My Favorite Mistake (7 page)

He grinned. “You’re going to make this hard, aren’t you?” He swung out of his seat and got down on one knee in front of my chair. A stir sounded around us as other diners

turned to stare. He reached into his jacket pocket and removed a black velvet ring box, then opened it to reveal a diamond the size of a peanut M&M. “Denise Cooke, wil you marry me?”

My jaw was slack, which I knew wasn’t a particularly attractive expression for me, but I couldn’t help it. “Stunned” wasn’t the right word—I was positively staggered. I felt the eyes of strangers on me, the air heavy with anticipation. Unwittingly, the setting of my first proposal rose in my mind—the bar, the paper clip Redford had bent into a band as a temporary engagement ring until, he’d said, he could retrieve his grandmother’s diamond. In retrospect, it al seemed so childish.

I stared at the rock Barry offered me, overwhelmed by his gesture. “It’s huge,” I murmured.

“It’s one of those new laboratory-made diamonds. About one-fourth the cost of a regular diamond.”

I tried not to feel deflated. “Oh.”

“I knew you’d approve, as frugal as you are.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“So,” he said, his voice high and tight as he gave a slight nod to the people staring at us. “What do you say, Denise?”

My insides were like hash. I felt like an idiot—I was sure he was trying to break up with me, and the man had been trying to propose! He wanted to
marry
me. It was my second chance to get it right.

I looked into Barry’s shining eyes and my heart wel ed. I knew
this
man’s likes and dislikes—that he wanted to have children…someday, and that we would always live in a big city, pursuing our big-city careers. There was no mistake that Barry and I were perfectly suited to one another. I took a deep breath and said, “Yes, Barry…I’l marry you.”

6

CINDY AND JACKI
stared at my left hand in the middle of the café table, then at me, their lunch salads forgotten.

“Oh, my God,” Cindy said. “Barry proposed!”

I nodded. “Last night.”

“It’s a freaking boulder,” Jacki said, her eyes bugged. “He must have spent a fortune.”

I decided not to let them in on the “laboratory created” part. They might try to convince me it wasn’t romantic to scrimp on an engagement ring. In truth, I appreciated the fact that Barry was saving money for other things, like our wedding, our honeymoon, disability insurance.

Cindy’s eyes grew moist. “And this on top of Kenzie’s baby news. I’m just so happy.”

I squeezed her hand, sending up a little prayer that she’d find a good man soon.

“Have you told Kenzie?” Jacki asked me.

“Not yet,” I said, wondering what Kenzie would say, then wondering why I thought she’d be anything but happy for me. “I’m going to cal her later.”

Jacki raised her water glass. “To the happy couple.”

I clinked my glass to theirs in appreciation.

“Wel , that’s three down, one to go.” Jacki winked at Cindy. “You’re next.”

Cindy smiled wistful y. “I hope so.”

“How’s the class going?”

“So far, so good. There’s a real y cute guy in the class who’s been talking to me. And I found my
dream
wedding dress Saturday.” Then she turned to me, her eyes and mouth rounded. “Oh, Denise—it worked! You buying a wedding gown turned into a self-fulfil ing prophecy!”

“Huh?” Jacki said.

I squirmed as Cindy relayed the “running of the brides” stint and how I’d wound up with a gown.

“Did you know Barry was going to propose?” Jacki asked.

I shook my head. “No idea. Evidenced by the fact that yesterday afternoon, I listed the gown on eBay.”

Cindy’s face fel . “You didn’t.”

I sighed. “I did. And the reserve price I set has already been met.”

Jacki lifted an eyebrow. “Knowing you, the reserve price was more than you paid for it.”

“Wel , yeah, but it’s a great dress. If I’d have known that Barry was going to propose…”

“So cancel the auction,” Cindy said.

I frowned. “After bidding starts, I can’t.” Since I made spending money by sel ing odds and ends on eBay, I wasn’t wil ing to risk being banned from the online auction house.

“Don’t look so glum,” Cindy said. “You’l find another dress.”

I picked at the fruit on my plate. “It’s not just the dress,” I said careful y, acknowledging the dread that had kept me awake al night.

“What?” they asked in unison, leaning forward.

“I, um, never quite got around to tel ing Barry that I was married before.”

Jacki’s eyebrows shot up. “Real y? It never came up?”

I shook my head. “I thought about tel ing him lots of times, but I was afraid he’d think I was—I don’t know—hinting or something.”

Jacki pursed her mouth. “Last night might have been a good time to say something.”

“He had to leave for L.A. earlier than he expected,” I said. “We barely had time to finish dinner.” My excuse sounded lame even to my ears. I groaned and dropped my fork onto

my plate. “What am I going to do?”

“Cal him today and tel him,” Jacki said emphatical y.

“Yeah, Denise,” Cindy said. “Your marriage to Redmon—”

“Redford.”

“—only lasted two weeks.”

“Six,” I corrected.

“Stil ,” she argued. “You had the marriage annul ed. That means it never happened.”

I smirked. “Only it
did
happen.”

Cindy scoffed. “It’s not as if you have this secret long-term relationship in your history, or as if your ex-husband is going to show up on your doorstep.”

I grimaced. “Wel , actual y…”

They lunged forward again. “What?”

I told them about the audit letter and the phone cal from Redford, my sense of panic increasing as their jaws dropped lower.

“Your ex-husband is coming here?” Jacki asked. “The real y hot one with the big Johnson?”

I frowned. “He’s not my ex-husband. He’s my…non-husband. And I’m afraid if I tel Barry now, he’l think there’s unfinished business between me and Redford.”

Jacki angled her head. “Is there?”

“No!” I said quickly. “Of course not. Redford has a family.”

“He remarried?”

“Yes,” I said, then squinted. “Wel , he didn’t say so exactly, but he mentioned children…girls.”

“Marriage and children aren’t mutual y exclusive,” Cindy pointed out.

“Is he stil in the Marine Corps?” Jacki asked.

“Retired a few months ago. He joined his family horse business in Kentucky.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic,” Cindy said. “He’s a cowboy! Does he wear a hat?”

“I have no idea. He has his life, and I have mine. When this audit is over, we’l never see each other again.”

“What about this audit?” Jacki asked. “Are you in trouble?”

“I don’t think so. I cal ed the field office this morning to confirm our appointment and from al appearances, it seems pretty routine.” At least I hoped so.

“You’d better be careful,” Jacki said, pointing her fork at me. “The IRS can ruin your life.”

“My cousin Joey had to go to jail for six months,” Cindy declared.

I frowned. “That’s kind of extreme…did he not even bother to file?”

“Oh, he filed, but a fast-talking tax preparer found al these so-cal ed ‘deductions’ that saved him a ton of money. Next thing you know, my cousin’s being audited and the tax preparer has skipped town. Joey winds up in the clink, with a record for fraud. He lost his job and his wife left him. Sad.”

I felt myself go pale. Trayser Brothers would fire me on the spot if I was charged with tax fraud. “I d-don’t expect anything like that to happen. But stil , I’d like to keep this quiet,” I said sheepishly. “My clients might misunderstand.”

“Does Barry know?” Jacki asked.

I shook my head.

“So you don’t plan to tel Barry about the audit, about Redford, or that you were married?”

“Technical y, she
wasn’t
married,” Cindy argued.

“Not according to the IRS,” Jacki murmured, then gave me a probing look before turning back to her salad.

I studied a crouton, feeling guilty and miserable.

“When does the cowboy arrive?” Cindy asked, changing the subject with a sledgehammer.

“Friday.”

“The audit is Friday?”

My cheeks warmed. “Um, no, the audit isn’t until next Tuesday, but Redford wants to do some sightseeing.”

Jacki looked up. “You’re taking the man sightseeing?”

My defenses reared. “Just like I’ve taken dozens of friends sightseeing who’ve come to the city. And he wants to go look at a stud for sale upstate.”

Jacki’s mouth jumped at the corners. “And you
always
take visitors stud-shopping.”

I frowned. “I’m not going with him, for goodness’ sake. I don’t even
like
horses.”

Jacki nodded, but gave me that look again. “So when does Barry get back in town?”

“He’l be in L.A. for two weeks, maybe three.”

“But that’s perfect!” Cindy cut in. “Barry never has to know that Redford was even here.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I said, feeling better. “This whole mistake with Redford wil be tied up before Barry gets back.”

Jacki nodded thoughtful y. “A good plan,” she conceded, then gave me a sly smile. “As long as you don’t repeat your mistake.”

I swal owed hard. “No chance of that happening…none at al .”

WHEN I GOT HOME
from work that evening, I tried to push aside thoughts of cal ing Redford to firm up his schedule. Procrastinating, I checked my auction on eBay.

When the page loaded, I felt a tiny bit relieved to see that the auction stood at only one bid. True, the bidder had met my reserve price of $275, but maybe I’d attracted a no-pay bidder. Normal y, of course, I would report a no-pay bidder, but in this case, I’d be wil ing to let it slide in order to keep the gown.

Then I zeroed in on the bidder’s user ID: SYLVIESMOM. My mouth pinched involuntarily—the woman at Filene’s who had tried to pry the gown off my body had said her daughter’s name was Sylvie. Could it possibly be the same woman? I looked up the bidder’s profile and saw the zip code was within Manhattan…it seemed too much of a coincidence to be anyone but her.

And cal me warped, but I was
not
going to let that woman have my dress, especial y when now I could use it myself. I was even more concerned when I saw by the high number next to her user ID that she was a veteran buyer—drat! Then in a moment of blessed revelation, I realized I could simply have a friend, i.e. Cindy, bid on the gown and win the auction, with no one the wiser that no money had changed hands. What I had in mind wasn’t ethical if the intent was to run up the price artificial y. But this was an emergency, and I had no intention of taking any money from Sylvie’s mom. I’d only be out the percentage of the sale I would owe the auction house.

By gol y, I was going to win back my dress.

I cal ed Cindy, but before I could tel her what I had in mind, she blurted, “He cal ed!”

“Who cal ed?”

“The guy from my Positive Thinking class! He wants to meet for a drink Friday night.”

“That’s great!” I said and my heart wel ed for her. She deserved a terrific guy.

“Maybe buying the wedding dress wil work for me, too,” she said, laughing.

I cleared my throat. “Speaking of the wedding dress, I have a favor to ask.”

“What?”

I told her my plan to get my dress back, and she was hesitant until I told her who the bidder was.

“Ooh! That woman can’t possibly have your dress. What do I have to do?”

I gave her the auction number. “Log on and bid three hundred dol ars. No! Three hundred and
five
dol ars. And thirty-three cents.” Bidding in odd amounts could give a bidder an advantage.

“Okay,” she said. “I’l cal you back when I’m finished.” Because she wasn’t an auction/e-mail hound like me, Cindy had one phone line between her phone and computer.

I watched the auction screen on my computer, hitting the reload button every few seconds until Cindy’s user ID, WANTSAMAN, popped up as the high bidder at $280. No

matter what amount a bidder enters, eBay wil only increment the bid by enough to win the auction. Since the minimum incremental bid at this price point was five dol ars, SYLVIESMOM

must have bid exactly $275, ergo Cindy’s bid automatical y adjusting to $280. Aha! With such a tentative initial bid, maybe the woman wasn’t that serious about the dress…maybe we would scare her off.

Cindy cal ed back. “Did it work?”

“For now. I’l keep you posted.”

“So I forgot to ask you—are your parents excited about your engagement?”

I bit my lip. “I haven’t told them yet.”

“What? Why not?”

Good question. Even though they were in England, I could have cal ed their cel phone. My mother, Gayle, put X’s on the calendar to count down the days of my “fertile years.”

She liked Barry, and would be beyond ecstatic to learn of our engagement. My dad, Harrison, and Barry had never real y clicked. But talking to my dad was like talking to a portly bronze statue. Stil , he’d be happy if I were happy.

“They’re out of the country. I’l cal them…soon.”

Cindy sighed. “If I were getting married, my parents would throw a parade.”

I laughed. “Maybe this guy from your Positive Thinking class is
the one.
”

“Maybe. Meanwhile, let me know if you see a bachelor go on the block on eBay.”

“Deal. Talk soon.” I said goodbye and hung up, dreading the cal to Redford with every fiber of my being. But neither did I want to wait too long and disrupt his family’s evening.

Chastising myself for the ridiculous butterflies in my stomach, I dialed the number he’d given me and exhaled slowly while it rang.

The phone was picked up, then after much wal owing, a child’s voice came on the line. “Heh-wo?”

One of his girls, apparently. “Hel o, is your daddy there?”

“Who is dis?”

“Um, this is…a friend…Denise.”

“Deece?” the little girl repeated. A man’s voice sounded in the background, then more wal owing of the phone ensued.

“Hel o?”

My pulse picked up at the sound of his voice—touchably close. “Redford?”