Chapter Fourteen
Day One Thousand Three Hundred Two
The venue had been perfect. The vows had been both eloquent and moving. The bride and groom had been almost the perfect replica of Bridal Ken and Barbie. And if the ceremony hadn't been so damn touching and so damn worth it, Clare would have killed everyone involved with the chaos of the morning from her micro-managing mother to the overly sensitive bride. But one look at the happy couple after the minister officially announced them to the world as Mr. and Mrs. Jake Martin—their eyes glistening with so much love and hope for the future— and even she had to confess that she would go through it all over again.
Just not anytime soon because no one deserved having to go through the hell that she had experienced preparing for the wedding, especially not for something that was over as quickly as it had begun.
Now, it was an hour later and they were convened in the backyard of the bride's family estate. The two families and all of their friends mingled together in surroundings that looked as though a wedding magazine had vomited them up. It was certainly beautiful in that over-the-top way that only wedding planners and reality television producers actually loved, definitely more than she had expected from her stepbrother who preferred cheap flannel and beer over expensive suits and wine. However, what else could be expected when one marries the daughter of a billionaire who also happens to be a somewhat infamous socialite?
"Hey, Clare," he greeted her, breaking her focus on the couples swaying on the makeshift dance floor. She looked up to see the groom standing in front of her, his tie missing and the first few button of his shirt undone. "Mind if I sit?"
Clare nodded noncommittally, sliding her half empty beer bottle towards him. She wasn't a drinker by any means, the nights out with Alli being the exception to her sober rule, and she knew that Jake would enjoy a beer in his hand instead of a champagne flute. He thanked her and chugged down the liquid, causing her to swallow a remark that she knew would not be appreciated on this auspicious day.
"So, what a day, huh?" he spoke once the bottle had been emptied. "God, I still can't believe I'm married now."
"Really? You do know that this all happened because you asked her to marry you, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I never actually believed that this day would happen."
A crease formed in the middle of her forehead as she furrowed her brow in confusion. "What the hell did you think was going to happen? Did you think that she was going to run away screaming from the church when she saw you at the altar or something?"
"Or something."
Clare scoffed. "Jake, you've been with the woman for over four years with no breaks in between. That is a pretty amazing feat in this modern world if you ask me. So, I'd say that it was a pretty safe bet that she was going to say yes when you proposed to her and an even safer bet that she was going to say I do today."
"Yeah, I guess so." Jake shrugged. "I guess…I guess I've just been waiting for her to change her mind. I mean, look at this place. Eliza was raised here. All of her life she's had money and everything that comes with it, including the great career that comes with the top notch schooling. I come from a middle class background and I am a professional landscaper who will probably cultivate the grounds of some building her family designs. There is no doubt in my mind, in anyone's mind, that Eliza took a huge step down when she chose me and it might just be a matter of time before she figures it out too."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you might be a dumb ass?"
"Leave it to you to call the groom a dumb ass on his wedding day."
"It's accepted when the groom is my stepbrother and talking like a moron. Did it ever occur to you that she's with you because in her mind, you are the best possible match for her? Did you even think that there might be a possibility that she thinks that she's not good enough for you in the same way that you think you're not good enough for her. That she loves your idiotic ass and will continue to love your ass in the next forty years just like she's done in the last four?" Clare demanded, the words spewing out faster than her thought process.
"Damn it, Clare, I don't need a lecture. I just need—"
"—Reassurance?" she cut him off. "Well, while I'm over here reassuring you that your wife won't think she made a huge mistake on the honeymoon and leaves your butt, who's doing the same for her? Because don't you think that she might need the same reassurance that you're not going to disappear one day because you're suddenly tired of everything that comes along with sharing the life of an heiress? I hate to break it to you, Jake Martin, but you're not the easiest person to live with either."
Jake began to fiddle with his beer bottle, peeling and unpeeling the label with her words hanging heavily between them. "What if she wakes up one day and realizes that I was never the guy she was supposed to be with?"
Clare covered his hands with one of her own and her other hand came to rest on his shoulder. "And what if you do that very same thing? We're not teenagers anymore, Jake. We can't keep going to our friends with our fears about whatever the future may or may not hold. You have a wife, Jake, who you need to talk to when these worries arise because I can almost guarantee you that she's got those same worries. And if you don't stop talking to me and start talking to her, it's a definite possibility that you will lose her."
"She's right, you know. You should listen to her." Their head simultaneously whipped around to find Owen Milligan standing three feet from them, dressed in a tailored navy blue suite and a wrapped package under one arm. "I know I'm more than fashionably late but I was still trying to figure out if I should come on the way here."
She was shocked into a stupor and could do nothing more than stare at her boyfriend—ex-boyfriend now?—as he shifted from foot to foot. She vaguely felt Jake squeeze her hand and kiss her on the cheek before standing, watching as he walked over to Owen to shake his hand and retrieve the gift that Clare knew he had to of purchased on his own. After all, the one they had bought together was sitting on a table just inside the mansion and the fact that he had chosen to buy something without her not only shocked her but touched her heart as well.
"I didn't expect you to come," she said when she finally trusted her voice to speak.
"I didn't expect to be here."
"Then why did you?"
"I promised someone I'd be her date and I'd like to think I'm the type of guy who keeps his promises."
"Seeing as how you missed the ceremony and half of the reception, why don't you just consider this a promise kept and go on home, Owen?" Clare suggested hotly.
"I'd rather not." He took the few short steps that separated them and sat down in the seat that had been vacated by Jake. "We need to talk, Clare. I think it's time that we deal with all the unspoken garbage, don't you?"
She shook her head tiredly. "This isn't the time or the place. My stepbrother just got married and we're sitting in the middle of his reception. And I don't want to start another fight with you, especially not today of all days and in front of all these people."
"Then how about you just listen to what I have to say. And if you still want me to go after I'm done, I'll leave and you won't ever have to see me again," Owen ventured. Her breath caught in her throat at the realization that this could very well be the ending to the story that was them. "What could it hurt, Clare, when we're already not speaking? Things can't get any worse than they already are. We just might gain a little closure out of this."
"Owen, I—"
He held his hand up to officially cut her off. "You've already said everything that you needed to say. I just wasn't listening that day. Call it my Neanderthal tendencies overriding my basic human logic. I lashed out and I'm sorry for it. I'm also sorry that it's taken me this long to apologize when I should've been on my knees the moment you walked out the door."
Clare felt the muscles in her stomach tighten and her eyes begin to burn as tears welled up. "I don't understand. Owen, there's been nothing but the minimal amount of words between us for three weeks. Suddenly, without any type of warning, you're here spilling your guts out. Did you hit your head or something? Should I be calling a doctor? The man sitting in front of me saying all of this cannot the same man who was screaming at me in our apartment. So, what exactly changed to cause this huge epiphany?"
"Someone that I used to know sent me a letter yesterday along with the prologue of his new book. It was some pretty life-altering stuff," Owen replied.
"I'm going to kill Eli," she grumbled.
"And leave a kid without a dad? That seems kind of harsh," Owen joked. He chuckled softly until one glance at her face proved that she was not amused. "Clare, you should really thank the man because I don't know if I would be here if it wasn't for what I read."
Her jaw tightened, her eyes narrowed and whatever tears that had be threatening to fall dried up quicker than rain in the desert. "So, I try to have this conversation for weeks and you ignore me. But my ex-boyfriend sends you a letter and you're all of a sudden ready to work things out? You've got to be fucking kidding me."
Owen shrugged. "It's one thing for your girlfriend to tell you that the past is the past. It's another thing entirely when said past tells you the same thing. I guess that I needed to hear it directly from his side that what you had together is no longer a factor in the present before I could let myself truly believe it."
"You really are a dumb ass, aren't you?"
He laughed and nodded his head. "Honey, sadly, most men are when it comes to things like this. But let me ask you something. If the shoe was on the other foot and it was Anya in this situation instead of Eli, wouldn't you have reacted the same way?"
A vision of the girl that Clare had only known as her best friend's brother's girlfriend flashed before her eyes. Chocolate brown hair and blue gray eyes, Anya MacPherson had been the very personification of the girl next door. With her classic beauty and sweet temperament, the girl had turned more than one head during her time at Degrassi. And there was no other head that was turned more than that of Owen, Clare remembered, even though they had one of the shortest romances in the school's history.
Would she have been okay if the tables had been turned and it was Anya coming to Owen for help? Even though they weren't together for very long, she knew that the girl had made quite an impact on the man sitting beside her. Would she have been able to deal with her entrance into their lives like Clare was asking him to deal with Eli? Or would she be the one sitting here asking for forgiveness because it was she who went off the proverbial handle?
"If it was Anya…if she was to come to you for help," Clare paused, taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly. She dropped her gaze to the table and shook her head in the negative. "I'd like to think I wouldn't be bothered but I think I'd feel the urge to rip her hair out. And now I feel thoroughly disgusted with myself."
Owen smiled at her response, placing a hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at him again. "Clare, you're right. I am a dumb ass." She laughed. "If you want to work with Eli, I'm not going to try to stop you. You were right, this is a huge opportunity for the both of you and I know that you'll end up hating me if I try to force you to quit. I can't have the woman I love hating me."
"But what about everything you said before? I can't change my past, Owen. And I can't have you going off the deep end assuming we eloped if we wind up working late one day," Clare pointed out.
"Those are my issues and I need to work on them. They have nothing to do with you and I'm sorry I acted like they did."
"So, you're really okay with us working together? I mean—"
"Clare, I'm okay with it. No more doubts, okay?" She hesitated a moment, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully, before nodding. "Good. Now, will you please come home? I miss you."
"You do?" Owen nodded. "I miss you too. We can pack my things tonight."
Owen drew her onto his lap, feeling a lump form in his throat when he felt the wetness of her tears hit his neck. They still had more issues to sift through and while he was only about seventy percent okay with his girl working with her ex, he no longer had any doubts that they would work everything out because the woman he loved was once again enveloped in his arms. She was his again and all was slowly becoming right in his world once again.
When she whispered I love you softly in his ear so only he could hear, the realization that Eli never stood a chance cemented itself in his mind. Despite the fact that Clare had once thought them to be soul mates, the other man didn't actually know the woman currently sitting in his lap. Eli had known and loved the girl that remained only in the shadows of who the woman was now. If Clare had met Eli now instead of then, she probably never would have given him a second look just like she had never given Owen a second look back when she was fifteen.
And it was that realization that made him feel more secure in his relationship than any platitudes that Eli could offer or reassurances that Clare could give him.
-O – C-
Day One Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Seven
Five weeks Clare had been back in his apartment and they had agreed to start fresh on a clean slate. Five weeks it had been since he had read that letter from Eli and realized that his pettiness was about to cost him the best thing that had ever happened to him. Five weeks have gone by since he agreed that the best thing for all involved was if Clare continued her working relationship with the man who had once broken her heart, as long as all parties involved remained open and honest about it at all times no matter what.
Five weeks and now he was setting in a Thai restaurant beside his girlfriend, waiting for said man to arrive and join them for a dinner that was going to be more than a little awkward. And he had his own lack of plans to thank for that since spring break equated to doing nothing as much to students as it did to the ones that taught them.
Well, that and he was less than proud to admit that he might be more than a little whipped by his girlfriend.
"Eli wants to take us out to dinner tonight," Clare had announced upon walking in the door that afternoon. She kissed him briefly before hanging her purse on the back of a chair and stripping off her denim jacket, toeing off her sandals as she made her way to the half-filled coffee pot to pour a cup of the dark liquid. "I told him that it should be fine since we didn't have any plans."
The newspaper he had been reading when she entered lay forgotten as Owen turned to stare at this girlfriend who was leaning nonchalantly against a counter, nursing a steaming cup of the brew that he knew had been doctored with two sugars and a splash of French vanilla creamer. "I didn't know he was in town. I thought that your next face-to-face was next month when he finishes the last couple chapters of the book."
"Yeah, it is. That's not actually why he flying in."
Just because Owen was finally secure enough in his relationship to not be bothered by their work relationship, he found himself more than a little disturbed that Eli was flying into town for a reason that had every possibility of being personal. "And why is that?" he asked, trying to keep the question casual as to not raise any red flags with Clare. The last thing he needed was to start a fight that could very well end up like the blow out they had two months prior.
"Daphne is coming with him."
"Daphne?"
Clare nodded. "The doctor finally gave her clearance to fly and I guess she has family all over Canada and the States. She wants to meet us on her way to Boston to visit her aunt."
"You mean she wants to meet you to check out the woman who been working with her husband."
She smiled and shook her head. "Not just me, she wants to meet you too."
"Why? I have nothing to do with whatever you two are doing."
"You can't really think that." She placed her mug behind her as she pushed off of the counter, walking over to where he was sitting and placing herself square on his lap. One hand came up to rest on his shoulder while the other touched his cheek, her thumb stroking the stubble there, leaving him to loosely band his arms around her waist. "This whole thing is about you."
"I'm sure Eli is going to be thrilled to hear that."
"It's not like he doesn't already know, Owen. Without you, there wouldn't be us and there wouldn't be a story without us. And even if the story wasn't about us, I would still be working with him because doing so means so much more for our future than I think you even realize," Clare explained. "I once dreamed of being a journalist then I dreamed of running my own publication. Those dreams took me away from you. But now I have a new dream. One that involves staying here with you, doing something that I absolutely love that will never take me away from this life we've created together."
Owen cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the emotional turn their conversation had clearly taken. "So, what time should I be ready?"
"Eli set the reservation for seven so we'll probably head out around six thirty." There was something akin to uncertainty in her crystal eyes. "Owen, you know I meant every word of what I just said, right?"
He leaned forward to gently touch his lips to hers, moving a hand up to tuck a curl that had strayed from her ponytail behind an ear. "I know. And I'm not always good at telling you what I'm feeling. But I hope you know that I love you, no matter what, even if I don't always say it."
"I know. I love you too."
It was that love that had him sitting in one of the nicer restaurants in the immediate vicinity of their apartment, dressed in a pair of khakis and a sweater that Clare had purchased the week before for dinner with their parents. Clare sat beside him in the same dress she had worn for her stepbrother's wedding with a sweater borrowed from Alli, her hair a mess of curls that had his hand itching with the urge to tangle his fingers in them so completely that it would take hours to free them. He wanted nothing more than for the blissfully wedded couple to arrive and get this dinner over with so that he could whisk Clare back to their apartment for a more private evening together.
Owen's prayers were answered when the man of the hour arrived not five minutes later, dressed in a collared shirt and jeans with his trademarked leather jacket. An obviously pregnant brunette wearing a simple sundress followed closely behind with her hand securely fastened to her husband's, both wearing smiles so wide that the room seemed to brighten upon their entrance. He stood with Clare to greet the newcomers, exchanging simple pleasantries before taking their seats once again opposite of the couple.
As the couple and his girlfriend conversed, Owen chose to remain quiet and study the woman who was a stranger to Clare and himself. The news of their marriage had had Owen thinking the man was moronic for letting Clare go when the news first broke. However, it was easy to see now why Eli had married this woman instead of returning to his so-called soul mate for the hundredth time. A waifish woman with pale skin, dark hair and even darker eyes complimented the brooding appearance of the author in a way that Clare Edwards never did. The button nose and bow lips that encompassed her heart-shaped face gave her the docile guise of the type of woman that men had fought wars both for and over throughout centuries.
And the smile she directed in Eli's direction made the world believe that he was the keeper of all the secrets the universe had to offer.
"So, Owen, Eli tells me that you teach at the school you all attended," Daphne said, her voice soft, lilting and almost musical in nature. "Did you always want to be a teacher like these two always wanted to write?"
The mouthful of the beer he was drinking got caught in his throat and he sputtered, shaking his head in the negative. "No, I can't say that I did. I didn't actually know what I wanted to do and ended up working as an entry level peon for numerous years after college. Our old principal actually approached me with the position when I decided that being a peon wasn't enough for me."
"Owen wanted to be the next great hockey star. He was amazing on the ice back then," Clare said, taking his hand and squeezing it.
"Back then? Apparently my girlfriend isn't as observant as she likes us to believe because she should know I'm still pretty amazing on the ice."
"He thinks so anyway."
The couple snickered at the way she teased him and the mock offended expression on his face. "What my girlfriend fails to remember is that she knows less than about sports than I know about her classic novels. Maybe if she came to a game or two with me, she'd actually have the qualifications to judge."
"Okay, honey, if you say so." She grasped her wine glass and was about to take a sip when he poked her in the side, causing her to jump and the wine to slosh from side to side. "All right, I'll go to more hockey games if you come to more book signings with me."
Owen narrowed his eyes and stuck out a hand for her to shake. "It's a deal. So what about you and Eli, Daphne? Clare told me that you met through his publisher."
"We did. You see, my family runs a literary agency and even though I'm just part of the legal team, I'm still expected to go to every function that they sponsor. Eli was part of a gala that his publisher was sponsoring for their burgeoning new authors and since my family represented most of them, including Eli, I had to be there. I'm glad that I went because I don't think I'd have ever met Eli if I hadn't," Daphne explained.
Clare's blue eyes sparkled and Owen could practically see the cartoon hearts swimming in their depths. "It was love at first sight then?" she asked.
Daphne giggled, sharing another one of her secret smiles with Eli as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the temple. "God, no, I hated him. He was so moody while he was writing that first book. He thought every word he wrote was gold and the Lord should help you if you thought differently. I was still the low man on the totem pole back then but I still remember how argumentative he got the day we had to draw up his final contracts. I'd never met anyone so dead set in his processes and so unwilling to change."
"So how did you end up together?" Owen asked.
"Oh, the age old story of boy meets girl, girl hates boy, and boy and girl get locked in a building after hours," Eli replied. "I had her agreeing to a date by morning."
"And now you two are expecting a baby," Clare said with a grin on her face.
Owen found himself smiling at the story as well but he could not help the little voice in his head that spoke to matters more serious than the love story of Eli and Daphne Goldsworthy. "I hate to be the one that brings the party down but I've got to know why you wanted to meet us, Daphne. It can't just be because our significant others are working together."
"It's not. Eli has told me a lot about Clare and you and everything that he's writing about in his book. I must admit that I was bothered by Clare being in his life at first because he's told me everything there is to know about their relationship. But then he told me about you, about how much in love she is with you and I began to accept that the past is the past. Slowly, though, I might add," Daphne told them.
Another secret smile shared with her husband and Owen shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the intimacy of it. "Anyway, I felt the need to get to know Clare so I decided to extend the hand of friendship by contacting her through e-mail without Eli knowing. Since then, we've been getting to know each other through e-mail and phone conversations to point that I now regard her as one of my closest friends. And because of that, and her history with Eli, I would like to ask if Clare would consider being the godmother to our first child. That's with your approval Owen, of course."
Owen glanced over at Clare and could tell that she was rendered speechless. He knew that she would turn down the offer if he told her to but the fact was, the baby deserved to have Clare in its life. She was the best part of him, the best part of a lot of people, and she would be the best part of their child as well. And maybe, one day, the best part of a child they shared.
He squeezed their still linked hands and gave her a short nod of approval.
"Eli, Daphne, I'm honored," Clare began. "I mean, this is a pretty awesome thing to be asked by anyone. But don't you have friends and family who are closer to you that would be better options."
"They would all probably jump at the chance but I don't want any of them."
"Daphne, you hardly know me."
"That may be true but I want my daughter to have a strong female presence in her life. Someone to look up to that has determination it takes to succeed in this life. And I want her to have someone who knows true love who isn't her parents because she'll be a teenager one of these days and teenagers don't listen to their mothers when their hearts get broken," Daphne replied.
"Okay then, I would be honored to be your daughter's godmother. I just hope I live up to those high standards."
"You will."
The two couples raised a glass to celebrate Clare's new title and the impending birth of the child that would forever keep them intertwined.
To Be Continued…