was seated on an oversize tan sectional boasting soft Italian leather. She was wearing a short floral caftan and crystal-covered sandals. Seeing her in the bright, natural light of day made her even more beautiful than when Lauren first hugged her last night. Her pixie hairstyle framed a face devoid of wrinkles, one that looked more like thirtysomething than what Lauren knew was actually fifty-plus years. She turned and smiled when Lauren entered, put down the magazine she’d been reading and patted the space beside her.
“Well, good morning, sunshine!”
“Good morning, Victoria.”
Lauren sat, then leaned over to accept the older woman’s embrace.
“Look at you, all fresh-faced and fabulous. You woke up like that?”
Lauren laughed. “Not quite.”
“But you’re not wearing makeup.”
“No. I hope that’s okay. You said this would be a casual meeting, so...”
“Oh, no. It’s fine. I’m just impressed. Not many women in my circle would be caught dead without their war paint.”
“I do have on mascara,” Lauren admitted. “And lip gloss.”
“That’s all? Must be nice.”
“I could say the same about you. You look more like Christian’s sister than his mom.”
“Not without effort. Our hotel spa has some of the best aestheticians in the country, who are always researching the latest skin-tightening, wrinkle-eliminating, turn-back-the-time trends.” Victoria placed a hand on Lauren’s arm. “I was just about to have a light lunch. Care to join me?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Victoria turned toward the woman who’d opened the front door, standing so quietly Lauren hadn’t realized she was still there. “Sofia, tell Gabe we’ll have the quinoa and spinach salad with sparkling cranberry orange juice. Thank you.”
Victoria watched Sofia nod and leave the room. Her eyes shifted to Lauren. “Did you rest well?”
“The best sleep ever. I barely remember my head hitting the pillow.”
“You’d had a busy two days.”
“Yes.”
“And...somewhat of a tumultuous time before that.” Lauren nodded. “Faye didn’t go into detail and you need only share what you’d like, but when I mentioned my assistant’s abrupt departure and that I needed to replace her ASAP, she all but accepted the job for you. Said time away from the East Coast was exactly what you needed right now.”
“She was right.” Lauren took a deep breath, on one hand nervous to share the personal dilemma while on the other compelled to confide in someone with an unbiased point of view. “What exactly did Mom tell you?”
“That you were in a difficult relationship, one exacerbated by the fact that he’s the son of your dad’s employer?”
Lauren’s chuckle held no humor. “That’s one way to say it.” She looked Victoria in the eye. “My dad is trying to force me into a marriage that would be bad on the home front but apparently good for business.”
“Force as in...like an arranged marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous. This is the twenty-first century, and while I’ve known more than one desperate soul who’s walked down the aisle for money, I’d counsel any woman who asked to marry for love.”
Lauren watched myriad expressions flit across Victoria’s face as she processed the situation.
“What does Faye say about it?”
“Basically, she agrees with you, and so do I. But Dad is really pushing the idea, almost desperately so. Being married to the man orchestrating the idea puts her in a difficult position. She wants what’s best for both of us, but he can be very persuasive.”
“You say this guy’s father is your dad’s boss?”
Lauren nodded. “Years ago, when Dad sought investors for his accounting firm, Gerald was first in line with an open checkbook. The future looked promising, but in the end, Dad’s small company couldn’t compete with the intellectual diversity and electronic wizardry of the larger firms.”
She released a breath, then continued.
“While Dad had struggled, Gerald’s consulting firm had grown by leaps and bounds. When his CFO took an early retirement, he called my dad, who felt he owed it to Gerald, given the investment he’d made and never gotten back.”
“Gerald sounds like a good friend. But if your dad is already in an executive position, how would you marrying the son make business better?”
“I don’t know.” Lauren paused, wondering just how much she should tell Victoria. “Can I trust what we discuss to remain just between us?”
“Absolutely, Lauren.”
“Shared with no one, not even my mom?”
Victoria placed a hand on Lauren’s arm and squeezed. “Not even Faye, darling.”
“Years ago, Ed and I briefly dated.”
“The son.”
“Yes. I was a freshman in college. He’s eight years older than me. I was young, dumb, impressionable and thrilled to get the attention of an older, successful man. Mere weeks into dating, he gave me a ring. A promise ring that we both assumed would lead to an engagement. But it didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because in time I realized that Ed’s well-put-together image was a facade hiding a controlling narcissist who was verbally abusive. I gave back the ring and ended the relationship. I don’t think he ever got over it. Ed’s an only child used to getting what he wants.”
“Your parents didn’t know?”
“They knew we’d dated but not why we broke up. I never told them about anything—the verbal and emotional abuse, his anger issues, definitely not about the ring. Our parents are friends and I didn’t want to cause trouble between them. Anyway, a while back, I heard that he’d been boasting about an upcoming engagement to a young, naive but really pretty girl. Something happened and the relationship abruptly ended. And then...”
Victoria raised a brow but remained silent.
“He tried to get me back, tried to force me into a relationship by reminding me of the promise I’d made and admitting his fault in our not working out. When I rebuffed his overtures, things got ugly.”
“How so?”
“He demanded that I marry him, and if I didn’t comply, he threatened to make things difficult for my family. Of course I told him hell would freeze over before I got involved with him again.” She released a quavering breath. “I
