Chapter Eight

Georgie drew her needle through the edge of the appliqued stingray as she took her final stitch on the ocean creatures quilt for her anonymous victim. After going on her Facebook-free diet she found she had an inordinate amount of free time, so she’d been working diligently on her quilt. Every idle moment she had she created the various blocks on which she’d hand-stitched an octopus, a crab, a jellyfish, a seahorse, a fish, a turtle, a stingray, a hammerhead shark, a swordfish, a sea otter, and even a mermaid. The last block featured a wooden surfboard. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy’s board, but this was a reasonable enough facsimile to get the point across. She planned to spend the afternoon stitching the blocks together; then she’d be ready to hand-quilt it together, which was a perfect project for the cold nights that had set in. And the ideal distraction to keep her from nonstop dreading the upcoming wedding.

She was taking a break to make a grilled cheese and heat up some tomato soup when Margie called.

“Hey sweetie,” she said. “I know that wedding is looming large for you. Just wanted to call and see if you’ve found someone to take. I’m perfectly happy to go with you, but I know you don’t particularly want to bring an old gal like me.”

Georgie flipped her sandwich on the pan and gave the soup a stir. “You know I’d love to have you there, but I also would hate to subject you to Aunt Jeannie. I’ll be fine. After my vibrator comments to her, I think she’ll to steer clear of me anyhow.”

Margie laughed. “I have to hand it to you, Georgie. That was a stroke of sheer genius to pull that one out. I wish I had thought of it myself.”

“I’m not sure where my remark came from, but I’m glad I thought of it. I need to learn to be armed with zingers like that to shut her up more regularly.” She put the sandwich on her plate and cut it in half diagonally, then poured the soup into a mug. “So, Harper’s coming with me. She’s kind of seeing this guy, but he never seems to be around, and I think there’s some other ex-boyfriend she’s trying to shake, so I figured it would be good for us both to have each other’s backs a bit.”

“If you’re certain?”

Georgie dipped the corner of her sandwich into her soup and took a chomp. She rolled her eyes back. Nothing like a good grilled cheese on a cold night. “I’m so good. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Can’t wait to hear. And remember, behave.”

Georgie laughed. “Surely you don’t think I would do something to embarrass myself.”

“Not yourself, but with that aunt of yours, you never know what you’ll do if she pushes your buttons.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to push the off button here right now so I can eat my sandwich and get back to my quilt. Love you!”

As much as Georgie would love to stick it to old Aunt Jeannie, she wouldn’t do that to her cousin. She’d have to save it for some other time.

~*~

Georgie decided it was best to drive so she could control when she arrived and when she left the big wedding bash. She figured she’d be there till the canapés were passed and then blow out of there, soul intact. And she was certain Harper would be glad to leave as soon as possible as well. Maybe they could go for a drink somewhere with a nice warm, cozy fireplace and could toast to their singlehood and lack of men in their lives. Although Harper had some guy lurking around. And maybe another one, for that matter. She wasn’t letting on too much, but that was the best Georgie could discern, based on Harper’s vague comments.

Georgie decided to go all-out and look her damnedest for this thing—she wasn’t going to give her aunt a reason to fault her. So what that she might need to lose ten or fifteen pounds. To hell with that. She was perfectly happy the way she was.

She pulled on a silver silk dress with a flared sheer floral silver organza overlay. The high-waisted dress was scooped at the neck and landed midcalf. Once her dress was on, she finished her hair, lacing the blond strands into a French braid that helped to emphasize her beautiful icy blue eyes. She even finger-curled the tendrils that she couldn’t catch into the braid.

She slid her feet into a pair of glittery silver pumps that Margie had lent her. And Margie had expensive taste, so she didn’t doubt they cost a small fortune. Taking a look at herself in the mirror, she grinned—she loved herself exactly as she was. If her aunt couldn’t see that, well that was her problem.

After she picked up Harper, they drove to the wedding venue, a charming restored Victorian manor located on the beach. They climbed the wide porch steps and entered a cozy living room with a fire blazing in the fireplace. There, a woman led them through a large dining room, then outside to a deck with a clear plastic-covered, heated area set aside with rows of chairs. Hundreds of candles twinkled both inside and outside the tent.

Sometimes she especially hated that her aunt always made things perfect. And it made her particularly sad because her mother would have found something even more perfect for her, had she been alive still. Had she actually gotten married. Neither of which were realities, unfortunately. She looked over at Harper, who seemed particularly distracted by a handsome man who’d started talking to her as if he knew her. Georgie approached them to see if she needed help.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude. Georgia, meet Noah.”

Georgia glanced at Harper, surprised. “Noah as in that Noah?”

Noah had been Harper’s serious boyfriend for ages but had abandoned her years earlier. Harper had mentioned running into him a couple of times and that she wanted to get him off her back.

“This is the Noah I might have mentioned before.”

Georgia shook his hand as if she’d touched something hot. “Damn, girl, you failed to tell me that he looked like this. No wonder you were pissed at him leaving.”

The corner of Noah’s mouth curled up into a grin. He reached his hand out. “Georgia—delighted to meet you. How do you two beautiful women know each other?”

What a charming man! Georgie needed to get to the bottom of why Harper would want to get rid of him. He was adorable and so sweet.

“Please, call me Georgie. I’m Harper’s right-hand woman in the shop.”

“Oh? What shop is that?”

Georgia threw a side glance at her friend. “He doesn’t even know about the shop?”

Harper frowned. “Um, no?”

“I’d love to hear more about this mystery shop.”

Harper shook her head. “Stop mocking me. It’s not a mystery. I simply didn’t want to share my private business with you. I reserve that for people I trust.”

Georgie licked the tip of her finger and tapped the air, making a sizzling sound. “The score: Harper, one. Noah, zero.”

Noah—who apparently ran the place—ushered them to their seats. Georgie leaned over to her friend. “So, this is the guy you’re trying to get rid of? Sheesh. I’d hate to see the guy you’re hot on if this one isn’t good enough for you.”

Harper shook her head. “It’s complicated. Trust me on that. I’ll fill you in later.” She put her finger to her lips. “The wedding is about to begin.”

Which meant that poor Georgie now had to have her aunt’s good fortune rubbed in her face once more. She couldn’t wait for this day to end.