“Five live-ins, six dailies.”
“What?” she asked. She’d only seen his house from a distance—and it had been bigger than this one—but still. “What do they do?”
He turned to her, touched his finger to the tip of her nose and smiled. “Gotcha. I have a housekeeper who hires people to keep the house clean and take care of the grounds. She comes in three days a week. I’d rather not have any staff, but the house is old and big and I’m not willing to deal with it, so she does.”
Okay, one housekeeper was better than five live-ins.
They took a second staircase that flowed into a landing that was bigger than Marina’s apartment. A wall of ornate doors opened into a ballroom the size of a football field.
She stepped into the center of the room and turned in a slow circle. There were gilded mirrors on the walls and dozens of sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The parquet floor gleamed and reflected the sunlight from the windows.
The walls had been painted a neutral pale beige, so any color theme would work.
“We’re talking about tables of either eight or ten,” Todd said as he pulled out his PalmPilot and pushed a few buttons. “We can fit as many as thirty tables in here and still have room for people to get around.”
Marina did the math. “Can we fit twenty-eight tables and still have room for dancing and the band?”
Todd looked at her. “Orchestra. Not band. Julie said elegant. Bands aren’t elegant.”
Maybe not, but she’d never been to a wedding with an orchestra. “You think the L.A. Philharmonic is available?”
He grinned. “I’d have to check their schedule, but I was thinking of something a little smaller. I have a group in mind that I’ve heard play at other venues.”
Venues? So while the rest of America went to the mall, the über rich had venues? “What sort of venues would these be?”
“Mostly fund-raisers. A couple of weddings. I’ll find out where they’re playing in the next couple of weeks and we’ll go hear them. They’re great. Trust me.”
Trust him? Not yet.
She put down her notebook and began taking pictures of the vast space. “I really like this room,” she said as she turned slowly to get every angle. “I’ll e-mail these photos to Julie as soon as I’m done with class.”
“There’s more,” he said and led her to a series of French doors. He unlocked the first one and opened it, then motioned for her to lead the way.
She stepped out onto a wide balcony that overlooked the property. Although if one couldn’t see where the fence line was, did that make it an estate?
The grounds were stunning. She could see the terrace and the pool and the gardens beyond.
“This would give us extra space,” he said as he joined her. “A place for people to get some air. We could put lights in the garden for the view.”
“I like it,” she said more to herself than him. “Anyone can get married in a backyard, but this is incredible. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
She turned back to the ballroom where she could imagine the tables and guests and flowers. Talk about making some memories.
“So you prefer the ballroom?” he asked.
“I do, but it’s Julie’s choice. Let’s go downstairs and take some pictures of the garden so she and Ryan can decide. Once we know which way they want to go, we’re free to start making other arrangements.”
They made their way back downstairs, then stepped out onto the manicured terrace. It looked more like the grounds of a five-star hotel than someone’s home, she thought as she took pictures, not sure how she felt about her grandmother living here.
Something of her confusion must have showed because Todd asked, “What’s wrong?”
She pocketed the digital camera and tucked her notebook under her arm. “I keep thinking how strange this is—that a grandmother I never knew about was alive and well about fifteen miles from where I grew up. That this is her world and I can remember times when we didn’t have enough money to have meat with dinner.”
She shook her head. “I’m not complaining. My mom was great and my sisters and I always had plenty of everything we needed. Money was tight, but that’s how it was with most of our neighbors. I’m okay with that. But now, to find out there’s a whole other way of looking at things, it’s strange.” She looked at him. “I’m not explaining myself well and this is more information than you wanted.”
“Of course this is different. For what it’s worth, Ruth regrets all the years she was apart from you and your family. Her husband, my uncle, was a hard man. He didn’t believe in forgiveness. Ruth simply didn’t have the strength to stand up to him.”
“That’s what she said.”
“It’s true.”
Great. So it seemed she came from a long line of women who surrendered heart and mind to their men. All the more reason not to get involved.
He looked at her. “You should try to understand what Ruth went through.”
Todd Aston the Third being sensitive? “Okay, now I’m freaked out on two different levels. The contrast between what I’m used to and this, and your emotional perception.”
“I’m a man of great mystery.”
That made her laugh. “Of course you are. Wealth, power and mystery. You should put that on your business cards.”
He led the way around the side of the house toward their cars. “I’m way ahead of you, Marina. I have it tattooed on my back.”
She grinned. “I thought you’d have a stick up your butt,” she said before she could stop herself.
“They know how to fix that now. Isn’t modern medicine a miracle?”
She sighed. “You know what I mean. I thought you’d be…different.”
“Unpleasant?”
“Imperious.”
“I can be, if that would make you happy.”
“No, thanks.” She opened her notebook. “Okay, venue research complete. Which leaves us with food, the cake, flowers, a photographer and all kinds of other messy details.”
“The dress,” he reminded her. “We’ll have to look at something off the rack. There’s no time for a custom gown.”
She glanced at him, surprised he would know that. “Let me guess. More bridal magazine research? Although somehow I can’t see you sitting down with a latte and a bridal magazine.”
“I can’t have a latte then. Black coffee to combat all the girliness. It’s about balance.”
Until this moment, she hadn’t thought of Todd as a person. At first he’d been just a name, then he’d been the guy who tried to break up her sister and Ryan. Then an annoyance who would get in her way about the wedding. But now…
“Why do you hide who you are behind your reputation?” she asked. “The money thing. The model thing.”
He unlocked his car. “I’ve dated maybe three models in my life, Marina. You need to let go.”
“You’re right. I will.”
“Good.” He sat in his car and grinned. “Of course, two of them didn’t speak English.”
They didn’t…Then how…She glared at him. “You