Julia grinned at her sister now, carefully rearranging one of Lauren’s thick, tawny curls. “I know what I said. At the time I only wanted you to have the same sort of fairy tale wedding that I did. What I didn’t realize at the time was that not every fairy tale is written exactly the same. And your version of the story is every bit as beautiful as mine was, even if I do have to go barefoot. At least it turned out to be a beautiful day.”
When Ben had first suggested getting married on the beach – the same stretch where he and Lauren had packed so many memories into just ten days – Lauren had been more than a little wary about the weather. Late October could be unpredictable here – foggy, drizzly, cold, windy. Fortunately, it was going to be a gorgeous autumn day – clear and sunny with just a light breeze – and the outdoor ceremony would go off without any weather related hitches.
Everything else also seemed to be under control, a major feat considering the haste in which it had all been thrown together. But neither Ben nor Lauren had been willing to wait even one week longer to get married, quelling the few protests that had arisen from family and friends by insisting they’d already wasted six long years.
Her parents had been the first to receive the news, of course. Ben had insisted she call them with the news within hours after they’d arrived back in New York, and Lauren had been downright shocked by their reactions.
Natalie had been more than a little choked up, not to mention startled, but had been quick to reassure her daughter how delighted she was at the news.
“It’s wonderful, darling,” Natalie had enthused. “Just think – both of my girls married within a few months of each other. And,” she’d added wickedly, “now it’s your sister’s turn to pitch a fit about her bridesmaid’s dress.”
But it was when her mother had added softly, “I knew he was special when I met him that day at Norma’s – special to you, in particular,” that Lauren had nearly choked up herself.
Robert’s reaction had been far more pragmatic – as usual. “Well, it’s about damned time that you came to your senses, my girl. And, yes, missy, I guessed how you felt about that man of yours close to a year ago. It was when I met him for the first time face to face and remembered where I’d seen him before. Or at least a black and white profile shot of him.”
Lauren had gasped in surprise. “You remembered those photos I took after all that time? And how did you know it was Ben in the shots?”
Robert had chuckled. “Wild guess. Father’s instinct. When you would get all up in arms about your Ben the Bastard, especially when he stopped you from going on that trip to Brazil, I knew that something was going on. Because you’d never had that sort of reaction to a man before, regardless of how angry he might have made you.”
“And neither of you ever mentioned that you’d met,” she had retorted crossly. “Why am I the last to know these things?”
“You’ve always been a nosy little miss,” Robert had replied calmly. “Always butting in to everyone else’s business, always insisting on knowing the latest gossip. And yet you kept so much of your own life to yourself – especially the fact that you’d met someone that summer and fallen in love. Or that the two of you met again years later and he happened to be your new boss. I decided that it was good for you to get a little taste of your own medicine once in awhile, so I very intentionally never told you that I’d met your Ben last year.”
The scathing retort that Lauren had been about to give her father had died on her lips, however, when Robert had added gently, “He’s a fine man, missy. One I’m very proud to welcome to our family. And even though he’s a quiet one, I think you may have finally met your match. Ben’s not afraid of you, you know, and you won’t be able to bully or charm him into doing everything your way. With your Ben, still waters definitely run deep.”
After sharing the news of their very sudden engagement with those closest to them, things had happened very, very quickly after that. Ben had stayed with Lauren at Maddy’s place for a few days until he’d been able to sign the lease on a modest, partially furnished place of his own. He’d had to make a very awkward phone call to Elle to arrange the pick-up of his things, a task that Chris and George had been enlisted to help him with. Lauren had considered it to be in rather bad taste to enter Elle’s house under the circumstances, and had contented herself instead with helping Ben to unpack at the other end.
And it was when she began to unload a box filled with books, files, and other items that had previously been kept in his home office that her hand had closed over a framed sketch – a sketch that she recognized as the one she’d rather carelessly drawn of him six years ago.
“My God,” she’d breathed. “You kept it. All this time. And had it framed, too.”
“This is one of my most cherished possessions,” he’d told her with a kiss. “It’s always been the first thing I packed when I had to move, and the first thing I hung on the wall when I unpacked. It was the only thing I had to remind me of you, after all. Well, this and a couple of hundred photos, that is.”
In recounting the story of what had really happened the night he’d left Elle, Ben had rather sheepishly revealed the secret stash of photos he’d kept of Lauren all these years. She had prodded him to show her the whole album, gasping with surprise when she’d noticed that at least a couple of dozen shots were much more recent, and she had half-jokingly accused him of being a stalker. But when she’d come across the dozen or so nude and semi-nude shots of herself, instead of being angry as he had assumed she would be, Lauren had grinned wickedly instead.
“So it was this particular photo Elle was looking at when you caught her snooping?” she asked, pointing to the photo in question.
Ben had nodded. “That’s the one. And as you can see it, uh, doesn’t leave much to the imagination.”
“I can see that,” she’d agreed lazily. “And I’m glad you kept it. Glad that the snoopy, nosy bitch came face to face with my, uh, nakedness. She deserves it after threatening to get me fired. Not to mention lying to my face about the two of you getting engaged.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me at the time if it was true?” he’d inquired.
Lauren had shrugged. “Maybe because I didn’t really want to know the truth. Or let you know how much it would have devastated me if the answer had been yes.”
Ben had taken her in his arms then. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to marry,” he’d murmured against her hair. “The only one I’ve ever loved. So let’s forget about Elle, hmm? She was a mistake I made when I was lonely and vulnerable. And I’m just guessing you made one or two – or more – of the same mistakes yourself.”
“Not as many as you might think,” she’d insisted. “I could count those mistakes on one hand and still have fingers left over. And God help me, but I’m not even sure I can remember their names or faces now. Because the only face I could ever see was yours.”
They had agreed then to never again discuss Elle, or how desperately unhappy both of them had been during the years apart. Especially since they had a wedding to plan in a very, very short amount of time.
Ben had flown out to California with her, more than a little nervous at the thought of meeting her parents again – and this time not as Lauren’s boss but as her fiancé. But his worries had been for naught, because the McKinnons had welcomed him into their home as though he’d been part of their family for years. Julia and Nathan had been down for the weekend, too, and the pair of them had confessed they’d done a bit of matchmaking during their visit to New York a few weeks earlier.