Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5) (19 page)

Beth nodded.

"And now you're saying you're getting
married?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Sir, I'd like to speak with you in the
living room. Now, if you don't mind," Ed said.

"Of course," William said, and he turned
to follow Ed, after squeezing Beth's hand.

When they were gone, Beth glanced around at the
others. "Who was it? It had to be you, Mother. You told everyone?"

"Oh no, darling. I'd never do that. I only
told Maggie."

"And I only told Eric."

"And I just told Sam."

"Well, of course I told Anna."

"I found out when I heard you guys talking in
your office the other day. I accidentally overheard you. And then I told
Cody."

"And I clearly made the mistake of telling
Dad, but I had to stop the whole blind date surprise."

"Then Dad called me. Hi, Beth. I'm Holly and
this is Jason and our son Harry."

"And then Frank called me since I'm married
to him."

Beth realized her mouth was open. "You guys
are fricking amazing. Out of all of you, only Anna and Betsy didn't gossip. At
least you managed to confine it to family."

"Yoohoo!" They turned as one to stare
through the screen door...at Maelynne. "I hear that felicitations are in
order," she said with a triumphant smile.

* * * *

William was listening attentively to Ed Carter's
speech about his concern over the age gap, when he heard a voice he despised.
Jumping up, he left a completely started potential father-in-law and ran into
the kitchen.

"I thought I'd stop by and bring you good
people one of my special pies for your big gathering. And I was just about to
knock, when I heard Mr. Christopher say that he was marrying Beth. Have I got
that right?"

William was appalled to see Maelynne stepping into
the kitchen with her smarmy words. "What are you doing, Maelynne? What do
you want?" he growled.

"Why, I think you know what I want, Mr.
Director. I want a part in that play. I'll keep quiet about you two if I get
the part. It's that simple."

Everyone looked at William, who could feel the
blood pulsing through his veins. "You are a despicable woman. I'm
surprised they haven't run you out of town on a rail. As God is my witness, for
as long as I'm alive, you will never, ever, appear in any play I put on. Spread
your gossip. We don't care. We're getting married because we love each other
and scum like you don't matter one whit to us. Now, begone!" he roared and
pointed at her.

She stumbled backward and then turned and ran out
of the house.

The kitchen erupted in cheers and applause. And Ed
walked over in the middle of it all to shake William's hand.

"You have my blessing sir, you surely
do," he said with a grin.

Beth hugged her father and then William grabbed her
and kissed her. It was the best moment of his life.

* * * *

The pork loin was tender, the macaroni and cheese
creamy, and the baked stuffed apples were the hit of the day. Josh regaled them
all by telling them how many of everything there was on the table. One hundred
and seventy-five green beans, eighteen apples, eighty-five strawberries.
Everyone laughed...except for his parents. And Eric, who appeared fascinated.

Beth sat next to William filled with a deep
contentment. It was better this way, having it all out in the open. Even if it
meant she had to start hearing immediately about wedding plans from her mother.
This time Sophia was determined to put on a wedding with enough lead time, as
opposed to Maggie and Eric's, so she'd already made Beth promise not to elope
or get pregnant.

"Where will you get married?" Holly
asked. Beth really liked Holly and looked forward to spending time with her in
the city.

"Well...I'm not sure," Beth said.
"I don't really have any friends left in Philly, except for my sister,
Rose, and I don't know if William would rather have the city..."

"William would rather we get married in Sully
Point, if that's okay with you," he said.

"Really?"

"Yes. We already talked about having a second
home here. It only makes sense. Besides, we don't need all the paparazzi and
everything we'd get in the city."

She smiled at him tenderly. "Getting married
here sounds perfect." She glanced over at her mother. "If you keep
that tablet out at the dinner table I will confiscate it, Mom. We have plenty
of time for all the details."

Sophia frowned at her daughter but put the tablet
away.

Holly and Jason's new adopted son, Harry, was a
quiet child but he watched everything, and Beth had caught him grinning a few
times.

William told everyone about the progress on the
Playhouse, and that they should be finished in time for the play. They
discussed breaking ground on the amphitheater during the coming summer.

It was a great day, and by the time it was over,
everyone was well-satisfied. That night she and William went back to her
apartment and made slow, sensual love. As she fell asleep in his arms, she felt
like life couldn't get more perfect.

Chapter 8

Monday morning found Beth at work in the office
and William at the Playhouse, making sure everything was ready for the
rehearsals that would start later in the day. She was startled to see Charles
Zimmerman standing in her doorway around lunchtime.

"Hey, pretty lady. Feel like heading out for
some lunch?"

"Uh, no. I already have an engagement."

"Oh. I thought we could go through the play,
you know, get a head start before this afternoon."

"We'll be fine. I really do have to go meet
someone for lunch, however. See you later on?"

"Sure, sure. But at some point we'll need to,
you know, practice."

Beth frowned. "That's what rehearsals are
for."

"That's not what I meant. The kissing. We
should definitely practice that."

She felt oddly uncomfortable. Like she was hearing
something she didn't want to hear in his words and tone, yet also thinking she
must be misreading him.

"Right, well, like I said...rehearsals. Now I
need to leave. Good-bye."

He looked her up and down once, and then left.

She immediately sagged against her desk and was
surprised, not realizing just how tense she had been until that moment.

"You're being silly," she told herself
aloud, and gathered up her handbag.

Lunch was a quick sandwich at the deli and then a
race to the house to meet William. They'd decided to keep their luncheon
routine even if they didn't have to sneak around anymore. Beth had been amazed
by the energizing effects of good sex in the middle of the day.

When she got to the rehearsal in late afternoon,
she was ready for the read-through and excited to be starting. William had them
all sitting in a circle, and Beth noticed briefly how Charles shifted his chair
closer to hers after a while.

William gave them all notes on various scenes and
they were packing up to leave when Charles leaned close to her.

"So how about we go get dinner and read lines
after? As husband and wife, we need to have a good rapport with each other and
we barely know each other right now."

"I'm sure we'll get that in rehearsals."

He gave her a smirk. "You clearly haven't
done many plays."

"Not many, but some."

"Well you need to know your leading man,
especially if you're soon going to be kissing me...a lot."

"The play only calls for--"

"Ah, but as a lead character, I will have to
be sure that we get the kiss just right."

She stared at him. "What the hell are you
saying?"

"Nothing, pretty lady. Nothing at all."

He stalked off the stage and she stood there
looking at him, feeling completely confused and depressed. This simply couldn't
be happening to her again!

When William came up to her and put his arms
around her, she stiffened for a moment. "You scared--you startled
me," she said.

"Ready to go? I thought we could get
something from the Diner."

"William, if you don't mind, I think I need a
night alone. My head is killing me, and I'd like to just go to bed."

He looked into her eyes and frowned. "You do
look pale, my love. Come on. I'll drop you off at home. Do you have any
medication for this?"

"I think so. Mostly I just need to sleep it
off."

"Okay. Let's get you to your apartment. I'll
miss you tonight," he said, giving her a hug.

"I'll miss you too, but I'd be miserable
company."

They walked off the stage and William took her
home, walking her upstairs and helping her find something to take for the
headache. He gently kissed her lips and then left.

Beth turned away from the door and wandered around
the living room, finally sinking into the cream brocade chair. She knew she was
being silly. She should talk to William about the way Charles had acted and
what he'd insinuated. Only, it was rather nebulous. He was an up and coming
actor in the city. Surely he wouldn't have gotten the reputation he had if he
did stuff like this. Was it her?

Sighing, she realized she actually did have a
headache. She took the pills and decided that she'd have to tell William
tomorrow. Somehow having made that decision, made her feel better. She went to
bed and fell deeply asleep in minutes.

* * * *

William drove away from Beth's and headed for the
Diner. He was in the mood for a French Dip sandwich. Once he'd placed his
order, he was interrupted by Charles Zimmerman sitting down across from him at
his booth.

"Mr. Christopher, I'm glad I ran into you. I
just wanted to say how much I appreciate your giving me the part."

"You're welcome, Charles, but you were right
for the role."

"Speaking of that, sir, I wonder if I might
mention something to you."

"What would that be?" William asked,
nodding to Mary Jo when she brought him a glass of iced tea.

"It's the actress you've got playing Corie. I
was surprised you picked an unknown to play opposite me."

"Oh?"

"Then I heard all these ridiculous rumors
that you were having sex with her and that's how she got the part."

William sat up straighter, frowning.

Charles waved a hand. "Don't worry, I didn't
believe them. And I'd certainly never go spreading that kind of thing around
back in the city."

William's eyes narrowed.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be
doing extra rehearsals with Beth, just the two of us. I'll have any problems in
our chemistry fixed up in no time." He gave William a conspiratorial
smile. "After all, the bottom line here is that the play is a success,
right?"

"If you and Beth have agreed to meet
together..."

"Yeah, she was all for it."

William felt an icy spike down his spine.
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow then, Charles. I see my dinner headed this
way."

Charles left and William sat glaring at his
sandwich. "Mary Jo!" he called out.

The waitress came rapidly to his table.
"Something wrong?"

"How does the Chef expect me to eat this when
it's so rare? I've told him before to throw it on the grill. Take it
back."

"Right you are, Mr. Christopher. It will only
take him a minute to fix."

"Never mind that. I'm leaving."

"Oh, Mr. Christopher! I'm sure we can find
something you'd like..."

"No thank you. But I'll pay for the dinner,
so give me a check."

"It's on the house," she said quietly.

"Very well." He rose from the booth and
strode out of the restaurant uncertain of just what was going on.

Could Beth be looking forward to private
rehearsals with that gigolo? Why hadn't she mentioned it to him?

He drove to his house muttering. When he got to
his bedroom, he stopped and stared at the bed. He missed her terribly. But what
if...what if it had been obvious to her today, being there with a younger,
handsomer man, that he was ten years older? And that she could get any man she
pleased. Could she be re-thinking the engagement? She'd never once asked for
any time apart from him. He would have thought she'd like him to be with her if
she was sick, to soothe and comfort her. But she'd asked him to leave...

He finally went to bed, but he tossed and turned all
night.

* * * *

With the morning came a new outlook for Beth. She
decided that yes, Charles had been out of line, but that it wasn't like he was
Andy Benton. If Charles said anything weird to her today, she'd call him on it
and that would be that. Probably there were other times in the acting business
when an actress had to put her foot down about stuff like this. This was just
part of her growing pains in her chosen profession.

She dressed in a dress of pale yellow and green floral.
It made her feel like Spring was finally arriving. Big gold hoops in her ears,
and several gold bangles on her wrist, and she was ready to go. She stopped by
the Bakery and picked up healthy Harvest Muffins for breakfast.

When she got to Julia's Place, she started to run
up the stairs.

"Wait, Beth...he's not up there."

Beth turned around and walked over to Julia.
"He's not? He's usually here by now."

"He called in to say he has a touch of the
stomach flu so he's taking some time off. But that he will be at the practice
later today."

Beth felt hurt. "He called you, but not
me?"

Julia patted her on the shoulder. "He sounded
utterly miserable. Probably didn't want you to know what a baby he was being.
I'm sure he'll by fine by your rehearsal time."

Beth nodded and walked slowly up the stairs.

Should she call him? She wondered. Was he really
sick? Or did he just not want to come in and see her? Could she have been that
awful in rehearsal yesterday that he didn't want to face her and have to tell
her?