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Authors: Cat Kelly

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BOOK: Falling for Sir
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* * * *

 

He couldn't get in to see her at first. When he
finally did she was sitting up in bed, propped up, not only with her eyes open,
but her mouth too, flirting and laughing with one of the doctors. Remarkably—or
perhaps not, considering this was Alana—she must have called in her make-up
artist first thing that morning. Her face was a little pale under the powder,
but her eyes were carefully lined, her lashes fanned and darkened, her lips
glossy and red.

"Darling!" she exclaimed when she saw
Jack hovering, "What are you doing here?"

He walked in to her private room. The doctor
muttered something to Alana, patted her hand and walked out with a nod to Jack.

"Your father called me," he said.
"How are you?"

She waved her fingers through the air. "I'm
fine! Good lord, Daddy's such a worrier. You know how he is."

Surprised, he didn't know what to say.

"I didn't do it on purpose," she
explained, her tone weary. "But Daddy won't believe me. I feel so stupid,
Jack. It was my blood pressure medication. Apparently it doesn't mix well with
grapefruit juice and I've been on this diet for a week...well, it took its toll
and sent me to the bathroom floor yesterday while I was at their house. They
assumed I'd done something drastic."

"Are you—?"

"I'm going to be ok. Just no grapefruit
juice with my meds. Honestly, I didn't know." She was laughing about it
now. "I'm sorry to cause everyone the worry. It's embarrassing
really."

He wasn't sure whether to believe her, but since
there were no cameras following her around perhaps this was the truth. Maybe
she was really did feel like a fool, even if that would suggest humility which
was something he didn't think she possessed.

"You look good, Jack," she said.
"How was Dubai?"

"Ok."

"Oh, that reminds me. While you were away
there was a god-awful photo of us printed in the New York Post. You know, that
photo from the gallery opening about two years ago. The one where I look
fat."

He smiled. "Alana, you've never been fat."
Jack had always thought she could benefit from a few extra pounds, but there
was no telling her that.

"No, but I looked it in that picture.
Anyway, they'd also got hold of a photo of a woman's hand with an enormous
engagement ring on it and they blew it up and put it on our picture—as if it
was a close up of my hand. Everyone stopped me that day to congratulate me and
I had no idea what they were talking about until I saw the piece in that gossip
column. Even Daddy saw it and called me. He's still convinced we must have been
engaged. I said to him,
Daddy, if I look
that fat now shoot me
. He didn't believe it was an old photo. Poor
Daddy."

Jack pulled up a chair and sat. "Great. So
now that's the news all over town."

"That is the latest, darling. But I had
nothing to do with it this time and I wanted you to know it."

He looked at her skeptically.

She laughed. "Honestly, Jack. If I wanted
to plant a story with Cindy Adams I'd certainly pick a more flattering photo of
me than that one. Oh, and the woman's hand that they used in the ring
picture—the close up— is clearly not mine. I would certainly never wear
stripper nails like those."

The door opened and a nurse came in with her
lunch.

Alana was shockingly perky at the prospect of
hospital food. "They have chocolate pudding," she explained to Jack.
"I'd never have that at home would I? But here I have an excuse." She
pouted and then broke into peals of soft laughter. "Ah, bliss, To not have
to worry about a diet for a few hours. You have no idea." She greedily
snatched the metal covers off her food tray and eyed the carefully measured
portions of institutional food. "Yummy!"

Jack was relieved. "You are alright then,
Alana."

"Of course."

"I'm sorry my phone was turned off
yesterday. Your father said you tried to call me."

She screwed up her face as if trying to
remember. Finally, ripping the lid of her pudding cup, she exclaimed, "So
I did! I forgot! I wanted to ask you a favor. Can I come to your wedding?"

He almost fell out of the chair.

"And bring the cameras," she added,
licking the lid of her pudding. "Just briefly. I mean, darling, I am the
forsaken one that everyone's heart bleeds for. I have to milk this for all its
worth, don't I?"

She was, he realized, perfectly serious,
perfectly earnest.

"Darling, I know now that the two of us
would never have worked. I need the limelight, you don't. I crave it. You run
away from it. No. Our marriage would have been disastrous. And the fans like to
sympathize with the underdog, so I've found. I don't think they'd like me if
everything went well."

Jack scratched his ear, trying to come to terms
with this version of Alana. Maybe her scare yesterday had brought her to a new
level of consciousness. "What makes you think I'm getting married?"

Her head tilted. "You're in love with her,
aren't you? Your brother told me he's never seen you like this. Not even with
Laura."

It was true. Laura was different, but he was
different back then too—younger, still growing into his skin, foolish maybe.
Not that he felt much smarter now.

"He also told me that you took him with you
to look at engagement rings. I'd venture a guess that's how the rumor got
started about you and a certain ring. For some asinine reason they decided you
bought it for me." She sighed. "So if you haven't asked her yet,
you're crazy." Picking up her spoon, Alana dove into her chocolate pudding
with relish and Jack got the sense that he was already forgotten.

 
The next
time that handsome young doctor came around, she'd be flirting again and no
doubt asking him if he ever watched her show.

 
When he
left the hospital he turned on his phone and saw three messages from his
brother. Damn it. A crisis with the new build in Dubai.

He spent the rest of the day and night on his
phone and computer, dealing with that. When he had a moment to phone Marianne
she didn't pick up, but at nine that evening he had a text.

"I love u."

It was all he needed to know she was thinking of
him. She understood everything. She always would.

 

* * * *

 

The Centennial party was a success. It was crowded
and noisy and everything she'd usually avoid with every bone in her body, but
Marianne, in her slinky black Tadashi dress and red Gucci heels was ready to
party. Tonight Claudia and Marianne found there was space for them both inside
that woman's frame. They stopped fighting. They grew up and made peace.

She knew when he arrived, even before she saw
him. The air changed. Tiny hairs stood to attention on her arms and the back of
her neck.

Something told her that she was about to
remember this moment all her life, but whether it would be good or bad she
didn't know yet.

She knew she looked elegant tonight, possibly
for the first time ever. Adele's "One and Only" was playing, slowing
down the tempo for a brief breathing space, and she'd just taken a sip of her
Centennial cocktail, complete with 'M' shaped straw.

And suddenly he was behind her. "Ms.
Miller."

Marianne spun around. "Mr. Marchetti."

She hadn't laid eyes on him since yesterday
morning when he dropped her at her apartment. They'd been missing each other's
calls ever since. But she knew he would have gotten her text.

"You've made us a wonderful party, Ms.
Miller. Well done."

"Thank you. I had a lot of
 
help."

He nodded and reached into his jacket. "I
have another project for you, if you think you could take on another for
me?"

Marianne set her drink down on the bar,
wondering what he could devise for her next.

He held out a small square box. The lid flipped
open.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.
"Because I love you and I don't want to waste any more of my life without
you. Even if you are too young for me and a brat. And you'll never let me win a
single game of chess."

She stared at the massive diamond and then
looked up into his dark blue velvet gaze.

And then Marianne Miller smiled, because she knew
that what happened next would not only be something she remembered for the rest
of her life, but it would be good. It would be very, very good.

 

 

The End

 

 

Other
Books by Cat Kelly:

 

www.evernightpublishing.com/cat-kelly

 

 

 

If you
enjoyed this book, you may also like:

 

Prometheus Unstitched by Lila Shaw

 

The Romance Novel Book Club by Kastil Eavenshade

 

Little Dove by Erin M. Leaf

 

 

 

 

 

Evernight Publishing

 

www.evernightpublishing.com

 

BOOK: Falling for Sir
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