by Cindy Kirk
“Tossing real petals tonight would be a problem. Instead of leaving right after we finish rehearsing,” Abby placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “we’d have to stay and pick each one up.”
Eva Grace wrinkled her nose. “Oh.”
“You’re good at pretend.” Abby smiled. “We’ll see those petals even though they aren’t there.”
Nell knew the truth behind the statement. Most people saw what they wanted to see, not what was right in front of them. Perception, she’d learned from an early age, was everything.
Eva Grace appeared uncertain, but at that moment, Liz Canfield rushed into the room.
“I’m so sorry. The train was late and, well…” Liz paused. “Anyway, I’m here now.”
Liz, who’d once been a reporter for one of Chicago’s largest newspapers, was part of Nell and Abby’s circle of friends. Nell liked the divorced mother of one, admired the strength she’d shown when her once happy life had unraveled.
Shortly after Liz’s marriage had collapsed, her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and the newspaper had eliminated her position. The pretty brunette had appeared to take it all in stride. Cool confidence was the face Liz presented to the world.
“Jonah’s parents are here. They walked through the door with me,” Liz informed Abby in a low tone. “They stopped to speak with Jonah and Leo. I told them we’d be out momentarily.”
Abby nodded and kept her voice equally soft. “I don’t want Eva Grace too wound up before the practice.”
Nell understood. This was exciting stuff for the six-year-old.
Liz nodded her approval. “It’s important we all remain calm and focused.”
The former reporter had taken on the task of wedding coordinator. A job she appeared to take seriously, if the directions she began barking out were any indication.
Twenty minutes later, Nell had to admit the woman had a talent for keeping everyone on task. Though it was only natural that Jonah’s parents needed to be properly welcomed back to Hazel Green—even though they’d just been in town last week for a wedding shower—Liz cut the reunion short, announcing everyone could catch up at the rehearsal dinner.
This was Nell’s first time as anyone’s maid of honor. Unlike many young women her age, she’d never even been a bridesmaid. For most of her life, Nell had avoided close friendships.
Practically from the moment Abby had arrived in Hazel Green, she’d refused to let Nell keep her at arm’s length. For that matter, neither had Liz. Or Rachel. Instead of no friends, Nell had a gaggle. She was truly mystified by how that had happened.
“Nell, listen up.”
Blinking, Nell refocused on Liz, paying careful attention to the instructions on where to stand once she reached the front of the church. Huffing out a breath, Liz positioned her and Jackie at a slight angle.
“You are to remain evenly spaced. Never stand with your full back to the guests.” Liz put her hands on Jackie’s shoulders and made another slight adjustment in the bridesmaid’s stance. “Bouquets are to be held in both hands in front of your body.”
Liz scrutinized them with the intensity normally reserved for drill sergeants. Nell found herself holding her breath.
“Good.” Liz gave a nod of approval. “We need to practice walking out. Remember, keep twenty feet between you and Abby.”
Though Nell would be exiting the front with Leo, Liz insisted that she and Jackie get their parts perfect while the men watched from a nearby pew.
Leo smirked at her as she walked past. She couldn’t help sticking her tongue out at him.
“Eyes forward, Nell,” Liz called out.
Once the recessional was done to the drill sergeant’s, er, to Liz’s satisfaction, they moved on to the processional.
Abby and Jonah had chosen to follow the Midwest format where couples entered the ceremony in pairs. That suited Nell just fine.
After Jonah’s mother had taken her seat at the front of the church, Jackie and Beau made their way down the aisle.
Liz nodded her approval at the pace.
Leo, standing at Nell’s side, held out an arm to her. “Ready to do this?”
As Nell gazed into those clear, blue eyes, she had the odd sensation that she was about to step off solid ground onto shifting sand. Which, she told herself, was absolutely ridiculous.
She and Leo were practicing walking down a church aisle. Nothing more.
To the piano accompaniment of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major,” she started down the aisle.
Leo slanted a sideways glance at Nell. Per Liz’s instructions, he was careful to keep the requisite twenty feet between them and Jackie and Beau. The truth was, he didn’t feel the slightest urge to hurry. In fact, he’d like to prolong the moment.
It wasn’t often he had a reason to be at Nell’s side.
“You look amazing,” he murmured, keeping his gaze focused ahead.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her red lips curve. She always took his compliments in stride, but he could tell he’d pleased her.
While he’d loved her hair when it had been spiky and platinum blonde, the golden strands brushing her shoulders gave her a softer, more approachable look.
The short silk dress with the geometric print she’d chosen to wear to the rehearsal flattered her figure and her endlessly long legs. The scent of amber perfume had his body on alert.
It might have been Nell’s beauty that had originally caught his eye, but it was the intriguing woman inside who kept him coming back for more. She was smart and funny with a dry wit that often came from left field.
And while she’d deny it to her dying breath, she was kind. To her friends. To children like Eva Grace. To him.
All too soon, they reached the front of the sanctuary and were forced to separate.
He moved to the right.
She to the left.
Once in place, Leo turned and angled his body. He clasped his hands behind his back.
Jonah and Beau stood on either side of him, holding the same pose, as they watched Eva Grace stroll down the aisle, tossing pretend petals on the pretend aisle runner.
What would it be like to have a child? Leo wondered. In his twenties, a wife and child had been so far off his radar they didn’t even register. Now, in his thirties, he could see himself as a dad.
Leo slanted another glance at Nell. As if she sensed his eyes on her, she shifted her gaze ever so slightly. Their eyes met and held.
When the music changed, Leo heard Jonah suck in a breath. Though Abby was wearing a dress with polka dots and not a wedding gown, her soon-to-be husband couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Leo felt a stirring of something that felt an awful lot like envy. Though Jonah and Abby had gone through some tough times, it was obvious to Leo—and to anyone who knew them—how much they loved each other.
Jonah had told him that his relationship with Abby hadn’t gained traction until the secrets in their past had been brought into the open. Only then had they started to see that a life together was possible.
There were no secrets in Leo’s past, no skeletons in his closet. He couldn’t say the same about Nell. He didn’t know what went on in her head. Heck, she didn’t even want to publicly date him.
Sleep with him, yes.
Date him, no.
Though her terms had seemed strange, he’d been okay with them when their relationship started. At the time, he had been newly elected as well as in the process of turning over his duties in the real estate development firm he and his brothers co-owned to them.
He didn’t have time to date or build a relationship. Or so he told himself. The truth was, he wanted Nell so much he’d seen no choice but to agree.
Lately, he’d grown dissatisfied with the restrictions.
As Abby reached Jonah and the two hugged—totally off script—Leo wondered what Nell would say if he gave her an ultimatum.
Take their relationship public or break it off entirely.
The joyous sound
s of the recessional filled the church. Jonah and Abby—with Eva Grace skipping between them—started down the aisle.
Leo met Nell in the middle and offered his arm. Her eyes danced with happiness, and when she slipped her hand around his arm, satisfaction surged.
She would be seated beside him at Matilda’s, and they’d spend the rest of the evening together. The night ahead seemed practically perfect.
Until they reached the back of the church and Leo heard Abby invite Dixon to join them for dinner.
Chapter Three
“I’m surprised Matilda has room for everyone.”
Leo parked several blocks away, even though Nell had no doubt he could have found a spot closer to the inn. Then again, maybe not.
Memorial Day had been the launch of the tourist season, which was now in full swing. Tonight, another Jazz in June performance would fill the Green, a parklike area in the center of town. Attendees would be treated to amazing individual performances as well as multihorn harmonies paying tribute to the greats.
“Matilda closed the restaurant at five.” Nell slowed her steps to match his turtle crawl.
Even though Friday nights were known for being one of the busiest for merchants, Matilda Lovejoy had willingly closed her restaurant for the evening. “The rehearsal dinner is her gift to Abby and Jonah.”
“That was nice of her.”
“She and Abby are good friends.” Up ahead, Nell saw the green awning of the Inn at Hazel Green and slowed her steps even more.
The inn, which Abby had inherited several years earlier, was located in the middle of the town’s historic district. Built in 1884, it had always been in the family. Abby’s great-aunt had owned it until she’d passed away.
Leo’s gaze narrowed. “Looks like Dixon and Jackie are getting along.”
The dark-haired man and pretty blonde stood in the sunshine, as if enjoying the weather too much to go inside.
“They rode together.”
Leo stopped and turned to her. “How do you know that?”
“I saw her get in his Land Rover.” Nell spoke matter-of-factly. Like many other lessons she’d learned in childhood, being observant had been near the top of the list.
Puzzlement furrowed Leo’s brow. “You were watching him?”
Not watching her. Not watching them. Watching him.
The subtle difference didn’t escape her. She supposed another woman might have twisted the knife, fanned the flames of any jealousy. God knew, her mother had embraced such drama. But Nell genuinely liked Leo and had no desire for games.
“I’m simply observant.” Okay, so maybe that wasn’t quite accurate. But she certainly didn’t have romantic feelings for Dixon.
Leo, whose arms had remained at his sides, surprised her by snaking one arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.
Though a smile lifted her lips, she gazed pointedly at his hand, now toying with her hair.
Exhaling an audible breath, Leo released her. “By the way you act, you’d think one of us was married.” His expression suddenly stilled, and he paled. “Tell me you aren’t married.”
If she had been, after nearly six months of intimacy, this was a strange time to ask.
Nell chuckled and shook her head. “No. I’m not married.”
Like a quarterback seeing an opening in the line, Leo pressed forward. “Have you ever been married?”
Though this was the type of conversation she made every effort to avoid, the rehearsal had caused her to feel especially close to Leo. “No.”
“Ever come close?”
They were standing three shops down from the inn. The mellow tones of a saxophone blended with a trumpet and a trombone as the scent of late-blooming lilacs teased her nostrils.
At one time, Nell had loved the sweet fragrance. Stanley’s house had a lilac bush by the back terrace. It had been in bloom the night—
A chill traveled up her spine.
“Have you ever come close?” Leo repeated the question.
“No.” Nell spoke more curtly than she’d intended. Her memories prior to coming to Hazel Green were not pleasant ones. They definitely weren’t ones she wanted to revisit.
Leo studied her for a moment, then smiled.
How was it that a simple smile from him had the ability to ease the tension from her shoulders?
Impulsively, she reached over and touched his hand. His fingers wrapped around hers for barely a second.
“I wonder what’s on the menu.”
Nell pulled her hand casually away as Beau joined them. She hadn’t jerked her hand or made any grand movement. But Beau had seen the gesture.
Though his expression remained implacable, he was sharp-eyed. Word in town was his father was pressuring him to take over the running of the newspaper. A move he was resisting.
Though, supposedly, Beau had shown great promise as an investigative reporter during his high school and college years, he hadn’t pursued that career. Instead, he’d obtained a JD then a PhD in clinical psychology. He now worked as a trial consultant for a large Chicago law firm.
Being around the guy gave Nell an itch between her shoulder blades. She didn’t let it show. Her mother had used trial consultants in the past, and Nell knew the importance of every gesture. Still, what did it matter if he thought there was something going on between her and Leo?
Attraction, even sexual relations, between two single, consenting adults wasn’t a crime. Knowing Beau would likely find it suspicious if she ignored him, Nell flashed him a smile. “I haven’t seen you around much. Not since you moved to Lincoln Park.”
A look of puzzlement filled his gray eyes. “How do you know I live in Lincoln Park?”
Her stomach clenched. Nell made a great show of rolling her eyes. “There are no secrets in Hazel Green.”
Beau chuckled. He was tall and broad-shouldered with muscular arms and a mop of hair that held shades of both blond and brown. Nell supposed he was handsome, if you liked guys who looked like Thor. That type held no appeal for her.
“Actually,” she added when they neared the door to the inn, “Liz told me. Your father mentioned it to her.”
“I’m surprised Dad didn’t put it in the Chronicle as a news article.” Beau reached the door ahead of Leo and held it open.
“Last Saturday’s edition.” Nell strolled past him. “Bottom of page two.”
“Seriously?”
“Just kidding.” With Leo’s palm resting against the small of her back, Nell slipped into the comforting ambience of the inn.
While Nell had lived in numerous high-end residences over the years—nothing but the best for her mother—none of those houses had given her the warm feeling that wrapped around her each time she stepped through the door of the inn.
Nell likened it to the feel of a favorite sweater against your skin. As always, the place worked its magic, and she began to relax. Not completely. She wasn’t a fool. But the hyperalertness that had been her constant companion since she’d been a child eased slightly.
The gleaming hardwood floor and the exposed brick in the entry radiated warmth and welcome. The hand-tooled maple banister leading to the second floor gleamed as if it had been freshly polished.
Iris Endicott, a young teacher and widow, manned the hotel desk this evening. Nell had heard that Iris and the doctor she’d been dating were no longer together.
Nell lifted a hand in greeting, but didn’t interrupt since Iris was checking in a guest.
Leo leaned close. His warm breath fanned her face as they paused at the colonnade separating the lobby of the hotel from Matilda’s. “Have you heard what’s on tonight’s menu?”
“Pizza, salad and breadsticks,” Nell informed him without missing a beat.
Leo’s eyes immediately lit up, then just as quickly turned suspicious. “Are you making that up?”
“Of course, she is.” Beau’s voice sounded from behind them. “You can tell because there was a change in her voice.”
Ever
ything inside Nell went cold, but she kept her composure, then turned to Beau with a smile. “I bet you were a real hit in high school when playing Truth or Dare.”
“Actually, I never played that party game.” Beau’s voice remained even. “I was too busy with all my clubs.”
A geek, Nell thought. Like Stanley. A smart guy from a nice family destined not to hit his prime until after high school.
“Even if I’d been invited to parties, it wouldn’t have mattered.” Beau’s chuckle filled the awkward silence. “My observation skills were acquired after high school.”
Leo smiled. “Nell is also observant.”
She wanted to elbow him in the side. The less said about her to Beau, the better. Thankfully, Eva Grace burst into the hotel lobby like confetti tossed into the wind, her parents right behind.
Nell turned to greet her friend.
The party was definitely on now.
Nell made sure she and Leo sat at the other end of the table from Beau. That alone ensured she had a lovely time at the dinner.
If there was a downside, and it was a minor one, it was that Dixon somehow managed to snag the chair beside her. She told herself it could be worse. At least Dixon already knew her secrets.
“This pomegranate salmon is amazing.” Abby raised her voice as her gaze sought out Matilda, who sat beside Beau at the far end of the table.
“It’s always been one of your favorites.” Matilda Lovejoy’s skill with food and pastry had transformed the restaurant inside the small hotel into one that drew people from all over the region.
Several years ago, when the popularity of organic and farm-to-table restaurants had soared, Matilda had made significant changes to her menu. Now, most of the ingredients in her dishes came from suppliers within a fifty-mile radius of Hazel Green.
“It’s a favorite of mine now, as well.” Jonah stabbed the last bite on his plate with his fork.
Matilda appeared startled when Beau took her hand and looked into her eyes. “Marry me, Matilda.”
Matilda let out a hearty laugh. She was a handsome woman with auburn hair and green eyes. Though Nell didn’t know for certain, she’d place the woman’s age somewhere in her mid to late thirties.