Roses & Champagne Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

  It’s a marketing seminar for catering companies. Robin was supposed to go, but since she can’t, I’m going in her place.

  Where is that?

  Middletown.

  I tensed. I wasn’t keen on her going back there, but it wasn’t like I had any voice in the matter. Before I could think of a response she typed another message.

  And yes, I’ll be careful.

  That’s my girl.

  For a few moments, the cursor just blinked at me, and I wondered what she was thinking. After a few more seconds I saw her typing a response.

  Am I?

  I didn’t even hesitate. My girl? I’d like you to be.

  Okay—I have to go back to work. I’ll talk to you later.

  Talk later, Finley. Thanks for saying hello.

  She typed a quick goodbye and then she was gone. I sat there staring at our conversation and wondering if she really had to go, or if I had made her uncomfortable with that comment. Well, she’d better get used to it because I was going to be making a lot more comments like that.

  The next morning, I woke to a text from her. Just wanted to say good morning before I got on the road, and I even borrowed Robin’s car to make the trip so I wouldn’t be driving mine. Have a good day.

  I responded with a grin on my face. Good morning, Finley. It was nice to wake up to your text. Wish it was you in person, though. Let me know when you arrive.

  If last night didn’t get her thinking, that message would. My ten days of traveling had given me a lot of time to dwell over my marriage with Sherry, and I could already see the differences in that relationship compared to what this could be. Yeah, Finley and I didn’t know each other well, but I was determined to change that.

  For now, I’d be patient. It was going to be a busy weekend, and I wasn’t even working behind the scenes. Rye and I had a quiet night at my place, talking about growing up, security work, and how the stock market was up and down at an erratic pace. It was the usual, and it felt good.

  On Friday morning, Rye and I headed to Middletown to pick up our tuxes, and we ended up having lunch there before we headed back. By the time we returned to Cricklewood, we had only an hour before we had to get ready for the rehearsal. Over the course of the afternoon, Rye had become increasingly quiet and lost in his own thoughts.

  I remembered the day before I married Sherry. I’d been a basket case, so I understood his demeanor perfectly. We were heading out to my vehicle when I looked at him over the hood. “You know it’s not too late to back out.”

  “Get in the car.”

  “I’m serious. If you’re having any second thoughts, then you need to put a stop to this. I’ll back ya, you know that.”

  “I know you would, but I’m marrying Autumn.”

  “Okay,” I replied as we climbed in, “it’s your funeral.”

  “Dude, will you cut that shit out. She’s going to be my wife.”

  “And she’s going to nag the hell out of you for the rest of your life. Is that what you really want? What about when she becomes pregnant and cries all the time, and then she really can’t make up her mind. What are you going to do then?”

  “Same thing I always do, deal with it.”

  “Bullshit! You don’t deal with it,” I laughed. “You pawn her off on me, and you take off on a trip. Well, I have plans for my future, and they are not taking care of your wife.”

  “What plans?”

  Damn, I hadn’t meant to say that. Oh, well, it was out there now. “I plan on getting to know Finley. I really like her, and I think we have something.”

  My brother chuckled. “I already knew that.”

  “Knew what?”

  “That you had something with her. I figured that out the first time you two were in the same room with each other. You two gravitate toward one another, and the way you look at each other, it’s obvious.”

  “It is?”

  “Just make sure it’s not just about good sex. You’re the kind of guy who is all in.”

  “And you’re not?”

  “Yeah, I guess I am, but not to the extent that you are.”

  “It’s not just about sex, although the sex we had was pretty mind-blowing.”

  He laughed. “That’s because you haven’t had sex in six years. Any sex that wasn’t with your own hand would be mind-blowing.”

  We both laughed, and then I told him about not having condoms and how Finley had found some in Wade’s room.

  “Yeah, I gave them to him,” Rye said.

  “You did? Why?”

  “Because we talked about it one day, and I told him he better be careful. I slipped him a couple of boxes so he was safe.”

  “Did Finley know that?”

  “No, she probably assumed that since he was a teenage male, he’d stockpile them. Don’t you remember being seventeen? We both had boxes in our nightstands, although I went through mine faster.”

  “I was traveling at seventeen. I didn’t have time for sex.”

  “Liar. You were jet-setting with all those gorgeous women, you had your pick of them, but you chose to save yourself for Sherry.”

  “True, I did.”

  “Do you regret it? Knowing how things turned out, do you regret not sowing more oats or letting her go?”

  “No,” I stared at him as if he were crazy. “I loved Sherry. Maybe our relationship wasn’t perfect, but I loved her, and I have Wade now because of her.”

  He nodded slowly as if he was pondering my words and agreeing with them. “I’m glad.”

  “Glad? For what?”

  “That you don’t regret it.”

  “Rye, you’re messed up today.” I turned into the church parking lot, “I’m going to ask you again because I’m a good brother, are you sure about this? I don’t want you to regret this.”

  “No regrets.” He slapped my shoulder, “Let’s go practice walking down the aisle.”

  Chapter 29

  Finley

  Martin was laughing, “Looks like someone has a boyfriend.”

  “Oh, don’t go there. You saw nothing, and don’t you dare say a word to anyone.”

  He mock-saluted me coupled with a laugh, and I hightailed it out of the kitchen to see Roan’s backside disappear out the door. On the counter beside the coffee mug that I had given him was a napkin. I went over and saw he had written something: Mine too.

  Mine too? His too, what? My brows furrowed in thought, then I lifted the mug to read the words again. My Love registered in my mind. Was he talking about the coffee mug? Or me? Well, damn—

  True to his word, he texted me later in the day, and I responded when I had a moment to do so. I was dying to ask him what “Mine too” meant, but I was leery of doing so. What if he meant the coffee? Was I making more of this than I should?

  I knew he wanted me to be careful, and I planned to be. I’d already talked to Robin about using her car, and Chris was bringing it over to me later tonight. When Roan texted, That’s my girl, I stared at it for a long time while I worried my bottom lip. What was he saying here? Were these just kind words of praise, or was he saying something else? Man, I hated this point in a relationship.

  Ugh! This wasn’t a relationship—or was it? Maybe—

  Am I? I typed back hesitantly.

  My girl? I’d like you to be.

  Really? I wanted to respond, but I also wasn’t ready to talk about this with him, so I ignored it and told him I had to get back to work.

  All night he was on my mind, and I found myself smiling every once in a while. Maybe this would work. Maybe I could have someone as great as Roan in my life.

  The next morning, I had to leave early to get to Middletown for the seminar, and I decided to surprise him with a text message. When I arrived at my destination, I checked my phone and found his reply. I grinned like a fool all the way into the conference center. Life was looking up.

  On break during the seminar, I was standing with a few people I’d met, and they started talking about some thi
ngs they’d recently heard at an event. It wasn’t news that should be shared; in fact, it was outright gossip, and I felt uncomfortable with it—not that they were gossiping, but because it reminded me of what I knew. I slipped away from the group to use the restroom and stood for a long time staring at my phone. Would Roan forgive me if he ever found out that I knew about this? Would Robin forgive me if I said something and broke up the wedding? Autumn didn’t deserve Rye, there was no doubt about it, but what the hell was I supposed to do?

  The bathroom door opened and one of the ladies who had just been in the gossip group walked in. “You had the right idea to walk away,” she said as she stepped into a stall.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because they know better than to gossip like teenage girls. What clients and guests say or do should not be shared, especially not at an event like this with that much detail.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I think, too.”

  A moment later she flushed the toilet and then came out. “Something on your mind? You look concerned.”

  I sighed and leaned against the wall beside the sink, crossing my arms over my chest. “I overheard something at a recent event. Please believe me when I say I am not gossiping about this. I’m not sure what I should do because it affects someone I know.”

  “Tell me what it is.”

  “A woman was telling someone that she was pregnant, only she’s engaged to someone else.”

  “Eek.”

  “It gets worse. I’m actually catering her wedding this weekend, and the groom is the brother to the guy I just started seeing.”

  “Wow—” she rinsed the soap off her hands and shook them. “I get why you look confused now.”

  “Yeah, and the bride sends a lot of business to our company. I’m afraid that if I say something, it can affect business.”

  “And you’re worried that if you don’t say something, and your boyfriend finds out, it will hurt your relationship.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Phew, I’m glad this is you and not me. I don’t even know what to tell you on that one.”

  “Please do not repeat this to anyone.”

  “Absolutely not. Like you said, this isn’t gossip. You were asking for advice.” She stared at the floor for a minute. “I guess if it were me, I’d wait to see what happens in the next day or so. Maybe she will tell him herself.”

  “I doubt that, but I guess I’ll have to do it.”

  “Will your company really lose a lot of business if you do say something?”

  “They could.”

  “Tough spot, Finley. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”

  “You don’t want to trade?” I joked, and we shared a laugh as we left the bathroom.

  * * *

  I got a text from Roan later that day, and my only response was that I was home safely, but I was exhausted, and I’d talk to him later. I was afraid that if I started talking to him, I’d spill my guts.

  When I woke Friday morning, I felt like I had a sharp pendulum that was swinging back and forth over my head. My heart and mind were at war with one another. I knew I should keep my mouth shut for the business’s sake, but I kept putting myself in Rye’s shoes, and if it were me, I would want to know.

  Luckily, Robin was finally able to move about after her two weeks in bed, and she was going to be there tonight. Chris had gotten her a wheelchair for the next two days so she could get around and still keep her ankle immobilized. Now that Robin was back, she could resume her boss status, and I could do what I always did: fade into the background and serve the guests.

  I hadn’t heard from Roan today, and the breeze from the pendulum was getting stronger and there was a ticking clock in my ear with the whisper that he wanted to talk. How could I honestly go into a relationship with him after keeping this to myself? This relationship was doomed, there was nothing I could do about it but put it behind me.

  Yesterday there had been a whisper of hope in my heart. I dreamt that it was almost within my reach, but after hearing those women talk yesterday, reality came back to me, and the rose-colored glasses were off now.

  If only I didn’t love working for Robin so much—or if she wasn’t my friend—maybe I would have taken the chance on being fired then, but I didn’t want Autumn to ruin her company, not after Robin had poured so much into it. Around here, word of mouth was everything, and Autumn sure had a big one.

  I spent the day on the catering side of the building, while Sadie and Chantel handled the café. Stewart, Monica, and I did most of the cooking, while we had four others who were doing prep work. I checked in with the bakery to make sure the cake was going well and learned that Autumn had called them twice today asking if she could come see it.

  I called Robin and told her to put a leash on bridezilla while we got our work done. As we were hanging up, Robin asked me to meet her at the church for the rehearsal.

  “Why? I thought you were taking over.”

  “I am, but you have done so much. I think you should follow through on this, take it all the way to the end.”

  “To be honest, Robin, I’m not feeling all that great, and I’d just as soon not do that if you don’t mind. I’d feel much more comfortable with you back in the lead and overseeing everything.”

  “Are you sure, Finley? You’ve done an awesome job.”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” I told her. “Besides we still have a lot that needs to be done here. How about you deal with them, and I’ll deal with all the details here?”

  “Okay, that sounds like a plan. I don’t want to wear myself out doing too much.”

  “Then this is perfect. You go tonight to the church, and the rehearsal dinner, and I’ll deal with all the details for the wedding tomorrow.” And keep my distance from everyone at the same time.

  “But I thought maybe you’d want to see Roan.”

  “No, Robin, there is nothing going on with Roan. I told you that. We are just friends.”

  “Liar—but, fine, I’ll let it go for now.”

  “Thanks.”

  After we hung up, I finished what I was doing in the kitchen and then went to Robin’s office to boot up my computer. I spent the next three hours going over all the details with a fine-toothed comb. The flowers would be delivered very early tomorrow. The decorators were arriving at the same time, so they could deal with the flowers. We had two crews, one at the church and one at the reception who would be doing all the decorating. The linens had arrived today in a collection of soft pink and cream colors and were already loaded in the van. The serving supplies were also loaded into another van along with the dishes, glasses, and silver.

  As it stood, we were right on schedule and as I glanced at my watch, I realized that the rehearsal dinner was probably about over. Originally, we were going to cater that, but Rye’s voice had overruled that, and he’d set his sights on a simple affair at the steakhouse in Dexter.

  I stretched as I stood and jumped when Roan’s voice behind me said, “I was waiting for the purr to come with that stretch.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  He frowned slightly. “I was surprised when you weren’t at the rehearsal.”

  “Robin was there. I didn’t need to be.”

  “Yes, but I thought you might be anyway. You’ve done a lot for this wedding.”

  I shrugged. “I was doing my job.”

  He approached me, taking hold of my shoulders. “Stop being so modest. You’ve done a great job, Finley. It’s going to be beautiful, and I’m sure all those people will love those stuffed mushrooms.”

  “Ugh!” I groaned. “Don’t remind me about those. I was tempted to change her order while I prepared the filling today.”

  “You should have. It’s not like she would even notice.”

  “True. What are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t answer my messages, and when you weren’t at the church tonight, I realized I wanted to see you.”

  “Well, you just caught me. I’m about
to head home. I have to be up early tomorrow.”

  “That’s okay. I was just stopping in to say hello. Rye’s in the parking lot pacing.”

  “Pacing? Why didn’t he want to come by here?”

  “No, he did. He has the pre-wedding jitters.”

  I locked my jaw so I wouldn’t blurt out the words. “That’s understandable,” I finally said after I found my filter. I looked away. Don’t say anything else, Finley Parker, don’t you dare.

  “Hey, you alright?” He pulled my chin back to face him.

  I nodded, not trusting myself. The questioning expression in his eyes was begging me to talk to him. I did something better. I threw my arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

  For a few moments we were lost in one another, and when we pulled away, his train of thought was totally in a different direction. “I wish Rye wasn’t waiting.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I would be swiping everything off of Robin’s desk and having my way with you right now.”

  Oh, the temptation was strong enough that my eyes went to the desk. Reality smashed down on me as my gaze landed on the three-inch binder filled with the wedding plans.

  “Another time. I need to get home and get some sleep. I have a super-long day tomorrow.”

  “Are you going to be able to join us at the wedding?”

  I leaned back and gave him an odd look. “I’ll be there all day. I’m working the wedding, Roan.”

  “No, I mean, do you think you can get away for a few minutes and maybe dance with me?”

  I laughed uncomfortably. “I don’t think so. I’m an employee, not a guest, Roan.”

  “You’re not an employee, not to Robin, and not to me.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Roan, I am getting paid to organize, decorate, prepare, and serve food, and then clean up. That’s called being an employee.”

  He sighed, “I don’t want to fight with you.” He took my face in his hands. “I bet Robin won’t care if you danced at least one dance with me.”

  By the time everyone got around to dancing, Rye and Autumn would be married, and I’d have the truth on my conscience. God, I hated this. “We’ll see.”