You Say It First--A Small-Town Wedding Romance

by Susan Mallery

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE STARBUCKS BY the river was a busy place. Pallas was happy to get a table. She pulled a second chair close and waited for Natalie to arrive. Drinking a Mocha in the middle of the afternoon was playing with fire—or at the very least risking a night of insomnia. But the dinner for Cade was that night and Nick had offered to drive. That meant Pallas could be wild and have a second glass of wine.

  She briefly wondered if planning her day around lattes and wine meant she had some kind of problem, then decided she didn’t care. She would face that tomorrow, after dealing with her mother. Surely she deserved that much of a break.

  She saw Natalie walk into the store and waved her over. “I took a chance and got your favorite,” she said, holding out the Dirty Chai latte. “It’s the world’s most disgusting order.”

  Natalie laughed as she took a seat. “How can you say that?”

  “It’s tea with a shot of espresso. You’re not supposed to mix coffee and tea. It’s unnatural.”

  “Thank you for the drink and indulging me.” She set her bag on the floor. “How are things? All I hear about these days is the alien wedding. Everyone is so excited. I’m happy to have a small part to contribute.”

  She opened her large bag and pulled out a sketch pad. “I’ve been working on a mask,” she said, opening the cover to show Pallas several drawings. Each of them was different, representing the different characters from the game. “I’m already figuring out how to do the folding. I’m going to make them life-size and hang them in groups.”

  The drawings were both beautiful and disturbing. Pallas thought they were fantastic, but wasn’t sure if they were wedding appropriate.

  “What did Nova say?”

  Natalie sighed with pleasure. “She loves them, so yay.”

  “Then it’s a go.”

  “I’m happy. How’s the rest of the wedding?”

  “It’s coming together. Everyone’s helping, which I really appreciate.” Pallas frowned. “I just realized all my friends have time to help me. Is that good or bad?”

  “We’re making time because we’re excited about the project, not because we’re bored. Don’t worry about us.”

  “I hope so.” Pallas wanted the people she loved to be happy. “None of us are dating. I wonder if that means anything.”

  “It doesn’t.”

  She looked at Natalie and raised her eyebrows. “Maybe you need a man.”

  Natalie held up her fingers in the shape of a cross. “Thanks, but no. I’ve sworn off men. Maybe not for the rest of my life, but for a while yet. My last relationship hardly ended well.”

  Pallas wanted to protest that her friend was pretty and smart and funny and kind. She was exactly who every single guy should be searching for, yet Natalie didn’t look or date or even hint that she was interested in anyone, and who could blame her?

  Pallas didn’t know all the details, but the broad strokes of Natalie’s story were that she’d been left pretty much at the altar by her jackass fiancé. With no family and no job waiting for her anywhere else, Natalie had stayed in Happily Inc while she figured out what to do next. She’d answered an ad for a personal assistant to Atsuko at the gallery and had quickly worked her way up to office manager.

  She’d made friends, rented a great apartment and created beautiful pieces of art. But as far as Pallas knew, she hadn’t been on a date in the past two years.

  “What do you know about Nick?” she asked impulsively.

  Natalie sipped her drink. “Our Nick?” Her mouth curved up in a smile. “Does someone have a crush?”

  “No. Of course not.” Pallas was afraid she’d spoken too quickly. “We’re friends. You know he’s restoring the panels for Weddings in a Box, plus he’s been helping with the alien wedding. We’re friends.”

  Natalie looked amused. “Yes, you mentioned that already.”

  Pallas ignored her. “Cade’s back in town. There’s a command performance dinner tonight. Nick offered to go with me and run interference. I was just wondering what you knew about him that I didn’t.”

  Her friend didn’t look convinced. “If you say so,” she murmured, before adding, “I don’t know him that well, but he seems like a very nice man. He and his brothers get along. They’re not as close as Mathias and Ronan, but then they’re not...” Her voice trailed off.

  “I know about them growing up, thinking they were twins,” Pallas told her. “Nick told me.”

  Natalie set down her drink. “I haven’t met Ceallach Mitchell yet, but I swear he’s an awful person. He’s demanding and cruel. Who just blurts out that kind of information, and then doesn’t tell anyone so his sons can have a little support? Their mother didn’t know they’d found out, so she didn’t talk to them, and Nick, Aidan and Del had no idea. Ronan and Mathias were totally on their own. They had to figure it out for themselves. It bites.”

  Pallas couldn’t remember the last time Natalie had been so upset about something. She worked with the brothers, handling the sales of the work and who knew what else around the office, plus she was an artist, too. It made sense they’d gotten close.

  “It’s been really hard on everyone,” Pallas said. “If I were them, I wouldn’t know what to think.”

  “Me, either, but at least they have each other and their brothers.” Natalie straightened in her chair. “Anyway, I don’t know Nick as well as the others, but he seems like a good guy. He has a sense of humor and has absolutely no interest in the business side of selling his work.”

  “That’s because he’s really successful. Must be nice.”

  “Tell me about it.” She leaned forward. “Whenever I go into the studio for something, it’s like stepping into another dimension. I work with paper and found objects—it’s totally different than using a chainsaw or making glass. Sometimes they intimidate me. Not that I would tell them.”

  “Absolutely no. You’re brilliant.”

  Natalie laughed. “You’re very sweet. I do okay. I’m in a great place and I love what I create, so that’s what matters, right? It’s like you at your work. You love Weddings in a Box and making people happy.”

  Pallas nodded.

  Her friend was reminding her of something important, not to mention something else she would’ve had to give up if she’d gone to work at the bank. Despite her mother’s claims that she’d missed her opportunity, Pallas wondered if Libby would make another run at trying to convince her to sell the business.

  “What?” Natalie asked. “What are you thinking?”

  “That I’ve always had to work to make my mother happy,” Pallas admitted. “And I’ve always failed. With Gerald, it was different. He was such a kind man. I never expected him to leave me his business.”

  “He loved you like the daughter he never had. We could all see it.”

  “I feel guilty.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t do anything to earn it,” she said, feeling foolish and defensive, even though she knew she spoke the truth. In her family—no, that wasn’t fair—with her mother, love had to be earned.

  “It’s not supposed to be like that,” Natalie said quietly. “Your mom’s wrong.”

  “I know that in my head. It’s my heart that’s having trouble getting the message.”

  She looked up as her cousin Drew approached the table. “Ladies. Can I buy anyone a refill?”

  “I’m good,” Pallas told him.

  “Me, too.”

  Drew nodded, then rested his hands on the back of the empty chair. “I’ll be at the dinner with your mom tonight,” he said. “If things get ugly, give me the high sign and I’ll step in.”

  “Thanks. With Cade around, I’m sure everything will be fine. Besides, I’m bringing a fake boyfriend as my own distraction.”

  “A
great idea. I need to look into something like that.”

  Natalie’s mouth turned up at the corners. “Gee, Drew, I didn’t know you played for that team.”

  “You know what I meant,” he grumbled.

  “Do I?”

  “I’m ignoring that.” He looked at Pallas. “Between the three of us, we should be able to keep Libby in line.” He stretched over and ruffled the top of Pallas’s head. “Gotta protect family.”

  She leaned out of reach and smoothed her hair. “You are sweet and annoying at the same time. How do you do that?”

  “It’s a gift.” He grinned. “Besides, you’re one of my favorite cousins.”

  “You say that to all the girls.”

  “Only family members. Otherwise it gets weird.”

  With that, he waved and left. Pallas smiled at her friend. “He’s single and you obviously share a sense of humor. Any thoughts?”

  “That I have no interest in him that way. Which is sad because I might enjoy being the queen of the manor.”

  “Actually that would be Grandpa Frank’s house and my mom lives there, so you need to rethink your manor fantasies. Still, Drew’s a great guy.”

  “Not for me. I wish, but there’s no chemistry.” Natalie’s smile returned. “If you ask me, I think he’s still in love with Silver.”

  “You know about that?”

  “Everyone knows about that. What I can’t figure out is how Silver feels about him.”

  “I think she’s made it pretty clear she hates his guts and all his other pieces.”

  Natalie didn’t look convinced, but then she’d only heard what had happened secondhand. She hadn’t been a witness.

  Back in high school, Drew had been the young prince and Silver had been the beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks. They’d fallen madly in love and everyone had assumed they would live happily ever after.

  When Drew had gone off to his Ivy League college, he’d promised to be faithful. Three months later, he broke up with her via email and didn’t return to Happily Inc for two years. When he did come back, he brought the first in a long series of well-bred, pedigreed, smart coeds. After earning his MBA, he’d returned permanently with a fiancée. Ashley Lauren Grantham-Greene. She’d been as snooty as her name, more beautiful than a perfect sunrise and as mean as a snake. It had taken Drew until four weeks before the wedding to figure out he’d made a horrible mistake. By then Ashley had been past the point of forgiveness. She’d trashed his car and tried to set fire to his house. Since then, Drew had kept his private life fully private.

  For her part, Silver had spent the better part of two years getting over Drew. Pallas remembered how her friend had nearly been destroyed by the breakup. Not only because she’d lost the man she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with, but also due to everyone’s assumption that he’d done it because she wasn’t good enough.

  She’d moved to LA after that and had, from what Pallas had heard, traveled with a wild crowd. There had been rumors of jail, rehab and a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style bank robbery. Pallas didn’t believe any of it.

  One day Silver had returned to Happily Inc and started working in her uncle’s bar. When he’d wanted to sell and travel in his RV, he’d given the bar to Silver. She’d promptly sold it and used the money to fund AlcoHaul. As for men, there was always someone interested. From what Pallas could tell, Silver took what she wanted and walked away when she was finished. Not exactly the actions of a woman still pining for her first boyfriend.

  “If you don’t want him, I’m going to have to keep looking for the right woman,” Pallas said lightly. “Drew needs to be married.”

  “Does he know about your plan?”

  “No, and it’s better that way. I don’t want him to freak out. Plus, right now my efforts are more theoretical. I haven’t put much effort into introducing him to anyone.”

  “Probably better for you both.”

  Pallas picked up her latte. “What about you? Are you looking?”

  Natalie shook her head. “Thanks, but no. Love isn’t in the cards for me. The women in my family have horrible luck with men.” She smiled. “Just in case you try to convince me I’m different, I’ll remind you that my ex-fiancé dumped me only days before the wedding.”

  “That was horrible. Okay, yes, he was awful but what about the right guy?”

  “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t exist.”

  * * *

  PALLAS’S FAMILY HOME sat on a hillside. Even from the large, circular driveway there was an impressive view of the town and the valley beyond. Nick ignored the play of light on the rocks at the edge of acres of landscaping, reminding himself this wasn’t the time to indulge his artistic side. He was here to offer support to a very nervous Pallas.

  He’d known she had trouble dealing with her mother but didn’t expect her to be so obviously stressed. Despite her makeup, she was pale. He would swear she was shaking in the seat next to him and as they got out of his truck, he half expected her to collapse.

  “You gonna be okay?” he asked as he closed her door behind her and put his arm around her waist.

  “Maybe I’d feel better if I threw up.”

  “You want to do that out here or inside?”

  She swallowed. “While the thought of throwing up on my mother’s favorite entry rug is really appealing, I’m going to try to breathe through this.” She glanced at him. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually so freaked out about seeing her. I think it’s the anticipation of it all. It would have been better if she’d simply sprung the invitation on me, but no. It’s not her style.”

  “You’ll be fine.” He kissed her, then squeezed her waist. “So where are we on the vomiting? Now? Later?”

  She managed a slight smile. “I think I’ll wait so it has more of a dramatic effect.”

  “That’s my girl.” He looked at the imposing three-story house. “At least you had lots of space to run as a kid, without having to worry about going outside.”

  “I know. It was magical.”

  “Any ground rules? Topics to avoid? Things you want me to say?”

  “Just don’t leave my side.”

  “You’re on. Anything else?”

  “No. Just be you. And thank you again. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you being here.” She squared her shoulders. “I’m braced.”

  “Then let us beard the dragon.” He frowned. “Do you beard a dragon? That makes absolutely no sense. There’s something with a dragon, though. I’m sure of it. And a den. Or maybe a cave.”

  She laughed and he felt her relax.

  He had plenty of crap going on with his father, so he understood how family dynamics could get completely out of whack. Still, he hated seeing Pallas like this. He’d never met Libby Saunders, but he was more than willing to take her on if necessary.

  They walked up the stairs to the wide, flagstone-covered porch. Everything about the house screamed old money. He supposed that came from growing up in a banking family. He didn’t know anything about that, but he’d had plenty of experience living with a legacy.

  “Feel free to brag on me if you’d like,” he said as she knocked on the front door. “Make up stories about how great I am. Talk about me being famous and a god in bed. Moms like to know that especially.”

  “Are you a god in bed?”

  He winked. “You’re going to have to find that out for yourself.”

  She was still laughing when her mother opened the front door.

  Libby Saunders was in her midfifties. Well-dressed in expensive knits, with pearls at her ears and around her neck. She’d aged well and he would suspect she knew it. Funny how her cruel heart didn’t show on her face.

  “Hi, Mom,” Pallas said quietly. “This is Nick Mitchell. Nick, my mother.”

  “Mrs. S
aunders.”

  “Please, call me Libby.” She gave him a tight smile and neither shook his hand nor hugged her daughter. Instead she stepped back to let them in the house. “How nice of you to join us for our family dinner.”

  There was just enough emphasis on the word family to make it clear he wasn’t welcome. Pallas stiffened. He grabbed her hand and squeezed.

  “Pallas always talks about you, so I’ve been looking forward to us meeting,” he said easily. “Plus Cade’s home, and who isn’t excited about that?”

  Libby looked momentarily confused, as if she weren’t sure if she’d been insulted or not, and then was distracted by the Cade remark.

  “Yes, it’s wonderful to have him back.”

  They walked through a foyer the size of the average house, then into a big open room with a stag-sized fireplace at one end. There were multiple conversation areas, a half dozen or so sofas and a bar set up along one long buffet.

  Grandpa Frank, as the older man had insisted he be called at the Concord Awaken party, came over to greet Nick.

  “I heard you were coming,” he said, shaking hands. “Good. The more the merrier, and if they’re not family, all the better.” He winked at Pallas. “How’s my best girl?”

  “Good, Grandpa. How are you feeling?”

  “Spry and sassy.”

  Two men about Nick’s age joined them. He recognized Cade from seeing him with Pallas. Up close Nick could see the shared physical characteristics. Their cousin Drew was a little taller, with dark hair and eyes.

  After introductions were made, Drew pointed to the bar. “What can I get you two to drink?”

  “I’ll take a beer,” Nick said, trying not to chuckle as Libby flinched.

  “Chardonnay,” Pallas murmured.

  “I’d like a beer, too,” Cade told his cousin.

  “Darling, no,” Libby protested. “Surely you’d like something more...” She paused when all four men stared at her. “Whatever you’d like is fine,” she managed before turning away.

  Pallas leaned close. “Rebellion in the ranks,” she whispered. “You’re the best family dinner boyfriend ever.”