He glanced at her once more, adding, “Of course…then again…maybe the boss is smoochin’ with my sister.”
“I hope so,” Tierney laughed, wondering whether Alec were making the most of his time with Celeste—if he’d been trying to spin Celeste’s bottle the way Rome had just spun Tierney’s.
Chapter Eight
As Tierney stood at the floral cart designing a massive table arrangement comprising dark orange Asiatic lilies, burgundy miniature carnations, fuchsia spray roses, bicolored orange roses, peach hypericum berries, and greens, she could almost feel her own happiness seeping into the beauty of the arrangement.
Two nights before—the night she’d spent in Rome’s pickup as he plowed the streets of Leavenworth, some of the surrounding county roads, and finally the driveways of private customers he and Alec had procured—had been the most wonderful night of her life! More wonderful even than Halloween, and there had been days when Tierney had been certain nothing would ever top the magic of dancing with Rome and being kissed by him on Halloween. But the night she’d accompanied him plowing—two days later, she still felt as if she could take flight by thinking about it and will her body to do so.
Oh, certainly the kissing—what Rome had teased about being a “noncommittal make‑out session,” claiming he could spin her bottle like it had never been spun (and he certainly had)—was the wildest, most romantic, and wonderful part of the night! And yet, as Tierney carefully placed an extra lily into the arrangement she was finishing, she stood still awed at how truly wonderful the night had been.
She’d spent ten hours in the truck with Rome—ten glorious hours! And for most of that time, she and Rome had simply talked—shared memories and life experiences—teased, laughed, and even discussed serious matters such as politics and the state of things in the world. It had been an epiphanic sort of night, for Tierney was more certain than ever that she would never, never get over Rome Novak. She knew she wanted him—wanted him all for herself and forever. Of course, she’d known that from the moment she’d met him at her bridal shower—when he’d stepped out of a big box as her classic Latin lover. But after the romantic, insightful, truly bonding night of plowing, she knew she couldn’t live without him—at least not happily.
Rome had shared so much about himself—for one, his feelings of knowing he was adopted and the struggles he’d endured as a child and teenager in trying to understand it. But he explained that eventually he began to understand that if his biological mother hadn’t given him up, for whatever reason she did—if he’d never been adopted by Edward and Nikki Novak—he would never have known the profound, unconditional love they owned for him. He never would’ve known Celeste and had the blessing of knowing and loving her, his sister. He never would’ve met the people he met, been where he’d been and was. He’d winked at Tierney and added that he obviously wouldn’t have known Tierney either and told her that knowing her was enough of a reason on its own to be happy that he’d been adopted by his parents.
Naturally, they’d discussed Tierney’s past as well—though she was surprised at how much Rome already knew regarding it, via Alec. Rome openly admitted being very happy that she and Alec had “abandoned ship” (as he put it), even though he couldn’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been to make the decision to leave everyone and everything they’d always known.
It seemed as if they’d shared nearly everything about themselves in just that one night, even though Tierney knew they hadn’t. They’d done other things as well—sang to whatever song was playing on the iPod when they began to get tired (Tierney giggling when Rome insisted they sing “Jingle Bells” at one point, considering their task as hand) and enjoyed hot chocolate Rome had prepared and poured into a thermos. They’d snacked on ranch-flavored Corn Nuts, laughing about how something so good could make a person’s breath smell so bad. And when Rome dropped Tierney off at Alec’s house at seven am, insisting she allow him to exit the pickup and open her door for her, Tierney felt as if she’d already known Rome for years—not just snowplowed with him for ten hours.
Tierney smiled as she thought about the way Rome had walked her to the front door of the house—both of them weary and baggy-eyed from the long night spent working.
“Thanks for riding with me,” Rome had said the moment before he’d bent and placed a firm, moist kiss to her mouth.
“Thanks for letting me,” she’d said in return once the kiss had ended.
“I’ll see you later,” he’d said. “But I’m going home to get some sleep now. You be sure you do the same, or you’ll feel like hell in a couple of days.”
Tierney had watched him drive away and then entered the house to find Alec had already showered and fallen into bed. He was snoring, and she decided not to wake him. She was glad to find out the next morning, however, that Alec had found the courage to kiss Celeste on the cheek when he’d dropped her off and thanked her for going with him that same morning.
“Where’s Jessica?”
At the sound of Elias Potts’s voice behind her, Tierney felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Glancing up to the clock on the wall, Tierney realized that it was after five pm and that Jessica must’ve left over ten minutes before. Vaguely she remembered Jessica saying something about leaving, but Tierney had been so lost in her reveries of her time with Rome that she wasn’t even sure if she’d acknowledged Jessica.
“She’s around here somewhere, I think,” Tierney lied. With the red flags unfurling like crazy in her mind, she figured it was better to fib than to admit to Elias that she was in the shop alone.
Quickly she rolled the cart and the arrangement she’d finished into the large floral refrigerator and then turned to face Elias. The sight of him affected her even more than the sound of his voice had. There was something not right about the man. She was sure of it.
Consequently, Tierney asked, “Do you happen to have your keys to the shop with you, Mr. Potts?”
“Of course,” the man said, scowling. “But where’s Jessica?” He took a step toward Tierney. Two more steps and she’d have to brush up against him to leave the back room.
“Oh…I’m not sure,” Tierney said. Quickly grabbing her coat and purse from the nearby coat rack, she added, “But would you or Mrs. Potts lock up for me? I’ve got a…a date, and I’m running late already.” Hurriedly pulling her phone from her purse, Tierney sent a text to Jessica explaining that she was just leaving but that Mr. Potts would lock up the shop.
She was thankful when Jessica sent a quick response text, saying, Okay, thanks! Tell Elias I’m already home, please.
Nearly racing past Elias and toward the front door of the shop, Tierney called over her shoulder, “She says to tell you she’s already home, Mr. Potts. Thanks for locking up, and have a nice evening.”
Without another word, Tierney stepped out of the shop and onto the busy sidewalks of Leavenworth. She turned right and started toward the Christmas Shoppe. It would be the busiest shop still open, and Celeste would be there. She and Celeste were meeting up after work. Celeste had called earlier in the day and invited Tierney to come over and enjoy the Novak family’s hot tub when they were both finished working. Though Tierney had not been too thoroughly excited about going hot-tubbing—being that every hot tub party she’d ever been to had been nothing but a drunken grope-fest at which she always ended up playing bridge with the other wallflowers—now she couldn’t wait to get to Celeste, couldn’t wait to get to the Novaks’ home and soak up the safe, happy feelings that permeated it. Elias Potts had rattled her, and Tierney figured that a hot tub and kind people were just the cure. And besides, she secretly hoped that Alec and Rome would finish their snow removal projects early so that she might get to see Rome before going home.
“Hey, Tierney!” she heard Celeste call. Looking ahead of her, she saw Celeste hurrying down the sidewalk toward her. It was like seeing an angel!
“Hi!” Tierney called. She found herself rushing toward Celeste and gratefully accep
ting the hug she offered in greeting.
“My heck!” Celeste exclaimed. “You’re shaking like a leaf, Tierney. Are you that cold?”
Ever since she’d discovered that she and Celeste both had interests in old Hollywood at lunch several days before, Tierney had begun to really try to imagine that Celeste would be a true, faithful friend. And now—standing there not cold but rattled by the emotional red flags that had gone off in her head when Elias Potts had entered the shop—Tierney was more needful of a friend than ever, more willing to take a risk in confiding in one a little.
“No,” Tierney answered. “Actually, Mrs. Potts’s husband just came into the shop as I was getting ready to leave and kind of…you know…it kind of freaked me out.”
Instantly Celeste ended their embrace, taking Tierney by the shoulders—a deep frown puckering her beautiful brow as she said, “Stay away from that jerk, Tierney.” Tierney’s eyes widened as Celeste repeated, “I mean it. You’re right to be freaked out by him. He’s…he’s…freaky.”
Tierney frowned. “You know him?”
Celeste nodded and exhaled a breath of what seemed to be sudden fatigue. “Yeah. I worked for Jessica the summer before I was a senior.”
“And you felt kind of creepy and stuff whenever he was around too?”
“Oh yes,” Celeste affirmed. “And for all her weirdness and pessimism, Heidi Svensson feels the same way. She worked there last summer and says she’ll never work for Jessica again…because her husband is a perv.”
Tierney sighed, feeling strangely relieved. “I don’t know why, but that makes me feel better somehow.”
Celeste’s smile returned. “Affirmation always makes me feel better too.” Linking arms with Tierney, she said, “Come on. Let’s get home and claim the hot tub before anyone else does. I wore the wrong kind of shoes to work today, and my feet are killing me.”
“Mine too,” Tierney admitted, “even though I wore the right kind of shoes.”
Celeste giggled and headed them toward where Tierney could see her car parked across the street. “Let’s go then. And Mom promised she’d make us some homemade toffee! I love to sit in the hot tub and eat toffee this time of year.”
Tierney giggled, feeling much better than she had even minutes before. Celeste was like a ray of sunshine breaking through a gray mass of winter clouds, and Tierney could understand why Alec was so in love with her—even if he couldn’t find the courage to tell her.
“Homemade toffee, huh?” Tierney asked. “Sounds perfectly decadent!”
“I guess so. After all, the sugar and fat will probably stick right to our hips…to the very decadent of us keeping these girlish figures.”
Tierney giggled. “You mean detriment?”
Celeste laughed, shrugging and saying, “Oh yeah, that’s what I meant.” She paused, however, frowning and adding, “I think that’s what I meant anyway. Is that what I meant? What did you mean?”
As they reached the car and Celeste pushed the button on her key fob to unlock it, Tierney laughed as she slid into her seat. Celeste was a jewel—simply a jewel! She felt nearly all better and knew that once she was in the safe haven of the Novak home, all her red flags where Elias was concerned would disappear.
❦
“Holy cow!” Tierney exclaimed in awe, for she had never imagined to find such a scene in the Novaks’ back yard.
“I know, huh!” Celeste agreed. “Mom told Dad that if he wanted a hot tub, then it couldn’t be some plain, old, ugly thing that just sat on the back porch,” she explained. “So dad built the gazebo out here near the tree line, and Mom strung it with the white lights. She said she wanted it to be ‘an experience,’ ” Celeste said, making the familiar quotation mark gesture with her fingers.
Tierney’s eyebrows arched in further astonishment. “You mean she leaves the lights up all year long? They’re not just for the holidays?”
Celeste nodded. “Oh yeah! It looks like this year round.” Pausing to reconsider, however, she added, “Well, except it looks so much lovelier at Christmastime…when everything’s all snowy like it’s starting to be now.” Celeste sighed with obvious pleasure. “It’s a lot more relaxing too, being away from the house like this.” She looked to Tierney and smiled. “It’s why I invited you tonight. I thought we could both use some R&R. Leavenworth gets so crazy this time of year. It’s quiet out here, and the hot tub is so nice and warm.”
Tierney’s smile broadened. “Well, I’m very grateful to have been invited. I really could use something to settle my nerves a bit…not to mention soothe my aching feet.”
“Oh, I hear you there,” Celeste said. “The Christmas Shoppe was nuts today! I didn’t even take my lunch break.”
“I wolfed down a sandwich while working on a bridal bouquet,” Tierney offered. She sighed with the anticipation of relaxing as she studied the hot tub centered in the middle of the lovely gazebo, draped in twinkling white lights.
It was a tranquil, ethereal scene of serenity that lay before them. The tall pines, still flocked with snow from the storms of two nights before, stood tall and straight like dark sentinels behind the gazebo and outlined against the starry, moonlit sky. A path had been shoveled through the snow from the house to the gazebo and lay stretched out before Tierney and Celeste like some magical road beckoning to be followed.
Tierney could already imagine how good the warm water of the hot tub would feel on her sore and aching feet—on every sore and aching muscle in her sore and aching body.
“Are you ready?” Celeste asked, smiling.
“Of course!” Tierney assured her.
Then, linking arms, the two girls began to hurry down the path toward the gazebo, for they were only wearing their bathing suits with towels wrapped around their waists, and the night air was cold.
Once they’d discarded their towels onto the railing on one side of the gazebo, they tested the jet-bubbling hot water with their toes, both giggling with delight then as they settled into the soothing warmth of the hot tub.
“Oh my gosh,” Tierney breathed as she laid her head back on the side of the hot tub and closed her eyes. “It’s like a dream.”
“I know,” Celeste agreed. “And it’s way better than some full-body massage by a stranger, right?”
Tierney smiled. “Absolutely!” she agreed.
They were silent for a long time, each enjoying the crisp, late autumn air that nipped at their noses, perfectly coupled with the warmth and comfort of the hot water. After a time, however, Tierney was so relaxed, she began to worry that she might indeed fall asleep.
Therefore, she was glad when Celeste asked, “So? What do you want to talk about?”
Tierney shrugged. “Anything,” she sincerely answered. But thinking again, she added, “Anything but work, that is.” She didn’t want to talk about work; she didn’t even want to think about it.
“Definitely,” Celeste agreed. “Anything but that.” Celeste paused a moment and then asked, “Wanna talk about old movie stars? Or boys?”
Tierney’s eyes popped open as she raised her head from its resting position. She giggled as she saw the mischief in Celeste’s expression.
“Of course! Though I’d rather talk about boys tonight for some reason,” she openly admitted. “But…which boys do you want to talk about? After all, I don’t know that many around here yet.”
Celeste’s beautiful smile broadened. “You know the only two that count.”
“You mean Rome and Alec?” Tierney asked—though she already knew that Rome and Alec were exactly who Celeste meant.
“Yep,” Celeste verified. “But more Alec than Rome…if you want me to be honest.”
“Ooo! How intriguing!” Tierney said, sitting forward a bit. “What about Alec?” It was strange, but in that very moment—as she watched Celeste’s eyes glowing with delight at the anticipation of talking about Alec—Tierney felt her fears of investing in a friendship with Celeste sifting away even further. Celeste was a kind, compassionate gir
l, with a fabulous zest for life and an incredible sense of humor, whether her sense of humor was intentional or not. Smiling at Celeste, she asked, “What do you want to know? Ask me anything about him, anything at all, and I’ll tell you.”
“Okay,” Celeste sighed, her smile broadening with satisfaction. “When was the last steady girlfriend he had, and who was she? He hasn’t dated anyone really seriously since he got to Leavenworth. So who was it…if you know, that is?”
“Oh, I know who it was, all right,” Tierney said, heaving a heavy sigh of disgust. “And she really did a number on Alec too.”
“You mean, like, broke his heart?” Celeste asked. The trepidation was obvious on Celeste’s face.
But Tierney shook her head. “Nope. Just tried to rope him into getting her pregnant so he’d have to marry her.”
Celeste gasped—looked so mortified that Tierney instantly regretted having spoken with such forthrightness.
“You’re kidding me!” Celeste exclaimed. “You mean…he was sleeping with her and…and…”
Celeste looked so worried, pale, and nauseated suddenly that Tierney was actually worried for her and immediately interjected, “Oh no! No, no, no!” she assured Celeste, reaching out and placing a reassuring hand on the girl’s forearm. “No. Alec doesn’t…he doesn’t do that.”
Celeste frowned. “He doesn’t do what? He doesn’t get girls pregnant? Or he doesn’t sleep around?”
Once again, Celeste’s way of putting things was not only refreshing but also amusing, and Tierney struggled to suppress her desire to giggle.
“Both,” she answered. “I mean, he doesn’t sleep around…and therefore, it follows that he doesn’t get girls pregnant.”
With a heavy sigh of relief, and as the color returned to her face, Celeste said, “Oh, good. That’s good. Whew! That’s really good.”
“Yes, it is,” Tierney said as a small giggle managed to escape her throat even for all her efforts to prevent it.
Celeste frowned. “But I don’t understand then,” she began. “If Alec doesn’t do that sort of thing, then why did this girl try to get him to…to do that sort of thing?”
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