The gown was creamy white and clung from my shoulders to my knees. From there it flared out in a sweeping froth of embroidered lace. It was daringly low and exposed more cleavage than I was strictly comfortable with. And it nipped my waist in tight before hugging my hips.
"Now, take a deep breath and tell me it's not perfect." She raised a brow, daring me.
"I can't take a deep breath in this, India. And it's so… so… formal. I always imagined getting married on the beach somewhere." I tugged at the neckline. "Wearing a light, flowy sundress or something."
Her brow wrinkled as she looked at me hard. "So you have imagined it?" she asked slyly. "I thought that tough, independent Miss Jones never dreamed about her wedding day the way the rest of us girls do."
I cringed. "Everyone imagines all kinds of things…," I said, turning my attention back to the mirror, "that they don't necessarily intend to follow through on." I tucked my hair behind my ears. "I used to dream about growing up to be a forest ranger… Doesn't mean it's what I want today."
"No, it doesn't. But we are still planning a wedding here," she said, putting down her glass. She stood behind me, watching my reflection in the mirror. "And even a casual ceremony in the Mason family means tuxedos and formal gowns, and shoes that hurt your feet." She kept watching me, her eyes narrow and shrewd.
"Do you know what you really want?" she asked softly. I swallowed hard, unable to answer.
She smiled a gentle, secretive smile.
"The dress, Libby? Is this one a yes, or a no?"
19
Jack
Lunch with my sister had been quick and interesting. I'd finally asked her about her dinner with Spencer. All she'd admitted to was that at the end of the evening, he'd asked if she could put the check on her expense account. That he'd forgotten his card. It had struck her as odd, boorish. Nothing more.
Then she's asked all about the procedure, and whether or not we knew yet if we were pregnant. We'd told her it was still too soon and filled her in on all the details. It felt great to have someone we could share it all with. She'd smiled and nodded supportively. All through lunch I'd felt her eyes, moving back and forth between Libby and me…
"Saul, as always… a pleasure," I shook the old man's hand and left the shop. He could fit a tux in a matter of minutes and the family had used him for decades. "Congratulations to you, Mister Mason," he'd called out after me as the little bell on the door chimed. "And all the best to your bride…"
My bride, I thought as I climbed into the leather seat. I liked the way it sounded… even if it did have a shelf life. I smiled as the engine started, and I headed to the office for the afternoon.
The wedding was only four days away. And we were meeting up at Mom and Dad's place tonight to tie up the loose ends. I was grateful they'd been able to pull it all together so quickly. And while it was too formal to suit my idea of the perfect wedding, it would be traditional enough to please my family and their social circle. The whole thing after all, was about satisfying convention.
I spent the rest of the day returning calls and emails. Everything Spencer had provided me about the merger looked good, even though some of our stockholders had still needed my reassurance. I gave it, trusting Spence to come through like he always had. The final papers were set to be signed on Friday, before the wedding. While I didn't like pushing it to the edge, I knew Spence took his work very seriously. He'd eaten, breathed and slept this deal from the start. It couldn't be in better hands.
Typically, I'd have been handling virtually everything on my own. But what with the complicated divorce settlement and the surrogacy plan… Now there was a wedding and a honeymoon to look forward to… Well, I'd been distracted from business. And once the baby came, I'd be spending even less time at Mason. I threw a few files in a drawer and logged off the computer. It was time, after all those years of endless days and sleepless night, giving everything I had to the company. I was more than ready to take a step back. Hell, more than that. It was finally time for me, my dreams, a family of my own.
Almost everyone was gone for the day, but as I passed Spencer's office, his light was still on, the door cracked open. I stuck my head in.
"No, I don't think so," he was on the phone, his chair turned toward the window. "I got the last five thousand today… Right baby… see you at eight-thirty."
"Sorry, Spence, didn't mean to interrupt," I said, knocking unnecessarily on the doorframe. "I'm just heading out." He turned, startled and slipped his phone into his jacket pocket. "Have you got dinner plans as well?"
"Oh, right. Sure." He looked embarrassed. "Just someone I met… we're having drinks later." He didn't meet my eyes, his hands busy shuffling papers. "Casual, you know."
"Right. Well… I'll be in on Friday, seven-thirty sharp. The Big Day." He looked up. "I appreciate everything you've done, Spence. Thank you."
He blinked for a moment. "Jack?"
"What…?"
"I…
Nothing. You're welcome, boss. Have a good night."
Although dinner had been in the formal dining room, the food had been Mom's family-style specialty. Southern fried chicken, bacony green beans, and the lightest biscuits ever eaten by mankind.
"Butter?" Mom asked, turning to Libby with the dish. "She prefers honey," I answered without thinking, surprising myself that I'd remembered… I passed her the little pot and Libby smiled, nodding in pleasure as she took it. "Since she was little."
One hour turned into two, as we sat replete around the table. Mom and Libby had explored their mutual interest in gardening. She and Ben discovered a shared passion for Italian art. Blake and Janet had asked Libby gentle questions about her past, which she'd answered briefly and honestly. I'd seen the exchanged looks and the approval in their eyes. I wasn't the only one who found her utterly charming…
After dinner, we took our cobbler into the family room where the fireplace was glowing dimly. I handed Libby into a loveseat and sat down, putting my arm around her. I'd been cautious about touching her since our night together. But it was fucking heaven to have a good excuse for touching her now…
"So, that's it," India said around a mouthful of peaches and cream. "Reverend Harper says the whole ceremony lasts about twenty minutes and bingo, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Mason."
I turned to Ben, who had finished his second helping, and discreetly handed him the tiny silver box I'd picked up at the jeweler's on the way over. "You've got this?" I asked softly. "With my life," he answered back. We exchanged a look between us, and he nodded slowly. Even though he was the youngest, we'd always had a special bond. It was why I'd asked him to stand up for me.
Dad emptied his bowl and put it on the coffee table. "I want you to know, son, how proud you've made your mother and me," he said, smoothing his dignified grey whiskers. "And how pleased we are to welcome you into our family, Libby." He reached out and patted her hand affectionately. "Now, we know that the two of you didn't want us fussing over the details, but…"
"Now, Dad…," I began.
"No, I want you to listen for once, Jackson," he went on. "We know you don't have parents of your own, Libby. And Vivian and I just want you to know that we'd be proud to have you call us Mom and Dad, if you would be comfortable doing so." He leaned forward a little more and I could see moisture starting to pool in the corners of his eyes. Libby sat, still and quiet, her hand in his and he went on.
"I know too, that's it's not right for a bride to walk down the aisle alone on her wedding day. And if you'll allow me, it would be my honor to stand in your father's place and escort you on my arm. After all, you're the woman who's made my son happier than he's ever been."
20
Libby
"But it's all going too far…!"
I'd caught Jack's arm in the hallway. After agreeing to let Fletcher… no, Dad Mason, escort me down the aisle, I was currently on my way up to Mom's bedroom to try on my stupidly expensive wedding gown. It had been hand delivered that afternoon.
&n
bsp; "We don't even know if there is a baby yet. And now there's a wedding and I'm supposed to call them Mom And Dad." I was starting to hyperventilate. "They're welcoming me as their daughter, Jack. And the whole thing is one big lie."
"It's no lie, Libby," he whispered back, his hands on my shoulders. "The baby is real. I know he is. And the marriage will be perfectly legal…"
"I don't like feeling as though we're deceiving them, Jack. When they're being so kind to me." I brushed the tears away as they dripped from my chin. "It just feels wrong…"
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight to his chest. "I know, Libby. But it's better in the end. It's better for them… for the baby." He reached down and put his big, warm hand low on my belly. "Look, he's here already, making his mother all emotional…"
I held my breath, looking up into the depths of his dark eyes. All evening he'd been so attentive, so affectionate toward me. The others had noticed, exchanging knowing glances. And now we were alone, here in the dark…
His mouth came down on mine, everything else started to slip away. His tongue found mine and I reached up, pulling him closer. After so long without his touch, his taste, I felt desperate for more. The fire he'd lit inside me more than a week ago had only grown. All it took was his kiss for it to consume us both…
"If you can bear to part with her, just a little while longer…" Mom's voice interrupted softly. "I promise I'll give her back." I turned to face her, my lips still embarrassingly parted.
"Of course. I'm sorry, Viv… Mom," I said unsteadily. "The dress…"
"That's right, honey. And if the shop's going to have time to make any last-minute adjustments, we need to see if it fits, right this minute. Jackson, Ben and your father are in the study. Libby, let's get you into that dress. India's already got hers on."
Jack gave me a steady smile. Lending me his courage, as I followed his mother down the hall.
He was right, after all. This was all for the baby's sake. And even though it was still too soon to be sure, I knew she'd be worth it. Besides, in a few more days, the wedding would be behind us, and Jack and I would be alone on an island, where there would no longer be any need for pretense. But his kiss still burned on my lips.
"Is this perfect or what?" India whirled around as we entered the room. She was wearing silk, the color of silver and was a knock out. What I wouldn't have given for her height and natural slenderness?
"Now, come on," she said, easing my own dress from a white velvet hanger. "Mom can help you into this while I go change. Be back in a flash."
India gave me a smile and turned her bright eyes to Vivian. For a split second, I thought I saw something there. And then she was gone, and Vivian was undoing the tiny buttons along the back of the gown.
"You have the loveliest kind of figure for a dress like this," she said. She glanced up as I was slipping out of my blouse and then back down to the buttons. "Pretty… feminine… The kind of woman a man just can't resist."
I laughed nervously for a moment and then sobered. "I know it's all happened so quickly," I began. "For Jack and me to be living together and now getting married…"
"No quicker than Fletcher and me," she said. I thought I caught a flicker in her eye. "The Mason men have always known what they want. Even when they don't even realize it yet. Five generations of them. All strong Southern men who know exactly what they want and waste no time in taking it." Her voice was soft, but sure.
"You and… Dad… were married quickly?" I stepped into the dress she held for me. "I thought that long engagements were the tradition in the south…"
"Has Jack been fillin' your head with how conventional Fletcher and I are?" She slid the dress over my shoulders and I saw her shake her head gently. "I swear, that boy."
She stepped behind me and began to button. "Of all our family, he's the most conventional one of us all. And yet he goes on and on about what traditional folk the rest of us are." She smoothed the fabric at my waist. "It's a little snug here." I blinked, but said nothing. She went on.
"Fletcher and I were married not one month after we met, and that was thirty-four wonderful years ago. Now we never lived together first, but…"
"That's why I told India I wasn't sure about the white dress. I'd thought the silver might be…"
Vivian turned me by the shoulders to face the cheval mirror in the corner. Her eyes were finely lined, but they were sharp and brilliantly blue as she looked over my shoulder, into my reflection.
"I never saw a bride more suited to white," she said firmly, kindly. "And I can't imagine any woman better suited to my Jackson." She turned me gently around to face her and I saw her eyes sparkle as she kissed me on the cheek.
"Besides, if a lady had to earn the right to wear white on her wedding day, I'd have had to wear scarlet." She winked conspiratorially and I smiled back, blushing furiously.
"And just between you and me, honey, it simply isn't my color."
21
Jack
Libby came downstairs with a glow about her. When we headed out to the car, she hugged Mom and Dad and they kissed her cheeks. It was wonderful to see, but I had to admit. I was feeling some of the same discomfort Libby had brought up on the stairs.
"Your mom wants me to stay with them… the night before the wedding," Libby said as we drove back to the lake house. "She said it's good luck for us not to see each other until I'm walking down the aisle."
I reached over and squeezed her hand, letting it rest on my thigh. It just felt so fucking good. So real to reach out for her. More and more, I was realizing just how much I enjoyed behaving as if we were a real couple.
"I'll stay at the lake and drive in early," I answered. The wedding was set for Saturday at eleven o'clock. "Are you sure you don't mind spending the evening on a plane? Our pilot's wife is expecting and due any day. He didn't want to wait until Sunday… The jet has beds that fold out, if you need to rest."
"I don't mind," she said. "It's not like we'll have anything better to do…"
I pulled into the drive and shut off the engine. "Libby…"
"It's okay, Jack." her voice was soft, firm. "I know why you've been keeping your distance since that night we were together…" She stopped and looked off toward the dark water. "It was wonderful, Jack. And I don't regret it. But I understand why it can't happen again… and I agree with you that it's the best thing…"
"It was beautiful, sweetheart. Just like you." I swallowed, keeping her hand under mine. "And I'd like nothing more than to pick up where we left off that night…"
But we're two different people… With two separate lives," she added, reading my mind. "And it could only make things harder for both of us… in the end." She turned her palm upwards and our fingers meshed together perfectly.
"Yes… it would make everything harder," I said. "If I'd met you at a different time in my life… If we wanted the same things…"
"It's all right, Jack. Really.
I'm sorry I got upset at your parents' place. I'm fine with this, truly. I came to terms years ago with the fact that I'm not the mothering kind. And I can't imagine anyone who'd make a better father than you will." She squeezed my hand and let it go. "We met at just the right time, Jack. And I don't believe in regrets." She opened her car door and inhaled the crisp night air.
"I'm good with everything, just as it is. I'm glad we're friends. We're fine, really." She took my hand and placed it on the gentle curve of her belly.
We sat, looking out over the water, only the buzz of an insect breaking the silence. Never in my life had I felt such contentment. She was right. Things between us were just as they should be.
So why did I still want so badly to possess her? To take her upstairs and rediscover every inch of her?
I was so fucking close to everything I wanted. So why was there a feeling deep down inside, that the most precious thing of all could be slipping away?
Friday
"What the fuck do you mean, the contract isn't ready?" I stood
over Spencer, not giving a shit that my voice was too loud. "I'm leaving tomorrow for the next four weeks, and you're telling me it's not ready?"
He looked up, spreading his hands. "Monday, at the latest, Jack. Honest to god, I did my best. But I can fax the shit to you on the island and you can sign from there…"
"I needed this merger finished and done before I leave the country," I said, tearing through my hair with both hands. "It's not so fucking simple as a few signatures…"
Spencer got up and poured two cups of coffee. He handed me one and stood with me looking out over the city. "I'm sorry, boss. I fucked up and I know it. But you know me, Jack. You know I'll make it right. I just needed a few more days to tie up the loose ends. Wyler needed a little extra romancing, is all."
I knew he was right. I'd been on the phone with the man myself a dozen times in the last week alone. I had his promise, just like I had Spencer's. I just didn't like the idea of not being present when the deal was finalized. Still, my brothers and Dad were more than able to handle things, along with Spence.
"I'd postpone until Monday, if I could," I said. "There's just no fucking way…"
"There isn't anyone here at Mason that would allow you to," he answered. "We're all glad to see you happy again, boss." He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
"Go on. It's time for you to have a life, for Christ's sake. Get married and enjoy your honeymoon, Jack. I'll have everything faxed to you on Monday, and the rest of the month will be nothing but happily wedded bliss."
I stayed long after everyone else was gone. It reminded me all too well, of how obsessively I'd worked, for years to get the company back on track.
The halls were dark and silent. The only light left came from my computer screen. I'd checked and double checked all Spencer's work. He was right. Everything was right on track. There was nothing to worry about. I shut down the computer and turned my chair so I could look out over the lights of the city. It was beautiful at night. And I was way too distracted to focus on work anymore.
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