The Wedding Wish (Summer Grooms Series) (8 page)

He heaved a breath, his shoulders sagging. “Jenny left
without so much as a word. I didn’t even see it coming.”

“Then how—?”

“She left a note by the coffeepot in the kitchen.
Going to Florence to find myself.
”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, it wasn’t the nicest birthday gift I’d received.”

“She did that on your birthday?” Isabel asked, unable to
believe the callousness of it.

“To be honest, I’m not sure she remembered what day it was.
I guess all she was thinking about was leaving.”

Isabel stared at him, her heart softening. Of all the people
to do that to, Robert surely hadn’t deserved it. Even if the marriage had been
bad or things had started to sour between them, Isabel couldn’t imagine what
would drive a woman to do something so cold. No matter how hard it had been
hearing Robert’s confession, in her heart Isabel believed that he was speaking
the truth. The pain was written in his eyes, just at the mention of what was
bound to be an awful memory. “I’m sorry.”

“The worst part was, because she did things the way she did—leaving
the country and all—this left me in a terrible predicament.”

“How long was she gone?”

Robert slowly shook his head. “She’s still gone.”

Another scenario occurred. “How do you know she’s okay? That
maybe she didn’t get hurt?”

“We have mutual friends who’ve seen her around. Sipping cappuccino
in a café in Venice… Out to dinner with a gaggle of girlfriends in Rome. Jenny’s
apparently having the time of her life as an ex-pat and has absolutely no
intention of coming home. I’ve tried contacting her over the years, having my
lawyer send official correspondence. She’s ignored all of it.”

“Well then, how can you…” Isabel swallowed hard, hating to
hear herself say it. “Get a divorce?”

“There’s a seven-year abandonment rule. That is, if you have
some way to prove it.”

“The note by the coffeepot?”

“In court, that could prove ambiguous. She didn’t precisely
say she wasn’t coming back.” He paused a moment for effect. “But in the
postcard she did.”

“Postcard?”

“Two months after she’d gone, I got a postcard from Pisa.
Having the time of my life. Decided to stay.
You can keep condo and my cat.
”

“Cat?” Isabel asked in shock.

“No worries. Her sister took it.”

“So this postcard…? It was proof?”

“Postmarked seven years ago today.”

The art deco clock in the atrium began to chime.

“What’s that?”

“Perelli’s clock,” she said. “The one in there.” Her gaze travelled
to the next room, the truth slowly dawning.

Robert caught his breath. “Isabel, what time is it?”

“When my folks left, it was after eleven.”

The clock struck again, then again, and again.

“How many was that?” he asked.

“Ten, I think.”

“I can’t believe it.” Robert felt awash in relief. It was if
he’d been drowning for seven long years and someone—at long last—had
thrown him a life raft. “Isabel…” he said as the clock chimed eleven.

“Robert?” she asked, blue eyes wide.

And then, miracle of miracles, it happened. The clock chimed
midnight. It was over.

He ran his hands through his hair, unable to absorb the
moment. After all this time and the endless court battles… False starts and
disappointments. At least three times before, Robert had believed himself on
the brink of divorce. But each time, some unforeseen legal precedent had
blocked it. Susan had assured him that
abandonment
was their big ticket. It might take longer to work through than the other
strategies they’d tried, but according to her, it was the best thing they had.
They’d win this battle for his freedom at last. After so long of holding on,
Robert had almost lost faith in a hopeful outcome. Now, incredibly, it had
arrived.

Isabel brought a hand to her heart. “What does this mean?”

“I’m a free man.”

Isabel steadied herself on shaky knees as the waves of these
truths crashed over her. First he was married… Now he wasn’t?

“Are you okay?” he asked, walking to her. “You look a little
pale.”

She stunned him by latching on to his coat lapels, and for a
crazy instant, Robert feared she might tackle him to the ground just as her dad
had. “So you’re saying…” She gripped tighter and pulled him toward her. “You’re…
not
…married? To anyone? Anymore?”

He vehemently shook his head. “That’s the good news,” he
said with a squeak.

She narrowed her gaze, and his heart thumped in his chest. “And
you didn’t tell me before
because…
?”

“I wasn’t sure how you would take it. Plus…”

She cinched his lapels in her hands and pulled him right up
against her as she stood on tiptoes to stare into his eyes. “Plus what?”

“Oh God, Izzy. I didn’t want to jinx it. I’d wanted out of
that marriage for a while, but after I met you, I became desperate to leave it.
I didn’t tell you because I was still working things out. I didn’t want you to
worry. Have you agonizing and waiting over some timeline only to have some
last-minute thing go wrong. I couldn’t put you through that. Wading through the
abysmal legal maneuvers. Watching and hoping for it all to be done. Becoming
painfully disappointed time and again.

“I apologize if I screwed up by handling things this way,
but you’ve got to believe that I never meant to hurt you. I would never…in a
million years…hurt you. I care for you far too much.”

She relaxed her grip but still held on.

“You’ve got to trust me when I say there’s never been anyone
but you. When I saw you again that day on campus, it was all over for me. You’re
the only one I want, Izzy. In some ways, I see now that you’re the only one I’ve
always wanted. Please, say something.”

“You know, Robert Reed, you’re making me crazy with this.”
Tears leaked from her eyes, but she smiled softly just the same. “He loves me,
he loves me not…”

“Isabel,” he said, steadying her against him. “You’re not
hearing me. I said, I’ve
always
loved
you. The heart remembers. At least this one does.”

He looked deep in her eyes, and her whole world went off-kilter.
He had to be telling the truth. The Robert she knew had never been much of a
liar, not even as a kid. And he was all grown up now, and strong enough to hold
her—even though her legs seemed to be giving way. He’d turned her
emotions inside out with his confession, but the words that she hung on to were
the ones that spelled forever. Robert did love her; she was sure of it.
Whatever had gone before was over now. And if it wasn’t, the two of them would
deal with it together. For together with Robert was where she’d always longed
to be. She tilted her chin toward his, her lips trembling.

“You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted too.”

“I was so hoping you’d say that.”

Then he claimed her mouth with his and swept her away with
his kiss.

Chapter Nine

Isabel sat beside her mother on the porch swing while Kip
perched in a rattan chair nearby. “I don’t see why I have to talk to Robert,”
he said, feeling grumpy.

“You don’t,” Trudy said, her dainty shoes rocking back and
forth. “All you have to do is listen.”

“And remember.” Isabel studied him sternly. “You promised to
be nice.”

Kip didn’t like being cornered, and this corralling was
among the worst of them. Something was going on here, something that had his
wife and daughter in cahoots, Robert in the know, and Kip on the outside. “You
already explained all about his ex-wife,” he said to Isabel. “Why do I need to
hear the same story again from him?”

Trudy and Isabel innocently looked at each other and
shrugged. “Maybe he wants to tell it to you man to man,” Trudy offered.

“That’s right,” Isabel inserted. “Clear the air.”

If there was an air clearing about to go down, then why did
it appear the two women in his life were throwing up a smoke screen?

“I think I hear a car!” Isabel said, getting to her feet.

“Why don’t we all go and greet him?” Trudy said, standing as
well.

Kip reluctantly followed after them, hoping this whole thing
would be over soon. He had a ball game to watch and other things to attend to.
Important things, like rearranging his CD collection or helping Trudy sort
those blasted cookbooks.

“Sir,” Robert said with a nod. “It’s good to see you.”

He wished he could say the same, but the truth was he still
wasn’t over it. That whole marriage thing had sat with him the wrong way. If a
man can hide one thing, he can hide something else. That was the trouble with
deception. Some people didn’t know where to stop. He suspiciously rolled his
eyes toward Trudy, who was grinning like a cat who’d swallowed a canary. The
entire thing, feathers and all. “It’s a beautiful day,” she offered. “Isabel
and I were thinking it would be nice if you boys took a walk.”

“A walk?” Kip’s tone rose in dismay. To add insult to
injury, now he had to exercise? Didn’t he get enough of that at work, walking
around, supervising everything? Standing on his feet nine to ten hours a day?

“Go on,” Trudy said, giving him a little push down the path.
He begrudgingly sidled up next to Robert but kept his distance. Arm’s length.
So he wouldn’t be tempted to reach up and throttle the boy the way he’d nearly
done before.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Robert told the ladies with an
easy grin.

Why did Kip have the feeling that everyone else around here
knew something he didn’t?

Robert started right in on it before they had even rounded
the corner. “Thanks for agreeing to talk with me today, sir.”

“I’m not sure I was given much of a choice.” He glanced back
at the women, who watched them expectantly. Trudy motioned him forward with her
hand, urging him along.

“The truth is, I wanted to talk to you about Isabel.”

“Listen, Robert, if this is about that whole Susan thing, I
know all about it. Isabel and Trudy filled me in.”

“I know it might seem hard to understand.”

“It’s not really for me to understand or not, is it?” He
shot Robert a sideways glance. “That’s up to Isabel.”

“Yes, sir. I agree, sir. And she does too. It was a shock to
her at first as well. But once I explained it—”

Kip blew a hard breath and stopped walking. “Robert,” he
said, meeting the young man’s eyes. “What’s this really about?”

Robert stunned him by throwing himself down on one knee. “Sir,
I want to marry your daughter!”

Kip nervously scanned the block, then hissed under his breath.
Of all things, Mrs. Meryl was out watering her petunias, and she was staring at
them, mouth agape. “What are you doing?”

Robert latched on to his arm. “Asking for Isabel’s hand.”

Kip stared down at the boy in horror and shook off his hold.
“Her
what
? Get up!” he said in a
hoarse whisper. “The neighbors are staring.” He grabbed Robert under his arm
and yanked him to his feet. Robert shielded his face like he feared Kip was
going to slug him.

“Now what are you doing?” Kip spouted in low tones.

“Self-defense?”

“And
you
have the
balls to ask to marry my daughter?” Kip huffed and stormed forward.

“I didn’t have to do it,” Robert called after him.

Kip slowly turned on his heels. “What did you say?”

Robert unabashedly met his eyes. “I said I didn’t have to do
it. Go to the trouble of asking for her hand. I want your blessing, sir. Yours
and Mrs. Miller’s both. But even if I don’t get it, I’m planning to ask her.”

“Harrumph.”

“You just told me yourself, Isabel makes up her own mind.”

Kip hung his head, wondering where he’d gone wrong. Maybe
this had to do with the last time he went to confession. It had been so long
ago, he couldn’t even recall when that was. This was divine retribution, and he
knew it. What else could it be?

“Mr. Miller.”

Kip slowly looked up.

“I might not have done everything right in your eyes, but I
can assure you of one thing: I desperately love your daughter. I am madly and
unconditionally, one hundred percent, without a shadow of a doubt in love with
her, and I will do everything in my power to make her happy.” After a pause, he
continued. “I also know how much Isabel loves you. And part of my making her
happy involves finding a way for you and me to get along. I really want that,
Mr. Miller. For all of us to be a family. Because I know that’s what Isabel
would want.”

Kip swallowed hard, thinking of the speech he’d given to
Trudy’s father. A speech not so different from this one, delivered to a man who
couldn’t stand the sight of him and abhorred the thought of someone as lowly as
a construction foreman marrying his only daughter. It had taken Brad years to
accept him. Even after Kip had started his own business and bought Trudy the
big house, Brad wouldn’t stop by to visit. It was only after Isabel was born
that Brad had finally started to soften. Isabel, Kip saw, could melt the heart
of any man. Including this one standing before him here.

“You really do love her, don’t you, boy?”

“With my whole heart.”

Kip perused him a beat, his own heart telling him the truth.
His Isabel loved Robert too. “Then do your best not to muck it up.”

“Sir?” Robert asked in surprise.

“The proposal.”

A few days later, Robert called to ask Isabel on a special
date. What was special about it was that he wouldn’t tell her where they were
going. He’d also been less than forthright about the discussion he’d had with
her father. Trudy hadn’t been able to get a word out of Kip either. In a
strange way, it was as if the two men had formed a pact. Isabel and her mom
hadn’t even realized men could be that way.
So
sneaky.
Something was up for sure. But, whatever it was, it couldn’t spell
gloom and doom. Her dad seemed far too chipper as of late. And why on earth was
he sorting his CDs in a way to single out dancing music?