Love Between the Pages: 8 Romances for Booklovers

by Bird, Peggy

  He nodded at Sam and she waggled her eyebrows at him. Let’s see if they could goad Jade into dancing with him. Or more. He leaned back into the cushions of the couch and stretched his legs out. “Of course, everyone knows how much I love books. Naturally, I would become a sponsor.”

  Sam smiled. “No, not a sponsor, an angel. The angel table is closer to Doctor Sawyer’s table, and besides, you don’t want to look like a cheap ass in front of her dad.”

  Matt laughed and wrapped Sam in a great big bear hug. “I love you so much. I don’t even want to know how you paid for it.”

  Sam turned her head so that her cheek was smushed against Matt’s chest. “I have at least three of your credit card numbers on file.”

  Matt laughed.

  Chapter 19

  Hudson River Valley

  September 12, 1616

  Dearest Mother,

  I am so happy to tell you that Alsoomse and I are finally wed. The wedding was a breathtaking event. It was, perhaps, not the most elegant of settings, at least not by society standards. The ceremony itself was a simple one. It is her people’s custom to exchange gifts with the parents of the bride, and I was so proud to be able to give them some of the beautiful golden goblets. I hope they will use them in ceremonies and pass them down to our children and our children’s children.

  They have no custom of a ring exchange, and indeed, Alsoomse rarely wears adornments, but for the wedding she had a simple beaded headdress and agreed to wear the leaf ring. It was important to me to be able to give her a gift, a small token that in no way can adequately express my feelings for her. It was important to me that she wear it, and she made the loving concession to do so.

  She and I were in complete agreement about the wedding site. Her people have a reverence for the land, for nature, that I have come to appreciate fully. It was decided that we would hold the ceremony outdoors. We spent many days wandering hand in hand around the lake looking for just the right spot, just the right view. In the end, we both agreed on a high ledge overlooking the water. It was a favorite spot for Alsoomse to sit and dream, even as a young girl. It was her first choice and after a great deal of searching, we realized there was no better spot. The event was scheduled for sunset and, I must confess, I spent much of the day feeling restless and out-of-sorts. The day seemed to move slowly, and I felt the way a child does on the eve of Christmas.

  Finally, the time came and we walked hand in hand to the high clearing at the edge of the lake. We were accompanied by her family and by Pierre, who stood for me as my best man. The sun sent glittering bands of light across the lake’s surface as we said simple words of commitment and prayer. The last moments of the ceremony were spent watching the sun sink down below the peaks across the lake. Those final rays turned the water orange and red and glinted gold off Alsoomse’s hair. In the fading light, the mountain ridge turned from deep midnight blue to black. It was a wonderful show of nature’s beauty, and I am certain I will remember it with my dying breath.

  You were missed dearly, and I wish with all of my heart that you could have been here. I’m sure that my description does not do the event justice, but hope that it gives your heart joy to hear of ours.

  My love to you and the family,

  Adam Cartwright

  • • •

  The day of the dinner arrived and Jade was a nervous wreck. She had pretty much managed to stay as far away from the university as she could since the day she broke it off with Nick and quit attending classes. She was willing to look like a chicken if it meant being as far away from Nick and Stacy as possible. It had turned out for the best. By leaving school, she’d discovered her heart was in her art and jewelry making and not in the classroom.

  Now she was going to spend an evening in the company of professors she hadn’t seen in years, some of whom had known her as a child. It was probable that Nick would be there, too, kissing butt and vying for whatever accolades would guarantee him a tenured position at the university within the next fifteen years. Where there was Nick, there was Stacy, so it was inevitable that she would be in attendance. This meant that there would be questions about Matt and why Jade’s “fiancé” was not her escort.

  If it weren’t for that, Jade wouldn’t have picked the dress she did. If she was going to have to tell the truth and be humiliated, she at least wanted to look great doing it. Technically, the dress was for Stacy’s benefit and not Ben’s. Jade thought it might be a little shallow, but Meg insisted it was perfectly justified. She just hoped that Ben didn’t get the wrong idea. It was that kind of dress. The kind that gave men wrong ideas.

  Jade grabbed her clutch and was just about to leave her cabin when her most recently made bracelet caught her eye. It was her woven branches idea done in gold and formed into a wide, Wonder Woman style cuff. Maybe it wouldn’t deflect bullets, but with Stacy there, she might need to deflect verbal barbs. Jade grabbed it and slid it onto her wrist before going out the cabin door.

  • • •

  Matt was a bit nervous as he shot his cuff and straightened his tie. He reached up to run his hands through his hair but stopped short. Sam had spent a good twenty minutes messing it up just so and had expressly forbidden him from touching it. She hadn’t let him shave either, and he had a bit of stubble that he found annoying but she insisted was very GQ. He was getting the idea that Sam was much more mercenary than he had thought, and that what looked like effortless seduction on her part might be more artful than he imagined. He slid a money clip into his jacket pocket and checked his watch. The limousine was scheduled to arrive in ten minutes and he still had to walk to Sam’s cabin to pick her up.

  Matt left his cabin and turned right down the path. He wished he were turning left, toward Jade’s cabin. He wished he were picking her up, sharing the limo with her, walking into the ballroom with her, sitting next to her at dinner, holding her hand, and running the pad of his thumb across her pulse on the inside of her wrist. He felt like an idiot. Here he was, picking up a fabulously beautiful woman who was charming, witty, funny, and nice, but he couldn’t be less interested. Sam was his dearest friend, and he loved her. Yet Jade took his breath away. He felt like he wouldn’t breathe easy again until she was one hundred percent his.

  He got to Sam’s cabin and knocked. She threw open the door and flung her arm out to the side. “Ta-dah!” she shouted.

  Matt looked her up and down. Her dress was a one-shouldered, sleeveless sheath with some sort of origami-like pleating and a hemline just above her knees. It was trendy and notable and would definitely turn heads. Matt smiled and nodded. “Very nice, Parker.”

  “Why, thank you, McLaughlin.” Sam gave a little curtsy and then looked Matt over. “Good, you didn’t touch your hair.”

  Matt slid his hands into his pockets and struck a pose. “Don’t I get a compliment?”

  Sam smiled devilishly. “Yeah, you look real pretty.”

  Matt grinned and returned the volley. “Well, at least one of us should.”

  Sam punched his shoulder and then turned back toward her cabin. “Just let me grab my bag and then I’m ready.”

  They walked back down the path and across the main lawn with Sam leaning on Matt to keep her heels from sinking into the thick grass. By the time they reached the parking area, the limousine was just pulling up. The driver got out and opened the door for Sam. Matt smiled to himself as she slid into the car. Matt was guessing that limos and evening wear were not the standard at Lakehaven.

  • • •

  Ben and Jade arrived at the university promptly at seven. The dinner was taking place in what was once the original university library. A new, modern library had been built on the other side of campus and this one had become the antiquities library. It was a grand, old structure with a ballroom downstairs and the books housed on the second floor.

  Tonight the event organizers had pulled out all the stops, so rather than making their guests park in the parking lot and enter through the front parlor, a valet had b
een set up at the front left corner of the building and a carpeted walkway ran along the side of the building to the patio. Ben jumped out of the car, handed his keys to the valet, and rushed around the front of his car to help Jade out. It wasn’t a real date, but Ben and Jade were friends, and she was grateful for his consideration and effort. He offered his arm, and Jade took it as they made their way down the carpet.

  Jade took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Well, here goes nothing.”

  Ben looked down at her with concern and gave her arm a squeeze with his other hand. “It’ll be fine.”

  At the end of the walkway, a bar had been set up and students wanting to make some extra money were dressed in white shirts and black slacks to pass trays of hors d’oeuvres. Heat lamps were scattered about, and old iron streetlamps at each corner of the patio provided some light. Behind the bar, a wall of leaded glass doors and windows spilled light from the ballroom to the outside, washing the patio in a soft glow.

  Jade looked around for familiar faces but didn’t see any. Ben spotted the bar and asked Jade for her order before heading that way. It didn’t look like Nick and Stacy had arrived yet, so she figured it was safe to be left alone. Jade found a small cocktail table and perched herself on one of the high stools around it. While she waited for Ben to return, she looked around.

  This building had always been one of her father’s favorites. On one side of the patio, beyond the glass doors, was the ballroom. On the other side was a wide lawn that transitioned to a traditional English garden. The ballroom was a beautiful old room with recently restored parquet flooring, intricate moldings and woodwork, as well as the original leaded glass doors and windows. There was constant arguing among the regents, alumni, and even some faculty as to whether some of the land should be used to expand the original law library, which was small and outdated but sat adjacent to the soft expanse of lawn. So far, the alumni and Professor Sawyer had prevailed, and the ballroom and its grounds were perfectly preserved. There were, of course, some minor concessions to modernity, but for the most part, the grounds remained elegant and enchanting.

  Ben returned with their drinks: a dry martini for Jade and a beer for himself. They were even serving the beer in tall pilsner glasses rather than bottles. Ben raised his glass toward Jade and toasted, “Here’s to averting disaster.”

  Jade laughed and touched the rim of her glass to Ben’s. “I’ll drink to that. If it all goes to hell tonight, at least I’ll have a good time on the way.”

  Ben smiled down at her. “That’s the spirit.”

  A waiter came by with little crab puffs and Jade took two. Ben declined, which made Jade feel like a pig. She probably was only supposed to eat carrot sticks or something. She popped one in her mouth anyway.

  Ben looked around. “They did a good job.”

  Jade nodded but couldn’t say anything. The hors d’oeuvres were bigger than they looked and her cheeks puffed out around the mouthful of food. She put her hand up in front of her mouth in what she hoped was a dainty fashion.

  “I always liked this part of campus.”

  Jade nodded again. She finally swallowed the mouthful then sipped at her martini as she looked off at the lawn over Ben’s shoulder. “It feels weird being back. It’s only been three years, but seems much longer.” Jade shrugged. There were things that happened to her when she was six that she could remember as if it were yesterday. Yet everything that had happened here on campus and had seemed so terrible, so dramatic at the time, now seemed like a dream. “I’ve got these vague memories, but it’s like they aren’t really mine. Like they’re someone else’s memories.”

  Ben nodded like he got it. “Meerschaum.”

  Jade quirked an eyebrow at Ben. “Gesundheit?”

  He waved his hand in the air in front of her. “It’s German. Means sea foam. Memories are like sea foam.”

  “Okay, yeah, they’re—”

  “Elusive?”

  “Foamy.” Jade bit into the second crab puff.

  Ben took a swig of beer. They were chewing and swallowing, respectively, when Ben’s eyes latched onto something over her right shoulder.

  Jade heard her before she saw her, and purposely didn’t turn around. She placed the half eaten crab puff on a napkin on the table and picked up her martini. She thought about taking a swig but was worried she’d end up choking on it in front of Stacy. Things would probably be bad enough without that.

  “Oh my God! Jade! I didn’t know you would be here!”

  At my father’s retirement party? Really? Jade swiveled in her seat and glanced at Stacy. She was dressed in red and covered in sequins. It was extremely … festive. Jade deadpanned, “Surprise.”

  Stacy got right down to business. “Where’s your fiancé?” She scoped the patio eagerly.

  Ben’s expression was guarded. “Hey, Stace. Where’s Nicky?” Stacy hated the nicknames and Jade knew Ben used them on purpose. Jade wasn’t sure if she was grateful for Ben’s loyal effort, or if she wanted him to just let it go.

  “Nick,” Stacy put extra emphasis on his name, “is parking the Benz. He’ll be here in a minute. “Maybe they’ll run into each other in the parking lot.”

  Jade’s smile was tight. “Matt isn’t here.”

  Stacy nodded. It was weird that she wasn’t as hostile as Jade expected. In fact, rather than being smug, she looked sorry that he wasn’t there.

  “Look, Stacy, I should tell you … ”

  Stacy was still scanning the patio with her eyes, but finally returned her attention back to Jade. “Oh, don’t worry, I already know. I should be embarrassed that I didn’t recognize him at first, but when he mentioned that your wedding planner was Eve Stanford, I just knew he had to be somebody. I had to look up references to her and Lady Carlyle before I came across a picture of him. Honestly Jade, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Riley McLaughlin! No wonder you were both acting so strangely that night. I’m sure he has to be back and forth to Manhattan all the time. It’s too bad he couldn’t make tonight. When you two have time, Nick and I will have to have you over for dinner. Can you imagine?”

  Oh, yeah, I can imagine … Jade almost shuddered at the thought, but that didn’t stop Stacy who was apparently on a roll. “Dinner with the Riley McLaughlin?” Stacy laughed. “Well, I guess you can!”

  Jade sighed and nodded. She thought about setting her straight but couldn’t muster up the energy. “Yes.”

  Stacy was back to scanning the patio. It seemed if Matt wasn’t going to be here, she had bigger fish to fry. “Oh, is that Professor Gaines? Nick and he will be working together on some research. I’d better go and say hello!” She paused for a moment, and Jade was afraid that she was going to go in for a BFF hug and cheek kiss. But apparently even Stacy saw the absurdity of that and settled for a tidy little wave and a wink as she strutted away, her next victim firmly in sight.

  Ben took a sip of his beer. His eyebrows were sky high over the rim of the glass.

  “Shut up.” Jade glared at him.

  “What? I didn’t say a thing.”

  Jade’s parents arrived shortly after that. Jade hadn’t even had time to finish her martini. Jade’s mother saw her immediately and headed in her direction while her father made a side trip to the bar. Her mother was wearing a loose fitting, flowing dress that looked vintage and perfectly fit her personality. Kiki Sawyer was a gentle hippie who happened to have a spine of steel, but she always dressed to suit her whimsical side.

  She swept in to give Jade a kiss on the cheek and to wrap Ben in a big hug.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  Kiki smiled as she looked Jade over. “Wow, that is quite the stunning back view!” She looked over at Ben. “Is there something you two want to tell me?”

  Ben and Jade shook their heads simultaneously. “No way, Mrs. Sawyer! You scare me,” Ben said. Kiki laughed, and it was a warm, rich sound that reminded Jade of chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven.

  Jade sighed. “No, Mom. Nick’s here,
and I just wanted to be petty.”

  Kiki nodded. “Good girl! It’s dramatic, but without causing a scene. Although sometimes a scene is just what’s needed.”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “What, are you twelve?”

  Kiki nodded. “Definitely young at heart.”

  Jade continued. “Anyway, Stacy has the scene thing covered.”

  “Well, I’m just glad you’ve got your spirit back. I hated to see you so … ” Jade’s mom waved her hand around in lieu of actually completing the sentence.

  Jade nodded. Yeah, I got my spirit back all right. Just in time to have it trampled again.

  “Here you are, one Tequila Sunrise.” Jade’s father handed Kiki her drink and leaned down to kiss Jade on the top of her head. “How’s my Pumpkin?”

  Jade smiled at her father. He was looking distinguished around the edges but still very handsome. “Good, Dad. Are you ready for your big night?”

  Joel Sawyer shrugged. “Nothing to do but enjoy myself. The organizing committee did all of the hard work, setting everything up and recruiting generous benefactors.”

  Kiki chimed in. “You should see the ballroom! It’s packed with tables, and at least half of the guests are here to support the antiquities library. You’re leaving a fine legacy, Joel.”

  Ben raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised that they found that many people to support the cause. Lakehaven isn’t exactly populated by people in love with old books.”

  “Thankfully, the committee looked a little further than Lakehaven for supporters. Once Joel came up with the idea, the planning committee ran with it. They could raise money for their cause without looking like they were asking for themselves, not to mention invite the press to do a special interest story.” Kiki patted Joel’s hand, which rested on her shoulder. Joel was not usually someone who loved being the center of attention.

  Joel smiled ruefully. “Hey, I don’t mind being the poster boy for their cause. It was my idea. As long as they focus on the library and not me. The idea of an event or an article dedicated to me makes me cringe.”