Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold) Page 3

  On the bright side, that part of him wasn’t dead. Something to remember when the nights got long.

  Her office was small and utilitarian. No window—just a few file cabinets, a battered desk, her chair and two others for visitors. A plastic palm tree nestled close to pictures of an older couple, along with a man in his midforties. There was also a younger woman close to twenty. A younger sister, he would guess. And the man?

  So much for his brief moment of fantasy, he thought as he pointed to the photos.

  “Your husband?”

  She turned, then shook her head. “I’m not married. That’s my brother and his daughter, Jasmine. Those are my parents.”

  All good news, he thought. “Nice family.”

  “Thanks.”

  He settled in one of the visitor chairs. “How long have you owned the store?”

  “What? I don’t. I’m a partner. Isabel Hendrix owns most of it. She bought it from her parents a couple of years ago. It’s been in her family over fifty years. Paper Moon is kind of a Fool’s Gold tradition.” Her voice turned wistful. “Nearly every little girl grows up imagining buying her dress here.”

  She smiled. “Luckily most of them end up doing just that. The other half of the business is women’s clothing. A lot of regional designers who haven’t been discovered yet. Isabel offered me a small percentage of the business to be paid out over several years. While I appreciate that, I’m putting in part of my salary to increase my ownership.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Which is way more than you wanted to know. Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s interesting. You’re ambitious.”

  “In my tiny way, yes. I also want to earn my way in.”

  He liked that. Too many people wanted things given to them. He could appreciate that quirks of fate and just plain dumb luck could change everything. He was proof of that.

  “That’s why I’m excited about helping you with Ginger’s wedding,” she added. “It’s a chance to learn something new.”

  * * *

  Madeline couldn’t tell if she sounded reasonably intelligent or had been reduced to babbling. Being this close to Jonny Blaze was still difficult. From a distance, she was able to maintain a clear line of thought. But when he was just on the other side of her small desk, well, her brain had other things on its mind.

  It wasn’t just that he was good-looking. In reality Fool’s Gold had more than its share of handsome men wandering around. But he was different. She didn’t know if it was the movie-star thing or a personality flaw or what. Her friend Felicia had once talked about the sociological aspects of hierarchy in the village. Something about having the biggest head.

  No, that wasn’t right. The most important person. But there was also something about a big head. Anyway, she would need to go talk to Felicia and get it figured out. She was pretty sure the theory would help her act more normal around Jonny Blaze.

  Now she forced herself to remember why he was here—which wasn’t to fill her afternoon with eye-candy moments. There was a wedding to organize and she was responsible for that.

  “I spoke to Ginger,” she said.

  “She mentioned that. She liked you.”

  The unexpected comment momentarily flustered her. “I liked her, too. She’s really nice. And excited about the wedding.” Also dealing with school and the holidays and everything else. Just listening to all Ginger had going on had exhausted Madeline. “I made notes during our call. She confirmed what you said at our previous meeting. She wants a small, intimate, low-key wedding. The guest list is forty-four people and she swears it’s not going to get any bigger.”

  “However big she wants it is fine with me,” Jonny said. “This is about Ginger and Oliver. She’s my sister and what makes her happy, makes me happy.”

  A not uncommon sentiment from a big brother, yet nice to hear.

  “The wedding is going to be at your ranch?” Madeline asked, checking her notes. “There’s a barn?”

  The lazy smile returned. “It’s nicer than it sounds. The barn has been converted into a big, open space. We’ll be able to fit in tables and decorations.”

  “What do you use it for?”

  “I haven’t decided. I knew I didn’t need a place to house livestock.”

  “No desire to raise horses and cows?”

  “Not this week. You’ll probably want to come take a look at it.”

  Go to his house? Or his barn, but still. They were on the same property. She hoped she looked normal as she nodded and made a note. “That’s a good idea. We can discuss decorations and table linens. I’ve already reserved the tables and chairs. I was worried they would all be set aside for other events. I wasn’t sure if you had enough dishes and glasses, so I reserved those, as well.”

  “Good thinking.” Concern drew his brows together. “I hadn’t realized there was so much to organize. I’m glad we’re working on this together.”

  His words made her tingle all over. Star power, she told herself. Nothing more than star power.

  * * *

  Madeline wrapped up her meeting with Jonny, then collected her handbag and walked toward the other side of the store. While wedding gowns would always be a part of Paper Moon, the retail clothing addition was doing well. Madeline found Isabel sorting through a shipment of handbags.

  Her business partner, a tall, curvy blonde, smiled. “Is it time for lunch? Thank goodness. This has been one of those mornings. Only half of what I ordered got delivered and there was nearly a fistfight between two tourists who wanted the same jacket in the same size. I was afraid I was going to have to call for backup.”

  “You know where to find me,” Madeline told her. “Rosalind is here most days, too. Between the three of us, we should be able to wrestle any unruly shopper into submission.”

  Isabel laughed. “Thank you for that. I feel better.”

  The words were appropriate, but there was something about the way Isabel said them. “Are you okay?”

  “What? Of course. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

  “I’m not sure.” There was something, Madeline thought, studying her friend. She just couldn’t figure out what.

  “You’re feeling okay?” she asked.

  Isabel had recently announced she was pregnant. As far as Madeline knew, everything was progressing normally.

  Isabel put a hand on her belly. “Everything is going along as it should,” she said firmly. “I’m healthy. Not to worry.” She started for the back. “Give me one second and we’ll head to Jo’s.”

  Two minutes later they were walking to Jo’s Bar, where they would meet their friends for lunch. The air was crisp. The first snow had already fallen and pretty much gone away. There were still a few piles left from clearing the sidewalks, but little else. Still, plenty more was on the way. While the first few snowfalls were always exciting, by month two of shoveling, Madeline knew she would be ready for spring. Still, it would be wonderful to have a white Christmas.

  They ducked into Jo’s Bar. The place catered to women and was decorated with flattering paint colors, good lighting. There were plenty of healthy choices on the menu. Today the TVs were tuned to either a shopping channel or a show on HGTV.

  Madeline saw that Shelby and Destiny had already claimed a table. She waved at her friends, then led the way over.

  “Hey, you,” Shelby said, coming to her feet and hugging Madeline. She greeted Isabel, then moved so Madeline could say hi to a more-pregnant-by-the-day Destiny.

  “You’re growing,” Madeline said with a laugh. “And glowing. Isabel, this is in your future.”

  “If only,” Isabel said with a sigh. “I’ll never look that good when I’m six months along.”

  “Don’t be too nice to me,” Destiny told them. “I’m very hormonal these days. I’ll start crying.”

  “We don’t want that,” Shelby, a petite blonde, told her teasingly.

  The two women smiled at each other. While Shelby and Madeline were close, Shelby and Dest
iny were sisters-in-law. Destiny had married Shelby’s brother—former Olympic skier Kipling Gilmore—the previous summer. No one had known they were even seeing each other until the surprise wedding. Talk about keeping a secret.

  Something Madeline was finally experiencing herself, she thought happily. Not that working for Jonny Blaze was as exciting as an illicit romance, but still. She knew that she was going to have to tell Isabel—what with her having to be gone from the shop from time to time. But that was for later. Right now she was keeping the information to herself. Mostly because she and Jonny hadn’t discussed if it was public or not. Until she confirmed that he was okay with her mentioning it to her business partner, she wasn’t saying a word.

  The door opened and Patience, Taryn and Consuelo walked in. Or rather Taryn and Consuelo walked. Patience waddled, with her second child due the first week of January. The three women headed to their table.

  Madeline loved her lunches out with her friends. The number and faces were always changing, but they had friendship in common. Today’s group was eclectic, as always. Patience owned Brew-haha, the local coffee shop in town, Phoebe was a recent transplant from LA who was now a rancher’s wife, Taryn ran a PR firm and Consuelo was an instructor at the bodyguard school.

  Isabel looked at Taryn and shook her head. “I see you’re back to your skinny self. Didn’t you just have a baby last Tuesday?”

  “I had Bryce in July,” the violet-eyed brunette said with a grimace. “And I’ve been sweating in the gym every day for the past four months. I’ve had to lift weights. It’s awful. So you don’t get to be mad at me. I’ve earned my way back into my clothes.”

  Isabel stuck out her tongue and the rest of the women laughed.

  “It feels good to be back to where I was,” Taryn said.

  Destiny rested her hand on her growing belly. “I look forward to it.”

  “Sing it, sister,” Patience said.

  Madeline was sure most women would agree with them, but she had to admit to a little disappointment. It seemed to her that having a baby should be transformative. That you shouldn’t just slip back into your old life. Although she doubted carrying around an extra five or ten pounds was the right way to mark the occasion. She just knew that if she was lucky enough to fall in love and get married and have kids, she wanted the experience to change her.

  Jo came by and took their orders. Conversation flowed easily. Phoebe mentioned hearing from Maya and Del, who were in China. That was followed by everyone admitting they had no idea how the Chinese celebrated the holidays, or if they did at all.

  As people talked, Madeline became aware of Isabel fidgeting in her seat. She leaned close to her business partner.

  “I know I keep asking this, but are you okay?”

  Isabel surprised her by hugging her. “You’re a good person, you know that, right?”

  Madeline studied her. “Are you crying?”

  “What Destiny has is contagious.” Isabel cleared her throat, then sighed. “I have an announcement.”

  The table quieted. Isabel looked at them all. “I’m pregnant.”

  Consuelo frowned. “Did you hit your head? Do you have a concussion? We all know you’re pregnant. If you hadn’t told me, I’d still know. Ford tells me every single day. If I didn’t like you so much, I would kill him because he’s annoying.”

  A statement that from anyone else might be cause for alarm, but was exactly how Consuelo thought and talked.

  Isabel seemed to brace herself. “I didn’t hit my head. It’s just... I had my ultrasound and...” She held up her hand. “I’m fine. I’m doing well. Too well. Because... I’m having triplets.”

  There was a moment of silence followed by loud cheers and calls of congratulations.

  Madeline took in the news. She knew Isabel’s husband, Ford, had triplet sisters, so it wasn’t a complete surprise that she would be having multiples. It was just, well, Madeline had thought they were friends. That working together had brought them closer. Even though she’d asked, Isabel hadn’t told her the news privately.

  Madeline reminded herself that the information was Isabel’s to share and she shouldn’t take the slight personally. It was just—

  “Don’t be mad,” Isabel whispered. “I couldn’t tell you.”

  “Okay,” Madeline said slowly, still not sure why.

  “It’s just... I was scared. I’m going to need you so much and it’s not fair, but without you, I can’t keep the business going.”

  Madeline hugged her. “You’re an idiot.”

  “I know.”

  “Of course I’ll help.”

  “You swear?”

  “Try to get me to stop. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. You’re the best business partner ever.”

  Madeline laughed. “You say that like it’s news.”

  * * *

  While the rest of the country seemed to jump from Halloween to Christmas, in Fool’s Gold the tradition of giving thanks was embraced. Jonny saw gourds and straw baskets, every form of turkey from paper to ceramic. There were harvest garlands and fall-colored bunting and plenty of pilgrims. Hokey but nice.

  He wasn’t sure how the transition to Christmas was going to happen, but it would have to be nearly an overnight thing. There was a town Christmas tree lighting scheduled this coming Saturday, only two days after Thanksgiving.

  He crossed the street and headed into Paper Moon. He could see Madeline up on the dais, with a bride. The young woman was maybe twenty, with brown hair and glasses. She reminded him a little of Ginger, with her earnest expression.

  The dress had a big skirt, like something a Disney princess would wear. It suited her youth, he thought, then held in a grin. Next thing he knew he would be discussing makeup and shoes. Talk about a way to frighten off guy friends. His buddy Shep would sure have something to say about any discussion that girlie. For now, Jonny was safe. Shep was on loan to the search and rescue program in Yosemite and wouldn’t be back until after the holidays.

  A tall, blonde woman walked up to him. She studied him for a second, as if trying to place him. He saw the exact moment she realized who he was. To her credit, she barely blinked.

  “Good afternoon,” she said. “I’m Isabel Hendrix. May I help you?”

  Now it was his turn to be startled. If the woman knew who he was, why didn’t she know why he was here? He glanced from her to Madeline, who was hugging the young bride. The girl stepped off the dais and headed for the dressing room. Madeline followed her down the stairs, then walked over to join them.

  “Hi,” she said. “Did we have an appointment?”

  A polite way of pointing out he was interrupting her workday. She stood up for herself. He liked that.

  “I had a couple of ideas I wanted to talk to you about. When you have a free moment.”

  “Sure. I’ll be about ten minutes, if you want to wait.”

  “Your office?”

  Isabel glanced between them. “You two obviously know what you’re doing. I’ll head back to my side of the store.”

  She gave Madeline a look that clearly stated they would be talking later.

  The promised ten minutes later, Madeline joined him. “How can I help you?” she asked as she settled behind her desk.

  “You didn’t tell her.”

  “What?”

  “Your business partner. You didn’t say you were working with me.”

  She shifted in her seat, then waved a hand. “I didn’t know if I should, so I erred on the side of discretion. This is your private business. I don’t talk about my brides with anyone. Not in any detail. I might ask for opinions on a dress or get suggestions, but what happens here is personal. Planning a wedding falls under the same category.”

  He could appreciate someone who respected privacy. “You can tell your business partner and anyone you’d like that you’re helping me.”

  “Good, because I’ll have to say something what with you showing up here and all.”

 
; “Should I have worn a disguise?”

  “Maybe a fedora.”

  He chuckled. “Not sure I own one of those.”

  Madeline was dressed in her usual black, with her hair pulled back. She had on red lipstick. It was kind of sexy and, when combined with the prim cut of her blouse, gave her that naughty librarian look. He’d always been a sucker for librarians.

  “You wanted to talk about the wedding?” she asked.

  “Ice sculptures.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I was thinking ice sculptures to line the main driveway to the house and the walkway to the barn. Flowers in vases, maybe a few snowflakes for the holiday season. Just to make it more festive.”

  Madeline considered his words. “I never would have thought of them, but sure. I can run the idea past Ginger. They’d add a nice touch. Also give some visual interest when people looked outside. Would you light them?”

  “Of course.”

  “That could be really pretty.” She pulled out a folder and made some notes. “I’m putting together information to email her tonight. I’ll include this. And while I have you here, if you have the time, I have a couple of things I’d like you to look at.”

  “Sure thing.”

  It was nearly noon. He thought about asking if she wanted to have lunch with him. Because he enjoyed Madeline’s company. Plus, the whole red-lip, buttoned-collar thing was working for him.

  But then what? Getting involved with him was a nightmare. Someone always leaked the information to a tabloid and then it went to hell. In a town like Fool’s Gold, there weren’t going to be any secrets. Someone was bound to know someone who knew a guy who made his living taking pictures.

  Jonny had been down that road before and it never ended well. He knew he was lucky. He made a lot of money at a job he really liked. It had allowed him to take care of his sister. But there was a price for fame, and sometimes it was one he didn’t want to have to pay.

  She handed over several sheets of paper. “Catering ideas. I’ve been talking to Ana Raquel and I’ve marked her suggestions for what is the most popular. One of the challenges is the time of year—we can’t always get all the seasonal options.”