Tangled Pursuit (40 page)

Tal had shared that it was their Sufi belief that love could heal the world. And the uncles, billionaires, felt money was simply another form of love. Their generosity was unparalleled; much of their individual estates was wrapped up in the Delos charities.

Wyatt had found the men kind, attentive, and so humble that he could hardly believe they were billionaires. Angelo had gone with them and magnanimously written a check for thirty thousand dollars.
The Greek was not to be upstaged by three Turkish relatives
, Wyatt thought with a smile.

Angelo doted upon his cousin Tal, always pinching her cheek, kissing her, and hugging her, as if she were one of his children. Greeks were effusive with their affection, which Wyatt thoroughly enjoyed. Texans were a bunch of enthusiastic hands-on huggers, too. They’d give the Greeks a run for their money.

Matt and Alexa cleared away all the plates and came back with glasses and several bottles of champagne. For the Turkish contingent, white grape juice was in order. As soon as the champagne and grape juice were poured, Tal’s siblings sat, both looking expectantly down the table toward Wyatt.

Tal gave him a confused look as he peered past her parents to her brother and sister at the other end. Wyatt gave Tal a wink and then slowly arose from the gold-upholstered chair. He knew everyone in the family spoke fluent English.

“I’d like all of you to help me make something official,” Wyatt told them in his Texas drawl, his gaze sweeping across the tables. Pulling out a small red velvet box from his coat pocket, he turned and opened it toward Tal. “Talia Anatolia Culver, shall we make this official? Will you marry me?”

Wyatt saw her eyes go wide with shock, her lips parting; she hadn’t expected this. There was instant applause and cheers from around the whole table. When the Turkish men rose to continue to clap, Cousin Angelo popped up on the other side, as did Robert, Peter, John, their wives, and Matt.

Tal stared at the set of rings nestled in the red velvet. The cheering continued. She saw the warmth in Wyatt’s eyes, that crazy Texas smile of sheer confidence as he patiently held them out toward her.

She blinked back sudden tears. There was a striking engagement ring with an emerald solitaire surrounded by several smaller diamonds. The wedding ring held three transparent, round emeralds buttressed by four smaller diamonds. It was set in eighteen-karat gold. Both rings were incredibly beautiful. She touched them lightly and grinned up at him. “Yes! Yes! I would love to marry you, Wyatt Lockwood.”

More cheers rose. Some of the women burst into tears, blotting their eyes with linen handkerchiefs.

Wyatt nodded, his smile disappearing as he placed the box on the table and took out the engagement ring. “Come here?” he said, cupping her hand, helping her to stand. “Give me your hand, darlin’.”

Tal placed her hand into his. The ring fit perfectly, sliding onto her left ring finger. “It’s beautiful, Wyatt. Thank you so much!” She threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

The entire family went wild with hoots, cheers, and clapping. But Tal didn’t hear anything. Her heart was surrendering completely to Wyatt, who held her and kissed her gently in return. It was now official!

It was Uncle Ihsan, his brown-and-silver hair short and neatly cut, his gold-and-brown eyes dancing, who came over to them first. He was slender and only five foot eight, but he carried himself proudly. Taking off his gold-rimmed glasses and sliding them into the breast pocket of his dark brown business suit, he extended his hand to Wyatt.

“Congratulations, my son.” His eyes twinkled. “You are a perfect match for our beloved Talia.”

“Thank you, sir,” Wyatt said, feeling the gravity of the man’s love. He exuded such peace and quiet, Wyatt felt calmer himself. Ihsan Kemel bowed slightly and then lifted his head, moved around Wyatt, and opened his arms to Tal.

Tal held her uncle, who was sixty years old, as if he were fragile. “Thank you, Uncle Ihsan,” she whispered, her voice low with emotion.

Patting her gently on the back, Ihsan whispered in her ear, “I see the love in your eyes for this man. It is a good match, my flower.”

Blinking back her tears, she squeezed Uncle Ihsan. “Thank you. I love him with my life.”

Ihsan smiled softly as he released her. “I can see that.” He opened the inside pocket of his suit coat and brought out a small envelope. “A little gift for the two of you from Nalan and me, with our blessings.” And he turned and walked back to his place at the table.

Each Turkish uncle came up to congratulate them. Each gave Tal a white envelope. Angelo was next, and he grandly brought out his white envelope with a dramatic flourish and a sweeping bow before giving it to Tal. And then her dad rose and shook Wyatt’s hand, congratulating him. He turned to his daughter and hugged her for a long time.

Next came Robert’s younger brothers, John Culver, a U.S. Navy admiral who was fifty-one years old, and Peter Culver, a U.S. Marine Corps general, age forty-nine.

Matt was the last man to come and shake Wyatt’s hand. His gold-brown eyes sparkled with mischief as he turned and slid his arms around his big sister, giving her a long, hard hug. Kissing her hair, he whispered, “You deserve this, Tal. We’ve all been waiting a helluva long time for you to settle down,” and he flashed her a wicked smile of teasing as he released her.

Tal laughed and playfully punched Matt in the arm. “You can’t be far behind,” she called out, waving her finger warningly at Matt.

Matt shook his head and sat down. “Oh no you don’t. I like being single.”

The women came up next, the eldest first, and that was Pinar Kemel, Berk’s wife. She hugged Wyatt and gave him a white envelope. Then she walked over to Tal, kissing her on both cheeks three times, a sign of love and affection. Nalan Kemel, Ihsan’s wife, was next. Then came Melis Kemel, Serkan’s wife, and Maria Mykonos, Angelo’s wife, who walked over to them like the elegant queen she was. She smiled, wiped her tears, and gave Tal a huge, long embrace. Then she walked over to Wyatt, handed him a white envelope, and spoke in Greek, welcoming him to their family, kissing him three times, and hugging him.

Dilara was next. She smiled at the couple, kissed Tal, and hugged her while tears ran down her face. Dilara didn’t try to wipe her tears of happiness away as she gave Wyatt a white envelope and held him tightly, giving him three kisses on the cheeks.

Alexa was the youngest of the group. She almost ran to Tal, her arms open wide, a radiant smile on her face, her eyes damp as she grabbed her older sister and gave her a big bear hug. Then she went over to Wyatt and did the same thing.

Robert Culver stood, lifting his champagne glass to the couple. “To Wyatt Lockwood and Talia Anatolia Culver,” he said. Everyone was sniffling and smiling through their tears. They stood, lifting their glasses. “May their love only expand and multiply with one another throughout their years, forever,” Robert called out, his voice cracking.

Tears trailed down Tal’s face as she took a sip of the champagne, her gaze never leaving Wyatt’s. She had warned him that her big, sloppy, affectionate Turkish-Greek-American family was not shy about emotional displays. She fiercely loved her family and it felt so good to be loved in return by all of them. Even more, Wyatt loved her without reservation, and she drowned in his warm gaze as it held hers, his love for her reflected in it.

W
YATT LAY ON
the bed with Tal nearby. The clock read 0100. They had just taken a shower together, and he saw the satisfaction in Tal’s face as she leaned up against the headboard, the covers drawn over her knees. She wore a soft pink flannel granny gown to bed. Who knew? She was forever surprising him.

The gown made her look vulnerable, a far cry from her military outfit days. He pushed the many envelopes over to her lap.

“What are these?”

She drew her black hair off her shoulder, the tendrils still damp from the shower. “Gifts. It’s just our family’s way of giving us something we might need after we’re married.” And then she gave him a narrowed-eye look. “I’ve been thinking about this all evening, cowboy. Everyone in that room knew you were going to ask me to marry you. The reason I know that is these envelopes. It’s a family tradition that when someone becomes engaged, everyone gives them an envelope, which is like a pre-wedding gift. Who did you get to? My mother? Did you tell her that you were going to ask me to marry you and present me with a set of rings?”

Wyatt had the good grace to honestly blush. A wry grin split his face and he said, “Guilty as hell. I was hoping you wouldn’t find me out, but you did. Goes to show how smart you are, darlin’. Yes, I called Dilara and told her what I was going to do. She said she’d call the rest of the family and everyone would keep it a secret from you.” He gloated, “They did.”

Snickering, Tal shook her head. “You black ops types are so full of yourself.”

“You gotta admit,” Wyatt said, still feeling good about his backdoor method, “that the plan
did
work. You were honestly surprised.” He smiled like a wolf, very pleased with himself and his idea.

Laughing more, Tal nodded. “It was a pretty good plan. And I think you knew how important it was to our family because God knows, we celebrate every holiday and every good thing that happens within our family with one another. Getting engaged to the Turks and Greeks is just another great excuse for a party and celebration.”

“I like the way they see the world,” Wyatt said, smiling as he moved his hand down her arm and squeezing her fingers. “So? Can you forgive me for doing this? Sneakin’ behind your back? It
was
for a good cause,” he added, pleading his case. He saw amusement lurking in Tal’s green eyes, along with the love she held for him.

Leaning over, she met him halfway and kissed him. “You know I will.”

“Phew, dodged
that
bullet.”

She shook her head. “Like I’ve said before, you’re incorrigible, cowboy.”

Wyatt drew her over, levering Tal around so that she lay against him, her head resting on his naked shoulder. Unlike her, he wore nothing to bed. “Are you going to open them?”

“Sure, but you can help,” Tal replied, holding one out to him. “It’s sort of like Christmas gifts. You never know what you’ll get.”

He grinned. “Nah, you go ahead, darlin’. I like watching you be happy. You can show me what’s inside them.”

Wyatt contented himself holding the woman he loved in his arms. She was delicate and graceful as she opened each thick, heavy parchment envelope. Pretty soon, there were eight pieces of paper. To him, it looked as if someone had taken a photo and then cut it up into jigsaw pieces. Tal sat up and smoothed out the covers in front of them.

“It’s a puzzle,” she said, laughing. Turning, she said, “Did I tell you? Our Turkish uncles love jigsaw puzzles. Every summer we kids were in Kuşadası, they would give us envelopes, and we had to open them and then put the pieces together.” She became focused as she moved the pieces around, figuring out the design before them.

“What happened when you did?”

“Well, if we could figure it out, we got whatever it was,” she said, her voice growing fondly reminiscent. “Sometimes it was a piece of lemon cake, which I just love. Or an ice cream cone. Or a book to read. Or a place they were going to take us.”

Wyatt studied the pieces. “Here,” he said, moving one from one place to another. “That ought to do it.”

And it did. Tal stared down at the eight-by-ten color photo. “Oh, my God, Wyatt . . .”

He frowned. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, and sat up, his hand going around her shoulder as she leaned down, studying the picture with sudden sniper like intensity.

She gasped. And then she straightened, giving him a shaken look. “I don’t believe this!”

“What?” He gazed down at it. “Looks like a white villa you’d find out in the Mediterranean,” he said. “What’s wrong with that?”

She pressed her hand to her lips, her eyes going huge. “Oh, my God! They’re gifting us a villa as a wedding gift, Wyatt!” She jammed her index finger down at it. “That’s
our
villa!”

“What?” he muttered, scowling down at it. There were eight alabaster columns on the ground floor. There were two stories to it, and the villa was surrounded by at least an acre of green grass, flowers, trees, and bushes. “You’re kidding me, right?” He just couldn’t wrap his head around something like this.

Tal muttered something under her breath, quickly turning over every piece. Finally, she found one with writing on it in Turkish. She gasped again, giving him a look of disbelief. “This is a ten-bedroom villa in Kuşadası, near where Uncle Ihsan and Aunt Nalan live. All the uncles got together and bought it for us. Oh, Wyatt!” Tal pressed her hand to her lips, tears coming to her eyes.

Gently, Wyatt slid his arm around her, bringing her next to him. “That’s a hell of an expensive pre-wedding gift,” he muttered in disbelief. Who gave villas away as a gift? That was out of his reality, for damn sure.

Tal sniffed and he leaned back, grabbing a tissue out of a box on the nightstand, slipping it into her hand.

Tal wiped her eyes, blew her nose, and crushed the tissue in her fingers as she stared down at the assembled photo. “Oh, those aunts and uncles of ours are just too much, Wyatt. Too much! And Cousin Angelo and Maria had a hand in buying it for us, too.” She laughed and added, “I’ll bet there was one helluva argument about who would give us a villa and
where
it would be located. I’m sure Cousin Angelo and Maria wanted it set in Athens, Greece.”

He smiled into her glistening eyes. “Angelo is a good guy. I can see him putting up an argument, but in the end? He and Maria love you and they want you happy, so I don’t imagine there was too big of a battle about this. They all love you, so since when is giving you a villa not okay?” he teased.

“I just can’t believe this! I mean, I loved spending summers in Kuşadası with all of our aunts and uncles. We played with their kids and we were just part of a huge, warm, fuzzy family, Wyatt.”

“Was this a dream of yours?” he asked gently, smiling into her eyes.