Page 26 of Nico (Members From Money Season 2, #154)

As soon as she was on board, Linda took charge of the planning for the wedding. And Sadie was relieved to let her. Nadine was also a very eager participant. Sadie realized that she had come to like the sister of the man she was going to marry.

Her mother had been told, and her reaction was as expected. Sylvia Greene was thrilled that her daughter had managed to bag the son of such a powerful and wealthy man. She couldn't be more pleased and was flying home as soon as possible.

"I want to be part of the planning," she told her daughter briskly over the phone. "Whatever our differences, you're my only child and this is a big moment for you."

She paused. "I know you think I've not been a very good mother, but I've always wanted to do what's best for you. Besides, I refuse to be outdone by the Coulters. I might not have the amount of money they do, but I intend to do my part. I want to pay for your dress."

"There's really no need--"

"I insist. We'll look at different styles together and choose.

We're both of the same build and I would suggest you wear one of my many wedding dresses, but they never brought me much luck.

And the only one that did, the one I wore when I married your father, belonged to his old crone of a mother who insisted on having me wear it. "

"Thank God, it fell to pieces over the years. And she along with it. I'm really happy for you, honey, and I want you to know that I did love your father. He was the only man I ever loved. I searched for someone to replace him and never succeeded."

Sadie was amazed at the frank conversation. Her mother had never revealed anything of such a personal nature to her before. It changed everything and made her realize that mothers were humans too and allowed to make mistakes.

"I'm sorry darling." He looked harried and preoccupied at the same time as he opened the door to admit her. His gray sweater was torn at the collar, and he wasn't wearing socks or anything else on his feet.

"Mrs. Bigelow is insisting on some changes to the sculpture and the deadline is upon me.

I knew I promised to accompany you and Gracie to the children's museum, but--" He lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug and stepped back so she could enter.

"She's going to be so damn disappointed.

Perhaps I could ask mother or Nadine to make the trip--"

Stepping towards him, she went on her toes and kissed his lips. "I'll take her. It's good practice for me and we really need to get to know each other better."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "Sure?"

She nodded.

"I know you have wedding stuff." He ran his hands up and down her arms, eyes wandering over her face hungrily. "How about this? We go out dancing later. There's this lovely Italian restaurant on Fowler's Street with an intimate balcony overlooking the harbor."

"We'll see. I know you have several deadlines, and you want to finish before the wedding."

"And the honeymoon." He was just drawing her into his arms, when Gracie came bursting into the foyer, her face flushed with excitement as she spotted Sadie.

The little girl made a beeline for her and lifted her arms. With a pleased smile, Sadie hoisted her up and kissed her on the lips.

"It seems as if it's just us girls. Ready to go?"

Gracie nodded readily and turned to beam at her dad. "I did my potty."

"Did you?" He pecked her on the cheek. "Good girl. Now be very good for Sadie and mind her when she tells you to do something."

Gracie nodded solemnly.

"Okay, my two best girls, off with you."

Gracie giggled when he leaned down to kiss Sadie on the lips.

"Me!"

"Of course." Tilting her chin up, he smacked her lips and had her laughing.

"Bundle up, it's cold," he warned and followed them to the door. "See you later."

*****

The children's museum was packed despite the icy January weather. Finding a parking space near to the towering building, Sadie bundled Gracie into her jacket and put on her hat and gloves.

"Warm enough?"

"Toasty." Bottle green eyes so like her dad's sparkled with mischief. "Grams said that. Toasty."

"Toasty is good. Ready?"

Gracie nodded and started to tug at Sadie's hand. "I want to see dinosaurs."

"Of course you do." With a laugh, she allowed herself to be dragged through the double glass doors.

Once inside, Sadie guided Gracie to the glass displays of rock formations and familiar faces from Nickelodeon. As Gracie pressed her nose to the cool glass, her eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Sadie, look! Dinosaurs!" she squealed, pointing at the towering skeletons in the center of the exhibit hall.

Sadie smiled, feeling a warmth in her chest at Gracie's innocent enthusiasm. She knelt beside her, reading the placard aloud, her voice carrying over the hum of other visitors.

"This is a Tyrannosaurus rex. See how big its teeth are?"

Gracie's face lit up. "It's scary. Did it eat people?"

Sadie laughed softly. "No, sweetie. There weren't any people when dinosaurs lived. They only ate other dinosaurs."

Gracie considered this, her brow furrowing in concentration. "I'm glad they're not alive now. I'd be scared."

Sadie squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Me too. But here, they're just bones. Nothing to be afraid of."

She glanced around at the other exhibits, imagining all the adventures Gracie would discover today. For a brief moment, she felt a sense of peace, grateful for this new bond that was forming between them.

"Come on," Sadie said, standing and offering her hand, "let's see what else we can find. Maybe there are some fossils you can touch."

Together, they moved deeper into the museum, laughter echoing softly as Gracie tugged Sadie along, eager to explore every corner.

"She's an adorable child."

Sadie looked over at the woman who had a toddler on one hip and a huge tote the size of Idaho on her left shoulder.

"She is." She smiled at the little tow-headed boy who was staring at her with unblinking blue eyes. "What's his name?"

"Eric. My name is Sara."

"Sadie, nice to meet you."

"Are you a full-time nanny?"

The question threw her for a second and had her blinking. Of course, it was natural for the woman to mistake her for Gracie's nanny. It should have occurred to her.

"I'm not her nanny."

The coolness of her tone got through and had the woman blushing furiously. "Oh! Me and my big mouth." She patted the air agitatedly with her free hand. "My husband Bert is always telling me that I don't have the brain God gives me. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." She looked down at Gracie who had wandered over and was tugging at her jacket.

"I want to go potty."

Scooping the little girl into her arms, she gave the woman a formal nod.

"Let's go find you the little girl's room."

Gracie found that very funny and started giggling.

After they had both relieved themselves, Gracie insisted on going to some very quaint drawings done by children in the playroom. Sadie had just stepped over to examine a fascinating painting with a story attached to it, when she turned around and noticed that Gracie was not where she had left her.

"Gracie? Honey, where are you?" Parents with children were streaming into the room, but there was no sign of the little girl.

Reminding herself that children tend to wander, she tamped down the panic. Hurrying from the room, she went into the different sections to look for the little girl. A surge of relief when she spotted a familiar head of blonde curls turned to panic when the little girl turned out to be someone else.

"Gracie?" Her heart beating frantically now, she rushed into several other sections without success. Weak with fear and imagining all sorts of scenarios, she hurried over to a security guard.

"I cannot find my-- a child I came with." She gave a description of Gracie and what she had on.

"This happens all the time." The man gave her a reassuring smile. "It takes a second for the little ones to wander off. Let me make an announcement."

"Thank you." Wringing her hands, she waited while the man went into a booth to make the announcement.

Expecting to see Gracie racing towards her, she stood in the center of the room and waited. When ten minutes had elapsed and there was no sign of the child, Sadie felt the ball of fear lodging inside her chest.

"We have some of the guards looking for her. I'm sure she just wandered into one of the playrooms."

"I have to call her dad and the police." Sadie felt as if she was living a nightmare.

Dragging out her phone, she called Nico, and it went straight to voicemail. Not wasting time calling him again, she tried Nadine, all the while hoping and praying that Gracie would suddenly appear.

"Hi, how's the outing?"

"I've been trying Nico, but he's not answering his phone." She rushed into the section where they had seen the dinosaurs and nothing. Children streamed in and out, but no sign of the little girl.

"Are you all right?"

"I can't find Gracie."

"What?"

"I took my eyes off her for a second-- I cannot find her."

"How long ago was that?"

"Going on thirty minutes. The guards are combing the building--"

"Have you called the police?"

"No. I--"

"I'll do it and go and get Nico."

She hung up without saying goodbye.

"Miss?" The same security guard who had made the announcement hurried over to her, followed by two officers. "They want to talk to you."

"Of course. Please, can someone look if she wandered outside?"

"May we have your name?" The woman looked too young to have graduated from the academy and was spit and polished in her uniform.

Sadie wanted to scream at both of them to do something other than standing there and asking stupid questions. But she managed to give her name and the relevant details.

"Coulter? As in Nico Coulter?" The older officer lifted curious hazel eyes from his notebook.

"Yes."

"I knew I recognized you." He grinned. "You're his fiancée."

"None of that's relevant. I--"