Trouble in Loveland (The Loveland Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Peel

  “Okay, let’s say hypothetically you’re right, which you’re not, but let’s pretend you are. How would you feel about it?”

  My dad took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, it could definitely make things interesting since he’s my business partner and we all work together, and then there’s the age difference, but I think you might be good for each other.” He squeezed my perfectly manicured hand.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s dating Jacquelyn, and honestly, he doesn’t see me like that.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, but promise me you’ll be careful. I love Ryan like a son, but I think he’s still reeling from the effects of his marriage and divorce.”

  “Again, Dad, there’s nothing to worry about, other than your daughter being a complete idiot. You won’t say anything to Ryan, will you?”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  “Thanks.”

  I didn’t know why, but I felt better. I was a little embarrassed, but mostly it was nice to have a parent to talk to, one that focused on me and not just himself. It was nice not to feel like I was in a competition. I loved how my dad made me feel beautiful. I did wonder, though, if he was delusional. There was no way Ryan was attracted to me.

  The rehearsal went off without a hitch, thank goodness. I wasn’t sure if Krissy’s state of mind would have settled for anything less than perfection. I even made it down the aisle in my ridiculously high heels somewhat gracefully. I knew tomorrow would be a different story as I would be half-naked; I was trying not to think about it. I had been praying the dress would magically grow in my absence.

  Dinner was amazing, and I wasn’t only talking about the lobster tails—the company was even better. It made me so happy to be home. These were my people. This was where I belonged. I decided then that even if I didn’t stay working for my dad, I was staying in Colorado.

  I felt mostly content as I got ready for bed that night. Sure, I’d apparently made an idiot out of myself with my very attractive neighbor, and apparently the whole neighborhood could see it, but I felt a sense of belonging, and I had so desperately missed that.

  While brushing my teeth, I heard the doorbell. I looked at my phone and it was eleven, a little late for visitors. Then my dad called my name.

  I threw my bra back on and walked upstairs. I was greeted by a crying Krissy. My dad stared at her blankly, not sure what to make of the scene.

  I went to Krissy, wrapped my arms around her, and mouthed to my dad, “Go to bed, I’ve got it.”

  He looked beyond relieved.

  “Krissy, what are you doing here? I thought you and Chance were going back to your place to finish packing?” They were moving into a townhome closer to the pharmacy where Chance was doing his residency to become a pharmacist.

  She cried harder, and I’m pretty sure some snot was left behind on my t-shirt. I pulled her to the kitchen and sat her down at the breakfast bar. She looked like heck. I did the only thing I could do, I pulled out the best cure: ice cream. I didn’t even bother with bowls, I just grabbed two spoons. I sat next to her and took the lid off the dark chocolate ice cream carton. “Okay, spill your guts.”

  She sniffled and took a bite of the ice cream.

  I took a large bite, too, and it was ecstasy. I may have even sighed.

  “I can’t get married tomorrow.”

  “What! Why?”

  “I got a call today from the Denver Bronco Cheerleaders. They had someone drop out, and they asked if I would be interested in auditioning again.”

  “That’s terrific.”

  “I thought so, too,” she cried. “I was excited to tell Chance tonight when we were alone. I thought he should be the first to know.” She looked at me like she was sorry.

  She didn’t need to be sorry. He was going to be her husband, he should be the first to know. I was already prepared to be second in line. I gave her a warm smile.

  She gave me a weak one in return. “Well, anyway, he said he didn’t think it was appropriate for a married woman to be part of that squad and if that’s what I wanted to do, then maybe we shouldn’t get married.”

  “So what did you say?”

  “I told him where he could go, and I drove straight over here.” She shoved another spoonful of heaven in her mouth and cried some more.

  “Oh, Kris, I’m sure he didn’t mean it. You’re both just stressed.”

  “No, it’s over,” she cried.

  I stood up and hugged her. “I think we should call him. I’m sure he’s worried about you.”

  “My dream has been to be on that squad for as long as I can remember. How can he tell me to forget about it? It’s like he doesn’t trust me, and if he doesn’t trust me, how can we get married?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I could see her point, but I could understand why, perhaps, Chance had reservations, though I didn’t agree with his almost ultimatum. They really needed to talk this out. “Honey, I’m sure you can work this out. You’re tired and you’re in the middle of a huge life change, not to mention Mother Nature’s having her way with you. I think you need to take a deep breath and call Chance.”

  We didn’t have to call him—within a minute there was a knock on my door.

  I opened the door, and without even a hello, Chance rushed in, picked Krissy up, and held her to him. “Krissy, baby, I’m so sorry. If you want to be a professional cheerleader, I’ll support you one hundred percent.”

  “Really?” She spoke against his chest.

  He didn’t answer, at least not verbally. That’s where I took my leave. I waited for them in our living room. I didn’t wait too long; within a few minutes they were walking out my door hand-in-hand, but not before Krissy bear-hugged me. “I love you, CJ.”

  “I know. I love you, too.”

  Chance waved goodbye to me, and I watched them walk out my door. For a moment, I longed to have a love like that. I walked back to the kitchen and eyed the ice cream on the counter. I was tempted to eat the whole carton by myself, but I resisted. I placed the lid back on it and whispered that we would get reacquainted on Sunday.

  It was well after midnight before I made it to bed. Even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. If it weren’t so late, I would be tempted to shoot hoops. I needed to clear my head. I think tonight was the first time I’d ever felt a little envious of Krissy. Not because of Chance; I wasn’t attracted to him at all. No, I wanted someone that loved me like he loved Krissy, someone I could love back with the same passion and desire. I couldn’t help but think of Ryan, but it was a fruitless thought. He didn’t see me that way.

  Saturday morning came way too early. I didn’t get enough sleep for the day I had ahead of me. I longed for Sunday and sleeping in and eating whatever I wanted to. I got up and showered, but I didn’t do my hair or makeup—that would all be done at the country club with the whole bridal party. The only thing I did at home was meticulously shave my legs and underarms, and moisturize until I shined like no one’s business. I felt like I was getting ready for the swimsuit portion of a beauty pageant.

  I ate a light breakfast with my dad before I was off for the day. The wedding was at five that evening, but as the maid of honor, I had my duties to attend to, mainly keeping Krissy from freaking out. I hoped she and Chance hadn’t had any more blow-ups in the eight hours since I’d last seen them.

  “Everything okay with Krissy and Chance?” My dad took a sip of his coffee.

  “As far as I know, but the day is still young.”

  He chuckled. “Pre-wedding jitters are normal with emotions running so high.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed. I think I’ve decided to skip the wedding nonsense when and if my turn comes.”

  He looked up from his paper. “You’re going to deny your old man a trip down the aisle with his baby girl?”

  I grinned. “Think of it this way, I’m saving you a whole lot of money.”

  His eyes brimmed over with love. “I would pay any amount of money to have the ho
nor of giving you away.”

  “You know that could be taken in a bad way.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I do, but I don’t think we’ll have to worry about it for a long time.”

  “You never know about these things; sometimes love pops up when we least expect it to.”

  I knew what he was talking about, or at least I thought I did. He and my mother had met each other while they were each on a date with other people. They both said it was love at first sight. I washed my mind of it. I couldn’t think about my parents and the demise of what seemed like an almost perfect relationship this morning. I especially couldn’t think of the aftermath and how it had altered my life.

  “Just as a warning, my bridesmaid’s dress . . . you’re probably not going to like it.”

  He focused back on me with a question in his eyes. “And why’s that?”

  “Oh, I think I’m going to leave it as a surprise.” I walked over and kissed his head. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Love you, kiddo.” He looked up at me with hope.

  “I know.” I took a deep breath and tried to let go of my pride. “I mean . . . love you, Dad.”

  He stood up and pulled me right to him, and for some reason that released a tidal wave of emotion. I began to cry. I stood there and bathed his shoulder with my tears. He rubbed my back. I think he was crying, too.

  I reluctantly pulled away. “I need to get going, and I don’t think the whole puffy-eye look works for me.”

  He gently touched my cheek. “You’ll be the most beautiful woman there today.”

  I shook my head at him and his bias.

  “I’m not just saying that. It may be Krissy’s day, but I have a feeling you’ll have your fair share of attention.”

  “I love you, Dad.”

  He kissed the top of my head. “I love you more than you know.”

  With that, I ran downstairs to brush my teeth. I grabbed my bag full of necessities for the day, and headed over to the country club. On my drive over, I thought about my dad and forgiveness. I thought about how freeing and wonderful it felt to tell him that I loved him. It was weird, but I felt I could breathe a little easier. I didn’t even realize what I had been holding onto was having a physical effect on me.

  I met Ann and Maviny when I got there. Krissy was already inside, apparently fussing over the tablecloths. Ann and Maviny begged me to go in and calm her down. I didn’t delay and went in to see what I could do. I found my best friend personally measuring the aqua-colored tablecloths to make sure they were perfectly even on every single side of the round tables.

  “Drop the measuring tape and step away,” I called out to her.

  She looked up at me. She looked like a wreck, as if she hadn’t slept at all last night. I hoped she and Chance didn’t get into another argument.

  I walked cautiously toward her. She had a caged-animal look, and I didn’t want to spook her. “Krissy, no one cares, honey, if the tablecloths are perfectly even, and if they do, they have serious issues.”

  Yep, she lost it. Huge crocodile tears streamed down her pretty face.

  I pulled her to me, took the measuring tape out of her hand and hugged her tight. Her mom and sister ran in and retrieved the measuring tape from my hands and hid it. I let Krissy get it out of her and then walked her to the bridal room where I got her a cool damp towel and some cucumbers for her eyes.

  “I just want everything to be perfect.” She cried as she laid on the couch with the cucumbers on her eyes.

  I held her hand. “Krissy, why are you getting married?”

  She took the cucumbers off her eyes and looked at me like I was insane or something. “Why do you think? Because I love Chance.”

  “That’s an excellent reason. And would you still love Chance and marry him even if nothing went as you planned today?”

  She cracked a small smile.

  “That’s what I thought. So why are you driving yourself and everyone else crazy worrying about things that don’t really matter at all? I guarantee that the only thing Chance cares about is that he loves you and he gets to spend the rest of his life with you and . . . the honeymoon.”

  She laughed a little. “Yeah, well, Mother Nature’s gone and ruined that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure Chance won’t care.”

  “He said he didn’t.”

  “See. You need to relax and enjoy this day. Hopefully, it will be the only wedding day you will ever have.” I winked at her.

  She took a deep cleansing breath. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am.”

  She sat up. “When you get married, I promise to be as good a maid of honor as you’ve been.”

  “Oh believe me, I know you will. And you’re also going to wear the lime green dress I picked out specifically for you.”

  “You know I wouldn’t be caught dead in lime green; it looks terrible on me.”

  “Why do you think I picked it out?” I grinned evilly.

  “Again, you should be thanking me. You’re going to look like a runway model at my wedding.”

  “Hmm . . . I’m still thinking hooker on Colfax.”

  She laughed at me.

  With the reset in mood and priorities, we did a tour of the ceremony hall and reception area where there would be dinner and dancing. Anytime Krissy started to get nitpicky or maniacal, I reigned her in and reminded her the real reason she was having this wedding. And honestly, she had nothing to complain about—everything looked fantastic right down to the red rose centerpieces on each table.

  By then the other three bridesmaids had arrived, and we went to work on each other. We each helped each other with hair and makeup, and we pampered our bride, who thankfully, was chilling out some. Midol and chocolate are godsends.

  Krissy and I stood in the floor length mirror and stared at each other. This was really happening. We did our best not to cry. It was as if time stood still for a small moment as we held hands there. A million happy memories flooded my mind. I knew we would have more, but they would never be the same. I felt as if we were really saying goodbye to childhood. Thank goodness for waterproof mascara.

  Krissy looked absolutely stunning in her off-the-shoulder winter-white princess ball gown. Her hair was swept up romantically, and she had to have her tiara. It so perfectly suited her. I kept looking at myself, too. I still couldn’t believe I was wearing a dress that left hardly anything to the imagination. I was so unbelievably grateful for Spanx and that I didn’t finish off the ice cream carton the night before.

  Krissy and I hugged once more and each took a deep breath, which was a little difficult; even with all the working out that I had done, my breathing still needed to be shallow.

  Once we were decked out, it was time for pictures of only the bride and her bridesmaids. Krissy and Chance opted not to see each other until the ceremony. I thought that was weird, but hey, it wasn’t my party.

  The photographer wasn’t quite sure what to do with me. As I predicted, I looked like an Amazon woman in comparison to Krissy and her other bridesmaids. She suggested I take off my heels, but Krissy wouldn’t hear of it. There were several pictures with us sitting down on the benches throughout the gardens.

  “I hope you have some tall groomsmen,” the snarky photographer commented.

  I bit my tongue and refrained from shoving her camera down her throat. It was bad enough I was half-naked, but now I was being singled out because of my height. Did she even realize how uncomfortable I was?

  “Don’t let her get to you,” Maviny whispered. “She’s jealous because you’re gorgeous.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled. “You’re the best little sister I never had.”

  As we walked back in from the gardens to freshen up before the ceremony, I ran into someone I didn’t expect to see yet. Someone I had been trying hard not to think about all day.

  Chapter Nine

  “Charlee.” Ryan perused me from head to toe and then back up aga
in. His arm accessory did the same, and her look said peed-on Cheerios. Ryan’s was more of shock. I had never seen his eyes so wide. It looked like he had been to the optometrist and had his eyes medically dilated.

  I never felt so self-conscious in all my life. “Ryan.”

  “We came early to walk through the gardens.” That came out nervous. “Oh, and you remember Jacquelyn, right?”

  Jacquelyn tightened her grip on his arm.

  “Yes, of course. It’s nice to see you again,” I lied.

  She sneered at me and nodded her head. What did I ever do to her?

  “Come on, CJ,” Dana called after me.

  I bit my lip. “I guess I better go.”

  Ryan smiled, and my insides melted. It didn’t help that he looked all sorts of handsome in his light gray suit and his viridian-colored tie.

  “I’m sure we’ll see you later.” He kept staring at me.

  I nodded my head and tried to walk off with grace and composure. I wasn’t sure how I did on the outside because my insides were having a dance party, and I think some of the butterflies were drunk.

  “Who was that fine man?” Dana asked once I caught up to the group.

  “That’s Ryan.” Maviny laughed.

  “Dang, girl, he is fine!” Tasha shouted a little too loud.

  “Shhhh,” I begged. All I needed was for Ryan to hear.

  “Who was the priss he was with?” Amy asked.

  “Jacquelyn,” I tried to say without derision.

  Krissy, who had been leading us, turned around. “Well, we need to come up with a plan tonight on how to get little Miss Priss away from Ryan and you into his arms.”

  “Stop it right there. Ryan doesn’t see me like that, I’m completely not his type.”

  “Please, girl,” Tasha cut in. “Did you see the way that man was looking at you? He’s definitely into you.”

  Everyone was smiling at me, including Ann and Ken, Krissy’s parents.

  I could feel myself turning red.