All of Me (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1) (3 page)

Tess folded the newspaper in half. “Can we talk about something else?”

“As soon as I’ve bought my lunch. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Sally walked over to Annie and started looking through the glass cabinets beside the till.

Tess imagined that some women might find Logan attractive. He was easily six-foot-five and had dark brown eyes that turned to amber when he was thinking about…she dragged her brain away from where that thought was going and concentrated on his body. That didn’t do her much good either.

Rock hard muscles that could have been sculptured out of granite summed him up perfectly. He would have ticked more than one ‘yes’ box in a desperate woman’s fantasy. But she wasn’t desperate. She didn’t even care if his smile could melt an iceberg, or an ice maiden. He was a reporter and that meant off-limits. No way. Ever.

“So what have you been arguing about with Logan this time?” Sally returned to the table with a chicken pie and a raspberry muffin.

“We weren’t arguing. He helped cook pancakes this morning.”

“Logan did? Why?”

Tess sighed. “It’s a long story. What have you been doing?”

“Recovering from last night.” Sally bit into her pie and smiled. “These are the best chicken pies in Montana. You should start a pie restaurant.”

“It’s hard enough finding the time to run this café. I couldn’t imagine having a restaurant as well.”

“It’s because you’re a control freak. You can’t let someone else take over.”

Tess smiled. “You could be right.”

“I know I’m right. So how come Logan was here?”

“I was desperate. I’d run out of buttermilk.”

Sally blew on the pie. “The old buttermilk excuse. It will get a man every time.”

Tess bit into her cheese sandwich. “It was half-past five in the morning. My options were limited.”

“But what an option,” Sally said with a grin.

Tess looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get moving. Annie needs a break and the lunch customers will be here soon. Molly’s coming by for a coffee after we close. Do you want to join us?”

“Count me in. And try not to be so hard on Logan. He’s a nice guy.”

“Maybe,” Tess said grudgingly as she stood up. But he was a reporter and she had a past no one knew about. And she planned on keeping it that way.

***

By four o’clock that afternoon, Tess was glad she’d invited her friends over for coffee. She laughed at something Molly said and felt the day’s dramas melting away.

The Irish photographer laughed back. “It’s true. He said he’d had a grand time on our first date. When he told me he was looking for a wife, I didn’t know what to say.”

“I hope you said no.” Sally reached for her coffee and stopped when Molly didn’t reply. “You did say no, didn’t you?”

Molly’s cheeks turned red. “I married Rowan six months later.”

“You what?” Annie leaned forward. “You married him?”

Molly looked slowly around the table. “He was charming and handsome. He whispered the poetry of Yeats and Moore in my ear.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It warmed my heart to be with him.”

“What happened?” Tess asked. “He didn’t come to Montana with you.”

“He ran off with a barmaid from County Kerry a few months after we were married. I was naive and foolish.”

“At least you were able to be foolish.” Annie bit into her cookie.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense,” Tess said. “What happened?”

“That’s a story for another time.” Annie glanced at another table and frowned. “Did anyone see the article in today’s paper about the house burglary?”

“You wouldn’t be changing the subject, would you?” Molly asked.

Annie shook her head. “It’s really sad. Wait here…” She walked across the café and picked up a newspaper. She opened it to the first page and handed it to Tess. “The house was burgled while the owners were visiting the bride-to-be’s mom in the hospital. They’re getting married in two weeks’ time and their bridesmaids’ dresses were stolen.”

Tess skimmed through the article. “No insurance,” she muttered. “Why do people do that?”

“Can’t afford it or don’t think anything will ever happen to them.” Sally looked over Tess’ shoulder. “They lost everything. How sad is that?”

“The bride’s mom has got breast cancer,” Annie added. “They can’t delay the wedding in case she doesn’t make it.”

Tess gave the paper to Sally. “It doesn’t sound as though they’ve got much money.” She knew what it felt like to not know where your next meal was coming from. But at least she’d had a roof over her head and grandparents who didn’t mind taking in an angry thirteen-year-old.

Tess watched Sally finish the article and pass it to Molly. “A couple of months ago we were talking about always being bridesmaids and never brides.”

Sally frowned. “Was that the one where we were also discussing our non-existent love lives?”

Tess nodded. “How many bridesmaids’ dresses have we got between the four of us?”

“I know where you’re going with this.” Sally grinned. “I’ve got eight.” She smiled at Annie’s shocked gasp. “What can I say? Cupid keeps missing me with his arrow.”

“I’ve never been a bridesmaid,” Molly said. “But I’m sure some of the brides I’ve photographed would be happy to donate their bridesmaids’ dresses.”

“I’ve got two,” Annie said.

Tess added up how many weddings she’d been a bridesmaid for. “I’ve got seven. We could easily help the couple in the paper.” She looked around the table waiting to hear what everyone else thought.

Sally frowned. “What if they’re the wrong sizes, or the bride wants the same colors and styles? We’ve got seventeen dresses, but they’re all different.”

“We could make a catalog,” Molly said. “I could take photos of each dress. We could add the sizes and the skirt length. It wouldn’t take much to match a bridesmaid up with a dress. If the bride wants the same color, she can dye them.”

Tess ran behind the sales counter and picked up a pen and her notebook. “It could work.” She sat back down at the table and started making notes. “How many bridesmaids’ dresses do we need for the bride in the newspaper?”

Molly looked down at the article. “Four.”

“There must be four dresses she’d like,” Annie said. “Who is the bride?”

Molly ran her finger over the article. “The bride-to-be is Estelle and her fiancé is Darren. There are no last names.”

Tess wrote a question mark beside their names. “We know her mom is in the hospital and that the wedding is in two weeks’ time. It shouldn’t be that hard to find them.” She tapped her pen against her lips. “Who wrote the article? We should go and see them, see if they’ve got more information.”

Annie smiled. “I believe the reporter’s name is Logan Allen.”

Tess looked up from the notes she was writing. “You’re joking?”

“I kid you not,” Annie said. “Aren’t you lucky you made him pancakes this morning?”

She might have made him pancakes, but she’d also annoyed him. “I think Sally should talk to him.”

Sally shook her head. “I don’t think so. You’ve known Logan a lot longer than I have. He’s all yours.”

Tess looked at Molly.

“Don’t look at me with those big blue eyes,” Molly said. “Sometimes a woman needs to live a little dangerously. And he’s such a charmer.”

Tess knew Logan was charming when he needed to be, ruthless if it suited the occasion. She passed Molly another muffin. “Please, Molly. You like men that are charming. You could talk him into giving you the information we need to find the bride and groom.”

“I ended up married to the last man that charmed me. So no, Logan is all yours. But I will have that muffin you’re holding under my nose as a bribe.”

Tess dropped her head onto the table. “You’re all so mean.”

Sally laughed. “I bet Logan could be really mean, too. Especially if he’s got something you need.”

“Exactly. That’s why someone else needs to go.” Everyone looked at Tess with smiles on their faces.

“Okay,” she muttered. “I’ll go and see him on Monday.”

Molly put the newspaper article in the middle of the table. “Monday will be too late. We have two weeks to find the bride, see if she wants our help and make sure all of the dresses fit the bridesmaids. You need to see Logan by tomorrow at the latest.”

“It’s Sunday tomorrow,” Tess squeaked. She didn’t want to see him at his home. It was bad enough having to go into his office.

“Molly’s right. We need to do something now.” Sally jumped up from her seat and picked up her bag. “Let’s check the online phone directory. There can’t be that many men called Logan Allen in Bozeman.”

Tess hoped he had an unlisted number, but knowing Sally, it wouldn’t make any difference. She seemed to know most people around town, or someone who knew someone else.

Sally put her tablet on her knees and tapped the screen. “Bingo. 86 Harry Shaw Lane. Here’s his phone number.”

She passed the tablet across to Tess and she wrote his address and phone number in her notebook. “What if he won’t talk to me?”

“Any man who buys buttermilk at five thirty in the morning and helps make pancakes won’t ignore a bride in distress.” Annie sounded so sure of herself that Tess felt a little better.

“Even if he doesn’t like you, he’ll want to help,” Sally added.

“I don’t know whether you’re trying to make me feel better or worse, but I’ll do it. I’ll go and see him today. After he’s told me the bride’s name, I’ll send everyone a text.”

Sally held her coffee mug in the air. “Here’s to making a bride’s dreams come true.”

Tess clinked her mug against everyone else’s.

She only hoped that making a bride’s dream come true wouldn’t turn into her worst nightmare.

Chapter Two

Tess parked her car outside Logan’s home. She hadn’t called him, hadn’t done any of the things a normal, sane woman would have done. She didn’t know whether she was more worried about him not helping, or what she’d do if he said he would.

As soon as everyone had left the café she’d put two muffins in a bag and driven across town. Logan’s home was different to what she’d expected. She’d thought he’d live in an apartment, a bachelor pad he could leave at the drop of a hat when he raced off to report on a story somewhere in the world.

The two-story home in front of her didn’t look like the sort of home you’d be away from for long. With its wide front porch, steep gabled roof and pretty garden, it looked like a home someone spent time in.

She picked up the muffins and the newspaper article sitting on the passenger seat. If she’d been able to think of an alternative solution, she wouldn’t be here. But Logan was the only person who knew who the bride and groom were. The only person that could help them.

She couldn’t let Sally, Molly, and Annie down. She couldn’t let the bride down.

Her shoes clicked on the stone driveway as she walked toward Logan’s home. She recited the words she’d practiced in the car. The ones that would make him realize how important it was that they find the bride.

She walked up the wooden steps, pushed the doorbell and waited.

The door opened and Tess plastered a polite smile on her face. She frowned, looked down, and tried not to stare. A little girl with short red hair stared up at her.

“You’re tall.”

“Stacey, I don’t think…” Logan looked at her. “Tess? What are you doing here?”

“I…” She couldn’t remember what she’d been going to say. She moved her hands and remembered the muffins. “These are for you. I’m sorry for intruding.” She turned to go.

“You’re not intruding,” Logan said quickly. “My sister and niece have been staying with me for the last week. They’re about to head home.”

“Uncle Logan helped mom pack the car,” Stacey said. “We’re going to the airport.”

“Logan, have you seen my wallet?” A pretty young woman stood beside Logan. The family resemblance was so strong that Tess would have pegged them as brother and sister even if she didn’t know they were related.

Logan nodded at Tess. “Jacqui, this is Tess. Tess, Jacqui.”

Jacqui held her hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Tess bit her bottom lip and tried to think of a good way of getting out of Logan’s front door. “Have a safe flight home. I’ll come back another day.”

Jacqui looked between her and Logan. “Don’t be silly.” She grabbed Tess’ arm and pulled her inside. “Logan never introduces us to any of his friends. I was beginning to think he didn’t have any.”

“Oh, but I’m not…”

“Our secret’s safe with Jacqui.” Logan put his arm around her waist and hauled her close.

Tess tried to step away from him, but he was every bit as strong as he looked. “What do you think you’re…” His mouth landed on hers and she almost bit his lip. Until she remembered what she was here for, then she kept her teeth to herself. She turned her head sideways, ignored the zap of electricity that almost made her forget that she didn’t like him, and looked down into the eyes of his niece.