Mixed Blessings by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online

amazed him.

    "I've been thinking about it," she said as she made him an espresso after dinner.

    "About what?" He didn't know what she was saying.

    "About us." He waited for a beat, suddenly worried. She was very independent, and she was capable of anything, any wild decision she had come to on her own and then decided was important. "I think we should get married." She looked matter-of-fact and handed him his coffee, but he was too startled to take it as he stared at her.

    "You what? After all those arguments you gave me over Christmas . .

    .

    what in God's name made you change your mind?"

    "Nothing. I just decided that you might be right, and it might be time." She had thought about it a lot, and it was hard to admit to him that somewhere deep inside of her there was suddenlyayearning . . . to be his . . . to be part of him . .

    forever. . .

    "What ever made you think that?"

    "I don't know." She looked noncommittal and he grinned.

    "You're crazy, you know. Completely crazy. And I love you.

    He came around the counter and took her in his arms and kissed her. "I love you very, very much, whether you marry me or not. Do you want some more time to think about this?"
    "I think you'd better not give me much time." She grinned.

    "I might change my mind. I think we'd better get it over with quickly." She made it sound difficult and painful.

    "I promise I'll make it as easy as I can." He was ecstatic. They picked a date in June and called the children, who were thrilled, too, and they promised to come, whenever it was.

    They seemed sincerely happy for them. They picked ten couples who meant a great deal to them, and a few unattached friends, her law partners, two of his colleagues, among them Marina Goletti, Pilar's best friend, to perform the ceremony, and of course, Pilar's mother.

    Both of Brad's parents had been dead for years and Pilar's mother was a widow. She lived and worked in New York, but she had promised to come out for the wedding, "if you go through with it," she said skeptically, which suitably annoyed her daughter.

    But true to his word, Brad handled everything, and had his secretary send out the invitations. All Pilar had to do was find a dress, and she, her stepdaughter, Nancy, and Marina Goletti went shopping for it.

    Pilar was so unglued by the whole idea that the other two almost had to try dresses on for her. But in the end, she found a beautiful Mary McFadden gown of tiny ivory silk pleats, and she looked like a Greek goddess when she put it on. And when the day came, she wore her hair up, with soft tendrils falling near her face, and tiny white flowers woven into it. She looked exquisite, and as she turned to their guests after the ceremony, she looked ecstatic.

    "See, it wasn't so bad," Brad whispered to her, as they stood slightly apart, watching their friends have a good time. As always, there was a silent, peaceful bond between them. They had an understanding that had surpassed everything for the past thirteen years; opposition and stress and fear and loneliness and hatred. It was a band of love that brought them together and kept them there, against life's winds, safe in each other's harbor. "Did you do it for me, or for them?" he asked gently.

    "It's funny," she said quietly. "I did it for myself, in the end."

    She hadn't meant to tell him that, but it seemed right now. "All of a sudden I just needed to be married to you, and I knew it."

    "That's a nice thing to say." He took a step closer to her and held her close to him. "I needed to be married to you, too, Pilar. I have for a long time. But I didn't want to press you.

    "You've always been so good to me about that. It means a lot to me. I guess I just needed time." She smiled sheepishly and he laughed. It was a good thing she had never wanted children.

    If they had to wait another thirteen years for them, it could have been quite a problem.

    "This is the right time," he said gently. "This is when it was meant to be. I love