"People who aren't so superstitious?" Gabe's attempt to help presented him with three matching glares from the occupants of the room. They'd all arrived at the country club a few hours before and were now in Ellie's dressing room, her anxiety the reason for their appearance.
"Ellie you need to calm down or you'll give yourself an ulcer." Ronnie chided watching the hairstylist Miranda had hired put a flat iron through Ellie’s curls.
"Ronnie's right sweetheart, everything will be fine. Miranda has taken care of the last minute details, so you don't need to worry about anything. This is supposed to be a fun event, just relax and enjoy yourself tonight." Dina soothed running her hand across Ellie's back.
"But what if I screw up? What if I say the wrong things to the wrong people? What if I embarrass, Devlin? He'll never forgive me!" She abruptly stood from the chair and the stylist sighed in exasperation, fed up with Ellie and her erratic moods. Ellie ignored her and began to pace. "I can't do this..." she was nearing hysteria.
"Ellie, dear you're being irrational. No one is expecting anything from you except your happiness, for heaven's sake it's far too early in your engagement to even be getting cold feet! This is supposed to happen on your wedding day, not on the night of your engagement party." Ronnie again, always the voice of reason came to stand in front of a tearful Ellie and pulled her in for a hug. "You'll be fine, just stay by Devlin's side and everything will be fine. You'll have us there too...the kids...you just have to relax and stop trying to psych yourself out."
Ellie sighed, sagging in Ronnie's arms. "Your right, I'm just being silly."
"You're entitled, believe me, if I had a mother-in-law like Miranda I'd be a little hysterical too."
Ellie chocked out a laugh. "She is a bit much."
Ronnie smiled and brought her index finger and thumb inches from each other. "Just a bit."
Pulling out of Ronnie's arms, Ellie walked over to his mother and enveloped her in a warm hug. "Sorry for worrying you."
"Worrying is what a parent does best, sweetheart. I'm just glad you’re okay." Dina looked at her as if to confirm that she really was okay now.
Ellie nodded. "I'm good," She took a deep breath before smiling at them all. "I'm ready for this."
"Good, then we'll see you downstairs in a little bit right? You won't pull a runaway bride on us?" Gabe joked and received a punch from his wife when he made to hug Ellie.
"You're not as funny as you think you are. Come on, we need to get ready too." Pulling him along, Ronnie smiled at Ellie one last time before closing the door behind them.
Dina kissed Ellie's cheek and squeezed her hand. "I have to go get ready too, but call me if you need me for anything before then okay?"
"Thank you Mom, I will." Ellie watched her go, and then turned to her hairstylist with an apologetic smile. "I'll be good."
It took the stylist, Roxanne, an hour to finish Ellie's hair. The end result was a chic, side-swept chignon with fresh white orchid pinned in for the final touch. Ellie excused herself to slip into the gown she and Ronnie had purchased a few weeks ago. It'd taken them hours to find this one dress, but when Ellie had laid eyes on it, with its intricate rose decal pattern and plunging back she'd fallen in love.
"You look amazing!" Roxanne brought her hands in front of her, staring at Ellie as she stood in front of the floor length mirror.
"Thank you." She said quietly, taking stock of the woman staring back at her. She did look good. The smoky eyes Roxanne had given her complimented the side-swept hair. The ivory color of the dress did wonders for her mocha skin, while accentuating every bit of her curves. It was sexy and elegant all at once and Ellie loved it.
"Are you ready?" Was she? Ellie wondered, staring down at the ring on her finger. The diamond winked at her as if giving her its approval. She'd fretted for weeks and this was the end result. This was the beginning of her new life. There was no going back now.
Ellie drew in a deep breath, her heart hammering against her chest. The woman in the mirror looked beautiful, but ready to run.
"As I'll ever be." she murmured, stepping away from the mirror. "Yeah, I'm ready."
~*~*~*~
Never had there been a time when the phrase, ‘arriving in style' epitomized a moment more than it did tonight. Arriving as fashionably late as the occasion permitted, the illustrious members of high society descended from their luxurious lacquered vehicles and steadily made their way to the country club. The women, with their glittering diamond trinkets and fetching evening gowns walked on the arms of their equally attractive gentlemen escorts. The air was alive with intrigue and excitement. Awe emitted from the hushed murmurs of the guest as they ambled up the granite staircase.
Stepping through a concave archway just above the second entrance, the guests were transported to another world. It was an enchanting world where the country club's grand ballroom was transformed into a dome of shimmering lights. The translucent crystals embedded in the chandeliers above their heads danced with the abandoned glee of fire sprites, spraying their gold pixie dusts upon their unexpected guests.
It was a world where the line between fantasy and reality blurred. Where ladies became the belles of the ball and gentlemen became their gallant princes. It was a fairytale dream, where colors like gold, reds, oranges and cream exploded onto the senses like the opus of a master painter. This was not a run-of-the-mill fete thrown by another society mother wishing to draw attention to her plain Jane daughter in order to catch a husband. And it wasn't another fete thrown on a whim to alleviate the humdrum of the everyday, for the rich and beautiful.
No, this fete was in a stratosphere of its own. It was what would probably end up being the celebration of the year, filled with enough pomp, glamour, and beauty to have them all talking for just as long. And it was all done for her son and the love of his life. Miranda gave without limitations, planned without inhibitions and the results had turned out exactly as she had imagined.
Standing in all her regal glory, like a monarch surveying her constituents from her position above the majestic grand staircase, Miranda smiled prettily to all who called her attention and descended with enough grace and poise to have many wondering how someone as far gone in age as she could manage it. Let them wonder, she silently acquiesced, the twittering fools always needed something to keep their tongues wagging. If it wasn't one thing, it would be another and she was more than happy to provide fodder for them.
"Miranda, darling, you've certainly outdone yourself this evening." Angelique DuPont, a woman who looked as though she had been bred from the finest horses this side of Langston, was all teeth, pinched face and large eyes as she reached out lanky arms to embrace Miranda. "Yours shall be the event to aspire to." False pleasantries were something these women excelled at, and Angelique, in her floor sweeping black chiffon gown, that did nothing to enhance her emaciated form, was without a doubt the top student of her class.
Gossip and jealousy were the fuel that ran through her veins, kept her going when her own less than perfect existence seemed incredibly dim by comparison. She was a covetous bitch who Miranda cared very little for, but as a member of their society, she had to learn to play along, pretend to be cordial so that she could guarantee her son business partners.
"I aim to please." Cheek to cheek they kissed, before Miranda pulled away and smiled, all plastic of course, at the prissy women who queued behind Angelique. One of them was Selene DuPont, Angelique's debutante daughter. The poor darling was as pretty as she was dim, lucky for her that she was bred from money. "A son's engagement is an event to celebrate to the fullest."
"And where are the affianced I wonder? We are all curious as to see the woman who's captured Devlin's heart." Of course they would all be. Miranda had planned it that way.
She had adored Ellie the first moment she'd seen her and it was in that moment that Miranda decided to keep Ellie Holbrook's name from the gossipmongers who read the tabloid rags. There was no way that she would've survived the scrutiny
that came with being a member of this world. Miranda had paid good money to keep Ellie anonymous and in turn her life and her son's life had remained blissful. But the news of their engagement had changed everything and now it was up to Miranda to ease the poor lamb to the slaughter that was the beau monde.
But she would not let them take Ellie. Miranda would protect her like a tigress protected her cub, just as she had protected her own son. Ellie would be a Westport in less than a year and it was a known fact that all Westports looked after their own, her Bruce had preached that fact and Miranda made sure she lived by it.
"They should be along shortly." She moved them along, accepted congratulations and kept an eye out for the one person she really did want to see. Sonya had RSVP-ed and said she and her cantankerous spouse would be coming tonight. Miranda could not wait to introduce them to Ellie.
"I hope for Devlin's sake that this marriage won't result in another divorce. It wouldn't do at all to have another money hungry whore at hand, isn't that right mother?" Selene's crass input received a chilling smile from Miranda and a discomfited cough from Angelique.
"What Selene means to say is that Devlin is such a fine young man and he deserves a spouse who will be able to see his full worth."
"Of course that's what she meant and I guarantee you that he has done exactly that. Ellie loves Devlin because of who he is, inheritance or not." With that said she left them to their devices and moved along, for she feared that had she stayed longer she would've done something that she would've regretted the next morning. This night would be perfect and damned be anyone who would dare screw it up.
~*~*~*~
She felt beautiful, all dolled up from head toe, Samantha knew she made an impact with her honey gold locks trussed up with beaded pearls in Grecian style. Her dress, a satin number that had cost more than her monthly mortgage, felt like heaven against her skin as she walked.
The color, a beautiful hue of imperial topaz, accentuated the fairness of her complexion and dipped low enough to be risqué but not tacky. At her feet, she wore Roberto Cavalli stilettos that clicked and clacked against the travertine marble as she walked. With glittering brown sugar diamonds, Nicholas had insisted on buying for her twinkling from her ears, neck and wrist Samantha felt amazing.
This was a dream she never wanted to wake up from. Samantha stared up at the man who’d made it all possible and fell even more in love with him.
He was impeccably dressed. The fitted, black stripped two button peak tuxedo he donned screamed sophistication. Dark as night hair had been freshly cut, trimmed low to soften hardened features. Samantha beamed at his side. Their entrance garnered stares, nothing Nicholas wasn’t used too, but for Samantha it unnerved her. But she took it in stride, emulating Nicholas’s easy confidence.
As if he’d sensed her brief moment of unease, he looked down at her and smiled. “Relax."
Looking up at him with violet eyes and flushed cheeks, she ducked her head to conceal her excitement. "People are staring."
Nicholas chuckled. "Can’t say I blame them. You’re stunning. Any man would be lucky to have you on his arm."
"Including you?" The makeover was more than likely the reason behind her sudden boldness, because surely, shy and coy Samantha Harris wasn't capable of flirting with her boss.
His smile wasn’t quite in reaching his silver eyes. "Ah, but I'm not like most men."
Too true. There was no one else like Nicholas.
"I don't think the world could handle two of you." her heart lightened as she heard the soft laughter from the powerful man at her side.
"Which is why I killed my duplicate." there was dark humor in the way he uttered those words that made Samantha realize that it wasn't the least bit funny anymore. She had heard that exact wry cynicism in his voice over the last five years and each time she heard it, the sudden onslaught of goose bumps rising against her arms and back always sparked an impulse to run as far away as physically possible and hide from this man.
His past, what little she had learned from her searches, was cagey at best. She knew he was bred from money, had been the son of the late Charles Grayson and had been reckless in his teenage years, but what teenager wasn't?
Facts had been elusive and when she’d believed she’d found answers, more questions arose. For months it had continued this way, until the day Nicholas had called her to his office and told her to cease her searches or she would need to find other employment. Samantha had wisely chosen to stop. Her curiosity still hungered for answers and she wondered how she was going to go about appeasing that hunger.
"What do you mean?" asking never hurt anyone right?
"Nicholas, I didn't realize that you were invited to attend this engagement." Turning them around to face his mother and her unsmiling husband, Nicholas stepped away from Samantha's side, before leaning across to give a kiss to his mother.
Samantha had heard of Sonya Grayson, had seen a few of the movies she had starred in a while back ago and she had to say that television did not do her flawless beauty justice. Dressed in a floor sweeping, off the shoulder russet gown, she looked like a woman in her thirties, beautiful and vibrant. Her hair, a thick mass of dark curls, was piled high above her head with only the tiniest bit of tendrils falling against the pale column of her graceful neck. And as though it was all the rage to carry one's brooding husband on the arm like a gloomy black cloud, Sonya held onto hers like he was one of her most precious accessories.
Perusing the glowering man beneath the blaze of golden lights, Samantha had to admit that the old man did clean up pretty nicely when prompted to do so. Or maybe it was that, standing next to Sonya’s vibrant beauty, even a beast's dark elegance could be mistaken for handsomeness. Whatever the reason, there was no doubt that they made a striking pair.
"Strictly business.” He drawled. “Mother, Terran, this is Samantha Harris, my personal assistant and escort for the evening." With his hand settled at the base of her spine, Nicholas ushered Samantha forward to receive his mother's and Terran's hands.
"It's pleasure to meet you Ms. Harris, you look beautiful." Samantha flushed at the complement.
Taking a step back to once again take her place at Nicholas's side, she smiled her prettiest of smiles before answering. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Jacobs…"
"None of that my dear, please call me Sonya."
"Sonya, please feel free to call me, Samantha."
"Well now that names and pleasantries have been exchanged may I ask what you and Terran are doing here?"
"Miranda invited us."
"But of course…"Reaching inside the double satin besom pockets of his jacket, Nicholas pulled out his vibrating cell phone. "Please excuse me for moment. This is a very important call." He gave Samantha an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Samantha, but I have to take this alone. It'll only be a moment, stay with my parents." With that Nicholas walked away, cell phone held against his ear he disappeared into the increasing crowd of guests.
~*~*~*~
Sophie sat on the stone bench in the garden and took a deep breath. She'd done it! Looking out from her hidden position, between trimmed rose bushes, she saw that no one had seen her make her escape. Her mother, godparents and grandparents were busy schmoozing it up to those boring rich people to notice she'd left. And Roan, the stupid jerk, she'd managed to evade the entire night, hopefully she’d succeeded in putting him off her trail. Dodging through the crowd of guests with their heads so far up their asses to know who she was, Sophie ran out of the ballroom, finding solace in the small garden.
She sighed with relief, content to be away from the overwhelming crowd for a while. She tilted her head back and the stars twinkled back at her from their celestial heaven. She was instantly able to locate Orion’s belt, with Ursa Major just a bit away. Her mother had taught her how to locate the constellations when she’d been nine on a mother/daughter camping trip. It’d been just them and nature for one whole week, Sophie had loved every minute of that trip.
; They’d done so much during that one week, fished, roasted marshmallows, doing the latter far better than the former. They’d hiked and swam through that private lake and when night had fallen, together they’d lain beneath the blanket of stars and her mother had pointed out the constellations. Each night had been uniquely different and Sophie remembered them fondly.
It wouldn’t be like that anymore. Her mother was being taken away from her. Sophie sighed again, toeing the ground with her heels. She wanted to like Devlin, she really did and if it were in any other circumstance, Sophie would’ve liked him. Sure he was a nice guy, but he wasn’t the guy for her mother. Nicholas Grayson was the man her mother should be marrying. Ever since Sophie could remember, she’d felt this unbreakable connection to this man who wasn’t even her blood. It was odd and could she stop it, she would’ve done so a long time ago knowing how much it hurt her mother.
But she couldn’t stop, she’d never forgotten about him and the moment she’d seen his pictures in her mother’s things, she knew that Nicholas was what they needed. He was their family and as much as her mother denied it, Sophie knew there was a part of her that still loved Nicholas. And that part, no matter how small it was, was good enough to give Sophie hope.
He’d left them, yes, for reason only he and her mother understood. But Sophie needed to hope that he’d needed them, missed them just as much as they’d missed him. She was desperate to know if he remembered her. She’d been young when she met him, but to Sophie, Nicholas was the only father she knew. He was important to her and she wanted to hope that he was just as important to her mother.
“Hey, stupid, what are you doing?” Sophie nearly jumped from her skin, heart racing, she turned to glare at the intruder.
Roan Westport stood there in his tuxedo and that self-assured smirk on his face that made Sophie want nothing more than to reach over and punch him. She refrained, choosing instead to ignore him she gave him her back hoping that he’d take the hint and leave.
Redemption (The Bet) Page 9