Don't Call Me Sweetheart

by Codi Gary

  Sonora, oblivious to them, was still lamenting her lack of bridesmaid. “I guess I’ll just have to go through my phone again and see if I can find someone who can fit into Belinda’s dress.”

  “Hey there.” A woman in her late forties or early fifties approached, wearing an old-fashioned white apron. Her silver-streaked blond hair was up in a loose bun, and her eyes were lightly lined with crow’s feet behind the clear lenses of her glasses. “You can seat yourselves and I’ll be right there to tell you the specials.”

  They found an empty booth at the back of the restaurant, and Luke studied the homey décor as they passed. The red walls were covered in black and white pictures of couples: couples kissing, couples hugging, couples holding hands. Even Luke thought it was a pretty cute setup for a restaurant called the Sweetheart Café.

  “God, this place is tacky,” Sonora said loudly.

  Of course Sonora the Brat would think so.

  Several people turned, their expressions ranging from mildly irritated to downright hostile.

  “Babe, knock it off.” Brent’s angry command was so out of character, Sonora stumbled in front of him, and Luke wanted to slap him on the back for finally getting his balls back.

  Sonora’s mouth opened to say something, but she must have had second thoughts because she closed it with a snap. She slid into the booth first, clearly sulking, and then Brent slid in. Luke did not want to sit next to Sonora, but since Brent wasn’t moving, he went to the other side and slumped down.

  “Here you go.” The server set down three ice waters and three menus. “And today we have our SOS omelet, which is made with jalapeño peppers, bell peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, and spinach, our ‘hot’ potatoes, and one of our famous biscuits with jalapeño jelly. If spicy isn’t your thing, we have the Sweetheart Hot Cakes, which is a stack of five of our buttermilk and vanilla pancakes, served with your choice of five syrups, whipped cream and chocolate chips, or a helping of our fresh preserves in either peach, strawberry, or blueberry.”

  “That sounds good to me. Could I add some bacon and sausage to that?” Luke asked.

  His friendly tone seemed to relax her, and he wondered if she’d heard Sonora talking shit about the café. “Oh, a big boy like you needs his protein, so I think you should go with this.” She pointed to an item in a box on the menu.

  Luke read the description aloud. “The Tank, huh? This hefty platter is packed with every food group, and will keep you pumped for battle or spending the day wooing your honey.” Luke chuckled. “Well, I don’t have a honey, but that sounds good to me.”

  “And how about some coffee, handsome?”

  Luke glanced at her name tag with a grin. “Well, Rose, I think I’ll take you up on that. Black is fine.”

  She winked at him, her green eyes twinkly. “You got it.”

  When she turned towards Sonora and Brent, her demeanor was more formal, but still friendly enough, even when Sonora started asking for a caloric breakdown of several items and a bottle of spring water.

  Rose’s expression changed, and she spoke as if Sonora were a child who didn’t want to eat her dinner. “You want spring water, darling, you go to Idaho. Our water is filtered, but if you really want a bottle, there’s the gas station across the street.”

  Sonora’s face turned bright red and she looked like she was about to stand up and make a scene.

  Brent shoved her back down into her seat, flashing Rose a wide, apologetic smile. “The water is fine. You’ll have to forgive my fiancée . She got some bad news this morning and—”

  “You don’t need to make excuses for me,” Sonora snapped.

  Then she shoved at Luke’s shoulder. “Let me out. I need to go to the bathroom.”

  Luke was tempted to stay put and make her crawl under the table, but they were already the focus of too many curious eyes. He slid out of the booth and let her by.

  As Rose gathered up the menus, she gave Brent a dry look. “Nice girl you got there.”

  Damn, but he liked Rose.

  Brent gave her a small, sheepish smile before she walked away. Luke lost all traces of amusement as he focused on his friend’s face. He looked exhausted.

  “Man, I gotta ask again—”

  “Don’t.” Brent’s sharp tone came out like a bark and Luke glared at him.

  “Fine, you want to be fucking miserable, that’s on you, but I am not going to spend the next two months with her being a bitch to anyone and everyone she meets. I just don’t get what you see in her—”

  Brent leaned over the table and spoke in a low growl. “Because she meets all of my father’s requirements for a wife, and if I want to continue to run my third of the company my way, then I need to fall in line. That means get married, preferably to a woman who will give me children and is willing to stay home and raise them. She should be manageable, and willing to toe the line. Sonora, despite her troubles, has agreed to all of these things, and if she should become difficult at times, well, then I’ll just go to work.”

  Luke couldn’t believe this was the same guy he’d met in high school, who’d written bad poetry for a girl he’d been crushing on in their sophomore English class. It was so cold and calculating.

  “That’s fucked up, man.”

  “No, that’s life. That’s business. Not everyone thinks love and marriage have to go hand and hand.”

  Luke shook his head. He didn’t believe a word of the bullshit his friend was spewing, but he wasn’t going to tell him how to live his life. Luke wouldn’t tolerate people getting all up in his business. It was why he’d moved to L.A. in the first place, to get away from his sperm donor.

  Luke’s lips pinched just thinking of the bastard. Henry Calhoun had been a married, philandering dick when he knocked up Luke’s mother, the cook’s daughter, who had grown up on his Texas ranch. Kaylie Jessup was eighteen and imagined herself in love with the charismatic Henry, twenty years her senior. The fantasy she had about the two of them being together after he divorced his wife went up in smoke when she told him she was pregnant. He wrote her a check for college, and told her in the nicest way possible to leave and never come back.

  So she took his money and bought them a small place in Mississippi. They lived off the money from Henry until Luke started kindergarten and Kaylie got a job as the cook at his school. His mother was his whole world and he adored her.

  When he was twelve, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The medical bills were a heavy burden, and Luke found himself mowing lawns and other odd jobs to help his mom out.

  But then Henry came looking for them. Turned out his other two sons by his ex-wife wanted nothing to do with him, and he needed someone to take over his business affairs when he died.

  Luke’s mom told him to go to hell, but he offered to pay off all their medical bills and swore he’d set her up with the best doctors in Houston. Despite everything he knew about Henry, Luke never had a father, and wanted the chance to know him. Luke realized that he was the main reason his mother agreed to Henry’s terms.

  The next year was like a whirlwind, and when his mother died just two months’ shy of his fourteenth birthday, he was left in Henry Calhoun’s care. He’d gone to the finest school, where he met Brent and other boys Henry approved of, and he played football and dated the girls that Henry pushed his way. For the next four years, Luke was like a zombie, not really living, just going through the motions.

  Then a Marine recruiter had approached him while he was out with friends, and he took the first step to defy Henry Calhoun’s plan.

  When he told Henry, the old man became so furious, Luke was sure he was going to hit him, but in the end, he just tried to pull every string to keep Luke from going. Only no amount of oil money could release Luke from his commitment and three months later, he shipped off. He did four years and instead of heading back to Texas, he went to New York. After f
ive years working SWAT for the NYPD, he transferred to Los Angeles.

  But last December, Henry’s oldest son, Michael, called to let him know that Henry had died of a heart attack and for the first time in eleven years, he’d gone back to Texas. He hardly knew his two half-brothers, and after a weekend of listening to them rip Henry to shreds even as they contemplated how to spend their inheritance, Luke had no desire to know them. Ever.

  Henry had been a selfish man, but he wasn’t a villain.

  Of course, once the will was read, there was no use trying to convince the other men of that. Henry had left everything to Luke—his company, his ranch, all of it—and a letter, explaining that even though he’d been a complete disappointment to him, Luke had been the only son he had worth a damn.

  What had followed was a whole lot of drama in and out of court as his two brothers took turns suing him, but they both lost, and after they paid court fees, were more in debt than before. Luke hadn’t lost much sleep over their predicament though. Instead, he sold off all of Henry’s assets, split the money into several money market accounts, and bought a house on the beach.

  He’d only been able to take four years of Henry’s controlling crap. He had no idea how Brent was still bending over backwards for his family.

  “I tell you what. If I ever take that plunge it’s gonna be because I am so crazy for the woman, I can’t stand to be without her for one more minute.”

  Brent nodded grimly. “I wish you the best of luck with that.”

  Chapter 3

  Monday morning, Marley’s first thought was of her lunch date with Luke. She opened her eyes with a smile on her face. And immediately started screaming.

  Butterscotch jumped straight up in the air and took off across the bed, flying down the hope chest and skidding along the wood floor with frantic clicking until he disappeared out the bedroom door.

  Marley flopped back on the bed, sucking in air and trying to calm her racing heart.

  “Damn it, Butters! You need to stop staring at me until I wake up! It is freaking creepy!”

  Of course, she didn’t actually expect the rabbit to respond. After six months, you’d think she’d have gotten used to seeing the little white, furry face in hers, but it was still jarring.

  When she finally climbed out of bed, she went about her daily routine: filling Butters’s dish and rubbing her hand over his soft ears so he knew there weren’t any hard feelings. After that, she took a shower and got dressed for work. A chiffon yellow dress and a pair of bright floral heels would work for her meeting with her boss and for her date with Luke.

  It took her less than five minutes to drive across town to the office of Something Borrowed Wedding Solutions. Kelly Barrow had started the bridesmaid-for-hire service ten years ago, when she was twenty-one, after all of the bridesmaids for one of the biggest weddings of the season had come down with the stomach flu. Kelly, who had been working at X’s and O’s Bridal Shop, offered to step in as maid of honor, and called up five local girls who could fit into the bridesmaids dresses.

  And the rest was history.

  Most weddings that hired them only required a MOH or a bridesmaid, and with the high turnover at Something Borrowed, no one had ever complained about their friends finding out they had to hire someone to be there on the bride’s special day. Most of the women who worked at Something Borrowed were twenty-one to twenty-four and only worked one or two summers when they came home from college. Marley was the oldest at twenty-eight, and had been with Kelly for seven years.

  If it had been up to her, she would have escaped Sweetheart a long time ago, but she couldn’t leave her mom with the mountain of medical bills that had stacked up for her little sister, Bethany. The money she earned had saved the Sweetheart Café and paid off everything insurance hadn’t covered. All she needed was one really good summer, and Marley would have enough money to start over somewhere new. To finally go to New York, get an intro job at a large publishing house, and work her way up to a full-time book editor.

  Of course, that was just a dream at the moment. Although she had a masters in English, she hadn’t quite gotten up the nerve to apply for any jobs yet.

  Marley smiled at her friend, Rylie Templeton, who was sitting behind the front desk eating a delicious looking muffin and licking the crumbs from her lips.

  “That looks good,” Marley called in way of greeting.

  “Hey!” Rylie got up and came around the desk, holding the muffin out to her. “You have to try this! I made a bunch last night.”

  Marley eyeballed the half eaten muffin. Rylie knew that she didn’t like to share food. “If you made a bunch, then why do I need to eat yours?”

  Rylie’s round cheeks turned pink. “Cause I got excited. Come around here and grab one. I think they’re my best ones.”

  Marley came around the back of the desk and picked up one of the big, fluffy muffins and took a bite. A burst of sweet cake and chocolate with just the hint of spice exploded on her tongue.

  “Oh my God, what is that?” She licked her lips and hummed in approval as she took another taste.

  Rylie was practically squealing, and Marley smiled around the chunk of muffin in her mouth. Rylie was so freaking excitable, it was adorable.

  “They’re chai chocolate chip muffins. You like?”

  The only problem Rylie had was her lack of self-confidence, due partly to her asshole of a boyfriend tearing her down every chance he got. Rylie was three years younger than Marley and had been at Something Borrowed for three years, and in all that time, Marley had never seen Rylie stand up for herself. It was probably why all the clients loved her. She was sweet, bubbly, and didn’t rock the boat.

  “No, I freaking love. I’m going to need another of these bad boys later after lunch.”

  Rylie was practically bouncing in her ballet flats, her teal skater dress dancing with her. With her chocolate brown hair laced with golden highlights and her big doe eyes, Rylie was lovely, especially when she smiled.

  If only she saw herself the same way.

  “I’ll save one for you.”

  “Thank you.” Marley took another bite of the muffin as she headed down the hallway toward Kelly’s office. She stopped off for a cup of coffee, black “like her soul” she always joked, and knocked softly on the closed door.

  “Come in.”

  Marley went inside and held up the muffin. “Have you had one of these?”

  Kelly gave her a wide grin and pointed to the small chunk of what was left of her muffin, her hazel eyes glittering. With long straight black hair that drifted almost to her waist, Kelly was classically beautiful, like Elizabeth Taylor, yet Marley had never seen the other woman with anyone in eight years. Kelly had told her that she had a fiancée once upon a time, but he’d gone into the Army, and never came home.

  For a woman who made other people’s weddings the stuff of dreams, it was strange that she hadn’t found somebody to love.

  Of course, Marley had no room to judge. The dating pool in Sweetheart was small and she was reluctant to form any attachments, especially since she planned on hightailing it out the first chance she got.

  Kelly popped the last chunk in her mouth with a hum. “I swear, that girl is going to end up on one of those reality cooking shows as a judge.”

  “Seriously.” Marley sat down across from her, holding her muffin in her lap. “So, what’s going on? Your message last night was pretty cryptic.”

  Kelly leaned her hip against her desk and clasped her hands in front of her tight purple dress. “Well, yesterday I received a call from Sonora Star.”

  Marley was surprised. She’d never been a fan, but her sister, Bethany had adored her. “The pop singer? I thought she was in rehab?”

  Kelly shook her head. “No, she went to rehab last year. Now she is marrying one of the richest men in America and her maid of honor just flaked
.”

  “Well, from what I’ve seen in the magazines, I can imagine why.”

  Kelly gave her a Cheshire cat smile. “Which is why she’s hiring a professional. Someone who has the patience of Job and the organizational skills to help this wedding go off without a hitch on August 8.”

  Marley’s stomach sank. “You’ve got to be kidding. Two months? You want me to organize her wedding in two months? Has she done anything?”

  “She has the wedding venue, but besides that, nothing.”

  And yet, Kelly had taken her on, which meant Something Borrowed had gotten a substantial bonus.

  “How much did she give you?” Marley wasn’t worried about Kelly taking offense. There was a reason she’d chosen Marley; she lacked pretense and didn’t pussyfoot around.

  “She didn’t. Her parents did. Apparently, Sonora’s finances took a bit of a hit the last few years, so they will be handling all the expenses.”

  “What about her fiancée ? If he’s loaded, why doesn’t he pay for some of it?”

  “Another reason she wants a professional. Sonora’s fiancée isn’t aware of her struggle and she’d prefer to keep it that way.”

  Marley wrinkled her nose in distaste. “That’s unethical.”

  “It’s a good thing we aren’t the moral police then.” Kelly held out two checks to her with a grin. “The first one is your commission and the second is a bonus.”

  Marley studied the checks, and as she counted the zeros she gasped. They totaled $20,000. She was scheduled on three other weddings this summer and this one paid more than those combined. She’d have more than enough to live on if she needed to supplement her income.

  “I can’t…I can’t believe this.” Then a terrible thought crossed her mind as she stared at the checks with only Sonora Star’s name on them. “Are we sure it will go through?”

  “She assured me we could deposit them immediately, as long as you would meet her for dinner tonight. She wants to get to know you and see if the two of you will suit.”