Curiouser (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 3)

by Coryell, Christina

  Nothing antique rests inside, which immediately gives her a sense of disappointment. With the commotion of people moving every which way, though, it’s short-lived. Immediately to her left is the dining room, where she spies the woman of the hour. Although they’ve only met once before, at the drug store on Christmas Eve, the sight of her makes Camdyn smile. Anyone who could make Jake settle down must be an incredible person, after all.

  She steps up to the doorway, but doesn’t say anything for a moment while she looks at Alexis. Camdyn recognizes the dress immediately. Vera Wang. It’s one of the pictures her friend Lily has been showing her for the past month or so. Textured organza with a draped bodice and split-front overlay, Lily’s words ring through her mind. Don’t you just love the rose detailing at the waist?

  “Hello,” Camdyn states timidly, moving just inside the door. The large group of ladies is slightly intimidating, but she just has one question to ask and she can be on her way.

  “Camdyn Taylor,” squeaks the auburn-haired woman sitting in front of her, catching herself as she begins to slide backwards from her chair.

  Maybe not as incognito as she’d hoped. Camdyn returns her focus back to Alexis with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for interrupting. Cole’s looking for Jake.”

  “I’ll take him!” The one who recognized her rises from her seat, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, I need to look for Josh anyway, right?”

  “Totally nutty,” another woman with a dark, asymmetrical haircut whispers to Alexis, causing both of them to laugh.

  The eager one steps up to Camdyn, smiling as she waits for her to exit the doorway, but Camdyn pauses, carefully studying her face. She squints just a bit, and then tilts her head with a curious gaze.

  “We’ve met before…” Camdyn states, letting the end of the sentence trail up so it sounds more like a question, posed to convince the young woman to offer her name. Mission accomplished when her eyes light up.

  “Maddie,” she offers. “Yes, we have. Louisville, last October. I was at your conference. You wrote something in my book about Josh, only we weren’t together yet. I was totally freaking out about it, but it’s all good now because we’re engaged.”

  She holds up her left hand, showcasing her ring as though that’s going to jog Camdyn’s memory.

  Camdyn tries to stifle a laugh as she begins to remember their first meeting. “The girl with the mother.”

  “Yes, I have a mother!” Maddie exclaims. “I mean, of course I have a mother. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation again.” She shrugs and takes another step into the hall. “Shall we find Cole? I feel like I know him, since you talked about him a lot that night at the conference.”

  “I do have a habit of talking about Cole,” Camdyn states with a laugh, giving Alexis a parting wave. “And I think you talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

  “So embarrassing,” Maddie mutters as Camdyn follows her back out the front door.

  Jake lets out a deep breath as he stares out the back window. They dusted the room the best they could, but the old glass still seems a little foggy. The bookcases lining each wall don’t help the room seem brighter, either. Someday Harley might want him to help remodel this room too, but a library probably doesn’t sit at the top of the to-do list.

  “Hanging in there?”

  He turns at the voice to see his future father-in-law standing at the doorway in a suit and tie.

  “Absolutely. I’m a little more worried about you. Haven’t tried to shove your family in the car and take them back to Jackson yet, have you?”

  Jake takes a couple steps toward Nick, who reaches out to pat him on the back. “No, as tempting as it is, I can’t make the math work.”

  “Please, not math,” Jake says, shaking his head. “I get enough of that from Alexis.”

  “It’s simple math,” Nick insists, holding his hand up. “Five seats in the car. Two for myself and Crystal.” He folds down his pinky and thumb. “One seat for Heather. That makes three.” His ring finger goes down, leaving only two. “Of course I’d take Bailey. You understand.”

  “Sure,” Jake mutters with a smile.

  “So it leaves just one seat for my daughter and my son. That’s not good math.”

  Jake doesn’t know what to say to that, so he’s relieved when the man pats him on the shoulder again and turns to head toward the door.

  “Hey, Nick, have you seen my dad?”

  Nick turns and pushes his glasses up on his nose. “Yeah, he’s outside talking to your friend Duke. Fascinating guy, that one. I can’t believe he held the patents on those motorcycle parts. Must have made a killing when he sold them.”

  Jake’s brow wrinkles as he considers those words, but he doesn’t have long to think before Ryan bursts through the door.

  “So sorry, man. We got delayed at the airport.”

  “It’s about time you got here,” Josh states, rising from a folding chair near the door. “Everybody’s walking around calling me second runner up best man, and what are you doing messing around at the airport today anyway?” He steps toward Ryan and reaches out to touch his hair, which is standing straight up in the middle like a black mountain peak, glossy as though it’s still wet.

  “First off, don’t touch my hair. I had to use Harley’s hairspray and I’m not real sure it’s gonna hold up.” He smiles, standing a little taller as he straightens his suit jacket. “We might have been in Vegas, and I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say that she’s officially stuck with me now. And you knew I’d show up. I take my runner up best man detail very seriously.”

  “Nice,” Jake tells Ryan, holding out his hand. “Congrats, bud.”

  “Thanks.” Ryan takes his hand, giving it a quick shake before he glances around the room. “So, what’s the story? We just waiting now?”

  Josh pulls back the sleeve of his jacket and glances at his watch. “Ten more minutes. And nobody knows what’s going to happen, because they didn’t have a rehearsal. Maddie wasn’t very happy about that, because she’s taking this wedding way more seriously than Jake and Alexis are.” He turns his attention to Jake. “Maybe you should have run off like Ryan and Harley.”

  “Are you kidding? She would have never gone for that! Too easy.” Jake shakes his head at Josh. “In all seriousness, though, we wanted our friends and family around. And that includes you knuckleheads.” The three guys laugh as they turn to look out the window to see people beginning to sit on the chairs outside.

  “Got room for one more?”

  Jake turns in the direction of the door and freezes in place at the sight of his old friend standing in the doorway. “I thought you had a game tonight.”

  “I had to pull a few strings, and I have to catch a plane as soon as the wedding’s over.”

  “Looks like you’re out of the wedding party.” Josh offers a shrug of his shoulders to Ryan.

  Jake steps up to the newcomer as they shake hands and then pull one another into a hug.

  “Guys, this is Cole Parker.” He stands next to Cole and nods at the others. “Josh, Ryan.” Taking a step back, he focuses on Cole once more. “Man, I’m surprised to see you.”

  “You honestly think I would miss this? If I don’t see it with my own eyes, I might not believe it happened. I did have it on good authority that you were never, ever getting married.”

  “I think I did say that,” Jake states with a smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. “When was that, your wedding day?”

  “Bachelor party,” Cole answers. “But I won’t tell Alexis.”

  “No doubt I said it to her at one time, too,” Jake answers. “Good thing she rarely takes me seriously.”

  “Ready, sweetheart?”

  Alexis turns from her spot alone on the porch to find her dad, arm extended, waiting to take her to her groom. She smiles as she watches Heather and Bailey step around the side of the house, hand in hand.

  “Just a minute, Dad. One more thing.”

  She
disappears into the house for a few seconds and then emerges through the doorway, holding a pair of red suede pumps with round toes and two-inch heels.

  “Are you borrowing Heather’s shoes?” he asks as she steadies herself by holding his arm, balancing on one foot while she tries to slide her foot into the shoe. It tips on its side, so she shoves the layers of her dress aside, trying again.

  “Nope, my shoes.” Letting out a sigh, she lifts the front of the dress again, trying to see her feet. “If I wore Heather’s sky-high shoes, I’d be taller than Jake.”

  “Here, let me help.” Her father lowers himself to the step beneath her, kneeling as he retrieves the first shoe to slide it on her foot. She touches her fingers to his shoulder to keep herself upright.

  When he’s finished, he rises to his feet and she shakes the layers of her dress, fluffing them out again.

  “You sure you want to wear those? They don’t seem like something you’d normally wear.” He extends his arm again and waits for her to take it. This time, she latches onto it with a smile.

  “No,” she says simply as they begin down the steps. “They’re not me. They’re gaudy and frilly and they make me feel sort of clumsy, but I need them today.”

  He stops walking at the bottom of the porch steps, turning his focus to his daughter.

  “Why is that, sweetie?”

  She looks straight ahead, to where Heather and Bailey stand in the yard chatting.

  “Is this not the most beautiful dress you’ve ever seen? Really?”

  He laughs as he nods his head. “Of course. It’s very pretty.”

  “It’s all about the way a person sees things,” she says as she smiles at her dad. “There’s some red underneath, but if it wasn’t there, I’d have no idea how beautiful the white really is.”

  A hand touches her right elbow, and she turns to see Jake standing beside her. Jake, who should be waiting for her with the preacher.

  She withdraws her hand from her dad’s arm and clutches her tulips in front of her. “What’s wrong? You’re not supposed to see me.”

  He laughs as he fights a smile, forcing a dimple into existence on his cheek. “I’m pretty sure we’ve done everything backwards from the beginning. I’m not worried about bucking tradition here. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Alexis gives her dad an apologetic smile, and he simply gives the two of them a look of confusion before he retreats around the side of the house. She then turns her nervous attention to Jake, who actually has his tie on straight for a change.

  “Your timing is a little off,” she says as she removes one hand from her flowers, placing it on top of his. “We sort of have pressing plans at the moment.”

  “Yeah, I’ve already been scolded by the preacher for abandoning my post,” Jake tells her, twisting his fingers through hers. “The thing is, I’ve been thinking about the vows. He’s probably going to say for better or worse, richer or poorer, and all that.”

  “Most likely. Standard procedure.”

  “Well, it’s good, but… I feel like we’ve done better or worse, you know? That’s too easy a promise.”

  She adjusts her stance on those red heels, determined not to twist her ankle. “So as long as we both shall live is too simple for you? Please continue. I can’t wait to hear this.”

  He gives a rather sideways smile as he glances in the direction of their guests. “Really, I haven’t given it that much thought. It was more of a passing flicker of a thought.” He pauses and looks down at their intertwined fingers. “The last wedding I went to, they wrote their own vows. I just don’t want you to think I don’t mean them if I didn’t write them. Does that make sense?”

  She looks down at her tulips, remembering the last time she saw that particular variety of flower. Valentine’s Day, at school. The card read from Bailey. It’s nearly impossible to hide her smile as she returns her gaze to his face, but she forces it into submission.

  “Okay, so you specifically mentioned richer or poorer. Is this some kind of stumbling block?”

  “What? No, I’ve been sleeping in a motel and you were going to use your great aunt’s cat couch. I’m pretty sure we’ve crossed that hurdle.”

  “But what if I told you I’ve just come upon a sum of money?”

  “You’d have to turn it in to the police, because your conscience wouldn’t let you keep it.”

  “Touché. So I’m just going to go out on a limb here and guess that you’re regretting the fact that you don’t get to profess your love for me in front of an audience?”

  Somehow he manages to raise his eyebrows and squint his eyes partly closed at the same time.

  “I thought showing up and wearing the suit was a pretty big statement.”

  She laughs as she tilts her head to the side, pulling her hand from his just long enough to pretend to straighten his tie.

  “Maybe we should have practiced,” he continues, glancing in the direction of their guests again. “Why didn’t we do that again?”

  “Because it’s a big enough accomplishment to get you to come to one wedding. I didn’t want to risk it twice.”

  “This is a valid point.” He leans in closer, and Alexis responds by inching back.

  “Ahem…pressing business, remember?”

  “Right,” he agrees with a nod of his head.

  She straightens her shoulders and attempts an intimidating glare. “Mr. McAuliffe, do you want to marry me or not?”

  He lets his gaze sweep over her dress, finally meeting her eyes. “I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful, but here you go and surprise me. You look amazing, Alex.”

  She squeezes his fingers, refusing to grin. “You didn’t answer me. Do you want to marry me or not?”

  “You know I do.” He releases her hand, taking a step back as he goes through the motions of straightening his tie again. “Now stop delaying things. This is a day of firsts for me and I’m ready to get it started.”

  He winks as he turns to saunter around the side of the house, and she laughs as she looks in the other direction to see her dad peeking around the opposite corner.

  “You can come out now,” she tells him, watching as he takes the few strides to return to her side. While she’s tucking her hand into his arm, his glasses slide down on his nose just enough that he can look over them.

  “I have to say, I’ve performed many weddings, but that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a groom leave his place like that.”

  “Really?” she asks, moving in the direction of the wedding guests. “Well, you might as well get used to that kind of thing with Jake around. He’s anything but predictable. In fact, if there’s one thing I’ve learned by now, it’s that there’s a first time for everything.” She stops in her tracks and looks up at her dad. “Do you know what I just realized?”

  “Tell me,” he says, urging her forward.

  She begins walking again, seeing Jake standing ahead at his proper place by the preacher. “Things aren’t going exactly like I pictured, but I’m pretty okay with that.” She smiles as she watches the grin cross Jake’s face while he bends to say something to Bailey. “Actually, I’m more than okay with things being slightly backwards, and that’s a first.”

  A few years later

  Wonder Lane

  Annie settles onto the sofa, wedging herself between Harley and Alexis.

  “You guys have to get a bigger couch if we’re going to keep meeting like this,” she mutters, peeking past Alexis to see Maddie squeezed near the arm of the sofa, looking completely uncomfortable.

  “That better not have been a fat joke,” Maddie complains, placing her hand on her abdomen. “One more month and I’m planning to lose a ton of weight.”

  “You’ll still be carrying the weight around, just in your arms instead of your stomach. Have a name yet?”

  “We’re still debating.” Maddie cranes her neck to look at Josh in the kitchen. “Scratch that. I’m suggesting and Josh shoots each name down like he’s sitting the
re locked and loaded, ready to fire at will.”

  “Not true,” Josh protests from his chair at the kitchen table. “I was perfectly fine with Natalie.”

  “Oh, how could I forget?” Maddie says, rolling her eyes. “He’s perfectly in agreement with me about a girl’s name, which would be super convenient if we were having a girl, wouldn’t it?”

  “Hope is down for the count,” Jake states, stepping into the room from the hallway. He continues to the kitchen, where he drops an almost-empty bottle into the sink. “Or at least for a couple hours, anyway. You need anything, babe?”

  Alexis shakes her head as she catches his eye, giving him a smile. She’d nearly forgotten what it was like having a newborn in the house, but Jake had been a trooper. She was able to relax way more this time around than she had when her parents helped with Bailey, and she was fairly convinced that it was because Jake didn’t want to miss a minute. She couldn’t fault him for that, and it made her love him even more.

  “He’s too sweet,” Annie adds. “Harley’s even crying.”

  “Oh, knock it off,” Harley tells her, smacking her playfully in the arm as she rises from the couch and heads down the hall, brushing at her eyes.

  “Give her a break.” Ryan plops himself into Harley’s empty spot, taking up even more of the couch than Harley had. “My sister Kelsey left on her first mission trip this morning, and Harley’s not handling it well. The two of them are practically inseparable, you know.”

  “No fair!” Bailey folds her arms over the side of the couch next to Ryan, making an exaggerated pouty face. “Who’s gonna play Scrabble with me now?”

  “Uncle Ryan,” he says, reaching out to tickle her.

  She laughs and takes a step back. “Only if you want me to b-e-a-t you. Because I w-i-l-l.”

  “Trust me, I k-n-o-w.” He shakes his head as she takes a seat on the arm of the couch, leaning against his shoulder. “How did you get so smart, anyway?”