Chapter 19

Predictably, their show was even better than the first one, and the reviews were fabulous. Sydney and Ed were ecstatic. They both went home to sleep after the show, and the following night, Ed, Kevin, Sydney, and Bob had dinner to celebrate at La Grenouille. Their show had been called the best one of the season, and people were talking about their possibly winning a CFDA Fashion Award, which would be a major coup. It was like winning an Oscar for an actor or producer. And the orders were already rolling in.

Bob stayed a few more days after the show, and then headed back to Hong Kong. He was already making plans for dinners with her and special outings, a casual evening with his children, and a cocktail party with his friends to introduce her to everyone. Sydney was nervous about it. He was so excited to have her meet everyone that she felt overwhelmed. She talked to Ed about it on the plane, after they settled into their seats. It had been a whirlwind two weeks, with busy days ahead in Hong Kong.

“I hope you have your plane karma under control,” he warned her, and she laughed nervously. She never totally forgot the terror of the flight that had almost crashed and then landed in Nova Scotia. It had been fateful for her since she had met Paul there.

“I hope so too,” she said anxiously. “Bob acts like this is a homecoming instead of just a visit. I haven’t even met his kids yet. And I’m not signing up for another bunch of kids who hate me.”

“Stop worrying about it. They’re sane. Those other two witches aren’t, and never were.” He thought about it for a minute then and asked her a question. “Would you ever live there?” She shook her head without hesitating.

“I’m married to you and the business,” she said, and he smiled. Kevin was on the same flight with them, traveling in business as a gift from Ed. Since it was a long flight, she and Ed were in first, which Sydney was enjoying. It was one of the luxuries she had missed and had come back to her now.

“You don’t have to be married. But you could live anywhere, you know. We proved that when you were under house arrest. You can send your drawings in by computer. We can FaceTime. As long as you come back for Fashion Week twice a year. Our design team can handle the pre-collections. You don’t have to live in New York if you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” she said, sounding adamant about it. “I have two children there. And I’m never giving up my life for a man again, or being dependent on someone to take care of me. That’s the lesson of the past two years. I never should have given up my career when I got married. It was a huge mistake.”

“So don’t give up your career. I don’t want you to do that either.” He looked worried at the thought. They had a booming business now that depended on both of them. “I’m just saying you could live anywhere, as long as you have a computer and fly to New York several times a year. You would probably have to spend about a month before each Fashion Week in September and February. It’s workable if you want to. You could be flexible.” Ed was trying to work it out for her, so she could spend time with Bob.

“I don’t see how that can work,” she said, frowning. “Besides, I’d be moving there for Bob. And that’s too big a change to make just for a man. And then he dies or dumps me, and I’m screwed and have to start all over again. I just did that.” She looked unnerved at the thought. She was traumatized by what had happened to her when Andrew died, and she didn’t want to put her life in any man’s hands again, even Bob’s, whom Ed knew she loved. “I’m not going to give up my life, my career, or my city for anyone. He lives in Hong Kong. I live in New York.”

“What if you could do both?” Ed asked her calmly.

She didn’t answer for a long moment. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “It scares me. Are you trying to marry me off?” she asked him with a grin. “Did Bob ask you to talk to me?”

“No, but I can see how much he loves you, and you can’t expect him to do all the traveling forever. And these days, even in our business, you can live where you want to and do a lot by computer. I just thought I’d remind you of that, to think outside the box.” It was a generous gesture on his part, and she was touched.

“Would you move to another city for Kevin?”

Ed looked startled at the question. He’d never thought about it with anyone. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “It would depend on how much I love him, and the city. I might try it for a while to check it out.” She didn’t answer him, and sat staring out the window, thinking about it. Bob had proven himself for the last year, and been there for her. But moving to Hong Kong would be a lot to ask. Fortunately, he never had. It was a decision she didn’t want to make.

They both watched movies and slept on the flight, and Ed went to visit Kevin in business a few times. When they got to Hong Kong, Bob was waiting for her at the airport. Ed and Kevin were staying with Ed’s family, who had sent their Bentley and driver for them. Bob drove Sydney to his place in his Aston Martin. When they got there, his apartment was as beautiful as she remembered from the video he had sent her.

“Welcome home,” Bob said as he kissed her, and they stood on the terrace and looked at the view of Hong Kong below. The apartment was like a movie set, he poured champagne for both of them, and handed her a glass. “I’ve waited eleven months to get you here,” he said, looking happy. It felt like a dream to him having her with him in Hong Kong, and as she sipped the champagne, she couldn’t help remembering that he had stuck with her through the worst months of her life, including preparations for a trial and the possibility of prison, and he had never let her down once. The years with Andrew had been easy, for both of them. But Bob had been through everything hard, including three months of incarceration in a miserable apartment. And now she was back in the lap of luxury again, but it wasn’t hers, it was his. She was acutely aware of that now, and the risks. And she didn’t want to do that again. “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked, always respectful of her plans and the demands on her, and willing to adjust. That was new to her.

“I have to help Ed set up the show. It’s the day after tomorrow,” she reminded him. “We have to pick the models and have fittings with them. But it won’t be as crazy as New York.” It was a benefit, not New York Fashion Week with critics to impress.

“We’ll have time to do everything after the benefit,” he said easily. She was staying a week after the fashion show, just to be with him. And his life was so seductive, as long as she didn’t think about meeting his children.

He had an enormous marble bathtub in a huge bathroom, and they soaked in it together before they went to bed. He poured her more champagne, and she was already half asleep before she climbed into his big comfortable bed and put her arms around him, with pure happiness in her eyes.

“I love you,” she whispered, and fell asleep instantly, as he turned off the light and smiled. His life was perfect with her there.

Sydney woke up late the next morning. Bob had gone to the office and let her sleep. She had to rush to meet Ed at the hotel at noon to choose the models. There were a fleet of assistants he’d hired already unpacking the clothes, which had arrived in good order, and Kevin was directing two young assistants, while a dozen seamstresses waited to fit the clothes to the girls.

They had just finished choosing the models, when Ed’s mother stopped by to thank them again for doing the show for the benefit. Sydney was struck again by how beautiful she was, and how young to have a son Ed’s age. She and Sydney were almost the same age. He and his mother looked like brother and sister. She had exquisite skin, and she was incredibly chic. She wore French haute couture. Ed had learned all about fashion from her, and from going to couture shows with her as a child.

They were finished with what they had to do by six o’clock, when Bob came to pick Sydney up. He invited Ed to join them for dinner, but he said he had to have dinner with his parents. He and Sydney agreed to meet the next morning at nine to go over details before a dress rehearsal at ten. The models they had chosen were all pros. A few didn’t speak English but Ed spoke to them in Mandarin. They were all beautiful girls and wore the clothes well.

“Half the room will be my relatives tomorrow night,” Ed commented, laughing. “My parents have four tables for the family and two of friends.”

“I have a table too,” Bob said. He had invited his favorite people and closest friends, so Sydney could meet them. As they got into his car, he said they were having dinner at home that night. She was relieved to hear it, she was tired and jet-lagged. It had been a long day, and she couldn’t wait to relax and soak in his huge tub. “My kids are coming to dinner tonight,” he said casually. Sydney sat up straight in the car with a look of terror, and he smiled. “Except for the one in medical school in England, of course. But Charlotte is coming in from Shanghai. They all want to meet you, Sydney,” he said as he glanced at her. “Don’t look like that. They’re not going to eat you, I promise.” But it was obvious she didn’t believe him, based on past experience with the twins. She had hoped to wait a while to meet his children. But he wanted to get it over with quickly, so she could relax. He knew how worried she was about it. She had dreaded it for months. Her fears about his children were a huge stumbling block for her to commit to him.

“When are they coming?” she asked nervously.

He checked his watch. “In about half an hour. It’s very casual. You don’t have to change.” She was wearing jeans. “I had a local restaurant cater it. So all you have to do is eat and relax.” She felt like Daniel walking into the lion’s den when they got to his apartment, and she went to put on a fresh blouse, brush her hair, and wash her face. She was brushing her teeth when the doorbell rang, and she wanted to throw up. She was sure it was them.

She walked anxiously into the living room and saw Bob with his arm around a spectacularly beautiful girl, prettier than any model they’d hired that day. She was wearing a chef’s jacket, checked pants, and clogs, so Sydney guessed easily which one she was. And Bob was very proud when he introduced his oldest daughter, Francesca, to Sydney. She had a warm, open smile and looked instantly apologetic.

“I’m so sorry I’m a mess. I was helping a friend out at his restaurant, and I came right from work.” She shook Sydney’s hand politely. She looked almost like a Eurasian version of Sabrina, and they were about the same age.

“I came right from work too.” Sydney smiled at her cautiously and felt foolish for being so worried. Francesca couldn’t have been nicer or more gracious and modest. She had none of that nasty foxy-eyed “I’m going to eat you for dinner or stab you in the back” look of the hateful twins and their mother. Francesca was as gentle and friendly as her father.

“Your show tomorrow sounds amazing,” Francesca said, visibly impressed. “Dad invited me, but I have to work. I had already signed on to fill in for a friend before he asked me. Besides,” she said shyly, “I don’t have decent clothes. I spend my life in the kitchen.” She was totally unassuming like her father, and much less sophisticated than Sydney had expected. She could have been anyone’s daughter, not one of the most successful men in Hong Kong. They were talking quietly about the bistro she wanted to open when Bob’s son, Dorian, walked in. He beamed the minute he saw Sydney, as though he had been waiting to meet her all his life. He had them all laughing half an hour later with the description of his recent visit to his sister in England and masquerading as a doctor so he could make rounds with her, and almost finding himself in a delivery room by mistake. He was funny and very welcoming to Sydney and wanted to know all about Sophie and Sabrina. He said they sounded very glamorous, and she assured him they were down-to-earth but with jobs in fashion, and worked very hard.

“I never wear the right thing,” he said awkwardly. “Dad took me to some fancy event a few months ago. I lost my dress shoes somewhere so I had to wear sneakers, and he was very upset.” He smiled at his father, who rolled his eyes at the memory of it.

“I was only upset because the shoes you lost happened to be mine, and I had lent them to you.”

“Oh, that,” Dorian said, and grinned guiltily at Sydney, who laughed. He was an adorable young guy, with an aura of mischief and innocence about him that was hard to resist.

And as they were talking, a little elf wandered in wearing what looked like pajama bottoms, a paint-splattered pink sweatshirt, and pink high-top sneakers. She apologized profusely for being late, and said her flight from Shanghai had been delayed. She had pink streaks in her hair.

“And they stole your clothes on the flight?” her father asked disapprovingly.

“No, these are mine. I was working on a painting till the last second before I left. But they did lose my bag. They’re bringing it later.” She was smaller than the others and looked a lot like her father, and reminded Sydney a bit of Sophie when she was younger. She had the same self-deprecating way about her, and surprised, innocent eyes, and a permanently childlike aura about her.

“My daughter Charlotte, otherwise known as Charlie,” Bob said to Sydney, who was totally at ease by then, and smiled at her. She looked like a ragamuffin, but a totally endearing one, and had her pink-streaked hair in pigtails.

“She always dresses like that,” Dorian explained to Sydney. “Your daughters in fashion would never approve of any of us, and my sister Aimee wears hospital pajamas all the time. We’re a disreputable lot,” he said, smiling broadly, and his sisters laughed.

“We’re a mess sometimes too,” Sydney said honestly. “Sometimes I wear my nightgown all day when I’m drawing, and so do my girls.”

“At the office?” Charlotte looked impressed. “I go to the bank sometimes in my pajamas, and Dad gets mad. But I like painting in them.” Bob glanced at Sydney ruefully, and she couldn’t help laughing. They reminded her of Peter Pan’s lost boys, and none of them seemed to care about clothes, which was fine with her. They were each charming in their own way, and she could see why Bob said they all had fun together.

“Actually, I wear my nightgowns at home, but I’d love to wear them to the office,” she responded to Charlotte. They told her about the family dogs then, who had all misbehaved, and one ate an entire buffet of food before the guests came, which inspired more stories. She was enjoying them enormously when dinner was announced, and they walked into the dining room to see a beautiful spread set out on china and crystal, with gleaming silver and flowers on the table. Despite their mischievous tales and haphazard style, she saw that they all had beautiful manners, were kind and polite to her, and were close to each other and crazy about their father, who adored them. It was a family full of love and good feelings, and rather than excluding her, like the twins, they all welcomed her warmly into their midst. She felt totally comfortable with them.

The food was delicious from one of the best restaurants in town. Bob had planned it carefully for her and had gone all out. And the conversation during dinner was warm and funny. They teased each other and their father, but without malice, and seemed perfectly happy to include her. They were the opposite of everything she had experienced with the twins.

She was sorry when all three of Bob’s children left at midnight. Charlotte was staying in the apartment downstairs, Francesca was going home to her boyfriend, and Dorian was meeting up with friends. Sydney told them she hoped to see them again before she left, and meant it, but Charlotte said she was going back to Shanghai the next day. Francesca and Dorian promised to come by the next night. They all hugged her warmly when they left. She was stunned.

She turned to Bob when they were alone in the apartment again with a look of amazement. “You have the nicest kids I’ve ever met.”

“They’re good kids, but I wish I could get them into decent clothes. Dorian’s right, they look a mess.” They were all slightly eccentric but in a very appealing way. And Bob had obviously let them be themselves.

“No, they don’t,” Sydney disagreed with him. “They just look like kids, and they don’t have jobs you have to dress up for. I think they’re wonderful.” They were smart and affectionate and unpretentious. “I haven’t had this much fun in ages. Sophie and Sabrina would love them. I wish we could get Dorian and Sophie together. She’s kind of a bumbler about guys. You missed the last one, who was a total neurotic mess.”

“I don’t know why, but Dorian can never find decent girls. They’re always crazy, or just out of rehab, or homeless, or have some huge problem he thinks he can fix.”

“That’s Sophie too. She always ends up playing psych nurse to some basket case.”

“Dorian too, and he borrows my shoes and loses them every time,” he said, laughing. “I think he hands them out to homeless people or gives them to his friends.” They both laughed, and Sydney felt as though a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“I was terrified to meet them,” she confessed.

“I know,” he said gently. “That’s why I invited them here tonight. I wanted to put you out of your misery quickly. They’re not a very scary group. I knew they’d like you. I just didn’t know how you’d feel about them. They’re not as glamorous as your girls. Dorian is right about that too. You should read his novel. It’s actually very good,” he said with fatherly pride.

“I’d like to. And Sabrina always disapproves of the rest of us, but she can let her hair down too. I think Steve will relax her a little. And it’s her job to look like that.” She had acted like the fashion police since she was a little girl.

“They all told me how much they love you when they left. They think you’re really ‘cool.’ ” He was pleased, and proud of Sydney too, not just his kids.

“Well, I think they’re ‘cool’ too. Very, very, very cool. And so sweet.”

“Well, that’s over. Now you can enjoy them the next time you see them,” he said, pleased and relaxed. The evening had been a success.

“I enjoyed them tonight.” She smiled, and he walked over and kissed her.

“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered to her. “I gave up tonight for them, now I want you to myself.” She laughed and followed him into his spectacular bedroom, and he closed the door and they fell into bed with each other, smiling and laughing and talking and teasing until passion overtook them, and they forgot about his children, and thought only of how much they loved each other. It had been a perfect night. And now she could relax and spend her time with him in Hong Kong. She had nothing to fear. The monsters she had been so afraid of had turned out to be charming, funny, loving, bright young people. They had overcome a huge obstacle that night, and it only made her love their father more.