Daughters Of The Bride (11 page)

It wasn’t that she didn’t
like
David. Of course she did. He was smart and kind and he was crazy about her. On paper, they made a great couple. She knew he would never decide she wasn’t good enough, the way Hugh had. But married? She couldn’t see it happening.

They would talk, she decided. Calmly, over dinner at her place. He’d probably let the romance of the engagement party sweep him away. Maybe he was having second thoughts, too. They could wait a few weeks, then quietly end things. It would be best for everyone.

Kailie, one of the volunteer staff members, walked in with a huge bouquet of flowers.

“These were just delivered for you,” she said eagerly. “They’re beautiful.” The teen grinned. “Someone’s trying to get on your good side.”

A rock dropped into Sienna’s stomach. A big, heavy rock. She reached for the card.

We are so excited to welcome you to the family. I’ve always wanted a daughter and now we’ll have you. Much love, Linda and David Sr.

Sienna was grateful she was sitting down. Otherwise, she would have fallen. Of course, hitting her head might not be so bad. Maybe she could get amnesia.

“They’re from David’s parents,” she whispered. “He told them.”

“About the engagement? That is so cool.” Kailie dropped her gaze to Sienna’s hand. “Why aren’t you wearing the ring?”

Sienna thought about the old-fashioned setting and did her best not to shudder. It wasn’t that she didn’t treasure old things. Nearly everything she owned had been purchased at the thrift store. It was that his grandmother’s ring had been hideous. A heavy, badly made design that only emphasized the tininess of the diamond. It had also been about two sizes too small.

“It was his grandmother’s ring,” she said, hoping she sounded more cheerful than she felt. “It didn’t fit. He’s taking it to a jeweler.”

“A family heirloom. That’s so special. You’ll be connected with his past forever.”

There was a thought.

Kailie flashed her a smile. “You’re so lucky, Sienna. David’s the greatest guy. I know you’ll be happy with him.”

“Thanks.”

Sienna moved the flowers to the table behind her desk. That way she wouldn’t have to look at them. Although she could still smell them, and the rock in her stomach remained.

Just when she thought her day couldn’t get any worse, a short, curvy redhead stalked into her office and slapped a piece of paper down on her desk.

“Here. It’s all you’re getting, so don’t ask for more. I have no idea why my great-grandmother liked you, but she did.”

“Hello, Erika,” Sienna said as graciously as she could. “Would you like to take a seat?”

“No.”

“Coffee?”

Erika rolled her green eyes. “Hardly.”

Sienna picked up the check. It was made out for ten thousand dollars, as promised by Mrs. Trowbridge.

“Thank you for this,” she said. “It will help. Would you like to know how the money is used?”

Erika sank into the seat across from Sienna. Her mouth formed a pout.

“No. I don’t care. You’re not getting anything from the kitchen, just so you know. There’s nothing left.”

“Why are you so mad at me?”

“You stole my boyfriend.”

“That was thirteen years ago. Then you stole him back and dumped him.”

“I didn’t steal him back,” Erika pointed out. “You were already done with him. For the record, I only stopped dating him. You broke up with him after you were engaged. That’s a lot worse.”

Sienna thought about saying she and Jimmy had been young and foolish, and neither of them had been particularly heartbroken about parting ways. But that wouldn’t play into Erika’s self-talk.

“Thank you again for the check,” she said quietly. “Your great-grandmother was always a generous supporter and we will miss her.”

“Whatever,” Erika snapped. She rose and left.

Sienna completed the paperwork to record the gift and printed out the tax letter to be mailed to the estate. When she was done, she walked into Seth’s office.

“We have Mrs. Trowbridge’s donation,” she said. “Ten thousand dollars.”

“Excellent. There’s another duplex coming on the market. I’m hoping we can buy it.” He grinned. “I heard about the engagement.”

She did her best not to wince. “Did you?”

“You could ask the groom-to-be to buy us a house. That would be a great wedding gift.”

“For you.”

“And you. You support the cause.”

“Maybe I’d like some china instead.”

“That’s what a gift registry is for. Besides, you’re not the china type.”

“I’m not asking David to buy the duplex, so you can forget it.”

Seth sighed. “I hate it when you’re not a team player.”

“Ha-ha.”

She retreated to her office. She had plenty of work waiting for her. Work she enjoyed. Only, she couldn’t seem to focus. After about fifteen minutes, she realized part of the problem was that she could smell the flowers, even if she couldn’t see them.

She carried the bouquet to the lunch room, then walked back to her office and cracked the small window. With the first breath of fresh air, she felt herself relax. Everything was going to be fine, she promised herself. She didn’t know how, but it would be.

11

COURTNEY PULLED THE
bag of limes out of the back of her sister’s car. Rachel already had the chips and salsa, along with a quart of guacamole they’d picked up at Bill’s Mexican Food on the way over. Sienna’s car was in the driveway of their mom’s house, next to Neil’s gleaming white Mercedes.

“I thought it was girls only,” Courtney said as they walked up the path to the front door.

“I’m sure Neil will be leaving. No way he wants to hang around for one of our evenings.”

Every couple of months the grown daughters were summoned to Maggie’s house for an evening of margaritas and fun. The tradition had been going on since Rachel had left home to marry Greg. Courtney remembered waiting anxiously to turn twenty-one so she could have real margaritas instead of the virgin ones her mother had made her drink until then.

Now she both enjoyed and dreaded the family nights. Sometimes they were a lot of fun. But other evenings were more of a challenge. Especially when her mother and sisters decided to tell her exactly how to improve her life.

What they didn’t know, mostly because she wouldn’t tell them, was that she was doing really well. She’d gotten a note from her professor telling her he was very impressed by her marketing project and suggesting she take his advanced by-invitation-only seminar next fall. Talk about a coup.

The front door opened before they reached it. Sienna beckoned them inside.

“Help me,” she whispered. “I’m so very afraid.”

She was hard to hear over the loud music pouring out of the built-in speakers Maggie had had installed a few years before. It took Courtney a second to recognize the song. “Love Runs Out” by OneRepublic.

Courtney followed her sisters into the house. The three of them came to a stop as they stared at Maggie and Neil dancing to the upbeat song. Arms flailed, hips swayed, feet shuffled back and forth. Neil grabbed for Maggie’s hand and spun her in a move that was part something from the 1950s and part Grapevine.

Their mother caught sight of them and waved them in. “Join us,” she called over the music. “I love this song. Neil and I were talking about having it played after the ceremony. We’d dance down the aisle to it. What do you think?”

Rachel smiled. “That’s great, Mom. I, ah, just have to get the guacamole into the refrigerator.”

She escaped to the kitchen. Courtney went after her, with Sienna trailing behind.

“I don’t know if I should be impressed or appalled,” Rachel admitted. “Good for her for being so happy and in love.”

“I was here
alone
with them,” Sienna complained. “You have no idea how that scarred me.”

“We should be grateful that when we get old, we’ll be like that,” Courtney pointed out. “Better too full of life than not full enough.”

“Weird expression, but I get what you mean.” Rachel pointed to the blender Maggie had left out on the island. “I believe it’s your turn to make the margaritas.”

“It’s always my turn.” But Courtney wasn’t complaining. She liked knowing what was expected when she came home to visit. It made things easier.

She added ice, then began juicing limes. By the time she’d pulled the tequila out of the freezer, the built-in speakers were playing “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”

Maggie walked into the kitchen. “Neil’s off for a night with the guys,” she said, holding open her arms. “How are my three favorite daughters?”

They hugged their mom in turn. Courtney hung on for a second, hoping tonight was going to be one of the good ones. She inhaled the familiar scent of Arpège. It had always been her mother’s favorite perfume.

“Just to be clear,” Maggie said as Courtney handed out the margaritas, “I plan to talk about the wedding. A lot.”

Sienna raised her glass. “That’s exactly what we want to hear, Mom.”

Someone nicer than Courtney would assume that Sienna was being a good daughter rather than trying to make sure they didn’t discuss her recent engagement. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall after David and Sienna had gotten back to her place.

“Let’s get dinner together,” her mother said. “Then we can talk.”

The meal was usually more about assembling than actually cooking. This time Maggie had picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, along with corn tortillas, shredded cheese and tomatoes. There was a bag of coleslaw and ingredients for Maggie’s famous jalapeño salad dressing.

Rachel took the chicken apart and cut the meat into small pieces. Maggie assembled the dressing, while Courtney made another batch of margaritas and Sienna put out the fixings for tacos, along with the chips, salsa and guacamole. The food was served family style, with the pitcher of margaritas front and center on the dining room table.

Maggie raised her glass. “To my girls. I love you all very much.”

Courtney thought about the toast from the party and silently said, “And Courtney.” Then she told herself not to be bitchy. Her mother meant well. Mostly.

“I want to go first,” Maggie said. “So oldest to youngest.”

Sienna sighed. “I hate being the middle child.”

“You get to be the beautiful one,” Rachel pointed out.

Sienna brightened. “That’s true.”

Maggie reached for a tortilla. “My good thing is the engagement party. It was wonderful. Courtney, I know you did a lot of the work. Joyce told me. Thank you for that. I loved the runner for the table best of all.”

Sienna stared at her sister. “I still can’t believe you did that all by yourself.”

Courtney leaned toward Sienna. “I didn’t. Little cartoon woodland creatures came and helped me while I sang. Of course by myself. It’s not that hard, and despite what you think, I am capable.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t,” her sister snapped. “I’m surprised you know how to work a computer that well. You’re a maid. There’s not much call for being tech savvy when you’re cleaning toilets.”

“Hey,” Rachel said, raising her voice a little. “We’re having a nice dinner.”

“I was only stating the obvious.”

“If it’s obvious, why state it?” Rachel asked. “Go on, Mom. What’s the bad thing?”

“I was going to say I don’t have one, but I suppose it’s that my girls don’t always get along.”

“Mom,” Courtney began.

Maggie held up a hand. “No. We’re doing our one-good, one-bad. We can talk later.”

Rachel scooped chicken, salsa and tomatoes onto her plate. “My bad thing is I got on the scale the morning after the party and realized I’ve gained thirty pounds.” She grimaced. “Josh is eleven. I can’t call it baby weight anymore. So I joined an online diet group. The program’s pretty easy to follow.”

She held up her glass. “I saved all my extra calories for the week so I could have a margarita tonight. That’s my good thing.”

“We could go walking, if you want,” Courtney told her. “Do laps at the high school.”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll join you,” Maggie told them. “I want to be in shape for the wedding.”

They all looked at Sienna, who was busy dipping her chip into guacamole.

“What?” she asked. “No, I don’t want to do laps at the high school.” She took a bite and chewed. When she’d swallowed, she said, “My bad thing is I’m not a joiner, which you all know already. So stop glaring at me.”

She turned to Rachel. “I’m glad you’re losing weight. You’ll feel better about yourself.”

Courtney winced. Really? That was Sienna’s way of being encouraging?

“What’s your good thing?” Maggie asked.

“Seth has found another duplex that’s coming on the market. It’s in bad shape and the price will reflect that, so we have a chance of buying it.”

Rachel leaned toward Courtney. “So not the engagement, then,” she said in a low voice.

“Are you surprised?”

“Stop whispering,” Maggie instructed. “That’s excellent, Sienna. I’ll talk to Neil and see how much we’d like to contribute.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll get you the information on the building.”

“Is Jimmy the listing agent?” Courtney asked.

“He is. He knows the family that wants to sell. They’re being transferred and the tenant living in the other unit is moving out, so the timing is perfect.”

Sienna’s ex-fiancé had become a successful real estate agent in town. All Courtney’s former flames had been of the loser variety. She wouldn’t have wanted to stay in touch with any of them. But Sienna had better taste, so it made sense she and Jimmy had stayed friends.

The three of them turned to Courtney. Rachel raised her eyebrows. “And you, young lady?”

Courtney thought about the praise from her instructor and how she was only two semesters away from graduation. She thought about the different responsibilities she’d taken on at the hotel.

“My good thing is that the party went well,” she said at last. “I wanted it to be everything you’d dreamed of.” She smiled at her mom. “If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”

“Thank you, sweetie.”

“You’re welcome. My bad thing is one of the toilets backed up at the hotel and I had to clean the mess.”

Everyone groaned.

“That
is
a bad thing,” Rachel said. “Poor you.”

“Thank you all for sharing,” Maggie told them. “Now let’s talk about the wedding, shall we? We barely have three months to get everything planned, and there’s so much to do.”

She looked at Courtney. “You got my text about the swans?”

“Yes, and we already had this conversation. Remember? The poop? The chlorine?”

“Fine. I’ll come up with something else.” Maggie refilled her glass. “I’ve decided on my colors.”

Courtney braced herself. “Not just shades of pink?”

“No. The entire spectrum between vanilla and pink. With an emphasis on pink. I don’t know what I want to do about my dress. I’m leaning toward something traditional. I thought we could all go shopping together. But I don’t know if I want it more vanilla-colored or pink.”

Courtney exhaled. While it wasn’t exactly a broad palette, it was one she could work with. There would be a lot of options.

“We could have fun with the colors,” she said. “You could serve pink champagne. Decorating will be easy. There are lots of flower options and the foliage will be a beautiful contrast. Oh, we want to make sure the bouquets aren’t the same color as the dresses. If they are, the flowers disappear into the dress and the pictures aren’t wonderful.”

Her sisters and mother were staring at her. She carefully pressed her lips together, then cleared her throat. “What?”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Sienna said flatly. “When did that happen?”

“Hey,” Rachel started.

Courtney stopped her. “I’m sure Sienna meant that as just a maid, I shouldn’t know any of this.”

“What she said,” Sienna told Rachel. “You always assume the worst about me.”

“You usually deserve it.”

“Courtney’s a grown-up. Stop babying her.”

“Girls,” Maggie said mildly. “Let’s focus our attention on me and my wedding.”

Courtney laughed. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

“Awhile now. I get to be the bride. Perhaps even a bridezilla. This time around, I’m going to have exactly what I want. Neil and I are determined to have the wedding of our dreams.”

Sienna made another taco. “Mom, what did Neil do? I know he’s retired now, but before? He never talks about it.”

“Oh, he owned a few of those gaming places.”

Gaming? “Like a casino?” Courtney asked.

“No, those places where you play video games and eat pizza. There was a chain.”

“Like a franchise?” Rachel asked.

Maggie busied herself pouring more drinks. “Yes. Like that. So back to the wedding. I can’t decide on the dresses for you three. We can do the same style in different colors or different styles in the same color. What would you prefer?”

“Different styles.”

“Different colors.”

Rachel and Sienna spoke at the same time. They looked at Courtney. She held up both hands. “I am so not breaking that tie. Mom?”

Maggie picked up her glass. “I say we all get a little drunk, then decide.”

* * *

Quinn sat in the lobby of the hotel, reading. It was late—close to eleven. The French doors were open and despite it being nearly the first of June, there was a cool breeze blowing in off the ocean.

Sarge lay on the carpet, chewing on a stolen sock. Every couple of months someone on the staff went through the lost and found, rescuing any socks. They were then left in strategic spots around the hotel for Sarge to find and destroy.

Pearl lay next to him. As Quinn watched, she stood and stretched. After shaking, she gracefully jumped onto the sofa and pushed her head under his arm in a not-very-subtle bid for attention.

“Missing your mom?” Quinn asked as he rubbed the side of Pearl’s face. “Joyce will be back in tomorrow.”

His grandmother had driven to San Francisco to have dinner with a friend. Rather than make the return trip late at night, she would stay over and drive back in the morning.

He continued to stroke the dog. Eventually, she stretched out next to him, her head on his lap. He could see the white spot on her chest—the one that gave the beautiful blonde poodle her name.

They were an odd pair, he thought with a smile. Sarge—fourteen pounds of bichon-mix terror—and Pearl, a lean, elegant poodle princess. But their relationship wasn’t about appearances. It was about being a family. They were a bonded pair. Years ago he’d promised Joyce that if something ever happened to her, he would take her beloved dogs and make sure they were always together.

“Not to worry,” he told the two. “Joyce will outlive us all.”

Sarge growled in agreement as he continued to show the sock who was in charge. Quinn turned his attention back to his book. Sometime later, close to midnight, when he was thinking he would take the dogs for a last quick walk before turning in, the main lobby door opened and Courtney walked inside.

He hadn’t seen much of her since her mother’s engagement party. He’d been busy looking for a place for his business and she’d been doing her thing here at the hotel.

He watched her careful and controlled stride as she walked across the hardwood floor and realized she was completely drunk.