Born to Be Wild (38 page)

Max laughed. “What about your wedding planning business? Is that history?”

“Definitely not. Oh, I may have thought I was a failure at that for a day or two, but the wedding planning business is definitely back on. I have a lot of friends who are going to help out here, so I’ll have plenty of time for my business. It may even surprise you that Bunny Endicott’s going to volunteer.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. I’m catering an intimate dinner for her.”

“I heard a rumor that Bunny’s got a new man in her life,” Lauren said. “Do you know who he is?”

Max’s glare shot toward the back room, to a laugh that unmistakably belonged to Bear. “I don’t know, and I’m not too sure I want to find out.”

“Well, I’ll check into it. Bunny’s usually pretty forthcoming about her affairs, and if she’s got any thoughts at all about another wedding, I need to be the first to know. Born To Be Wild Weddings won’t survive without paying customers.”

Max’s brows knit together. “Born To Be Wild
Weddings
?”

“The advertising will say it’s for brides who want something not quite traditional.”

“And you want to call it Born To Be Wild?”

“Only if you’ll be my business partner.”

She loved the way his lips tilted into a wry grin. “What’s in it for me?”

“I was hoping you’d ask that question, because I really do think this is the best part of the entire idea.”

“Hey, Lauren!” There was no mistaking Ryan’s shout. “There’s a call for you.”

She turned to
see Ryan holding her cell phone, which she’d loaned him earlier. “Could you ask if I could call back later? Max and I are terribly busy at the moment.”

“I don’t think so,” came Ryan’s voice from out of the darkness. “It’s your butler. He sounds worried, something about the police being at your house to arrest some jewelry thief, and your mother’s frantic. He said you really need to get there quick.”

“Oh, dear!”

oOo

Lauren’s entire body screamed with anxiety as Max whipped the motorcycle in and out of traffic. She hugged him close, never more thankful to have him near.

The police car was just pulling onto the street when Max zoomed into the circular drive, and Lauren did a double-take at the person she saw through the back window. She wasted no time
getting off the bike and rushing through the house with Max not far behind. She found her mother sitting quietly on a sofa in the library, her hands folded in her lap.

“Are you all right, Mother?” Lauren asked, sitting at her side.

“Charles is bringing me some tea. I’m sure I’ll be better after that.”

Max leaned against the library door, not coming fully into the room. He smiled at Lauren, and she knew he’d be there for her if she needed him. Always.

“I saw the police leaving,” Lauren said. “Was that really Gerald I saw in the back?”

Celeste nodded, her eyes glazed, as if in shock. “He’s been stealing jewelry for years.”

“That’s impossible! I’ve never cared for him all that much, but a jewel thief?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Charles walked into the room, setting down the silver tea service. “Shall I pour for you?” he asked, directing his words to Lauren.

“I’ll take care of it,” Lauren said. “Thank you.”

“Is there anything else I can do?”

“The tea will be enough, Charles,” Celeste added, smiling at the man she’d rarely noticed over the years. “You’ve always remembered exactly how I like it. I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for that.”

Lauren couldn’t miss the slight sparkle in Charles’s eyes. “I’m happy to serve you, any time you’d like.”

Charles was gone in a moment, probably as perplexed by Celeste’s sudden—but very lovely—change as Lauren was.

She watched her mother as she poured the tea. Celeste’s hands trembled and her eyes were rimmed with red. This was not the always-sure-of-herself mother Lauren knew. She was different, vulnerable, and Lauren’s heart warmed to her more than ever before.

“What happened?” Lauren asked, stirring in the little bit of cream her mother indulged in, and handing her the cup.

Celeste blew lightly on the tea and took a sip. “Gerald and I spent the past few days sailing, talking about you, how he wanted to marry again. It was all so idyllic and then we came back here... not more than an hour ago.” Celeste drew in a deep breath. “I was all prepared to talk you into going with us to his island in Fiji when the police came. It was awful, absolutely dreadful.”

“Why did they come
here,
Mother? Why not his yacht?”

“I don’t know. I suppose I should have asked, but it all happened so quickly. They had a warrant to search Gerald’s car and luggage and they found things that completely surprised me. Bunny’s necklace. That ruby and diamond necklace of yours that I love so much. I don’t know when he took it. Probably the night he was here for dinner. I was so stunned, so amazed that he’d take jewelry from his friends.”

“What made the police suspect him?”

“His ex-wife, Jessica, turned him in. You know how he always loved to give her jewelry. Apparently he made a mistake and gave her a piece that belonged to an acquaintance of hers. They searched his home in Martha’s Vineya
rd and found artwork and jewelry. It was staggering.” She laughed nervously. “I should have known.”

“He fooled everyone, Mother.”

Celeste reached out and clasped Lauren’s
hands. “I wanted you to marry him. I’m so sorry, darling.”

“You just wanted me to be happy, that’s all.”

“No, you were right when we had that argument a few weeks ago. I’ve meddled too much in your life. First Chip, then Leland and Peter. I made wrong choices for you, and criticized you when you couldn’t make the relationships work.”

“I could have said no. Please, Mother, don’t worry about it.”

Celeste looked across the room, toward Max. “I owe you an apology, too.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Max said.

“But I do. I’ve been very judgmental, and I’m sorry.”

There was a moment of silence between them, Max studying Celeste, Celeste analyzing him, and finally a small smile touched Max’s lips. “It’s not a problem.”

“Thank you.”

Max walked toward Lauren and cupped her cheek in his warm, gentle palm. “I’ll be outside on the patio if you need me.”

Drawing his hand to her lips, she kissed it. “I’ll be outside soon.”

“Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

She watched him leave, knowing over the years she’d see him walking away from her many times, knowing, too, that he’d never be far away, that they’d always be there for each other.

“Do you really love him?” Celeste asked.

Lauren turned back to her mother, her heart bursting with all that she felt for Max. “He brings out the best in me.”

A slow smile touched Celeste’s face. “Then I’m happy for you.”

“Do you mean that?”

“I had a very rude awakening this afternoon when Gerald was arrested. I thought people like you and me were above all that.” She shook her head. “Now I realize we’re no different from anyone else.”

“There will always be differences,” Lauren added, “but it’s amazing how much we can learn from each other. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned being with Max.”

Celeste laughed. “I can well imagine what Max has taught you. Probably things I would never approve of, but that’s between the two of you.”

Celeste rose from the sofa, smoothing her hands over her apricot linen skirt. “I’ve got a flight in a few hours, so I’d better go pack.”

“Where are you going now?” Lauren asked. “Aspen? Back to Rio?”

“I’m going home. I have a husband I love very much, a husband I never should have run away from.” She laughed lightly. “I have an awful lot of apologizing to do.”

“I have the feeling Andrew will forgive everything the moment you walk through the door.”

“I certainly hope so.” Celeste smiled. “I bought a lovely Carolina Herrera dress right before going sailing. I can’t wait for Andrew to see it. He has such wonderful taste in clothing, and... good
ness, I shouldn’t be rambling so. You’ve got a young man waiting outside for you, and I’ve got a distinguished gentleman waiting at home for me. I think I’ll call him. Let him know I’m on my way.”

Celeste wrapped her arms around Lauren and hugged her closely. It lasted only a moment, but it was a memory Lauren would keep for a lifetime.

“Run along, darling,” Celeste said, as she breezed out of the library. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

Lauren watched her mother until she disappeared, listened until she no longer heard Celeste’s heels on the marble stairway, and then she walked toward the open French doors, toward the man she loved.

He leaned against the balustrade, his wild black hair blowing about, as he gazed toward the ocean. She stood at his side, loving the feel of his hand as it slipped around her waist, pulling her close, the place she always wanted to be.

“I’ve been thinking,” Max said.

“About what?”

“This partnership you want me to get involved in.”

“You mean Born To Be Wild Weddings?”

“Yeah. I’m not too sure a business partnership is going to work.”

He was teasing, of course. She could hear it in his tone of voice, could feel it in the way his fingers gently massaged her side, the way he kept inching her body closer and closer to his.

“It
will
work, Max. I’ve got the entire thing
planned out. We’ll hold the weddings here because, really, this pink marble monstrosity isn’t fit for much of anything but parties, engagement balls, or a gala here and there.”

He tilted his head to look at her, and the twinkle in his eyes made her weak. “I take it you’re moving out?”

“That’s another plan I’ve been working on this past week. Do you remember that piece of beach property I showed you, the one I bought with money from my very first investment?”

“I remember.”

“Well, I was thinking that would be the perfect place for a home—a real home. Of course, I don’t want to live there on my own.”

“Do you have someone in mind to live there with you?”

“Charles, naturally, because I couldn’t possibly go anywhere without him. And Mrs. Fisk, because she knows all my culinary likes and dislikes.”

“Anyone else?”

She wove her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, loving the feel, wanting to hold him and be held by him forever. “I might let you live there, too, and Jamie and Ryan, of course.”

“You’ll already have one chef.”

Smiling, she kissed his lips. “But no one can cook quite like you.”

“Is that so?” he asked, the twitch of his mustache tickling her mouth.

“Oh, most definitely. In fact, I’ve got this fan
tasy of you cooking in bed, feeding me all sorts of delectable treats.”

“Is there something you particularly enjoy?”

“Mmmm,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his scrumptious lips. “Anything Wilde will do.”

Lauren Remington’s wedding to Max Wilde would not go down in Palm Beach history as a highlight of the season. It would, however, be remembered as the only wedding where the groom wore a black leather tux while the bride wore a shimmering silver Oscar de la Renta original, where champagne flowed at the same rate as beer from kegs, and where pigs-in-a-blanket were arranged on silver platters right next to Caribbean brochettes.

The groom and his friends arrived in a thundering motorcade of choppers that contrasted sharply with the bride’s entourage, which came in a dignified procession of Bentleys, Mercedes, and Rolls. And then, of course, there was the highly unconventional entertainment.

Lauren clasped a hand against her chest. “I know Bear’s been doing odd things since Bunny dumped him. I know he meant well hiring a band of ex-cons to play at our reception and I’ve accepted the fact that most of them feel they got a bad rap, but
please
tell me he didn’t hire a stripper to round out the evening.”