Love at Last (3 page)
Authors: Darlene Panzera
A Look of Love
A Look of Love
Chapter 1
Noelle stared at the ring Jack Davis held out to her, a glamorous three carat diamond as clear as the ice blanketing the entire Northwest.
“I don’t know what to-to say,” she stuttered. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I know,” Jack said, “but if you say yes, we can trade this wintry Seattle weather for warm California sunshine before the month is up.”
“You sealed the deal with Carlson and Edwards?”
Jack nodded, a victorious gleam in his eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” Noelle exclaimed, glancing around the living room of his penthouse apartment. On top of the bar, two fluted glasses sat beside an unopened bottle of champagne. On the coffee table a congratulatory ribbon circled a fresh bouquet of red roses. And in the corner of the room lay a stack of cardboard moving boxes.
Jack had been working over-time to convince the high-profile business conglomerate that Davis Software & Electronics was the right company to outfit their fifteen-story building with new office equipment. She had just never stopped to think how the deal, if accepted, would affect the two of them.
“They loved the designs and want me to oversee the installation of the new computer systems,” said Jack, sliding a Carlson & Edwards cap over his short-cropped hair. “I’m scheduled to begin work in San Diego on the twenty-eighth.”
Noelle’s gaze shifted to the calendar on the wall and back again.
“So soon?” she asked, dropping into a chair.
“There’s a cocktail party on the twenty-ninth, which I wouldn’t want to miss. All the founders of the corporation are going to be there.” He gave her a questioning look. “I would like to arrive with a fiancée on my arm.”
Noelle opened her mouth but found she was unable to respond. She and Jack had only been dating six and a half months and she wasn’t sure she was ready for a commitment at this stage of their relationship.
“It’s all so sudden,” she said, her throat tightening with each word she spoke. “Overwhelming. I just took the job at Taps and Tutu’s a month ago.”
“You can be a ballet instructor in San Diego.”
“But the kids—”
“Noelle, are you turning me down?” asked Jack, arching his brow.
“No, of course not.” She forced a smile. “I just need time… to process it all in my head. I’d have to sell my house, find a replacement for the dance recital, and then there’s my brother’s wedding on Saturday.”
“There is a lot to do,” Jack agreed. “I’ll have to skip the ceremony so I can finalize designs and prepare the computer systems for shipment.”
“But it’s my brother’s wedding.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there in time for the reception. And Noelle?”
“Yes?”
Jack studied her face, stepped forward, and slid the heavy diamond onto the ring finger of her left hand. “I’d like a definite answer when I get there.”
Noelle swallowed hard. Was she ready to be someone’s wife?
The next three nights Noelle barely slept. She’d always dreamed of getting married, buying a house, having kids… However, as her mother reminded her at their weekly fish and chips luncheon, life often had a way of rearranging even the best-laid plans.
“First you bought yourself a cozy waterfront house. Then you got yourself some kids,” her mother teased, referring to the ballet students. “And now you are finally considering marriage?”
“I know.” Noelle grinned. “I’m getting everything I’ve always wanted — just not in the order I expected.”
Noelle’s plump, gray-haired mother pursed her lips, folded her napkin, and set it beside her untouched plate.
“Is it everything you’ve always wanted?”
“Of course.” Noelle stared at her in shock. “Why would you ask?”
“Your brother voiced some concerns when I told him about the proposal.”
“Concerns? About Jack?”
“No, dear. About you. There are many men who will come into your life. Some of them you know now, and some of them you will meet in the future. We just want you to be sure to marry the right one.”
“Don’t worry,” Noelle assured her. “I will.”
Yet, as the day wore on, her confidence slipped. How was she supposed to know if Jack was the right man? What if her mother was right? What if there was another man — a man she had never even met — who would also ask her to marry? If she said yes to Jack, would she regret her decision in the future?
Chapter 2
Saturday arrived with a burst of cold air. It brightened the green flecks in her hazel eyes and turned her pale cheeks a rosy pink. Turning away from her bedroom mirror, Noelle slipped her slender arms through the short cap sleeves and slid the rest of the thin billowing fabric down the length of her petite figure. As she brushed back her shoulder length brown hair she wondered… Would anyone notice if she wore thermal underwear beneath the emerald bridesmaid gown? Then she pictured herself catching the bride’s bouquet, having a young man lift the hem of her skirt to place the garter on her leg, and… she decided against it.
Quickly pulling a long, woolen cape from the back of her closet, Noelle wrapped it over her shoulders, hoping to stop the shiver that coursed up her spine. Why couldn’t she stop shaking? She glanced at the thermometer on her way out the door, surprised it didn’t read in the single digits. It was cold enough to snow, but not chilly enough to explain the Artic freeze traveling through her.
Could it be nerves? But then, why should she be nervous? It was her brother who was getting married today, not her. She just had to give Jack an answer.
An answer she didn’t have.
Noelle met her brother in the foyer of the church at two o’clock, an hour before the afternoon ceremony. After straightening his bow tie, she stood back to admire his Christian Dior Tuxedo.
“You look great, Russ. Are you nervous?”
“Of course not,” he said, breaking into a grin. “I knew I wanted to marry Susan the first time I saw her.”
“How?” Noelle asked, her chest tightening. “How did you know?”
“Intuition, maybe?” Russ shrugged. “All I know is that we shared an instant connection. And I knew.”
“I wish I had a bit of your intuition,” she said, scanning the snug interior of the flower laden church.
Russ pulled her aside so the preacher could walk past. “Did you give Jack an answer yet?”
“I promised to tell him tonight.”
“While we’re still on the subject…” Russ’s voice trailed off, and a smile played on his lips. “I have this friend. He’s not rich, but he’s got his own business and a big heart. The kind of guy who’s always there to help you out of a bind. He’s going to be at the reception, and I—”
“Are you trying to set me up?” Noelle demanded.
“He’s a great guy,” her brother said defensively.
“And Jack isn’t?” she asked.
“Noelle, you know I’ve never got on well with him.”
“Is it because he wouldn’t help you with the displaced kids at the social work fundraiser?” Frowning, Noelle lowered her voice, as a few of the guests began to enter the church. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Jack would rather write a check than actually lend a hand,” Russ said, waving to Aunt Pauline.
“At least he writes the checks,” Noelle said, also giving the stoop-shouldered, old woman a wave. “Not everyone is going to be passionate about your cause.”
Russ took her hands. “Let’s not bicker about this. Not today. Whatever you decide is your decision. Still,” he said, giving her a nudge with his shoulder, “I’d like you to meet my friend tonight, maybe share a couple drinks, dance…”
Noelle rolled her eyes and smiled. No wonder Susan agreed to marry him. Russ couldn’t take no for an answer.
A short while later, Noelle followed her cousin Jean, also a bridesmaid, to their place on the left side of the altar and waited for the bride to walk down the aisle.
“Where’s Mitchell?” Noelle whispered, unable to spot her cousin’s boyfriend in the crowded seats.
Jean scowled. “We broke up.”
Noelle gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not,” her cousin replied. “The guy was a loser. I want someone who understands me, listens to me, and shows me he cares by treating me like I’m the only person in his universe.”
“Wow, that’s a tall order,” Noelle teased.
Jean looked past her, distracted, and sucked in her breath. As Noelle followed her cousin’s gaze, her stomach did a back-flip and hardened into a tight knot.
“I’d give anything to have a man look at me like that,” Jean crooned.
Me, too. A strange stirring overtook Noelle’s senses. A deep longing she hadn’t realized existed, but here she was, standing at the front of the tiny church as green with envy as the emerald coloring of her bridesmaid dress. Where did this come from?
It didn’t bother her that her younger brother was the one who was getting married. Or that Susan was a model-perfect bride. But when Russ gazed down into Susan’s eyes, a lump rose in Noelle’s throat, and she swallowed hard.
Why didn’t Jack ever look at her that way? As if they were the only two people in the whole world. A look powerful enough to halt time, move mountains, stop the earth from spinning…
Noelle chided herself for being a hopeless romantic, but still… she felt queasy, like she’d eaten too much junk food and needed something solid.
A couple of deep breaths later, her heartbeat steadied, but logic continued to evade the intelligent side of her brain. Perhaps Jean’s fantasy of the perfect man had contaminated her. For now she wanted that look for herself.
Noelle glanced at the other bridesmaids’ faces and realized she wasn’t the only one. There were at least four other women who were wishing to be the center of someone’s universe.
Chapter 3
After the ceremony, Noelle tried to pass through the crowd unnoticed, but Aunt Pauline’s hand latched onto her arm and drew her in like a grappling hook.
“It’s your turn next, honey!” Aunt Pauline’s gravelly voice wailed. “Your mother told me all about the proposal. Where is that handsome man of yours?”
Noelle quickly pasted on a smile. “Jack’s meeting me at the reception.”
The truth was that Jack thought his computer designs were more important than attending her brother’s wedding.
“Did you give him an answer yet?” the old woman asked, squeezing her arm tighter. “You are going to marry him, aren’t you?”
“I’m thinking about it,” Noelle said, smoothing a fold in the skirt of her gown.
Aunt Pauline blanched. “What is there to think about? You’ll never find another man like Jack.”
What her aunt really meant was — another man with that much money. Jack was filthy rich. He could buy her anything she wanted.
Ignoring the white flakes that swirled down from the overcast clouds above, Noelle sped her shiny new Porsche - a present from Jack - down the winding back-country road to the reception. It wasn’t dark yet, but the snow turned everything around her into a sheet of gray, making it hard to see. A sanding truck rumbled by, making her wince as it spit grit onto her windshield as if she didn’t deserve any better. Maybe she didn’t.
Jack Davis, president of Davis Software & Electronics, wanted her to marry him. Was it necessary to say it with a look? After all, there was more to marriage than the expression on one’s face. So why couldn’t she just say yes? Every swish-swosh of the frost-encrusted windshield wipers seemed to ask the same question.
Noelle glanced at the shimmering diamond on her finger as her hand turned the steering wheel. Jack had insisted she wear the ring even though her mind was not yet made up. Perhaps he hoped it would speed her decision. But time was running out. Jack wanted an answer and he wanted it tonight.
Suddenly the car spun sideways, out of control. Noelle held tight to the steering wheel, but it was of no use. The vehicle slid off the pavement and skied down a steep snow-covered slope. A scream escaped her lips, and then, with a jolt, the turbulent motion came to a stop against a wall of thick evergreen trees.
Taking a deep breath, Noelle inhaled the fresh scent of broken pine branches. She wasn’t hurt, thanks to her seatbelt. But the thunderous beating of her heart reminded her all too well that she could have been. Noelle’s legs shook as she opened the car door and stepped out.
As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, two large dogs, one black and one white, bounded toward her across the snow.
Generally, she liked dogs. That is, until last week when Jack’s Rottweiler charged and backed her into a serrated gutter along the side of the house. She had thirteen stitches in her leg as a harsh reminder. The pain had passed, but not her newfound fear of charging animals.
Leaping and bounding closer and closer with each passing second, the two dogs looked as if they were on a mission. Their long pink tongues swung crazily out of their mouths. Where was their owner? Why weren’t they on leashes? Would she now be eaten?
Quickly turning around, Noelle’s high heel caught on the lace hem of her gown, tumbling her head first into the freezing white powder. As her only defense, she seized her bridesmaid bouquet and held it out like a lance in an effort to ward off the advancing beasts.
“They won’t bite,” a smooth, deep voice called from the road.
And indeed they didn’t. Noelle found herself using the flowers to fend off their playful licks instead. Peering over the dog’s heads, she saw a tall, dark-haired man dressed in black making his way down the steep embankment.
“Sorry if they scared you,” the man said. “The snow gets them excited.”
“No, kidding,” Noelle replied.
“Wrong weather for dress shoes,” he teased, helping her up.