Page 19

Rebecca

H er parents’ driver, Mr. Jensen, drove them to a new restaurant called Platinum that supposedly took months to get into.

“How did you swing a reservation here?” Rebecca asked her mother.

“It is owned by Prudence DeLong. I went to college with her, so I simply called. Her son, Landon, is the head chef. I suggested that I knew we’d have a good time and intended to tell all my friends and our hotel concierges just how spectacular the food was when we dined there to celebrate my daughter’s surprise wedding. ”

“How did you find out about our wedding?” Mitch asked.

“Simple. I was driving by the courthouse on my way to my aqua aerobics class, and I saw you walking down the steps, holding hands. And you,” she said, looking toward Rebecca, “were wearing the white Chanel, you know, the one I brought you back from Paris a month ago. Remember what you said when I showed it to you?”

“It looked wedding-y,” Rebecca said. “See? I was right.”

Mitch grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.

“Good call, Vic,” he said.

“I cannot believe you didn’t call us,” her father complained. “I didn’t even get to walk my only daughter down the aisle.”

“I’m a modern woman. I might not have let you anyway,” Rebecca said. “I don’t like the idea of being given away like chattel.”

“I don’t care how we got to this place, only that we are here. I’m very happy for you both,” Victoria said. “It has been a long time coming.”

They both thanked her and let the driver help them out of the now-stopped limo.

“Your brother will be shocked,” her mother said to Rebecca.

“I’m going to let Mitch tell him,” Rebecca said, smiling at her groom.

“We are going to tell him together,” Mitch said. “We will call him tomorrow.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Victoria said. “He is meeting us here, but I didn’t tell him. I figured it was your story to tell.”

And Alex was waiting at the table for them, a scowl already on his face. He smiled when he first saw Mitch, but then he figured it out, and the scowl reappeared.

Maybe her parents didn’t look at her funny, but her brother Alex had given her the evil eye as soon as he saw her with Mitch.

“What? You never write, you never call, and then you appear with my sister? What gives?” Alex asked.

Rebecca answered before Mitch could.

“Careful how you talk to my husband.”

Alex looked from Rebecca to Mitch and asked, “What?”

“We got married today,” Mitch said.

Alex’s father clapped a stunned Alex on the shoulder and said, “We are all shocked. The women are giddy, so just go with it.”

Alex shook his head. “But…you didn’t tell any of us… I didn’t even know you and Becca were dating. I thought I was your best friend.”

“I only asked her at about two this morning,” Mitch said. “Besides, I know how protective you’ve always been of Bex. I am your best friend.”

“Two this morning? Where were you? No, wait, don’t answer that. When did you get to New York?” Alex asked.

“He got in last night,” Rebecca said and then smiled coquettishly as she snuggled against Mitch.

“Oh…god,” Alex said, sounding annoyed. “I thought you were engaged to some virgin chick you were going to marry in September. Your boss’s daughter, wasn’t it?”

“I felt pressured, and I never thought Rebecca could be mine,” Mitch said, his arm encircling her.

“Lucien and I interviewed Rebecca when she came to London, and it rekindled all of these old feelings. I think I’ve been in love with your sister since you first brought me home to your family.

I think my feelings grew and could not be denied. ”

“Shit, I need a drink, my best friend and my sister? Shit…”

The waiter magically appeared, and Victoria asked, “Gary, darling, shouldn’t we have some champagne to celebrate?”

Garrison looked at his wife. “Yes, darling. I’ve got it.” Then, turning to the waiter, he asked, “You got any Dom, ’95 or ’96?”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter replied.

“Bring us two bottles to start and keep them coming until I tell you otherwise.”

They sat at the round table and Rebecca said, “I’m so happy.”

Mitch kissed her cheek, and they both laughed.

“This is just so fast,” Alex said with a shake of his head.

“You’ve not been watching. To those of us who have, it isn’t fast at all,” Victoria said.

Garrison asked, “If I’m understanding this, you just broke off your engagement on…?”

“Tuesday night,” Mitch replied. “It didn’t go well.”

Garrison prompted, “And on Wednesday morning…”

“I was on my way to the office in London, stuck in traffic, and got to thinking that in a few hours, I could be in New York. I wanted to see Rebecca, be with her, tell her how much I loved her, so I asked the taxi driver to drive to Heathrow.”

“You were an unengaged man for only about twenty-four hours?” Alex asked, tag-teaming with his father.

“I knew what I wanted,” he said and smiled at Rebecca.

“Alex, Dad, leave Mitch alone. Look at his jet lag. Poor baby can barely stay awake. It isn’t fair that you are ganging up on him,” Rebecca complained.

“You know Mitch is like a brother to you, Alex, and a son to us. Now, it is just official,” Victoria complained. “I’m so happy. And look at Becca. She is glowing.”

“She certainly is,” Alex agreed through narrowed eyes that looked from Rebecca to Mitch. “She looks very…content.”

As appetizers arrived, Mitch told them his plans to live anywhere Rebecca wanted.

“You have enough experience. You can get whatever job you want,” Rebecca said and smiled at her husband.

Between their first and second course, Victoria asked, “What kind of engagement ring are you going to get?”

“Something big and impressive, but really, whatever Bex wants,” Mitch said and gave her hand a squeeze.

“As it should be. If you will permit me, I have a suggestion. And just so you know, you don’t have to take it, but when I suggested it to Gary earlier this evening, he liked it. Didn’t you, dear?”

“I did,” he said and gave his wife one of his rare smiles. “I like anything that makes my Vicki smile.”

“What is your suggestion, Vic?” Mitch asked.

“Since you were twenty, we’ve gotten to know and love you. You are like the child we didn’t have. I have something special I’d like to give you that you can give to your intended should you choose.”

Rebecca sat up straighter in her chair. “You’re giving him a ring to use as my engagement ring? Wow.”

“Not just any ring. Your father gave me the ring after we could see that you had his emerald eyes. With Alex, we had just gotten married, but when you came along, it was six years later, and it hadn’t been easy to have you.

You were a much-wanted child. And there you were, a beautiful raven-haired little girl with beautiful green eyes. ”

“Thanks,” Alex said softly.

“The emerald? The big emerald? The one I always loved as a child? You are giving it to Mitch?” Rebecca asked her mother.

“Only if he wants it,” Garrison said.

Mitch was speechless. Rebecca turned to him and said, “I love the emerald. Ever since I was a little girl, Mom and I would talk about how Dad gave it to her for having me. It was now what they call a push present.”

“Well, at the time, it was just very romantic,” Victoria said.

“I was in the delivery room. Your birth wasn’t easy on your mother,” Garrison said. “I felt guilty for getting her pregnant. Then you arrived, and you were beautiful. My little girl.”

“I’m so overwhelmed,” Mitch said. “I don’t know what to say. Victoria, Garrison, I’m so proud that I’ve gotten to know you. I think of you as my parents more so than my in-laws. Victoria got up from her chair, circled the table, pulled Mitch to her bosom and gave him a tight hug.

From a quick glance around the table, Rebecca could tell that everyone, even Alex, found it hard to speak. Once Victoria had retreated, Mitch leaned toward Rebecca, and then he whispered, “Is this what you want for your engagement ring? I’ll get you anything you want. I just want you happy.”

“Yes, yes, I want the emerald,” she said and started crying. “Just like I’ve loved you for a very long time, I’ve loved the emerald since I was a little girl.”

Mitch gently dabbed at her tears with his linen napkin and then pulled her into his arms, where she stayed until Victoria gently placed a red leather Cartier ring box next to his champagne glass.

Rebecca heard the box open and Mitch’s exhalation of breath.

She turned to look at the ten-carat perfect emerald-cut Colombian emerald framed by two, one-carat triangular-shaped diamonds all set in platinum.

“This is stunning. It is the exact color of Bex’s eyes,” Mitch said as he freed it from the box and examined it. Then he looked at Rebecca and asked, “Rebecca Alexandra Stark Wilder, will you wear this ring to signify my love and be my wife?”

“Yes,” she said as he slipped the cool platinum over the third finger of her left hand. It fit perfectly.

She waggled her fingers and smiled, then gave Mitch a look that needed no explanation. He kissed her in front of her family. Sometime during the kiss, she realized she had moved to his lap, and the entire restaurant was cheering.

***Mitch***

He was touched. He had always felt very close to Garrison and Victoria but had never voiced his thoughts.

It felt good. He was a mushy, in-love guy, and all his emotions were bubbling to the surface.

Hell, he couldn’t stop touching Rebecca.

He couldn’t believe she was really his wife.

He was so, so damn lucky. He had almost made the biggest mistake of his life. Thankfully, he hadn’t.

“How did it go over with your boss that you were dumping his daughter just two months before the wedding?” Alex asked.

Mitch set down his fork. He still felt horrible about how everything unfolded.

His intention had never been to hurt anyone.

In the long run, he hoped Lily would find the man of her dreams. It was definitely not him.

He grimaced before answering. “He’s rightfully upset.

Better this happened now than at the altar or later.

I didn’t want to inflict pain on anyone, but at least she now has a chance to meet someone who will feel about her the way I feel about Rebecca.

The marriage would not have lasted. I’m certain about that. ”

“You mentioned finding a new job. Do you still have a job?” Garrison asked.

“If he doesn’t fire me, I will give two weeks’ notice when I return next week.

I hope Rebecca can come with me. I’d like to show her my place and where I like to hang out in London,” Mitch said.

“Heck, maybe we will start our own security business. We have the time and funds to really think this through.”

“She will probably be fired, too,” Alex said, looking at his sister. “Collateral damage on her first job.”

“Stop trying to be an ass, Alex. It is over, done. Mitch and I are together as we should have always been. I like Mitch’s idea, or I will find another job. I really don’t care. The only reason I looked into Donovan Security was to be close to Mitch,” Rebecca said.

“That is not what you said when you were packing before you went to London,” Alex said.

Rebecca looked at her brother and said, “I lied.”

“Did you go to work today?” her father asked.

“No, I called in sick.”

“So, you want to live in New York?” Garrison asked Mitch.

“I really am finished with London, but I’m open to whatever Rebecca would like to do.

I’ve had six years to establish my career, but it is up to what she wants now,” Mitch said.

Victoria laid a hand over her husband’s. Something passed between them, and he nodded. Victoria smiled and said, “You know that we’ve moved the corporate headquarters to the Pacific Northwest?”

“Portland,” Garrison added.

“Yes, something about tax advantages,” Rebecca said.

“It is pretty, and you can get a lot more for your money there. Besides, it is centrally located. Closer to Asia. You can be there in four fewer hours,” Garrison said, “And it is away from New York. You can still drive easily in Oregon.”

“What are you thinking, Dad? I can almost see the wheels turning,” Rebecca asked.

“I know what he is thinking, and I approve. Jed Barlow is retiring in a month,” Victoria said. “It is causing some concern for the company.”

Mitch looked to Rebecca, who was smiling slyly. She turned to Mitch and said, “Jed is the Head of Security for Stark International. It is literally the perfect position for you.”

“That is what I was thinking,” Garrison said. “It might be too big a job for one person considering how we have expanded. We might need a team of two people. And that way, you could be ambassadors for the family.”

“Are you making us a job offer?” Rebecca asked.

“Maybe I am.”

“I think we just got a job offer,” Rebecca said to Mitch and smiled. “But what about Spencer? Does he have a say in this?”

Spencer Whitlow. Mitch had spent some time with this family cousin because he was a little behind them at Wharton and joined their social circle.

Mitch liked him. After Spencer’s parents retired, Spencer had stuck a foot in here and there but really hadn’t asserted the fact that he was a silent partner in several of the hotels.

He seemed to be happy to have Alex and their other cousin, Adam, look out for his interests.

Victoria had been a Whitlow before she married Garrison, and the Whitlows had been involved in the Stark Hotels starting shortly after Victoria married Garrison.

The marriage and the business union had been very beneficial.

Spencer was a smart man, but Mitch knew he preferred to work with cattle than difficult hotel guests. He was also a horrible Monopoly player.

“Spencer idolizes you, Gary. He will approve whatever you suggest,” Victoria said.

“Well, we have mutual trust. You see Mitch, it is yours if you want it,” Garrison said. “And whatever you are making at Donovan, just double it. And as for you, Becca. Same consideration. Family looks out for family.”

“Hey, now,” Alex protested.

“Be happy we didn’t hire Becca to be your partner, son,” Garrison said.

“She did better at Wharton than you did. And I think she’d keep you on a tight leash.

And this way, if for some reason you don’t head up the company one day, she will be in a position to take over.

I have every confidence in her ability, as well as in Mitch’s. ”

“That shut him up,” Rebecca said, and Mitch had to chuckle.