The next morning, Holly woke up feeling overwhelmingly sad. She liked Kevin. But did she like him enough to risk everything for a chance with him?
She was eager to seek the refuge of her job, but thoughts of Kevin still followed her, and the woman who kept them apart was more abrasive than usual. Nicole had made a list of things that had gone wrong at the shower and how they could improve on each item next time. She wanted to go through them point by point in excruciating detail.
Holly gave her boss a forced look of patience. “While I’d really love to do that, Nicole, I need to start making arrangements for the Johansen wedding.”
Nicole’s mouth pursed. “Did Miranda give you her approval yet?”
“No, but given the time constraints, I thought it best to make sure the vendors could deliver before I presented the options to the Johansens. Then we aren’t scrambling to come up with a backup plan. We’ll look more professional and organized this way.”
“Hmm…” Nicole’s mouth parted like she wanted to argue, but then she closed it.
Trying not to look relieved, Holly added, “I plan to meet with the Johansens tomorrow, then I need to finalize everything for the Murphy–Douglas wedding this weekend.”
Nicole looked worried. “I won’t be able to help with that. I have that fund-raiser barbecue on Saturday night.”
Grateful that she wouldn’t be under the watchful eye of her boss during a wedding Nicole hadn’t been any part of planning, Holly devoted her attention to the Johansen wedding. She had over a dozen calls to make before her presentation the next day. She’d made some progress, planning to work through lunch, when Bethany walked into the office a little before noon, clearly distressed.
“Nicole, he won’t answer my calls!” She sniffed, then burst into tears.
Nicole hurried out of her chair. “There, there, Bethany. Why don’t you sit down?” She started to lead her to the client table but swung her gaze to Holly. “Holly, could you get some tea?”
Holly gritted her teeth and went into the back to heat up the water, grabbing a cup for herself as well. She definitely didn’t have time to be dealing with a delusional woman, and she was impatient with Nicole as well for encouraging Bethany’s behavior. Minutes later, Holly put her own tea on her desk and handed Bethany her cup.
She started to walk away, but Bethany grabbed her hand. “You and I should go to lunch. We have things to discuss.”
While Holly had heard her flinging around the word fiancé at the shower, she hadn’t heard her do it around Nicole. She shot a glance to her boss, but Nicole kept her focus on Bethany, not giving anything away.
“Why won’t Kevin call me back?” Bethany asked. “Our date went so well.”
Nicole gave her a sympathetic look. “You know he’s just started his new job. I’m sure it’s keeping him busy. Just give him some time.”
Had Nicole lost her mind as well?
“And Holly’s too busy go to lunch with you. I have too much for her to do today.”
Bethany dabbed her eyes. “I think I need to call my mother.”
Nicole’s eyes widened in alarm. “No need to do that, Bethany, darling. I’m sure we can work something out. I’d take you out to lunch myself, but I have an appointment I can’t cancel.”
The front door burst open and Megan pushed through, her face scrunched up in irritation. “Mother, we need to talk.” She searched the room until she found her mother in the corner, her mouth dropping open when she realized who was sitting next to her.
Nicole looked more flustered than Holly had ever seen her. “Megan, darling. Now is not a good time.”
Megan’s brow lowered as her gaze narrowed in on Bethany. “No, I can see that.”
Nicole looked at her watch, and then at her daughter and the emotional woman next to her. Worry filled her eyes. “I really need to go.”
Bethany left her own self-absorption for a moment to realize that Nicole was distressed. “Nikki, I’m sorry I just barged in.”
The older woman cringed at the nickname.
But Bethany was oblivious. “Megan, why don’t you and I go out to lunch instead? You can tell me all the little things I need to know about Kevin.”
“Well, that might happen,” Megan said slowly. “If you and Kevin were actually dating.” She turned a deathly gaze on her mother.
“Megan Nicole,” her mother reprimanded, but her tone lacked its usual bite.
Bethany didn’t notice the mother-daughter conflict. “I know Kevin isn’t ready to tell everyone about us—”
Megan’s face brightened. “You know what? I think lunch is a great idea.”
Nicole looked leery. “You do?”
A smile lit up Megan’s eyes, and she patted her mother’s arm. “Yeah, you go have a great lunch with your client and we girls will hang out.”
It was clear Nicole was suspicious of Megan’s offer, but another quick look at her watch seemed to settle it for her. She grabbed her purse. “If you need anything from me…”
Megan gave her mother a gentle push toward the door. “Go already.” She flashed Bethany a sweet smile. “It’s girl bonding time.”
Nicole narrowed her eyes, locking a gaze with her daughter. “Call me later, Megan.”
“Will do,” she said with a perky bounce.
Megan watched her mother leave, then sat down next to Bethany. “How about we just order something and eat here?”
Bethany frowned. “But I thought we were going out.”
“But if we stay here, then Holly can join us.”
Holly was sure Megan had lost her mind, but then she turned to Holly and winked.
What was Megan up to? They decided on Chinese, and Megan offered to go pick it up from a restaurant a block away instead of waiting for delivery in thirty minutes. She was back within five minutes. “Let’s eat.”
“I think I’ll just eat at my desk,” Holly said, expecting Megan to argue. But she just handed her the container of chicken lo mein and whispered, “Start a timer.”
“What?”
Her grin turned devilish before she spun around and settled at the table with Bethany. Curious, Holly opened the clock app on her phone and did as she was told.
“Just think,” Bethany said. “We can have lunches like this all the time.”
“I know, right. I’m so excited,” Megan said, opening a package of chopsticks. “Although if you and Kevin get married, I hope you’ll actually be able to leave the house.”
Bethany stopped opening her container. “Why wouldn’t I be able to leave the house?”
Megan froze, her face turning serious. “Oh.” She sucked in her bottom lip, looking torn. “Never you mind.” She waved her hand. “I’m sure you two will have it all worked out. I mean, it’s not like he expects you to stay with them all of the time.”
“What do you mean?” Bethany sounded worried as she jabbed her food with a fork.
“So have you started thinking of all those kids’ names yet?”
“Kids’ names?” She shook her head, looking shell-shocked. “We haven’t discussed kids yet.”
“Oh.” Megan’s head jerked up. “That’s surprising. Especially since he wants so many.”
“So many what?”
Megan released a giggle and shook her head. “Kids, of course. He’s worried that you two are getting a late start, what with both of you in your early thirties, but thank goodness multiple births run in our family. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to have the eighteen kids he’s dreaming of. And in ten years or less at that.”
“Eighteen kids?” Bethany started choking on her rice.
Megan patted her back. “Are you okay?”
“I…” she stammered.
“It’s all so exciting, isn’t it? But I can only imagine how hard it’s going to be to come up with all those names starting with the letter Q.” She started counting with her fingers. “Quincy, Quinton, Queenie…What else is there?”
“Quart. Quay. Quantico.” Holly added from her desk. “Or you could make up your own names. You could name the fifth one Quintuplet.”
Megan’s mouth pursed. “I think that would only work if there’s five babies at once.” Her face brightened, then she grabbed Bethany’s arm in excitement. “Oh! You could take fertility drugs and have five or six at a time. Then you can get it over with sooner. Only four or five pregnancies.”
“That’s a great idea,” Holly said, then lowered her voice. “I’m not supposed to tell you this—Kevin asked me to keep it a secret, even from his mother—but when he heard you wanted me to help with the wedding, he gave me all kinds of ideas he wants to implement.”
“Oh, really?” Bethany asked, her face pale.
“He wants to have tiny little baby carriages line the aisle when you walk down with photos of babies in each one.” Holly sat up straighter and waved at her computer. “I’ve been hard at work trying to find them.”
“Baby carriages? At the wedding?”
Megan leaned closer. “He’s very eager to get started.”
Holly gave her a big smile. “I’m sure you’re going to be so happy in that three-bedroom, fifteen-hundred-square-foot house. All twenty of you.”
Bethany stood. “I just forgot, I have a crystal client coming in fifteen minutes.”
“What?” Megan asked in dismay. “But we’ve barely started our girl bonding time.” She narrowed her eyes. “Did I mention that Kevin is adamantly opposed to his wife working outside the home? You better enjoy your time as a career woman while you can.”
Bethany looked like a deer in the headlights. “Tell your mother that this is all moving a little too fast. I think I need to take some time to think things through.”
“I don’t think waiting is a good idea,” Megan said. “You need to work on getting pregnant right away. In fact, Holly was just about to call the doctor to get your fertility treatments going.”
Holly picked up the phone and held it to her ear. “Which day is good for your egg testing? Wednesday or Friday?”
Bethany didn’t answer; instead she bolted out the door.
Megan turned to Holly. “Time check?”
Holly burst out laughing as she looked at her phone. “One minute and forty-five seconds.”
Megan leaned back and looked at her nails. “New personal record. Damn, am I good or what?”
“Personal record?”
She picked up her food container and dragged her chair over to Holly’s desk. “Getting rid of Kevin’s girlfriends was a specialty of mine. I used to do it all the time when he was in high school. In fact, he stopped bringing a lot of them home. Of course, paybacks were a bitch. I couldn’t bring my boyfriends home, either.” She picked up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. “Kevin told me she was gullible. But I’m still calling it a record.”
“That was too perfect. Almost like you planned it.”
“Not this time. Total coincidence. We’ll call it serendipity.”
“Just like Kevin buying the house next door to mine?” Holly asked, narrowing her eyes.
“I know, right?” Megan’s eyes widened in mock innocence. “But finding Bethany here was a coincidence. I came by to tell Mom to butt out of Kevin’s love life, and the source of my visit was right here.” When Holly started to protest, Megan held up her hand. “I would have talked to her whether anything had happened with you and Kevin or not.”
“Your mother is going to be furious that you ran Bethany out.”
“No, she’ll be relieved.”
“How can you say that? She was trying to placate her.”
“Yes, but did you notice the lack of enthusiasm? She was trying to figure out how to get out of this mess she created.”
“What?”
Megan shook her head. “You need to learn my mother’s subtle cues. She’s trying to get on the holiday decorating committee at the country club, and Bethany’s mother is the head of it.”
Holly sat back in her chair. “So Nicole was stuck in the mess, even after Kevin told her what a nut job she was.”
“Exactly.” Megan shrugged. “So I did something to help all of us. Mom saves face. Kevin doesn’t have to worry about Bethany popping up out of nowhere. I don’t have to worry about seeing Ms. Crazy Pants at family dinners.”
“Are you going to tell Kevin?” Holly asked.
“I should let him sweat it out.” She looked up at Holly. “But you could tell him if you like.”
“Me? I don’t know when I’ll even see him again.” Holly studied her fork for several seconds. “Nothing else is going to happen between us, Megan. Hanging out yesterday was a one-off. Kevin wants to be friends, but…” She craved the euphoria she felt when she was with him, but it would be so easy for her to cross over that “friend” line.
Megan was silent for several seconds. “I know people.” She looked down at her food and stabbed a piece of chicken. “My job in Seattle was fund-raising for a nonprofit. I learned how to read people. To spot the ones who would donate. The ones who did it to look good versus those who donated because they believed in the cause.”
“That hardly seems like the same thing as our situation.”
“Believe it or not, it’s not that different. I watched you two yesterday.”
“Can we drop this subject? Please?”
“No. He really likes you, Holly. This is big. You’re different than all the other girls he’s ever dated.”
A sharp pain shot through her heart. “Like boring? Not sexy?”
Megan blinked at her in shock. “I’m sorry. I thought we were talking about you.”
“I’m serious, Megan. I’ve known plenty of guys like Kevin. They date sexy women with sexy long legs, sexy smiles, and sexy hair.
Megan grinned. “Wow. That’s a lot of sexy.”
Holly frowned. “You know what I mean.”
“If you’re suggesting that Kevin’s dated a lot of flashy and superficial women who care more about whether my brother has a six-pack or an eight-pack than getting to know the person inside my brother’s body, then, yeah. He’s dated a lot of sexy women. And he’s been miserable with every single one of them. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s making a play for you at all. Before he moved here, he told me he’d sworn off women altogether.”
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “No, his last girlfriend burned him bad, although he refuses to tell me what she did. But she was just the last in a long string of self-absorbed women he’s paraded in and out of his life. Maybe that’s part of the reason Mom fixed him up with Bethany. Maybe she thought that was his type.”
Holly sighed, suddenly confused and uncertain about her decision.
Megan leaned forward. “Holly, life is too short not to take chances. Not to take risks. Don’t throw something with Kevin away because you’re scared.”
Holly’s phone rang and she reached for it, but Megan covered her hand with her own. “You only live once. You never know how much time you have.”
Holly’s back stiffened. “I know that all too well, Megan.” She was surprised she sounded so angry, but all the disappointment had compounded, and Megan was pushing Holly to her limit.
Megan’s eyes widened with realization. “Oh, God. Your parents. Of course you do. I’m sorry.”
She looked at her phone and saw Miranda Johansen’s name.
Her anger softened. She couldn’t hold a grudge when Megan meant well. “I know you are, but I need to take this call.”
And with any luck at all, this wedding would open the door to start her own business. Then she wouldn’t have to worry whether Nicole Vandemeer gave her blessing on Holly’s love life.
The real question was if it would make a difference.