“Melissa and Nicholas, actually,” the man said as he extended his hand to me and we shook. “Austin is incapable of remembering that.”
“Austin has more important things on his mind, like--” His cell phone rang. “Ah, perfect timing,” he said, giving me a bright smile. “Hey, babe,” he said into the phone. “Walk with me, I’m going to the back yard.”
He disappeared further into the house and Linda said, “That poor girl on the phone thinks she has a chance with Austin. Not in a million years. But anyhow, so now you’ve met everyone. Right?”
Not quite. I turned to face Melissa and made myself reach out my hand to her. I couldn’t quite say, “Nice to meet you,” since I wasn’t sure it was nice meeting the woman who’d left Owen at the altar, but I did return her small smile, and I did manage to hide my reaction when I realized how terrified and sad and hopeful she was all at once. Her emotions hit me hard, and I didn’t understand them.
“How’s it going, Owen?” Nicholas said awkwardly as Melissa and I ended our handshake. “Things okay at work?”
Owen nodded. “Lots of trips coming up. This is one of my few weekends off until June.”
I wondered how Owen had intended to be a good new husband to Melissa when he was going to be away most of the time. He probably hadn’t thought about it.
“And Celia works with you?”
Owen nodded at his mother.
“And that started... when exactly?”
Her eyes flicked from me to him and back again, and I realized she thought we’d been fooling around before the cruise. That would let Melissa off the hook for her behavior, and I didn’t want that. “The Monday after his trip,” I said. “That’s when we met.”
“Ah.” She studied me, and I felt like she was looking right into my soul. “I see. And you like my boy?”
Though I couldn’t imagine Owen would have told her, something in her expression made me think she knew we’d slept together. My cheeks warmed but I said as calmly as I could, “Very much. He’s been so helpful getting me settled in my new job.”
“Hmm,” she said, still studying me. “A work friend. Well, isn’t that nice.” She glanced at Owen, then back at me, and added briskly, “Well, I’m glad you were able to be here today. Not every day I turn fifty.”
I blinked, remembering Owen was thirty-five, and Austin, returning to the room in time to hear her, burst out laughing. “But it is every day she claims to be ten years younger than she is.” He patted her on the shoulder. “You don’t look a day over seventy, Mom, don’t worry about it.”
She pulled away, rolling her eyes. “I’d look forty if I didn’t have to put up with you. Now that you’ve dealt with your poor panting woman friend for the time being, shall we get comfortable and have dinner?”
We did have dinner, but we did not get comfortable. How could we, when Melissa had ditched Owen for Nicholas not even a month ago? Raul tried hard, bringing up topic after non-controversial topic for us to discuss, and I tried too because I knew Owen wanted me to be able to handle his family, but Austin kept saying suggestive things I didn’t know how to answer and Melissa and Nicholas hardly spoke so no topic continued for more than a few sentences.
“We should give Linda her presents,” Raul said when at last we’d finished eating.
“Yes, you should,” Linda said, as the others got up.
“Could you grab my purse?” I said to Owen. “I’ve got something in there.” He looked surprised but nodded.
“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Linda smiled at me. “You’re damn smart to have, but you didn’t have to.”
I smiled back. Though I knew having her as a mother hadn’t been easy for Owen, I couldn’t help liking her. She was so direct and clear, even when she was rude, and I much preferred that to my own parents’ always dancing around things and giving the silent treatment.
Owen set the gift he’d brought, which I knew was a new leather wallet, on the coffee table then handed me my purse and took his seat next to me on the loveseat. I looked at him to thank him, and he mouthed, “You okay?” I gave a quick nod and he nodded back, and we both turned to Linda to see her watching us.
She winked at me, then grinned at my blush. “Okay, let’s see which one of you loves me the most,” she said, pulling Raul’s gift toward her.
Once she’d unwrapped his beautiful gold bangle watch and put it on her wrist where it fit perfectly, and had also unveiled the wallet from Owen and bottle of rum from Austin and silver picture frame with a photo of her and Raul at their wedding from Nicholas and Melissa, she said, “Nobody hates me. Good to know,” and raised her eyebrows at me.
I pulled the little wrapped package from my purse. Since Owen had invited me I’d been trying to decide what if anything to get for her, but I’d made my decision last night after sex when Owen had casually mentioned his mother’s dragonfly tattoo. A jewelry store near my apartment sold stunning silver pendants, and I’d been lucky enough to find a dragonfly with mother-of-pearl wings.
Linda opened my gift, and her mouth fell open.
“You’ve silenced her,” Austin said to me. “There’s a first time for everything, I guess.”
Linda swatted her son. “Maybe one day there’ll be a first time for you shutting up.” She turned to me. “Celia, it’s stunning. Did you know...” She pulled up her right pant leg to show the multi-colored dragonfly on her ankle. I nodded, and she grinned. “Owen revealed my secret, eh? Well, good for you. I love it.” She nudged Melissa. “We’re almost twins.”
Melissa smiled and I noticed the pretty silver starfish pendant she wore. Then my eyes dropped and for the first time I registered her engagement ring. A classic platinum band, sleek and smooth, with a smallish but pretty diamond.
I couldn’t look away. A month ago she’d been wearing Owen’s engagement ring and now she wore his brother’s. Could I really marry into such a crazy family, assuming Owen even wanted me to?
“Yup,” Linda said, “those two are getting married now.”
Austin laughed. “Keeping it in the family, I guess.”
Melissa muttered, “Austin!” and Nicholas leaned out and punched his brother in the arm. “Seriously, dude. Shut up.”
“What? It is what it is and we might as well have fun with it.” He gave me a bright smile. “Nicky’s taken now, so if you ditch Owen too you’ll have to make do with me.”
For once in my life, the perfect comeback hit me at the perfect time. “I’d rather stay single.”
Everyone laughed, nobody harder than Austin. “I like her,” he said to Owen. “You have my approval.”
“Not that I need it,” Owen said, rolling his eyes.
My heart filled with hope at that, but it faded fast when we left a short while later and he dropped me off at my place with the briefest of kisses. I’d thought I’d done well. I couldn’t see how I could have done better.
Was it not enough?
Or had he compared me to Melissa and seen all the ways I came up short?
Chapter Nine
Owen, claiming to be swamped at work, didn’t see me for days. I had no doubt he was busy, but not even time for a coffee?
Just as I was about to decide I’d done something during the visit with his family that had turned him off me forever, he invited me to dinner at Steel on Friday night. I couldn’t tell from his short email whether this was a good sign or not, but I put on a sleek black dress he’d complimented, with my green slip underneath in case by some miracle we ended up in bed again, and made sure I was there a few minutes early so I wouldn’t make him wait.
Standing in the foyer of the restaurant with me was a pretty blonde wearing the most gorgeous dress I’d ever seen. It was all different shades of pink, melting and swirling into each other, and it brushed against her ankles above beautiful rich purple pumps that matched her soft-looking cardigan.
Though I knew it was rude, and though I could feel nervousness coming from her and didn’t want to make it worse, I coul
dn’t stop myself sneaking peeks at her. She was so feminine, in a way I’d never been and couldn’t imagine I ever would be. What was it like to be that comfortable with being a woman?
The hostess, who’d been off seating someone when the woman in pink and I arrived, looked back and forth between us.
“I’m waiting for Kegan,” the woman said.
The hostess nodded and typed quickly at her computer. “He’ll be out in a minute,” she said, then turned to me.
“I’m meeting a friend. Owen Reel? He has a reservation,” I said, wishing I didn’t have to call Owen my ‘friend’ but knowing that even though we’d had sex we weren’t currently anything more than that.
She checked the computer. “It’ll just be a minute. They’re arranging your table now.”
“He’s not here yet, so that’s okay,” I said.
She smiled and turned to a couple who’d just arrived, and as she left with them I felt the blonde’s nervousness quadruple in an instant.
I dug my nails into my palm to distract myself from her feelings, and pretended to stare out the window so I could watch her in the reflection. I had to know what was going on with her.
A tall dark-haired man had appeared before her and was holding out his hand to her. “Larissa,” he said, his voice warm and almost loving but somehow fatherly though I felt sure he wasn’t much older than her or me. “How have you been? How was the trip back?”
As he spoke, Larissa’s nervousness shifted into an almost desperate gratitude. “I’m good,” she said, reaching out and taking his offered hand. “It’s a long flight but I made it. Thanks for seeing me. Thanks for... Kegan, thank you for everything.” I didn’t know what ‘everything’ was, of course, but I didn’t need to be an empath to know how much she appreciated it.
He smiled. “Any time, Larissa, any time.” He gave her hand a squeeze then released it. “You’re staying for dinner, right? You haven’t eaten here ever, I don’t think, and certainly not since I remodeled after the fire, and I’d love to hear how you’re doing in Kuwait.”
“I can’t,” she said, sounding sad. “In half an hour I’m meeting my friend and her fiancé for--”
She cut herself off as such a strong emotion thundered through her I couldn’t identify it. Shock and amazement and love, all in one.
Kegan blinked, his forehead creasing, then turned to see what she was staring at behind him.
Another man, taller and broader than Kegan but with the same dark hair and blue eyes.
Staring at Larissa.
Giving off the same emotion she was.
Kegan’s eyes flicked between them and he said, his voice calm though a fierce delight radiated from him, “Larissa, you haven’t met my brother, have you? Thomas has been playing hockey in Germany, but he’s about to retire so he’s at home considering his next move. Thomas, this is Larissa. She’s a teacher in Kuwait and one of my longest-standing friends.” He smiled at her. “Right?”
“Right,” she said, managing to tear her gaze from Thomas to smile back at Kegan. “Definitely.” Her eyes shifted back to Thomas as if she couldn’t stand not looking at him. “Thomas,” she said softly, like she was answering a question.
“Larissa,” he said the same way, extending his hand to her.
I only felt the echo of what they felt when they joined hands, but it still took my breath away. I’d never been convinced ‘love at first sight’ existed, but I believed in it now because I knew I was witnessing it.
Kegan cleared his throat. “Larissa unfortunately doesn’t have time to have dinner with us, Thomas, but maybe she could have a quick drink?”
I was sure she’d blow off her plans to stay with Thomas, but she glanced at her watch and said, though it was clearly hard, “A quick one, yes. I’d like that.”
“You know where my table is,” Kegan said to his brother. “I’ve just got a bit of work to wrap up but I’ll join you in a minute or two.”
Thomas nodded, and so did Larissa, and they walked off into the dining area still holding hands.
Kegan chuckled as he pulled out his phone and tapped its screen. “Mary, you won’t believe this,” he said into the phone as he walked into the back rooms of the restaurant.
I couldn’t believe it either, though I’d seen it and felt it. That rush of pure connection, that sudden but so real bond between them... if I married Owen I would never have something like that. We didn’t have even the faintest copy of what they already had, and we never would.
But that was for the best. If we could have that, it would be because Owen was emotional, and then I wouldn’t even want to marry him.
But as I stood all alone in the foyer waiting for him to arrive so I could find out what he wanted from me, I wanted to be Larissa so badly it hurt.
*****
Owen arrived a few minutes later, full of apologies. “I leave tomorrow for a trip to Montreal and I got stuck in the office.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Sorry, Celia.”
“That’s okay,” I said, glad he was kissing me, even if just my cheek. That seemed like a good sign.
The hostess got us seated quickly, and I couldn’t resist glancing around to see if I could spot Larissa and Thomas. No luck. Kegan’s table must have been in a private corner somewhere.
“Pinot?” I wiggled the wine menu at Owen.
“Actually, let’s talk for a minute first.”
He wasn’t even going to stay long enough to have a drink? I must really have messed up. “Sure,” I said, raising my chin. I wouldn’t let him know how much this hurt. “What’s on your mind?”
He studied me. “You want to have kids, right?”
I nodded, wondering why he was asking if he didn’t want to marry me. Maybe... maybe that wasn’t where this was going. Hope growing, I said, “Probably not for another few years, but yes.” The concept terrified me, but I did want them.
“Understood. And your past relationships... you know about mine with Melissa, and I just need to know whether you’ve got somebody in your past who’s likely to come back and cause trouble. I don’t need any drama.”
I shook my head, even more hopeful now. “None of my relationships have been all that serious, to be honest, so I do not see that happening.”
He gave a crisp nod in response. “And I gamble once a year on the cruise and occasionally elsewhere. I don’t go crazy with it, don’t risk anything I can’t afford, but I enjoy it and I won’t give it up. Melissa hated it. Is it okay with you?”
“It’s your money,” I said, confused. “Why would I mind?”
Once more he gazed at me without speaking. Then he smiled. “Celia, I accept your proposal.”
I stared at him, a surprising amount of happiness dancing through me. I hadn’t realized just how badly I wanted this. “You do? You’ll marry me?”
His smile widened. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about me.”
I was shaking my head before he’d finished the sentence. “Nope.” I risked a grin. “Not even your family managed to do that.”
He laughed. “Then you’re a tough cookie.” He bent and picked up his briefcase, pulling out two things. A small pile of papers, and a black velvet ring box. He passed me the papers first. “Take a look at this and make sure you’re okay with it. If you want to get a lawyer that’s fine with me.”
I read through the pre-nup agreement as quickly as I could. Basically, if we split up I got nothing of what Owen was bringing into the marriage and he got nothing of mine, not that I had much, and while married we would each contribute to the household expenses in proportion to our income. I’d expected he’d want a document like this if he did decide to marry me, so I wasn’t surprised, and I wasn’t offended. When you propose marriage like you’re making a business deal, you can’t get upset when the other party treats it that way too.
“Do you have a pen?”
Owen, of course, being Owen, had several, and I signed and dated the document. He did too, then he put it away and held out the
velvet box. “Wanted to make it official,” he said, smiling at me.
I took the box, surprised he hadn’t just let the agreement be enough, and opened it to reveal a ring with a swirled gold band curving up to cradle a seriously big diamond. The stone had to be at least two carats, maybe more, and it sent off rainbow-colored sparkles in the restaurant’s subdued lighting. I’d admired Melissa’s ring, but I really liked this one.
I pulled it out and slipped it onto my left-hand ring finger. It looked lovely, but when I tilted my hand it slipped right off again.
Definitely not the right size for me. But then, maybe it hadn’t been bought for me. Feeling awkward, I said, “Was this...”
I couldn’t finish the sentence, but he knew what I meant. “No,” he said, looking embarrassed. “She did give hers back, but...” He shrugged. “I sold it. I don’t believe in any of that paranormal crap about it being tainted or something, but I still didn’t want to bring Melissa’s ring into this with you.”
A flash of frustration burst from him, and I hurried to say, “No, it’s okay. Never mind.” I didn’t want to see his emotion over his former fiancée.
“Sorry it doesn’t fit,” he said awkwardly. “The jewelry store clerk wouldn’t go any smaller because she was sure I was underestimating the size of your finger.”
I laughed. “Nobody ever believes my hands are so little,” I said, touched that he’d noticed. “I have a bunch of ring guards at home so I’ll wear one of those to keep it on.”
He shook his head. “I’ll get it resized.”
I shook my head too. I didn’t want to give it back. I still couldn’t believe he’d given it to me in the first place, and if I let him take it back I wouldn’t have any proof that I was really getting married.
As I realized with a weird ‘this is really my life’ kind of shock that I was actually going to marry this man, after meeting him almost exactly a month ago, he said, “But you can’t wear it now.”
I pushed the ring onto my middle finger. While still loose, it did stay on. “There,” I said. “No problem.”
Safe Harbor? Page 5