A Girl's Best Friend (35 page)

Poppy stands beside me, with Georgie between us still primping for the audience, and Lilly enters the small but crowded room. I can tell she’s looking directly at Max rather than thinking about being on display or his mother’s thoughts. As I see her looking absolutely stunning in the gown I wore for some of my worst moments in history, it’s lovely to see the gown as it was meant to be worn. And Lilly looks quite buxom in it. I’m not sure if it’s the pregnancy taking effect or just some really well hidden pads sewn into her gown.

She walks elegantly down the aisle, and everyone mills around to catch a glimpse of her, gasping when they see her. As they are joined in marriage (or connection, as they’re already married) in front of their families, I see George looking at me, and I feel his eyes burning into my quaking frame.

This is what it is to be loved. It is not based on my perfection. Life is so much more than that.

After the brief ceremony, the guests are released into the larger Red & White Ball. George escorts me and his son to the appetizer table, makes me a few bites to eat, and places a cracker into my mouth. I start to giggle when I catch sight of my father with Gwen. She is decked from head to toe in diamonds and rubies, and it’s clear she doesn’t come from the less-is-more school of thought. She’s like the Ghost of Christmas Past, chains clanging as she walks.

My dad sees me, and then George, dons a disgusted look, and walks away from me.

“Georgie, stay here with your dad.” I follow my father to the champagne table. “Daddy?”

“Don’t call me that.” He turns around, and I fear if he could hit me again, he would. Nothing has changed with him. There is no going back.

“I heard you were getting married next month. I just wanted to offer my congratulations. I’m sure you and Gwen will be very happy.”

“Thank you,” he says coolly. “Is that all?”

“I forgive you, Dad. I’m sorry I let you down, and I forgive you.”

“You forgive me?” He laughs.

I look down at my dress. Where once I saw beauty and self-assurance, right now I feel only angst and a lack of confidence. In one moment, he has managed to bring up a lifetime of self-hatred.

I wander away slowly, and I see George’s outstretched arms waiting for me. I fall into them and feel my tears start against his handsome tuxedo.

“Can we go?” I ask him.

“It’s late for Georgie anyway. We should.”

“Thank you for being here. You’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty as a lawyer.” I take the handkerchief he hands me and dab my eyes.

“Do you really believe I ever wanted to be your lawyer?”

He kisses me again, this time harder and with more meaning than I thought possible. At that moment, he takes the blue diamond ring from my hand. “Finish it, Morgan. You’ve forgiven him. There’s nothing more you can do other than show him you’re free of these things.”

I take the ring, and across the room I meet my father’s hard gaze. Gwen walks away from him, sensing there’s going to be trouble, I suppose. I walk back and hand him the three-carat flawless diamond. “Sometimes, Daddy, the beauty is in the flaws. It makes something completely one-of-a-kind.”

He reaches for the ring and looks into the stone. “Perfect,” he says, shaking his head. “Absolutely stunning and exquisite.”

“Just like your daughter.” George puts his arms around me and faces my father. I see Daddy’s jaw twitch at the sight of the man he once fired, thinking like everything else in his life, he had waved his wand and the deed was done. He stuffs a shrimp in his mouth and turns away from us, dropping the blue diamond in his coat pocket.

“You ready to go?” I ask George.

“Let’s go get a hamburger.”

As I walk between the two men I have grown to love in only two months, I feel completely happy and free. In George, I know that I am capable of loving a man who actually wants the best for me. In Georgie, I know that my mother’s sins do not haunt me, and that I am capable of loving a child unconditionally.

The three of us skip towards the door, giggling and allowing the paparazzi to snap pictures of yet one more Morgan Malliard societal sin.

You see, I just asked for one good fish. In His abundance, God gave me two.