Except, he didn’t seem to take offense. He actually laughed. “Nah, I’ve dealt with worse.”
Then he winked.
He. Fucking. Winked.
It brought back all the shame and horror from that night, that final night, when everything had shattered around them.
If he hadn’t winked, it would’ve been fine. She didn’t know why the wink enraged her so much, but it did. Lucky would’ve called herself out on her own bullshit and she could have settled in for a nice pretend wedding.
But instead, he’d winked, and her carefully constructed wall that was supposed to keep her safe shattered into a million, tiny, stupid pieces.
“Nope, I’m out.” She turned to walk away.
“Oh, hey. Come on. It’s either laugh or cry. Everyone else has already laughed. Why can’t we?”
She spun on him. “We’re supposed to pretend like it didn’t happen, Ransom.”
“But it did. Have you forgotten it? I sure haven’t.”
Heat rushed her entire body.
“I . . . When I applied for my first loan to start the business, I heard them talking about me before I went into the loan interview. The Boy Who Missed. If I couldn’t figure out how to fuck, I’d never be able to navigate my own business. I didn’t get the loan.”
“You went in anyway?” Lucky studied him, something like admiration blooming in her chest. Not that it was a surprise he’d go in anyway. That was the kind of guy Ransom Payne was.
But Lucky, she didn’t know if she’d have had the fortitude.
“Of course, I did. Screw them.” He smiled at her. “And I don’t bank there. I advise everyone I know not to. I pulled out of a deal with a distributor because they still bank there.”
“Petunia is definitely your godmother.”
“Her nickname is Petty for a reason.”
She couldn’t deny that being here in this same space with him fed something inside of her that she hadn’t known was hungry.
He exhaled heavily. “It is good to see you, Lucky.”
“Yeah, it’s good to see you, too.”
“See, this won’t be so bad.”
Of course, that was the wrong thing to say. Those words were to the universe like a red flag to an angry bull. Or so Lucky was sure.
“Don’t jinx us.” Lucky looked around, trying to spot the form their destructor would take. No birds overhead to shit on her. At least there was that.
“I don’t believe in that.”
“Well, you sure did when you said I was a curse.”
“We both said a lot of things. It was a high-stress situation. I think we can forgive each other.” He took her hands in his. “Can’t we? Even if it’s just for the godmothers?”
He was right. Plus, it was for the godmothers. That’s what mattered.
“Of course. It was a long time ago. I was always more embarrassed than anything.”
“Me too,” he admitted.
Her mouth was moving before she had a chance to censor herself. “I guess we should spend some time together before all of this goes public. Get to know each other again.”
“Are you staying at the godmothers’ or the castle?”
“The godmothers’. I guess we’ll have to move to the castle when it’s time for the show.”
He nodded. “I’m at the godmothers’, too. Looks like we’ll be sharing the attic suite.”
“Okay, that’s a lot more togetherness than I’d planned on.” She bit her lip. “It’s so weird. Why didn’t I ever see you here when we were kids? How did I not know they were your godmothers, too? Not until . . . well . . . after that time I don’t want to talk about.”
“I don’t know. It’s weird, though. Right?”
She nodded. “So weird.”
Suddenly, she was aware of the world again. Their little bubble had been popped by little fingers. Brittany and Steven were pulling her away from him, begging to go to their cottage.
“I think I have to go.”
He smiled. “Dinner, then? Bluebonnet is roasting a chicken.”
“Dinner,” she repeated, numbly. “Dinner.”
Lucky allowed the children to lead her to Gwen and they walked back down the path toward the town proper, where guest cottages sat fat and happy, with rounded roofs shaped like red-spotted mushroom caps from a fairy tale.
“That’s the guy? Oh my God. His friend is a first-class asshole, but he’s . . . Girl. Girl.”
“Yeah,” Lucky mumbled.
“Hey. Guess what?” she said as they continued walking toward the cottage Lucky had indicated was theirs.
“Huh?”
“Nothing bad happened. There were so many opportunities. You had an upset stomach, the woodland animals, the birds . . . so many crows. I thought for sure you were going to get shit on. Again. The fountain could’ve malfunctioned. It was all fine.”
“I didn’t see the crows!” She looked up to the sky to make sure she wasn’t in any immediate danger before she continued. “No, it was not all fine. He still makes me stupid.”
“Why is that bad?”
“It just is.” Lucky huffed and stuffed her hands into her pockets.
“I thought we were going to the castle?” Brittany asked.
“We’ll go later. We’re going to be spending a lot of time at the castle, right, Lucky?”
“Yeah, sure.” She was still in a daze.
“Will the buttface be there?” Brittany asked.
“That’s not nice. He was an asshole, but we don’t insult people with how they look.”
“Why not?”
“People can control being jerks. They can’t control how their DNA combined to make their face.”
Brittany was thoughtful for a moment. “Okay. I suppose.”
“It’s this one,” Lucky said, and came to a stop in front of the largest mushroom structure.
It had a solid wooden door, with a giant brass key on a long chain sticking out of the lock. Yellow and purple flower buds huddled tightly in their bed, waiting to unfurl.
Brittany stuck her nose on one and sniffed so hard, it almost went up her nostril.
“I hope they bloom while we’re here!” Brittany sniffed again.
“Maybe they will,” Lucky said.
“I have a sneaking suspicion who we’re going to be neighbors with.” Gwen nodded at the cottage next to them. It also had a key in the lock. The rest of the cottages were sans keys.
“Yeah, me too. Sorry about that. The least the godmothers could do was wait until you’re divorced.”
Her godmothers were amazing, but they’re meddling was legendary. It all came from a place of love, of course. But it was exhausting trying to constantly thwart their matchmaking efforts.
She really hoped their business would take off. Not just to take care of them and help the town, but to keep them occupied with their version of fairy godmothering and matchmaking other people instead of herself.
“I should tell you something.” Gwen leaned on the door for a moment before opening it and ushering in the kids. “Guys, go pick out your beds while I finish up with Aunt Lucky.”
Lucky shook off her fugue and kissed the kids’ foreheads before they went inside. Then she gave Gwen her full attention. “What happened?”
“I told Jake we weren’t coming back.”
“You what?” Lucky was shocked, but that quickly melted into happiness. Jake and Gwen were miserable together, and she wanted nothing more than to see her friend happy and fulfilled.
“Yeah, I . . . after what happened in the tea shop, it was satisfying to see PTA Nancy get what she deserved, but why put myself through that? I don’t want to be bitter and hateful. So . . . I took the leap. I don’t know where we’re going to land, but I just had to.”
Lucky hugged her friend tight. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to get through this, and you know the godmothers will help you. Me too. Anything I can do. You’re going to be so much happier. You’ll be free.”
�
��Same to you, toots.”
Lucky narrowed her eyes. “I hate it when you quote my good advice back to me.”
“I know.” Gwen laughed. “So what are you going to do about it? I think you should sleep with him. That’s when things started going horribly wrong instead of just a little wrong, right? And it doesn’t look like it would be a chore, if you know what I mean.”
After seeing Ransom again, she wasn’t so sure she would ever be free. She couldn’t stop thinking about his smile, the way he smelled, his hands . . . oh, his hands.
She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to feel his hands on her body again.
While remembering what had happened the last time was an anti-aphrodisiac, she reassured herself he had to have made progress since then.
Gwen’s idea was unwelcome.
Unwanted.
Most likely the stupidest thing she’d ever considered.
But her whole life had gone even more wrong that night when . . . Lucky took a deep breath and realized she had to face it. She had to let the memory bloom fat and ugly in her mind. She couldn’t look away. Not anymore.
Ransom had pressed forward eagerly, fumbling in the dark, and had made entry into the exit-only portion of the ride. It had been just the tip, because when she shrieked, he immediately withdrew.
She’d started that awful nickname by screaming he was a loser Harry Potter who didn’t know what to do with his wand. He was The Boy Who Missed. For better or worse, it had stuck.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need to go to bed with Ransom.”
“That’s the spirit!”
He was willing to marry her. So it shouldn’t be too hard to get him into bed, right?
Lucky had a sneaking suspicion that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.
Especially since she just realized she hadn’t called her mother to inform her of her upcoming fake nuptials.
Chapter 4
The scent of Bluebonnet’s rosemary roasted chicken did strange things to Ransom Payne.
It stirred all of his appetites.
Every. Single. One.
He understood why the scent of the chicken made him think of home. It was his favorite dish, and it stirred happy childhood memories. Ransom wanted to swim in them, experience that joy and warmth for as long as he could. A simpler time when all he had to worry about was tracking mud from the creek on the godmothers’ freshly waxed floor. It reminded him of summers that seemed to last forever, bedtime stories, and midnight ice cream sodas.
Except now, these memories stirred other longings. He wanted his own children to run and play in the creek, to spend long summers chasing each other and climbing trees. He wanted to help teach them about growing things in the godmothers’ garden. He wanted to have to buy the godmothers a bigger table so their giant family could eat meals like this together.
After one bite of the chicken, and seeing Lucky across the table from him as she laughed at something Jonquil said, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief, he wanted those summers, those memories, and those children with her.
God, but she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.
He was struck by her beauty with the same force as the first time he’d seen her walking across the quad.
Even when she’d tripped over a gopher hole.
He remembered their first kiss. The moonlight had shimmered on her smooth skin, and her lip gloss had smelled like strawberries. Tasted like them, too.
They’d been in the middle of the lake, and he’d planned a candlelit picnic on the rowboat. Drawn together, she’d pinched out the candles almost effortlessly as she leaned in to meet him.
That kiss had been like hitting him with a bat.
Or maybe it was just because their boat had capsized, dumping them into the cool water.
But the heat between them hadn’t abated, they’d laughed and swam to shore and made out there, with the fireflies dancing around them until dawn.
Ransom reminded himself that this wasn’t what he was here for, and no matter how much the idea appealed, the two of them were not meant to join in that way.
They couldn’t be.
They’d tried to complete the deed several times, and each time had been a bigger disaster than the last.
Skinny-dipping in that same lake had resulted in leeches that got much too close to delicate goods.
A tornado had hit the cheap motel they’d tried off I-70 and had ripped the roof off of only one room. (Thankfully, no one was actually hurt.)
When the equestrian team had gone on its fall break, they’d been making out in the barn and as soon as Lucky had asked him if he wanted to have sex, they were charged by feral pigs. Ransom, being determined, had decided they should climb up to the loft, but a mutant wasp colony had taken up residence.
God, they should’ve stopped after that. But did they? No. They were in love.
They’d gotten close in the back of his car, but then the engine caught fire.
Lucky looked up at him then and offered a soft smile.
That softness on her beautiful face, the way she looked at him, it was all worth it.
For a moment, even as aroused as he was, he wondered if they could have a life together without sex. It wasn’t the most important part of being with someone.
He’d fucking miss it, that was no lie.
But he still loved her, still wanted her as a person as much as he had all those years ago.
They could adopt children.
Because sex was always when things had gone bad.
Then he realized that his train of thought was on crazy tracks. They didn’t know each other anymore. They weren’t the same kids they were in college. Just because she was stunningly beautiful didn’t mean he should be building fairy-tale castles in the—
Fairy tale. Castles.
Ransom didn’t like the connection that just sparked in his brain. He looked down at the bite of chicken on his fork and raised an eyebrow at Bluebonnet.
“Something wrong with your chicken, dear?” Bluebonnet asked.
“I don’t know. Is there?” Had the meddling old dears put some kind of love potion in his food? That was the only thing that made sense. He knew they weren’t above that kind of thing.
“Whatever do you mean?” Petty asked.
“You know damn well what I mean,” Ransom said.
“The chicken tastes delightful, as always, Bon-Bon.” Lucky took a drink of her cherry blossom tea.
“Lucky likes it,” Bluebonnet said in defense.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. We’re already here to help you. Don’t meddle,” Ransom warned.
“I hope you don’t mind that you’re sharing the attic suite,” Jonquil said, as if there wasn’t already a discussion going on. “We thought you two should spend some time together before the press descends on our little town.”
“Or before we can escape each other at the castle?” Lucky asked.
“Precisely,” Jonquil agreed easily.
Ransom put down his fork and glared at each of his godmothers in turn.
“Ready for dessert?” Bluebonnet asked, blinking her eyes with faux innocence.
He narrowed his eyes, but then picked up his fork again. If she’d done something to the delicious chicken, he was already under its influence. No reason to go to bed hungry.
“Not quite.”
Lucky took seconds.
Then thirds.
He wondered if she knew the truth about the godmothers. She didn’t question that there always seemed to be more chicken. Even though no actual, living chicken had eight breasts.
“Godmothers,” Lucky began after chewing a bite. “Would you mind if Gwen and the kids joined us for dinner from now on? She’s left Jake and I’m . . . we’re her only other family.”
Petty gasped. “This is fantastic news.”
“Like you didn’t know,” Ransom said with a snort.
“Well, I mean, I knew it was coming. I ju
st didn’t know when.” Petty puffed with pride.
“I had another idea,” Lucky continued. “I know there’s already a bakery in town, but if you want to be a wedding town, you’re going to need more than one. Gwen didn’t bat an eye when the school asked her to bake three hundred allergy-friendly cookies for the bake sale.”
Jonquil trilled. “I see exactly where you’re going with this and it’s marvelous. She and the kids can continue to stay in the cottage until the business is up and running. The town could all chip in to get her started. She could take over for Red and Grammy. They’re looking to move farther out into the country and start a ranch. They’ve wanted to for ages.”
“I can’t wait to tell her!”
“Does she need help collecting her things from the soon-to-be ex? I could send Roderick,” Ransom offered.
Bluebonnet smiled and for a moment, she looked almost vulpine. “Oh, that would be just perfect, don’t you think, Lucky?”
Lucky laughed. “I don’t know if I’d say it was perfect. They didn’t exactly hit it off.”
Ransom snorted. “Actually, Brittany called him an asshole.”
“Did she?” Petty arched a brow. “Well, children are the tellers of universal truths.”
“They’ll figure it out. But it can’t hurt to help it along. That would be lovely if you could send him a textural,” Bluebonnet replied.
“A text, Bon-Bon,” Lucky corrected.
“Whatever.” Bluebonnet waved the words away with her left hand while she stuffed a golden, buttered roll in her mouth with the other.
Lucky met his gaze across the table and for a moment, the rest of the world fell away. It was only the two of them.
And Bluebonnet’s damned chicken.
“Lucky, why don’t you tell Ransom about that new piece you’re working on?” Petty prompted.
“We’re adults. We can figure out how to talk to each other,” Lucky said.
“Well, then do it. I’m watching new witch hairs grow on Jonquil’s chin waiting for you two to have a conversation.”
Jonquil gasped. “You are not.” She rubbed her thumb over her chin.
“No, Petunia has confused herself again.” Bluebonnet narrowed her eyes. “She caught her own reflection on our grandmamma’s silver.
A Hilarious and Charming Feel-Good Read Page 4