Love and Chaos (28 page)

“Wow,”
Emma breathed at last. “You look fantastic.”

“I
was about to say the same to you,” Mason said quietly. “You should wear red
more often.”

She
smiled then, moving her eyes away and breaking the spell that he seemed to have
momentarily cast on her. “Thank you. I didn’t want to wear a dress tonight. I
hope your mother won’t mind.”

“I
doubt she’ll mind in the least,” Mason shrugged, just as the doorbell chimed.

“I’ll
get the door,” Emma offered, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel and heading
for the foyer, Chaos at her heels.

Dorothy
was well-dressed as usual, and she accepted Emma’s compliments on her color
choices graciously.

“I
like red on you. Is that Vera Wang?”

“Close.
J.Jill.”

Dorothy
rolled her eyes. “Well, I’d rather have a daughter-in-law who makes
off-the-rack clothes look designer, than one who makes designer clothes look
off-the-rack.”

Emma
laughed and leaned forward to kiss the older woman on the cheek. “I’ll take
that as a compliment. Come on in, Dorothy. Can I take your coat?”

“Where
is Mason’s maid?”

“She
doesn’t work nights,” Emma replied, taking the coat from her mother-in-law and
hanging it carefully in the closet. As she turned, she saw Dorothy eyeing
Chaos, who was sticking close to Emma’s side.

“What
is that?” she asked imperiously.

“It’s
a dog,” Emma responded cautiously.

“Well,
I can see that. What is it doing in the house?”

Not
sure how to answer, Emma responded, “Keeping the cat company?”

The
look on Dorothy's face was priceless. “Cat?” she asked.

Grinning,
Emma took Dorothy’s arm to lead her into the living room. “Max. He’s around
here somewhere. Just look before you sit down.”

As
they moved from the foyer to the living room, Dorothy commented, “The house
looks different.”

“Really?
I’ve just added some color here and there,” Emma said. “Mason didn’t even
notice.”

“I
noticed,” came a deep voice behind her. “But I liked it, so I didn’t complain.
If you’d loaded up my house with crocheted doilies, I might have had something
to say about it.”

Emma
grinned. “Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“Mother,
can I offer you some wine?”

“Sounds
delightful,” Dorothy said, still looking around her with pleasure.

Mason
turned to Emma. “I’ll go down to the cellar and choose a bottle. What are we
having for dinner?”

Emma
shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said airily.

It
was fun watching Mason go from zero to sixty in seconds. “What?” he said,
gritting his teeth to prevent himself from saying something he shouldn’t.

She
laughed and patted him on the arm. “Oh relax. I’m kidding. We’re having roast
pork, and it’s in the oven. So we have plenty of time to chat. Come on out to
the sunroom, Dorothy. It’s lovely out there right now, and Mason started a fire
in the chimnea.”

“Chimnea?”

“It’s
like a little fireplace for the outdoors. I’ve got some appetizers out there.”

The
doorbell rang again, just as Emma had gotten Dorothy seated in a comfortable
chair next to the fire.

“That
must be Amanda,” Emma said, heading for the door. Sure enough, Amanda was
standing on the stoop, looking hesitant. Standing beside her, one hand in his
pocket and the other arm around Amanda’s waist, was a nice looking young man.

Amanda
took care of the introductions right off the bat. “Emma, I’d like you to meet
Greg. Greg, this is Emma, my sister-in-law.”

“It’s
really nice to meet you Greg,” Emma said, smiling her welcome. “Come on in you
two. Your mom is here, Amanda. I just sent her out back. Mason is in the
basement, rustling up a bottle of fine wine. Can I take your coats?”

Greg
helped Amanda out of her coat, and shrugged out of his own, handing both to
Emma. She hung them in the closet, then turned back around. Greg was holding
Max.

“Nice
looking little fellow,” he said, holding him up and looking at him closely.
“Just a few months old?”

“We
think maybe about four?” Emma responded.

“SPCA
adoption?”

“Neighbor-found-him-under-a-bush
adoption. One look in those eyes and we were both lost. You like animals?”

“Greg
is a vet,” Amanda said quietly.

Emma
burst out laughing.

“What’s
so funny?” Amanda asked, not sure whether to be amused or hurt.

“The
way your mom turned up her nose when she found out about Max and Chaos. This is
going to be entertaining. Don’t worry, Greg,” she turned to hastily reassure
her guest. “I am 100% on your side. Any lover of animals is a friend of mine.”

“Chaos?”
he asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“Our
dog. He’s probably out on the patio, watching hopefully for Amanda’s mother to
drop crumbs. But seriously, I’m so pleased that you’re a vet. The boy next door
desperately wants to be a vet. Can I have you both over again sometime and ask
Malcolm to join us? I think he’d probably spend the entire evening
interrogating you...”

“Oh,
so no different from tonight,” Greg said dryly, setting the kitten down on the
floor.

Emma
grinned. “Well, maybe a little different. But I’m really glad you both came.”

Turning
to Amanda, Emma asked, “Do you want to go face your mom, or do you want to hide
out in here with me for a bit?”

“Can
Greg hide for five minutes while I go out and break the news to mother that I
brought a date?”

“Oh,
I already told her you were bringing someone!” Emma said with chagrin, clasping
her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, should I not have said anything?”

But
Amanda looked relieved. “No. That’s perfect. Thanks, Emma. Was she appalled?”

“No,
I don’t think so. Curious, maybe.”

“Uh
oh.”

“Amanda,”
Emma said seriously, grabbing one of her hands in hers. “Mason and I have got
your back. And I’m sure that Greg does too.”

She
smiled then. A real smile. “Thanks. Really. Thanks.”

Two
hours later, Dorothy was leaning back in her chair, daintily wiping her lips
with a napkin and sighing with delight.

“Dinner
was delicious, Emma. Can I ask you to give that recipe to my caterers?”

“Sure.
I’d be happy to. I’m really glad you enjoyed it, Dorothy. I hope you saved room
for dessert?”

“Oh
my.”

“Blueberry
pie,” Mason said from across the table. “Her specialty, and my favorite.”

“How
are you not gaining hundreds of pounds?” Amanda asked her brother.

“I’ve
doubled my workout,” he said, laughing.

Emma
was watching as her mother in law slipped Chaos a morsel of food that was left
on her plate. When Dorothy looked up to find Emma watching, she looked guilty,
but Emma just smiled and winked.

Straightening
up, Dorothy cast a mischievous look at Emma and said, “I swear. I don’t know
what the world is coming to. All these animals in the house.”

“Yeah,”
Mason drawled. “So much for keeping Chaos crated.”

“He’s
behaving himself,” Emma defended him.

“He’s
one of the best-behaved dogs I’ve seen in a while,” Greg stated firmly.
“Especially for being so food-driven.”

Emma
laughed.

“Where’s
the cat?” Amanda asked.

“Ask
Emma,” Mason rolled his eyes. Emma guiltily picked the kitten up from her lap,
where it had been sitting since dinner began.

“How
did you know he was there?” she asked with a grin.

“Because
you kept your left hand below the table the entire night. I assumed it was
because the cat was in your lap.”

“Guilty,”
she murmured, setting Max on the floor and standing up to clear the plates.
Amanda got up to help her, and they made quick work of loading the dishwasher.

“Is
your mother appalled that we don’t have help to do this?” Emma whispered to
Amanda.

“No.
I think she’s comfortable at a dinner party for the first time in a long time.”

Several
glasses of cognac later, Dorothy announced that she was calling her driver and
heading home. She was half-snockered, she stated primly, and wished to go
before she got fully snockered and made a fool of herself in front of her
children. When Greg asked if he and Amanda could see her home, she looked up at
him with approval and stated, “That would be delightful.”

Amanda
rolled her eyes, but good-naturedly helped her mother into her coat, and they
all headed out the door, leaving Emma behind holding the cat, and Mason
gripping Chaos’ collar so he didn't follow Greg out into the night. Greg was
apparently Chaos’ new best friend.

“I’d
say that was a successful evening,” Mason drawled. He let Chaos out into the
back yard and turned to face Emma, who was cleaning up their dessert plates.
“I'm not sure I've ever seen my mother have seconds.”

“Really?
Wow. She ate almost as much as I did.”

“It
was delicious, Em. You outdid yourself tonight. If you ever want to have
caterers for something like this, all you need to do is ask, but I’d be happy
eating nothing but your cooking from here on out.”

Emma
beamed. She loved it when people ate her food, and ate it with gusto. When she
spent hours in the kitchen, she wanted people to enjoy what she produced.

“Yay.
Lots of leftovers too, which is wonderful. So what did you think of Greg?” she
asked, changing the subject as she loaded the dishwasher with the last of their
plates.

“I
liked him. You?”

“Very
much. He seems really protective of your sister too, and they seem happy
together.”

“They
do. But so do we.”

Emma
almost asked what he meant by that, but really, she knew. They did seem happy
together, from the outside. It was only once they were here, alone together,
that the tension resurfaced.

She
sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. We do. Even your mom is starting to think that we
might have married for a reason other than money.” She stood, looking straight at
him. “If nothing else, that’s something good that came out of all of this. Your
mom sees you for who you are, and likes you.”

“More
than that, Emma. Your parents see you for who you are too. And Malcolm has a
champion.”

“Two.
You’re on his side too. I can tell.”

“Max
has a home. Chaos has more people to feed him.”

Emma
smiled.

“I
have a more diversified diet than take-out.”

She
laughed. “And I’m learning more about wine every day. I’m going to have one
hell of a wine cellar one day.”

“It’s
all to the good, then.”

“Yes,”
Emma responded. “All to the good.”

She
closed the door to the dishwasher and pushed the button to start it, then
turned, running straight into Mason who had moved to stand behind her.

“Oooph,”
she grunted as she ran into him. Instead of moving back, he reached out a hand
to steady her.

“Thanks
for tonight, Emma,” he said softly, reaching up to gently touch her cheek,
pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear.

Flustered,
Emma stammered, “Oh. Well. I...”

Lowering
his lips until they were a hair’s breadth away from Emma’s, he whispered
softly, “Don’t worry, Em. I remember my promise. I'll keep it.”

She
closed her eyes and breathed, wanting so badly to move that short distance and
kiss him. For real. But she knew what that could lead to. “Thank you, Mason,”
she said softly.

He
pulled away slightly, looking down into her eyes with tenderness. “But Emma...”

“Yes?”

“The
promise was conditional.”

Her
heart skipped a beat. “I know.”

He
bent down and kissed her cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

Fourteen

“Your
uncle left a codicil to his will.”

Three
months later, Mason was sitting in the office of his deceased uncle’s lawyer,
having been summoned there earlier that day. He was leaving later that week for
another business trip, so decided that there was no time like the present. He
had his secretary cancel his late-afternoon appointments, and he headed to the
other side of town to find out what the older gentleman wanted. Now, with this
news, Mason said nothing, waiting for the lawyer to continue.