THE GREAT BETRAYAL (26 page)

Grace nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

“
It’s just…” Leslie sighed. “It’s Christmas. We’ll have to make the best of it, that’s all,” she said firmly. “We’ll take it easy and make the best of it.” She attempted a weak smile. “Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds like a plan,” replied Grace, smiling back. The smile warmed Leslie’s heart, healing it. “I’ll try to make the best of it.”

That night they attended Crystal Clear’s Christmas party at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach. Each year C&C managed to make the festivities even grander than the year before. The live orchestra regaled them with beautiful tunes of the season as attendees danced and enjoyed the tastefully festive ambiance.

Luke and Leslie met Dawn and Grace at the entrance. Kate had gone out with her best friend, Jodi.

Luke had reluctantly agreed to escort Leslie, but it was abundantly clear that his heart wasn’t in it. He barely said more than two words to Grace, and avoided direct eye contact with Leslie and Dawn. Their table was fraught with tension, the party virtually ruined.

Luke stayed around for about twenty minutes before saying he and Evan had an early meeting.

“
Oh, God Luke,” said Leslie. “Must you guys work on Christmas Eve, too? Couldn’t you knock off until after Christmas? It’s only two days! I’m sure Evan’s wife must feel the same way.” She gave a hopeful smile.

Luke frowned. “‘Evan’s wife’? How could
you
possibly know how she feels? Perhaps you should call and ask her sometime. She’s only been your sister-in-law for over ten years.” He snorted. “It’s laughable that you still refer to her as ‘Evan’s wife’.” He paused, a hush falling over the table. “Her name’s Gillian, by the way. Gillian. But I guess no one in
my
family’s ever been important enough for it to matter.”

Turning away from her in apparent disgust, he asked Dawn to drive her home and left the table.

“Wow,” said Grace quietly, breaking the stunned silence after Luke sauntered out. “You’d think I was a disease or something, huh?”

Leslie, cloaked in a stunning ruby Nicole Miller gown, smiled at Grace with a reassurance she couldn’t feel, then turned a hurt gaze toward Dawn. “Damn him. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Her friend simply stared back at her, saying nothing. Then finally Dawn shrugged and took a sip of rum punch. “It’s Christmas. Cut him some slack, Les. Early meetings can be a real bitch.”

Chapter 46

Luke awoke Christmas morning to the smell of baking cinnamon.

Evelyn
, he thought. She was already hard at work in the kitchen.
Good thing she doesn’t mind working on Christmas
.

He rolled over, half expecting to run into Leslie’s body beside him, but he found only empty space. Regret settled in.

He was alone. She was still sleeping in one of the guest rooms.

Another Christmas. Another year gone by.

Next year he would be forty-four, and his life was definitely not going as he’d expected it would be. Sure, he was very successful in business. He and Evan had set out to build an extraordinary architectural portfolio, and they had achieved that in spades. Kateslie-Evans Architects, was now an award-winning firm that had designed nearly half the illustrious buildings and residences from the Palm Beaches to the Keys. He had a beautiful, exceptionally smart daughter who was bright and coming into her own as a young woman. Kathryn would make any father proud. His parents were alive and still healthy. His brothers were both doing very well.

But none of those things compensated for the disappointment of his marriage. His wife. The one person who meant more to him than anything. Luke had never imagined he would’ve married a woman who did not love him.

But
did
she love him? That was the problem…he honestly didn’t know. And not knowing did strange things to Luke’s mind. Things were so complicated now. There were so many troubling variables.

Luke tossed the covers off and left the bed. He paid a visit to the bathroom, then went to wake Kathryn. Her door was ajar, and she was still fast asleep.

He went over to the bed and mussed her hair. “Merry Christmas, Katie. Wake up.” He knelt beside the bed.

Kate stirred, opening her eyes. She smiled when she saw her father. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Merry Christmas, honey.” He kissed her forehead.

“Merry Christmas, Dad. You’re gonna love what I got you,” she said sleepily.

“Yeah? I bet it’s not better than what I got
you
.”

Still smiling, she inhaled deeply. “Mmm…something smells delicious.”

“It’s Evelyn. You’re mother has her baking cinnamon rolls with breakfast.”

At the mention of her mother, Kate’s face grew somber. “Grace will be here today.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah. Listen, honey. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and…” He paused. “She’s not going to go away. We’re simply going to have to make an effort—you and I—to be nice to her and make her feel welcome whenever she’s here visiting.”

Kate rolled over to her side, facing her father. “I guess you’re right, Dad, but…I don’t know…my heart’s not in it. I know it’s not her fault, but…I don’t like her. I don’t want to get to know her, because I don’t
want
to like her. I wish she’d just keep her butt in Tennessee, where she belongs.”

“That’s just it, Katie. The reality is that she belongs with her mom, at least some of the time. Like you said, it wasn’t her fault that your mother didn’t raise her. She didn’t even
know
Leslie was her mom until…I think she found out around the same time we did. Just a few years ago. I just think it’s time we cut her some slack.”

“You’re right,” said Kate, sitting up. She sighed. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Luke smiled. “And you know how happy it’ll make your mother…and maybe, just maybe, things can start getting better around here.” He stood. “Now let’s go downstairs…I hear those rolls calling my name.”

When Leslie woke that morning, she’d lain in bed staring out the window.

The guest room she’d chosen was near Luke’s office and overlooked their lovely garden out back. The sun had not yet come up and the sky had a beautiful predawn hue. The house seemed very quiet; she was likely the only one awake.

Christmas morning. Briefly, Leslie pondered her expectations for the forthcoming day. This would more than likely be the most uncomfortable Christmas day of her entire life, and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to it. Then again…since 1985, had she
ever
looked forward to it?

Reflection. It was all she seemed capable of. Her mind was a living archive. In reality, it was Christmas day, 2005. But Leslie was now digging through Christmas days of years long past…long before she’d ever dreamed of living in this house. Long before she’d ever met Luke and given birth to Kathryn.

Lost in her reverie, she heard when Evelyn arrived, and decided to get up. Since Evelyn had been cooking for them more often lately, they’d recently given her a key to the garage door and the code to the security system so she could come and go freely, even when no one was home.

Leslie made the bed and then went upstairs to her dressing room. There was a connecting door from the hallway, so she was able to avoid waking Luke by not entering through their bedroom.

She had been doing her best to avoid him since Friday night, when he’d left her at the Christmas party.

After taking a leisurely shower, she lathered her favorite Christmas-scented body lotion over her skin. The room filled with the wonderful smell of mistletoe and roasting chestnuts. She dressed and pulled her lush hair into a ponytail, using green and red ribbons to get into the holiday spirit, and then she went downstairs to join Evelyn in the kitchen.

The day had begun.

Luke’s parents were the first to arrive.

The doorbell chimed, and Kathryn rose from watching the basketball game with her father to answer it. The Miami Heat was playing against the LA Lakers, and after they’d sat around the tree and opened their gifts, Luke had taken to the sofa with a six-pack of beer. Meanwhile Leslie kept busy, moving about straightening decorations and adjusting the poinsettias that lined the staircase. Burning nervous energy.

By the time Dawn arrived with Grace, Luke’s entire family had also arrived, bearing gifts and all sorts of baked goodies.

Initially a hush fell over the room when Grace walked in, Mel Torme’s rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” the only sound in the house. Everyone was polite as Luke introduced Grace, but they were all noticeably reserved—just as they had been to Leslie since the news of her daughter’s existence broke. No one could understand or make any sense of Leslie’s years of silence. It was as if they hadn’t known how to treat her after that…any more than Luke had.

Now everyone stood around in an awkward silence, as if waiting for something remarkable to happen.

“So, Grace, dear,” Luke’s father, George, said politely, breaking the silence. Everyone seemed to relax with relief. “How’s the weather in Memphis?”

“It’s pretty cold,” Grace replied with a timid smile. “Florida’s definitely a welcome alternative.”

“Good, good, good,” replied George. He eyed her appreciatively. “We’re glad to have you. It’s great to finally meet you, Grace.”

Evelyn came in from the kitchen. “Anyone for eggnog? Dinner’s almost ready. Get ready to feast!”

Dawn walked over to Leslie. “That wasn’t too bad,” she whispered.

Leslie looked at Luke, who seemed to be fixated on the television, oblivious to any conversation going on around him. “So far, so good.”

“Well, I’m going to be leaving you. Lyle’s meeting me at my mother’s…and she’s already having a cow because I’m not there yet. Good luck,” she said, giving Leslie a hug.

“Thanks,” said Leslie, hugging her friend back. “For everything. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. Depending on how things go, I’ll come back later to pick up Grace. Maybe I’ll call you first…see how things are going.”

“Okay. That’d be great.”

She walked Dawn to the door, and on the way back she was surprised to see Grace and Kathryn talking together by the stairs.
Thank God,
she thought, looking toward heaven.
Thank God
.

“…got me a new iPod,” Kathryn was saying in excitement, “and my dad got tickets to the Super Bowl. Isn’t that cool?!”

Evelyn had outdone herself with dinner. Most everyone spent the entire time at the dinner table talking about how wonderful everything was. The roast was succulent and delicious. Evelyn had also cooked up a scrumptious pot of chicken and dumplings, baked ham, and vegetables sautéed in what she referred to as her “secret sautéing stuff.” Whatever the “stuff” was, when everyone had left the table, there wasn’t a vegetable left in the cut-glass serving dish. For dessert, everyone alternated between the cookies and cakes brought by Luke’s sisters-in-law, and Evelyn’s homemade red velvet cake.

To Leslie’s relief—and delight—the day went by without incident. Luke and Kathryn seemed to make a genuine effort to make Grace feel welcome, Kathryn especially. Leslie was now hopeful for 2006. Maybe a little more time was all they had needed after all.

“Thanks so much for coming,” she said to Evan and his wife, Gillian, as she walked them to the door. “Did you say good-bye to Luke?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Evan. “Had to hunt for him though; he’d snuck off to his office.” He winked. “You know him. Lives and breathes structural design.”

When she opened the door and they walked out, Leslie noticed Dawn’s BMW in the driveway. “Oh…Dawn’s back?”

“Yeah,” Gillian called out over her shoulder as they went down the pathway. “She’s inside with Luke. Thanks again for a great time, Leslie!”

Waving, Leslie closed the door and headed for Luke’s office. When had Dawn returned? Just as she turned the corner to head down the hallway, she bumped into Dawn, apparently on her way back.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” Leslie exclaimed. “I just noticed your car out front.”

“Yeah, I was just looking for you.” Dawn said, appearing flushed. “You’ll never believe what Lyle got me for Christmas!”

They joined the others in the den, and Dawn regaled Leslie with the day’s events at her mother’s.

Leslie’s jaw dropped in shock. “He actually got down in front of everybody—your entire family—and asked you to marry him?”

“He sure did,” Dawn replied, flashing the engagement ring. “And I said yes!”

“Woo-hoo!” Kathryn exclaimed. She put her fingers in her mouth and made a celebratory whistling noise, just as her dad had taught her.

“Congratulations!” said Grace, coming up to give her a hug. “Dawn, that’s great! When’s the big day?”