Her head had barely touched the pillow when the cell phone vibrated on the bedside table. Reaching for it, Viviana peered at the screen. Noah was calling her. “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better than I was a few days ago.”
“You sound hoarse.”
“Today is the first day I can speak above a whisper.”
She sat up and adjusted the pillows behind her back. “Does it hurt to talk?”
“No. That’s what’s so funny. One day the voice just went, and I couldn’t even squeak. Chanel told me what you said about breaking up with me. Did you mean it?”
“Of course I meant it. I didn’t fall in love with you to have you die on me because you were too pigheaded to take something to help you get better.”
“I forgot that you told me you loved me.”
“Did you also have a bout of amnesia along with the flu?”
“I don’t think so. What have you been doing down there in The Falls?”
“Making crib quilts and baby clothes.”
“You’re pregnant!”
“Stop it, Noah Wainwright. You know right well I’m not pregnant.”
“How would I know? We haven’t seen each other in weeks.”
“You’re right.”
“Why are you making baby things?”
“Now that I have nothing but time on my hands, I decided to get a jump on making a few things for Mya’s baby.”
“What are you talking about, Viv?”
Viviana told him about her aunt’s call and the change of plans about celebrating Christmas in Arizona.
“Are you saying you’re going to spend Christmas alone?” Noah asked.
“Yes, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been alone on Christmas.” She didn’t tell him she’d discovered Marcus’s subterfuge and given him his walking papers a week before Christmas.
“Not this year, Viviana Remington. You’re coming up to New York.”
“Are you asking or ordering me, Noah?”
“I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “I’d like to invite you to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my family here in New York.”
“I really don’t want to intrude—”
“Don’t even go there,” he said threateningly. “How the hell would you be an intrusion when I’ve told everyone about you?”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“What? Not tell my family that I’ve found a woman who completes me? Give me a few days to make arrangements to fly you up here.”
“That’s not necessary. I can change my ticket from Arizona to New York.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes.” Did he really believe she was too good to fly with regular people?
“Text me once you confirm your flight, and I’ll arrange for ground transportation. Don’t forget to pack winter clothes because it’s been very cold up here.”
“Okay,” she said.
“The Wainwrights always host a formal New Year’s Eve fund-raiser, so if you don’t have something to wear, I’ll ask my sister to take you shopping.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m certain I can find something in my closet,” she lied smoothly. She didn’t have anything for a formal affair, and that meant she had to go shopping for a dress and accessories. “Hang up, and save your voice.”
“Okay. I love you to death, Viviana Remington.”
Viviana smiled. “That goes double for me, Noah Wainwright.” Tapping the screen, she ended the call and fell back against the pillows. “I’m going to spend Christmas with the man I love,” she said aloud. She’d wait until the morning to call the airline and change her ticket.
Chapter Eleven
Viviana spied Noah holding a sign with her name. He was dressed entirely in black: jacket, pullover sweater, slacks and shoes. When he’d said he would arrange ground transportation, she hadn’t thought he would accompany her into Manhattan himself. And it was obvious he’d lost weight because his face was a lot leaner. However his tan hadn’t completely faded.
“I’m Ms. Remington.”
He smiled and brushed a light kiss over her mouth. “Welcome to New York.” He took the garment bag containing her dress from her. “How many bags do you have?”
“One Pullman.”
“As soon as it comes off the conveyor, we’ll be on our way.”
“Wait here,” she told him. “I’ll get it.”
Viviana had admitted to Noah that she loved him, but only after seeing him again had she realized the depth of her feelings for him. She’d told herself over and over that she wasn’t attracted to nor would she date a man that looked like Noah, and in the end she had wasted time and lost money on men who were the complete opposite of him in every way. And if someone had accused her of being biased or bigoted, she would’ve openly denied it.
However, she felt she was luckier than a lot of women who’d searched all of their lives and never found their romance-novel heroes. Perhaps, she mused, she’d had to kiss a few frogs in order to find her prince. She watched for her bag, and when she saw it, she edged her way closer to the conveyer to snag it. Noah had come over to take it from her.
“I’m parked outside.”
The instant the terminal doors opened, Viviana felt the frigid air hit her face, and she sucked in her breath. She followed Noah to a black Mercedes Benz parked at the curb. The trunk opened smoothly, and the driver got out and came around to open the rear door. She slipped onto the leather seat, unaware that she was shivering. Noah had said it was cold but not freezing.
Noah got in beside her and pulled her close. “Did you bring gloves?”
“No. I didn’t think it would be this cold.”
“We had a trace of snow on Thanksgiving, and ever since then the temperatures have been hovering around freezing.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good.”
“You’ve lost weight.”
“I haven’t weighed myself, but I’m certain I’ll gain it back during the week.”
Viviana looked up at him. His hair was longer, the ends touching the tops of his ears. He was back to looking like a surfer. “Have the people in your family recovered?”
“Everyone’s getting there. This Christmas is going to be a lot quieter than usual. But we’ll still get together on Christmas for a buffet dinner and open presents around midnight before we bed down for the night.”
“Is there enough room in your house for everyone to claim a bed?”
Noah smiled. “Are you asking if we’ll be sharing a bedroom?” She nodded. “No, we won’t. My parents are old-fashioned about unmarried couples sleeping together. My brothers and I weren’t permitted to bring girls home and have them spend the night. It’s the reason my brother Rhett is moving out. When my mother discovered a girl in his bed, she went ballistic. I felt sorry for the girl, but it wasn’t her fault. Rhett knows the rules.”
“What did you do when you wanted to have sex with someone?”
“I paid to check in to a hotel. That is, if she didn’t have her own place.”
“I suppose if you’re grown enough to have sex, then you should be grown enough to take it where you can have complete privacy,” Viviana said.
“Now you sound like Christiane. My mother can be a little snobbish, but she’s right about laying down the law with her sons, because she didn’t want them to use her home as a motel for what she called licentious behavior.” Noah kissed Viviana’s hair. “I wanted to use this week to take you to the Rockefeller Center to see the tree and maybe even go ice-skating, but the doctor warned me to stay away from crowds.”
“I don’t need you to take me around, Noah. Just being in New York with you is enough.”
He met her eyes. “Is it?”
“I’m going to tell you now that my parents can’t wait to meet you.”
“What have you told them about me?”
“That you’re smart, creative and very beautiful.”
She patted his chest over his sweater. “You sound biased.”
“Damn right.”
Viviana shifted to stare out the side window as they exited the airport and headed for Manhattan. She’d come to New York a few times, but it was always to visit friends who lived in the suburbs with one-and two-family homes and with several cars lining the driveways. Only once had she ventured into Manhattan and found herself overwhelmed by the number of people jostling for space along crowded sidewalks and by the flow of traffic where pedestrians played a game of chicken with aggressive cab drivers.
“Do you like living here?” she asked Noah.
“Yes. It’s all I know.”
“Would you ever consider living anywhere else?”
“It would all depend on the circumstances. Why do you ask, Viv?”
“I just...” Her words trailed off just as her cell phone rang. She picked up her cross-body bag and took out the phone. Wickham Falls Town Hall appeared on the screen. “Hello?”
“Viviana Remington?” asked a strong male voice.
“This is she.”
“Ms. Remington, I really shouldn’t be calling to tell you this and I could get fired if someone finds out, but I’m certain you’d want to know the status of your application to reverse your property from commercial to personal.”
“Of course I do.” She hadn’t expected to hear from anyone until January.
“I’m sorry to tell you that your application was denied.”
She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. “Why?”
“The vote was three for and four against.”
Viviana stared at Noah staring back at her. “This may sound a little unethical, but could you please tell me who voted it down?”
There was a pregnant pause before he said, “I’m only going to tell you because I enlisted in the army with your brother and he had always been a straight-up guy. If you tell anyone I told you, I’ll deny it. It was our newest member, Myles Duncan who’d cast the deciding no vote. Again, I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Thank you so much. And I promise not to tell anyone what you’ve just told me.”
“Once you get your written notice, you can come in and appeal it.”
She nodded, her head moving up and down like a bobblehead doll. “Thank you, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.”
“I’m wishing you the same.”
* * *
“What was that all about?” Noah watched Viviana as she dropped the phone in her lap.
He had only heard one side of her conversation, but her body language indicated that whoever had called her had given her bad news.
“That was someone from the town hall who said my application was denied.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say, but I have a good reason to know why.”
“What are you talking about?”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. “Whenever there’s a vote on an issue, it needs a majority to pass. The zoning board has seven members, and the newest member was the dissenting vote.
Myles Duncan is nothing more than a vindictive jerk. He once asked me out when we both were in high school, and I turned him down because I had no interest in him.”
Noah forced a smile he didn’t quite feel. “High school boys can be jerks,” he said in agreement.
“What are we going to do about the rejection?”
Wrapping his arms around her body, Noah rested his chin on the top of Viviana’s head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll figure out something.”
“I was told we can appeal.”
“Before we do that, I’ll talk to my father. When it comes to real estate law and loopholes, I’m certain he’ll be able to find something we can use once you appeal.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Noah smiled in spite of the situation. “The Wainwrights eat, sleep and breathe real estate, Viv. And we have enough lawyers on staff to find some arcane law to reverse the decision. I don’t want you to worry your beautiful head about this because it is a time for celebrating and not crying. Haven’t you heard There’s no crying in real estate?”
She glanced up at him. “I thought it was There’s no crying in baseball.”
“That, too,” he said with a wide grin.
* * *
Viviana knew her mouth was gaping when the driver pulled up in front a four-story greystone building facing Central Park and spanning a half block of Fifth Avenue. Massive oak doors adorned with large pine wreaths and velvet bows opened, and an elderly, formally dressed butler waited as they alighted from the sedan.
He nodded to Noah. “Good evening, Master Noah.”
Noah smiled. “Good evening, Walter.” He took off his jacket and handed it to the man.
The man Noah called Walter stared at her, and then she realized he was waiting for her coat. She unbuttoned it, and Noah slipped it off her shoulders and handed it to the butler. “Thank you.”
Walter nodded again. “Welcome, Ms. Remington.” He shifted his attention to Noah. “Madam Wainwright has held off serving dinner until you arrived. She’s in the small dining room.”
Viviana’s eyebrows lifted slightly. It was apparent he’d known she was coming. She followed Noah into the expansive entrance hall with priceless Persian and Aubusson rugs scattered about gleaming marble floors. The mansion was decorated for the season, but Noah was walking so fast she didn’t have time to see everything. She was practically running to keep up with his longer legs.
She saw his mother standing behind a chair with a table set for four. There were water goblets and wine glasses at each place setting. When Walter had mentioned the small dining room, Viviana could not have imagined a room which could comfortably hold more than a dozen, with more than enough space for ample movement, as small. She felt wholly underdressed in a pair of jeans, pullover cotton T-shirt and low-heeled booties when she saw Christiane’s powder blue raw-silk blouse, navy gabardine-wool pencil skirt and matching Ferragamo pumps.
The older woman’s emerald green eyes shimmered like polished gems. Her straight platinum hair was cut into a becoming bob. She extended her hands. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I must say you’re truly lovely.”
Viviana took the proffered hands and pressed her cheek to Christiane’s cool one. “Thank you for opening your home to me for the holidays.” The distinctive scent of Chanel No. 5 wafted to her nostrils.
Christiane sniffed the air. “Are you wearing Shalimar?”
Viviana smiled. It was apparent Christiane was more than familiar with classic perfumes. “Yes. My mother used to wear it. I always thought it was too mature for me until I turned twenty-five, and I’ve been wearing it ever since.”
Christiane leaned closer. “I usually judge the women my sons date by the perfume they wear. If they have on No. 5, Joy, L’Air du Temps, Shalimar or Miss Dior and not some drugstore brand, I know they like to pamper themselves with only the best.”
Viviana recalled Noah saying this woman was a snob, and it was apparent the choice of one’s perfume was important as to whether she would accept or reject her son’s choice in a woman. Jeans notwithstanding, it was apparent she had passed the test.
“I have a weakness for perfume,” Viviana admitted.
Christiane smiled. “Now I know we’re really going to get along.” She looked at Noah over Viviana’s head. “Noah, darling, please show your girlfriend where she can wash up.”
“Where’s Dad?” he asked Christiane.
&nb
sp; “He’s in his study returning a phone call. If he’s not finished by time you come back, then we’ll start without him. Since there are only the four of us, I decided we would dine buffet-style.” She looked at Viviana. “I don’t know if you eat red meat, but let me warn you that we Wainwrights are carnivores. I did have the chef prepare a few vegetarian plates like couscous, quinoa and tabbouleh.”
“I eat everything,” Viviana said, hoping to reassure Christiane that she wasn’t a picky eater.
“Good for you. Now, go and wash up because I know the only thing those folks gave you during your flight was pretzels or cookies. You’d think they’d offer you more than a bunch of salty or sweet snacks after what they charge.”
Noah took Viviana’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Shame on you, Mother. When was the last time you took a commercial carrier to know what they serve?”
Christiane waved her hand. “Go and wash up because I’m certain your girlfriend is starving.”
* * *
Noah steered Viviana out of the dining room and down a narrow hallway to a bathroom. “You’ll have to forgive my mother.”
Turning on the faucet in one of the twin marble sinks, Viviana stared him in the mirror. “Forgive her for what? I think she’s charming.”
“You don’t think she’s a snob?”
“Don’t, Noah. Your mother is who she is, and I wouldn’t want her to change and become something she’s not, just to make me feel comfortable. I am who I am, and what you see is what you get.”
Noah winked at her. “And I happen to like what I see.” He dried his hands on a towel before handing her one. “I hope you won’t mind sharing a suite with my sister. Right now, she’s hanging out with Giles’s sister Skye, who just broke up with her bum-ass fiancé and moved back home.”
“Where did she live before?”
Dealmaker, Heartbreaker Page 14