They’d even talked about marriage and debating where they would live while both continued to oversee their respective family enterprises; her so-called fairy-tale romance ended abruptly when Sean called her in a panic, begging her to meet him at his house later that night.
She’d driven to Beckley, her pulse pounding an accelerated rhythm as she tried imagining what had upset him. Once he revealed his dilemma Georgina felt as if she’d been stabbed through her heart. The man with whom she’d fallen in love and contemplated marriage was addicted to gambling. He’d pleaded with her to lend him the money because not only did he need to cover the fifteen thousand he’d embezzled from the dealership, but he also owed his bookie more than five thousand dollars. She’d experienced twin emotions of shock and disappointment. Shocked that she’d fallen in love with a gambler, and disappointed that yet again a man was only interested in her bank balance.
Although she did not regard herself as wealthy, she was far from being labeled a pauper. She lived at home, and therefore she did not have to pay for housing; her closet wasn’t filled with designer labels because her social life was nonexistent. And her only big-ticket item was an automobile, which she never financed. Georgina knew it was the future possibility of her assuming complete control of Powell’s that had folks viewing her as the golden goose.
She’d shown no emotion when she wished Sean luck and if his bookie followed through with his threat then she was certain his mother would let her know where to send flowers: to the hospital or funeral home. However, she did promise him that she wouldn’t tell anyone about his addiction. Georgina returned to Wickham Falls devastated and told her mother why she’d decided to break up with Sean. Evelyn claimed it was all for the best, and that she would get over his duplicity faster by throwing all her energies into Powell’s.
Georgina removed her smock, leaving it on a coatrack, and left her office. She approached longtime employee Diana Kelly. “Mrs. Kelly, I have to leave for a while, so I’d like you to cover the front for me.”
The middle-aged grandmother’s quick smile and friendly greeting to everyone who came into Powell’s had made her a favorite go-to clerk and an invaluable employee. “Of course, sweetie.” Everyone was sweetie to the petite, dark-skinned woman with short, natural hair.
Georgina chided herself for not putting on a jacket over her long-sleeve tee when she left the store and walked along Main Street to Sasha’s Sweet Shoppe. The rain had finally stopped but not even the bright spring sunlight could dispel the unseasonal chill in the air. She quickened her pace and opened the door to the bakeshop, the bell chiming and announcing someone had come in. Within seconds Charlotte Manning came from the rear of the store. Charlotte had stepped in to help her daughter when she volunteered to manage the bakeshop for the morning shift, while Kiera Adams, the dentist’s teenage daughter, worked the afternoons.
“What brings you in so early?” Charlotte Manning asked, smiling. The widowed, fifty-something woman with silvered blond hair and brilliant blue eyes hadn’t lost any of her youthful beauty.
“I came to ask Sasha for advice about what type of dessert I could bring to someone’s home for dinner.”
“Go on back. Right now Sasha is decorating cupcakes.”
Although she and Sasha shared many classes in high school, their friendship did not extend to sleepovers. Sasha had confided to her that her parents argued constantly, and she wanted what went on in the Manning household to remain behind closed doors; all three Manning kids left home within weeks of graduating.
“Hey, friend,” Georgina crooned when Sasha’s net-covered head popped up. “Oh, my word! Those decorations are awesome!”
Sasha set down the piping bag and removed a pair of disposable gloves. “I use Russian piping tips to create leaves and colorful flowers. I’m able to decorate dozens in less than a half hour.”
“They look too pretty to eat.” Delicate green leaves surrounded circles of vibrant pink and red roses.
“I try to take them to the next level.”
“You more than try, Sasha. Everyone’s talking about the deliciousness coming out of this shop and I can see why. It’s like Willie Wonka’s. Instead of chocolate it’s cupcakes and cookies.”
Sasha sat on a stool and patted the one next to her. “Sit down, Georgi, and tell me what you want.”
She stared at the naturally curly strawberry-blond woman with emerald-green eyes, silently admiring her friend who’d turned heads at the Chamber fund-raiser. Georgina knew it wasn’t only from what she’d been wearing but also because she’d attended as Dwight Adams’s date.
“I know this is short notice, but I’m going to someone’s home for dinner tonight, and I’d like a suggestion what I can bring as dessert.”
Sasha pushed her hands into the pockets of the pink smock. “How many people will be at the dinner?”
“Just two.”
A smile played at the corners of the chef’s mouth. “Should I assume the other person is a man?”
Georgina smiled. “Yes. It’s Langston Cooper.”
Throwing back her head, Sasha laughed loudly. “When I saw you two together at the fund-raiser, I told Dwight that Langston was—what’s the word they use in romance novels when the hero falls hard for the heroine?”
“Besotted.”
Sasha snapped her fingers. “Yes, that’s it. He was totally besotted with you.”
Georgina wanted to tell her friend she was wrong. Although he’d given her a chaste kiss and alluded to her becoming his possible girlfriend, she didn’t get the vibe that he was serious. “And Dr. Adams isn’t besotted with you?” she countered.
“No. Our only connection is that his daughter works for me.”
“If you say so, Sasha.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I don’t. You haven’t been back long enough to know that a lot of women are willing to give up their eyeteeth to get Dwight Adams to notice them.”
Sasha laughed again. “I can’t believe you have dentist jokes.” She sobered. “Now, back to you and Langston. What are you looking for?”
“Something that is not too sweet.”
“I can put together a box of miniature red velvet brownies and petit fours.”
Georgina passed her palms together. “That sounds perfect. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” Sasha said as she slipped off the stool. “I don’t charge my friends for their first order. The exception is a wedding cake.”
“Bite your tongue, my friend. You know I’m nowhere ready to become someone’s wife. Thanks to you, I’m planning to move into my own place, and it will be the first time in my life that I’ll be totally on my own.” Smiling, she stood. “And right now I’m a little too selfish to share me with anyone on a permanent basis.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Georgi. Don’t forget I cried on your shoulder every week about what was going on in my home when we were in school together. You were the one who told me that I had options. That I could enlist in the military or find a position in another city or state.”
Sasha had taken her advice and left Wickham Falls; she’d enrolled in culinary school, becoming a pastry chef, then a contestant in a televised baking competition, which set the stage for her baking for celebrities, and she’d also married A-list country superstar Grant Richards. Now Sasha had come full circle. She’d relocated from Nashville after divorcing her husband to start over in Wickham Falls.
“I’ll come over later to pick it up.”
“Don’t bother, Georgi. I’ll have my mother drop it off at the end of her shift.”
Georgina hugged Sasha. “We have to get together whenever I’m settled in my new digs.”
Sasha pressed her cheek to Georgina’s. “That’s a bet.”
She returned to Powell’s, thanked Mrs. Kelly for filling in for her and answered a customer’s qu
estion about which mandolin was best for zesting. Aside from the arts and crafts section, she liked housewares best, and Georgina was looking forward to the time when she would be able to prepare her own meals in the guesthouse kitchen.
The morning and afternoon passed quickly and when the programmed recorded announcement echoed through the store it would be closing in ten minutes, Georgina knew she had to get home, shower and dress for her dinner date with Langston.
Chapter Six
Langston stood on the porch, waiting for Georgina’s arrival. She’d sent him a text indicating she was on her way. Although they lived within walking distance, he rarely got to see Georgina when they were growing up, and he attributed that to the four-year difference in their ages. She and his sister shared several classes, however they never connected to become more than classmates.
Headlights swept over other cars parked in the cul-de-sac and he smiled when her off-white SUV came closer. Coming down off the porch, Langston motioned for Georgina to park behind the classic Mustang that had once belonged to his father. Over the years, Annette Cooper had accused her husband of loving the muscle car more than her and any of their children and had convinced him to gift it to Langston rather than transport the vehicle to Florida. Langston had contacted Jesse Austen, who owned and operated the only auto repair shop in Wickham Falls for decades, to tow the car to his garage for a complete overhaul. And the result was the forty-year-old vehicle ran like new.
He opened the driver’s-side door after Georgina came to a complete stop and cut off the engine. A smile softened his features when she placed her palm on his as he assisted her down. A ponytail had replaced the ubiquitous braid, a cascade of curls floating halfway down her back over a ruffled white silk blouse. He thought she looked incredibly feminine in the blouse she’d paired with stretchy black slacks and matching ballet flats. Langston inhaled her perfume, a scent that had lingered with him hours after the fund-raiser ended, and he’d found the fragrance as unique as its wearer. It wasn’t flowery, but slightly woodsy with notes of patchouli and vanilla.
He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for the invite.”
Georgina’s smoky voice caressed his ear, reminding him why he liked talking with her. The timbre was low, hypnotic and controlled. Even when annoyed, her tone did not change.
“I decided to change the menu.”
“To what?” she asked.
“Come inside and you’ll see.”
“I brought dessert. It’s on the passenger seat.”
Langston rested a hand at the small of her back. “I’ll get it. Please go inside, Georgi. I’ve got this.”
* * *
Georgina walked up the porch steps and into the house where Langston and his sister Jacklyn had grown up. The farmhouse style was like hers and others in the upscale neighborhood designed by the same architect/builder nearly fifty years ago. All two-story structures were advertised with four bedrooms, three baths, formal living and dining rooms, full basement, two-car garages and wraparound porches. Unlike her house, the Cooper property was in a cul-de-sac with no access for through traffic.
Growing up she’d found it odd that the residents in the enclave usually kept to themselves. The exception was when someone passed away, then they all came together to support the survivors. They preferred joining local civic organizations when it came to socializing with one another. Georgina’s mother had participated in the church’s semiannual food drive, Toys for Tots and had been an active member in the Chamber of Commerce. After burying Kevin, she rarely left the house, and when she did it was to sporadically attend church services or drop by the store. Georgina wished her father had told her sooner, rather than later, about her mother’s inability to have more children, which would’ve made Evelyn’s behavior much more tolerable.
The entryway appeared to be a desert oasis with tables of varying heights cradling decorative pots filled with a variety of succulents. Bright red flowers sprouted from the saguaro in a large copper planter. She felt the heat from Langston’s body as he came up behind her.
“How often do you water these beauties?”
“Once a month. These were my mother’s pride and joy and she wanted to take them with her to Florida, but Dad talked her out of it because the bungalow is very small. It’s no bigger than a studio apartment I’d once rented in New York City. By the way, you didn’t need to bring dessert, but I’m not going to refuse anything that comes from Sasha’s patisserie.”
Georgina smiled at Langston over her shoulder. “Did you know she wanted to call the bakeshop Sasha’s Patisserie, but decided against it because she thought most folks wouldn’t understand what the word meant?”
“We mountaineers aren’t that uninformed,” Langston said defensively.
“Please, don’t get me wrong, Langston, because as a fellow mountaineer we definitely aren’t ignorant. You know what patisserie means because you’ve spent at least half your life traveling to different countries, while many from the Falls have barely left the state.”
Langston reached for her hand. “One of these days I’ll tell you about some of the countries I’ve visited.”
“Was it for work?”
“Not all of them. There were some countries I always wanted to see, and being stationed abroad made it easier to take side trips.”
Georgina entered the living room and saw firsthand why the Coopers had decided to retire to Key West, Florida. As a student of art, she recognized Caribbean island influences with rich mahogany carved pieces, a mixing of rattan and woven furniture, with an emphasis on plants. The influence stemming from France, Spain, Holland and Demark, all vying for control of the many islands, was apparent in the furnishings in the formal dining room with a Regency-style table with Jamaican rope-style legs. The table was set for two with plates, silver and crystal.
“Your home is beautiful.” She couldn’t hide the awe in her voice.
“I’ll let Mom know you admire her decorating skill.”
Georgina wanted to tell Langston that his mother’s decorating skill went beyond someone who knew what she liked. The items she’d chosen to decorate her home were comparable to those selected by professional interior decorators. “Did it bother her that she had to leave all this when she relocated?”
Langston nodded. “Yes. Dad used to call me several times a week complaining that Mom wanted to sell the Key West bungalow and buy a larger house so she could transport the furniture in this place to their new residence. There was no way Dad was going to trade one four-bedroom house for another at his age. The impasse ended when I told him once I sold my DC condo I’d buy this house and with the furnishings, which pacified Mom. Decorating the rooms in this house had become her passion, and whenever she had time off she would call antiques shops to ask if they had a particular lamp, table or bed.”
“With her eye for detail, she definitely could have a second career as a decorator.”
Langston laughed softly. “After forty years as a pharmacist, all my mother wants to do is kick back and relax. She and Dad are so laidback that they don’t have any clocks in the house. They even turned off the one on the microwave.”
“Do you intend to follow in their footsteps once you retire, Langston?”
“I don’t know. I’m thirty-six, so I have at least another thirty years before I can plan for my retirement. What about you, Georgi? Have you thought about what you’d like to do once you retire?”
Turning, Georgina looked up at Langston staring down at her. Wearing flats made her aware of the differences in their heights. She stood five six in bare feet, and he towered over her by at least another six inches. “After coming back from vacationing in some exotic locale where the only strenuous thing I’d have to do is raise my hand for a waiter to bring me more food and drink, I’d sit on the porch knitting sweaters and hats for my gr
andchildren.”
Throwing back his head, Langston laughed with abandon. “Now that sounds as if you’re not going to exert much energy whether on vacation or sitting on the porch,” he teased.
“That’s because I’m going to put all of my energy into running my business, where I will be entitled to take it easy once I decide to retire.”
“Should I assume marriage and children will figure into your equation?”
Georgina shrugged her shoulders under the frilly blouse. “If it happens, Langston. And if it doesn’t, then it’s not going to be the end of the world for me. A lot of women go through life unmarried and childless and live wonderful, fulfilled lives.”
“You’re right about that,” he said in agreement. “I’ve worked with a lot of women who prefer career to marriage and motherhood.”
“Do you admire them for that?” Georgina questioned.
“Whether I do or don’t is irrelevant. I believe because we all have an expiration date, folks should do whatever they want, because life can be totally unpredictable and to wait may not be best for them.”
“Do you want to get married again, and maybe this time have children?”
His mother had asked him the same question and he’d told her no, because at the time his head was so mixed up, he hadn’t known what he wanted to do at that moment or even the next day. But Georgina wasn’t his mother and he was now in a better place mentally and emotionally.
“I’ve been thinking about it.”
“How long do you plan to think about, Langston? Either you do or you don’t.”
Starting Over In Wickham Falls (Wickham Falls Weddings Book 9) Page 8