by Cindy Kirk
She slipped the tiny card from the envelope.
Having you back in my life makes every day brighter.
Assuring herself, despite the sudden tightness in her throat, that the message wasn’t intimate, she read it aloud. When the women sighed, Fin resisted the urge to sigh right along with them. While the sentiment might not be in-your-face intimate, it spoke volumes . . . and had red flags popping up.
“My grandson has his soul mate back.”
More red flags.
“I’m ready for coffee.” Fin refocused. She had to admit the aroma was heavenly. But decaf? And chicory? She almost shuddered.
Steeling herself, Fin took a sip. Then another. “This is really good.”
“Told you,” Ami and Ruby said in unison, then both women laughed.
A light breeze ruffled Fin’s hair and a bird cawed in the distance. Any worries she’d had slipped from her shoulders to pool at her feet. She glanced at the pastry plate. “Are those bite-size kouign amann?”
“They’re part of our new party platter line.” Ami relaxed against the back of the comfortable patio chair. “Perfect for office parties or for individuals or families who like variety.”
“Spoken like a businesswoman.” Ruby nodded approval, her bony fingers wrapped around a dainty china cup.
Fin placed a tiny kouign amann on a floral plate. She took a bite, then closed her eyes as sugar, butter, and caramelized goodness came together in a delicious explosion of flavor.
“This is amazing,” Fin told her sister. “You can pop over anytime.”
“Actually, she came because I called.” Ruby smiled brightly.
Ami patted the woman’s hand. “I’m so glad you did.”
Fin cocked her head. She’d thought her sister had simply stopped over to see her, or maybe to visit Ruby. It appeared there was more to the unexpected visit than she first thought.
“If we’re going to pull off a March wedding, we need to start planning now.” Ruby bit into a tiny cherry Danish and munched happily.
Fin’s second bite of pastry stuck in her throat. To get it moving, she gulped coffee. “I don’t recall saying anything about March.”
“I spoke with Dan. Not only is the man gorgeous, on the phone his voice is like cream over whiskey.” Ruby’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “If he was fifty years older, I’d jump him. He could even quote Bible verses while we did the deed.”
“He, ah, he seems very nice,” Fin managed to utter, wondering if she was still in her bed and this was simply a nightmare. “What does Dan have to do with a March wedding?”
“All the Saturdays in May and June were already taken,” Ami informed her.
There was a definite smile lurking in Ami’s green depths.
Fin hated to ask the obvious, but it appeared necessary when neither woman elaborated. “Why does that matter?”
“I know my grandson. He’s waited ten long years for you, Delphinium. Jeremy won’t want to wait any longer than absolutely necessary to make you his wife. Plus, we needed to secure the church before moving ahead with other wedding plans.”
“What other wedding plans?” Fin wondered if ten a.m. was too early for a shot of whiskey. Forget the cream.
“The cake, photographer, musicians.” Excitement bubbled in her voice, and Ruby’s cheeks were now a healthy shade of pink.
Fin, who’d been about to shut down the discussion, swallowed. The last thing she wanted was Ruby depressed because her future granddaughter-in-law refused her wedding help. “You seem to have a good handle on all this.”
“What can I say?” The older woman gave a little laugh. “I haven’t been this excited since Sly and the Family Stone took the stage at Woodstock.”
That left only one question. Fin cocked her head. “You were at Woodstock?”
Fin changed into a white sundress with bold red poppies and heels of the same color, then arranged to meet Jeremy for a late lunch at Muddy Boots. The wedding plans discussed this morning reminded her of a large boulder perched at the edge of a precipice.
One little push would have it careening out of control. Still, she didn’t want Jeremy to upset his grandmother by refusing to play along.
She could see him doing it, not understanding the entire picture. Fin felt she had a good grasp on what was going on and how to best deal with the situation.
Though she knew Jeremy had to be busy, when she called he didn’t make her feel as if she was bothering him. He answered immediately, informed her he was in a meeting and would call her in ten minutes. Her phone rang in eight.
Despite being a Wednesday and past the lunch hour, the small café on Main Street buzzed with activity. Several tables held groups playing cards while a rectangular table near the back wall had been claimed by a Bible study group.
Fin chose a table without any neighbors, hoping for some privacy. Or at least as much privacy as one could hope for in a small town. While she waited, she picked up the menu and studied the selections.
“Hey, beautiful.” Jeremy brushed a kiss across her cheek and took the chair next to her. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“I just got here myself.” She placed the menu on the table. “Thanks for coming. And thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely. Gerbera daisies are my favorite.”
“I remember.” An emotion she couldn’t quite identify filled Jeremy’s blue eyes, then he blinked and it was gone. “You said there was something we needed to discuss. It sounded urgent.”
Fin was considering how best to explain what his grandmother had planned when the bell over the front door jingled, drawing her attention.
Eliza stepped inside and glanced around, looking stylish as always in a lace overlay dress, which Fin recognized as a Marc Jacobs. The color of lemon chiffon, it was the perfect foil for her dark hair, and the simple cut flattered her lithe figure.
When their eyes met, Fin smiled and lifted a hand in greeting.
Fin was glad she looked Eliza-ready. Jeans and a tee might be okay for Ruby and Ami, but meeting up with your fiancé’s former flame looking as if you just finished working in the garden would be a major faux pas.
“Is my grandmother okay? When you said—” Jeremy stopped when Eliza strode up. He started to rise, but she motioned him down.
“Eliza. What a pleasant surprise.” The smile he offered Eliza seemed especially warm. “Can you join us?”
“I stopped to pick up a to-go order, but I’m five minutes early.” Her gaze flicked to Fin.
“Please, sit.” Fin’s encouragement earned her a smile from Jeremy.
Eliza took a seat with an innate gracefulness Fin envied. “I’m happy I ran into both of you. I’d like to come out on Sunday. Getting the barn Christmas-ready for Mindy is going to take time. We need to get started.”
Fin shot Jeremy a questioning look. “I don’t think we have anything planned for that day?”
She cursed her insensitivity when the smile froze on Eliza’s face. Though the woman was a master at hiding her emotions, for an instant Fin saw pain spark in the smoky depths.
Darn it, Fin thought as sympathy surged. The we made it sound as if she and Jeremy were a real couple.
Jeremy didn’t appear to notice the faux pas. “I’m completely open. How ’bout I see if I can round up some additional help?”
“That’d be wonderful.” Eliza smiled, and her eyes locked with his.
Fin fought back a surge of jealousy, reminding herself that his friendship with Eliza wasn’t her business.
After arranging to meet at noon on Sunday, the three of them chatted easily for several minutes before Eliza rose to get her order.
Jeremy’s gaze followed his old friend out the door.
“Do you love her?” Fin forced out the words, grateful the delivery was casual, even nonchalant. Perhaps she was a better actress than she thought.
When he hesitated, breathing became difficult. Before Jeremy could respond, a middle-aged woman Fin didn’t recognize came to take thei
r order.
When the waitress left, Fin wasn’t sure what she’d even ordered. She waited until the woman returned with their drinks to press for an answer. “Do you love her?”
“As a friend.” Jeremy lifted the plastic tumbler and guzzled the tea as if he’d been working in the hot sun all day. “Our friendship goes way back.”
“Your mother always hoped you’d end up together.” Fin liked Cheryl Rakes well enough, but even back in high school had sensed a Bloom sister wouldn’t be his mother’s first choice for a daughter-in-law.
Fin paused when Jeremy only continued to stare at the doorway where Eliza had recently stood, then continued, “She had a rough time in middle school. Between braces and being super skinny . . .”
“Those were difficult years for her.” Jeremy’s fingers curved around the tumbler, but he didn’t lift the glass.
“It could have been so much worse. Everyone knew she was your friend.” And from kindergarten to graduation, Jeremy had been one of the cool kids. “That helped.”
“She’s a beauty, now.”
Fin ignored the stab of jealousy the words provoked. “By the time the ugly duckling morphed into a beautiful swan, you and I were together.”
“As I’ve said before, Eliza and I were never more than friends.” His fingers drummed against the table.
“I don’t sleep with my friends.” Fin gave him a thin smile. “I guess that’s the difference between you and me.”
He shot her a steely glance.
“Do you think you’d have ever proposed marriage to Eliza?” Fin took a sip of tea, resisting the urge to guzzle.
“No,” he said after an interminable silence. “The affection I feel for her isn’t romantic.”
“Yet you slept with her.”
“It was a mistake.” His blue eyes were thoughtful. “Or perhaps it wasn’t.”
Fin covered her sharp intake of breath with a cough.
“Sleeping with her made me aware I didn’t care for her in the same way she cared for me.” He twisted a spoon between his thumb and forefinger. Back and forth. Back and forth. “She told me it didn’t matter if her feelings were reciprocated, that sex for sex’s sake was okay. Afterwards, I realized she was lying. To herself. To me. If we continued being intimate, I would hurt her. I’d already hurt her.”
“You probably did her a favor.”
He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
The hope-filled look he shot her tugged at her. Jeremy had always had a kind heart. He’d always been a nice guy. Too nice. Fin would have kicked Eliza to the curb years ago after some of the stunts she’d pulled.
“It isn’t fair to lead someone on.” She held up a hand when he opened his mouth and she saw the protest forming on his lips. “I’m sure you didn’t intentionally do it, but you admitted she’s always hoped for more with you than just friendship.”
After a long moment, he gave a reluctant nod.
“Despite making it clear that you thought of her only as a friend, I’m sure she kept hoping.”
“You’re saying now she’ll quit hoping.”
“She’ll move on and hopefully find her prince.” Fin nearly groaned aloud when the word slipped past her lips.
A slow smile lifted Jeremy’s lips. “Prince?”
If Fin had been looking for a way to lift his spirits, she’d obviously scored with the ridiculous remark.
Fin waved a dismissive hand. “Just something my mother used to say.”
“Tell me more.”
Fin knew he would press and cajole until she did. “It’s not all that interesting. My mother used to say that when she met my dad, she found her prince. She wanted each of us girls to find our princes, too; the man who we would love and who would love us for eternity.”
Jeremy waited, as if sensing there was more.
“All my sisters have declared they’ve found their princes and will live happily ever after.” Fin chuckled. “Cue the violins and cherubs.”
She sighed.
Jeremy’s gaze searched hers. “Do you think their marriages won’t last?”
“It’s not that.” Fin’s tone turned pensive.
“Then why the sigh?”
“It’s just that not all marriages are hearts and flowers.” She gave a little laugh. “From what I’ve observed, it certainly isn’t that way in Tinseltown.”
“You found your prince.”
“Our relationship is only temporary,” she pointed out.
“I wasn’t talking about us.” Jeremy’s eyes never left hers. “I was referring to you and Xander.”
Before Fin could come up with a proper response, the waitress appeared and set a salad with shrimp in front of her and a hamburger steak with green beans and french fries before Jeremy.
The waitress cast Jeremy an inquiring look. “Ketchup?”
“Absolutely, and also some A-1 if you have it, Helen.”
“Coming right up, Mr. Mayor.” The woman shifted her gaze to Fin. “Anything I can get you, ma’am?”
Ma’am.
Though Fin inwardly cringed, she smiled. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
“Red meat isn’t good for you.” She found herself parroting what Xander had said to her the few times she’d ordered a burger.
Jeremy smiled as Helen returned with his ketchup and steak sauce.
“Everything in moderation.” Jeremy picked up a fry. “Now, tell me why you felt we needed to meet. Other than, of course, you missed me terribly and couldn’t wait to see me again.”
There was something about that slightly lopsided smile he gave her that made her feel all flustered and high schoolish. She didn’t much like the feeling. Xander never made her feel that way. “That will be the day.”
She watched his smile fade, saw his eyes turn cool as a stiff winter breeze over Green Bay. He picked up his phone, glanced at the time. “Tell me why you called.”
It was smart to keep distance between them, Fin told herself. Especially with them sleeping in the same room. Otherwise things might become . . . difficult.
“I want,” she lifted the glass of tea and took a leisurely sip, “to know if you’re okay with a March wedding. Your grandmother already booked the church.”
Jeremy held up a hand and visibly swallowed the chunk of meat he’d just popped into his mouth. “Back up the train and start at the beginning.”
“Your grandmother decided that we—meaning she, you, and I—couldn’t move forward with wedding plans without a date.”
Jeremy drowned a french fry in ketchup, said nothing.
Fin snatched a fry from his plate. Everything in moderation. “Ruby was distressed to learn the church had various events booked for every Saturday this spring. That’s when she decided March would be perfect.”
“March?” Jeremy’s blue eyes took on a slightly glazed appearance. “We usually still have snow on the ground.”
Fin lifted a shoulder, let it drop.
His eyes turned sharp and assessing. “You went along with this?”
“I didn’t know what to say.”
“Since when?” He must have seen her stiffen, because he waved a hand before she could reply. “Why not a later date?”
Fin glanced at her salad but didn’t pick up her fork, feeling strangely embarrassed to say the words. “Ruby insisted you wouldn’t want to wait that long to make me your wife.”
Instead of saying something sweet, which she absolutely didn’t expect, Jeremy dragged a hand through his hair.
“This is just great,” he muttered. “Once you return to LA, these plans will have to be undone. It would have been much simpler if you’d told her you wanted a big wedding. From what I hear those often take years to plan.”
“I’ll slow down the planning.” Fin leaned forward, lowered her voice. “What does it matter if the church is confirmed? It isn’t as if there are dozens of brides-to-be hoping for that Saturday in March.”
“Good point.”
“I could have given your g
randmother a date far into the future,” she admitted, “and it would have been difficult for her to argue. But you should have seen her face, Jeremy. She was so happy. To have insisted I wanted a wedding a year or two from now, well, it would have been cruel.”
Though not entirely accurate, it was the only word that came to mind. She stabbed a shrimp with her fork. “When she started talking about how March is a slow time for Good Hope merchants and our wedding would help them through the after-Christmas slump, what could I do but agree?”
Warmth returned to his blue eyes, and the approval she saw there had her world going steady again. “There wasn’t anything else you could do. You’re a good person, Fin.”
“You didn’t think so a few minutes ago.”
“You can be prickly.”
When she sputtered, he only chuckled.
“Enough about the wedding.” Fin set down her fork. “Let’s move on to more important matters, like why you vetoed Xander’s proposition.”
Jeremy didn’t appear surprised. It was almost as if he’d expected her to bring up the topic. “First, let me ask you a question. What comes to mind when you think of celebrating Christmas in Good Hope?”
Fin had a good idea where Jeremy was going with this and could easily skew her answer to support Xander’s position. She fought back the urge, determined to be honest.
“I’d have to say caroling in the town square on Christmas Eve.” Fin didn’t have to close her eyes to visualize the scene: the crisp night air, the heavy scent of pine, and fat flakes falling from a star-filled sky. “When Loretta Sharkey steps to the podium to lead us in song and a hush falls over the crowd, well, it just does something to my heart. I love holding the candles when we sing ‘Silent Night’ and seeing the colorful lights from shop windows reflect off the pristine white snow.”
“Beautiful.”
When she glanced at him, ready to agree, she found him staring. At her.
Trying not to blush, she stole another french fry from his plate. “What about you?”
“I think of the Twelve Nights celebrations. All those activities are what make Good Hope so special at holiday time.”
His light tone didn’t fool her. She saw the emotion in his eyes.