One Week to the Wedding--An unforgettable story of love, betrayal, and sisterhood

by Olivia Miles

  “I have the cranberries,” Maura announced. “All set with the potatoes?”

  The moment now lost, Charlotte nodded briskly and took a deep breath before following her mother back into the dining room, where everyone was clutching their forks, eager for the meal to begin.

  As they did every Thanksgiving, each person went around the table and said what they were thankful for as her father carved the massive bird, which was a bit larger than usual this year.

  “I’m thankful for the new additions to our Thanksgiving table,” Maura said, giving Audrey a little kiss on the head. “We don’t just have this precious little baby with us this year; we also have a fine young man. Alec, we’re so happy to welcome you to the family.”

  Charlotte raised her glass to toast the happy couple on cue, but she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy at the turn of events. Her sister was engaged (for the second time, but no need to harp on those details just now), and Charlotte was sitting pretty all alone. No man was waiting for her at home tonight. No man had gotten down on one knee and popped the question.

  Jake Lambert hadn’t even met his daughter, much less acknowledged that she was his. Not that Charlotte would be admitting that to anyone. They all assumed he was contributing something, and she let them all think so. It was easier that way.

  Alec’s turn was next. “I’m grateful for a short engagement,” he said with a mischievous grin.

  “Oh, isn’t that sweet,” Maura said, tilting her head as she smiled wistfully.

  “It’s not for the reason you think, Mom,” Kate corrected. She held out her plate as their father piled turkey onto it. “It’s not that he can’t wait to be married. It’s that he knows he only has to tolerate all my wedding planning for another six weeks.”

  Alec held up his palms. “Guilty as charged. Who knew there were so many varieties of roses?”

  From beside her, Bree raised her hand, eliciting a laugh from the table. “Alec, I could tell you just how many varieties of roses there are, but I don’t think we have enough wine to keep you from panicking. Besides, I am happy to let you know that Kate has already been into my shop, and she has narrowed down her choices to two different looks. Two very different looks, I might add, but all the same, two.”

  Really? Charlotte frowned, wondering why she hadn’t been let it on this earlier. So Kate had gone to Bree’s flower shop, chatted about colors and arrangements and all that fun stuff, while Charlotte was either filing paperwork at the office they shared or sitting in her apartment with Audrey. Either way, she hadn’t been invited.

  She glanced at Elizabeth, who was nodding along casually. Sure enough.

  “Well, if it were up to me, we’d have gone to city hall last month when I proposed,” Alec said ruefully.

  “That’s what Frank and I did, and I’ve always regretted it,” Maura said.

  “That’s what I try telling Alec.” Kate shook her head. “But he’s too practical.”

  “Aw, now…” Alec roped an arm over Kate’s shoulders and gave her a peck on the cheek. “You know I want you to have the wedding of your dreams. I just don’t want you losing sleep over it while you’re planning it!”

  Kate gave a resigned smile. “It’s true that I have been losing some sleep. There are just so many hours in the day, and with client weddings to plan and Christmas parties, too, there’s always something to take my attention away from our big day.” She sighed as she poked at her plate. “Maybe we should have planned for something for spring. But I had my heart set on a winter wedding.”

  “January is a wonderful month to get married,” Maura said. “A new year. A new beginning. And Misty Point is so pretty when it’s covered with snow.”

  “I can help,” Charlotte offered, eager to make herself useful, and not just because she wanted to preserve the good standing she had with her sister. She’d been working part-time in Kate’s new event planning company since August, and every extra assignment would go that much further to bettering her circumstances and, from the sound of it, Kate’s, too.

  “I don’t want to put too much pressure on you, with a new baby and all that…” Kate looked uncertain, and Charlotte had to clench her teeth from blurting out that the income from the event company was all she had in this world, now that she’d gone through the loan their parents had given her, at an alarming rate, mind you. That there were no monthly stipends from Jake. That if anyone wanted to talk about pressure, it came in the form of the landlord breathing down her neck for November’s rent check.

  She forced a reassuring smile. “It’s no pressure at all! I’m eager to build up my resume, and I really enjoy the work, Kate.” Sure, it was a struggle to balance her schedule with Audrey at times. Her sitter wasn’t always available, and she didn’t have the funds for day care just yet, but she needed to work. And she wanted to work. To prove to herself that she could stick with something. And to prove to Kate—and everyone else at this table—that she wasn’t the girl she’d once been.

  “Well, next week is gearing up to be a tough one for me with two holiday parties and a fitting with my newest bridezilla. And I had hoped to finalize those floral arrangements…”

  “Finally!” Bree blurted, shaking her head. She grabbed another roll from the basket and added it to her plate, which consisted solely of mashed potatoes and squash. The salad she had brought sat untouched at the far end of the table.

  Kate eyed Charlotte, as if weighing her options. “All right, I’ll bring you in full-time through the month, starting Monday.”

  Monday morning. Charlotte hoped the panic she felt didn’t show in her face. She hadn’t expected to go into the office until Tuesday afternoon, as usual, and she knew that her sitter was currently away for the holiday weekend in Connecticut. She supposed she could call her anyway, but Lisa hated short notice—always charged up for it, too, savvy opportunist that she was.

  She squeezed the napkin in her lap, working through the logistics, and decided she had no alternative. Her mother still worked at the town library during the week. There was no one else to call on for a last-minute favor. And really, what choice did she have?

  “Monday morning it is then,” she said, feeling her spirits lift at the thought of a steadier paycheck.

  “Wow, I feel like a load has been lifted from my shoulders already,” Kate said through a smile, and Charlotte felt her heart warm as it did every time her sister paid her a compliment.

  “Your turn, Kate,” Frank said, steering the conversation back to the holiday tradition.

  Kate reached over and slipped her hand onto Alec’s. “I’m grateful for second chances,” she said, and Charlotte found it hard to swallow the food she was chewing.

  A second chance. That’s what this was, all right. And she wasn’t about to blow it. Last Thanksgiving Charlotte had been pregnant and alone, in a dark and musty basement apartment in Boston, twisted with anxiety, wondering if she would ever again be welcome in her childhood home. And now she was about to ask to move back into it. To admit that her second attempt to swing it on her own wasn’t working out.

  She reached for her wineglass and allowed herself a sip—only because she wouldn’t be driving for a while. She’d stick around and help clean up after the rest of the family left. She’d explain to her parents that money was tight, and she wanted to build up her savings. She’d offer to pay a bit of rent, or help out around the house. Tidying up had never been her strong suit—that was more Kate’s area—but she could learn. Or at least try.

  She set her wineglass down, wondering if it would be that easy. Or if they’d ask how Jake’s child support payments weren’t enough, given what he was worth, and where she was spending the money. Even if they didn’t say it, she knew they’d wonder if she was being irresponsible. The way she used to be.

  “What about you, Charlotte?” her mother asked.

  Her heart felt heavy as she considered her response. There were so many things she could say, but only one thing mattered, really. “I’m just g
rateful to be here.”

  No one said anything, but she knew that everyone at the table understood. It had been a rough year, for all of them in many ways, but this holiday, like Kate’s upcoming wedding, sparked a new beginning.

  She eyed her sister, thinking of the rough times they’d been through and how far they’d come. Everything had fallen into place…well, for Kate. As for herself, Charlotte was almost there. Soon she’d be finished paying for her mistakes. She’d move back in. Save some money. And then…And then things would be better.

  “Since we’re all gathered together, we have some news to share.” Frank eyed Maura knowingly, and Charlotte shot her sister a look of alarm. No good news started with an announcement. Unless it was a marriage or a birth. And she very much doubted either of those were on the table for her parents.

  “As you know, Grandma Daniels hasn’t been doing well for a while,” her father continued, and Charlotte murmured her sympathy, feeling all at once like a heel for panicking. Of course. Her grandmother had struggled with her health for a while now. It had been a source of stress for her father, who, as the only child, was forever hopping on a plane to tend to her or worrying about her from afar. Charlotte looked around the table, thinking it was a shame that Granny couldn’t have joined them today.

  She looked at her father, waiting for him to continue, wondering if he would announce that Granny was moving up to Rhode Island, to maybe live with them. She chewed her lip, selfishly wondering if that would impact her plans to move back in herself, but then decided that she and Audrey would just have to share her old bedroom while Granny took Kate’s. Not ideal, but what was anymore?

  “It’s been a tough decision, but…Well, there’s no easy way to say it. We’ve decided to move to Florida to be with her.”

  Leave Misty Point? Rhode Island had been their home forever.

  Silence fell over the room, and all that Charlotte could hear was the pounding of her own heart. She looked at her mother, then Kate, who seemed almost more bewildered than she herself felt.

  “The warm air is better for her, and she needs family right now.”

  But I need family right now! Charlotte wanted to cry. She reached for her water glass with a shaking hand and brought it to her lips. There was nothing she could say. Nothing that wouldn’t sound completely selfish.

  “When do you plan to go?” Kate finally asked, breaking the silence.

  “Saturday,” her mother replied, and Charlotte nearly choked on the water. She coughed, and her mother slid her a strange look. “We’ve been talking about it for a while, and there just never seemed to be a good time to bring it up. It won’t be forever. We’re keeping the house—”

  Oh, sweet heaven. Thank goodness for small blessings. Charlotte closed her eyes, slumping back in her chair, feeling her panic subside.

  “But we’re renting it out.”

  “Will you be able to find a renter at this time of year?” Kate asked. Everyone knew that Misty Point was a summer destination.

  Her mother looked to Ellen, and Charlotte felt another prickle of panic. Aunt Ellen was a Realtor. And she’d clearly been let in on these plans long before everyone else had. “Thanks to my sister’s help, a couple came forward for a December first lease. We’d thought we’d go down south in January after the wedding, but, well, we decided to move up our plans!”

  The conversation seemed to go on and on but Charlotte stopped listening. Her head felt murky and her heart was racing, but despite all the questions she had and all the confusion, one thing was very clear: she was in trouble. Again.

  The next compelling and poignant novel about the sisterly ties that bind—sometimes too tightly—from Olivia Miles.

  Single mom Charlotte Daniels is slowly winning back her sister Kate’s trust. But when a relationship with their high-profile client turns personal, Charlotte fears her latest indiscretion will cost her more than just the business.

  Experience big love in a small town,

  with Olivia Miles’s Briar Creek series.

  “A warm, tender story overflowing with emotion. With strong, memorable characters and a delightful small town, this book will surely work its way into your heart. Olivia Miles weaves a beautiful story of healing and second chances.”

  —RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author, on Hope Springs on Main Street

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