by Mary Leo
Marilyn Rose was getting a bit red in the jowls. If Zoe hadn’t heard that Marilyn Rose never let anything rile her, she would think for sure the woman was about to blow.
“Nothing happened between us.”
Zoe shook her head in disbelief. Not only had he been lying about his wedding, but now he was lying about their kiss. The man lacked every scruple. “So our kiss meant nothing to you?”
“You kissed our wedding planner?” Marilyn Rose seemed outraged, as if his kissing Zoe was so outlandish she couldn’t conceive of the fact.
“Yes, but—”
Marilyn Rose lost her famous cool, right there in the middle of All About A Bride while some choir was belting out “Joy to the World.”
She came after Zoe first, ripping at her dress, which surprisingly tore easily, leaving Zoe scrambling to hold on to the shredded bodice. Carson pulled Marilyn Rose off Zoe, but not until Zoe landed a solid defensive punch squarely on her pointed nose. Marilyn Rose stopped for a moment as blood oozed down onto her lips. When she licked it off with her tongue, it must have triggered some long-ago stifled rage deep inside, because she twisted herself away from Carson with such force that she knocked him right on his butt.
Then, undaunted, Marilyn Rose spun like a Tasmanian devil, tearing and ripping at everything in her wake. Within seconds, bridal gowns, bridesmaids dresses and veils lay tattered on the floor. Greta and Gloria tried to get her under control, but she pushed them aside and went after every dress, shoe and piece of jewelry she could get her hands on.
Everyone seemed to be transfixed on her powers until by some miracle of fate, Carson’s neighbor Sheriff Wilson walked in, saw the destruction that Marilyn Rose was causing, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of Idaho potatoes. She kicked and screamed for him to put her down, but was little competition for his bulk. Finally the whirling dervish stopped fighting just as Zoe heard a siren approaching the shop.
Within minutes, the tiny store exploded with EMTs and volunteer firemen. In the confusion, Zoe managed to slip out of what was left of the bridal gown, get dressed in her own clothes and sneak out the back door before anyone could stop her.
* * *
“SO LET ME get this straight,” Kayla said as she and Carson sat in Holy Rollers Bakery sharing a raspberry swirl cheesecake. Kayla had all but devoured the confection after offering Carson the initial bite. She always did have a sweet tooth, but pregnancy only enhanced the desire. “Your plan was for Jimmy and me to get married in your place.”
The official wedding was less then twenty-four hours away and Carson could no longer sleep, eat or think straight. He’d called Zoe several times, left her messages and had even gone to her parents’ home. She had not responded to any of his attempts and the rumor mill now ran with the news that she’d officially closed her business, was looking for someone to sublet her apartment and would be moving to Boise after Christmas to work in her parents’ law firm.
“Yes, that’s what I’m hoping for.” He took a few sips of his hot tea, then poured a little more milk to cool it down another notch.
“So you never called anyone and cancelled the wedding? A hundred people are showing up tomorrow afternoon to see you and Marilyn Rose tie the knot. And now that Marilyn Rose is in the psych ward at the Valley Hospital trying to get her anger under control—an astonishing concept—you expect me to take your place?” She took the last bite of the cheesecake looking sullen that it was all gone.
He ordered another slice from a passing waitress. “You and Jimmy, yes, that’s my idea. Everything’s all arranged. All you two have to do is show up.”
“Do you even know how outrageous that sounds?”
“When you say it like that, yes. But in my defense, I haven’t been myself for weeks.”
“That’s what love will do to you. It sucks the life out of your soul, messes with your head until you can’t think about anything or anyone but the person you love. Then like some cosmic joke, it spits you out, naked and raw, and expects you to make some sense out of what’s left of your blistered emotions.”
Carson sat there staring at his sister in awe of what she’d just said. “Wow, what’s in that cheesecake? I’ve never heard you talk like this.”
She shrugged. “It’s my raging hormones.”
“Ah. So, don’t you want to marry Jimmy?” He finished off his cup of tea, then poured another from the red pot on the table.
“I’ve always wanted to marry Jimmy. I just didn’t want to marry him unless I knew for sure he wanted to marry me because he loves me, not because I’m pregnant.” The waitress brought another slice of cheesecake. Kayla thanked her and instantly took a big bite.
Carson poured milk and honey into his cup, stirred, then took a sip. He went for a bite of cheesecake but his sister gave him an evil look, so he put his fork back down on the table.
“And does he? Does he love you?”
A wide grin creased her lips and Carson thought she looked more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. Pregnant women really did glow.
“Like crazy.”
“Then it’s all set, you and Jimmy can get married tomorrow. Problem solved.”
She positioned her fork on the plate, crossed her arms on the table and leaned in closer. “I don’t know. That seems like a rash decision. I don’t make those, anymore. And besides, you might be my big brother, but when it comes to love, you’ve got a lot to learn. There’s only one couple who should be walking down that aisle tomorrow, and it certainly shouldn’t be Jimmy and me.”
“If you think I’m going to marry Marilyn Rose, you’re delusional.”
“You’re not in love with her. I don’t think you were ever in love with Marilyn Rose. Maybe the idea of her, but not the flesh-and-blood woman. You’re in love with someone else and I think that someone else loves you more than you realize.”
“If you mean Zoe Smart, she hates me. I tried to explain everything to her, but she won’t listen.”
“Maybe you can explain it to me, because I’m completely baffled why you kept up the charade for so long and spent all that money. Are you crazy?”
He shrugged, grinned and looked her straight in the eye. “Crazy in love.”
“Here,” Kayla said, sliding the cheesecake his way. “You need this more than I do.”
Chapter Eleven
“I really messed up this time,” Carson told Sal as they moved slowly side by side blowing snow off the sidewalks. “Zoe hates me.”
A frigid Christmas had arrived, and Carson had gotten up before dawn, solidly depressed, physically aching and in need of Sal’s advice. He’d woken Sal as soon as the sun peeked over the mountains, brought him a couple of his favorite doughnuts with sprinkles and some strong coffee from Holy Rollers. Amanda liked to keep the shop open for a few hours on Christmas morning for all those last-minute baked goods needed for the occasion. Sal didn’t have much of a choice but to abide by Carson’s demands, so by six-thirty they were out blowing snow around and talking about women. A topic Sal seemed to enjoy more than the doughnuts.
“I don’t want to say that I told you so, but heck... I told you so,” Sal said with that little twinkle in his eye.
“I wanted to tell Zoe the truth. I really did, but I just couldn’t. She one hundred percent needed that wedding and I guess I needed it, as well. It kept me near her. I never thought about what would happen if she finally got ahold of Marilyn Rose and told her the wedding details. Never saw Marilyn Rose so angry. Didn’t think she had it in her. I can’t even imagine how much money that little explosion will cost her. She tore apart half the shop.”
Sal chortled as a bright red car drove by with a Christmas wreath proudly displayed on its front bumper. “I’d a given almost anything to have seen her blow a gasket.” He whacked the blower with his stick.
“It
wasn’t pretty. All these years she never once got angry over anything, then wham... It took Sheriff Wilson and two EMTs to get her completely under control.”
Sal shook his head. “That’s what happens when you hold it all inside. You blow a gasket. I’m thinking you got yourself a little of that kookiness goin’ on, as well. Don’t know why you’re here talkin’ to me when you should be off wooin’ that pretty little filly of yours, Zoe Smart.”
“I told you. She hates me.”
A pickup truck drove by, beeped, and the driver, one of Carson’s neighbors, yelled “Merry Christmas” out the open window. Both Sal and Carson returned the gesture.
“Hate’s just the flipside of love, son. You gotta turn her thinkin’ around is all. Show her how much you care. Do the one thing you’ve been plannin’ on doin’ all along.”
Carson hadn’t a clue as to what Sal was talking about. Ever since he started dating Betty, he rarely made any sense. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Sure you do. Same thing I did just last night.”
“And what’s that?”
“I wore my best suit, the one my wife bought to bury me in, got down on—”
“Your deceased wife bought you a burial suit? For your burial?”
“When you get to be my age, you can go at any time. My wife liked to be prepared. When she passed, I knew exactly what outfit she wanted to wear. She bought it online from Macy’s during their semiannual sale—a light blue suit, with a matching scarf. Everybody said she looked good. Gave some color to her cheeks. I wanted to tell them it was all the makeup the lady from the funeral home put on her, but I didn’t. My wife was a sucker for a compliment. Anyway, I got down on one knee and asked Betty if she would marry me.”
Carson abruptly stopped walking and turned to Sal. “This is big news, Sal. What did she say?’
“Like she’s gonna get a better offer than me?” He chortled again.
“No one finer.”
“You betcha. Well, at first she didn’t say nothin’ and my heart skipped a beat, but it might’a been my pacemaker. I don’t know.”
“And?”
The suspense was almost too much. Sal liked to drag things out.
“And we’re getting married as soon as we can. Can’t wait ’round too long. I don’t wanna drop dead before the honeymoon. That’s the best part.”
Carson didn’t want to think about Sal and Betty anywhere near a bedroom. The vision was too much for his already-addled brain to take in. But the wedding part sparked an idea.
“How about today at four o’clock? Betty’s Catholic, right?”
Sal took a couple swipes at the blower. “She sure is. Just like my deceased wife. When we got hitched, we had two ceremonies. One in a church and one in a synagogue. But what does that have to do with anything, and why four o’clock? Ain’t that the time you and that other woman was gettin’ hitched?”
“It sure is, but I have a better idea. Now, if you give me the name and phone number of your rabbi, I think we’ve got ourselves a wedding to get ready for today.”
* * *
ZOE AWOKE STARING at the white ceiling in her childhood bedroom. She’d been sleeping at her parents’ house on and off for a few weeks now, but never had she awoken and focused on the empty ceiling. She wondered whatever happened to her picture of Shania Twain. She could use a Shania tune right now for a bit of inspiration instead of the nothingness of pure white, a color her mother seemed to love. The entire house was painted white. An unobtrusive color, her mother would say each time the house received another coat.
The color of a wedding dress, Zoe thought as she sat up in her white bed. Even her sheets and blankets were white. She hated white and decided right then and there that if she ever got married, she most definitely would not wear white. Pink or yellow or any pastel shade seemed better than garish white that signified virtue, purity and innocence. As if any modern woman, with the exception of the rare virgin, was even remotely any of those things.
“Certainly not Marilyn Rose,” she said aloud, then threw her white pillow against the white closed door. Ever since the confrontation with Marilyn Rose, Zoe had stuck to her bedroom, and only emerged for food or bathroom necessities. She’d cried most of the time, and when she wasn’t crying, she’d sleep. Sleep seemed to be the one thing that calmed her, and despite it being Christmas morning, she couldn’t face her parents without at least a few more hours of uninterrupted slumber.
She grabbed another pillow off the bed, wrapped the blankets in tight around her and settled in to grab a few more z’s when someone knocked on her door. She was in no mood to open gifts or chat with her parents about the charms of Boise or listen to her mom tell her how she always knew Zoe would come to her senses and work at the family law firm.
“Not now, Mom,” Zoe warned. “I’ll be down in a couple hours. We can open presents then.”
Her door swung open and Piper walked in, then plopped down next to Zoe on the rumpled bed. “Your mom isn’t here, neither is your dad. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. We have to get down to the church. The wedding is less than four hours away and we have to set it up after the last service.”
Zoe shook her head. “Wait a minute. I know I told you there isn’t going to be a wedding. There never was going to be a wedding, at least not since Marilyn Rose dumped Carson several weeks ago. Or am I dreaming and you’re merely an illusion?”
Zoe reached over and pinched Piper’s arm.
“Ouch! Don’t do that.” She jumped up. “I’m real. You’re real and your mom made her yearly breakfast, complete with spiced apricots, which I’ve always loved, by the way. There’s enough food down in the kitchen for a party of ten. Your parents already ate and left to bring presents to friends. Now get up. We’ve got a lot to do.”
Zoe fell back on the bed, then grabbed her quilt and threw it over her head. “Why? There’s no wedding, remember? There never was. It was all a trick to humiliate me. And besides, I don’t want to see Carson Grant. Not now. Not ever. I don’t even want to hear his name.”
Her voice sounded muffled from the comforter. Piper pulled it off her. “Well, buck up, because you’re going to see him today. Carson phoned me early this morning. That wedding of his is going on as planned. He never cancelled it.”
Zoe couldn’t imagine him marrying Marilyn Rose. Then a wicked thought bounced into her head. “He’s probably marrying Lana Thomson to spite me. It would serve me right. I wonder how long that marriage will last?”
Piper snickered. “I don’t think you have to worry about Lana and Carson. She’s busy with John Dees, her latest victim. Poor sap, doesn’t know any better.”
Zoe sat up, folding her legs in tight. She wasn’t in the mood for any more surprises. Her life was mixed up enough without her best friend trying to cheer her up with Carson’s latest wedding plans. “Then did he mention who he might be marrying? And don’t tell me his plan to get his sister and Jimmy married off today is actually going to happen. I don’t think his family could deal with it if she didn’t show up again. Nor my reputation...albeit my reputation no longer matters. Our business is closed. The people of this town can gossip all they want. They won’t have Zoe Smart to push around anymore.”
Zoe finally noticed Piper. She wore a black lace bustier over an olive-green-and-black-striped satin dress with a full skirt, puffy cap sleeves and an actual bustle. Black Goth boots covered her feet and calves, lacy black gloves wrapped up her arms to just under her elbows and a miniature black top hat adorned with feathers and an olive green silk flower perched on the side of her head. Her hair fell in curls around her face and twisted up off her neck. She looked as if she had recently stepped out of the Goth-steampunk era and was eagerly awaiting her return.
“You sound like a bad mob movie. You’re not going anywhere, and we’re not closing our doors. At le
ast not this year or next year for that matter. You haven’t been easy to get ahold of. I’ve been trying to tell you, we have several birthday parties, anniversaries, company events and an assortment of celebrations booked from January through June of next year. And in June we already have five graduation parties to plan.”
“I don’t do parties, remember? That’s not my expertise.”
“It is now, parties and weddings. We have one booked for May.”
“Somebody actually hired us to plan their wedding? Who would do such a foolish thing?”
“Actually, we have two weddings booked for May. One for a relative of Helen’s and one for the mayor.”
Zoe blinked a few times, trying to grasp what Piper had just said. She was sure she hadn’t heard her correctly. “Our mayor? Prim and proper Sally Hickman? That mayor?”
“The one and only. She loves us.”
“Why? Doesn’t she know I’m jinxed?”
Piper shook her head. “Apparently, that memo never crossed her desk. It’s all because of Helen and her sister-in-law Maggie. You know how amazing Maggie Granger is with publicity and Helen knows just about everyone in this valley. They did it. Helen got the word out that we planned Carson’s award ceremony, and when Maggie used her social media skills to publicize it, we’ve got more work coming in through our new website than we can handle. We may have to expand.”
Zoe didn’t like to be reminded of the award ceremony. It hurt too much to remember how sweet Carson had been to her that entire day. Was that all a lie, as well?
“That award ceremony was a complete surprise to me. I had no idea you put it together. I shouldn’t get any of the credit.”
“We’re partners, so everything we do is credited to our company, to us both.”
Zoe stared at her friend for a moment. She really was an incredibly talented woman, and Zoe felt truly fortunate to have her in her life. She loved Piper like a sister, always had and always would.
“Did I ever tell you just how awesome you are? Because you are, you know, awesomely awesome. You could run the world if you put your mind to it.”