by Debbie Mason
The shower was running in her en suite, conjuring an image of him standing naked behind the steamy glass enclosure, his sleek, muscular body covered in soap bubbles. A breathy sigh escaped from between her parted lips as she imagined running her fingers over his broad shoulders, down his…Finn walked out of the bathroom. Naked.
A choking sound sputtered from her mouth. “You’re naked. You’re naked in my bedroom. You just walked into my bedroom naked.”
“You’re gonna have to learn to share, Sweet Cheeks. It’s my bedroom now too.” He gave her one of his annoyingly sexy grins and sauntered past her to…
She slapped a hand over her eyes as he bent to retrieve something from his suitcase by the closet.
“Should have known you’d be a prude, Princess.” Apparently teasing her was his entertainment for the day.
A draft of cool air brushed past her, indicating he’d just walked by. She lowered her hand in time to get a full-frontal view as he closed the bathroom door with a cocky grin on his face. It wasn’t lost on her that he had a lot to be cocky about, but still…
She marched to the door and knocked. “It’s all right. You don’t need to open the door. I just want to…” He opened the door. She kept her eyes glued on the small scar at the corner of his mouth. “I understand you’re upset I went ahead and booked everything for the wedding without consulting you, but I—”
“I don’t care about the cake, the decorations, the music, who’s on the guest list, or if it’s outside or inside. All I care—”
She’d planned enough weddings to realize that the majority of grooms just wanted to know when they were supposed to show up. So Finn’s reaction shouldn’t hurt her feelings. She should just be grateful that he’d agreed to marry her. “Oh, I see. Well, I won’t bother you any more about the details. If you can meet me on the beach in front of the manor at five to eight next Monday, I’d appreciate it. Thank you,” she said, turning to walk away.
A large hand closed around her wrist. “Liv, I just wasn’t expecting all of this or for it to be happening so fast. I thought we’d get married at the courthouse next month or something.”
She turned and dropped her eyes to his feet, relieved to note on the way down that he’d draped a towel around his waist. Though she couldn’t deny that his bare chest was a sight to behold. His feet were big and beautiful too.
“I know it’s not a real wedding, but I think for it to be believable we have to put some effort into it. Besides that, I’m a wedding planner and have a reputation to uphold. And you’ve never been married before. I wanted to make it nice.” She took a steadying breath and lifted her eyes. “But if it’s too much for you, I can tone it down. It’s really not formal or fussy. I just wanted to make it a fun night for everyone. We’ll be celebrating July Fourth as much as our wedding. I can’t change the date though. The judge will already be suspicious. I think it’ll be more believable if we get married quickly. And we had a cancellation at the manor.”
He smiled. It wasn’t cocky or sexy or annoying; it was blindly beautiful and warm. “Okay, July Fourth at five to eight on the beach at the manor. Now I’m going to grab a shower, and then you can show me your plans while we’re having dinner. How’s that sound?”
“Great.” She smiled. “Thank you, Finn. I understand how much you hate the idea of getting married, even if it’s a pretend wedding. I appreciate the sacrifice you’re making for me and George. I truly am grateful.”
He curved his hand around her neck and bent to touch his lips to hers. “You know, Princess, I’m beginning to think the fringe benefits might just outweigh the sacrifice.”
Finn was having more fun at Liv’s expense than he should, but she was such an easy target. “So what you’re telling me is that, in one week, I’m marrying a woman who refuses to cook?”
Liv pursed her lips like she was thinking it over and then nodded.
“I don’t know; that might be a deal breaker for me, Liv,” he lied as he dug into the smoked salmon pasta primavera she’d ordered from DiRossi’s. He didn’t care if they cooked their dinners or bought them. If all their meals were as good as this one, he’d be a very happy man.
She glanced out the window to where George was playing with one of the neighborhood kids. While Finn had been putting away his clothes, George had eaten. It took him longer than he expected because Liv had cleaned out two drawers of her lingerie and sleepwear and had yet to put them away, which was distracting. Because while the woman’s outerwear was boringly classy and expensive, her lingerie and sleepwear was outrageously sexy and expensive.
It also took him longer than expected because Liv, on the pretense she was checking on him, was really making sure everything was neatly folded in his drawers. Since all he’d ever done is throw his clothes in a drawer, folding time added up.
“It’s not like you’re not getting anything out of the deal, Finn. A million dollars is a substantial amount of money. If you invest it well—”
He slowly lowered his fork from his mouth. “You were serious about the money?”
“I don’t joke about money, Finn.”
He laughed, pointing his fork at her. “You are seriously hot when you talk like that. Nothing sexier in my book than a smart and capable woman. You sound like you’re the head of a Fortune 500 company.”
“I leave that to my cousins. I manage the foundation.”
“What kind of foundation?” He knew about the company, but he hadn’t heard about the foundation.
“We have several charitable organizations under the Davenport umbrella. U.S. and multinational. The one I’ve been most involved with is Helping Hands.”
He stared at her. He’d heard of Helping Hands. “They’ve got a great reputation, Liv. They’re very well respected. I’ve actually worked with a couple of docs who were sponsored by your organization. They’re first class.” He sat back in the chair. “Just how involved are you?”
“I’m the CEO.”
“Well, I’ll be damned, Sweet Cheeks. You are one hell of an impressive woman.” And she continued to impress him the more she talked about her vision for the foundation. Her belief that the programs should be initiated by the people of the community for their community. She felt too many NGOs—not-for-profit organizations—went in with their own mandates. They didn’t listen to the people they were there to help. Helping Hands’ mandate was to give the people a voice and a hand up.
Finn shared some of his concerns about what he’d seen over the years and the changes he thought that could be implemented to make programs work better.
“You know, I could use someone with your experience and expertise at Helping Hands. Even if you just wanted to sit on the board. I think you’d find it interesting.”
“I appreciate the offer, Liv, but I need to be on the front line.”
“Right, of course. But you won’t be going back before our eighteen months are over, will you?”
He could tell by the slight lift of her chin that she was ready to fight him on this. And he didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to enjoy the night and listen to her talk some more about how she was going to save the world. Which is why he said, “I’m not going anywhere until this is settled with George, okay? However long that takes, I’m here for you. For both of you.”
She nodded, but he could tell it wasn’t the answer she wanted.
“And, Liv, just so we’re clear, I won’t be taking the million dollars. I’m doing this because I want to. You and George are important to me.”
Chapter Twenty
Colleen scowled at the members of the Widows Club who were fastening the pink honeycomb wedding bells above the chair of honor in the sitting room. They were ruining her plans to keep Olivia away from the manor. Colleen dialed back her temper. She was being too hard on them. They had no idea what they were up against.
Nothing seemed to be going her way these days. Especially when it came to her dealings with Jasper. He refused to comply with her plans. He was moping abou
t and ignoring her. She was almost positive it had something to do with Kitty being all in a tizzy over Kyle Bishop.
It’s too bad she couldn’t sit her daughter-in-law down and let her have a look at the book because it wasn’t only the women of Harmony Harbor who had secrets. Kyle had a few of his own. But that was neither here nor there with the evil one still roaming free.
The spot where her heart should be clenched at the thought of the woman out to get her great-grandson’s true love.
Colleen had been happier than a clam in a tide pool when Olivia announced she’d bought the house on Primrose Lane and started working at the clinic. It wasn’t a problem when she was working on the spa either because she held her meetings with Sophie and the girls on-site at the cottages. But now with the big wedding only days away, she’d be back at the manor. And of course, the Widows Club had to go sticking their noses in things and ensuring she was here today for the shower they had planned.
Colleen walked over to Gabriel’s pram and gave it a jiggle. He looked at her with his big blue eyes, giving her a gummy smile. “You aren’t afraid of your GG, are you, my little man?”
Unlike George, who would be the answer to Colleen’s prayers if only the child could get over her fears. It’s too bad she didn’t see Colleen as a tree or a big wave or a greasy pole she had to conquer. She’d heard all about the child’s latest antics.
“Where would you like the punch, Miss Kitty?” an ingratiating voice asked her daughter-in-law.
Oh, she was good, that one, worming her way into the hearts and minds of Colleen’s loved ones and spreading her poison. She’d seen Ivy talking to that man who’d come nosing around about Olivia. A private investigator, she’d since heard. But Ivy had been canny with how she’d gone about it and no one was the wiser.
“On your head,” Colleen muttered in response to Ivy’s question about the punch. She walked determinedly through the woman. Ivy shuddered, spilling the punch on the floor.
Kitty and her friends fussed over the maid and the mess. “There’s no need to work yourself up. It was just an accident,” Kitty said, patting the distraught woman’s shoulder.
Ivy had missed her calling. She should have been an actress.
Simon chose that moment to pad into the sitting room. He took one look at Ivy and was about to retreat when she spotted him. Pointing an accusatory finger in his direction, she said, “It was the cat’s fault. He got underfoot and tripped me up. He does it all the time. If you’re not careful, one of these days he’ll kill someone and then their loved ones will sue and put the manor out of business for good. If it were me, I’d get rid of him before that happens.”
Unfortunately for Simon’s sake, every time Colleen pulled one of her tricks on Ivy, he was there.
“Do you really think so?” Kitty asked, clutching the neck of her light-blue shirtdress.
“Go, Simon, scoot before Ivy paints you as the murderous villain that she is. Hide in the tunnels till we banish her from the manor. Hurry!” Colleen cried when Evelyn Harte agreed with Ivy and advanced on Simon.
“Come here, you,” Evelyn said, reaching for Simon. She just missed getting a hold of his tail.
Colleen relaxed when he’d gotten safely away. Though she truly was on her own now. She turned to see what lies the villainous Ivy was feeding Kitty and Ida while Evelyn went chasing after Simon. It wouldn’t do her any good. Once he got to the basement, she’d never find him in the tunnels.
Ivy was whining about how she couldn’t go back to the kitchen and tell Helga she’d spilled the punch. Supposedly Helga had it in for her. It wouldn’t surprise Colleen if that were true. Helga could be a cantankerous old woman. She was also a canny judge of character.
Ida and Kitty, kindly old women that they were, did the girl’s bidding and headed to the kitchen with the half-empty punch bowl.
There was a sly smile on Ivy’s face as she watched them go, and then she turned with a laugh that made Colleen’s hair stand on end. Walking to the chair of honor, Ivy reached out to tug on a bell but her cell phone rang.
She took it out of her pocket. “Nice of you to finally return my calls, Paige. Anything new to report? Well, isn’t that a shame. No delays with the spa at Greystone. Yes, I could. I could indeed set them back a bit. What’s it worth to you?” The woman listened with a smile twitching her lips.
Colleen would bet her last dollar Ivy was playing Paige. If she was smart, Paige would have nothing to do with this one.
“Sorry, not enough money for me to bother. By the way, Paige, thanks for passing along your boss’s number. We had an interesting chat. Seems he’s unhappy with your progress and won’t be renewing your contract. He’s awarding it to me.” She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and released a breath through her nose before saying, “Stop yelling or you won’t be able to hear my offer. I’ll give you twenty-five percent. Better than nothing, don’t you think? Whatever. Get back to me.”
She disconnected and sucked her teeth. “They say there’s one born every day. You won’t be getting a dime from me, Townsend. But that’s not something you need to know before I’ve gotten away with what I have planned. It’s a toss-up where the blame will land. Either you or the cat.” She tugged on the bell. “Ding dong, the bride is gone.”
At the sound of women’s voices approaching the sitting room, she stuck her phone in her pocket and turned with a pleasant smile, all evidence of crazy gone from her face. She scared the bejaysus out of Colleen. Mia and George ran into the room, followed by the shower guests.
Colleen walked backward through the wall behind the chair of honor. She didn’t want to frighten George and ruin the party, but with Ivy’s little ditty playing in her head, Colleen wouldn’t be more than a foot away from Olivia.
George screamed and pointed at the chair.
Bejaysus, she hadn’t been fast enough.
The women converged on George, trying to comfort her. The circle grew around the child as the rest of the Widows Club arrived, including Rosa, who turned her back on Kitty when she returned with a new bowl of punch.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, they’d better not start anything now. They had enough to deal with. George’s crying had upset baby Gabriel. The child had a pair of lungs on him like his father.
Mia sidled up to the wall. “It’s you, isn’t it, GG? I wasn’t sure because George kept talking about someone called bad juju. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her.”
“You do that, child. And you do that fast because the clock’s ticking down.”
Someone noticed Olivia walking into the room. “Surprise! Surprise! Oh, surprise!” was repeated at various octaves.
Olivia offered her thanks with her typical grace and warm smile but it was obvious she was concerned about George.
“She saw the evil spirit again,” Kitty said, twisting the neck of her shirtdress between her fingers.
“I see an evil spirit every time I look at you. Do you hear me scream? No,” Rosa said to Kitty, and then stuck her Roman nose in the air, her dark curls bouncing around her shoulders as she turned back to George. “Cara, don’t cry. I’ll get rid of the ghost, sì?”
“Stop butting your big nose into my family’s affairs,” Kitty said, and then her eyes went wide as though she couldn’t believe she’d said it. Under any other circumstances, Colleen would have given her daughter-in-law a celebratory pat on the back for standing up to Rosa, but not now. She was worried what form Rosa’s payback would take, and knowing Rosa, she wouldn’t take the jab lying down.
There was a communal gasp as the Widows Club reacted to what Kitty said. Everyone stepped back as though giving them room. With the glow of anticipation on their bloodthirsty faces, Colleen was surprised the call to “fight, fight, fight,” hadn’t gone out.
“What? It’s true. Finn is my grandson, not Rosa’s. He’s marrying Olivia, so George is my step-great-grandchild, not hers. You’ve always been after what’s mine since we were in grade school, and I’ve had it, I tell you. I have had it!”
Kitty stomped her foot and then pressed her fingers to her mouth.
Colleen breathed a sigh of relief when Jasper appeared beside her daughter-in-law. He’d make sure she didn’t say anything more. He wouldn’t allow the whole sordid mess to come out. They all had too much to lose, Jasper included.
“Miss Kitty, you’re overwrought. Perhaps a cup of tea. Ladies, please take a seat, and I’ll have the rest of the refreshments brought in.” He imperiously snapped his fingers at Ivy, gesturing toward the kitchen while narrowing his eyes at Rosa.
“Eh, don’t give me that look, bag of bones. She—”
He made a point of holding Rosa’s gaze while giving Olivia a slight bow. “Enjoy your shower, Miss Olivia. If there’s anything you need—”
“Thank you, Jasper. If you don’t mind, I need, um, some garlic…and a cross. Yes, that should work.” Olivia rubbed George’s back. “We’re going to get rid of your ghost once and for all.”
“Quite,” Jasper said, holding back a smile.
“You won’t find it amusing if they actually get rid of me, now, will you, laddie?” Colleen said.
Ava, Sophie, Kitty, Rosa, and half the other women in the room held up crosses. Jasper nodded. “I’ll be back with the garlic.”
Colleen heard the chuckle in his voice.
Julia waved her hand to get the women’s attention. “I’m not an expert, but unless your ghost is a vampire, I don’t think garlic and crosses will work.”
“The cross, it will work. But we need a priest. Someone call Father O’Malley,” Rosa said.
“They might just be the literal death of me after all,” Colleen murmured.
Thirty minutes later, she remained in the wall despite an entire sitting room of women and children banishing her from the manor with their garlic and crosses. Holding hands, they formed a circle, and Father O’Malley politely asked the ghost to leave. The temptation to jump in the middle of the circle and shout boo was almost too much to resist. But for George’s sake, she did.
