He takes a moment to consider his answer. “You know, I think I could be happy working for any of them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They’re all great companies. They’d all be wonderful opportunities.”
I hang up as I’m almost home and want to hear the rest in person. Nathan decides to barbecue for us tonight, so despite the freezing temperature outside, he heads to the store, picks up some steaks, and then grills for us on the little charcoal Weber in our backyard.
I make twice-baked potatoes and a Caesar salad and set the table using a bunch of candles to make our minuscule dining room as pretty as possible.
Sitting at the table eating, the girls chatter a mile a minute, and I glance up to see Nathan smiling at Brooke. It’s his old smile, his real smile, the one that made me fall head over heels in love with him.
I know I told him in December we’d be okay, but now I know it.
We’re going to be okay. In fact, we’re going to be better than ever.
Sunday morning, Nathan gets an e-mail from Omaha that he has an early Monday meeting, so two hours later I’m driving him back to the airport. The girls are upset the entire drive, begging him not to leave. I keep it together until we pull up to the departure curb at the airport.
Fighting tears, I get out of the car and hug Nathan on the curb.
“It’s only a couple of weeks until I’m back for Marta’s wedding,” he says.
“Still.”
He hugs me harder, then lets me go. “I’ll call you when I land.”
“Please do.”
“Love you.”
“Good. I need it.”
Back at the house, I call around trying to find a baby-sitter so I can attend Marta’s shower.
Jemma hears me on the phone and comes to stand next to me at the dining room table. “I can baby-sit tonight, Mom.”
I cover the phone and look at her. “Honey, you’ve never baby-sat your sisters before.”
“Only because you’ve never let me. But I’m almost eleven, and lots of girls my age baby-sit. I can do it, too. Just keep your cell phone with you, and I’ll call you if there’s a problem.”
“You wouldn’t be scared?”
“Being with Mrs. Slutsky is scarier than being on our own.”
I laugh, hard, and wrapping Jemma in my arms, I give her a hug. “I guess we can try. I’m only down the street in downtown Bellevue.”
“Mom, knock it off. I’ll be a teenager soon.”
The surprise bridal shower starts at five-thirty p.m. at Daniel’s Broiler, which sits on top of the Bellevue Place Towers. Tiana’s managed to reserve one of Daniel’s small private dining rooms, and between Jon, the florist downstairs, and Oh Chocolates, they’ve transformed the restaurant’s private room into a lush bower of red roses. Elegant black-and-cream cards are at each plate, and on top is scripted “In Celebration of Marta & Luke,” with tonight’s special five-course menu printed below.
I’m curious to meet Tiana Tomlinson. I’ve watched her on television for years. She’s the news anchor for a show that’s on at the same time as
Inside Edition,
and she’s even more beautiful in person than on the TV screen. She’s small, maybe five feet three, and fine-boned, with a heart-shaped face, dark hair, deep dimples, and gold brown eyes. I’m stunned to learn she’s my age. She looks easily ten years younger.
Allie, Mel, and Susan all show for the shower, along with Lucy and Lori Johnson. Luke’s secretary arrives, too, as she’s become good friends with Marta over the past year and a half.
Marta arrives last. Luke actually walks her to the door, and when she sees everyone inside, she just stands there confused. “Tiana?” she says, frowning as she takes us in. “What are you all doing here?”
“Celebrating you,” Tiana answers, moving forward to give Marta a hug. “Now say good-bye to Luke, as this is a girls-only shower.”
Marta’s still stunned. “Shower?”
Tiana laughs at Marta’s expression. “Yes. You
are
getting married soon, aren’t you?”
Lucy sits next to me at the table. She, like the rest of us, is fairly star-struck by Tiana.
“She’s so normal,” Lucy whispers. “Well, for being a celebrity.”
I look across the table, see Marta and Tiana giggling like two sixteen-year-olds, and smile. “I guess they’ve been best friends since high school.”
“That’s nice, isn’t it?” Lucy watches them for a few seconds, then turns back to me. “I just remembered. I found out why Monica and Doug are selling your house.”
“They’re not getting divorced, are they?”
Lucy shakes her head. “Doug’s sick. Prostate cancer. They decided to scale back while Doug goes through treatment.”
I’m sorry to hear that anyone’s ill, much less Doug, who is really a very nice guy. “That’s terrible.”
“Pete’s really upset, too. It’s made him realize we’re not going to live forever. As he said last night, maybe it’s better if we counted our blessings sooner rather than later.”
Marta and Luke’s choice for a winter wedding at the Banff Springs Hotel is beyond romantic. I’ve never been there, but after poring over the Fairmont Hotel’s brochure, I can’t wait to go.
It’s a short flight from Seattle to Calgary, where we rent a car and drive an hour to Banff. Although it snowed heavily the last few days, the roads are clear and the majestic mountains glitter white and bright against the late morning’s clear blue sky.
If we kept driving instead of taking the Banff exit, we’d hit Lake Louise and then Jasper. Instead we head into Banff, where the downtown is just ten blocks long and five blocks wide. It’s bordered by mountains, mountains, a little river, and more mountains.
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is even more magical than its setting. It’s a huge turn-of-the-century hotel, with so many turrets and towers that Nathan nicknames it Hogwarts.
Marta has arranged the schedule so everyone is free to ski during the day and then meet for evening activities. The first day, Nathan and I ski until I can’t go down the mountain one more time. After returning to the hotel, we change out of our ski stuff and into jeans and T-shirts, heading with our swimsuits for the hotel’s heated pool and spa.
Later tonight we’ll meet up with everyone for drinks and dinner, but now we soak in the bubbly hot tub, letting the jets work away the kinks and aches.
“That was so fun today,” I say, leaning against the rock wall. “The conditions were perfect.”
“You’ve become a really good skier.”
“You taught me, and it only took sixteen years.”
“So you’re saying I’m a really bad teacher,” he teases.
“I’m saying you’re a very patient teacher.”
He smiles, and then his smile fades. I can see the moment the shadows return, his expression darkening, his eyes clouding. “What’s wrong, Nathan?”
He shakes his head, but I don’t accept that. “I can see something’s wrong. Talk to me. Please?”
“I went to my mom last October and asked for a loan.” He must see my surprise because he nods, grimaces. “I told her about our situation, told her how devastating it was for us to lose our house.”
“She said no.”
“No. She said yes.” He draws a breath. “She said she’d been waiting for this moment for fifteen years—“
“What?”
He makes a rough sound. “Mom said she knew I’d never be successful like my dad. Said the only thing I’m good at is making bad choices.”
“Your mom is evil.”
“And then she wrote out a check for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
“You didn’t take her money.”
“No. I’d have no self-respect then.” He pauses, reaches out to clasp my hand and tug me through the water toward him. “I wish I weren’t so proud, Taylor. You might still be living in the lap of luxury.”
I inhale as his chest brushes my breasts. “The lap of luxury was boring.”
His hands circle my waist, and he draws me between his legs. “Have I ever told you you’re one hot mama?”
“A couple times.”
His head dips, and he kisses me. “Maybe it’s time to tell you again.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. It’s a long kiss, sexy as hell, and Nathan lifts his head only when another couple enters the hot tub.
“How about we try the outdoor pool?” I ask as the man splashes past us.
“Good idea.”
We climb out of the hot tub and duck through the plastic flaps that separate the inside from the outdoor pool. The pool is hot, the night is cold, and steam rises. A few people float in the darkness, and Nathan and I join them, floating silently side by side. As we float, it begins to snow, tiny flakes that grow until they’re huge white fluffy things falling harder and thicker from the sky.
With the shadow of the giant mountains in the distance and the hotel’s spires and turrets soaring above us, I think this is the most beautiful, magical moment of my life.
I’ve never loved Nathan as much as I do now, and I reach for him, feel his arms come around me, and together we watch the snow fall.
It’s all good. Life is good. Life is meant to be lived, and by God, we’re living it, every hour, every minute, every second.
It hurts, but it also heals, and as hard as this year has been, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love my Nathan and my girls. I love my family. I love my life.
I even love me.
Marta and Luke’s wedding is held late in the afternoon in one of the huge historic rooms before a massive fireplace. She wears a surprisingly traditional gown, not the sexy satin sheath I would have imagined, and even her dark hair is pinned up in an elegant twist beneath a long lace veil.
Luke’s in a black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt and white bow tie. Eva is her mother’s only attendant and wears a dusty rose dress and holds a bouquet of beautiful roses and lilies, a smaller version of her mother’s bouquet. The ceremony isn’t long, but by the time it’s over nearly all the women are crying.
Marta’s crying.
I can understand why. She’s spent the past ten years thinking the world was one way, only to be surprised by Luke.
But isn’t that the way it should be? We should never think we know everything. We should never imagine we see the whole picture or know the whole story.
Life’s full of surprises. Life has to have those surprises or we’d be bored out of our minds. We’d fall asleep partway through and forget to really think and hope and love and feel.
I slide my hand into Nathan’s as the minister pronounces Marta and Luke husband and wife. Nathan squeezes my hand and points out the wall of windows toward the valley. It’s snowing again, big fat feathery flakes. Goose bumps cover my arms.
I feel. I feel. I feel.
A half hour later, the cocktail party is in full swing in the Rundle Lounge. Dinner isn’t for another couple of hours, so the appetizers are plentiful and the drinks flow freely. Marta and Luke are in and out of the second-floor lounge, taking pictures with Eva and various family members.
Nathan and I are sitting in the huge picture window, where the snow-covered valley is framed by jagged granite peaks. It has to be the most beautiful view in the entire hotel, and I’m so happy I’m here with Nathan and a flute of unbelievably good champagne.
As we sit at our window table, Nathan’s phone rings. He reaches into his coat pocket to silence the ringer but stops when he notices the numbers. “It’s a 206 area code.”
“That’s Seattle. Could be the kids.”
“I better take it.” He walks away from our table to find a quieter spot on the lower level. He’s gone a long time, so long that I’m beginning to think there might be a problem. But then he returns and sits across from me at our window table, signaling for a waiter and ordering us two more glasses of champagne.
“That was interesting,” he says as the waiter walks away.
“Interesting as in good, or interesting as in . . . ?”
“Good.”
I look at Nathan a long time, and he’s got half a dozen more lines in his face than he did last year at this time—a deep wrinkle in his forehead, another between his eyebrows, and short but deep creases at his eyes—yet he looks more handsome than I’ve seen him in a long, long time. “I love you.”
“Why?”
I open my mouth, but the only answer that comes to me is, “You’re mine.”
“It hasn’t been easy.”
My shoulders lift. “It’s been a tough year. But it’s getting better.”
He reaches out and covers my hand with his. “It’s going to keep getting better, too.”
“I know it is.”
“I do, too.”
There’s a light in his eye, a sheen I haven’t seen there for a very long time. It’s as if someone’s flipped a switch and turned something on.
“So tell me about this interesting call.”
Deep grooves form on either side of his mouth. “I’ve been offered a job.”
“Fantastic!”
“But it’s not in Bellevue.”
My expression falls. For a moment I can’t speak, too bitterly disappointed. “I thought you wanted to be back in Bellevue.”
“I do.” He hesitates. “But this is a pretty exciting position, and the salary is amazing. There’d be a huge signing bonus, too.”
“That’s good.”
“Very good.”
“So where is the job?”
He takes a deep breath. “Sydney.”
“Sydney?”
“I’d head Hal-Perrin Technology’s Australia office.”
My mouth dries up. I can’t even imagine moving halfway across the world. Leave the United States to live overseas? Raise our kids in a foreign country? “Wow.”
“I know. Pretty huge.”
“How huge?”
“The salary and bonus package would double what I was earning at McKee.”
“That’s some serious money.”
“I know. My thoughts are going a mile a minute.”
But as I look at him, he doesn’t look troubled, he looks thrilled, like a kid who got his first bike for Christmas. Nathan’s excited. He’s got that light in his eyes, the confident, sexy glint that has always made me believe in him. “What did you tell them?”
“I told them I needed to visit the Sydney office, meet with the different executives and staff there before I could give them an answer.”
“That’s smart.”
He covers my hand with both of his. “I also told them I needed you to come with me. I couldn’t take a job if you weren’t comfortable—”
“Nathan—”
“I mean it, Taylor. I won’t ever take another job without talking about it with you first. You mean too much to me. You’re not just my wife, you’re my best friend, and I need you on my side.”
“I am on your side.”
He reaches across the table to brush a tendril of hair back from my face. “Do you feel like making a trip to Sydney with me? They’re flying us first-class. Will put us up for a week at a five-star hotel right next to the Harbor Bridge.”
My heart’s thumping, and it has less to do with the first-class tickets than Nathan’s happiness. I love this man. “Yes.”
“We’ll look at neighborhoods, check out schools, meet some of the Hal-Perrin executives, their wives and families. Most are Australian, although they’ve got a couple of engineers from India and some marketing people from London and Auckland. But there’s no pressure, Taylor, none at all. If this isn’t the right job, another one will come along.”
“I promise to go with an open mind.”
He leans across the table, kisses me. “I love your mind. And your courage.” He kisses me again. “And your creativity.” He gives me one last kiss, a slow, lingering kiss. “Not to mention your very sexy body.”
I grin at him. He’s given my body some very nice attention this trip.
Not that I wouldn’t like some more.
“Do you think anyone will notice if we sneak out? Head up to our room?” he asks huskily.
I look up, glance around, catch Marta’s eye. She and Luke have just returned from more photos, and Marta’s smiling at me.
“No,” I answer, gathering my small silver clutch. “Let’s sneak out while we can.”