Cutting Loose

by Charity Hillis

  “The rehearsal dinner is here at the inn,” Sharlene said, slurring gently as Amy stood up to get off the bus. “You’ll be there, right?”

  Amy nodded. “Wouldn’t miss a moment of this weekend!” She swayed down the aisle, thankful that the bus had stopped moving, and when her feet hit solid ground, Amy stood for a moment, trying to get her bearings. She turned to wave at the bus as it departed, and she was surprised to see Sean standing next to her.

  “What are you doing?” Amy blurted. Despite their flirty exchange at the beginning of the day, Sean had pretty much ignored her at the wine tastings, and Amy had tried to push her dirty thoughts about the musician out of her mind. And I’d almost succeeded, she thought, eyeing him from head to toe. Almost.

  Sean chuckled. “Rehearsal dinner. You heard Sharlene, right?”

  Amy shook her head, confused. “But that’s not for a few hours.”

  “I told Roxy I’d help her set up.”

  “Oh,” Amy said, at a loss for words. What’s wrong with you? It’s not like you don’t know how to flirt…it’s just been a while. “Maybe I should see if she needs help, too.”

  “You’re the guest. Didn’t your mother teach you that guests don’t have to sing for their supper?”

  She laughed. “Is that how you’re going to help? Singing?”

  “Not tonight,” Sean said, his blue eyes sparkling. “Saving that for tomorrow.”

  Amy was honestly surprised. He’d been good at the bar the other night, but she wasn’t sure acoustic guitar and folksy songs would fit the wedding. Then again, she didn’t really know Sharlene’s style, so she just shrugged. “Nice of you to help out,” she finally said.

  Sean winked. “Don’t get the wrong idea about me, Ames; Roxy bribed me into helping by threatening to dig up my old baby pictures, and Sharlene and Jeremiah are paying me for my services tomorrow.” He leaned forward and brushed a stray piece of Amy’s hair behind her ear. “For you, though, I might not charge,” he whispered suggestively.

  Annoyed, Amy swatted his hand away. “I’m good, thanks,” she said, the flirty buzz starting to dissipate. The more Sean talked, the more arrogant Amy realized he was, and even for a fling, she knew from experience that that kind of guy was so not worth it. She stepped around Sean and headed into the inn, but she could feel his eyes on her back as she walked. Even though she’d made up her mind to avoid him for the rest of the weekend, her body had a mind of its own, and her hips swayed a little bit more than usual as she climbed the wooden steps. Amy didn’t have to look back to know he was watching, and she smiled to herself as the door to the inn swung shut behind her.

  ***

  When Sharlene had said that dinner would be at the inn, Amy had just assumed there was a restaurant on-site, but she hadn’t expected to find the big wrap-around porch filled with tables and chairs when she came downstairs that evening. The sun was low enough that the trees surrounding the inn cast long shadows, and Amy shivered slightly. She darted upstairs and grabbed her leather jacket before heading down again.

  The tables dotting the porch were all shapes and sizes, and Amy wondered idly if Roxy had raided the neighbor’s houses for anything that wasn’t nailed down. White linen tablecloths covered every surface, and Amy noticed a buffet set up on two picnic tables that had been pushed together down on the lawn. Even though it should have looked like a mish-mashed jumble, she had to admit that the whole set up was charming; yellow tea lights flickered in the center of each table, and mismatched china plates and tarnished silverware were laid out elegantly. The whole thing had kind of an antique sale look to it, and Amy smiled when she spotted Roxy.

  “This looks great,” she said honestly, and Roxy beamed.

  “Thanks! I want to get into the wedding business with the inn, and Sharlene’s letting me experiment with hers.”

  Amy was surprised. “You’ve never done this before?”

  Roxy shook her head. “Do you think people would pay for a dinner like this?”

  “I’ll let you know after I taste the food.” Amy grinned, and Roxy chuckled.

  “Fair enough. I hope you like it.”

  Amy glanced at the picnic tables, and then turned back to Roxy, a suspicion dawning in her mind. “You don’t mean you made all the food, too?”

  Roxy shrugged, but her eyes were proud. “Easiest way to give Sharlene what she wants; she was going to hire some fancy caterer for tonight, but they’d just made an offer on their first home, and I didn’t want her to break the bank for her wedding.”

  Amy was impressed. “She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

  “We all pitched in; everybody loves Shar. Sorry, but I have to go check on the pies.”

  Amy waved her off and looked around the setup with new eyes. I never would have known that Roxy had pulled all this together, she thought. It looks like something out of a magazine.

  Sitting down at one of the tables, Amy watched the porch fill up with smiling, bustling people. Some of them had been on the wine bus earlier that day, but there were a lot more that Amy hadn’t seen before, and she scanned the crowd, watching for Carol and Hank or Joanne.

  Her eyes landed on Sean, laughing and chatting with a group of men, and she quickly dropped her gaze. Why does he have to be everywhere?

  Finally, Amy felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up with surprise to see Sharlene and Jeremiah. He gestured to a chair. “Are you saving the table for someone?”

  Amy laughed. “Nope, but don’t you all have a head table or something?”

  Sharlene shrugged, sliding into the seat beside Amy. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow, either, come to think of it!”

  Jeremiah chuckled. “We didn’t want things to be too formal. This weekend is all about spending time with the people we love.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Sharlene’s cheek. “One special someone in particular,” he said, and Sharlene blushed.

  “I’m excited for the wedding,” Amy told her truthfully. “Roxy’s done a great job with all this.”

  Sharlene nodded. “She’s a doll. I wanted a fairy tale wedding, and Roxy is making that happen.”

  Amy paused. “She told me you guys bought a house?”

  Jeremiah grinned broadly. “They accepted the offer last week.”

  “That’s wonderful! Congratulations,” Amy said. Will I ever buy a house with someone I love, or will I just eventually upgrade to a bigger apartment? She bit back a surge of bitterness and forced a smile.

  Sharlene grabbed her hand. “You’ll have to come back to visit once we’re settled in.”

  Amy nodded, although she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get away from the city again for a while. “Once I get the hang of my new position, you bet!”’

  “What are you doing, again?” Sharlene asked.

  Amy shrugged, feeling put on the spot. “I made junior partner last month,” she said, trying not to sound arrogant.

  Jeremiah stood up. “Looks like Roxy’s put the food out. Should I grab you a plate, sweetie?”

  Sharlene nodded. “Make sure you get extras of those little puff pastry things.”

  He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Anything for you!”

  Amy watched her friend smile after him, trying to repress the twinge of jealousy she felt at the love struck look on Sharlene’s face. She coughed uncomfortably, and Sharlene turned back to her, her cheeks pink.

  “Sorry. You were saying?”

  Amy didn’t need to keep talking about her work. “I don’t remember. Do you mind if I abandon you for a minute to grab some food?” She tipped her head toward the line at the buffet. “Looks like I may have to fight my way to the pastries you mentioned.”

  Sharlene grinned. “They’re delicious. Make sure you grab a couple extra, and take a slice of the pie, too.”

  With that advice in her head, Amy made her way down to the buffet line. She smiled politely at a few of the locals she recognized from the wine tasting, but she didn’t try to engage anyone in conversation.
It was nice to have a quiet moment to herself, despite the bustle; I’m not used to being this social. Who’d have thought Vermont would be so friendly! New York was busy, but Amy realized it was a solitary kind of busy; no one stopped her on the street to chat, and she could usually spend an entire day in her office without interacting with anyone but her assistant.

  “Waiting to judge the country cooks?” Sean joined the line behind her, and Amy rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t know why you think I’m some city bitch, but you don’t know me, so stop acting like you do.”

  He laughed and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Be honest; aren’t you judging us all, just a little?”

  Amy pursed her lips. “I don’t have to answer to you.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Sean lowered his voice and leaned closer to her. “Want to know a secret?”

  His whisper sent shivers along her spine, but Amy tried to ignore her body’s reaction. “If I must.”

  Sean’s voice was barely audible over the friendly noise of the party guests, and his lips almost brushed against Amy’s ear as he muttered, “I’m judging them, too.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “And where did you say you were from, again?”

  “Just because I grew up here doesn’t mean I have to be a saint.” He tipped his head toward Roxy, serving behind the buffet. “Take my sister, for example. She’s got real talent, an eye for design and all that, but because she inherited the inn when our granddad died, she’s going to spend the rest of her life in the backwoods, wasting her skills on local weddings or the few random strangers who wander in because they want a ‘rustic’ event.” His eyes met hers, and Amy felt searing heat in her stomach. “But then again, it looks like you don’t have to be a country fool to waste your talent.”

  He hand strayed unconsciously to her necklace, and Amy swallowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She took a step back, putting a little distance between them, but she was still uncomfortably aware of the way her body reacted to him.

  They’d reached the buffet, and Sean stepped around her, reaching for the last biscuit in a basket on the table. “It means,” he said, dropping it on his plate with a wolfish smile, “that you snooze, you lose.” Before she could think of a retort, he’d ladled a mound of mashed potatoes onto his plate, topped it with a slab of Salisbury steak, and shoved the biscuit in his mouth as he turned and walked away.

  “What an ass!” Amy exclaimed, and a few people at the buffet turned to look at her in surprise. Amy flushed, grabbing a plate and studiously avoiding the stares of the people around her.

  “Yeah, he’s pretty much that,” Roxy said with a chuckle, and Amy looked up, a pained expression on her face.

  “Sorry,” she said, “I keep forgetting he’s your brother.”

  “I told you before; he’s a big boy, and he can take care of himself.” Roxy spooned some fruit salad onto Amy’s plate without asking. “I don’t need to fight his battles for him, and besides,” she said with a grin, “I get the impression he’d like to do more than fight with you.”

  Amy shook her head in disbelief. “He’s easy on the eyes, all right, but then he opens his mouth! No, thanks.”

  Roxy gave her a roughish wink. “Never said he had to talk, did I?”

  Amy laughed, but a voice in the back of her mind whispered that maybe it wasn’t such a ridiculous idea after all. Despite his arrogance, she was more attracted to Sean than she cared to admit. It’s not like you’re going to marry him, she thought. And maybe all that pent up frustration would translate to a damn good time in bed. Her eyes scanned the crowd for a moment, but Sean seemed to have disappeared. Ignoring her disappointment, Amy carried her plate back to the table where Sharlene and Jeremiah were sitting.

  The food was amazing, and Amy went back for seconds, even though she knew she shouldn’t use this weekend as an excuse to let herself go; she usually counted every calorie, and days sometimes went by where she subsisted on little more than coffee and salad. But how often will I get to enjoy a meal like this? She told herself, justifying the extra-large helping of pie she accepted from Roxy. Every diner in New York boasts that their food tastes like home cooking, but nothing compares to the real thing.

  Twilight had wrapped around the party, and the white Christmas lights strung along the roof of the porch looked more charming than Amy had thought they could, their gentle glow sparkling like fake stars overhead as the guests settled in to enjoy the evening. It was warmer than Amy had expected, too; she’d kind of been prepared for snow on the ground and roaring fires since everything she’d ever heard about Vermont talked about the great ski weather, but the spring air was fresh and almost balmy. Amy was on her second glass of wine when she heard the familiar thrum of a guitar. Looking around, Amy spotted Sean, standing in front of a microphone on a little make-shift stage at one end of the porch. He leaned forward and smiled into the mic, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

  Amy glanced at Sharlene. “I thought he wasn’t playing tonight?”

  Her friend shrugged. “Nobody ever made Sean stick to a schedule.”

  Jeremiah slipped his arm around Sharlene’s waist. “Gives us one more chance to practice before our first dance tomorrow.”

  Sharlene swatted his hand away playfully, but she was grinning broadly. “Let’s hope he plays something worth dancing to!”

  Sean started tuning his guitar, and Amy’s eyes swung back toward him. “How’s everybody doing tonight?” His voice filled the porch, and a few people called out friendly greetings.

  Sean’s smile spread wider when he noticed Amy watching him. “I know you all want to call it an early night, what with the wedding and all tomorrow, but I’ve got a song on my mind, and I wanted to make sure the special lady has a chance to hear it.” Even though he made it sound like he was talking about Sharlene, his eyes never left Amy’s as he began to play.

  The familiar chords sent a shiver up her spine, and she had to work hard to keep her jaw from dropping to the ground. How does he even know this song? Amy’s parents had raised her on their music, and her dad had always told her that they’d picked her name from the Pure Prairie League song Sean was still strumming the opening bars to. It wasn’t until she was older that she realized her parents must not have seen the actual title, only heard it, since they hadn’t spelled her name “Amie”, but by then, it didn’t matter; the song was her secret favorite, the one that she’d hummed to herself in her room growing up whenever she was getting ready for a date. She’d always hoped that someday, someone would dedicate the song to her on the radio, but she’d never expected to hear it sung live by a musician with smoky blue eyes that were boring into her soul.

  Amy wanted to look away, especially when Sean started the first chorus and she felt the people around her shift their attention away from Sean to glance at her, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from his face. He sang every word deliberately, his eyes filled with meaning, and Amy’s throat caught at the song’s declaration of love. By the time Sean had hit the last refrain, her pulse was racing, and even across the crowded porch, the smile he gave her made Amy think that Sean knew exactly the effect his crooning had on her. But he doesn’t realize that the sexy is all mixed up with the sad.

  Everyone clapped when the song ended, and Sharlene leaned over, poking Amy in the ribs. “Looks like you’re falling fast, girl!”

  Amy shook her head, trying to get a grip on her runaway emotions. “The song just reminds me of my folks is all,” she said. It was half the truth, at least.

  Sharlene’s smile slipped. “Oh, Ames,” she said softly. “I’d forgotten about that. I’m sorry.”

  Amy tried not to feel guilty for using her parents to change the topic. “It was a long time ago; you aren’t supposed to remember everything from college.”

  “Still.” Sharlene gripped her hand across the table for a minute. “I do remember. The funeral was in the middle of finals week sophomore year,” she said softly.

  Amy nodd
ed. “I didn’t really want to take the tests when I came back, but I guess it was a good thing all my professors were willing to give me time.” She paused. “Failing that semester sure wouldn’t have been what Mom or Dad would have wanted.”

  “Did you…” Sharlene paused. “When did you start driving again?”

  Her parents had been killed in a car accident, driving home late at night, and Amy had stopped driving as soon as she’d heard the news. “It took a while,” she admitted. “I can handle it now.” That was mostly true; if she gripped the steering wheel and tried not to think about anything, she could drive when she had to now, but that was one of the things she loved about living in New York; she barely had to drive anymore, even though she’d bought a brand new BMW for the look of the thing after her promotion.

  Swinging her eyes back to the stage, Amy searched for a way to change the topic. “He’s pretty good, isn’t he?”

  Sharlene nodded, a small smile on her lips when she noticed Sean wink in their direction. “He’d be lucky to have you.”

  Amy was spared from answering by the opening notes of the next song, a slow, swaying number that made Jeremiah hop to his feet. “Come on, sweetie, I told you I wanted to practice.”

  Sharlene stood up with a smile. “Just don’t dip me, you big fool,” she teased as she followed her fiancé off the porch to a clear patch of dirt. Amy watched them go with a wistful smile, then turned her eyes back to the stage. Sean wasn’t staring at her anymore; his eyes were closed, as if he was concentrating deeply on the notes his fingers were playing, and Amy watched, mesmerized. Emotions rippled across his face with the music, and she felt the pulse of his guitar in the very center of her being. How can he be so passionate about someone else’s lyrics? Amy wondered, watching as Sean finished the song and slipped smoothly into the next, another familiar, twangy tune Amy remembered from her parents’ records.