Let's Make It Legal (18 page)

“John is very happy doing what he’s doing now,” Janet said.

Sydney wondered what was going on. There were undercurrents here she would have liked to know more about.

After the cleanup, the three women went back to the living room, where the family exchanged presents. After asking John for ideas, Sydney had brought his mother a bottle of Kahlua as a hostess gift, but she hadn’t expected to receive presents from John’s family and was taken aback when Cecelia handed her a gift to open.

Inside was a hand-painted wooden box suitable for something small like paper clips or earrings.

“I made it myself,” Cecelia said.

Sydney wasn’t sure if she should be pleased at the thoughtfulness of the gift or unhappy because here was another woman in John’s life who seemed able to do everything. Well, maybe not everything. Cecelia had admitted to not being able to cook.

Then John took a small box from under the tree and handed it to Sydney.

“But I didn’t bring my present for you,” Sydney protested. “I thought we were going to exchange gifts tomorrow.”

“This is just a small gift. I’ve saved the other one.”

There was an expression in his eyes that caused a flutter in her stomach, although she wasn’t sure why.

When Sydney opened the box, she found a beautiful antique brooch inlaid with mother-of-pearl. “Oh, John, thank you. It’s lovely. It’ll look perfect on a suit lapel.”

“That’s what I thought.”

After the gift opening, they listened to Christmas carols and drank coffee. Then, at about nine-thirty, John said, “Okay, kids. Time to get going. Remember, Santa is coming tonight.”

Emily rolled her eyes, and Sydney repressed a smile. She knew the Santa talk was for Jeffrey’s benefit. Earlier, John had explained that his mother was coming to his house to spend the night so that he could take Sydney home and not worry about the children.

After saying goodbye to Janet and Mike, Sydney and the kids piled into John’s car, and Cecelia followed in her car.

“Come in for a minute while I get the kids settled,” John said when they reached his house.

Twenty minutes later, they were on their way to Sydney’s.

When they arrived, John built a fire in her fireplace while Sydney poured them each a glass of wine.

“Finally,” John said as they sat close together on the couch. “I didn’t think we’d ever be alone.” He took the glass of wine out of her hands and placed it on the coffee table. Then he gathered her close, and they kissed.

When they finally drew apart, John stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Merry Christmas.”

He kissed her again, this time with a tenderness that stirred her more deeply than she could ever have thought possible.

Then, still holding her close, he reached into his jacket pocket. “This is my other present,” he said.

Sydney’s hands shook as she accepted the small velvet jeweler’s box.

He smiled. “Go on, open it.”

Heart pounding, she snapped open the lid. Her breath caught. Inside, nestled into gray satin, was an emerald-cut diamond ring. Her thoughts tumbled wildly. What did this mean? Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet John’s gaze.

“Will you marry me, Sydney?” he said. He removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. It glittered with a fiery brilliance.

Sydney swallowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Then suddenly, like the sun emerging from behind the clouds, her heart filled with an indescribable happiness. “Oh, John,” she said, her voice breaking, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

A long time later, John said, “I wish I didn’t have to leave you tonight.”

“I know.” Sydney was lying in his arms, warm from the afterglow of their lovemaking and from the knowledge that one day soon, John wouldn’t have to leave her and go home to a solitary bed.

“Let’s get married soon,” he said.

“How soon?”

He chuckled. “How about next week?”

Sydney knew he was teasing her, and even though she didn’t want anything to intrude upon her happiness, she couldn’t help but remember her full workload and the planning that was going to have to go into her taking time off to get married. For just a few seconds, she entertained the notion of suggesting they elope. She quickly discarded the idea. She knew John would want his children and family present, and she also knew her own family would be hurt if she were to exclude them. She sighed.

“What’s wrong?” John asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking how I don’t know a thing about weddings.”

“I’m sure your mother and sisters do.”

Sydney didn’t want to think about her mother and sisters. Her mother would probably want her to have a huge wedding with all her sisters as attendants. The thought gave Sydney a headache. “I need more time than a week,” she finally said.

John smiled. “I know that. Well, how about a spring wedding? Will that give you enough time?”

“I’ll make it be enough time,” Sydney promised.

Sydney couldn’t sleep that night. A couple of times she drifted off, but an hour later, she’d be wide-awake, hugging herself, so happy she thought she’d burst.

She still couldn’t believe it.

Couldn’t believe she was going to be John’s wife.

Morning finally came, and with it bright sunshine, although when Sydney walked out onto her patio, she shivered. It was still cold.

When John arrived at noon, he brought the children up with him. They had decided last night they would tell them together.

“Do I have to call you Mom?” Emily asked after John broke the news.

Sydney smiled. “No, Emily, you don’t have to call me Mom.”

Jeffrey said, “Are you gonna live with us, Sydney?”

“Yes, she’s going to live with us,” John answered.

Later, as they drove to her parents’ home, he said, “See? I told you they wouldn’t mind.”

Sydney glanced back at the kids. They were giggling together over some kind of hand-held game Jeffrey had gotten for Christmas. She wondered if her family would accept her news as matter-of-factly as John’s children. “Did you tell your mother?” she asked.

He nodded.

“What did she say?”

“She was happy.” He glanced at her. “She likes you.”

Sydney smiled. “I like her, too.” She hesitated. “What about Janet? Does she know?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Jan will come around.”

Sydney decided she’d never have a better opportunity to voice the question. “Why doesn’t she like me, John?”

“She likes you.”

He’d answered too fast, and Sydney wasn’t fooled. “No. She doesn’t.”

He reached over and squeezed her knee. “I told you. She’ll come around.”

Sydney decided it didn’t matter whether Janet came around or not. Sydney had lived with the disapproval of her own sisters all of her life. She guessed she could live with Janet’s.

She smiled to herself. She could live with anything as long as she had John.

“Sydney!” Claire exclaimed. “Congratulations!” As her mother and sisters crowded around her, looking at her ring and talking in excited voices, Sydney raised her eyes and met her father’s gaze. It was his approval she wanted.

After the initial excitement died down, he came over to her side and hugged her to him briefly. “Are you sure about this?” he said.

“Very sure.”

But his question made her uneasy. Why had he asked her if she was sure? She watched her father carefully throughout the rest of the day. During dinner, she heard him questioning John about the agency.

“You able to make a good living with that agency of yours?” he asked.

Sydney cringed. If she’d been sitting closer, she would have said something to her father, but he wasn’t looking at her, and she didn’t want to shout across the table to get his attention. She hoped John wasn’t offended. She tried to catch his attention, but he was already answering her father.

“The agency’s doing all right. Not as good as we’d like it to, but it takes time to build a business.”

Sydney sighed with relief. John didn’t seem irritated by her father’s personal question.

“Why’d you give up your law practice?” her father asked.

Where had her father been when her sisters were asking John the same questions at Thanksgiving? Sydney wondered. She couldn’t hear John’s answer because Eliza started talking to her. She resolved to talk to her father at the earliest opportunity.

The opportunity presented itself after dinner when Wendy’s husband engaged John in conversation, and Sydney’s father headed toward his study. Sydney knew her father wanted a cigar, but her mother had forbidden him to smoke one around the children.

She followed him. “Dad? Can we talk?”

“Of course.”

Once inside the study, her father removed a cigar from the box on his desk. While he busied himself lighting it, Sydney plunged in. “Don’t you like John, Dad?”

Her father looked at her squarely. “He seems like a fine young man.”

“Why do I sense some reservation in that answer?”

He shrugged. “I
do
have reservations, but not because I don’t like John.”

“What are they?”

“One of them is what he does for a living.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s wrong is that he’s wasted doing what he’s doing. I’ve talked to some people. The word is that John was a brilliant attorney, very respected, and he threw it all away to be some kind of Mr. Mom.”

Sydney bristled at her father’s derisive tone, even as she knew she’d had the same kinds of traitorous thoughts herself. “His children needed him. I admire him for putting them first.”

Her father’s blue gaze pinned her. “All right. Let’s forget that for a minute. Let’s talk about you, instead. How do you intend to manage a marriage, stepchildren, and your career?”

“Other women do,” Sydney said.

“You aren’t like other women.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Sydney tried not to feel hurt, but she couldn’t help it.

“You know what I mean. You’re special, Sydney. You’re going places. You’re going to have to focus all of your energy on your career if you hope to realize your potential.”

“You’re saying I can’t have a personal life?” Sydney said. “What about all the successful
men
out there who have big-time careers as well as a family life?” Her father took a slow puff on his cigar before answering. “Those men have wives who support them by doing everything for them.” He stared at her. “Will John support you that way?”

Her father’s question disturbed Sydney a lot more than she wanted to admit. And as she returned to the living room to join the others, she knew she and John had to have a serious talk.

“John, can I ask you something?”

John smiled lazily. Sydney sounded so pensive. “Sure.”

She traced a slow circle on his chest. “Are you happy?”

His arm tightened around her. “Right now, I’d say you’d have to look a long time to find a happier man than me.”

He slid his free hand down until it rested against her bare hip. They had just made love, and he had the luxury of not having to worry about getting right up and hurrying home because the kids were spending the night at his mother’s. He was looking forward to the time he never had to worry about leaving.

“I don’t mean are you happy right this minute. I mean are you happy generally?”

John stroked her hip, thinking how good she felt. His hand crept around to cup her rounded bottom. He caressed it gently.

“John...stop that.” She pushed his hand away. “Not now.”

“Oh, you’re no fun,” he grumbled.

“Come on, John. Please be serious.”

He gave an elaborate sigh, then sat up and snapped on the bedside light. “If you want me to be serious, I need light.”

She sat up, too, bringing the covers with her. She propped her pillow behind her, then drew her legs up and rested her arms on them. She looked at him. “Now what’s this all about?” he asked.

“Just what I said. In general, are you happy with your life?”

“Of course I’m happy with my life. I’ve got the kids, and I’ve got you.” He grinned at her. “What more do I need?” Playfully, he tugged at the covers.

She swatted at his hand. “That...isn’t exactly what I meant.”

“No? Well, what did you mean?”

“Are you happy with your job?”

John sighed. “Sydney... didn’t we have this same discussion last week?” he said patiently, although he was beginning to be more than a little irritated. Just because he’d once mentioned that he sometimes missed his law practice didn’t mean that he was unhappy. He wished he’d never told her that. Sydney reminded him of a wirehaired terrier they’d once had. Give her something to sink her teeth into, and she never let go.

Sydney’s eyes were troubled as they met his gaze. “Yes, but-”

“But what?”

“Well, my father and I were talking, and he happened to mention...” She hesitated as if suddenly unsure of herself.

John stiffened. “What did he
happen to mention
during this talk you had?”

“Only that it was a shame about your giving up your law practice. He said he’d been talking to some of your former associates and they all said how much your firm missed you and how much they’d like to have you back.”

“I see. And just how did he happen to be talking to my former associates?” John asked, holding on to his temper by sheer force of will.

“I don’t know,” she said innocently. “Probably at a bar association meeting, or something. You know he’s still active.”

“And you, Sydney? Do you think it’s a
shame
about my law practice, too?”

Her eyes were very blue as she met his gaze. “Yes, I do, because I think you miss it, just like your old firm misses you. I don’t know why you’re pretending to be satisfied with—”

“You know, Sydney,” John said, cutting her off, “you might not mind your father orchestrating your life, but I sure as hell have no intention of letting him... or you... orchestrate mine. I think you’re too obsessive about your work, that you should slow down—a lot—but have I said so? No. I’ve tried to respect your choices.”