“He’s nine,” Michael pointed out. “Isn’t he a bit young for that responsibility?”
“Oh, he’s just the token best man…” Vanessa’s eyes widened as she realized she’d just nearly blurted out something she shouldn’t have. “I mean, Kevin does have other groomsmen that will sort out all the adult things that need to be done.”
“Vanessa,” Maggie said, stepping between her and Michael. “I’m sorry, but I have some business to discuss with Michael, and he is a busy man who doesn’t have all day.”
“Of course,” Vanessa said, her eyes narrowing, before they moved to Michael. “It was really nice meeting you, Michael.”
He didn’t respond. Michael just gave her a tight smile and a small nod.
“Do rethink your answer for the wedding, Maggie,” Vanessa said sweetly, before her eyes flashed with a warning. “We don’t want to have to…” She raised an eyebrow. “Let's not make this another expensive, drawn-out battle. Kevin has the right to want his grandson at his wedding.”
With that, she spun on her heel and flounced out of the shop.
The door swung shut, and Vanessa was gone. As soon as the door swung shut, the two shop assistants appeared. Diane, the second assistant, had been out when Vanessa had arrived and must have come in from the back door, then hung back in the break room while they waited for vicious Vanessa, as they called her, to leave.
They greeted Michael, who smiled and returned the greeting.
“Shall we go through to my office?” Maggie suggested.
“Sure,” Michael said as he followed her through to her small office that was next to her studio.
She took a seat in front of her desk, and he sat in front of her.
“So that was Vanessa?” Michael asked.
“Yes, that’s Vanessa,” Maggie said, blowing out a breath.
“She came all this way just to get you to change your mind about taking Toby to their wedding?” He did not look convinced.
“That was just the excuse she needed to see if I had any new pieces on display,” Maggie told him with a smile. “And to try and get a photo of the wedding dress I’m working on for a top celebrity.”
“Get a photo?” Michael frowned.
“Yes. Vanessa sells knock-offs of clothing from high-end boutiques,” Maggie told him. “That’s one of the big reasons I don’t want my boutique to have any association with hers.” Her jaw clenched. “And if Kevin gets his claws into even a tiny percentage of mine, I’m ruined.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Michael assured her. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Her eyes fell on the gift he was cradling on his lap.
“Is that for me?” Maggie said, jokingly looking pointedly at the brightly wrapped box.
Michael looked down at the box as though he’d forgotten about it. Something shifted in his face. His eyes darkened with haunting emotion.
"This," Michael said quietly, lifting it, "is a gift for you from my father."
Maggie went still. Her brows shot up, and she looked at the box. Her heart clenched, and her breath hitched.
"Your father," Maggie said softly, her voice hoarse.
"I know how that sounds," Michael said, with a small, unsteady smile. "Today, after our breakfast, I went back to the hotel. Linda and I decided I needed my own office. The logical choice was…”
“Your father’s office,” Maggie finished for him. She swallowed her throat, suddenly dry as she realized the implications of what he was saying. “You opened your father’s office after all these years.”
He nodded. "Linda and I opened it together," Michael continued, and his voice had gone rough now. "It’s the first time either of us has set foot there in fifty-two years. And it's all exactly as he left it. Uncle George kept it clean all this time but ensured nothing was changed or left out of place.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “It was like a shrine.”
Maggie's eyes had filled with tears as she watched and listened.
"We found a desk drawer filled with every card we’d ever made him.” His eyes dropped from hers back to the box, “Beneath the cards were three birthday presents as he knew he was going to miss Linda’s, yours, and mine that year.” He swallowed, and his eyes shone with unshed tears. “He was supposed to be back three weeks before Christmas that year.”
