The Confession (8 page)

“I wondered when I would meet you.” Taking her arm he slowly guided her toward the stairs that led to the grounds.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled, as she walked beside him. “Have we seen each other before?”

“No, but my mother always told me I would know her the moment I saw her,” he said as he continued to walk with her under the stars. “I didn’t believe her then, but I believe her now.”

He turned toward her, and taking a step closer, leaned forward and gently kissed her. It was like a scene from an old movie, only it was truly happening to her. They never returned to the ball. Instead, they danced under the stars on the lawn next to the rose garden until the night ended and her father came to find her.

“We were married in that same garden less than a year later,” Emily said, her eyes seeming to regain focus, almost like she were returning to the present.

“It’s like a fairy tale.” Aimee wiped a tear from her cheek. “I didn’t think anyone actually had moments like that, where they just saw that person and instantly knew.”

“I think times have changed. Your generation has expectations that tend to be unrealistic. You’re always looking for something better, something more. You also seem to believe that every person isn’t who they appear to be at first glance. Sometimes they are. I’m not implying that even with a fairy tale meeting there aren’t some obstacles to overcome, but each obstacle is worth it. Each challenge brings you closer together.”

Aimee nodded her head. “I wish I could’ve met him.”

“He was the most incredible person I’ve ever known. He was strong and fearless, smart and outspoken, and honest to a fault. There will never be another man like him.” She reached over and picked up her glass with shaking hands. “Have you ever been in love, Aimee?”

“I thought I was once. That old high school first love thing. He was the captain of the football team and I was the head cheerleader. Let’s just say that he definitely wasn’t who I thought he was at first glance. I gave him too much credit.”

“What happened?”

“To sum it up, I wouldn’t sleep with him, but my sister would, so he decided he would rather be with her, temporarily at least.”

“That’s terrible!”

“My sister has always been very friendly,” she replied, trying to make light of the situation. She was surprised that after all of these years the hurt was still there.

“And you’ve never been in love since?”

“No, honestly, I haven’t. I’ve dated, and there were a couple of times I thought, I can be happy with him, but I felt like I would be settling and I didn’t want that.”

“Never settle, Aimee. There is nothing in the world that comes close to being in love with that one person who loves you back the same way. I wish that for you. I wish that for Mark too, although that stubborn man is a whole other story.”

Aimee laughed. “Mark has never been in love?”

Emily tilted her head as if contemplating her response. “No, I don’t think he has. I worry that he will spend his entire life believing that she doesn’t exist. I’m afraid he’ll meet her, his one, and everything inside him that tells him it’s her will be silenced by his own fear and skepticism.”

“Do you really believe that everyone has a one?”

“I do. I just think it’s up to each person to be willing to accept the signs when it happens. It’s almost electric, like a physical reaction, a pull to that person you can’t control.”

Aimee remembered the jolt the first time her hand touched Mark’s, and the way her body seemed to have a mind of its own when he placed his lips to hers. She shook her head in disbelief and a nervous giggle burst from her mouth.

“Are you okay?” Emily’s brow crinkled in surprise.

“Not every electric reaction or physical pull means they are ‘the one’ right?”

Aimee found no comfort in Emily’s smug, perceptive grin.

“Where were you all day?” Luther plopped into the chair in front of Aimee’s desk.

“I went shopping.” She grinned, stomping her feet under the desk, and screeched like a school girl. “I met Kevin Johnson.
The
Kevin Johnson picked out dresses for
me
.”

Luther shot forward in his chair. “Shut up!”

“I’m serious. It was amazing. Not just meeting him, although that was beyond comprehension, but Emily and I went dress shopping together.” Sitting back, she blew out a breath. “I had the best day today. We tried on dresses, shopped for shoes, and over lunch she told me about the day she met Nathan.”

“So, do you think … ?”

Peeking around the flowers on her desk, she made sure no one was around. “If it turns out to be true that Emily is really my birth mother, I have no doubt he’s my father. The two of them are like the real life Cinderella and Prince Charming.”

“Wow, sweetie, that’s so great. And sad, I guess. You won’t ever be able to meet him.”

“No, I won’t, but somehow I’m beginning to feel like I already know him. The pieces I’ve learned make him larger than life. Every girl wants a father like that.” She sighed. “I’d also like to believe my father, well, the man I always believed was my father, was real, real with me. Do you know what I mean?”

Luther nodded his head. “You want to believe all the love he felt for you was honest and genuine.”

Gulping back the sadness that threatened to spoil her mood, she added, “I want to know, or believe, that he was the man I thought he was. That even though I’ll never meet my real father, I still had an amazing father in my life.”

“You did. You know that already. If you have any doubts, pick up the phone and make the call you should’ve already made. You deserve some answers.”

She knew he was right, she needed the whole story. Something was holding her back from asking her mother the tough questions. At this point what did she have to be afraid of? She already knew that the impossible, the unthinkable, happened.

“I know you’re right. If I tell you that I don’t want to talk about this anymore, will you tell me I’m a coward and I’m burying my head in the sand?”

He smiled at her. “No, today I’ll give you a free pass. You want to hold onto the happiness of your day and I won’t ruin that.” Standing up, he placed his hands on his hips. “Let’s talk about my happiness for a minute. I didn’t get to meet Kevin Johnson today, and I didn’t get to break out any plastic in California. There’s something so wrong with that. Take me shopping? You can make it up to me that you’ve been so very selfish. You know I can be bought, and I’m willing to give you that chance.”

Signing off her computer, she rose from her desk. “I believe you were just whining about your plastic not yet being introduced to California. So why is it suddenly my bill? I would hate to take the joy from you or your credit cards.”

“I’ll sacrifice for your redemption.” He placed his hand over his heart and exhaled a long, slow, dramatic breath. “I’m that good of a friend.”

“You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve you.” She took his hand as they walked out of the office.

“That’s true, so true.”

An hour later, they crawled out of the backseat of a cab in the Union Square shopping district. Luther twirled in a circle, his arms held out like he was one of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music, his grin stretched from ear to ear.

“How cute is this?”

Aimee looked around at the tall buildings, the bustling crowds, and the strategically place palm trees. “Cute?”

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her toward the Saks Fifth Avenue building. “You don’t think it’s cute? It’s quaint, and charming, and all the people are smiling.”

“No one is smiling as big as you are.” She laughed at his expression. “You give new meaning to the term kid in a candy store. Why are you so excited? We have
the
Saks, actually on Fifth Avenue, and I think you must own stock in it with as much shopping as you’ve done there.”

“Yes, but this is in San Francisco. It’s totally different.” He shook his head, looking at her as if she were a bit slow.

They walked inside and Luther sighed in contentment. Taking her hand, he pulled her toward the men’s department, practically skipping across the floor. His sudden stop caused her to crash into his back.

“Look at these fantastic bags,” he gushed. “If only they were as beautifully crafted, and as skillfully designed as an Amore’.”

“You’re still not getting a raise.”

Sticking out his bottom lip, he lowered his head. “It was worth a shot.”

“Aimee? Aimee Roberts, is that you?”

Spinning around, her heart skipped a beat at being called by her business name. “Lucy, how nice to see you.”

Lucy Strand was one of the biggest gossips in New York, and one of her best customers. Even though it was close to eighty degrees outside, she was draped in a short mink coat over cashmere slacks and a silk blouse. She eyed Luther up and down, and dismissed him without speaking a word.

“What are you doing in San Francisco? I would have thought you’d be buried in work, what with fashion week right around the corner.”

Aimee looked over to Luther, praying he’d step in with a sellable story. He raised an eyebrow at her and remained silent. Her mind was blank, and her palms were sweating. She knew she had to come up with something fast. Preferably something that would snuff out any gossip over martini lunches in New York.

“Luther and I decided we needed a little break and some sunshine, just a small vacation really. How about you? What brings you to San Francisco?”

“Ronald had a business meeting with a security alarm company for our new hotel. I saw an opportunity to get out of the dreary gray weather for a bit,” Lucy said, still looking at her warily. “I’m a bit surprised by your timing.”

“Nosey old busy body,” Luther mumbled under his breath.

Aimee smiled reassuringly, hoping Lucy hadn’t heard him. “I needed some sunshine, as well. It clears my head and gives me new inspiration.”

Lucy made a small sound in her throat, and Aimee was beginning to worry that Lucy didn’t believe her. “Well, we must get together for dinner tonight. I would simply love to hear all about your line for the new season.”

“Tonight?” Aimee choked, panic setting in. “We can’t tonight. We’ve already made other plans.”

“So you have friends in the area?”

She suspected Lucy was trying to discover a more interesting reason Aimee was in San Francisco during the most crucial time of her season. Aimee was determined to make sure she left disappointed.

“It was intended to be a quick trip with Luther, but he seems to know everyone and ran into an old coworker of his who lives in the area.” She smiled sincerely. “It was great to see you again, but we really should get going if we’re going to do any shopping before dinner. Enjoy your trip and I look forward to seeing you back in the city.”

“Let’s plan lunch next week sometime.” Lucy pushed.

“Next week won’t work for me. Can we make it another time?” Aimee smiled, slowly stepping back in an attempt to end their conversation.

“You won’t still be on vacation?” Lucy smelled gossip, and the gleam in her eye was making Aimee nervous.

“I have a bit of work to do here before I return back to New York.”

Aimee spun around and grabbed Luther’s hand. “We really must rush. I’ll call you just as soon as my schedule allows it. It was nice to see you again.” Smiling over her shoulder, she pulled Luther closer to her and picked up her pace.

As soon as they’d stepped onto the escalator headed for the second floor, Luther began to laugh. “She’s something else. It always amazes me to see people so needy for someone else’s drama. It’s like, get a life already.”

Aimee tried to catch her breath. “You don’t think she suspected anything do you?”

“Like what? That you’re possibly working as an assistant for the woman you think might be your birth mother? Oh yeah, she’s definitely onto your little charade.”

Aimee glared at him.

“Relax.” He rubbed her arm. “There’s no possible way she has any dirt on you. The truth is too weird for even me to comprehend. She’d have to make it up and the one thing that can be said about Lucy Strand is that she prides herself on the accuracy of her gossip.”

Taking a slow deep breath, Aimee stepped off the escalator behind him. “You’re right. I’m being paranoid.”

“Living a secret double life will do that to you.”

“It’s your fault. You made me come out shopping and let me bump into that woman.”

He lifted his nose in the air, dramatically pretending to be insulted by her comment. “The fact you’re blaming me for this is going to cost you double.” He stopped at a display of light cashmere sweaters and began to sift through them. “Now that you’re working for someone else you can see firsthand how hard it is to be a lowly assistant and not get any appreciation from your boss.”

Aimee rolled her eyes.

“She abandons her company to work undercover for the rich and famous, and he’s left to pick up the pieces.” He lifted three sweaters into his arms. “It’s a good thing you’re coming into some money. Your credit card bill is going to be painful.”

He turned on his heels and marched away from her. She never saw Lucy Strand standing only a few feet away, as she hurried to catch up with Luther.

Beautiful blond women in flowing white dresses floated across an emerald green lawn, spinning in the arms of tall handsome men each holding a pink rose in a gloved hand. Masks covered their eyes, leaving only their joyful smiles exposed.

She descended the stairs, her pale gold hair held back with a pearl comb, her white dress a stunning creation of layered tulle. Scanning the yard, she searched for something, or someone.

Standing apart from the others, toward the edge of the crowded yard, was a man silhouetted in the bright moonlight. He was mysteriously familiar. He motioned to her, beckoning her to join him.

An overwhelming sense of urgency compelled her to reach him in time. In time for what, she wasn’t sure. She lifted her skirt and rushed down the stairs toward him. Couple after couple danced and swung in and out of her path, a blur of white dresses and masked faces blocking her view. Pushing forward, she struggled to reach the end of the crowded garden.