Home Is Where the Heart Is (Welcome To Redemption) (13 page)

“Andrew. Please.”

She nodded. “Andrew, I...I like Drew. A lot. But I think you may be reading too much into this. The strongest feeling Drew’s ever felt for me is major frustration.”

That brought a smile to the older man’s face. “Oh, I have no doubt of that. Though not for the reasons you think.” He gave her a little wink, then took a healthy gulp of his coffee.

“You know something? You’re every bit as infuriating as your son.”

Masculine laughter filled the room as new hope blossomed in Lindy’s heart. Now if the stubborn man would only show up at her party so she could show him how much he—and this town—had come to mean to her.

* * *

Lindy had been checking the weather channel all week, and until this morning the forecast included some light flurries and temps in the low thirties. But of course, the day her party arrived, the light flurries were upgraded to a winter storm warning. Thankfully, the heavy snow wouldn’t arrive until after midnight, so after talking to Matt and Carrie, she decided to go forward with the party.

A couple of hours before the guests were due to arrive, freshly showered and dressed in her comfy sweats, Lindy took a quick sweep through the house to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Nino’s crew of ten had just started setting up the buffet tables, which lined three walls in the dining room and continued on into the hall.

Wow, she’d forgotten just how much food and drink she’d ordered. But since the champagne would be flowing, she’d wanted to make sure everyone had plenty to eat. Hopefully, Nino had thought to bring along take-home boxes for any leftovers.

“Miss Spalding?” he called from the kitchen.

She made her way in, smiling at the beautiful décor. The entire first floor had been swathed in red, white, and pink roses, carnations, and calla lilies. Lindy had had to pay a fortune for so many fresh flowers, but to her the cost had been worth it. Her home looked absolutely breathtaking. And the sweet floral fragrance wafting through the air was intoxicating.

“Call me Lindy, please,” she said, making a mental note to put out the dishes of red and white M&Ms and Hershey’s Kisses before she ran upstairs to get dressed. It was the little details that made a party a success, and Lindy was anal about the details.

He smiled, taking her hand as she approached. “The pizzas will be delivered at seven o’clock; everything else is being prepped here.”

“Perfect. Thank you so much.” With a delighted smile, she squeezed Nino’s hand and marveled once again over the beauty around her before hurrying upstairs to her room. She’d never been this excited about a party before. It truly meant something, and she had no trouble admitting that anymore. Plus, the sizzling red dress she’d chosen for tonight was most definitely going to knock a certain auto mechanic’s socks off.

If
he showed up. Matt had spoken to Charlie a few nights ago, who’d filled Drew in on the party. Guess she’d just have to wait and see...though she wouldn’t hold her breath.

Lindy twisted her hair up in a loose chignon with a curled tendril sweeping down the left side of her face. She didn’t apply much makeup, though she did go a little heavy on mascara and the cherry red lipstick she’d purchased specifically for the party. The only jewelry she wore dangled from ears; the heart-shaped diamond earrings had been a gift from her father last Valentine’s Day. The strapless silk dress she wore was simple yet elegant, and she paired it with the shiny red patent Manolo’s she’d picked up last summer in New York.

A plethora of delicious aromas began to make their way upstairs. Lindy glanced at the clock, stunned to realize it was already quarter to six. Her guests should start arriving any minute. After one last glance in the mirror, she sucked in a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and then hustled down the stairs.

Anticipation hummed in her veins as she envisioned everyone’s surprise when they stepped inside the foyer and experienced the floral paradise she’d created—with lots of help from Bernie, who had become a great friend in such a short time. If things didn’t work out and Lindy headed back to L.A., she’d miss the vivacious brunette.

Stop it
, she chided herself.
No pessimistic thinking allowed tonight
.

The doorbell rang, pulling her from her unpleasant musings. Her first guest had arrived! Lord, you’d think this was the first party she’d thrown. Laughing at herself, Lindy opened the door with a flourish and batted her eyelashes at her brother and Carrie.

Bernie stood beside them, beaming. “Ready?”

“I’m always ready,” Lindy countered, stepping back to allow them inside.

Carrie gasped as she took in the red, white, and pink wonderland around her. “Holy Moly, woman, you really went all out.” Her gaze settled on Lindy, then shifted to Bernie, who’d just slipped off her coat to reveal the red satiny pantsuit beneath. Carrie gave a rueful lift of one brow. “I’m starting to think I’m underdressed.”

Preening, Lindy did a graceful spin. “How do I look?”

“Ridiculously gorgeous,” Carrie drawled. “You, too,” she added with a sidelong glance at Bernie. She shucked her Packers stadium jacket and looked down at her red, cashmere cowl neck sweater, black jeans, and red sneakers.

Lindy gestured for Matt to take the ladies’ coats. “You can hang them in the hall closet. Carrie, I think you look absolutely wonderful. The shoes are a perfect touch. Bernie—stunning.” Lindy’s smile drooped as Matt shrugged out of his own Packers jacket. He wore jeans, with a red pocket T-shirt. “Really? That’s all you could come up with?”

“What? You said red.” He plucked at his shirt. “This is red.”

She rolled her eyes. Small town living had been good for Matt in a lot of ways, but not when it came to his sense of style. In less than a year, Mr. GQ had transformed into Mr. Country Living.

Bernie hooked her arm through Lindy’s. “So where’s the bubbly?”

Within an hour, it seemed as if half of Redemption filled her home, and Lindy was absolutely thrilled by the turnout. She gloried in her role as party hostess, greeting all new guests personally, making sure everyone had food and drink. Nino’s delicious Italian cuisine disappeared from the trays as fast as the servers put it out, and the champagne flowed freely. Everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ as soon as they walked in the door, which pleased Lindy to no end. The field she’d had snow-plowed across the street already had so many vehicles it looked like the parking lot at a Lakers game.

Nino, his wife, and their son, Nico, arrived with the freshly-made pizzas, much to everyone’s delight. She had to admit, the casual, friendly atmosphere of her small town get-together was so much more enjoyable than any L.A. bash she’d ever attended. Or thrown. And as much as Lindy loved a good party, that was saying something.

Only one thing could make this night perfect, though she’d started to give up hope he’d show up.

Bernie ran up with panic-filled eyes and grabbed Lindy by the arm. “Mike’s here! I’m pretty sure that’s his truck that just pulled up.”

“Oh, good. I was hoping he’d make it.”

“You invited him?”

“Well, technically Matt invited him, but I asked him to. Why? Does his presence here make you uncomfortable?” A knowing grin accompanied Lindy’s question. A knock on the door confirmed Mike’s arrival.

Bernie propped her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. “Sneaky shit.”

Lindy laughed. “Come on, I couldn’t very well invite all of Redemption
except
for Officer Donovan. How would that have looked?” Without waiting for a reply, Lindy swung the door open. Only it wasn’t Mike standing on her front porch, but Charlie’s friend, Allie. The dog sitter dating that cute veterinarian. With her back to the door, Allie stared off into the distance as if lost in thought.

“Allie? Would you like to come in?”

She spun around. “Hey, Lindy. Beautiful house.”

“Thank you. Wait’ll you see the inside.” Lindy stepped aside to allow her entrance, noting she didn’t have a drop of red on. Not that it mattered. Allie looked as if she had more important things on her mind. “Is Rick parking the truck?”

Ignoring the question, Allie stepped inside the foyer and gazed around. Though genuine appreciation lit her eyes, she didn’t comment. Instead, she asked, “Have you seen Dana?”

“Check the library, just off the formal dining room. I’m pretty sure she and Charlie headed that way.”

Allie attempted a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thanks,” she murmured before hurrying off in search of her friends.

The girl was definitely preoccupied, and it hadn’t escaped her that Allie never replied about Rick. Trouble in paradise? Before Lindy could dwell on it, there was a knock at the door. Now this must be Officer Donovan. Lindy threw the door back open and smiled up at the handsome cop, who was flanked by Carrie’s brother, fellow officer Chase Lowell.

“Well, hello officers,” she purred, inviting them in with a crook of her finger. “I’m so glad you both could make it.”

“Champagne and Nino’s? I can’t think of a better incentive to wear red,” Chase teased. Lindy gave his red tie a playful tug.

“Thanks for the invite,” Mike added. He gave her an appreciative once over. “You look amazing.”

“Why thank you, kind sir.” She playfully batted her eyelashes before looping her arm through his. “Come on, boys, food and champagne are this way.”

She waited until Mike and Chase had each grabbed a glass of champagne and a couple slices of pizza, then directed them to the library where she knew most of that particular crowd had congregated. She was about to run back upstairs to check her make up when she caught Allie out of the corner of her eye, who appeared to be even more distraught than when she’d arrived. Lindy watched as Dana put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and steered her through the mob of people out into the hall, Charlie’s sister, Tara, on their heels. Dana led them into the small bedroom next door.

Concerned, Lindy followed along and poked her head inside. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m not pregnant,” Allie wailed before dissolving into tears.

Lindy’s heart broke for Allie, who obviously wasn’t happy with her pronouncement.

“Okay.” Dana shot a surprised look up at Tara before asking, “Shouldn’t that be a good thing?”

Allie shook her head. “Rick asked me to marry him.”

Lindy’s respect for the handsome vet grew. She pressed a hand to her stomach as the sudden realization that she herself could be pregnant registered. She and Drew hadn’t used protection either time, and crap...she was right in the middle of her cycle. If indeed she was, would Drew offer to marry her? Would she even want to marry the impossible man?

“What’d you say?” Dana asked Allie.

“I said yes, but only because I thought I was pregnant. And I think he only asked because he thought I was pregnant.”

“But you’re not.”

Tears streamed down Allie’s face. “No.”

Lindy grabbed a box of tissues off the nightstand and pressed a handful into Allie’s hands.

Dana frowned at Allie. “So, what, doesn’t he want to get married now?”

“He said it doesn’t change things.”

“Then I don’t understand what the problem is.”

Allie blew her nose, looked from Dana, up at Tara and Lindy, then back down to her hands where she shredded one of the tissues. She reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “I have a medical condition, and I’ll probably never be able to have kids.”

Tears sprang to Lindy’s eyes. Poor Allie. She clearly wanted children very much, but because of the luck of the genetic draw, she may not be able to have any. Lindy couldn’t even imagine, especially now that she’d realized how much she wanted children of her own. Guilt washed over for even thinking it when Allie was in such abject misery.

Lindy backed out of the room and let Allie and her friends have some privacy. With a heavy heart, she headed back to the dining room for a bottle of water. She’d already sucked down a glass of champagne without thinking, and though a second glass was tempting right about now, she decided to refrain—just in case she did happen to be carrying Drew’s child.

The thought nearly floored her.

The doorbell rang. Lindy fought to get her emotions under check before answering it. Hannah stood on the porch, her smile hesitant. She’d brought a date, and when Lindy made eye contact with him, a slow burn started at the back of her neck and her heart rate tripled. The pizza delivery guy who’d stolen her bracelet!

Gathering her wits, Lindy motioned them inside. “I’m so glad you made it. Come on in.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it all week, thanks for inviting me. Especially considering I’m related to the stupidest man on the planet.” Hannah stepped into the foyer and shucked her coat.

“Can’t argue with you there,” Lindy teased. “So is your father coming?”

“No, he decided to stay home tonight, but please don’t take it the wrong way. Valentine’s Day was my parents wedding anniversary.”

“My God, I’m so sorry.” Lindy grew even more bummed.

“He’s okay, just didn’t feel much like celebrating.”

“I can’t imagine anyone would under those circumstances.”

Hannah nodded, then gestured to her date. “I hope you don’t mind, but Jimmy asked if he could tag along.”