A long velvet box perched near the edge of the counter and she flipped open the lid. Inside lay the diamond bracelet, a fiery prism glowing against a sea of black. She lifted the bracelet to her wrist, and then hesitated. Maybe wearing it wasn’t the best idea.
Dibs appeared behind her in the mirror, straightening the lapels of his charcoal gray suit jacket. He snaked his arms around her waist, swept her hair aside with his chin, and nibbled her throat. “You look very beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She breathed deep, holding her stomach as she exhaled. “Okay, now I’m a
lot
nervous.” She returned the bracelet to the box and snapped it shut.
He frowned in the mirror. “What are you doing?” He lifted the box from the counter and checked the contents. “Why aren’t you wearing the bracelet?”
“Because.” She headed into the bedroom and dumped her jewelry bag on the bed to sort through the jumbled mess for her crystal stud earrings.
His wide shoulders filled the bathroom doorway, that same frown still wrinkling his brow. “Is there a problem?”
“With what?”
He cocked an eyebrow.
She tipped her head aside to insert the second earring. “What do you think your parents will say when they see that bracelet on my wrist?”
His frown morphed into a scowl. “Who cares?”
“I’m sure your mother already assumes I’m a cheap floozy.” She faced the dresser mirror and smoothed her hands down her skirt. “I think I’ll save myself the trouble of adding gold-digger to the list.”
Dibs’s shoulders fell in the mirror’s reflection. He came forward, snagged her hand, and brought her to the end of the bed. “Sit.”
One glance at the finely honed steel in his gaze and she dropped like a dead weight to the edge of the mattress.
He knelt before her on one knee, leaned in and stared directly into her eyes. “Don’t ever…
ever
…assume my feelings for you have any bearing whatsoever on what my parents think.”
He bounced the bracelet in his palm, closed his fingers around the diamonds in a tight fist. “There is only one reason I bought you this bracelet. And it wasn’t to make my parents view you in a certain light, or so you would worry about what they might think.”
He lifted the ends and fastened the clasp around her wrist. “I bought this for you, my darling, sweet Tessa, because it just so happens I am deeply and totally in love with you, and I want you to remember that every time you see it.”
She snapped her gaze to his, finding the exact thing she had seen all along. Dibs did love her. Even though she’d done nothing to deserve his love. Despite her mistakes, regardless of her faults, no matter what her past held or the fear in her heart.
And as she searched the face of the man before her, the man who helped her without hesitation, who waited for her and took care of her, the one person who befriended her when she needed him most, her heart swelled, and a wave of love so profound coursed her body, she shuddered and fell into his arms.
She kissed his cheeks and lips, his chin, throat, and back to his lips through a flood of warm tears. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she whispered.
He chuckled into her hair. “You’re shaking.”
“I can’t help it. You take my breath away.”
“So you’ll wear the bracelet?”
She closed her eyes. “I’m never taking it off. Not ever, ever.”
****
He loves me…He loves me!
Tessa clutched the diamonds against her wrist for the fifth time, stopping beside Dibs outside the dining room entrance.
He pried her fingers loose and held both her hands in his. “You okay?”
She smiled. “I am now.”
Leaning across her to pull the door open, he stole a kiss, and then guided her through the threshold.
Her heart tripped a beat. Mr. Brenner stood at the opposite end of the table, a dark blue suit enhancing the distinguished line of his shoulders, crisp white shirt cinched with a maroon tie. He poured a drink from the large wooden bar stationed along the far wall, and lifted his glass when the door closed behind them. “David, my boy, it’s good to see you. And it’s Miss Adams, if I remember correctly.”
She extended her hand as they approached. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Brenner. And please, call me Tessa.”
“A bit more surprising than nice, I’d gather.”
Embarrassment ballooned through her stomach. Based on his reply, Mrs. Brenner had already informed him about their earlier encounter at the pool.
He clasped Dibs’s shoulder. “Still a scotch man?”
“Yes.” Dibs’s palm met the small of her back. “And Rex will take a vodka martini, three olives.”
Mr. Brenner shifted his eyes to her before mixing their drinks. “It’s Rex then, is it?”
“No,” she answered in unison with Dibs’s, “Yes.” They shared a smile.
“Dibs thinks since he has a nickname, everyone else should have one too,” she explained. “Unfortunately, that’s the one he’s given me. You may call me Tessa.”
Mr. Brenner turned with her martini in hand. “So, it’s more of a pet name, than nickname.”
She hesitated. What was this? Another of his little tests? “Rex is what Dibs prefers to call me…so I let him.”
One of Mr. Brenner’s eyebrows rose the slightest degree as he handed Dibs a glass of scotch. “She’s got spunk, I’ll give her that.” He
clink
ed their glasses together before tipping his drink to his lips.
Approval glinted in Dibs’s eyes, and she smiled around a sip of her vodka. He had been pleased with his father’s response.
All of their heads swiveled at the swish of the door. Tessa’s toes curled inside her shoes as Mrs. Brenner gracefully crossed the room, a tan raw silk skirt flowing at her feet, intricate blue and green embroidery dancing around the hemline. Her blue silk shirt had three-quarter length sleeves and ended abruptly at the top of her waistband. Thick cuff bracelets encircled each of her wrists, stunning in their brilliance, stacked with cut emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. Her ash-blonde hair was pinned up and highly coiffed, adding to the height and length of her, a tall, slim, imposing force to be reckoned with.
As she neared, the slender tilt of her jaw came into focus. Combined with her wide unlined brow, the slope of her aristocratic nose, her stunning beauty belied her age. When she was younger, Mrs. Brenner must have been exquisite.
“Ah, my darling, you look ravishing.” Mr. Brenner kissed her cheek when she stopped in front of them.
“How many bourbons have you had, Benjamin?” She accepted the glass of gin he offered. “You’re being absurd.”
Mr. Brenner glanced at Tessa, the rim of his glass nearly hiding the purse of his lips.
Oh no, this wasn’t just a test. It was a goddamned course final. She gulped a generous swallow of her martini, a small concession against the very long evening ahead.
“Darling, allow me to introduce Ms. Adams.”
Mrs. Brenner lowered her intimidating stare to Tessa’s dress. “We’ve met. By the pool.”
“Yes.” Tessa skimmed the high arch of Vanessa Brenner’s eyebrows before meeting her sapphire gaze. “I feel I must apologize. I’m afraid we didn’t meet under the best—”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She dismissed Tessa’s amends with a wave. “This isn’t the first time I’ve caught David in the pool with one of his lady friends.”
Tessa jerked her focus to Dibs.
“I was seventeen years old, Mother. Let it go, already.”
She bit her lip, smirking into her glass.
“What is this on your face?” Dibs’s mother clutched his chin and briskly turned it under her appraising eye. “Did you forget your razor?”
His shoulders lifted with a deep intake of breath. “No, Mother.”
“Well, you should shave. A beard looks messy. Don’t you agree, Miss Adams?”
“No, I don’t.” She smiled up at Dibs. “I actually think David looks quite handsome.”
“Well, there’s no accounting for—”
“Mother,” he snapped. “It’s my face and I will do with it as I please.”
The door swung open, and a handsome young man in a deep brown suit entered. “Hello, everyone. Sorry I’m late.”
“Marcus, you have impeccable timing as always.” Raising his glass, Mr. Brenner welcomed the new member to their group.
Tessa aimed an inquiring eyebrow at Dibs, but he was preoccupied pinching the bridge of his nose, mumbling incoherently.
The young man bore the signature Brenner square jaw line and possessed Dibs’s athletic build, but stood slightly shorter, with olive skin, and brown hair and eyes.
“Hello, Father, I’ll have a bourbon if you’re pouring.” He pecked each of Mrs. Brenner’s cheeks. “Mother.”
“Marcus, where is Emily?” She kissed the air around his face. “Why isn’t she with you?”
“Let’s see, what month is it? April?” He received the crystal tumbler Mr. Brenner offered. “Ah yes, that would mean she’s in Paris, spending scads on her new spring wardrobe no doubt.” He smiled at Dibs, shaking his hand. “How are you, old man? And who is this lovely creature you brought with you?”
“This is Rex.” Dibs tipped the lip of his glass forward. “Rex, this is my kid brother, Marcus.”
“Tessa Adams.” She offered her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“She’s absolutely breathtaking, Dibs.” Marcus retained her hand, but withdrew a pace, running his gaze up and down the length of her. “Well done, old man.”
She pinched the inside of her cheek between her teeth. Affable manner aside, this Brenner was apparently no less tricky than the rest of them. “Thank you for the generous compliment, but the last time I checked, Dibs wasn’t responsible for my appearance.”
“And she’s feisty.” Marcus squinted, a hint of intrigue coloring his tone. “Fantastic.”
“Now that we all know Marcus is completely taken with Miss Adams…” Mrs. Brenner floated a hand toward the table. “Shall we be seated?”
Dibs’s brother tucked her hand inside his arm, choosing to escort her to the table. “Has she made you want to run and hide yet?” he asked quietly, tipping his head toward his mother.
Tessa huffed. “Hide and seek is a child’s game, Marcus.”
“Goddamn it, Dibs!” He aimed a full grin at his brother. “She’s absolutely marvelous.”
They all found their seats, with Mr. and Mrs. Brenner at the end and head of the table, Tessa on Mrs. Brenner’s right and Marcus on her right. Dibs sat directly across the table on Mrs. Brenner’s left, while another place setting remained unoccupied before the chair on his left.
“Don’t tell me you’ve invited Caroline, too.” He jerked his chin toward the empty seat.
“Of course, David.” Mrs. Brenner unfolded her napkin over her lap. “Your father and I thought it might be nice to see the family, since you’ve finally left that vile city for our part of the world.”
A clink resounded when the base of Tessa’s glass connected with the edge of her plate. Should she stop drinking now…or give up and get completely smashed?
“I suppose my thanks for that should go to you, Miss Adams.” A cunning smile curled the corners of her mouth as Mrs. Brenner plucked a small silver bell from near her water goblet. A cheery chime sang through the abrupt silence.
Tessa’s spine met the chair with a hard jolt. Had their hostess just implied
she
was responsible for their trip to Bernhamwood…perhaps even
cajoled
Dibs into bringing her here? Fine. If this was some daring game of wits, she was happy to rise to the challenge. She smiled in return. “You’re most welcome.”
Mrs. Brenner’s fingertips whitened on the handle of the bell. Marcus sputtered, and then quickly altered his laughter into a small cough.
Dibs cleared his throat, but his focus remained on her hand, holding the stem of her glass. Tessa followed his gaze down to the bracelet at her wrist, and then smiled into his eyes, sparkling with mischief over the gentle curve of his lips.
“So, what is it that you do, Tessa?” Marcus twisted in his chair, his arm on the edge of the table so he sat facing her.
A server arrived and lowered a bowl of soup onto Mr. Brenner’s plate.
“I own an event-planning business.”
“Yes, Marcus,” Mr. Brenner explained. “Tessa’s company is handling the summer BFG meeting this year.”
“Really?” Marcus lifted his brows around the table. “That should be very interesting.”
“We’ll have some interesting activities planned for the attendees, if that’s what you mean.”
“What’s truly interesting to me is how you and David began dating at the same time your company was given the event.” Mrs. Brenner leaned slightly aside when the server delivered her soup.
“Pure coincidence,” Dibs said.
“We weren’t actually dating at the time.” Tessa opened her napkin across her lap. “We were just friends.”
“Oh?” Mrs. Brenner asked. “So you began dating
after
your company had been hired for the event?”
Tessa’s pulse quickened. So now she had apparently
blackmailed
her way into working for BFG? Using
sex
as a bargaining tool? Oh-h-h, the woman was in for a rude awakening if she chose to banter words as if they were chips at a poker table.
“Mother, you’re being rude.” Dibs yanked his chair forward an inch. “You don’t have any right to insinuate—”
“No, Dibs.” Tessa held up her hand. “She’s right. That is absolutely correct, Mrs. Brenner. Dibs and I met, we became friends, through our friendship we discovered I had presented to BFG Investments, a few days later my company was hired for the event, and then about a week later we began dating. The strange thing is we would likely have met each other, anyway.”
She met the clear blue light in Dibs’s gaze, her beacon amid a threatening storm. “It’s an astonishing thing to me how fate can put someone so wonderful in your path. Even when you least expect it, and even when they’re the last person you’re looking for.”
She refocused on Vanessa Brenner. “You see, Mrs. Brenner, the truth is I didn’t want to date your son. In fact, I insisted quite emphatically we didn’t date. But over time, as I came to know him, and learned what an amazing person he is, I simply couldn’t resist. David won me over, plain and simple. And for that, you have him to thank.”