Love Between the Pages: 8 Romances for Booklovers

by Bird, Peggy

  “Goddammit, Jade! You know what, you’re right. It won’t work. Do you know why? Because you say so. Christ! People have overcome a helluva lot more than this to have a relationship. But you won’t even try. You want to talk about failing? The only failure is quitting. If you don’t quit, we can make it work.” There was a pause on the line and when he spoke again his voice was low, rough. “Don’t quit on us, Jade.”

  She was still crying but had lost her bluster. Her voice was subdued. “I’m sorry, Matt. I can’t.”

  “Shit, you know what? I am, too. I am so fucking sorry. I’m sorry I misjudged you. I never took you for a coward. You say you love me? Love takes courage. It takes faith. No guarantees. Just courage and faith. I’m sorry that you don’t seem to have either.” The last thing Jade heard was the click of the phone as Matt disconnected.

  Chapter 24

  Jade went through the rest of the week numb. Another hole showed up on the lawn, this time on the opposite side of the main house. Jade couldn’t even get distressed about it. She had Jeff fill it in and order some sod. Other than that, who cared? It was a stupid hole. So what?

  Matt sent for his duffel but left behind a large envelope. Jade’s name was scrawled on the front in his distinct handwriting. She had expected a personal letter from Matt, but instead there was a personal letter of an entirely different sort. Adam Cartwright’s letter to his mother captured the romantic moments of his wedding briefly but eloquently. It was a beautiful description of their love and their commitment. The concession that Alsoomse made in wearing Adam’s ring made Jade feel stingy and miserable, as Matt’s words echoed in her ears. People have overcome a helluva lot more than this to have a relationship.

  A tear fell from her cheek onto the page, and she brushed it away. She looked down at the spot on the paper and read it again. “She and I were in complete agreement about the wedding site … In the end, we both agreed on a high ledge overlooking the water … The sun sent glittering bands of light across the lake’s surface … The last moments of the ceremony were spent watching the sun sink down below the peaks across the lake … In the fading light, the mountain ridge turned from deep midnight blue to black.”

  Jade’s pulse quickened. A high ledge on the edge of the lake facing the setting sun and a ridge. A westward facing ledge.

  Jade knew the area by heart, and there was only one ledge like that on the entire lake. She and her sister used to jump off that high ledge into the water below. She recalled the thrill of the jump, her heart pounding as she stood on the edge ready to hurl herself into the open sky. She remembered the feel of cool water on her body as it plunged into the water. They would jump over and over again, even as the sun sank in the sky, even as twilight fell, knowing that their parents wanted them home by dark. The memory was still vivid:

  “Just once more, Jade. C’mon, just one more time,” her sister begged.

  “Okay, Lib, but then we’ve got to go, okay?”

  Libby nodded vigorously in response. “Let’s do it holding hands this time!”

  With the pages of Adam’s letter still in hand, Jade grabbed her coat to rush out the door.

  When she got there, whether it was by coincidence or providence, the sun was setting. Jade sat down and caught her breath. She had rushed the whole way, running in stretches, walking where the trail was steeper. She wasn’t really sure why she wanted to see the spot so badly. She thought she wouldn’t care anymore, especially now that she had alienated Matt so completely. She was surprised to find that she did. Tears sprung to her eyes. She pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest.

  The sun had begun to dip below the ridge. There was a line of molten orange rimming the silhouetted peaks, and she watched them darken in the waning light. It probably had looked just like this over 400 years ago on the eve of the Cartwright wedding. Adam and Alsoomse were dead now, but the sun still set the surrounding hills on fire every night.

  Jade hugged her knees tighter, crumpling the pages still clutched in her hands. Four hundred years ago, two people from separate continents had promised one another their love. They had kept that promise until Adam fell ill and died. She sighed. It was a simpler time. There were fewer reporters then. Jade watched in silence as the sun disappeared behind the ridge, leaving her in darkness.

  • • •

  To say the call from Samantha was a surprise would be an understatement. Jade was livid. “You did what?”

  Sam was unperturbed. “Look, Solemain is the most trendy boutique in the city. Jewelry on display there one month is in the pages of Vogue the next.”

  “You stole one of my bracelets?!”

  “Borrowed. Come into the city with the rest of your line and Bianca will give it back.”

  “When did you take it?”

  “When I was at your cabin, while Matt was getting dressed.”

  “You didn’t ask!”

  There was a smile in Sam’s voice; she wasn’t bothered in the least. In fact, if Jade had to guess by her tone, she would say that Sam was pleased with herself. “It slipped my mind.”

  Jade was galled. She plucked a pen out of the cup on the desk and stabbed it into the desk calendar. “You aren’t even sorry!”

  “Nope. Look, you won’t get an apology from me. I’ve seen your work, and it’s genius. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by.”

  “What if I don’t want the opportunity?” Jade did, but that was beside the point. Sam had no right! “You had no right!”

  “Again, I’m not going to apologize. You can’t tell me this isn’t a dream come true.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Sam, but not everyone wants to make it big. Some people want a peaceful, quiet, stress-free life. I was happy making jewelry for myself. No pressure, no demands, no deadlines.”

  Sam’s laugh was skeptical. “No one to appreciate your art? It’s like being Picasso and hanging your work in a closet.”

  “So what?!”

  “Look, I get it. You’re scared. Maybe you’ll fail. Maybe this line won’t sell. Maybe it will, and you’ll have to top yourself next time. Maybe the accessories editor at some magazine will dub you a hack. You still have to take the risk.”

  “Why?” Jade sounded petulant, even to her own ears.

  Samantha sighed heavily. “Do you know how I tell if a person is fulfilled and happy?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. They’re smiling,” Jade sneered.

  “Nope. Ask them about their biggest failures. If they have some spectacular failures to share, they’re fulfilled. If they can’t think of a single one, then they haven’t ever taken a risk. Is that really how you want to live your life?”

  Jade dodged the question. “Why are you doing this for me? You’re Matt’s best friend and right now he hates me.”

  Sam was silent for a moment and Jade thought she might hang up. A moment later, she continued softly. “Jade, I saw your jewelry and it took my breath away. I didn’t think or analyze; I just acted from my heart. I didn’t think about the consequences. I couldn’t do anything else. I didn’t do it for any particular reason other than that I wanted to.”

  “You should’ve asked.”

  “Well, I didn’t. What’s done is done. Now you have to decide what you’re going to do about it.”

  Jade took a deep breath and blew it out. She picked up a pen and started to doodle in the margins of her desk calendar. A little design started to take shape in her mind.

  Sam waited. “Just think about it, okay?”

  Jade’s pen strokes formed a small nest with an egg in it, or maybe a pendant … Just think about it.

  “Jade, are you still there?”

  “Yes. Okay.”

  Jade hung up and wandered into the kitchen for her fifth cup of coffee that morning. Meg was washing a mixing bowl and humming “Girl from Ipanema” while doing a little cha cha with her feet.

  Jade poured a cup of coffee, sat at the counter, and sipped. She drummed her fingers on the counter as she thoug
ht about what Sam had said. Think about it. She had a lot to think about. She had tried to call Matt but he wasn’t answering his phone, and now her bracelet was being held hostage in a boutique in Manhattan. Jade sighed.

  Meg turned to look at Jade. “Uh oh. Is that a love-lost sigh or is there something else I should know about?”

  Jade rotated her coffee cup 360 degrees and took another sip. “What would you do if your greatest dream and worst fear were the same thing?”

  “Uh, that’s a little vague. I can’t give Yoda wisdom unless you actually tell me what you’re talking about.”

  “Sam took my bracelet to a boutique in Manhattan, and the owner wants to see everything.”

  Meg squealed. “Oh my God! That’s great!”

  Jade shook her head. “It’s like showing a complete stranger my very heart and soul. What if she hates them? What if they’re terrible?”

  Meg lifted her eyebrows. “What if? If she hates them, it’s just one person’s opinion.” Meg turned back to the sink and put down the mixing bowl. She started gesturing. “Do you love your work? I mean the finished pieces.”

  Jade nodded. “That’s the problem. I love them, but she might not.”

  Meg waved the concern away. “Who cares! I mean really, what does it matter, as long as what you create makes you happy.”

  Jade sighed. “And then if this line succeeds, if everyone loves them, there is the pressure to do it again. To have the next line be better and more successful. I don’t know if I can deal with the stress.”

  Meg pursed her lips. “Yeah, well. You’d have to stop being a wuss and start believing in yourself.” Meg nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Don’t go. I mean, what if you fail?”

  Jade laughed. “Okay, Captain Reverse Psychology.”

  Meg laughed with her. “It worked for Tom Sawyer. It might as well work on Jade Sawyer. Look, life isn’t perfect. There are risks and stuff can, does, and will go wrong. But even if you lock yourself in a room, an airplane could fall out of the sky and kill you. So you have a choice: wait in that room for the airplane to get you, or have the airplane get you while you’re skydiving naked with the US water polo team.”

  Jade looked concerned. “Do I have my art supplies locked in the room?”

  Meg walked around the counter and smacked Jade on the back of the head. “Have you seen the water polo team? Seriously hot bodies.”

  Jade sipped her coffee. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  The Kent sisters choose that moment to make an entrance. They had apparently been listening at the door. Adele spoke first. “Ooooh! You’re going to skydive naked? I think I’d like to do that as well.”

  Jade tried to deny it, but Beatrice spoke right over her. “I dated a water polo player once. Athletes are so adept at pleasuring women.”

  Adele and Beatrice went right for the iced tea pitcher in the refrigerator. Adele turned to her sister. “Did you ever skydive naked with him?” Before Bea could open her mouth to respond, Adele turned to Jade. “When are we going?”

  Jade shot Meg an accusing look. This was clearly her fault. “Well …”

  Adele barreled on. “Bea, are you going to go with us?”

  Bea shot her sister a truculent look. “What about the water polo players?”

  Adele ignored her sister’s response. She gasped and clapped her hands in delight. “Do you think they would let us do a naked tandem jump? We could find a good looking instructor and … ”

  Bea and Adele poured their tea and turned to head out of the kitchen. Their conversation flowed on without any input from Meg or Jade. The sisters had seemingly forgotten them. As they left, Bea mused, “The university might have a water polo team. I’ll check the intercom.”

  “Isn’t it the Internet?”

  “Why do you always have to be right about everything?” Like an afternoon thunderstorm, the sisters were gone as quickly as they had arrived.

  The kitchen was silent for a moment. Jade sipped her coffee and leaned in toward Meg. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  Meg’s eyebrows jumped toward her hairline. “Does it have anything to do with naked skydiving?”

  Jade lifted a bar towel off the counter and threw it at Meg. “No!” She leaned in, her eyes glittering. “I found the site where Adam Cartwright married the princess.”

  Meg looked doubtful. “How do you know?”

  “Matt left me some of Adam Cartwright’s letters to his mother. He has a research assistant in London who dug them up. There’s a description of the wedding, and there was only one site that matches it! I went up there, and it was exactly like he described in the letter. Over four-hundred years, and it’s virtually the same.”

  “So? Did you look for the treasure?”

  Jade shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t even think of it. I … ” Jade sighed. “I just kept thinking about the wedding. Their commitment. They were from such different worlds. It was so unlikely that they would ever find each other across the world in a time without airplanes, but they did.”

  “Yeah, and now, with the world shrinking, we sometimes don’t even see what’s there in our own backyard.”

  Jade sipped her coffee and considered Meg’s words. In the silence of the moment, she thought she heard the kitchen door gently swinging shut. She turned to look, but if anyone had been at the door, they were already gone.

  Chapter 25

  Matt sat in his mother’s living room waiting for her to come out of the kitchen. She was fixing him a sandwich despite the fact that he had asked her not to. He really didn’t have much of an appetite lately, but Elizabeth was determined to feed him. Among other things. He looked around the room, familiar but a bit more sparse than he remembered from his adolescence.

  “All right, Matthew. Since I know you didn’t come over for chit chat, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

  Matt ran his hand through his hair. His mother winced, which probably meant his hair looked even messier than it had before. “Look, Mom. You know I love you.”

  “Oh, God. This cannot be good. Should I pour myself a drink now?”

  Matt laughed. “I’m not dying or anything.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. Though, may I say, you look terrible. You haven’t been sleeping.”

  Matt’s response was dry. “Thank you.”

  His mother shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

  “Mom, you have to stop meddling.”

  Elizabeth’s right eyebrow shot sky high. “Impossible. I’m your mother.”

  Matt tried but failed to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Well, try.”

  “Matthew, you are so unhappy, and I see it. You need people in your life, people to share it with. It’s not enough to gallivant about.”

  “I agree. Did you say gallivant? I don’t gallivant.”

  “Did you just agree with me?”

  Matt sighed. “I agree that I want someone special in my life. I want someone to share all of it with, the good and the bad … ” His mother was nodding emphatically, which was not a good sign. Matt wondered if maybe he had made a terrible mistake. In general, he didn’t agree with much of what his mother thought or did, but he plowed on anyway. “I just want you to stay out of it. If I want to date Amanda Carmichael, I’m perfectly capable of finding the woman’s phone number myself.”

  Elizabeth gave him a smile that lit up her whole face, and then she did something that stunned Matthew. “You’re right, dear. I should’ve stayed out of it. I’m sorry.” Matthew was speechless, but unfortunately, Elizabeth was not. “Now, tell me why you look like hell.”

  • • •

  Jade’s heart was pounding and her palms were sweaty on the handset. “Okay, great. Tuesday, then. I look forward to seeing you.” Jade hung up the phone. She couldn’t believe she had done it. It was so out of character for her to forge ahead recklessly. In fact, she had spent the past three years backing away from her life, from her dreams, from risk, from men. She stared at the phone handset and laughed gi
ddily. She had done it. She had thought about Alsoomse and Adam forging ahead through whatever life had to dish out, and she had called Bianca to schedule a meeting at Solemain. She had emailed photos of her jewelry to Meg’s friend who owned a smaller shop and scheduled a meeting there as well. If the meetings didn’t go well … Jade laughed again. Okay. If you’re going to fail, fail big.

  She dialed Samantha’s number. She felt a little off-kilter. She listened to the phone ring and waited for Samantha to pick up, half hoping for a voice message. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay, good, still alive. The phone rang one more time, and Jade was just about to hang up when Sam’s smooth voice sounded on the other end.

  “Samantha Parker.”

  “Hi, Sam? It’s Jade. Jade Sawyer.”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line, then Sam responded, “Oh.”

  “Look, I wanted to tell you that you were right. I was afraid to fail, but I went ahead and called your contact at the boutique. I’m sorry I yelled at you, and I wanted to thank you.”

  Sam laughed. “Apology accepted, and you’re welcome.”

  Jade felt herself stop. When she and her sister Libby would jump off the ledge, Alsoomse’s ledge, into the lake, they started just by standing on the edge. As they got more confident, they would back up and take a running start. Once, holding hands, they had started running, and Libby had stopped suddenly at the edge, practically pulling Jade’s arm out of its socket. Jade flashed on that image and knew she was standing on that ledge right now. She took a deep breath and did what she always told Libby to do. Jump!

  “Sam, I have a huge favor to ask you.”

  • • •

  One week later, Jade was in Manhattan, standing on the sidewalk outside the boutique. She had purchased a rolling case and spent the week filling it with polished pieces of jewelry. She had a new haircut, a blowout, a new suit, and wore makeup. She had thought she would feel like a kid playing dress up. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel like an imposter at all. She felt like herself. A kickin’-butt-and-takin’-names self, but still herself. She tried to imagine Samantha or Amanda Carmichael at Lakehaven chopping wood and couldn’t do it. She glanced down at her new suit and heels and imagined herself splitting a log cleanly wearing this outfit. The image popped in her head easily, and she laughed. She was still laughing as she pushed through the door of Solemain.