“I’m well. Wonderful, actually. Thank you. And you?”
How on earth are you doing this? Danica shot a look at Kaylie; Lexi held on to her leg and Trevor wiggled in her arms, while Kaylie nursed a hate-filled look in her eyes. Her mother might be able to take this in stride, but Kaylie obviously could not. Danica was torn between staying between her mother and father—just in case—and dragging Kaylie’s angry ass out of there before something happened that no toddler should ever witness. As Kaylie handed Trevor to Chaz, Danica sprang into action.
“Kaylie, Camille and the girls should be in any minute. Why don’t you bring the kids to get a snack from the machines really quickly so they’re not hungry.” It was a mean tack to take, knowing the mention of a snack would start the pleas that would quickly become tears in an open forum such as the hotel lobby, but sometimes Auntie Danica had to do what was best for their mommy.
“Snack! Snack!” Trevor jumped up and down, and Lexi took her cue, yelling louder than Trevor.
“Snack, Mommy! Snack!”
Kaylie shot Danica a hateful look, then took Trevor’s hand and headed toward the snack machines down the hall. Lexi and Chaz followed.
Danica turned her attention back to the tension that surrounded her mother and father, who were talking about Lexi and Trevor.
“Lexi is just like Kaylie. Do you remember when she used to try and answer for Danica?” Her mother’s nostalgic smile was anything but feigned.
“And how Danica used to allow her to?” Her father shook his head.
“Lex does the same thing. When we sit down to eat, she says, Twevor wants peanut butter, and when I ask Trevor, he just nods.”
“Kaylie said he stutters,” her father said.
Danica didn’t know why the genuine concern in her father’s voice surprised her. Maybe because it was the first time since he’d arrived that he was vocalizing anything at all.
“Yes,” her mother answered. “And I’m not sure that Lexi speaking for him is such a good solution.”
“Dysfluency is quite prevalent in children between the ages of two and five. Most kids go through some sort of stuttering stage, whether it’s pausing between words, repeating certain sounds and syllables, or starting and stopping altogether, but it usually resolves on its own. I wouldn’t worry too much yet.” Madeline spoke confidently, with practiced ease.
Her mother cocked her head in question or surprise; it was difficult for Danica to tell which.
“You know that I was a speech therapist by trade. Just retired two years ago, but you know how that goes. I’m not really retired. I still take on clients here and there, doing a little consulting,” Madeline explained.
“I must have forgotten. Yes, you always said you would become a speech therapist. How’s your brother?” Her mother’s cold tone warmed by the second.
Brother? Always said? What is going on?
Madeline rubbed her hands together as if they suddenly caught a chill. “He’s doing well. He uses a cane now, but his symptoms are manageable. He’s enjoying a good life, and yes, he still stutters.”
“He’s a remarkable man,” her mother said.
“Wait, you know her brother?” The question was out before Danica could think to stop it. She felt Blake’s arm circle her waist.
Her mother held Madeline’s gaze; then her eyes shifted to Don, and finally, settled on Danica. “Yes, we knew each other a very long time ago.”
“I’m so confused. Madeline said they used to date, but I guess I never realized that you knew her, too. And her brother?”
“It’s a long story, but yes. We went to the same schools, lived in the same areas, and as you know, Madeline and I loved the same man.”
“Mom.” Danica’s heart ached for her mother.
Helen shook her head. “It’s okay, Danica. This is all water under the bridge. Really, we’re past this. You should be, too.”
“But—”
“If it makes you feel any better, your mother stole him from me first,” Madeline said.
Danica spun around and found Madeline smiling. Smiling?
“It’s true,” her mother said with a little laugh. “I did everything within my power to win his heart.”
“And you did.” Her father looked at her mother through eyes laden with love. He looked down shyly, then back up, and when he did, an appreciative smile formed on his thin lips.
Danica blinked several times. How could this be? Her mother and father had been in some sort of strange love triangle? And now her mother’s and father’s eyes were locked in a way that should make Madeline uncomfortable, but she was still smiling. This was too much. Between the hangover headache that was thundering in her skull, Kaylie acting like a lion ready to pounce on her father at any moment, and her parents looking at each other like they’d like to do everything she and Blake had done last night—Oh God! What I did with Blake! Shoot me now.
Danica barely registered the warm breeze as the front doors of the lobby opened or the thunder of approaching footsteps.
“Let the party begin!”
Camille’s voice startled Danica and instantly offered relief. She fell thankfully into her friend’s arms. Camille’s husband, Jeff, smiled from behind her, carrying an enormous suitcase in each hand.
“Who’s getting married?” Camille teased. “Mrs. Snow! Wow! Blond again! You are beautiful!” Camille embraced Danica’s mother as her other friends, Chelsea and Marie, squealed with delight and jumped up and down in the middle of the lobby.
“I can’t believe we’re here! Where’s Kaylie?” Chelsea asked.
“And the kids!” Marie added.
“We fed them to the sharks,” Danica teased.
Marie looked at Chelsea, and her eyes grew wide. “Sharks? I didn’t know there were sharks here.”
Danica kissed her cheek. “It’s okay. I love you even if you don’t get my jokes.”
Blake hugged the girls, and they each greeted Don with careful words. Her friends knew about his affair—Kaylie had made sure that everyone around her knew not only about the affair, but how she felt about her father and Madeline, too. Danica wondered now, after meeting Madeline and Lacy, how she was going to change her friends’ preconceived notions about the women. She had wanted to hate Madeline, but now that she’d met her, and found her to be pleasant, there was no way she could—even if Madeline had been the other woman.
“Auntie Camille!” Lexi ran across the lobby in her yellow dress and pink Circle Glitter Toms shoes. Kaylie was a Toms fanatic. Trevor was right behind Lexi in his ash-colored Cordones.
“Auntie Chel Chel...”
“Chelsea!” Lexi yelled, jumping into Chelsea’s arms before Trevor had a chance to.
Marie swooped Trevor into her arms. “How’s my handsome boy? You look so smart in your little polo shirt!”
The girls peppered her and Kaylie with questions.
“Are you nervous?”
“You look beautiful! Look how tan you are!”
“Look at that man of yours. God, you’re lucky!”
When Lexi wiggled from Camille’s arms, Camille pulled Kaylie aside. Danica eavesdropped in what she hoped was not an obvious manner. She leaned against the column behind which they were whispering and strained to hear every word.
“What do I need to know? Is the sister awful? Is she pretty? Do we hate her or love her?” Camille had been the leader of their girl group for long enough that Danica knew that the fate of Lacy lay in Kaylie’s answers.
“She’s gorgeous, sweet, and even kinda funny.” Kaylie paused.
Danica held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, praying that Kaylie wouldn’t add, But I hate her anyway.
“I like her.”
“No!” Camille gasped. “After all those years of inspired hatred?”
“Yes. I don’t know what happened. Not that I like the evil mistress or the lying, cheating bastard, but Lacy, yeah, she’s kinda cool.”
Danica let out her breath. At least Lacy w
as in the clear. She still had work to do with Kaylie and her father—and Madeline. Evil mistress?
“Did you see how fat Danica has gotten?” Kaylie said.
Danica’s jaw dropped. She touched her stomach, her sides. She’d lost ten pounds in the months after meeting Blake and she’d never put them back on. What was Kaylie talking about? She looked over her shoulder to inspect her backside, and Kaylie popped her head around the column.
“Gotcha!” She roared with laughter.
“You witch! I really thought you meant it!” Danica knitted her brows and laughed through her sneer.
“Well...” Camille tapped her chin.
Danica swatted her.
Camille laughed. “You’re gorgeous, and you know it, little Miss I’m Getting Married To McDreamy.”
“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” She surveyed Blake from behind, standing between her mother and father. My trusty mediator.
“Oh my God!” Kaylie yelled.
The group silenced.
“Where’s everyone else? Where are our dresses? Where’s Sally and Max? Nancy, Rusty, Chase, and Michelle? They’re coming, right? What about Gage?” Her eyes shot to Chaz. “Where’s your family? I’m still waiting to meet your brother. Weren’t they supposed to arrive around the same time?”
“There was so much confusion that I forgot to tell you. Mom and Weston are coming together. She was visiting him this week. Don’t worry, but they had to switch to a later flight because of Weston’s schedule. He had an emergency surgery.” Chaz weathered Kaylie’s moods like a sturdy ship in a storm. He picked up Lexi when she toddled by and kissed her on the cheek with a loud mmwah! “Abby and Astrid are coming in later tonight.”
“He’s having surgery and coming in the same day?” Chelsea asked.
Chaz laughed. “No. He’s an orthopedic surgeon. He had to perform the surgery.”
“Oh, you mean like Callie on Grey’s Anatomy!” Marie said in an entirely too serious voice.
Chaz looked bewildered, so Danica chimed in before Marie got started on the characters and their backstories from Greys. “Sally, Gage, the kids, and our dresses should be here within the hour, depending on the immigration lines, and Blake’s dad is arriving around the same time.” Danica slid beneath Blake’s arm, listening to her mother and Madeline talking about women they knew in high school and wondering why she felt like she was in an episode of As the World Turns.
The twins needed naps, and everyone was a bit harried from all of the excitement, so the group went their separate ways with a plan to meet in the lobby for a late lunch when the others arrived.
A gentle, warm breeze sifted through the large branches of the palm trees that shaded the porch where Danica and Blake relaxed on a wooden swing built for two.
“I love how the water is so clear. Isn’t it beautiful?” Danica rested her head on Blake’s shoulder, finally feeling like the confusion was beginning to settle down.
“Gorgeous,” Blake said. “What do you make of your mom and dad?”
Danica sat up. “It’s weird, isn’t it? I thought it was all in my head.”
“There was definitely something going on. I know men, and I think I know women pretty well, and I definitely smelled smoke.”
She groaned. “Me too. That’s all I need. Kaylie won’t even talk to my father, and she called Madeline the evil mistress.”
“Hm. Evil mistress. I like that.”
She punched his arm.
“Babe, I’m not sure what you think is going to happen over the next twenty-four hours, but you’ve gotta know that Kaylie may never come around, and that’s gotta be okay.”
He was right. She knew he was, but the last thing she wanted was for Kaylie’s wedding day to be even more stressful. She could deal with stress at her own wedding. Hell, she expected it. It was a wedding. But Kaylie had come so far, and now, with her turnaround with Lacy, she had such high hopes that Kaylie would step up to the plate and find some cordial ground with their father.
“Whatever Kaylie does is okay. This is her life.”
“Yeah, but it’s yours, too.” He kissed her forehead. “It’s ours.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kaylie’s voice carried outside to the veranda. “Max!”
Another swarm of activity brought Danica and Blake back into the lobby. Sally and Rusty, Sally’s teenage son, and Chase, Rusty’s half brother, stood beside Nancy and her daughter, Michelle, while they checked in at the front desk. Max, Chaz’s assistant, had her nose in her day planner. She looked up over her red eyeglasses and held up a finger to the woman behind the desk.
“It’s all under control. I’ve got the dresses. They were delivered earlier today, and Treat’s assistant has them safely put away. The bridesmaids gowns, too. The flowers—”
Danica cut Max short. “I’m sure you have it all under control.” She embraced Chaz’s assistant and sponsorship coordinator. In essence, Max kept Chaz organized and kept a constant stream of funding coming into the festival. Efficient and organized, Max was the perfect person to coordinate their wedding. “What’s up with your new title? Work wife?”
“Kaylie calls me that. She’s so weird.” Max laughed.
“I’m anything but weird. You take care of him at work, and I take care of him at home. It all works out.” Kaylie shrugged with a smile.
“See?” Max shook her head, and her long dark ponytail swung from side to side.
“How’re you holding up?” Sally was glowing. Her flawless fair skin and her new chic layered bob gave her tall, slim figure an even more regal appearance. The linen shorts and top she wore only added to her aura of refined beauty. Sally had been working at No Limitz, the youth center that Danica owned, for almost three years, and her calm demeanor never failed to soothe Danica.
“I’m good. Really. It’s been...a lot to deal with, with my parents and all, but we’re managing.” Danica embraced her, spotting Michelle, Rusty, and Chase looking out the enormous front windows. Michelle Parce had been Danica’s Little Sister in the Big Sister program during a time when her mother, Nancy, had been in rehab for alcohol abuse. Nancy had been sober for almost three years, and though Michelle was no longer in the Big Sister program, she and Danica were still close. Before graduation, both she and Sally’s son, Rusty, had also been working part-time at No Limitz.
“How was the trip? How’s the gang?” Danica nodded toward the excited teens.
Sally smiled. “Moody, happy, horny. You know, everything you’d expect from recent high school grads. It’s like they’ve been sprung from jail or something.”
“And you and Gage? Where is he?”
“He was talking to some guy we met on the airplane. He’ll be in soon.”
“And?” Danica bit her lower lip with a mischievous smile.
“And...happy, horny, moody. Everything you’d expect from a guy who’s too chicken to make a move on the girl who’s just as scared.” Sally turned and watched Gage come through the doors. “Here he comes.”
Gage’s eyes never left Sally. He also worked at No Limitz, and in recent months had increased his hours to full-time to manage their ever-growing sports programs.
“God, he’s gorgeous,” Sally whispered.
“Tell him, not me.” Danica turned her back so Gage couldn’t possibly hear what she had to say. “It’s been almost three years since Dave died. You’ve known Gage more than two. Isn’t it time to make a move?” Sally’s husband had died in a skiing accident shortly before Sally started working for Danica, and Sally had yet to go on a single date. Danica spun around just in time to be pulled into Gage’s strong arms.
“Hey, boss, how’s it going so far?” He stepped back and surveyed Danica. “You’re tan. That’s a sign of relaxation.”
“Not really,” Danica said under her breath.
“Hey, I was thinking, if you girls are going to do dress and wedding stuff, how about if Blake and I take the big kids out somewhere? No sense in them hanging out at the hotel.”
&n
bsp; Danica wrapped her arms around his middle. “You’re the best sports program manager ever! Can you check on Chaz, too? Room three ten. Oh, and don’t forget Jeff.” She hadn’t noticed Blake’s absence until just that second. She looked around and didn’t see him anywhere.
The elevator doors opened, and Blake and Chaz stepped out, each with an armful of groggy toddler.
“Chelle!” Lexi yelled as soon as she spotted Michelle.
Michelle ran over with her arms spread wide and an enormous smile on her lips. “Lexi Lady! How’s my girl?” Lexi climbed into her arms, and Trevor kicked himself free from Chaz’s grip.
“Wusty!” Trevor said as Rusty lifted him into his arms.
“What’s up Trevmeister?”
Trevor giggled.
“What’s the plan?” Kaylie asked.
Max shut her planner with a loud clap. “If you’re okay with it, and Chaz said you probably were, but if you’re not, it’s okay. I lined up a kids’ day for Trev and Lex, so we can do a final fitting with the hotel’s seamstress and go over the details. The rehearsal dinner is tonight at seven.”
Kaylie put her arm around Max’s shoulder. “Now you see why she’s the work wife? This woman rocks my world.”
“I’m gonna help Max get organized while you get the kids prepared for their big day,” Danica said to Kaylie.
“And we’ll get settled in,” Sally said, gathering the teens.
“Chaz, we’re going to go over wedding stuff, and Gage said you and Blake could hang with him and the teens. Is that okay?” Kaylie asked.
“Of course.”
“Everyone was meeting for lunch first. I just remembered.” Kaylie looked frantically at Danica.
“No worries,” Chaz said. “I’ll go let them know that you need to do wedding things. We’ll feed the kids with them, snag Jeff, and then we’ll take off.”
“My future husband to the rescue,” Kaylie said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Be back in time for the rehearsal dinner and, Chaz, thank you.”
Danica and Max inspected the bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses with Treat’s assistant, Scarlet, a pleasant, attractive woman with skin as dark as night and a sexy island accent.
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