Mythe: A Fairy Tale (30 page)

“It will never be functional again, but I thought you might like to keep it. That’s not really your present though. Now, open this one.” Richard set the other small box on Manda’s lap and tried to take the reassembled teapot from her, but she clutched it gingerly to her chest and shook her head, unable to speak. With her one free hand and a great deal of Richard’s help she lifted the lid from the other box to reveal an object wrapped identically to the first one.

This was the new teapot then, she guessed. Hindered by trying to work one handed, Manda let Richard finish unwrapping the second bundle. It would never replace the teapot she held, but she would love the new one if for no other reason than because Richard had given it to her. When he unveiled his gift, however, Manda gasped and silently repented for underestimating him. He held the new teapot out to her and the hand she took it with was trembling, and tears blurred her vision. The new teapot was an exact replica of her old one. Blinking to clear her
eyes, Manda held them up side-by-side for comparison. Had the one not been broken, she wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. The copy was exact right down to the brush strokes on the flowers.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, finally managing to compose herself enough to speak.

“I had it made,” Richard answered simply. “I took the pieces of your broken one to a restorer. That’s all. It’s amazing what you can find if you look.” He shrugged, downplaying the time, effort, and money she knew it must have taken.

What humbled Manda and made her heart ache with love for the man beside her wasn’t the money he must have spent—though she knew it must have cost a fortune—it was the care and effort he had put into the gift.

“You collected every little, tiny piece,” she said softly. “It must have taken hours. Just so you could have a new one made. Every piece.” Manda was stunned. That had been before they were even dating, back when she was sure he considered her merely a friend...and well before she had explained the significance of the teapot. Even then, though, he had known her well enough to understand that it had been something important to her. Even then she had mattered enough to him that he had painstakingly collected each and every tiny shard and sliver that had littered the carpet in her office.

“Does that mean you like your gift?” Richard asked her, totally undermining her frail control. Her tears came silently then, but with a vengeance that refused to be banished.

Taking the two teapots from her, Richard wrapped them back up and placed them back in their boxes for safekeeping. Then he gathered her into his arms and held her close.

“Thank you,” she finally choked out. She heard Daniel’s following comment and laughter joined her tears.

“I think that’s a yes.”

Chapter 21

N
ew Year’s Eve didn’t turn out anything like Manda expected. Richard and Josh left the morning after Christmas, entrusting their cousins’ entertainment for the week to her. She missed Richard, as she’d known she would, but Sarah and Daniel were funny and lively companions, and by the end of the week she considered them friends. She liked Sarah especially. She felt an almost sisterly affection for her that was different than the mother/sister relationship she had with Emily. Sarah was closer to her own age, and like Richard, had a gift for putting Manda at ease and making her feel good about herself.

Richard did his utmost to fulfill his promise to Manda that she wouldn’t have a chance to miss him. It was a failed attempt, of course, as she missed him a great deal, but it was a valiant effort nonetheless. True to his word, he called her every evening and he sent her flowers every day. On the impossible chance that Manda needed even more reminders of him, Rain appeared on a different talk show almost every morning, promoting their foundation and often singing a song or two. Manda watched avidly, often on the television at work with David, Jen, Sarah, and Daniel.

It was a busy week, filled with lunches and dinners with Daniel and Sarah, sometimes with David and Stacey thrown into the mix as well. During the weekend before New Years, Manda took Daniel and Sarah sightseeing, visiting museums and other points of interest. By Sunday night Manda was exhausted and would gladly have rung in the New Year cozied up in her bed, watching the festivities on television. Sarah and Daniel wouldn’t hear of it though. They insisted that Manda join them for a New Year’s Eve celebration in their hotel suite, where they could all watch Richard and Josh’s performance during the broadcast from Times Square.

Rain was finally introduced shortly before midnight by a pretty little starlet who Manda vaguely recognized as the lead in some television program she’d never watched. The scantily-clad blonde was obviously enjoying her proximity to the two brothers and she attempted to cling familiarly to first one and then the other.

“Why that little…!” Manda exclaimed in annoyance when the woman was particularly stubborn in her advances toward Richard.

“Oh, just watch,” Daniel advised with a grin. “Richard handles himself pretty well with that sort.”

Indeed, at that moment the starlet attempted to twine her arm through his flirtatiously, but Richard, appearing oblivious to her, turned away to wave at the crowd, then proceeded to his place behind the piano. The perky blonde was left standing awkwardly alone with her back toward Josh. She was quite satisfyingly out of sorts as she fumbled through the song introduction and hurried off of the stage. When the camera shot switched to a close-up of Josh, Manda thought she detected a fleeting laugh from him as he readied his guitar.

She didn’t spare much attention for Josh after that though. She studied Richard’s face whenever she had the opportunity—and they were generous with the close-ups. She was looking for something specific and…yes, there it was! There was an edginess about his expression, a tension that she’d noticed all week long during his other television appearances. He smiled charmingly enough to fool anyone who didn’t really know him, but his smile never quite touched his eyes. He looked tired and worried to Manda. Josh, when she spared a look for him, seemed by comparison to be relaxed and completely in his element. He owned the stage. Their performance was, as usual, amazing, and when they finished, the crowd roared deafeningly.

It was less than a minute before midnight and the scene on TV switched to the throng in Times Square as they waited for the ball to drop. Manda discreetly slipped her shoes back on. She would excuse herself as soon as midnight arrived. She just wasn’t in a very festive mood. She’d been understanding and supportive when Richard told her he would be away for New Year’s—it was his job, after all, and it wasn’t as if she were some needy, clinging hothouse flower who couldn’t take care of herself—but she had been much more disappointed than she’d let on. She’d never had anyone special to share New Year’s Eve with before and she’d hoped that this year.... Well, it didn’t matter. Richard would be back tomorrow.

As Manda glanced around the room, inconspicuously trying to locate her coat, someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Daniel announced quickly, glancing at his watch. It
was
very late for anyone to be knocking.

Manda spied her coat on a chair against the wall. She stood and stretched, edging in that direction. On television the crowd began to chant the customary countdown.

“10…9…8…”

“She’s got her shoes on, Richard. She’s planning on sneaking out at the stroke of midnight, like Cinderella.”

“She’ll have to get by me first,” Richard answered his brother as the two men strode into the room. “And I’m much harder to elude than Prince Charming.”

“4…3…2…”

“Richard!”

Richard captured a laughing and confused Manda in his arms just in time to kiss her as the New Year began.

“Happy New Year, Cinderella. Did you miss me?” 

“Oh, were you away?” she retorted in wide-eyed surprise. “I couldn’t tell.” She couldn’t sustain the act though. She was simply too pleased and surprised to see him. “How can you possibly be here when I just saw you on television from New York?”

“We recorded that earlier, of course, and then jumped on the first flight we could get back here,” Richard explained patiently.

“He’s had me running through airports all night just so he could make it here by midnight,” Josh complained. “And he wouldn’t even stop and wait for our bags after we landed. He made poor Mikey stay behind to collect them all.”

“
You
could have stayed behind to help him,” Sarah scolded as she greeted Josh with a hug.

“No, I wanted to see Manda’s face when Richard surprised her. Besides, Mark was there to help.”

“So you didn’t come in the limo?” Daniel asked in exasperation, though Manda didn’t understand what was wrong with that.

“We couldn’t wait,” Richard informed his cousin with a grin. He dropped onto the sofa and tugged Manda down beside him. “I was afraid I wouldn’t make it in time.”

“He wouldn’t have if we hadn’t taken a shortcut,” Josh chuckled.

Daniel sighed. “One day, one of your shortcuts is going to get you into trouble. That’s not a very good way to look out for your brother.”

“Don’t worry. I’m always careful.” Richard dismissed Daniel’s odd concerns and twined his fingers through Manda’s. “So, what did I miss while I was gone?”

“Me, I hope,” Manda prodded playfully.

“Unbelievably,” he agreed fervently, “but I’m trying to block that trauma from my memory. What else did I miss?”

Manda gave him a rapid-fire recounting of their week, ending with their visits to the art museum and aquarium that day...or rather the previous day now. Just remembering it all made Manda tired. She suppressed a yawn.

“It’s past your bedtime, isn’t it, sleepyhead?” Richard asked, squeezing her hand. “Shall I take you home?”

“No, you just got here,” Manda protested, slipping her feet back out of her shoes and curling her legs up on the sofa beside her.

“It’s probably best to stay off the roads tonight anyway,” Daniel observed. “There are sure to be some stupid people out there who don’t have the sense not to drink and drive.”

“Daniel’s right. You should just stay here,” Sarah suggested. “You can take the sofa.”

Manda was happy to agree, and she managed to stay awake for another two hours before she drifted off to sleep with her head on Richard’s shoulder. Her first dream of the New Year was a good one. It featured a glass slipper, and the Prince Charming who kissed her at the stroke of midnight bore a striking resemblance to Richard.

Chapter 22

T
he New Year started off like a fairy tale for Manda, and the days ahead seemed just as promising. Sarah and Daniel stayed for another week before flying back to Texas with a promise to keep in touch. Manda was sorry to see them go…mostly. There was a small part of her, she admitted guiltily, that was glad to have more time alone with Richard. With the holidays over, her days settled back into a more regular rhythm—at least at first.

Midway through January, Curt showed up unexpectedly in the creative area. Manda, Richard, David, and Josh returned from lunch at the diner to find him waiting for them.

“Jen told me you were all at lunch together, so I thought I’d come catch you while you were all here,” Curt explained. “Take a seat.” He waited only long enough for them all to settle into chairs, and then continued. “First of all, I want to apologize to Manda and David for the Fieldings project. I made you take the job against your better judgment and it turned out badly. I promised you if that happened that I would personally tell Jerry we wouldn’t be handling the project again, so I told him that and I sat down with him yesterday to discuss it. He was…mmm…
not
pleased by Andrea’s finished product. Let’s just say that. He told her she’d never be doing any more design work for him. I guess it caused quite a blowup.”

Manda frowned unhappily. She didn’t like Andrea much, but she didn’t like to be the cause of their lover’s quarrel, even indirectly. She started to express her distress but Curt waved her to silence.

“Don’t worry. He made it up to her. It’s amazing what amends you can make with an enormous engagement ring.”

David snorted in amusement and Manda rolled her eyes. Jerry Fieldings deserved what he got!

“Anyway, Jerry was understandably upset when I told him you wouldn’t be working for him again. You two are, after all, the best—and after comparing your work with Andrea’s this year he fully appreciates that. He asked if you would reconsider working on the project again now that he’s removed Andrea from the game.”

Manda stirred again, and again Curt silenced her, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

“I told him that it was your decision but I wouldn’t count on it. Beyond that, though, he wanted me to express his sincere apologies for the whole mess. He was really quite upset. He also wanted to thank you for this year and every other year when you’ve taken the horrible cards he dealt you and delivered him a winning hand…his words. As a gesture of his appreciation, he’s invited you two to spend two weeks at his hotel in Vail. He’ll provide lift passes and whatever else you might enjoy, and you’re both free to invite a guest.

“Yes!” David enthused, eliciting a rare smile from their boss.