HER wedding was only two weeks away.
Just two more weeks.
Charlotte Ramsey knew she should be happy about it.
But she wasnât.
All this past week spent trying to stay positive about marrying Markâ¦it hadnât worked. No matter how determinedly she argued against letting her father ruin how she should be feeling, he was ruining it. So the problem had to be dealt with.
Right now.
Before tonight.
Her stomach was knotted with nerves, her mind churning miserably over her dilemma as she set out on the hour-long drive from the inner city of Sydney to the family mansion at Palm Beach.
It was impossible to have a happy wedding if her father persisted in his unacceptable attitude towards the man she was marrying. The way he had treated Mark on Christmas dayâ¦and if he did the same tonightâ¦her heart clenched at the thought. It hurt. It really hurt. She had to talk to him, make him understand.
Okay, he didnât approve of Mark as a husband for her. It was no use hoping he ever would. Mark was not his kind of man. But he was right for herâas right as she was going to getâand surely she could persuade her father to respect that, if only for her sake.
The wedding was so close now.
He had to listen to her this time.
Her cheeks burned as she remembered the flaming row theyâd had over her engagement when she had openly defied his disapproval, throwing down the threat of possible estrangement.
âWhether you like it or not, Dad, Iâm going to marry him.â
Which had caused an eruption of frustration over her decision.
âYouâre too damned headstrong for your own good, Charlotte. Marriage to Mark Freedmanâ¦what on earth do you see in the man? Heâs a playboy, not aâ¦â
âNot a bull in the financial world,â sheâd sliced in, cutting off his point of view to push her own. âWhich is precisely what I love about Mark. Heâs there for me, Dad, not constantly flying off to do another deal in another country.â As her billionaire father had done all her life. âHe wants my company. He enjoys my company. We have fun together.â
âFun!â her father had thundered. âYouâve got my blood in your veins, girl. Freedmanâs kind of fun will pall after a while. By all means have him as a novelty. Not too bad a toy for you to play with as long as he gives you pleasure. But marriage is serious business.â
âItâs not about business to me,â she had fiercely retorted, incensed by his contemptuous colouring of her relationship with Mark. âItâs about feeling loved. And Iâm very, very serious about having that in my life.â
âIt wonât last,â her father had growled.
But Charlotte was determined it would. She was thirty years old. She wanted to have children. Mark did, too. They were happy together, happy about the future they were planning. He wasnât a playboy. He was an events organiser and very successful at it, too. She was looking forward to helping him with his business after they were married.
But she didnât want to be completely estranged from her father.
For the past few months he seemed to have accepted Mark into the familyâs social circleâalbeit grudginglyâbut on Christmas dayâ¦she had to get this sorted out before the wedding. Before tonightâs New Yearâs Eve party on the yacht. If her father snubbed Mark againâ¦
Charlotte took a deep breath to relieve the tightness in her chest. A glance at the clock on the dashboard told her it was past lunchtime, almost two oâclock. With any luck she should be able to get her father to herself for a private chat, just say hello to her mother in passing.
Sheâd told Mark sheâd be spending the day at the beauty salon, getting ready for tonight. Best he didnât know about this meeting. It would have to be a quick one, though. He would expect her to be back at the apartment they shared at Double Bay by late afternoon.
For the remainder of the drive along Sydneyâs northern beaches Charlotte mentally rehearsed what she wanted to say, hoping to reach a workable understanding with her father. By the time she emerged from her Mercedes at the family mansion, her mind was all fired up to win what she needed to win. She charged into the foyer and was unpleasantly surprised to see the butler wheeling a traymobile of coffee things towards the main lounge room.
âHave my parents got visitors, Charles?â
âGood afternoon, Miss Charlotte,â he rolled out, reminding her that good manners should not be overlooked. He was a tall, imposing man in his fifties, the absolute authority when it came to running this huge household and a stickler for appropriate behaviour at all times.
She grimaced an apology. âSorry. Iâm in a hurry. I need to talk to Dad.â
He gestured to the lounge room doors. âMr Ramsey is enjoying the company of your brother and his friend from London, Mr Damien Wynter. Mrs Ramsey is out, keeping an appointment with her hair stylist.â