Maggie's Way

by Lee McKenzie

  “I can imagine you’ve been very busy.” Leslie shifted her attention away from Nick and let it settle on Maggie, this time more like a real-estate appraiser looking at a fixer-upper. Finally she extended a hand.

  Maggie ignored the offer of a handshake and gave his sister an enthusiastic hug instead. “I love weddings and I’m so glad we’ve had a chance to meet before yours. You’re going to make a beautiful bride. Isn’t she, Nick?”

  Nick’s family liked to avoid physical contact whenever possible and he could see that the hug had robbed Leslie of some of her composure. Although he wasn’t sure what Maggie was up to, he decided to play along. “It’ll be difficult to improve on perfection, but yes, she’ll be more beautiful than ever.”

  For the first time in as long as Nick could remember, Leslie seemed to have nothing to say. And she was blushing. The heightened color suited her, making her look younger and more relaxed than she had in ages. For the first time in his life, or hers, she was looking at him with what he thought was something that approached genuine affection.

  “What a lovely thing to say. Thank you.” Then she turned to Maggie. “I’m so glad you’re coming to the wedding with Nick. It was nice to meet you. I have to get back to Gerald—my fiancé—and it looks as though we’re ready to eat, but I hope we have a chance to talk some more before the party’s over.”

  “Me, too,” Maggie said.

  As soon as Leslie was out of earshot, Nick looked down at his companion. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “I’m not sure, but I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with a member of my family that didn’t end with me getting a lecture about what I need to do to improve my life.” And not in a million years had he expected his sister to say that she was pleased he was taking someone from outside the Durrance family’s social circle to her wedding.

  Maggie broadsided him with that bewitching smile of hers. “Maybe she misses having a big brother in her life.”

  Nick doubted that, but just the same he looked around the crowd and wondered how many more surprises were in store for him tonight.

  * * *

  MAGGIE ADMIRED THE long buffet table that had been set up under the tent. She had never seen so much food in one place and everything looked delicious. She filled her plate with small amounts of various salads, being careful to leave room for whatever the chef was carving at the far end of the table.

  “I want to try a little of everything but I don’t think my plate is big enough,” she said.

  Nick was right behind her, filling his own plate. “There’s a lot of food here, all right.”

  “I’ll say. I was expecting hot dogs and corn on the cob,” she said. “Maybe hamburgers.”

  “At a Collingwood Station Fourth of July barbecue? Thrown by Allison Peters Fontaine? What made you think that?”

  “Allison has kids, so I assumed this would be a family party.” After all, wasn’t that what holidays were all about? Family? But there wasn’t a child in sight, which was why Allison had been so surprised by the cookies. Maggie had also assumed the party would be potluck. Aside from two weddings and a friend’s bar mitzvah years ago, she had never been to a catered party.

  Nick leaned close and spoke into her ear. “You have a lot to learn about high society. But here’s your corn on the cob.”

  She laughed. The cobs had been sliced into small chunks and lightly grilled. She selected one and added it to the growing pile on her plate. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to eat all of this.”

  “No problem. One of the advantages of Collingwood Station high society is that no one worries about the starving children in the rest of the world. Take as much as you want and throw away what you can’t eat.”

  “Ouch. Don’t be too hard on these people, Nick. They’re your friends and family.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t you be too easy on them. They’ll eat you alive.”

  Nick’s comment reminded her of how much work she had ahead of her. She didn’t look at life the way he did, always suspecting that people had an ulterior motive for everything they did. When people knew she believed the best about them, they usually lived up to her expectations. Nick would catch on eventually.

  But he also had a kind of vulnerability that brought out a woman’s protective instincts and made her want to let go of all reason, settle into those arms of his and reassure him that everything would be all right.

  Well, Maggie Meadowcroft had a big heart, but it belonged to her. Then she caught his smile. Who was she kidding? She’d definitely sample those arms if they were offered. But she would hang on to her heart.

  * * *

  THE LAWN WAS DOTTED with white cloth-covered tables set for six. Candice waved to them from across the yard but Maggie appeared not to see her and Nick did his best to ignore her, too. He followed Maggie to an unoccupied table and while he hated to think who might join them, at least it wouldn’t be Candice. He hoped.

  Maggie unrolled her napkin and laid the cutlery on either side of her plate before carefully spreading the napkin over her lap.

  Within a few minutes they were joined by two couples he didn’t recognize until they introduced themselves.

  Simon and Jocelyn Cartwright and Martin and Francine Thompson. Jocelyn was a contemporary of his sister’s and Simon had been the student council president in Nick’s senior year. He hadn’t thought about high school in years but this week it had come back to haunt him with a vengeance.

  Simon was the CEO of a large electronics firm in the city. Jocelyn owned a small, exclusive dress shop in Collingwood Station. Martin had his own engineering firm and Francine was a lawyer. She and Allison’s husband worked at the same law firm.

  Nick hadn’t thought of it before now but he assumed Maggie had gone to college. Which made him the only person at the table who didn’t have a college degree. Instead he ran a sometimes-successful construction company and spent his free time playing pool with other tradespeople. Most of them hadn’t even finished high school, which usually made him feel pretty well educated.

  Whatever Maggie’s background was, she seemed blissfully unimpressed by Collingwood Station’s uppercrust and chatted openly and unselfconsciously with their dinner companions. “This is such a wonderful garden,” she said as she helped herself to a dinner roll and passed the basket to Martin. “I love that the old homes in this neighborhood have such big backyards and all these enormous oak trees.”

  “Are you the person who’s renovating the old house next door?” Jocelyn asked.

  “Yes. Nick’s company is doing the work for me.”

  Nick caught their exchange of knowing glances. Bad enough that they speculated about his private life. He hated to think they’d start to gossip about Maggie. Especially since there was nothing to gossip about, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

  “It’s a big house for one person,” Francine said.

  “My aunt managed,” Maggie reminded her. “I like to think the Meadowcroft women are capable of anything.”

  No one seemed to have a response, and Nick knew the feeling. She often left him speechless and he’d only known her for a few days.

  “Besides, I’m turning the main floor into a day spa, so I won’t actually be living in the whole house.”

  Jocelyn, who had been carefully slicing corn kernels off the cob, laid her knife and fork on her plate and both she and Francine leaned forward eagerly.

  “A spa?” they chorused.

  “What a great idea! Collingwood Station has never had one.”

  Jocelyn waved a manicured hand at her friend. “Francine’s right. We’ve always had to go into the city.”

  Oh, the hardship.

  Maggie took two purple and gold cards out the pocket of her skirt and passed them across the table. “Not anymore. Maggie Meadowcroft, makeover specialist. At your service.”

  “Inner Beauty?” Francine asked.

  “What a great name,” Jocelyn said. “When do
you plan to open?”

  The whole exchange was more than a little surprising. Either Maggie’s cards didn’t say anything about her food-based makeovers, or being pampered was so important that these two were willing to overlook the yogurt and cream of wheat.

  “We’ll work as fast as we can,” he said, “but it’ll take at least three weeks to get the place ready for business.”

  “While that’s going on, there won’t be a whole lot I can do in the house,” Maggie said. “It’ll be a perfect time for me to work in my garden.” She picked up her grilled corn and chomp-chomp-chomped around the cob. “Mmm, delicious. Too bad it isn’t the whole cob.”

  “These large properties are a lot of work,” Martin said. “But well worth the effort.”

  “Yes, definitely worth it. We use the same gardener as Allison,” Francine said. “I’m sure Allie will give you his number.”

  Which told them how much work Martin actually did on his “large property.”

  “Oh, I plan to do my own yard work. I love gardening and so did my aunt Margaret, although she wasn’t able to do much of it as she got older.”

  “Martin also knows an excellent landscape architect,” Francine said. “Don’t you, darling? Maybe you can give Maggie a referral. I’m sure he can give you lots of great design ideas.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “I don’t think gardens are meant to be planned. They should be wild and natural and unrestrained. I’ll just feel my way through it. The garden will tell me what it wants to be.”

  Nick choked back a laugh as their four dinner companions were rendered speechless, again.

  Maggie seemed unaware of the reaction she’d just generated. “Look at this yard, for example. The fence over there by the gate would be a beautiful backdrop for taller plants. Delphiniums, maybe. And that back corner would be a perfect place for a play area for the children. If I had kids and this was my yard, I’d build a tree house in that big old oak.”

  Jocelyn agreed about the flowers. “Hardly anyone plants delphiniums anymore, but you’re right, they’d make a lovely contrast against the white fence.”

  “I’m not sure about the tree house, though,” Francine said. “I’d worry about being sued if one of my children’s friends fell out and hurt themselves.”

  Nick wasn’t sure what delphiniums were, but he agreed with the tree house idea. No one who saw this backyard would ever guess that two children lived here. His parents’ house had been the same. The house and yard were impressive, but not places for living.

  Maggie’s children would have a place to run and play and have make-believe adventures in a tree house nestled in the arms of a big old oak. Her husband would be able to put his feet up on the coffee table and at night, he’d have his own pair of arms to settle into. He imagined that being married to Maggie would be another kind of adventure.

  Whoa! That sounded awfully domestic for a man everyone knew couldn’t be domesticated.

  Jocelyn got up from the table. “Anyone for dessert?”

  Francine stood and joined her. “Why not? I’ll have to do an extra hour at the gym this week, but it’ll be so worth it.”

  “You men just sit here and relax,” Jocelyn said. “We’ll surprise you.” Then she glanced at Maggie. “Join us?” she asked, almost as an afterthought. “It’ll give these men a chance for some guy talk.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Martin refilled his wineglass and Simon’s. “Care for some?” he asked Nick.

  Nick shook his head.

  “How’s the construction business these days?” Simon asked.

  Nick wondered why he’d care. “It keeps me busy.”

  “I’ve heard a lot of good things about your work. Jocelyn’s been talking about expanding her shop. Would you be willing to take a look at it?”

  Nick was on the verge of saying no. He made a point of not doing business with family and old high-school acquaintances who thought they were better than he was. But he found himself wondering what Maggie would say.

  Go for it, is what she’d tell him.

  “I’ll be busy with Maggie’s place for the next few weeks but if it can wait till after that, I’ll be happy to take a look at it.”

  “No hurry. Give me a call when you’re finished and we’ll set something up.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Then Simon asked Martin if they were still on for golf on Wednesday afternoon and Martin asked Simon if he’d had a chance to call the investment broker he’d recommended. Since Nick didn’t golf and had invested what little capital he had in his business, he leaned back in his chair and watched the women over at the dessert table.

  From a distance, Maggie’s purple tank top and denim skirt looked even more out of place next to the casual designer clothes of the other women, but she talked and laughed with them as though they were old friends.

  She sure was something. Other women worked at being attractive. Maggie didn’t have to try, she just had it. He couldn’t even say what “it” was, but he recognized it when he saw it. Judging by the way she turned the head of every male in the place, they saw it, too.

  Nick let his chest puff out a little. Although this wasn’t a date, they’d come to the party together and most people seemed to assume they were a couple. With a lot of women, he’d have been quick to point out that wasn’t the case but he liked that everyone believed Maggie saw something in him that made him a worthwhile companion.

  Her self-confidence rubbed off on him and he liked that, too. Come to think of it, he no longer completely dreaded his sister’s wedding.

  * * *

  MAGGIE THOUGHT THE dessert table looked even more tempting than the dinner buffet. The red-white-and-blue color scheme had been carried over to the New York cheesecakes that were decorated with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Her cookies had almost disappeared but she took one and put it on the plate for Nick. She piled on an array of other goodies and turned to find Jocelyn and Francine waiting for her. They each held two sparsely covered plates and were eyeing the single plate that she had loaded with goodies.

  “Nick loves dessert,” she said, hoping that was true. “And we always share,” she added mischievously.

  All evening she’d been able to tell that these women were speculating about her relationship with Nick. Might as well give them a little more to talk about. They had homes and families and well-established careers, but if they really had it all, why concern themselves with an old high-school friend who’d chosen a different path?

  Unless they were a little envious. Or a lot envious.

  Most of these men were Nick’s age and they all had wives, kids, mortgages and high-pressure jobs. Nick had none of those things, except the job, and she knew he loved what he did. He’d told her he lived in an apartment, which meant no mortgage. Allison would have told her if he’d ever had a wife and kids.

  Maggie had no trouble imagining why these women were so interested in Nick. He was everything they didn’t want in a husband, but everything they wanted in a man.

  And you’d do well to remember that, she told herself.

  Nick Durrance was not the marrying kind. Anyone could see that. Neither was she, but that didn’t mean a girl couldn’t have a little fun.

  She set the plate of desserts on the table in front of him and caught his appreciative smile. She leaned close and whispered into his ear, “I got a little carried away and I had to tell Jocelyn and Francine that you love dessert. Please don’t make a liar out of me.”

  He caught her hand in his and moved it to his lips. “My favorite dessert of all,” he said. Then he eyed the contents of the plate. “I like all this stuff, too.”

  Maggie sat before her knees buckled but she never took her eyes off Nick.

  He picked up the cookie and looked at her again while he took a bite. “I’ve been looking forward to this all night.”

  The back of her hand still tingled from the firm touch of his lips and the rough stubble on his chin. Who would have guessed it
would feel so romantic? So instead of behaving, she threw caution to the wind and decided to keep on flirting with him. Except it was no longer for the benefit of their dinner companions.

  “What do you think of my cookies?” she asked.

  Nick’s eyes went dark. “I think we should wait till we’re alone before I answer that.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TWO HOURS LATER Nick was still waiting for an opportunity to answer Maggie’s question. But she’d insisted they stay for the fireworks that John set off at the far end of the yard, which had turned out to be more fun than he’d expected. Especially since most of his enjoyment came from watching Maggie’s wide-eyed delight.

  “I adore fireworks,” she’d said after John launched the last Roman candle. “It’s too bad Allison’s kids couldn’t have been here.”

  “That’s true,” he said, although he couldn’t muster much sympathy for two little kids he’d never met. Especially not when he had much more grown-up things on his mind. “It’s getting late. Let me walk you home?”

  He half expected her to say it wouldn’t be necessary but instead she smiled up at him. “That would be nice. We should say good-night to Allison and John before we leave.”

  John was nowhere to be seen but they found Allison sitting at a table with Leslie.

  “Thank you for such a great party,” Maggie said, giving their hostess a friendly hug. “I had a wonderful time.” Then she turned to Leslie and hugged her, too. “And I’m so pleased we had a chance to meet. I’m really looking forward to your wedding.”

  This time the hug didn’t catch Leslie off guard and the smile she gave Maggie was genuinely friendly. “I’m glad you’ll be there. You’ve done wonders with my big brother.”

  That was an odd thing for her to say, Nick thought. It wasn’t as if he and Maggie were dating, and she was trying to make him into something he wasn’t. They hardly knew each other, but he could spot meddlers a mile away and Maggie wasn’t one of them.

  “Please say good-night to John for me. And Gerald.”

  “Of course,” Allison said. “He’s tidying up the stuff from the fireworks.”