“What do you mean you’ve already booked the church?” Andrew said quietly, not quite trusting her voice.
“Yes! Isn’t it wonderful, darling?” Ted took her hands in his and squeezed.
She pulled her hands away sharply. “You’re joking, aren’t you?” Her voice was getting louder now. “Please tell me you’re joking!”
He looked confused now. “I thought you’d be pleased.”
“You’re just going to have to cancel it.” She glared at him, daring him to argue. What on earth was he thinking?
“Err…I think we’ll leave you kids to talk.” It was her dad. She was so angry she had almost forgotten that he was there. She waited until the others had left the room before speaking again.
“How could you do this without even talking to me? And I could have said ‘no’ for all you knew!”
He smiled indulgently. “Come on, Andrew, we both know you weren’t going to say no.”
Oh really? “You think you know me that well, do you?” She was getting angrier by the minute. How dare he!
“I know I love you and that you love me.” Once again he took her hands in his own and looked into her eyes. “And I know that we want to be together forever.” Dammit! He knew exactly what buttons to push.
Her anger was dissolving now. “But I’ve got so many things I want to do before I get married. I was going to talk to you today. At the very least, I want to go to grad school!”
He nodded. “I know, darling, and I certainly won’t stop you.”
“So why can’t we wait? What’s the rush?”
“I just don’t think I could wait for you unless I knew you were coming back to me.”
“Are you actually saying that if I don’t marry you before I go to school, if I go, you’ll find someone else?”
“No, I’m saying that it would be hard to hold onto something that you obviously don’t want as much as I do.”
There it was, then. Her choice. Get married now or lose him, and she didn’t want to lose him. Quite aside from the fact that her parents would never forgive her, eligible bachelors weren’t exactly beating a path to her door.
For the second time in as many days, she found herself agreeing to something that she wasn’t sure about but didn’t have the strength to refuse.
5
“We’ve got so much to organize, darling!” Andrew groaned as her mother wafted into her bedroom on a cloud of perfume, waving a pen and pad in the air.
“We’ve got to organize the wedding planner, the dress, the flowers…oh, God, where do we start?”
“Mom. It’s 7:30 in the morning. Can I at least get up and have some breakfast first?”
Her mom seemed to realize only then that her daughter had been sleeping soundly until she’d burst into the room.
“Yes, darling, of course. I’m sorry. I’m just so excited!”
Andrew smiled indulgently. “I am too, Mom. I’ll see you downstairs in a bit, okay?” Sighing, she dropped back onto her pillows as her mom left the room. She knew she didn’t want to lose Ted, so she’d made the only decision left to if she wanted to keep him. And, after all, it was what she wanted. Just a bit sooner than she’d planned.
As soon as she’d agreed to the date, they’d told her parents the good news. It didn’t give them long to get everything organized, so it had sent her mom into a whirlwind of frantic activity. It was only on the promise that she would spend the morning with her today that she’d been allowed to escape to her bedroom for some sleep at nearly midnight last night.
In her en-suite bathroom, she took a quick shower and threw on some blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Not bothering to blow dry her hair, she pinned it up on top of her head and went downstairs to have breakfast. She would need fortifying. It sounded like her mom had a busy day planned for her.
She was just coming down the stairs when a disheveled Neil walked through the front door. Taking one look at him, she knew he’d been out all night. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d been wearing at lunch the day before.
“You okay?” she asked. She’d been worried about him since he’d stormed out the day before.
“Yeah, fine,” he mumbled, although it was clear from his face that he was, in fact, far from fine.
“Look, why don’t you talk to Dad again?” she replied gently.
“I shouldn’t have to beg my own father for a job that he’d already promised me, that’s why.” He brushed past her and up the stairs but paused, turning to look at her. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
“Thank you, but no. It’s my problem.”
Andrew watched as he walked upstairs. Her father was harder on him than he was on her but, unlike Neil, she didn’t think it had anything to do with being adopted. Her dad was old school and firmly believed that the men should be tough and women should be cherished.
A memory flashed into her mind then of when they were both eight years old. They’d been playing in the yard and Neil had started climbing a tree. He’d been halfway up when he’d slipped and fallen.
Andrew could still remember the way his arm had looked, with the bone snapped and sticking out through his skin, gleaming white in the sun. She’d run back to the house to get her mom but she’d bumped into her dad first. Hysterical, she told him what had happened and he followed her out to where Neil lay sobbing on the ground, clutching his arm to his chest and screaming in pain.
It still broke her heart and made her eyes fill up when she thought of what had happened next. Offering him no comfort, her dad had told him that he would take him to the hospital, but only when he stopped crying, that no son of his was going to embarrass him by behaving like a girl.
He made him sit there, in excruciating pain, for nearly an hour before he took him for help.
Brushing the memory away, she turned her thoughts back to the day ahead.
Freedom! She’d finally managed to escape her mother’s clutches and was now looking forward to spending a nice afternoon with Ted. Since the engagement, they hadn’t spent any time alone together at all, really. She’d spent the last couple of hours with her mom going through endless bridal magazines and looking at pictures of celebrity weddings. Her mom seemed thrilled to have a project to work on and Andrew suspected that her life wasn’t going to be her own again until after the wedding. She would be quite happy with a simple service at the local church, but she wasn’t naïve enough to think that that was an option. She loved her mom to absolute pieces, but when it came to social events, she’d never understood her passion for everything having to be bigger and better. She’d left her on the phone to the wedding planner, happily organizing, and was making her getaway before she changed her mind!
The last couple of days had been a bit of a blur with her birthday party, the proposal and now being hit with wedding plans all of a sudden. It was nice to be able to clear her head and put it all out of her mind as she drove over to Ted’s place. He’d offered to come and get her, but she loved driving and had relished the idea of a bit of time on her own. She sure couldn’t get any peace at home at the moment.
Ted had his own place on the edge of town. The town itself was not very big, home to only about twenty-five thousand residents, most of who worked in her father’s manufacturing plant, which underpinned the local economy. Those who didn’t either worked for Ted’s family or commuted to other, larger towns nearby.
His house wasn’t huge and didn’t need to be, as he lived there on his own, but it was nonetheless impressive. The two-story house was comfortable, and she pondered the fact that it was where she would soon live, seeing it with new eyes.
The ground floor was split between the kitchen, living room, entertainment room and bathroom. They all contained the latest electronic gadgets and the entertainment room featured a sunken area in the center of the room filled with couches and a movie screen that took up an en
tire wall.
The whole top floor was dedicated to a single bedroom and bath, the highlight of which was the glass panels in the ceiling, allowing the room to be flooded with light.
Andrew had only seen the bedroom, she’d never stayed there. She firmly believed in no sex before marriage, much to the amusement of all her friends, and was still a virgin. Sure, she’d fooled around some but she’d never gone too far. Ted had been wonderful about it, completely understanding and accepting her beliefs, though she knew that it must be hard for him sometimes.
Parking outside the house, she switched off the car engine and got out. Letting herself in, she found Ted in the kitchen.
“Have you eaten?” he asked, turning to her as she walked in.
She shook her head.
“Good, I’m just making us a salad.” She watched as he chopped tomatoes and tossed them into a bowl.
She didn’t know why she was having these nagging doubts about marrying him. He’d never given her any reason to feel this way. In fact, the opposite was true. He treated her wonderfully and really did make her happy. But she couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. A spark maybe.
On the occasions where they had indulged in some fairly heavy fooling around, she’d never felt disappointed when she’d had to put an end to it. She had nothing to compare it to, but from listening to her girlfriends, she knew that this wasn’t the way it should be.
Maybe it was just her inexperience. It certainly wasn’t his looks. At six feet tall, he towered over her five foot six frame. He couldn’t be described as well built. Lanky was the word that sprang to mind. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and he wore it slightly long, showing its natural wave. He had the brownest eyes she had ever seen.
Pushing the negative thoughts aside, she went up to him and slid her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back.
“I do love you, you know, and I can’t wait to be Mrs. Ted Jackman,” she whispered.
Putting the knife down, he turned and wrapped her in his arms. “And I love you,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head.
Ted was quite pleased with himself. Everything was going perfectly, exactly according to plan. He knew full well that Andrew didn’t want to get married so soon, but his father’s business was on the brink of collapse and he couldn’t afford to wait.
He’d known that getting Andrew to do what he wanted wouldn’t be hard. She was so damn eager to please all the time. All it took was a little bit of pressure, a bit of emotional blackmail and she was like putty in his hands. It helped that her parents were completely on board. He knew there was no way she’d let them down.
As soon as they’d tied the knot, he would find a way to divert some much needed funds. Being given the job was a bonus he hadn’t counted on and it would make things a lot easier.
“Is your brother okay? He looked really upset yesterday.”
She sighed into his chest. “Yeah, he’ll be okay. He’s pissed with dad.”
“Anything I can do?” He didn’t care in the slightest but it was always good to show concern.
“That’s why I love you.” She smiled up at him. “You’re so thoughtful.”
He reached down and kissed her. “Okay, come on and sit down. Let’s eat, and then we can have a nice afternoon, just you and me, curled up on the couch watching a movie. And I promise, no talk of weddings.”
She laughed softly. “Deal.”
6
His father was due home from work any minute, and Neil was determined to talk to him. They hadn’t spoken since the announcement at lunch yesterday and he needed some answers.
Neil was sitting in his private office at the back of the house where it was quiet. He hated this room, but it was his father’s favorite one in the house. To him it was far too dark and gloomy, but his father liked the dark wood paneling and bookshelves and the big old oak desk. The desk faced the full-length French doors, which opened onto a private patio area.
Neil didn’t know why he hated it so much but it may well be because, when they were kids, this was the room to which they’d be summoned when they were in trouble. If you were called to Dad’s office, you knew you had a big problem.
But he wasn’t a kid anymore and it was about time his father gave him some answers.
Neil jumped as the door opened. He hadn’t heard him approach.
“What are you doing in here?” his father asked him, a frown on his face.
“Waiting for you, Dad. We need to talk.”
“About your behavior yesterday? I’ll say we do. It was a disgrace, and you embarrassed us in front of our guests.” He closed the door behind him and went to sit behind his desk.
Neil sighed. “And why do you think that was?”
“Don’t you dare give me any lip, Neil. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
“Okay, I will. You promised me that job months ago. It’s what I’ve been working my ass off for.” He tried to filter the anger out of his voice.
“It’s my company and I’ll give the job to who I damn well like. You’re far too young for a management job, anyway.”
“But it’ll be my company someday. Surely that counts for something?”
“So because you’re my son you should automatically have gotten the job?” he laughed. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Damn you, no! But I understood that’s what I was working toward, that’s what we agreed.”
“Well, you’ll just have to get over it, won’t you?” He smiled. “And stop whining. You’ll take what you’re given and be grateful for it.”
All the frustration, the anger and the bitterness boiled over then. “Yeah, that’s exactly it, isn’t it? I’m not your real son so I should be grateful for every scrap you hand me? That’s what you’re really saying, isn’t it?” he shouted.
“Stop being so pathetic. Even if you were my biological son, I would be saying exactly the same thing.”
“So, you admit you don’t think of me as your son?”
“Now you’re putting words in my mouth.”
“Come on, admit it. You’ve never thought of me in the same way as Andrew, have you? You’ve always thought of me as an outsider.”
“I am not having this conversation.” He started taking papers out of his briefcase and Neil recognized the signal that, as far as he was concerned, it was the end of the discussion.
“No, because that would mean admitting your true feelings, wouldn’t it?” Angrily, he pushed himself to his feet and turned to leave. As he had his hand on the door handle, his father stopped him.
“One more thing, Neil. As you don’t seem to appreciate everything I do, and have done for you, consider yourself fired.”
Without a word Neil walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him and storming down the hall. Bastard!
What was he supposed to do now? Get a job at the local McDonalds? It was not as if there were many decent opportunities around here and there was no way he was going to be turned into the local laughing stock by doing something menial, not when his father was the richest man for miles.
But with no job, what was he supposed to do for money? Unlike Andrew, everything he had, he paid for himself. Even his car was financed. He’d have to give that up for a start.
No way was he going to let that happen. He’d just have to think of something, and fast.
Feeling her hand stroking him through his pants, Neil smiled. He’d needed some light relief and Marrie was just the girl to give it to him.
“You need to stop that or I’m going to have to pull over and nail you right here,” he laughed, removing her hand from his lap.
He’d just picked her up and was on the main road back into town. The plan was to hit the local bar and drink as much as he could before going back to her place and screwing her brains out. He hoped that might put thoughts of his damn family out of his mind for a few hours.
As he turned h
is attention back to the road, a red Porsche traveling in the opposite direction passed him. There weren’t two cars like that in town! Checking the clock on his dash, he saw that it was nearly 11 p.m. Where was Ted going at this time of night? His house was two miles out of town in the opposite direction.
With his curiosity piqued, he swung his car around and started following him from a distance.
“Hey! I thought we were heading into town?” Marrie protested.
“We are, there’s just something I need to do first.”
“Is that Ted Jackman’s car?”
“It sure is. And I’m wondering where he could be going at this time of night.”
“What on earth for? He could be going anywhere.”
“True, but it would be interesting to see.”
They followed him for the next ten miles, hanging back as the roads were quiet and he didn’t want to be spotted, before Ted took the turn-off toward Duke. Duke was a small town and it didn’t take long for Ted to get where he was going. Confused, Neil stopped a few cars behind him and watched as he got out of his car and crossed the street. He walked past several houses before turning a corner and Neil had to pull the car forward to be able to see down the next street, just in time to see Ted walk up to a run-down old house. As he watched, light spilled out onto the porch as the door was opened by a woman wearing a short robe and a smile. What the hell? She’d clearly been expecting him, and opened the door and let him in, closing it behind him.
“Wait here!” he told Marrie, checking his jacket pocket to make sure he had his phone.
“Why? Where are you going?”
“To see what he’s up to, of course. I have a feeling that this trip won’t have been a waste of time.”
Happy that his phone was there, he got out of the car and jogged across the street to the house where he’d seen Ted go in. It wasn’t a big house and there was no gate blocking access to the back yard, so Neil disappeared down the side before anyone could spot him. There was light spilling from one of the side windows so, creeping closer and praying that he didn’t make a noise, he carefully peered into the window.