“Oh, hell,” Shane muttered under his breath. What if AJ had been in the truck with him when this happened? But she wasn’t, thank God. Something else to be grateful for. And he was sure he’d really begin to feel the gratitude once his body quit throbbing.
As the sheriff left, Shane pressed the nurse call button and asked if he could have something for the pain. A moment later, AJ walked in.
“Hi,” AJ said as she approached his bedside. “How are you feeling?”
He tried to smile. “Honestly, I’ve felt better physically. But now that you’re here, I know I’m going to be okay.”
He winked at her.
“Always the charmer.” She smiled even though her eyes looked sad, like she’d been crying.
“Hey, don’t worry,” he said. “Everything’s going to be okay. Do you hear me?”
She nodded.
“So, how’s that dog of mine? Has he been minding his manners?”
“Of course he has. He misses you. Asked me to tell you hello.”
At least her sense of humor was coming back.
“So he’s talking now, huh? Wonders never cease. And speaking of talking, the last time I talked to you, you said you had something exciting to tell me. What is it?”
Her sad eyes searched his face for a moment. She didn’t look very happy for someone who’d been sitting on good news for a couple of days.
“Oh, it was nothing, really.” She waved away the question as if the answer were trivial.
“No, tell me. I could use some cheering up.”
Again, she hesitated. “It’s not important. I was just excited about you coming over for dinner. There really wasn’t any news. At least nothing that matters now.”
Then a nurse who was brandishing a syringe of painkiller entered the room. “Okay, hon, you ready for this? It’ll only sting for a moment and then it’ll knock you out. So, you better say good-night to your girl because you’re not going to be very good company after I get through with you.”
* * *
“What do you mean you’ve changed your mind?” Sydney asked, dumbfounded. “How can you pass up a chance to live in Italy?”
Her proper British accent reminded AJ that Sydney had, in fact, lived over there and knew the European sensibility. To her it was an outrage that a person would pass up such an opportunity.
For that matter, Caroline and Pepper were uncharacteristically quiet. Pepper paced back and forth in AJ’s kitchen, where they were meeting to go over the specifics for the Lapham wedding—and trying to come up with an alternate plan if they weren’t able to find a commercial kitchen within a reasonable distance.
“AJ,” she wailed. “I think we need to have an intervention here before you lose the love of your life. Why is it that everyone can see this but you?”
What was there to say to that? The conclusion she’d come to was avoiding the pain of losing love was more important than the pleasure of being in love.
No. That didn’t sound right. Didn’t feel right, either. But it was too much to deal with right now. The Lapham wedding was a week away, and she still didn’t have a kitchen.
A pang of sadness nearly pierced her heart. She wasn’t sure if it was because that really wasn’t her philosophy, or at least she didn’t want it to be. Or because she didn’t want to hurt Shane while he was already in such physical pain. But she couldn’t take the chance of opening herself up for the hurt of losing yet another man.
“You guys, I confided in you because I trust you. You have to promise me that you will not talk about this to anyone else—at least not until I have a chance to tell Shane myself.”
The only good part was at least she hadn’t told him that she’d very briefly considered going with him. At least it would only involve a slow and gradual distancing that would happen naturally as it drew closer to the day he left Celebration and she wasn’t going with him.
“Why, though?” Caroline asked. “Why are you doing this?”
AJ tool a deep breath, cleared her throat as she thought about the best way to explain it.
“I guess Shane’s accident really drove home the point that Shane and Danny are a lot more alike than I realized.”
“How do you figure that?” asked Caroline. “And if it’s true, why is it such a bad thing? You loved Danny. You love Shane. So...?”
“Well, starting with the fact that both of their jobs are dangerous and put them in harm’s way. I mean, sure, at the moment, Shane is pushing pencils and paper as he oversees the renovation of that building, but even he said that his assignment could change at a moment’s notice.”
Her friends stared at her as if issuing a silent, And?
“What if I got over to Italy and he got transferred somewhere else? Like a war zone. Or worse yet, what if his assignment had to do with counterterrorism? That’s his specialty after all, and it wouldn’t be such a stretch for the army to utilize his strengths to the fullest before they let him retire.”
“But you don’t know this. There’s a bigger possibility that none of this will happen.”
AJ shook her head. “I can’t bear the thought of losing another love in the line of duty, especially when that duty might take us so far away from home.”
There. Even as irrational as it might have sounded, she’d said it, and the phone rang, as if punctuating her declaration.
“Hello?” she said into the receiver.
“Agnes Jane, I’ve been trying to reach you for days,” said Grandmother. “Why haven’t you called me back?”
AJ loosened her jaw as soon as she realized she was gritting her teeth. Great, only seconds into the conversation and she was already tense.
“I’m sorry, Grandmother,” she emphasized the word so her friends would understand who she was talking to. If they were indeed good friends after she’d hung up from this phone call they’d call off the so-called intervention, as they called it.
A girl could only stand so much combat in a single day.
“I’ve had a few things on my mind. I don’t know if you heard, but Shane was in an accident and he’s been in the hospital. So while I’ve been visiting him, I’ve silenced my phone. But how may I help you?”
“Yes, I was sorry to hear about his accident.” AJ was surprised that her grandmother’s voice actually held notes of compassion. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard that tone before. It sort of freaked her out a little. But, then again, in her own way, Agnes always did seem to have a soft spot for Shane. Or maybe a not-as-hard spot was a better way to describe it.
She guessed it should be points in Shane’s favor that her grandmother didn’t hate him in the way she’d hated the other men who had come and gone in the lives of her mother and sisters.
“I’ve also been running around like crazy trying to secure a commercial kitchen that I can use for the Lapham wedding. That’s next week, you know.”
“Of course I know. I’m attending.” The hard edge was back in Agnes’s voice, and AJ felt her own jaw tightening again. “And the reason I’ve been trying to get in touch with you is to offer you the use of my kitchen.”
AJ straightened and glanced at her friends, as if they, too, could hear what Agnes had just said. But of course, they couldn’t, and that left them waving to get her attention and mouthing What? What’s going on?
AJ turned her back on them because she couldn’t answer now. Now, she wasn’t sure she’d heard what she thought she had.
Cautiously, she asked, “What exactly do you mean?”
The question was generic enough that if she had misunderstood, her grandmother was sure to clarify.
“What do I mean? What else would I mean? I am allowing you to bring the food you intend to cook for the wedding over to my home and you may use my kitchen to prepare it. I’m also willing to lend you the services of my chef, if you’re shorthanded.”
AJ could hardly believe what she was hearing. Despite the sharp edge to her grandmother’s voice, she was being...helpful? Whoa, wait, something must
be off-kilter or there must be a catch. Agnes Sherwood did not want AJ to succeed at being a chef. In fact, AJ had always sensed that the older woman had been waiting in the wings just waiting for the day she could pronounce AJ and her silly catering dreams a colossal failure.
Normally, AJ would be grateful having received such an offer, but this was her grandmother after all. All indicators demanded AJ proceed with caution.
“Why?” she asked. Okay, she could’ve couched the question in a more polite manner. But she had so much on her mind, with the wedding, and Shane being injured and her friends giving her a hard time about a decision that had been extremely hard to make.
“What do you mean why? Agnes Jane, don’t be so crass. When someone is doing you a favor it’s good form to simply say ‘thank you.’”
Okay, not today, Grandmother. AJ just didn’t have it in her to play the “appease Agnes Sherwood” game.
“No, I have every reason to ask you why. You have wanted me to fail since the day you learned I wanted to go to culinary school rather than the university you’d picked out for me. I’ll tell you what, I am not going to fail. You might as well get used to that right now. I’m not like my sisters and my mother—no offense to them, or to you for that matter—but I don’t need your help, especially if it comes with strings attached or a strategically placed banana peel for me to slip on.”
Agnes was silent on the other end of the line. So silent that for a moment AJ thought she might have hung up on her, which wouldn’t have been surprising.
“Why would I want you to fail at this job? Frances Lapham is a good friend. How do you think you got the job? I told her to hire you.”
The slap of the backhanded admission stunned AJ for a moment. Was this an endorsement from her grandmother, or a statement that AJ wouldn’t have landed the Lapham wedding on her own?
“Of course, Frances insisted on the tasting, which you pulled off with flying colors. That’s why she contracted you, because apparently you did such a beautiful job with everything. She said everything was exquisite. She told me you have a real gift when it comes to food. Not that I needed her to help me see that.”
Once again, AJ was stunned silent. But only for a few seconds. “I don’t know what to say, Grandmother. Other than thank you. For believing in me. And for the use of your kitchen.”
“Of course I believe in you, Agnes Jane. You’re my namesake and the only one of my granddaughters who is strong enough to stand on her own two feet. It’s taken a while for you to prove yourself to me, but now I know. I see it in the business you’ve built on your own. I see it in the way you stand up for yourself. I even see it in that young man you’re dating.”
Ooh. Oh, no. Was dating. The words made that pain her heart stab again. But AJ and her friends were the only ones who knew this. At least for right now. Because she would continue to take care of Shane and Houdini, until Shane was able to care for himself.
“You know, he’s the one who asked me to let you use the kitchen. Pretty sharp guy. He has my seal of approval. Not that you’ve ever needed my approval. I never thought I’d admit this to you, but I’ve always admired that in you, too. You have a good head on your shoulders, Agnes Jane. Of all my children and grandchildren, you’re the one who makes sound decisions. I don’t have to worry about you.”
* * *
When Shane opened his eyes, AJ’s beautiful face was the first thing that came into focus. Just seeing her there made him feel as if her were...home.
She smoothed his hair and softly trailed the back of her hand across his cheek. He turned his head so he could kiss her hand.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “I have so much to tell you.”
“Me, too,” she said, looking a little anxious.
“The sheriff came by today and said they finally arrested that group of boys who have been causing so much trouble. He said even though they couldn’t pin the tire slashing and accident on them, some of the fingerprints matched. But they’re holding them over at the county jail on charges of breaking and entering. They got the whole lot of them.
AJ’s hands flew to her mouth, a gesture of relief and surprise. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction when he told her the other piece of news. But—
“Okay, now you tell me your news,” he said.
The relief he’d witnessed before was gone, something deeper, more resolute shone in her eyes.
“Remember the other day when you asked about my exciting news? Well, I’m ready to share it now. Shane, I want to move to Italy with you. I’ll admit at first I was scared. After your accident, I’d even talked myself out of going with you. It was because I was scared. Scared of leaving Celebration, but as it turns out, I’m more afraid of losing you than I am of losing it. Celebration will always be here. I need to be with you.”
She exhaled like she’d gotten a load of weight off her chest. Shane was elated, but also a little concerned about how his other piece of news would sit with her.
“Wow. I’m so glad that you want to go with me. I just hope that what I’m going to tell you doesn’t change the way you feel.”
She paled a little and he took her hand, kissed her knuckles.
“I got another piece of important news today. Now, you’ll have to help me figure out what we’re going to do.” He looked into her eyes for a moment before he continued. “Lying in a hospital bed day in and day out gives a guy a lot of time to think. And overthink things, as the case may be. I was beginning to get the feeling that you weren’t very thrilled about going to Italy. Well, I decided that if you weren’t going, I wasn’t going, either. I don’t need Italy anymore.”
He paused, wanting his words to sink in. He could tell by her expression that she understood the magnitude of what he was saying: he didn’t need to go to Italy to get closure with his family. What he needed was a family of his own. He’d found that right here in Celebration. For twenty years he’d been thinking—whether he realized it or not—that he might someday make a life with Manuela. But over the course of twenty years, Manuela had become more fiction than real life because with her he could write his own story. And it was always in his head. No real life woman could measure up to the fictional Manuela who lived in his mind.
Until he met AJ and learned the real meaning of living.
“This broken leg changes the entire dynamic of everything,” he said. “Since the fracture was so severe, I’m going to need several months of recovery time. That won’t be very conducive to traveling or moving.
“So when my commanding officer came in to check on me a couple of days ago, I asked about the possibility of finishing out my active duty time before I retire here, in Celebration. We don’t have to move if you don’t want to, AJ. I know your family is here and your business is here. Houdini is here. What would we do with him if we moved?”
He couldn’t remember ever seeing AJ look this happy. The tears that shimmered in her eyes made them look even bluer than the European oceans he used to swim in as a teen. It dawned on him that maybe all those years he’d been swimming those waters, he’d been searching for the woman in front of him now.
“I love you and I want what makes you happy,” he said. “Because being with you is all I need to be happy. So what do you say? May I stay here in Celebration with you? We can visit Italy, if you really want to go. Maybe we could even spend our honeymoon there?”
Her sharp intake of breath made him smile. And then her surprise morphed into a smile of sheer delight.
“Why, are you proposing?” she asked.
“Maybe I am,” he said. “Wait, scratch that. Yes, I am. I definitely am.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Once Upon a Matchmaker by Marie Ferrarella!
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Chapter One
So this was what all the secrecy, giggling and whispers had been about.
Micah Muldare sat on the sofa, looking at the gift his sons had quite literally surprised him with. A gift he wasn’t expecting, commemorating a day that he’d never thought applied to him. He’d just unwrapped the gift and it was now sitting on the coffee table, a source of mystification, at least for him.
His boys, four-year-old Greg and five-year-old Gary, sat—or more accurately perched—on either side of him like energized bookends, unable to remain still for more than several seconds at a time. Blond, blue-eyed and small boned, his sons looked like little carbon copies of each other.
They looked like Ella.
Micah shut the thought away. It had been two years, but his heart still wasn’t ready for that kind of comparison.
Maybe someday, just not yet.
“Do you like it, Daddy?” Gary, the more animated of the two, asked eagerly. The boy was fairly beaming as he put the question to him. His bright blue eyes took in every tiny movement.
Micah eyed at the mug on the coffee table. “I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting anything like this,” Micah told his son. “Actually, I wasn’t expecting anything at all today.”
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