A Misty Harbor Wedding (30 page)

Only one page had been moved. The page with her official company signature: Sierra Randall-Morley.

Matt had taken a look at the letterhead and her signature and added two plus two and came up with four. The only problem was, she was now on six, not four.

She slowly sank into the chair and looked at the desk. She had been so careful not to leave any paperwork out in the open. She hadn't wanted Matt to find out this way.

Millicent had warned her.

Matt hadn't even given her an opportunity to explain. He had just walked out of the house and her life without saying a word. She couldn't blame him. The evidence had been incriminating.

Tears filled her eyes as she thought about her next step. She had two choices. One, she could pack up Austin and fly back to San Diego an emotional wreck and blow this one chance for true happiness. Let someone else from the company come out to Maine and complete her assignment.

She could prove to her father that he had been right all along, that emotions and business could never mix. That when the tough choices had to be made, the woman would make them from the heart, not with her head. And then she would drive herself sick wondering if she had made the right choice. She would become her mother all over again.

She wasn't her mother. She was stronger than that.

Or, number two, she could stay in Misty Harbor and fight for what she wanted. She wanted her father's respect and an acknowledgment that she was just as good as the other executives of the corporation. The other, all male, executives.

She wanted her father to see once and for all she wasn't her mother. She could be a woman, a mother, and a businessperson without falling apart.

She wanted a home for Austin. A real home, with good friends for them both that had nothing to do with the Randall Corporation or how big her bank account was or what her last name happened to be.

But most important, she wanted Matt. She wanted the man she had fallen in love with.

Wednesday morning was damp and overcast, but that didn't stop the tourists from lining up to buy whale-watching tickets. Juliet knew Steve had to get going, but she didn't want to stop kissing him. “I'll call you tonight, okay?”

“Please drive safely.” Steve kissed her again for good measure. “You have my number, right?”

“Your home number, your cell phone number, and your e-mail address.” Juliet hugged Steve tighter. They were in Gordon's apartment, while her mother and Gordon were downstairs giving them some privacy. “I'll see you at the beginning of October.” October was a whole month away.

“If I can last that long without kissing you.” Steve kissed her again. “It might be the end of September.”

She laughed. It beat crying. “Okay, get going. I'll talk to you tonight.” For the past three days it had been nearly impossible to get a moment alone with Steve.

Her mother had ruined her love life by arriving in Misty Harbor. Gordon at least gave her and Steve some space and time. Her mother was clinging tighter to her than Saran Wrap. At first she thought it was because her mother really had missed her. Then she realized the real reason. Victoria Carlyle was using her as a shield against Gordon.

Gordon was doing the same thing. Neither one wanted to be alone with the other. Juliet didn't think it had to do with anger, resentment, or being mad at each other. She thought her parents still had feelings for each other. Only a blind man wouldn't be able to see the looks they gave each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

It was cute. It was also embarrassing having your parents make cow eyes at each other. They should get a room.

Juliet frowned. Her mother had been sharing Gordon's guest room with her for the past several days. Her mother wasn't packed, nor did she show any signs of leaving today, which meant her mother and Gordon were going to be alone in the shop, and in the apartment.

She really didn't want to think about that one too closely.

“Come on, Steve, you're going to be late for the boat.” She tugged him toward the stairs. “Your uncle doesn't strike me as the most reasonable man.”

“Lawrence is a marshmallow behind that wall of steel.” Steve gave her another quick kiss before starting down the stairs. “You should meet his wife.”

Five minutes later Gordon placed Juliet's suitcase in the trunk of her car. “Are you sure you have everything?”

“If I don't, I'll get it at Thanksgiving.”

“So you're definitely coming then?” Gordon seemed thrilled by the prospect.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world.” Juliet kissed his cheek. “You take care of the shop. I'll be inspecting for dust when I get back.”

Gordon chuckled. “I don't know who you'll be coming to see, Steve or me.”

“Both.” She wasn't going to get into that argument.

“Hmmm . . .” Gordon's brow raised behind his sunglasses, but there was a smile playing on his lips.

Juliet glanced at her mother, who was nervously pacing in front of the shop. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Gordon. “I'm going to be very disappointed in you if you upset my mother.”

Gordon frowned. “I asked her to stay an extra day or so, so we can talk. She said yes.”

“As long as it's just
talking
,” she teased.

Gordon snorted.

“Do I need to buy a shotgun?” Juliet repeated Gordon's words back to him.

“You're twenty-seven years too late on that one.” Gordon was serious.

Juliet laughed. She had a somewhat better understanding of the situation. There was enough blame and heartache to go around.

“What's so funny?” Victoria walked over to them.

“Nothing, Mom. I was just lecturing Gordon on the virtues of a dust-free shop. It increases the profits, and he just might be able to afford that return trip to Venice he's been talking about.”

“Venice?” Her mother seemed intrigued.

She kissed her mother's cheek and thought about how much her mother would love to travel overseas again. Ken Carlyle had been a “see America first” kind of guy. She doubted her mother had used her passport once in their entire marriage. “I'm sure Gordon will tell you all about it. Gordon loves to travel. It's what he does in the off-season.”

She walked around to the driver's side of her car and got in. “I'll call your cell phone, Mom, as soon as I'm home.”

“Drive carefully.”

“Will do, and both of you behave. Try not to get into any more trouble.” She put the car in gear and drove down the street with a huge smile on her face. Neither parent appreciated her last comment.

Victoria watched as her daughter's car turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Without looking at Gordon she walked back into the shop. Now the hard part was about to begin, the part she had been dreading for days.

How did she apologize for not telling Gordon she had been pregnant with his child twenty-seven years ago? Then to hide the fact he had a daughter for fifteen years, and then to send him a picture of her along with a letter begging him not to contact her, that some other man was raising her.

She was a horrible person. Seeing it from his perspective, sending him that picture and letter had to be the cruelest thing she had ever done. Gordon was never going to forgive her, and she didn't blame him.

Tears swam in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe it would have been best if she had left with Juliet.

Gordon entered the shop and closed the door behind him. The
OPEN
sign was hanging in the window, but it was just too cool to keep the doors open.

She glanced over her shoulder at Gordon. Twenty-seven years, one wonderful marriage, and four children later and she still had feelings for him. Watching the interaction between Juliet and her father these past few days had been heartbreaking. They had practically finished each other's sentences. They had not only been on the same page, but also had been in the same paragraph.

As the old saying went, they were two peas in a pod. They should have been given the opportunity to know and love each other these past twenty-six years. “Gordon, I'm so sorry.” Tears overflowed her eyes.

“Vicki, I need to say something before you continue any further.” Gordon took a step closer but didn't touch her. He never touched her.

“First, there's nothing to apologize for. I was the one to break off our affair. I told you it was over. I was the one to tell you that I did not love you anymore.” Gordon looked at her with love in his eyes. “I lied, Vicki.”

“Why?” She closed her eyes and thought back to that night. “Why would you have said such a thing?”

“The board of trustees at the university found out about our affair. They suggested quite strongly that I end it immediately. To my lifelong shame, I did. I lied and hurt the woman I loved to save my precious job. When you didn't return to the campus in the fall, I made some discreet inquiries and learned that you had gotten married over the summer. I tendered my resignation and left the university halfway through that year.”

“Oh, Gordon,” she cried. “You loved teaching.”

“‘For of all sad words of tongue or pen. The saddest are these: “It might have been!” '”

She was crying in earnest now. He had loved her back then. “I don't know who said that.” She didn't even think she could remember all the names of her children.

“John Greenleaf Whittier.” Gordon took another step closer. “I want to thank you and Ken Carlyle for doing such a wonderful job raising my daughter, Vicki. Juliet is perfect, and for that I have you to thank.”

She gave a very unladylike sniff. “You forgive me?” How could he when the guilt was smothering her?

“There's absolutely nothing to forgive you for.” Gordon opened his arms and she flew into them.

Gordon's arms tightened around her like he was never going to let her go.

After a moment he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Would you like to hear about Venice?”

With those words she knew she had been granted a new beginning. A different beginning. A better beginning. “I would love to.”

 

 

Matt couldn't believe Millicent Wyndham had talked him into coming. Okay, she hadn't talked, she'd threatened. Millicent had asked him nicely to attend a meeting Sierra was holding with the board members of the Randall Corporation concerning a possible hotel on the coast of Maine. He had politely refused. He did not want to attend any business meeting concerning the lighthouse, and he sure as hell didn't want to face Sierra and her betrayal.

Millicent hadn't taken no for an answer and had threatened to use the one person guaranteed to get his butt there: his mother. The wrath of Peggy Porter thinking one of her sons had been impolite to Millicent would be unimaginable. He would rather swim with a great white shark than suffer the ire of his mother. At least with a seventeen-foot killer shark he stood a chance.

Matt parked his truck and slammed the door for good measure. Not only had Millicent insisted he be there, but she'd had the gall to hold the meeting at her house as well. He stomped his way up to the front door and rang the bell. It was two o'clock on a Friday afternoon and he'd had to leave a job in Ellsworth to make this meeting. There was no way he was getting into a monkey suit for it.

For more than a week he had been avoiding everyone and everything. He had even taken three days off and gone hiking alone up in the woods. The peace and solitude hadn't improved his mood. At the end of the three days he couldn't even stand himself.

“Hello, Matt. Glad you could make it.” Millicent answered the door and welcomed him into her home. “Please come in.”

“Thank you.” He knew he was five minutes late. He would like to think he had done it on purpose, but he hadn't. Time had gotten away from him and there was a lot of traffic pouring into the area for the holiday weekend.

“We're meeting in the dining room.” Millicent led the way.

Millicent had the grandest house in Misty Harbor. It screamed history, antiques, and money. Lots of money. Last year he had done a small renovation job in one of the bedrooms upstairs after a nasty storm had caused a leak in her roof. The formal rooms downstairs weren't for show. Every square inch of the large house had the same attention to detail.

Matt heard the murmur of voices before he entered the room. Millicent had pulled out all the stops for the meeting. One of the hand-carved mahogany servers was loaded with silver plates with fancy little cookies and cakes. She had even pulled out the antique sterling coffeepot and her great grandmom's china from France. He was impressed.

At the long table that could easily seat twelve, if not more, sat four men and Sierra. Austin was down at the other end all by himself coloring in a book. Austin glanced up, smiled, and waved.

He waved back. He had missed the little tyke.

“Would you care for something to eat or a cup of coffee before we begin?” Millicent was always a proper hostess.

“No, thank you.” Matt walked to where Austin was sitting and took the seat next to him.

Without missing a beat, Millicent picked up her cup and sat on Austin's other side. “I believe we're ready, Sierra.”

Sierra shuffled some papers. She was sitting at the head of the table with two big easels behind her. She hadn't once looked at him.

Matt leaned back in the chair and studied her. She was gorgeous, as always, but he could tell she had taken extra care with her appearance. She was wearing makeup and her hair was piled on top of her head in a neat, orderly twist that looked totally professional. Even her earrings were tiny and so un-Sierra-like. Today she was wearing a navy business suit with a white silk blouse. He didn't like this Sierra at all.

“First, I believe introductions are in order.” Sierra nodded to a neatly dressed man in his sixties. “This is my father and the president of the Randall Corporation, Lucas Randall. The man next to him is our CEO, Jake Morley. Sitting across from them are Bob Turner and Mike Resnick.” Each man nodded as his name was mentioned.

Sierra looked at Millicent. “Millicent Wyndham has graciously offered the use of her home for this meeting. She not only owns the lighthouse and the twenty acres it is sitting on, but she's Misty Harbor's town-appointed matriarch. Then there's Austin, whom you all know, and Matthew Porter. Millicent requested Matt attend this meeting for a couple reasons. He's also interested in buying the lighthouse property, and since he is a lifelong resident of the town, Millicent feels he has a vested interest in this meeting. I agree.”

Matt sat there and frowned. Sierra hadn't looked at him. Oh, she made a good show of looking in his direction, but her gaze had been over his head and at the curtains behind him.

He leaned over and helped Austin select the right color of green for the frog.

“The Randall Corporation has a long tradition of building hotels that cater to our clientele's needs and wishes. They demand the best, and we supply them with it. It's my recommendation that the Randall Corporation build their next hotel on the coast of Maine. It's beautiful and majestic,with scenery that is unparalleled. We couldn't ask for a better location.

“That being said, the property Ms. Wyndham is considering selling, which includes twenty acres and a very charming, quaint, and historical lighthouse that would add that ‘special touch' the Randall Corporation is known for, is not right for the company.”

The green crayon snapped in half between Matt's fingers. Matt slowly raised his head and looked at Sierra. She had her back to the room as she flipped back the top sheet on the first easel.