by Jo McNally
David gave her a sad smile. “When’s the last time we were invited, Mom?”
Cecile muttered “Oh, touché” from near the counter. Lucy had come out of the workroom and was standing with her.
Connie stammered for a moment. “I...well...you’re family. You’re always welcome.”
“You hate drop-in guests, Mom. Family or not.” David chuckled. “I think what Susan is saying is that we used to have cookouts and go boating and spend whole weekends with you and Dad. And then...”
“Your dad left.” And everything had stopped for Connie.
“Yeah. And I get why you shut down for a while, but...we miss the old days. And Dad doesn’t need to be there for us to have fun.”
Connie looked back and forth between her son and his wife. It seemed everyone had been making assumptions. “I thought... I thought you were on your father’s side.”
“There aren’t any sides.” David threw his hands up. “I want you both happy. He is. You’re...” He paused. “I was going to say you’re not, but you seem different. Like maybe you could be happy again.”
“I think...” Connie shook her head in disbelief. “I think I could be. I also think it’s time the three of us sat down and had an honest conversation. Like...over dinner?”
“I’d like that,” David said with a smile.
“Good.” She winked in Lucy’s direction. “But first, let me introduce you to my new business partner...”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“OWEN COOPER, GET IN HERE right this minute!”
Owen stopped in the hallway and dropped his chin to his chest. Iris Taggart had called out in her best don’t-ignore-me-boy voice, which was intimidating enough. But he knew she wasn’t sitting in the library alone. He’d seen her book club biddies arriving at the inn an hour ago, including Connie Phelps. After the Great Kitten Debacle yesterday at the shop, he had a feeling he was in for a lecture by a room full of old folks. It was one he probably deserved, but still...
“Don’t make me come out to get you—I know you’re hiding out there.”
He stepped into the doorway, putting on his best Southern gentleman smile. And accent.
“Not hiding, Miss Iris. Just preparin’ myself to face this room full of beauties...” He noticed Rick Thomas sitting in one of the armchairs near the fireplace. “And esteemed gentleman.” Rick was a professor at the college. He mouthed the word wow at Owen, who did his best to ignore him as he continued. “What can I help y’all with today?”
Iris’s eyes narrowed at him. She was seated in a tall wingback chair near the fireplace, looking every inch like a dowager queen. “First, you can lay off that Southern charm nonsense. I’ve seen you turn that accent off as easily as you turn it on.” She gestured to an empty chair between her and...he thought the well-dressed woman with perfectly arranged hair was named Vickie. Connie was across the room, on a bench next to Helen Russo from the Falls Legend Winery. Cecile was in the far corner, whispering something to Bridget McKinnon’s grandmother, Maura. Iris cleared her throat when he took the seat as she requested. “I overheard something this morning that I need you to clarify. Are you actually using some computer app-thingy to come up with these schemes to win Lucy over?”
His eyes fell closed. She must have overheard him talking to Logan in the kitchen that morning, trying to figure out how to recover from the kitten backfire.
“Uh...yes.” He looked over at Connie and rushed to apologize. “Please don’t tell Lucy. It’s just that I—”
“Thank the good Lord!” Iris exclaimed, sitting back in relief.
“What?” Why would she be happy about him using that stupid app that had caused so much trouble?
“For a while there I thought you were a complete and total idiot. But at least now I know those crazy ideas weren’t actually yours.”
A few of the women snickered, and Rick let out a snort of laughter. Owen felt his face heating.
“I...um...thank you? I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or...?”
Iris’s mouth slanted into a grin. “Well, it may not be a compliment, because trusting some computer wizardry to fix a broken heart is not very bright, but...” She winked at him, and he couldn’t help thinking she must have been a real knockout in her younger days with those silver-blue eyes and sharp mind. “You’ve given me hope that you might take some good advice from real people. Assuming you want to actually get that woman back to the altar with you.”
“I do.”
Everyone chuckled at the wedding pun, including Owen. Maybe instead of a lecture, he was going to get some advice. Or maybe a little of both.
“I don’t know you well enough to smack you across the back of the head, but if I did, I would.” Iris shook her head. “What kind of doofus thinks some generic internet list is the way to go?”
“Dr. Find-Love has a four-star rating in the app store...”
Rick’s head fell back as he started laughing loudly, wiping his eyes and wheezing as he started to speak. “I’m sorry, did you just say you paid someone called Dr. Find-Love actual money to win back the love of your life? No wonder you don’t want Lucy to know.” He straightened. “And they only had a four-star rating? Out of five? For something this important, that’s...not great.”
The professor had a point. “A friend put me onto the site.”
Rick tried to calm his laughter. “And this friend found love using the app?”
Pete Lamphear was happily single. Owen let out a groan.
“In my defense, I was drunk and desperate at the time.”
“And are you still drunk and desperate?” Rick’s brow rose sharply.
Owen grinned. “I am not drunk.”
Connie raised her hand with a laugh. “I can attest to the fact that he is very desperate!”
Laughter went around the room again. Helen’s smile softened.
“I’ve seen the two of you together, and there’s definitely something charming there. But there’s a wall between you that needs to come down. And I don’t think these big showy acts are going to do the trick.”
“The problem is they all feel like tricks to Lucy.” Connie leaned forward. “You’re turning this into a game, and that’s not what love is about. There can’t be a winner and a loser. Your gestures are so superficial.” He started to argue that the expense of refurbishing her car hadn’t been superficial, but he thought better of it.
“And how could you not know she’s allergic to cats?” Iris demanded. “Haven’t you been engaged for years?”
“Well...yeah, but...” His shoulders fell. “I was deployed a few months after we met. And even when I came back, I was still full-time Army—going to training exercises and trying to get into the Rangers. Then Lucy’s grandmother got sick, and I was going to deploy again, so she moved back to Boone to take care of her grandma. I asked her to marry me right before I left.”
“In other words,” Helen said, her voice gentle, “you’ve spent more time apart than you have together.”
“Probably.”
“Oh, Lord,” Connie tsked. “No wonder you two are such a train wreck. You barely know each other.”
“But I love her.”
“Why?” Iris’s question was so sharp he almost felt the word hit his skin.
“What do you mean, why? I just...do. That’s all. I love her.” He thought about that first week at the beach. “The minute we met... I knew she was something special. I haven’t had a lot of unexpected things happen in my life—I grew up knowing my parents’ expectations for me. I went into the Army and followed orders there, too. I’m a guy who follows the plan, you know?”
Owen looked around the room. He could swear that was pity he was seeing in the faces looking back at him. The kind of pity people had for a fool. He straightened.
“Lucy blew my plans out of the water. She was funny and sweet and
sexy all rolled up in one woman. She didn’t care about convention or expectations. She cared about people, of course. In fact, she cared about other people more than she cared about herself. And she made me care. When I was with Lucy, I wasn’t thinking about the landscaping business I was going to run someday or the next tour of duty. She made me feel...lighter. More in the moment. Happier.”
There was a moment of silence before Iris spoke.
“In other words, what you loved was the way she made you feel.” The older woman fixed him with a warm, but firm, gaze. “That’s a whole lot different than loving her. Maybe if you’d gotten to actually know Lucy, you wouldn’t have been blindsided when she dumped you. You’d have known what she needed.”
He blew out a long breath. “She tried to tell me. But my last tour was...rough. I had a lot of things on my mind. Stuff I had to deal with emotionally. I’m still dealing with it.”
Maura McKinnon nodded. “That’s why you left the Shamrock when the fireworks started.”
“Yes. And Lucy knew that. She covered for me. Took care of me, because that’s who she is.” He let out a soft, humorless laugh. “She was paying attention, which is more than I can say. I just... I thought we’d have time to get to know each other after the wedding. I thought things would calm down once I found my role in the family business and then she and I would figure stuff out, you know? She’d taken on the wedding plans...until my mother hijacked them. But...the wedding was only one day in our lives. We’d have time to...”
Vickie held up her hand, her mouth a thin, flat line.
“Excuse me, but did you really just say your wedding was only one day in your lives? Your wedding. The day you commit to love someone for the rest of your life is just a day? No wonder she left you at the altar, you dolt.”
Owen blinked a few times, trying to find a defense and failing.
“Vickie, dear,” Rick started, smoothing the front of his linen shirt. “I know you have more experience at weddings than anyone else in the room, but considering you’ve been through three husbands, do you really think you should be the one lecturing on the sanctity of marriage?”
“Fuck off, Rick. I buried two of those husbands and you know it. Frankly, I am the expert on weddings here. And none of my ceremonies were ‘just another day.’” She made air quotes with her fingers. “Each one was special, whether it was in the church, in my backyard, or up at the winery. Maura, Iris, Lena and Helen were at every one of them, and they’ll tell you the same. They were special, damn it.”
Lena Fox, who’d been silent this whole time, rose to her feet with grace, lifting her large leather bag and setting the row of gold bangles jangling on her wrist. “I need to get back to the studio. But I have to say, I think we’re sidetracking the real issue here.” She turned to Owen. “The real issue isn’t that you’re an idiot. It’s that you’re a coward.”
Oh, hell no. His head started shaking immediately. “I can assure you, ma’am, I am not a coward. I fought battles that—”
“I don’t give a damn about that.” She seemed to catch herself, her tone softening. “I mean, of course I appreciate your service and sacrifice, and I’m sure you were a fine, brave soldier. But when it comes to life...” She tipped her head to the side, as if considering her next words carefully. “When it comes to life, you’d rather wait and hope your problems go away instead of dealing with them. You’re a self-absorbed coward, Owen Cooper.”
His jaw was still tight with anger, but there was a soft whisper in his head suggesting she might be right.
“How do you figure that?”
Lena was tall and attractive—Piper mentioned she’d won a modeling contest for seniors and he could believe it. Especially when she struck a pose with one lean leg in front of the other, a long-fingered hand resting on her hip, and the other gesturing in his direction.
“You talk about your parents’ plan for your life, but I haven’t heard you once mention your plan for your life. But I have heard you talk a lot about waiting until after something happens. After the Army. After the wedding. After you take over the family business—which you don’t sound very keen on. You’re a someday person. You’re a Scarlett O’Hara. You’ll think about your problems tomorrah.” The others laughed when Lena held the back of hand to her forehead dramatically and drawled the last word in a thick Southern accent, mimicking the famous movie scene. She narrowed her eyes on Owen. “Scarlett said that after the only man who’d ever loved her had walked away. And you’re just as ridiculous as she was. You’re avoiding anything that might make you uncomfortable...”
“Right now,” Owen chuckled, “this whole conversation is making me uncomfortable.”
“Good.” Lena stepped closer. “I like Lucy. She deserves a man who cares about her more than he cares about how he feels when he’s around her. A man who doesn’t expect her to wait until he’s ready to deal with what she needs. Is that man you?”
He swallowed hard. “It...it can be... I mean...it is. Yes, damn it. It is. I love her.”
She raised her chin. “Then prove it. Prove it to Lucy. Instead of all this gamesmanship, just show her you’re the man she deserves. Right now. Not later.” She turned toward the door, tossing the last line over her shoulder. “And for God’s sake, get to know the woman. At the very least, know her allergies so you don’t kill her.”
* * *
LUCY WAS JUST finishing up the shop’s only wedding order for the week when Connie and Cecile came back into the shop. She’d enjoyed having a few quiet hours to create the something special the bride had requested. The opulent combination of white roses, hydrangeas and lilies, with palm fronds to give a fresh green contrast, would probably do the trick. She peeked over the top of the massive centerpiece for the bridal table and raised a brow at Connie’s expression.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was almost a smile, Miss Connie. What have you been up to?”
Connie didn’t answer right away, but her cheeks went pink as she watched Lucy. That grin kept teasing the corners of her mouth. Like someone with a secret. Cecile started giggling and Connie shushed her.
“Cecile dragged me to a book club meeting, and it was...” Oh, yeah, that was definitely a smile. “It was surprisingly entertaining.”
“Wow, that must have been some book. You ladies aren’t reading Shades of Fifty or whatever, are you?”
Cecile rolled her eyes. “That book is ten years old, and painfully inaccurate about BDSM.”
“I...um...didn’t realize that...” Lucy was dying to know how Cecile knew that. Connie said once that there was more to her best friend than ruffles and curls. “So what book were you reading?”
They struck a matching pose, with mouths open and deer-in-the-headlights expressions. Lucy put her hand on her hip. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you two have been up to no good. Is this one of those so-called book clubs that’s more about drinking wine that actually reading anything?”
Cecile straightened. “Oh, we usually have a book to discuss, but sometimes we get sidetracked. Sometimes we have...surprise guests.”
“Really? Who?” Was there an author living in Rendezvous Falls?
Connie swatted at Cecile, who started to stammer.
“Ow! Uh...no one! Nope. No guests today.” She held up a warning finger at Connie, who was threatening to smack her again. “We just got distracted with...local gossip.” Cecile stepped closer to the table. “Look at those flowers! Who are they for? Anyone I know? Is it a wedding? Show me what else you’ve done...”
Lucy knew a subject change when she saw one, but she decided to let the women keep their secret. As long as it didn’t involve her, they could have their fun. She opened the cooler and pulled out the bridal bouquet, which was primarily hydrangeas in white and blush pink. Her boss and the boss’s best friend approved enthusiastically, and she put everything back in the cooler until morning.
>
Cecile pulled out a seat at the worktable, and Connie joined her—after pulling out her “secret” bottle of wine from the far corner of the cooler. Lucy had discovered it her first week as she was rearranging the storage. She lifted what should have been an empty flower bucket and discovered a bottle of chardonnay inside. Without saying a word, Lucy took three plastic glasses from the shelf and joined them.
Connie poured. “Did Owen find a home for that kitten?”
Lucy grimaced. “Yes, thank goodness. Piper’s daughter Lily had been begging for a pet, so Logan took the kitten off Owen’s hands. They have that big dog, of course, but she sleeps with Ethan up in the attic bedroom. I guess Lily has been complaining about it. I got a text this morning saying Lily adored the kitten and has already named her Snowball.” She shrugged. “Perfect name for a golden kitten, right? It means I’ll need to take a big dose of antihistamines if I visit my neighbor, but I’m happy that adorable little ball of fluffy allergens found a good home.”
Cecile’s head tipped slightly. “Did you ever tell Owen how allergic you were?”
She had to think for a moment. “I’m sure I did at some point, but I don’t know if we ever had a specific conversation about pets and allergies. If he’d ever said he wanted a dog or cat, I would have made it very clear that we had to be careful. But I don’t remember him wanting animals of any kind.”
“What did you talk about? Ow!” Cecile leaned away from the smack Connie had given her. “What? I’m just wondering how these two almost got married and know so little about each other after years together. And yes...” She glared at Connie. “I know it’s none of my business, but I’m curious. If Lucy doesn’t want to answer me, that’s her choice.”
“The key words there,” Connie huffed, “are ‘none of your business.’”
“It’s okay, Connie.” Lucy held up her hand. “It’s a fair question. I think Owen and I made a lot of assumptions about each other. He spent a lot of time deployed or away for training, I ended up busy caring for my grandmother. I think we both mentally filled in the blanks for all those mundane questions.” She took a sip of her wine, thinking perhaps she should lock up the shop if they were going to drink. “Then we got to our wedding day and realized we didn’t know each other very well.”
