Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Maria Geraci

  “The wedding planner says we have to leave now or we’ll be late for our fitting,” Abuela said.

  “Sure, let’s go.” She turned to Jack. “I’ll talk to you later about those plans we were discussing.”

  He nodded and their eyes met, and she was once again hit with how different they looked now from the way they looked on those billboards. It was almost like he was two different people, and she couldn’t help but wonder, which one was the real Jack Martinez?

  * * *

  Gussie DeMille, one of the wedding planners with the Barefoot Bay Brides, guided them through the labyrinth of what Felicity was coming to think of as the wedding maze. Gussie was newly married herself to world famous photographer TJ DeMille. She was around thirty with honey blonde hair that she wore loose around her shoulders. It wasn’t long after they’d started their day in the sweltering July heat that she’d clipped up her hair, revealing a scar at the back of her scalp. The area around the scar was bald, but Gussie didn’t seem self-conscious about it. Nor should she be. She was beautiful and Felicity immediately liked her. Her warm professional attitude was keeping the morning schedule (and all the personalities involved) running smoothly.

  After a leisurely breakfast, the group split in two with the women inside the bridal shop and the men next door getting fitted for their tuxedos. “So, ladies,” Gussie said, “I’ve left the men in capable hands. We, however, have the more challenging task of finding the perfect dress for our gorgeous bride. Once we get Nicki done, then we’ll concentrate on everyone else.”

  Although their choice of available dresses was limited due to the lack of time before the wedding, Nicki quickly found two dresses to choose from.

  “I like the first one you tried on,” Ellen said, pointing to the sleek, form fitting dress on the hanger. “You looked stunning in that.” Felicity had to agree, it had fit Nicki beautifully.

  Not one to hold back, Abuela immediately gave her opinion. “Not me. I like the one she has on now. You look just like Grace Kelly.”

  Nicki stood in the center of the room on an elevated platform while they all sat around in plush velvet chairs drinking champagne. The dress she was currently modeling was ivory colored with short cap sleeves and a flared skirt. Felicity also had to agree with Abuela. Nicki looked radiant and as lovely as a real life princess in this dress.

  Her throat tightened. It was so unfair that dad hadn’t lived to see this day. He should be here to walk Nicki down the aisle. It had been over three years since his death, but sometimes it felt more like only three minutes. One day they were in his office mapping out a new ad campaign and the next day he was gone from a quick and massive heart attack that had taken everyone by shock. People always said time healed all wounds, but grief was its own separate kind of pain. Sometimes it snuck up and pulled you down before you even knew what hit you.

  “What do you think, Felicity?” Gussie asked. “You’re our tie breaker.”

  “That one,” she said automatically, pointing to Nicki.

  Abuela nodded, satisfied that Felicity was on her side in this.

  “I guess I’m outnumbered,” Ellen said. “Although it really doesn’t matter what any of us think. It’s up to Nicki.”

  Nicki twirled around a few times, checking out her reflection in the mirror from all possible angles. “I like them both, but, I have to go with Felicity here.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want my opinion to sway you if you’re set on the other dress.”

  “You’re my big sister, of course I’m going to listen to what you say.”

  “Well, that’s that!” Ellen said, taking a chug of her champagne.

  “We can look at hair styles and head pieces after we settle on the rest of the dresses,” Gussie suggested. “Felicity, why don’t you help Nicki out of this dress while I go find a few pieces for Ellen and Lola.”

  Felicity followed Nicki and one of the saleswomen into the private changing area in the back of the shop. After the dress had been carefully put away, the saleswoman left them alone in the room.

  “You really do look stunning in that gown,” Felicity said. “Dad would be so proud of you right now.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I know so.”

  Nicki slipped back into her clothes. She hesitated before asking, “What do you think he’d say about law school?”

  Felicity took a deep breath. The timing on this couldn’t be more perfect. And she hadn’t even been the one to bring it up. “Honestly? I think dad would have wanted you to go to law school.”

  “Really?”

  Nicki looked, for lack of a better word, lost, and for a second, Felicity felt guilty. Invoking their dead father seemed almost unfair, but on the other hand, she was confident she was doing the right thing. What parent wouldn’t want their child to follow through with a pragmatic plan like law school? After graduating, if Nicki found it wasn’t for her, then she could do something else, but she’d always have the law to fall back on. Plus, if Nicki was so sure of herself, why bother asking Felicity’s advice? No, she was definitely doing the right thing here in swaying Nicki toward law school.

  “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it. Think about Mitch. You want what’s best for him, too. Right?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then I don’t see the problem. Look, I get it. You’ve just finished four years of a tough undergrad program and now you’re looking at three more years of school. But you’re also getting married, and as much as you and Mitch love one another, that’s probably stressing you out too. Say you give law school the thumbs down and then in a couple of weeks after you and Mitch have settled into your new lives, you both come to regret it. By then, they’ll have given your spots to someone else and you’ll have to wait and reapply again.”

  Nicki frowned. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Look, just concentrate on the wedding. This isn’t the time to be making any big decisions. Stick to what you’ve been planning. I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

  Nicki pulled her into a tight hug. “What would I do without you?”

  “You’re never going to have to find out,” she said, squeezing her sister right back.

  After another two hours of going through the available inventory, Abuela was fitted in a simple dove grey below-the-knee dress with a short-sleeved jacket. Ellen opted for a more dramatic cocktail dress in a deep silver with sequins around the collar.

  Felicity didn’t find it as easy. After trying on what seemed like half the store, she still hadn’t found the perfect dress. She was standing in the dressing room cubicle in her bra and underwear when Gussie handed her another outfit to try on. “This is the one,” Gussie said. “I can feel it.”

  Felicity took the dress and drew the curtain back in place, but it was thin enough that she could hear the women mumbling on the other side.

  “I hope this is it, because I’m hungry,” Ellen said. It sounded more like a joke than a complaint, but…

  “It’s the last dress left in her size,” she heard Gussie say in a low voice. “If she doesn’t like this one, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

  Crikey. She hadn’t meant to hold everyone up. Normally she wasn’t so fussy. But this was her sister’s wedding and she wanted to look good. So far everything she’d tried on had either made her feel frumpy or had shown too much cleavage, but this was getting ridiculous. Gussie had excellent taste. If she felt like this dress was the one, then that was good enough for Felicity.

  “I’ll take this one,” Felicity said in a loud voice.

  “Hooray!” Abuela said. “I say we go to the Mexican place and start on the margaritas.”

  “Great idea!” Now all she had to do was make sure the dress fit. Felicity slipped the lime green cocktail dress over her head and smoothed it down over her hips. She stared at herself in the mirror. Oh no. Absolutely not.

  “Go ahead without me. I’ll…meet you there in a few minutes,” she shouted. She wa
s going to have to stay back and figure out what to do. Because there was no way, no how, she was going to wear this in public.

  * * *

  Jack walked into the bridal shop and about a dozen women turned to stare in horror. He put his hands up in the air making the universal sign of surrender. “Not the groom. I promise.”

  The women all breathed a sigh of relief and went back to whatever they were doing before he walked in. He worked his way through the aisles of fluffy looking white stuff and found his mother and grandmother discussing where to go for lunch.

  “What are you doing here?” his mom asked. “Where’s your father?”

  “He and Mitch are across the street at the Mexican place. We’re already on our second pitcher of beer and our third round of nachos. What’s taking so long?”

  “It’s Felicity. She can’t find a dress,” Nicki explained.

  “I just heard her say she’s going to take the last dress I handed her,” said Gussie, the wedding planner. “I’m going to work out some details with the salesgirl here at the shop. You all go on to lunch without me. We’ll figure out the head piece and hairstyles tomorrow morning.”

  Jack glanced around the shop. “Where’s Felicity?”

  “She’s still in the changing room. She said to go on to the restaurant without her, but I think we should wait,” Mom said.

  “I am going to faint if I do not eat soon,” Abuela said dramatically.

  Mom looked concerned. “Is it your blood sugar, Lola?”

  “Yes. My blood sugar must be high,” said Abuela, looking and sounding remarkably healthy for someone on the verge of passing out.

  “You mean low, right?” Nicki said.

  “Low. High. It is whichever one will get me in front of food the fastest,” she answered.

  Mom rolled her eyes.

  “You all go to the restaurant,” Jack said. “Felicity and I will catch up with you in a few minutes.”

  He waited till they’d left the shop then walked to the back of the store to the changing area. This actually worked out pretty good. It would give him a private moment to talk to Felicity and see if she was making any headway with Nicki.

  There was only one dressing room with the curtain closed. “Felicity?”

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, like she was trying not to draw attention to herself.

  “Waiting for you.” He glanced around but there was no one nearby. “Are you decent?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? You mean, am I dressed? Yes, but—”

  He drew back the curtain and stepped into the small dressing area, then closed it shut before anyone might notice him.

  “You can’t come in here!” she shrieked.

  “Calm down. You said you were dressed. How did things go with—” His mouth suddenly went dry. “What are you wearing?”

  “It’s supposed to be my maid of honor dress, but I don’t think it’s right.”

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  “You don’t think it’s too…much?”

  Yeah, but too much in this case equaled just right. He’d seen women wear tighter, slinkier clothes. The dress covered everything up that was supposed to be covered, but it also left nothing to the imagination. The green silk clung to every curve and plane of that tight little body of hers. The women he knew would be smirking at his reaction, but he could see from the uncertain look in her eyes that she was clueless.

  “I can’t be sure until I see it from all sides. Turn around.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe you should send in Gussie.”

  “Gussie’s busy. Look, never mind about the dress. It looks fine.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Yes. Now, did you get a chance to talk to Nicki?”

  Her face lit up making her brown eyes go wide. The harsh overhead light in the dressing room revealed a smattering of freckles across the tip of her nose that he hadn’t noticed before. He’d never thought of freckles as sexy. Until now.

  “Yep. And I think she’s totally on board with law school. How about Mitch?”

  “What? Just like that?”

  “My sister happens to be a very intelligent woman. It didn’t take but a few words to change her mind. I bet it’s Mitch who’s behind this whole lets delay law school thing. What did he say when you talked to him?”

  Jack wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. “I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to him alone. There’s nothing planned after lunch so I figured I’d convince him to check out the town with me.”

  “Which means we could have this whole thing resolved by tonight.”

  “That we could,” he agreed.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. “I don’t get it. I mean, I know you love your brother and all, but why is his going to law school so important to you?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be important to me?”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Play your lawyer mind tricks. If you don’t want to answer my question, then just tell me it’s none of my business.”

  “Okay, it’s none of your business.”

  “Fine. I’m hungry, let’s go get lunch.” When he didn’t move, she waved her hand at him. “Shoo! Get out of here so I can change.”

  He laughed and did as instructed, but the instant he was outside the dressing room, his smile faded. Last night he’d admitted his attraction to her. And today, the entire time he’d been in the men’s store he’d been thinking about her. Mostly because he was wondering if she was getting anywhere with Nicki, but there was more to it than that. He’d been thinking about her.

  What would Felicity think about his plans for the future? He hadn’t shared them with anyone. Certainly not his parents. And the women he’d dated in the past would think he was crazy. Maybe she would think so too. Or maybe not. He shook his head. It didn’t matter what she thought. It only mattered that she helped him get to where he needed to be.

  Chapter Five

  After lunch, his baby brother ditched him for a private snorkeling trip with his bride-to-be. Not that Jack blamed him, but he’d tried numerous times during the day to get him alone and it was almost as if Mitch was trying to avoid him. Which made no sense, unless Nicki had already told Mitch about her talk with Felicity and he was afraid that Jack was also going to try to talk him out of this great year of discovery plan of theirs. The good part about being in such close quarters on the resort was that Mitch couldn’t avoid him forever.

  Jack wandered down the sidewalks of downtown Mimosa Key, checking out the local flavor. Mimosa Key was about as different from his area of urban Miami as you could get. Located on Florida’s west coast, the little town resided on a small barrier island off the larger, more affluent city of Naples. This was “old” Florida. Colorful, quirky, and short on tourists this time of year. Only native Floridians, or those retirees who’d given up their homes up north permanently, stayed for the blistering heat of late summer. Come winter, however, this place would probably be packed.

  An abandoned storefront office near the sheriff’s department on Center Street caught his attention. He peered through the windows into the darkened space. Not a bad location for a law office. If someone were inclined to set up practice here. Maybe one day, if things worked out with Mitch at the firm, he’d get a chance to do just that.

  The rest of the businesses in town seemed quietly active. Not booming, but again, this was the off season. He spotted a convenience store at the intersection. A cold bottle of water sounded pretty good about now.

  He was about to head that way when he saw Mitch standing outside a souvenir shop. His hands were stuffed inside the pockets of his shorts and he appeared to be engrossed in whatever was going on inside the store. Jack walked up and playfully punched his brother on the shoulder. “Hey.”

  Mitch turned around, wild eyed. “What are you doing here?” If Jack didn’t know better, he’d say Mitch looked more guilty than surprised.
>
  “Checking out the town. How about you? I thought you and Nicki were going snorkeling.”

  “Oh, yeah, we are. She just needed some, um, she wanted to get a T-shirt.”

  Jack looked up at the banner above the shop. Sunshine Emporium. Sale signs for T-shirts, flip-flops, and sunscreen were taped over the glass panes. Outside the shop, bins filled with sand buckets and boogie boards took up most of the sidewalk area in front, along with about a dozen canvas watercolors propped along the bottom of the wall.

  Jack studied a few of the paintings. They were actually pretty good. Local beach scenes, he guessed. One of the paintings looked similar to a framed print that Abuela had in her living room back home in Miami. She’d bought it because she said the picture had reminded her of a beach near Havana, where she’d swum as a young girl.

  The shop looked empty, except for Nicki and a woman standing behind a counter.

  This probably wasn’t the place to have his talk with Mitch, but what the hell. Now that Felicity had already talked to Nicki, maybe Jack should go ahead and talk to both of them. Big brother to younger brother and his wife-to-be. It couldn’t hurt, and he needed to get things settled once and for all. It wasn’t just their future on the line. It was his future too.

  “You think Nicki will be in there for long?”

  “Probably not,” Mitch said. “But, maybe.” He sounded nervous. Up until now Mitch had been the epitome of cool and collected. It was about time his baby brother realized that in just a few days he’d be a married man.

  “Getting some wedding jitters?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess.”

  Jack glanced inside the shop. “I should get some souvenirs for the office staff. C’mon, let’s go inside.”

  Mitch seemed reluctant, but he followed Jack inside the store. Nicki and the woman behind the counter were engaged in a lively conversation, but it broke up once they spied the two men. The woman appeared to be in her mid-fifties with chin-length blonde hair and light colored eyes. She wore long dangling earrings, and her T-shirt was splattered with paint. He immediately pegged her as the artist behind the watercolors displayed outside.