Here Comes the Bride

by Ragan, Theresa

  “Can’t you stay? Sit and visit for a while longer?”

  “I have an appointment, but maybe we can meet for coffee another time.”

  No interview, no friendship, Sam realized. She led Kate into the house. Dominic had taken the dogs for a walk, and they had the house to themselves.

  As she took Kate from room to room, she could sense Kate’s disappointment. “I’m sorry if you’re upset with me, Kate. For the first time in my life, I feel the need to do what’s right for me.”

  “I won’t lie,” Kate said. “I feel let down. Everyone else at the LA Beat feels the same way.”

  “They weren’t the only ones who were let down,” Sam told her. “I had no choice but to keep the wedding a secret, so how do you think I felt when I came back to the office and nobody would even look at me? I can only apologize so many times. I would never have set out to hurt anyone, especially you.”

  Sam could hear her cell phone ringing downstairs.

  “Go ahead and get that,” Kate said. “I’ll show myself around until you get back.”

  Sam picked up the phone, surprised to hear the same throaty voice she’d heard on the main phone weeks ago.

  “Hello, is this Samantha?”

  “Yes, it is. Who’s this?”

  “Beverly DeMarco. I believe you wanted to talk to me.”

  “Are you related to Dominic?”

  “Yes, I am. I’m his mother.”

  ***

  The apartment building was an ugly shade of peach. Empty cans and cigarette butts littered the path. Sam could feel more than one pair of eyes watching her as she entered the gate leading to the pool, a shortcut given to her over the phone after she’d called and talked to Beverly DeMarco, the same woman with the deep sultry voice who had called Dominic’s house before hanging up.

  As instructed, Sam exited the gate next to a dying palm tree and found herself directly in front of apartment 33B.

  She knocked, waited.

  The woman who answered the door stood about five foot six. Her hair was a nice shade of silver, cut straight above frail shoulders. Her eyes were the same deep blue as Dominic’s, her nose small and straight.

  Sam offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Samantha.”

  “I’m Beverly. Come in,” Beverly said, moving aside to make room for Sam to enter.

  The apartment was small, but neat and cozy looking with lots of floating shelves covered with decorative items. The kitchen was accented in bright yellows while the rest of the place was decorated in shades of green.

  Sam’s nerves were getting the best of her. She had a million questions for Beverly DeMarco.

  Beverly gestured for Sam to have a seat on the sofa. She set a tall glass of iced tea in front of Sam before taking a seat across from her. “So, you said you were able to get my number when I called the house?”

  Sam nodded. “I know it was sneaky, but—”

  “You don’t trust your husband?”

  “We haven’t known each other very long and—”

  “And he has quite a reputation,” Beverly finished for her.

  Sam nodded again, ignoring the heat creeping into her face. “Do you and Dominic talk on a regular basis?” Sam asked.

  “No,” she said. “I’ve reached out to my son before, but he’s made it clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because he thinks I abandoned him. I left Dominic with his father when he was ten. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I invited you to come because I need to know if my son is happy.”

  “I think so,” Sam told her, “but I know he’s carrying a lot of pain from his childhood. He feels betrayed by your leaving and then by his father’s drinking. Having his uncle embezzle millions before disappearing was probably the last straw.”

  “Frank,” the woman whispered. “I knew something had happened, but I never would have guessed Frank would do such a thing. Dominic must have been blindsided.”

  “You didn’t know about his uncle emptying Dominic’s accounts?”

  “I had no idea.” Beverly’s eyes widened as if everything suddenly made sense. “That’s why the two of you married, isn’t it?”

  “You should talk to Dominic about all of that.”

  “I would if he’d only let me.”

  “But you love him and care about him, don’t you?” Sam asked. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be calling the house.”

  “I’ve always loved my son. More than you or anyone else could imagine. I never wanted to leave him with his father.”

  “Then why did you?”

  Beverly went to the other room. When she returned, she placed three Polaroid pictures on the glass coffee table in front of Sam.

  The woman in the picture had a swollen face, colored many shades of purples and yellows. The eyes were tiny slits. “Is this you?”

  Beverly nodded.

  “Did you go to the police?”

  “The police had come to our house before. My husband and I would get into a yelling match and the neighbors would make the call. The police knew the drill. They knew I wouldn’t leave. But this last time,” she said, gesturing toward the pictures, “he knew he’d gone too far. A good friend took me to the hospital and then brought me to her house to heal. By the time I was well enough to move around, my husband swore on the Bible that he would kill me if I tried to take Dominic away.”

  Sam looked at the other two pictures and winced at all the bruises. “And you believed him.”

  Beverly nodded. “He always kept his word.”

  “Dominic must have known you were being abused—”

  “He was young. He had no idea. My husband was a master manipulator and abuser. He would choke me and then make me wear a scarf to cover the marks. He would sit on me and smack me in places where the evidence wouldn’t show. It got worse, of course, until the day he almost killed me. I knew if I stayed I wouldn’t live past forty.”

  “Did he ever touch Dominic?”

  She shook her head. “Never. Keeping our son away from me was the best way to hurt me.”

  “Did you try to see Dominic again?”

  “Of course. I didn’t care if my husband came after me. I went straight to Dominic’s school after my husband threatened me, but he’d already set his plan into place by telling the principal he was worried I would come back to kidnap our son. He had everyone on full alert—the school, the neighbors. Nobody would listen to me when I showed them the pictures and told them what happened. Keeping me away from my son became my husband’s sole purpose in life. I worried night and day. Thanks to one of the neighbors, Mr. Krisko, Dominic got involved in extracurricular activities and eventually discovered acting. He was just starting high school when he landed his first role, and as they say, the rest is history.”

  Sam straightened. “I think if you come to the house for dinner and explain everything, Dominic would at least be able to begin the process of healing. I have to believe he would understand why you left.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve tried to talk to my son before. His father brainwashed him into thinking I was evil. Two years ago, I went to a fundraiser because I knew Dominic would be attending. There were hundreds of people in the room and he saw me. The hatred I saw in his eyes told me what I needed to know. He wasn’t ready to hear what I had to say.”

  “And yet you continue to call the house.”

  “Every once in a while I just need to hear his voice.”

  Sam couldn’t let this happen to either of them. Whether Dominic decided to forgive his mother for leaving or not, he needed to hear the truth. “If you could do it all over, would you do things differently?”

  A warm smile curved Beverly’s lips. “After the first time my husband struck me, I would bundle my baby tightly in my arms and disappear in the middle of the night.”

  “If I set a date and time, will you come to dinner?”

  “Dominic would never agree to this.”

  “He n
eeds to hear the truth. He needs to know that you never wanted to leave him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  A smile pulled at Sam’s lips as she watched the two elderly dogs sunbathe. Winston, always energetic, chased after his own tail. If life could only be that simple.

  Today was Saturday. Dominic, his sister Linda, Sam’s mom, and her niece Emma were all cleaning and fixing up the ranch. Dominic painted the fence while Sam and her mom painted the doghouses. Linda and Emma made sure each and every dog got plenty of attention. Caesar and Rex were busy making new friends.

  Mom wasn’t going to win any race. She daintily dipped her brush into the paint can, making sure to get just the right amount on the tip of the bristles before slowly swiping paint onto a board. At this rate, they would be here all week.

  “Are you and Dominic ready for the interview next week?” Mom asked.

  A feeling of trepidation settled within. “We don’t have much of a choice. We have to be ready. I really can’t wait for it all to be over.”

  Mom dipped the bristles into the can again. “Your dad called the other day to ask me on a date.”

  “He did?”

  “Don’t play coy with me. I know you put him up to it.”

  Sam laughed. “I’ll admit Dad called me to ask if I thought it was a good idea. I told him it was a start. But it was his idea, not mine. Are you going to go?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  “I love you, Mom, and I don’t want you to feel pressured to make a decision. No matter what you decide to do, I’ll respect your choice.”

  They hugged and Sam accidentally got paint on her mom’s chin. Her mom laughed and then swiped her brush over Sam’s already dirty T-shirt, leaving a stroke of white paint across her chest.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Sam swiped her mom’s arm with her brush.

  It was full-out war after that as her mom chased her across the yard. The dogs joined in the fun, barking and following in circles around the bushes and to the back fence behind the house where Dominic was making much better progress than the two of them.

  Sam attempted to hide behind Dominic, but ended up making matters worse when she got paint on the back of his neck. “Oops. Sorry.”

  Dominic carefully set his brush on the top of the paint can, stood, took the brush from Sam’s hand and held her trapped in front of him. “Go ahead, Mom,” he said. “Get her.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Sam said. “This isn’t fair.”

  But he would dare and she could feel his strong solid body pressed against her as he held her prisoner. She closed her eyes as her mom came toward her, brush in hand.

  Sam felt the brush touch the very tip of her nose.

  “There,” Rebecca said. “We’re even.”

  Sam opened her eyes, relieved to see Mom walking the other way, especially since she could already feel Dominic hard against her.

  “Somebody’s happy to see me,” she teased.

  He turned her around so they were facing each other. He used the clean corner of a rag to wipe the paint from her nose before he kissed her on the lips. “I’m always happy to see you,” he said.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and wondered if she would ever tire of holding him tight.

  “I love you,” he said.

  She pulled back slightly, enough so she could gaze into his eyes, stunned to hear him say the words. “I love you, too,” she said, her eyes welling.

  “Get back to work, slackers,” Linda shouted from across the yard. “If you don’t finish the fence,” she told her brother with a wink, “we won’t have time to practice your lines.”

  Sam grabbed her paintbrush and headed off with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She looked over her shoulder, glad to see that Dominic was watching her walk away, his smile working its way to his eyes.

  Sam returned to the doghouse where her mom was still laboring away on the same wood plank.

  It was hard to believe how much her life had changed in just a few months.

  Dominic was in love with her.

  The next few hours passed quickly. After painting for most of the day and then eating hot dogs and potato salad, Sam entered Linda’s kitchen in search of a glass of cold water.

  “Here,” Linda said, slapping a script into the palm of Sam’s hand. She pointed to the line on the middle of the page. “Start here and don’t let Dominic take a break until he gets to the end of the scene. He needs help…badly.”

  Confused, Sam look at Dominic. “Did you finally pick a movie?”

  “Not yet,” he said, “but acting is like anything else. You have to practice. Acting takes technical discipline of the voice and body.”

  After Linda disappeared, Sam looked at Dominic. “You don’t really need help with this, do you? I mean, I couldn’t act if my life depended on it.”

  “You heard my sister.” Dominic leveled her with a no-nonsense stare. “I need help.”

  “You can do it,” Emma said from the kitchen, startling Sam since she hadn’t seen her niece standing in the shadows.

  “Shouldn’t you be helping Grandma?” Sam asked, feeling the pressure.

  “I’ll help you out by saying the first line.” Dominic took the script, read silently for a moment. He lowered his chin and dropped his gaze to the floor. “We’ve been through this before.”

  Sam’s mom entered the house and went to the kitchen to wash her hands. Sam had an audience now and she didn’t like it one bit.

  “Umm…” Sam read half of the first line, and then pushed the hair out of her face and tried to look serious as she started over. “Please, you can’t mean it. I love you. You love me.”

  “I know you’re not an actor but neither is Linda,” Emma said, “and she was doing a pretty good job before you showed up. You need to put some feeling into it, Sam. Make us believe you at least like him a little bit. You married him, didn’t you?”

  Sam frowned.

  “Take two,” Dominic said, easily stepping into character. “We’ve been through this before—”

  “Please, you can’t mean this. I love you. You love me.” Determined to put an end to Emma’s chattering, Sam stepped closer to Dominic, reached out and put a hand to his chin, forcing him to look at her. “I can see it in your eyes. You still love me,” she said with as much feeling as she could muster. “I know you do. And I love you.” And it was true, she loved him and had never loved anyone the way she loved Dominic. “I’ve loved you since the first day we met. If you leave me, I won’t be able to go on. I won’t. I’d rather be dead. Kiss me and tell me you love me, too.”

  “Marry me,” he said.

  She looked closer at her script, didn’t see anything at all about anyone getting married. She looked back at Dominic, her expression questioning. “I don’t see that anywhere in the script.”

  “That’s because it’s not there.”

  It took her a few seconds to understand that she’d been set up. The script was only a ruse. Emma, her mom, Linda. They were all in on it. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  He nodded.

  “You want to marry me?”

  “I do,” he said, his eyes sparkling. And then he kissed her, his lips warm against hers, tender and loving. Sam forgot all about the stupid script, letting it fall to the floor so she could wrap her arms around his neck, angling her head just so. She’d already told him she loved him, but the truth was she was madly in love with Dominic DeMarco. She loved the way he looked at her, the way he treated her family. She loved his lopsided grin and his easy laughter. She especially loved being held in his arms and if she could spend the rest of her life kissing this man, she’d be the happiest woman in the world.

  Clapping pulled Sam out of the moment.

  “Wow,” Linda said, standing just inside the door. “You made your mom cry.”

  Mom reached for a tissue. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She wiped the corner of her eye and then daintily blew her nose.
<
br />   Everyone gathered around, congratulating them both and for the next fifteen minutes, it was a great big love fest.

  ***

  Sam smoothed out her crisp white summer dress, stood back and admired the table setting. She looked at Maria with tears in her eyes. “It looks beautiful. Thank you for your help.”

  “Anything for you and Mr. Dominic,” Maria said. “I’m going to pack a few things and disappear.”

  “You are an amazing person,” Sam told Maria. “Dominic is lucky to have you.”

  “I can’t lie,” Maria said. “I am worried about this plan of yours. Mr. Dominic is a very loving and generous man, but he’s been hurt badly and the wounds are deep.”

  “Dominic will never be whole unless he finds a way to forgive his mother.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  After Maria left, Sam paced the room, and then straightened the tablecloth and wondered if it was too early to light the candles. There were four place settings. She’d invited her mom, too, hoping that might help Dominic’s mother feel more comfortable. The table was set in golds and creams, complete with crystal stemware and fresh flowers.

  Relief flowed through her when she heard the door open and close. Dominic was home. Both of their mothers would be arriving shortly.

  He called out her name, surprised to find her dressed up and waiting for him in the dining room.

  The dogs circled his legs, begging for attention. He scratched each of them on the head before handing Sam a bouquet of red roses.

  “What are these for?”

  “For being you. For agreeing to be my wife. For making me happier than I ever imagined I could be.” He sneezed. “I guess you haven’t found a new home for the cat yet?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll think of something, I promise.”

  “I guess you don’t love me that much?”

  She leaned into him and held him close, enjoying the feel of his jaw against her cheek.

  Dominic’s gaze fell on the four table settings. “Are we expecting guests?”

  “Two very special guests.”

  A look of concern crossed his handsome features.