by Fiona Roarke
Delaney put an arm around Brianna’s waist. “Nonsense. You look adorable as always.”
Before Brianna could come up with a clever exit line, they were through the threshold.
Delaney returned to her seat leaving Brianna standing in the center of the room. All eyes turned to her. For a long, eternal moment, the only sound was a single coffee cup returning to its saucer.
With sandpaper dry lips, Brianna grinned and made quick nods and waves around the room. Some of these women she’d met, but most were absolute strangers. Several turned to their table mates and didn’t even attempt to hide their bewildered whispers.
A welcoming island amidst this sea of swirling sharks, Jess motioned for Brianna to sit in the empty chair beside her.
Beautiful in an autumn brown dress that complimented her gorgeous red hair, Jess stood and gave her cousin a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you made it back in time.”
“Sorry, I’m late.” Brianna nodded across the table to Connor’s mother and shower hostess, Solange Ford.
Jess leaned close to Brianna and whispered. “We got the text from Connor. We’re so proud of you two. And, I’m so happy to have a friendly face in this room. Half these women are Solange’s friends. I have no clue who they are.”
Jess waved to the server to remove the stack of dirty plates in front of Brianna. “There’s a ton of food left. Hope you’re hungry.”
Even Jess, who’d lived in Nocturne Falls most of her life, didn’t know these women?
Relief poured over Brianna. “I’m starved.”
She filled her plate with assorted tea sandwiches and salads from the buffet table then returned to her seat. As she spread a pink paper napkin across her lap, she sensed Jess’s eyes staring at her.
Uh oh. The ring. She hadn’t taken it off from the minute Connor put it on her finger. They’d planned to make their engagement announcement together. Certainly not in the middle of Jess’s special day.
In all the hub-bub of the race to get here, she forgot to slip it into her purse.
Stealthily turning the stone setting toward her palm, Brianna hoped against hope…
“Is that what I think it is?” Jess said as she reached for Brianna’s hand and turned the ring back around.
“That’s a diamond.” Unable to contain her glee, Jess’s voice raised two octaves. “Connor finally came to his senses.”
Heat spiraled up Brianna’s neck. She wiped a sweat bead that wasn’t the result of the jalapeno cheese dip she hadn’t even tasted yet.
“What’s this about my son?” Solange Ford’s sonic boom shot across the table. The woman had the uncanny inability to keep her voice down. Once again, all heads in the room turned to Brianna.
“We were going to tell you later.” Brianna scanned her cousin’s face for approval. Jess’s friendship was hard won. She didn’t want to lose it now.
Jess couldn’t be too surprised. After all, hadn’t their time-traveling grandmother, Echo Stargazer, suddenly appeared to them in Solange’s solarium and predicted grandchildren?
Of course, that was just a few weeks ago. Perhaps the Georgia custom was for people to date a while before getting engaged. Exactly how long was a while? And did that apply to supernaturals?
Brianna and Connor thumbed their nose at customs. They knew this was the right thing for them.
Giddy chatter percolated among the women again as Jess opened her gifts. Brianna’s gut told her the conversation with Solange Ford wasn’t over yet.
And it wasn’t her psychic gift working overtime either.
Chapter Two
Ryan Ford helped Jess carry gifts upstairs to their apartment over the Carpe Diem gift store. Though a fraction of the size of the Ford mansion, it was all theirs. Though Jess had no idea where they’d put all this stuff.
She and Ryan had spent weeks going through her grandmother’s things and downsizing where they could. Echo may eventually come back from her sojourn to the 17th century and ask about them. But they would deal with that consequence when it arose.
At least now they could walk through the place without whacking their knees and hips on chairs, armoires, overstuffed chairs, and bric-a-brac.
“Stop saying you didn’t know.” Jess put an armload of gifts on the ottoman. She pushed Crealde the cat off the couch and took his place.
“You’re convinced there’s a conspiracy. Hate to tell you this, but there’s not,” Ryan said.
He sat next to her and gently squeezed his fingers into her tight neck muscles. “I’d think you’d be happy for them.”
“I am. Really. If it makes them happy, then I’m happy.”
Jess relaxed into Ryan’s touch. She’d learned to shut down thoughts about his being a falcon shifter. This was her handsome husband-to-be giving her a loving massage.
“Umm. That feels so good,” she murmured.
“Glad to be of service. Now, tell me why you’re so worked up about my brother getting married.”
“It seems sudden, is all. Brianna showed up the first week in October. Met Connor. Then bam. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and they are engaged. Don’t you think that’s a little rushed?”
“We started dating in August, remember.”
“But I’ve known you since I was a kid.” And as a kid, she thought Ryan was the nerdiest geek on the planet. When she came home as a grown woman, she realized he was the sexiest nerdy geek on the planet.
“That’s not the real reason you’re upset. Out with it.”
She was psychic. He was a shifter. Then how could he read her mind so easily? She took a deep breath and sighed. “You don’t think she might be after his money, do you?”
“Come on, Jess. You don’t really think that.”
She’d come to love her curly-headed little cousin. But the fact remained she didn’t know that much about her.
“I can’t put it into words. Just a hunch,” she said.
“Psychic hunch? Or plain old hunch?”
Jess turned the jade ring around her finger. Though tempted to take it off and unblock her clairvoyance, she decided against it.
Her grandmother, Echo Stargazer, didn’t seem bothered by Brianna’s sudden return. In fact, she was delighted. So why was it bothering Jess?
“When it comes right down to it, you know what I think my problem is?” She asked.
Ryan nibbled her neck. “Tell me.” His breath in her ear set off fireworks.
“This was supposed to be our time. Now they’ll share the stage with us. It’s not fair.”
Crealde, the behemoth cat, jumped up on Jess’s lap and revved his B-52 purr engine.
“Even he thinks the ‘it’s not fair’ argument is bogus,” Ryan said.
Crealde looked up at Jess and blinked twice.
“Did you see that?” She lifted the cat and touched his nose to hers.
“Yep. He and I see eye-to-eye on this one,” he said.
“Except yours are the same color.”
“Hey, don’t mock the cat. You know he’s famous for those mismatched eyes,” Ryan said.
Crealde shifted side-to-side on Jess’s lap, kneading his mighty paws on her thighs. Then he settled into a ball, his butt facing her.
“I think you owe your cousin a heart-to-heart conversation. Don’t ruin your brand-new friendship by acting like kids fighting over the same toy.” Ryan gave her shoulders a squeeze. “If Connor loves her as much as I love you, there’s room in this family for all of us. In fact, I think this is the best thing that’s ever happened to the Fords.”
“So, the secret’s out. What’s the big deal? We were going to tell them anyway.” Connor opened a beer and offered one to Brianna.
Still full after shoveling in finger foods and cake all afternoon, she declined. “I don’t think your mother is very pleased about this.”
They bumped elbows as Brianna edged past Connor hiking a seat in the barstool at their tiny two-person breakfast counter. Connor’s bungalow was great for a single guy. Cozy,
but a little tight for two.
“Few things in this world please my mother. She’ll come around. You know how she is,” Ryan said.
Nobody had to explain Solange to Brianna Putnam. She’d witnessed the woman shift into a falcon. One minute Solange-the-human was hosting guests in her palatial living room. The next minute she’d shifted into a menacing predator.
“We did get engaged kind of quick.” Brianna joined Connor at the counter.
“Regrets?”
“Not at all. But I wish I knew how to break this to my family.”
“Just do it, Brianna. Call them up. Invite them to the wedding. They’ll come if they want, or not. It won’t stop us.”
Brianna spun her silver infinity bracelet around her wrist. “I wish it was that easy.”
Connor pulled his phone from his pocket. “It’s six o’clock in the evening in Oregon. Tell me the number.”
She grabbed the phone. “I can’t. Not yet. Not now. I need more time.”
“Time for what? To decide if this is the right thing for us?”
“That’s not it. To decide how to tell my father that I’m marrying a falcon-shifter.”
“Well, I wouldn’t start the conversation off exactly like that.”
“I’ll make a deal. Give me three days, and we’ll make the call, together. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
“Right now, I’d prefer you hold me, period.”
Chapter Three
Connor’s Porsche whirred into the Ford estate driveway moments before Ryan parked his pickup behind him. The two couples stood on the front porch and exchanged nervous glances.
“You know we’re acting like kids.” Brianna tightened her grip on Connor’s hand.
He broke her death grip and shook blood back into his fingers. “Ryan’s the oldest. I think he should be the one to start the conversation.”
“Why me? You two are the ones with the big honking surprise,” Ryan said.
“It’s not really a surprise, now is it?” Jess said.
“Here I am, the newly elected Chairman of the Board for one of the largest corporations in the country and my knees are knocking,” Connor said.
“Maybe we lead off with the FFG deal. Mother’s pretty darn excited about that. We’ll keep talking that one up,” Ryan said.
“That will take a full five minutes,” Brianna said.
“Oh, hell. Enough of this. It’s too cold to stand here yapping.” Jess opened the door and led the way inside where the housekeeper, Sabrina, greeted them. Solange waited for them in the formal living room.
Though the house was comfortably warm, Brianna shuddered. When Solange accepted guests there, it was never good.
“I think we’ll need alcohol to get through this,” Ryan whispered to Sabrina.
“Got that covered. I’ll bring in a tray about three minutes after you go in.”
They linked arms like Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man and walked toward the living room in measured, uniform steps.
“You know we look like morons,” Jess whispered.
“Yep,” Ryan said.
“I hope this is the right thing to do,” Connor said.
“I hope Sabrina set a timer,” Brianna said.
Solange sat in the same overstuffed upholstered chair that she’d sat in the night the Ford family shifted into falcons to impress, or scare witless, the La Grande Bouche editor. That, and Sabrina’s draoi gift to erase the man’s memory had saved Brianna’s bacon.
How could Brianna have ever considered writing a tabloid exposé on this wonderful town? It hadn’t been for the tiny amount of money she would have earned.
Perhaps she’d come up with the insane idea to prove her father was right that his hometown was full of fakes and frauds. Maybe to gain his respect.
It didn’t matter, now. It was all in the past. She looked over at Connor, still a bit sheepish in his mother’s presence.
Cripes. Brianna had the same fluttery feeling in her gut that she did just before she watched the family’s transformation. The first time she witnessed Connor shift.
Her butterflies released when she remembered that was the moment she’d fallen in love with her falcon.
“Why are you still standing?” Solange asked. “Be seated.”
Her words thundered like orders, and all four sat as one on the massive leather couch across from her.
“I suspect you’ve drawn straws as to who will speak first. And I would guess that Ryan drew the short one,” Solange said.
Amid Connor and Ryan’s hemming and hawing, Brianna made up her mind to end this agony. She cleared her throat.
“Solange, we had planned to tell you about our engagement before it made headlines at the shower. I’m sorry for that,” Brianna began.
“It’s not your fault,” Connor piped in. “Don’t apologize.”
He turned to his mother. “We’d hoped to share our news with you first. It didn’t work out that way. It doesn’t mean anything other than timing. We aren’t ashamed of our decision. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.” He glanced at his brother and Jess. “Nor to anyone else. And frankly, it isn’t your concern.”
Brianna split her attention between the conversation and the doorway. Where was Sabrina? As if waiting for her cue, the wonderful housekeeper entered with a tray of drinks.
Ryan proposed a toast. “Let’s end the discord here and now. To my brother and Brianna. To my fiancé and me. And to you, Mother. May we all live long lives. Enjoy prosperity. Experience love.”
They clinked their glasses and waited for Solange to take the first sip.
She cast an upward glance at the brothers and their mates. “And may I be blessed with many grandchildren.”
It took both of Brianna’s shaking hands around her glass to guide it to her lips.
Chapter Four
“Feel better about things now?” Connor asked.
Outside by their cars, Connor, Brianna, Ryan, and Jess held a debriefing.
A November chill coursed through Brianna as she considered her response. The conversation with Solange had ended on a cordial and almost pleasant note.
She suspected Sabrina’s delightful Swedish Fish cocktails had something to do with that. Smooth as a summer breeze, they slid down so easy. Fortunately, Brianna had the presence of mind to stop after one.
“She seemed calm,” Brianna said.
Though the eye of the hurricane calm was more like it. Perhaps it was Brianna’s lack of confidence that made her suspicious of everyone right now. It was way past time for her to kick that pile of nonsense to the curb. Why wouldn’t she be worthy of marrying Solange’s son?
“Oh, Mother will come around. Meanwhile, I have a proposition,” Ryan said. “We haven’t had a proper congratulation ceremony for the new FFG Chairman of the Board.” He checked the time on his phone then tapped in a number. “It’s still early. How about dinner at the Café Claude.”
Ryan pushed his empty plate away and patted his full stomach. “I love this place, almost too much. I better watch it, or I won’t fit in my wedding tux.”
Jess punched his arm. “Okay, mister. I get the message. I’ll skip dessert but only if you do.”
Neither one of them needed to worry about how they looked or what they ate. Brianna never saw them once when they didn’t look like high fashion models. What a knock-out wedding couple they would be.
Ryan leaned forward. “So, Brianna. Tell us how my brother popped the question.”
“Honey, that’s personal, don’t you think?” Jess asked.
Brianna squeezed Connor’s knee under the table. “Actually, we were at a Waffle Shack.”
“They need one of those around here,” Connor said. “Think the Ellinghams will go for it?”
Ryan shook his head. “Doubtful. Now back to my question. Brianna?”
“We’d been out late. I got a craving for fried chicken and waffles,” Brianna said.
“I made
an excuse to use the men’s room and instead wrote a note for the server. When the bill came to the table, I pretended I’d left my wallet in the car. When Brianna opened the bill folder to pay, there it was. My proposal.” Connor sat tall in his chair. “Pretty ingenious, huh?”
Brianna rustled through her purse and retrieved a plastic baggie with a paper napkin inside it.
“See?” She set it on the table and gently rubbed the edges flat.
In block letters, were the words ‘I LOVE YOU. MARRY ME?’ Though the word ‘love’ had nearly disappeared in a greasy stain.
“I thought the server had lost her mind. Then I realized it was from Connor,” Brianna said.
Jess and Ryan exchanged unemotional glances.
“I told you it was personal,” Jess said.
“Well, bro. I’m sure feeling the passion,” Ryan said.
Brianna reverently refolded the napkin and placed it back in the little bag, then in her purse. Those five words meant more to her than all the money in the world.
“I think I’ll powder my nose,” Jess said. “Join me, Brianna?”
“Why is it that women always go in twos to the john?” Connor asked.
The women shared knowing glances. Time for a little girl talk.
Jess finished washing her hands. “I hope you know we are…”
The blast from the hand dryer drowned out the rest of Jess’s sentence. Brianna hoped it was something encouraging.
The women stood in front of the mirror reapplying lipstick and dabbing powder on their faces. It was, after all, what they’d set out to do. Wasn’t it?
Then why did Brianna think there might be another shoe about to drop?
“So, have you talked about a wedding date? In the spring, perhaps? Or late summer?” Jess snapped her lipstick case shut and blotted her lips with a tissue.
Kablam. The other shoe.
“We haven’t decided yet.” Accepting Connor’s proposal and buying a ring had been amazing events in themselves. She was getting used to being a fiancé. Becoming a married woman seemed a bit distant.