The Holiday Bride (11 page)

That thought didn’t stop her from racing to the door a few
hours later when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find a florist standing
with a huge white box. “Two dozen of our best,” he said merrily. She thanked
him with a blush and hurriedly took the box inside, ripping into its card.
This time, I promise, I won’t let you down.
Love, Mitch.

Lucy gave a melancholy smile, thinking Mitch wasn’t such a
bad guy. In fact, he was a great guy, and the right guy for her. While it was
true he got distracted at times, he was basically a decent man with a good
heart. Someone who cared for her, and probably only overworked himself in order
to do right by her. Besides, they’d been going out forever and sort of
fit
. He wasn’t a bad man and would treat
Lucy right, wouldn’t run around on her, or purposely be unkind. Over time,
they’d work out the baby thing. Once his business had settled down and he
wasn’t so stressed, he’d be more willing to talk about it.

Lucy eyes misted at the memory of reading to Carmella by the
fire and singing her early morning lullabies. Even Justin had seemed to be
coming around. Perhaps slowly, but she had a gut instinct she could break
through to him if she just kept trying. But these were silly things to dwell on
when she had a wedding to plan. She and Mitch were getting married—
married—
in just a few days. There
were so many things to check on, and loose ends to tie up.

Lucy felt a tad guilty for not being overwhelmed with joy at
the thought of her upcoming nuptials, but knew that she’d get into it
eventually. She was sure that when the big moment came, she could look Mitch in
the eye and say
I do
with the hopeful
expectation of any bride. The sooner she put the illusion of William meeting
her at the top of the aisle instead of Mitch, the better. William was this
banker prince, and here she she was, this diner Cinderella. It would do her
good to keep her life in perspective and stick with the world she knew. At
bottom, it was the only world she had.

William sat by the fire with his parents, sipping eggnog. “I
want to thank you both for everything you did to help with Brid—I mean,
Lucy.”

“Takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?” Grant asked.

Emma smiled. “Lucy’s a nice name. Comes from Lucille, bearer
of light.”

“And that’s how she was, too,” William said thoughtfully.
“Just like a candle in a window that had been darkened too long.”

“Why son, that’s very poetic,” Grant said with surprise.

William shot his parents a sad smile. “And the funny thing
is, I haven’t thought much about poetry, or anything else romantic, in a very
long time.”

“We know, son,” Emma said kindly. “And we’ve kind of been
hoping there’d come a day when those things would change.”

“What your mother means is, we’ve been wondering when the
day would come when somebody special would turn your head.”

“We just never dreamed she’d get dropped down the chimney!”
Emma said.

William set down his drink and stared at her in surprise.
“Why Mom, aren’t you a little old to believe in Santa Claus?”

“Oh no, honey. It’s never too late to…” She swigged from her
glass. “…renew one’s faith. Is it, Grant?” she asked, glancing at her husband.

Grant drained his glass and winked at William. “Never too
late, indeed.”

A ways beyond their view and at a high bend in the steps,
Justin had been sitting and eavesdropping on their adult conversation. He’d
never seen his dad this way, all moping about like he’d lost his best friend.
When his mom died, his dad had been tough. Super strong for all of them. Justin
saw now that maybe that was because he felt he had to be. On the inside, he
must have been hurting. Just as much as Justin and Carmella, in some ways.
Maybe more.

Justin pulled the small wallet-size photo of Mary, the
pretty girl from the skating rink, from his pocket and studied it. She had the
sweetest looking face in all of the seventh grade, and he was betting she’d be
the best-looking girl in the eighth, too. If he didn’t get her to go with him
now, it would be over and done with by high school. All the more athletic and
smarter boys would have moved in, leaving Justin out in the cold.

He stared down the flight of steps, imagining his dad’s long
face. While he couldn’t precisely view his profile from his hidden spot on the
stairs, he could envision how it might look, his brow all creased with worry,
his lips taking a downward turn. Justin returned his gaze to Mary’s photo and
her beautiful, cheerful smile. When that smile was meant for him it made his
guts turn inside out, but in a good way. He guessed when Lucy had smiled at
Dad, it had made him feel something similar. Maybe something he hadn’t felt in
a while. For all of Justin’s life, his dad had done stuff for him and the fuzz
brain. He was a good dad who loved them a lot. Maybe it was time that they let
him know they loved him back.

Justin stealthily rose to his feet and crept back up the
stairs, an idea taking hold. He tiptoed to his sister’s room and snuck in the
door.

“What are you doing?” she asked looking up from her Barbie
dolls.

He quietly shut the door and rasped under his breath.
“Carmella, I have an idea.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she said, firmly shaking her head. “Your
ideas get you in trouble, and I don’t want any of that.”

“Not even . . .” he asked, with a tempting smile. “If they
get Lucy back?”

Forty-five minutes later, Carmella goggled at Justin’s
computer screen. “Looks really good. Do you think it will work?”

“In getting her attention? You bet.” He’d done his best with
it, computer program modifications and all. It certainly got the message
across.

“I still don’t know about that word.” She frowned. “
Man-a-tory?
Are you sure she’ll know
what that means?”

Justin shot her an informed look. “Do reindeers fly?”

Carmella studied her brother. “You’re some kind of softie,
aren’t you?”

“Let’s just say I had some growing up to do.”

“Does this have something to do with Mary?” she asked
astutely.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to have another girl around. I mean, a
grown-up one like Lucy, to ask all those mushy love questions to.”

“
Love...?
”
Justin surveyed his sister,
wondering how she knew so much. “Go back to bed,” he said, playfully swatting
the side of her head.

William nearly bumped into Carmella exiting Justin’s room.
“Well hello, pumpkin.” He did a double take. “Wait a minute. Didn’t I tuck you
in over an hour ago?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, staging a yawn. “And I’m really tired.”

“Then what…?”

“Oh! I had a little bit of a bad dream, so I went to see
Justin.”

“And Justin helped you out?” he asked uncertainly. The boy
did appear to be turning over a new leaf. “Oh yes!” she said brightly. “All
better now!”

“Hmm.”

“Well, good night, Daddy,” she said, giving him a quick hug
around the legs and darting to bed. “Sleep tight!”

“You too, pumpkin,” he said, thinking something didn’t add
up. William rapped lightly at Justin’s door, then went in.

Justin sat nonchalantly on the bed, scribbling something on
a notepad. William couldn’t believe his eyes. Was that Justin—writing
poetry?

“Hey Dad. What’s up?”

“Uh, I just wanted to... About Carmella...?”

“Oh yeah, the fuzz brain had a bad dream. It’s okay, though.
I told her the monsters weren’t real and that she could leave on the lights.”

“Very good of you, Justin, thanks,” William said, impressed.
Who had taken his snarly preteen and replaced him with somebody older and
wiser? Not to mention, a bit kinder to his kid sister?

“Was there something else?” Justin asked, apparently ready
to get back to his writing.

William had the sneaking suspicion Justin was up to
something. For some odd reason, he suspected it had something to do with girls.
“Everything all right?”

“Oh yeah, Dad. Just dandy.”

Dandy?
“There’s
nothing you want to tell me about? Nothing you want to discuss?”
Like your raging hormones or possible new
interest in girls
,
William
wanted to ask.

Justin smiled at him, tightlipped. “Nope.”

****

Chapter Ten

William had been pondering a way to see Lucy again, but knew
that it wouldn’t be right just to pop on over there and say
hi
the day before her wedding. Still, he
had her gifts to return. Bridget’s gifts, anyway. William peered in the top box,
his face firing red. Well, no wonder Lucy hadn’t wanted him to look! He paused,
wondering what had become of his sense of adventure. He wasn’t even forty and
yet it seemed he’d morphed into an old man. Something about the light in Lucy’s
bright blue eyes told him she could find a way to reawaken his youth. Hadn’t he
nearly been driven to pull her into his arms and carry her up to his bed half a
dozen times? Okay, he had carried her upstairs that once. But given that they
scarcely knew each other at the time, and she was effectively passed out, that
didn’t seem to count.

William sat on the side of the bed, feeling foolish. There
really hadn’t been anyone since Karen died. The fact was, when his wife had
gone he’d been so devastated by the entire event, he didn’t believe he’d ever
love again. And then, this stranger waltzed into his house... More like
sleepwalked... And suddenly, his heart was all over itself, unable to stop its
pounding each time that she was near. There was something about her, he didn’t know
what, that just seemed so right. It was like she’d belonged in this house . . .
and in his arms, he thought, as his neck flushed hot. Though he never truly got
the chance to hold her like he’d yearned to do. He tried to imagine what that
might be like, having a wife and mother in this house once more. He’d never
before trusted there would be a way for that to work. The person would have to
be very special. Extra special. To fit such a large bill.

But what was he doing entertaining such cockamamie notions?
Tomorrow, Lucy was marrying Mitch. That was the life she was meant to lead, and
had decided on, long before she’d wound up on William’s sofa. It wasn’t like a
few days with his family were going to change her mind.

Lucy trudged through the snow up to William’s house, her
palms damp inside her warm wool gloves. For the past forty-eight hours, she’d
been dreaming up any excuse she could think of to come on over. Then, she
recalled Bridget’s packages. Of course, she had to get them back and make that
delivery. After all, she’d promised Mitch.

Maybe it was true that deep inside she longed to see William
again. Ever since staying with the Kinkaids, she’d felt oddly conflicted about
her upcoming wedding. Perhaps dropping by this morning would set everything right.
She’d had a few days to gather her thoughts and distance herself from the disconcerting
events that had occurred here, she thought, climbing the front porch steps.
Lucy paused, taking in the pretty handmade Christmas wreath, tied up with a
bright red bow and hanging from the front door. Everything in this house teemed
with life.

Especially William!
 
She looked up with a start when he opened
the door, before she could ring the bell. He stood there in his parka,
appearing more handsome than ever, light brown eyes sparkling with surprise.
“Lucy!” he said, holding a stack of Christmas gifts.

“Bridget’s packages,” she exclaimed, heaving a breath. “I
was just coming to get them!”

He raised his brow. “You were?”

“Who’s at the door, dear?” Emma called from inside. She
appeared behind William a few seconds later, followed by Grant.

“Why, Lucy!” she said, rushing over to give her a hug. “What
a pleasant surprise.”

“Indeed,” Grant said with a grin. “In fact, we were just
talking about you.”

William turned to his parents and parroted with Lucy, “You
were?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Emma ushered Lucy inside and shut the
door. “Come on in and out of the cold. I just put a pot of coffee on.”

Hearing voices downstairs, Justin and Carmella decided to go
investigate.

“Carmella, look,” Justin whispered at the top of the steps
as his Poppy helped Lucy off with her coat and his dad set down a stack of
packages.

“Wow,” Carmella whispered back. “That worked fast.”

Justin nodded. “Guess that’s what they mean by
instant upload
.”

“Hey kids!” William called upstairs. “Come on down! We’ve
got company!”

Justin and Carmella smiled at each other, beginning their
rapid descent.

“Justin! It’s so good to see you,” Lucy said with a happy
grin. “And you know, I have something to tell you. I’m not mad at all about
that Web page.”

Justin glanced at Carmella, then spoke, his voice lightly
cracking. “That’s great!”

“I know you kids were only trying to help,” Lucy said
sweetly.

Carmella beamed from ear to ear.

Lucy bent low and held out her arms to the little girl.
“Come here, you.”

Carmella rushed over and gave her a happy hug, as Justin’s
heart brimmed. He studied his father, who appeared equally pleased that Lucy
was here. Sometimes it was nice to do a good thing.

“Let’s all head into the kitchen, why don’t we?” Emma said.
“Gingerbread’s in the making.”

“Oh boy!” Carmella crowed.

Justin approached Lucy as she neared the threshold and spoke
in a low, confident manner. “Good to see you, Luce.”

She stared at him, her cheeks aglow. “Why Justin, that’s
very nice of you to say. It’s awfully good to see you, too.”