A Fool's Gold Wedding

by Susan Mallery

  Sparks fly when the sister of the bride meets the brother of the groom in this brand-new Fool’s Gold love story...

  Abby Hendrix would do anything to help with her beloved sister’s wedding, even play tour guide to the off-puttingly brilliant—and unexpectedly gorgeous—brother of the groom. She’s a small-town schoolteacher; he’s a gifted surgeon. Nothing intimidating about that! She’ll just ask him to help her plan a top secret surprise for the wedding. No pressure.

  Joaquin Kincaid has always been book-smart and people-awkward, and Abby’s sweet and social nature triggers an unexpected yearning inside him. His whole life, he’s been an outsider, while she’s so popular she’s able to convince an entire town to go along with her wild ideas. For the first time ever, he’s met a woman who accepts him as he is, quirks and all, and he feels himself falling in love. Could Abby love him, too? Or, when she discovers the real reason he came to Fool’s Gold, will he lose her forever?

  Praise for Susan Mallery

  “Susan Mallery never disappoints and with Daughters of the Bride she is at her storytelling best.”

  —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “Susan Mallery brings her signature humor and style to this moving story of strong women who help each other deal with realistic challenges, a tale as appealing as the fiction of Debbie Macomber and Anne Tyler.”

  —Booklist on California Girls

  “Mallery’s latest novel is a breath of fresh air for romantics, a sweet reminder that falling in love is never how you plan it and always a pleasant surprise.”

  —Library Journal on The Summer of Sunshine & Margot, starred review

  “In this poignant small-town charmer, Mallery beautifully illustrates the power of female friendship and the importance of reaching for one’s dreams… This irresistible, heartfelt story will appeal to romance readers and women’s fiction fans alike.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Sisters by Choice

  “Heartfelt, funny, and utterly charming all the way through!”

  —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author, on Daughters of the Bride

  “It’s not just a tale of how true friendship can lift you up, but also how change is an integral part of life.... Fans of

  Jodi Picoult, Debbie Macomber, and Elin Hilderbrand will assuredly fall for The Girls of Mischief Bay.”

  —Bookreporter

  “Soul-crushing revelations and old resentments are tempered by whimsy, sass, and belly laughs in a scrumptiously sexy, playful story from one of the genre’s best. Touching, refreshing, and fun.”

  —Library Journal on Why Not Tonight

  “Mallery combines heat and sweet in a delicious tale destined for beach blankets... [She] skillfully weaves in tantalizing details from the sisters’ pasts—romantic hurts, the emotional devastation of being abandoned by their mother when they were children—to make the heart-tugging happily-ever-after all the sweeter.”

  —Publishers Weekly on The Summer of Sunshine & Margot

  Also by

  Susan Mallery

  The Friendship List

  The Summer of Sunshine & Margot

  California Girls

  When We Found Home

  Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

  Daughters of the Bride

  Happily Inc

  Meant to Be Yours

  Not Quite Over You

  Why Not Tonight

  Second Chance Girl

  You Say It First

  Mischief Bay

  Sisters Like Us

  A Million Little Things

  The Friends We Keep

  The Girls of Mischief Bay

  Blackberry Island

  Sisters by Choice

  Evening Stars

  Three Sisters

  Barefoot Season

  …and the beloved Fool’s Gold series.

  For a complete list of titles available from Susan Mallery, please visit www.susanmallery.com.

  A Fool’s Gold Wedding

  Susan Mallery

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM HAPPILY THIS CHRISTMAS BY SUSAN MALLERY

  CHAPTER ONE

  “SO THERE’S THIS GUY.”

  Abby Hendrix didn’t bother looking up from the tiny flower-shaped bead she was carefully gluing onto the printed place card. Her sister’s wedding guest list had ballooned yet again. The increase in guests meant an increase in costs and Melissa was determined to do all she could to save money. Abby—the proud owner of a brand-new teaching certificate—was home for the summer and had offered to help with any DIY projects. She had applied tiny flower beads to forty-four place cards and was hoping to get through all three hundred and five by the end of the day. Or possibly by tomorrow.

  “There’s no guy,” she said, before blowing on the bead to set the glue. “I know there’s no guy because I know you’d never cheat on your fiancé.” She looked up and smiled at her sister. “You love Davis. I have total confidence that you two will have a long, happy life together. So there.”

  “I do love Davis. Very much. But there is a guy. Joaquin.”

  The name was familiar. Abby set down her tweezers and leaned back in her chair. She’d definitely heard the name before. He was...

  “Davis’s brother,” Melissa said with a sigh.

  “Right. The mysterious, icky brother.”

  “He’s not icky.”

  Abby grinned. “Uh-huh. Sure he’s not. So why, exactly, were you whining about him being the best man? You said, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you said he had the personality of a window frame, which was an impressive analogy, if you ask me.”

  “Thank you and icky is still the wrong word. He’s...”

  “Difficult? Socially awkward? Very, very tall? Allergic to shellfish?” Abby tried to remember what she’d heard about him. “Oh, wait. He’s supersmart. Like scary smart and he thinks the rest of us are dumb.” She laughed triumphantly. “He loathes that we are lesser mortals. That’s it, right?”

  Melissa, the beauty of the family, sighed again. “Not exactly how I’d phrase it—”

  “That’s because you’re a fancy lawyer. You’d have to use the word allegedly like fifteen times.”

  “Can I talk?”

  Abby batted her eyes. “I don’t know. Can you?”

  “When did you get annoying?”

  Abby was unfazed by the question. “I’m the little sister. Just doing my job. I am, after all, a hard worker. Not as hard as you, but close.”

  Abby knew her place in the universe and it was a really good one. She was Liz and Ethan’s adopted daughter, Melissa’s full sister, Tyler’s cousin and a soon-to-be third grade teacher at Ronan Elementary School. If Melissa was annoyingly beautiful and a little bit smarter, Abby was okay with that. Melissa had always looked out for her, even after they’d finally found a family. They were a team. If her sister needed a kidney or a lung, Abby was all in. If three hundred and five place cards would be happier with little flower beads on them, count on her to get that done.

  Now she made an effort to control her naturally irreverent personality and address the topic seriously.

  “You knew Joaquin was coming to the wedding. He’s the best man. So what’s the problem? He doesn’
t like the tux? And I can’t help repeating myself by asking about the shellfish.”

  “Would you stop with the shellfish?” Melissa asked, obviously trying not to laugh. “This is serious.”

  Abby placed her hands on her jean-clad thighs, leaned forward and nodded. “I’m listening.”

  In theory, Abby and her sister looked alike. They were both about five-five and they wore about the same size. They were redheads with green(ish) eyes. But what sounded the same on paper was very different in real life. Melissa had thick auburn hair with a slight wave. Her eyes were dark green, her skin pale and luminous. She had all the right curves in all the right proportions. She was elegant, smart and always perfectly dressed.

  Abby lived on a different appearance plane. Her hair was more carrot colored than auburn and, no matter how she curled, sprayed and sacrificed small animals to the hair gods, stick straight. She had freckles on literally every inch of her body. Her eyes were kind of a muddy green-hazel-brown, and despite wearing the same size as her sister, she had tiny boobs and what she feared would one day be a fairly good-size behind.

  And yet she was okay with it. All of it. Sure, she would like bigger boobs, but barring surgery, she hadn’t figured out a way to make that happen. In the name of self-confidence, she had a lovely collection of push-up bras that really did make a difference. For special occasions, she even had a pair of little gel cutlet thingies that did the trick, illusion wise. On the bright side, she could totally go without a bra if she wanted and no one even—

  “Abby!” Melissa sounded exasperated.

  “What?”

  “You said you were listening. I’ve been talking for five minutes and you haven’t heard a word.”

  “Oh. You’re right. Sorry. Now I’m really listening.”

  Melissa didn’t look convinced.

  “I swear.” Abby held up her left hand, then quickly switched to her right. “This is me, swearing.”

  “Joaquin is coming to Fool’s Gold.”

  “Yes, for the wedding.” Was the stress of the event starting to get to her sister? They’d already discussed this.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “What? No. Tomorrow? The wedding’s not for three weeks. Too-smart-for-his-own-good Joaquin is going to be in town for three weeks? That’s a nightmare. What are you going to do?”

  Melissa’s gaze sharpened. “Yes, that is the question,” she said. “He’s going to need to be entertained.”

  “But how—” Abby fought the sudden urge to run from the room. “No. No way. Not me. I can’t entertain him. I’m not smart enough. I was a solid B+ student. I’m great with kids. If he were eight or even eleven, I would be your girl, but what am I supposed to say to some sanctimonious doctor guy? Didn’t he go to college when he was like five? No way. What about Mom?”

  “Abby, please. There’s no way he’d hang out with Mom, and even if he would, she’s doing so much with the wedding and she’s on deadline. I have to go back to work. In San Francisco,” she added, as if Abby didn’t know where she worked and lived. “Davis does, too.”

  “He could visit you there.”

  “Joaquin specifically told Davis he wants to stay in Fool’s Gold. He has a room at Ronan’s Lodge. I’m sure he’ll keep himself busy. I just need you to, you know, help out.”

  “Monitor him.” Abby’s tone was glum. “You want me to keep track of him and invite him out to dinner and be cheerful.”

  “Cheerful is a natural state for you.”

  “Yes, but not with a guy like him. Plus, I haven’t even met him.” Davis’s parents had been to Fool’s Gold bunches of times. Last Christmas the whole Kincaid-Hendrix clan had comingled for a gloriously massive and raucous Christmas. Everyone had been there. Everyone except the mysterious and grumpy Joaquin. He’d been working. Or dealing with his possible shellfish allergy.

  Abby told herself not to judge. From all she’d heard, Joaquin was a gifted surgeon, so when he worked, he literally saved lives and stuff. But her uncle Simon was a gifted surgeon, too, and he wasn’t grumpy. He was sweet and funny and he loved his family, and when she’d accidently sliced three of her fingers on a very sharp knife last summer, he’d fixed her up and now she barely had a scar.

  “I know this is unexpected, but, Abby, I need you.”

  “Don’t say that.” Anything but that. If her sister needed her, she didn’t have a choice. Still, she could try to get out of it. “You know I’m busy with the wedding. I have to finish these cards.”

  “I’ll help you. We’ll get them done today.”

  “Sure, but I have to paint all the votives and that’s going to take a while.”

  “Joaquin can help.”

  “I doubt that, but there’s other stuff.” Surprises for her sister she didn’t want to talk about. “Melissa, I really don’t have time to babysit Joaquin. Please?”

  Instead of relenting, Melissa only looked at her. Pointedly.

  Ack! “But I don’t want to.”

  Melissa sighed.

  “Fine.” Abby grumbled. “I’ll do it. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it. You are not my favorite sister anymore.”

  “I’m your only sister and you love me almost as much as I love you.”

  “Apparently I love you more. Look what I’m doing for you. You are so going to owe me. I get to pick the name of your firstborn.”

  Melissa pulled her close and hugged her. “I’m not sure how Davis would feel about me promising that. He might want a vote.”

  “Then he should let his brother sleep on the couch.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll let him know the price of your cooperation.”

  Abby turned back to the place cards. Putting on tiny bead flowers was suddenly a lot less fun. Starting tomorrow she was going to be responsible for someone she’d never met and probably wouldn’t like. For three weeks! What on earth were they going to do?

  Once her sister went back to San Francisco, Abby had planned to start working on her secret gift for the wedding. It was going to take a lot of time and organization. She supposed she could ask Joaquin to help. And they could walk around town. What else? She could take him to see her aunt Montana’s service dogs and they could go out to the Castle Ranch and look at the horses. Or the goats. Although that might be too ordinary for a gifted surgeon. Maybe she could talk to her uncle Simon and get some ideas from him.

  “I’ll put together a lesson plan,” she said. “Stuff for us to do every day between now and the wedding.”

  Melissa grinned. “I’m sure he’ll love that.”

  “He’d better. He’s messing with my summer vacation.”

  * * *

  JOAQUIN KINCAID KNEW he was out of options. He’d done what he was supposed to and it had gotten him exactly nowhere. Faced with the choice of giving up or making an end run, he’d decided on the latter, because giving up was never an option. He didn’t believe in it—not for himself or his patients. So here he was, wasting three weeks of his life in some ridiculous town on the off chance he could meet Simon Bradley and convince the man to admit Joaquin into his fellowship program.

  Not an off chance, he reminded himself as he paced the length of the hotel room. He would make it happen. He had an in, after all. He was going to be spending time with a local resident who was related to Simon by marriage. Surely he could convince—he pulled the slip of paper out of his shirt pocket and glanced at it—Abby Hendrix to introduce him to her uncle. The meeting made sense—they were both surgeons specializing in trauma. Simon had gone even deeper, focusing on patients who were severely burned, a practice that had never been overly interesting to Joaquin until he’d lost one to her burns. He’d been more than capable of fixing her damaged heart and her ripped arteries, but in the end, her body had been unable to handle the burns. He’d been helpless to save her, a state of being he did not accept.

  That had been a yea
r ago and he still remembered everything about the moment when she’d died. He’d stood there, unable to intervene in any meaningful way. Two days later he’d applied for Dr. Bradley’s fellowship. A month after that, he’d had a preliminary interview and had been told he wasn’t a good match. Him!

  He’d graduated summa cum laude from Stanford at the age of thirteen. He had three advanced degrees, wasting time until he was able to enter medical school at the age of seventeen. He was brilliant, dammit. How was it possible he hadn’t made it past the first round? He hadn’t even had the chance to meet Dr. Bradley. It had been an impossible situation and he didn’t accept that any more than he accepted feeling helpless.

  He crossed to the window and stared out at Fool’s Gold. The day was sunny and warm. There were wide streets and lots of storefronts decorated with brightly colored flowers. To the east were mountains. He’d driven past a couple of vineyards on his way into town. Fool’s Gold was the consummate small town. Joaquin didn’t like small towns. Although he’d never been in one before, he didn’t like this one. He liked large urban areas with lots going on. Not that he did much more than work, but he liked knowing there was always the opportunity for him to go to a restaurant or a club or a museum. What did people do here?

  He reminded himself that for the sake of his career he would have to pretend to be enthralled by the place. After all, his brother, Davis, seemed to love it. He and Melissa were getting married here, although that probably had more to do with the fact that Melissa had grown up in the area. At least he thought she had. He’d never much paid attention when his brother had talked about his fiancée. Not that he and Davis talked much these days. Or ever. There simply wasn’t that much to say. They had nothing in common—not that they ever had.

  Joaquin had only met Melissa once or twice. He rarely went home for the holidays or other traditional family gatherings. He preferred to work. He told himself it was so other staff members could be with their families, but he knew in his heart he simply wasn’t that altruistic. The real reason was he didn’t like being around people very much. Not socially. He never knew what to say or how to act. Plus, their conversation wasn’t very interesting. The things people cared about were so mundane. His was a world of life and death. Saving his patients was what mattered. Everything else was easily dismissed.