Violet's Valentine (Love in Holiday Junction #1)

by Tami Franklin

  Kade's shoulders fell and he slumped off toward home.

  “That poor boy,” Mandy murmured, shaking her head.

  “Must be tough,” Anne said. “And Vi has no idea?”

  “Not a clue,” Lou replied. “The girl is all stars-in-the-eyes about Liam.”

  “Well, I think he's a good choice,” Anne said, walking away from the window. “They seem perfect for each other.”

  “You have to be kidding!” Mandy faced her, folding her arms. “Kade is a much better choice. Anyone with eyes could see that.”

  “Well, Vi doesn't see it,” Anne retorted, eyes flashing behind her glasses. “That boy is deep in the Friend Zone.”

  “Which is where all good relationships start,” Mandy said stubbornly. “He just needs to get up the courage to tell her how he feels about her.”

  “Lou, what do you think?” she asked.

  Lou took a sip of coffee, considering. “I'm not sure,” she admitted.

  “What? You have to see that Kade is the one.”

  “No, Liam is the one,” Anne corrected.

  “It's not up to us to decide who's the one,” Lou said, holding up a hand. “That's up to Vi. We made sure she had time with both of them. But what they do with that time is up to them.”

  “But she can't make that decision if she doesn't have all the information,” Mandy pointed out.

  Anne snorted. “What information?”

  Mandy rolled her eyes. “That Kade is in love with her, of course.”

  Lou noticed Anne didn't argue the point. It was obvious to all of them that Kade loved Vi, even if Vi had no clue. It had been obvious to Lou even when they were both kids. It only took seeing them together for her to realize that those feelings hadn't gone anywhere.

  If anything, they were stronger than ever.

  “I have to say, I think Mandy's right,” Lou said slowly. “Violet should know how Kade feels about her.”

  Mandy arched a brow. “Are you going to tell her?”

  “Me? No!” Lou laughed. “But a little push in the right direction wouldn't hurt.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Anne asked, fiddling with the end of her ponytail.

  “I'm not sure yet,” Lou mused. “But I'll come up with something.” She straightened, set her coffee cup on a table, and reached for her coat. “Until then, brunch?”

  The ladies smiled. “Brunch.”

  “So, do you know what exactly we're supposed to be picking up today?” Liam asked as he signaled to get on the freeway.

  Vi had been surreptitiously studying his profile, so his question took her a bit by surprise. “What?”

  He glanced at her with a lopsided grin. “I asked what we're going to pick up today.”

  “Oh! Oh, right.” Vi fumbled in her purse, her cheeks flaming.

  “Mom gave me a list,” she said. “The smoke machine, of course. And some 3D hearts and garland—” She pressed her lips together. “Paper lanterns.”

  She could feel Liam jolt. “Really?”

  Vi laughed. “No, not really. They ordered them online. I'm messing with you,” she said. “What was all that about anyway?”

  “I just think twinkle lights are better.” He shrugged a shoulder, but his ears started to turn red.

  “Mmm hmm . . .” Vi didn't buy it. “Are you mad at Kade about something?”

  “Mad?” He shook his head, his lips turned down. “No. Of course not.” He shot her a look. “He just gets on my nerves sometimes.”

  Vi snorted out a laugh. “He gets on everyone's nerves sometimes.”

  “Not yours.” His voice was sharp, his eyes focused on the road ahead.

  “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.” He sighed heavily. “Sorry. It's just that you and Kade have always—”

  When he didn't finish, she asked, “Always what?”

  Liam's jaw tightened, and she saw him visibly try to relax. “You've always been . . . close.”

  “Yeah?” She gathered her hair up, then let it go. “We're friends. We've been friends since we were little kids. You know that.”

  He glanced at her. “You're sure that's all it is?”

  “What?” Vi gaped at him, and Liam flushed. Did he really think—that she—and Kade?

  “You can't be serious,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm. “Kade is my friend. Yes, he's one of my best friends, but that's all.” Vi wasn't sure how to feel about the conversation. She felt bad that Liam apparently was threatened by her friendship with Kade, and she wanted to reassure him. But at the same time, she had to admit she was a bit annoyed by his comments. She drew her hand back and tucked it under her leg.

  “He is important to me, though,” she said. “And if we—if there's going to be anything between you and me? You're going to have to be okay with that.”

  “I am,” he said quickly, darting a worried look her way. “I just—I don't know how to say this without sounding like a jerk.” He huffed out a humorless laugh.

  She touched his arm again. “Go ahead and say it.”

  He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “The thing is, I like you.” He glanced at her again, his face pink. “But I don't want to pursue anything if you're not a hundred percent on board.”

  Vi's stomach swooped and she could feel her own cheeks heating. “I like you, too,” she said quietly.

  “Yeah?” He grinned.

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “But we've only been on one date,” she said. “It's still pretty early to be saying anything is a hundred percent.”

  “I get that,” Liam replied, looking over his shoulder to change lanes. “But does that mean you are interested in a second date?” He sounded a little tentative, unsure.

  “Of course,” Vi said with a laugh. “That's kind of the point of the whole I like you thing.”

  Liam's smile grew dazzling, and Vi had to fight to keep from sighing out loud.

  “In that case, would you like to go to the Sweetheart Ball with me?” he asked.

  “I'd love to,” Vi replied brightly.

  “Great!” He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze before putting his back on the steering wheel. “Hey, you know what I was thinking about this morning?”

  “What?”

  “Remember junior year when we were counselors at fifth grade camp?” he asked.

  “Camp Balto!” She threw her head back and laughed. “We had so much fun!”

  “We were such bad role models.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Remember the snake?”

  “Oh!” Vi slapped his arm. “I couldn't believe you did that.”

  “Eh, it was a harmless garter snake.”

  “The girls in my cabin didn't know that! Oi, with the screaming!” She threw her hands up.

  He smirked. “I was just trying to get you outside so I could sneak a kiss.”

  “You were?” She laughed. “Well, it worked. None of the girls would go back into the cabin until the snake was gone.”

  “Unfortunately, they wouldn't leave your side, either,” he said. “So my brilliant plan backfired.”

  “Serves you right,” she said, giggling. “It took more than an hour for Kade to catch that snake.”

  Liam stiffened slightly. “Kade got it?”

  “Yeah, he heard the screams and came running. He didn't even take time to put on shoes, so he was limping the whole way. He said . . .” She trailed off when she noticed Liam's frown and cleared her throat. “Anyway, he grabbed it and the girls went back to bed, but they'd squealed at every little creak because they thought the snake was back. So—”

  “Well,” Liam swallowed. “Sorry about that.”

  Vi chewed on her lip, feeling the tension, but not wanting to address it directly.

  “Remember the junior prom?” she asked instead. “With that horrible band?”

  His smile returned, slowly. “They were really bad.”

  They chatted about old times for the rest of the drive, and the tension see
med to have lifted, but Violet still felt a little uneasy about what Liam had said. He obviously had some issues with Kade, and Vi wasn't sure exactly what to do about that. Liam was a great guy, and she wanted to keep seeing him. But Kade was—

  Kade was family. And she didn't think she could date someone who couldn't accept that.

  Liam winked at her and took her hand, holding it gently. She smiled in return, hiding the turmoil in her thoughts.

  She wasn't sure how to reassure Liam that Kade was no threat. That she had absolutely no interest in him, romantically-speaking.

  Because she didn't. No way. The thought was ludicrous.

  Her mind drifted to the night they spent on the porch swing, talking. She loved Kade, of course. He was important to her. She trusted him and enjoyed spending time with him.

  But anything more?

  That afternoon in the choir room at school flashed before her eyes. They’d been goofing around, dancing like lunatics, but then he’d pulled her close, and as she’d looked into his warm brown eyes, a shiver raced down her spine. She was trapped, couldn’t move . . . and for one brief moment she thought—

  But then the moment had passed, and she was sure she’d imagined it.

  Vi shifted and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

  No. Kade thought of her as a friend. Anything else was absolutely ridiculous.

  Kade stood, thumbing at his phone, as he waited for Vi outside the rehearsal hall on Monday afternoon. He wasn't really doing anything but didn't feel like talking to anyone. He'd succeeded in avoiding Vi for the rest of the weekend. After the encounter at her house with Liam, he didn't even know how to talk to her.

  He sighed and paced down the hall and back again, running a hand through his hair. What had he been thinking? He'd gone to see her Saturday morning to tell her—what? That he thought he was growing feelings about her? He felt like an idiot.

  “Get it together, Rivera,” he muttered, flopping back to lean against the concrete wall.

  He and Vi were headed over to the venue for the Sweetheart Ball to look it over and check out the area where they'd set up for the D.J. He wasn't sure exactly why that was necessary, but Lou had been insistent, saying she really wanted to make sure everything was organized and ready to go for Saturday night. Kade had never been able to say no to Lou, so he'd agreed.

  And now . . . well, now he was wishing he'd pretended to have a cold. Or the flu.

  Or the plague.

  His eyes drifted over to a butcher paper sign taped to the wall advertising Valentine flower sales. Someone had painted a rather realistic-looking Cupid pointing an arrow, with a speech bubble that read, $1/flower, what a deal! Show your Valentine how you feel!

  “Yeah, easier said than done,” Kade muttered. He sauntered over to the sign, looking into the Cupid's wide, blue eyes. “What are you looking at?”

  “Hi, Mr. Rivera!”

  Kade whirled around to find a girl with a thick black ponytail, wide brown eyes, and braces smiling up at him.

  “Oh.” He adjusted his bag, hitching it higher up onto his shoulder. “Hi, Lindsey. How's it going?”

  “Good!” Her eyes flicked up to the sign and back. “You going to buy some flowers for your girlfriend?”

  “Me?” He stepped away from the sign like it was going to bite him. “No! I mean I don't—”

  “—because I'm on the committee and I could get you a deal, if you want,” Lindsey said with an exaggerated wink.

  His brow crinkled. “Wait a second. Isn't it a fundraiser for the debate team?”

  She shrugged. “Eh, a couple bucks won't matter. Not like we're going to Regionals this year anyway.”

  Kade managed not to laugh. “Well, thanks for the offer, but no. I'm not buying flowers for anyone.”

  “Really?” She tilted her head at him. “Because I'd think Ms. Chalmers would love it.”

  “Ms. Chalmers?”

  Lindsey nodded. “She's your girlfriend, right?”

  “No!” He could feel his face heating. “She's—We're just friends.”

  “Oh.” Lindsey looked genuinely surprised. “Everyone thought—”

  At that moment, the door opened and students poured out of the rehearsal hall, chatting loudly and laughing. Vi took up the rear, smiling at one of her students, who was telling her something with a flail of limbs. She spotted Kade and her smile grew.

  His heart seemed to thud to a stop.

  Vi waved goodbye to her students and walked over to him, slipping on her coat. She was wearing a bright pink sweater that made her skin glow rosy, and her hair was swept up haphazardly, a few blonde strands twisting around her face.

  She was . . . absolutely beautiful.

  “Hi, sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. “Rehearsal went a little long.”

  Butterflies took flight in Kade's stomach and he swallowed thickly. “No problem,” he said, a little choked.

  “You okay?” She glanced at the girl next to him. “Hi, Lindsey.”

  “Hi, Ms. Chalmers.” Lindsey, curse her, was watching him with wisdom in her narrowed eyes that far exceeded her years.

  Kade cleared his throat. “I'm fine. You ready to go?”

  “Yep.” She gave her scarf a tug and turned to leave. “Bye, Lindsey.”

  “Bye, Ms. Chalmers.” The girl arched a brow and sing-songed, “Bye, Mr. Rivera.”

  “Lindsey.” He nodded gruffly. Could he fail a student for being exceedingly annoying? Kade was going to check the rule book on that one.

  They got into his car and headed toward the venue. Kade tried to act as normally as possible, and it seemed to work, because Vi chatted away about various things—rehearsal, her mom, the kids in her class.

  Then, her chatter stopped abruptly, jolting Kade from his thoughts and he looked over to find her studying him closely.

  “What?” he asked.

  “What's wrong with you?”

  “Me? Nothing!”

  She shifted in her seat, turning sideways and tucking one leg under her. “I just said my junior choir climbed the walls and screeched like monkeys,” she said wryly. “You're lost in your own little world. What's up?”

  Okay, so obviously, he wasn't doing as good a job of acting normal as he'd hoped.

  “Nothing,” he said, turning around a corner. “I was just lost in thought for a minute.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “About what?”

  “Nothing I want to talk about,” he snapped.

  “Sorry!” She immediately stiffened, changing position to look out the side window.

  And Kade felt like the biggest jerk. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped, then took a deep breath. “Sorry,” he said.

  Vi shrugged. “It's okay.”

  “No, it's not. I just—” He scrubbed at his face. “I'm dealing with some things and I'm not ready to talk about them. To anybody.” He watched Vi carefully, hoping that would satisfy her.

  She seemed to loosen up a little, her lips lifting a bit. “Okay,” she said. “But you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  Not this.

  “Of course.”

  “I'm on your side. Always.” She reached out and squeezed his arm, the touch sending electricity racing through him.

  This was bad. So bad.

  “I know.” He forced a smile.

  “I mean, even if it's—you know—women troubles—”

  He choked. “What?”

  “I'm just saying!” She gestured toward herself with a flourish. “Woman, here. I can probably lend some expertise.”

  “Okay—It's not—” Kade reached for the door handle with shaking hands. “I'll keep that in mind,” he said finally. “Can we go in now?”

  Vi shrugged and got out of the car.

  The Beavers Lodge on the south end of town was a large, square structure made of concrete and brick. The Fraternal Order of Beavers had long since vacated Holiday Junction—Kade didn't think it existed anywhere anymore—but the building was
often used for town functions, since it was the only place with enough space. The town paid to maintain it, and about five years ago did a renovation to bring it into the twenty-first century. Kade unlocked the door with the key Lou had given him and held it for Vi to enter.

  The lodge consisted of three meeting rooms at the front of the building, an office that was rarely manned, but contained a desk and phone anyway. And in the back, a spacious ballroom with hardwood floors, sparkling antique chandeliers that had been scavenged when the old McKinley house was demolished, and a wall of floor to ceiling windows looking out over a grassy meadow and the mountain range beyond.

  “Wow,” Vi breathed, walking into the ballroom and spinning in a circle. “It looks so different. I remember paneling. Lots and lots of paneling.”

  “Yeah, they remodeled it a few years ago,” he replied.

  “Mom told me, but I didn't realize—” She approached the windows. “I can't believe they hid this view for so many years.”

  Kade took in a deep breath and went to stand next to her. “I know. I guess the Beavers were more concerned about keeping their secret rituals secret.”

  She side-eyed him. “The Beavers had a lot of secret rituals, did they?”

  “Rumor has it,” he said, nodding sagely.

  Vi turned to face him, crossing her arms. “What kind of rituals?”

  “Well, if I told you, they wouldn't be secret, would they?”

  Vi laughed, and he smiled. He loved the sound of her laugh. His heartbeat sped up as he watched her. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he could tell her about his feelings.

  Maybe she would understand.

  She stepped away and surveyed the room. “I guess we should figure out where to put the D.J.”

  “Right.” He shook his head and joined her, pointing at the wall to the right. “Your mom said the refreshments will be over there—tables scattered on this side of the room, with dancing over here.” He pointed to the left.

  She nodded, tapping a finger on her lips. “So, what do you think? Right in the middle, or one of the corners?”

  “Nobody puts David in a corner,” he quipped.

  Vi laughed. “Bad movie impression aside, I think you're right,” she replied. “I get the impression David's a bit of a diva.”