Mistletoe Cottage

by Debbie Mason

  Michael, Bethany, and their entourage had arrived. Bethany had brought her maid of honor along with her mother and grandmother and mother-in-law–to–be. When four of the women gave Sophie up-and-down looks, she was grateful she had Dana and Ava at her back. Sophie swallowed her nerves and introduced the women to each other.

  Mrs. Adams, Bethany’s mother, tilted her head. “Have we met?” she asked Dana.

  “I don’t believe so. I’m from the South and, other than Greystone, have never been to Massachusetts,” Dana said with a light Southern drawl.

  Ava gave Sophie an I-told-you-so nudge from behind. Her cousin was right; Dana Templeton was hiding from someone or something. Before now, Sophie had never heard a hint of the South in Dana’s voice. She also had blue eyes today, not her usual green. They were overshadowed by a pair of thick, black-framed glasses. But the one thing Dana couldn’t conceal was that she’d dealt with women like the Adamses and Maura before, and they didn’t intimidate her one little bit.

  Sophie was so relieved that she was tempted to give Dana a fist bump.

  “I’ll let you ladies get on with it. I have work to do,” Michael said.

  Bethany pouted. “But, darling, this is your wedding too. I need your opinion. It won’t feel like our wedding without it.”

  “Michael, really dear, this is important to Bethany. Surely you can—” Maura began before Bethany’s grandmother cut her off.

  “Since when do you listen to anyone’s opinion but your own? Go on, Michael. It’s bad enough they dragged me along. If I didn’t want to get a look at the place, I would have stayed home. Have a drink at the bar for me.”

  Bethany glared at her grandmother at the same time her mother said, “If you felt that way, perhaps you shouldn’t have come, Mother Adams.”

  Michael shared a conspirator’s wink with Bethany’s grandmother. Obviously they’d worked this out beforehand. Sophie was a little disappointed Michael wouldn’t be there to run interference, but she had a feeling they had an ally in the senior Mrs. Adams.

  “I’m the one paying for this little shindig. I want to see what I’m getting for my money.” The woman thumped her cane. “I haven’t got all day. Let’s get the show on the road.”

  “I like her,” Ava whispered to Sophie as they followed the group of women Dana led through the lobby. “She reminds me of Colleen.”

  “Me too.” Sophie looked around and frowned. “Where’s Jasper and Kitty? I thought they’d be here to…No, no, do not tell me there’s another problem,” she said when her cousin grimaced.

  “It’s under control. Someone called Truly Scrumptious and told them we needed the sample cakes next Wednesday and not today. I ran into Mackenzie on my way to work this morning, and they started making them right away. Kitty’s at the bakery to make sure nothing else goes wrong. And, um, Jasper’s at In Bloom doing the same. It’s okay. Lily called to double-check the order Monday morning. She was able to get what she needed.”

  “Right about now I wish we did have mob connections. I’d take a hit out on Paige Townsend.”

  “I’d take one out on Helga,” her cousin muttered. “Don’t worry. Everything is prepared, and I put a padlock on the cooler just in case. Kitty and Jasper are going to come up with an excuse to get Helga out of the kitchen when it’s time for the tasting. Marco’s coming to help, and Erin will be here. So we’re good.”

  “I thought Nonna—”

  “She’s busy standing guard with the rest of the Widow’s Club. I’m surprised you haven’t seen them. They have every point of entry covered.” Ava’s mouth tipped up at the corner. “Who needs the mob when we have the Widow’s Club.”

  “They’re not armed, are they?”

  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to is what I always say.”

  They joined the women in the atrium. “You’ll exchange vows under the arbor,” Dana said, indicating the white arbor that was decorated with tulle and tiny crystal snowflakes and stood in front of the bank of windows with a view of Kismet Cove and the red-roofed lighthouse on Starlight Pointe. It was a scene off a postcard. “I’ve incorporated the ice-blue-and-white theme just so you have a visual, but there’s photos of all three in your packets. If you go with the red-and-gold theme, the Christmas tree will stay as is.” She gestured to the elegantly decorated tree to the right of the room, its twinkling red lights reflected in the window. “As you can see, each of the three tables and the chairs have been decorated according to theme.”

  The sun glinted off the snow covering the rocks at Kismet Cove, and Sophie found herself smiling, thinking about the night her daughter was conceived, and the man she’d conceived her with. Liam…A small gasp cut her off midthought. Beside her, Ava widened her eyes and looked at the hardwood floor polished to a high sheen…and the mice scurrying across it. In all her time at Greystone, Sophie had seen one mouse. And it wasn’t white or huge like these three were. She had to think of something fast. They were headed to where the women were standing. She looked up to meet the senior Mrs. Adams’s twinkling eyes.

  Lifting her cane, the older woman turned to tap it on the window, drawing the other women’s attention. “Now, what did you have in mind for here?”

  At the same time Mrs. Adams asked her question, Simon padded into the room with what sounded like a low, menacing growl coming from his throat. Sophie and Ava moved to block the women’s view. Sophie coughed to cover a squeak. Mrs. Adams raised her voice to cover another.

  “Simon’s getting liver pâté for dinner,” Ava whispered.

  “I think he’ll be full,” Sophie whispered back with a grimace, forcing a smile for the women when they turned her way. “Why don’t we go to the dining room? You can have a cup of tea or coffee while you discuss your options.”

  The senior Mrs. Adams hung back while the other women followed Dana. “Put a little nip of brandy in my coffee, will you? Don’t let my daughter-in-law see you do it, though.”

  “I’ll be circumspect.” Sophie smiled. “Thank you so much for covering for us. We never had a problem with mice—”

  “Place as old as this and on the water, I’d be more surprised if you didn’t. But not the ones that were running around in there. Those were someone’s pets, and my guess, given your troubles of late, they were let loose on purpose.”

  “How do you know—”

  “Michael. He knows of my interest in Greystone. I’ve been meaning to come for years. I consider myself something of an amateur historian. I attended several of Ronan Gallagher’s lectures over the years. Handsome man. His grandsons take after him.” She looked around as they walked through the lobby to the dining room. “Magnificent place. I look forward to spending some time here. By the by, do you know who your ghost is?”

  Sophie shared a look with Ava. “Ghost?” they said at almost the same time.

  Mrs. Adams grinned. “Oh yes, you have a ghost all right. If I had to take a guess, I’d say it’s a woman.” She nodded. “Yes, definitely a woman. Set your mind at ease, you have nothing to fear from her. She’s looking out for the manor and, I think, all of you. Who have we here?” she said, looking down at Simon, who stared up at her. “Interesting,” she murmured. “Very interesting indeed.”

  They were met at the entrance to the dining room by three older women wearing fur coats and outlandish hats decorated in flowers. Oh dear, Lord, Sophie thought, what are they up to now? It became clear as soon as her grandmother opened her mouth. They were pretending to be high-society ladies who do lunch and extolling the virtues of the manor.

  “Magnifeco, the food here is magnifeco,” Rosa said in a thickly accented voice.

  “Very.” Her grandmother nudged the woman. “Tres. Very tres bonne.”

  “Sí.” Rosa nudged that woman too. “Oui—”

  Mrs. Adams chuckled. “I really do like this place. I do indeed,” she said as she walked away.

  “Poor Dana. Did you see her face when Bethany decided she wanted to be married outside instead?
” Sophie asked her cousin, who sat in the passenger side of the estate car. Liam had insisted Sophie use some of the money he’d given her for Mia to send the Cadillac on a train back to California.

  “Yes, but it wasn’t as bad as when Bethany decided none of Dana’s ideas worked for her, and the other three agreed.”

  “Thank God for the senior Mrs. Adams. Now let’s hope Michael can convince his fiancée to make a decision before they leave. We’re already pushing it. At least they agreed on the menu. You did an amazing job, Ava. Even Maura couldn’t find anything bad to say.”

  “She’s an awful woman. I feel sorry for Michael. He’s turned out to be a pretty nice guy.”

  “He has, and I have to admit, if we didn’t need this wedding, I’d tell him to dump Bethany. She’s a Maura clone.”

  “Her best friend and mother are no better. I don’t even want to think what it will be like having them all under one roof for a few days.” She ducked her head and looked out the windshield. “You can let me out here, Sophie.” It was a dead-end street a block from Ava’s house. “You’ll get stuck in traffic on the South Shore. It’s busy Wednesday nights. There’s a pathway. I’ll be fine,” she added when Sophie hesitated.

  “I don’t mind, Ava. I haven’t seen Uncle Gino since I’ve been home. I—”

  “He’s not been feeling like himself. Come another time.”

  “Well, take the cake samples at least. The white chocolate and raspberry was amazing.”

  “So was the red velvet. You should consider contracting out the desserts to them. It would be worth it.”

  “Or you could.” Her cousin pursed her lips at Sophie’s suggestion. “Just think about it, Ava. Dana did a fabulous job updating the dining room.” With the help of pretty much everyone at Greystone, Dana had lifted the Persian rug and stripped and refurbished the hardwood floors, removing the wallpaper and painting the walls a soft white and the wood panels gray-blue. She used accents of burnished gold throughout the room. “Between that and your food, you’d do really well. I guarantee you’d make a lot more money than you do now.”

  “I can’t, Sophie, but I appreciate you thinking about me. I really do.” Ava leaned across the console to hug her. “It’s good having you home. Now why don’t you take those cake samples and spend the evening with Liam and Mia?”

  “I can’t spend the night with him, Ava.”

  “I said spend the evening with him, not the night.” Ava shook her head with a laugh. “Don’t look so disappointed. You’re an adult; you can do whatever you want. Just make sure this is what you want. Because, Sophie, I think Liam Gallagher is a man who plays for keeps.”

  With her cousin’s words in her head, Sophie drove around the block twice before pulling in front of the Gallaghers’ sandstone brick two-story. It was a pretty house with a red front door, its landscape carefully tended to. It looked much the same as the other homes on Breakwater Way. Nothing ostentatious or impressive like the McMansions on Ocean Drive or like the down-on-their-luck bungalows where her cousin lived along the South Shore. But she imagined to Mia, who never lived anywhere other than a cramped apartment, the Gallaghers’ home on Breakwater Way was as impressive as the homes on Ocean Drive.

  Sophie reached for the boxed cakes and got out of the car. Liam’s Jeep and his father’s Durango were parked in the driveway. She’d been rehearsing what she’d say when Liam answered the door, but she hadn’t thought about what she’d say to Colin. Halfway up the driveway, she turned around and headed for her car then stopped, turned around again, and started back up the driveway. She wasn’t fifteen, and Colin had always been nice to her. Just because she’d unintentionally kept his granddaughter from him for seven years wouldn’t change…She groaned and walked back to her car and got inside. She drove to the end of the street and was about to head toward Main Street when she glanced to her right and caught the lights of Harbor Front.

  She hadn’t been down there since she’d been home. She’d been meaning to bring Mia. Sophie stopped and parked the car at the end of Breakwater Way. Huddling deeper inside her coat, she walked the short distance down to the docks. There was a brisk wind coming off the Atlantic with the smell of snow in the air.

  She put her hands in her pockets, enjoying the cold against her cheeks, the breeze whipping around her hair. She’d missed the change of seasons. Missed being able to afford to live close to the sea. She walked to the end of the well-lit wharf and leaned against the rail.

  If she stretched far enough to her left, she could see the Outer Harbor and the lighthouse on Starlight Pointe. The waters of Harmony Harbor encompassed more than thirty miles of rugged coastline. Along with sandy beaches, inlets, and coves, there were at least a dozen wharves and private docks. The marina was on the South Shore and provided dockage for several hundred commercial and recreational boats, while the commercial fishing fleet docked in the Inner Harbor.

  In the spring and summer months, the area would be a hub of activity. Local artisans would be selling their wares out of the brightly colored fishing shacks a short walk to her right at the end of Main Street. But it was quiet now, and she was enjoying the solitude. It was like she’d been living at a theme park, riding a roller coaster since she’d arrived.

  Even with all the craziness of the past few weeks, she’d fallen in love with the manor all over again. For the first time since she’d come home, she could honestly say she was happy to be back. Admittedly the change in her relationship with Liam played a big part in that.

  She glanced at the homes lining the ridge and picked out the Gallaghers. The big picture window looked out over the bay. She wondered how many times Colin and Mary had stood there watching their sons surf the wild waves that crashed against the rocks.

  All four of them were adrenaline junkies. Griffin the Navy SEAL, Aidan the DEA agent, Finn with Doctors Without Borders, Liam the firefighter who’d gone out West to fight wildfires at twenty-three. Because of her, she now knew.

  He’d run from her the same way he’d run from Harmony Harbor when his mother and sister died. Sophie understood why. She’d done the same herself, only for different reasons. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t work up the nerve to walk up their driveway. If she did, there’d be no turning back. She’d be all in. Because while her cousin thought Liam was a man who played for keeps, Sophie was beginning to think she was a woman who did too.

  “Are you ready to concede?” a deep voice asked from behind her.

  The wind blew Liam’s black hair from his stubbled face, a glint in those Gallagher-blue eyes, a sexy flash of white teeth. He reminded her of a modern-day pirate. She wondered if he’d come to ravish her. She kind of hoped that he had. She wanted to be ravished by him. No, she acknowledged, she wanted more. She wanted to be loved by him.

  “Concede to what?”

  He walked toward her. The wind tugged at the open brown leather bomber jacket he wore over a cable-knit cream sweater. His well-worn jeans hugged his powerful legs as his steel-toe boots thudded against the boards. “To the inevitable.” He leaned against the rail, his eyes moving over her face. “I saw you walking up and down the driveway. You were talking to yourself. You didn’t get far.”

  Embarrassed that he’d been watching her, she gave a self-conscious shrug. “I haven’t been down here since I’ve been home. It’s still as beautiful as I remember.”

  “So are you.” He moved in behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his cold, stubbled cheek pressed to hers. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “By the inevitable, do you mean—”

  “Me. Us. I want you, Soph. Same as I always did.”

  Forever and for always? she wanted to ask, because that’s what she wanted. “It’s not just you and me. I don’t want to confuse Mia. Set her up for disappointment.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. I’ve never been in a long-term relationship before. I’ve never wanted one. With you I do. But, Soph, we can’t know how it’s going to turn out. Look at Aidan and Griffin. Y
our mom and dad.”

  “Maybe they just gave up too easily.”

  “I won’t,” he said.

  “Promise?”

  He smiled against her cheek. “Promise.” Then he turned her in his arms, before lifting her off her feet and carrying her to the other side of the dock. “Didn’t think you’d want an audience when we sealed the deal,” he said in response to her raised eyebrows.

  “You mean just a kiss, right? Because it’s too—”

  “For now,” he said, and then her pirate ravished her mouth.

  Liam’s kiss had banished the cold and her doubts, at least where they were concerned. But her stomach gurgled with nerves when they entered the house on Breakwater Way. Liam wasn’t helping matters by refusing to let go of her hand. Every time she tried to pull free, he’d tighten his grip and grin.

  Colin Gallagher straightened from where he’d been looking in a mirror over a console table to smile. “Good to see you, Sophie. I’ve stopped by the manor a couple times and keep missing you.”

  Her stomach knotted. “Is there a problem, Mr. Gallagher?”

  “Colin. No, I just wanted to”—he rubbed his jaw and glanced at his son, who seemed to be enjoying his father’s obvious discomfort—“welcome you to the family. And to thank you for sharing Mia with us.”

  The knot left her stomach to settle in her throat. “Thank you. She loves spending time with you and Liam. Miller too. She draws pictures of the three of you every day. I can’t see my fridge anymore.”

  “She’s working on doing the same to ours. Take your coat off, Soph.”

  “Maybe if you’d let go of her hand, she would.” Colin winked at Sophie and then fidgeted with the knot in his blue tie.

  “You think you would have learned to tie a tie by now,” Liam said, moving his father’s hand to straighten the knot for him. “You look good for an old guy. Maggie’s unveiling my dad’s naked painting at the gallery tonight,” Liam told Sophie, his eyes glinting with amusement.