by Baird, Ginny
“I left early. Roger spelled me.”
Kurt sputtered a laugh. “I’d almost forgotten about Roger. How’s he doing? Still giving Marilynn hell?”
“In his own quiet way.”
“Well, good. She deserves it.”
He paused in drinking his beer to study her. “You’re looking good, Nikki. Really fine. Then again, you always were one fine-looking woman.”
Nikki sipped from her coffee and grinned. “Still the same old Kurt.”
“I’m not that old. At least not as old as that geezer you went with before me. What was his name? Justin?”
“Jeremy.”
“Music conductor, that’s right.” He chuckled. “Wonder what he’s up to now?”
Nikki’s face warmed. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Probably after another young thing. Maybe two.”
Nikki’s flagged down the bartender and asked for some water. “How’s your mom?” she asked, making small talk. “And your brother, Carl?”
“Both fine, thanks. How about your mom? And Tony?”
“Tony’s good. He graduates this year.”
“No way! I still remember him as peewee-size.”
“Yeah well, he’s man-size now. Nearly six feet.”
“Whoa.” Kurt pushed aside his beer and set his elbows on the bar. “What are his plans after high school?”
“Some of that’s still getting worked out.”
Kurt nodded, misunderstanding. “He’s a kid. He’ll find his way.”
“Yeah.”
“And your mom?”
“She’s…not so well, to tell you the truth.”
The lines around his eyes creased with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s a neck thing, slipped disk.”
“Ouch.”
“Ouch is right, and she needs—” Nikki stopped suddenly to stare at him. “Kurt,” she said abruptly, “how do you feel about marriage?”
“What?”
She folded her face in her hands, feeling like an idiot. Great, Nikki. Just perfect. Wonderful proposal.
Kurt lightly touched her shoulder, and she looked up. “Did I hear you right?” he whispered below the bar noise. “Did you just say something about marriage?”
She grimaced. “Sort of.” Nikki heard a tap-tap-tapping sound, then realized it was her fingers drumming the bar. Kurt laid his hand over hers.
“Still doing that, huh?”
“Only sometimes,” Nikki lied.
“Doll, what’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Nikki stared down at their hands as his overlapped hers. His touch was gentle, reassuring. She’d been right in remembering him as a really nice guy. “It’s not trouble exactly,” she told him. “More like a predicament.”
His hand squeezed hers. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”
“Do you remember me telling you about my Great-Aunt Mallory?”
“Mallory? No.”
“I guess maybe I didn’t. She’d been left pretty far in my past when I met you.”
“But she came back?”
“No, she died.”
“Geez, Nikki. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t really know her. So, apart from her being family and that part being sad… What I mean is, I didn’t take it as hard as you think. I was just sorry for her at the end, about how she left things and how little she left behind.”
“Poor woman. She was destitute?”
“Far from it. She was rich. Really rich, Kurt. Two million dollars rich.”
“Wow. Guess her kids are set for a bit.”
“She didn’t have any kids. Only cows.”
Kurt blinked in slow understanding. “Just what are you telling me, Nikki? That your aunt left you two million dollars?”
She met his gaze. “Under two conditions.”
“What conditions?”
Nikki took a deep breath, then pushed ahead. “One, that I marry—”
“Oh, I get it.” He pushed back to study her. Then suddenly he thumbed his chest. “Hold the phone!” he said, choking. “You want to marry me?”
People lined up and down the bar swiveled to stare at him. “Sorry!” He lowered his voice and turned to her. “Nikki, you can’t be serious?”
Nikki’s cheeks flamed. “I thought you’d at least be a little excited.”
“Honey, this is nuts, and you know that.”
“But I thought you…? I thought we…?” She felt on the verge of tears.
“Hey, hey,” he said, patting her arm. “Don’t do that. Don’t cry, okay?”
“Okay.” She pulled herself together, dabbing her face with a bar napkin. “I just didn’t expect you to take it so hard.”
Kurt’s Adam’s apple rose and fell. “I’m just in shock, doll. You can’t blame me for that.”
He was right; she really couldn’t.
“So why did you pick me?” he asked. “Was no one else available?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nikki, you and I dated five years ago. It’s been some time. I’m sure you had at least one boyfriend after.”
Nikki didn’t much see a way out of this. Honesty probably was the best policy. Especially since she intended to spend forever with the guy.
“He’s married.”
“I see.”
Kurt downed the rest of his beer. “Two million smackers, huh?”
“It’s only one million right up front. You’d get half.”
Kurt whistled, then fell silent, fixated on the ball game on the TV overhead. Finally, he turned back to her. “No strings?”
“What do you mean?”
“About the money? Half a million is mine to do with as I please?”
“Sure.”
“And all I have to do is marry you some time? Like after we’ve had a chance to get back together and make sure this is…?”
“It has to be by February fourteenth.”
“Of this year?” He started choking again, coughing into the back of his hand. He grabbed her half-empty water glass and took a long swallow. “But why?”
“It was one of the conditions.”
“Uh-oh, I almost forgot. You said there were two.”
Nikki made a motion bringing her thumb to her index finger. “Yeah, but the second one’s tiny.”
“How tiny?”
“Oh…” She tried to recall what Tony weighed when he was born. “About eight pounds, two ounces, maybe?”
Kurt pursed his lips and avoided her gaze. After what seemed like forever, he finally spoke. “No can do, Nikki.”
“It’s for the second million,” she told him. “You’d get another half. That would make you a mill—”
“You didn’t hear me.” When he stared at her, his expression was pained. “I said, I can’t… Can’t have kids.”
Jack looked up from wiping down the counter as Nikki walked in the door. Since he was going to take over the business one day, he believed it important to understand all of its aspects. Whether that meant cashiering, serving a table, or ordering from a wholesaler, Jack was primed to fill in. While most of his time was dedicated to accounting matters, he made sure to spend at least a few shifts a week doing something else essential to running the restaurant. Tonight he was manning the bar.
She approached and tore off her scarf and hat. For some reason, she didn’t look happy. She didn’t seem disgruntled either. It was somewhere in between. More like preoccupied. He poured her a cold one and set it on the bar. “And?”
Nikki removed her mittens and coat before sitting. She was dressed in a pretty sweater, boots, and jeans. Jack noticed she was wearing the necklace he’d given her.
“Gosh, Jack.” She met his eyes, but there was confusion in hers. “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?”
“What to do about Kurt.”
Jack feigned sympathy. “He shot you down, huh?”
“Actually.” She picked up her beer and took a
sip. “He accepted.”
Jack signaled to another customer a few stools down that he was on his way. “He what?”
“He said yes.”
Jack felt tightness in his throat and had trouble speaking past it. “Yes, that he’d marry you?”
She nodded, and Jack lifted a finger. “Hold that thought.”
He hurried to refill the other customer’s order, his head reeling. Kurt said yes? That’s not possible, is it? That this whole deal will come off? Nikki Constantino—my Nikki—is going to up and marry some other dude? He stole a peek over his shoulder and caught her tapping her fingers again. She couldn’t be happy about it. She just couldn’t.
“You don’t know how happy I am about this,” she said when he returned. “I mean, seriously.” She heaved a sighed for emphasis. “It’s a huge relief!”
The room was bustling with the pre-weekend crowd, partially blocking Jack’s view of the harbor. He could spy it just past her, lights twinkling along the edge of the dock through drifting snow. Perhaps the cold had gotten to her, or the winter air. Maybe if he gently coaxed it out of her, he’d learn the truth.
“Tell me what happened.”
“It’s a long story.”
“Got no place to go but here.”
“Bartender!” a customer called.
“And over there,” he said with a grin. “Be right back.”
This was wrong, all wrong, and Jack knew it. Kurt said yes? He wasn’t supposed to do that. What happened to, I’m sorry… or I’m happy being single… or Are you out of your mind? Without even realizing it, Jack seemed to be moving on overdrive, doing everything twice as fast. People watched him wide eyed as he yanked back tap handles two-fisted, refilling two drafts at a time. “Two more local brews coming up!” He practically skated down the floor to set them at the edge of the bar. Honey-colored liquid sloshed beneath its frothy cap, nearly spilling over each mug’s side. The woman looked at him askance, but the man took out his wallet. “Anything else?”
“That’s got it, thanks,” the guy said. “We’ll just settle up.”
By the time he got back to Nikki, her drink was a third of the way gone.
“You might want to slow down there.”
“I’m only having one.”
“Fine,” he said, catching his breath. “What were you saying just then? Something about Kurt turning you down? I’m sor—”
“No! Jack, he said yes!” She narrowed her eyes in that accusatory way she did when she thought he wasn’t listening.
“Oh, that’s right,” he said, tapping his fingers on the bar.
Nikki’s mouth fell open. “Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just fine.” He brought the offending hand to the back of his neck and rubbed his nape.
“O-kay…”
“So,” he said, redirecting. “That’s all great. Super terrific. Kurt said yes!” He pulled an empty glass from the rack and poured his own beer, holding it toward her. “Here’s to you. To you and Kurt!”
“Are you supposed to be drinking?” Nikki whispered.
“Folks,” he said a little more loudly. “I’d like to propose a toast to my friend Nikki. Soon to be married to her betrothed Kurt… What’s his last name?” he asked her quietly.
She stared at him in disbelief. “Kenyon.”
“Kenyon!” he proclaimed. “Here’s to them both!”
Good tidings and cheers rang out throughout the room. Nikki laid her hand on his arm before he could take another drink. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Helping you celebrate,” he replied evenly.
“Oh no, you don’t.” She snatched away his beer and set it aside.
“Hey!”
“Don’t hey me. Give it to me straight, Jack. What’s eating you?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“I just had the wild suspicion you might be upset about something.”
“I’m upset because you’re upset.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. If you’re so hell-fire happy about marrying Kurt, why did you come in here looking like a kid who’d lost her…” Jack bit his tongue. He certainly wasn’t going to say best friend. “Dog.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say.”
“But it’s the truth.”
To his surprise, Nikki hung her head. After a few moments, she said, “Well, okay. You may have a point there.”
“Ah-ha!”
“A very small point, but still…”
“Which brings me back to my original question.”
“Which was?”
“What happened?”
“Oh that. Right.” She pursed her lips a beat.
“Nikki…?”
“Okay, here’s the deal. Kurt can’t have kids.”
Of all the things Jack was expecting, this wasn’t one of them. “Can’t or won’t?” he asked gently.
“Can’t. Sports injury when he was a teen.”
“Ow.” He involuntarily started to clutch himself but stopped short. “So, what’s that mean? In relation to Mallory’s will?”
“You know what that means. I wouldn’t get the second million.”
“Then that’s a nonstarter.”
“Not necessarily.” She drew a breath and released it. “Look, I’ve been thinking this over all afternoon. Ever since I left The Home Run. Even took a long walk in the park.”
“In this weather? No wonder it’s hard for you to think.”
“Actually, the fresh air helped clear my head. It helped me see that, in a totally unexpected way, Kurt’s condition is a blessing.”
“What?”
“Just, think about it, Jack. One million dollars is plenty. Heck, five-hundred thousand alone is more than enough. More than enough to help with my mom’s operation…to help out Tony…to set up an at-home business for me and even put something away for retirement. Some sort of investment, a nest egg.”
“So a baby is off the table?”
She met his gaze. “Don’t you think it’s better that way? What kid wants to be brought into the world as some sort of cash cow?”
“Nice choice of words.”
“You know what I mean. It’s simply not right. Plus, that puts added pressure on the marriage. There’s so much to adjust to in the beginning anyway.”
Just listen to her talking like this marriage is the most reasonable thing! It’s only the baby part that’s wrong. Right. He eyed her skeptically. “And Kurt’s okay with this?”
“I haven’t told him yet. I mean, I haven’t told him I’m willing to go through with the wedding. I said that I’d think about it. Think about marrying him and forgoing meeting the second condition.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “Nikki—”
“Don’t try to talk me out of it. You’ve already done that, remember? Next thing I knew, you were completely on board. Eager to help me find a husband. Well…” She smiled up at him. “Now it seems I have.”
“Yeah,” he said, still a little shell-shocked. “It seems that you have.”
She handed him back his mug, then shared a dazzling smile. “Thanks for the good-luck charm. Looks like it worked.”
Jack clinked his mug to hers. “Cheers,” he said, totally not feeling it.
Chapter Nine
Emma stared at Nikki and blinked. “Tell that to me again, sweetheart. Who are you going to marry?”
“Kurt!”
“The school teacher?”
“That’s the one.”
“But, Nikki, you haven’t seen him in years!”
Nikki fiddled with her scarf on the table. They were in her mom’s kitchen, drinking coffee. It was Wednesday, her day off. “Oh yes, I have. Actually, it’s really funny. We bumped into each other by accident and reconnected.”
“When?”
“Um…” She rolled her eyes toward the kitchen clock, thinking. Tony would be home from school any minute. Then she’d have another set of questions to answer. That was, if she didn’t get
done with this fast. “Some time ago. Yeah, I think it was in October.”
Emma studied her doubtfully. “October?”
“Yeah, I’m sure of it now. It was right around Halloween.”
“Don’t tell me,” she said with a skeptical edge, “he came up to your door trick-or-treating.”
“Don’t be silly!” Nikki said with a laugh. “He came into the store for a suit.”
Emma slowly sipped from her coffee. “And this was all before that little thing happened with Jack?”
“Oh yeah! Way before! Eons before!”
“And yet you opted to bring Jack here for New Year’s Eve rather than your intended…”
“For heaven’s sakes, Ma. Kurt wasn’t my intended then! We’ve only just gotten engaged.”
Her mom set an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Somehow this all seems really sudden.”
“Well, it is! Because that’s Kurt! Ha-ha! A die-hard romantic!”
“So, he’s flying you to Vegas for what? To get married by Elvis?”
“We’ll find a real preacher, I’m sure.”
“You’d better make sure. There are a lot of scam artists out there, I hear.”
Nikki’s fingers twitched on her coffee mug. She fought the urge to tap them. “We’ll be fine. The arrangements are all taken care of.” The truth was she still had to buy her airline ticket. Kurt already had his. He was headed out that way anyhow for a coaches’ convention on the ninth. Why not make a trip of it and get hitched there, he asked? It was like multitasking! Nikki was a little let down he didn’t want to make a separate plan just for them. But she understood the nature of their restrictions. They were under a timeline, and Vegas was a natural. Plenty of people to marry them there, and on very short notice.
“What about Jack?” her mom asked.
“What about him?”
“How does he feel about this?”
“He’s fine with it. Really!”
“Hmm.”
Her mom studied her face as if trying to read something.
“And Kurt, this old flame of yours… Does he kiss half as well as Jack?”
“Ma!”
Actually, Kurt hadn’t tried to kiss her at all. Then again, she’d only seen him a few times lately. Once at the The Home Run, then later at a coffee shop where they’d worked out plans over a couple of Boston cream donuts. Naturally, Kurt had kissed her before. Way back when. She thought she remembered it as being good—real good. But the memory was a little murky. “That’s a really inappropriate question.”