"I'm so touched, so honored. So . . . I'm going to have to sit here and cry for a couple minutes. "
"That's all right, you go ahead. "
"You know, the something old in that tradition's a symbol of the bride's link to her family. " Hayley sniffed.
Roz patted her cheek. "Trust you to know. Y'all can sit here and have a nice cry together. "
"What? Where are you going?" Hayley demanded.
"Downstairs. Mitch should be here shortly. "
"But you can't. " Biting her lip, and obviously torn between sitting with Stella or preventing a catastrophe, she waved her arms like a woman trying to stop a train. "You have to wait till he gets here, then you have to glide down the steps. That staircase is made for a woman to glide down. You've gotta make an entrance. "
"No, I don't - and you sound like my mother, who made me do just that for my escort - thank God it was John so we could laugh about it after - at the debut she forced me into. Believe me, the world will not end if I greet him at the door. "
She snapped her purse closed, took one last glance in the mirror. "Plus, there's another tradition I have to follow. If I don't go down, get David's approval on my dress, I'll hurt his feelings. There are tissues in the drawer beside the bed," she called out.
She'd barely finished modeling for David and getting his approval when Mitch was at the door.
Opening it, she had the pleasure of seeing his eyes widen and hearing the low whistle of his breath. "Just how did I get this lucky?" he asked her.
She laughed, held out her wrap. "The way you look in that tux, Doctor, you may get considerably luckier before the night's over. "
Chapter Eighteen
"IWAS TRYING to remember the last time I wore a tux. " Mitch slid behind the wheel of the car, giving himself the pleasure of another long look at Roz as he hitched on his seat belt. "Pretty sure it was a friend's wedding. His oldest kid graduates high school this year. "
"Now, that's a shame, since you wear one so well. "
"Lean over here once. " When she did, he brushed his lips over hers. "Yeah, tastes as good as it looks. "
"It certainly does. "
Starting the engine, he pulled away from the house. "We could skip this business tonight and run off and get married. We're dressed for it. "
She sent him a sidelong glance as he turned onto the main road. "Be careful how you bat those marriage proposals around, Dr. Carnegie. I've already shagged two in my time. "
"Let me know if you want to try for three. "
It felt spectacular, she realized, to be all dressed up and flirting with a handsome man. "You getting serious on me?"
"It's looking that way. You need to consider I'm a rent-the-tux kind of guy, but I'd spring for one when you decide to take the jump. Least I can do. "
"Of course, that is a deciding factor. "
He laid his hand briefly over hers. "I make a good living, and your money isn't an issue one way or the other with me. What baggage I've got, I've pretty well packed up. For the past many years, my son's been the singular essential element in my life. He's a man now, and while he'll always be my great love, I'm ready for other loves, other essentials. "
"And when he moves to Boston?"
"It's going to cut me off at the knees. "
This time she laid her hand on his. "I know just how it feels. "
"You can't follow them everywhere. And I've been thinking it's easy enough to visit Boston now and again, or take a trip here and there when he's got a game somewhere appealing. "
"I'm looking forward to meeting him. "
"I'm looking forward to that, too. I'm hoping you're not going to be too uncomfortable with whatever friction there is between you and his date's parents. "