by Unknown
Mrs. Albright gripped the smooth edge of the counter. “She was there the day Trent came to the house with Dominique, Luke Grayson, and his soon-to-be wife, Catherine Stewart. Marshall recognized Trent immediately because he looked so much like his father. Paige came home to all the shouting and heard Trent ask me if I was his mother,” she confessed, barely above a whisper. “Marshall went into a rage. They left and Marshall called them con artists, and forbid us to mention the incident ever again.”
“Please sit down.” Shane helped the older woman to a chair and got her a glass of water, tilting it to her lips when she made no move to drink.
“She and Zach were told their brother died in an automobile accident when the car I was driving ran into a lake, so she believed her father and didn’t give any credence to what Trent asked. At least, I prayed she didn’t.” Tears sparkled in Mrs. Albright’s eyes. “As you know, Stephen—Trent’s birth name—wasn’t in the car. I’d left him where I knew he’d be safe. I-I developed pneumonia from being in the water and was hospitalized afterward for a long time. My parents were devastated at the loss of their first grandchild. Do you know how guilty I always felt for that lie? It’s a guilt I’ll never get over.”
Shane took her cold hands in his. “You had no choice. You saved Trent’s life.”
“I know. Marshall knew Trent wasn’t his. The day I caught Marshall standing over Trent’s crib with a pillow in his hands is one I’ll never forget. And yet . . .” She swallowed. “I don’t want to gain Trent and lose Paige and Zach. Then, too, Paige adored her father. I don’t want her or Zachary to know what a cruel, heartless man he was.”
Hearing the soft footsteps of the maid, Shane whispered, “Macy’s coming,” and moved away.
Mrs. Albright swatted at the moisture on her face, then stood and moved to the kitchen counter. Trembling hands pushed the bag of coffee aside.
“Good morning, Mrs. Albright, Mr. Elliott,” Macy greeted. “How long will Paige be gone?”
“What?” Mrs. Albright swung around, gripping the handle of the carafe.
Macy frowned, took a step closer. “Are you all right?”
“Why would you think Paige is gone?” Mrs. Albright asked instead of answering the maid’s question.
“I saw her leaving with her laptop and a suitcase when I came in this morning,” Macy told her. “I was going to do the weekly grocery shopping later this morning and I wanted to know about meals for the rest of the week.”
Mrs. Albright turned back to the counter. “I-I’m not sure.”
The maid frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Albright stuck the carafe under the faucet and turned on the water.
With one last puzzled look at Shane, the maid left.
Shane saw Mrs. Albright’s shoulders shaking. He walked over and shut off the water, took the carafe from her trembling hands. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “My baby’s gone, and she might never forgive me.”
It twisted his insides to see her crying because he knew somewhere Paige was probably in just as bad a shape.
The day had been long; the night would be even longer. Deep in thought, Shane walked the grounds of the Albright estate. Sleep was impossible. He hadn’t even tried. It wouldn’t be the first time Paige had kept him awake. He wasn’t taking any bets that it would be the last.
Stopping near the Japanese garden room, he gazed up at Mrs. Albright’s window. The lights were on and it was past one in the morning. She’d had a rough day. He could well imagine what she was going through. He had tried to help her get through the day by keeping her busy.
They’d gone to a garden center, had lunch at Noah’s restaurant, visited Gayle. Mrs. Albright had tried, but the sadness had never left her eyes. She hadn’t been able to shake the possibility that Paige would never forgive her.
It had been the same for him when he and Paige were on the outs. He’d gone to Dallas to check on the security of Navarone Place to keep his mind occupied. It hadn’t helped. He still thought of her, missed her. It wasn’t lost on him that the job he’d once loved was no longer paramount to him.
When Paige had become the most important thing in his life, he didn’t know. It didn’t matter. She was the one—and he hadn’t even known he was searching, hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Perhaps it was because she needed him. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. He didn’t mind that she came to him with her problems. He needed her just as much. They were better together than they were apart. She needed to know and accept that as well. He hoped their time apart would teach her the same thing it had taught him.
They were meant to be together. He just had to figure out how.
He wouldn’t even entertain the thought that once she knew why he’d come, learned that he was the man who’d taken her down on Trent’s estate, she’d despise him. He wouldn’t be able to function if he thought about it.
At least she hadn’t gone far. He hadn’t expected her to. Paige took her responsibilities seriously. Not only was the ball coming up, but there were Noah and Gayle to consider as well.
He’d known how to find Paige. She’d used her credit card to check into a suite at the Ritz-Carlton downtown. For Mrs. Albright’s peace of mind, he’d told her and asked her not to call Paige. She needed time to work through her anger and her fear of being pushed aside.
Unless she overcame her lifelong fear and learned to trust unfailingly no matter how things might appear, she wouldn’t forgive her mother or him, for that matter.
He’d give her tonight, but if she didn’t call by tomorrow afternoon, he was going for her.
Paige Albright, what are you doing? Paige had asked herself that same question several times since she’d checked into the hotel suite yesterday morning. Thankfully, they’d had a vacancy. She had yet come up with an answer she was comfortable with.
Was she here because she was angry with her mother and tired of the lies, or because she was testing her mother’s love?
Sighing, she looked out the wide expanse of glass. The Atlanta skyline stretched before her. She hadn’t missed a day from work since she’d lost her father, and only twice before then.
She was definitely hiding. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in Shane’s face, or deal with the growing possibility that she had to share her mother with a stranger.
She’d briefly gone by the office to tell Jackie she would be working off site for the rest of the week so she wouldn’t be distracted. She could be reached by her cell phone. Jackie wasn’t fooled. There was no way Paige could disguise that she had been crying. Jackie had hugged Paige and said to call if she wanted to talk.
Talk wouldn’t help.
Paige’s gaze dropped to her computer screen, which listed all the things she had to do before the ball. The wondrous event had lost its magic. She felt . . . adrift. As if she were alone with nothing and no one. The other night, before the news program, she’d had such hope that her life would be the way she had always dreamed.
Until a photograph had snapped her back to reality.
Paige was never the one who walked away with the grand prize. She always lost. For a while she had let herself believe. She’d stuck out her neck and with it her emotions, and the results were what she’d eventually always gotten:
It had been chopped off.
Shane would leave her eventually. He was everything she wasn’t. He’d want a woman who was as confident and self-assured as he was. She’d been naive to think he’d stay.
As for her mother, even if she didn’t see Trent, Paige had no doubt he would remain a wedge between them. Love meant risks she wasn’t sure she wanted to take. It hurt too badly when you were let down… and she always was.
A knock sounded on the door. She expected two deliveries, both from printing companies. Paige had hired Aaron to do the programs for the Masquerade Ball. Like the bank president, she saw no reason to penalize Aaron because of his association with Jackie. He did excellent
work, but he didn’t have the capability of printing on the gift bags, so she had hired a graphic design firm she’d used before. Her life might be in a mess, but she had no intention of letting it ruin the ball. Saving the file, she went to the door.
As she had thought, it was the messenger from the graphic design company. Signing, she accepted the package and tipped the smiling young woman one of the two ten-dollar bills she had shoved into the pocket of her slacks for that purpose.
At least somebody was happy, she thought, wincing. She would not become cynical. Life was meant to be enjoyed. Ripping the envelope’s tab, she pulled out the white, medium-sized shopping bag just as another knock came at the door. Sticking the bag and package under her arm, she pulled the other bill out of her pocket and opened the door. And froze.
“Hello, Paige.”
Surprise turned to need. Shane looked incredibly handsome in a beige-colored sports jacket and white shirt. She gripped the doorknob. She was not throwing herself into his arms no matter how much she wanted to. She was facing reality. Sooner or later he’d move on.
“How did you find me?”
He shrugged the broad shoulders that she so desperately wanted to lay her head on. “Doesn’t matter. Someone was worried about you.”
She almost asked who when she caught a movement. Her mother stepped up beside him. Her eyes were red, her lids puffy. Paige forgot her anger and rushed to her. “Are you all right? What happened?”
Her mother trembled. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I—you…” Her voice trailed off.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” Paige’s heart lurched. She looked to Shane and forced herself to ask, “Is Zach all right?”
“Your brother is fine. She was worried about you,” Shane explained.
Paige jerked her gaze back to the tear-ravaged face of her mother. Guilt stabbed her. She’d done that to a woman who loved her despite her inadequacies. Shame quickly followed. “Mother, I’m sorry.” Paige hugged her, felt her tremble, the tears moistening the shoulder of Paige’s blouse.
In that moment she realized Trent wasn’t driving her and her mother apart; Paige was doing that herself. Shane was right. She was afraid of losing her mother. She was an adult, but she still needed her mother’s love and support. She’d been frightened of losing both and tried to distance herself.
“It’s all right,” her mother said, clutching her tightly.
“No.” Paige lifted her head, swallowed the lump in her throat. Her mother didn’t deserve this. “It’s not all right, but it will be.”
“Why don’t we go inside?” Shane picked up the ten-dollar bill, the gift bag, and the envelope she’d dropped on the floor.
“Of course.” Her arm around her mother, Paige stepped back into the suite. She felt awkward.
“Looks like you’re working.” Shane handed her the things he’d picked up.
Paige threw Shane a grateful look. “Yes, I’m finalizing plans for the ball.” And running away. “This is the gift bag I had designed.”
“You must be anxious to look at it,” her mother said. “Please go ahead.”
Paige smiled at her mother, the one person who always understood her so well. At least until Shane came into her life. Both waited patiently for her to examine the bag. Neither condemned her for disappearing without even a note. She had a lot to make up for. Trust worked both ways.
“I am. Thanks.” Paige unfolded the bag and really looked at it for the first time. The four destinations of the event were there on each side, but missing were the dotted lines and image of an airplane with the premier sponsor’s logo connecting the cities. “Oh, no!”
“What is it?” Shane asked, stepping to her side.
“The printer left off the major sponsor, the airline.” Paige kept turning the bag in her hands in disbelief.
“Can they be done over?” Shane asked.
Paige shook her head. “I was able to purchase the bags at a deep discount because the company was going out of business. This order was shipped months ago.” She shoved her hand through her unbound hair. “I’ve got to call the graphic company.” She quickly crossed the room and picked up her cell.
The knock sounded on the door. “Shane, please get that. That should be the program. Hopefully, Aaron’s company did a better job.”
“Got it.” Shane opened the door and signed for the package, tipping the messenger. Closing the door, he opened the package and crossed the room to Paige.
“Mr. Lott, please. Thank you,” Paige said into the phone. As she waited on hold, she pulled out an eight-by-eight glossy black booklet featuring the Eiffel Tower and a Paris streetlight centered against a red background. On the front, bold letters spelled out BIENVENUE.
“Is it all right?” Her mother asked from her side.
“I know the word welcome is correct on the front, but my French is a little rusty for the other English translations inside the program,” Paige said. “The correct spelling is at my office.”
“I’ll check.” Shane held out his hand.
“Why am I not surprised?” Paige said, and gave him the program. Then, “Mr. Lott, this is Paige Albright. I’ve just received the bags and they’re not printed properly.” She described the situation.
In two minutes she knew what had happened, but not how to fix it. Although she wouldn’t have to pay for the printing, that didn’t solve the problem. She disconnected her cell.
“The printer used the wrong proof, the one before the airline decided to come aboard.” She rubbed her forehead. “I courted them for six months before they decided to come on as the premier sponsor. The CEO and several major stockholders will be there, and their airline is only listed on the inside page of the program. This is a disaster.”
“No, it isn’t,” her mother said, the last of her tears gone. “You’ll just have to figure out how to showcase the airline in another way.”
“Your mother is right,” Shane said. “If the bag is out, what can you do with just as much impact?”
Paige stared at both of them. They were staring back at her with complete confidence when she didn’t have a clue. She started to say she didn’t know, but one look at Shane and she swallowed the words.
“I planned for the attendees to receive the bags at the beginning of the event so they could put their goodies inside from each city they visited. Seeing the airline images on the bag would emphasize that the airline served all the destinations,” she said slowly.
“When the guests arrive, their first impression is of course the beauty of the magnificent estate where dreams are made. The second should be that this is happening in large part because of the contribution of this airline, which gives them wonderful service, but also gives back to the community. Then the next time they travel, they’ll think of and want to support the company.”
“So you want to give the guests an impression of the generosity of the airline as soon as they get out of the car at valet parking,” her mother said. “Would a banner do the trick?”
Paige liked the idea immediately. “A welcoming banner could be placed at the arched entryway being erected for the guests to enter from valet parking to the double-door entrance. We could put one on the other side, too, so that when they leave, we can thank them for coming and hope they enjoyed their evening just as passengers are told at the end of every flight.”
“Can you get a banner?” Shane asked.
“After the fiasco with the graphic design company that I’ve thrown a lot of business to over the years, you betcha,” Paige said. “In case some people miss the banner, how about if we hire flight attendants to welcome them, handing them a boarding pass with a perforated section to register to win a trip anyplace the airline flies.”
“The rich love free stuff just as much as anyone.” Shane crossed his arms.
“Exactly.” Paige smiled. “That should further solidify to the airline that the Carl Rowe Foundation appreciates their contribution, but also let the guests know it is the airline carrier of choic
e, not chance.”
“I’ll donate the ticket,” her mother and Shane said at the same time.
“Thank you both, but I’ll take care of it.” How could she have forgotten that her mother, and now Shane, were always there for her? “However, I need you and Shane’s help on another project.”
“I hope this never gets out,” Shane teased as they left the Carrington Estate. They had been busy since they’d left Paige’s hotel that afternoon. Their initial stop had been to the graphic design firm.
Paige had been right when she’d said the graphic design company would do the banners; the owner had even agreed to design and print the boarding pass with the contest entries. Paige had been as gracious as Shane expected, reminding the man to be sure to put the name of his company on the back, and add that it was donating the boarding passes.
The next stop was to pick up the daisy-shaped boxes and doilies from the container store and deliver them to the gourmet cookie shop. Afterward they’d swung by a retailer for several cases of chocolate candy bars.
“I think it would be a nice touch to put little gold or red elastic bows on them,” Paige had commented.
Of course her mother had agreed. Of course he had agreed as well. Since the bows were already made, putting them around the candy bars had been a cinch. It was another detail that would make the night stand out. What was even better was listening to Paige and her mother talk and laugh. He noted that Paige hadn’t let her mother fully see the gift bag. He reasoned she wanted to keep the other destinations a secret.
Both knew nothing was settled, but neither was willing to disrupt the harmony between them. Neither was Shane. It was almost ten when they pulled out of the black iron gates of the Carrington Estate and headed home.
“Thank you. More help is coming to finish up tomorrow, but I wanted to get a head start,” Paige said, sitting beside him in the front seat of his rental.
“In case another problem came up,” Shane said.
She smiled at him. “Exactly.”