Calling Kupid (Kupid's Cove Book 1) (25 page)

“Are you sure you want to marry him this quickly?” Winifred asked for the tenth time since I came home from the hospital.

The last several days had passed in a blur of tests, physical therapy, and medical instructions until I could hardly keep it all straight.

I sat up higher in the bed. “I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t want me to marry Gideon.”

Freddie sat next to me and rubbed my back. “You’re dead wrong, Kate. Yes, I had my reservations when he came into your life less than six weeks ago, but he put those to rest. He loves you the way Flynn loves me. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you and on his face when he touches you. I keep asking if you’re sure because I want you to marry him when you aren’t in pain, uncomfortable, or tired. I want you to enjoy every last second of the wonderfulness that is marriage to the person you’re meant to be with.”

I laid my head on her shoulder and smiled a little. She definitely had her reservations when Gideon showed up in Snowberry, but he won her heart the same way he won mine, with honesty.

“I’ve never felt better, Freddie, and I’m not just saying that.” I raised my head from her shoulder and patted my chest. “Since they implanted the pacemaker and fixed the holes in my heart, my whole body feels better. Yes, my shoulder still hurts, but the wedding is a week away, so I know it will be fine by then.”

“That’s good enough for me then,” she said, standing and walking to the window. “This place really does have the most amazing view.”

I felt butterflies in my belly and wondered if now was the time to say something to her about what I was thinking, or if I should wait until later, much later.

“Gideon does know how to pick the tropical paradises, doesn’t he?” I joked.

We were back at the resort on Maui and staying in the penthouse suite. Gideon wanted to fly back to Honolulu, but the doctors asked me to stay here for four weeks before I traveled anywhere. It was tough having to stay in a tropical paradise, rather than cold Snowberry, but I was managing. I felt bad about putting the firm in such a pickle, but it turned out that Kadlec wasn’t all that happy with retirement, so he was happy to step back in for now and take my clients. At least I knew they were in good hands until I returned, if I returned.

“Earth to Kate,” Freddie said, standing in front of me.

I looked up, surprised. “Sorry, I guess I was daydreaming.”

“I guess you were,” she winked and I laughed a little uncomfortably. She cocked her head, “You have that look on your face that says something is on your mind.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I said quickly, but she crossed her arms over her chest and leveled a brow at me.

“We have a few hours until the guys get back. Talk. Now.”

“Would you sit at least? You look all menacing when you do that.”

She snorted and uncrossed her arms, grabbing a chair from the corner and sitting, crossing her legs. “Better?”

“Much,” I said and she motioned with her hand to talk. I hadn’t worked out how I was going to broach the subject with her, hoping for a little more time to come up with a plan.

“Katie Penelope Kupid…”

“What are you, my mother?” I shot back and she stuck her tongue out at me. It was amusing with her belly sticking out more and more every day.

I pulled a brochure from the drawer next to the bed. It was the bookmobile information I had folded in half that day my life turned upside down. I held it out to her to read. She took it, sat on the edge of the bed and scanned the pages. I took a deep breath and dived in.

“The day of the shooting Gideon and I were in town. I met a gentleman who was there with a bookmobile. He told me that the public library system has several that go around to villages that are too remote for the patrons to get to the library. From what I could gather it was exactly what you do with Wicked Winifred, only for everyone and not just kids.”

She nodded and closed the brochure, laying it on her lap. “Wicked Winifred has been very successful. The teachers have seen a rise in test scores and reading ability of their students since I started the program.”

“It’s a really great program and of course you were on my mind when I was talking to this librarian. He was very passionate about his work.”

“That’s great, Kate,” she said, her head cocked to the side. “What does that have to do with me?”

I shrugged. “It was just cool, that’s all.”

She snorted and uncrossed her legs. “Sure, and we aren’t in Hawaii on a beach.”

I rolled my eyes and rubbed at a sore spot on my shoulder. “I don’t know how to say this, Freddie,” I admitted, my voice breaking on her name.

She was next to me in an instant and held my face in her hands. “Don’t sugarcoat it, sweetheart. It’s clearly eating you alive.”

“I want to live in Hawaii with Gideon.”

She dropped my face and put her arms around me carefully. “I know, honey, and I understand.”

“You know?” I asked, leaning back and she nodded, a smile taking over her face.

“Flynn got an interesting job offer yesterday. He wasn’t supposed to say anything to me, but you know us, we can’t keep anything from each other.”

“What kind of job offer?” I asked. “I’m confused what one has to do with the other.”

“Gideon offered Flynn the head electrician position for all his resorts on the islands if we want to stay in paradise. He has Flynn up in the air right now showing him his properties. He said he has six currently and looking at one more.”

“I had no idea.”

“He told Flynn you guys already talked about staying in Hawaii and just keeping a summer home in Snowberry.”

“We have, over the last few days anyway. He loves it here and so do I, but I didn’t know we were up to ‘the offering jobs to my friends’ part yet.”

She grimaced. “I feel bad about saying anything. Like I said, Flynn was supposed to keep it on the down low, but I can read him like a book. I promised not to say anything, but you looked so upset sitting there.”

I held up my hand. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. He was probably going to talk to me about it after today. I asked him to give me some time to think about how to approach you and Flynn. I guess he had a better plan in mind.”

“He knows you, Kate. Even better than I know you and I didn’t think that was possible in just a month’s time, but he knows your soul. He knows your devotion to me and just how much you want to be with this little baby.” She patted her belly.

I laid my hand on hers. “I was praying that night in the helicopter. I was scared and angry, so I was very sarcastic.”

Freddie snorted, “You? Sarcastic? I can’t even picture it.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and laughed a little. “I was upset on so many levels and told Him I didn’t have anything to live for. He told me I had a niece and that alone should be enough to get me through the scary parts to come. I asked him if you were really having a girl and He told me you were. Is it weird that I totally believe Him?”

She shook her head a little and brushed some hair off my forehead. “You’ve always been like a clairvoyant when it comes to prayer. Flynn has taught me a lot the last year about being a Christian, but I try to emulate you when I pray. So if you tell me He says it’s a girl, then it’s a girl.” She winked at me and I rubbed her tiny baby bump.

“I don’t want to miss a thing, but being here in Hawaii when you’re in Snowberry isn’t going to be conducive to being the kind of aunt I want to be.”

“And I don’t want you to miss a moment of this little girl’s life nor do I want to miss a minute of the lives of your babies.”

My head snapped up and she grinned, her laughter filling the room.

“You were barely out of surgery before he asked Dr. Sawyer if it would be safe to harvest eggs in a few years for a surrogacy.”

One side of my lips went up in a smile. “He told me he wasn’t thinking very clearly, but he wanted to ask before he forgot. We talked about it before he proposed and he vowed to do anything to make sure I had the family I wanted. He took the tallest hurdle in my life and helped me over it with those words.”

“What is your heart telling you to do, Kate? Will you be happy in Hawaii? What about the firm in Snowberry?”

“My heart wants to stay, but only if you’re here. That’s why I looked into the bookmobile options. I know you’ll be busy taking care of the baby and won’t want to work a lot anyway, but you won’t want to give up books completely, either.”

She shrugged her shoulder a little. “I’m happy with what I started in Snowberry with Wicked Winifred, but lately the bug to start a book agency is biting again. Once the baby is born I’m thinking about handing the bookmobile over to Jerry and Ashley and laying out a plan for the agency.”

I held her shoulder and squeezed it a little. “That’s exciting, Freddie. I knew you wouldn’t be able to give that dream up forever. I’m glad you’re chasing it again. Is that kind of job flexible?”

“It’s very flexible, and I keep my fingers in the very beginning of the book world with the manuscripts that will one day be bestsellers.”

“How does Flynn feel about giving up his business?” I asked cautiously. “He’s put a lot of time into it.”

She rubbed her hands on her pants and stood, walking back to the window. “He’s seriously considering the offer. I mean it’s a great offer, believe me.”

I chuckled and lay on the bed carefully, propping myself on my good elbow. “I believe you.”

“If we decide it’s something we want to do, he will sell his half of the business to Remington. We’ll keep the house in Snowberry for now and then live in one of the resort houses Gideon has offered.”

“Sounds like you have it all worked out.”

“It’s all contingent on if you’re staying or going. We managed to be apart for college, but it was an awful four years. I don’t want to go through that again.”

I held my hand out to her and she came over. I hugged her as tightly as I could with my arm between us. “We won’t. The only thing keeping me from staying in Hawaii is you, so if you and Flynn decide staying here is a leap you want to take, then I’m in, too. You two should talk tonight and then all four of us can get together tomorrow to talk about it.”

“That’s fair, or maybe dinner tonight? I’m sure you’re tired of hospital food.”

“I’m praying freshly caught lobster is on the menu,” I groaned and she laughed.

There was a knock on the door and she went to it and looked through the peephole. She unlocked the door quickly and pulled it open.

Flynn and Gideon stood on the other side of the door, smiles on their faces. Freddie stepped back and Gideon was next to me on the bed before I saw him move.

“How are you?” he asked, already playing with my hair.

“I’m good. It’s nice to be out of the hospital, even if it is in a hotel.”

He kissed me, his lips hot and needy against mine. They told me exactly why he was glad we weren’t in the hospital anymore.

“How was the trip?” Freddie asked, closing the door.

Flynn was bouncing on his toes, all keyed up from the flight. “It was incredible. Seriously, Winnie, I’ve been to a lot of places, but these resorts are swanky. Of course with that swankiness comes some serious maintenance requirements.”

Gideon held me carefully and pointed at my friend. “And he’s the perfect guy to coordinate it. He has quite the eye for situations that could turn serious quickly. He found two sockets in one room that were ready to short out, and that was just in one hotel.”

Flynn seemed to turn crimson from the praise. “Anyone would have noticed that.”

“Really? Because I employ a boatload of people and no one had noticed it. Did you two ladies have a nice visit?”

Freddie nodded and took Flynn’s hand. “We did, but Kate needs to rest. Flynn and I should talk. Dinner is in three hours. Should we dine together on the patio?”

We all agreed and they left, Freddie winking at me as she closed the door.

“You offered Flynn the head electrician job?”

He grimaced a little. “They really can’t keep anything from each other can they?”

I patted his face. “Nope, but I think that’s the way marriage should be. I was trying to find a way to tell Freddie about wanting to stay here in Hawaii and she told me just to make it easier on me.”