Real Men Don't Break Hearts

by Coleen Kwan

  “I’m glad you called me,” Ally said. “Now that I’m here, why don’t you go home and relax?”

  Brian, who had been hovering in the background, moved forward to cup Jess’s shoulders. “Yeah, honey. I’ve been telling you for hours to take a break. Ally and I can finish the rest.”

  “No, you can’t.” Jess shrugged off her husband and pulled a ceramic bowl toward her. “Here, let me show you how to do the centerpieces.”

  Ally threw a sympathetic glance at Brian before focusing her attention on her sister’s demonstration. Brian was a lovely husband, but when it came to floral arrangements he was all thumbs, and Jess had long ago assumed full responsibility for this aspect of their business. From the side benches filled with ornate bouquets, Ally could see Jess had already completed the bigger arrangements. She would have finished the smaller centerpieces, too, if she hadn’t been plagued by morning sickness the entire day.

  Ally watched as Jess gathered peonies, mock orange, fern, and laurel leaves and fashioned a graceful arrangement around a white scented candle set into a bowl. Ally had often helped her sister, and it wasn’t too difficult to follow her instructions. Taking her own materials, she worked at a slower pace, carefully replicating Jess’s centerpiece.

  “Good enough?” she asked when she’d finished.

  Jess nodded and gave her a faint smile of relief.

  As she gazed at her work, Ally experienced the faintest of twinges in her chest. Tomorrow the centerpiece she’d just created would grace a table at Seth and Paige’s wedding. She wouldn’t be human if she didn’t feel a slight regret that beautiful flowers like these wouldn’t be adorning her own wedding. At nineteen she’d been too young to get married, but she knew that she wanted a husband, a loving relationship, and eventually children. Maybe not now, but some day in the future.

  “Ally?”

  She shook herself out of her reverie to find her sister regarding her with a slight frown. “I’m fine.” She waved her off. “Go home and rest.”

  Instead, Jess cast a glance at the number of empty bowls waiting to be filled. “Now that you’re here,” she said to Ally, “we should be done in an hour.”

  In fact, it was closer to two hours before all the arrangements were finished to Jess’s satisfaction and put into cool storage. Ally told her sister to go home and take a warm bubble bath before she took off herself. She needed a relaxing bath herself, she mused tiredly as she drove home. In the past few days everywhere she went she’d been confronted with reminders of the grand wedding coming up. All the hotels and bed and breakfasts had been filling up with guests, their fancy cars jamming streets already choked with delivery vans heading toward the Kerrigans’ spread.

  The upside had been the brisk trade at her gift shop, just as Tyler had predicted. Tyler’s jewelry had been a big hit, and she’d almost sold her entire collection. Ally was pleased for her friend, and pleased with her own profits, but overall she would be glad when life returned to normal.

  Saturday morning she went for her usual five kilometer run and was about to open the gift shop at ten when Brian rang, sounding hoarse with panic. While loading the floral arrangements into the van, he’d dropped an entire crate, and now seven centerpieces needed to be redone in short order. Cutting him off, Ally said she’d be there in ten minutes and grabbed her car keys.

  At the store, Jess greeted her with a wan smile. She didn’t look any better after a night’s sleep.

  “What happened?” Ally asked. “Rough night with the twins?”

  Jess rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. “No, they were fine. It’s all these aches and pains I’ve been having. I couldn’t get any rest. I think I might be coming down with the flu.”

  “Honestly, sis, you’re too stubborn. You should go see a doctor. Today.”

  Leaning against the bench, Jess pulled a face and rubbed her abdomen. “Mm, maybe I should.”

  Ally paused midway through gathering peonies, alarmed at her sister’s compliance. Jess hated seeing the doctor, so she really must be feeling ill. Ally cast around for Brian, but he’d gone outside. “Why don’t you go to the office and sit for a while? I can do these.”

  “But there’re still five to do, and we were supposed to deliver the first lot half an hour ago.”

  “Brian can drop off whatever he has now and then come back for the rest.”

  Jess nodded. “Okay, that’s a good idea. I’ll go tell him, but first I need the toilet. I seem to be peeing every five minutes. The joys of pregnancy.” She limped out of the workshop, still rubbing the small of her back.

  Alone, Ally concentrated on the flowers. A minute later Brian plunged through the door, bug-eyed and gibbering. “Come quick. It’s Jess.”

  Ally ran after him into the office. Jess was crouched on a chair, her back bowed, her hands gripped around her stomach. She lifted tear-filled eyes to Ally. “I’m bleeding.”

  An arctic fist closed around Ally’s heart. For a moment she couldn’t move, couldn’t react. All she could do was stare at her sister blanched by pain and fear, her agony all too familiar to Ally. Not Jess, too… Dread burned through her as she forced herself to move forward and drop to her knees in front of her sister.

  “Jess?” She placed her hand over her sister’s. “You’ll have to go to the hospital.”

  “No…I—I’m sure I’ll be fine. It—it’s just a bit of spotting, that’s all.” Perspiration dewed her ashen face. “Quite natural in the first trimester.”

  That’s what Ally had told herself, too, when she’d begun to bleed and cramp eight weeks into her pregnancy. She’d forced herself to go about her daily routine, willing the symptoms to disappear. But the bleeding and cramping had worsened, accompanied by a sick, bloated fog that had enveloped and submerged her, until she’d lost the baby. The whole process had taken two days, during which she’d only had Seth to comfort her, and he’d been too frightened to be much use.

  “I don’t care if it’s natural,” Brian burst out. Striding forward, he pulled Jess to her feet. “I’m taking you to the hospital whether you like it or not.”

  “But Brian, the flowers,” she whispered.

  “I’ll take care of them.” Ally grabbed her sister’s jacket and wrapped it round Jess’s shoulders. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of everything. Just get to the hospital.” Ally dug into her pocket for her keys and tossed them to Brian. “Take my car. Go now.”

  Seconds later she was alone. She rubbed her hands over her face, trying to slow down the frantic pace of her heart. The chill hadn’t left her, and her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking. She walked back to the workbench and surveyed the buckets of flowers waiting for her. The room was cold like a tomb. For the first time in her life she didn’t want to touch the flowers. Their scent was too cloying, their coolness too repellent. Shivering, she rubbed the goosey flesh of her upper arms.

  She couldn’t get all neurotic now. Jess was counting on her. For so long it had always been Jess helping her out, doing the big-sister thing. Now it was her turn to step up and do something for Jess. Whatever happened at the hospital, she wouldn’t let Jess down.

  …

  Easing a finger into his collar, Nate wondered why he’d turned up at the wedding so early. There was still an hour to go before the three o’clock ceremony, to be held outdoors in the Kerrigans’ garden, and it would be close to five before the photos were done and dinner started. He’d be stuck in this suit for hours. When he’d lived in the city he’d enjoyed dressing up, but now that he’d moved back to Burronga he preferred his casual gear.

  He threaded his way across the patio and observed the grand marquee set up in the center of the garden. Groups of wedding guests dotted the lawn. As he watched, a statuesque redhead detached herself from the crowd and minced toward Nate, looking intent on collaring him. Lengthening his stride, he took off in the other direction and made for the marquee. As he ducked into its shady interior, he caught the tail end of a haranguing voice coming from inside.

  “
… disgraceful, quite disgraceful. I’m appalled.”

  He made out Crystal Kerrigan’s figure, looming among the linen-clothed tables. Her back was turned to him, hiding the unfortunate person she was castigating.

  “I don’t know how you can have the nerve to present me with something like this,” Crystal continued. On television she always spoke in dulcet tones, but here there was no pretense and no hiding her whiplash tongue. “It’s an absolute mess!”

  Nate had no desire to witness someone getting a dressing down from La Kerrigan and began to inch backward, but he halted when the unseen person spoke up.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’ve tried my best.”

  His heart rate kicked up a notch as he heard Ally’s familiar voice sounding unfamiliarly brusque. Moving a few paces to the left, he saw her squaring up to Crystal, her face pale and set.

  “You call that your best?” Crystal swelled with outrage. “Who are you, anyway? You’re not that Jess woman I’ve been dealing with. Where is she? I demand to speak to her.”

  “My sister couldn’t make it—”

  “Couldn’t make it? What sort of excuse is that? This is the most important day of my daughter’s life.”

  Ally’s jaw tensed. “Jess isn’t well today, so I’ve taken her place.”

  “Hardly! You’ve made a mess of things is what you’ve done. First you drop the centerpiece for the main table, and then you replace it with this…this sick joke!” She jabbed a finger at a crooked flower arrangement on the table next to her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to sabotage my daughter’s wedding!”

  What little color there was in Ally’s face drained away. Her oak-colored curls quivered as she visibly battled to control herself. Nate found himself springing forward.

  “Ally, what’s going on?”

  Both women swung to stare at him. Ally’s lips formed a small O.

  Crystal narrowed her basilisk eyes at him. “Nate? What are you doing here?”

  The few times he’d met Crystal he hadn’t warmed to her, and the antipathy was mutual. Her crimped expression told him she thought he was interfering and this was none of his business, but if Ally was involved, then it was his business.

  “What’s happened to Jess?” He directed his question solely to Ally.

  “Like I said, she’s not well. Brian’s looking after her, so I’m delivering the floral arrangements.” She, too, ignored Crystal.

  “Well, I’m certainly not paying for that piece of vomit! And if this is how she treats her best customer, your sister is never getting my business again.” Crystal swept up the offending centerpiece and, holding it at arm’s length as though it were contaminated, carried it out of the marquee.

  Ally glowered after the woman. “What an impossible creature!” Then her chin began to tremble, and she groaned. “I’m such a klutz. I’ve ruined this job for Jess and Brian. As if they don’t have enough to worry about today.”

  Pulling out the nearest chair, he sat her down and took the seat next to her. Except for them, the marquee was empty. “What do you mean? What’s happened to your sister?”

  “Brian took her to the hospital this morning.” She caught her breath, her eyes growing round and distraught. “You see, she’s pregnant, and she started bleeding a few hours ago. She might be—” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “There’s a chance she might lose the baby.”

  He gaped at her, his gut snarling into a knot. “Ally, I—”

  “So I delivered the flowers for them, but I wasn’t concentrating, and I damaged the big centerpiece, the one that’s meant to go on the main table.” She let out a deep groan. “I raced back to the store to fix it, but I’m not as good as Jess, and I couldn’t concentrate, and…well, I made a real mess of it.” She thunked the heel of her palm against her temple. “I’ve let down Jess and Brian.”

  “No, you haven’t. For God’s sakes, you’ve done more than enough delivering the flowers, and Crystal’s making a fuss over nothing. No one but she and Paige will even notice the damn things.”

  “Maybe.” Ally shivered and rubbed her forearms. “To tell you the truth, I don’t care about the flowers. I don’t care about anything right now except Jess. Brian rang an hour ago to tell me she was still under observation, but nothing since. I’m—I’m kinda going crazy imagining the worst.”

  Christ, what a day she was having, delivering flowers to her ex-fiancé’s wedding while her sister was rushed to the hospital, her worries exacerbated by the memory of her own miscarriage. His arms went around her instinctively; he couldn’t help himself. He needed to hold her as much as she so obviously needed support, and when she rested her head on his chest, it felt right.

  She let out a sigh as her body relaxed against his. “I should take the van back,” she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. “And then I should go to Jess’s place and help my nana with the twins. She’s been looking after them since last night. She’ll be exhausted and worried.” Ally hesitated before adding, “And she…doesn’t know I went through the same thing.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “What?” She lifted startled eyes to him. “But you can’t do that. You have to stay here for the wedding.”

  Did he? Seth had specifically asked him to attend, had said he needed Nate’s presence to bolster him. But Ally needed him more. One glance at her dark, anxious eyes told him that. She was holding herself together, but she didn’t have to endure this ordeal on her own.

  “Go to your van and wait for me.” He stood and helped her to her feet. “I’ll explain it to Seth. It won’t take me long.” He left the marquee and quickly made his way back into the house. Seth was pacing the floor in the billiard room while his best man toyed with the billiard balls.

  “Not long to go now.” Seth glanced up as Nate entered. “See? I’ve made it this time.”

  With an effort, Nate kept his irritation in check. “Look, I just came by to tell you something’s come up. It’s an emergency. I won’t be able to stay for the ceremony.”

  “What emergency?”

  There was no way Nate was going to tell Seth what had just happened in the marquee. He drew closer and lowered his voice. “Do you really need me at this wedding? You’re here, Paige is here, your best man is here. You don’t need me. You don’t need anyone except Paige and the minister.”

  “You’re bailing on me? At the last minute? Man, that really blows.”

  Oh yeah? Well, now you know what it feels like. The retort rose temptingly to Nate’s lips. Seth was so wrapped up in himself he couldn’t even recognize the irony of the situation. Couldn’t even appreciate that at least Nate was telling him in person instead of just quitting the wedding. Over the years Seth had matured, but in many ways he was still just a selfish little boy. Maybe marrying Paige would make a man out of him.

  Nate lifted his hand. “Good luck with the wedding. Don’t get too drunk.”

  Ignoring the gaping stares from Seth and his best man, Nate turned on his heel and strode off.

  …

  Ally cast an apprehensive glance at Nate as they pulled up outside Jess’s house. Nate had followed her back to the florist shop, where she’d returned the van, and then they’d driven to Jess’s place in his pickup. In his formal pearl-gray suit with matching silk tie and polished shoes, he made her feel sloppy, what with her green-stained T-shirt, work-worn sneakers, and grubby hands, but she couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather have with her right at this moment.

  “I have to warn you about my grandmother,” she said when he’d switched off the engine. “She’s never approved of you, so she might be a little cool.”

  “I’m used to that. My neighbor, Mrs. Bennett, is quite the charmer herself.”

  As she’d predicted, Nana greeted Nate with a frosty stare. Her good manners forced her to show him in, but her pursed lips and reproving posture said it all.

  “Any word from Brian?” Ally asked as soon as they were inside.
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  “He rang to say the obstetrician’s arrived, but no word since. I don’t expect he’ll call for another hour or so.”

  “You must be exhausted, looking after the twins on your own all this time. Why don’t you go lie down?”

  “I’m not that tired.” But her pouched, red-rimmed eyes belied her statement even as she shot another glare in Nate’s direction.

  Ally turned to Nate. “Um, why don’t you go through to the family room out the back? I’ll be with you in a moment.”

  As soon as they were alone, Nana hissed at Ally, “I can’t believe you’ve brought Nate Hardy here. You of all people know what a piece of work he is.”

  Ally shushed her grandma. “He’s changed, Nana. He’s not like that anymore.” Craning her neck, she caught a glimpse of Nate in the family room just down the hall. He’d taken off his jacket and had hunkered down to greet the twins who were playing with their Legos on the carpet. He looked a little awkward as he chatted to the boys. She didn’t imagine he had much experience with children, but he was trying more than she’d expected. It was kind of endearing.

  “Oh, my goodness. Don’t tell me you’re getting involved with him!” Nana exploded in a furious whisper.

  “Don’t be silly. Nate’s not my type, and I’m not his.”

  “Any woman’s his type. And I don’t like the way you were looking at him just then.”

  “Nate is going to be my landlord. He and I are…friends, just friends.”

  Just friends? Okay, she’d be lying if she said her feelings for Nate were entirely platonic, and Nate had made it clear his intentions were more than just friendly, but she wasn’t going to tell her grandma that.

  “Hmpf.” Still frowning, Nana did up the buttons of her cardigan. “I don’t know what’s come over you lately, Ally. First you turn the gift shop upside down, then you run out on your date with that nice Paul fellow, and now you’re gallivanting around with Nate Hardy.”

  Gallivanting? She wished she were. Gallivanting had a carefree, pleasurable sound to it.

  “Nate is just here to keep me company, nothing more.”

  “And what am I? Chopped liver?”