Three Little Words

“Years of watching my grandmother. She would take hours with a bride, talking to her about what she wanted, looking at pictures of different dresses, then having her try on dozens. It was an event.” She remembered being here then. “A bride would book the store for a whole morning or the entire afternoon. Sometimes they had food brought in.”

“You could still do that,” Madeline said. “A few clients would enjoy that.”

“It would be fun.” Isabel hung another dress on the rack. “There are a lot of changes I’d make here. Not that I’m staying.”

“Are you sure you can’t be tempted?”

“Yes. I’m still going back to New York.”

Isabel said the words with more firmness than she felt. In truth, she hadn’t thought about leaving in weeks. She still hadn’t connected with Sonia, but didn’t feel as frantic about that. She knew Ford was the reason and told herself to be careful. That he wasn’t the least bit interested in her staying. Still, it was appealing to think about.

The phone rang. Isabel carefully lowered the dress she was holding back into the box and reached for the receiver.

“Paper Moon,” she said. “This is Isabel.”

“You have to get over here right away.”

“Patience? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” her friend said. “But I’m serious. Shut the store and get here now! Bring Madeline.”

Patience hung up.

Isabel replaced the receiver. “That was strange,” she said. “Patience wants us to come over right away. It sounded urgent.”

Madeline rose. “Okay. I’ll put out the sign.”

Isabel checked the back door to make sure it was locked, then followed the other woman to the front of the store. After grabbing her purse and keys, she made sure the We’ll Be Back in Ten Minutes sign was up. After closing and locking the front door, they hurried toward Brew-haha.

Two short blocks later, Isabel raced into the store only to find several women, including Charlie, Dellina and Noelle, standing at the big window, looking out toward the park.

Patience practically danced over. “Look,” she said, pointing.

Isabel ignored the instruction. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She grabbed Isabel’s arm and dragged her to the window. “Look!”

Isabel turned her attention to the street with no cars currently in view. There were the usual pedestrians, a man on a bike and three men in the park.

“So?”

Charlie glared at her. “So? Seriously? Don’t you know who they are?”

Isabel looked again, then shook her head. “No. Should I?”

Charlie sighed. “Why do I even try?”

“I want the blond one,” Noelle said, pointing. “He’s dreamy.”

“Dreamy?” Charlie scoffed. “What is this? Nineteen fifty? Kenny Scott is known for his speed and catching ability. They say he has magic hands.”

Noelle leaned against the window frame. “I could use some magic hands in my life. I wonder if he rents out.”

Dellina pointed. “I like that one.” She turned to Charlie. “What’s his name?”

“Sam Ridge. Kicker. He’s scored more points than...” She shook her head. “You don’t care about his football career. Stop talking to me.”

Isabel turned back to Patience. “That’s it? You dragged me over here to look at football players?”

“Of course. They’re finally here.”

The front door opened and two old ladies walked in. Isabel recognized Eddie and Gladys. They pushed their way through the crowd and pressed their faces against the window.

“Nice ass,” Eddie said. “Think they’ll take their shirts off?”

“It’s sixty-two degrees out there,” Isabel pointed out.

“They’re men. Let them show us they’re tough.”

Isabel shook her head. “You’re all insane.”

Patience grinned. “Come on. It’s fun. How often do we have three hot football players move to town?”

“We have bodyguards,” Isabel told her. “That’s enough. We don’t need those guys.”

“Oh, they’re pretty,” Taryn said, walking into Brew-haha. “And if you ask them nicely, they’re good at lifting and toting.”

Noelle turned to her. “Are they all single?”

“That’s what they tell me.” Taryn walked to the counter. “Can I get a latte, or do I have to wait until the show is over?”

“I think I can steam milk and watch at the same time,” Patience told her.

Isabel took a second to admire Taryn’s royal-blue suit. It matched her eyes perfectly and contrasted with her dark hair. Black suede pumps completed the outfit.

“You really know how to dress,” Isabel said, thinking her own black dress served a purpose. The bride never felt upstaged. She knew that was important, but looking at Taryn made her want to wear something more interesting. Maybe one of the new designs Dellina was always bringing in. At least she had her shoes, she thought, glancing down at the bright red pumps she’d slipped on that morning. Ridiculous but beautiful.

“I have an image to uphold,” Taryn said. “Clothes might not make the woman, but they help. My shoes intimidate the boys, much like yours would, and that’s good, too.”

She took the latte from Patience and paid her, then crossed to the growing crowd by the window.

“They gonna get na**d?” Gladys asked.

“Unlikely,” Taryn murmured. “They’re exploring. Maybe, if we’re lucky, they’ll do some push-ups.”

Isabel heard distinct sarcasm in her voice, but Eddie and Gladys didn’t seem to notice.

“Wonder if they like older women?” Eddie asked. “I could teach that tall one a thing or two. Or maybe he could teach me.” She and Gladys giggled.

Taryn stepped closer to Isabel. “Those old ladies are a little disconcerting.”

“You get used to it,” Isabel assured her in a low voice. “They show up at events like this. I heard that a couple of years ago the town had male models in for a calendar to raise money for the fire department. Eddie and Gladys brought chairs and stayed for the whole event.”

Noelle walked over to them. “I’m feeling nothing,” she said, sounding disappointed. “I’m ready for something, I can feel it, but these guys aren’t doing it for me.”

Taryn smiled. “Kenny will be disappointed to hear that.”

Noelle glanced toward the window. “I don’t even care which one is Kenny. Are there more men moving to town? Because this is getting ridiculous.”

Dellina strolled over. “I want to do more than look,” she said brightly. “Is Sam single?”

“Yes, but he’s annoying. Just so you’re warned.”

Isabel looked at Taryn. “You’re really not interested?”

“Yawn,” Taryn said. “It is physically impossible for me to be less interested. I know them far too well to want to be romantically involved with any of them.” She shuddered. “No. We’re close. I adore them but I would rather date a fence post. At least it wouldn’t argue.”

* * *

ISABEL AND MADELINE walked back to Paper Moon. When they got there, Ford was waiting by the front door, looking all masculine and sexy. When he saw her, he raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” he asked in a low voice. “Ogling football players? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, you promised to love me forever and look what happened there.”

Madeline giggled as she let herself into the store. “I’ll leave you two to work this out,” she said, then disappeared inside.

Isabel put her hands on her hips. “How did you know?”

“Unlike you, Patience is concerned about Justice’s feelings. She called to tell him what was going on and he told me.”

She held in a smile. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way. About the other men I was watching.”

“Ogling. There’s a difference. I’m very disappointed in you. I expect better from my fake girlfriends.”

While she enjoyed the teasing, there was a part of her that wanted his words to be true.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “Patience called and asked me to come over. I didn’t find out why—I just went.”

“Oh, sure. Blame it on Patience.” He stepped closer to her. “I can see we’re going to have to have a serious talk about your behavior.”

“You’re probably right.” She batted her eyes at him. “Maybe I should be punished later.”

“That goes without saying. I’m thinking a tongue-lashing at the very least.”

She shivered as she remembered what Ford could do with his tongue, then dropped her head in mock submission. “Whatever you think is best.”

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t want to have to have this conversation again.”

“Of course not.”

As he hugged her, she felt the vibration of his chuckles. “You’re good at this,” he said quietly. “How do you feel about escaped prisoner and the warden’s wife?”

She grinned. “I think I could get into it.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Actually, we might need to reverse those roles. Your mom called me again to set up a one-on-one.”

“Talk about a buzz kill!”

“I know. There’s only so much longer I can put her off.”

He kissed her. “I have to get back to work. See you tonight?”

“I’ll be the blonde.”

“Thanks for clarifying.”

Isabel walked into Paper Moon and sighed. Her fake-dating situation was getting complicated. The obvious solution was to end things, but she just plain didn’t want to.

Before she could return to the back room to help Madeline with the rest of the gowns, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her bag and pushed Answer without checking to see who was calling.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Isabel.”

“Sonia.” She crossed to one of the chairs and sat down. “I haven’t heard from you in a while. Did you get my messages?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Life’s been crazy here. I’ve been meaning to call.”

“I’m glad you did. We have a lot we need to be doing and talking about.”

“I know. Well, sure. That’s why I phoned, so we could talk.” Her friend cleared her throat. “Look, I don’t know how to say this. It’s why I haven’t returned your calls. I’ve...” Sonia paused. “I’ve gone into business with someone else.”

Isabel stiffened. “What? What are you talking about? We had a deal together. We had plans.”

“I know. I know. I should have said something before. It’s just...I didn’t want to wait. You’re not coming back until February, and that’s a long time.”

“It’s five months. With everything that has to be done, it’s not that long at all.”

“Right, but there are other things. She has more money to put in the business. We can start bigger and not take so long to get noticed. I want that. This is my dream, Isabel. I have to do this. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”

“Disappointed? I came back here to earn more money to put into our business. I came back to brush up on retail so I would be more of an asset. We discussed that. We discussed everything.”

“I know that but retail is risky and this is a better bet for me. Do you really have to be so harsh about it? I was hoping we could stay friends. Can’t you just be happy for me?”

For her? Isabel wanted to ask about her own dreams, but she knew Sonia didn’t care about that. She had made it very clear she didn’t care about anyone but herself.

“Good luck with everything,” Isabel said, knowing she sounded bitter but unable to care. She ended the call before Sonia could respond.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FORD STARED HELPLESSLY as Isabel wiped away tears.

“It’s so unfair,” she said, her lower lip trembling as she spoke. “All of it. Now I know why she’s been avoiding me. She knew. All this time she knew she was going into business with someone else and she never said anything.”

They were in the living room of her house. A relatively large room with big windows, but Ford felt as trapped as if he were locked in a five-by-five cell. He didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do to make her feel better and he couldn’t walk away.

Madeline had called him less than half an hour ago. She’d said Isabel had gotten a call and had left the store in tears. Madeline hadn’t known what had happened, but she’d been worried about her boss. Ford had come running, only to find Isabel as devastated as Madeline had suggested.

“I can’t believe it.” She crushed the tissue in her hand, then looked at him. “I can’t believe it.”

There was raw pain in her eyes. He desperately wanted to fix the problem, only he couldn’t begin to figure out how.

“I’m sorry,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of her. “I’m really sorry.”

She nodded. “I know. It’s nothing about you. It’s me. God, what’s wrong with me? First Eric and now Sonia.”

“You’re not the reason either of them acted the way they did.”

“I know that in my head, but my gut tells me something else.” She lowered her head and he saw tears fall onto her fingers. “It’s like the death of a dream.”