A bennett wedding, p.1
A Bennett Wedding, page 1
Bennett Wedding
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2022 Rhonda McKnight
This story is a work of fiction and any portrayal of any person living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
A Bennett Wedding (Bennett Family)
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Next in the series is All She Needs
Teaser Chapter
Other stories in the Bennett Family series.
A Bennett Wedding
Rhonda McKnight
Dedication
For my readers. Thank you for your love and support.
I pray you all have a happily-ever-after.
Part I
Chapter 1
March 31, 2009
Stone found it hard to close his mouth. The bomb his Uncle Bernard dropped exploded, sending shrapnel straight to Stone’s head and heart.
Outside children.
His uncle had just told him he fathered two.
“How old are they?”
His uncle sat. After taking a sip from his drink, he replied, “Fifteen. They’re twins.”
“Twins. Are you sure they’re yours?
“Although I was certain prior to their birth, I had DNA tests.”
“Do you have a relationship with them?”
Uncle Bernard hesitated before answering. “None. I’ve supported them financially. And that was easy because their mother just wanted the support. She got married and let her husband father them. He died when they were eleven. Heart attack.”
“And now...” Stone inserted information his uncle had told him. “Their mother is dead.”
“Yes, and her sister, who’s always hated me, has custody.” Uncle Bernard released a long plume of air, stood, and walked to the bar to fix a drink.
Stone thought about his words long before he said them. “They don’t have any parents.” It was a familiar ache. He’d lost his own parents as a child.
“I know what you’re going to say. They need me now that their mother is dead, but Stone, your Aunt Constance...” He shook his head. “She’d never accept them.”
“I think you’re giving Auntie less credit than she deserves. It’s not like they’re babies. They’re fifteen.”
“The fact that they’re fifteen just means including the pregnancy, I’ve been lying to her for nearly sixteen years. There have been other women. I was warned that she would leave me if there was anyone else.”
“Is there anyone else?”
“Absolutely not. Those days are behind me.” Uncle Bernard shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “But your aunt...” Uncle Bernard’s words trailed off. “...let’s just put it this way, our marriage won’t survive it. I’m not willing to lose thirty years of marriage to a woman whom I love for a midlife-crisis indiscretion.”
Stone looked at his uncle, a man he’d respected immensely his whole life. He’d stepped in and fathered he and Cole when their father died. He’d always been a big man in Stone’s eyes, but right now, he seemed small. Fifty-one years’ worth of small and shrinking with every excuse he was making for not properly handling this situation. And those children were conceived sixteen years ago, so he’d been cheating in his late thirties? That did not sound like a mid-life crisis.
“But Uncle B, don’t you think they deserve to be a part of our family? For God’s sake, Ethan, Logan, Zeke, Avery and Connor deserve to know they have siblings. The children are a part of your legacy.”
“Of course they are, and you’re right about my other children.” He raised his glass to his mouth. Stress stretched his lips grotesquely. “But I can’t fix any of that.”
“Uncle B—”
“Children pay for their parent’s bad behavior. Unfortunately. Their mother knew I was married.” Uncle Bernard finished the drink.
“What about your great-grandmother’s trust? Aren’t they heirs? Doesn’t this change Great-grandma’s split?”
“No. The trust provides for legitimate heirs.”
“Legitimate?” Stone never knew his great-grandmother, but that seemed like a nasty term.
“Born of a legal marriage. The will was written in the late fifties. It was a different time.” Uncle Bernard sighed. “So will you help me out?”
Stone didn’t answer right away. His uncle wanted him to handle the support payments to the children so there was no paper trail leading back to him. As a single man, who would question it or care? He was accountable to no one. He had no political aspirations and never would. Stone knew this was a simple transaction, but he hated being pulled into a family secret like this. “I feel like I’m betraying my aunt.”
“Your aunt would like nothing better than to spend the rest of her life with me. If she feels compelled to divorce me, she’ll regret it. I’m not being arrogant here. I know my wife. She doesn’t want that. She likes being the wife of a Fortune 500 C.E.O.”
His uncle made a compelling argument. Stone didn’t live in Forest Hills, but he knew his aunt’s life was one charity event and Bennett International function after another.
Uncle Bernard begged with his eyes. “Stone, please. You’re the only person I can trust with this.”
Stone sat and thought about what his uncle was requesting of him.
“I’ve already talked to an attorney. He’ll set up an LLC and you can transfer the money to her. I’m completely removed from it. The aunt gets what she needs. It’s a done deal.”
“How did you pay the mother?”
“Cash. Every year.”
Stone knew it was an easy thing to do, but it just seemed so slimy. He begrudgingly relented. There was no point in dragging this out. He wasn’t going to say no. “It sounds like an easy enough thing to do.”
Uncle Bernard clapped his hands together. “Good. I’ll send you the money twice a year to handle the deposit. Of course, I’ll handle the fees associated with it.”
Stone refused to think of his first cousins as a transaction with fees. “What are the children’s names?”
“Mason and Ryan.”
“Where are they?”
“They were living in France, but now they’re in Bangor, Maine.”
Stone nodded. “I can’t help but let you know that I’m disappointed that they should have to grow up without you. Honestly, Uncle, children need their parents. You don’t know what it’s like to lose one and then...”
Uncle Bernard stood and walked around the desk. He put a hand on Stone’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to bring up old feelings.” He did look concerned for a moment, knowing Stone had lost his mother when he was just six years old and then his father when he was seventeen.
“They’re not old feelings. They never leave you.”
“I understand what you’re saying, son, but at this point, nothing’s more important to me than my marriage. Clearly it wasn’t when I was running around making this mistake. But now it is. I need Connie. I can’t risk losing her.”
His uncle left and Stone fell back down into his chair, hoping that his cooperation wouldn’t one day be something he’d regret.
Chapter 2
February 16, 2022
“This dress is perfect. Isn’t it?”
Addison angled her head from side to side as she inspected herself in the mirror. She could see her sisters, Sienna, Harper, Rachel, and Lauren in the mirror behind her. They were an ever-present support during the planning of this monstrosity of a wedding she’d birthed from the low-key, who-knew-she-was-like-this, bridezilla-ish spirit within her. But still, even with their support, unease had enveloped her this week. She wasn’t sure she had made the right decision to marry Stone.
Sienna pulled Addison’s hair up in the back. “Three days until...”
“Until I’m Mrs. Stone Bennett.” Addison failed to say it with enthusiasm. She chastised herself.
Girl, stop trippin’.
You are happy.
You are excited.
You are making the right choice.
Right?
She pushed the negative thoughts from her mind, down into her belly where they needed to stay. Love conquerors all. Love conquerors a multitude of faults. We all have faults, but she didn’t think that covered lies of omission.
“Have you decided on up or down hair?” Sienna’s voice broke through Addison’s mental banter.
Addison sighed. “Up. Stone likes it up. He says he sees more of my face.”
“Which he loves.” Harper, more chipper than she’d been in months, spun on a stool.
Harper’s playfulness was getting on Addison’s nerves. It had become out of character for Harper to be lighthearted about anything. Miscarriages had her down for months. Addison was glad she’d come out of the funk, but right now, her sister was moving too much. They were all talking too much. The truth was, Addison was thinking too much.
“I hope forever.” Addison raised her hand to the bodice and stroked the silky fabric.
“It will be forever or until divorce. Either way, you have a good prenup.” Sienna dropped her hair.
“Sienna,” Lauren chastised.
Sienna shrugged. “She does.”
“I love him, Sienna. I have a good prenup because he loves me.”
“So what’s the problem with me mentioning it?”
“It’s rude for one,” Lauren said. “And prenups are not about love or commitment. Not really. They’re about business. You should have a prenup. You own a business.”
“My business is a ship that could hit a glacier that would take it out at any time,” Sienna said.
“No matter what you think, you’re a brand. Why do you think famous women fight for their name?”
“You don’t want to be like Tina Turner in court. ‘I’ll give up all that other stuff, but only if I get to keep my name. I’ve worked too hard for it,’” Harper inserted. She’d been perfecting those lines since they were teens. She sounded just like Angela Bassett’s rendition of Tina.
They all laughed, including Addison. She turned to face her sisters. She’d had enough of looking at the gown. “I don’t know. What if he changes. What if?”
Everyone was quiet, respectfully waiting for her to finish her thought.
“We’ve been together less than a year. I shouldn’t have rushed.”
“You have jitters. I’ve seen it a hundred times. Everyone gets them,” Sienna said.
“I don’t think that’s it.”
Sienna placed her hands on Addison’s shoulders. “No one thinks that’s it.”
Harper hopped off the stool. “You two have been inseparable since the engagement. You’ve turned an eight-month courtship into two years based on time served.”
“I don’t think it works that way.”
“Addison, you know your own mind. You love Stone. He loves you. Everyone can see it.”
“Or he for sure wouldn’t be marrying you.” Harper came closer.
Lauren approached them. Now all three of her sisters were huddled around her. Lauren put a finger under Addison’s chin and lifted her head, so they were looking in each other’s eyes. “Why are you questioning everything? What’s really going on?”
Addison’s chest heaved heavy with the truth. “Stone’s been acting strange.”
Three pair of eyes went wide within seconds.
Lauren asked, “Strange how?”
“He’s hiding something.”
“What do you mean?” Harper practically stuttered to get the words out. She stepped back like she didn’t even want to be close to potential drama.
“I mean he’s hiding something. I’ve tried talking to him about it and he won’t talk.” Addison moved away from them. She turned back to the mirror. Inspected the dress once again.
“What makes you think he’s hiding something?” Lauren asked.
“Text messages, phone calls...he’s distant and frustrated easily.”
“What do you think it is?” Harper asked, “Another woman?”
“No.”
“Then it’s business,” Lauren said such like it was a fact. Of course it was a reality for all of them. They all had men who ran enterprises.
“If it’s business, he should say, ‘It’s business.’ His answer is nothing. His answer is a lie.” Addison decided there was no point not getting into the details. Her sisters were the only people besides Stone who really loved her enough to care about her future. “There’s also money. He’s sending fifteen thousand dollars a month to an account in Maine.”
This news made everyone in the room antsy. They all moved as if repositioning themselves helped them think. Harper sat again. Sienna paced in a tight circle once, and Lauren shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“He left his computer up and the statement was there.” Addison answered the question she knew would be next out of one of their mouths. “He’s been doing it for years. I was able to see three years of history online.”
“That’s not a lot of money for Stone,” Sienna said, emphatically.
“I know, but still...it’s not business. It’s not charity.”
Lauren’s face contorted. She’d gone from being in Stone’s corner to not in ten seconds flat. “This is shady.”
“Confront him. Tell him you won’t marry him like this,” Harper said.
“It’s three days until the wedding,” Sienna said like they didn’t all know it.
“Right and he has three days to make you more comfortable,” Harper huffed, folding her arms over her chest.
“You’re a reporter, Addison. Dig a little,” Lauren said. “Find what he’s hiding.”
“Here comes the messy, problematic advice.” Harper’s sigh was long and hard.
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Oh, please. You have resources. Find out who the money is going to. For all you know, he has a kid or wife or a long-term mistress out there. Find out which it is before you tie yourself to this man.”
“Yes, because we all know Lauren knows hiding a kid is easy when no one is looking for it.” Harper flipped her hair over her shoulder and cut her eyes at Lauren.
Lauren smirked. “Ha, ha....”
“I couldn’t resist,” Harper said. “And it is true.”
“Take off the dress. Get your head out of the Pollyanna sky and find out who he’s sending the money to.” Lauren went back to the window ledge where she’d left her bag and picked it up. “I have to get the kids.” She walked to Addison and kissed her on the cheek. “Seriously, don’t be naïve.” She left the room.
“I vote for naivety,” Sienna said.
“Have the difficult conversation with him,” Harper said. “It’s good practice for marriage.”
The seamstress entered the room. “I’m so sorry. I got tied up.” A smile filled her face. “This is perfect. You are going to be the happiest woman in the world this weekend.”
Addison pushed a smile on her face and said, “I hope so.”
Chapter 3
Harper had been the voice of reason. Addison knew the solution was talking to Stone, but she didn’t want to admit she’d looked at his computer like that. She’d been snooping to see if she could find a hint about where they were going for their honeymoon, not trying to unearth secrets and lies. Whoever said ignorance was bliss had kind of been on to something.
Stone had been in Mountainville, but drove down for all the final, pre-wedding day activities. They agreed to meet in the house he purchased for them a month ago. Preferring to move in after the wedding, Addison was still in the house she rented from Rachel. This new house, her dream house, was in the process of being decorated by her sister, Harper’s company. It would be complete by the time they came back from their three-week honeymoon.
Addison had picked up breakfast for them on the way to see Stone. She’d ordered both their favorite breakfast foods but couldn’t eat until she got her question answered. It had been lingering in the forefront of her mind for too long. “Tell me who you send fifteen thousand dollars a month to...in Maine.”
Stone had just put a piece of sausage in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and then took a sip of his orange juice before responding. “How do you know about that?”
“I saw it on your computer.”
“When?”
Addison picked up her fork and moved some food around on her plate, like admitting that was casual conversation. “A few weeks ago, when I was at your house.”
“So is this a part of your M.O. that I don’t know anything about? You snoop and then let things fester?”
She put her fork down and deadpanned him with a look. “If I was snooping, I would have used my resources already to figure out who it is. I was trying to let it go, but I can’t. I want to know.”
Stone cut another piece of meat. He raised it to his lips and held it there, using the fork like a pointer before putting the meat in his mouth. “It’s a personal family matter that doesn’t concern you.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
He chuckled. “You know what I’m worth, Addison. Are you concerned that you won’t have shopping money?”
Stone’s response frustrated the heck out of Addison. They were both blessed or cursed with the gift of sarcasm, but she wasn’t in the mood for the snappy comebacks right now. “I’m concerned that you’re hiding a person from me. And I want to know who it is.”
He took a long sip from his glass and cleared his throat. Lines etched his forehead. Lines she’d seen before when he was annoyed. “It’s Bennett family business.”
Addison rolled her neck. “Excuse me. Aren’t I about to become a Bennett?”
