by Misty Simon
“What’s so bad about that?” Claudia asked before popping another cheese puff in her mouth.
“Well, I’ve been trying to stay in the area there so that perhaps Mazzy’s father will begin to take an interest in her. I don’t want to move away if proximity would make that happen faster.”
Claudia snorted. “Oh, honey, I have a story for you. I was pregnant at a young age and asked the guy to stay because we’d been together, and he left for college, instead. He came back just a month ago and Justin and his dad were so awkward with each other it was almost painful to watch. You have to go after what’s best for you and Mazzy. If he hasn’t come around in two years, he might never. Do you want to have lived your whole life in the shadow of hoping he might come around only to find out you’ve sacrificed everything for nothing?”
Chapter Nine
Chelsea sank back against the closed door to the drawing room after putting all the dresses in their protective bags on the long rolling rack. In a little over forty-eight hours this would all be over. The room had become her own and she would be sorry to leave it. She had yet to come up with the words or the courage to ask Jack if they could make this real. They could take a step back and she could move in with her mom for a little while, they could get to know each other all over again and see where it went. But she hadn’t had the guts to say any of those things, and now time was running out.
Paige had called twice already, but Chelsea had texted her back saying she was busy and everything was fine. Paige had then left her a message.
With a groan, Chelsea listened to it.
“Chelsea Marie! You’d better call me back right now. This instant! Why on earth do I have to hear from one of the cleaning ladies that you are going to be my sister-in-law? What the hell is going on? If you don’t call me I’m going to come over there… Okay, can’t do that. But Plan B. I’ll have someone kidnap you and drag you over here to tell me to my face what you and Jack have done. Call me! Now!”
“Finally!” Paige’s voice burst through the phone without a hello.
“Hello to you, too.”
“Don’t you get snarky with me, young lady. I want to know what in the world is going on and I want to know now. This kind of stress is not good for me and the baby.”
Chelsea covered her eyes with her hand, though of course Paige couldn’t see her. “I’m sorry.”
“For what, exactly?” Paige was trying to sound snotty, but Chelsea could hear the waver in her voice and felt terrible for making her cry. She couldn’t imagine how awful it was for her friend to find out this kind of information from another person.
But what should she tell her? Chelsea opted for the truth at the last second.
“Look, I know you’re probably angry, and rightly so.”
Paige snorted.
“It’s not what you think.”
“So you didn’t get engaged to my brother without telling me? You didn’t fall in love with him months ago and not think to let me in on it? I can’t tell you how much better that makes me feel. And after I hang up with you I am going to go after him with a vengeance. I told him to stay away from you.”
“Now hold on a minute.”
“I won’t.” Paige’s tears could clearly be heard through the connection. “How could you do this to me? You’re my oldest and best friend and I have to hear from Jessica Finkbinder that you’re engaged to my brother. I think my jaw dropped off and I had to find it under the bed!”
Chelsea snickered, but tried to cover it with a cough. “If you’d let me talk for a sec I’ll explain.”
“Please do.”
“It’s a hoax. My mom was threatening me with a parade of eligible men while I was here, and I panicked and said Jack and I were engaged but she wasn’t to tell anyone because we wanted to wait until after the wedding so we didn’t steal Belinda’s thunder.”
“Go on.”
“So then my mom spilled anyway and Belinda found out, and then your brother mentioned it to Millie, and it’s all a mess.”
“Ah-ha.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I didn’t think it was real in the first place, but actually it would make sense in a weird way.”
“It doesn’t make any kind of sense.”
“Yes, it does. Don’t you remember when he had that crush on you at camp?”
“How did you know that? Even I didn’t know that. How could you know?” Chelsea sat on the floor in front of the drawing room door in bewilderment. Why was she the only one who didn’t seem to have known?
“Oh, come on! He tried to kiss you. I warned him off and said never again.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did. You were too young and I was too short-sighted to see that I could have saved you from moving away.”
“Oh, Paige.” Chelsea rubbed her aching forehead. “I still would have moved, and if I hadn’t I would never have had Mazzy. I can’t imagine life without her.”
“Well, there is that.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“So he really had a crush on me?”
“Oh, man, it was huge. I told him no way, you were my friend and totally off limits. Did he seem excited when you asked him to be fake engaged to you?”
“No, he was stunned and not exactly enthusiastic, but he did it for his sister’s friend, and that’s all.”
Paige hummed. “I doubt that. So is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”
“I wasn’t sure what to say and I didn’t want to tip you off. I really hope you didn’t tell your parents. There are already too many people who are going to think I’m an idiot.”
“I did not tell my parents because it seemed hokey to me from the moment I heard. Are you sure your mom believes it?”
“Yes, absolutely. She’s over the moon making plans for Mazzy and me to come home and live here again. She has dresses and themes and colors picked out for the wedding already.” Chelsea sighed because she wanted all of that but knew she couldn’t have it. She had a life back in Bettleton she couldn’t just drop on a what-if.
“So make it real.”
“No, Paige. I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?
“Won’t, then. There’s too much unknown, and I still have the promotion to go home to. So can I count on you to keep quiet until after Sunday when Jack and I will quietly break up?”
“I guess. But I still think it would be a great idea.”
“So I’m no longer off limits?” she asked jokingly.
“You never really were. I just wanted to make sure that if he chose you it would last.”
They chatted for a few more minutes and Paige promised again not to say another word about this. And then they hung up. Chelsea struggled up from the floor with a pounding headache and an overwhelming urge to go up to bed and fall fast asleep.
Resigning herself to the fact her time for sleep was far away, she texted her mom to check on Mazzy. Once she sat down at her desk, she plucked the folder for tomorrow out of the stacked desk boxes and flipped to the first page. Jack had taken care of the phone calls, but that still left arranging the gowns and accessories and making sure all the men’s tuxedoes were ready and available. She had Jack to thank, too, for bringing down an old dress rack from the attic. They had played with the rack when they were younger. Back then they would take turns sitting on the long bottom shelf and rolling each other along the floor. So long ago.
Then she got down to work. Getting lost in the past was not going to make any red checks on this monstrous to-do list.
Her mom texted her back and let her know all was going well, just as she was finishing up one of the lists. Only three more things to go and then she would be able to call it a night.
She stretched and yawned once while she made copies of the seating chart for the reception on the handy-dandy scanner Adele had provided, and then it was time to close up shop. A knock on the door caused her to jump and straighten her shirt.
“Co
me in,” she called out once she’d righted herself.
And then there was Jack, looking as fresh as he had this morning when he had dealt with Belinda again without losing his head. She, on the other hand, felt like twenty miles of rough road.
“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I saw the light under the door and just wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen asleep with your head on the desk.” His smile shouldn’t have been devastating—this was her best friend’s brother, for goodness’ sake, shared kisses or not—but there was no denying it hit her low in the stomach. She should not be feeling these things for any man after the way Paul had left, much less for the guy she used to push in the mud during the first rain of every spring.
Swallowing hard, she forced herself to act normal even as her heart was doing a rumba in her chest. “No, I didn’t fall asleep, but thanks for checking on me, and thanks, too, for taking Belinda in stride today.” She had been at them again with demands for pink carnations instead of white, and three hundred roses’ worth of rose petals to line her path to her groom. Together they had been able to talk Belinda down, and it had felt good to work with someone.
“She’s a lot easier than some guests, so no worries.” He laughed. “I had this one couple who would not walk on the carpet unless they heard the vacuum going outside the door no less than five minutes before they were ready to leave. They had even brought their own handheld unit for their room.”
“You’re just making that up to make me feel better.”
“Boy Scout’s honor.”
“But you were never a Boy Scout.”
“And I would never lie to you, so they kind of cancel each other out.” He looked at his watch and then looked at her again. “So, if you’ll notice, it is now way after five in the afternoon here in Pennsylvania, and I thought perhaps you’d like to celebrate getting through today. Shall we have a drink?”
She was tempted. That was not necessarily a good thing. Then again, she didn’t have anyone to take care of tonight but herself. Only a very quiet set of rooms to return to, where she would probably not sleep because she was energized from the quiet and the things she had accomplished. Besides, what would a drink with an old friend hurt? She’d been so busy she hadn’t even thought of their last kiss. He’d probably forgotten, too.
“You know you want to,” he said, looking way too enticing leaning against the door.
“You used to say that when Paige and I were ten.”
“I did, and you never could resist it.”
She pretended to consider the offer, knowing she was going to take him up on it but not wanting to appear too eager. “I guess I could have one drink with you.”
“Let’s not put a limit on it before we even get started.” He came farther into the room, moving doilies off a high-backed chair to take a seat. “How long has it been since you’ve had a night off? A real night without anything to worry about?”
The answer to that was “way too long,” but she forced a smile on her face and shut down the laptop on her desk. “Let’s go.”
****
Having him follow her down the stairs was unnerving. She had never felt so aware of herself as a woman. And yet she did this all the time. Not the drinking wine with an old friend part. Certainly not the part where she had a night to herself. But the part where someone trailed behind her. It just felt different. She measured her steps and took in the scenery on the way, anything to not think about the fact Jack could be staring at any part of her and she would never know.
Finally they were in the speakeasy. He gestured for her to have a seat at the booth where she had sat last weekend with her family, laughing and joking. Right next to where he had kissed her the first time.
She wouldn’t think about that, either, because it would get her nowhere, and fast.
“What’ll it be?” he asked in a fake New York accent with a twinkle in his eye. “I got a good red or an excellent white for the lady’s pleasure.”
The way he said pleasure should not sound so good or set off so many butterflies in her stomach. She had to get herself under control or she would be a mess for the two days she had left.
“The white is fine.”
“Coming right up.” He poured the wine into two deep glasses, then corked the bottle back up and brought it with him. Setting a glass in front of her and the bottle on the table, he took the bench opposite her. “To old friends,” he said, and lifted his glass in the air.
“Yes, old friends,” she answered while clinking her glass to his and ignoring the way her beautiful ring sparkled in the low candlelight. The first sip went down smooth and so did the second. “This is good wine.”
“And fine company.” He folded his hands together on the old oak table between them and leaned forward. “Are you enjoying your stay so far?”
“Absolutely.”
“Even with your sister breathing down your neck?”
She smiled. “Even then. Like I said before, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to do this. I just hadn’t thought she would still be going.”
“Brides can be jumpy. Maybe not as jumpy as your sister, but still jumpy. Although, I have a feeling your sister has a lot in common with the Energizer Bunny. You’re going to want to be prepared tomorrow. It might get worse, seeing as it’s the day before the big day.”
“Thanks so very much.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “That’s exactly the kind of pep talk I needed. She’s already got herself all set up to go hiking, so that’s no more concern of mine.”
He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “It’s going to be fine, and then it will be done.” He lifted his glass. “To getting the bride down the aisle without her running off. May I never have to do another wedding like this again.”
“Here, here,” she said, lifting her glass too. “I have a feeling Belinda’s not going to be your worst bride ever, though. You’ll have more experiences like her or worse if you want to be the wedding destination.” Toying with the stem of her glass, she processed the information that someone else would be running those weddings. She wanted to ask if he ever intended to have a real engagement and a wife, but that might not be a question he wanted to answer, and she was having a nice time just chatting. She didn’t want to ruin it.
“Yes, well, that’s what I have Adele for.”
“How long has she worked for you?” And have you ever thought of her as anything more than an employee? The question ran through her head before she could corral it. At least she hadn’t asked it out loud.
“Adele’s been here for about a year now. We’re a great team, and Frank, too. I might have to hire some additional people when more bookings come in. So far it hasn’t been overwhelming, but I imagine if we book someone from out of state we might have to accommodate other out-of-town guests during the week before and after. This week has been good practice for us.”
“That’s true. It might just be your trial by fire.” She took another sip of wine at the same time he did, then stared, fascinated by the way his Adam’s apple moved with a sensuality she’d never associated with that particular part of the body.
“Fire I’m not worried about. It’s the trial by bride that might take some doing.” He leaned back against the corner of the booth and settled in. “Do you think she’s going to get worse tomorrow? I’d like to be braced.”
She propped her chin on her palm with her elbow resting on the table. “I would guess worse. That’s why we put this system into place in advance. She’s nervous, and she goes on whims when she’s nervous. I think it will be okay with both of us working together, though.” Working together. That was a novel concept for her since she had done everything alone for so long. But this felt comfortable since it was Jack, her old friend Jack.
“We’ll figure it out then. Just tomorrow, and then we’ll get her down the aisle Saturday and it will be done.” He uncorked the bottle and topped off her glass. She hadn’t realized she’d almost finished the first one.
But she felt mellow and had no responsibilities tonight. The world would not fall down around her ears just because she took a night off. “So tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself, Jack.”
He peered at her over his first glass of wine that was still nearly filled to the rim. “Not nearly as much as you’ve been doing. Mazzy is an amazing little girl and she looks just like you. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her running across the lawn. She has your hair and eyes and face.”
“Or, as she likes to say, I have all of those things from her.” Her lips curved at the memory of her daughter with her hands on her hips telling Jack that Chelsea looked like Mazzy, not the other way around.
“She is quite a pistol, but then so were you.” Turning his glass around and around on the table, he said, “Truthfully, I haven’t been doing much. I ended up going to college for a business degree and then helped out here while I got some experience. Then one day my dad comes to me with the keys in his hand and says it’s all mine and good luck. They took off the next morning in their RV.”
She could just see it—Jack coming back from school one day and getting the inn. She wanted to ask so many questions but settled for one that wouldn’t put them in territory he might not want to tread. “Were you panicked?”
“Nah, running this inn is in my blood.”
“But you had wanted to travel first and see the world.” She remembered long afternoons down by the pond at the back of this huge property, swinging in the tire swings his dad had put up in the tree leaning over the water. She and Paige would swing for hours, until her rear end was numb, just talking about life and what they wanted out of it. They’d invite Jack to join in once in a while, since he had to watch them.
“Oh, I did travel. I went to Ireland and Turkey and Greece during the summers in college. But when it came down to it, I missed home. I missed my own backyard.”
She sighed. She missed her own backyard, too. The one here that had a crepe myrtle in it that she and Belinda had played on as soon as it had bloomed. She missed the way the sun would come up over the mountains like a promise. And she missed seeing her family more than the once or twice a year they could get down to see her. But this life had been her decision and she had responsibilities in Bettleton now. No use wishing for anything else.
