Sweet on You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 4) (29 page)

Molly took a mug out of the pantry. “She’s with Emily. They’re doing a final fitting for her wedding dress.”

“What does it look like?” Rachel asked.

“We don’t know.” Tess took the lid off a cookie jar and passed it to Rachel. “Annie won’t let us see her until the morning of her wedding.”

“That’s so romantic.” Rachel took a chocolate chip cookie out of the jar. “I wish some of their romance would rub off on me.”

Molly turned to look at her friend. “I thought you were happy being single?”

“I was happy being single when everyone else was. Out of all of us, I’m the only person still looking for love.”

Molly couldn’t disagree with Rachel. She poured hot water into a teapot and thought about Jacob. Falling in love with him wasn’t the hard part. Staying close enough to grow their love was going to be a challenge. But maybe, if she could work on the wedding book, the rest would fall into place.

***

Jacob turned his computer off and looked out of his living room window. His dad was pulling into his front yard, hauling a trailer of wood behind him.

Jacob grabbed his jacket and headed outside. “Have you been talking to Molly?”

His dad grinned. “Not me. But someone else in the family might have been.”

“I don’t need more wood.”

His dad slammed his truck door shut and headed toward him. “You don’t have any choice. You know how your mother is. She thinks you can’t look after yourself. How are you feeling?”

“Almost back to normal. I got a few hours sleep last night.”

“Glad to hear it. You don’t need to worry about unloading the wood. Alex is bringing Mac over later today. They’ll have it stacked by nightfall.”

“They don’t need to do that,” Jacob muttered. “Alex has got enough happening in his life without having to look after me.”

His dad snorted. “If I were you, I’d make the most of it. By next week, he’ll be over feeling guilty and you’ll be on your own.”

Jacob stuck his hands in his pockets. There was no point arguing with his dad, just like there was no point arguing with the rest of his family. “It’s cold out here. You want a cup of coffee?”

“Don’t mind if I do. Just don’t tell your mom. She’s trying to get me to cut back on the caffeine.”

“Did your doctor tell you to be careful?”

“Nope. She watched some TV doctor last week. Too much caffeine’s supposed to be bad for the heart. Your mom’s not taking any chances. I told her the withdrawal symptoms will kill me before the caffeine does, but she doesn’t believe me.”

Jacob scraped his boots on the porch mat and opened his front door. “You’d better come in quick, then. Mom’s got a radar attached to her head and she’ll know if you’re doing something you shouldn’t be.”

“She can’t be as bad as Doris Stanley. That woman would drive a saint to distraction with the amount of gossip hitting the local Facebook page.”

Jacob took a couple of mugs out of his pantry and poured hot coffee into them. “Who’s she targeted this week?”

“Molly.”

The edge of the coffeepot clattered against Jacob’s mug. “What did she say?”

“Seems that she thinks Molly’s got a big contract lined up in New York. She’s wondering if her move might be associated with someone else leaving Bozeman.”

“You mean me?”

“Can’t think of anyone else crazy enough to leave their hometown for a concrete jungle.”

Jacob opened a jar and put a dozen cookies on a plate. “Molly’s working all over the place. I wouldn’t listen to Doris. She probably heard someone else talking and got it wrong.”

“Are you sure it’s got nothing to do with you?”

“Molly would have said something if she was going to work in New York.” He kept busy in the kitchen, stalling for time.

His dad watched him put the sugar away, wipe the counter, and close the pantry doors. “What’s wrong?”

Jacob stopped moving. He glanced at his dad, then back at the counter. “You’d better sit on the sofa, dad. I’ve got something to ask you.” He passed his dad a mug of coffee and followed him into the living room.

“Is it about the Mustang you destroyed? If you want a good lawyer, I know someone who’ll be able to help.”

“It’s not about the Mustang. We sorted the insurance out before I drove it in the race. The insurance company covered all of the damage. It’s about Molly.”

“Has something happened?”

Jacob sat beside his dad. “I’ve fallen in love with her.”

“You don’t seem too happy?”

“I don’t know what to do about it.”

His dad sipped his coffee. “What part of loving someone aren’t you sure about?”

Jacob glanced at his dad to make sure he wasn’t laughing at him. “The part that says you have to live in the same city to make it work.”

“Must help.”

This time, there was definitely a gleam in his dad’s eyes. “It’s not funny.”

“Didn’t say it was. Loving someone is about compromise. Do you remember what that is?”

Jacob drank his coffee. It was better than saying the words that were about to topple out of his mouth.

“I’m going to give you the same advice that I gave Alex. Don’t take what’s in front of you for granted. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

“What are you talking about? You and mom have a great marriage.”

Jacob’s dad sighed. “It wasn’t always like that. Your mom held everything together, gave you a stable life while I was gallivanting around the world with the rodeo. I toured too much. I was gone from home for so long that I forgot what I was missing.”

“You had a reason to be gone. The money you earned paid for your ranch and your rodeo school.”

“It nearly cost me my marriage. I could have lost everything, including you and Alex. And then there was Gracie…”

Up until three years ago, no one knew that Jacob’s half-sister, Gracie, existed. She’d arrived in Bozeman looking for her birth father. She’d grown up believing that her dad had died before she was born. But Jim Green had been alive and well the whole time, living with his wife and two sons on the other side of the world.

His dad watched him closely. “What you do in life means more than what you own. I made some mistakes and I’ve regretted them every day. I took your mom for granted. If Molly’s the woman for you, then you need to do everything you can to make it work. You don’t get many second chances when it comes to loving someone.”

Jacob put his empty coffee mug on the table in front of him. “The New York deal is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It will make everything else I’ve done look insignificant.”

Jacob’s dad nodded. “I guess it depends on whether Molly is a once in a lifetime opportunity as well. I can guarantee that other property deals will come and go. But, Molly…well…that’s up to you to figure out.”

Jacob had a lot of things to think about. But thinking would only get him so far. He passed his dad the plate of cookies. “We might as well eat these. If mom’s going to blame me for ruining your diet, we might as well make it worthwhile.”

Jacob’s dad leaned forward. “Are you sure your mom hasn’t planted hidden cameras and microphones in strategic places?”

“I did a sweep of the house this morning,” Jacob whispered. “Threw the last two cameras out in the trash.”

“In that case…” Jacob’s dad reached for the plate and smiled. “…I’ll have two cookies. Just make sure you get rid of the evidence. When your mom finds out I’ve come visiting, she’ll be over faster than the nor’wester howling outside.”

Jacob picked up their mugs and headed back to the kitchen for refills. “While we’re waiting, you can tell me how you got back in mom’s good books after all of those mistakes you made. I might need a few pointers.”

Jacob knew he’d need more than a few. He’d already pushed Molly’s comfort zone further than she liked. Adding the extra pressure of a long-distance relationship wasn’t going to work. Not for Molly, and not for him.

***

Molly put the last two mugs in Jacob’s pantry and looked around the kitchen. She’d washed every dirty dish. She’d even rinsed out the dishcloth and left it to dry over the faucet.

Earlier in the day, Jacob’s dad had hung a set of sheets from the ceiling. They fell below the counter, blocking the kitchen from the rest of the living room.

Jacob had assured her that he wasn’t about to paint the walls, polish the floor, or do any of the things a bored property developer might do. She wasn’t entirely convinced that he was telling the truth, but for tonight she’d believe him.

His brother and dad were bound to come visiting tomorrow. Between the three of them, Jacob’s feet wouldn’t be scaling any ladder this side of Christmas.

Molly wiped the front of one of the cupboards and wondered what Jacob was doing. After they’d had a lovely dinner at the dining table, she’d been banished to the kitchen.

While Jacob worked on the other side of the sheets, she’d cleaned the kitchen from top to toe. “Have you finished your top secret project, yet?”

“Nearly finished.” Jacob grunted, then stuck his head around one of the sheets. “No peeking.”

“Who me?” Molly grinned. “You cooked my favorite meal for dinner. I’m not about to spoil such a perfect night.”

“Just hold onto that thought...” He disappeared back into the living room.

Mac and cheese might not be many people’s idea of heaven, but Molly had always had a soft spot for old-fashioned comfort food. Her gran used to cook simple meals, like mac and cheese, for her and Becky when they’d been little.

Jacob’s dinner had reminded her of roaring fires, pretty bouquets, and lots of hugs.

“I’m nearly done. Close your eyes.”

Molly sighed and closed her eyes. “My eyes are closed.” The opening notes of a Christmas carol filled Jacob’s home. “Would this be a clue as to what you’ve been up to, or are you wishing Christmas would come early?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She heard a rustle of cloth, the flick of a switch, then saw the darkness that comes with no light hitting her eyelids. She heard Jacob come close, felt his hands go around her eyes.

“I’ll not be peeking, Jacob. You don’t need to cover my eyes.”

“This is important. Step forward with your left foot. I’ll follow you.”

Molly stepped forward. “It’s just as well you’re such a clever man. Who would have thought to coordinate our footsteps?”

“That wouldn’t be sarcasm by any chance, would it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Molly held her hands out in front of her. “I hope you can see where we’re going? The dining table has to be around here somewhere.”

Jacob whispered in her ear, “Stop.”

Molly shivered. “Did I tell you that I like a man who knows what he wants?”

Jacob laughed, then left a trail of kisses along her neck. “All the time. But for now, I’m going to behave myself.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

Jacob sighed. “Keep your eyes closed.”

Molly started to nod, then realized Jacob still had his hands over her eyes. “Did I tell you that patience isn’t one of my virtues?”

His hands dropped away from her eyes. “No, but I’d already guessed that much.”

Before Molly could say another word, he moved away. She heard a click. A soft red haze lit her eyelids. Jacob had turned some lights on. They weren’t as bright as the kitchen lights, but they were better than peering into a dark room.

His footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as he walked toward her. She felt his arm brush against hers. His hand gently squeezed her fingers. “You can open your eyes now.”

Molly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to focus on the pretty sight in front of her. “Jacob Green,” she said softly. “You’ve got a romantic streak inside of your handsome body.”

If Molly wasn’t mistaken, her handsome man’s face blushed to a delicate shade of red.

“I wanted tonight to be special,” he said.

She kissed the side of his heated face. “My time with you is always special. This is grand.”

When Molly had arrived, she’d seen the beginning of what would be a beautiful Christmas scene. They were going to change some of the photos on Jacob’s website, tell another story for potential home buyers to fall in love with. With Christmas less than two months away, it was a time for new beginnings, celebrations, and change.

Alex and his dad had spent half the day helping Jacob get ready for the photos. They’d wrapped hundreds of fairy lights around the rafters of the ceiling, raided every candle store in Bozeman, and bought more than a dozen flower arrangements from Becky’s store.

While Molly had been doing the dishes, Jacob had turned the fairy lights on and unpacked all of the Christmas ornaments. He’d lit the candles and set the table with a lovely dessert. “You decorated the tree, as well?”

She walked across to the pine tree and touched the tinsel decorations. They sparkled from the lights strung through the branches. “It’s truly magnificent.” She imagined the photos she’d take, the extra lighting she’d need to capture the magic Jacob had created.