Hidden Gifts

by Elena Aitken

  Please enjoy an excerpt from Mistaken Gifts, the next in the Castle Mountain Lodge Series

  With one hand, Eva Andrews navigated the snowy mountain road that led to Castle Mountain Lodge, while she reached for her cell phone and hit the bluetooth button, answering the call. If Andi was with her, she would have lectured her about distracted driving, and yes, Eva knew she should probably focus on the road, but she never could ignore a ringing phone. It could be a client for their Party Hearty business, and making clients wait wasn't good business.

  But it wasn't a client's voice that came on the line.

  "Hey babe," Liam's confident and slightly cocky voice, boomed over the speaker system of the car. Eva tried not to roll her eyes at the nickname he'd given her, but a small smile tugged at her lips, too. They'd only been dating a little over a month, but as independent as she was, Eva had to admit, she liked the way he took charge of any situation, even if it was with a lame nickname. Sometimes a girl liked to feel taken care of.

  "Hey yourself," she said, her voice laced with flirtation. "It's about time you called me back. I still need an answer about next weekend."

  "Remind me again," he said. "What's next weekend?"

  Eva swallowed her sigh. "My friends are getting married, remember. Andi and Collin? I thought I'd mentioned it." She probably should have been more annoyed, but it was possible in all the planning she'd been doing for the big day, she'd forgotten to mention the fact that she wanted Liam to come up to the Lodge for the weekend and be her date.

  It was a big step, but she wasn’t getting any younger and he’d have to meet her friends sooner or later.

  "Oh yeah," he said, "you did mention it and you know I’d love to meet your friends, babe. But—"

  "But?" She shook her head, thankful he couldn't see her. Eva hated excuses. Everyone knew that. Liam knew that. "It better be a pretty important ‘but’ because it’s a pretty important wedding."

  Liam sighed, and started in on how busy he was and how he couldn't just sneak off for a weekend in the mountains whenever he wanted.. Eva tuned Liam's monologue out as she concentrated on the road. The heavy clouds that had been threatening to let go, finally had, and the snow was falling faster and heavier than she would've liked.

  "So," she said, interrupting him. "Can you come?"

  "Well that's the thing, babe." He paused and the silence was heavy. "I don't think my wife would like it if I skipped out for a whole weekend."

  The car swerved and Eva quickly righted it on the road. "Your wife?" she managed to choke out. She’d been expecting bad, but not a wife.

  "Yeah, Bridgette. I was going to mention her, but I guess I didn’t have the chance yet."

  Eva's mind flew through the conversations they'd had. There hadn't been many, and she did have a tendency to tune him out when he started rambling, but still, she would've remembered a detail like a wife. "You most certainly did not," she said.

  "It's no big deal, babe."

  "No big deal?" Eva clenched the steering wheel and tried desperately to control her anger so she wouldn't drive herself into the snowy ditch. "I'd say having a wife is a pretty big deal."

  "Are you mad?"

  "Mad?"

  "Yeah, are you mad? Because Bridgette doesn't mind. We have kind of an open—"

  "Are you mad?" Eva hollered into the car. "Are you freaking insane, Liam? How can your wife not mind that you’re dating me."

  "It’s not really dating though, is it? I mean, I thought we were just screw—"

  "Don’t say it," Eva said through clenched teeth. "Do not say one more word."

  He was at least smart enough to listen to that piece of advice and silence filled the car, pressing down on Eva until she spoke through clenched teeth, "Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?"

  "You told me not—"

  "Forget it," Eva said, and pushed the button on her cell phone ending the call. "You’re not worth it anyway," she said to the empty car.

  None of them were. When it came to the men she dated, If it wasn’t one thing, it was something else. She probably wouldn’t know a decent guy if he walked right up to her and handed her a rose. But a wife? That was a new one. Eva hit the steering wheel with the palm of her hand causing the car to swerve on the ice.

  "Dammit," she muttered, and returned her focus to the road. There was no point dwelling on whatever it had been with Liam, it wasn’t serious anyway. But the road conditions were. She clenched her fingers tighter on the wheel and concentrated on making it up the mountain to the Lodge without driving into the ditch. Andi sounded beyond stressed last time they’d spoken and Eva was pretty sure it would put her best friend over the edge if anything happened to delay her arrival.

  "You’re here!" Andi flew across the foyer and wrapped her arms around Eva before she had a chance to shake the snow off her coat. "What took you so long? I’ve been expecting you for hours."

  Eva wiggled out of her best friend’s grasp and took a step back. Andi radiated and her smile was contagious.

  "I don’t know if you noticed," Eva said with a gesture in the direction of the window. "But there’s a blizzard out there."

  Andi waved her hand in dismissal. "It’s just a few flakes. It’s January in the middle of the mountains, what did you expect?"

  "Just once, I’d like to come up here in decent weather. Why is it that you’re always having some party emergency in the middle of winter?"

  Andi shrugged and took Eva’s arm in hers. "Come on," she said. "Carmen will have your bags taken up to your room." They walked through the large timber framed lobby, and down a hall that led to the banquet room. "I keep telling you to come and visit in the summertime," Andi said. "If you think it’s beautiful with the snow, you should see it with the wildflowers blooming, and the sun sparkling on the pond. It’s beyond magical."

  Eva stopped short and stared at her friend and business partner that she knew better than anyone. "Are you feeling okay? Because I know it’s pretty here and all, but it wasn’t that long ago when I never would have heard such crazy things come out of your mouth."

  "I know, I know. But ever since—"

  "Colin. I know," Eva said good naturedly. "You’re in love and that makes the world look brighter. And I’m happy for you." Andi raised an eyebrow and Eva quickly added, "I am." She squeezed Andi’s arm. "I really am," she said again, this time looking in her friend’s eyes.

  After a moment, Andi wrapped her arm around Eva’s shoulders and they resumed walking down the hallway toward the banquet room. "I know you are," she said. "And soon you’ll know exactly how I’m feeling. I have a good feeling that this new guy. Liam, is it?" Andi glanced up, but without waiting for an answer she kept talking. "I have a feeling that Liam might just be the guy that can handle you and finally make you settle down. Everything you’ve told me about him, he sounds like—"

  "He’s an ass."

  "Okay," Andi drew the word out and shot Eva a look that she didn’t miss. "Should I ask?"

  "It’s probably better if you don’t." Eva shook her head and stepped into the banquet room. "I’m done with men." Eva could feel Andi’s eyes watching her as she wandered over to a table and fingered the centrepiece. "We’ll have to change these," Eva said. "They’re far too Christmasey for a January wedding. If we go with a winter forest theme, they won’t be—"

  "You’re not even going to tell me why?" Andi appeared at her side and took Eva’s hand away from the poinsettias. "The centerpieces are fine," she said gently. "Now tell me. What’s really going on?"

  Eva looked at her friend, and the kindness in her eyes. She missed their girl talk; sitting in the Party Hearty office dishing on the various boys she’d dated and why they would never do. Andi was always a good listener and Eva knew how easy it would be to spill everything. She longed to tell Andi that she was so envious of her loving relationship that it hurt. That she too wanted to settle down and find a man who was more than just a fling. A man who would complement her instead of stifle her, a
man who would encourage her independence but make her feel safe and taken care of at the same time. A man, who…it isn’t matter. Eva wouldn’t say anything. Not with Andi’s wedding looming. Besides, things hadn’t been the same since Andi met Colin. Her friend was desperately in love with the man who showed her how magical the holidays could be, and fell in love with her in the process. Which was great. It really was, but at the same time, her friend was no longer capable of seeing how truly desperate the dating situation was for the average woman. Well, at least how desperate it was for her.

  Eva shook her head and forced a smile she hoped Andi wouldn’t see as fake. "There’s nothing to talk about. I’m just so overwhelmed with ideas for your big day. And given the fact that you didn’t really give me much notice, I don’t have time for any distractions." She pulled her oversized portfolio from her tote bag and flipped it open. "See here?"

  Eva pointed to a photo of white flowers, pinecones, a dust of what looked like snow, and twigs artfully arranged. The effect, although rustic, was beautiful and absolutely perfect for a wedding at the Lodge. Andi squealed, just the way Eva knew she would. She snatched the portfolio out of Eva’s hands and dropped into the chair where she began flipping pages and exclaiming over all the details Eva had thrown together in the past few days.

  "You’ve thought of everything," Andi said when she looked up after a moment. "I can’t believe you did this all in only a few days."

  Eva shrugged and flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder. "It’s not a big deal. After all, it’s what I do. What we do," she added pointedly.

  "I know, I know," Andi said. "I’ve been kind of absent lately, but that will change after the wedding. I promise. It’ll be your turn to have a little vacation. You deserve it. Especially with all this."

  Eva brushed off the comment. She didn’t need to take time off. Besides, Andi and Colin would probably want a honeymoon and she had her work to keep her busy. It’s not like she was about to run off to a hot beach with some equally hot guy.

  She shifted from foot to foot as she glanced around the room. She was starting to feel the familiar itch to get started with the planning prep. The banquet room was still decorated for the Christmas season that had barely wrapped up. It would take a sold day to strip it down and start getting it dressed for a wedding. And that was only if she had competent people working for her. She was about to ask Andi how many people she’d have from the Lodge staff to help her when Andi grabbed a piece of paper from the portfolio and held it up.

  "This is perfect," she exclaimed. "Vows by the pond?"

  Eva silently cursed herself. She hadn’t been sure her ideas for the ceremony would work out and she didn’t want Andi to get excited about something that might not pan out. "Well, as long as it’s not too cold or a blizzard or something," Eva said. "Maybe we can have a back up plan, too. We don’t want your guests to freeze."

  "No," Andi said. She gazed at the photo and said, "It’ll be perfect. It’s such a small wedding and it’s kind of where our first date was."

  "I remember. Ice skating," Eva said and added quickly. "Don’t worry, I won’t make you say ‘I do’ with skates on."

  Andi laughed, but her smile faded quickly and was replaced with immediate tears.

  "Andi, are you crying?" Eva knelt so she was face to face with her. "I told you, I’d never make you skate in a wedding dress, I was just—"

  "No." Andi waved her hand in a weak attempt to dry her tears. "It’s not that. Sorry, I’ve just been so emotional lately with everything going on. I swear I’m bursting into tears all the time. It’s ridiculous." She wiped her face with a tissue Eva handed her. "Thank you."

  "Of course."

  "No, I mean for everything. For all of this. I didn’t plan on having the ceremony so soon, but when Colin proposed…and then being here again for the holidays, it just felt right, you know?"

  Eva nodded even though she most certainly didn’t know.

  "I just don’t want to wait anymore. What’s the point, right?"

  What was the point indeed, Eva thought. If she had someone who loved her the way Colin loved Andi, she herself might be inclined to break her self assigned rule of never getting married. The idea had tempted her more than once lately, not that she’d admit it to anyone, but there was no point even entertaining the thought when she hadn’t met anyone worth the effort in years. Not when all she’d had to choose from were men like Liam.

  "I just had an idea." Andi sat up straight. "You’d probably really like Colin’s friend, Troy. He’s a successful businessman, something to do with paint, I don’t know. But I do know he’s cute and more importantly, he’s single."

  "I don’t need a date."

  "Sure you do," Andi said. "You can’t fool me."

  Eva froze for a second before grabbing the portfolio away from Andi. She flipped through the pages so she wouldn’t have to look up and into her friend’s eyes. Andi knew her too well, and the last thing she needed to worry about was Eva’s love life. Especially if Andi knew that she’d actually like to have a love life. It was better if everyone, including herself, kept to the original plan of staying single and care free.

  "Come on, Andi." Eva forced a lightness into her voice. "You know me. I don’t do serious relationships. I’m more of a casual kind of girl. That’s the way I like it." She flinched inwardly at the lie that was becoming hard to keep, especially from herself. "Now, can we get back to work? Do you have any other ideas for the ceremony because we should start nailing down the details."

  There was silence for a minute and when Eva allowed herself to look up at Andi’s face, she could see the uncertainty there. Thankfully Andi didn’t push. Instead she said, "I did have one idea that I think would work really well. Especially if we have the ceremony at the pond."

  Eva flipped to a clean page and poised her pen over the page waiting to take note.

  "What if I arrived on horse back?" Andi asked.

  "Arrived where?"

  "The ceremony of course."

  "You?" Eva said. "You want to ride a horse in your dress? A stinky barn animal? In a gown? And here I was worried about you on skates."

  Andi pushed back from the table and stood, pulling Eva up as well. "It’ll be perfect. And seriously romantic. I’m sure there’s a white horse in the stables." Andi got that look on her face and Eva knew she was already picturing herself on the horse. "You’re going to need to talk to Jeff,"

  "Jeff?"

  "He’s the stable manager. You can work out the details with him."

  "Horse details?"

  "Yes, silly. Are you feeling okay? You look a little stunned."

  Eva shook her head, stunned didn’t begin to describe it. "Andi, I don’t know. I’m not really the best person to deal with that. I don’t do horses."

  That was an understatement. Just the thought of a smelly stable was enough to wrinkle her nose, let alone the idea of getting near one of the huge beasts. She’d only been on a horse once and that was enough. She’d been twelve, and at summer camp. Of course that story was far from a happy ending, unless you call a broken arm and a life long distrust of sitting on any four legged creature, a happy ending. Horses were pretty enough to look at, as long as she didn’t have to go anywhere near one.

  "Please," Andi pleaded. "I know you don’t love horses. But I really think it would be great and I just don’t have the time to deal with the details. My dad and the boys are arriving in the morning and I need to keep them far away from my mom. I’ll have my hands full just with family drama, I really need you."

  "What about your dad’s wife?"

  "Roxanne?" Andi rolled her eyes and quickly added a sweet smile. "Oh, she’ll be coming later. She said she couldn’t bare to be in the mountains one day longer than she needed to be."

  Eva gave her a conspiratorial grin and as they both knew she would, she nodded. "I’ll take care of it," Eva said. Of course she’d do it. But it didn’t matter what Andi said, best friend or not, she wasn’t getting anywhere
near an actual horse.

  Read the rest of Mistaken Gifts Now!

  Residing in the Alberta Foothills with her husband and twins, Elena escapes to the mountains as often as possible and can often be found sitting by the lake plotting her next story.

  Besides her fiction projects, Elena has been published in multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, as well as the Seal Press anthology, How to Put a Car Seat on a Camel- and other misadventures traveling with children.

  To learn more about Elena Aitken and her other books, please visit www.elenaaitken.com

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  Thank You

  Writing a book can at times be a lonely experience that one occasion can totally consume me at the expense of everything else. I am grateful to have so many amazing people in my life that make it possible to do what I love everyday and who understand when I start talking about my fictional characters as if they were real people.

  But in truth, I could absolutely not be living my dream if it wasn’t for one group…the women who read my books. Every time I receive an email, a Facebook message, Tweet or even a comment in person from someone who read my book, my heart soars. To hear that you identified with a character, you laughed, you cried or even got angry with one of the characters, means that I’ve done my job.

  Thank you for your emails, for sharing your own personal stories with me, and for letting me into your world. Your support makes it possible for me to live my love and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

  A huge shout out to Steena Holmes who worked so hard with me on the cover for this book and tolerated all my little detail changes. Also, for being my sounding board in this crazy business. I’m so thankful for our friendship.