Society Wives: Secret Lives: The Rags-To-Riches Wife. Jennifer Greene

had them brought here today while you were getting ready,” he explained. “I knew it was going to be a long day and I didn’t want you to have to worry about unpacking.”

      “Thank you. That’s was very thoughtful of you.”

      He nodded and they exited the dressing room. “My mother had the caterers pack up some food for us from the reception. Would you like to rest a bit while I go down and get dinner ready?”

      “That sounds good,” she said and suddenly realized how tired she was.

      “Then you go ahead and relax. I’ll let you know when it’s time to eat.” He kissed her on the forehead and started to leave, only to stop when he reached the end table next to the bed. “I almost forgot. There’s one other thing I brought from your apartment, but I wasn’t sure where to put him.” He pulled open one of the drawers and took out her old battered teddy bear.

      “Bentley,” she said and took the stuffed animal he held out to her. She clutched him to her. The worn brown bear had been a Christmas gift she’d received from Ellen and Mick Davidson. She had been six and they had been her foster parents for nearly a year by then. They had wanted to adopt her and had begun the paperwork necessary to make her their little girl. She’d been thrilled. At last she was going to have a family, a real mother and father. She had even begun to call them Mom and Dad. Then, in January, Ellen Davidson had discovered she was pregnant with twins. It had been a miracle. After years of trying and failing, they had given up on having a baby. And now they were having two at once. Of course with two babies of their own on the way, they could no longer afford the expense of an adoption. There was also the problem of needing a bigger house that they couldn’t afford if they had three children. As much as they loved her, the two little babies needed them more. After they had packed her things and driven her back to the orphanage, Ellen Davidson had been crying. So had she, Lily recalled.

       “Please. I promise I’ll be good and I won’t eat too much or take up too much room,” Lily sobbed and clung to the woman she had thought would become her mother.

       “You are a good girl,” Ellen told her and, taking her by the shoulders, she eased her back. Tears ran down Ellen’s cheeks. “You’re going to be fine, Lily. And Bentley here is going to keep you company. Aren’t you, Bentley? You take care of our Lily until her new parents come, okay?”

       Then she handed him to her and Lily clutched the bear to her chest. “What if no one wants me?”

       “They will, sweetheart. I promise they will. Before you know it another couple are going to come through that door,