He could almost see her working to tamp down her suspicion.
At last, she gave a stiff smile. “Actually, I came to see if we could take Sofia on an outing tonight. Now that we’re engaged, I thought she should get to know me before the wedding.”
“The wedding?” Darius struggled to focus on the change in topic, his emotions still reeling from his encounter with Olivia.
Meredith’s thin brows rose. “Weddings generally follow engagements, Darius. And I don’t see why we should put it off.”
Surprised, he studied her. He’d thought he’d have to work hard to get her to agree to a quick wedding. “Is this still about beating your sister to the punch? Or is there another reason for your hurry?”
Her lashes fluttered down. “It is about Sissy. Once she has her debut, all my family’s attention will be focused on her. Call me vain, but I’d like to get married before she steals my spotlight.”
Though Darius suspected there might be more to it than that, he couldn’t deny that Meredith’s desire for a short engagement could work well with his plan to be married before the fall. He came around to lean against the desk. “I’m glad you feel that way,” he said. “I was hoping to get married before Sofia starts school in September, so she’ll have a mother and a father like the other children in her class.”
Meredith’s expression turned thoughtful. “Were you thinking the end of August, then?”
“Yes. Could you be ready that soon?”
He couldn’t help but recall his wedding to Selene—her homemade dress, her flowers from the garden, the small reception in the church basement. Meredith would never settle for anything so ordinary. But a big society wedding could take months of preparations.
She tilted her head, the brim of her jaunty red hat dipping over one eye. “What would you say if I wanted to get married sooner?”
“Sooner?” Wow. He hadn’t expected that. “I suppose it could be arranged.”
She entwined her fingers with his. “How about the beginning of August?”
His mouth fell open. “That’s only a few weeks away.”
She laughed and got to her feet, looping her hands around his neck. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m just so eager to be your wife. I don’t want to wait a moment longer.” Then without warning, she planted her lips on his.
Her passionate embrace overruled any trace of unease that had arisen at her surprising declaration. Could it be as simple as that? She loved him and wanted to start sharing his life as soon as possible?
A door slamming in the outer office brought Darius’s attention crashing back to his surroundings and the fact that this was highly inappropriate behavior for the workplace. He gently set her away from him with a smile. “You have a point. There’s not much difference between the beginning of August or the end. It would give us more time to settle in as a family.”
She clapped her hands. “Thank you, Darius. I can hardly wait to tell Daddy. He’ll be thrilled.”
“I hope so.” He got to his feet, more than a little bemused by the whirlwind events. “Why don’t we take Sofia out for some ice cream tonight?” That way, Meredith wouldn’t have to deal with his mother’s scrutiny just yet. Because once Mamá learned he intended to marry this girl, she’d be all over Meredith like honey on baklava.
“That sounds like fun.” She kissed his cheek. “I’d better let you get back to work.” With a wave, she sashayed out of his office.
Darius raked a hand over his jaw and sank onto his chair, unable to fully comprehend everything that had just happened.
In a matter of weeks, he would be getting married again. Yet, the enormity of that news paled in comparison to his regret over the hurt he’d caused Olivia. With a loud exhale, he picked up his pen and tapped it on his blotter. Somehow he needed to find a way to make it up to her and earn her forgiveness.
He couldn’t bear to be another reason for the pain he always saw in her eyes.
15
Olivia twirled a pencil in her hand as she watched Ruth pore over the ledger.
Seated behind the desk, her reading glasses perched on her nose, Ruth shook her head. “This doesn’t look good, does it?”
“I’m afraid not. And now with Mr. Cameron’s report saying we need major repairs to the roof, I don’t see how we’ll be able to come up with that large sum on top of all our other expenses.” Olivia gave Ruth a searching look, praying that maybe the widow had another bank account with a large balance, enough to tide them over until this bad spell had passed. She still couldn’t figure out how the problem with the roof had been missed on the first inspection, unless Mr. Cameron had been more thorough than the initial inspector.
Ruth removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I suppose I could go back to the bank, but I doubt that will help. When I got the funds to cover the renovations, the manager was already apprehensive about loaning me the money. I hate to have to approach him again so soon.”
Olivia’s lungs deflated. She hadn’t realized that Ruth had already borrowed money for the remodeling. What were they going to do now?
“This is all my fault.” Olivia got up to pace the room. “If I hadn’t dragged you into this, you wouldn’t be in this mess.” Not only was the home at risk of closing, which would put the residents out on the streets, but Ruth could potentially be forced to sell the house that had been in the Bennington family for years. Would Walcott succeed in gaining the property after all?
“Olivia, please don’t despair. As a famous American general once said, ‘I have only begun to fight.’” Ruth gave a tight smile. “We need to collect some of the money promised by our donors and perhaps target a
