City Wedding (4 page)

“Meg? Wine?”

“They're about to touch down, Mom. I think
you'll just have to hang in there.”

“Oh.” She followed that little exclamation
with a muttered expletive that had Meg snickering into her hand.
Spending time with her very mom-like mother when she was in her
airplane head always had her wondering what exactly Grace had been
like in her carefree college days.

“So, distract me, Megan. Talk to me.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Anything.” Grace's fingers went white on the
arm of her seat when the plane gave a little jolt.

“That was just the landing gear,” Megan
reminded her.

“I know. Talk, Meg. About anything. Give me
something else to think about.”

“Um. Wait until you see Jess's dress. It's so
gorgeous. She's going to make the most beautiful bride.”

“Of course she will. Your cousin is a lovely
person – inside and out. Tell me about something I don't already
know, Megan.” Grace glanced at her daughter. “You spent six months
over there in England. Tell me something about these people – this
family Jessica is marrying into. Actual English nobility.” She
gritted her teeth as the plane began its descent. “Give me the
dirt,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

“The dirt, huh?” Meg shook her head with a
smile. “I wish I had some for you. But the truth is, Edwin Gray is
one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you'll ever meet.
You'd never guess in a million years he's an actual English lord.”
She grinned. “Jess'll be 'Lady Fontaine' in a few days.”

“Megan Amelia, I raised you better than
this.”

Meg had to laugh. “What else do you want from
me?”

“Distraction, Meg. The most perfect of all
distractions: gossip. Tell me some gossip. Think. You can come up
with something.”

“Well...”

Her mother sighed. “Flesh these people out
for me. Ed's brother, for example. The musician. What's his name
again?”

Megan made her face a careful blank. Doing so
took just enough effort to irritate her. “Liam,” she reminded her
mother. “His name's Liam. And he's Ed's half brother.”

“They're the same age.”

“Just about. Liam is three weeks older – or
thereabouts.”

“See, Meg, this is what I'm saying. There has
to be some serious dirt to this story.” She waved her hand. “Spill
it.”

“Well, the dirt, such as it is, has to do
with their father, Edwin Senior. He's dead now...long dead. He was
killed in a car accident before Ed or Liam was even born.”

“He was married to Ed's mother.”

“Pippa. Yes. Ed's the legitimately born son,
that's why he inherited the title and not Liam, even though Liam's
actually older.”

“But he, Ed's father, was having an affair
with...”

“Georgiana. Liam's mother. She was a dancer
then. Ballet.”

“Do you know her?”

Megan nodded. “She's very beautiful.
Interesting. Colorful. You can picture her doing...well, all kinds
of things. She's sort of a force unto herself.”

While her mother digested this, Megan peeked
out the window. New York City was there, right outside the window.
It had been a long time.

She turned back to her mom. “You'll meet her.
Georgiana. She'll be at the wedding, with her daughter. You'll see
what I mean.”

“She and Pippa were friends, I
understand...”

“Best friends.”

“Even when...?”

“Even when.”

Grace frowned. “Did they have some sort
of...open marriage or something? Pippa and her husband.”

“No. As I understand it, Pippa had no idea
her husband was anything but faithful to her – not until after his
accident. Georgiana was grieving, as Pippa was. It all came out
then.”

“How terrible for Pippa.”

“I know.”

“How are they still friends? What kind of
friend has an affair with her best friend's husband? And what kind
of woman remains friends with the woman who did that to her?”

Megan shook her head. “Pippa's an exceptional
person. That has something to do with it, I think. She reminds me a
lot of Jessie – an older version of Jessie. She has that same
sweetness, that same belief in people's good sides.” She paused.
“As for Georgiana...I think she's always lived by her own rules.
Somehow, she gets away with it.” She cut off further questions with
a hand. “Mom, you'll just have to meet them. I'm not saying I
approve of what Georgiana did back then. I don't. But there's
something about her. She's not heartless.” Meg pondered it.
“Careless, maybe. No...careless definitely. But Pippa loves her.
That's what it comes down to, I suppose. They're like sisters. Liam
loves her too, for what it's worth, and Ed– even though she wasn't
around much when they were growing up.”

“Where was she?”

“She was touring with her troupe quite a bit
in those days, I'm told. Liam lived with Pippa and Ed. I actually
don't think he lived with his mom at all until he was a teenager
and she got married – and even then, it was only on school
holidays, because he was at boarding school with Ed.”

“And yet he's close with her?”

“I don't know that they're close in the sense
that they share intimate secrets and that sort of thing. But they
like each other a lot. They're so much alike. And Liam spends so
much of his time traveling, touring, performing...I think that's a
bond. Georgiana certainly understands that life.” She pondered it.
“Liam's not really the sort of person who leans on parents anyway –
or anyone. He's pretty independent. Easygoing. He rolls with
things...does his own thing. That's how he operates.”

Even through the tipsy haze, Megan's mother
picked up on the sour note. “You don't like him?”

Meg caught herself and backpedaled. “Oh, I
like him okay. He's funny...good company, I guess.”

“But...”

“But.” She chose her words carefully.
“He's...careless too, I suppose. Like his mother.
Charming...handsome. But careless. It gets on my nerves.”

Grace pursed her lips. “Is it a problem for
you? Standing up with him?”

“He's Ed's best man, I'm Jessie's maid of
honor. We both love them. So no. It won't be a problem. I won't let
it be a problem.” She managed a nonchalant shrug – though it cost
her. “I'm sure he just bugged me before because I was around him so
much. I spent a lot of time with him when Jess and I were in
England. And before that, in New York. Liam and I tended to get
thrown together a lot because Ed and Jess were always looking for
time alone together.”

“Were you and he....?”

“I would never want to be one of the legions
of women kissing the feet of Liam Reed,” Megan said, firmly.

They were touching down now. That, and the
alcohol haze, were the only reasons, Megan was well aware, that she
was able to get out of that conversation with her mom none the
wiser. When it came to her children, Grace Maxwell was eagle-eyed,
with the memory of an elephant. And would hold onto a subject like
a dog with a bone.

Unable to come up with any more animal
metaphors, Meg leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She
was reaching for a zen moment: even breathing, calm mind.
Serenity.

And who was she kidding? Serenity was
unlikely to be something she would feel until she was back on the
plane again, heading back across the continent to Portland – back
home.

Away from Liam.

She'd had five years to get over him. She had
no reason at all to be so nervous about seeing him again.

###

City Wedding: Megan and
Liam
will be available for purchase December 2011.