White Lace and Promises Read online

  “Is there a reason you phoned, Denny?”

  “Oh yeah.” His voice softened. “Listen, I hate to trouble you, but there’s been some minor complications and the lawyer has to charge me extra fees. Also, Linda’s been sick and the kids aren’t feeling that well, either—”

  “How much do you need?”

  “I hate having to come to my sister like a pauper. But I swear as soon as everything’s straightened out I’ll repay every penny.”

  “Denny, don’t worry about it. You’re my brother, I’m happy to give you whatever you need. You know that.” She couldn’t refuse her own brother, no matter what the reason.

  “I know and appreciate it, Sis. I really do.”

  “You wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary.” She had hoped to make this difficult time in Denny’s life smoother, but sometimes wondered if she contributed more to the problem. Yet she couldn’t say no. “I’ll have Shirley write you a check.”

  Once he had gotten what he wanted, the conversation ended quickly. Maggie replaced the receiver and forced a smile to her lips. “That was my brother,” she announced, turning back to Glenn.

  “Who’s Shirley?” he asked starkly.

  “My money manager.” She lowered her gaze to the lush carpet, feeling her husband’s censure. Glenn didn’t understand the circumstances that had led to Denny’s problems. They had both received a large inheritance. Maggie had received half of her great-aunt’s fortune; her parents and Denny had split the other half. Everything had gone smoothly until Denny had invested in a business that had quickly gone defunct. Now his money—or what was left of it—was tied up in litigation.

  “Does Denny need her name often?”

  “Not really,” she lied. “He’s been having some cash-flow problems lately.” As in not having any, her mind added. “We were talking about the move to California when the phone buzzed, weren’t we?”

  “You don’t want to discuss Denny, is that it?”

  “That’s it.” Glenn couldn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know. She was in a no-win situation with her brother. She couldn’t abandon him, nor could she continue to feed his dependence on her.

  “Okay, if that’s the way you want it.” His eyes and voice silently accused her as he turned back and sorted through the mail.

  “California will be good for us,” Maggie said, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

  “Yes, it will,” Glenn agreed almost absently, without looking up. “Before I forget, the office is having a farewell party for me Friday night. We don’t have any plans, do we?”

  Maggie had met Glenn’s staff and seen for herself the respect his management had earned him. One afternoon when she had met him for lunch, Maggie had witnessed anew the quiet authority in his voice as he spoke to his associates. He was decisive and sure, calm and reassuring, and the office had thrived under his care. It went without saying that he was a popular stockbroker and would be sorely missed.

  Friday night Maggie dressed carefully, choosing a flattering cream-colored creation and pale blue designer nylons. She had never been one to enjoy parties, especially when they involved people she barely knew. This one shouldn’t be so bad though, she reasoned. The focus would be on Glenn, not her.

  “Am I underdressed?” she asked him, slowly rotating for his inspection. Not having attended this kind of function previously put her at a disadvantage. She didn’t know how the other wives would dress and had chosen something conservative.

  Glenn stood, straightening his dark blue silk tie. His warm chuckle filled their bedroom as he examined his wife. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re overdressed. But I’ll take care of that later myself.” His eyes met hers in the mirror and filled with sweet promise.

  After inserting dangly gold earrings into her earlobes, Maggie joined Glenn in the living room. He was pouring them a drink, and Maggie watched her husband with renewed respect. He was tall, athletic, and unbearably handsome. Her heart swelled with the surge of love that raced through her. She hadn’t been looking forward to the party; in fact, she had been dreading it from the moment Glenn had mentioned it. Early on, she had reconciled herself to being a good stockbroker’s wife, and that meant that she’d be attending plenty of functions over the years. It would be to her advantage to adapt to them now. Although he hadn’t said anything, Maggie was confident Glenn knew she was determined to make the best of this evening.

  They arrived precisely at eight at the home of Glenn’s regional manager, Gary Weir. Already, the living room was filled with smoke, and from the look of things, the drinks had been flowing freely. As Glenn and Maggie walked in the front door, spirited cheers of welcome greeted them. Maggie painted a bright smile on her lips as they moved around the room, mingling with the guests. Everyone, it seemed, was in a good mood. Everyone, that is, except Maggie.

  She didn’t know how to explain her uneasiness. There wasn’t anything she could put a name to, and she mentally chastised herself. Glenn’s friends and associates appeared to be going out of their way to make her feel welcome. Her hostess, Pamela Weir, Gary’s wife, was warm and gracious, if a bit reserved. Yet a cold persistence nagged at Maggie that something wasn’t right. Glenn stayed at her side, smiling down on her now and then. Once her eyes fell upon two women whispering with their heads close together. They sat on the far side of the room and there wasn’t any possibility that Maggie could hear their whispered conversation, but something inside told Maggie they were talking about her. A chill went up her spine and she gripped Glenn’s elbow, feeling ridiculous and calling herself every kind of idiot. Lightly, she shook her head, hoping to toss aside those crazy insecurities.

  A few minutes later, Glenn was pulled into a conversation with some of the men and Maggie was left to her own devices. Seeing Maggie alone, Pamela Weir strolled over.

  “It was such a pleasant surprise when Glenn announced he had married,” Pamela said.

  Maggie took a sip of her wine. Glenn was involved with his friends and moved to another section of the crowded room. “Yes, I imagine it was. But we’ve known each other nearly all our lives.”

  “That was what Glenn was saying.” Pamela gave her a funny look and then smiled quickly. “For a long time, Gary was worried that Glenn wanted the transfer because of a problem at the office.”

  Maggie forced a smile. “We decided when we married that we’d live in San Francisco,” she explained to the tall, elegant woman at her side. “We were both raised there.”

  “Yes, Glenn explained that, too.”

  Maggie’s throat constricted, and she made an effort to ease the strange tension she felt. “Although I’ve only been in Charleston a few weeks, I’m impressed with your city. It’s lovely.”

  Pamela’s eyes revealed her pride in Charleston. “We do love it.”

  “I know Glenn will miss it.”

  “We’ll miss him.”

  Silence. Maggie could think of nothing more to comment on. “You have a lovely home,” she said, and faltered slightly. “Glenn and I both appreciate the trouble you’ve gone to for this evening.”

  “It’s no bother. Glenn has always been special to the firm. We’re just sick to lose him.” The delicate hands rotated the stem of the crystal wineglass. “I don’t mind telling you that Glenn is the best manager Gary has. In fact”—she paused and gave Maggie a falsely cheerful smile—“Gary had been hoping to move Glenn higher into management. Of course, that won’t be possible now.”

  As with his parents, Maggie was again put on the defensive. Leaving Charleston hadn’t been her idea, and she didn’t like being made the scapegoat. Swallowing back a retort, Maggie lowered her gaze and said, “I’m sure Glenn will do just as well in San Francisco.”

  “We all hope he does,” Pamela said with a note of censure.

  Glenn’s gaze found Maggie several moments later. She stood stiff and uneasy on the other side of the room, holding her drink and talking to Pamela Weir. Even from the other side of the room, he could see that Maggie
was upset and he couldn’t understand why. He had known from the beginning that she hadn’t been looking forward to this party. He wasn’t all that fond of this sort of affair himself. But since the party had been given in his honor, he couldn’t refuse the invitation. Maggie’s attitude troubled him. Earlier in the evening, he’d stayed at her side, but eventually he’d been drawn away for one reason or another. Good grief, he thought, he shouldn’t have to babysit her. The longer he watched her actions with Pamela, the more concerned he became. He noticed Maggie wasn’t making eye contact with Pamela and when his supervisor’s wife moved away, Glenn crossed the room to Maggie’s side.

  She lifted her gaze to his, and Glenn was shocked at the look of anger she sent him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She met his gaze with a determined lift to her chin. She was upset, more upset than she’d been since the first morning of their marriage. Glenn had let her walk into the party, knowing the resentment his coworkers felt toward her because he was leaving. “When we arrived tonight, I kept feeling these weird vibes that people didn’t like me. Now I know why—”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Glenn muttered, his hand tightening around his drink. “These are my friends, and they accept you as my wife.”

  Glenn was on the defensive and did appear willing to listen to her. “You’re wrong, Glenn,” she murmured, “They don’t like me and with good reason. We’ll talk about it later.”

  Glenn said nothing. The sound of someone banging a teaspoon against the side of a glass interrupted their discussion.

  “Attention, everyone,” Gary Weir called as he came to stand beside Glenn and Maggie. With dull blue eyes that revealed several drinks too many, Gary motioned with his arms that he wanted everyone to gather around.

  Maggie felt like a statue with a frozen smile curving her mouth as she watched the party crowding around them. Glenn placed an arm at her neck, but his touch felt cold and impersonal.

  Ceremoniously clearing his throat, Gary continued. “As you’re all aware, tonight’s party is being given in honor of Glenn and his”—he faltered momentarily, and seemed to have forgotten Maggie’s name—“bride.” A red blush attacked the cheeks of the supervisor, and he took a large swallow of his drink.

  “As we know,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to Glenn and Maggie, “Glenn has recently announced that he’s transferring to California.” Gary was interrupted with several low boos until he sliced the air, cutting off his associates. “Needless to say, everyone is going to miss him. Glenn has been a positive force within our company. We’ve all come to appreciate him, and it goes without saying that he’ll be sorely missed. But being good sports, we want to wish him the best in San Francisco.” A polite round of applause followed.

  “In addition,” Gary went on, his voice gaining volume with each word, “Glenn has taken a wife.” He turned and beamed a proud smile at the two of them. “All of us felt that we couldn’t send you away without a wedding gift. So we took up a collection and got you this.” He turned around and lifted a gaily wrapped gift from behind a chair, holding it out to Glenn and Maggie.

  Clearing his throat, Gary finished by saying, “This gift is a token of our appreciation and well-wishes. We’d all like to wish Glen and Angie many years of happiness.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened and she swallowed hard at the unexpectedness of it. An embarrassed hush fell over the room and Maggie felt Glenn stiffen. Not realizing his mistake, Gary flashed a troubled look to his wife who was mouthing Maggie’s name.

  To cover the awkward moment, Maggie stepped forward and took the gift from Gary’s hand. He gave her an apologetic look and fumbled, obviously flustered and embarrassed.

  “Glenn and I would like to thank you, Larry.”

  “Gary,” he corrected instantly, some color seeping back into his pale face.

  A slow smile grew across Maggie’s tight features. “We both seem to be having problems with names tonight, don’t we?”

  The party loved it, laughing spontaneously at the way she had aptly turned the tables on their superior. Laughing himself, Gary briefly hugged her and pumped Glenn’s hand.

  Not until they were on their way home did Glenn comment on the mishap. “Thank you,” he said as they headed toward the freeway.

  “For what?”

  “For the way you handled that.” He didn’t need to explain what “that” was. Maggie knew. Rarely in his life had Glenn felt such anger. He had wanted to throw Gary against the wall and demand that he apologize to Maggie for embarrassing her that way. Of course, the slip hadn’t been intentional, but it hadn’t seemed to matter.

  Several times in the past few weeks, Glenn had questioned whether he was making the right decision leaving Charleston. Maggie had blossomed here and seemed to genuinely love the city. Now he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that leaving was best. Angie would haunt their marriage in Charleston. He had been a fool not to realize why Maggie had been so miserable at the party. The thought that his coworkers would confuse her with Angie hadn’t crossed his mind. It seemed impossible that only a few months back he had been planning to marry someone else. These days he had trouble picturing Angie and seldom tried. Angie would always hold a special place in his heart. He wished her a long and happy life with Simon. But he had Maggie now, and thanked God for the woman beside him. He might not have courted her the way he should have, the way she deserved, but he desperately needed her in his life.

  He loved her. Simply. Profoundly. Utterly. He’d tell her soon. Not tonight, though, he thought, or she’d think the mistake at the party had prompted the admission. Glenn wanted to choose the time carefully. For several weeks now, he had realized she loved him. Yet she hadn’t said anything. He couldn’t blame her. Things would straighten themselves out once they were in San Francisco. The sooner they left Charleston, the better. In California, Maggie need never worry that someone would bring up Angie’s name again.

  “Gary’s mistake was an honest one. He didn’t mean to embarrass anyone.” Without a problem, Maggie excused Glenn’s friend.

  “I know,” Glenn murmured, concentrating on his driving.

  They didn’t talk again until they were home, and then only in polite phrases. They undressed in silence, and when they lifted the covers and climbed into bed, Glenn gathered her close in his arms, kissing her softly. He was asleep long before she was and rolled away from her. Maggie lay staring at the ceiling, unable to shake what had happened earlier from her mind. The flickering moon shadows seemed to taunt her. All they had been doing for the past few weeks was pretending. The two of them had been so intent on making believe that there had never been another woman in Glenn’s life that the incident tonight had nearly devastated them. That was the problem with fantasies—they were so easily shattered. Maggie didn’t need to be told that Glenn had been equally disturbed. Angie was present in their lives; she loomed between them like an uninvited guest. With a heavy heart, Maggie rolled over and tried to sleep, but she couldn’t. Not until Glenn’s arms found her and he pulled her into the circle of his embrace. But he had been asleep, and for all she knew, Maggie thought bitterly, he could have been dreaming it was “her” he was holding.

  Monday morning after Glenn left for work, Maggie sat lingering over a cup of coffee, working the crossword puzzle. The first thing she should do was get dressed, but she had trouble shaking off a feeling of melancholy. No matter how hard she tried, she hadn’t been able to forget what had happened Friday night. They hadn’t spoken about it again, choosing to ignore it. For now the puzzle filled her time. Her pen ran out of ink and after giving it several hard shakes, she tossed it into the garbage. Glenn kept a dozen or more in his desk.

  Standing, Maggie headed toward his office. One thing they had decided over the weekend was that Maggie would fly ahead of Glenn to California. Like a fool, Maggie had suggested it on the pretense that she had several items that required her attention waiting for her. She had hoped that Glenn would tell her he wante
d them to arrive together. But he had agreed all too readily and she’d been miserable for the remainder of the day.

  Pulling open Glenn’s drawer, she found what she needed and started to close the desk drawer. As she did it made a light, scraping sound. Her first inclination was to shove it closed. Instead, she carefully pulled the drawer free and discovered an envelope tucked away in the back that had been forced upward when she’d gotten the pen.

  It wasn’t the normal place for Glenn to keep his mail, and she examined the envelope curiously. The even, smooth flowing strokes of the handwriting attracted her artist’s eye. This was a woman’s handwriting—Angie’s handwriting. Maggie felt the room sway as she sank onto the corner of the swivel chair, her knees giving out. The postmark revealed that the letter had been mailed a week before Steve and Janelle’s wedding.

  Perspiration broke out across Maggie’s upper lip, and she placed a hand over her mouth. Her heart hammered so loudly she was sure it rocked the room. The letter must have meant a great deal to Glenn for him to have saved it. Although she hadn’t searched through the condominium, she had felt confident that he’d destroyed everything that would remind him of the other woman. Yet the letter remained.

  Half of her wanted to stuff it back inside the drawer and pretend she’d never found it. The other half knew that if she didn’t know the contents of the letter, she would always wonder. Glenn had told her so little. She was his wife. She had a right to know. He should have explained the entire situation long ago, but he hadn’t, choosing instead to leave her curious and wondering. If she looked, it would be his own fault, she argued with herself. He had driven her to it.