I laughed, imagining her pinched face, her wide-eyed worry as she quaffed expensive champagne like it was water. “Classy.”
“It gets worse,” she groaned. “He pottered about making the entrée, a fancy ceviche dish that took an age to assemble…”
I interrupted. “Is he a good cook, though? That’s the big question.” Was I the only one who routinely set smoke alarms off by burning toast? I was easily distracted and the kitchen was a no-go zone for me if I could help it. The only times I tried out my culinary skills were with Mom, and that was only because she tended to avoid cooking altogether.
“Darling, don’t you remember? Cruz was a chef before he moved to Manhattan. He worked under Jacques What’s-His-Name for about a hundred years before he got dragged into finance by that boss of his with dollar signs for eyeballs – don’t get me started on that guy. Anyway, Cruz was adding these micro herbs to the dish and telling me all about his parents and how much they wanted to meet me, and what did I think about a trip to South America to visit them?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet, he wants to show you off! A trip to South America sounds totally amazing, Amory!” Cruz was a really nice guy in a sea of maybe-nots. Amory pretended it wasn’t serious but it was obvious to me how much he adored her, and she kept him at bay for reasons I couldn’t fathom. To protect her heart, I suspected.
She rubbed a hand over her face. “Don’t you think it’s a bit… heavy… meeting them?”
I frowned. “No, I don’t think it’s heavy! You’ve been dating Cruz for over a year now and that’s a long time, especially in Manhattan minutes. It’s the normal progression of things.” It was exasperating at times being so utterly different to Amory. How could she not see this was a sign of commitment from Cruz? Surely that was a good thing?
Plumping a candy cane-festooned cushion she said, “Darling, that might be the normal progression of things for people who are willing to settle down, but that’s not me! They’ll expect some perfect Stepford type, won’t they?”
“What do you care? You don’t normally let anyone intimidate you.” I had the sneaking suspicion she cared more than usual about what they’d think of her because she really did love Cruz, despite trying to act flippant about the whole relationship.
She folded her arms. “I’m not willing to pretend I’m ready for marriage and babies, just because I’m at the age where it’s deemed I should be. Don’t you see? He’s expecting one thing to lead to the next, and I’m not interested in all of that. Next minute I’ll be pregnant with triplets, and living in a cottage without Wi-Fi.” She shuddered. Amory really didn’t like being without the internet and I had to laugh.
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that. It sounds romantic, like Cruz was trying to show you he’s committed, and most men in New York would run a mile rather than do that. What happened next? Surely that isn’t why you left town?”
She took a deep breath. “Well, then he circled the table, and bent down. On one knee!”
I dropped the reindeer bunting about the same time my jaw fell open. “Oh my God, he PROPOSED?”
Color rose up her cheeks and she averted her eyes. “Not exactly.”
“What do you mean, not exactly?”
“Well…” She put the cushion in place on the chaise and then flopped beside it. “Obviously, I freaked out, didn’t I? He knows I don’t want the whole meet-the-parents, marriage-and-children, live-in-suburbia thing. I haven’t kept it a secret!”
I held up a hand. “But did he or did he not say the words: Will you marry me?”
She let out a high-pitched squeal. “I don’t know! I blinked rapidly, and pretended I had something in my eye! An eyelash emergency… I told him I’d be back in a minute – I just had to rinse my face…”
I cupped my mouth and said, “Oh, Amory! You didn’t!”
“I did, and I went through the bedroom and plunged down the fire escape, and half-ran, half-hobbled off into the night.”
“The fire escape!” I let out a groan. “Amory! But you’re scared of heights!”
“I’m scared of marriage proposals more! And my poor Manolos will never be the same.” She blinked back tears. I only hoped they weren’t for her expensive designer heels, but for her predicament with Cruz.
“Forget about the Manolos. What did he do?”
“God, it was tragic. So, he leaned over the railing and called out, saying he just wanted to talk and why was I running, but by then I was breathing hard and quite wild-eyed with it all. You know I’m not much of runner, and I’d just plummeted down God knows how many stairs.”
I flopped on the opposite chaise, truly stunned. Who’d run away from a guy like Cruz? It was mind-bending. But Amory was my best friend, so I was on her side, always. I did have to suppress a giggle at the picture she painted. “Have you spoken since then?”
She scrunched her eyes closed. “Only by text. I can’t face a phone call. Firstly, I’m terrified of the whole potential proposal thing, and secondly, what if he thinks I’m a basket case for running?”
“You are a basket case for running! Maybe he was just going to… serenade you or something. And you, with your steely heart, threw yourself down the side of a building to get away?”
She covered her face and mumbled, “I know, I know. I wasn’t thinking rationally at the time. The next day I finished up at work, and told them I was taking a sabbatical and then made my way here, all before I could change my mind. And then I thought about telling you and wanted to dissolve into the floor. So now you know.” Her face paled at the recollections and I moved to hug her, silly girl that she was. All that fuss, just so she could avoid hearing someone declare their love.
“Shouldn’t you at least talk to him? Put the poor guy out of his misery?”
She shook her head. “I texted him that I was here and taking a break.”
“And what was his reply?”
“To take all the time I needed. He’d wait for me.”
“Wow, what a monster,” I said.
She lobbed an inflatable Santa at me, which bounced off and hit Micah as he walked back through the door holding a tray of steaming-hot eggnog and plates of Christmas cookies. “Whoa!” he said, just managing to right the mugs as they wobbled, eggnog splashing over the sides.
“Sorry,” Amory said. “That was Santa’s fault.”
We sat and each took a drink, cradling the mugs for warmth, and then my phone pinged. I sighed, expecting it to be an anxious text from one of the brides attending the expo. Instead it was from Timothy: Great to catch up the other night, would love to have dinner with you sometime this week? Timothy x
My stomach flipped. I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about Timothy. There hadn’t been time to really ruminate about it all. So I texted back quickly, shielding my phone from Amory’s prying eyes: Hey, Tim! The impromptu drinks were fab.
I paused, weighing up what else to say. It wasn’t as though we’d planned to meet, so technically it wasn’t a date, more two old friends being at the same place at the same time.
Can I take a raincheck for dinner for some time after New Year? Hope the kids are well!
It wasn’t that I didn’t feel a frisson of something there; it was more he was a father and I had to tread carefully, realizing he was a package deal. And those kids weren’t exactly amenable to some stranger wandering into their lives. I still hadn’t recovered from Scarlett’s slit-throat gesture… And my mind… well, it was on Kai. I mean, Amory, and her troubles. Not Kai. Kai was long gone.
Better to stick to other people’s love lives for now. After a deep drink of eggnog, I said, “So what happens now?”
Amory took up a gingerbread man, biting his head off in one fell swoop. Between crunches she said, “Look, darling, there’s no question I adore the man, but I want to move along on my terms. This may sound ironic coming from a girl who plans weddings for a living, but I just don’t want to be told there’s stages and like clockwork I have to tick them off, just because everyon
e else does.”
Without the bedlam of the big city there was time to talk seriously about these big, life-changing things on a deeper level than we would have in Manhattan. Time moved at a slower pace at Cedarwood. We let ourselves relax, and confessions were mulled over, rather than responded to quickly and less thoughtfully between cocktails and pumping music as it had been in the past.
Micah sipped his eggnog, and hummed to the carols, contentment shining in his eyes – or more likely the bourbon was taking effect!
I debated whether to push Amory for a deeper truth. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t supportive, but I also thought she might need a shove to be honest, even with herself. “Is it really that, though, Amory, or is it that you don’t want to admit how you feel?”
“Don’t Doctor Phil me, please, oh psychobabbler. I realize I’ve acted a little rashly, but imagine if he did propose? It would have been all sorts of awkward.”
“Why? Would you have said no?”
“I wouldn’t have said yes.”
Micah piped up. “Hang on, hang on, so explain what happened.” Amory nodded so I gave Micah a rundown of events. He murmured to himself before saying, “There’s got to be a way you can meet in the middle. And what if he wasn’t about to propose? He might have been about to tell you he’s sorry but he’s decided to become vegetarian.”
Amory laughed. “But the ceviche, Micah. Ceviche is fish.”
Micah steepled his fingers. “Maybe a pescatarian then?” he laughed. “But you see my point, right? It could have been a marriage proposal, but it also could have been, ‘Hey, girl, you want to fly first class and meet my parents? Then I’ll wine and dine you in Paris, how ‘bout it?’”
I let out a peal of laughter at Micah’s attempted accent. It sounded more hillbilly than South American.
“Maybe,” she said, giggling. “But on one knee? Don’t men reserve that position for the proposal? Like, isn’t it hallowed?”
Micah nodded. “Well, yeah, you’d hate to get a girl’s hopes up if it wasn’t the case. I think you should at least talk to Cruz, let him explain. He’s probably out of his mind worrying about you.” Thank you, Micah! She was more likely to listen to a third party than me, knowing I had a soft spot for Cruz.
“Yeah, I guess. I will, eventually. Let’s get back to decorating. All this love talk gets too soppy after a while. Plus, we’ve got wreaths to hang on the doors, and stockings for the fireplaces in the suites upstairs. Fairy lights, and these things…” She lifted a row of jingly Christmas bells. “Micah, what about the trees? Did you tell Isla which ones we wanted?” Amory subject-changed like a pro.
At the mention of Isla’s name Micah’s face changed – it softened and his eyes glazed. Amory noticed it too and we exchanged a proud parent kind of smile.
“Yep, Isla’s on to it. I’ll help her bring them in tomorrow. Speaking of which, what would you buy a girl like Isla for Christmas? She’s not into fashion, or jewelry… but I want to get her something special, that shows her how much I love her. Amazing and unique, like Isla.”
Isla, with her long strawberry-blonde hair, athletic physique and penchant for fast motorbikes, certainly wasn’t your run-of-the-mill girl. She was fast becoming the sister I’d never had and deserved to be spoiled this Christmas.
“What about a book of poetry?” I said. Love poems, was there anything sweeter? “No,” I said, changing my mind. “It’s not quite right, is it?”
Amory wrinkled her nose in contemplation and then lifted her index finger. “Oh, I know the perfect gift! A star!”
Micah cocked his head. “A star?”
“You can buy a real-life star, and even name it if you want to. That way, when you’re canoodling under the moonlight, you can point it out. Tell me that’s not the most romantic thing ever?”
His face crinkled into a smile, and he said, almost to himself, “I’ll buy her a whole constellation.” He got that same dreamy, faraway look in his eyes again and I knew we’d lost him.
Amory sank back into the chaise, but I pulled her back up and said, “We’ve got decorating to do, Miss Jones.”
Chapter Seventeen
With a few days to go until Cedarwood was overrun with blushing brides-to-be, I was overcome with the usual pre-event nerves. We had so many loose ends to tie up, including confirming all our vendors were on track and ready to wow our brides with their wares. Usually I thrived on the lead-up to any event, but because the bulk of my funds was invested in the expo it upped the ante, and made it all the more crucial that it go off without a hitch. It would be quite some time before I had enough of a financial buffer that I wouldn’t have to worry about every last penny. Still, it would keep me sharp, and invested in Cedarwood, knowing I couldn’t rest on my laurels.
Kai’s postcard stared at me from its perch on the mantelpiece, and I smiled, remembering him. I could hear him in my mind, Clio, take five deep breaths for me… and before long I’d tumbled into a Kai daydream. The what if always lurked in my subconscious, floating to the fore every now and then. When I tried to think of the chapel, and what needed to be done for the expo, all I could think of was Kai as he’d been in there – leaning against the damp wall, his blond hair mussed and windblown…
Half dreamy, I still had this niggling feeling that I was forgetting something to do with the chapel but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d have to find my to-do list and check it over.
“Earth to Clio, earth to Clio!” Amory waved a hand in front of me and laughed.
“What?” I said. “The gift bags and…”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?’ She searched her own list and said, “We have to make up the suites with the new linen, and yes, you’re right, fill up the gift bags, choose napkin colors…”
“Knock, knock,” Isla’s voice rang out, only slightly muffled by the branches of a fir tree she was carting. “Where do you want it? Please don’t say upstairs.”
“Isla, God, why are you lugging that yourself! Micah said he’d help!” She was almost bent over backwards with the weight of the tree in her arms.
“He’s lugging an even bigger one behind me somewhere. But it’d be good to put it down. Any time soon.”
I rushed forward to take some of the weight, fir needles poking me in the eye. “Argh!”
“Golly, and you call me a city girl!” Amory laughed. “Let’s put the smaller one in the lobby and Micah can take the other to the ballroom, yeah, Clio?”
Blinking away the sting I said, “Yes, perfect!” Decorating the tree was the cherry on top when it came to Christmas, the scent of earth and pine heavy in the air, the unmistakable perfume of the festive season! Waking up on Christmas morning with the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and trudging downstairs to warm myself by an open fire, peeking in stockings, drinking a gingerbread coffee – it was all to come and I could hardly wait. In the coming years I imagined some grand festive seasons if only I could make it through these first frugal times…
For a moment all the stress about the bridal expo vanished, and the thought of spending Christmas with my friends and family in the place I’d always dreamed of living thrilled me. I was exactly where I was meant to be.
The only thing casting a pall over my new life was Mom. She had refused to come back to Cedarwood and wouldn’t explain why. I knew she was somehow connected to the old owners who’d abandoned the lodge, and that she refused to talk about the overgrown maze hiding in the gardens, but she wouldn’t say anything more, and her silence made it so much worse. As though she couldn’t trust her own daughter with a secret. Those past hurts all resurfaced, as they tended to do at Christmastime.
Still, I was working hard on rebuilding our relationship, even though she made it difficult – I was seeing her once a week, having dinner, attempting to have that mother-daughter relationship I’d always dreamed of. I hoped to slip out the next day and visit her before we really knuckled down to the expo preparation. I also plan
ned to swing by the Evergreen library to see if I could find any old articles about what exactly had taken place here all those years ago. There must have been something in the papers or at least a photo or two of the place in its heyday. I’d spent hours searching the web as well, but a place as small and out of the way as Evergreen didn’t exactly have much of an online presence. I couldn’t find anything that told me what had actually happened all those years ago.
When I mentioned the mystery to any Evergreen local they were conspicuously vague. But I couldn’t let it go. I had to find out what had happened. It was more than idle curiosity, it was a feeling that the future wouldn’t be as bright until we’d dealt with the past, lay those old ghosts to rest.
Isla shuffled along, hefting the tree into a corner, her breathing heavy. Amory tried her best to help but toppled on heels she refused to stop wearing. I’d given up weeks ago, and was back to wearing ballet flats for comfort as well as safety with the amount of running about I did. Once the tree was in place we stood, hands on hips, and admired it. The green pop of color brought the lodge alive – I knew it was these touches that would make the brides coming next week sit up and take notice. Cedarwood Lodge was definitely a gorgeous place to spend time and, more importantly, get married!
“Let’s decorate it!” Isla said, beaming, her freckled skin luminous with her efforts.
Even Amory was getting into the Christmas spirit, though she did her best to act indifferent. “I’ll get the box of decorations.”
Isla’s cheeks were ruddy from the cold and her eyes twinkled with happiness, just like the constellation of stars Micah would buy for her. She’d fallen head over heels for him and things were going well for the lovebirds. They tried to hide their affections but didn’t always succeed, I must have walked in on them kissing a hundred times since they started dating, and it always embarrassed them more than me. I loved love, and gave myself an imaginary pat on the back for playing Cupid with those two.
Winter at Cedarwood Lodge Page 15
