A Modern Day Persuasion (26 page)

“No…never,” Anne answered, cupping his face with her hands before he pulled her in close again. This time she nestled her head into Rick’s chest shyly, breathing in his manly scent—hoping he’d never let her go again.

Chapter 45

Anne beamed as she made her way to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She couldn’t stop smiling. Rick still loved her! And to know he wanted to make her his wife, even planning to approach her father that very evening to seek her hand in marriage.

Getting a sudden urge to reminisce, Anne went to her hope chest. Opening it, she pulled out an old photo showing the two of them on one of their very first dates. She had to laugh at the sappy smiles on their youthful faces. It was evident they were in the throes of young puppy love, each having star dust in their eyes and dreaming of a future life together…dreams that amazingly would now come true.

Stroking the frame gently, Anne was overcome with these tender memories. Anne recalled the first time she saw Rick, and how he had rescued her. The time they gazed under a moonlit sky, making plans for their future. And then there was the gut-wrenching night when Rick walked away. The heartache Anne had experienced through that ordeal was devastating and life altering. But his recent letter had transformed everything. Their love seemed so much richer because of their past, and somehow the years spent apart had only made their love grow deeper. Time had matured them, allowing each to offer a more nurturing and stable love. Anne never would have wished for their separation, but loathe as she was to admit it, now realized it had been for the best.
The separation had only given the two of them more wisdom and life experience to better handle the responsibilities of married life. Because of it, Anne knew their future together would thrive and flourish. She felt an immense gratitude for this second chance and was blessed beyond measure.

Wiping her glistening eyes, Anne got up and walked to her vanity, propping the cherished photo against the mirror. As she did so, Anne caught a glimpse of herself and smiled at her reflection—she was glowing with renewed love.

Laughter filled the Elliot’s home later that evening as the charity event was well underway. Money, food and drinks were flowing liberally, as well as the haughtiness Anne found so repulsive. Biding her time until Rick showed up, she found solace in the family room apart from the crowd, watching television and eating popcorn with Little Charlie and Nicholas now that her help was no longer needed. Every time her thoughts wandered to that of Rick, a big, silly grin lit up her already glowing face, prompting one of her nephews to ask what was making her so happy.

“Aunt Anne, why is your smile so big?” Little Charlie asked.

“Because I feel loved, Charlie,” Anne responded, tucking his hair behind his ear.

“Yes, but I’ve never seen you smile this huge before,” he mused, taking another bite of popcorn.

“You’ll find out why soon,” she said with a conspiratorial grin.

“Is it a secret?” Nicholas asked, joining in.

“Yes,” Anne answered, wrapping her arms around the boys. “But I can’t say anything more about it right now.”

“But we can keep a secret—” Nicholas began to object as Elizabeth poked her head into the room.

“There you are, Anne!” the irritation rang in Elizabeth’s voice. “We’re all out of cherries. Do you know where they are?”

“Cupboard to the left of the sink, top shelf,” Anne replied without hesitation. She remembered exactly where she’d placed the cherries after returning from the grocery store yesterday afternoon.

“Can’t you get it?” Elizabeth looked aghast.

Anne sighed. “Of course,” she said as she stood up, “I’m sorry, I thought you only wanted to know
where
they were. I didn’t realize you expected me to get them.”

Elizabeth sent her sister a snide look before leaving the room while Anne begrudgingly moved towards the kitchen. On her way, Anne peeked in on the gaming area with the hope that Rick might have arrived. To her disappointment he had not, but she spied Will in the process and he seemed quite eager to gain Anne’s attention. Will sent her a cocky smile as he held up his winning collection of money chips, thinking it would impress her. Unfazed by his success, Anne only nodded a quick acknowledgment before turning on her heels, leaving Will rather disconcerted. He couldn’t focus on the rest his game, wondering what could have triggered her cool behavior towards him. Folding his hand of poker and cashing in the rest of his chips, Will decided to find out.

As he was exiting the room, Will noticed Rick just arriving, and it was obvious Wentworth was searching the area, no doubt for Anne. Will found himself beyond irritated by this man’s annoying existence. Out of spite, Will chose to change his route in order to “accidentally” knock shoulders with Rick to assert his manhood. Rick brushed off the juvenile challenge, but made sure Will understood through an unmistakable look he would brook no further stunts of this nature. During this interchange, Rick became aware that Will was not the only one who seemed to find his arrival distasteful.

Eyeing Wentworth, Mr. Elliot turned to Elizabeth who was playing Yahtzee with him at one of the tables. “There’s that man again!” Mr. Elliot commented, releasing his roll and watching the dice come to a stop just one sequence short
of a full house. “Who is
he
anyway?” Walter continued with even more irritation. “I certainly didn’t invite him. Do you think we should ask him to leave?”

Elizabeth glanced back at Rick and observed how Wentworth seemed to be in search of someone. She tried to flag him over to their table, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I told you the other night, Dad. That’s Rick Wentworth and I don’t think you’ll want him to leave. I did some research on him the other night and discovered he’s actually a rather celebrated and wealthy author. Apparently even Hollywood is starting to take notice of his books.”

“Really?” Mr. Elliot’s scowl transformed into an interested smile. “Well, this event
is
for a good cause. I guess it won’t hurt for him to stay.”

Back in the kitchen, Anne quickly located the maraschino cherries exactly where she told Elizabeth they would be. “That wasn’t difficult,” she mumbled to herself as she set the jar down on the countertop to search for an appropriate serving dish in which to display them. Anne found a small silver bowl in the shape of a leaf and thought it’d be perfect for the job.

Giving the lid a few taps on the counter, Anne attempted to open the jar, but the seal refused to budge. Applying more pressure, Anne felt her hand begin to burn as she struggled further to pry it loose. She was just about to place the lid under hot water when Anne felt the jar being taken out of her hands. Startled, she lurched backwards only to find arms steadying her. Letting out a little shriek, Anne looked up to see that it was only Will.

“Will!” she exclaimed out of breath, “You came out of nowhere!” Anne placed her hand to her heart to calm herself.

Will chuckled, and with little effort on his part succeeded in opening the jar, handing it back to her. “A bit jumpy, eh?” he said with a smirk.

Anne ignored the comment but thanked him. She didn’t want to disclose that it was actually him which made her “jumpy”. Attempting to avoid further eye contact, Anne began transferring the cherries from the jar into the decorative bowl. While bent on this task, she became aware that Will had moved closer to her.

Wasting no time, Will’s lips brushed her ear as he began to whisper, “Did you think some more about what I asked?” he said with a sultry voice.

“About what?” Anne asked, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she cringed at Will’s nearness.

Without warning, Will grasped one of her shoulders, turning her to face him, then placed his other hand around her waist. Anne felt paralyzed in his embrace. “About me…” Will continued, “…about me loving and pampering you all the days of your life.”

In a state of shock, Anne tried to pull away from Will, but his strength was overpowering. “Will, let me go!” she entreated. But before Anne knew it, his lips were on a collision course with hers. Maneuvering her face away just in time, Will planted a big juicy kiss on Anne’s cheek, and it was wet. “Will, stop!” Anne squirmed, which only caused him to hold her more tightly.

“Excuse me,” the steely sound of Rick’s masculine voice demanded attention, causing Will to freeze.

For Anne, the voice, no matter how steely, was ever so welcome. Giving Rick a brilliant smile, Anne was able to communicate to him the instant joy and relief she felt at seeing him.

Opposite Anne, Will’s sour expression showed just how infuriated he was by Wentworth’s intrusion. “Look…
Ralph
is it?” Will began condescendingly.

“It’s Rick,” Wentworth corrected him.

“Whatever. Anyway, as you can see, you have rather
bad timing
. Do you mind?”

“Actually, I do mind,” Rick said, taking a step closer as Will shrunk back. “And, unlike you, I think my timing is impeccable.” Rick flexed his hand until his knuckles turned white. “A moment later, and it would have been necessary for me to beat the living daylights out of you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Will threatened.

“Actually, I would,” Rick didn’t back down, “You see, I don’t particularly appreciate another man touching my fiancé.”

Will’s eyes bugged out as he glanced back and forth between Anne and Rick. “Your fiancé?” his once deep voice squeaked. “How come I didn’t know about this?!”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “Well you’re quite aware of it now, so please kindly take your hands off of Anne.”

Will immediately complied, realizing Rick was not one to mess with. Finally free, Anne rubbed her sore arms as she moved to Rick, finding safety by his side.

Having overheard raised voices from the other room, Mr. Elliot and Elizabeth choose to investigate. “Will! What in heaven’s name is going on in here?” Mr. Elliot demanded, embarrassed by the ruckus at his charity event.

“They’re engaged!” Will exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the happy couple. “That’s what’s going on in here!”

To Anne, Will looked like a child who hadn’t gotten his way and was tattling to her dad—it was disturbing to say the least. But to Will’s bitter disappointment, instead of looking shocked and disgusted, Mr. Elliot seemed pleasantly surprised.

“Really? Engaged?” Walter asked, turning to Anne for confirmation. “Anne? Is this true?” Without hesitation, Anne answered her father with an instant smile and an affirmative nod. Walter, wanting further clarification asked, “…to be married?” and Anne once again smiled.

“That is, with your blessing, sir,” Rick added respectfully.

Anne peered over at Elizabeth who was standing silently in the background, her face exhibiting a raging battlefield of pain, regret and anger. Anne felt pity for her sister at seeing the bitter tears stream down her cheeks. Elizabeth had always thought she’d be the first to get married. After all, she was the prettiest, wasn’t she? And the favorite? What right did her younger sister, the one Elizabeth had secretly been jealous of, to get married before herself? And worse of all, to a man like Rick who had it all—looks, status, and
money
.

Mr. Elliot turned around to consult with Elizabeth. “How much did you say he was worth, again?” he asked in a low voice, though not so low that Anne couldn’t hear.

“Millions, Dad, literally millions,” Elizabeth hissed through clenched teeth, her voice filled with raw jealousy.

Mr. Elliot turned around again to face the couple, extending his hand towards Rick, adding with a huge smile, “Welcome to the family,
son
.”

Chapter 46

The day had finally arrived. In less than an hour, Anne would officially be Mrs. Rick Wentworth. The dream she’d held onto for the past seven and a half years had not been in vain. Even though the time spent apart had been long, strangely it seemed as if they had never been separated. Anne was amazed at how they’d been able to pick right up from where they had left off, and fortunately this time, much more prepared to meet whatever tomorrow would bring.

The past three months of planning their wedding had been a complete joy for the couple as they came together to make their special day unforgettable. Not wanting anything too elaborate, they chose a simple but timeless old church in the eastern hills of California overlooking the picturesque and scenic vineyards.

Flying in the week before, Carol worked alongside Anne to bring about all her god-daughter had envisioned, turning Anne’s ideas into reality. The two transformed the chapel, infusing it with soft lighting while incorporating white veil netting that swooped between the banisters lining the aisles. The final touch was the floral arch, decorated with a string of lights where the couple would exchange their vows. The sanctuary had turned out even more magical than Anne dreamed possible.

And now, Anne stood in the Sunday school room with the glow of the afternoon sun reflecting off her mother’s white
wedding gown. Soon, Anne would walk the long aisle to be joined with her groom. Instead of fear, Anne was filled with eagerness to finally make a lifelong covenant with the one she wanted to spend forever with. There were no doubts for Anne, only happiness knowing with Rick by her side, it would be an unforgettable adventure.