A Captivating Conundrum (47 page)

~ His ~

The lips struck me hard and without warning. "Rebecca!" I pushed her back, trying to put space in between me and the body that was pressed up against mine.

 "Surprise!" she shouted, as if a birthday cake had just been wheeled into the room and my greatest wish had just popped out of it.

I looked over her shoulder searching for Beth, but the sequins of Rebecca's dress were blinding. "I called you days ago and left a message," I practically shouted.

"I know," she purred. Offering a seductive tilt of her hips, she exposed the body underneath the gown…the one I'd already seen. "I figured you missed me and wanted to talk, so I decided to surprise you here. We can have a romantic time in the big city, just you and I."

"Rebecca, look," I held her arms at her sides, pushing her in the opposite direction.

She wouldn't budge. "Come on, hot stuff, it'll be fun." Her voice grew quiet, "I wanted to talk to you about something, too. I agree, I think we should become exclusive."

"
What
?" My mind was spinning. Everything seemed to deflate as I stared at the woman who I once, very briefly, thought of having a future with.

"Exclusive, silly." Rebecca shook her long black hair. "I think we should give it a try. I really missed you when I was in Paris. The runway was so dull knowing you were nowhere near me."

I shook my head. It was as if I was realizing, at
this
moment, that the woman before me was almost comical. Her heart was nice, her body and face were a lovely package, and her mind was, well…in there somewhere. But everything I was screamed at me to find Beth. I wanted to hold
that
woman. I wanted to hear
her
praise, and look in those deep brown eyes while wrapping that perfect body around me. I wanted…I wanted Beth to be my wife.

Bobby, thankfully, came closer and blocked out the bright lights gleaming off Rebecca's dress. "Hey, man. That was an incredible show."

I shook his hand, searching the background for the black and white clothed beauty that seemed to have disappeared.

"She went to find Amber," Bobby said, reading my urgent thoughts.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, sending up a small thanks to whoever was listening for making sure she hadn't run out the back door and was halfway home to Connecticut by now. "I'll find her."

"Hey, hon!"

"Look, Rebecca." I turned back to her. "We do need to talk, but I have to find the writer first, okay?"

"Oh," her voice sounded a bit dull. "That woman we met this morning?" She looked at Bobby. "I'm sure her dreamboat can locate her so you can say thanks. You, however, need to stay with me so we can get this party started!" Her eyes flashed with excitement. "I'm sure you have a tux waiting back in the dressing room. Time to put it on and walk the carpet, my love. We have to be seen!"

My stomach felt nauseous, as if seeing that Hollywood look in her eyes for the very first time. My anger rose. "Bobby is not Beth's dreamboat, Bobby is Chris's dreamboat."

"Who's Beth?" Rebecca shot an odd glance at Bobby.

Chris appeared and put an arm around the man he loved, offering him a small kiss in order to enunciate the point of who, exactly, the handsome Bobby belonged to.

"Lily Stone said this man was her partner."

"He is," I sighed. "He's her writing partner. Bobby helps her. And her name is Beth Carrier, not Lily Stone."

"Okay."

I stared into eyes that seemed even dimmer when put next to the horrendous shine of her gown. "Rebecca, I'm in love with Beth Carrier. I called you to break things off." Wanting to be a gentleman and wanting to bolt at the same time was really tough.

"
Excuse me
?" Finally the light dawned. "You're telling me you're in love with that auburn-haired slut?"

Bobby tensed beside me, as Chris spoke fast, "Look, sweetheart. I don't remember if Matt said you were a model or a stewardess, but if you ever say anything rude about Beth in MY presence again, I'll make sure you eat that dress." His voice was loud, causing heads to turn. "And, by the way? Sequins went out circa 1970, although I'm a firm proponent of them in Vegas."

Rebecca's face went into shock as she turned back and slapped me hard across the face.

"I can't find Amber anywhere."

I looked up into the eyes that made me once again catch my breath.

Bobby looked at Beth's slightly frightened expression. "Don't worry, she's fine." 

"But…she should be
here
, tripping us all."

He shook his head. "I'm sure she's with the Prescott's. Remember? Her new family was coming tonight."

Beth breathed a deep sigh of relief. "I forgot all about that." She laughed. "Jesus, where's my head?"

Without warning Rebecca turned on her heel and faced Beth. "Boy,
was
I off about writers. Not only are they not overweight spinsters, but apparently they like to steal other women's men."

"Excuse me?" Beth's eyebrow rose up her forehead.

"Rebecca, knock it off." I grabbed her elbow.

"I will not!" She threw me off and took a step closer to Beth.

I was literally dumbfounded watching this strange creature that was suddenly nothing more than a red-faced bitch, stand toe-to-toe with a woman who emitted pure class.

Beth's eyes flashed with fire, but her back remained straight, as she clasped her delicate hands in front of her gown. "This is a charity event for children, Ms. Fabris. If you want to act like a moron, we should move this conversation somewhere else."

"I'll
converse
wherever I damn well feel like it." Rebecca's neck moved up and down, as if she was part of a street gang and about to throw down.

I reached out for her. "Rebecca. Enough!"

"Don't tell me what to do. You gave up
this
." She ran her hands along her many curves. "And now you're stuck with Miss Frigid over there."

I wanted to laugh, considering how far off-base she was on that particular point. Chris and Bobby also sent smiles to the pissed-off woman, knowing that Beth was the warmest being they'd ever met.

Beth remained still; the only movement came from the air conditioning vent up above as it released a silent breeze that fluttered the skirt of her magnificent dress.  

"You got anything to say, bitch?" Rebecca shouted.

A cold smile appeared on Beth's face. "Okay." 

"Beth," Bobby said, in a slightly warning tone.

"No, leave her alone," Chris cut in. "I want to see this."

Beth's gaze locked on Rebecca's face. "I am a bitch. A complete and utter bitch and I am also truly proud of that fact. And if I was not in this gown, standing inside this stunning building on this amazing evening," her voice sounded menacing as she took a step forward. "I would show you
exactly
how frigid I am by taking that man you so want to glom onto so you can get your picture taken, and rip his clothes off. Then I would proceed to make him scream my name at the top of his lungs."  Beth stepped back; her gown blew gently, offering a peek at the stunning legs underneath. "But since I'm a lady, I won't be doing that."

Beth raised her chin in the air and gave Rebecca the once over with a look of sheer distaste on her face. "Actually, forget it. You're not exactly competition for me; it would be a waste of my time and energy to embarrass you. Why don't you just go shake your hips up on some catwalk and call it a day. Okay?"

Rebecca raised her hand and I caught it in the air, twirling her around to face me. "That is the woman I'm going to marry, so I would suggest you don't even think about it."

"
Marry
? Are you
insane
?"

I turned my neck and stared into Beth's wide-eyed gaze. Perhaps she was wondering if—on just this one point—Rebecca might be right.

"No. I'm not." I reached into my pocket; I'd carried the ring with me during the performance, feeling as if Beth's very energy was coming from the emerald, showing me the other half of life that I
could
have…with her.

I opened the box, wishing that I wasn't showing it to Beth in this moment. I had wanted this to be so romantic. Beth's gaze dropped to the gem and she sucked in her breath.

Pushing Rebecca to the side, I took one knee, wanting to be as close to the traditional romantic that I knew I was. 

"You want to
marry
her?" Rebecca's accent snuck into her surprised voice.

I kept my gaze on Beth's beautiful face. Swallowing hard, wishing for psychic abilities so I could see what she would say, I continued, "Yes, if she'll have me."

Bobby and Chris were silent. Bobby moved slightly from side to side, as if ready to stop Beth from racing to any door she might try to escape from. 

"Beth…I love you so much. Will you be my wife?"

"Beth!"

The beautiful face whipped away from me and centered on Nicole.

Bobby groaned, "Damn, that woman's timing sucks!"

 I stood up fast, stepping toward the woman I loved. I was intent on picking her up in my arms and escaping this ridiculous scene.

"It's Amber."

I heard the pain in Nicole's voice and I turned to stare at her. Tears, of all things, were running down Nicole's cheeks and, without a thought, I raced behind Beth as she took off into the wings.

Thirty-Seven

~ Hers ~

I hated this building almost as much as the emergency room. It was so cold. The nurses, the operators…everyone did their best to make the Children's Home bright and cheery by putting as many rainbows of color on the walls as they possibly could in order to keep the kids' minds off the fact that they were alone. No one wanted the children to dwell on the fact that they were in a prison-type structure just waiting for someone, anyone, to come out of the woodwork and love them.

Nicole was standing beside me in the hall. Her voice was a whisper and the tears still hadn't stopped, making her black mascara run and her face closely resemble a band member from
Kiss
.

She hiccupped. "The nurse was backstage waiting for Amber. When she told her that the Prescott's hadn't showed and, instead, had…," Nicole choked on her words. "Decided to go ahead and begin the paperwork to adopt an infant, Amber fell apart."

Nicole tried to take a breath as she stared up at me. "Amber asked to be taken away from the theatre and brought back here."

I just stood there and nodded. I'd never been this angry before. All that little girl wanted was love, and all she ever received was a kick in the teeth.

"If I knew who these Prescott's were, I'd be at their house right now kicking the shit out of 'em," Bobby announced from his place against the opposite wall.

Ken remained silent—just a tall, strong tower of support for Nicole to lean on as she quickly fell apart.

Matt's hand was in mine, and his eyes were filled with tears. He looked at the closed door that was made of pure steel—yet another reminder that this was nothing more than an institution—and shook his head. "Maybe from the performance tonight someone new will show up?" His voice was hopeful.

 I sighed. After listening to all the thoughts, words, ideas, and hopes—all I could think of was the fact that behind that door was a little girl whose dreams had been crushed…again. Amber had done nothing to deserve this. I squeezed Matt's hand, kissed his cheek, and stared into the eyes of the man I had truly fallen in love with. "You'll want to extract your proposal," I said.