Our Now and Forever (Ardent Springs #2) (19 page)

As the treasure passed hands, Snow said, “Be careful,” to the friendly woman, who nodded and maintained her smile. Caleb assumed the employee was used to overprotective owners, but Snow was acting as if she’d given birth to the thing.

“The auction room is the second door on the right,” the woman informed them, nodding toward the back of the room. “Coffee and tea, as well as water, are available on a side table.” To Snow she said, “Don’t worry about a thing. This is the star of our show. We’ll take good care of it.”

As if those simple words were all she needed to hear, Snow visibly relaxed and managed a genuine smile in return. “Thank you. I’m not usually this crazy.”

“No, she isn’t,” Caleb said to back her up, but the woman had disappeared through a doorway behind the counter. “Let’s go sit down,” he said to Snow, dropping a hand to the small of her back.

“She thinks I’m nuts, doesn’t she?”

Caleb shook his head. “I doubt you’re the first person who cared about something of value.”

“But I’m practically twitching, and she gave me that look most people reserve for small children or misbehaving dogs.”

Pressing a kiss against her temple, he said, “You’re more adorable than either of those things.”

She slid her hand through his arm and said, “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“As it was intended.” Together they stepped into the auction room, and both stopped in their tracks. “Holy moly,” he muttered.

“That’s one way to put it,” Snow replied.

Chapter 20

As if Snow wasn’t nervous enough already. The auction room—
room
being the understatement of the year—could easily house a college basketball game, including ample bleacher space on each side. A towering set of double doors bookended the long center-stage. The podium on the left was presumably for the auctioneer, and the entire floor was covered with row upon row of folding chairs. Other than two young men working on the stage, she and Caleb were the only people in the room.

“Where do we sit?” she whispered, having no idea why she felt the need to keep her voice down. It wasn’t as if they’d walked into a church. Though she’d never seen a church this big before.

“By the looks of things,” he said, “anywhere we want.”

Feeling small and out of place, she wrung her hands and said, “I need tea. Tea would be good.”

“Over here.” Caleb led her to a long table covered with a bright white tablecloth and loaded with several coffee dispensers, as well as two marked “Hot Water.”

Barely a minute later she was sipping a sweet cup of Earl Grey and feeling less jumpy. “That star of the show thing,” Snow said. “Do you think she meant that, or was she patronizing the crazy painting lady?”

“I told you, William Norton paintings don’t come up for auction often. Especially not in that size.” Caleb sipped his coffee as they strolled down the middle aisle heading for the stage. “I still can’t believe you got it for such a cheap price. Whoever runs that estate auction business in Ardent Springs needs to find another field.”

“That’s our fine mayor you’re talking about,” Snow said, turning into a row of chairs about ten back from the front. “Jebediah Winkle bought the whole setup not a month before you got here. The Presley family handled all the estate auctions three counties wide for at least fifteen years, but when the elder Presley passed away, his children weren’t interested in continuing. I think Jebediah bought it to earn himself some credibility with the local merchants. He got himself elected with the promise of improving the economy, and so far, he hasn’t done squat.”

“Considering nearly everyone I’ve met doesn’t like the man, I’m wondering how he got elected at all. Anyone can make a promise to turn things around, but if he’s a known jerk, why check his name on the ballot?”

“Don’t look at me,” Snow said. “I wasn’t around for the election. And anyway, I doubt he’ll get a second term.”

She almost mentioned how busy advertising at the paper would be the following year, with the election coming up, but she kept the thought to herself. Talk of the future would lead to talk of their future, and Snow was still avoiding that emotional quagmire. Though she couldn’t help but note that Caleb hadn’t mentioned returning to Louisiana since the weekend he’d arrived.

“Gerald says election time gets crazy at the paper. I could as much as double my regular commissions in the three months or so before voting day.”

Snow sat very still, unsure of how to reply. Did that mean he planned to be living in Ardent Springs a year from now? Presumably still married to her? This wasn’t good. He needed to start spouting bossy orders about living in Baton Rouge and taking his wife with him. How else was she supposed to send him packing if he no longer intended to leave?

“Darling?” Caleb said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?”

She gave a vigorous nod in the affirmative, but couldn’t speak. Fear and dread were strangling her vocal cords while simultaneously tying knots in her colon.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Caleb said. “The painting is going to be a hit.”

“Right,” she said, sipping her tea and reining in her monkey brain. “I just want this over with.” And she didn’t mean the auction.

Getting a hefty sum for the painting lost its luster when all she could think about was the possibility of a real happily ever after with Caleb. They could have that happy ending in Ardent Springs, away from the toxic influence of his parents. Why couldn’t she win for once? He’d picked her. He wanted her. And she wanted him.

So Vivien lurked in the wings, waiting to spill Snow’s secret and possibly break her son’s heart. Caleb had said there was nothing that could make him change his mind. Nothing short of cheating, and that was one sin her mother-in-law couldn’t throw in Snow’s face.

Caleb would stay with his wife, no matter what. That’s what he’d said. Snow clung to the hope that he meant those words.

Caleb had never wanted to see something sell so badly in his life. He almost wished he’d set up an anonymous bid of his own to make sure the number kept going up. Or he could have let his father know the painting was available. Jackson McGraw had been looking for another Norton for years. But knowing how he felt about Snow, Caleb would burn the painting before letting his father have it.

They’d watched Ming vases, silver flatware from the eighteen hundreds, and a turn-of-the-century pocket watch go for well over their top estimates. The moment the Norton was brought on stage, Snow grabbed his hand and squeezed hard enough to cut off circulation. To save his digits, he extricated his hand and put his arm around her, pulling her tight against his side. At some point, her nervousness had infiltrated his system.

He sent out high-dollar thoughts to the crowd around them, who had filled in more than half of the seats by the time the first item was rolled out.

The low estimate on the painting had been set at ten thousand, and the bidding started at five. When the action slowed around eight thousand, Caleb cursed himself for not grabbing a paddle. What the hell was wrong with these people? Didn’t they know fine art when they saw it?

But then a phone bidder joined the party, and the number went up. Two gentlemen in the audience remained determined, and soon a casual Saturday morning auction turned into a bidding war. When the auctioneer yelled, “Do I hear twelve five?” Snow squealed and nearly climbed into his lap. The war continued and crested at fourteen thousand before both sides started to back down.

And then the bidder on the phone came in at an even fifteen thousand, two thousand over the high estimate, and the room fell silent. The auctioneer tried to goad the attending bidders into going higher, but no one was willing to top the fifteen mark.

“Sold to bidder thirty-four ten on the phone!”

Snow danced in her chair as Caleb silently thanked the powers that be for giving his wife the good day that she’d hoped for. “What are you going to do with all that money?” he whispered in her ear.

She flashed him a smile that took his breath away. “I’m putting in a coffee shop,” she said, taking him completely by surprise.

Lorelei was going to be so surprised. Snow had intended to add the little coffee and baked goods nook in the back of the store come spring, though that would only be possible if the store hit record sales during the holiday season. But now, the project could start right after the new year no matter what happened over the next six weeks.

Another bonus of her big day was that she’d be able to buy Caleb the present she really wanted to get him.

“How long has this coffee shop idea been brewing in that little head of yours?” Caleb asked as they traveled north up I-65.

“Since the festival,” she answered, still a little shocked to be holding a check for fifteen thousand dollars in her lap. “As I’m sure you know, the specialty coffee business is booming. Pairing that with Lorelei’s amazing baked goods is a no-brainer.”

Or so she hoped. Ardent Springs wasn’t the hippest town on the planet, but they loved Lorelei’s desserts, and she had faith they’d be willing to pay for tasty coffees to go with their cookies.

“Is Lorelei going to share the start-up costs, since you’re willing to put her name on it?”

She hadn’t thought of that. “You mean, like a partnership?”

“Sure.” Caleb passed a BMW, adding, “If it’s going to be called Lulu’s Café, then Lulu should put up some money.”

The café wasn’t Lorelei’s idea, but they had talked about her running it. She’d only been selling the baked goods for six months, and though she never complained, Snow knew that Lorelei was only making enough to cover her ingredients and keep herself mobile and fed. Not that she needed a lot of money, living with Spencer over her grandmother’s garage and all.

“I don’t know,” Snow said, uncomfortable with the idea of mixing friendship and business. “I’ll have to think about it.”

“Do you have a coffee supplier in mind?” he asked. What was up with all the questions?

“No, Caleb, I don’t. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know if I want Lorelei to put up money, and I don’t know where we’ll get the coffee.” She tightened her jaw and stared out the window at the passing landscape. “Forget I said anything.”

Caleb squeezed her knee. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I got carried away. This is your thing, and I’ll stay out of it.”

“I don’t want you to stay out of it,” she replied. “I want just to enjoy the fact that a painting I bought for three hundred dollars just sold for fifty times that. Can we focus on the victory for right now and think about all the minute details later?”

“Yes, ma’am.” A goofy grin split his face. “You have my support and my advice whenever you want it,” Caleb said, pride clear in his voice. “But as part of this team, I should have a hand in taste-testing the new menu, right? Whenever that comes around,” he hastened to add.

Ignoring the warning bells ringing in her mind, Snow kept her eyes on the highway ahead and said, “That probably won’t come up until after the first of the year. You plan to still be around then?”

Taking her chin between two fingers, Caleb turned her face until their eyes met. With a serious expression, he said, “The only way I wouldn’t be around is if you decide we should move. You thinking about moving?”

The relief was so strong that tears threatened at the back of her eyes. Happy tears.

“What about your parents and Baton Rouge?”

He returned his focus to the road. “There’s always phone calls and holiday visits.”

Christmas with the McGraws sounded as pleasant as having her appendix removed through her big toe. Snow would much rather see her own family during the holidays, and if her mother-in-law followed through on her threat, that’s exactly where Snow would be. Headed to Birmingham by herself.

At some point in the last two weeks, hope had taken root in Snow’s heart. Could there be a chance that Caleb learning the truth might not mean the end of them? Could he forgive her?

More importantly, was Snow willing to risk it?

“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Caleb said.

Snow took his hand, choosing to stay in the moment. “Just happy,” she said.

And tried to believe it.

Caleb spent the rest of the drive home thinking about this new development. Though Ardent Springs had been growing on him, he hadn’t actually made the decision that this was where he wanted to live. Not that he had any intention of leaving Snow, but he’d never pictured himself living in a small town either.

He had no family here. No history. They didn’t even have a real home. The apartment behind Hattie’s house was cozy enough, but not anywhere he’d want to live long term. Caleb was living like an interloper in Snow’s frilly little cottage as it was.