by Tess Summers
“Harper Finch, you look absolutely stunning,” the older beauty greeted her when she walked in ahead of Ben and the rest of the group.
“Doesn’t she?” Ben beamed, sliding his arm around Harper’s waist.
“Benjamin McCallister, what a pleasant surprise!”
Harper was surprised to realize Fran knew Ben, although she knew she shouldn’t have been. Francine Ericson was San Diego society royalty. But her gift was knowing everybody—not only remembering their names, but details about their lives. Enough to always make a person feel special whenever she spoke with him or her.
She was in prime form tonight.
It took her all of five seconds to spot Harper’s engagement ring, and she narrowed her eyes with a knowing smile.
“Congratulations. When’s the big day?”
“Thanksgiving weekend,” Ben quickly offered.
“I didn’t even realize you two were dating.”
That probably killed her—Fran prided herself on knowing everything about everyone. It was rumored she knew where the bodies were buried—that was how she wielded such societal power.
“We tried to fly under the radar,” her fiancé said with a smirk.
“You did a good job.”
“Frannie…” Luke flirtatiously grabbed both her hands and held her arms out to inspect her. “You look ravishing, as always.”
“Charming as ever, Sergeant Rivas. Although I understand we’re going to be calling you Lieutenant Rivas soon.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Luke bantered. “Or, at least the chief’s.”
“I hear good things about you, Luke,” she said, patting his hand, then turning her attention to his wife. “Cassandra—darling, you look marvelous. Motherhood must be treating you well.”
Before Cassie could even reply, Luke interjected with a grin, “It’s being married to me.”
Fran condescendingly tapped Luke’s cheek with her manicured hand.
“Of course it is, dear.”
“Oooh.” Ben laughed out loud at her burn.
Ron and Brenna were next through the door and the atmosphere immediately changed. Ron was dressed in his Marine uniform and carried himself in a way Harper had never witnessed. His ramrod straight posture and commanding demeanor oozed authority, yet Harper loved how he turned to putty with a simple touch and smile from his wife.
She also loved how Cassie thrived on giving him shit. No matter how hard she tried, nothing rattled her brother-in-law; he was always cool and composed. Which Harper guessed was a good thing, considering he was a three-star general; that was definitely a trait you wanted in your country’s military commanders.
“General Thompson, Mrs. Thompson.” Fran acknowledged them both with a handshake. “If you stop by and see Grace, she’ll give you your table number.”
Harper knew Grace was Fran’s youngest daughter. She was the spitting image of her mom and oldest sister—only about six inches taller. Hope, the middle sister, also tall and blond, had manned the seating assignments table last year.
“No Hope this year?”
Wrinkling her nose while attempting not to frown, Fran said, “No,” through pursed lips. This was obviously a source of contention. “She moved east and is living with her brother. He got her a job at his hospital.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be hard having them so far away. But it’s good that her big brother is looking out for her.”
“I guess. Fortunately, Gracie and Ava love San Diego so they’ll be here to take care of me in my old age,” the older woman said, and sighed dramatically.
“Fran, if you ever need to be taken care of, I’m confident half of San Diego would line up for the privilege. Myself included,” Ron said with a wink.
That made the woman blush like a schoolgirl. “Go have fun. I’ll catch up with you all later. Be sure to bid on some silent auction entries.”
The group got their table assignment, then stopped by the items up for bid before they were seated. Ben’s arm was casually—but protectively—around her chair, as usual, while they chatted with the others about what they’d bid on, when Harper heard a familiar voice behind her say her name in a way that filled her stomach with dread.
Not tonight; we’re having such a good time.
Slowly, she turned in her seat and plastered a smile to her face.
“Hi, Daddy. What are you doing here?”
Colin Finch didn’t return his daughter’s smile.
“A little birdie told me I needed to check in on my little girl and see what she’s been up to.” He made a point of looking at Ben with disdain. “I can see why someone might be concerned.”
Harper thought her fiancé looked very sophisticated in his tux, and not one of his tattoos was showing—so obviously someone who had already met Ben had to have gotten to her father and filled his head.
“I see you’ve spoken with Jan,” she stated, careful not to roll her eyes. “Daddy, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Ben McCallister, and my friends, Luke and Cassie Rivas, and Ron and Brenna Thompson. Everyone… this is my father, Colin Finch.”
Ben stood and offered his hand, which Colin just looked at scornfully. Ben shrugged like it was no skin off his nose, and sat back down.
“Did you say fiancé?”
“Yes.” She tried not to appear timid when she answered, but her father tended to intimidate her to the point that she sometimes felt like a child again. She had to remind herself she was a strong, independent attorney who mopped the floor with powerful men like Colin Finch on a regular basis. “I was going to call you and Mama to invite you over for dinner to tell you both and introduce you to Ben.”
“A goddamn dog walker, Harper Jean?”
That left no doubt it had been Jan he’d talked to.
Her laugh was obnoxious.
“I’m afraid we had a little fun at Jan’s expense. Ben owns two automotive shops, and will be opening a third within the year.”
“Not with my money, he’s not.”
Ben, who had remained quiet during this insulting exchange, spoke up.
“No, not with your money. I don’t need your money—I do just fine on my own.”
Colin didn’t even acknowledge Ben.
“This is unacceptable, Harper, and I won’t stand for it. If you marry him, you’ll not only be disinherited, but you’ll be cut off.”
“I don’t need your money, Daddy. I haven’t for a long time now.”
The annual sum her father gave her had been going directly into her brokerage account ever since she’d made junior partner. It had created a tidy nest egg, but she didn’t need it to survive—she made a decent salary with her firm and lived within her means; she’d be fine.
She sensed that her father was under the impression she needed his allowance to survive, and that he liked the idea of controlling her purse strings.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
“I’m not kidding, Harper Jean. I will not have my reputation tainted by my daughter marrying a grease monkey.”
Harper was surprised that Luke and Cassie had been holding their tongues this long. She glanced over at them, and they seemed to be in disbelief at what they were hearing. She wished she was, too, but she had expected this would be his reaction.
“Daddy—”
Just then, General Thompson spoke up from his seat.
“I think you’ve said enough, sir. I’m going to have to ask you to go back to your table and let us enjoy our evening.”
Normally, Colin Finch wouldn’t stand for being told to leave. She doubted he’d ever been asked to leave anywhere before. But the way Ron said it, calmly and with that air of authority, had even her daddy obeying his orders.
“This isn’t over, young lady. Not by a long shot,” her father sniffed before turning on his heel and leaving with his nose in the air.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she said grabbing Ben’s hands. “I’m so, so sorry. He had no right to speak about you that way.”
; He squeezed her fingers and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about it, Scout. I don’t care what he thinks about me—I only care what you think. If he cuts you off financially, I make more than enough to take care of us.”
“Like I told him, I don’t need his money. He can keep it for all I care.”
She then turned to the rest of the table. “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t apologize enough for my daddy’s behavior.”
Cassie cocked her head. “You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about; you don’t own your father’s behavior—he does. We’re sorry that he’s putting you through this.”
“It’s his loss,” Brenna added. “Ben would make the perfect son-in-law; he’s missing out.”
“Thanks, Bren,” Ben said with a sad smile.
“He’ll come around, baby,” Harper’s tone was pleading with Ben to understand. “He’s just going to need a little time to cool off and come to terms that I can marry who I want.”
“He can take all the time he needs—I’m not going anywhere. I’m marrying his daughter whether he likes it or not.”
Yes, you are.
Hopefully.
Provided Ben didn’t wake up tomorrow and realize what he was getting himself into: marrying a woman with a lifelong—possibly debilitating—disease and a horrible family to boot, and decide she wasn’t worth it after all.
****
Ben
Well, that was interesting.
He wondered if Scout had known that was how her father was going to react, and if that was why she had put off telling her parents about him or their engagement. To be fair, he hadn’t told his family either—but was planning on doing it tomorrow at their monthly dinner. As far as Ben knew, she’d made no plans to reach out to her parents.
She was obviously mortified, so he decided not to ask her anything further about it. Hopefully this wouldn’t ruin their whole night.
“Come on, baby girl. Let’s go grab another drink before dinner’s served.” He turned to the rest of the table and waved his index finger back and forth, gesturing to them collectively. “Anyone else need another?”
They all declined, and he and Harper headed to the bar—where they ran into her boss and title sponsor of tonight’s party, Travis Sterling.
“Hey, Harper,” he said with a genuine smile as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’m so glad you could make it. You look beautiful.” He looked over at Ben and offered his hand. “Travis Sterling, nice to meet you.”
“Ben McCallister. Likewise.”
Harper put her hand affectionately on Ben’s biceps and looked at Travis.
“Ben is my, um, fiancé,” she said, then flashed her ring.
“That’s wonderful, Harper. Congratulations.” Travis nodded at Ben with a smile but said protectively, “You’re a lucky man,” just in case Ben wasn’t aware.
“I know,” Ben assured her boss.
“So, when did you get engaged?”
“Last weekend,” Harper volunteered.
“Where did you meet?”
Travis didn’t seem to be giving them the third degree; rather, he appeared to be genuinely interested in their story.
“At Hannah’s engagement party.”
Travis’ eyebrows went up.
“You met at Hannah’s engagement? The one that was three weeks ago? And you’re already engaged?”
“That was my reaction, too,” Colin Finch interjected from behind them.
“Mr. Finch,” Travis acknowledged Harper’s father with a handshake. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too. But as I was saying, Harper is being rash and obviously not thinking clearly. I don’t know if her MS may be flaring up and affecting her judgment and cognitive abilities. I think she needs to go in for another MRI and see if her disease is progressing.”
Travis stared at the man blank-faced for a moment, but Scout had turned ghost-white. Ben remembered her telling him that no one at her office knew about her diagnosis.
Finally, Travis replied, “I haven’t noticed any issues with her judgment. As a matter of fact, she was our most productive junior partner last quarter. You should be very proud of her accomplishments.”
“Well, as you know, MS is a progressive disease and can flare up at any time. I’m certain that’s what’s going on. Why else would she be marrying him instead of getting back together with Tyler?” He uttered Tyler’s name like he was a rock star.
“Daddy, enough. I’m sorry you don’t approve of Ben, but my cognition is just fine. Pop and Nana love him, so maybe it’s you who’s having issues with your judgment. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say any more disparaging things about me in front of my employer or my fiancé.”
The bartender arrived with Travis’ drinks, which he seemed grateful to receive, and promptly picked up one in each hand then raised them.
“I need to get back to my very pregnant, very thirsty wife. Harper, make sure you come by our table—I know Ava would love to see you. Since we saw you at Hannah and Sloane’s party, she’s mentioned more than once that she wants to ask you to lunch, but I’m afraid this pregnancy has her running on fumes, and she hasn’t had a lot of energy for anything other than work and the kids. Ben, it was great meeting you.” Then he tipped his head at Colin. “Mr. Finch,” and left without another word.
Ben could tell Harper was seething, but she refused to look at her dad.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said, in a voice so low and calm it was scary.
“Did what?”
The way her father asked the question, it was obvious he knew exactly what he’d done.
“You knew no one at my firm knows I’m sick, yet you took it upon yourself to announce it to my boss.” She finally looked at Colin and shook her head. “That’s just slimy—even for you, Daddy.”
Not waiting for his reply, she left the bar with Ben still standing there.
“She should be with Tyler. You don’t deserve her,” the man spat at Ben.
Ben picked up the drinks the bartender had just delivered and replied, “You’re right, I don’t. But neither do you. And I would never hurt her,” before walking away.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Harper
“Everything okay?” Luke asked when she sat down without Ben.
She shook her head no, but couldn’t find the words she needed to explain that her life had gone to shambles in the time it had taken to go to the bar and back—compliments of Colin Finch. The bottom of her career had just opened up, fallen to the ground, and shattered in pieces around her. She felt sick to her stomach and was afraid she might vomit right at her seat.
Maybe she could hang a shingle and open up her own firm. She’d probably only be working to pay her employees and for her healthcare, but she was fairly certain her trust investments were making enough interest for her to survive. Harper knew Ben would contribute to the household expenses, but she hated the idea of relying on him for anything—especially financially.
Ben sat down and placed her drink in front of her, his arm going to its usual, protective position on the back of her chair. He didn’t ask if she was all right; he knew she wasn’t. Instead, he just sat next to her, offering his comforting presence that always made her feel safe. Right now, she just wanted to go home and wrap herself in the warm cocoon of his arms, and forget about the rest of the world.
“What’s going on?” Cassie asked Ben.
“Her dad just told Travis Sterling about her multiple sclerosis. Her work didn’t know.”
“Oh no,” Cassie exclaimed. After a pause she continued, “It’s none of their business, if she’s not asking for any special accommodations. But still, why would he do such a thing? What a dick.”
“Daddy hates the idea that I don’t need him. I think he thought if he destroyed my career, I’d need his money—and more importantly, his health insurance. Or I’d get back together with my ex-husband and go back on his insurance.”
“I can put you on my plan on
ce we get married,” Ben said. “And like I said, baby girl, my business is good—you don’t need him or his money. I’ll take care of you.”
Harper smiled meekly and squeezed his thigh—she knew he meant well, but she didn’t want anybody taking care of her. This was not the time or place to have that conversation, though.
“Thanks, Benji. I appreciate that.”
Dinner went by in a blur, with her mainly pushing her food around her plate instead of actually eating it. Dessert didn’t even tempt her.
“Are you ready?” she whispered to Ben when their plates had been cleared away.
“I know you want to leave, Scout. But you’re not going to slink off into the night like you’ve done something wrong, or let your father think he got to you. We’re going to go on that dance floor and dance all night. And you’re going to laugh so hard—even if you’re just pretending—and not let anyone see you sweat. Then you’re going to go sit down at Travis’s table and chat with Ava like you don’t have a care in the world. You haven’t done anything wrong, baby girl. Cassie’s right—if you haven’t asked for any accommodations, it’s none of their business.”
“You’re right—I haven’t done anything wrong. But now that they know, my career there is over. There’s no way I’m going to advance any farther; I’m going to get all the shit cases while they try to push me out.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because I just became a liability. It’s the same reason women who get pregnant hide it as long as they can—never mentioning it until they can’t deny it any longer.”
“Does that really happen there? It sounds like that’s an awful place to work.”
“No, it’s been a great place to work, and I’ve loved it. But that’s just the way it is when you’re no longer considered healthy.”
Harper knew women hid their pregnancies, but if she paused to ponder it, she couldn’t think of a single female colleague at CBSC who had been ‘punished’ for being pregnant. Other firms, yes. But not hers.
Still, MS was different than having a baby. With a pregnancy, she’d take a three-month paid leave, then return to work whole, able to function as before. But her condition was permanent, and possibly progressive.