She tutted. “The town thinks you’re putting down roots in Pineville. But you and I know better. It would be too sad if diner girl was shown to be a liar.” Leaning forward, she stabbed a finger on the table. “I’m keeping tabs on you, Luke Hamilton,” she taunted. “And don’t you forget it.”
He eyed Laurie over the rim of his water glass and took a swallow. This went beyond the Glanz app. She wasn’t just tracking his movements. How the hell did she know he’d been searching the internet for the Caty Cowgirl doll? Info about the catering gig she could have picked up from local gossip. The same for his living arrangements. Laurie could have guessed he wouldn’t leave his restaurant and that his and Allison’s “relationship” was a lie. But that didn’t explain the damn doll.
“Are you spying on me?”
She shrugged and didn’t give him an answer.
Until he figured it out, she held the reins. Turning off Glanz and getting out of Dodge wasn’t going to cut it anymore, even if he’d wanted to leave—which he didn’t. Besides trying to get in as much Allison time as possible, he couldn’t leave her to face the music of their lie alone. And he’d promised to help her with Sadie’s wedding. There was no way he’d leave her high and dry now.
He gave a small nod, acid burning a hole in his gut. “How much do you want?”
* * * *
“Check,” Allison said, putting words to action and scribbling a mark next to an item on Sadie’s list. She scanned farther down. “Check and check.” The list was nearly completely checked off, and a surge of satisfaction swept through her. Everything for her friend’s wedding was coming together nicely.
Except her friend didn’t think so.
“We’ll never get this all done in time,” Sadie wailed. Her normally neat honey-blond hair was escaping her low ponytail in frizzy clumps, and as long as Allison had known Sadie, she’d never seen her frizzy. The skin beneath her friend’s eyes looked bruised, and she was chewing on her bottom lip so fiercely it looked like she’d broken the skin a couple of times. In other words, Sadie was a smoking hot mess of nerves.
She and Allison were sitting at Sadie’s dining room table, a wedding planning binder open before them. Six loose pieces of paper, each covered top to bottom with lists, surrounded the binder like a frame. It was the night of the annual Pineville tree lighting, and Allison and Luke had come over to Sadie’s and Colt’s house for dinner before going to the ceremony together. Luke had opted to help Colt repair some shingles on the roof instead of sticking around wedding central in the dining room.
Allison couldn’t blame him. The stress rolling off of Sadie was making Allison’s stomach churn. “Everything is coming together.” Allison rubbed Sadie’s hand. “You need to relax.”
“Relax!” Sadie eyed her, eyes wide, crazed. “The seating chart is a mess. Colt’s father and his aunt have to be at opposite ends of the room, but they both want to be sitting at the head table. The florist now says she can’t get freesias for the altar bouquets. Twenty people still haven’t RSVPed. The church doesn’t want—”
“Stop!”
Sadie and Allison jumped. Colt had snuck in behind them on silent feet. Luke stood in the doorway, hands in pockets, looking uncomfortable.
Colt strode to the table and started shoving the loose papers into a messy pile. He pulled it on top of the binder, snapped it shut, and tossed it onto a side chair. “Sadie, you have to stop this. You’re hardly sleeping, and you’re sick to your stomach. You barely even paid attention to how I decorated our tree.”
Allison leaned back in her seat, and looked through to the tree in the living room. Colt had done a surprisingly good job. Sadie had trained him well.
He leaned down and looked Sadie in the eye. “You promised that, at least for tonight, you’d relax. It’s the tree-lighting ceremony, the anniversary of when we got engaged. No more wedding stuff tonight.”
“It was just a little planning,” Sadie said.
Colt growled.
Sadie’s shoulders slumped. “Fine.”
“Good.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Now let’s get dinner on the table for our friends.”
They walked toward the kitchen, Colt slowly sliding his hands down from her shoulders. When Allison realized where they were heading, she quickly averted her gaze to give her friends some privacy.
Luke pulled out a chair and sat beside her. “It seems like marriage is hell on a relationship.”
“A wedding, not marriage.” She bent toward the side chair, shuffled the loose papers into a neat pile, and replaced them in the binder. “And once Colt sees how great this wedding is, he’ll realize it was worth it.”
Luke raised his eyebrows, looking skeptical.
“Did Colt get the roof fixed?” she asked.
Luke nodded. “I helped.”
This time it was Allison’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Did you hand him the nails?”
“Hey!” He turned her chair and scooted forward so his legs bracketed her thighs. “It was an equal partnership up there.”
“Says the man who’d never sawed down a tree. I don’t exactly see you on the roof of Le Cygne patching leaks.” Then, because she’d said it, she did visualize Luke on the roof, tool belt slung low on his hips, tank top plastered to his chest. She licked her lips.
“I can swing a hammer, Allison.” He looked so insulted that Allison felt bad. And she shouldn’t be skeptical. She knew how good he was with his hands.
“You’re right, hot shot. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” She pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I might even ask you to fix the leak in my roof.”
He smiled smugly. “Already on it. Colt is having the materials that I’ll need delivered to your house next week.”
She swallowed. She’d been joking about having Luke up on her roof. “Uh, is Colt sending himself along with the materials to lend a hand?”
“It’s a small leak.” He narrowed his eyes. “It’s a one-man job.”
“Yeah… Does that one man have to be you?”
Gripping the arms of her chair, Luke dragged her closer. “You don’t trust me. I knew it.” He grumbled something under his breath, and Allison bit back a smile. He sounded as irritated as a bear woken early from hibernation.
Allison felt the need to poke the bear a couple more times. She patted his shoulder. “It’s just that Colt is experienced in things like that—construction, repairs, you know, useful things. Now if I need a soufflé for dessert, you’ll be my first call.”
His shoulder turned to stone beneath her hand. “I can be useful! I’ll have you know that I’ve put together bookcases, and can change your oil, and… Why are you smiling?”
Laughter spilled from her lips. “Your buttons are so easy to push.”
The edges of his mouth twitched, but the rest of his face was a stern mask. “Brat. When we get home, there will be consequences. I’m not the only one with buttons to push.”
“Luke?” Her heart squeezed uncomfortably. Hearing him call her house “home” messed with her head. It sounded right. But it was a leaky old house in Pineville. It would never be Luke Hamilton’s home.
“Yeah, baby?” He clasped her neck, brushing his thumb over her jaw.
“Shut up and kiss me.”
He smiled, and all her bad thoughts disappeared. “Now that I have had plenty of experience with.”
His kiss was sweet, and reassuring. The tip of his tongue touched hers, and she melted. She felt everything in that one press of lips: affection, friendship, comfort, and desire. In her world, all of that added up to love. But what did it mean to Luke?
She drew back and wiped the traces of lipstick from his mouth. She should just ask him what he was feeling. But with the lawsuit and his ex stalking him, would she be adding one more headache?
She was saved from the decision.
“Hey, you two. Non
e of that.” Colt inched his way to the table, his arms stacked with platters and bowls. A pot roast tilted precariously, and Allison jumped up to take the plate from off his elbow. A waiter he was not.
Luke grabbed a bowl of salad. “Anything I can help with?”
Sadie walked in, four wineglasses held upside down by their stems in one hand, a bottle of shiraz in the other. “Sit, sit. With all that the two of you are doing for our wedding, the least we can do is feed you.” She righted the glasses on the table, pulled a bottle opener from her back pocket, and twisted it into the cork. “Besides, with the new kitchen Colt built for me, I love cooking for guests.”
Colt carefully leaned over the table, sliding the remaining dishes onto the oak surface with a clatter. Straightening, he wiped his hands on his slacks. “It did turn out nice. We just have the upstairs bedrooms left to remodel, and then our house will be done.”
“Finally,” Sadie added, taking a seat next to Colt. “We were hoping to remodel my grandmother’s place in just a couple of months. But when a house came on the market a couple of miles away that we wanted to flip, we put our personal project on the back burner. Then another house and another. And with the wedding planning, well, we’ll be lucky if we get the house done before our first child gets here.”
Colt snapped his head up from the salad bowl, one of the tongs slipping from his hand and clattering to the table.
Sadie picked it up, put it back in his hand. “I’m not pregnant. Just speaking of a speculative future child.”
Luke buttered a piece of bread. “Well, the downstairs looks fantastic. And you have such a great backyard.” He forked up some meat and put it on Allison’s plate, followed by a heaping scoop of mashed potatoes. Satisfied she was well stocked, he filled up his own dish. “I like my condo, but it’s pretty damn cramped. Having this much space is nice.” After brunch at her parents’ house, Luke had decided to also come clean with her friends about who he was. Sadie had been too busy giggling at the stories from Le Cygne’s kitchen to hold a grudge about the fake surname he’d given her.
Allison watched Luke through dinner, the ease with which he chatted with her friends, the way he laughed. His laugh was a no-holds-barred rumble that started in his stomach and erupted like a geyser, almost childlike in its lack of inhibition. His joy was contagious, and the meal flew by. The party moved to the kitchen, where she and Luke insisted on doing the dishes. Colt lifted Sadie to sit on the quartz countertop to chat with Allison while he cleared the table.
With the dishwasher running and the counters wiped down, it was time to leave for the tree-lighting ceremony. Allison began the laborious process of putting on three layers of outerwear.
“Jeez, Allison. I know it’s December in Michigan, but you look like you’re preparing for the next ice age.” Sadie belted her pea coat and pulled on a slim pair of gloves.
“Someone wanted to drive his motorcycle, and now I have to wrap up till I’m the size of the abominable snowman.” Riding behind Luke on his bike was thrilling, something Allison refused to admit to him. But with a light dusting of snow falling, the ride had been cold enough to make a polar bear climb back inside his den and pull a blanket over his head. Thank God Luke had insisted on wrapping her up like a mummy.
Luke pulled his fleece-lined hat down over his ears and grinned. “Admit it. You love my bike.”
She deliberately turned toward Sadie and Colt. “We’ll see you there. If I don’t freeze into a Popsicle on the way.”
“We’ll have the hot chocolate waiting,” Sadie said.
Allison followed Luke out to the black-and-chrome Harley, that, okay, she did kind of love. She loved it even more that he’d bought another helmet, one for her so Luke could wear his old one. Hers was hot pink and had speakers in it with Bluetooth. She tried not to get her hopes up over what such a fancy helmet could mean.
Parking was crowded, but Luke slipped the motorcycle in between two cars parallel parked next to the town square. Cutting the engine, he pulled his helmet off, attached it to his bike and reached for hers.
“This is quite the crowd,” he said. “I didn’t think this many people even lived in Pineville.”
“The ceremony’s a big deal. Everyone comes out.” She shoved two of her jackets into the saddlebag on the side of the motorcycle. “And not just from Pineville; from the surrounding towns, too. And as you can see, it’s not just a tree lighting. There are booths selling everything from hot chocolate to ornaments.” She tucked her arm into his and led him into the crowd. “Now, we got here kind of late so we’re going to have to elbow our way to a good spot.”
“You’re one of those types of women, huh?” He smiled down at her.
“I was going to offer to push my way to the beverage booth to get you a cup of coffee. But if you’re going to be insulting about it…”
Putting a hand to his chest, he sighed deeply. “My humblest apologies. Push away.”
They met Sadie and Colt at the booth, and with hot beverages in hand, the two couples strolled toward the dark tree. A small stage had been set up in front of it, and the mayor stood below, chatting with his neighbors.
Shep waddled up to Sadie, his hair bunched under a red-and-green Christmas sweater. His legs were covered in knit leg warmers that attached to little nylon booties.
Sadie leaned down and scratched the mutt’s head. “Hi, Shep.”
After getting his share of love from Sadie and Colt, the dog wandered over to smell the latest addition to Pineville.
“Hey, buddy.” Luke gave him a good chest rub. “I like your shoes.”
“They’re new.” Eugenie Shaw toddled over with Deborah Garcia at her side. “The knit booties Debbie made for him got ruined too easily.”
Deborah nodded. “I’ll have to sew soles onto the next pair I make.”
“Hello, ladies,” Luke greeted them with a dimpled smile. “How are my two favorite tech whizzes doing on such a beautiful evening?”
“Just fine, Luke.” Deborah patted her hair. “Aside from the fact that we’re standing here instead of at our rightful place on stage.” She huffed out a sigh. “But there’s always next year.”
Eugenie folded the flap of her mitten down, exposing fingerless gloves. She pulled a mint out of her coat pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. “At least Billy and Jerry Jones listened to our ideas on how to decorate the tree. They didn’t ignore our suggestions like you two did last year.”
Colt scowled, but Sadie put a hand on his arm and smiled. “I’m sure it will look just beautiful.”
Allison leaned into Luke and whispered in his ear. “Miss Eugenie and Mrs. Garcia used to decorate the tree every year until last year, when Sadie and Colt did it. They aren’t happy with being replaced.”
Luke nodded, looked like he was about to say something, then shut his mouth. Smart man. Any questions about why they were no longer allowed to decorate the tree or about being replaced by Colt and Sadie would not be met with appreciation by the Tree Twins. No matter that the trees they decorated had a nasty habit of turning into life-threatening disasters, the older women felt that they’d been robbed of their rightful duties and didn’t hesitate to let that fact be known.
Of course, knowing Luke, he could probably convince the Tree Twins to permanently retire from the job and start a business selling dog outerwear in Chicago. He just had that way about him.
The mayor and Judge Nichols climbed the steps to the stage and made brief speeches. A young girl in a green velvet dress and a knit cap covering her bald head was carried on stage by her father. She scanned the crowd with her impossibly big brown eyes, and she wrapped her arms more tightly around her dad’s neck.
“And now, to light up our fabulous tree, is Carly Jenkins, with an assist from her father.” The judge walked up to the pair and whispered something in the little girl’s ear, making her giggle. He pointed at a small
metallic box, and Carly leaned off her father’s hip and flipped a switch.
Nothing happened.
Carly wiggled the switch, then shrugged her shoulders. Two men raced around the stage, the sounds of scuffling and raised voices carrying back to the crowd. “Got it!” someone yelled. “Try again.”
Carly blew out a martyred sigh, drawing a laugh from the audience. Her small fingers tripped the switch again, and this time, a blaze of lights erupted on the twenty-foot blue spruce behind the stage. There was a moment of silence as people soaked in the sight; then speakers on the stage blared “O Christmas Tree.” Everyone in the front rows covered their ears and winced. The two men from the back of the stage sprinted out front to fiddle with the sound system, finally getting the music to a tolerable level.
Deborah shook her head. “It’s a good thing we didn’t tell them to coordinate the lights with the music. Billy and Jerry couldn’t work a mixer to save Rudolph’s life.”
“Well, the tree looks great,” Luke said. “Pineville couldn’t have asked for a better team: you and Eugenie supervising and the men doing the grunt work.”
Mrs. Garcia flapped her hand at Luke and dipped her chin beneath her scarf. Miss Eugenie rolled onto the toes of her orthopedics. And Allison rolled her eyes. Luke was just a natural-born flirt. The man couldn’t help himself.
“I was hoping to talk with you ladies some more about my, uh, problem,” Luke said. “Maybe next time you’re in The Pantry I can buy you both a cup of coffee and piece of pie?”
Miss Eugenie tugged at her cloche. “Does this have to do with your hussy?”
It was hard to tell by the dim glow of the Christmas tree lights, but it looked as though a flush tinged his cheeks. Allison didn’t know he had it in him to get embarrassed, much less by two old ladies. She tucked her hand between his side and his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder. He really was a sweetheart.
“Er, yes.” He looked at Colt and Sadie. “Sort of a cyber-stalking thing I’ve got going on with an ex-girlfriend. Debbie and Eugenie are helping me out.”
Mrs. Garcia stepped forward and patted Luke on the cheek. “You’re a good boy. Of course we’ll help. But right now we’d better go have a talk with Billy and Jerry, see what went wrong with the sound.” She wound her red scarf around her neck, making one more loop. Her head looked like the cherry on top of a soft-serve ice cream. “Let’s go, Genie.”
The Christmas Wedding Swap Page 19