. “What is it?”

  “A check,” Javy stated. “For ten thousand dollars. I figure when my friend Connor sat in this chair a week ago, he didn’t bother to tell you he gave me your payoff money to save my family’s restaurant. He only recently told me, and since he’s never let me repay him, no matter how many times I’ve tried, I figure I’ll repay you.”

  He could joke with Emily about working off his debt, but he didn’t like owing anyone. He’d let it go as long as he had when Connor held his marker, but not now. Not when Gordon Wilson—Emily’s father—had been the one to sign over the cash.