“What?”
Max frowned. “She’s pretty high-strung.”
“Yeah, got that part, genius. Running a business will make you crazy on a good day. And she’s running an über-business. Your family at least divvies up the workload. As far as I can tell, Lily Susan is running the show herself.”
“She has staff—”
“I’m not talking about delegating. She’s got offices all over the world, and even though she has people executing, she’s still overseeing every detail, making all the decisions. Your family doesn’t operate that way. You each pick a business and run it. You may consult on the big stuff—company vision, VIP hires, whatever—but you deal with the day-to-day stuff yourself. Can you imagine running every advertisement by your family? You’d wind up shooting yourself.”
“That’s the truth.”
What Joey said was true. Had Lily Susan expanded beyond her ability to manage? Unlike the Herald or the family hardware store, the Wedding Angel was Worldwide Weddings Unlimited.
“Her entire business revolves around her vision, her creativity, her expertise. I don’t see how she can delegate that,” Max admitted, remembering when she’d placed soft hands on the sides of his face and aimed him at a small corner in a massive estate to get him to use his imagination.
She was a creative woman, a strong woman, a loving woman. He’d seen all these sides of her during these past weeks together. But the woman he’d left standing in that barn had been untouchable, unreadable behind that perfectly poised expression.
Was she a sensitive woman, too?
A woman who’d been forced to hide a marshmallow center from the world, so she could deal with the media and achieve her dreams? A woman who had maybe given up a little too much along the way? A woman who had been rocked by loss and hadn’t had a loving family to help her find her way back from grief?
That thought struck him hard.
“Joey, do you really think Lily Susan doesn’t care about the family?”
“She sure in hell isn’t acting like she does.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Joey shifted. “She cares. But she doesn’t show it. Although I could be wrong. It’s been known to happen from time to time.”
Now it was Max’s turn to snort. “Yeah, right.”
“She’s running away and our parents have to keep chasing her. Even when she’s here she doesn’t talk to us.”
“Yet, she knows everything’s that’s going on around here. You all keep her up on things.”
“She does ask about us,” Joey admitted.
Max saw that at the dinner table the first day she’d been home. She wanted to know everything going on with everyone, but didn’t mention a thing about herself. “Why would she ask if she didn’t care?”
Joey shrugged, but his interest piqued. “No clue, so we’re back to my question. If she cares, then why is she acting like she doesn’t?”
“It’s like she’s on the outside looking in.”
“No argument there.”
“Well, maybe that’s the question to ask. Why doesn’t she feel like she’s a part of the family anymore?”
Silence.
Max shifted his gaze off the road to find Joey staring at him, wide-eyed.
And there it was. Neither of them had to say another word. They’d been friends since sixth grade. There were things Max admired about Joey Angelica, things he positively couldn’t stand. And vice versa, no doubt. But Max knew Joey, and right in that moment, they were both thinking the exact same thing.
Mike.
“Well, hell, Max,” Joey said. “You are way smarter than you look.” Then he clapped himself on the forehead. “And I can’t believe I am so stupid.”
Rhetorical. Max didn’t say a word.
“You remember what they were like.” There wasn’t a trace of anger left in Joey.
“Your mom used to call them peas in a pod.”
Joey nodded, was staring out the windshield as Max passed the elementary school. They’d all gone there. Every one of the Angelica kids. Two generations. Max wondered what Joey was remembering. He could practically see Mike and Lily Susan, another version of Jake and Camille, only so much younger than Joey and Caroline that they were the little family darlings. Everything they did was cute or reckless or mischievous…?. Which was Joey’s point. They did everything together. Even Lily Susan’s crazy weddings. Poor Mike got roped into playing a role every time. He could never tell her no. And if he did, someone always guilted him into agreeing. Usually Joey, who didn’t want to play groom himself.
“Maybe my baby sister hasn’t figured out how to be a part of our family without Mike,” Joey said thoughtfully.
“Makes sense. You guys have all been together riding the ups and downs. She hasn’t been here.”
Joey didn’t reply right away, and Max’s head was so filled with the thought as he maneuvered through the Valley, with cars pulling out on both sides of the street during traffic hour, that he didn’t say anything until he pulled into the customer parking spaces in front of the hardware store.
“You already figured out I don’t really need any sprinkler heads, right?”
Joey still didn’t reply, and Max put the gearshift into Park and glanced around to find Joey smiling.
“What?”
“You’ve given Lily Susan a lot of thought.” Not a question.
“Hardly a surprise since I’ve been around your sister more in the past three weeks than I have in the entire time I’ve known her.”
Joey was watching him with an almost disbelieving expression.
“What?” he asked again.
“Oh, nothing, man. Nothing at all.”
But Joey’s smile was a lot more than nothing at all.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“DID YOU AND Uncle Joey win, Daddy?” Madeleine asked.
Lily pulled the cookie sheets from the oven then nudged the door shut with a hip. Bracing herself, she turned to find Max standing in the doorway behind her. He still wore his baseball uniform, the fitted lines molding every inch of him. He was toned, healthy, not overly muscular but athletic. A blast from the memorable past. She had no problem envisioning the way he’d looked all those years ago, a teen or a college student home for the holidays, wearing a similar uniform with one team logo or another, looking just as attractive.
The dirt and grass streaked all the way up one leg, suggesting he’d slid somewhere. Catching the ball? Sliding into a base? Lily didn’t ask. She was glad for the hot cookie sheets that needed to find a place to cool in an already crowded kitchen, which gave her an excuse to tear away her gaze from the man who looked far too attractive for her peace of mind.
“We won.” Max strode across the kitchen, nodding her way. “Uncle Joey hit a homer.”
“That should make him happy,” her mom said from her place at the table.
“You know it,” Max agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of Madeleine’s head. “I wasn’t sure if you all were done yet so I came straight here.”
“Not quite,” Lily admitted, an understatement.
Max nodded, glancing around the kitchen and adjoining dining room, where cooling sugar cookies in an alphabet of letters dominated the terrain of the baker’s rack, countertops and windowsills. The table had been turned into an assembly line. Mom rolled out dough over the floury surface. Camille, Jake and Madeleine used cookie cutters to cut out letters. Lily lined them on the baking sheets then shifted them into the oven to cook for nine minutes before taking them out and trying to find a place to let them cool.
“I had no clue wedding planners did this sort of thing.” Max fixed her with a curious gaze that made her heart throb a slow beat. “I’m learning a lot about your work.”
“I saw a similar idea in a magazine once and thought it was clever. I’ve always wanted to make the idea mine but hadn’t come across the right event.” She gave him a casual smile, refused to acknowledge her awareness of him, refused to encourage her ow
n body’s mutiny. “I thought a Halloween wedding in a barn sounded perfect.”
“It is perfect,” Jake said around another mouthful of broken cookies.
“You’re going to pop if you eat much more,” Rosie warned.
Jake rubbed his belly and pushed out his stomach. “Lots more room.”
“Looks like you got a food baby.” Camille rubbed her hand over her brother’s stomach, and Madeleine laughed.
Max’s dimple flashed, making it impossible not to notice the dirt smudging his stubbled jaw. “And this looks like a lot of work. I’m surprised you didn’t have a bakery make everything with all you’ve got going on right now.”
“Where would the fun be in that? It’s a big job, so I knew I’d need lots of help.” She grinned at her little helpers, three excited kids who were currently trashing the dining room with floury hands and enthusiasm. “I’ve got to squeeze in the fun when I can on this trip.”
Something about that appeared to amuse him, but Lily didn’t wait to try and figure out what. She headed to the table instead and sorted through cookie cutters in the shapes of letters. “We need more vowels. Madeleine, how about some O’s because you’re the only one with an O in your name? Jake, you can make A’s.”
“I can do I’s,” Camille offered.
“I have an I, too.” Madeleine eagerly reached for another cookie cutter and slid it toward Camille.
“We all have I’s.” Jake rolled his gaze. “A-N-G-E-LI-C-A.”
She deflated visibly, but Lily distracted her with a special task after checking the first batches of cookies cooling on the baker’s rack. “Madeleine, will you help me start the boxes after you’re done with your O’s?”
“Oui, madame.”
“Merci,” Lily replied, heading to the chair, where she’d stacked the flattened boxes.
“Do you mind if I clean up since it looks like you’re going to be a while?” Max asked Rosie.
Mom inclined her head in the direction of the stairs. “Go on. Use the guest room.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back.”
He crossed the room with long-legged strides, and Lily had to resist the impulse to watch him go, knowing the sight of him from behind would be as appealing as the front view. She was hopeless.
“I’m done,” Madeleine said, wiping doughy hands on her apron.
“Wash up then you can give me a hand. Or two.”
She skipped away from the table, ponytail bouncing with every step. Lily couldn’t help but smile.
This was a vacation moment. These kids made everything fun. They were a bright spot in her hectic days, exactly the sort of enjoyment she’d hoped to have lots of on this vacation. She’d take what she could get, though, and be grateful for the distraction. Especially with the thought of Max showering in the guest bathroom upstairs, Lily needed one.
Madeleine popped open boxes, so obviously eager to please. On so many levels Max was blessed with this little one. He was luckier than most dads—maybe because he’d lost so much. He’d almost lost his daughter, too.
The thought came at Lily sideways, tugged hard as she watched Madeleine’s small hands wrestle with the decorative box with determination on her face.
They have their priorities straight.
Looked as though he had his priorities straight, too.
“That’s the last of the dough,” Mom said, heading into the kitchen to deposit the rolling pin in the sink. “I’ve rolled out absolutely everything. There isn’t another letter in the bunch.”
“Not even one more I?” Camille giggled.
“Not half an I, silly girl.” Mom tweaked Camille’s nose. “Not even the dot on top of the I. Let’s get this table cleared and we can start making messages.”
“Grandma Rosie, Jakie broke another cookie.”
“You better stop eating all those cookies, Camille,” Jake retorted. “Or you’ll get a headache and puke.”
Migraines were an unfortunate reality for Camille. Usually after too much excitement, sugar or chlorine. Riley couldn’t quite get a lock on the triggers yet.
“We’ll have no headaches or puking today, thank you very much,” Rosie said in a tone of voice that didn’t offer wiggle room. “Not another bite or we won’t have enough cookies for the guests. Now bring me the trash can, will you, Jake?” She dusted loose flour into piles, distracting the kids so they could get on to the next task.
Lily wasn’t sure what it was that struck her about the sight of her mother and the twins, but she could suddenly see the way her mother had been years ago, standing over the very same table, helping Lily and Mike do any of the thousand things they’d done together.
Lily suddenly remembered that crazy tooth-decay science-fair project. Mike had talked Rosie into taking their baby teeth from the tooth-fairy stash, long after Joey had spoiled the magic by revealing who the tooth fairy really was.
What decayed a tooth faster: soda, fruit juice or milk?
Mike’s inspiration for the project was rebellion after being told he couldn’t drink soda at night. He’d been on a crusade to prove that soda was actually a better choice than the healthier alternatives Mom offered.
And he had gotten more weight for his argument when his experiments had proven that fruit juice had the worst effect on teeth. Of course she had told him to drink milk then brush his teeth before bed—there was no swaying her once her mind was made up. But he had gotten a week of riding lessons at summer camp that year because of his resourcefulness. He’d won first place at the school science fair with his project and had gone on to compete at the county level to win another ribbon.
So many memories.
Somehow the image in front of her was all wrong. The twins were too young and Mom too old. And Lily was standing on the outside watching them, not a part of them.
She shook off the thought and helped Madeleine finish the boxes to speed the process along.
After getting copies of the messages and the cooled cookies onto the middle of the table, she told the kids, “Each of you get a message. This will be like we’re playing Scrabble.”
The messages were simple and straightforward wishes for the new Mr. and Mrs.
Happily ever after.
Hugs and kisses.
Lots of love.
Lily was standing at the sink, washing her hands when Rosie came up beside her and said, “It was really sweet of you to take the time to involve the kids in the preparations.”
Lily looked at her mother then, really looked. She was such a beautiful woman, but age had softened her face. The gray wasn’t so noticeable until Lily peered closely. Otherwise Mom’s golden-blond hair looked lighter than it had before. But there was more and more gray each time Lily saw her.
“I’m glad we had some fun together,” Lily said. “My visit hasn’t been like your trips to the city. We always get out and do stuff then.”
“This has been a working trip, no question. But things will settle down a little after the wedding this weekend. You’ll only have one thing to focus on then.”
Lily wouldn’t count on it. Maybe after the vacation was over and she got back to normal life.
“You’re so good with the kids.” Rosie stared thoughtfully across the counter, watching them. “I wish you spent more time with them. They grow up so quickly.”
“That’s the truth. I think I see it even more because I’m not here every day.”
Mom nodded. “So where does a family fit in with your life plan, Lily Susan? I thought you’d decided you wanted one when you became engaged.”
“It wasn’t like that with me and Lucas, Mom. You met him. We weren’t a white-picket-fence couple with two-point-five kids.”
“I know. You were a career couple.” She waved a dismissive hand, not disapprovingly, but she didn’t fully approve. Not by a long shot. Lily knew it by instinct. “What about now? How has everything that’s happened impacted your plans?”
A nice way to dance around the situation of a cheating fiancé. Lily knew
Rosie needed reassurance, felt bad she hadn’t offered any before now. But she didn’t have an answer because she didn’t really have a plan. Or one that extended beyond accomplishing her business goals. She’d simply wanted to come home, rest and regroup.
“I’m fine.” She reached for the dish towel to dry her hands. “Don’t worry about me. I’m moving on and very grateful Lucas was indiscreet before the wedding instead of after.”
“A blessing there. I agree. So you go back to being a single career woman now? Is that what moving on means?”
“I don’t really have a plan, to be honest.” She wasn’t going to lie. This was Mom. Somehow talking to Mom had always been easy. “Not beyond resting while I’m home and letting all the media drama die down, so I can return to business as usual.”
Lily could tell something about her answer bothered her mom. It was there in the way her mouth tightened. The way her breath exhaled on a tiny sigh. Imperceptible responses no one would notice, except someone who knew her so well.
But to Lily’s surprise, her mother didn’t pursue that line of questioning. She only asked, “How are you after yesterday?”
“That’s a pretty way to phrase it.” Lily forced a laugh. “Joey’s an idiot. Not that I’m arguing his point. Please know that. I understand why he’s upset. I don’t understand why he couldn’t address his issues with me before he felt the need to attack me publicly.”
“True. My guess is he didn’t want to talk over the phone.”
“He knows where I live.”
“You think he should have had to chase you?”
“He’s the one with the beef.” But even as Lily said it, she knew her response was nothing more than an automatic defense. “No, I don’t think he should have to chase me, but I’ve been busy with work. You know that. Our relationship hasn’t suffered. We’ve managed to find time to have fun and talk and address whatever issues come up.”
“Because your father and I chase you.”
“Ouch.” She didn’t have a defense for that because it was true.
“Jakie, that isn’t one of Mom’s messages,” Camille said. “That’s not even a real word.”
Lily seized the opportunity to escape. She went into the dining room. “Hey, guys. What’s going on? Did you finish putting together all those messages already?”
No Groom Like Him Page 16
