The Perfect Wife

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  She giggled. “I’d never do that.”

  “As long as you keep your word, I’ll walk up all of the steps that you want me to.”

  “Mark, you’re silly.” But that was nice because he’d made her laugh, and in doing so, she felt the rest of her unease vanish.

  They went up the stairs. She couldn’t help but wonder if the stairs or elevator was a quicker way to get to his office, but she didn’t dare ask. He might take that to mean she was interested in checking out the elevator, and there was no way she trusted something she’d only just heard about.

  Mark opened the door of his office and led her in. There was a secretary at the desk, and he offered her a greeting, which she returned.

  Then Mark led her to another room with a closed door. He opened that one and waved her in. She hadn’t expected his office to be so big. She could probably have fit two entire bedrooms from back home in here. The large windows overlooked the city, and they offered plenty of sunlight. He had drawings scattered throughout the room. Some were on the wall, a few were on a table, and only one—the one he was currently working on from the looks of it—was on his desk. There were several hardbound books on a shelf, and the topics all involved construction.

  “Now you can see why my father and I prefer to entertain clients at our homes,” Mark said. “It’s hard to fit anything in here.”

  Her eyes widened. It was hard to fit anything in here? The area wasn’t cramped. Yes, he had a lot of things, but they were organized and she could move around without difficulty.

  “It’s more comfortable to talk at a dining room table or in a parlor,” he continued. “Of course, sometimes there are recreational activities. One client loves the horse races, so I’ll spend an afternoon doing that with him. We discuss business between races. And there’s another client who likes to take his grandchildren to the park. So we talk while the children are playing. Every client is different.”

  “What do the women do?” She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought to ask before, but it suddenly occurred to her that Velma had mentioned women playing a role in their husbands’ businesses.

  “Women go shopping or go to luncheons,” Mark replied. “At least, that’s what my mother and Annabelle tell me.” He shrugged. “Since I’m not a woman, I haven’t been privy to their get-togethers.”

  She smiled at his joke. “How will I know what to do when the time comes for me to join the women?”

  He slipped his arm around her and drew her close. He gave her a kiss then said, “You’re wonderful just the way you are. The most important thing you can do is be yourself.”

  Oh, well, that seemed easy enough. She could do that.

  “There are a few rules of etiquette during meals, but I’ll guide you on that when the time comes.” He gave her waist a playful squeeze. “The only dinner engagement we have this week is this Thursday.”

  “The one with Annabelle?” she asked, briefly recalling him mentioning it yesterday when he came home.

  She’d been so excited to see him that she hadn’t given him much time to talk. Not that he had minded. He’d seemed very happy to spend the rest of the evening in bed and ask the butler to bring them something to eat. In fact, he’d told her if she wanted to spend the whole evening in bed with him tonight, she was certainly free to do so. The memory made her blush. She glanced out the doorway to see if the secretary was listening to them, but he wasn’t even looking her way.

  “Annabelle will like you,” Mark said, bringing her attention back to the conversation. “I had planned for it to be just us and Annabelle, but Mr. Gordon’s nephew is new in town, and he asked me if I would make the nephew feel welcome by inviting him to dinner. So we’ll have two guests instead of one.” He gestured to the office. “What do you think?”

  “It’s larger than I expected.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “To be honest, I thought you and your father worked in the same office. I thought the whole building was going to be the size of a bank.”

  “No. We have our own offices in this building. Also, there are several different businesses here. There’s an accountant, a lawyer, an advertiser, an investor, and a few others. Everyone shares the building and pays rent for our own offices. My father is in the office next door. He has his own secretary and assortment of papers littering his office, too. We’re probably the only people who could figure these messes out.”

  She chuckled as he motioned to the drawings. “It’s really not a mess.”

  “It is to anyone who’s looking for a specific sketch.” He led her to one of the windows. “What are you in the mood to eat?”

  “Food.”

  He laughed and kissed her. “That’s a good answer.”

  Pleased she could make him laugh, she said, “To be honest, there are so many places around here that I don’t know which to pick.”

  “Well, what kinds of food are you interested in eating right now?”

  “Since you don’t care for fried chicken, what about steak?”

  “There is a restaurant that will serve both. Are you interested in fried chicken?”

  “I am. The chicken doesn’t have to be fried. I don’t mind if it’s baked.”

  “We can get you fried chicken. As long as I don’t have to eat it, you can have as much as you want.”

  “Do you really hate it?”

  “I don’t hate it. I just ate so much of it in the past that I’ll be happy if I never have another piece of fried chicken on my plate ever again.” He took her hand. “I think you’ll like this restaurant that serves both fried chicken and steak. The chef does an excellent job. The place also has a beautiful design, and I’m not just saying that because my father and I had a hand in its construction.”

  She chuckled again and left with him, eager to see the kind of work he and his father did.

  Chapter Eight

  Thursday evening, Natalie felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness about having dinner with Annabelle and Mr. Gordon’s nephew.

  “This will be good practice for you to learn what dinner parties are about,” Mark told her as she was trying to decide which jewelry to wear with the green gown she’d chosen for the occasion.

  It was still overwhelming to pick out a gown from all of the ones she now owned. She’d never had such difficulty picking anything to wear until she married him. She recalled a time in the past when she’d only had three dresses. She used to wish she had more, and now that she did, she wasn’t sure what to do with them. So she relied heavily on the maid’s input. And this evening, the maid had narrowed her choices down to a blue gown and this green one. It was only after Mark made a comment about how pretty she’d look in green that she picked that color.

  Now she had the arduous process of picking either the emerald, diamond, or pearl jewelry to go with her outfit. She glanced over at Mark as he sat at the vanity, waiting for her to finish getting ready for the dinner party.

  She turned to him. “Please help me make a decision. I’m not good at this kind of thing.”

  He got up and went to the dresser where she had the jewelry laid out. “Any of those will match the gown you have on.”

  “I know, but I can’t decide which one to wear. The necklace and earrings are all so pretty. I didn’t realize having so many things would make it hard to make a decision. I almost wish I could go back to having very few things.”

  “Don’t wish for that. It would mean we wouldn’t be together.” He glanced at the jewelry. “I suppose I got you too many things. I was just so excited to be marrying you, I bought you everything I liked.”

  She laughed. “It seems like you bought three stores’ worth of inventory.”

  “Well, I didn’t buy that much, but the owners were happy with me.”

  “I bet they were.”

  “I won’t make things harder for you by purchasing more things. You do, however, have my permission to go shopping at any time. Just tell them to put it on my account. They know I’m goo
d for it.”

  “I can’t think of anything else I need.” She had more things than she knew what to do with!

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something once you go out with the women for some social engagements.” He pulled her against him and gave her a lingering kiss.

  She melted in his embrace and returned his kiss. Every time he held and kissed her like this, she forgot about everything else going on around her. She had no idea a man could have such an effect on her, but Mark certainly did. And that made her grateful that things hadn’t worked out with Mr. Dodson. As her grandmother had told her while growing up, “Things happen for a reason. God knows what He’s doing.”

  With a heavy sigh, Mark ended the kiss. “It’s times like this that I wish I didn’t have a dinner party. I’d much rather spend the evening alone with you.”

  She felt her face warm in pleasure. “I enjoy spending time alone with you, too.”

  He turned to the dresser and selected the pearls. “I think this best matches your style. Not flashy but absolutely gorgeous.” He picked up the necklace. “Want me to put it on?”

  She nodded and turned her back to him. Since the maid had pulled her hair up into an attractive style, she didn’t have to lift her hair for him.

  After he clasped the necklace behind her neck, he leaned forward and kissed her neck.

  She giggled. “That tickles.”

  “Really? You don’t say that when we’re in bed.”

  “We’re not in bed.” She turned back to the dresser and gathered the matching earrings. “The kind of kisses you give me when we’re in bed are different. Those are never ticklish.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. “I can always give you the other kind of kisses when we’re not in bed.”

  “Mark, be serious. We have to focus on this evening. It’s my first dinner party, and I want to make sure I do everything right.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Mark set the rest of her jewelry back in its drawer. “We should get downstairs in case Annabelle shows up before Mr. Gordon does. I didn’t warn her there would be another guest.”

  “That’s because you didn’t know he was coming until after you talked to her.”

  “Don’t worry. She’ll understand. Besides, she’s just glad to have a chance to meet you.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting her, too.”

  He escorted her out of the bedroom and down the stairs. “Before I forget, when it comes to which utensil to eat with, start on the outside and work your way in. It’s a trick I learned when I was little.” When she shot him a questioning look, he added, “There will be a salad fork and a dinner fork. There’s also a butter knife and a knife to cut into the steak. As for the spoon, there will be a spoon for the soup and another for the vegetables.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Why do you need so many utensils?”

  “My parents never understood it, either, but it’s the way things are done. Like I said, start on the outside and work your way in.”

  When they reached the formal parlor, the butler came in with a tray of four wine glasses and a decanter filled with what Natalie assumed was the wine. As he poured the dark liquid into the glasses, Mark adjusted the chairs so that they were across from the couch.

  “Annabelle and Mr. Gordon will sit in these,” Mark told Natalie. “We will sit on the couch. We’ll talk for about ten to fifteen minutes. When the butler says it’s time to eat, we’ll go to the dining room. Afterwards, you and Annabelle will return here, and Mr. Gordon and I will go to the informal parlor. We’ll probably spend thirty minutes apart before we come back together to play a game.”

  “That a lot to remember,” Natalie replied.

  “Just follow my lead. Once you’ve been through this, you’ll know what to do in the future. All dinner parties go like this unless there’s dancing. In that case, we eat first then dance.”

  She cleared her throat and waited until the butler left before she asked, “What kind of dancing do you do?”

  “Ballroom dancing. Mostly the waltz.”

  “The only kind of dancing I’ve ever done has been the square dance. And that was in the barn or outdoors. I’ve never done the…” What did he call it? Oh yes. “I’ve never done the waltz.”

  “It’s a simple dance. All you do is make a square. You’ll have it down after the first time of doing it. Just follow my lead when the time comes.” He winked at her.

  She wasn’t sure she shared his enthusiasm. Yes, it sounded simple, but would it really be easy?

  As if he heard her unspoken question, he said, “You have nothing to worry about. Remember, I’ll be with you.” He closed the distance between them and held her hand. “Most of the time, we won’t dance. Most of the time, we’ll do what we’re doing tonight. Sitting around and talking.”

  That sounded like a much easier activity than trying to figure out how to ballroom dance.

  She saw the butler pass the doorway of the parlor as he went to the front door.

  “One of our guests is here.” Mark gave her hand a squeeze. “Everything will go well this evening. I’m a good judge of character, so you can trust me. Annabelle and Mr. Gordon will like you.”

  She couldn’t help but admire his confidence. It was no wonder people liked doing business with him. He had a way of making it sound as if everything would go as well as he expected.

  The butler came into the room with a young woman who, upon first glance, reminded Natalie of Velma. The two were both slender and tall, and they had dark hair. But as Natalie studied her, she realized they had other things that made them distinct from one another. Annabelle had higher cheekbones, a smaller nose, and a chin with a dimple in it. She also had a smaller bosom and narrower hips.

  “This is Annabelle, my little sister,” Mark introduced.

  Annabelle smirked at him. “I’m not that little anymore, Mark, and I’m only two and a half years younger than you.” Turning her attention to Natalie, she said, “He used to point out I was his little sister when we were children, and,” she shot him a pointed look, “that was fine when we were children. But I’m an adult now, and I insist to be addressed as such.”

  “Forgive me.” Mark cleared his throat and then made a grand gesture to her. “Natalie, I’d like you to meet Miss Larson. I don’t know if I have her permission to refer to her by her first name since we’re being so formal.”

  Natalie chuckled, and Annabelle playfully reprimanded him with a swat on the arm. “I just don’t want you to think of me as a child, that’s all. You can’t tell me what to do and who to do it with anymore.” She paused then added, “I found out about your plan to bring Ben over here this evening.”

  “Let me guess,” Mark said. “Tony told you?”

  Annabelle nodded. “You know I don’t like Ben. I never have, and I never will. You should be glad Ben decided not to come. I would have let both of you know how much I hate being deceived.”

  “Ben was only going to be here for one dinner,” Mark argued. “It was to be one evening of your time.”

  “I’ve been subjected to these things before. How many times do you have to pair us up until you understand that I will never, under any circumstance, marry him?” She rolled her eyes and told Natalie, “I swear, it’s been like this for most of my childhood. Ever since they became friends, it’s like I’m expected to marry Ben.”

  “You mean the preacher who married Mark and me?” Natalie asked.

  “Yes, that’s the one,” Mark said. “He’s a great friend.”

  “He’s a great shadow, you mean,” Annabelle interrupted.

  “He’s not a shadow.” When she shook her head, he insisted, “He’s not. I don’t think of Ben as my shadow.”

  “He does everything you want,” Annabelle said. “All you have to do is snap your fingers, and he comes running.”

  “If that’s true, then why isn’t he here tonight?” Since Annabelle didn’t respond, he gave her a satisfied smile. “That’s what I thought.”
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br />   “Anyway,” Annabelle began as she directed her attention to Natalie, “I’m glad to be finally meeting you. I saw you at the wedding, but you and Mark were out of there so fast I didn’t get a chance to get to know you.”

  Natalie waited to see if Mark would continue with the banter the two siblings had been sharing, but since he remained quiet, Natalie knew it was safe to answer. “I’m glad I can finally meet you, too.”

  The butler returned to the parlor, and this time there was a handsome young man with him. Mark went over to him as the butler left.

  “I’m glad you could make it,” Mark told him. He led the man over to Natalie and Annabelle. “This is my wife, Natalie.” After he and Natalie exchanged hellos, he said, “And this is my sister, Annabelle Larson, who is exactly two years and eight months younger than me.”

  Natalie expected Annabelle to show a sign of exasperation, but she smiled at the man and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “He’s Mr. Gordon,” Mark introduced. “Your uncle didn’t tell me your first name.”

  “It’s Kenneth,” he replied, not looking away from Annabelle.

  “What a wonderful name,” Annabelle said, her smile growing wider.

  Natalie blinked in surprise. She glanced at Mark, who also seemed startled by the instant attraction the two shared.

  “Kenneth’s uncle just signed an agreement to let me work on the construction for the restaurant he wants to build,” Mark spoke up, though neither Annabelle nor Kenneth looked away from each other. Mark turned his gaze to Natalie. “That’s why I was meeting with Mr. Gordon this morning.” He paused. “I didn’t get Mr. Gordon’s first name.”

  “It’s Alan,” Kenneth said.

  Natalie wasn’t aware Kenneth was even paying attention to what Mark was saying. Apparently, Mark hadn’t been, either, since he blinked in surprise.

  “Did you and your uncle just arrive in Omaha?” Annabelle asked. “I don’t recall seeing you before.”

  “We just recently came here,” Kenneth replied. “We haven’t even been here for a month.”