Destiny looked confused. “You got married?”
“No. It’s a joke.” Shelby waited, but Destiny only stared at her. “Because people think we’re a couple?”
“But you are.”
“We’re not. We’re friends.”
“So you took out an ad saying you’re married?”
Shelby nodded. “It’s funny.”
“If you say so.” Destiny sounded doubtful. “I guess I’m too tired to get it. I hope you have fun with it.”
“We will.”
* * *
AIDAN MOVED THE cursor through the spreadsheet. Creating the summer schedule was always a balancing act. There were activities that were easy sales and others that required a more specific group. Festival weekends always booked up quickly, but for the rest of the time, he had to be more flexible. Figuring out what he would be offering when meant making sure he had both equipment and personnel.
Over the last three years he’d worked with the university, offering part-time positions for students staying in town for summer school. One of the dorms remained open, giving the students a relatively inexpensive place to stay. Parents could relax, knowing their kids were safe, and the students had a fun, outdoor job.
Several of the local ski instructors also worked for him in the summer months. They knew the mountain and were interested in more extreme sports. They also appreciated knowing there was a year-round income stream. That made it easier for them to rent apartments and share houses.
Aidan had enough returning summer staff to take care of about seventy percent of his needs. Which meant training the other thirty percent of the people he would hire.
He chuckled as he imagined what Coach McGarry’s new football recruits would think about escorting twelve senior citizens on a bird-watching hike. But all new hires started with walking tours.
“It’s good to see a man who loves his work,” Nick said as he walked into Aidan’s office. “What’s so funny?”
“A bunch of Coach McGarry’s freshman football recruits have applied to work here for the summer. Jack and I worked out a schedule that gives them plenty of time to work and practice.”
“It also keeps them tired enough to stay out of trouble,” Nick said as he crouched down to greet Charlie. The bichon wagged his tail and licked Nick’s hand, then settled back on his bed in the corner of the office.
“Unless you come to me with a special set of skills, I start all new hires out on the walking tours.”
Nick settled in the chair on the other side of the desk. “Football jocks escorting old ladies out to pick wildflowers.”
“Something like that.” Aidan saved his data, then closed the program. He turned to face his brother. “What brings you here?”
Nick hesitated just long enough to let him know something was going on.
“I haven’t told the folks yet,” his brother began. “But I wanted to tell you. I’m going to be leaving Fool’s Gold.”
Aidan leaned forward. “What? When? Seriously?”
“I don’t have a date. And yeah, I’m serious. I thought a lot about what you said to me before. At the bar. About wasting time here. You were right about a lot of things. My art is what I want to be doing. At least more than I am. I’m tired of dealing with Dad and his shit. I’ll always be under his thumb in one way or another while I live here. Even if it’s just in my head.”
Aidan understood what Nick was saying, but also knew he would miss having his brother around. First Del left, then the twins. Now Nick.
He grimaced. “Let me guess. You’re going to Happily Inc.”
Nick nodded. “I’ve talked to the twins... I mean Mathias and Ronan.”
“I still think of them as the twins, too. We probably always will.” They’d been twins for too long to be anything else. But that was just his point of view. What did they think of their own situation?
“I’m going to visit,” Nick continued. “See what’s what. If it’s all they claim, I’ll move. They said they have room in their studio where I could work.”
“I’m glad you’ll be more focused on your art,” Aidan said. “But you’re not like them. You don’t want to live and breathe whatever it is you’re creating.”
Nick leaned back in his chair. “Agreed. I’ll find something else. Part-time, at least.” He flashed a grin. “I’m good with my hands.”
“I didn’t think it was that kind of town.”
His brother laughed. “I meant I could pick up some carpentry work. Home repair.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
They both laughed. Nick pulled his phone out of his shirt pocket and pushed a few buttons. “There’s a gallery in town. I’ve sent a few of my pieces.”
He passed over the phone. Aidan scrolled through the pictures Mathias had emailed. The gallery was in a small square in what looked like a nice downtown. There were mountains in the background. They were different from the ones around Fool’s Gold. These seemed more angular. Rock aggressively thrusting to the sky. By contrast, the Sierras seemed more refined.
He handed back the phone. “I think you’re making the right decision,” he said. “And I’ll miss you.”
Nick raised a brow. “We’re going to talk about our feelings?”
“I can do that now. Pick a topic and we’ll explore it.”
“No, thanks. Is that Shelby’s influence? What’s next? You going to pee sitting down?”
“I’m looking to be a better man. I’ll still pee standing up.” He held in a grin. “Are you threatened by the changes? Do you worry that the family structure will be compromised? Don’t be concerned, Nick. Your place is secure.”
Nick’s wide-eyed shock was gratifying.
“What the hell are you talking about?” his brother demanded. “What has she done to you?”
Aidan maintained a serious and concerned expression. “I’ll always be your brother. We should hug. That will reassure you.”
Nick swore. “Who are you?”
Aidan laughed. “Just messing with you.”
Nick didn’t look amused. “It’s not funny. Don’t talk like that. It freaks me out.”
“You really need to get in touch with your feminine side.”
His brother scrambled to his feet. “No, I don’t. And you should put yours away. I gotta go.”
Aidan was still laughing when Nick bolted out the door.
* * *
APRIL FOOL’S DAY fell on a Friday, which was perfect. The bakery was extra busy on Fridays, especially in the morning, and Shelby couldn’t wait to hear what everyone had to say. Just to make sure there was plenty of chance to talk about the full-page announcement she and Aidan had taken out, she left a copy of the Fool’s Gold Daily Republic right on the counter.
But customers came and went without saying a word. No one even hinted they’d seen anything, which made no sense. The ad was in the first section, on page eleven. How could anyone have missed it?
A little after eight, Gladys walked in. The eightysomething woman walked purposefully to the counter.
“I want to talk business,” she said.
“All right.” Shelby smiled. “About the paper?”
“What? No. My great-niece. Nancee. She’s thinking of coming to Fool’s Gold for a few months, just to get her feet under her. I want her to stay, but we’ll see. The point is she makes cupcakes.”
Shelby couldn’t figure out why no one cared about the ad. It was huge. It was very clear. She and Aidan announced their marriage. Was no one reading the paper today, or was it one of those things psychologists were always talking about? That everyone assumed the world was talking about them, when in fact the world was too busy talking about itself?
“Are you listening to me?” Gladys asked.
“Huh? No. Sorry. You were saying?”
“Nancee makes cupcakes. Really good ones. You’re always trying new things in the bakery. That has to be hard on man power and equipment. You only have so much space back there, and so many employees. Having Nancee bake your cupcakes would free up space and time.”
The savvy business assessment coming from an old lady in a flowered dress was a little disconcerting. If Amber ever agreed to even half of Shelby’s ideas, they would be hard-pressed to make it all work in their current location. Which was only one of the reasons Shelby wanted to expand.
“It’s an interesting idea,” she said. “Let me know when Nancee’s going to be here. We can talk. I’ll have to run it all by Amber, as well.”
“That’s fine. I’ll let you know.” Gladys smiled. “You have a good day.”
The older woman turned to go. Shelby picked up the paper.
“Wait! Didn’t you want to say something about this?”
Gladys stared at her blankly.
Shelby sighed. “The announcement? About me and Aidan?”
“Oh, look. You got married. Congratulations. If you want a present, you need to have a reception. Or a party, although a reception’s better. And no, they’re not the same thing at all.”
Hardly the reaction Shelby had been looking for. “You’re not surprised? Shocked? Slightly stunned?”
“No. Why would anyone be surprised?”
With that, she left.
Shelby spent the rest of the morning having customers not mention a thing. It was as if no one cared at all. So much for a fun prank, she thought ruefully. A little before eleven, Madeline stomped into the store.
“I had an early wedding gown delivery,” her friend said, her expression tight. “So I had to sign for it, then iron and steam it.” Her mouth turned down. “How could you not tell me? I can’t believe you and Aidan eloped without saying anything.”
Shelby groaned. “We didn’t.”
“You had to. There’s no way you had a wedding here in town.” Tears filled Madeline’s eyes. “Was it a destination wedding and you didn’t invite me? I thought we were friends.”
Shelby hurried around the counter and touched Madeline’s arm. “There was no wedding. Aidan and I aren’t married.”
“But there’s the announcement.”
“It’s April Fool’s Day.”
Madeline wiped away a tear. “So?”
“It’s a joke. We did it to be funny.”
Her friend sniffed. “So you’re not married?”
“No.”
“There was no elopement or destination wedding?”
Shelby hugged her. “You’re my best friend. When I get engaged, you’ll be the first to know. I promise. It’s just Aidan and I are friends and everyone has been talking about us like we’re a couple and it’s frustrating so we thought this would be funny.”
Madeline hugged her back, then straightened. “I feel better. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that notice. I was really hurt. I should have trusted you.”
“No, it’s me. I should have said something. I never thought you’d believe it. You know Aidan and I aren’t a couple.”
Madeline looked like she was going to say something, then she shook her head. “You two are weird. You know that, right?”
“I’m beginning to think that might be the case. We’re okay?”
“We are. I have to get back to work. We’ll have lunch soon. Promise?”
“Absolutely.”
Her friend left. Seconds later Mayor Marsha walked in. “Shelby, I wanted to stop by and offer my congratulations. I had a feeling about you two. I’m glad I was right.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“IT WAS TOTALLY INSANE,” Shelby said, still sounding grumpy. “All of it. Mayor Marsha was the worst. Do you know how hard it was to explain to her that it was a joke? She was not amused.”
“I’m glad she came to see you and not me,” Aidan admitted.
“That makes you a complete wiener dog,” she grumbled.
He chuckled. “I can live with that.”
While he’d been startled by the lack of response to their ad, Shelby had taken it much harder. She’d been expecting shrieks and protestations. What she’d gotten instead had been silence or “I told you so’s.”
“I feel bad about Madeline,” she admitted. “I should have let her know what we were doing. But honestly, even she wasn’t totally surprised. She was upset because she thought I’d had a wedding without her being there. As if.”
He closed his eyes and let the words wash over him. He’d learned that when Shelby was upset about something, it was best to let her talk it out. There was no problem for him to fix, nothing for him to do. His job was to listen.
The first few times she’d gone on a tear, he’d been unable to keep his mouth shut. But he’d quickly realized that not only didn’t she appreciate his thoughtful advice, she actually found it annoying. She didn’t want an action plan, she wanted someone to hear her as she worked through the problem over and over again.
Now he was able to simply sink into the words, to respond with encouragement rather than suggestions.
She passed him a towel. “It’s all very strange,” she continued. “But I guess I need to let it go.”
“The retraction will be out Tuesday.”
“I doubt anyone will even notice or care. I thought it was a great joke. I hate being wrong about stuff like that.”
He lifted his left foot out of the hot water and dried it off, then did the same with his right.
The first time Shelby had suggested they give themselves pedicures, he’d about run screaming into the night. He’d explained that he was a man and real men didn’t do that kind of thing. She’d listened patiently, then had reminded him of their deal. Girl thing, boy thing. Pedicures were a girl thing.
So he’d suffered through the experience. After they’d soaked their feet, she’d given him a little kit with all kinds of strange, slightly frightening instruments. She’d taught him how to use them.
He’d had to admit—although only to himself, never to anyone else, even under threat of torture—the experience hadn’t been horrible. It was now something they did together every three weeks. Although he did draw the line at buffing his nails. No way that was manly.
When they’d each completed the trimming and filing, he pulled on socks while she grabbed her fuchsia toe separators. He looked over the polish choices she’d put out and held up a bottle of bright red polish.
“You don’t think it’s too much?” she asked.
“After what happened, you need something cheerful.”
“Good point.”
Aidan shifted so he could rest her right foot on his thigh, then carefully applied a base coat. He ignored the light pressure on his leg, the fact that she was in shorts and a T-shirt and that they were alone. Nope, he was not going there. He wasn’t going to notice how the T-shirt was cut low enough for her him to see the tops of her breasts. He wasn’t going to stare at her mouth as she concentrated on filing her fingernails. He was going to pay attention to the job he was doing. Later, he would take cold shower number 967 and count down the days left until their deal was over and he could finally get laid.
* * *
SHELBY INSPECTED THE trays of frosted cookies. They’d had a flood of orders, so she’d called in her teen assistants. The girls had done a great job with the flowers and hearts. Nothing said spring so much as a bridal shower.
She counted a second time to make sure they had plenty for the special orders, plus enough for the walk-in sales for the weekend, then noted her inventory sheets. She walked back to her office only to find Amber sitting in the visitor’s chair.
Her business partner looked up from her tablet. “There you are.
I was hoping to catch you before you started making bread. I figured you’d have to come back here first. Which is why I waited.”
Amber was talking too quickly and her gaze seemed to skitter all over the room. Shelby got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Something was wrong.
She crossed to her desk and sat down. In those three seconds, a million thoughts occurred to her before she realized that she’d created the problem herself. Of course. The newspaper ad. Amber was probably wondering why Shelby hadn’t mentioned the wedding to her.
“We have to talk,” Amber told her.
“I know. I should have said something.”
Her business partner frowned. “Why would you have said anything? It’s really up to me. And how did you know?”
Okay, they were obviously not talking about the same thing. Shelby rested her hands on the table.
“You go ahead. What did you want to tell me?”
Amber ducked her head, then looked at Shelby. Her eyes were bright with an excitement Shelby couldn’t define.
“I’m pregnant.”
Shelby felt her mouth drop open. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she admitted, then laughed. “Seriously? That’s wonderful.”
Amber smiled. “I know. It’s totally insane. I’ve wanted to tell you for a few weeks, but I waited. We wanted to be sure that I would get through the first trimester. I’m in my forties. Tom and I never thought this would happen, but it did. I’m thrilled and scared.” She leaned forward. “I’m also four months along.”
Shelby did the math. “So when you were feeling strange, it was because you were pregnant?”
“Uh-huh. I went to the doctor and that’s when we figured it out. Like I said, I waited to tell you because I was so afraid I’d miscarry. But everything is going well. Tom is over the moon with happiness. I am, too.”
She practically glowed with joy. Shelby got up, circled the desk, then hugged her.
“I’m thrilled for you. This is fantastic.” She sat on the edge of the desk. “Wow.”
“I know.” Amber sighed. “It’s terrifying and wonderful. I’m considered high risk, because of my age. So I’m going to do everything I can to make things go smoothly.”
Best of My Love (Fool's Gold) Page 14
