Baby Business(6)

Not that being liked was too important to Cassidy, but she hated the  fact that Donovan's family always acted so superior simply because  they'd been in Charleston forever.



She gritted her teeth and mentally prepared herself to face Donovan's mother.



Chapter Three

Donovan's family had lived in the same house for more than six  generations. The 1858 mansion was registered as a historical landmark.  The first Tolley family had moved to Charleston just after the Civil  War. They traced their fortune back to those days, as well.



His mother was a member of the Junior League and the Charleston  Preservation Society, and she sat on the board for directors of  Tolley-Patterson. She prided herself on the work she did with that  group. She was the kind of woman who never had a hair out of place, and  family image was very important to her.



"You're getting married?" she asked as she and Donovan sat in the  parlor. She had a martini in one hand and looked every inch the genteel  Southern lady that she was.



Cassidy was outside walking through the lamplit gardens with his father.  His parents had both been shocked to see a pregnant Cassidy, and had  covered their reaction only so-so. Donovan had been grateful when his  usually withdrawn father had jumped up and asked to show his soon-to-be  daughter-in-law his latest sculpture.



"Yes."



"I thought you broke up."



"We did, but now we're back together and getting married."



"Is this because of your grandfather's will? Even though she's pregnant,  it might not be your child. Donovan, darling, there are a lot of women  more suited to your social station that you could marry."                       
       
           



       



"Cassidy is suited to our station, Mother. And she's the one I chose."



"What about the baby?"



"Mother."



"Yes?"



"Stop it. I need you to just be happy for me and go along with this."



"I'll try, dear. It's just … I'm a little young to be a grandmother."



"And everyone will say that, you know that."



"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"



"A boy."



His mother took another sip of her martini. He couldn't read her thoughts. But she did smile for a second.



"Will her family be at the wedding? Surely you aren't going to have a big wedding with the pregnancy so far along."



"No, Mrs. Tolley, we aren't going to have a big wedding. Just an  intimate ceremony at my parents' house. And we hope you'll both be  there."



Donovan glanced at Cassidy to gauge her mood, but her face looked  serene. She smiled politely at his mom. He had never thought before  about the kind of attitude that Cassidy must have to endure from the  oldest established families in Charleston. Her family, though wealthier  than many, had accrued their fortune in the last twenty years and didn't  have the kind of pedigree that the women in the Junior League approved  of.



"I heard your parents were doing some remodeling," his mother said. "Would you consider having the ceremony here?"



Cassidy glanced at him and he shrugged. Everyone had heard about the  bright pink stucco that been used to repaint the Franzone mansion. Two  weeks worth of editorials on the eyesore that their mansion had become  had ensured that.



The Franzones were in the middle of a lengthy battle with their  contractor to get him to repaint the house. The color was so bright and  gaudy that the neighbors had complained to city hall in hopes of forcing  the Franzones to do something immediately, instead of waiting for legal  settlement.



"Thank you for that kind offer, but my mom has already started making arrangements."



"Very well. When is the ceremony going to be?"



Donovan knew from his mother's tone that she wasn't happy, but he didn't  care. He needed Cassidy to be his wife. And his mother was never going  to be happy to be related by marriage to the Franzones.



"This Saturday, Mother," Donovan said. He walked to Cassidy's side and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him.



"Where is your father?"



"He went back to his studio," Cassidy answered. "He showed me the sculpture he's working on for the Myerson Museum."



"Did he?" Donovan and his father hardly had what anyone would call a  close relationship, but he'd hoped that today, since he had come over to  announce his engagement, his father would leave his studio for more  than an hour and spend some time with him. But that wasn't the type of  man his father was, and Donovan was old enough to accept that.



His parents had never had a close relationship. They'd married because  his grandfather had wanted to merge Tolley Industries and Patterson  Manufacturing. He'd always been aware that his parents didn't have a  love match. His father's M.O. was to retreat to his studio whenever  possible.



"Yes, he did. It's still rough, but you can see that it'll be breathtaking when it's done."



"I'm sure it will," Donovan said. "Mother, would you like to join us for dinner?"



"No, thank you, Donovan. I have a bridge game tonight."



"We will see you Saturday, then? At the Franzones'?" he asked.



"Of course. What time on Saturday?" she asked.



"Cassidy?"



She pulled her BlackBerry phone out and pressed a few buttons. "Six-thirty, Mrs. Tolley. There will be a dinner afterward."



"Do you need me to do anything to help?"



"No, thank you. We've got it all taken care of."



They said their goodbyes and were outside a few minutes later. Cassidy let out a breath.



"What?"



"Nothing."



"Cassidy, I know something's on your mind."



"Do I really need to tell you how snobby your mother is? She'll probably  have a fit when she realizes that I've asked Emma to be one of the  witnesses for the ceremony."



"Emma's not family."



"I don't have any sisters, and you know she's like one to me." She  smiled shyly. "Do you want me to ask one of my brothers to be the best  man?"                       
       
           



       



He stared at her. He hadn't thought about who should be his witness. "Which one?"



"Adam makes the most sense. You've met him."



He and Adam Franzone didn't get along. From the very beginning of his  relationship with Cassidy, Adam had been telling him he wasn't good  enough for her.



He didn't want her brother to stand up with him, but if it meant keeping  Cassidy happy, he guessed he could do it. He shrugged. "Adam will do."





Donovan was silent as they drove away from his parents' house. Cassidy  wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life. She'd been  seeing Donovan as she wanted him to be. Seeing him with his mother, so  arrogant and very much the wealthy son who'd always gotten his way …



"What are you thinking?" he asked.



"Nothing," she said. There were some doubts that she couldn't shake. She  was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and that was exactly why she  couldn't shake the panicked feeling deep inside of her.



"So it's something you don't want to share with me," he said, his voice a deep rumble in the cockpit of his sports car.



"How do you know I'm thinking anything at all?" Cassidy asked.



"Baby, you always have something going on in your head. Is it about work?"



"No. Lately I've been working with an artist, Sandra Paulo, who isn't  coming in until a month after the baby is born. And she's been very  cooperative. She shipped all of her paintings early so I'd be able to  plan the display before I go out on maternity leave."



"Well if it's not the job, is it family?"



"Whose?"



"Mine or yours," he said.



"Not really. I mean, your mom is a bit of snob-that tone in her voice  when she talked about the ceremony being held at my parents' place was a  bit obvious."



"She's just used to things being a certain way."



"I imagine she is. You know your family is too caught up in pedigree."



Donovan shrugged. "So that's what you were thinking about? I can't change my mother's attitude."



"I know, it's a part of who she is. It really doesn't bother me at all. I only mentioned it because you brought the subject up."



"I didn't bring it up. I asked what was on your mind, and you still haven't told me."



"That's because it's a nice day and I don't want to start an argument."



Donovan glanced over at her and arched one eyebrow at her. "I won't argue with you, Cassidy."



"I know that. You get quiet and clam up and act like nothing is wrong."