Page 31 of Untamed Billionaire
“Another wedding present?” she demanded. “In an envelope like that, it’s probably a check. Let me see it.”
Chloe shook her head. “No, Mother. This is for me. Even if it is a wedding present, I’m not allowing you to steal this one too.”
“Steal?” Jocelyn gasped, her hand flying up to her neck. “I haven’t stolen anything!”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “The crystal glasses from the Smythes?” she pointed out. “You’ve already put them on your shelf. And the sterling silver from the Philips? You have that hidden away somewhere as well, don’t you?”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed, her lips pursing in fury. “Chloe, don’t you dare accuse me of stealing wedding presents. When you have a place of your own, then I will decorate everything and bring in whatever gifts are appropriate for someone your age.”
Chloe laughed. “Mother, let’s just…” she started to say something about being honest, but shook her head. Her mother was so inherently dishonest, it was pointless to comment. “I’m going to my dress fitting. I’ll see you later.”
“I’m going with you,” Jocelyn sighed, shaking her head. “Lord knows that we’ll have to figure out what to do once the dress doesn’t fit you. You’ve gained so much weight over the past few days! I suspect that we’ll just have to…I don’t even know. Get another dress!” she threw her arms up in the air in feigned disgust.
Pain slashed through Chloe, and she instantly regretted the burger and fries from last night. Cursing herself for giving in, she followed her mother. Then she thought of the way Marco had looked at her last night. That soothed the pain and she pulled out her keys. “I’ll meet you there!” she called out and exited through the kitchen door instead of following her mother. It was time to limit her contact with her mother. The woman didn’t even know how to say a kind word.
Inside her car, she paused and pulled the envelope out. Tearing open the top, she felt her heart pounding harder. When she opened the document and read through the legal jargon, Chloe still didn’t understand what the words meant. She slowed down, reading through the lines again. When she realized what they said, she gasped, her fingers covering her mouth!
“Temporary legal custody?” she whispered. “I’m Emma’s temporary legal guardian?”
Her fingers trembled as she dialed Marco’s number.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he answered, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Did you forget something this morning?”
“You did it!” she exclaimed, almost shouting the words. “I’m Emma’s legal guardian!”
He laughed softly and she felt her insides melt. “It’s only temporary. Angela is good friends with a judge at the district court and she got her to sign the custody order. There’s a hearing for full legal guardianship in two weeks. Angela will represent you and explain to the judge why you would be a better guardian than your parents.”
“That’s…wonderful!” she gasped. “So my father can’t take Emma and hide her somewhere?”
His voice was strong and soothing as he said, “No, Chloe. Emma is safe. He can’t even visit Emma if you don’t allow it. In fact, Angela has spoken with the residence and explained that no one is allowed to see Emma unless it is cleared through you.” He sighed. “I heard what Emma said about your brother last night. He’s banned from even coming into the parking lot.”
“Oh, Marco! Thank you!” she whispered, wiping at the tears with the back of her hand.
“You’re welcome, Chloe,” he replied softly. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your final dress fitting right now?”
Chloe laughed, but the sound was a bit teary. “Yes. I suppose I should head over there. But thank you! Oh, thank you!”
Chloe ended the call, wishing that she could tell him how much she loved him. However, another plan started to come to her mind.
As she drove over to the wedding salon, she worked through the details in her mind, playing with options, coming up with alternatives and ways that Marco might counter her offer. By the time she pulled into a parking space, her mind was ready. She just had to get through the next hour or so, but then she’d be free to put her plan in play.
“You’re late!” her mother snapped, tapping her foot while she glared at Chloe as she entered the salon.
Chloe blinked, then glanced at the time on her cell phone. “I’m five minutes early, Mother,” she replied, then gentled her voice. “Saturday will be fine, Mother.”
Her arms dropped to her sides and Jocelyn sighed. “Just try on your dress, Chloe. Let’s see if we need to purchase another dress. If you’ve become too fat for the one I selected, I’m going to be seriously angry. Your father isn’t going to like paying for two wedding dresses.” She impatiently glanced over to a line of white, billowing dresses on a rack. “Maybe there will be something there that would be adequate.”
Chloe’s good mood started to crumble, but she remembered her plans for the afternoon. And then she thought of driving over to Marco’s place tonight and, maybe he would be interested in a repeat of last night!
Just thinking about being with Marco again lifted her spirits and she walked over to the salon manager. “Let’s try this baby on!”
The manager was so startled by Chloe’s confidence that her mouth fell open slightly. The woman even glanced over at Jocelyn, warning Chloe that her mother had been bad-mouthing Chloe for the last several moments to the trapped employee.
But the manager pulled her features into a polite smile, then lead Chloe back to the dressing rooms. Normally, one of her brides’ maids would help Chloe dress, but her mother had informed Chloe that the cousins had already done their final fittings and everything had been fine. Apparently, her cousins didn’t have weight fluctuations like Chloe endured.
With a mental sigh, she slipped out of her sheath dress. She was already wearing the corset she’d need for the wedding dress. It was a simple process to step into the petticoat, then she merely lifted her hands up and the manager draped the white dress over her shoulders.
Chloe turned to look at her figure in the dress, holding her breath as the manager zipped up the back. There was actually a line of tiny buttons decorating the back, but the designer had simplified the dress by hiding a zipper underneath those buttons.
