“But we’ve been friends for a couple of years now,” Nina offered with what she hoped was an authoritative nod. “That counts for a lot, right?”
“Who are you trying to convince?”
“Me,” Nina said. “Thing is, I’ve always thought that my friendship with Alex was too important to risk sleeping with him. It was the rule. My rule. And on the way here I broke it.”
“Oh,” Honey murmured. “Did he live up to expectations?”
Nina sighed wistfully. “He exceeded expectations in every way. I swear, Honey, I need a shower just thinking about the skills that man brings to the table. Though I do also need a shower because it’s been a long and dusty day. I’ll be with you and pajama-clad in five minutes.”
“Not going anywhere, Nee.”
Ten minutes later, Nina settled in on the couch and tucked up close to Honey. The television was on and a bowl full of truffles sat on the coffee table alongside a matching plate full of delicate sandwiches. Their mother had retired for the night. Maybe it was for the best.
“So what’s really going on with Brent and all the nerves?” she asked. Truffle or sandwich? Truffle or sandwich? They really didn’t go well together, but she was extremely fond of both. Story of her life.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that I can’t quite believe that Brent wants me. Brent can have anything he wants. Anyone he wants. Women look at him. And sometimes he looks back. Like with Eve. I never caught them at anything. Doesn’t mean I haven’t wondered.”
“So did Eve do anything bad at the rehearsal dinner?”
“No. Sorry about the panic phone call. I just got…nervous. I thought Eve was working up to something. A scene. A declaration of undying devotion for Brent, the more theatrical the better…and then Rainer took her in hand and Eve settled.”
“Rainer to the rescue,” Nina said. “The man’s a saint.”
“I’m pretty sure Rainer didn’t only have my peace of mind in mind. Eve was looking decidedly starry-eyed when they left together. That man had a plan.”
“Really?” Nina grinned. “So that’s Eve out of the way. Who else is there?’
“Pippa,” Honey said, and the smile faded from her lips. ”Brent’s always had a thing for Pippa.”
“I always thought Brent treated Pippa more like a sister.” Nina had been a couple of years behind Honey and Pippa at school, but she remembered Pippa well enough, and Eve too, for that matter. “Pippa’s been gone for years. If Brent had wanted to go after her, surely he would have. Besides, Brent didn’t ask Pippa to marry him, Honey. He asked you.”
“Probably because Pippa said no.” Honey set her sandwich down on the table and lifted her perfectly manicured thumbnail to her teeth.
“Don’t.” Nina smacked at the offending hand and threaded it through hers. “Do you love him?”
“So much.” Honey’s fingers tightened around hers, and Nina squeezed back. No mention of Nina’s calluses tonight. Nina didn’t think Honey even noticed them. “I’ve driven him mad with these wedding plans. I’ve driven everyone mad. Demanding such stupid things. Glass hummingbirds and bees.”
“What for?”
“Centerpieces for the tables. You’ll see them tomorrow. I kept waiting for Brent to say no. Or enough. I kept waiting for him to say that he didn’t want to go through with the wedding, but he never did. He’d just get this look on his face and then say for me to order whatever I wanted. Fireworks from a barge on the river. Ice sculptures. Made-to-order frosted glass hummingbirds, Nina. And bees. To nestle among the honeysuckle that I also had to have on the table, never mind that Beau Vaughn pitched a fit because it’s too scented and will overpower the aroma of his food—and it is gorgeous food—not to mention that Beau threatened to pull the venue if I didn’t get rid of the honeysuckle in the floral arrangements because as far as he’s concerned honeysuckle’s a weed, and no weed is ever going to set seed on Belles Fleurs Plantation ever again. I had to get the florist to remove every last honeysuckle stamen from 125 posies and two dozen twining floral ropes. Which are stunning, by the way.”
Oh, boy. Maybe Honey had gone a touch overboard with the wedding preparations. “I’m thinking Brent’s silence is a sign of his deep and abiding love for you, Bee-Bee. What more do you want?”
Honey brought the back of Nina’s hand to her cheek and rubbed gently. “I just want him to be sure that he wants me, the basket case, not just Dad’s political support and a union between the families.”
“You’re not always a basket case,” Nina felt obliged to point out. “I’ve seen you do many sensible things.”
“I seated Lady Calliope and Opaline at the same table.”
“Well, they do deserve each other.”
“It’ll be war.”
“Not war. Entertainment. It’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Honey said. “Do you remember Gracie Lee Duggins from school? She was in your year.”
“I know,” said Nina.
“She’s my new wedding planner.”
“Really? What happened to the old one?”
“She ran off with someone else’s groom.”
“Huh,” Nina said. “Not exactly a recommendation. So are we liking Gracie Lee as the new wedding planner?”
“We are,” Honey said. “And we are now calling her Grace. I’m having lunch with her once this is all over.”
“Good for you,” Nina said. “She’s kind of shy.”
“Not anymore,” Honey said, and gave Nina’s arm a fierce squeeze. “I am so glad you made it here tonight.”
“Me, too.” Nina tried to sound one hundred percent enthusiastic. She tried not to dwell on the thought of a naked Alex doing exquisitely naughty things to her in her childhood bed. No kinky hotness there whatsoever.
Honey slanted her a knowing glance. “You know you can go back to your own bed tonight? Who’s going to know?”
“You. You are going to know!” Nina smacked her with the nearest pillow. “You invited me here. There will be no late-night visits elsewhere. I am an honorable and dutiful maid.”
Alex, with his sexy mouth and his impromptu wedding proposal, would just have to wait.
Nina set the pillow on her lap, picked up Honey’s abandoned sandwich and dangled it in front of Honey’s lips. “Eat.”
Sister of the century, thought Nina as Honey reached out and took the rest of the tiny sandwich triangle from Nina and shoved it in her mouth. Nina Moreau.
Chapter Eight
It was 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, heaven help them all, it was the morning of the wedding and Nina had not long ago flitted down to breakfast.
Alex was long gone. Up and gone before seven, according to her mother, and a text message from Alex confirmed it. Definitely a good move, Nina decided, because half the population of Bellefleur was here for breakfast, and the bridesmaid cousins were holding court and so too were the aunts, and Nina tried to be nice in the face of their smiling superiority—hand over her heart she tried not to let them get to her, but it was a struggle.
Yes, her little circus act was coming on just fine.
Yes, Brent Delacroix is an excellent match. So happy for Honey.
And then Jenna Mae made the mistake of wondering aloud just what the judge had promised Brent to sweeten the deal.
“Manners, cousin,” Nina said between her teeth. “Where are yours?”
Jenna Mae prepared to flounce away. Nina stopped her with a hand to her forearm and the strength to back it up. “You keep your vicious tongue in your head today or you’ll have me to deal with, are we clear? Because unlike Honey I will cause a scene. I just love being in the limelight, with everyone waiting breathlessly to see what I can pull off next. It’s what I do. Is that what you’d like me to do for you?”
Wisely, Jenna Mae bit her tongue and slunk away. Nina picked up her coffee, sat back, and sipped. Some things had changed.
And others had stayed exactly the same.
“Nina, just the person I wanted to
see,” said wedding planner Grace, slipping into the vacant seat beside her. “I’d love to run through the plans for the ceremony with you while we have a spare moment.”
No mention of Nina missing rehearsal. No fluster or fuss, just smooth efficiency and smiling calm. “You’re good at this, aren’t you?”
“I hope so.” Grace slipped a sheet of paper from her clipboard and handed it to Nina. “The order of events. Have a look-through. Let me know if you have any questions.”
“Honey shouldn’t be left alone with her other bridesmaids today.”
“Already noted.”
“Or their mother.”
Grace smiled slightly. “Also noted. I came late to the party but I am up to speed.”
“And can you tell Beau Vaughn that Honey’s really looking forward to his food?”
Grace’s smile softened. “I can do that.”
“And that honeysuckle’s not a weed if you want it exactly where it is. Then it’s a flower.”
“Might leave that one until after dessert.”
“Good call,” Nina said. “How’ve you been?”
“Never better.” Grace’s smile came warm and a little on the impish side. “I think it has something to do with the food.”
Breakfast ran into lunchtime. People came, but more people went. Olivia Moreau had it all under control. The hairdressers and makeup artists got to work, checking styles and comparing palettes. Hair got straightened and wound into elegant loops atop the head, revealing the curves of slim shoulders and delicate necks and jaws. Nina’s hair looked glorious by the time the stylist had finished with it, a perfect complement to Honey’s elaborate glossy blond waves. They looked good together in the mirror. Nina looked like she belonged. Maybe, just maybe, this whole maid of honor deal was going to work out just fine after all.
Elegant hair and brilliant smiles and everyone settled into the roles they were to play, even the bridesmaid cousins. A trick with eyeliner that Nina showed them. An extra pin for someone’s hair. Tiny hidden buttons that needed fastening and the last-minute donning of stockings and shoes, while the photographer threw a soft focus lens on her camera and captured soft hands and fleeting moments in time.
It felt like backstage, only Nina wasn’t the star, this wasn’t her show, and because it wasn’t, she took the time to relax and breathe and look around. At the flower girls with their white flouncy frocks and yellow waistband ribbons. The bridesmaids in the elegant, champagne-colored gowns Honey had chosen for them. Honey all in white, her strapless bodice flaring at the waist into a dreamy confection of white silk and tulle.
Brent had phoned just a short time ago, and whatever it was he’d said to his bride-to-be, Honey’s smile had bloomed, and Nina thought that, nerves aside, Honey and Brent were going to be okay. Weddings were hard. Harder still when everything had to be perfect.
The bridal party arrived at Belles Fleurs just before four in the afternoon, stepping out of white Cadillacs and slipping into the gorgeous old plantation house via the side entrance. Grace was waiting for them. Clever Grace, who set the flower girls to guarding the bridal bouquets, and then set the bridesmaid cousins to guarding the flower girls while she whisked Honey and Nina upstairs to one of the spare rooms for one last moment of peace before the ceremony began.
“Everything’s in place,” Grace told Honey. “Your father will be waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs—whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m not ready,” Honey said with a shaking voice and shaking hands and terror in her eyes.
“Of course not,” Grace said smoothly. “We still have twenty minutes before the ceremony is due to begin. There’s water here.” Grace gestured toward the side bar. “There’s everything here, including nibbles. And a cloak to cover your gown, just in case. You can see the lawn and the guests mingling from the window.” Grace smiled. “It’s quite a view.”
Grace left, promising to be back for them in ten minutes. Nina moved to the window and eventually Honey did too.
“Can you see Brent?” Honey asked.
“He’s probably under the arbor. Grace said everything was in place, remember?”
Honey nodded, looking pensive. “I can see your Alexander Carradice.”
So could Nina, and the man looked magnificent. He wore a charcoal suit and black tie and shirt and looked every inch the perfect plus-one he’d promised to be. Friend, lover, confidante, and champion. Try me, he’d whispered, and Nina had, and now she couldn’t imagine being intimate with anyone else.
“Honey, how did you decide that Brent was the one for you?” Not exactly the right question when it came to settling Honey’s nerves. Or maybe it was.
“I think, for me, there’s just never been another man to match him,” Honey said and put her fingertip to the window and drew an invisible cross. “I like what he stands for. I respect the way he treats other people, the way he has power but doesn’t abuse it. I love the way he makes me feel.”
Nina nodded, her eyes still on Alex. “And the not knowing what the future will bring? How do you deal with that?”
“I mostly know what our future will bring,” Honey said softly. “I know what I want it to be like and I’m willing to work hard for it.”
“What if he asked you to just…walk off the map with him? Do something completely different from what you’re used to?”
“Is that what Alexander Carradice has asked of you?” Honey always had been perceptive.
“Yes.”
“Does it scare you?”
“Not as much as it should.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d still have him. Because we’d be doing it together.”
Honey smiled gently. “Leap of faith, Nina. I think, ultimately, that that’s what binding yourself to another person is all about. Just trusting that together you can make it work. It’s a leap of faith. And you’ve always been good at that.”
Nina looked down at Alex. “He’s asked me to go back to England with him.”
“Can you imagine staying here without him?” Honey asked softly.
“No.” Nina pulled her phone from her little evening purse and found Alex’s last text, pressed reply, and typed in a word.
Honey leaned against the window frame as together they watched Alex pull his phone from his inside coat pocket. “What are you telling him?” Honey asked softly.
“I’m telling him ‘yes.’”
For a man who’d just had his wedding proposal accepted, Alex stood awfully still. And then as if some invisible string guided him, he looked up toward the window, and the sweet promise in his smile melted Nina where she stood.
“You should go to him,” Honey said.
“I will. Later.”
“Now,” Honey said. “We have fifteen minutes. Take five of them for you. For him. He’ll thank you for it. And it’ll make me smile.”
“You sure?”
“Go.”
Honey beckoned Alex with her finger, and Nina didn’t wait to see what Alex made of that, she just hitched up her gown and ran. Down the first flight of stairs and then the next, her eyes on her feet and the burgundy carpet runner and her perilously high-heeled shoes. Coming down by rope would have been faster. Free-falling to within an inch of the ground.
“Nina,” said a quiet, authoritative voice as her feet hit the ground floor, and Nina skidded to a halt and resisted the urge to keep right on running.
“Dad.”
Of course her father would be waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He was about to walk Honey down the aisle. “Hi.”
“Everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. Really. Fine. I just have to…I just need to have a quick word with Alex. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“You look very beautiful.”
“I—thank you.” Never let it be said that her mother hadn’t raised her daughters to know how to take a compliment. But why, oh why, did her father have to start a conversation with her now? He’d had all
day. He’d barely said two words to her, and Nina wanted more from him, she did. Just not now. “You’re looking very fine, too.”
“How’s your sister?”
“Good.” Well… “Nervous. And beautiful.” Inside and out.
“Should I go up?”
Nina didn’t know.
“Nina.” Her father was so rarely lost for words, but he seemed lost for them now. He cleared his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask all morning. After the ceremony, after the meal and the fireworks and whatever else Honey has planned, I’d like—I’d very much like it if you’d save me a dance.”
Nina didn’t think her heart could squeeze the way it did. “Of course,” she replied. “It’s probably expected of us. Of course.”
“Not just because it’s expected of us, Nina, but because I want to. I’d be honored to.”
“Oh.” If she cried now her makeup would run and Honey would kill her. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
He’d only ever had to ask.
Her father straightened, and his clear brown gaze slid past her and his expression grew carefully neutral. Nina knew this face—it was his office face, his political face, the one that gave nothing away. Nina turned and there stood Alex, and if she thought he looked handsome from afar it was nothing compared to the impact he had on her at close range.
He looked wary. He knew he was interrupting something, and he looked to her for a cue. Nina shot him a brilliant smile and his eyes smiled back at her in return.
“I got your message,” he said.
“Good.”
Alex’s gaze skittered to her lips.
“You mess with my makeup and Honey will kill you,” she warned him.
“Wasn’t planning on messing with it much,” he murmured, before turning his attention to her father. “Your Honor.”
“Lord Carradice,” her father said.
“Who?” Nina asked.
Her father’s gaze flickered between her and Alex, and Alex suddenly looked suspiciously guilty. Nina raised an eyebrow at him.
“It’s a courtesy title on account of my father having been recently been made a duke of the realm,” Alex said finally. “I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
When Honey Got Married Page 15
