“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ty started wearing a kilt around the house after that,” Missy said with a straight face.
“Yes!” Mad crowed. “I’m totally getting him that for his Christmas present. I picked him for my family’s Secret Santa.”
“Get pictures.” Lexi smiled evilly, a sharp contrast to her usual cuteness, especially with her dark brown hair up in a high ponytail. “Perfect blackmail.”
“You’re a devious woman,” Mad said, reaching over and fist-bumping Lexi.
“It was sad that Brianna had that arranged marriage,” Sabrina said, all quiet sincerity. She tucked a stray lock of dirty blond hair behind her ear. “I mean, I know it was common for that time, but it was so clear she was supposed to be with Roan.”
“It wasn’t all bad,” Missy said. “Roan made her his mistress. At least she could be with him, and he did live in the best home since he was the laird.”
“It’s not like it was an honor,” Sabrina returned with a good amount of indignation for the heroine. “Her husband would’ve blamed her for that. Tensions would’ve been high in her household.”
“Get a grip, girl,” Lexi replied, turning to Sabrina at her side. “First of all, her arranged marriage fell apart when the guy died; second of all, it’s fiction.”
Sabrina cocked her head. “I’m sorry, were we not supposed to take these stories seriously?”
“Of course we are!” Hailey exclaimed.
Sabrina went on, speaking to the group. “Because I always thought there were deeper layers here of love, hope, and redemption. Everything that matters in life.”
They all got quiet for a moment.
“Oh, shut up,” Lexi said, giving Sabrina a playful shove. “We know you’re just hot for Roan and his…sword.”
Sabrina’s cheeks dotted with red. “I’ll admit I’m not immune to the appeal of a strong male, who—”
“Is naked under his kilt,” Missy supplied.
“And don’t forget shirtless,” Lexi put in, her brown eyes gleaming. “Remember the cover? He’s like—” she gestured to her own narrow shoulders “—massive shoulders, bulging arms, tight abs, and then there’s Brianna, all petite and crushed against him. Didn’t you just want to be her?”
The women all heartily agreed.
Hailey beamed, flicking her long strawberry blond hair over her shoulder, and began an enthusiastic discussion of Roan, Brianna, and Brianna’s badass warrior brothers, who fell hard for their women.
For a short time, they all relaxed, enjoying dishing about one of their favorite reads. Missy had even reread the first book in the trilogy. There was something so compelling about the laird, a formidable foe to his enemies, loyal and compassionate to those under his care—the people in his community and, most especially, Brianna. Oh, shit. She had a thing for that rugged kind of man with deep compassion, didn’t she? No wonder Ben was sneaking under her defenses.
When the conversation petered out, all of them subdued again, Hailey called them in for a group hug. “Come on, for Charlotte. We’re going to gather all our positive energy and direct it straight to her. Then we’ll get a drink in her honor.”
“When did you get so woo-woo?” Mad grumbled, but still headed over to Hailey, slinging an arm over her shoulders.
Missy joined the group, one arm around Sabrina, the other around Lexi, her two closest friends, and then was dragged in tight to the circle.
“We love you, Charlotte,” Hailey whispered, “and we know you’re going to give birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy.” They all knew it was going to be a boy.
“And we know you’re going to be just fine,” Sabrina added.
Missy’s throat closed up, the positive words reminding her how much was at stake. She closed her eyes, holding the tears at bay as each woman offered a quiet message of hope around the circle. Missy went last, barely able to speak over the tightness in her throat. “Amen,” she said simply.
The women pulled apart, giving each other watery smiles.
“All right, drinks at Garner’s,” Hailey said, pulling on her long white wool coat. “Mad says the guys are all gathered there waiting to hear news from Ty.”
Missy stilled. That meant Ben would be there. Which was absolutely no problem. She just had to pull it together, think positively for Charlotte, and he’d never see her in this vulnerable state. She pulled her coat on. It wasn’t like Ben was there to see her specifically. The guys were most likely there because of Josh Campbell, the bartender and manager of the place. He was the oldest of the brothers, along with his twin, but he was local, whereas Jake moved around with his wife, Claire. Josh was subtle about his big-brother role, but Missy had noticed he took care of his younger brothers, biological and honorary, as well as his little sister, Mad. She’d overheard more than once one of the guys speaking to Josh in a confidential tone. And no-filter Mad tried never to piss him off because she said she “owed him way too much.” Missy wasn’t sure what Josh had done for Mad, but if it was sufficient for Mad to give him that respect, it must’ve been significant.
A few minutes later, Hailey led the way across the street, talking a cheerful mile a minute about her upcoming Clover Park holiday plans, either trying to keep all their spirits up or mentally preparing for seeing Josh again, which always sent her into a flurry of planning. She was a wedding planner, after all, but with things slowing down for her during the holiday season, she’d planned tons of stuff for Clover Park. This weekend was the first weekend of December, and Hailey had a holiday stroll planned for Saturday complete with ice sculptures, hot chocolate and roasted nuts, strolling carolers, and horse and carriage rides. Sunday was the community tree decorating at Ludbury House, a huge mansion owned by the town, where Hailey worked. Mostly, Ludbury House was host to weddings, but it could be rented out for other purposes. Hailey was not only decorating the large pine tree on the front lawn of Ludbury House, she also had several trees inside waiting to be decorated and then distributed to senior citizens in town who needed a little extra help to enjoy the holidays. And she was wrapping gifts to give to the seniors too.
“Hailey, take a breath,” Sabrina advised. “I’ll be there to help and so will Lexi and Missy.”
“Great!” Hailey chirped. “The more the merrier. How about you ladies?” She rushed forward to ask the rest of their friends. Missy heard Ally agree with great enthusiasm; the others couldn’t make it. Ally, a bubbly blonde teacher, was working part-time with Hailey, starting a sologamy business as an add-on to Hailey’s wedding planning business. The sologamy thing was pretty cool, basically an empowering ceremony where you marry yourself and vow to honor yourself and seek out your own happiness (as opposed to waiting for some guy to come along like some stupid fairy tale). Missy had loved it when she and her friends had held their own sologamy ceremony a couple of months ago because she knew she could never divorce herself.
Hailey led the way into the crowded bar straight to where Josh stood behind the bar, his dark brown hair more rumpled than usual. “Have you heard from Ty?” Hailey asked immediately.
Missy and Sabrina leaned in close, hoping to hear the answer. Josh made a subtle shake of his head, his lips pressed tightly together.
“Last we heard was an hour ago when Ty went to get ice chips,” Clarissa, Josh’s girlfriend, said from the bar stool next to Hailey.
Hailey jumped. “Oh, I didn’t see you there. That’s good to know, thanks.” She looked to Josh and back to Clarissa and then Josh. “Can I have a glass of chardonnay, please?”
With unprecedented speed, Josh poured Hailey her requested drink and set it in front of her. Missy couldn’t help but notice Clarissa keeping a close eye on him.
Josh turned to the rest of them and said in a subdued tone, “What can I get you, ladies?”
Either Josh was as freaked about Charlotte as the rest of them or he’d changed being with Clarissa. He’d always been laid-back at the bar, but he used to be all charming smiles, quick to tease in a good-natured way
, and downright gleeful about locking horns with Hailey. This wasn’t the Josh they all knew and loved.
Once they got their drinks, Sabrina asked Josh to hold the cupcakes behind the bar for later and confirmed the champagne was chilling. Satisfied, Sabrina hooked Hailey’s arm and guided her to a quiet corner away from the awkward Clarissa and Josh situation. Missy and Lexi followed.
“I’m fine,” Hailey said to Sabrina once their little group settled in a small circle, blocking Hailey’s view of Josh. “It’s all water under the bridge.”
“He nearly killed a man for you,” Sabrina said quietly, referring to the showdown between Blake and Josh at the Fierce Loving wrap party last week.
“He only roughed him up a bit,” Hailey said in blithe denial. She took a long swallow of wine. “Don’t make a big thing.”
Missy and Sabrina exchanged a look. As much as Hailey had spent the last two years looking after their little group, by unspoken agreement, it was time to look after her.
Sabrina was adamant, even raising her voice. “I don’t like the dynamics of this situation. It’s a classic triangle, and the best course of action is to remove yourself from it. You deserve a healthy loving relationship, not this dysfunction.”
Hailey shook her head. “You’re making too much of this.”
“And I don’t like the way she looks at you,” Sabrina added. “She’s jealous or mad or both.”
Hailey flushed pink, took a sip of wine, and then patted Sabrina’s arm. “Thanks for having my back, but on to the task at hand. Wait until you see the donation pile back at Ludbury House. You guys, the community has really come together. Tomorrow I’ve got a freaking truck full of food to donate to the food bank, and you should see how many toys we collected for Toys for Tots. The seniors are getting e-readers so they don’t have to wait for large-print books to come into the library. They can just increase the font. I even got the librarian over at the Clover Park library to hold a class to teach them how to use them with the e-book library lending program.”
“That’s awesome,” Lexi said.
“That must’ve cost a lot,” Missy put in, thinking of the e-readers.
Hailey smiled brightly. “See what can happen when the community comes together for a great cause?”
Lexi piped up. “We all know it was you who made it happen not the community.”
Hailey’s lashes fluttered down before modestly claiming, “I might’ve gotten it started, but they did the rest.”
Not only had Hailey reached into her own pocket to buy food and toys (and probably the e-readers too) to start the giving campaign, she’d also taken lots of pictures and posted them on social media and in flyers around town with the headline “Clover Park giving is piling up the joy!” The woman was a dynamo and as beautiful on the inside as the outside, which was a lot.
“You know what, Hailey?” Missy said. “I’m going to volunteer the entire weekend—from setup to cleanup. As long as you’re working, I’ll be there.”
Hailey squealed.
“Many hands make light work,” a warm masculine voice said from behind Missy.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Ben appeared at her side, flashing a sexy dimpled smile before turning to her friends. “Hello, ladies,” he said in a warm honey tone that immediately set Missy on edge. She wasn’t about to stand by while he flirted with her friends in front of her. If she and Ben were going to be friends, then there had to be some ground rules—no flirting, no kissing, no nothing with another woman in front of her.
Oh, God. I want him all to myself. The uncharacteristic jealousy did not sit well with her.
“Hi,” Lexi and Hailey both murmured, looking from him to Missy curiously. She hadn’t shared with her friends about their hookup, though they knew she was temporarily working for him.
“Hello,” Sabrina caroled.
She worked hard to appear unaffected by Ben standing next to her, but she could feel the heat in her cheeks, her entire body in overdrive, nerves tingling in anticipation. He wasn’t even touching her, but the attraction was electric, making her want to throw herself at him. This was terrible.
Hailey turned to Missy, for once not commenting on a possible coupling. “Thank you so much for volunteering. I didn’t want to say anything, I mean, it is voluntary, but it’s very hard for me to be every place I need to be this weekend. I’d dearly love to have someone working with me the whole time. We’ll need to text and call regularly to coordinate all the details.”
“Geez, Missy, make us look bad,” Lexi said.
“Yeah,” Sabrina put in with a smile. “Hailey, you know I’d be there more if I could.”
“It’s okay,” Hailey sang. “It’s a busy time of year for everyone.”
“Sounds like a big job,” Ben said. “I’m in. You need any heavy lifting done, I’m your man.” He flexed an impressive bicep. “Or anything else. Missy can vouch for me. I can wash, dry, serve food, you name it.”
“Omigod, you’re a life saver!” Hailey exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “Yes! I’d love to have you there. There’s tons of stuff that has to be moved for setup and cleanup. I was going to make do with some wheeled dollies and wagons.”
“Wagons?” Ben echoed. “You mean like a kid’s wagon?”
“You gotta work with what you have,” Hailey said. “I’m very creative that way.”
Ben stared at Hailey. “I’ll get some of the guys to work the wheeled dollies.”
They had an intense discussion of logistics and inventory before settling the scope of the job.
Missy turned to Ben, feeling soft and mushy for this wonderful man who did wonderful things. She’d never met another man like him. She didn’t think they existed.
He chuckled. “What?”
“Nothing,” she mumbled.
Someone clanged the side of a glass. And then Josh hollered with the voice of a general. “Quiet!”
They all turned to Josh, who had walked out from behind the bar to announce, “Baby’s here! Mom and baby TJ are doing great!”
Everyone cheered and hugged each other. Missy impulsively hugged Ben, who hugged her back, lifting her off the ground, making her laugh, her heart soaring with happiness for Charlotte.
Ben set her down and grinned. “I’m an uncle again.”
“I’m an aunt again,” she said, her eyes watering. She blinked rapidly. “I’m so happy for them.”
“Champagne and cupcakes!” Sabrina exclaimed.
Nothing had ever tasted sweeter.
Chapter Ten
Honest to God, Missy took one step onto Clover Park’s Main Street on Saturday morning and felt like she’d stepped into a Hallmark Christmas movie. Not that she ever watched them. Much. The holiday stroll hadn’t opened to the public yet, so she had an unobstructed view of the charming downtown with its shops and restaurants now aglow in twinkly white Christmas lights. White lights arched over Main Street, wrapped around the trees that lined both sides of the street, and sparkled from every storefront window. The old-fashioned lamp posts were wrapped in greenery with fat red bows. Hailey had even made a huge purchase of wreaths, glittered snowflakes, mini-trees with gold balls, and menorahs, so every storefront window would coordinate.
The street had been closed off to traffic for pedestrians and for the horse and carriage rides. Two carriages, each with one large brown horse wearing jingle bells around their bellies, stood across the street in front of town hall. Already the air smelled sweet and spicy from the hot chocolate stand and roasted nuts cart in front of Something’s Brewing Café. She’d checked the roasted nuts out earlier. Chef Shane O’Hare had prepared glazed cinnamon almonds, Mexican spiced chocolate pecans, and sweet ’n spicy mixed nuts. He’d given all the volunteers samples early this morning, and she told him as she had on many occasions, after indulging in his glorious coffee, pastries, and homemade ice cream, how lucky they were to have his culinary talent. He’d blushed as red as his hair, mumbling, “Thanks.”
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But the best part was living this joyous day with Ben.
She wasn’t even working directly with him, but every time she caught a glimpse of him in his black down parka, black knit hat, and black work gloves, carrying stuff, she felt giddy. He looked rugged and capable and hot.
Now that everything was in place, Ben had joined her to admire their work. He was busy texting someone, so she snuck a look at his strong profile, his angular face with the stubble along his jaw she longed to feel scraping against her. She suppressed a swoony sigh and lifted her face to the sky, breathing in the cold crisp air. The festivities would begin at ten a.m. when the shops opened. It was almost time, and she couldn’t wait to see all the kids enjoying themselves. Most families with young kids would be heading to the pancake breakfast with Santa at Clover Park High’s cafeteria this morning, a couple of blocks off Main Street, and then head over here.
She turned to Ben, her breath coming out in a cold puff. “The only thing that would make it more perfect is if it snowed.”
“We already have the snowman,” he said, hitching a thumb down the street. “Ice sculpture.”
“Oh, I missed it. Let’s go see.”
They headed a couple of blocks down to Baldwin Park. The ice sculpture had been set on the grass next to the sidewalk—a huge carved snowman with a top hat and ice carrot nose. Next to the snowman was a snow woman and two small snow kids. Adorable!
Ben checked his phone again. “Hailey needs me to help Marcus and Logan haul a table, chairs, and a couple of barrels from the basement of Ludbury House.”
She followed him back downtown. “Barrels?”
“Not sure if she means actual barrels. It’s to hold donations to the food bank and Toys for Tots. Tonight we have to help load up the truck and deliver it. Probably be a late night, two different drop-offs an hour away and not close to each other.”
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