by Cassie Rocca
Liberty clenched her fists. “You never behaved like that with me in the past.”
“But I would have liked to… I had a thing for you then, and I still do now.”
His words shocked her, and made her feel frustrated and even a little nostalgic. She smiled bitterly. “Let’s get to the point.”
“Fifteen years ago I thought I needed to keep a bit of distance between us. I didn’t want to lead you on. I really cared about our friendship, though, and if you had stayed in Chicago I would have done anything I could to keep it alive.”
“We already talked about that,” said Liberty, trying to appear indifferent even though she could feel the blood simmering in her veins. “Was there something you wanted to add?”
Zack took a step towards her. “Yes. I don’t want to lose touch with you again.”
Liberty didn’t know how to reply, and that made Zack take another step closer.
“We live in the same city again and we have mutual friends. Like you said before, it’ll take us a while to rekindle our friendship and that means we have to hang out together sometimes, don’t you think?” Although she was trying very hard not to give away her feelings, her eyes were apparently eloquent enough. Zack smiled ironically. “I can tell that you’re absolutely thrilled by the idea… Well, don’t worry, I’m not going to force my company on you. I guess it’d probably wise to keep some distance between us.”
Liberty almost exploded with the anger she felt boiling up inside her. She looked him in the eyes. “I can assure you that you really don’t need to perform any more heroics for me – I didn’t need you to defend me from my alleged feelings for you back then, and I need it even less now. Or have you forgotten that I’m about to get married?”
“On the contrary, I remember it very well. The distance will be necessary for me, not for you.”
Was he joking?
How dare he show up in her life again and try to hit on her? He was the same guy who had broken her heart and destroyed all her teenage dreams. He probably just couldn’t accept the idea that she wouldn’t be his little pet anymore? Was he really just an egomaniac who was looking to have his self-esteem inflated? Or was he finally saying what she had always wanted to hear him say only because she had a beautiful body now?
Feeling deeply upset and confused, Liberty walked towards him. Her ears were ringing and her was face bright red. She wanted him to talk more about his feelings for her and, at the same time, she wanted to kick him.
You have the worst timing ever, Zack! she thought.
She was about to tell him everything she thought about him – and it was certainly not positive – when she saw Zack’s eyes settle on her lips with the same hungry curiosity he had hours before on the beach.
They were way too close…
Her anger disappeared quickly as it had appeared, and now she was feeling somehow languorous and satisfied…
For the first time in many years she felt beautiful and appreciated. And powerful.
“I don’t follow you,” she said, batting her lashes and trying to look totally innocent.
Zack observed her face, and then started looking at her neck and breasts, which were visible through the v-neck of her dress. She saw him studying her body, and it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and made her feel as out of breath and sweaty as if she’d been out for a run.
“Maybe it’s better this way,” replied Zack in a low, hoarse voice.
She decided not to move, even though she was fighting to resist both the desire to run away as if she had seen a ghost and the impulse to grab hold of the collar of his shirt, pull him close and kiss him crazily.
“If my presence is problematic for you, I’ll keep my distance,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I really don’t like making people feel uncomfortable.”
Zack smiled roguishly and a dimple appeared on his cheek. “Don’t get any weird ideas. I like you, and if you weren’t engaged I’d surely do my best to try and sweep you off your feet, but don’t worry about having to defend yourself from my impulses: I’m an adult and I can control them.” He tapped her nose and stepped away, breaking that momentary intimacy.
Trying not to show the irritation that she felt, Liberty shrugged. “That’s good – and it’s better for your daughter too.”
“Candice will never have to worry about anything like that. I was a saint during her first years, and I’m committed to carrying on being a saint in the future too. The only relationships I’m planning to involve her in are the very significant ones, so unless I manage to meet a very special woman, she won’t have to worry.”
The idea of another woman becoming part of their family made her head spin, and the sensation made her realize once and for all that the old Liberty never really disappeared, no matter how hard she had worked to try and substitute her with a stronger version of herself.
You’re so stupid, she thought. It took you years to forget all these emotions and banish them from your life, and a weekend has been enough to undo everything! Zack Sullivan represented all the silly dreams she had as a teenager, and he brought them back to life. And that was unacceptable.
She had to keep away from him.
With a great effort, she forced herself to look indifferent and walked past him. “I still don’t understand what you want from me,” she said coldly. “If seeing me again has made you think that we could revive our friendship and be close as we once were, you are wrong. I’ve already told you that I’m not that little girl anymore. I’m a woman now, and a very busy one. I don’t have time for personal relationships, and my only friends are my colleagues. Sometimes I haven’t even got enough time for my future husband, let alone anyone else. Luckily Justin is a busy man too, and he understands my difficulties.”
“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I’m also a busy man,” muttered Zack. “I do, however, find time for the people I’m really interested in.”
“Well, maybe I’m just not that interested in anyone, then!” she said. And now you can draw your own conclusions! Take that!
But he seemed to be even more determined than before. “In that case, it means that it’s down to me to come looking for you. I know where to find you.”
Liberty was about to tell him to get lost, but the sound of approaching steps stopped her. Justin appeared at the door, looking quite surprised to see Zack in the room. “Oh, here you are. We thought there was nobody home.”
Liberty smiled and gave him a distracted kiss. “Hi. Zack was just taking Candice for a bath, and I was telling him that we’re not going to be staying for dinner,” she improvised. She wanted to get out of that house as soon as possible.
Justin was surprised by her words, while Zack looked annoyed. “Yes, I was trying to convince her to stay. Why do you have to leave so early? What difference can a couple of hours make anyway? New York isn’t going anywhere, you know…”
Justin looked at her. “Yeah – what’s the rush?”
“I still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow I’m meeting a client who’s expecting a draft from me, but I was feeling so ill this morning that I wasn’t able to work at all. If we leave now, I’ll have a couple of hours more to get on with it.”
“Well, I can see from your face that it would be completely pointless trying to insist,” her boyfriend sighed, then he turned to look at their host. “I hope you don’t mind, Zack! When Liberty decides something, there’s nothing you can do that’ll make her change her mind.”
“I’m sorry that you have to go, but I understand. I hope we’ll get the chance to meet up again soon, anyway,” said Zack with a friendly smile. “And remember to call me if you need a chef – Clover and Cade can give you all the details of my shop.”
“Come to think of it, that might actually be a good idea,” replied Justin. Liberty was horrified by what she realized her fiancé was about to say. “We’re getting married on the last Sunday in April,” he continued. “We’re having a double ceremony and a big party before it. Liberty has b
een driving herself crazy trying to organize everything.”
Zack smiled triumphantly, and Liberty felt a sudden urge to kill them both. “You’re in luck! I can solve all your food problems! I’ll take care of the cakes and the buffet. It’ll be my wedding present to you.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you but it won’t be necessary,” cut in Liberty. “I’ve already talked to several catering companies.”
Justin frowned. “You haven’t signed a contract with anyone yet, though. I think we should accept Zack’s generous offer.”
“I would be happy to do it, really,” insisted Zack. “It’s absolutely the least I could do for my old friend! What do you say, Libby?” he asked, seemingly almost challenging her to say no.
“Very well then. I’ll call you so that we can sort out all the details,” she said in a low voice, glaring at him furiously.
“Great! My sister will be relieved too to hear that you don’t have to take care of everything by yourself,” Justin smiled and threw an arm over her shoulders. “You know, she was worried that you were going to starve our guests!”
Liberty was irritated by Zack’s satisfied expression, but managed to force a smile. She knew that in the next few days she would do whatever she could to make sure that it didn’t happen.
Even if it meant not getting married anymore.
7
“Oh, to hell with it!” Liberty crumpled up yet another sheet of paper full of crossed out lines and threw it on the floor, feeling even more irritated than before. For hours she had been writing, erasing, rewriting and throwing away sheets of paper. It felt as if her inspiration had totally abandoned her. She couldn’t concentrate on anything and the work had been piling up on her desk for days, its mere presence adding to her stress.
She jumped to her feet and left the room. Downstairs there was the only thing that might be able to ease the tension a little: the coffee machine. The one she kept in her office had been empty for a while now.
That day, Giftland was as crowded as usual. The city streets were full of people partying for St Patrick’s Day, and even though practically everyone was already off celebrating, there were always plenty of latecomers who came in at the last minute looking for green headbands, costumes, hats and t-shirts covered with shamrocks and leprechauns.
The whole of New York was plastered with green: the streets, the monuments, even the fountains – for St Patrick’s, everyone and everything was Irish for the day, and the annual parade always attracted huge numbers of people.
Every year, Liberty and her colleagues stocked up on St Patrick’s Day articles, all of which were promptly snapped up, and they all dressed in green themselves… Something which, as the only man in the group, Eric did not particularly enjoy.
“I can’t wait for today to be over,” he muttered to Liberty when she reached the counter. “I feel like a total idiot dressed like this.”
“But you look as adorable as always!” chuckled Zoe, “And that St Patrick’s hat suits you down to the ground.”
Eric gave a grimace that was halfway between amused and doubtful. “You must really love me a lot to say something like that.”
Zoe flung her arms around his shoulders and gave him a loud kiss on the lips. “Do you still doubt it?”
Liberty walked past them and went over to the coffee machine. “You two have only been together for a month and I already can’t stand you. I think I preferred listening to you quarrel,” she snorted, half seriously. “I’m going to go back to having Clover as my favorite colleague again – if nothing else, at least she and Cade don’t spend all day eating each other’s faces right in front of me.”
“That’s only because Cade doesn’t work here.” Zoe stared at her full cup and raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you think you’re drinking too much coffee?”
“I need it,” snapped Liberty, raising the cup to her lips. “I have a lot of stuff to do.”
Clover, who had come into the shop that day to help out by giving advice on purchases instead of going to celebrate in the city streets, finally got rid of the last customer and joined them. “God, it’s chaos out there!” she laughed. “Half of the customers who came in were already wasted! I dread to think what they’ll be like in a few hours.”
“We’ll close early today. There won’t be many people coming in this afternoon, so we can take advantage of the fact and get ahead with all the work we’ve got to do for Easter.” Liberty let herself lean back against the counter, feeling some of her tension start to fade away. The hot cup in her hands, the smiles of her friends and the caffeine worked miracles. “God, I wish I could take off for a month.”
Zoe stared at her in surprise. “Breaking news! Liberty Allen doesn’t want to work!”
“This store is your whole life,” added Eric. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
Liberty nodded, not looking at any of them. “Of course I’m okay – I’m just a little tired. After Valentine’s Day we only had three weeks of relative calm, and now we’re struggling through St Patrick’s Day and in a month it will be Easter. Too many celebrations, too much work to get through, not to mention all the stories that I’ve been commissioned to write and the preparations for the wedding…”
“Yeah, now that you come to mention it,” interrupted Clover. “Maybe I can solve the problem of the wedding dress.”
Liberty gave her a perplexed look. “I don’t have a problem with the wedding dress – a white suit will be fine.”
Clover’s smile disappeared. “You’re getting married with your sister-in-law! To Justin! And now, as if that were not enough, you’re telling me that you won’t even be wearing a wedding dress?!”
“I’ve already explained the reasons for us doubling up for the wedding, and I really don’t understand what your problem with Justin is,” snorted Liberty, stiffening. “And as if that weren’t enough, now you’re telling me I have to wear a wedding dress?”
“As bridesmaids, Zoe and I will have to look for a dress that matches yours. Do you want us to come to the church looking like a couple of secretaries?”
“Lib, honey, you wear suits all the time at work. A marriage is a special occasion, one that deserves a little more attention to detail,” said Zoe in an attempt to coax her. “Janet will be wearing a sumptuous dress, we saw it in her photographs, and you can’t risk looking too ordinary when you’re standing next to her.”
“Justin doesn’t care – in fact, he’s expecting to see me dressed soberly.”
Clover snorted. Eric patted her arm, then looked at Liberty. “I agree that when you’re in love, you’d be quite happy to marry the other person even if you were dressed in pyjamas and slippers, but the thought of the woman walking towards the altar in a white dress is… Well, it’s beautiful, even for the guy.”
“Wouldn’t you like to amaze Justin that day?” Zoe continued.
Trying not to say anything, Liberty glanced over at Clover. With her green dress and her red hair, gathered together by a small scrunchie with a four leafed clover on it, cascading loose down her back, she looked like a mischievous Irish elf. She was adorable, though, and Liberty couldn’t get annoyed with her, not even when she started criticizing every single choice she’d made regarding her wedding. She put the cup down on the counter and sighed. “So what would this amazing idea for solving the ‘problem’ of the dress be?”
Her friend’s smile lit up like the sun and her eyes began to sparkle, and Liberty realized once again why Cade was so madly in love with her.
“The wedding season will be starting up in about a month and Cade is going be the testimonial for a line of wedding dresses. The designer who makes them is very young but he’s very ambitious too, and he’s offered his services to Cade. And since you’re getting married, I asked him if he could give us a trial – with no obligation, of course.” Clover clapped her hands enthusiastically, like a child. “I’ve always loved wedding dresses and Zoe loves any kind of dress, so I’ve combined usefulness with p
leasure and, if you like, we can go to the atelier one evening to try a few on. What do you say?”
Zoe nodded immediately. “That’s a wonderful idea!”
Liberty shrugged. “All right, let’s give it a try… Even if I doubt I’ll be able to afford a dress from the new collection.”
“Cade can get you a discount just by being there!” said Clover, pulling a wry face. “That’s one of the few things his being famous is actually useful for – not the crazy fans, the paparazzi stalking him all the time, the never having any privacy or the continuous business trips, but the ease with which he can get hold of anything.”
“Well, honey, Cade’s success is bound to have a downside,” Zoe smiled.
“If nothing else, he has stopped autographing people’s backsides since he’s been with you!” laughed Eric, earning himself a dirty look.
“Okay, that’s one less problem, then – now, can someone organize the pre-wedding party for me as well?” muttered Liberty, sourly. “There are a thousand things to do, all for two stupid hours of so called fun. I’m going to end up so stressed that I’ll be twitching like a basket case on my wedding day.”
“What else do you need to do?” Zoe asked. “Maybe we can help you.”
“I’ve booked the room and sent the party invitations to be printed. I need to sort out some decorations that will fit in with the spring theme that Janet has chosen for the decorations in the church, I need to make arrangements with a catering company for the food…”
“I’ll take care of the flowers,” offered Clover, and Zoe said she was willing to take care of the decorations.
“Wasn’t Zack supposed to be taking care of the food?”
Liberty went as rigid as a marble statue. “No,” she said sharply.
“I must have misunderstood, then,” mumbled Clover. “Anyway, I’m sure that if you ask him, he’d be more than happy to help.”