“So do you,” I say, inspecting his neatly trimmed blond hair and khakis and white polo shirt. “Very preppy. Chess club, I think.”
He and Liam give each other two-finger waves and Derek claims a footstool between our chairs. “Brokering real estate deals is a chess match every day.” He glances at Liam’s sketchpad. “Ready to design that Denver complex for me?”
“I’m not creating another world’s tallest building your people are insisting on,” Liam replies. “It’s been done.”
“What if I said the project stalled and if I can get you in, they’ll give you creative freedom?”
“I’d say I’ll believe it when it’s in writing, and I have to finish another project first.”
“You’ve been gone,” Derek says. “How do you have another project?”
Liam’s phone rings and he glances at it. “Chase Electronics. And speaking of Josh, that’s him calling. I need to take this someplace quiet.”
Liam stands and steps around Derek, and my heart races with the certainty this is about Meg. I grab Derek’s wrist and look at his watch: eleven o’clock, an hour after Meg was supposed to meet me.
“You can’t let him do Chase’s building before mine,” Derek tells me.
“I have no control over what project he does or when,” I assure him.
“You have all the control with that man.”
I snort. “Oh, please. Not even close. How did you know we were here?”
“I was next door at a jewelry store picking up a gift, and ran into Tellar.”
“A gift and a jewelry store. Anyone special?”
“My sister,” he says, “who wants to see you, by the way. She said you two started to bond before you left town.”
“We did,” I say. “I’ll call her, and—yikes! Maybe she can go shopping with me for Liam. You’ve just made me realize I have no Christmas gift for him.”
“Good luck on that one. The man has everything and more. I don’t even try to buy anything for him anymore, though last year I got him tickets to some violin player he likes.”
“David Garrett,” I say.
“Yes. And he made me go with him. So I told him that was his gift for this year.”
I laugh, then consider for a moment. “I need something sentimental. Special.” I light up with a thought. “I need your help. That can be your gift this year—helping me with mine.”
He leans forward. “I’m all ears.”
I quickly rattle off the details, and when I’m done, his eyes soften. “That’s perfect, Amy. You are good for him.”
“He’s good for me, too, and I think a real holiday at home will be good for us both. What are you doing for Christmas?”
“Family dinner Christmas Day. Lots of food, bad jokes, and questions about why I’m not married.”
“Speaking of that . . .”
He holds up his hands. “Don’t you start too.”
“Tellar has a sister—”
“No.” Then his gaze catches on my ring and he snags my hand. “That’s what I call a Christmas present! When?”
“New Year’s Eve.”
“Am I invited?”
“Actually, it’ll just be me and Liam. A private, romantic thing.”
Returning, Liam says, “I told her you’d insist on singing if we invited you.”
“That’s true,” Derek says. “Every wedding needs my rendition of Mick Jagger’s ‘Beast of Burden.’ ” He stands. “I’m due at my sister’s place in a few minutes. I’ll see you soon.”
As soon as Derek has left, I ask, “Well? What happened?”
“Meg’s with Dante.”
I let out a breath. “What do you think Jared will do next?”
“Watch us. Watch us some more. It’s done, Amy.”
“Done,” I repeat. While we both know none of this will really, truly ever be over, it’s at least the end of a chapter, and I have a sense of a new one beginning.
PART ELEVEN
Unexpected
THAT NIGHT I DREAM OF CHRISTMAS with Chad again, of my mother laughing, and my father staring at her with love in his eyes. I wake in Liam’s arms as he strokes my hair, a sense of healing filling me.
“Morning,” he murmurs softly.
“Morning,” I say, rolling over to face him, and soon I’m sharing the dream, and that leads to stories about my family; and to my pleasure, he does the same of his mother, and his childhood. For hours we lie there, just talking. Just being together. Right in ways I didn’t know two people could be together. It’s noon when we finally shower and dress, laughing as we both somehow dress in all black and Liam declares us “true New Yorkers.”
“Come,” he says, lacing his fingers with mine. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Your surprises have been pretty wonderful,” I say, “so please lead the way.”
When we reach the foyer, Liam points to the top of the tree and I gasp in delight.
“The angel!” I exclaim at the sight of the sparkling, gorgeous glass topper, turning in his arms to hug him. “I love it! I love you. You are amazing, Liam Stone.”
He strokes my hair. “Remember that the next time you get mad at me.”
“Don’t make me mad and I won’t have to,” I tease.
“Baby, I can vow to love, cherish, and honor you, but I can’t promise not to make you mad.” He kisses me hard and fast. “But the makeup sex is going to be worth it. That, you can bank on.”
I bite my lip. “Can we have a fight now, then?” The garage door buzzes—Tellar has arrived. “Hmmmm. I guess not.”
“We’ll make up for it tonight.” He kisses me again and walks to the closet as Tellar appears at the top of the stairs.
“Morning,” he says, offering a salute. “Where to today?”
“Nowhere,” Liam says, shrugging into a sleek black leather jacket and snagging my black Chanel trench coat from a hanger. “Amy and I are going out on our own.”
My lips part in surprise as Liam holds open my coat for me. “Really?” I ask, shoving my arms in the sleeves and then facing him again. “Alone?”
“Yes,” he says. “Really. We need some time alone.”
I grab the lapels of his coat. “That’s two amazing surprises in one day.”
His eyes light with naughty promise. “The day isn’t over yet.” He leans in close and whispers, “And neither is the night.”
I blush with the certainty Tellar knows all too well what is going on, twisting away from Liam and staring up at our new angel and thinking it couldn’t be more perfect.
“Take a well-deserved day off,” I hear Liam instruct Tellar.
I turn around as Tellar’s brow furrows. “You’re sure? I can follow you and give you space.”
“I’m sure,” Liam says firmly. “We’re on our own today.”
Tellar hesitates and seems to want to argue, but I don’t think it’s about worry, rather a sense of not knowing what to do with himself. The poor man has lived with us night and day for months. “I’ll have my phone on,” he finally says. “I’m just going to relax at home.”
“Too bad Coco’s not back,” I say, certain there is something between them despite the bombshell about her ex. “She could keep you company.”
“There’s nothing relaxing about a day with Coco,” he assures me as we join him at the top of the steps. “And all I’m going to do today is sleep.”
It hits me then that not only has he been with us around the clock, he gave up any freedom for a social life while we were in the Hamptons. I reach up and squeeze his arm. “Thanks, Tellar.”
His brow furrows again. “For?”
“You sacrificed every waking moment for us these past few months. That’s not easy.”
His eyes soften with the fondness we’ve come to share for each other. “Always my pleasure, Amy.”
My lips curve in a teasing smile. “It’s your pleasure I’m worried about.”
He gives me a typical Tellar deadpan stare. “Pleasure is the Big Mac
and large fries I’m about to go pick up before I crash.”
I kiss his cheek and hurry down the stairs with Liam at my heels and in a matter of minutes we’re on the road, with Liam behind the wheel of the Bentley. I watch him maneuver the vehicle, enjoying his graceful, natural way behind the wheel, and I start to grin.
“What are you all smiles over?”
“Because you’re driving, not Tellar, and it’s pretty surreal, but I’m betting it’s more surreal for Tellar than for us. We have to give that man a private life. Please tell me you gave him a bonus for the past few months.”
“A ridiculously large bonus,” he assures me with one of his most devastating smiles.
For the rest of the short drive to the county clerk’s office, we talk about the various things we want to do while we’re out today. Once we hand over the Bentley to the parking attendant in the garage, I lace my arm through Liam’s and we hurry up the steps of the state building, the cold wind tormenting us. The instant Liam holds the door open for me I am inside, warmth surrounding me, a huge, towering ceiling above me and a fancy tiled floor beneath my booted feet.
Liam asks a security guard for directions to the marriage license office and a mix of silly nerves and excitement flutters in my stomach as we follow a long hall to our destination. We’re almost to the area we need to be at and I groan at the sight of the long lines, only to have Liam guide me to a separate door. “We’re going here.”
“But the security officer said—”
“I set up a private meeting for us.”
My brow furrows; something in his tone sets me on edge. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Baby, Chad turned back time for you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your legal name is not Amy Bensen.”
A sick feeling overcomes me. “Oh God. I don’t have paperwork to get our marriage license.”
He reaches in his pocket and hands me a folded piece of paper. “I handled it.”
I inhale and open the document to stare at my birth certificate that reads “Lara Brooks” and my hand starts to tremble, a knot balling in my chest. “This . . . this isn’t me anymore. This isn’t how I’ve . . . I can’t—”
“I know.”
“No. No, you don’t. I don’t have identification that says I’m Lara. I don’t know what I was thinking. We can’t get our license.”
“We can.” He holds up another piece of paper. “This is a formal petition to change your name to Amy Bensen. Unless you want to be Lara?”
“No,” I say quickly. “No. I do not want to be Lara. I know it might seem odd, but leaving her behind was part of coping for so long, I just . . . I don’t know how to be her again.”
“You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be. Not now or ever.” I can’t seem to swallow and have to clear my throat. He seems to understand, drawing me to him and kissing my temple. “We can come back.”
I push back and look at him. “No. I want to get our license. Thank you for what you did. For thinking of this when I blocked it all out. But since my name isn’t changed and I don’t have ID that says Lara, how do we make this happen?”
“Coco made arrangements for us through the CIA. All we have to do is show the paperwork I had prepared, along with your Amy identification, and we’re set.” He motions to the door. “You want to go in?”
“Yes. Let’s do this.”
He holds the door open for me and I enter the small office, with one clerk behind a desk. I expect a hassle and awkward questions, but there are none. Ten minutes later we’re done, and we exit into the hallway hand in hand. When we look at each other, there is a bond between us that started in an airport months before and has blossomed into something soul-deep and special.
We’re getting married.
I’m so elated, I barely feel the cold on the walk back to the car. Once we’re inside, Liam pulls me to him, his hand framing my face. “You only get to be Amy Bensen long enough for me to make you Amy Stone. That’s your new beginning. Our new beginning.”
“Yes. A new beginning.”
He brushes his lips over mine. “Now. Let’s go find you a dress to get married in.”
“I already have my dress,” I say, deciding in this moment that I’m wearing the pink fairy-tale dress, daring to believe we’re about to have our happily ever after.
OUR NEXT STOP is a liquor store, where we decide on rosé champagne for our wedding. Then we walk next door to a bakery, where we choose all kinds of divine treats for our intimate wedding night, all to be delivered the morning of the wedding. From there, we stop at Liam’s favorite tailor to have a custom suit created, a rush job he’s willing to pay for, and I’m excited to see what he picks. The instant we step inside the shop, it’s clear Liam is well known by the warm greetings we receive. Our coats are taken and Liam and I browse through all kinds of fabrics, and we both favor a black suit and pink tie.
Liam heads to the back room for measurements and I’m offered hot chocolate I happily accept, and then claim one of two cozy leather seats in a corner. Sipping the warm beverage, I’m aware of a sense of peace I haven’t felt since my youth. My mind goes to what I want to say to Liam during our vows, and I’m so lost in thought that I’m only remotely aware of the man who sits down next to me.
“Amy.”
I jolt back to reality and I blink Jared into view, nearly dropping my drink.
He takes it from me, setting it on the small table between us. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“But you did. I told you: I have nothing to say to you.”
“But I have something to say to you. First, I’m sorry for the other day. I needed to know if Chad was alive, and surprising you was the only way I knew I could get an honest reaction.”
“You could have just asked,” I say, biting back a comment about him sending Meg to pump me for information. “But you didn’t. Everything you did was a lie.”
“That’s not true. Chad was—he is—my friend. I need you to know that. I need him to know that.”
“Friends don’t deceive friends.”
“They do if they’re protecting them—like he was protecting you by staying away from you.”
“He hurt me by doing that, and now that he’s dead, I have to live with that. Just like you have to live with what you did, Jared.”
“He’s not dead. I saw anger and fear in your reaction, but not grief.”
I make a sound of disbelief. “I can’t even grieve my brother without accusation. Just go away, Jared.”
“You don’t have to convince me he’s dead. I’m not out to get him. I’m helping him, and I always have been. I was protecting you in Denver and I will always protect you. If you ever need me. I’m here. I owe him that.”
“You betrayed him, Jared. What part of that do you not understand?”
“Everything I did had one endgame: getting him, and you, out of all of this. And Gia, too. I know it’s hard to trust me, but just know Chad is a brother to me.”
“A brother would have told him about the CIA approaching him.”
“I wanted to. I almost did, but then hell broke loose for him with Sheridan, and the CIA was filled with resources to help him and you. I made the choices I thought I had to make, just like he did.”
There is a rough, desperate quality to his voice, something broken in his eyes. I flash back to Denver, remembering the instant friendship I’d felt with him, confused by all he was then and is now. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I say. “Just like my parents, he’s gone.”
He leans closer. “I’m going to watch out for you and Chad, whether you believe me or not. Not to destroy him or you. Not to get the secret everyone wants from him. But to protect you both, and my place in the CIA. Along with my focus on you and Liam, I will keep everyone else from watching. And that’s why I’m here. That’s my wedding gift to you, Amy. Lara. Be happy.” He stands and walks away, the doors chiming behind him. He’s gone for now, with t
he promise he will never be gone for long.
I’m still sitting there stunned when Liam appears above me, and the instant my gaze meets his, he goes down on one knee. “What is it?” he asks.
“Jared was just here.”
He curses. “Did he threaten you?”
“No. He apologized, and swore he’s protecting us and Chad. And I know it’s crazy, but I think I believe him.”
“I’m not quick to believe anything where Jared’s concerned, but I hope you’re right. Either way, if he approaches you again, he won’t like the response he gets.” He stands and pulls me to my feet. “You okay?”
“I’m better than okay. Did you get everything set up?”
“Signed, sealed, and delivered on Wednesday.”
“That’s fast—and on Christmas Eve.”
“I made it worth their while. So how about we hit the bank and get you all set up, and then we’ll get that eggnog?”
“And chestnuts. My dad roasted them one Christmas around a campfire in Egypt. It’s going to be my way of remembering him every year.”
Tenderness fills his eyes. “Eggnog for my mother and chestnuts for your father. I like it.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders and we head for the door. When we exit, I know Jared is watching—but maybe, just maybe, that’s not a bad thing after all.
“WAKE UP, BABY,” Liam murmurs near my ear, his breath tickling my neck.
“Let’s sleep,” I murmur, snuggling deeper into the blankets. “Come back to bed with me.”
“It’s Christmas Eve,” he says.
Instantly awake, my eyes pop open and I sit up to find two gorgeous red packages at the end of the bed. “We can’t do gifts now. It’s not Christmas yet.”
“Says who?” he asks.
“Me. We have to wait.”
He sets a small box on my lap. “That’s our rings.”
“Oh my God, I can’t wait to see!” I tear off the ribbon and paper, excitedly opening the box and staring down at the two white-gold rings nestled in black velvet. My ring has the loops of an infinity symbol etched in diamonds on one side, while the other arches to fit my engagement ring. His has the same infinity loops etched on one side and engraved in black.