by Gina Wilkins
Laughing softly at his rare joke, Bonnie pushed her hands into her skirt pockets as she watched man and dog disappear into the dark woods. Something crinkled crisply against her right hand and she pulled out the check Paul had given her. Glancing down at it, she smoothed the paper slowly between her fingers, thinking of Paul’s distinctive jade eyes and charming, slightly crooked smile.
The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. Though she’d tried to be more subtle than Jennifer, she thought she’d made it clear enough that she wouldn’t mind spending more time with him. If her recently reawakened feminine instincts could be trusted, he felt the same way about her. Maybe she’d hold off a bit on that online dating profile.
Something moved at the corner of her vision, this time in the densest part of the woods. Thinking it might be her brother and his dog, she turned, but saw nothing there but the thinnest line of late-night mist. She shook her head, deciding she must be more tired from the long day than she’d realized.
Holding Paul’s check tightly in one hand, she headed for her apartment, telling herself she should put him out of her mind for the rest of the night. As if that were possible.
Chapter Three
The woman who sat across the coffee shop table from Paul Thursday afternoon was gym-toned and impeccably styled, not a blond hair out of place, her makeup subtle but perfect. Though he knew her to be only fifteen months from turning forty, Holly Bauer looked a good half decade younger. In fact, she’d been mistaken for twenty-one-year-old Cassie’s older sister rather than her mother.
Appearing to be a polar opposite to his sleek, fashionable wife, Holly’s husband, Larry, was pudgy and habitually rumpled, with a shiny, balding head and kind, twinkling brown eyes. He had a brilliant mind, a generous heart and an infectious smile. Holly adored him, as did Cassie. Paul was fond of the guy, as well.
Holly sipped delicately from her coffee—black, no sugar—then set the cup on the table. “So, anyway,” she said, continuing the solemn conversation they’d been engaged in for the past fifteen minutes, “I thought you should be told right away. And I believed I should be the one to tell you, rather than Cassie. After all, this move will affect you, too, in a way.”
“In a rather big way,” he agreed, tugging at the open neck of his polo shirt which felt as though it had somehow tightened. “I’ll miss you guys.”
Holly had just informed him that she and her family would be relocating in August, only a week after Cassie’s wedding. Holly had accepted an offer from a law firm in Dallas and Larry was taking a faculty position teaching in the engineering department at UT Dallas. The twins were understandably nervous about changing high schools and leaving their friends, but also excited about moving to Texas. Paul had known the move was a possibility, but now Holly had confirmed that it had become a reality.
“We’ll miss you, too,” she said with a sincerity he didn’t doubt. “The first question Jenna asked when we told them was whether you’ll be moving, too.”
He supposed he could understand Jenna’s assumption. After all, twelve years ago he’d followed the family to Virginia from North Carolina, where he and Holly had both grown up, when Holly and Larry had moved here for Larry’s career. Without close family of his own, there’d been no reason for Paul to remain in North Carolina rather than settle close to his daughter. He’d found a teaching position very quickly, bought a nice little house with three extra bedrooms for when Cassie and her siblings visited overnight, and he’d been happy here as part of their extended family. But as much as he cared for them, he couldn’t see himself following them to Dallas. Not with his daughter married and living in London.
He forced a smile for Holly’s benefit, hoping it looked natural. “I won’t be moving to Dallas.”
Holly nodded as if she had expected that decision. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye—for all of us,” she murmured, just a little tremor in her voice.
Reaching across the table, he took her hand and gave her fingers a squeeze. “It won’t be forever,” he assured her. “I expect to be invited to the twins’ birthday celebrations and graduations, and I’ll try to be there if I can get away. And if they want to come back here to visit their friends during vacations and holidays, they’ll always have a room in my house.”
She squeezed his hand in return before reaching again for her coffee. “It’s going to be terribly hectic for the next few weeks, of course,” she said, her voice steady again. “Getting ready for the wedding, preparations for the move, and the twins will want to attend as many parties and get-togethers with their friends as they can manage.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Thanks, Paul.”
He smiled over the rim of his cup at his daughter’s mother. There’d been no romantic feelings between himself and Holly since their youthful infatuation had fizzled away in the stressful reality of teen parenthood, but they’d managed to forge a true friendship during the years. A partnership in a way, dedicated to making sure Cassie had a safe, happy, healthy childhood. It had been quite a successful venture, he mused. But now, as it should, it was coming to an end. Or at the least, it was changing radically. Cassie would always be a bond between them.
“I ran into Michaela Havers at the bank yesterday,” Holly commented after a few moments of silence, a seeming non sequitur that made him blink a couple of times before replying.
“Yeah? I saw her at a party not too long ago. She seemed to be doing well.”
“She was sporting an engagement ring roughly the size of a golf ball yesterday. A recent development, I take it.”
“First I’ve heard of it,” he agreed. “I knew she was seeing someone, but I don’t think they were engaged when I saw her last. It all happened pretty quickly, I guess.”
“Are you okay with it?”
“Absolutely. Michaela and I broke up by mutual agreement. I wish her the best.”
“So…” Holly toyed with the handle of her coffee cup. “Are you seeing anyone special now?”
An image of a pretty, petite blonde popped into his mind. Bonnie wasn’t at all like Holly, he mused, other than both being blondes. Holly’s sleekly styled bob was colored by an expensive stylist, her makeup was always impeccable and her outfits were tasteful but obviously designer labeled. Bonnie’s loose golden curls looked entirely natural, she wore little makeup and her clothes were apparently chosen for comfort and convenience. And while he liked and admired both of them, it was the thought of Bonnie that made his pulse rate pick up even as he shook his head. “Not at the moment.”
He eyed Holly with sudden amusement. “Surely you aren’t worried about leaving me behind all alone and sad when you move?”
Maybe her cheeks went just a bit pink as she lifted her chin in denial. “Of course not. You’ve made a good life for yourself here. I just wondered…”
“Don’t worry about me, Holly. I’ll be fine. Actually, I guess you could say for the first time in twenty-one years, I’ll be free to follow my own whims. I’m pretty much committed to teaching another year here, but after that, maybe I’ll teach in China for a couple of years or on a reservation in North Dakota,” he said, naming random places off the top of his head. “Or maybe I’ll take a sabbatical and spend a year schlepping drinks at some bar in the Florida Keys. I make a mean margarita, you know.”
Holly smiled faintly, making no other effort to respond to his grandiose scenarios. Probably because she didn’t believe he would do any of them, no matter what he said. Had he become so predictable? He was still young, not even forty. He could have plenty of adventures, if he wanted. China, North Dakota, Florida…anywhere the wind blew him.
After all, he no longer had anything, or anyone, to hold him here.
When they’d reopened Bride Mountain Inn, Bonnie and Kinley had learned quickly that they seemed to attract an
early rising clientele, eager to have breakfast and then get on with their planned activities. As a result, Monday through Saturday breakfast service began at seven and formally ended at nine, though Bonnie was well-known to serve the stragglers, anyway.
The daily schedule varied only on Sundays, when a lavish brunch was served from ten until one. Because Bride Mountain Café, an excellent little diner within walking distance of the inn, was closed on Sundays, Bonnie provided a light repast of sandwiches and dessert for her guests that evening.
The 7:00 a.m. breakfast service necessitated an early start for Bonnie and her full-time housekeeping employee, Rhoda Foley, who cheerfully cleaned, served, cooked, did laundry or whatever else was needed of her, aided by part-time maid Sandy Carr.
Free-spirited, mid-fifties Rhoda had been scrupulously on time every morning since an incident in the spring in which she had overslept, rushed to work and hit one of the front portico posts with her truck, resulting in a mad scramble to make repairs before a scheduled wedding.
With her almost compulsive need for perfection and control, Kinley had been particularly anxious about the damage, though her first reaction had been to make sure Rhoda was unharmed. Minutes after the accident occurred, travel writer Dan Phelan had arrived to profile the inn in a popular Southern-themed magazine, to Kinley’s dismay. But since Kinley and Dan had fallen in love almost at first sight and were now a happily committed couple, so Bonnie suspected her sister’s memories of that tumultuous day were pleasant ones.
At just after nine Friday morning, Bonnie and Kinley stood near the doorway from the dining room to the kitchen. The inn was fully occupied, mostly with guests for a wedding to take place in the gazebo tomorrow afternoon. Kinley had just arrived, dressed as always in tailored, professional clothing, in contrast to the loose skirts and cotton tops that better suited Bonnie’s role at the inn.
To an outside observer, Bonnie knew she and her sister didn’t appear to be related. With gold-streaked light brown hair and eyes more gray than blue, Kinley was nearly five inches taller and more athletically built than Bonnie. Both Kinley and Logan resembled their father, while Bonnie had been called the “spitting image” of their mother—perhaps one of the reasons she’d always been great-uncle Leo’s favorite. That, and her lifelong passion for the inn he’d loved so much.
Holding a cup of the herbal tea Bonnie had insisted she drink—Bonnie had recently decided that her overachieving, workaholic sister drank entirely too much coffee—Kinley looked around the well-filled dining room in satisfaction. “Your new summer veggie quiche was certainly a hit. Everyone liked it.”
Bonnie smiled. “They seemed to. I’ll add the recipe to the handouts for my class.”
“I had a taste of the quiche. It was delicious. Rosemary?”
“Yes, fresh from my herb garden.” The little herb bed Logan had helped her plant was her pride and joy. She was beginning to believe she’d inherited her great-aunt Helen’s green thumb along with the inn, even though Helen had been related to her only by marriage to Leo.
Kinley took another taste of her tea before saying, “Speaking of your class, one of your students may be coming by later today.”
Bonnie’s heart gave a funny little bump. She reminded herself that there were five members of her class in addition to the one who elicited that response. “Oh?”
Looking almost smugly amused, as if she’d sensed the direction in which Bonnie’s thoughts had automatically flown, Kinley nodded. “Cassie Drennan called earlier. She’s bringing a friend by to see the inn as a potential wedding venue for next spring. She mentioned that her dad might ride along.”
So the physical jolt had been justified, after all. It happened again with the confirmation that she would perhaps be seeing Paul that afternoon—even if he had his daughter and her friend with him.
“I’m sure you’ll have Cassie’s friend signed up for the full package even before they finish looking around,” she teased her sister lightly, trying to direct the attention away from herself.
A saleswoman to her core, Kinley grinned. “I’ll certainly try. So, you want to be in on the tour? I suspect that Paul—I mean, Cassie—would be happy to have you join us.”
“Kinley—”
With a soft laugh, Kinley held up both hands in response to Bonnie’s warning mutter. “Sorry. I just think it’s so cute the way you blush nearly every time you hear his name.”
Cursing her traitorous fair coloring, Bonnie hoped she could get that reaction under control again before Paul arrived.
She changed the subject abruptly to talk of the wedding festivities scheduled for the weekend, a topic sure to distract her sister. Proceeded by a drinks-and-snacks gathering in the dining room, rehearsal was scheduled for seven that evening. A hearty breakfast would be served tomorrow morning to the wedding party, and the big event itself would start at three tomorrow afternoon. The bride had chosen a Tuscan wedding theme, so Logan would be busy today draping rented white columns and the white-painted gazebo with ivy and clusters of artificial grapes. And muttering all the time about how foolish it was to do so, she thought with an indulgent smile, though she knew her brother would do his usual meticulous job.
One other topic was guaranteed to distract Kinley’s attention from anything else. “What time is Dan supposed to arrive?” Bonnie asked when there was nothing left to say about the upcoming wedding.
Just the mention of Dan’s name made Kinley light up like a Christmas tree, Bonnie noted with a slight sense of wistfulness. “He plans to be here by six, in time for dinner. His last interview for the day should be completed by noon.”
As a features writer for the Georgia-based magazine Modern South, Dan traveled quite a bit, though he’d shifted his home base to Virginia to be with Kinley. An aspiring political thriller novelist, he hoped in the future to cut back even more on his traveling, though so far they seemed to be doing a great job of melding their busy careers with their private romance.
Kinley glanced at her watch. “Speaking of work, I have to make a couple of calls. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Bonnie had a lot to do, too. She hoped she’d be much too busy to indulge in daydreams of finding for herself what Kinley had lucked into with Dan.
Morning chores had been completed when Bonnie stood on the step stool in the kitchen later that afternoon, reaching for a vintage glass punch bowl she stored in one of the higher cabinets. The grape pattern made it perfect for the upcoming wedding’s Tuscan theme. She gripped the large bowl carefully between both hands, preparing to descend the ladder, when someone reached up to take the bowl from her. Having been too focused on her task to hear anyone enter the kitchen, she started a bit, but a large hand at her waist kept her safely on the tread.
She looked down to find Paul grinning at her, holding the bowl in the crook of his right arm as he steadied her with his left hand. Even two steps up on the ladder, she was now only an inch or so taller, so their faces were almost level. He looked every bit as good from up here, she decided immediately.
Without disconnecting the contact between them, he set the punch bowl on the counter. “Shouldn’t you wait until you have someone to steady you before you climb on ladders?”
“I’m a foot off the floor,” she pointed out. “I doubt I’m in danger of breaking my neck.”
Her pulse fluttered some when he rested his now-free right hand just above her left hip, so that he held her lightly bracketed between his palms. She felt the warmth of him seeping through her clothing and softening her knees.
Still smiling at her, Paul neither moved away nor made any effort to help her down. He wasn’t even pretending now to be securing her on the ladder. And when she placed her hands on his broad shoulders, it wasn’t only to steady herself. It seemed time to openly acknowledge the attraction that had simmered between them from the first time they’d collided.
> “Your sister is giving Cassie and her friend Danielle a quick tour of the facilities I slipped away on the pretext of asking you about the next cooking class,” he confessed.
“You have a question about the class?”
His grin deepened roguishly. “No.”
“Oh.” She felt her cheeks warm a bit, but attributed the flush more to pleasure than embarrassment.
“I don’t mean to keep you from your work,” he said with some reluctance.
“I always make time for a visit from a friend,” she replied. “But perhaps I should get down from the ladder.”
“I don’t know. I rather like looking at you from this angle.” He focused directly on her mouth as he spoke, and she felt her lips tingle in response.
She glanced automatically toward the open doorway. Had there not been a very good chance that one of her employees could walk in at any moment…
As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, he gave a little sigh, then lifted her easily off the stepladder. The math teacher obviously worked out.
Setting her safely on her feet, he smiled down at her, jade eyes gleaming. “I like looking at you from this angle, too.”
Her hands rested on his upper arms now. She cocked her head as she looked up at him. “You’re being very flirtatious today.”
“I’ve thought about you a lot the past few days,” he confessed.
Hearing those words in his rich, deep voice made her heart do a happy little dance. She had a crush on this guy, she thought. Nice…yet a little scary, too. She didn’t want to invest too much, too quickly. She wasn’t sure what he had in mind, especially since she thought she’d heard him drop a few clues that he was looking forward to being a carefree bachelor after his daughter’s wedding. A “contented empty-nester,” as he’d said to Jennifer. Maybe he was just interested in casually spending time together, having a little fun during his summer break.