Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (27 page)

After a moment, Faith said, “I'm looking forward to
meeting Eric.” She turned to Charity. “And Daniel.”

“
You haven't met each other's fiancés?” Charity
asked.

The two women shook their heads.

“
Oh. Well, what's Eric like?”

Hope blushed at the question. “Let's just say he's a
sailor who's into classic literature. I know that doesn't make sense,
but you'll soon see what I'm dealing with.”

Charity looked at Faith. “What about Shane?”

The earlier look of strain disappeared from her face.
“He's a forest ranger who is also a photographer.” She shook her
head. “I'm afraid of getting too mushy, but he's pretty amazing.
I'm sure you'll both like him.”

“
And let's hear all about Daniel,” Hope said, a sly
hint in her voice. “How serious are you two?”

Charity licked her lips, hoping her face didn't turn
red. “He's an engineer who works for a company in Portland. We've
been seeing each other for about three months.”

“
Is it true love?”

“
Don't answer her unless you want to,” Faith said.
“Hope, be nice.”

“
How is it not nice to ask someone if they're in
love?”

“
It's all in the tone.”

Charity looked away for a moment and thought on the
question. She loved Daniel. There was no denying that. And he'd loved
her through all her confusion. The need to see him washed over her
with a sudden strength. She got to her feet. “When are your
weddings? Do you have dates yet?”

“
Nice dodge,” Hope said. “A bit clumsy in delivery
though.”

“
January for Shane and me,” Faith said.

“
Valentines Day for me and Eric,” Hope said with a
smile. “His idea, not mine.”

“
I'm happy for you two,” Charity said. “I'm glad
I'll get to see you get married.”

Faith enfolded her in a crushing hug that brought tears
back to her eyes. “I'm so thankful we found each other,” she
whispered.

When she released her, Hope approached. “You know we
have to do this, right?”

Charity acquiesced and hugged her twin. It wasn't as
long and close, but it was a hug.

“
I totally need help planning a wedding, you know, so
no holding out on me.”

Seeing the wet shine in Hope's eyes as she released her
told Charity her twin wasn't quite as glib as she appeared.

“
I need to pop in the bathroom,” Hope said. “Be
right back.”

When they were alone, Faith pulled Charity into a side
hug. “It's so great having you here.”

“
Thanks for making the effort.” She snorted softly.
“As usual.”

“
Look at my ring,” Faith said in an obvious attempt
at distraction. “Shane did pretty good picking this out by
himself.”

Charity inspected the contemporary setting. “It's
beautiful.”

When Hope exited the bathroom and saw what they were
doing, she held out her hand. “Eric is into the Celtic thing.”

“
Is he Irish?” Charity asked.

“
Irish-ish more than anything,” she said with a soft
smile. “But we plan to honeymoon in Ireland, so after that he'll be
legit.”

“
Wow, sounds wonderful.”

“
Are you sure you won't have a ring to show us soon?”
Hope asked.

Charity regarded her sisters. They'd had a small
breakthrough. Maybe she could tender a little honesty. “We...love
each other, but there have been some bumps in the road, so I'm not
expecting a proposal or anything like that in the near future.”

“
Want me to get Eric to lean on him?”

“
Hope!” Faith said, shocked. She turned to Charity.
“But if you wanted, Shane would help.”

Charity put up her hands in a pleading gesture. “Um,
no thanks. Really.”

Faith smiled. “Okay, tell me this. Are we in a good
place here with each other?”

Hope nodded after a moment. Charity released a breath
she hadn't realized she'd been holding. “I think so.”

“
I think so, too,” Faith said. “So, the next
question is are we ready to go meet the guys?”

More nods, although Charity wondered what Daniel would
make of her sisters, especially when they weren't green with tall
black hats and broomsticks. She picked up her phone to text him and
saw that she'd been in the room for nearly two hours.

The realization floored
her. It had felt like minutes. Was that a good or a bad thing?
Charity texted Daniel letting him know she'd had the meeting. He
texted back,
In the lobby
.
“Um, Daniel is in the lobby. Should we all meet there?”

“
Sounds good,” Faith said.

Charity grabbed her purse and ducked into the bathroom
to check her appearance. There were shadows under her eyes and her
hair was a bit mussed. After brushing out her hair, she added some
color to her cheeks and lips.

Faith and Hope were waiting when she emerged.

“
Ready?”

She nodded and followed the women out the door. The trip
down the hallway was silent, as each retreated into her own thoughts.
Charity wondered what they were thinking; wondered what they thought
of her really. What should she tell Daniel about the meeting? How
would he want her to proceed? Would he expect some kind of regular
gathering? Would that be such a bad thing?

After descending the main stairway, they turned a corner
and entered the lobby. Charity saw Daniel right away. He sat in a
chair next to another man, their heads together as they laughed over
something. Daniel looked up as she neared and got to his feet.
Charity was gratified the way his eyes lit up as he approached her.
He took her hand and pulled her close.

“
How are you doing?” he said quietly as his gaze
roamed her face.

“
I'm okay.”

He sent her a look that said they'd revisit the subject.
“Come and meet Shane and Eric.”

She looked over to see Hope's fingers curled around a
tall redhead's arm. The dark-haired man put his arm around Faith.
Daniel started the introductions, then her sisters finished them.
After a round of handshakes and social niceties, they stood looking
at each other with unabashed curiosity.

“
So,” Hope said after an awkward moment, “looks
like we interrupted a budding bromance.”

Eric laughed. “You caught us. But Shane and Daniel are
seriously cool dudes. Your sisters have great taste in men.”

Charity peered up at Shane and caught her breath. His
coloring and build were close to Daniel's, so close they could almost
be...brothers. She looked up at Daniel, wondering if he realized the
same thing.

He returned her look
with a smile. “They
are
pretty cool. We've been getting to know each other over the last
couple of hours.”

“
It's been two hours?” Shane said with a laugh. “No
wonder I'm starving.”

“
Are we good for dinner?” Eric asked. “You girls
going to behave or do we have to do room service?”

Hope's face turned red.
“
Like
I said,
ladies.”

He sent her a knowing grin. “What?”

“
Dinner sounds great,” Faith said quickly. She
motioned toward the dining room. “Let's go see if they have a table
big enough for all of us.”

For all of us
.
Charity's fingers tightened around Daniel's. For the first time in a
long time, that didn't sound like such a bad thing.

Chapter Fifteen

Charity examined her face in the mirror. Her hair, damp
from a shower, looked almost black against her ruby colored sweater.
The knit top added some color to her face in addition to the light
dusting of makeup. Her eyes, however, still showed signs of
distress—a little puffiness and some shadowing underneath. But it
couldn't be helped.

She and Daniel had talked long into the night about her
time with her sisters and what it all meant—and there had been a
lot of tears. At one point Charity had wondered if she'd ever stop
crying. It was as if a residue of the old hurts and regrets needed to
be purged from her system, and poor Daniel had borne the brunt of it.

As she'd pressed her
face against his chest, she realized he was in some ways a blend of
her sisters. The shelterer
and
the challenger. He'd been the one to goad her into meeting with her
siblings, and he was the one who held her afterwards.

Still, I wished I hadn't gone to pieces like that. I
was a mess
. And today's
reflection bore testament to that truth. There was just no pretending
that she was calm, cool, and collected.

It's not like anyone would believe me anyway
.

With a ragged sigh,
Charity brushed her teeth, pulled on her coat, and headed for the
door. She hoped a walk outside would brace her for the morning. They
were all to have breakfast together before heading their separate
ways.
And I just need a few minutes of fresh air to prepare
myself
.

Charity walked through the silent halls until she
reached the lobby, also empty so early in the morning. She paused on
her way to the main doors, her eyes widening at the sight of several
inches of snow that must've fallen overnight. She hurried to the
doors and went outside. Snow wasn't very common in Portland, so the
white landscape was a spectacle that lifted her spirits.

Her feet crunched as
she made her way to a courtyard area surrounded by blue spruce and
fat evergreens, all decorated with softly glowing lights that must've
been left on all night.
I didn't notice the decorations
much last night. It must've been breathtaking but I was too caught up
in my personal dramas
. The
notion dampened her mood a bit. She wouldn't be there tonight to see
the lights either.

Inhaling deep, she set the thought aside and walked
among the trees. The sun shimmered like gold on the tree tops and
tiny birds flitted among the boughs. In addition to the natural
trees, small, decorative topiary in large terra cotta pots had been
placed at different areas in the courtyard, along with several
wrought iron benches. Charity rounded a blue spruce heavy with shiny
glass balls and suddenly saw Daniel on a far bench. She froze, not
wanting to disturb him.

He looked over, no doubt alerted to her presence by her
crunchy footsteps. He smiled—the smile that she had tried to see
for so long in the beginning. Now it came easily and it still had the
power to make her heart skip a beat.

“
I was just thinking about you.”

She bit her lip. “I can leave if you want to be
alone.”

He got to his feet.
“No, I want you to stay.” He swatted snow off his backside.
“Besides the bench is
really
cold.”

She smiled at his chagrined expression and met him
halfway. When he reached her side, he dipped his head and brushed her
lips with his.

When he raised his head, he said, “How are you doing
this morning?”

“
Better,” she said, a little out of breath. Charity
scrutinized his face, looking for clues as to how he felt about her
after her breakdown the night before. Then again his kiss might be a
clue.

Settling his arm low on her waist, they wandered across
the courtyard.

“
How are you feeling about your sisters after having a
chance to sleep on it?”

Charity leaned her head on his arm, so grateful for his
presence. “I think overall it went better than I expected.”

“
Are you planning on staying in touch?”

“
Yes, we exchanged numbers last night at dinner.”

“
While us guys were talking?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

“
Sorry to abandon you like that. But it was really
great to meet them. They're good guys. Your sisters are lucky—and
vice-versa.”

“
They seemed nice—although we've already nixed any
Christmas togetherness. Holiday and wedding stresses are probably not
the way to start off when things are already strained between us. So
we're taking it nice and slow.”

“
Sounds wise.”

Charity took a deep breath. “Bottom line, my sisters
aren't as bad as I made them out to be.” She looked up at him,
gaging his reaction. “Right?”

“
I never thought they'd be horrible. I figured you all
were regular girls who'd endured a lot of hardships and confusion.
The adolescent years aren't the greatest in the best of times.”

It sounded simple, but her frustrations had compounded
instead of dissipating over the years—hence the crying jags of the
day before. “Hope did request help with her wedding, so we plan to
get together at some point for that.”

“
What about Faith?”

“
She just wants a small ceremony and has most
everything arranged.”