Chapter 7
It was a ritual and one she had begun to hate. But Kara knew that after the stunt she had pulled, walking out of the church in the middle of the sermon (that was simply not done!), her mother would get involved, and the pastor as well.
She had walked back in when he was winding down from a prosperity message about sowing seeds and watching it grow, and she had seen his eyes tracking her progress.
Not to mention the fact that she had "embarrassed" William and left him sitting there while the congregants were staring at him. His words.
So the emergency meal at Serena's was arranged, instead of them having the meal at her mother's place.
And God forbid they have a discussion, especially one of such importance, before the coffee and dessert. So they were silently eating, the only sounds the utensils tinkling on the flatware, and her heart doing a series of jumps and dives.
They had come straight from the chapel in separate cars. For that, Kara had to be grateful. It would mean she could leave whenever she wanted. And she badly wanted to.
"Now." Katherine daintily dabbed at the sides of her mouth and laid the napkin in a precise manner beside her plate. "We will wait until the waiter has cleared the table." Brown eyes tracked to her daughter, taking in the outfit with a nod of approval. "Is there anything you want to say?"
"The veal was excellent as usual, and for a Sunday afternoon, the crowd is thin." Deliberately misinterpreting the question, Kara looked around the elegant room and spotted a few minor celebrities.
William cleared his throat and put away his glass of water, then patiently waited for their plates to be removed before saying anything.
"I don't think that's what your mother meant, my dear."
Turning to him, she gave him a wide-eyed stare. "It wasn't? Well, why don't you tell me exactly what she meant, since you're the expert on all things 'Katherine.'"
She was prepared for it and wasn't surprised at the stunned silence that followed her remark.
Her mother drew her shoulders backwards and lifted her chin, the look of disapproval in every line of her face.
"You're starting to unravel. Not only the scandalous outfit that you wore last night and leaving the function without so much as an explanation to William and me, but walking out of the sermon is unforgivable."
She picked up her glass of sparkling water. "It's working with that Abigail woman." She huffed. "She's a disgrace to that office. Married three times, and the rumor is that she's heading for divorce."
Katherine's gaze swung to William. "I also blame you. If you'd proposed in the timeline we planned, she would have been married by now."
William nodded, a look of contrition on his face. "I intend to rectify that mistake right now."
To her surprise, Kara was jolted out of her amused state when he reached for her left hand. Using his free hand, he took a small velvet box from his jacket pocket and snapped the lid, then ceremoniously took out the diamond solitaire.
"I think this is an appropriate time." He stared at her solemnly as if making the most crucial decision in his life, and she figured to him, that was true.
"Kara, my dear. It's time. We've been going on two years, and I would like you to do me the honor of being my wife."
With no doubt that she would gladly say yes, he started to open her hand to straighten her ring finger. From the corner of her eye, she caught the look of approval on her mother's face.
It was then she cemented her decision. She had stayed in the relationship because of fear of displeasing her mother. She had done things, or not done them, to gain the woman's approval. Well, no more.
"Kara?" her mother prodded. "Is there something you'd like to say?"
"Yes, there is."
William beamed a look of approval at her and waited in expectation.
"I cannot marry you."
To say that he was shocked would have been putting it mildly. If the situation weren't so serious, Kara would have found it laughable. He looked for all the world as if he had swallowed a trout.
"Pardon?" William said.
"What on earth do you mean?" her mother demanded.
Both comments came out at the same time.
Pulling her hand away, Kara slid back her chair. "Let's put it this way. I have no intention of tying my life down with a man who has zero respect for me, one who does not love me. Marriage is a serious commitment, and when I enter into the institution, I want it to be for the rest of my life."
She sent William a cool glance. "I'm not the woman for you.
I'm a grown-ass woman. Yes! I say 'ass,' and you can attribute my foul language to working for 'that woman,' as you termed it, Mother, or to the fact that my eyes are open.
I earn my own money and am very independent.
I've been toeing the line all my life, and it ends here. And another thing-"
She slid the chair all the way out. "I'm quitting the church.
While I was being wayward, I discovered some shady things about the first family.
The hypocrisy in that church is staggering.
I will not abandon my faith, because that is very important to me.
There's a tiny Baptist church on Orchard Street about which I've been thinking. "
She rose and turned to her mother, who sat there staring at her rigidly. "I know you're very disappointed in me, but I need to start thinking of myself now. You've been dictating my life for too long, and it ends today."
She turned back to the perplexed William. "Not once have you ever told me you loved me. This is just an arrangement to you. Well, I'm done."
They both watched her walk away. Katherine was the first to react.
"Are you going to sit here and allow her to walk out on you like that?"
"What can I do?" he asked helplessly.
"Grow a pair and go after her, you idiot!"
"Of course." Dutifully, he pushed back his chair and rose. "She's just being a little high-strung, that's all."
Kara had just retrieved her key fob from the valet when she saw him hurrying toward her.
With a sigh, she waited until he came alongside the vehicle.
"I've said all I want in there. I'm guessing Mother sent you after me to try and change my mind."
"She wants what's best for you."
"And that would be you."
His lips pursed. "I can give you a good life."
"I already have one, thanks anyway."
He placed a well-manicured hand on top of the vehicle. "You're clearly acting out. Why don't we-"
"Acting out?" She uttered an incredulous laugh. "I'm twenty-eight years old, William. A woman in charge of her own life. I've never had sex-"
She almost laughed when his mouth dropped open. "Yes, I said it. The 's' word that has you all nervous and sweating. It makes me wonder if what they're saying is right. That you're gay."
He went as stiff as a board, and if she was any judge of people, he looked a shade ill. "That's a preposterous thing to say! I assure you, I'm a heterosexual male-"
"And if that's true, you're getting it from somewhere else. You never once put the moves on me, and nothing I ever did stirred you up."
His eyes glinted coldly. "Is that what you want? For me to be pawing you like-like a common prostitute?"
"Yes!" she snapped. "Do something to show me that I'm an attractive woman. Two years with just a few pecks on the lips and nothing more."
"We were saving it for the wedding night."
She laughed, genuinely laughed, at that.
"That's what I've been trying to assure myself of.
I'm saving myself for marriage. But that's pure bullshit, and we both know it.
I'm done. Now please move away from my vehicle and allow me to go.
You can always go back in there and tell my mother that you genuinely tried.
" Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "You can always propose to her. You're both alike in so many ways."
"She's like a mother to me-"
"And don't ever let her hear you say such a thing. Katherine Saunders likes to think that she and I are the same age. Goodbye, William."
Without waiting for him to say anything else, she hopped in and backed out, leaving him standing there and staring after her.
With a laugh, she punched the gas pedal and sped away.
*****
"So, how's the very lovely Hailey?" Zane was feeling marginally better with a well-cooked meal in his belly and a friend to shoot the breeze with.
"I wouldn't mind getting an eyeful of her.
" He grinned as the other man aimed a dark look at him.
"What? You cannot have a wife like that and not expect men like me to notice. "
"She's older than you are," David pointed out.
"So? She's hot and one of the sexiest women I've ever seen. The first time I was introduced to her, I went to bed that night- Well-" He wisely stopped when he noticed that his friend's eyes had an ominous glint in them.
"Please tell me you did not jerk off thinking of my wife."
"Then I won't tell you." Lifting the glass of water to his lips, Zane hid a grin.
"You're sick."
"No, I'm a man who admires beauty, and that is one helluva beautiful woman." His smile faded. "And you're obviously still in love with her after all these years. The great David Snyder, playboy extraordinaire." He shook his head.
"Like you said, she's gorgeous." David grinned like an idiot. "I know you heard the story of when we first met."
Zane nodded. He had heard it several times but knew his friend liked telling it.
"You hooked up at a party."
"We had sex right out there in the garden. I was with someone else and caught sight of her. She came in with friends and stood out. I had to meet her. When she finished blowing my mind in that garden, I knew I had to see her again."
"She disappeared on you." The mention of the garden had his memories stirring of his own encounter with a woman he could not get out of his head.