by Sara Daniel
“Marry me?” Penelope squeaked.
Olivia’s hand jerked. Her wine glass slipped through her fingers and crashed on its side. The shimmery golden liquid trickled across the table and dripped on the floor between her seat and Ethan’s. She was paralyzed; she couldn’t move to clean the mess, or even more imperative, to stop the train wreck that was smashing into her heart. The man she loved had proposed to another woman.
She knew Caleb didn’t love Penelope. He was trying to save his career and his childhood dream. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. Olivia couldn’t fix what was wrong in his life. In fact, he saw her as part of the problem. Now she could only watch while another woman took her place at his side. Someone else would get to play the role in making his dreams come true. Hers never would.
Chapter 20
Penelope looked at her glass of wine, half gone. She couldn’t possibly be drunk on only half a glass. But if she wasn’t drunk, why was she hallucinating a marriage proposal from Caleb?
He squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. The squeeze felt real and his gaze was serious. “I’m not suggesting we elope. A long engagement where we get to know each other, solidify our friendship and bond with Liam is appropriate. It may seem premature, but I want my intentions known from the start. You’re too important for me to lose.”
“Forever is what you’re worried about losing,” Ethan scoffed.
Caleb’s gaze didn’t waver from hers. “Yes, it will be a Forever marriage. We’ll make it work perfectly. Will you marry me, Penelope?”
She pulled her hand free. She needed to think. This wasn’t a hallucination. This was real.
She’d just received a genuine marriage proposal from a handsome, wealthy, successful, famous man. The answer should be obvious. Yes.
Whom she barely knew and didn’t love. The answer should be obvious. No.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I’ll tell you what to say,” Ethan said loudly enough to turn heads at nearby tables. “No. You don’t love him. You can’t marry him.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” She stood up. She didn’t know the way to the ladies room, but she knew which door they’d come in. She had to get away. She had to think without Caleb pressuring her from one side and Ethan from the other. Olivia sure wasn’t helping. She was staring at her like she’d sprouted horns and a forked tongue.
Penelope stepped outside and gulped in the damp, chilly air. Traffic whizzed down the street, slopping slush around. Horns blared. She missed the quiet of the frigid February nights at home. Or was it March now? She couldn’t remember and it hardly mattered. She had a marriage proposal to respond to.
“How can you even think about marrying him?” Ethan appeared directly in front of her, hands on his hips.
She backed up against the brick building. “I haven’t thought about it. No one’s given me a chance to.”
“You want to think about something, think about this.” His lips slammed into hers. She had no chance to avoid him. His tongue swept in, taking over, claiming all her secret recesses as his own.
Her head fell back and would have scraped the bricks behind her, but his hand was there. He held her upright. She was captive to his sensual onslaught. Powerless. A more sophisticated woman would have held her own and given back exactly what he threw at her. That woman would have grounded herself, so she wasn’t swept away by the tides of emotion and sensation.
But she was just Penelope, rarely kissed and never with this much fervor. She had no power and no will to stop him.
Ethan pulled back abruptly, his chest heaving. “How could you even thinking about marrying another man when our kisses alone are hot enough to burn this little dress right off you?”
She hadn’t thought about any other man, or her dress for that matter, while his mouth was covering hers.
“Admit it, Penelope; I make you feel things you’ve never felt before.”
She couldn’t deny the terrifying truth.
“You belong with me.”
That’s where he was wrong. He was so far out of her league. His kisses did send her up in flames. Yet she was still so timid she couldn’t work up the nerve to kiss him. Caleb didn’t make her lose her grip on reality and herself. She didn’t stutter to a stop when his hand brushed her arm. She could bask in her new sophisticated, successful image with Caleb. Around Ethan she’d always feel geeky. She never had a hope of measuring up.
“Get out of my way. I’m going to marry Caleb and you can’t stop me.” She brushed by Ethan into the restaurant.
He didn’t try to stop her. And she had no rational reason for wishing he would.
Caleb pushed back his chair but didn’t stand. Penelope wanted time to think and he was happy to honor that request. But Ethan had followed her outside and Ethan could ruin everything.
Caleb looked toward the door, but Olivia’s head blocked his view. Since she’d made the awful toast, he’d tried not to look at her. Now he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.
“So you want to be my brother-in-law?” she asked. Her gaze was glued to his left shoulder. He probably had a stain or wrinkle or some other domestic imperfection she was contemplating cleaning.
He absolutely did not want to be her brother-in-law. Subjecting himself to Sunday dinners in her home would be torture. Whatever family interaction Penelope intended to have with her sister after their marriage would be too much and too little at the same time. For Liam and Forever, he had no choice but to endure it. “You were the furthest thing from my mind when I proposed to your sister.” That wasn’t exactly true, but it was where his priorities should have been.
“I know you don’t love Penelope,” Olivia said. “Do you care about her?”
“Of course. She’s going to be my best friend.”
“I don’t care what she’s going to be. I want to know right now. Do you care? Would you jump in front of a subway train for her?”
“That’s ridiculous. You’d think twice — ”
“Ethan wouldn’t.” Her blue eyes glittered as she stared him down. “He’d put her life before his own. He threw away a safe, comfortable career to take a chance on the potential he sees in her. Which brings me to another point. You’re not going to be jealous of your wife’s accomplishments, are you? Her success will make you a stay-at-home dad by default. After all, you have to raise your kids the right way so they don’t grow up with your emotional issues.”
He’d proposed to give Liam the stability of Forever, although the backlash from his employees had rushed his timing. The idea of having more children with Penelope, although logical, held no appeal. “I’m sorry for the things I said about Austin. He’s a great kid. No emotional problems. I look forward to spending time with him as my nephew and I’ll spend plenty of time with Liam. But I can’t take time off from Forever for something I can pay a babysitter to do.”
“You have the perfect theory to bring happiness to children everywhere and you don’t plan to properly indoctrinate your own children. I think your noble goals are nothing more than a smoke screen to make money.”
He’d opened himself up, bared his childhood scars and told her about his mother. And was rewarded with derision and cutting judgment. The bottom had fallen out of Olivia’s love, just like he’d known it would. “My goals always put children first. For that reason, I asked your sister to marry me.”
Olivia flinched. He nearly apologized, but Penelope reentered the restaurant and headed to their table. He rose to his feet. Dread filled his stomach. If he was putting children first, why hadn’t he proposed to Liam’s first choice for a mother?
Penelope held out her hand in a perfunctory handshake. “I’ve decided to accept your proposal. Thank you, Caleb.”
He shook her hand, but his gaze followed Olivia. She picked up her purse and walked away without looking at either of them.
Penelope picked up her wine glass and downed it. Then she picked up Ethan’s glass and polished it off as well. “Is there mo
re in the bottle?” she asked, already reaching for it as she lurched into her seat.
“Not nearly enough.” Caleb split the contents between their two glasses and flagged down a waiter for more.
Austin was back in school, the leaky toilet was replaced, the downstairs renovation was underway, guests were making reservations for the summer, and The Forever Marriage was little more than a joke for the pundits. The best-case scenario from when she’d first seen Dr. Paden standing at her front door had come true.
Her parents were not only backing her plans for the renovations but insisting Grandma would have wanted the house filled with children rather than guests. Her dreams were coming true. And Olivia was miserable. Each day she hoped the next would be when her heart began to mend and she wouldn’t hurt so much.
“Mr. and Mrs. Schneider, welcome to The Scot’s Mansion.” She worked up a smile for her newest guests, a couple in their sixties.
“Call us Margaret and Ralph, please,” the woman said.
Ralph. Even the innocuous name reminded her of Caleb and the stepfather he’d despised. “I’m Olivia. If you have any problems or questions throughout your stay, please bring them to me. I have scones and tea in the sitting room whenever you’re settled and would like to check them out.”
“Scones?” Ralph asked.
“Yes.” She steeled herself for another guest who scorned her baking. Before Caleb, scones had been the one area where she knew she was making Grandma MacDermont proud. Now she was considering buying bags of Oreos and calling them her signature food.
“Ralph adores scones,” Margaret said. “His mother was from Scotland. He’s spent years trying to duplicate her recipes.”
Olivia relaxed into her innkeeper role. Life went on, familiar and with some normal patches, even with a broken heart. “I use my grandmother’s recipe. As you probably guessed from the name of the inn, she was Scottish, as well.”
“Then we need to sit and talk about Scotland,” Ralph said. “Have you had the opportunity to visit?”
“We’re going to be here for a week. There’s plenty of time to talk over scones after we unpack the car,” Margaret said.
“I’ve been there twice,” Olivia told him. “So we’ll have plenty to talk about when you’re ready.”
“Excellent.” Ralph beamed at her.
“It’s so charming out here,” Margaret said, turning to the door. “I’m glad Ethan recommended this place to us.”
“Ethan?” Ralph she could write off as a coincidence, but Ethan too? Olivia looked closely at Margaret. Short dark hair, blue-green eyes, petite heavy-set stature. Her mind could draw a resemblance, but in truth she just as closely resembled a half dozen other men she knew.
“My son. He stayed here a couple weeks ago and spoke highly of the food and accommodations.”
“Your son?” Her throat closed off. Margaret was Caleb’s mother too. And now Olivia was meeting them as guests of her inn and as her sister’s future in-laws. “Caleb would be your son, as well.”
“Yes.” She managed to look proud as well as sad. “He was here too, I gather.”
“Yes.” Don’t think about it. It’s over. “My sister Penelope is away on business, but she’s planning to return tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll be very interested in meeting her future in-laws.”
Margaret grasped her arm. “Ethan’s going to marry her? Oh, I’m so glad. He hadn’t told me, but I just knew she was the girl for him. He’s head-over-heels for her.”
“No, no, Mrs. Schneider. You misunderstood.” Olivia should have kept her big mouth shut. This was not a normal innkeeper conversation by any stretch of the imagination. Talking about the engagement was not helping her get over it.
She looked crestfallen. “But you said — ”
“Caleb asked Penelope to marry him. Excuse me, I need to make sure your room has enough towels.” She left her dumbfounded guests and ran down the hall before they could see her tears fall.
“Penelope, I was so hoping we’d meet in person.”
Penelope closed the front door to the inn with her foot and set her duffle bag on the floor so she could shake the outstretched hand of the petite, chubby woman. A pile of yarn lay on the chair by the window. “Have we met?”
“Not in person. We spoke over the phone. I’m Margaret Schneider, Ethan’s mom. Did you jump him?”
A nervous laugh sputtered out of her mouth before she clamped her lips closed. “No.”
“Why not? Don’t you care about him?”
“Well, yes, of course I do. But — ” Drat, where was Olivia to help her out of this situation? She or Ethan should have warned her his mother was a guest here. Both had to have known. She’d spoken to Ethan just an hour ago on her new cell phone, but she was on her own now. “Ethan and I are going into business together. I have no intention of jeopardizing our success by jumping him.”
“No, of course not.” The woman nodded wisely. “Do you love him?”
“Mrs. Schneider, I think you’ve made a mistake.” Hadn’t Ethan told her? Caleb should have let his mother know he was engaged. Well, she hadn’t quite gotten around to telling her parents yet, so she couldn’t get too angry with him. But if she’d thought Caleb might run into her parents, she would have let them know ahead of time. Probably. “I’m engaged to Caleb, not Ethan.”
“Caleb?” Margaret reached for Penelope’s left hand. “No ring.”
“We haven’t had time to pick one out yet. We’ve both been busy with our careers.” The day after Caleb had proposed, some sort of breach of contract had ended Caleb’s segment on The Brighid Show. Ethan had somehow managed to fill the timeslot with a plug for Penelope’s Pleasures. The upshot was Caleb had never found a replacement venue to announce their engagement to the world.
Margaret continued to hold Penelope’s hand. The beautiful red manicure from the party two weeks ago was chipped and broken. Her cuticles were dry and cracked again. The ball was over for this Cinderella. “Do you love him?”
“Who?” Penelope stalled, hoping Olivia would arrive with her impeccable timing and diplomacy.
“My son, of course.”
Penelope heard the censure in her voice. What mother wanted to hear her son was engaged to a woman who didn’t love him? “Yes. I love your son.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Which one?”
“Ethan.” The name spilled out before she realized her mistake. She pulled her hand free and covered her mouth as she turned away. She was the world’s biggest fool. She’d meant to lie and say “Caleb.” Instead, she’d revealed the truth to herself. She was in love with Ethan.
What a stupid, stupid thing to do. She depended on him for the success of her business. Already, she could barely control her physical attraction. And now she was handing him her heart.
When he grew tired of the novelty of her, she would lose everything. Financially and career wise, she’d be no worse off than before she met him. Even socially, no one would notice a change since she didn’t get out before. But deep inside her heart where she’d never been touched, she would be crushed.
“You’re in love with my son, Ethan,” Margaret repeated. “But you’re marrying my son, Caleb.”
She nodded miserably. “You must hate me.” She hated herself right now.
Margaret put her arm around Penelope’s shoulders. “How could I hate you when my boys think you are so wonderful they both picked you?”
She expected this woman to be furious. Instead, she was nice. Penelope wanted to lock herself in the basement and never come out.
“I married men I didn’t love while I was in love with someone else,” Margaret said. “It didn’t last. Fact is I had a hard enough time making marriage last with the man I did love. Took three times tying the knot with him before it stayed tied. If you go into marriage loving someone else, you’re dooming the relationship for both of you, not to mention missing out on the chance to live a lasting, loving relationship with the person you do love.”
Penelope p
ulled out of her embrace. “Ethan’s not interested in me that way.”
“Is that exactly what Ethan told you? I’d ask him point-blank about his interest before I threw it all away.”
Penelope gulped. Her future mother-in-law had a good point. Her perfumes weren’t the only thing that took priority in her life. She deserved the best. What Caleb offered wasn’t it. She’d tasted the best in Ethan’s kisses.
Caleb was at the one place on earth he wished he could be anywhere but. Even listening to the jokes about his theories on national TV was preferable to returning to The Scot’s Mansion. But Penelope needed to talk and insisted it happen in “her world.” Really, he thought she just needed proof he was a good enough friend he would fly to Galena to lend support at a moment’s notice.
He needed this marriage to work, so he was willing to jump through hoops for her. But he’d made reservations at the chain motel on the other side of town. Olivia would not change his sheets, handle his towels, or sleep just a couple rooms away. He would be far removed from any temptation.
He left Liam at Maude’s house and then entered The Scot’s Mansion through the front door without knocking. Penelope had told him to come straight to the basement, and he intended to do just that. With a little savvy and a lot of luck, he could come and go without coming face-to-face with Olivia. He closed the door quietly so he didn’t alert her of his presence.
As he walked through the foyer, he heard her voice in the kitchen. She was laughing.
The happy sound swept through him, stabbing pain in his chest. She said she loved him. She should be wallowing in misery over him. Yet she was laughing.
He, who definitely did not love her, felt such an agonizing emptiness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed. Quite possibly, he hadn’t since he’d exchanged snowballs with Olivia and Austin on the sled hill.
“Wouldn’t an electric mixer make this whole process easier?” a man’s voice that Caleb didn’t recognize boomed out of the kitchen.