The Christmas Wedding Swap

by Allyson Charles

  “And I want to find the judge.” Pulling a pale pink lipstick from her bag, Miss Eugenie dabbed color on her lips. “He said he’d buy me some chestnuts.”

  The two women drifted away, but Mrs. Garcia’s loud tones could still be heard. “Are you having a date tonight? For the tree-lighting ceremony? This is supposed to be our night.”

  Miss Eugenie’s response was swallowed by the crowd.

  Shep waddled after the two women.

  Allison, Colt, and Sadie turned as one to stare at Luke.

  Luke shoved his hands in his pockets. “What?”

  “‘You’re a good boy’?” Derision dripped from Colt’s voice. “What the hell, man? How did you wrap the Tree Twins around your finger?”

  Luke lifted his nose. “I’m just a likeable person.”

  Allison snorted. “‘Good boy.’” She shook her head. “You scammed them. I’m not sure how you did it, but you did it.”

  “I don’t scam.” Luke’s eyes narrowed. “I listen to people. Try to understand them.”

  Allison rolled her eyes.

  Luke pressed his nose to hers. “Hey, I got you to like me.”

  She patted his chest. “Yes, well, I certainly hope you didn’t use the same technique on the Tree Twins that you did on me.”

  Sadie wrinkled her nose and said, “Eww,” at the same time Colt started coughing.

  Luke cupped Allison’s elbow, tugging her away. “It sounds like I have to refresh my technique, so if you two will excuse us.” Without waiting for a response, he dragged Allison through the crowd.

  “Where are we going?” Each word plumed in the air before Allison’s mouth.

  “Somewhere I can show you just how likeable I can be.” He was single-minded, determined.

  Until he strode past a booth selling fudge.

  “Hi, Tammy,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and drawing out his wallet. “This all looks great.” He swept a hand at the platters, where hunks of the multicolored fudge were wrapped in clear wrap. He poked a finger at a piece of creamy green fudge dotted with chunks of chocolate. “I’ll take one of those.”

  Allison wrapped her arms around her body. Luke had only been in Pineville for about a month, yet he was already on a first-name basis with half the town. When he went back to Chicago, he was going to leave a bigger hole than just the one in her heart. Did he even realize the impact he had on people?

  Luke chatted with the president of the PTA for a couple minutes longer, wrapped an arm around Allison’s waist, and they strolled off. He unwrapped a corner of the fudge and pulled off a wedge, holding it to her lips. She took the bite. The mint fudge was creamy and light, the sweetness cut by the chunks of bittersweet chocolate. “That’s good stuff.”

  Luke popped a piece in his mouth. “So good. I haven’t had homemade fudge since… I can’t remember when.”

  “You’ve led a deprived life in Chicago.” She opened wide for another bite. “Now, why do you need to talk to Debbie and Eugenie again? Something else happen?”

  Luke led her to an empty bench at the end of the town square. He pulled her down next to him and they stared at the lit tree across the square. He tugged her tighter against him, until his warmth seeped through her layers and heated her side. “At my dinner with Laurie—”

  “You said she agreed to keep quiet about where you are.” She tried to pull away so she could turn and look at him, but Luke tightened his grip around her waist.

  “She did—for a price.” Luke tilted his head and rested it against hers.

  “How much?” Allison whispered, her stomach sinking to the bench.

  “Fifty thousand. I told her I had to think about it. She was kind enough to give me a week.” His words were forced out through gritted teeth. “I wanted to make her sweat, wonder if she’ll get her money. But who am I kidding? I have to pay her.”

  The back of Allison’s throat burned. There was an easy solution to his problem. She couldn’t believe she was stupid enough to voice it. “You could leave. Disable her tracking app and continue your road trip so the process server can’t find you.”

  “I’m not going to do that.”

  Allison crossed her legs, and turned her body into Luke’s. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “I don’t want to go yet.” Luke placed his hand on her knee, and stroked her leg. The friction provided some much-needed warmth. “Besides, she’s keeping track of me and not just through that stupid app. At this point, I don’t think it matters where I go. She’ll be able to find me.”

  Allison’s hands tingled, and joy burbled up through her chest, making her breathless. She shouldn’t be so happy that he was forced to spend more time in Pineville.

  But she was.

  Luke placed another bite of fudge at her lips, and she absently opened her mouth. They sat there in silence, watching the party around them but not feeling it themselves. Pineville had acted like a bubble, insulating them from outside troubles. But the real world was doing its best to pop through it.

  And intrude it did, in the form of Allison’s mother and her sister Cam.

  “Allison! I was hoping we’d run into you.” Her mother opened her arms, and Allison stood and leaned in for a hug.

  “Hi, Mom. Cam,” Allison said. “I didn’t know you guys were coming to the ceremony, especially since Clarion’s tree lighting was last night,” she added pointedly.

  “And we went to that one with the kids,” Cam said. With a sly look at Luke, she said, “And now we’re at this one. We had to see which town’s tree was better.” Cam opened her eyes wide, the picture of innocence.

  Luke rose to stand beside Allison. He pecked the cheeks of her mother and sister. “And which tree won?”

  “Well, Pineville over Clarion this year.” Her mother cocked her head. “But I don’t think this year’s tree is quite as pretty as Sadie’s tree last year.” She wrapped her arm around Allison’s. “I’d like to get some coffee. Come with me?”

  “I’ll get you a cup, Janet,” Luke said. “You want one too, Cam?”

  “Please.”

  “Be right back.” He whispered his lips over Allison’s brow, and he strode off. The denim of his jeans clung snuggly to his firm butt, pulling tight and relaxing with each step. Allison licked her bottom lip.

  Her mother gave her a knowing smile. “You’ve got it bad, sweetie.”

  “Well, she’s living with the man,” Cam said. “I would hope so.”

  Allison frowned. “I’ve got nothing bad.” The denial was automatic, a protective measure to ensure no one would know how much she was going to hurt when Luke left. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be crazy about the man. That he wasn’t supposed to leave. She rubbed her forehead. “I mean, yes, of course, I care for him.” Allison’s mind searched for a change of topic. “So what do you think Sam will have? A boy or a girl?”

  Cam waved her hand dismissively. “We’ll know in a couple months. What we don’t know is how serious this thing is with Luke. You’re living together. Have you guys talked about marriage?”

  “We thought we’d enjoy living with each other for a while first, see how things go.” She looked over at the beverage booth and saw Luke laugh at something the teenage boy selling the coffee said. Her heart pinched at the edges. She wanted so badly for what she was saying to be the truth. “But, of course, marriage is the next logical step.”

  Her mother frowned. “Logic? Since when did you start making sensible relationship choices?”

  “I can think logically, Mom.” Allison’s shoulders drew up to her ears.

  “No, Cam’s my logical one. Samantha’s driven.” Her mother pulled Allison’s ponytail off her back, ran it down over one shoulder. “You, my darling, are my free-spirited child.”

  The muscles in Allison’s back relaxed. That hadn’t sounded like a
n insult or like something her mother wished would change. Her mother’s voice made it sound like it was a trait she appreciated. The thought warmed Allison right up, even if it wasn’t exactly true.

  “Most free spirits don’t spend sixteen hours a day running a successful business,” Allison said. “You might think I just play around in the kitchen, but The Pantry takes a lot of organization and business sense to run. I’m good at that stuff. I enjoy it.”

  Her mother sighed. “Free spirits can be successful, too. You always get so defensive about your restaurant. It may not be my type of food, but I’ve always been proud of the job you do.” She sat down on the bench, pulling Allison down beside her. “You never cared that your father and I didn’t like the diner; you just did your own thing. The same can be said for your love life. But, sweetie, your dad and I just want you to be happy, however you get there.”

  Cam plopped down on Allison’s other side. “She’s got a hot man tucked up in her house.” Cam bobbed her head in Luke’s direction. “Of course she’s happy.”

  The three women watched as Luke threaded his way through the crowd, three steaming paper cups held in a triangle formation between his hands. He stopped to talk to different people along the way, but his eyes kept coming back to Allison.

  Her mother nodded. “He is yummy.”

  “Mom!”

  Her mother pinched her lips together. “I may be older than you, and happily married, but I’m not dead.”

  Allison and Cam locked gazes, gave identical shivers. Allison really didn’t need to know that her mom lusted after her boyfriend.

  “Now, I know I’m just your mother and haven’t dated since the Dark Ages, but I have some advice I want to give you.”

  Allison swallowed, nodded slowly. Please don’t let it be sexual advice. Ever since “the talk” at age thirteen, Allison had lived in fear of having such discussions with her mom.

  “Luke seems like a fine young man, and I’d hate to see him get hurt.” She patted Allison’s hand. “I know you’re a kind person, so if you have any doubts about your relationship, I suggest you air them now. Don’t lead him on.”

  Allison couldn’t have been more shocked if her mom had said she’d been abducted by aliens. “Luke get hurt?” Everyone should know just by looking at the two of them which person would be the one to get hurt. And it wasn’t the six-foot-two Adonis heading their way. “What are you talking about?”

  Her mother turned onto her hip, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned toward Allison. “When a man loves a woman, he will go all in. He loses the ability to protect his heart. The woman he loves controls his happiness. It’s different with us. We always have children or other family to take care of, something to keep us busy.”

  Cam stared at the sky and muttered, “Please.”

  Their mother ignored her. She tipped her head toward Luke. “And that, my dear, is a man who is all in.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Allison marched to the corner booth and slapped the plate of food down in front of Sadie. “Eat. Now.” It was a week before the wedding, and Allison had never seen her friend looking so gaunt. With her pale skin and hollowed eyes, Sadie looked like she could blow away with the next snow drift. She and Allison had arranged to meet at The Pantry to finalize the last-minute details, and when Allison had seen her friend, it had become her new mission to get food down her throat—even if she had to sit on Sadie’s chest and shovel it in.

  Sadie dipped a corner of the grilled cheese sandwich into the tomato soup and nibbled at it. “I never thought I’d be one of those brides, the kind who can’t sleep and drives her fiancé nuts with all the details. What’s happened to me?”

  Allison slid onto the bench seat across from her. “You, queen of the lists, bullet-pointed and alphabetized, never thought you’d get sucked into the details of your wedding?” She raised her eyebrows. Lack of sleep and food had made her friend delusional, too.

  The bell over the front door tinkled, and Allison waved Camilla over to their booth. Her sister stopped to hang up her coat and scarf before making her way over and sliding in beside Sadie.

  “All right, all right.” Sadie blew on the soup, ladled it into her mouth. “This is good. Thanks. Hi, Cam.”

  Allison looked at her sister suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mom asked me to spy on you and Luke. Dad thinks Luke might be using you for free rent, and Mom wants confirmation that he isn’t.” After unrolling her paper napkin from the silverware, Cam wiped the expanse of table in front of her. “Expect Dad later.”

  Allison slid down in the booth. “Perfect.”

  “What are you guys up to?” Cam asked.

  “Wedding stuff,” Allison said. “It’s all under control, but someone”—she pointed at Sadie—“just can’t unclench.” She pulled Sadie’s thick binder across the table, examined the lists that fronted each tabbed section. “You need to stop worrying. Almost everything is done. It’s going to be a beautiful wedding.” Allison’s eyes lost focus. “A wedding on Christmas Eve. It’s going to be amazing.”

  Sadie sighed. “I think you’re going to enjoy my wedding more than I am. Now I’m thinking it’s too traditional. I should have made it more modern and fun.”

  “Fun?” Images of food trucks acting as caterer and wedding hashtags flashed through Allison’s head. She curled her lips in disgust. “If there’s ever a time for tradition, it’s at a wedding.”

  Nodding her head, Sadie slurped down the last of the soup. “At least the seating chart problem has been solved. With Luke as your date, there aren’t any spaces left at the head table. Neither Colt’s dad nor his aunt can sit there. No hurt feelings, no problems.”

  Sadie pinched the skin of her throat. “Right? There aren’t any problems?”

  Allison grabbed Sadie’s hand and squeezed. “Right.”

  And there weren’t any problems with the wedding. Allison’s life was a different matter. When she closed her eyes, Allison heard her mother’s voice saying that Luke was all in. Was it true? And if so, was it enough?

  Allison looked around her diner, at the black-and-white tiled floors, the red vinyl booths. This was her home.

  Cam stole Allison’s mug of coffee and took a sip.

  Her family.

  Could she leave it all to join Luke in Chicago? Would he even want her there?

  The wedding was going to be perfect, but Allison was dreading it. With her and Luke’s relationship at such a tenuous stage, a wedding was the last place he and Allison should go to together. The pressure, the awkward glances, the uncomfortable questions from well-meaning relatives about when it was their turn—all in all, a disaster waiting to happen.

  Allison grimaced, caught Sadie looking, and tried to turn it into a smile.

  Sadie pushed back in her seat as if she was sitting across from the clown from It. Obviously, the smile didn’t have the reassuring effect Allison was going for.

  “There are no problems,” Allison was quick to tell her friend. “I was just thinking that Luke probably won’t be sitting in his chair much, and neither will I. We’ll be supervising the catering. But Colt’s relatives don’t need to know that.” Allison closed the binder with a snap and pushed it back toward Sadie. “There are absolutely no problems with your wedding.”

  “Allison.” Jenny sidled up to the table, wiping her hands on her waitress uniform. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Sadie started laughing, the musical tinkle holding the slightest tinge of hysteria.

  Allison patted her shoulder as she scooted out of the booth and followed her waitress. “What’s up?”

  “There’s a man on the phone for you, saying you owe him a lot of money.” The girl lifted the receiver, her hand covering the bottom portion to keep the man at the other end from hearing their conversation. “I really didn’t understand what he was going on ab
out.”

  “I’ll take it in back,” Allison said, striding around the counter and pushing into the kitchen and down the hall to her office. Not even the sight of Luke flipping an omelet over in a pan with an expert flick of his wrist could relax the tension that knotted her back. She didn’t owe anyone any money. She ran a tight ship when it came to her restaurant, and her personal finances. But she felt in her gut that a confrontation was brewing and it wasn’t how she wanted to spend her afternoon.

  She picked up the extension in her office. “Allison Stuart. How may I help you?”

  “It’s about damn time,” an angry male voice said. “I’ve been on hold for a while.”

  “And unless you calm down and tell me—nicely—what it is you want, I can put you right back on hold.” She sat on her exercise ball, bouncing up and down to try to relieve the tension. She wasn’t going to let herself be bullied, especially not long distance.

  The man on the other end blew out a deep breath. “Sorry. This situation has made me more short-tempered than usual.”

  “And what situation is that?”

  A long pause greeted her question.

  “Look,” he said, “if we’re going to start off playing games, our relationship is going to go south real quick.”

  She bounced a little higher. “I don’t do games. But I have no idea who I’m talking to or why I’m talking to you. You’d better lay it out quickly, or I’m hanging up.”

  “I’m Walt Staghart, and I’m calling about the partial payment you made on Luke Hamilton’s account.” The man’s ten-pack-a-day voice vibrated through her. “While I applaud any attempt to make good on what’s owed, the amount you sent was so far below what’s due me, it’s almost insignificant. I want to know when you’re sending the rest.”