“You didn’t have to go to the trouble of getting me a wedding gift, Jake,” she said, with a cool frown at Pop. “Your continued absence would have been more than enough present for Sonny and me.”
He smiled. “The gift is from Ben. He asked me to deliver the dog and the box personally, since he couldn’t be here to do it himself. It seemed like a small-enough favor to do for a friend.”
“Ha!” Gentry lifted her chin. “You and I aren’t friends.”
“Ben and I are.”
“Ben couldn’t have asked you to deliver anything, because he’s on his honeymoon.”
Jake’s laughter was a low rumble in his throat. “I realize that you and I didn’t know there was anyone else in the world on our honeymoon. But Ben remembered how to use the telephone.”
“They do have telephones in Hawaii.” Hillary seemed pleased to be able to corroborate the information.
“I’ve heard they even have a phone in some of the better hotels.” Sydney added her support.
“Ben sent you a present?” Heather sounded impressed. “Even though he’s on his honeymoon. I think that’s sweet.”
“I told him to do it.” Pop nudged the cardboard box toward Gentry. “Open it. See what’s inside.”
“Good idea,” Sydney urged.
“Curiosity killed the cat.” Hillary eyed the package with interest. “Syd’s dying to see what’s inside.”
“Right, Hil. Like you don’t want to tear into it yourself.”
Gentry bent to the box, puzzled by the knowledge that Ben had gone to the trouble to buy a gift before he left on his honeymoon. He had to know it wasn’t necessary. She had a feeling he’d left it for Jake to deliver for reasons other than his hurry to be alone with his wife. Ben had minced no words telling her she was an idiot for leaving Jake in the first place, and then reiterating that she was an idiot to marry Sonny. It would be just like her brother to have blackmailed Jake into delivering this gift…for her own good.
“I’ll take it upstairs,” she said, wanting to escape the audience. Or at least one member of it. “And open it later…when Sonny’s here.”
“If you had to wait for him, we’d be knee-deep in unopened presents. Now, open the box, Gentry,” Pop commanded. “We all want to see what’s in there.”
“You don’t want to cart that big box up the stairs.” Sydney leaned down and pulled off the bow. “Open it, Gentry. Come on.”
“Yes,” the others chimed in. “Open it. Let’s see what he sent.”
“Yes,” Pop agreed with a grin. “Let’s see.”
She had a bad feeling about this. But it was a little too late to back down now. She was outnumbered and terribly aware that Jake was watching her with a question in his eyes. She would meet his inquiry with indifference, she decided. His gaze with cool rebuff.
She tore the wrapping paper and opened the large cardboard box. As she lifted the tissue paper, she saw a folded sheet of stationery, a square of blue against a sea of ivory satin and lace.
“Oh…” Heather edged closed to peer into the box. “Whatever it is, it’s beautiful.”
Gentry closed her eyes, knowing she had just opened Pandora’s box. “It’s a dress,” she said. “A million-dollar wedding dress.”
Chapter Two
Gentry slapped the cardboard flaps over the top of the box and held them in place. “I’ll just take this up to my room and look at it later.”
“The hell you will.” Sydney leaned down and grasped the corner of one flap. “If there’s a million-dollar dress in there, I’m going to see it.”
“Me, too.” Hillary stepped forward to lend support.
Gentry leaned across the box, thwarting their attempt to reopen the flaps. “You can see it some other time. Besides, it isn’t even from Ben. It’s from Pop.” She shot a meaningful glare at her father. “He was just too chickenhearted to give it to me himself, weren’t you, Pop?”
“Absolutely,” Pop drawled in cursory agreement. “And Ben was too lily-livered to deliver it in person, so he got Jake to do it for him. Now, are you going to get that dress out of the box, or shall I do it for you?”
Nothing like the support of a loving parent, Gentry thought in disgust. “Do you really want all these people to know you were foolish enough to spend a million dollars on a ridiculous old wedding dress?”
“Won’t bother me. Just think how foolish I’d look if I’d spent a million dollars on that outfit you’re wearing now.”
“There’s nothing wrong with this gown,” she said tightly. “Sonny had it designed especially for me.”
“Now, that doesn’t surprise me.” Pop shook his head, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Jake grin. “Looks just like something he’d display in one of his art galleries. Now, open that box and let’s see what a real wedding dress looks like.”
She raised her chin and held on to the box. “I won’t.”
“Oh, come on, Gentry.” Hillary pulled on her corner of cardboard. “It’s just a dress.”
“That’s right.” Sydney tugged harder on her end. “Give it up. You’re outnumbered.”
“You don’t want to see this dress,” Gentry warned the bridesmaids. “Trust me. It’s a joke.”
“Then let us in on it.” Hillary got a grip on an inside flap. “Don’t be stingy.”
Pop frowned down at her. “Show them the magic dress, Gentry.”
“Magic?” Heather’s voice rose with interest. “Did you say magic?”
“Okay. Move aside or I won’t be held responsible for the damage.” Sydney ripped at the box with Hillary’s able assistance.
Gentry stopped trying to prevent the inevitable and moved back, meeting Jake’s amused gaze with sincere irritation. “My brother put you up to this, didn’t he?”
He cocked one eyebrow in denial. “Ben asked me to deliver this box to you and that’s what I’ve done.”
“Oh, of course. How could I have forgotten? You always manage to be an innocent bystander, don’t you.”
“Oh, look, there’s a note from Ben.” Hillary drew the single sheet of blue stationery from the box and held it out of reach. “Here, I’ll read it.
Gentry,
Can you believe it? For once, Pop wasn’t exaggerating. There is magic in the world. Put on this wedding gown and find out for yourself.
Love,
Ben.”
Sydney lifted a handful of ivory satin. “Imagine a dress like this showing up just when you need it.”
“I don’t need it. I have a wedding dress.” Gentry indicated the dress she had on, but no one paid the slightest bit of attention. They were all mesmerized by the satin and lace unfolding from inside the cardboard box. It was unfair that she couldn’t turn back the hands of time for just a few seconds. All she wanted was to seal this box back up and pretend she’d never set eyes on it. Damn Ben. And Pop. And Jake, too…for good measure.
But Pop was grinning like Sylvester the Cat, completely unperturbed by her irritation. And her friends already had their hands on the gown, shaking it free of the protective tissue, oohing and aahing over the richness of the fabric. Jake’s eyes never strayed from her face, watching and gauging her reaction to the situation. He probably found the whole thing vastly amusing.
Under his scrutiny, a subtle and familiar discomfort stirred in the pit of her stomach and set her shifting from one foot to the other. The moment she recognized the nervous movement, she stopped, only to find that she had clenched her hands in turn. Jake had no business being here. He had to know that showing up now, just before her wedding, exactly the way he had two years ago, would cause an upset. Of course, he would enjoy nothing more than upsetting her wedding a second time. He undoubtedly had had just this effect in mind when he agreed to come here for Ben. It was entirely possible he had planned the whole thing. Mr. Innocent. Ha!
“I can’t believe you don’t want to wear this, Gentry.” Sydney’s droll expression spelled out just how much she was enjoying the situation. “How often
do you get a chance to wear an expensive gown like this?”
“Maybe this is the wedding dress Sara wore when she and Ben were married.” Heather, the fanciful, touched the ivory lace on the sleeves with reverence. “Look at the tiny buttons on the sleeves and all down the back. I’ve never seen such delicate lace. It must have been made by fairies.”
“It was made by hand.” Hillary offered a seam as evidence. “Look at the stitches. They’re tiny and uneven, but perfect.”
Gentry didn’t want to look. She didn’t even want to be this close to the stupid dress. She straightened, gave the hem of her dress a yank, discreetly hitched up the neckline and arched a suspicious eyebrow at her father. “I’m not wearing It, Pop,” she stated firmly. “You can forget that idea right now.”
“It’s an expensive dress, Gentry,” he replied. “And a special one. You should at least try it on.”
Her jaw set with determination. “Not a chance. There is no such thing as magic, and this is not, I repeat, not, a magic wedding dress.”
“Then, try it on.” Pop issued the challenge like the sly old dog that he was. “If it isn’t magic, what have you got to lose?”
“My dignity.”
“Oh, like you’re a bundle of dignity in that.” Hillary pointed at the sequined train of Gentry’s dress. “Wouldn’t you at least like to see what you’d look like in a million-dollar dress?”
“No.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire.” Sydney shook the satin skirt to loosen the wrinkles. “You’re as curious as the rest of us and don’t bother to deny it.”
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you try it on.”
“Maybe I will.”
“You can’t, Syd.” Heather frowned in protest. “It’s Gentry’s wedding gown.”
“No, it isn’t. I’m wearing my wedding gown.” Gentry’s denial was ignored by all.
“I only want to try it on,” Sydney said. “You can, too, if you want.”
Heather’s objection faded away. “You think it would fit me?”
“Since it’s a magic dress, it might even fit me.” With a whimsical smile, Jake stepped forward and cupped one of the dress’s sleeves in his hand. Contrasted against his palm, the ivory lace looked delicate, fragile and somehow sensuous.
Gentry couldn’t seem to stop staring at it, as an odd restlessness seeped through her.
“Okay, Charlie, what makes this wedding gown so special?” Jake directed his inquiry to Pop. “And, more to the point, why were you willing to spend a million bucks to get it?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Pop’s chest puffed up with importance, and his voice shifted into the deep, silky tones of a born storyteller, one of his favorite roles.
“Please don’t tell that ridiculous story again.” Gentry rubbed her forehead, wearied by the nonsense her father was about to pass off as truth. “It’s embarrassing.”
“What is?” Pop asked. “The fact that your father believes in magic? Or the fact that he likes to entertain his audiences with a little drama?”
“It’s embarrassing that you admit to being in love with a woman other than my mother.”
“Oh, for the love of Pete…” he said roughly. “That was twenty-eight years ago. Before you were born. Get over it. Your mother did.”
An assertion Gentry found difficult to believe, considering she knew that he had never once admitted he was in the wrong. “I’m going upstairs,” she said. But if she’d hoped anyone would go with her, she was disappointed. They all stood like good little children waiting for their bedtime story. Her footsteps marked her retreat, which slowed to a stop as Pop began his story.
“I met Libby Kirk on the set of Easy Street. She was already a star with huge box-office draw, and like every other one of her leading men, I fell passionately in love with her. I was obsessed with her beauty, driven mad by her indifference and determined to know everything about her. She found me mildly amusing, I believe. At least, she tolerated my adoration and occasionally rewarded me with stories of her past. I was a worshipful listener, and when she told me about the wedding dress, I drank in every word as if I could consume this part of her history and make it a part of my own.
Her great-grandmother, Elizabeth, had been an actress, also. She was quite famous in Europe and caught the roving eye of a high-ranking and very-married member of the British royalty. He wanted her as his mistress and meant to have her no matter what he had to do to get her. She was engaged to marry a brilliant young actor named Gentry Donovan, who subsequently met with an inexplicable, highly suspicious fatal accident.”
With unerring timing, Charlie North paused for the suspense to build in his audience. “Elizabeth had been given a special gift, a wedding gown by Worth, who was a dressmaker of some renown. She had just finishing putting on the gown in preparation for the wedding when she learned of her lover’s death. And at that very moment, his image appeared next to hers in the mirror and she vowed she would never love another.”
“But she must have.” Hillary stated the obvious. “Otherwise, how could she have had a great-granddaughter?”
“I told you it was nonsense,” Gentry said, aware that Jake had stepped closer to her during the storytelling session. The heat from his body was warmth at her back, the scent that clung to him was of fresh air and summer storms, and it evoked a memory of standing naked in the rain with him. She had never been so uninhibited before…or since. “There’s no such thing as magic.”
“Let me tell the story, please.” Pop resumed his narrative, as superb an actor as he had always been. “When His Lordship arrived, opportunely, to console her in her loss, he found nothing except the wedding gown—the very one you’re holding there—and the hazy image of Gentry and Elizabeth in the mirror.”
“Did they vanish?” Heather asked in wide-eyed wonder. “Were they really in the mirror together?”
“How could she have had a great-granddaughter if she vanished?” Hillary was far from convinced. “And people can’t appear in a mirror if they’ve vanished…or died.”
“Ah, but that’s the magic, isn’t it?” Pop smiled with his enjoyment of the spotlight. “She did vanish, that very night, leaving the country and everything she owned. On a ship bound for America, she met a gentleman of business, a banker, and married him, even though she never loved him. They had several children, one of them Libby’s grandmother, Gentry Elizabeth.”
She could feel Jake’s sympathetic gaze on her as she waited for the next bit of mortifying confession.
“You named Gentry after some other woman’s grandmother?” Sydney asked, clearly surprised that she had never known this interesting fact.
Pop shrugged off any hint of impropriety. “Frannie and I liked the story and wanted to give our daughter a name with a romantic history.”
Jake’s blue eyes offered her another hint of compassion. He knew how she hated the idea that her father had named her after the grandmother of Libby Kirk, an actress with whom he’d had a well-publicized affair. Jake knew the resentment that seethed inside her every time Pop insisted he’d done no such thing…that her namesake was some long-forgotten woman with a romantic past.
“So how did you end up with this dress?” Heather asked. “And how do you know it’s magic?”
Pop warmed to his subject. “Libby told me that her great-grandfather recovered the dress and presented it to his daughter, Gentry Elizabeth, on the occasion of her marriage. When she put on the dress right before the wedding, she discovered the magic…the image of her true love appeared with her in the mirror. It frightened her, though, and she refused to wear the dress, afraid that if she did, something would happen to her fiancé. Her father stored the gown in a bank vault for safekeeping, and it didn’t see the light of day until a few months ago when the old bank building was sold and a remodeling project begun. The discovery made a small special-interest article in the newspaper, and the gown was purchased by a bridal shop owner in Kansas City. Someone connected the gown to the Kirkp
atrick family and, subsequently, to Libby, whose real name is Gentry Elizabeth Kirkpatrick. When I heard about it, I contacted the new owner and bought the dress for my own Gentry Elizabeth.”
“So what does it do?” Hillary asked. “If Gentry puts it on is she going to see Sonny in the mirror?”
“If Sonny is her true love, she will. The wedding dress can only reflect the image of two people who truly belong together. That’s the magic.”
“And if you believe that, I’ll sell you my interest in a prosperous diamond mine in Iowa.” Gentry frowned on her friends and family. “Honestly, Pop, I can’t believe you told that with a straight face.”
“But Ben said the dress was magic,” Heather pointed out. “In his note.”
“He’s in on the joke, too. Don’t you see? This is all a hoax. Just another example of the Northcross humor at work.” Gentry looked from one bridesmaid to another…and watched as they silently took sides against her. “All right. Believe Pop’s nonsense if you want. I’m going upstairs.”
“Take the dress with you.” Sydney tried to hand her the gown without success. “I know you really want to try it on.”
“I want to try it on.” Hillary looked at Pop. “Will it work for any bride or only ones named after the first Gentry Elizabeth?”
“Ben assured me this is an equal opportunity bridal gown. It’s how he and Sara came to fall in love.”
“Really?” Heather’s brown eyes went wide and soft with the possibility. “Did Sara try on the dress?”
“That’s what I understand.”
“Did she see Ben in the mirror?”
Pop shrugged complacently. “They’re married, aren’t they?”
“Wow.”
“That’s amazing.” Hillary turned to Jake. “Did Ben tell you the dress had magic powers?”
“He didn’t even tell me what was in the box.”
A likely story. Exasperated beyond belief, Gentry slipped past the bridesmaids and started up the stairs to her room. Five stairs up, the front door opened and Cleo bounded inside, followed closely by Sonny Harris, returning from his afternoon golf game.
Two-Penny Wedding Page 3