Brides and Bouquets At Cedarwood Lodge Read online

  She sighed. “You’re going to think I’m slightly insane, really you will, so just pretend I’m not – OK? Keeping in mind I’ve been dating Cruz for just over a year, yeah? Not five years, not ten, not…”

  “I get it,” I interrupted solemnly, noting her downturned lips, the slight tremble in her hands. Amory would try and make the situation funny, or lighthearted, it was her way to downplay things, but I could see it had obviously affected her.

  “So Cruz invited me over for dinner. As you know our dates went inexplicably from twice a week to almost every day – it was all getting very serious quite rapidly. After a month of that he was dropping hints about how settling down really appealed to him, babbling about friends of his who’d just had a baby, who was cute-as-a-button, he actually said cute-as-a-button …”

  “Oh… a baby.” I bit my lip to stop from saying anything more. Amory had zero inclination to have children. Less than zero. She was openly opposed to it and had told Cruz early on it was a deal breaker for her. He’d accepted that, not having the desire himself. Did he want to try for a baby?

  “Right?” she toyed with a length of tinsel. “So I go there for this fancy home-cooked meal, he’s got this little table set for two, candles, flowers, soft music, the whole nine yards.”

  I turned the carols down slightly so I could concentrate. “OK, none of that screams weird to me, but keep going.” I’d always liked Cruz – for a Manhattanite, he was more grounded than most, and didn’t bother with the pretensions of big city living. He was himself, always, a smoldering-eyed, nice guy who showed his love for Amory in little romantic ways all the time. He didn’t get moody about girls’ nights out and gave Amory space when she needed it without question. He was a keeper in my books.

  “So I sat there sort of stiffly, feeling a little uncomfortable. The night reeked of change, and I wasn’t sure why. I could feel it in my bones. He popped the champagne cork and poured, I didn’t even wait to clink, I guzzled it down. And then another.”

  I laughed, imagining her pinched face, her wide-eyed worry as she quaffed expensive champagne like it was water. “Classy.”

  “It gets worse,” she groaned. “He pottered about assembling our entrée, a fancy ceviche dish that took an age to assemble…”

  I interrupted, “Is he a good cook though, that’s the big question.” Was I the only one who routinely set smoke alarms off by burning toast? I was easily distracted and the kitchen was a no-go zone for me if I could help it. The only times I tried out my culinary skills was with Mom and that’s only because she tended to avoid cooking altogether.

  “Darling, don’t you remember? Cruz was a chef before he moved to Manhattan. He worked under Jacques What’s-his-name for about a hundred years before he got dragged into finance by that boss of his with dollar signs for eyeballs, don’t get me started on that guy. Anyway, Cruz was adding these micro herbs to the dish and telling me all about his parents and how much they wanted to meet me, and what did I think about a trip to South America to visit them?”

  “Aw that’s so sweet, he wants to show you off! A trip to South America sounds totally amazing, Amory!” Cruz was a really nice guy in a sea of maybe-nots. Amory pretended it wasn’t serious but it was obvious to me how much he adored her, and she kept him at bay for reasons I couldn’t fathom. To protect her heart, I suspected.

  She rubbed a hand over her face. “Don’t you think it’s a bit… heavy… meeting them?”

  I frowned. “No, I don’t think it’s heavy! You’ve been dating Cruz for over a year now and that’s a long time, especially in Manhattan minutes. It’s the normal progression of things.” It was exasperating at times being so utterly different to Amory. How could she not see this was a sign of commitment from Cruz? Surely that was a good thing?

  Plumping a candy-cane festooned cushion she said, “Darling that might be the normal progression of things for people who are willing to settle down, but that’s not me! They’ll expect some perfect Stepford type, won’t they?”

  “What do you care? You don’t normally let anyone intimidate you.” I had the sneaking suspicion she cared more than usual about what they’d think of her because she really did love Cruz.

  She folded her arms. “I’m not willing to pretend I’m ready for marriage and babies, just because I’m at the age where it’s deemed I should be. Don’t you see? He’s expecting one thing to lead to the next, and I’m not interested in all of that. Next minute I’ll be pregnant with triplets, and living in a cottage without Wi-Fi.” She shuddered, she really didn’t like being without the internet and I had to laugh.

  “I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that. It sounds romantic, like Cruz was trying to show you he’s committed, and most men in New York would run a mile rather than do that. What happened next, surely that isn’t why you left town?”

  She took a deep breath. “Well then he circled the table, and bent down. On one knee!”

  I dropped the reindeer bunting about the same time my jaw fell open. “Oh my god, he PROPOSED?”

  Color rose up her cheeks and she averted her eyes. “Not exactly.”

  “What do you mean not exactly?”

  “Well,” she put the cushion in place on the chaise and then flopped beside it. “Obviously, I freaked out, didn’t I? He knows I don’t want the whole meet-the-parents, marriage and children thing. I haven’t kept it a secret!”

  I frowned. “But did he or did he not say the words: Will you marry me?”

  She let out a high-pitched squeal. “I don’t know! I blinked rapidly, and pretended I had something in my eye! An eyelash emergency … I told him I’d be back in a minute – I just had to rinse my face…”

  I cupped my mouth and said, “Oh, Amory! You didn’t!”

  “I did, and I went through the bedroom and plunged down the fire escape, and half-ran half-hobbled off into the night.”

  “The fire escape!” I let out a groan. “Amory! But you’re scared of heights!”

  “I’m scared of marriage proposals more! And my poor Manolos will never be the same.” She blinked back tears, I only hoped they weren’t for her expensive designer heels and more for her predicament with Cruz.

  “Forget about the Manolos, what did he do?”

  “He called out saying he just wanted to talk and why was I running, but by then I was breathing hard and quite wild-eyed with it all.”

  I flopped on the opposite chaise, truly stunned. Who’d run away from a guy like Cruz? It was mind-bending. But Amory was my best friend, so I was on her side, always. “Have you spoken since then?”

  She scrunched her eyes closed. “Only by text. I can’t face a phone call. Firstly, I’m terrified of the whole potential proposal thing, and secondly, what if he thinks I’m a basket case for running?”

  “You are a basket case. Maybe he was just going to… serenade you or something. And you with your steely heart threw yourself down a building to get away?”

  She covered her face and mumbled, “I know, I know. I wasn’t thinking rationally at the time. Once I got home that night I emailed the agency and told them I was taking a sabbatical and then made my way here, all before I could change my mind. And then I thought about telling you and wanted to dissolve into the floor. So now you know.” Her face paled at the recollections and I moved to hug her, silly girl that she was. All that fuss, just so she could avoid hearing someone declare their love.

  “Shouldn’t you at least talk to him? Put the poor guy out of his misery?”

  She shook her head, “I texted him that I was here and taking a break.”

  “And what was his reply?”

  “Take all the time I need, he’d wait for me.”

  “Wow, what a monster he is,” I said.

  She lobbed an inflatable Santa at me, which bounced off and hit Micah as he walked back through the door holding a tray of steaming hot eggnog and plates of Christmas cookies. “Whoa!” he said, just managing to right the mugs as they w
obbled, eggnog splashing over the sides.

  “Sorry,” Amory said. “It was Santa’s fault.”

  We sat and each took a drink, cradling the mugs for warmth, and then my phone pinged. I sighed, expecting it to be an anxious text from one of the brides attending the expo. Instead it was from Timothy: ‘Great to catch up the other night, would love to have dinner with you sometime this week? Timothy x’.

  My stomach flipped. I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about Timothy, there hadn’t been time to really ruminate about it all. So I texted back quickly, shielding my phone from Amory’s prying eyes: ‘Hey, Tim! The impromptu drinks were fab.’ I paused, weighing up what else to say. It wasn’t as though we’d planned to meet, so technically it wasn’t a date, more two old friends being at the same place at the same time. ‘Can I take a rain check for dinner for some time after New Year? Hope the kids are well!’

  It wasn’t that I didn’t feel a frisson of something there, it was more he was a father and I had to tread carefully, realizing he was a package deal. And those kids weren’t exactly amenable to some stranger wandering into their lives. Five-year-old Scarlett had given me the slit-throat gesture, which I still hadn’t quite recovered from…

  Better to stick to other people’s love lives for now. After a deep drink of eggnog, I said, “So what now?”

  Amory took up a gingerbread man, biting his head off in one fell swoop. Between crunches she said, “Look, darling, there’s no question I adore the man, but I want to move along on my terms. This may sound ironic coming from a girl who plans weddings for a living, but I just don’t want to be told there’s stages and like clockwork I have to tick them off, just because everyone else does.”

  Without the bedlam of the big city there was time to talk seriously about these big, life changing things on a deeper level than we would have in Manhattan. Time moved at a slower pace at Cedarwood. We let ourselves relax, confessions were mulled over – rather than answered quickly and less thoughtfully between cocktails and pumping music.

  Micah sipped his eggnog, and hummed to the carols, contentment shining in his eyes, or more likely the bourbon was taking effect!

  I debated whether to push Amory for a deeper truth. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t supportive, but I also thought she might need a shove to be honest, even with herself. “Is it really that though, Amory, or is that you don’t want to admit how you feel?”

  “Don’t Doctor Phil me, please, oh psychobabbler, I realize I’ve acted a little rashly, but imagine if he did propose? It would have been all sorts of awkward.”

  “Why, would you have said no?”

  “I wouldn’t have said yes.”

  Micah piped up. “Hang on, hang on, so explain what happened.” Amory nodded so I gave Micah a rundown of events. He murmured to himself before saying, “There’s got to be a way you can meet in the middle. And what if he wasn’t about to propose? He might have been about to tell you he’s sorry but he’s decided to become vegetarian.”

  Amory laughed. “But the ceviche, Micah. Ceviche is fish.”

  Micah steepled his fingers. “Maybe a pescetarian then?” he laughed. “But you see my point, right? It could have been a marriage proposal, but it also could have been, ‘hey girl, you want to fly first class and meet my parents? Then I’ll wine and dine you in Paris, how ‘bout it?’”

  I let out a peal of laughter at Micah’s attempted accent. It sounded more hillbilly than South American.

  “Maybe,” she said, giggling. “But on one knee? Don’t men reserve that position for the proposal? Like isn’t it hallowed?”

  Micah nodded. “Well, yeah, you’d hate to get a girl’s hopes up if it wasn’t the case. I think you should at least talk to Cruz, let him explain. He’s probably out of his mind worrying about you.” Thank you, Micah! She was more likely to listen to a third party than me, knowing I had a soft spot for Cruz.

  “Yeah, I guess. I will, eventually. Let’s get back to decorating. All this love talk gets too soppy after a while. Plus, we’ve got wreaths for the doors to hang, and stockings for the fireplaces in the suites upstairs. Fairy lights, and these things…” she lifted a row of jingly Christmas bells. “Micah, what about the trees? Did you tell Isla which ones we wanted?” Amory subject-changed like a pro.

  At the mention of Isla’s name Micah’s face changed, it softened, his eyes glazed. He had managed to get over his past and find love, and it brightened the room, radiated off him. Amory noticed it too and we exchanged a proud parent kind of smile.

  “Yep, Isla’s onto it. I’ll help her bring them in tomorrow. Speaking of which, what would you buy a girl like Isla for Christmas? She’s not into fashion, or jewelry… but I want to get her something special, that shows her how much I love her. Amazing and unique, like Isla.”

  Isla with her long red hair, athletic physique and penchant for fast motorbikes wasn’t your run-of-the-mill girl. She had a heart of gold and her own past to deal with after being burned badly in her parents’ house fire, and living a nomadic lifestyle as a landscape designer before settling at Cedarwood. She was fast becoming the sister I never had and deserved to be spoiled this Christmas.

  “What about a book of poetry?” I said. Love poems, was there anything sweeter? “No,” I said, changing my mind. “It’s not quite right, is it?”

  Amory wrinkled her nose in contemplation and then lifted her index finger. “Oh, I know the perfect gift! A star!”

  Micah cocked his head. “A star?”

  “You can buy a real life star, and even name it if you want to. That way when you’re canoodling under the moonlight you can point it out. Tell me that’s not the most romantic thing ever?”

  His face crinkled into a smile, and he said, almost to himself, “I’ll buy her a whole constellation.” He got that same dreamy faraway look in his eyes again and I knew we’d lost him.

  Amory sank back into the chaise, but I pulled her back up and I said, “We’ve got decorating to do, Miss Jones.”

  Chapter Two

  With a few days to go until Cedarwood was going to be overrun with blushing brides-to-be I was overcome with the usual pre-event nerves. We had so many loose ends to tie up, including confirming all our vendors were on track and ready to wow our brides with their wares. Usually I thrived on the lead-up to any event, but because the bulk of my funds were invested in the expo it upped the ante, and made it all the more crucial that it go off without a hitch.

  Kai’s postcard stared at me from its perch on the mantelpiece, and I smiled, thinking it was a sign. I could hear him in my mind, Clio, take five deep breaths for me… and before long I’d tumbled into a Kai daydream. The what if always lurked in my subconscious, floating to the fore every now and then. When I tried to think of the chapel, and what needed to be done for the expo, all I could think of was Kai as he’d been in there – leaning against the damp wall, his blond hair mussed and windblown…

  Half dreamy I still had this niggling feeling that I was forgetting something to do with the chapel but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Earth to Clio, earth to Clio!” Amory waved a hand in front of me and laughed.

  “What?” I said. “The gift bags and…”

  She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?’ She searched her list and said, “We have to make up the suites with the new linen, and yes, you’re right, fill up the gift bags, choose napkin colors…”

  “Knock, knock,” Isla’s voice rang out, only slightly muffled by the branches of a fir tree she was carting. “Where do you want it? Please don’t say upstairs.”

  “Isla, god, why are you lugging that yourself! Micah said he’d help!” She was almost bent over backwards with the weight of the tree in her arms.

  “He’s lugging an even bigger one behind me somewhere. But it’d be good to put it down. Any time soon.”

  I rushed forward to take some of the weight, fir needles poking me in the eye. “Argh!
”

  “Golly, and you call me a city girl!” Amory laughed. “Let’s put the smaller one in the lobby and Micah can take the other to the ballroom, yeah, Clio?”

  Blinking away the sting I said, “Yes, perfect!” Decorating the tree was the cherry on top when it came to Christmas, the scent of earth and pine was heavy in the air, the unmistakable perfume of the festive season! Waking up Christmas morning with the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and trudging downstairs to warm myself by an open fire, peeking in stockings, drinking a gingerbread coffee, was all to come and I could hardly wait.

  For a moment all the stress about the bridal expo vanished, and the thought of spending Christmas with my friends and family in the place I’d always dreamed of living thrilled me. I was exactly where I was meant to be.

  The only thing casting a pall over my new life was Mom. She had refused to come back to Cedarwood and wouldn’t explain why. I knew she was somehow connected to the old owners who abandoned the lodge but she wouldn’t say anything more, and her silence made it so much worse. As though she couldn’t trust her own daughter with a secret.

  Still, I was working hard on rebuilding our relationship. Seeing her once a week, having dinner, attempting to have that mother-daughter relationship I’d always dreamed of. I hoped to slip out the next day and visit her before we really knuckled down to the expo preparation. I also wanted to swing by the Evergreen library to see if I could find any old articles about what exactly had taken place here all those years ago. There must have been something in the papers or at least a photo or two of the place in its heyday.

  When I mentioned the mystery to any Evergreen local they were conspicuously vague. But I couldn’t let it go. Add to that the fact that there was a hidden maze on the Cedarwood grounds, I had to find out what happened. It was more than idle curiosity, it was a feeling the future wouldn’t be as bright until we’d dealt with the past.

  Isla shuffled along, hefting the tree into a corner, her breathing heavy. Amory tried her best to help but toppled on heels she refused to stop wearing. I’d given up weeks ago, I was back to wearing ballet flats for comfort as well as safety. I couldn’t keep tumbling into the arms of innocents and declaring it an accident. Once the tree was in place we stood hands on hips and admired it. The green pop of color brought the lodge alive – I knew it was these touches that would make the brides coming next week sit up and take notice. Cedarwood Lodge was definitely a gorgeous place to spend time, and more importantly, get married!