This was the Holly she remembered, the Holly who had her life together. Sophisticated, fearless, smart. She hoped Martin and the others would remember that. She added a final spritz of perfume and made her way downstairs, lighting the white candles in various glass containers along the way. Having a bunch of interior designers over for the evening meant that the entire house would be on showcase and no details should be overlooked.
She entered the kitchen, where Claire was putting the finishing touches on a glorious bouquet of white calla lilies on the center island. Natalia and her crew were getting the finger foods ready and arranging the silver trays and crystal glasses. Fuchsia and lime green balloons were arranged in massive bouquets throughout the house.
“Claire, the flowers are gorgeous!” Holly exclaimed. Her friend looked up at her, beaming.
“Glad you like them! Speaking of gorgeous, you look beautiful, Holl,” Claire said, leaning against the counter.
“Well, thanks, so do you,” Holly said, smiling at her. Claire was stunning in a dark red dress that was a dramatic backdrop for her ivory skin and dark hair and eyes.
“Nat, all of this looks delicious.”
“Thanks, Holly. This house is unbelievable. You are so talented,” Natalia said, pausing from arranging the crystal stemware in rows on the countertops. The chandelier over the island added sparkle to the glasses.
“Thank you. I’m just happy that it’s over. Being on this side of a reno is a lot more difficult,” she said, laughing. “It’s hard not to get bogged down by all my personal preferences and remember the big picture. But we made it. I think I’m going to help myself to the wine,” Holly said as she poured a glass. “Would you ladies like a glass?”
“No thanks, hon. I’m going to wait until all the flowers are where they should be,” Claire said with a wink.
“Me neither. I don’t trust myself. I’ll wait until the end of the party,” Nat said, then turned to give instructions to some of the servers.
“I thought Quinn would be here by now,” Claire said curiously. Sometimes it was difficult having such a perceptive friend.
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” Holly pretended to arrange the already perfect stacks of white dishes on the island. She hadn’t really figured out what she was going to say to him. Or what he’d say to her. And the thought of Quinn mingling with people in her Toronto life was…strange. And, of course, there was Daniel.
“Knowing Quinn, he probably bought an entire store full of toys for Ella,” Claire continued.
Holly sighed.
“What have you done, Holly?”
“I think I’ll go see if Ella is awake yet,” Holly said, hoping she could distract her friend. “I bought her the cutest little pink dress and shoes.” Holly’s voice trailed off as Claire’s frown deepened.
Claire raised her eyebrows. “Tell me.”
“I told him I needed time and space,” Holly mumbled, taking a sip of wine.
“You’re not an astronaut,” Claire snapped, then softened her tone as she reached out to hug her. “Don’t push him away. I know you’re scared—”
“How does everyone know this about me?”
Claire didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but Holly saw the sympathy steal across Claire’s eyes. “Who wouldn’t be, sweetie? You’ve been through hell and you’ve come out the other side, stronger. You’re the best, Holl, and you deserve the best. You deserve to be happy.”
Holly felt her heart pounding as the truth of what Claire was saying hit her. She stared at her a moment longer and knew that if she continued this conversation, she would end up in a pile of tears and an empty bottle of wine. A clatter of dishes brought her back to the present. “You know what, I can’t think about this right now. I’ve got thirty designers coming over here, and my boss. I’ve got to stay focused. And it’s Ella’s birthday. I don’t need to be thinking about Quinn tonight.”
Claire sighed and shook her head. “Fine. You’re not off the hook, though.”
Holly smiled at her. “Thanks.”
“I think I’m going to start drinking now,” Claire said wryly and poured herself a large glass of wine.
Ella was the star of the party. She was lapping up all the attention being thrown on her, and she had people laughing out loud at her antics. The more they laughed, the more charming she became. Holly was smiling as Claire’s parents fed Ella strawberries, and with each one that was placed in her mouth, Ella would reward them by clapping.
Holly’s phone buzzed, and she tried to maintain a neutral expression on her face as she glanced down at another text message from one of her colleagues. Another cancellation. The only person from Toronto that had bothered to show up was Daniel. Even Martin had called earlier to say that he just couldn’t get away. Holly tried not to take it personally, but it was pretty darn hard not to. They all knew it was Ella’s birthday as well, and they knew the circumstances behind her adopting Ella. She would have thought they’d be genuinely interested in celebrating with her. This night wasn’t just a birthday. It was a farewell to the most difficult and life-changing year of her life.
“Oh, Holly, what a beautiful job you’ve done with your grandparents’ home,” Mrs. Jacobs gushed as she nearly careened into Holly. Holly glanced down at the elderly woman’s empty martini glass and stifled her grin at the thought that her grandmother’s friend was getting tipsy. She fondly remembered Mrs. Jacobs coming to the house for tea and keeping her grandmother in stitches over her animated chitchat. The woman was a notorious gossip, but Holly knew she had a heart of gold.
“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Jacobs,” Holly said, smiling when the old woman squeezed her hand a little sloppily.
“They would be so proud of you for everything. And the way you’ve stepped in to raise your beautiful little niece,” Mrs. Jacobs continued.
Mrs. Jacobs placed her hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Your grandparents would be so happy to see you back here. To know that their house was going to be lived in by you and their great-granddaughter, well, it’s just wonderful,” she said, her voice shaking, her eyes tearing up.
It was as if she’d just punched Holly in the stomach. No one knew she was listing the house. She’d asked Sabrina to keep the sign off the lawn until next week. She hadn’t wanted the birthday party to be overshadowed by the For Sale sign.
“I see Quinn Manning is here tonight,” the elderly woman continued to speak. “Always so dashing, isn’t he? I often thought you two would make an excellent pair, you know. I must say, I was surprised when I saw him and Christine together yesterday,” Mrs. Jacobs said with a frown. Holly tried to ignore the immediate surge of jealousy and betrayal that hit her. It was ridiculous, of course. If there was one thing she knew about Quinn, it was that he wasn’t a cheat. Besides, she had told him she was still leaving Red River, so she had no right to claim him as hers.
“Well, that’s nice that they’ve kept in touch,” Holly said, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible. Knowing this conversation would only lead to more insecurity and gossip, Holly changed the subject. “Oh look, a fresh round of martinis,” Holly said loudly, praying the woman would take the bait. It was her lucky night—Mrs. Jacobs followed the waiter across the room. She made a mental note to make sure someone drove Mrs. Jacobs home tonight.
Holly swallowed against the lump of unexpected emotion clogging her throat as she watched the woman depart. The entire night had been like this. People from her youth—townspeople, friends of her grandparents—all had comforting words to say to her, and offered lovely memories of what her grandparents had been like. She thought it would hurt. She thought that those memories and those people would bring her too much pain to deal with.
But instead, the memories of this town, of these people, of her family, had cocooned around her. She felt the safety and the warmth of people who cared about her.
Holly’s eyes inevitably went to where Quinn was standing with his brothers. The three of them were so different, yet they all
had an inherent decency about them. She had been trying to avoid Quinn all night. But he was a hard man to miss. Holly’s eyes wandered over Quinn’s face and body, undeniably handsome in a navy pullover and dark pants. She followed his gaze, and her heart stopped as his face stretched into a smile. He was staring at Ella.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Daniel said from behind her.
Holly spun around to smile at the only friend from work who’d actually shown up. “I’m so glad you came,” she said, giving him a big hug.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said, smiling at her.
“What happened to everyone?” Holly asked, not sure if she was mad or hurt.
“Deadline on the E Street condo project got bumped by two weeks, so everyone’s scrambling,” Daniel said. Holly knew what that meant—long nights, no life, and practically living at the office. It did make Holly feel a little better that she wasn’t just being blown off.
“How are the Thorntons?” Holly asked, not feeling any of the insecurity she had felt before. Funny, because right now, the Thorntons seemed like the most insignificant people in the world to her. They dimmed in comparison to the people that filled this room.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “You were right—totally high-maintenance. But I’m not going to complain. I’ll be on the West Coast for a few weeks, all expenses paid, so I guess it’s worth it,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “You did a gorgeous job on this house, sweetie,” he gushed, looking around. “I snooped around the entire place. Great counters in the kitchen,” he added, taking a sip of his drink.
“Thanks.” Holly smiled.
“I bet you miss the city, eh? How are you surviving without your daily Starbucks fix? And that downtown—there’s nothing there. It’s like three blocks,” he said, shaking his head.
Holly stifled her laugh. “There’s a great bakery in town that makes the best lattes. It’s actually quite nice.”
Daniel didn’t look as though he believed her. “You know, I had to stop in town for gas and people talked to me,” he said, lifting his eyebrows.
Holly grinned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, like strangers actually made conversation,” he said, taking a drink of wine.
“Welcome to small-town life, Daniel.”
“Yeah, and then some crazy old lady almost mowed me down in her Mini Cooper,” he said.
Holly tried not to spit out her wine. She knew exactly who that woman was. “I missed you, Daniel.” She laughed.
“Me, too. You know you’re the only woman I’d drive to the sticks to see, don’t you? I’ll be happy if I don’t hit a deer or something on my drive home tonight. Do you know there are no streetlights on these roads?”
Holly laughed again, and tried not to look over at Quinn.
…
“Quinn, unless you’re planning on starting a fight, I suggest you stop glaring at that guy,” Jake said, popping an olive into his mouth.
Quinn ignored his brother and kept his eyes focused on the bony hand that was groping Holly.
“Looks like they’re really close,” Evan said, taking a sip of wine.
Quinn clenched his teeth so tight he thought he was in danger of dislocating his lower jaw. Listening to Jake and Evan’s moronic play-by-play of Holly and Daniel was setting him on edge. As if he’d needed any help.
Jake reached for a smoked salmon bundle as a waiter passed by. “Holly really knows how to throw a party.”
“Yeah, looks like practically the entire town is here,” Evan said, looking around the packed room.
“Hey guys,” Claire said as she walked over to stand beside them. Quinn gave her a quick smile, then went back to watching Holly, who had thrown back her head with laughter. He was funny, too?
“Hey, Claire,” Evan said. “Who’s the guy with Holly?”
Quinn could feel Claire’s eyes on him while she answered, “That’s Daniel.”
Quinn’s stomach churned and he studied him more closely. The guy had a big nose. And he was kind of bony looking. Anemic, maybe.
“They work together,” Claire said, her voice sounding a bit strained.
“Really?” Evan asked.
Claire nodded. “Yeah. He’s been her mentor since she started there, sort of took her under his wing.”
“I’ll bet,” Jake said under his breath.
Quinn turned to glare at Jake. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jake shrugged. “All I’m saying is that Holly’s hot, and he’s been crawling all over her like an octopus.”
“Don’t worry, Quinn, I think he’s gay,” Evan said.
“He’s not gay,” Quinn and Claire spoke at the same time.
“And, I’m not worried,” Quinn added.
“You sure? He’s an interior designer, isn’t he? And look at what he’s wearing,” Evan said.
Claire laughed. “What’s wrong with what he’s wearing?”
“Nothing. It’s perfect. You don’t own anything like that, Quinn.”
“Thanks,” he growled, shooting Evan a glare.
“You guys are horrible.” Claire laughed. “Seriously, you’re like a bunch of old hens.”
“We’re not hens. Men aren’t hens,” Jake growled.
This conversation had gone on far too long. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do?”
His brothers shook their heads and Claire looked away quickly.
“Nope. This is my first night off in weeks,” Evan said, motioning to a waiter for a refill.
“Seriously, Quinn, you could take that guy out,” Jake said with a nudge.
Quinn refused to engage him.
“Jake, I highly doubt that beating him up would solve anything,” Claire said.
“Trust me, it would solve a lot of problems. Quinn, I bet all it would take is two punches and he’d run home crying like a baby.”
Quinn nodded, his fist clutched tightly by his side. He was thinking more like one punch would do it.
“Oh, Holly would love that,” Claire said into her wine glass.
Quinn took a deep breath.
“Yeah, seriously, don’t be taking Jake’s advice or you’ll wind up doing something you regret,” Evan said in a low voice.
“Thanks, but I don’t see you coming up with any brilliant ideas. Don’t you have a life to save or something?”
“I already saved a half dozen or so, thanks,” Evan said, shooting Jake a smug grin.
“Can you two shut up?” Quinn roared. He rolled his shoulders. He needed to regroup. Focus. He was acting like some sort of adolescent, macho, possessive boyfriend or something. “You’re right, Claire.” He forced himself to turn and give her a quick smile.
“Holly did a great job on this old place, didn’t she? Her grandparents would have been thrilled. You and Jake did beautiful work here, too,” Claire said.
“Thanks,” Quinn said.
Jake plucked a martini off a moving silver tray and took a large gulp, ignoring Claire. Quinn shook his head. He didn’t have time to address his brother’s issues tonight.
Claire stared at Jake with a hurt expression on her face. Quinn watched incredulously as his brother pretended to concentrate on the olives in his glass. He had never seen Jake drink a martini—or anything that wasn’t beer.
“Well, I better go see if they need any help with the cake,” Claire said. Evan and Quinn said good-bye, while Jake downed the contents of his glass.
“What the hell is your problem, Jake?” Evan growled.
“What do you mean?” he mumbled.
“Did you suddenly lose all your brain cells? You can’t drink a martini and hold a conversation?”
Jake shrugged and glared at him. Quinn let out a frustrated sigh. “Do you have a problem with Claire or something?”
“She just bugs me.” Quinn watched as Jake clenched his jaw. He noticed, though, that Jake’s eyes trailed her around the room as she approached Natalia and a group of friends. Quinn let the issue go. Getting inside of Jake’s head was like f
alling into quicksand.
Despite the hurt Quinn felt over Holly’s rejection, when he had walked into Holly’s home tonight, he had been filled with pride over what she’d accomplished. Everything she had chosen for the house was perfect, and the attention to detail had been worth it. Even the countertops were right.
And then there was the woman herself. Her back had been turned to him when he’d walked in. Her gorgeous, smooth, soft, bare back in dark silk that clung to every inch of the body he knew so well. Desire had pumped through him involuntarily as he watched her move about, chatting with guests. Until he saw that man’s skinny hand on her gorgeous bare back. Then, desire had quickly turned into jealousy. And he was not the jealous type.
But since Holly had come back into his life, he didn’t know what “type” he was anymore. He had come here tonight hoping to make things right. He knew if he waited for her to come to him, he’d wait forever. And that wasn’t an option.
…
“Holly, are we ready to sing ‘Happy Birthday?’” Natalia asked her as she entered the kitchen.
Holly nodded. “Yes, now is perfect. I’ll meet you in the dining room,” she said, slowly making her way through the crowd. She tried to embrace the thought of Jennifer and Rick, and hoped she was doing justice to the celebration of the little girl they had adored. As Holly walked through the crowd alone, she ached for Quinn, for Ella, for herself. She hated that she was a coward. She was hiding from the only man she’d ever loved because she was a coward. She was hiding from her niece because she was a coward. And she was leaving Red River because she was a coward. That realization had slapped her across the face more than once tonight. And when she’d stared at Quinn, who’d been watching Ella from the other side of the room, she finally knew. She admitted to herself how important Quinn was—to her and to Ella.
“Holly!” Sabrina called out and motioned Holly to stand with her in a quiet corner.
A Risk Worth Taking Page 15
