Center Stage (The Keller Family Series)

by Marie, Bernadette

  His hair shimmered in the early morning sun which was filtered by the clouds. It was obvious he did most of his work inside during the winter as his tanned skin was paler.

  She’d never tell him, but the creases around his eyes were one of his sexiest features.

  “You know, I have coffee in my trailer at all times. You don’t have to spend good money on a fancy cup,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “Let’s say it reminds me of New York.” She sipped her coffee again. “I’m meeting with a minister today.”

  “You have plans you haven’t told me about?”

  She laughed easily knowing he’d see right through her. “I’m going to rent a church basement for a few weeks to get my act together.”

  “Funny.” He took her coffee from her and took a sip. He swallowed hard and wrinkled up his nose. “You really should save your money.”

  “You’re too manly for my coffee.”

  “Damn straight.” He gave her a nod. “So what are you putting together?”

  “Clara is going to help me after school, and an old friend and I are going to put together a musical review. I want to do it for a grand opening. When you give me the date, that is.”

  “Oh, I see. You’re trying to pull a number from me, and here I thought you were being sexy in your mittens and long coat.”

  “So, what do you think?”

  “Honey, this place is a mess. Let me talk to Zach, but I still think you’re looking at July.”

  She let out a grunt. “Well, then it will be the most spectacular music review ever.”

  “I have no doubt.”

  She moved in closer to him. “You know what you and I haven’t done as a couple yet?”

  A tight grin formed on his lips. “You mean we’ve left something out?”

  “A vacation.”

  His shoulders pushed back, and his smile disappeared. “I thought you wanted this place done.”

  “Construction foremans don’t get vacations?”

  “Fishing weekends.”

  “Zach could cover.”

  “He’s busy.”

  “We could hold everything off a week.”

  “Doesn’t work that way.”

  If she let her anger, which was stirring inside her, get the better of her, she’d crush the cup in her hand. Instead, she took a breath and backed away. “I’ll settle for a fishing weekend then.”

  Arianna turned back toward her car and quickly drove away while he stood there watching her.

  The woman was thick-headed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. John had already sunk his savings into the dilapidated building and had arranged to meet Regan at a jeweler to pick out a ring for her. The last thing he’d wanted her to think was he’d take her away somewhere, but that was the plan. In fact, had she walked into his trailer and seen his computer screen, she’d probably see the confirmation. Two round trip tickets to San Francisco.

  A few more weeks of secrets and he swore he’d never keep another.

  The church’s basement was small, but it would work for the time being. Madeline dropped Clara off after school, and when she jumped up and down because there was a stage, that was all the validation Arianna needed.

  “This is almost as cool as the theater,” Clara squealed as she danced around on the stage.

  Arianna pulled up a folding chair and sat down. She just watched as Clara created, unbothered by the audience of one.

  That had been her once. Life was Arianna’s stage, and she was the star. Oh, her mother would have fits over the tall tales she could weave, but she always knew when they were the truth and when they were her wild imagination.

  Her very first role had come when she was five. She was a tomato, and a very convincing one at that.

  By the time she was in high school, the drama department belonged to her. There wasn’t a production she didn’t carry.

  Sitting on the side lines would be much different and require as much discipline. But it was someone else’s turn to be the star, she just felt it.

  Arianna eased back in the chair as Clara messed with an amplifier on the stage and tapped on the microphone. It wasn’t a song she’d ever heard. She assumed it had been created right there on the spot. But it was beautiful.

  The song, the sound, mimicked her life as it was right now—beautiful. She’d run from New York in a panic. John’s handsome face meeting her at the airport was exactly the calm she’d needed. How was it that she’d run away right to where she was supposed to be?

  “What did you think, Auntie?” Clara spoke into the microphone.

  “I think you have the voice of an angel.”

  “I was thinking Faith Hill.”

  “Perhaps even better.” Arianna stood up and walked to the stage. “Is that who you want to sound like?”

  Clara shrugged. “I think that would be fun—to be a country artist.”

  “Then maybe you will be someday. What do you say we go to get some ice cream and make some notes on our show?”

  Clara turned off the amplifier and jumped down off the stage. “I say you’re on.”

  She walked out of the church basement with her arm around the shoulders of her niece. There was a grand comfort there, but John’s questions about children zipped back through her mind. Would this comfort be enough?

  Chapter Fourteen

  John was rethinking his decision to buy Arianna a ring. A dog might have been easier. She’d love some mutt. But this…

  He’d invited Regan to help him pick the perfect ring for her sister. She, in turn, invited Madeline and Simone.

  John knew he could have dealt with Regan. He was used to that. Madeline was soft spoken, and her opinion wasn’t too grand. But why had Regan thought it necessary to invite Simone of all people?

  He was used to Simone Pierpont, but that had been in dealings with her as the face of Pierpont Oil, gaining investors in builds. Picking out jewelry? He should have just bought the dog.

  “John, do you know anything about her taste?” Simone scanned the cases of rings.

  “Yes. She’s simple.”

  Regan chuckled, but kept her eyes on the rings.

  Simone shook her head. “I think we are off. We should move from the wedding bands.”

  With that she walked across the store. Both Regan and Madeline exchanged glances and hurried after her. John, on the other hand, looked down at the rings he thought were perfectly nice. Sure, it wasn’t going to be a wedding ring, but it had the same value.

  “John.”

  He looked up to see Regan waving him over. There was a look on her face that frightened him.

  He couldn’t have been more surprised when all three women pointed to one ring in the case.

  “This one,” Regan said quietly.

  “It’s her,” Madeline chimed in.

  “It is brilliant,” was Simone’s addition.

  “It’s blue,” was his own opinion, and that had all three women laughing.

  Simone, of course, moved in next to him and pointed at the ring through the glass. “It is an oval shaped sapphire with two round diamonds beside it. It is set in white gold, which is very nice. Sapphire represents sincerity, truth, and faithfulness—which is what you are looking for, right?”

  He knew his mouth hung open, and he nodded.

  Madeline shook her head and looked at Simone. “How do you know all of that?”

  “I used to own a lot of jewelry.” She laughed and then looked down at the simple solitaire diamond which adorned her finger. “None of my jewels from before mattered at all. This ring—this simple ring—means more than any fortune.”

  The look of contentment on Simone’s face was exactly what he wanted to see on Arianna’s.

  “Ya’ll think this is the one?”

  The three women nodded together.

  “You’re sure I shouldn’t go with something traditional like a wedding ring?”

  Regan smiled. “She doesn’t want marriage. This,” she pointed to the r
ing, “says you gave some very sincere thought to it.”

  Regan stayed with him after the others had left. She’d tried on the ring with the sapphire and a few others, but John knew they were right. The sapphire ring with the diamonds was the best.

  As the sales woman cleaned it up and put it in a box, he sat at the counter with Regan, contemplating what he’d done.

  “You look like someone is going to shoot you,” she said.

  “Sorry. I wasn’t even this nervous when I proposed to my ex-wife.”

  “Arianna makes you nervous?”

  “Extremely, but in a very good way. I don’t even know if that makes sense.” And he was tired of no longer making sense.

  “It makes perfect sense. You love her, and you want everything to be right.”

  “But already everything is way beyond where I thought we’d be. I had no intentions of having…” he stopped, realizing it wasn’t appropriate to continue the conversation.

  However, Regan’s grin told him he had nothing to worry about. “I know you’ve had sex, John. She’d been planning that since Carlos’s wedding to Kathy.”

  “How is it I’m the only one that didn’t know that?”

  “You’re too good for your own good.”

  “I wasn’t going to mess things up between my boss’s sister-in-law and myself.”

  “Doesn’t seem messed up to me.”

  She was right. It was almost perfect in its very mixed up way. “They aren’t going to tell her about the ring, are they?”

  “Madeline and Simone? Of course not. Those two love surprises.”

  John rubbed the back of his neck. “I planned a trip to San Francisco, too.”

  Regan slapped his shoulder. “You’ve gone all out, haven’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Seems like too much.”

  “Are you kidding me? She’ll eat it up.”

  He nodded then let out a deep breath. “I had actually contemplated asking her to marry me.”

  The smile on Regan’s face diminished. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “Not anymore I don’t.”

  Regan readjusted her purse on her shoulder and then looked up at him. “She’s never wanted it. Marriage, that is.”

  “She’s mentioned that.”

  “Then don’t do it. Is that what you want? Marriage? Babies?”

  Before he gave her an answer, he gave it some thought. “I thought it was for a moment, but…”

  “John, if that’s what you want, you have to make some serious decisions.”

  He didn’t like the severity of her tone. What was so bad about marriage and babies—and why was he questioning it? That wasn’t what he wanted—he didn’t think.

  The saleswoman handed him his purchase, and he and Regan walked out into the plaza where the store was located.

  Regan turned right to him. “Are you going to propose?”

  “Why would she turn me down?”

  “She doesn’t want marriage.”

  “But why is it different than what we have now?”

  “It just is.” She let her shoulders drop. “I don’t know why she’s so shy about it. She believes in commitment. She believes in forever and family.”

  “But a piece of paper that signifies it is the deal breaker?”

  Regan looked around as if she were looking for answers. “Yes.”

  John took the ring downstairs and tucked it away. The stage was almost done, under direct orders from Zach himself. Another week and they’d surprise her with a grand fortieth birthday celebration.

  Until then, he had to keep secrets and he hated that.

  He’d hoped to be back upstairs before she was home, but it didn’t work that way. The front door slammed, and he heard her purse and bag drop to the floor.

  It was time to just smile and pretend as though earlier that morning she hadn’t wanted to fly away.

  John walked up the stairs. He could hear her now in the kitchen. As he rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of her standing there holding out a beer for him, but what took him by surprise was the lack of clothing she had on.

  It was hard to imagine that in the few minutes she’d been home she’d changed into such an outfit.

  John took the beer. “Thank you,” he said, but the words croaked out.

  “Do you like it?”

  What was not to like? A few pieces of fabric covered only very intimate parts of the body he’d committed to memory.

  “I like it.”

  She moved in closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Good. I brought Chinese food.”

  His blood supply had drained from his brain which only made him dizzy when she changed the subject.

  “Are you eating in that?” He gave her a long glance.

  “One of the best things about Chinese food is that it warms up nice.” At that point she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him through the kitchen to the living room. She took the beer from his hand, set it on the coffee table and pushed him back onto the couch.

  These were reasons to never have children. Not every man could have the woman of his dreams, barely dressed, force him into a very comfortable position on the couch.

  Arianna swung her leg over him and positioned herself above his hips.

  “Your choice, Forrester. I can keep this little thing on, or you can take it off.”

  “You’re going to make me think about something right now? You’re torturing me.”

  A sexy, evil grin crossed her lips. “Good. Now let’s see what else I can do to you.”

  Arianna figured she’d taken him by surprise in more ways than one. Except for gasps and moans, John Forrester hadn’t said a word in nearly two hours. Now propped up on pillows eating cold Chinese food from cartons with the evening news playing on the television in the corner, she watched as he nourished himself. His chest still heaved as though he couldn’t get enough breath in his lungs.

  Yep, she’d worn the man out.

  That had been the plan. She’d acted like a child when he said he couldn’t take her on a trip. She didn’t like it, but she’d accept it for now.

  It was given to her, under good authority, that he was a lover of a great fishing trip. So she’d taken it upon herself to book a guided trip, not too far from home.

  They had rushed into everything else, even though they’d met four years ago. So she had to learn that commitment, living together, and promising each other the rest of their lives were big decisions that they’d forced upon each other in less than a month. There were still things to learn about each other. But one thing she had learned about John Forrester was that he was quiet, passive, and easy to please. Something she knew about herself—she was bossy. Arianna Keller got what she wanted when she wanted it, so John would have to adapt.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It had been a rush job, but John stood where the front row of seats would be bolted down and admired the stage.

  Zach and Regan stood to his side, both quietly in awe as well.

  “I can’t believe it’s the same place.” Regan kept Spencer close to her chest with a small blanket over his head to keep him safe from the dust.

  Zach held tight to Tyler’s hand. The little boy watched the workers fixing the sconces on the walls. His little hard hat shielded his eyes.

  Zach put a supportive hand on John’s shoulder. “I know you’re a wizard at coming in under budget and on time, but this is crazy. You’ll have this place up and ready far before July.”

  “I hope so, but I’m not moving my schedule and I’m sure not telling Arianna that.” He shook his head. “She’ll have a production planned.”

  Regan smiled up at him. “Clara can’t stop talking about it.”

  “Neither can her aunt. She’s proud of what she’s already put together. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s going to be one hell of a production.”

  “She wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  John removed his hard hat and ran his hand over his
head. “I guess the stage is done and they’ll rehang the curtain tomorrow, so you can now commence with your party plans.”

  “She’s going to be so surprised.”

  “If I may ask you,” he said as he turned to her, “please hurry. That ring is making me antsy just having it around, and I don’t like keeping secrets from her.”

  “You’re a true gentleman, John Forrester.”

  “I don’t feel like one. So hurry.”

  By the time John pulled up to the house, Regan had called him six times with details to the party. He guessed he was supposed to be grateful for all the information, but, in reality, all he wanted was to show up. So far he knew the invitations were being printed, Audrey was working with a caterer, the first party rental place fell through so Regan had contacted another, and he’d need to have the lighting ready in two weeks. That part he’d heard and was very efficient on.

  When John opened the door to the house, he was a bit surprised to hear laugher coming from the kitchen. He approached slowly. A woman with a friend, whose car he hadn’t seen, was a dangerous thing.

  “Oh, John, I didn’t hear you.” Arianna stood up and gave him a loud, wet kiss right on the lips. Then she turned to the other woman seated at the table. “John, this is April. We worked together in New York. She’s a choreographer.”

  The woman stood up and held her hand out for him. “I’ve been hearing a lot about you, John. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  John shook the woman’s hand, and the shake wasn’t dainty. “Nice to meet you.”

  “April surprised me by stopping by this afternoon. I was telling her about the theater.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” April’s eyes lit up as brightly as Arianna’s when she mentioned it.

  Arianna gently touched his arm. “Are you up for going out to dinner with two beautiful women?”

  He’d been hoping to tangle one of them in the sheets, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. “You bet. Let me get a shower.”

  Arianna watched John take the steps. He was tired. This was one of those true tests in a relationship, and so far he was passing.