Here Comes the Bride (Chapel of Love Book 3)

by Hope Ramsay

  “What is it, son?”

  “Well, I, um…” He gave Mark a look.

  “I think it’s something serious and personal,” Mark said. “Don’t worry, I need to chat with Heather about something.” Mark turned and headed toward his daughter, the congresswoman who represented Shenandoah Falls.

  Charles’s face grew solemn as Mark left. “What is it?”

  “I’d rather not talk about it here.”

  “Of course. Let’s go in the house.”

  A few minutes later, they arrived in the formal parlor just off the front center hall, a room used only during special occasions, which meant their privacy was virtually assured.

  “What’s the matter?” Charles asked as he took a seat on one of the centuries-old side chairs.

  Andrew sat down and leaned forward. “I don’t know. To be honest. I’m…” Suddenly Andrew’s situation seemed utterly ridiculous. How could he explain to his often solemn and down-to-earth uncle?

  “Mark was right. You do look like a man who needs a drink,” Charles said.

  Andrew shook his head. “No, I think this is better discussed sober. And this is confidential, Charles. Privileged. If I have to, I’ll pay you a dollar.”

  Charles chuckled. “Let me hear what’s on your mind, and then I’ll decide if I need a retainer.”

  Andrew nodded, pulled in a deep breath, and told Uncle Charles all about Noah Wilson’s odd behavior and the way he’d enlisted Andrew’s help to set up Laurie on dates.

  Uncle Charles didn’t seem overly concerned. “Well, you can’t really blame Noah for being ticked off at Brandon, can you?”

  “No, but there are times when I get the feeling that Noah is trying to force Laurie and Brandon into a reconciliation. And I can’t understand why.”

  “You really think he wants them to get back together?”

  “I do. I mean, Noah is a master at effecting reconciliations and he’s going through all the motions. I just can’t figure out why. I mean, I don’t see that Laurie wants Brandon back, and I’m not sure it would even be good for her to reconcile with Brandon.”

  “Really? You feel that strongly?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, I’m sure there’s no way Noah can force his daughter to marry someone she doesn’t want.”

  Andrew nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. But here’s the thing—I did a little research that has unsettled me. Based on publicly available information, it looks like the profits per partner at Wilson Kavanaugh have been declining. The firm has taken on a lot of new partners recently because of the number of acquisitions. I’m starting to worry that the mediation practice might be jettisoned at the upcoming partners meeting. And that led me to wonder if Noah wants Laurie and Brandon to marry in order to create a better negotiating position for a merger with LL&K.”

  Charles frowned. “This is a bit concerning,” he said, “but you have no evidence aside from some conjecture based on public information that may not be entirely accurate.”

  Andrew nodded. “I know. Call it a hunch or something. Do you know if Noah and August have had any conversations along these lines?”

  Charles finished his drink and put the glass down on the coffee table. “Andrew, I always thought you were too level-headed to give credence to conspiracy theories. I think Noah’s behavior can be explained by the fact that he’s angry as hell. In fact, your father and Mark and I had to physically pull the man off Brandon the day of the wedding.”

  “Okay. But what if he was angry because Brandon had messed up his plans for some kind of merger?”

  “Well, I guess that’s plausible. But it’s not the truth. The truth is, he loves his daughter and wants the best for her. And he’s pissed off at Brandon.”

  “So he decides to use me as a weapon? Is that it? I guess one way or another, my prospects for making partner are looking slim.”

  “Is that your main concern? Making partner?”

  Was his partnership his main concern? Maybe. And maybe he was also concerned about the future of Wilson Kavanaugh’s mediation practice. He was proud of what he’d accomplished as a mediator working with Noah. For all his faults, Noah Wilson was superb at making peace between litigants.

  But even as he parsed through these thoughts, he knew, without question, that Laurie was at the top of his list of worries.

  “I’m concerned about Laurie,” he said and looked away. “I don’t want to see her manipulated into making a bad decision and going back to Brandon. And I completely hate the idea of her being a bargaining chip in some law firm merger. And please don’t give me a lecture about how I’m supposed to be standing with Brandon on this. I’ve already heard it. Everyone in the family is ticked off that I was seen dancing with her.”

  “I’m not.” Charles’s eyebrow arched.

  “You’re not?”

  He shook his head. “The problem with this world is that we don’t dance enough, Andrew.”

  Andrew stared at his uncle, speechless.

  Charles laughed. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you or Laurie are trying to stir up trouble. I think you’ve been doing what you always do—being a good friend.”

  Charles leaned forward and gave Andrew a friendly knee slap. “Your uncertainty about Noah Wilson will pass, son. As for your theory about mergers and acquisitions, as far as I know, Noah and August haven’t had any discussions along that line. If I were you, I’d operate on the theory that Noah’s only motive is the same as yours—to make his daughter happy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Courtney sat at the Jay Bird Café on Sunday evening after a long day at the inn managing a big fat, two-hundred-guest Jewish wedding. Her feet throbbed, but her heart hurt even more. She sat at the bar stirring a Manhattan with its cherry-tipped toothpick. Her life was crap.

  Matt Lyndon had called her bluff on Friday night. He’d offered her a real good time, and she’d blown him off. Now she wondered why.

  What was wrong with enjoying a Player every once in a while? As long as she knew what she was getting into, what was the downside risk? Matt had one saving grace: He was totally up-front about who he was and what he wanted. Why had she said no?

  She heaved a ginormous sigh and popped the cherry into her mouth.

  “Rough day?”

  She pulled herself out of her self-pity just as Ryan Pierce, wearing a body-hugging Under Armor T-shirt, claimed the vacant stool next to her.

  Courtney looked up into his bright blue eyes and read something that might have been real concern in them. She cocked her head and studied him for a long moment, just to make sure she hadn’t misread him.

  He was not drop-dead gorgeous like Matt Lyndon. He was more of the all-American, battle-hardened, ex-military type. A tiny scar marred his square jaw, prompting Courtney to wonder if it was a war injury. His nose meandered a little, as if it had been broken once or twice. She saw duty and honor in his gaze.

  No question about it, Ryan Pierce was a born do-gooder. He’d even risked his life once by running into a burning building to save the town drunk. He took his job seriously. He cared about everyone. Equally.

  She finally answered his question. “No, it was just another Sunday at the inn. We’re kind of crazy this time of year what with the autumn tourist crowd and the Harvest Festival Ball coming up next weekend. The truth is, even when it’s not so busy, I like coming down here and schmoozing with Juni on Sundays. It’s quiet, and I usually need a drink after a long, busy weekend.”

  Ryan’s gaze shifted toward Juni. “Yeah, Juni’s pretty cool,” he said in a suddenly dopey voice that set off all kinds of alarms.

  Juni turned away from a customer farther down the bar. She gave them a smile, and strolled in their direction. She stopped in front of Ryan. “The usual?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, giving her a tiny, almost shy, smile that bounced right off Juni like bullets off Supergirl.

  So Courtney hadn’t been imagining things on Friday. Ryan had a thing for Juni. That
was interesting because Juni was as emotionally unavailable as Ryan. The manager of the Jay Bird was almost thirty years old, and as far as Courtney knew, Juni had never had a boyfriend.

  Or a girlfriend either.

  In fact, now that Courtney thought about it, Juni lived the life of a nun, always reading everyone’s auras and handing out advice to the lovelorn, but never actually jumping into the pond herself.

  Ryan’s interest in Juni underscored the fact that he was a bad risk all the way around. He clearly had a thing for unavailable women, didn’t he? Juni. Laurie. She paused a moment in thought. Oh shit. Ryan had taken a seat right next to hers.

  Well, the shoe fit, didn’t it? She was the woman who had said no to Matt Lyndon on Friday just because he was a Player.

  Juni returned a moment later and set a draft beer in front of Ryan, then she turned toward Courtney and leaned into the bar. “So what’s up?”

  “Nothing much.” Courtney said, looking down into her drink.

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Juni said in an ironic tone that compelled Courtney to look up.

  “What does that mean?”

  Juni gave her a tiny half smile. “It means that your muddy aura is almost the same as it’s always been. You really need to let go of the past and move on.”

  Ryan audibly snorted back a laugh, and Juni turned in his direction. “If you can’t be helpful, you can be quiet. I am well aware of your opinions about chakras, but Courtney has a far more open mind.”

  “You’re kidding, right? You think Courtney has an open mind?”

  Juni’s eye’s sparkled. “About some things.”

  “Oh, about some things. Like chakras. The rest of the time she’s pigeonholing the male gender. Very open-minded of her.”

  “Good point,” Juni said.

  “I’m right here, you know,” Courtney said in a flat voice. “You don’t have to talk about me as if I’m invisible.”

  “Now you know how it feels,” Ryan said.

  Courtney looked back down at her drink. “Thank you, Ryan, for making me feel so much better about myself.”

  “You’re welcome. And since you’re listening, I suggest that you stop going around expecting the worst from people. It’s true, people will disappoint you most of the time, but sometimes they can surprise you. You know?”

  “I am not a—”

  Juni interrupted the argument by reaching across the bar and tapping Courtney’s hand. “Ryan is entitled to his opinion. And for what it’s worth, your aura has changed just a tiny bit. Hardly noticeable, but significant nonetheless.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Juni nodded. “There’s a tiny spark of yellow in it now. Which is a good sign.”

  “What does yellow mean?”

  “It’s the color most associated with learning. I think maybe you’re beginning a new quest for self-knowledge.”

  “Oh, great. That sounds like so much fun.” She drained her Manhattan and slid the empty martini glass toward Juni. “I think I need another one. Learning can be a bitch sometimes.”

  Ryan cocked his head. “Did you drive or did you walk tonight?”

  “Dammit, Ryan, you’re not my keeper, you know.”

  “No, but I am an officer of the law. That gives me wide discretion. I could haul you in for drunk and disorderly even if you don’t get behind the wheel of a car. Or I could be a nice guy and drive you home.”

  “It’s okay. I walked. And please don’t offer to walk me home, okay? I don’t like company on my walks home.”

  Ryan and Juni exchanged a look.

  “What?”

  “So,” Juni said. “Did you let him in?”

  “Let who in?”

  “Matthew Lyndon.”

  She blinked a couple of times but said nothing.

  “I told you last Friday night that lust was in the air,” Juni said. “And I certainly noticed when Matt left the bar just seconds after you did. So did he walk you home?”

  “You know,” Ryan said, “I take back what I just said. Guys like him probably deserve to be pigeonholed.”

  “Shh,” Juni said. “Your opinion was not asked for.”

  Ryan looked a little taken aback, as if Juni’s words had wounded him in some way. Him, the big strong alpha dude wounded by little Juni. Courtney filed this away. Maybe it was time for Juni to come out of her shell.

  Juni turned her dark, compassionate eyes on Courtney. “So did he?”

  “What? Walk me home? Yeah, he followed me. But in answer to your question, I did not invite him in. And to be honest, he was kind of a jerk to me. He said some pretty unkind things. Not unlike someone else.” She gave Ryan one of her acid looks.

  “Well,” Juni said as one of her enigmatic smiles brightened her face, “sometimes unkind words need to be spoken in order to open up new pathways of thought.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means the thread of yellow in your aura wasn’t there on Friday night when you left the bar. But it’s there now.”

  Laurie entered the Jay Bird Café and was pleased to see Courtney and Ryan sitting at the bar. This was exactly what she’d hoped for when she’d decided not to sit at home watching Netflix, breathing in the paint fumes from the freshly painted bedroom and upstairs hallway, and obsessing over Andrew Lyndon and their encounter on Friday night.

  She was determined to be a grown-up, modern woman who could sleep with a guy and not get all hung up about him. She was determined to take the pleasurable lessons learned from Andrew and move on. She would be forever grateful to him for showing her how to enjoy sex. So really, she had nothing to be sad about.

  Except, of course, that having sex with him could never happen again.

  “Hey,” she said, climbing up onto the barstool next to Courtney and ordering a margarita. She came in on the tail end of a conversation about Courtney’s aura. Laurie could tell by the tense set of Courtney’s shoulders that Juni’s comments had annoyed her.

  So Laurie came to Courtney’s rescue. She turned toward Juni and asked. “So what do you see in my aura?” Juni was sure to find plenty of bad stuff to talk about, and Laurie had gotten used to people talking about how screwed up her life had become.

  Juni cocked her head. “Actually your aura is surprisingly balanced, all things considered.”

  “Really?”

  Juni tucked an errant lock of dark hair behind one ear. “Yeah. I’d say you’re moving on well.”

  “See?” Courtney said. “Getting rid of Brandon has been good for you.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Ryan said, lifting his beer and giving Laurie a grin.

  She flashed on Ryan’s behavior Friday night. She cocked her head and let fly. “Are you flirting with me?” she asked, utterly surprised by her courage.

  Ryan’s mouth quirked a little at the corner. “No. What gave you that idea?” But he cocked his head in the same direction, which was supposed to be some kind of body language cue. She knew this because she’d frantically read everything she could about dating and body language right before her disastrous date with Connor.

  “Really, you guys?” Courtney said as her gaze bounced from Ryan to Laurie and back again. “Maybe I should change places with Laurie so you can be closer together.”

  Ryan gave Courtney an equally flirtatious look, and Laurie realized that Ryan was an equal opportunity flirt. “Aren’t you going to warn her about me?” he asked. “You know, about how I’m emotionally not available?”

  Courtney shook her head. “Laurie already knows that. She’s flirting back at her own peril.”

  Ryan put his hands over his heart. “You’re cruel, you know that?”

  “Yeah, I guess I am. I’m also sadder but wiser.” Courtney turned to face Laurie. “So, how are you doing, honey? And who was that guy you were with at Emma’s wedding?”

  Laurie filled Courtney in on Tobin’s particulars and finished with, “I haven’t figured out if Tobin fits into your list yet. I’m trying to decide if I sh
ould call him up and invite him to the Harvest Festival Ball.”

  Although really, if she were honest with herself, the only guy she wanted to dance with was Andrew. But she couldn’t call him. Ever again. Especially not after all her brave talk on Friday about how she wanted no-strings-attached sex.

  “I wouldn’t call Tobin,” Courtney said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he promised to call you.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you should let him do that. Sort of like a test.”

  “Oh, brother,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

  “What?” Courtney said, turning toward Ryan. “You think she should call him and let him know that she’s super-interested?”

  “Yeah. Why not?”

  “Because then he has all the leverage.”

  “Boy, you have it all figured out, don’t you?”

  “Yes I do.” Courtney turned toward Laurie. “If I were you, I’d find someone else to take me to the ball. That way when Tobin calls and asks you out, if he calls, you can legitimately tell him that you’re busy on Saturday.”

  Ryan put his elbow on the bar and propped his head. “This is fascinating. So who do you think Laurie should ask?”

  Courtney turned back toward Ryan. “How about you?”

  Ryan straightened. “Me?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Ryan turned toward Laurie with a surprised, almost panicked expression. For a moment Laurie thought about telling Courtney to back off, but then she changed her mind. She wasn’t all that interested in Ryan Pierce, but if she had to pick a guy to be her plus-one for the Harvest Ball, she could do a whole lot worse. Ryan would never get drunk, act like an ass, or otherwise embarrass her. His presence would also annoy the crap out of Brandon, who was sure to be there because Roxy’s children’s charity was one of the beneficiaries.

  She gave Ryan a big smile. “I would be honored if you would accompany me to the ball,” she said.

  He blinked a few times and gave the impression of a deer staring right into the headlights of an oncoming truck. “Do I have to wear a tuxedo?”