Page 11 of Degrees of Power
“Who was causing them grief? Also, I distinctly recall you mentioning filling me in on all this added security,” I say, raising my eyebrows at him.
“I’m teasing you, Baby, but you did say that you didn’t want to know. I’ll bring you up to speed a little later but for now why don’t you head upstairs? I’ll make the rounds one more time and let everyone know we are retiring for the evening,” he says, kissing me on the lips before I tiredly climb the stairs to our room. I close the door and look at my reflection in the wall-sized mirror. The sapphire necklace glitters at me and I rub my finger over its shimmering surface. Tomorrow I will no longer be Kate Meilers, but instead will be Katarina Prestian. I wonder how Chase’s mom felt when she married his dad. The door opens and I realize I am still staring in the mirror.
“You look a million miles away, Baby,” Chase says, putting his arms around my waist and kissing my neck from behind.
“I was just wondering how our moms felt the night before their weddings,” I say, rubbing the stone between my fingers. “Chase, are you sure you want to marry me?”
“Katarina, of course I do, why would you ask that?”
“I’m not the type of girl that people like you marry,” I say, hating the catch in my voice.
“People like me?”
I turn to face him. “Chase, look at this stone. I’ve seen pictures of you and other women. They were duchesses, princesses, and daughters of diplomats. Do you really think your mom wanted you to give such a magnificent stone to someone like me?”
“Listen to me. My mother wanted it to go to the woman I love, want to marry and will carry on our family. Why would you even compare yourself to the other women I’ve been with? It concerns me that you’re such an intelligent, kind person, but so self-deprecating when it comes to feeling like you belong with me. Katarina, the money’s a package deal, but it shouldn’t define us,” he says, unzipping my gown and letting it fall to the floor.
“Now, since you went against all traditional wedding plans, I think we’ll just skip the part about not seeing the bride-to-be the night before the wedding and all of those other little rules,” he says, spinning me so he can capture my lips with his own.
CHAPTER FOUR
It has been a full day, with a family breakfast followed by an all-day affair of facials, massages, hair styling and makeup. “We have to hurry up. Otherwise, you’re seriously going to be late for your own wedding,” Jenny chastises, scooting me into her room as we get to the top of the stairs.
My mother has seen to it that all of the ladies in our family have been thoroughly pampered while the gentlemen have been exiled to the nature trails that Carlos recently had created and donated to the state for public enjoyment. Mom has had all of my clothes for the evening placed in Jenny’s suite to allow us privacy while we get ready and afford Chase a space to do the same, insisting we follow some traditions.
“I’ll change in the bathroom while you put your little unmentionables on,” Jenny jokes as she heads into the bathroom to get dressed. I smile at her reference to the brief little thong I bought to go under my wedding dress. I quickly undress and slip it on, the only undergarment I will wear. The custom design of my dress and plunging, deep V-neck trails past my cleavage to the top of my navel and does not allow for anything under it.
I spin around just as Jenny comes back in the room. She looks amazing in a stunning long strapless gown that dips low in the front, cinches around her perfect waist and falls gracefully around her in soft gentle folds. The sapphire wedding color accentuates her long dark chestnut colored hair. She is wearing silver and diamond drop earrings and a matching necklace that sits right at the start of her cleavage.
“Kate, you look absolutely beautiful,” she says, spinning me around in front of the mirror. The seamstress has done an excellent job. Thin spaghetti straps cross over my shoulder and trail to the top of my hips, leaving my back completely exposed and the satiny material flowing to the floor and beyond. Jenny holds out the graceful train so I can see it in the mirror.
“Here, I’m supposed to make sure you wear this,” she says, clasping the sapphire necklace into place. It really is much more gorgeous than all the pictures,” she says, spinning me around.
“What pictures?”
“Kate, seriously, haven’t you seen all the tabloids and social columns? It’s all anyone has been gossiping about since last night,” she says.
“Jenny, I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” I say.
“Apparently, Chase’s dad gave this to his wife as a wedding gift.”
“Chase told me that,” I say, turning to look at the long train in the mirror.
“Did he tell you that it’s rumored to be the largest heart-shaped sapphire in the world?” Jenny asks.
“No, we were up late, I slept in. We didn’t really talk about it,” I say, letting what she said register.
“The tabloids are in a frenzy. Apparently Don outbid a Saudi prince who collects rare stones like this and believed at one time it belonged to his family. Don refused the guy’s attempts to buy it for millions more than it was worth even after Chase’s mom passed away. The newspapers are recounting all the stories that were published about it even years ago.”
“I hope Don isn’t uncomfortable with all the press,” I say, touching the stone.
“I’m not sure. All the articles say that he’s made no comment, but apparently the stone sitting around your neck is worth more than forty million dollars, Kate. Seriously, when Chase gave it to me to put on you tonight, I was actually scared to take it,” she says.
I look at the stone in the mirror. The cool blue glistening gem lays against my chest, the point of the heart perfectly settled between the gentle sloping of my breasts. I touch its surface, recalling only a few short months ago I didn’t trust any man and now I’m about to commit to a man whose controlling tendencies know no bounds and nothing feels more right.
“It’s time, Kate. We have to go,” she says, pulling me from my reverie, helping me from her room to the top of the stairs. The wedding planner has orchestrated things down to the minute and Jenny gives me a hug as she leaves me with my father at the top of the stairs.
He is dressed in a black tuxedo with a sharp sapphire-colored tie. He takes my hands and his eyes meet mine. “Katarina, there’s something that I need to say to you.”
