The Last Bride (DiCarlo Brides #6)

by Heather Tullis

  His impromptu hike with Jonquil a few days earlier came back to him again and he smiled. When he gave her half a chance, she was really good company. Much better than her little sister, who would be fun to flirt with if that’s all she was interested in. Their lunch was enough for him to be sure that they didn’t have enough in common for anything more. Even if he were interested in a real relationship. Which he wasn’t.

  A door slammed and he nearly reached for the Glock he carried at the small of his back when he heard high heels clicking along the hallway. The footsteps weren’t the smooth gait you expected from a woman, but half tripping and uneven.

  Gage rose from his chair just as Natalie staggered in, her hair in disarray, her linen jacket missing a couple of buttons and gaping open over a camisole. A smudge on her face looked suspiciously like a bruise. He hurried to her. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  Natalie slumped against him, crying. “I’m sorry, I thought I was being smart, but I’ve messed up everything.” She sobbed and gasped between the words, clinging to him like she hadn’t done since they were kids.

  “What happened?” He led her to one of the chairs facing his desk. “Do you need to see a doctor?”

  “No, I’m fine, really.” She sank into the chair and covered her face with her hands, still crying, but not as hard as before. “I did something really stupid. I thought I knew. I mean, I couldn’t miss, but then everything went wrong and now I’m in big trouble.”

  Gage sat across from her and took her hands, his heart beating rapid-fire. “Take a deep breath and explain.”

  Natalie took several calming breaths before she began to speak. “It started as a lark, really. Just a small bet that might pay off. And it did. And I reinvested it, and then bet again. I kept winning and so I celebrated, and then when I thought I had a sure thing I made a bigger bet than ever. And I lost. But I didn’t actually have the money this time. And they want it, like yesterday.” Tears tracked down her face.

  “Who wants it? What were you betting on?”

  “My bookie. Liam introduced me to this guy—”

  Gage groaned, not even needing her to finish the sentence to know what was coming next. He’d told her Liam was bad news when she started dating him a couple of months earlier. When she started seeing someone else a few weeks after that, Gage had thought it was all behind them, but apparently she hadn’t gotten out as cleanly as he’d thought. “How much money is it?”

  She looked down at their hands. “Fifty-thousand dollars.”

  That catapulted him out of his chair, stunned at her declaration. “Fifty-thousand? Are you serious? How could you possibly have risked that much? I could see if it were a few thousand. It would be irresponsible, but at least you could pay it back with your next month’s income. But fifty thousand? Where are you going to get that kind of money?” His mind raced as he considered and discarded options.

  “I thought maybe you could help me out,” she said, her eyes wide open. “You’re always so good to help when I really need it.”

  Was she crazy? He ran his hand through his hair as he turned to stare out the window. He had to get his anger under control before he spoke again. After several seconds passed he turned back to her. “I don’t have that kind of money. I just had to go begging to friends for extra to pay for some maintenance on the lifts. The profit from the winter—which by the way was nowhere near that much cash—has all been funneled back into the lifts as well.”

  “Do you have to do the upgrades? Can’t you get by for another season?” Worry filled her face and she stared at him with wet eyes.

  “Yes, I have to. No upgrades means no lifts next fall.” He leaned back against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. “No lifts means shutting down or selling, and neither of those are options.”

  “But what am I going to do?” She sobbed a little and covered her face with her hands. “They’ll probably kneecap me or something if I can’t come up with the money.”

  He breathed in, making himself calm down to think clearly. Options, viable options were a must. “You could sell your Mercedes. And some of your jewelry.” He knew she wouldn’t like the suggestion, but didn’t have any other options.

  “I can’t do that.” He looked at him in shock, stricken. “I need my car. And those jewels—I couldn’t get what they were worth if I sold them now, and I don’t have that many anyway. There’s no way I can scrape together enough to pay everything back that fast. You have to help me.”

  Gage turned toward the window, looking out over the verdant green of his mountain. The sun would set soon, and clouds were rolling in for a promised storm, but he couldn’t enjoy it. Not with this hanging over his head. “I don’t know if I can help you. I’ll see what I can figure out, but you’re going to have to come up with most of it yourself. I’m serious about selling your car.” He turned back to her. “Until my summer events pay off, I have almost no money flowing in and I’ve already paid out for most of the expenses.”

  He could see about borrowing something from the bank. Or one of the guys. But he hated to bring them in on something like this. For the business, sure, but that was different. Paying them back would be no picnic, either.

  “I can’t believe you won’t help me.” She stood in righteous indignation. “They roughed me up, threatened me, and all you can say is to sell my car?”

  “I’ll do what I can, but I don’t have that kind of money.” She never seemed to understand. “I invested my entire inheritance in this place. If it fails, I lose everything. I just don’t have the money.”

  “This stupid ski resort. I wish you’d never bought it. So does Mom. You’re so focused on this money pit. You’d be better off if you sold it instead. Then maybe you wouldn’t put it ahead of your family.” Natalie wiped at tears that poured down her cheeks and she rushed from the room, stumbling slightly on her heels.

  “Natalie, wait.” Gage hurried to the doorway, but she was already at the end of the hall and moving fast.

  “Don’t bother. Now that I know where I rate I might as well not have even tried.” She pushed out the exterior door and into the parking lot.

  Gage’s phone rang and he paused for a second, torn between the call he had been waiting for and going after her. He heard a car engine roar to life and knew he wouldn’t catch her anyway, and moved inside, feeling like a louse.

  “This is Gage.” He answered when he picked up the phone. When there was a pause and a recording came on the line, he hung up and slumped into his chair. Somehow he had to help Natalie, but he didn’t know what to do.

  Jonquil glanced at the clock on her computer screen. Fifteen minutes. Then she could get out of the office for the rest of the day. Her eyes nearly crossed as she looked at the numbers swimming on her order form, then clicked back to the spreadsheet she used to figure out what she would need for the upcoming orders. She used a finger to trail along the line to double-check the information. Yes, 675 white carnations was right. She felt like a dunce doing inventory and compiling orders—she was not made for this kind of work. She much preferred designing and creating the bouquets.

  There was a knock at her door. “Jonquil, your sister is here to see you.” It was Tara, her assistant manager. Tara wore her dark hair back in a ponytail as usual, exposing her entire face, which was far less wrinkled than her forty-something years would suggest.

  Jonquil leaned back so she could look out the office window to the main work area. Angela was flirting with a high school guy who came in to help part time. Jonquil wondered if Angela realized the boy was so much younger than herself. How long was this going to take, and did she need to let Gage know she would be late? “Thanks. Tell her I’ll be right out.” She flipped back to the order form, saved it and sent it to Tara for one last look. One more glance. She checked her email to be sure she didn’t have anything new then shut down the computer and headed out for the day. She smiled in greeting. “Angela, I didn’t expect to see you today. How’s it going?”


  Angela sent the teenager one more flirty look before focusing on Jonquil. “Rehearsal was pushed back to this afternoon. There’s a gas leak at a nearby building or something.”

  “Oh. I hope no one is hurt.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Angela waved it away. “I hoped you haven’t eaten lunch yet and we could grab something.”

  Today of all days? And didn’t her phone work? “I’m afraid I have an appointment this afternoon and can’t. Sorry.”

  “But I thought you were going rock climbing,” Tara said as she played with the bouquet in front of her.

  Angela shot Jonquil a look that clearly said “Busted.”

  That was the last time Jonquil was telling Tara anything about her plans. “But I’m meeting someone. You shouldn’t rock climb alone, you know, it’s too dangerous.”

  Angela’s brows lifted. “Oh?”

  “So I don’t have time for lunch today. But maybe we can get together for an earlier one tomorrow before your rehearsal.” She turned to the orders for the next day, even though she knew them by heart already. “I couldn’t make it a long lunch, but I could break away for half an hour or so. We have a busy weekend ahead of us.”

  “Who are you rock climbing with?” Angela asked.

  There was no way Jonquil would tell Angela in front of her staff. “Walk me out? Do you need me to drop you somewhere?”

  She shook her head. “One of the guys will pick me up from home.”

  “That’s nice.” Jonquil called goodbye to her staff and entered the hall. The outside door where she parked was close by. “How are rehearsals coming?”

  “Fine. Who are you rock climbing with?” Angela asked.

  “A friend.” Jonquil wasn’t looking forward to being teased over nothing.

  Angela’s eyes narrowed. “It must be a guy if you won’t tell me. Who is it?”

  Jonquil sauntered out into the June heat—which wasn’t very hot yet, but felt good on her head and shoulders. Not telling Angela was making it into something bigger than it was. “Gage. He’s going to show me a great place to climb.”

  Angela stopped walking and gasped. “Gage? My Gage?”

  Jonquil wanted to correct her and say he was her Gage. But he wasn’t. And he’d made it very clear that he never would be. “Just because he flirted with you once doesn’t mean that he’s your anything.”

  “Twice. We had lunch twice.”

  Jonquil’s chest tightened with jealousy, but she fought to keep a straight face. “Good for you.”

  “So now he’s dating both of us?” Angela asked, hands on her hips.

  “I’m not dating him. I’m just using him as a rock climbing partner.” Jonquil opened her car door and turned to Angela, wanting the conversation over with. “You want a ride back home?”

  “Yes.” Angela slid into the passenger’s side. “Do you think Joel and Sage would let me have a pool party at their place? It’s a cool pool.”

  “You’ll have to ask them. Joel doesn’t bite, so you’ll probably come out of the conversation unscathed even if he says no.” Jonquil grabbed her sunglasses and slid them onto her nose, glad for the excuse to hide her eyes. It really was just her that Gage objected to a real relationship with, then. Great. It wasn’t like she was looking for anything, either.

  “You’re trying to be funny, aren’t you?” Angela asked, a little put out. “You never were very good at that. You weren’t very good at a lot of things.”

  “And you’re good at everything, which is why you never settle on anything for long.” Jonquil couldn’t help by snap back.

  Hurt crossed Angela’s features. “I’ve been a drama major for two years.”

  Really? “Has it been that long? I guess I’ve been busy.”

  “It’s better than you managed. And you call me a flake.”

  Jonquil managed not to grit her teeth. “I’ve never called you a flake.” She’d thought it a few dozen times, but she’d never said it aloud.

  “Why are you so prickly?”

  “Why do you intentionally say things to make me feel like crap?”

  Angela crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the passenger side window. “I thought coming here would help us bond, get to know each other better. You haven’t even given me a chance.”

  “You haven’t exactly been the poster child of good manners.” Their mother’s words about how Angela needed her big sister echoed in her mind again and Jonquil sighed as she pulled into the driveway at home. “Look, I do want to spend time with you, see if we can be the friends I would have liked us to be growing up. I’m having trouble getting over myself. And so are you.”

  “This isn’t my fault at all.”

  Jonquil nodded. She didn’t expect anything different. “Here’s your stop. Tomorrow whenever works for you, call me for lunch and I’ll come get you.”

  “Sure.” Angela shoved her way out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

  Jonquil sighed. She thought of Gage and Angela going out for lunch twice and wondered what she was doing spending time with him. Was she really that masochistic?

  She considered canceling their outing, but it seemed a little bratty at this point—especially considering he’d already stated the ground rules. And she really wanted to climb that rock. She pushed her personal feelings aside and drove out to the ski resort.

  Gage was walking down the hill to the front parking lot when she pulled into a spot a few minutes later.

  “Hey, there. Glad you could make it,” he said. “I almost called to see if you had changed your mind.”

  She checked her watch. “I’m only two minutes late.”

  “Yes, but usually you’re early.” He grinned. “Get held up at work?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t want to bring up Angela with him. It would be too weird. It was already too weird, so she put it aside.

  “Are you ready now?”

  “Let’s go.” From her trunk she pulled a backpack full of gear, with treats, drinks and some basic first aid supplies in it. “How tall did you say the rock face is?”

  “About a hundred feet. There’s a natural ledge about halfway up, which is where most people stop. If you’re still feeling adventurous when we reach there, we can go all the way.”

  “I’m an all-the-way kind of girl.” Jonquil caught herself right after she said it. That came out wrong. She glanced sideways at Gage. He didn’t react to it, so maybe he didn’t catch the unintended double entendre.

  “Cool. Looks like we have a perfect day for a climb.” He smiled up at the sky like there was nothing he wanted more than to be out there in the sunlight and cool breezes.

  She had to admit that it sounded pretty good. Time to put her conversation with Angela behind her and focus on what she was doing.

  It took nearly forty minutes to drive up to the rock face. They talked about when they started climbing and some of their experiences. They joked about mutual friends and just generally had a good time.

  When he stopped the car, they still had to hike for ten minutes to reach their destination. One glance at the rock face and Jonquil understood what he meant about people stopping halfway up, but she was more determined than ever to scale the whole thing.

  “You think you can tackle that?” he asked.

  “Oh, yeah.” She got out her harness and stepped into it, buckling it in front and doubling it back on itself for security. “Do you rappel too?” she asked.

  “Every chance I get. You ever bungee jump?”

  “No, but I’ve been skydiving a few times. It’s awesome. I definitely want to go again.”

  “I’ve always wanted to skydive. I checked into it last year but the business doesn’t let me have much time off. It kind of sucks up most of my life.” He shrugged, apparently not bothered by it.

  “Tell me about it.” She glanced over and they shared an understanding look.

  They secured their rope and began hooking it through everything and into their harnesses with a couple carab
iners for security. She checked her pack for the anchors and bolt gun for the climb, then zipped it closed.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She tightened the strap on her helmet and nodded. “Let’s go.”

  For the next half hour Jonquil focused most of her energy and attention on the stone in front of her. There was something primal that called to her, luring her back to rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking. It was a high, her against the mountain, calling her to do more, be better. She sucked in a breath of fresh air, brushed the sweat from her forehead with her upper arm, and pushed herself farther.

  She heard Gage breathing harder than usual beside her. They helped each other here and there, double-checked each other’s safety lines and pushed on with only a few comments back and forth as they scaled the wall.

  When she pulled herself up onto the ledge—and it could barely qualify as that, she looked over at him. “You game to finish the run to the top?”

  “Bring it on.”

  They shared a grin and turned back to the rock again.

  When they got to the top, Gage climbed over and reached down to help her the rest of the way up. “Come enjoy the scenery.”

  He steadied her as she stood on the top, his arm around her back, pulling her near him. “Take a look.” He gestured behind her.

  She turned and faced the valley below. Evergreens speared through groves of aspens. Clouds dotted the horizon and she could see a bit of one of his ski lifts poking up through a clearing on the left. And down in the valley she thought she saw a shimmer of blue. She pointed at it, intensely aware that his hand had come to rest on her hip. “Is that a lake?”

  “Yeah. The waterfall where Jeremy took Delphi flows into the creek that feeds it. It’s not exactly accessible by car, but it’s a beautiful place. You should go sometime.”

  She turned to look over her shoulder at him and realized he was a lot closer than she had thought. Only inches behind her. Their eyes met and she felt the breath back up in her chest. “I bet it is.”