Sweet on You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 4) (25 page)

Molly smiled. “Especially when she makes dinner for us.”

“There is that. When are you going to see Jacob again?”

“I’ll be seeing him at Doug and Marsha’s wedding this weekend, but not before.”

Rachel sat down beside Molly and passed her a letter. “I don’t know what to say, so I’m not going to say anything. I don’t have a great track record with men. I thought I understood them, but I’ve decided I’m delusional.”

“It’s better than being wrong.”

Rachel put the letter down that she was about to open. “What do you mean?”

“Jacob employed me to do a job. I should have stuck with that and left everything else alone.”

“If you’d left everything else alone, you wouldn’t have realized what a great guy he is.”

Molly watched a car stop in Tess and Logan’s driveway. “Or realized how little I’ve learned over the last two years.”

“Some of us are slow learners,” Rachel said with a smile. “But all might not be lost. Annie was going to bake some triple chocolate fudge brownies. At least we can be slow learners together while we enjoy a massive sugar rush.”

Molly watched Annie get out of her car. She opened the rear door and took a box off the backseat. “It looks like some dreams do come true.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Rachel said. “There’s hope for us yet.”

Molly wasn’t so sure. There was only one similarity between fudge brownies and men. They were both bad for her health.

***

Jacob sat on a chair in his brother’s living room. It was the day before Doug and Marsha’s wedding. His home had been taken over by a platoon of women carrying satin and tulle, so he’d decided he was better off spending time at Alex’s ranch. “What do I do now?”

Alex patted his baby son’s back. “I don’t know if there is anything you can do. Molly’s made her mind up.”

“She’s worried about her career.”

“Sounds like she’s more worried about yours.”

Jacob didn’t know where his brother got that idea from. “It’s not me that’s the problem.”

“It never is.”

“What do you mean?”

Alex smiled as Cooper let rip with a huge burp. “That’s my boy,” he whispered. He walked across the room. Cooper hardly made a sound as Alex gently put him into the bassinet they’d left beside a window.

When his son was safely tucked up in bed, Alex walked back to the sofa and sat down. “From as far back as I can remember, you’ve always had goals. Most of those goals involve making money.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Not saying there is, but sometimes it doesn’t matter.”

Jacob frowned at his brother. “I didn’t start out wanting to make millions of dollars. I bought property, did some remodeling, and made a profit.”

“Except each time you buy a property the stakes get higher. You’ve been so worried about not being able to buy the property in New York, that you’ve forgotten what’s important.”

Jacob didn’t like where his brother had taken their conversation. “I know what’s important.”

Alex leaned forward and took his cup of coffee off the table in front of him. “Tell me.”

“What?”

“Tell me what’s important.”

“If you’re trying to help, it’s not working.”

Alex grinned. “You wouldn’t be feeling a little uncomfortable, would you?”

Jacob could think of at least four things he was feeling, and uncomfortable wasn’t one of them. “You can be a royal pain in the butt, sometimes.”

“Comes with being your brother. Stop stalling…what are the most important things in your life?”

“My family, having financial security, doing a job I love, and…” He hesitated. Alex knew how he felt about Molly, but putting it into words was difficult. “…and Molly.”

“Glad you slipped the last one in. Seems to me that you might need to reprioritize what’s important.”

“Molly doesn’t want anything to do with me. You can’t reprioritize someone who can’t stand the sight of you.”

Alex snorted. “You’re not that bad looking, so I don’t think that’s your problem. From what you’ve said, the main problem seems to be that Molly doesn’t want to live in New York. So stay in Bozeman. Problem solved.”

“There’s also the small but important fact that she doesn’t trust me.”

“Trust takes time,” Alex said as he sipped his coffee. “Look at Emily and me. It took us years to work out that we were made for each other.”

“I don’t have years. Another guy who doesn’t kiss their ex-fiancée will come along and sweep Molly off her feet. I stuffed up and Molly doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

Alex shook his head. “There’s nothing that can’t be repaired, including Molly’s heart. Will she be at the wedding tomorrow?”

“She’s taking the photographs,” Jacob said with no enthusiasm.

“You’ve got a lot of work to do, then. I heard that John Fletcher is back in town.”

Jacob looked at his brother. “I know. He’s coming out to my ranch on Sunday. He likes one of the parcels of land.”

“And he’s one of the main contributors to the Emerson Center Rebuild Project. “

“You’ve been reading too many business journals.”

Alex smirked. “No business journals. Emily’s fashion magazines. They have a huge exhibition space in the remodeled building. Emily’s going to launch her summer collection there. It would be a great area for a photographic display.”

It was Jacob’s turn to surprise his brother. “Already thought about that. They’ll be ready for their first exhibition after Christmas. I’ve booked the space for Molly.”

“And when were you thinking of telling her?” Emily asked from the doorway.

Jacob felt his face flame redder than the sweater Emily was wearing. “After Doug and Marsha’s wedding,” he muttered.

“You’d better hope she hasn’t left for Los Angeles by Christmas.”

Jacob’s gaze shot to Emily. “What are you talking about?”

“The owners of the gallery she was exhibiting at want her to come back. Their clients are going crazy over her photographs.”

“Are you sure Molly wants to go? She hates big cities.”

“But she likes paying her bills.” Emily walked into the living room and sat beside her husband. “A month or two isn’t going to hurt her. Besides, she’s going to see if there’s a worthy cause for half of the bridesmaids’ dresses. We need to clear some space. Otherwise, we’ll be struggling to display all of the new dresses.”

“And you can’t have that,” Alex muttered.

“No, we can’t,” his wife said with a proud tilt to her chin. “Especially when you’re doing the run to the Laundromat.”

“I am?”

Emily smiled and kissed her husband’s cheek. “Tess and Logan are still on their honeymoon. Another eight dresses arrived yesterday. You’re so good at looking after them.”

Alex gave a dramatic sigh. “Flattery will get you everywhere. Where are they now?”

“In your truck.” Emily laughed at the frown on Alex’s face. “I guess that means you’ll have to drop them off this afternoon. You won’t want to arrive at your Mad Mile Race with a backseat full of silk and satin.”

Alex looked at Jacob. “You feel like a ride into town? We could stop by Angel Wings Café on the way home.”

Jacob was still thinking about Molly going back to Los Angeles. “Sure.”

“Great,” Alex said. “Get your coat because we’ve got some fencing to do before we head out. You can borrow my gloves.”

Jacob shook his head. “Wait a minute. You didn’t say anything about fencing.”

“It’s all in the timing,” Alex said softly as he leaned into Cooper’s crib and kissed the top of his son’s head. “Some of us have got it, and others need to learn how to use it. Especially where Irish photographers are concerned.”

His brother didn’t need to be told he was right. He already knew he was. Jacob might have made a fortune from anticipating changes in the property market and picking the right buildings to develop, but he was hopeless where Molly was concerned.

At least if he was helping Alex, he wouldn’t have time to think about what an idiot he was. And he’d have time to find out what was happening tomorrow.

Time-trials for the Mad Mile charity race started at nine o’clock. Alex’s helmet and racing gear had arrived last week. The Mustang was sitting in his garage, ready to go.

One way or another, tomorrow would be a day to remember.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Molly smiled at the two women having their hair styled in The Beauty Box. It was Marsha’s wedding day, and Molly was having a fine time photographing Marsha and her sister, Angela.

Molly moved to the other side of the room. With the light from the window on her back, she was able to focus her camera on the scene in front of her.

She took a photograph of Marsha sitting in one of the chairs. Kate was behind her, curling her hair into pretty ringlets. Angela was in another chair, reading a magazine. Loretta was busy mixing hair dye and smiling at their little flower girl as she bounced past them.

The door beside Molly opened and a sharp breeze cut through the warm interior of the salon. “Is anyone looking for a bridesmaid’s dress?”

Steve, one of the groomsmen for Marsha’s wedding, strode into the room.

A collective gasp raced around the room.

“Steven Freeman,” Marsha hissed. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before her wedding.”

“That’s only for the groom,” Steve said with a smile. “It’s probably more bad luck if the bridesmaid hasn’t got her dress.”

The foils in Angela’s hair rattled as she turned toward Steve. “What are you talking about? Dad was going to pick my dress up after lunch.”

Steve winced when he saw Angela. “Are you going for an alien invasion from Mars look?”

Angela’s cheeks turned bright red. “If you hadn’t come in here, you wouldn’t have seen me. These are foils. I’m getting blonde highlights put in my hair.”

Steve frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with your hair. What do you want highlights for?”

Marsha sighed. “Would you two stop bickering? I thought you were taking Doug for a game of golf?”

“We were, until the dressmaker called Doug. She had to leave work early and couldn’t get hold of you or your dad. So here I am. I figured seeing me was better than walking down the aisle naked.”

Angela glared at him.

Steve waved the plastic wrapped dress in the air. “So you don’t want your dress?”

Molly stepped forward and took the dress out of his hands. “Thank you. Angela will be grateful to you once her foils are removed.”

The frown on Angela’s face disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. “Thank you, Steve. You’re such a kind, sweet, thoughtful, type of person. It’s a wonder you’re still single.”

Molly watched Steve’s face. Angela had said something that didn’t impress her knight in shining armor.

He wandered over to her chair and whispered something in her ear. Angela tried to swat him with her hands, but they got caught up in her cape. Before she managed to say another word, Steve was at the front door of The Beauty Box.

“I’ll see everyone at the wedding.” He looked at Angela. “Don’t forget to take your foils out. You might be mistaken for a lightning rod and get stuck on the top of a building.”

Angela tilted her nose in the air and watched Steve leave. As soon as the door closed, she slumped in her seat. “Why does he annoy me so much?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s cute,” Kate said as she wound another roller in Marsha’s hair. “I married the cutest guy around, so I’m a bit of an expert.”

Molly smiled. “It would be a rare thing if a man such as Steve didn’t turn a woman’s head.”

Angela sat a little straighter in her chair. “He might be cute, but he’s also annoying. I think it must be a genetic flaw.”

“Doug’s not annoying,” Marsha said.

“Precisely,” Angela said. “Doug is amazing. So is Mike and their parents. He’s the oddball in a family of nice people.”

Loretta dabbed another sweep of color on Angela’s hair. “Sometimes oddballs have hidden depths. I saw the blush on your cheeks when that cutie-pie whispered in your ear.”

Angela sighed. “He has a warped sense of humor.”

Loretta nodded. Molly guessed that she’d seen more than her share of confused women. Owning a beauty salon gave you insider knowledge to the workings of the human heart.

Molly looked around the salon. “Where should I hang Angela’s dress, Loretta?”

Loretta pointed to a room at the back of the salon. “There’s a closet in the staff area. Hang it in there.” She put the dye brush in a bowl and checked Angela’s foils. “Just don’t forget to take it with you. You’re my last customers of the day.”

Molly hung the dress in the closet and walked back into the salon. By the time she got back, Angela was reading her magazine again and Marsha was checking her cell phone.

Marsha glanced at Molly. “No one could get hold of me because I’d turned my phone off.”