Lawful Wife (Eternal Bachelors Club) (7 page)

“Oh, you know how much I like presents. You’re the sweetest friend ever!” Holly put her hand on Sabrina’s forearm and squeezed. “I really don’t deserve you!”

Sabrina chuckled. “Yes, you do. Without you, I wouldn’t have met Daniel. And I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now.” At the words, she felt tears well up and pushed them back down. She was getting so sentimental lately. And this wasn’t the first time in the last couple of weeks that she was getting teary-eyed without a reason.

“Yeah, that was quite something, wasn’t it?” Holly turned her head and looked outside, but the sad sound in her friend’s voice hadn’t escaped Sabrina’s attention.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot the last few days,” Holly started.

“About what?”

“You, the wedding, your life. Happiness in general. You know.”

“If you’re thinking about happiness, then why do I get the impression that you’re sad?” Sabrina took her eyes off the road for a moment and glanced at her friend.

Holly turned to face her. “I’ve been thinking about getting out of the escort business.”

“Oh my god, really?” Equal measures of surprise and joy shot through Sabrina. While she’d never judged her friend because of her choice of occupation, she’d always secretly hoped that one day Holly would leave the world of escort services behind and start fresh.

Holly smiled a tentative smile. “I mean, it’s just a thought. I don’t really know yet how. I mean, I don’t have that much money saved up, and I’m not really sure what else I can do, but I think it’s time to change my life.”

“Holly, that’s great! I’m so happy for you. Not that I would have ever judged you, I mean—”

“I know that,” Holly interrupted her. “That’s why our friendship has lasted so long. But it’s also because of you that I want out.”

“Because of me?”

Holly nodded. “I see what you have. Happiness and a future with a man who truly loves you no matter what. I want that. I want a man like that. But what man would love me? You know.” She shrugged.

Sabrina tried to protest, but Holly cut her off immediately.

“Don’t. We both know it’s the truth. No man can respect me if I continue to do what I do. It was fine for a while. It paid the bills. And there were times when I really enjoyed what I was doing. I don’t regret it. But I want to move on now.” She waved to the houses they passed along the highway. “I want this. I want a home, a husband, kids. I want to be respectable.”

Sabrina gave her friend a warm smile. “And you’ll get it. You will. Because I know you. Once you’ve set yourself a goal, you’ll achieve it. You’re strong. Stronger than I.”

Holly chuckled. “I don’t know about that. You’re pretty strong. And resilient.”

“So are you.”

Sabrina slowed the car and set the blinker, turning at the next intersection. Half a block farther, she pulled to the curb and parked the car in front of a small store whose window displayed a seamstress’s mannequin wearing a partially finished dress.

“We’re here.”

“This is not where you bought the wedding dress, right?” Holly asked.

“Of course not. But I didn’t want to go back to New York for the fitting, so I found somebody local to make the final alterations. She’s really good. Raffaela recommended her.”

Sabrina got out of the car, and Holly did the same. Then they both walked to the entrance of the small store and opened the door. A bell tinkled as they entered and closed the door behind them.

“Ah, Sabrina!” the heavy-set woman greeted her, her eyes sparkling with motherly warmth. “And you brought a friend.” She walked toward them with her hand stretched out.

Sabrina shook it. “Good morning, Julia! This is my friend Holly. She’s my bridesmaid.”

“Oh, so nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Holly responded.

“Well, let’s get started then.” The seamstress walked to the door, locked it from the inside, then pulled a shade down for privacy. Then she did the same with the window, before turning back to Sabrina and Holly.

“Let’s get you into the dress and see what we need to do.”

Swiftly and efficiently, Julia helped her get undressed, before helping her into the wedding dress.

“Step onto the podium,” she instructed and pointed to a small wooden platform only about a foot higher than the floor.

Sabrina did as instructed.

“It’s beautiful!” Holly exclaimed, looking at her with an open mouth. “Gorgeous! I know you emailed me a photo before, but it’s even more beautiful with you wearing it. Perfect!”

Sabrina smiled. “I feel like a princess.” She looked in the wall mirror at herself. The top of her dress was a bustier hugging her boobs, and at her waist, the silk fabric widened into a mass of cloth that made her feel like she was drowning in cotton candy.

“And you look like one,” Julia added. “Now turn and let me see the length in the back.”

Sabrina turned as if she were trying to make a pirouette on ice and instantly felt dizzy. She reached out her arms, trying to steady herself. Before she could fall, Holly had grabbed her arm and supported her.

“Are you okay?”

Sabrina took a deep breath and tried to regain her balance. “Just a little dizzy. Sorry. I shouldn’t have moved so fast.”

“Can I get you anything?” Julia asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Maybe just a glass of water.”

“Of course.” The seamstress disappeared into the back room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Holly asked again, looking her up and down.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just . . . ” Sabrina hesitated, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “I think I’m pregnant.”

“What?” Holly’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Shhh!” Sabrina cautioned with a look to the door through which the seamstress had disappeared. “I took a home pregnancy test yesterday, and it was positive.”

“Oh my god!” Holly cupped her hands over her mouth and shook her head. “Are you sure?”

Sabrina shrugged and brushed nervously over her gown’s skirt. “I don’t know. I only did the home test. With all the wedding preparations I don’t have time to see a doctor. It will have to wait.”

“But you have to see one, Sabrina. Like, today,” Holly insisted. “If you want to, I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks, Holly, but I think I’ll wait until after the wedding.”

Holly tilted her head to the side, her look one of disapproval. “Why?”

“I’m stressed out enough as is, Holly. I don’t need this looming over my head as well.”

“Do you want this baby?”

“What? Of course I want it!” Sabrina cupped her hands protectively over her stomach. Having Daniel’s baby would be a dream come true. Finding out before the wedding that the home pregnancy test was wrong would be a huge disappointment, one that she didn’t want to face right now. “What kind of question was that?”

“An honest one.” Holly placed her hands at her hips as if ready for a fight she was determined to win. “I just don’t understand why you don’t want to go to the doctor and find out for certain. It seems like not knowing would cause more stress than actually knowing.” Holly frowned. “Have you told Daniel about this yet?”

Sabrina averted her gaze and shook her head.

“Sabrina! Why not? Are you afraid he’ll be upset?” Holly asked.

“No, why would he be upset?” Sabrina asked quickly and adamantly. “I know he’ll be thrilled, but I don’t want to tell him until I’m one hundred percent sure. It would crush him if I told him I was pregnant, and then found out I wasn’t. You know how inaccurate those home tests can be.”

“Which is all the more reason to go see the doctor as soon as possible,” Holly pressed.

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

Holly nodded reluctantly.

“In the meantime, I need you to promise me that you won’t say anything about this to anyone. Not even Tim.”

Holly sighed. “Fine. My lips are sealed for the time being.” Then she broke into a smile. “I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby.”

“I know!” Sabrina squealed with delight and hugged Holly. “And you’re going to be an aunt.” Because to her, Holly was like the sister she never had.

“Oh, I’m going to be the best aunt in the world.” Holly laughed.

“I have no doubt about it.”

“I’m going to spoil that baby as if she were my own.”

“She?” Sabrina laughed. “What makes you think it’s a girl?”

Holly shrugged. “Women’s intuition? Okay, so I’m hoping for a girl so I can show her how to shop and get her nails done and tell her all about boys.”

Sabrina had to stop laughing and try to appear normal again when the door opened and Julia appeared with a glass of water. She didn’t want anybody else to find out prematurely, because she knew just how fast gossip could spread in a small community like Montauk.

8

After dropping Holly off at the Maidstone Country Club, Sabrina drove into the village of East Hampton.

It looked busy in town when she arrived. Nevertheless, she found an empty parking spot and pulled in. After stuffing several coins into the meter, she adjusted her purse on her shoulder and walked along the sidewalk, not sure yet what she should get for Holly.

She wandered along the main street, glancing in store windows, trying to find inspiration, when she saw Mrs. Teller, the Sinclair’s next door neighbor coming toward her.

“Hi, Mrs. Teller,” she called out to her with a smile.

The woman’s eyes widened, clearly recognizing her. But instead of returning Sabrina’s friendly greeting, she dashed into the street and crossed to the other side of it, before Sabrina had reached her. Surprised at her odd behavior, Sabrina stopped for a moment. No, the behavior hadn’t only been odd, it had been downright hostile if she’d interpreted the deep frown on Mrs. Teller’s face and the sneer around her lips. As if she were appalled by what she’d seen.

Sabrina looked down at herself, wondering if something was amiss with her wardrobe, but she couldn’t find anything dirty or torn that would warrant such a reaction. Despite the warm temperatures that had most of the vacationers in the Hamptons wearing shorts, Sabrina wore a colorful summer dress that neither showed too much cleavage nor was too short.

Shaking her head, Sabrina continued walking down the sidewalk and tried to put Mrs. Teller out of her mind. Maybe she was having a bad day and wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody.

For a moment, she gazed into the window of a lingerie store.
Lisette’s
was stenciled over the window. Holly loved beautiful lingerie. It was part of who she was. Yet Sabrina hesitated. The revelation that Holly wanted to quit her job had come as a complete surprise. A welcome one, actually. But did this change who Holly was? Did this mean that suddenly, pretty lingerie wasn’t one of her priorities anymore? Sabrina shook her head at her stupid thoughts. Holly was Holly. She was an extremely beautiful woman with long blonde locks, a gorgeous smile, and a figure any woman would kill for. Even if she didn’t plan to work as an escort anymore, she would still take care of her appearance, and her taste in lingerie would certainly not change.

Having convinced herself that lingerie was always the perfect gift for her friend, she entered the store. A doorbell chimed and soft music played from speakers somewhere in the ceiling. Inside the store it smelled of scented candles. She’d been to this shop once before with Raffaela and found the sales staff very helpful, though she didn’t think she really needed any help this time. She knew Holly’s taste as well as her size.

One sales woman was busy helping another customer at a display of bras while the owner of the store stood at the checkout and finalized another customer’s purchase. She looked up for a moment, glancing at Sabrina, a smile already on her lips, when her eyebrows snapped together and her lips set in a grim line.

“Hi,” Sabrina said in her direction, but got no response.

Feeling awkward, she cast a look over her shoulder, checking whether anybody else had entered behind her who might have caused the scowl on the owner’s face, but there was nobody.

Brushing off the feeling of unease, Sabrina walked to a display of negligees and browsed through the selection, gravitating toward items in black and red, two of Holly’s favorite colors when it came to lingerie.

She lifted a red negligee with black trim made of lace and inspected it more closely. The fabric was soft, yet the lace felt rough and she wondered if it would feel comfortable on Holly’s skin. Sabrina brought the lace to her cheek and rubbed it against her skin. And indeed it felt scratchy. Maybe she should get a negligee made entirely of silk instead.

She turned toward another display, when she nearly bumped into the owner of the store.

Jolting backwards, Sabrina gasped and pressed a hand against her chest. “Excuse me. I didn’t see you.”

The owner, Lisette, addressed her in a low voice. “I would like you to leave. Now. Without making a scene.”

Shocked by her words, Sabrina’s heart began to pound. Her eyes darted back to the negligees. Had she done anything wrong? “But I only touched the negligees.”

“We don’t want people like you here.”

The hostility in the woman’s words, made tears shoot into Sabrina’s eyes. Why was this woman so nasty to her? She hadn’t dirtied the negligee when pressing it to her cheek. Sabrina wasn’t even wearing makeup that could have rubbed off on the garment.

“But—”

“Leave!”

This time the woman’s voice was louder, and from the corner of her eye, Sabrina saw that the other sales woman and her customer had taken notice and were casting curious looks in her direction. The doorbell chimed again, and Sabrina didn’t dare look in the direction of the door, not wanting for even more people to watch the embarrassing scene.

“What is going on here?” a familiar voice suddenly asked, making Sabrina look up.

Paul Gilbert walked toward them with long, determined steps, tossing the owner of the store a displeased look.

“Paul,” she murmured, relieved to see a friendly face. “I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Paul nodded and placed a hand on her elbow, pulling her away. “We’re leaving, Sabrina.”