A fresh knock on the door shot her hopes up again. It was Todd, and he, too, had flowers from Lupine Floral. “Long time no see,” he joked with Kevin. Then he turned to Bailey. “You look great,” he said, nodding at her simple green summer dress and vintage ruffled apron. “Fresh as a...”
“Daisy,” she supplied. She felt more like a wilted daisy. She’d been working here since eight, getting everything ready, and had run back to Samantha’s house only to freshen up and change. Normally, excitement would have carried her along, but her disappointment over not seeing Cecily had sapped her energy.
“I’m thinking more ‘cream puff.’ In fact, you look good enough to eat,” he whispered and kissed her.
Her kiss must have been as wilted as she felt. Todd studied her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she lied, trying to sound perky.
He glanced around, seeing Samantha and Muriel and Blake, all checking out the merchandise. “Where’s Cec?” he asked, frowning.
Bailey’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head.
His frown deepened, and his jaw tightened. “Well, never mind. This is going to be great.” He set the flowers next to the arrangement from Lupine Floral and said hello to the rest of the family, then returned to her. “What do you want me to do?”
In light of all the cash he’d laid out and all the manual labor, she said, “Nothing. You can help me talk this place up.”
“That won’t be hard. I’d say it speaks for itself.”
“I hope so.” She really wanted her tea shop to succeed.
She also really wanted her sister here, but that was out of her control. She slipped into the kitchen to see how Amber and Ginny were doing as they finished prepping the serving trays.
They, too, were wearing vintage aprons. Ginny smiled at Bailey as she entered the kitchen. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’re just about done.”
A mix of vintage china and silver serving platters covered every inch of counter space, all loaded with scones and cookies and tea sandwiches. And Bailey had more in containers in the cooler to replenish the supply. Two large drink dispensers filled with lemonade and lavender iced tea stood ready to quench visitors’ thirsts.
“We can handle this,” Ginny said, giving her a little push back into the main room. “Get out there and open the door.”
It was time. Bailey’s palms suddenly felt damp. She wiped them on her apron and went to let people in.
Olivia Wallace was the first to show up. She came bearing a card and the Bless This Kitchen sign that had hung in her kitchen at the Icicle Creek Lodge. “My kitchen has been blessed,” she said, kissing Bailey’s cheek. “Now it’s time to pass the blessing on.”
Bailey hugged her. “Thank you, Olivia,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“You’re going to do really well. I just know it,” Olivia said, patting her cheek.
Right behind her came Dot Morrison. “Hey, kiddo, it’s gorgeous in here,” she said and handed Bailey a card. She lowered her voice. “There’s a little something in there for unexpected business expenses.”
Knowing Dot, that “little something” would be a big something. Bailey hugged her, too. “Dot, you’re the best.”
“You got that right,” Dot cracked and went to join Olivia and Muriel.
Ginny and Amber put out the goodies as more people flooded in. Her mother’s admirer, Arnie Amundsen, brought flowers. So did Todd’s brother, Devon.
“Whoever painted your outside trim sure did a good job,” he said with a wink.
“You were a big help,” she told him, “especially with hanging the lace curtains.”
“Don’t say that too loud,” he said, pretending to recoil in horror.
She kissed him on the cheek.
At that moment Todd arrived at her side, and Devon held up both hands. “I wasn’t hitting on your girl. I promise.”
Tina Swift came next, bringing some lace doilies. “I thought you could use these on your tables.” She looked around, studying everything. “It’s so pretty in here. You’re going to be turning people away.”
“Thanks,” Bailey said, as she thought, Thank you for firing me. Now, instead of working in someone else’s shop, she had her own business.
Ed York and Pat Wilder came bearing more flowers, and Stacy Morris, who had recently opened Timeless Treasures Gifts and Antiques, brought Bailey a chintz teapot. The gifts and guests kept arriving—Cass Wilkes, Charley and Dan Masters, Chita and Ken Wolfe, Elena from the Sweet Dreams office, Gerhardt Geissel from Gerhardt’s Gasthaus. In fact, everyone from the chamber of commerce was on hand to help celebrate. The place was getting packed. But where was Cecily?
Bailey hugged and shook hands with well-wishers and smiled, all the while watching the door for her sister. She wasn’t going to come, and as time passed it became increasingly difficult to keep that smile in place. This day should have tasted so sweet, but her sister’s boycott made it sour as lemons.
“Please, call her,” Bailey begged Samantha.
“I have. She’s not answering her cell.” Samantha looked both sad and angry. “There’s nothing we can do right now. Don’t let this spoil your day.”
Too late. It already had.
* * *
Cecily found her car at the Sea-Tac airport parking lot and put her suitcase in the car trunk, then fell behind the wheel. She’d gotten a flight out, but it had been cursed. The kid sitting next to her hadn’t gotten to his air-sickness bag in time and had used Cecily’s lap instead. She’d cleaned off as best she could but still smelled faintly like barf. She’d have to change when she got home. What was the traffic like? She’d check Google Maps on her phone and see.
Her phone! Where was her phone?
* * *
Bailey’s mouth ached from smiling, but not as badly as her heart ached. All the compliments and good wishes in the world couldn’t make up for the fact that she’d lost her sister. She went into the kitchen to get another serving tray of cookies and discovered Todd on his cell.
“I don’t care how pissed you are at me. Get your butt over here.”
She came up and laid a hand on his arm, making him jump and his face turn red. “Oh. Hi. I had to make a call.”
“I heard. It’s really sweet of you, but it won’t work. She’s not coming.”
“She’s a bitch.”
“No, she’s not. She’s never been like this.”
“Well, the new her is no improvement,” Todd said furiously. “She’s ruining this day for you.”
Ruining someone’s day was probably nothing compared to ruining someone’s life—and that was what she’d done to her sister.
The crowd ebbed and flowed. Luke Goodman arrived with his mother and little girl. She heard him asking Samantha, “Where’s Cec? I thought she was coming back for this?”
“She was supposed to,” Samantha said, her voice peppered with irritation.
She wasn’t coming. Bailey got the message loud and clear. I’m through with you.
They couldn’t go on like this. A sister wasn’t just a sister. She was also a best friend, someone you stayed connected with all your life. Bailey couldn’t allow that connection to be broken permanently. And there was only one way to fix it.
She sneaked out onto the back porch with her cell. Of course, she got voice mail. Her eyes stung with tears as she spoke. “Cec, I’m sorry. Please, forgive me. I’ll do anything to make things right. I...I love Todd, but I can’t be with him like this, not with us never speaking. I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll leave town. I’ll—”
“No, you won’t,” said an angry voice behind her. Todd snatched the phone out of her hand and ended the call. “Damn it all, Bailey, did you mean that or didn’t you? Do you love me?”
Tears were pouring down h
er face now. “Yes,” she cried. “I do. But...”
“No buts. Do you think you can just shut this off like a faucet, that if you leave I won’t follow you? I’m not some—” he threw his hands up in the air “—pair of shoes you borrowed and didn’t give back. You can’t hand me off.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Bailey wailed. “She’s my sister.”
“Then she’d better start acting like one,” he growled. Bailey was sobbing in earnest now, and he took her in his arms and softened his voice. “Come on, now. Don’t cry. You don’t want to ruin your big day worrying about something that’s going to work out.”
“It’s too late. It’s already ruined,” she said.
“Only if you let it.”
She looked up at him. He’d been a great partner and had turned into a great friend and lover. But he wasn’t a sister. “I don’t know how to explain,” she began.
“You don’t have to. I get it. Well, as much as a man can get women,” he added. “But we’ve still got twenty minutes left. Anything could have happened. Her flight could have been delayed. She could have hit traffic.”
“On a Saturday? And why didn’t she call?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but don’t write her off yet. If you guys are as close as you claim to be, she’ll come through.”
Which was why he’d been calling her earlier? “You don’t really believe that, do you?” Bailey said in a small voice.
“I want to. I hope she doesn’t let us down. Now, we need to get out there and get back to businss.”
She nodded, took the tissue he gave her and blew her nose. Twenty more minutes.
Back in the shop, she discovered that one final late-afternoon wave of people had rushed in. But her sister wasn’t one of them. She rang up a jar of black cherry preserves for Hildy Johnson, greeted Mayor Stone and scanned the crowd. Now not only her sister was missing but Todd, as well.
Her mother was next to buy something, insisting on paying for a box of chocolate mint tea. “I think your business is going to be a success, darling,” she said.
Bailey nodded and tried to smile. What good was business success if you failed with your family?
* * *
Cecily had gone home to clean up, throw on jeans and a ruffled top and was on her way to the door when someone banged on it. She opened it to find Luke Goodman standing there. “Oh, hi,” she said. “I was just leaving.”
“For your sister’s grand opening,” he supplied. “Everyone’s been wondering where you were.”
Cecily ducked her head, embarrassed to look him in the eye. “I had some trouble getting here.” I had some trouble getting to the point where I wanted to be here.
“Well, the party’s still going on,” he said, but instead of ushering her out the door, he closed it behind him. “First, we have some business to settle.” Then, before she could say anything, he pulled her against him and kissed her. It wasn’t a polite kiss or even a romantic kiss. It was a force of nature, impossible to resist. And he didn’t stop there; he backed her up against the wall and put his tongue to good use. She felt one of his big hands slide up her midriff, setting off her zing-o-meter. Good Lord, what was going on here? Something was catching fire, and she suspected it might be her panties.
“I don’t care what you think about Todd Black and you,” he said, his mouth against her cheek. “You’re wrong. He’s not the man for you, and, deep down, you know it. We’re done playing games.” He kissed her again, and then his lips began to blaze a trail down her neck while his hands went...other places. “Are we still just friends?”
Why had she thought they didn’t have any chemistry together? What was wrong with her? Oh, yeah, that half-a-brain thing. “Maybe I was wrong,” she said faintly.
“No ‘maybe’ about it.”
Now there was a fresh banging at the front door. Luke swore and yanked it open.
There stood Todd. His irritated expression turned mocking, and he gave her a cynical smile. “I don’t suppose you could tear yourself away from what you’re doing to come to your sister’s grand opening.”
“We were just on our way,” Cecily said with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Nice of you to let someone know,” Todd snapped. “Do you have any idea how many people have left messages on your cell?”
“I lost it on the plane,” she said as they started for the stairs to the parking lot.
Todd shook his head and shot down the stairs ahead of them. “Yeah, and the dog ate my homework.”
“It’s true!” Cecily insisted.
“Whatever,” he said.
“Remind me what I ever saw in you,” she muttered to his back.
“My charm,” he growled.
“Come on,” Luke said. “I’ll drive you over.” Once they were in his hybrid, he echoed, “I don’t know what you saw in that guy.”
Blind. She’d been blind.
“You and I—we’re not done,” he added.
“That’s fine with me.”
The angry caveman expression had vanished, and now he was the honest, kind family man she’d known for years, smiling tenderly at her. “You remember I had a crush on you in high school?” he murmured.
“Why didn’t you do something about it back then?”
“I could never quite get up the nerve. Anyway, you always had a boyfriend.” He shrugged. “Then you moved away, and I moved on. And I was happy. I had a great marriage. But once I lost her—” He stopped for a moment, getting control of himself. “It’s been hard, and when you came back to town, I thought, Here’s my chance. I decided to try again.” He gnawed his lip for a minute. “I’m not a mover and shaker like Blake. I’m not the best-looking guy in town.”
“Way to sell yourself,” she teased.
They were on Lavender Lane now. He parked his car and turned to face her. “I’m a regular guy—that’s all. But there’s nothing I won’t do to make you happy. We could be good together, and after we’re done with this party I’m going to show you just how good.”
That sent a tingle shooting up her spine. Her mother had been right. Cecily had found someone who was perfect for her, and he’d been there under her nose all along.
Bailey must have seen her coming because Cecily had barely started up the front walk when her sister hurtled down it toward her. She picked up her pace, and they ran into each other’s arms, both crying and saying, “I’m sorry.”
“I thought I’d lost you as my sister,” Bailey said around her sobs. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. I was being insecure. And you know what? I knew you two were a match, but I didn’t want to admit it. Please, forgive me.”
“Thank God,” said Todd, who’d been directly behind them. “Maybe we can get on with the grand opening now.”
Cecily and Bailey smiled at each other and, arm in arm, went back up the walk, the two men falling in behind them. “I should have figured out my own love life a lot sooner,” Cecily said as they climbed the steps to the front porch, “especially when Todd talked about you being his best friend.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Luke.
“I’m smart that way,” Todd joked, and Cecily stuck out her tongue at him.
“Really. What did I see in you?”
“Nothing you won’t get more of with me,” Luke said, opening the door for her and giving her a look that sent her zing-o-meter into orbit.
Samantha was out on the front porch now, waiting for them. “About time you got here,” she said to Cecily.
“I had a problem with my flight.” Actually, she’d had a whole bunch of problems, but they were fixed now.
After the last guest had left, and everything had been cleaned up, the Sterling sisters, their men and their mother all pulled extra chairs around a table by the wi
ndow and sat down to talk.
“This place is going to do okay,” Blake predicted. “Of course, I knew that right off when I saw your business plan,” he told Todd.
“Olivia, Dot and Pat and I are going to be among your first customers,” Mom said. She smiled at all three of her daughters. “I’m so proud of my girls.”
Cecily realized she hadn’t given her mother much to be proud of lately, and she felt the hot flush of shame on her cheeks. “Some of us don’t always deserve it.”
“None of us are perfect,” Mom said gently.
“Wait a minute,” Todd joked. “I thought this was a perfect family.”
“Not hardly,” Samantha said. “But we love each other anyway.”
Cecily reached over and took her little sister’s hand. “Yes, we do.”
Loving Happily Ever After
Spring had returned to Icicle Falls, and May was in full bloom when family, friends and neighbors packed the Icicle Falls Community Church to witness the union of Cecily Sterling and Luke Goodman. The mothers of the bride and groom sat teary-eyed as little Serena Goodman walked down the aisle, scattering silk rose petals, while on Muriel’s lap baby Rose Preston looked on in wide-eyed wonder. After her came Bailey Sterling, carrying a small bouquet of spring flowers and wearing a pale green sheath that showed off her auburn hair. She was wearing an engagement ring on her left hand. Next, Ella O’Brien, Cecily’s friend, who’d flown in for the wedding along with her husband, Jake, walked up the aisle. Following her was Samantha, the matron of honor, dressed in chocolate-brown. Her husband, Blake, one of the groomsmen, smiled proudly. Next to him stood Todd, the future brother-in-law, also smiling.
And then came the bride in an off-the-shoulder wedding gown, her face radiant behind her veil. Everyone present later agreed that although all brides were beautiful, this one truly was the most beautiful they’d ever seen.
Jake O’Brien sang a wedding song he’d written as the couple lit a unity candle. Vows were exchanged, and finally Luke was allowed to kiss his bride. The kiss he gave her was enough to wilt every flower in the sanctuary and was rewarded with hoots and clapping.
The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls) Page 26