She released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thank you."
She smiled a bit as he continued to look her up and down. The stark admiration in his eyes went a long way to build her confidence.
"You are missing one thing, though," he said.
She frowned. He pulled a long velvet box out of his jacket pocket and she couldn't help but smile, flashes of scenes from Pretty Woman going through her head. She opened the box, her heart skipping with excitement, only to frown down into the empty velvet interior.
"Really?" she said. She should have known he was going to prank her.
He grinned and held up his other hand from which dangled a diamond necklace with a teardrop sapphire pendant. "Kiersten told me the color of your dress. I thought this might match well."
She sucked in a breath as he placed the gems around her neck, her hand trembling slightly as she touched the beautiful stones.
"Brooks, this is incredible, thank you. You didn't buy this, did you? It's on loan or something?"
"Don't worry," he said with a wink. "It was on sale."
She frowned a little, knowing she couldn't accept something so extravagant. But before she could say anything else he pulled out another box from his pocket, much smaller this time, and placed it in her hands.
"So were these."
She opened them to find a pair of matching earrings-small teardrop sapphires dangling from a short string of glistening diamonds.
"Oh, Brooks," she said, but he shook his head and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.
"Stop complaining and put them on. Honestly, I've never met a more stubborn woman. A guy gives you jewelry, just smile and say thank you."
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"See. That wasn't so hard, was it?"
She laughed and put the earrings on.
"Are you ready?"
She glanced at herself one more time and took a deep breath. "As I'll ever be, I suppose."
"Don't worry. It won't be that bad. And we don't have to stay long. Just enough to make an appearance, say hi to a few people, and show them that all their preconceptions about me were totally wrong and I am, indeed, the most awesome person on the planet."
She grinned. "So, we're never leaving?"
"Laugh it up, Mrs. Larson. You're the one stuck with me. For the time being, anyway."
"Lucky me," she said. And if she sounded like she meant that … well, she wasn't going to examine that too closely.
She picked up her velvet wrap and he took it from her, helping her drape it around her shoulders.
"Shall we, Mrs. Larson?" he said, holding out his elbow for her to take.
Those words always sent a little thrill through her heart no matter how hard she tried to stop it. A meaningless title she wouldn't have for much longer shouldn't affect her so much. But it did. Every time.
She took his arm and smiled up at him. "Lead the way, Mr. Larson."
Leah stood holding her glass of ginger ale, watching as some of the biggest movers and shakers in the city, hell, in the country, floated past her in gowns and tuxedos that probably cost more than she made in a year. And since her own gown fell into that category, she knew she wasn't just being catty. She had never felt so out of place in her life.
They had Bono on the stage providing the music, and she was pretty sure she had even seen Angelina Jolie chatting it up in the corner with a few of her celebrity friends. If Oprah showed up, Leah was going to call it quits then and there. Brooks, on the other hand, fit right in. Well, in some ways. In others, he stood out from the crowd. Literally. He stood head and shoulders above most of the men in there and his tux hugged every line and plane of his body as if it had been made for him.
She took a sip of her drink, hoping it would calm her stomach. She had no idea what to say to these people. They had absolutely nothing in common. But she'd better figure it out quick because a small group of ladies were heading her way.
"So," one said, a blonde with hair so elaborately styled it had to be a wig and boobs that Leah would kill for. "You're the one who snagged Brooks."
The woman looked her up and down, making it very clear what she thought about Brooks's choice. Leah might have been more uncomfortable than she'd ever been in her life, but that didn't mean she was going to stand there and let some woman walk all over her.
"Yes," she said. "Isn't he lucky? I'm Leah Larson." She held out her hand. "And you are?"
The woman blinked, mouth dropped open in a little O, obviously surprised that Leah didn't recognize her. And she should be-her face was plastered over most of the magazines and billboards in the city. Many of those pictures had been with Brooks, once upon a time. Leah knew exactly who she was, but she didn't have any intention of passing on that knowledge.
"You know, I've got to hand it to you," the woman said, her eyes glued to Leah's belly. "Classic strategy for a marriage trap, though risky with someone like Brooks. How could you be sure he'd stick around? He's not exactly the domestic type."
"Really?" Leah said in mock surprise. "He's been absolutely amazing, but maybe he saves that part of himself for people he really trusts."
The woman glared at her while her little followers started to fidget. They must not have been expecting a fight.
"If you say so. I think it's a shame a man as wild and carefree as Brooks has been … tamed."
Leah gave her a cold smile. "Oh, believe me, between us girls, there is nothing tame about my hubby."
"Talking about me again?" Brooks asked, smiling warmly at her and effectively ignoring the other women. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
She looked up at him with a grateful smile. "Always."
"Good, my favorite subject." He gave her another squeeze. "How are you, sweetheart? I've been looking all over for you."
She resisted the urge to look surprised at the term of endearment. Normally, she would have said something about it, but he was obviously upset. No one else seemed to notice, but Leah could see it in the hard line of his mouth and in his dull eyes that usually sparkled with amusement.
She gripped his hand where it rested against her belly. "I'm fine, babe," she said. "I'm just getting to know your friends here."
"Not such great friends anymore," the blonde said with a little pout. "You haven't called me in ages, B. I've missed … talking with you."
Leah's hand clenched around her glass and she had to resist the urge to toss it in the woman's face.
"I'm sorry," Brooks said. "I didn't realize you were expecting a call from me. No offense, though," he said, with his usual teasing tone of voice. Leah noticed the hard note behind it, but she didn't think anyone else did. "I haven't thought about much else besides this gorgeous woman here." He pulled her in for a quick kiss and gazed adoringly down at her.
She was pretty sure it was all for show, but that didn't stop her stomach from doing a backflip or two.
"I've pursued this incredible creature from the moment we met. She kept trying to ignore me, so I finally showed up at her door and whisked her off to a wedding chapel. It was the best day of my life. Well, so far," he said, placing his hand on her belly.
The blonde's face grew harder and angrier with every word. It was painfully obvious she had been one of the women who had chased Brooks hoping she would get to be Mrs. Larson.
The woman opened her mouth to say something else, but Brooks cut her short. "I'm sorry, Julie. Oh! Jenny, sorry. I hate to be rude, but we need to excuse ourselves. There are a few people I promised to introduce Leah to."
He gave them another forced smile and nod and pulled Leah away.
"I'm sorry about her," Brooks said, his jaw still clenched.
Leah shook her head. "Ex-girlfriend?"
"She was someone who wanted a lot more than I wanted to give her. She also believes far too much in her own appeal. We went on two dates and it was one and a half too many. And that's coming from someone with my questionable standards."
She squeezed his hand. "Oh, you're not so bad. You have your good points."
He smiled and kissed her hand. "Well, here's to hoping the good outweighs the bad."
He spent the next little while introducing her to almost everybody in the room. For the most part, everyone was polite and welcoming enough, although surprise and sometimes downright shock was evident everywhere she turned. But in a pleasant, almost relieved way. The uncomfortable laughter and confused looks melted into relief and acceptance once he introduced her as his wife, and the conversations often turned toward business ventures. As she'd gotten the impression this rarely happened for Brooks at these things, Leah was happy, hoping she was doing a decent job holding her own and propping Brooks up.
The rest of the evening had been going well enough that when Brooks needed to step aside for a moment to speak with a client she felt comfortable being left with a group of the other wives. They all seemed nice enough. Most were around her age, which was surprising considering that most of the husbands were a great deal older.