The Job Offer (19 page)

"I got it this morning.  I drove
over to the jewelry store in Eastsound, the one we walked by last night, and
had the proprietor open up early.  You look beautiful."

She stood up and crossed over to the
mirror by the door.  The stone was the same color as her eyes.  Ben came to
stand behind her, and she spun around to kiss him then wrapped her arms around
his waist.  "I love it.  It's too expensive, though."

"I can afford it, Anne."  He
put his hands up and cupped her face.  "I wanted to give you something...something
to remember me by after this week."  He pulled her back into his arms so
that she rested her head against his shoulder and ran his hand through her
hair.  "I'll never forget this week together, Anne."  That did not
sound good, Anne thought.  It sounded like this was a parting gift.  Some of
her happiness dimmed.

"Ben, if I was in Seattle, would
you still want to see me?"  She said this nervously against his shoulder.  It
was now or never.  He pulled away from her and rested his hands on her arms.  He
was smiling, and she became encouraged by it.

"Of course I would, Anne."

"What if I'm not the woman you
think I am?"  She suddenly decided that she should explain what she did
for a living.  Over the years she had found that some men were turned off by
it.  Although she did not think that he would, she was not sure.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if I'm different.  People
act differently when on vacation."

"Yes, they do.  Are you saying that
you would think about coming back to live in Seattle?  What about your job?  Your
life is out..."  A knock at the door stopped him from finishing what he
wanted to say.  "I'll be happy when this wedding is over," he groaned
in resignation before he let go of her and opened the door.  His mother stood
in the hall.  She came inside the room when he opened the door and greeted Anne
when she saw her.  His mother was clearly upset and full of nervous energy.

"Ben, you're supposed to be in your
tux and ready to go.  It's eleven o'clock."

"The wedding isn't until two,
Mom."

"That's right, Ben.  But we need to
drive to the chapel, there are photos that need to be taken, we still need to
have lunch because dinner won't be served until five, and as Best Man, you
cannot miss any of it.  Now go and change, and for Heaven's sake, shave."  Ben
winked at Anne then went into the other room.  A minute later they heard the
shower turn on.  "What was he doing this morning?  I saw him drive up the
front drive in your car," she said distractedly.  "You wait, Anne.  Men
just do not get it."  She looked at her watch and groaned.  "Tell him
that we had to get going.  We're already going to be late for the chapel.  Can
he borrow your car?"

"Yes.  I'll catch a ride with my
parents."

"Good.  Oh, Lord, if this day goes
off without a hitch, I'll be very surprised.  Bye, Dear."  Then like a
whirlwind, she was gone.

Closing the door behind her, Anne smiled
at the image of Ben's usually unflappable mother so uptight and took a deep
breath.  Anne had not been invited to the wedding per se, but was included as
Ben’s "plus-one."  It was naturally accepted by everyone that she was
going, so Anne did not feel like she was crashing the wedding.  Looking around at
the now empty sitting room, she turned once more to the mirror to admire the
necklace Ben had given her only a few minutes before.  It did not sound like
Ben intended the necklace as a parting gift if his response to her asking him
about her being in Seattle was any indication.  She smiled happily as she
fingered the stone and thought about what hers and Ben’s future would be once
he found out that she was moving back to Seattle.  She looked forward to
telling him that night.

Anne remembered her coffee sitting on
the coffee table and walked over to pick it up.  It was cold.  After dumping it
out into the buffet bar's sink, she poured a second cup and sat down on the couch.
 She was quite hungry now and pulled the muffin over to her, took the top from
the lower portion, and nibbled the delicious muffin top, the part she always
ate first.  The shower turned off, and Anne heard the sound of the sink water
running for a minute before the bathroom door opened.  Going into the bedroom,
she saw Ben standing in a towel taking the tuxedo from the garment bag.

"Your mother left and said to take
my car to the chapel.  Don't dawdle.  She didn't say that, but it was
implied."

"I'm sure it was."  He pulled
on a pair of underwear and sat on the edge of the bed to begin pulling on his
socks.  The hair on his head and chest was still wet.  "Anne, can you find
my shoes?"

She looked in the closet and found a
shoebox that she pulled out and took to the bed.  The shoes were a size thirteen
pair of black oxfords delivered for the wedding.  Ben already had his pants on
and was in the process of buttoning up his shirt that was sticking in places to
his wet chest and back.  The rest of the tuxedo included a cream colored silk
vest, a deep purple woven silk tie, and a black tuxedo jacket with a deep purple
silk handkerchief that matched the tie.  She watched Ben as he dressed thinking
that he was an exceptionally handsome man.  Once he was dressed, she whistled.  He
looked sharp and incredibly sexy.

"Anne," he began as he tied
his shoes.  "I know that we were interrupted earlier, and I want to finish
the discussion.  But can it wait until tonight?"

"It can wait.  Now get going before
your mother starts calling."

He grabbed her car keys and his wallet that
he had put on the dresser and kissed her quickly before leaving.  Once she was
alone, she turned off the lights in the bedroom and collected her hair and
makeup items from the bathroom.  Her dress for the wedding was still at her
parents' house, and she would need to ride with them, so she decided to head
over there now.  She stepped outside and saw another piece of paper taped to
the glass of the balcony door.  Anne read the word "whore" on the
sheet and shuttered.  That Chelsea really was a piece of work, she thought.  Then
she pulled the note off, crumbled it into a ball, and carried it with her until
she could toss it into a trash container that sat at the edge of the patio.

*  *  *  *  *

The wedding was performed inside the beautifully
decorated Victorian styled chapel built outside of Orcas Village.  Set in a
meadow and surrounded by towering pines, the chapel looked like it belonged on the
New England countryside instead of in the Pacific Northwest.  The white chapel,
built in the 1970s to resemble a Victorian era chapel, was a throwback to days
gone by complete with a center steeple and bell tower.  Narrow stained glass
windows flanked the front door and the sides of the building, and visitors were
greeted with another large stained glass window that filled the arch behind the
altar and captured the light.  The cream plaster walls, stained wooden ceiling,
and exposed beams complimented Lily’s chosen colors of dark purple and cream.

Lily wore a custom Badgley Mischka
designer wedding dress with an off white strapless beaded bodice, a dark purple
silk sash at the waist, and a flowing cream colored organza skirt with beaded
calla lilies interwoven throughout the fabric.  She chose not to wear a vale,
but had her brown hair styled in a soft up-do with strands curling loosely
around her face and beads woven through her curls.  In her hands, she carried a
simple bouquet of purple calla lilies tied with a cream bow that contrasted
with the cream colored calla lilies carried by her matron of honor and used as
boutonnières worn by the men and in the mothers’ corsages.  Flower arrangements
of calla lilies, alliums, and mums were set strategically around the chapel and
tied to the ends of pews to complement the flowers they carried.  The chapel
was quaint, and the enclosed space captured the wonderful scents from the flowers. 
Anne breathed it in with enjoyment.  Lilies were her favor flower.

Anne sat next to her parents in the pew
wearing a simple aqua lace sleeveless shift dress with a scooped neck that
Carla talked her into buying.  It complimented her eyes and showed off her
figure to the best advantage clinging to her curves and ending just above her
knees.  The necklace that Ben gave her earlier in the day was around her neck
and she wore no other jewelry.  She also wore a simple smile when she watched
Lily and Tom exchange their vows and when she found her eyes wondering frequently
over to Ben.

After the ceremony, Anne stood outside looking
at the meadow and trees outside of the chapel instead of returning to the inn
with her parents.  She waited to drive back with Ben, but they could not leave
right away because a few more shots were needed by the photographer.  Finally, when
the church was cleared of guests and the photographs were taken, they saw the
newly married couple into a white Rolls Royce limousine and followed them back up
Orcas Road to the inn.

The reception room at the inn was full
of guests when they arrived and a small orchestra played by the dance floor.  Nobody
danced as it was the custom to wait until after the newly married couple took
their first dance as husband and wife.  The tables were covered in cream and
purple overlaid cloths, and each table sported a tall clear crystal love vase
holding cream calla lilies.

While Ben stood in the reception line with
the rest of the wedding party, Anne looked for a place to get a glass of wine. 
Surprisingly, she saw several people whom she recognized.  Once the guests had
gone through the receiving line, Ben came to find her.  She was talking with a
nice couple whom she had first met years before.  They were frequent guests of
the inn in addition to being friends to the Carlson family.  They greeted Ben
warmly when he arrived at her side.  Ben handed her a Champaign flute when he walked
up and clinked glasses with her before sipping from his glass.  He did not leave
her side again until it was time to eat.

When he went to the head table to sit,
Anne found her spot next to her parents at their table across the room.  Soon the
toasts were given with Ben's being both a stirring and funny Best Man's toast
that paid homage to his sister and her new husband.  There were a number of
calls for the couple to kiss, and then everyone focused on enjoying the
delicious seafood and beef dishes prepared by the inn's resident chef.

Sometime later, after the dinner plates
were removed and the bride and groom shared their first dance, Anne was having
a wonderful time talking to another couple at her table when she suddenly felt
Ben at her side again.  This time he was there to ask her for a dance.  Anne
quickly accepted and let him lead her to the dance floor where a slow waltz was
being played.  Anne recognized the song but could not place the composer.  The
waltz was played at Carla’s wedding, also.  It had been a long time since she
had danced with anyone, not since Carla’s wedding, in fact, and Anne was slow
to start out.  But Ben was an excellent leader and she was soon floating around
the floor in his arms.

All too soon the dance ended and another
song began.  Instead of staying for another dance, Ben led her from the floor
through the many couples moving to the new waltz.  Anne expected him to take
her somewhere to sit down so that they could talk, but instead he whisked her out
of the room and into a private meeting room one door down from the reception
room’s door.

Closing the door of the meeting room behind
them, he quickly pulled her into his arms for a private dance that stirred her
blood and left her breathless.  They swayed to the sound of the orchestra
playing in the other room, their bodies pressed against each other in a sexier
version of the waltz they did on the dance floor.  She moved her arms around
Ben’s neck and looked up at him, and he found her mouth in a seductive kiss
that stirred her body and left her wanting much more.  She finally pulled away
to catch her breath and felt Ben's lips move onto her neck and the space behind
her earlobe.

"Shouldn't we go back?"  She
did not want to but asked because she was afraid of the kiss escalating right
there when anyone could walk in on them.  As it was, her voice was already
breathless.  "Everyone will miss you."  His lips moved to her earlobe
and his hands slide down her back to rest on her bottom cupping her cheeks and
pulling her in closer to his body.

"Hmm, maybe...  I've wanted to do
this ever since you walked into the chapel."  His mouth found hers again
for a passionate kiss that left her moaning before he moved his mouth to her
collarbone then along to the base of her throat.  She could feel his erection pressed
against her, and she rubbed herself against him until his hands lifted her up
against him.  He backed her against the wall and began to pull up her skirt, his
hands sliding up her thighs until he reached her hips.

"Stop, Ben," she whispered
fervently.  He stopped moving his hands upward, groaned, and finally moved his
hands away from her hips.  Then he put his elbows by her head and ended the
kiss so that he could look at her.  He had a scowl on his face that clearly
showed his frustration and disappointment.

"You're right.  Here is not the
place for this."  He pushed himself away from her and took several deep
breaths.  "But we are not staying to close out the night.  I don't care
what my duties are.  We still need to talk, and then I intend to make love to
you all night long."  He leaned forward and told her just what he had
planned for her that night.  The images he created with his words caused her to
blush and her core to fill with moisture.  He gave her a wicked look at her
shocked expression.  "Trust me, you'll like it."