Best of My Love (Fool's Gold)

by Susan Mallery

  The mayor rose and greeted them. She wore a dark red suit with a white blouse and pearls. Her hair was twisted up in one of those old lady buns from the 1960s and while she wore pumps, they were of the sensible variety.

  “Thank you both for coming,” Mayor Marsha said. “I know you’re busy entrepreneurs, so I’ll keep this meeting as short as possible.”

  She motioned to the seating area opposite her desk. There was a pair of sofas and three chairs arranged around a large coffee table.

  Shelby instinctively sat next to Aidan. As if he would offer protection. A silly thought, considering the mayor was unlikely to do anything scary. But still...

  Mayor Marsha studied them for a few seconds. “I think what you two are doing is wonderful,” she began. “Your six-month plan to be friends.”

  Shelby stared at her. “How did you know about that?”

  The mayor smiled. “I hear things. Change is always difficult, but if you don’t try, you’ll never get where you want to go. I think you’re both going to be very successful.”

  “Um, thank you,” Shelby murmured, still stunned someone had talked about her and Aidan to the mayor. Why? What they were doing was important to them, but hardly interesting to anyone else. Weren’t people busy with their own lives?

  “I can’t help but think other people would benefit from your example,” the mayor continued. “While falling in love is wonderful, there is more to life than that. Other relationships that are important. Friendship, for example. Not enough men and women are friends.”

  Shelby glanced at Aidan, who looked as confused as she felt. Where was this conversation going?

  As if reading her mind, the mayor said, “I want to try an experiment and I’d like you two to help me with it. We should have a get-together for the single people in town. A place where men and women can meet without any pressure to be romantically involved. An opportunity for them to get to know each other and be friends. Just friends.”

  Shelby opened her mouth, then closed it.

  “You want us to plan a party?” Aidan asked, sounding as confused as she felt.

  “Nothing so formal,” the mayor assured him. “I was thinking of one or two events. The more casual, the better. That way everyone can relax and get to know each other.” She smiled. “Bailey has a list of names and email addresses. Just get in contact with the people on the list and tell them where the first event is. Word will spread.”

  “I thought everyone in town was pretty friendly,” Shelby said. “They have been to me.”

  “They are. It’s part of the Fool’s Gold charm. But our single people need a little help and you’re the ones to offer it.”

  Saying no wasn’t an option. Shelby knew that. Not only was she new to the town and eager to make a good impression on the mayor, Shelby owed her. When Kipling had been confined to a hospital bed in New Zealand, his body so shattered everyone feared he would never walk again, Shelby had been equally held hostage by her mother’s imminent death and her father’s brutal fists. Mayor Marsha had been the one go to Kipling and offer him the job in Fool’s Gold. She’d been the one to send Angel and Ford to save Shelby.

  “Of course I’ll do it,” Shelby told her. “I’ll send out the emails this week.”

  “I’ll help,” Aidan added.

  Shelby glanced at him in surprise. He winked at her.

  “Excellent.” Mayor Marsha came to her feet. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

  The meeting obviously over, Shelby and Aidan left. When they were back on the sidewalk, she turned to him. “Why did you agree? You could have left it to me.”

  “You see the movie Titanic?”

  “Of course. What does that have to do with anything?”

  Aidan grinned. “We’re in this together, Shelby. You jump, I jump. She said casual. We can come up with a couple of things to do with the singles in town and then it’s over. How hard could it be?”

  “You say that now, but just wait. This idea has regret written all over it.”

  He chuckled. “Probably, but we’re going to see it through anyway.”

  Because that was who Aidan was, she thought as they headed back to their respective offices. The kind of man who did the right thing. He was nice, she admitted as she waved goodbye at the corner and walked toward the bakery. Steady. Someone she could depend on. Good qualities in a friend.

  He was also easy on the eyes and every now and then she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Not that she would. They were friends. Nothing more. Any tingles or urges were simply left over from years of dating. They didn’t mean anything. They couldn’t. Being friends with Aidan was important. Her future happiness was at stake. No kiss was worth that.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “WHAT HAPPENS AT a baby shower?” Aidan asked, not sure why he bothered. There was a part of him that didn’t want to hear the answer.

  “It’s a party. A celebration with gifts and food and games.”

  “But no actual babies?”

  Shelby laughed. “No babies. Well, sometimes there are. There are family showers and couples showers. This isn’t either of those.”

  “So Destiny will be there, and her friends.”

  “Yes.”

  “Kipling?”

  “No.”

  Their alternating gender events continued. This time it was a girl thing, which meant he was going to his first ever baby shower. The concept was a little daunting.

  “Will I be the only guy there?”

  They were outside Jack McGarry’s house. The two-story home sat on the golf course, where there were wide lawns, plenty of space between the houses and three-car garages. Of course, Jack was a former Super Bowl–winning quarterback, so he could pretty much afford anything he wanted. Aidan thought it was pretty funny that three former Super Bowl–winning football stars had settled in their sleepy town. Not that he was complaining. Every now and then the guys hung out in The Man Cave during a game. Getting their insight into the action made the experience pretty awesome.

  “You are going to be the only guy,” Shelby admitted. “And I kind of had to get permission to bring you, so, um, you know...”

  He laughed. “Act right?”

  “You always act completely fine. Just remember, this is a girl thing.”

  She was cute when she was worried. He leaned in. “Do you think that by the time all this is over, I’ll start to grow breasts?”

  “You worry about growing breasts a lot and I don’t know why.” She laughed and the concern faded from her eyes. “I promise, that’s not going to happen. But I think you’ll be more in touch with your feminine side.”

  He would rather be more in touch with an actual woman, but that wasn’t going to happen for a while. He told himself he would get used to the low-grade desire that seemed to fill him whenever he was around Shelby. He found himself noticing things like the shape of her jaw and the way her laugh seemed to kick him in the gut.

  Five more months, he told himself, plus a handful of days. Then he would be healed. And getting some.

  “So, gifts,” he said, then swore. “I didn’t bring a gift.”

  “Don’t worry. I put your name on mine. You can thank me later.”

  “And pay you back.”

  She laughed. “I won’t say no to that. I went a little wild with the theme.”

  “There’s a theme?”

  “Butterflies.”

  “Your baby shower theme is bugs?”

  “Butterflies aren’t bugs.” Shelby wrinkled her nose. “Fine. Technically, but they’re pretty and it’s what Destiny wanted. We’ll play some games, eat, she’ll open her presents and it will all be done before you know it.”

  “If only that were true.”

  She slugged him in the arm. �
�Be nice.”

  “I’m always nice.”

  She looked at him. Their eyes met in one of those I-can’t-look-away moments that only seem to happen in movies rather than real life. Only Aidan found he really couldn’t look away. Nor did he want to.

  “You are,” she said at last. “Nice, I mean.”

  “So are you.”

  A car pulled into the already crowded driveway. The sound of the engine broke the spell and they turned toward the house.

  “Butterflies,” he said. “Weird.”

  “Get over it.”

  * * *

  SHELBY HADN’T BEEN kidding, Aidan thought a half hour later. He wasn’t just the only man at the party, but the butterfly theme was everywhere. From the pink paper plates, to the balloons, to the centerpieces, to the butterfly-shaped cake he would guess Shelby had made herself.

  “Butterflies remind me of my Grandma Nell,” Destiny had told him. “They’re so happy and beautiful.”

  And bugs, but he hadn’t said that. Instead he’d congratulated her on the upcoming birth of her daughter and had thanked her for inviting him to the party.

  “What you and Shelby are doing is strange, but also kind of special,” she’d said. “Thank you for helping her.”

  He’d wanted to point out that he was being helped just as much, then decided to accept the compliment. There hadn’t been very many from the women in life. He should treasure the ones he got now.

  Aside from the butterfly overload, the rest of the party wasn’t too bad. The food was good. Plenty of sugar, he thought, taking in the pink, white and yellow cake, the jelly beans filling small baby bottles, the little cookies and sandwiches. For all that women claimed to eat salad, he didn’t see a green anywhere.

  Taryn, the only female partner at Score, the local PR firm owned by her and two former football players, because the third had gone on to coach football at Cal State Fool’s Gold, came up to him. She held out a glass of champagne. Pink champagne.

  “Don’t worry,” she told him with a laugh. “It comes by the color naturally. Something about leaving the skin on the grapes.” She frowned. “Or maybe it’s the type of grapes. All I know is that it’s delicious.”

  So far he’d avoided the fizzy pink drink, but there seemed no way to do that now. “Thank you.” He took a sip and found it wasn’t that bad.

  “What are they drinking?” he asked, nodding at Destiny and Isabel, both pregnant.

  “Some ginger-ale-and-cranberry-juice concoction. Jo came up with it years ago. It’s a way for those going through pregnancy to not feel left out of celebrations.” She tilted her head. “I understand you recently hung out at Jo’s.”

  “With Shelby. Yes.”

  “How was that?”

  “Like the champagne. Better than I thought it would be.”

  “The experiment is interesting. Do you think it’s going to help?”

  “I hope so.”

  Taryn’s eyes were nearly violet in color. Her hair was long and dark. She was a few years older than Shelby and had an air of wisdom about her. As if she’d seen and done a lot in her life.

  “Should I worry about either of you?” she asked.

  The question was unexpected. He wouldn’t be surprised by her worrying about Shelby, but him? “Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”

  “I work with two big, tough guys. Three before Jack went off to be a coach. All of them would tell you that they can take care of themselves. You’d be amazed how often they’re wrong.” She sipped her champagne. “You could be, too.”

  “It’s worth the risk.”

  “Then good luck.”

  She walked away. Aidan waited a few seconds, then went looking for Shelby. In this estrogen overload, she was his safe haven.

  As he crossed the living room he heard Larissa say the word baby. He paused long enough to pluck what turned out to be the last clothespin from her sweater.

  The fit blonde laughed at him. “You’re good at this.”

  “You’re bad at not saying the B word.”

  When they’d first arrived, Larissa had given each guest five clothespins and explained the rules of the game. No one was allowed to say the word baby. If someone was overheard using the word, that person got to take one of their clothespins. Whoever had the most clothespins at the end won. So far Aidan was cleaning up.

  Shelby stood by several women. When she saw him, she stepped away from the group.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked.

  “Good. I like the champagne.”

  “We have to do our pages in the alphabet book.”

  “The what?”

  She grabbed him by the arm and led him through the dining room to the kitchen. At the large kitchen table were squares of fabric and dozens of pens.

  He sat next to Shelby and looked at several of the completed squares. They showed a different letter of the alphabet along with a drawing of an object that started with that letter. An apple for A, a flower for F.

  “Here’s the master list,” Shelby said, pulling it out from the stack of fabric squares. “What letters do you want?”

  He took O and U, drawing an oar for the first one and an umbrella for the second. Shelby chose G and Y.

  “What are you going to do for Y?” he asked.

  “A yak. I do pretty decent animals. I took a class on how make desserts for kids’ parties and part of it was learning how make animals with frosting. Pens are much easier.”

  Which put his oar and umbrella in perspective, he thought humorously.

  “What happens with all the squares?” he asked.

  “Larissa will get them bound and covered. Then Destiny will have the book for her daughter. When she reads it to her, she’ll remember all of us and today.”

  Connections, he thought as he picked up a pen. Women did like their connections. Although in this case, he had to admit he got it. While the party was nothing any of his friends would want, there was something about it. A rite of passage maybe. Or perhaps the value was all in the caring. While he was sure there were women who needed the gifts from the shower for the baby, that wasn’t the case for Destiny. She could afford to buy whatever her daughter would need.

  Still, the presents were creative. Clever. A tricycle made of baby diapers. Pink elephants made out of washcloths. Gifts that were more special, not just because they were practical, but because of the time invested. Like the alphabet book.

  He remembered an old movie, Witness, where an Amish community had gotten together to build a barn. The structure had been needed, but more than that, it stood as a testament to tradition, to acceptance and caring from the community. The shower was like that.

  Later, he and Shelby walked home together. He carried the large centerpiece he’d won from the clothespin game.

  “You survived,” she told him. “Congratulations.”

  “It was fun. Different. There’s no competition with your girlfriends.”

  “Is there competition with men?”

  “Mostly. We want to know our place in the hierarchy. Sometimes we have to jockey for position. Or walk away when there’s a game we can’t win.”

  “Like you and Del with your dad.”

  “Just like that.”

  “What about the rest of the party?” she asked.

  “I liked it. The food was good. A little pink, but good.”

  They reached her place. He walked her up to her porch and handed her the centerpiece.

  She grinned. “You don’t want to take it home?”

  “No. I can handle our gender events, but I have to draw the line at flowers.”

  Her blue eyes were bright with humor. “A man with standards. I’m so impressed.”

  “You should be.”

 
She giggled. “Speaking of gender events, what’s next?”

  “You know how to play Texas hold ’em?”

  “That’s a card game, right?”

  “I take that as a no.”

  She took the flowers. “Yes, that’s a no. Texas hold ’em, it is. Should I practice?”

  “At least read up on the basic rules.”

  “Yes, sir. I guess there’s not going to be any talking.”

  “Very little.”

  “And nothing pink.”

  “We’ll be playing at The Man Cave. There’s a bar. You can order a cosmo if you want.”

  She laughed again. “I’ll be the only one drinking that.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  Without thinking, he leaned forward. To kiss her. Because he wanted to. Because he liked her. Because when he was around her, he felt need and belonging. Because...

  But at the last second, he remembered she was his friend and they couldn’t kiss, so he shifted and lightly touched his lips to her cheek. Then he felt like a fool and didn’t know what to say.

  “I’ll, ah, text you the date and time,” he muttered before stepping off her porch and turning away.

  “Okay. Bye, Aidan.”

  He waved without turning around. He was an idiot. Worse, he was a horny idiot with nothing but a long line of cold showers between now and June.

  * * *

  SHELBY KNEW SHE was the second player to the left of the button, which meant she would be betting second. At least she was pretty sure. Despite having spent a couple of hours online learning the rules to Texas hold ’em, she was still figuring it out as she went.

  The “no talking” rule of the game helped her to concentrate, and she found the relative silence kind of soothing. There was the piped-in music from the premium sound system at The Man Cave and the sound of conversation in the bar beyond the open door. But here, in the back, there was only the thud of glasses and beer bottles settling back on the table and the occasional male grunts.

  She knew all the players, at least to say hi to. She was friends with most of their wives and significant others and had been to most of their houses. But this was new territory, at least from her perspective.