Danielle Steel - the Wedding (2000)

I miss her too, Alan said sadly.

How's the picture going? Allegra asked with interest.

Great. They're letting me do a lot of my own stunt work.

Don't tell your wife, or she'll be there on the next plane.

They both laughed and he said he'd see her in two months when he got back, but she knew she'd talk to him long before that. As soon as they hung up, Jeff walked into her office.

Ready to go? he asked, looking as though he was in a hurry. But she was all set. And this time, nothing would stop her.

All set. She stood up and he caught a glimpse of the paper on her desk, and the headline.

That's pretty, he said, glancing over it and shaking his head. There was nothing those people wouldn't stoop to. They had interviewed two nurses, who had probably been paid a pretty penny to sell Carmen's secrets and distort them. Have they seen it yet?

I just spoke to both of them. They wanted to sue and I told them not to. It just sells papers.

Poor things. I sure would hate to live like that.

There are other compensations, Allegra said knowingly, but she wondered if they were enough. It was a high price to pay for glory.

They both left their cars in her office garage and took a cab to the airport, and Jeff couldn't believe that this time nothing had happened to stop them. Neither of them had an emergency, a problem, a meeting. They didn't have to cancel again; his mother wouldn't be furious with him.

They actually managed to get on the plane on schedule, and take their seats without a problem. It was amazing.

Jeff looked at her with a grin, as the plane took to the air with the resounding sound of the jets just above them. I can't believe it. Can you? They had agreed to fly first class, and they sat back in their seats with a victorious look, as they held hands and ordered champagne and orange juice. We did it! he said, and kissed her. My mother will be so pleased. Allegra was just happy to be with him, and to be going away with him. They still hadn't decided where to go for their honeymoon. They were taking three weeks, and they were talking about Europe. Italy in the fall was glorious, particularly Venice. And after that Paris, and maybe London, to see friends. But Jeff also liked the idea of a beach somewhere, like maybe the Bahamas, or Bora Bora like Carmen and Alan. But Allegra didn't want anything that remote. It was a lively conversation for close to an hour, and a real luxury to even be thinking about it. And then they talked about the wedding. He was thinking about Alan as his best man, and her brother and Tony Jacobson, and the director of his movie, as ushers. And Allegra was having the same problem. She wanted Sam as her maid of honor, and Carmen as a bridesmaid, and she felt as though she should have had more friends stand up for her than that. She had always thought about having her college roommate from Yale, Nancy Towers, if she ever got married, but she hadn't seen her in five years, and Nancy lived in London.

Maybe she'd come, Jeff said conversationally, at least ask her.

And there was another old friend of Allegra's from school, Jessica Farnsworth, who had moved East years before. They never saw each other anymore, but as kids they had been like sisters. She decided to ask both of them after talking to Jeff, and they completed the wedding party. They were going to invite the Weissmans of course, and a lot of people they liked and worked with. Allegra thought Jeff should invite some of his friends from the East, but he doubted that they would come. They were either too poor or working too hard, but he agreed to invite them.

It was an easy flight, and eventually, they both read. He was still jotting down notes on the script, and she had brought an assortment of papers with her in a briefcase. She had brought a new novel too, and Jeff approved of the selection. But before she read the first page, she was fast asleep, with her head on Jeff's shoulder, and he looked down at her tenderly and covered her with a blanket.

I love you, he whispered as he kissed her.

Me too, she whispered back, and then drifted off to sleep again until they landed. He had to shake her awake, she was so dead to the world, and she didn't remember where she was at first. She had been completely out, after her exhausting night getting Malachi out of jail, and then dashing to the office.

You work too hard, Jeff informed her, as they disembarked and walked to the carousel to claim their luggage. He had arranged for a limousine to meet them at the airport and take them to Southampton. He wanted the trip to be as pleasant as possible for Allegra so it would be one of the first happy memories they shared of their marriage. There was champagne in an ice bucket waiting in the limousine for them, and it was one of those absurd stretch models that go on forever.

I didn't know they had those in the East. She laughed when she saw it. I thought the only people who hired those were rock stars. In spite of his normally unassuming ways, she always teased Bram Morrison because he loved them, the longer the better. He'd even had one with a double bed in it once. That had been quite something.

Drug dealers rent them here, Jeff explained with a grin, and then commented that they had met in the East five months before, and now here they were, back again, and soon to be married. Their wedding was only two and a half months away. They could hardly believe it.

The ride to Southampton took two hours from Kennedy, and it was a hot June night, but the car was air-conditioned and they were comfortable. Jeff took his jacket off and his tie, and he rolled up the sleeves of his well-starched blue shirt. He always looked immaculate and perfectly pressed and put together, even after a plane ride. The only time he didn't look like that was in his famous sweatshirts and blue jeans in Malibu, but even then he looked intentionally casual, and she teased him because his jeans were always perfectly pressed. It was one of his few obsessions.

I look a total mess compared to you. Allegra looked nervous as she brushed her hair and tied it back again. But the navy linen suit had suffered badly on the airplane, particularly while she slept on his shoulder. I should have taken off the skirt, she commented with a grin.

That would have been a hit, he said, and poured her a glass of champagne and then kissed her.

That's perfect. I'm going to get drunk before I meet your mother. That'll make a big impression on her.

Stop worrying. She's going to love you, he said confidently, beaming at his future bride, as she flashed the much-beloved engagement ring at him. And they kissed long and hard as the car made a right turn off the expressway.

It was another half hour to the house, and it was nearly midnight when they rounded the last bend in the road, and she saw a stately old house, with a porch all around it. Even in the dark, she could see antique wicker furniture set in little groups, and there were lovely trees that shaded the house in the daytime. There was a white picket fence that surrounded the property, and the driver drove them right up to the door and then helped them with their bags. Because of the late hour, they all attempted to be quiet. Jeff suspected his mother wouldn't have waited up for them. With the time difference, it was impossible to have gotten there any earlier and still have been able to put in a half day at the office.

He knew where the key was hidden. He paid the driver and gave him a handsome tip, and then let Allegra and himself into the house carefully. There was a note from his mother in the front hall, on a handsome antique English table. The note welcomed them both, and told Jeff he had his own room, and asked that Allegra take the large guest room on the ocean. The message was clear and Jeff smiled at her apologetically.

I hope you don't mind, he whispered. My mother is very proper. We can leave your bags in there, and you can sleep with me. Or I can sleep with you, as long as we make it back to our own rooms by morning. She was amused by the proprieties, but perfectly willing to follow the directions.