Where Your Heart Is (Lilac Bay Book 1) (21 page)

* * *

T
he place looked beautiful
. The first-floor dining room was much the way it had always been after a tremendous amount of cleaning, polishing, and work on the lights and upholstery. Upstairs was a different story. The damaged paneling was gone, replaced with cool walls in the palest green, with crisp white trim. The windows were always the main attraction, of course, but the lighter color palette seemed to open the room up, making the windows appear even bigger. The floors had been restored, the antique sconces saved and complimented by additional, funkier lighting. Zane’s design was perfect. The entire place was perfect.

And the food, of course, was the best part. After showing me the second floor, David headed back down to the kitchen to oversee the sous chefs. He had somehow managed to take the menu and rework it into finger foods and appetizers, which the wait staff served to the mingling guests. And there were a lot of guests. The whole town was there, as far as I could tell, along with countless tourists and day-trippers from the mainland. And since David never cancelled the promotion I had planned, there were several reporters, bloggers, and magazine photographers there to capture the moment. The wine was flowing, the piano was playing, and my grandmother stood in the middle of it all, beaming and greeting her friends and family.

“This is really something,” my mother said, appearing at my side. “You all did a fantastic job. I can hardly believe it’s the same place.”

“The boys did most of the work,” I told her.

“Nonsense. You’ve all been working for weeks.”

David appeared on the other side of the room with a tray of food, accepting congratulations from many of the guests. He looked good in his chef’s coat, working the room, showing off his food. I felt a swell of pride for him. This was his night as much as my grandmother’s, and he deserved every minute of it.

“He’s a good guy,” my mom murmured in my ear. And then, as if the night needed more surprises, she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here, Iris.”

Then she turned, leaving me standing in the middle of the room, stunned.

I’m glad I’m here, too
, I thought, suddenly wishing I could tell her that. What had been missing for me during those days of mourning and grief was in this room, at the end of all this hard work. The feeling of belonging. The feeling of family. I wanted to tell her how much it meant to me that everyone in her family had welcomed me back without question this summer. How much fun I’d been having, how good it felt to be a part of something, to work for something. How good it felt to be here.

I watched David approach my grandmother, kissing her cheek as he handed her a plate, grinning down at her before he headed back to the kitchen.

I wanted to tell her how badly I wanted to stay.

“Iris?”

I frowned as I looked over my shoulder, thinking that the voice sounded familiar. Sure enough, mere feet away stood my father, looking exactly the way I remembered him. Expensive suit, perfectly styled hair, tan skin against the crisp white collar of his shirt.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, and he frowned.

“Do you not say hello anymore?” he asked, sounding put out.

“Sorry.” I shook my head and moved toward him for a hug. “Sorry, Daddy. You just surprised me.”

“How you holding up?” He released me quickly. No surprises there. He’d never been much of a hugger.

“I’m doing okay.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I couldn’t believe that he had come all this way, to a place that he openly despised, just to pay his respects. It seemed unbelievable, really, and a wave of love for my father washed over me.

“And your grandmother?” He looked around the room. “I haven’t seen her.”

“She’s over there,” I told him, gesturing to where I had last seen her. “Let’s go over and—”

“Hang on,” he said, tugging on my hand. “I want you to meet some people first.”

I stared at him in confusion. Why would he have people for me to meet when he was the visitor here? He turned to reveal two men in nearly identical grey suits behind him. They had the same polished look as my father, the same neat hair, same perfect white teeth. “Iris, this is Bill Johnson and Giles Keplan. They represent the Guardian Group, based in Traverse City.”

“I’m so sorry to hear about your loss,” one of the men said, while the other clutched a plate of David’s crab cakes and nodded solemnly as I shook their hands, feeling numb. Who were these people? And what in the hell were they doing here with my father?

“I know this isn’t the optimal time,” my dad said.

“How did you even know we decided not to cancel? Even
I
didn’t know.”

He looked at me blankly. “I had my secretary subscribe to the mailing list. There wasn’t any notice about a cancellation.” Of course. Sending out the cancellation notice was one of the things David had promised to do. My father continued. “Since it seemed like you were going ahead with the opening as scheduled, I wanted these guys to have a chance to see the place first.”

“You’ve done a great job here,” grey suit number one said. “Your father showed us pictures of what the place used to look like. And he shared your financial analyses with us.”

“Your ideas definitely match up with ours,” the other guy said, nodding seriously. “We’re seeing a great amount of growth here, fantastic upmarket potential.” His words filled my head like a dull buzz, barely distinguishable. What was he talking about?

“And your idea about combining the property with one of the hotels,” he continued. “Excellent thinking. Just the kind of cross-market investment we get excited about.”

“Hang on.” I raised my hand to stop the torrent of gibberish spilling from their mouths.

“Iris, these men are here to see what you’ve done with the place,” my dad said, a note of warning in his voice. “Their firm is very interested in expanding onto Lilac Bay, and they have a lot of ideas for development on the island that they’d like to talk to you about.”

Oh my God
. I couldn’t believe he had done this. He brought developers here? To the grand opening of my family’s restaurant? Two days after my grandfather’s funeral? No. Not even my father would be that callous.

“I’m confused,” I said, my voice shaking, desperately trying to refrain from screaming. “And I think you may have a misunderstanding, gentlemen. This is a family business. We have no intention of selling it.”

The guy holding the crab cakes laughed. “Isn’t that what they all say? Just wait until the money guys put dollar signs in their eyes.” The other guy laughed, and I was filled with the very real urge to punch them both. “Everyone changes their mind when cold hard cash is on the table.”

“And we’re very interested in this property, Iris,” the other guy said, looking out the window. “Of course, we’d want to tear down that coffee place next door for expansion.”

“Definitely,” crab cake guy said, nodding seriously. “What a waste of lake front real estate.”

“And we could probably get rid of that shop on the other side, too. Pretty rundown-looking. Doesn’t really fit the brand. Maybe even expand down the whole block.”

I felt like I was going to throw up. That little shop on the side was Chrissy’s place. Chrissy, my grandmother’s friend, who came and helped us vacuum the flour the night of the anniversary dinner. Chrissy, who had shut down her store on the day of Pops’s funeral as a sign of respect for my grandparents.

I glared at my father. “I can’t believe you did this,” I muttered, clenching my fists. “After I told you—”

“Gentlemen,” he interrupted smoothly. “Could you give us a minute?”

“Sure thing,” crab cakes said, holding up his near-empty plate. “Great chef you found here, by the way.”

“We’d probably want to bring in someone with more of a name, of course,” his partner told him as they walked away.

“I can’t believe how unprofessionally you’re acting,” my dad said before I could lay into him. And God, I wanted to lay into him. Wanted to yell and pound my fists on the perfect lapels of that perfect suit.

“And I can’t believe how cruel you’re acting!” I cried. “We just buried Pops. How in the hell did this seem appropriate to you?”

“You have to move quickly in this business, Iris,” he shot back. “Your grandfather hadn’t passed yet when I invited them to come up. I wasn’t going to cancel on them. Opportunities like this don’t come up every day.”

“There’s no opportunity! We’re not selling!”

He leaned down so his face was close to mine, anger radiating from him. “I meant the opportunity for you, young lady. Do you have any idea who these men work for?”

“Should I?”

He sighed, looking supremely disappointed in his only offspring. “The Guardian Group, Iris, is owned by Kent and Collins of Chicago and New York.”

Oh. Shit. Yeah, that was a name I knew. They were one of the biggest development groups in the eastern half of the country. “I’ve been working to get you an interview, Iris, so Hunter Kent suggested I bring his Michigan outfit up to see your work. And you, young lady, are in danger of blowing it. So get your act together and act like a professional.”

But I didn’t want to act like a professional. My grandfather had just died. My family was grieving. This wasn’t the time for this. Not by a long shot.

“I want you to get them out of here,” I said, hands shaking so much, I almost dropped my wine glass. “Now.”

“Iris—”

“Now.”

He shook his head, his face disbelieving, like he didn’t recognize me. And then the suits were at his side again. “Iris, we just talked to your chef. Excellent work.”

Oh God, they’d talked to David. What had they said? What would he think?

“Gentlemen,” my father said, his voice smooth and all business once again. “I think my daughter has had a bit of a rough day, what with the death in the family and all. Perhaps we could head up to see the hotel as planned?”

“Oh, absolutely,” one of the guys said, shaking my hand. “So sorry, again. Listen, we hear you’re looking for an interview in Chicago. We’d be happy to recommend you. You’ve done a great job with this property.”

“Absolutely,” the other said. “Just don’t go running off to the Windy City until we get a chance to talk about the future of this place.” He laughed and rubbed his fingers in the universal sign for money.

“Thanks for coming,” I muttered, refusing to meet my father’s eyes. He leaned down under the pretense of kissing my cheek. “We’ll talk about this later.”

And then they were gone, leaving my head spinning. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what had just happened. My dad brought developers to the opening, without consulting me, all in attempt to get me an interview with the biggest firm in Chicago. How could one person be so eager to help and so…
blind
, all at the same time?

I turned to go find David, crossing my fingers that they hadn’t told him anything. But I didn’t get that far. Because standing right behind me, apparently having heard a great portion of that conversation, was Posey, my grandmother at her side. Mimi’s face was white, her forehead pinched. My breath caught, thinking she might cry, but then her eyes flashed, and I understood. She wasn’t sad at what she had overheard. She was angry. Very angry.

“Iris Holder,” she hissed, her voice like a slap. “How
could
you?”

T
wenty minutes later
, I was standing in the living room at Lilac Ridge, trying not to cry. “I’m telling you, I didn’t know they were coming,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time. I looked between Mimi and Posey and found nothing but anger on their faces.

The entire thing was a bigger mess than I even imagined. One of the developers had talked to Mimi when they went off in search of the chef, told her that he hoped we could all sit down soon and discuss an offer on the property. And Posey had been standing with her at the time. And then they’d heard the end of my conversation with my dad and the developers, heard them mention the interview. Saw him make that money sign while talking about the restaurant. They’d come to their own conclusions, and nothing I said seemed to dent their anger.

“I didn’t invite them,” I tried again. “I had nothing to do with it.”

“Your father just showed up with them?” Posey asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

“Yes! That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

“They sounded pretty knowledgeable about the property,” Mimi shot back. She was pacing the room, so upset that I was scared for her. She’d been through too much this week to be this worked up.

“Mimi, please sit.”

“One has to wonder where they got that information, Iris.”

“What do you mean?”

“That conversation with your father last week,” she snapped. Mimi never snapped at me. “The one that your mother walked in on.”

“She told you about that?”

“Of course she did! She was very worried. She heard you talking about profit margins and investment opportunities for
my
restaurant. She wanted to know if I had any idea what you were up to.”

“It wasn’t
like
that—”

“And I told her not to be so hard on you, that you would never do something like that. Not to your family. I told her that she must have misunderstood.”

“Mimi—”

“What
I
don’t understand,” she said, stopping her pacing to stare at me, fire in her eyes, “is why you went through all the pretense of working with your cousins and saying it was about family if you were really just using Rose’s as a way to further your own career.”

I stared at her, mouth open. She couldn’t actually think that I would do that. She couldn’t.

“I was
not
trying to sell Rose’s,” I protested, feeling like I might be sick. “I would never, ever try to do that.”

“But you were using us to get yourself that interview in Chicago, weren’t you?”

“No! I didn’t know anything about that!”

Posey was watching my face closely. For the first time in our lives, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “So you’re not going to the interview?”

That brought me up short. “I mean, they haven’t even tried to schedule anything, it was just an off hand—”

“You want the job, don’t you?” she whispered. “If they ask you for an interview, you’re going to go.”

“I didn’t say that.” I looked between the two of them, the two angry faces of the people I loved most in the world. “I don’t know what I would do if they asked me to interview.”

“Yes you do,” Posey said. “You would go. You would jump at the chance.”

“Posey, I was always
supposed
to go! I live there.”

“Then maybe it’s time you went back.”

“Posey!”

“I never believed any of those kids, Iris, the ones that told me you were a brat and a snob. I’ve been defending you my entire life. I had no idea you were so selfish.”

“That’s enough, Posey.” I had imagined it would be my grandmother who might defend me, but she was still looking at me with that angry, disappointed expression on her face. The expression that made me worry that she shared Posey’s opinion. It was my mother, standing in the doorway behind us, who had spoken. She came into the room, her fingers brushing against my arm as she passed. “Mom, you’ve had a long day. Posey, why don’t you help me get her settled.”

“I don’t need help getting settled,” Mimi snapped. “I’m a grown woman.”

“Humor me,” my mom said, taking Mimi’s arm. Still Posey sat in her chair, glaring at me. “Posey.” My mother’s voice was sharper now. “I asked you to help me, sweetheart.”

“Fine.” My cousin stood and fled the room without another look.

“Iris, I’ll be down in a minute,” my mom said, her voice gentle, and then she and Mimi were gone, too, leaving me alone in the living room.

I sank into an armchair, my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe this. How did everything turn into such a mess? An hour ago, I had been heartbroken about my grandfather, the pain so strong it made me dizzy, but I’d been happy, too. Happy because I felt a part of something. Happy that my family was rallying, that we could count on each other. Happy that I had David.

And now Posey and Mimi thought I’d betrayed them. Did the others know? I thought about Zane and Eddie, about Andrew’s excited, proud face and felt even sicker. And I still didn’t know what those guys had said to David.

My phone rang. My dad. I pressed the accept button, feeling numb.

“Iris, we need to talk about your behavior tonight,” he said without preamble.

“This is not the time, Dad,” I began, but he kept talking.

“Giles and Bill were very impressed with the restaurant. They’re excited about the hotel opportunity, as well. They’ve already spoken to the team in Chicago, singing your praises.”

“Fantastic,” I muttered, not caring if he could read the sarcasm in my voice.

“They’ve scheduled the interview for Monday morning.”

“Wait, what?”

“They want to see you in Chicago on Monday morning. I’ll wait for you and we’ll travel down together.”

“Dad, I don’t know if I want—”

“You will be there, Iris. This isn’t the kind of thing you throw away.”

“Dad.” But he was gone.

An interview at Kent and Collins. A month ago, I would have been salivating at the very thought of the opportunity this could be. My dad was basically offering me a shot at my dream job. So why did I feel so awful?

“You look like you could use some tea.”

I looked up to see my mother standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Mimi—”

“She’s exhausted, Iris. She and Posey both. Cut them a little slack. Everything will look better in the morning.”

I nodded, a lump in my throat. I could see them upstairs, curled up together on the bed the way I’d seen them a hundred times. Posey was a cuddler, always had been. She would snuggle up against our grandmother when she read to us, when they chatted, when Mimi did her hair. I wanted to be there with the two of them so bad, it felt like a piece of my chest had been hollowed out.

“Why don’t you go out to the porch,” my mom said. “I could do with some fresh air. I’ll bring the tea.”

I nodded even though the last thing in the world I wanted was tea. What else was I supposed to do? My mother appeared to be the only one who actually wanted to talk to me. The irony was not lost on me as I took a seat on the top stair outside.

It was a beautiful night. Strange that it could be so nice out when everything in my head felt dark and cold. I could just catch a whiff of Mimi’s lilac bush when the breeze came through. Far above, the stars were bright and clear. You could never see stars like that in the city.

“Here you go,” my mother said a moment later, handing me a cup of tea and joining me on the step. She leaned against the railing post, watching me.

“Mom, I didn’t know he was coming,” I said immediately, the yearning for someone, anyone to believe me so strong, I could barely stand it.

“I know you didn’t.”

That brought me pause. “You do?”

“I’ve never known you to be dishonest, Iris. You said you didn’t know, and I believe you.” She took a sip of her tea and eyed me over the rim of her cup. “Besides, that had your father written all over it.”

Even though she was pretty much the only one being nice to me, I still felt a stab of anger at her criticizing my father. I took a sip of tea, trying to quell it.

“It’s just the way he is sometimes, Iris,” she said, as if she had read my thoughts. “He’s hyper focused on the task at hand. It makes it difficult to see the periphery. Like the fact that he might be hurting his daughter far more than helping her.”

I took another sip of tea, trying to dislodge the sudden lump in my throat.

“Mimi did have a point,” I said. “I
did
give Dad that information about the restaurant. Because I wanted him to be impressed. I wanted him to think I was doing something important.”

“You
were
doing something important, sweetheart. It just had nothing to do with profit margins and property appraisals.”

I nodded, feeling sick. “Are they going to forgive me?”

“Of course they are,” she said, sounding surprised. “Iris, they’re your family.”

“But they’re so angry.”

“Families get angry sometimes. That doesn’t mean they abandon you.”

“Maybe if I skip the interview, they’ll see that I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“Do you want to skip the interview?”

I stared down the dark walkway. “I don’t know. It’s a really big opportunity, Mom. A top firm. It’s what I’ve been hoping for. What I’ve always wanted.”

“Then why don’t you sound more excited about it now?”

“Because I don’t know if it’s what I want anymore.”

“Hmm.” She leaned back onto her elbows, staring up at the night sky. “Then I think you better do it.”

I turned to gape at her. “You do?”

“Sure.”

“You think I should move back to Chicago.” I don’t know why the words made my stomach drop. Why did I care if she wanted me around? It wasn’t like I’d ever made any kind of effort to spend time with her.

“I would much rather you stayed here,” she said, voice soft. “I’ve always wished you would stay here.” She cleared her throat and her voice became stronger. “But that’s not the issue right now. The issue is finding out what
you
want.” She met my gaze, her eyes clear and steady. “A girl should always know her options, Iris. And make her choices based on an examination of all the evidence.” It was funny—she sounded a lot like the mom I remembered, like Jas Holder, the executive who could always get to the truth of any situation. But sitting there in her purple-beaded tank top and long, flowered skirt, looking up at the stars, she looked like Minny, the free-spirited artist from Lilac Bay. And for the first time in my life, I felt like maybe those two people weren’t complete contradictions after all.

“Will you come with me?” I whispered, shocking myself as much as I shocked her. She blinked at me a few times, her eyes wide, before smiling. “Of course I will, sweetheart.”

There was a noise down at the gate, and we both squinted into the darkness until David came into view. “I think I’ll head up,” my mom said, standing. She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Remember, Iris. Know your options.” She headed to the door. “Night, David.”

“Night, Minny.”

He stood there in front of me, hands in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his face. “How’s it going?”

I blew out a breath. “Pretty awful. My grandmother and Posey are furious.”

“They’re exhausted,” he said, echoing my mother’s sentiment. “They’re not seeing things clearly.”

“I take it you heard about the investors.”

“Edward told me.”

Shit. So my cousins did know. “How mad is he?”

David looked down at me. “Not very mad, once I told him it was all a misunderstanding.”

My heart leapt in my chest. “You don’t think I planned the whole thing?”

“Of course not.” He sank to the step next to me, and I couldn’t help but throw my arms around him. He believed me. Without even having to ask. David pulled me close to his chest, rubbing my back, and it felt so good to just let someone take care of me. “I know you wouldn’t do something like that.”

“I wish you weren’t the only one.”

“You and your mom looked pretty chummy.”

“She… yeah. She was great, actually.”

He gave me a squeeze. “See? It’s not only me. And Eddie and Andrew and Zane, too. Posey and Rose will come around.”

I sighed, relaxing into him. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was all going to be okay.

“Especially when they see that you have no intentions of leaving,” he added, and I froze.

“David.”

“Hmm?” he asked, moving some hair behind my shoulder so he could lightly kiss my neck.

“There is an interview.” I felt his entire body tense.

“And?”

“And I think I should go to it.”

He pulled away, his arms going to his lap. “I see.”

I reached for his hands, trying to make him see. “I don’t even know if I want the job,” I said. “I just think I’ll always wonder if I don’t try, you know?”

“Yeah.” His voice was completely flat, his eyebrows drawn, and he wasn’t looking at me. “Makes sense.”

“David—”

He stood. “I should go.”

“Wait.” I stood as well, reaching for him, but he was already halfway down the steps. “David, don’t be like this.”

“Like what, Iris?” He finally turned to face me, and I almost wished he hadn’t. He was scowling again, his beautiful eyes stormy. “Disappointed? Or angry?”

“Why are you disappointed and angry? It’s only an interview.”

“For a job seven hours away.” His voice was still flat. “What happens when you get it?”

“I examine all the options,” I stated. It had sounded so good when my mom said it. But David only snorted.

“Well, let me know how those options work out for you,” he said, stepping down to the walkway. “I won’t hold my breath.”

“Wait! I want to talk to you about this.”

Suddenly, he spun to face me. His eyes weren’t stormy anymore; they were livid. “I’m not going to watch you run away to some glamorous life again, Iris.”

“That’s not what happened—”

“Like hell it wasn’t. You left without even saying goodbye.” He shook his head as if in disgust. “I’m not doing that again. We might as well say goodbye right now.”

“No!” The hole I had felt in my chest earlier seemed to double in size, the thought of losing him too much to stand. “David—”