Dating by Design Series Box Set

by Jennifer Peel

  The Nanettes were waiting for me when I walked in. I should have known something was up by the way they smiled at each other instead of me, but I was only thinking how I was about to get a hands-on experience with the ladies. And sure enough, I was right.

  They all followed me to the dressing room and helped me shed my layers of warm clothing.

  “We’ve missed you, dear.” Mrs. Marshall took my pea coat.

  “I didn’t want to get anyone sick and I’ve been busy.”

  They all nodded and said, “Uh-huh,” at the same time.

  “How have you all been?” I was stripped out of my skirt.

  “We’re getting ready for the big day.” Mrs. Marshall beamed.

  “The paint I ordered for one of the crafts we’re doing at the shower came in. And I talked to Lana about going shopping Saturday to finish getting the decorations and food.”

  Mrs. Marshall patted my cheek. “You’re the best. I’ll make sure Lana has my card.”

  “Is there anything else I can help with?”

  “I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

  Cissy and Adelaide walked back carrying the most beautiful dress I had ever had the privilege of wearing. They helped me step into the elegant gown, then oohed and aahed as they buttoned up the back of the dress. Once I wasn’t fully exposed, they had me step out to an open area where Cissy had a three-way mirror and a platform I could stand on.

  I stared at myself in the mirror and smiled. “Wow, this is amazing.” I reveled in the feel of luxuriousness in the satin-lined dress while the Nanettes fussed around me.

  “I think we need to take it in a half inch at the waist.” Adelaide wrote down Cissy’s assessment.

  Mrs. Marshall brought in a pair of sparkly champagne heels to match and helped me slip into them so they could see if any alterations needed to be made in the length. The shoes cradled my feet perfectly. It was the best I had felt in two weeks.

  That was until Zander walked in carrying a garment bag while Cissy was announcing that the bust area was perfect, as were my perky boobs.

  I met Zander’s eyes in the mirror. I had an urge to smack the smirk off his face. Even if I was kind of glad to see the smirk I adored. He had been sullen the last couple of weeks at work and made it a point not to look at me.

  The Nanettes left me so they could fawn over the man who still had the ability to produce flutters.

  Amidst their fangirling and giggling, I stepped off the platform. “I should get going.”

  Attention was drawn back to me, and this time instead of a smirk, Zander took me in.

  “Doesn’t she look gorgeous?” Mrs. Marshall asked Zander.

  All he did was nod.

  I headed for the dressing room.

  Mrs. Marshall was to me in a flash, and pulling on my hand. “No dear. We need to see how the bridesmaids and groomsmen will look together.”

  “I have no doubt they’ll look great. “

  “There is only one way to know for sure.” Mrs. Marshall was not letting go or giving in. “Zander, dear, go change.”

  Zander walked by me. He seemed unsure how he should behave; he chose to ignore me.

  I pulled Mrs. Marshall as far away as I could from the dressing room and lowered my voice. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”

  “Why do you think? You two are being stubborn. We decided you both needed a little shove.”

  “He’s not interested.”

  “That’s where you’re mistaken. He thinks he doesn’t deserve someone like you. And he’s probably right, but I know when two people belong together.”

  “Mrs. Marshall.”

  She patted both my cheeks. “Just play along, dear. It’s easier that way.”

  The next thing I knew I was standing on the platform next to the strikingly handsome Zander in his tailor-made black suit. He took my breath away. I stood as far away from him as I could, but that didn’t work for the meddling threesome or Zander. While Adelaide pushed me toward Zander, he was reaching for me. “I know you’re not shy.” It was the most he had said to me since Thanksgiving.

  Mrs. Marshall was fussing with his champagne colored tie while Cissy checked the length on his pants.

  Mrs. Marshall stepped back and looked at us together. She raised her hands to her mouth.

  “Have you ever seen a more handsome couple? Stunning.”

  “The dress and suit look well together. Good choices, Nan,” Adelaide complimented her best friend. It was weird that Kenadie hadn’t picked them out.

  I took a peek at us in the mirror. I had been trying not to, because I didn’t want to see how we looked together, but wow did we look good. So good it hurt.

  Zander smoothed out the sleeves on his jacket. “Was there ever any doubt how good I was going to look?”

  Mrs. Marshall actually scowled at him.

  Zander’s wide eyes said he was taken aback.

  “Are we done?” I asked.

  “I suppose we are.” Mrs. Marshall frowned at Zander again.

  “What did I do?” Zander asked.

  Mrs. Marshall shook her head. “You missed your chance.” She held her hand out to me. “Let’s get you out of that dress.”

  “You idiot, you should have complimented her.” I heard Cissy and Adelaide smacking and berating Zander while I walked away holding Mrs. Marshall’s hand.

  I rolled my eyes. The Nanettes were on a mission set to fail.

  Mrs. Marshall carefully unbuttoned my dress. “He’s scared, you know.”

  I smiled at her through the mirror in the dressing room. “I think he likes the way his life is.”

  “Maybe on the outside.”

  “I think we should leave well enough alone.”

  “Well isn’t good enough for my boy, or for you.” She helped me step out of the gown.

  I didn’t argue with her. I was never going to win. Instead I put on my own clothes and headed back out to leave. I was meeting a client in downtown Atlanta for dinner. I walked out to find the women grouped together, giving directions with their eyes to Zander.

  Zander grinned between me and the ladies.

  “Thank you. The dress is beyond lovely. I’ll see you all at the bridal shower.” I headed for the door.

  “You must come to church this week,” Mrs. Marshall insisted.

  I stopped. “I’ll see you Sunday then.” I glanced at Zander. “See you at work.”

  He gave a slight nod.

  I almost made it to the door before they called him an idiot one more time. I opened the door into the cold air, smiling to myself.

  “Meg,” Zander called.

  I turned to see him coming my way, still dressed in his suit. “I’m not asking you to chase after me. And those well-intentioned women aren’t always right.”

  “If I didn’t come out here, they were threatening violence.”

  “You came, so now you can go.”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “You looked beautiful in there.”

  “It doesn’t count if you say it when your life is on the line.”

  “What do you want from me?” He had added deep breaths and pacing to running his fingers through his hair.

  I watched him pace back and forth for a moment. “What do you have to offer?”

  He stopped and met my eyes. “Nothing.”

  He rushed back in, leaving me in the cold.

  Chapter Twenty

  I didn’t know if I could take it anymore. Being around him was killing me. And Eva had decided to make her move. She now agreed with everything he said in our meetings and her flirty tone laced through every conversation she had with him. She also made sure she sat right next to him, pulling her chair close. For all I knew, she was now pretending to be his girlfriend.

  I couldn’t believe how ridiculous I was to ever agree to that. Saying it out loud hurt my ears.

  I was thankful I had work, school, and the shower to keep me busy. If not, I may have run home.

  Mrs. Ma
rshall wanted everything perfect for the bridal shower, and so I found myself at her house the morning of, at seven, even though the shower didn’t start until one in the afternoon. Lana had spent the night, so she was already there. I enjoyed getting to know her. She was planning on being a veterinarian like her dad and attending his alma mater, the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Rick had inherited Marshall Veterinarian Clinic after his father passed away. I was going to start taking Jasper there for his shots.

  Mrs. Marshall’s home looked like a winter wonderland. She had a tree in her living room and one in her family room; both looked professionally decorated in Kenadie’s wedding colors. One of the trees had gorgeous black and champagne paper roses. And there were pine boughs draped wherever they could be. The smell of pine reminded me of home. There were several stockings hung by the chimney with care. I was touched to see my name on one—right next to Zander’s. She was determined. As determined as Zander was to avoid me.

  I wasn’t sure what else could be decorated in the home. I felt silly bringing in the bags of store-bought decorations Lana and I purchased last weekend, but Mrs. Marshall was excited to make room for everything we picked out.

  The thing that took the longest was setting up the craft tables. We had three ornaments to choose from—a cute burlap bow tied to Kenadie and Jason’s initials, a mini tied fabric wreath, or a painted glass ornament. Mrs. Marshall even decorated the craft tables with pink roses. The woman was a decorating machine. You should have seen the hot chocolate and s’mores bar. They belonged on Pinterest.

  I was tired before the guests even arrived.

  Kenadie showed up an hour before. Jason dropped her off. I watched them kiss goodbye from the kitchen window. My respect for Jason went through the roof after Zander told me how good he was to Kenadie. How terrible it must have been for her to feel so insecure about herself for so many years. It made me so thankful that I didn’t go down that road with Lucas, that I recognized him for what he really was, for what he really wanted. No wonder she was so afraid to love again.

  I was worried I would never find anyone who would love me for me and my choices. And more and more, I was afraid I would fall for the wrong person again, or that I already had. I was trying to be okay with Zander distancing himself. In my head, I knew it was the right thing. We didn’t make sense; we were statistically improbable. But my heart was telling a different story. It told the story where we ate cake on Friday nights curled up on the couch together. Or where I made a fool of myself in front of him, cheering for my teams. Or where he held me close and whispered in my ear when we danced. Or the one where I got an A in my statistics class because of him. Those notes he left in my textbook were life savers. And every time I looked at my Christmas tree, all I saw was him.

  I was glad Kenadie walked through the door to distract me from the overplayed thoughts in my head about her best friend. She shook her head when she walked in a saw the massive quantities of food spread across the counters and table. “My momma needs help.”

  “Two more weeks.” I smiled.

  “It can’t get here soon enough.”

  “Your mom and Lana are with Renee in the family room.”

  “I’m glad Renee is here.”

  “Your mom is too.”

  “I bet she is. She’s hoping Rick will give her a ring for Christmas.”

  I looked up from the punch I was making. “Do you think he will?”

  “I think he wants to, but it’s complicated.”

  “Isn’t it always?”

  “That’s why I started Binary Search, to hopefully alleviate some of that.”

  “It was genius.”

  “I don’t know if I’ve thanked you enough for getting involved in all this wedding mess.”

  “Really, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for sharing your family with me.”

  “You miss yours?”

  “Especially this time of year, so this has been welcome.”

  “I’m just happy that between my momma and Zander, they didn’t drive you away.”

  I gave her a small smile and turned back to mixing the sparkling punch.

  She surprised me and came over to give me a little hug. “I know these past few weeks haven’t been easy on you. Zander has all but pushed me away. I was really hoping this go around he would be here for me.”

  I felt terrible. I gave her a real hug. “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry I ever went out with him.”

  “Don’t be. He’s the one being the idiot.”

  She wasn’t lying.

  Mrs. Marshall’s place started hopping. I think everyone that got an invite came. Everyone was so happy that after Kenadie’s horrifying experience at the altar and her seven years of swearing off relationships that she had finally found love. There were so many people, I felt like I was constantly refilling and restocking the refreshment tables, but I wanted to take care of that so Lana and Mrs. Marshall were free to entertain their friends. After all, I hardly knew anybody, except Eva and Cara. I wished they hadn’t come and that they weren’t bridesmaids. The crafts were a huge hit. There were several ladies who commented they were happy they didn’t have to play any ridiculous shower games.

  I watched Kenadie do her best to be gracious, even when she opened her mom’s gift and pulled out the barely-there-why-bother-to-wear lingerie. The Nanettes laughed and laughed. Kenadie quickly put it back in the bag and moved on. When Kenadie was halfway through her gifts, there was a party crasher in a Santa hat carrying mistletoe.

  “Ho, Ho, Ho. I heard this is where the prettiest ladies in Georgia were today.” Zander sauntered right into the family room.

  The Nanettes were to him in seconds, kissing him on the cheek. All the other ladies in the room also looked delighted at the interruption. It didn’t matter if they were old or young, they were all hoping for a kiss with Santa.

  But it was Kenadie I paid attention to. She seemed relieved and touched that he had come. Even if he was stealing the show.

  I watched for a minute as he sat on a chair and each woman took her turn sitting on his lap and kissing his cheek. Some he asked if they had been naughty or nice. The giggling was ridiculous. And I was fine until Eva sat on his lap and, instead of kissing his cheek, she kissed his lips and lingered. I waited to see what he would do. He pulled away. “She’s obviously been naughty.” I couldn’t tell if that meant he liked it or not; he wouldn’t face me. She made sure, though, to smile at me afterward. She rubbed her lips together to taunt me like she knew it would hurt. I made myself not react, at least on the outside. Inside it felt like a huge stone had been dropped on my gut.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I headed for the kitchen to check on the food and drink situation. Which maybe wasn’t the best idea. There were several women filling up plates when I walked in. The conversations went something like:

  “If I weren’t married and a few years younger, ooh what I wouldn’t do to be with him.”

  “I always wondered why he and Kenadie never ended up together, but she still snagged a fine catch.”

  “I think I’m going to go back for seconds, but this time I’m aiming for his lips.”

  All the women smiled at me. “Make sure you get your turn, honey.”

  I had already had mine, thank you very much. And guess what? He kissed me. But it meant nothing. So go ahead and kiss him.

  I busied myself in the kitchen and then started cleaning off the craft tables. The crafts turned out so cute. They were going to look great on Mr. and Mrs. Hadley’s tree next year. I listened to the commotion in the family room. You would have thought we hired a stripper.

  Mrs. Marshall came in to find me starting in on the dishes. “Dear, I was wondering where you had gone off to. We can do the dishes later. Come back and join the fun. Zander’s going to help Kennie finish opening her gifts.”

  “There’s a lot to clean up and I want to get home early.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She caught me off guard. “What
for?”

  “We all made fools of ourselves, didn’t we?”

  “No. No.”

  She approached me and patted my cheeks. “You’re actually a good liar.”

  I laughed at her. “I did get away with a lot growing up.”

  “Regardless, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you to see that spectacle.”

  “I missed most of it. And really, there’s nothing between us, so it doesn’t matter.”

  “Then why are you in here?”

  “Because I foolishly wanted there to be.”

  “Ahh, truth, except I don’t know if I would call you foolish.”

  “Really? He brought mistletoe to a bridal shower.”

  She laughed. “I’ll give you that one.”

  “Go back and enjoy this moment with your daughter.”

  She kissed my cheek. It made my eyes water. “I will, but know this, he could do no better than you.”

  I took a deep breath to stave off any tears. She made me miss my own mother so much it ached.

  Women were in and out getting food while I cleaned up. The noise died down as people began to say their goodbyes. I wanted to go home too, but I couldn’t leave Mrs. Marshall and Lana with the aftermath. The good news was there was barely any leftover food. But there were lots of dishes, because apparently properly bred Southern women did not use plastic service ware. I would have to remember that.

  I was elbow deep in suds when I heard voices outside the kitchen door. I swore I heard my name. I stood still.

  “Did you see how Meg left after she saw me kiss Zander?”

  So Eva thought I was already gone. I listened closer.

  “You suspected there was something going on between them,” Cara replied. She was trying to keep her voice down.

  “I more than suspect. I overheard Kenadie and Zander fighting about Meg in her office yesterday. Can you believe she thought she had a chance with him? He was playing her, and she went right along with it. She probably couldn’t satisfy him, so he tossed her aside. He needs a real woman,” Eva surmised.

  “Are you going for it?” Cara asked.

  “Uh, yeah. Now that Little Miss Muffet with her basket of goodies is out of the way.”