by Candis Terry
Knowing the tragedy that had stolen the first woman Reno planned to marry just a week before the wedding, Allison couldn’t stop the tears that floated into her eyes.
“At this point”—Charli gave him a beautiful smile—“I just want to marry you surrounded by the people we love. If that means no cake or flowers, I don’t care.”
The collective awwwww in the room twisted like a knife in Allison’s conscience.
“I can help.” The words burst from her mouth, not for the first time. As she reprised the vow she’d made upon the very first wedding she’d successfully planned—never let a bride go down in flames—she reached out and settled a reassuring hand over Charli’s. “I know that on your design show, you must have hit some walls and had to change tactics. Was the outcome as good or even better?”
“Always,” Charli said.
“Then trust me,” Allison said. “This will happen. And your wedding day will be the one you’ve always dreamed of.”
“You’ve done so much already.” Charli turned her hand over and clasped Allison’s. “You have a business to get back to. We can’t ask—”
“And you’re not,” she said. “I’m offering.” A surge of bravado jolted her veins that she knew she could back up with results. “This is what I do. And I’m good at it. I may be in foreign territory, but I’ve been known to sweet-talk a caterer or baker. And when it comes to your father’s new friend, well, no worries. I’ve tackled that dragon a time or two as well. He may be a Marine general, but I’m a wedding planner. I’ll trump his stripes with little bottles of bubbles and personalized candy tins any day.”
When Charli gave her a relieved smile, and Reno closed his eyes in relief, Allison darted a quick glance at Jesse, who now stood with his arms folded. She tried not to notice when her heart gave a happy leap as he too smiled.
“Daddy?” She looked up at her father, who stood with his arm around Jana’s shoulders. “Think you can put up with me for a few more days?”
“Thought you had a plane to catch.”
“Looks like it will be taking off without me.”
He gave her a prideful nod. “Your sister’s not going to be happy.”
No big news there.
“She’ll survive.”
Hopefully.
“We appreciate all you’re doing,” Charli said. “But—”
“No buts,” Allison said. And don’t you worry, whatever happens between now and Saturday, we can fix it.”
Jana leaned down and gave her a big hug. “Now you’re talking like a Texan, sugarplum.”
The show of affection felt genuine, and Allison hugged her back. Whatever chinks in the woman’s armor she’d thought she’d find were nonexistent. Allison acknowledged the relief. Her father really couldn’t have found a more remarkable woman to share his life with. She could have stayed back in Seattle and never made this long journey.
But she wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
“So . . . Dad, can you spare that extra room until after the wedding?”
“It’s yours for as long as you want it.”
She grabbed her purse and pushed away from the table. Then she glanced around the kitchen that seemed to be the nucleus of everything Wilder. A tiny little fire lit deep in her heart. How wonderful it must be to have all that love and support whenever you needed it.
“I know it’s Sunday,” she said. “But I need to get banging on some doors. You.” She pointed to Jesse. “Come with me.”
He didn’t hesitate to follow her outside and open his truck door for her. After she climbed up into the cab, she blew out a long breath. When he got up behind the wheel and stuck the key in the ignition, she looked at him and noticed the smile playing about that sexy mouth she’d kissed so fervently last night.
“What?” she asked.
“I can’t figure you out.” The motor turned over with a low rumble.
In the last couple of weeks, she couldn’t figure her out either. “And that makes you smile?”
He nodded. “Fifteen minutes ago you were hell-bent to get on that airplane and fly out of here. What changed?”
“I like Charli and your brother.”
“You could have easily given them a few tips on how to handle things and still made your flight.” He turned in his seat to look at her. “So what made you offer to stay and personally handle another crisis?”
“When I first started planning weddings for a living, I initiated a motto that I’d never let a bride go down in flames.” She pulled the seat belt over her lap and clicked the buckle. “I’ll admit, with six major elements of a wedding all crashing within the span of a week I thought maybe it was a sign that this wedding is not meant to be. But I really like those two, and . . .”
He grinned. “You want to see them get their happily-ever-after?”
“I’d like them at least to have the chance.”
“You know what I think?”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
He leaned over and grabbed her by the front of her Pistol Annie’s HELL ON HEELS tank top. Then he brought her face up to his and kissed the living daylights out of her.
When he let go, that grin returned. “I think your hard-candy core just melted into your sweet, gooey center. And that makes me smile.”
Yeah.
She had to get out of Sweet fast.
Before she turned into a total cream puff.
Chapter 14
They’d made a pit stop at Allison’s father’s house, so she could shower and change clothes. Also they needed to kill a little time. Since it was a Sunday morning, they needed to wait until whoever it was she wanted to talk to got home from church.
Jesse made his way to church once in a while. But the bother of trying to fight off the elderlies who wanted to save his wicked, fornicating soul, often ruined his experience.
Before she’d gone down the hall to shower, Allison made them a breakfast comprised of something she called a messy scramble. The contents of the egg mix included everything from onions and mushrooms to bacon and cheese. It looked a mess but tasted like heaven. She’d now cooked two delicious meals for him and had sat down to share. He thought maybe he’d like to have her in his kitchen—and his life—on a more regular basis.
While he sat there finishing the meal and denying Buddy aka Wee Man a tasty bite, he couldn’t drag his mind off Allison naked in the shower. He’d lost count of the times he’d been tempted to walk down that hall and join her. Out of respect for her father, who could walk in at any time, he kept his clothes on.
Sometimes being respectful was just a big pain in the ass. Or in his case, a big ache elsewhere.
“How do you like it?” Allison’s voice sounded fresh and energetic as she came back into the kitchen.
He looked up and let his eyes skim all the way down the front of her floral sundress to her customary high wedge sandals and lavender-painted toes. She looked good enough to eat. “You have my full attention.”
“I meant the breakfast.”
“That’s good too.”
Her delightful laughter washed over him like an invigorating waterfall, and he couldn’t help notice that she seemed a lot more relaxed and vibrant now than before the shower. Something changed.
“The shower seems to have agreed with you,” he said, sipping his cup of lukewarm coffee.
On the way to the counter, she bent down and did a quick nose rub and baby talk with Buddy. Then she picked up the freshly brewed pot and, with a smile, refilled his cup. “The shower last night was even better.”
“Oooh, is that a confession?”
She sat in the chair beside him. “Probably the most you’ll get from me.”
“Actually . . .” He pulled her chair closer, leaned in, and snuck a kiss she didn’t contest. “I hoped for more.”
“I’m not sure that’s wise.” She wrinkled her small nose. “As soon as I get things settled with the wedding, I really do have to go back to Seattle. I just talked to Danielle and told her I was staying longer, and she is not happy. Plus there’s your whole playboy reputation you have to live up to. What would people think if you were seen with the same woman for more than a day?”
“I really don’t give a shit about what people think. But I understand this isn’t easy for your sister. Maybe we could just enjoy whatever time we have together and have . . .” Before he could lock himself into thinking of possibilities and good times, he held up the NO REGRETS tattoo on his arm. He smiled, though every ounce of him knew his carefree manner was just a cover-up for how he’d really begun to feel.
“Maybe.” Her slender shoulders lifted in a way that let him know her heart wasn’t in her words.
That intrigued him.
“In the meantime”—her smoky eyes peered at him across her coffee cup as she sipped—“I’m putting you to work.”
He leaned back. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” She set her cup down. “I need you to call your girlfriends.”
“My what?”
She laughed. “I don’t mean the whole laundry list. Just Gladys and Arlene.”
“Those two are a handful. They scare the hell out of me.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and planted a kiss on his mouth that had him thinking of anything but picking up a phone.
“Then maybe you need to make yourself a little less hotter.”
She thought he was hot? Sweet.
“Darlin’, the only way that’s going to happen is if you put out the fire.”
She gave a sexy little hum that shot straight into his jeans. “Hold on to that thought.”
Oh, he was holding on all right.
To the hopes that she’d never get back on that plane to Seattle.
Wow.
In awe, Allison looked out over the sea of elderly citizens crammed into the senior center’s activity room. The audience included the man who—with one phone call—had brought them all together. Jesse continued to surprise her way above and beyond what he did with her baser instincts. She’d judged him wrong that first and maybe even the second time they’d met.
She looked at the people he’d helped assemble. Some were obviously single. Most were couples who looked as though they’d been together for a very long time.
Maybe Jesse was right about the whole forever thing.
Sadly, today she didn’t have time to evaluate the meaning of life, let alone what made some couples stay together and others fall apart.
Today was about making things happen.
Getting results.
Saving her new friends’ chance at happiness.
Maybe later tonight she could further explore what all those crazy tingles Jesse created in her heart actually meant.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said to the attentive group, hoping all that attentiveness was due to interest in what she had to say and not the high-caliber contents of the fifty-cup coffeepot percolating in the kitchen.
“As I look around this beautiful senior center, I can see all the heart and soul Charli Brooks put into making such a nice space available for you all to enjoy yourselves. And I’m here because she needs a little of that heart back right now. This morning, she received news that the caterer for her and Reno’s wedding overbooked. I know there are a lot of you out there who make delicious dishes. And I wondered if—”
“If you’re looking for a down-home menu,” Hazel Calhoun said, “I can make my brisket sliders.”
“You haven’t lived till you had my shrimp macaroni and cheese,” Gertie West announced.
“Gotta have my killer guacamole,” Flirty Chester Banks said with a wink.
“And my sweet corn cupcakes,” said another senior.
“And my sun-dried cranberry, sweet and spicy cashew, bleu cheese salad,” someone else added.
One after another these amazing people popped up from their seats to volunteer their services. Allison’s heart rolled over with admiration. She knew how much she adored Charli and Reno, but to see the outpouring of love from the community just sealed the deal. The reception menu might be diverse, but it would definitely be tasty.
She turned to Gladys and Arlene—Jesse’s biggest and maybe spunkiest admirers. “Could I put you two in charge of getting it all together and making sure it arrives to the reception venue on time?”
“You betcha,” Gladys said through her red-painted lips.
Arlene nodded her agreement, then tossed her rheumy gaze in Jesse’s direction. “Can we get Mr. Hot Stuff over there to help out?”
Allison held back a laugh. “I’ll see to it that you get some very personal attention from Mr. Hot Stuff.”
The wide grin on Arlene’s face told Allison one thing—you never got too old for a good-looking man to rev up your engine. Even as he sat in a corner and rolled his eyes.
Later, after several cups of high-octane coffee, Mr. Hot Stuff walked her out to his truck.
“Pretty clever idea calling on the community to help out,” he said, taking her hand and helping her up into the cab.
“It seemed an obvious solution. Especially since Charli put so much into helping them out. Plus, I’ve noticed that the elderly set here in Sweet seem happiest when they’re involved in something. Or, for some of them, drooling over a guy a third of their age.”
Chuckling, he reached across her, took hold of the seat belt, and clicked it in place. His hands lingered at her waist. His mouth hovered near her own.
“Only one woman I’m interested in making drool.”
And then he kissed her.
Right there on Main Street.
In front of anyone who walked by or came out of the senior center.
And she totally let him.
Crisis stop number two took them all the way into San Antonio and Fiona and Izzy’s cozy apartment. Jesse had wondered why Allison hadn’t just made a phone call, but now that he saw her in action, all his questions were answered.
The day was sunny but not too hot. Allison had suggested they go down to the apartment complex’s playground so Izzy could play while they chatted. For a while Allison, immersed herself in his niece—pushing her on the swing, following her down the slide, and holding her up so she could use the monkey bars. He and Fiona sat off to the side on a park bench sipping glasses of pink lemonade.
“So . . .” His former sister-in-law’s blond hair shone in the sunlight. Her impish grin was even brighter. “What’s going on between the two of you?”
He glanced across the playground, where Allison pushed his loudly giggling niece on the colorful merry-go-round. “Not sure.”
“You like her.”
“No doubt about that.”
“But you’re afraid of her.”
He chuckled. “Have you ever known me to be afraid of anything?”
“Yeah. I have.”
“Seriously?”
“You Wilder boys all think you’re so tough,” she said. “But when it comes to love, you’re all a bunch of scaredy-cats.”
“Love!”
“See.” Fiona laughed. “Just the word freaks you out.”
“I’ve only known Allison for a couple of weeks. It takes a long time to fall in love. And frankly, I’m not in the market.”
“Yeah. Because you need to keep up that whole love ’em and leave ’em thing you have going on. ’Cause that’s working so good for you, right?”
“It works.”
“Ah, Jesse.” She leaned in and hugged him. “You’ve always been the one to rescue your bullheaded brothers when they’ve treaded treacherous waters. Yet you resist that same pull to
shelter.”
“When did you start talking in rhyme?” And, unfortunately, making so much sense?
“Silly boy.” She gave him a playful punch in the arm. “You’ve got that same look—the one Reno wore when he met Charli. The one Jackson wore when Abby came back to Sweet.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, then, you’d better find a different face because here she comes. Oh. And by the way, she’s looking at you? She gets it even if you don’t.”
Jesse looked up, and his heart did a wobbly sidestep thing as Allison walked toward him holding Izzy’s little hand. For a crazy moment he could picture her holding the hand of their own little boy or girl. The image warned him he was in deep.
“All you need is one woman to change your world. One you can give your heart to.” Fiona gave Allison and Izzy a little wave. “Maybe she’s the one.”
His gaze shot back to Allison. First Reno. Now Fiona was encouraging him to move ahead. It wasn’t a deed he was accustomed to. He didn’t want to think about that funny feeling in his chest. He wouldn’t try to deny he had feelings for Allison. But as soon as Reno and Charli said I do, she’d be gone. Her life was in Seattle, his was in Sweet. There were a whole lot of miles between here and there.
Maybe he’d do better to back off. Let things between them simmer instead of come to a full boil. It couldn’t be good for either of them to get involved. Nobody liked to be on the receiving end of heartache.
He took a deep breath, acknowledging he’d made the right decision.
And then, she flashed him a smile that turned all that sensible rationale into a big pile of goo.
“Those lemon cupcakes you made for Charli’s shower were delicious,” Allison said as she and Fiona sat on the park bench while Jesse took a turn entertaining his niece on the playground equipment. “The frosting was so light and fluffy. And the Gerber daisy decorations were so charming.”
“Thank you.” Fiona was clearly appreciative of the compliment. “The lemon recipe came from my Grandma Grady. It’s one I plan to use when I open the cupcake shop.”
