In the next car, someone vacuumed the back seats. Against the far wall, the fender of a black muscle car peeked out from behind a curtain of plastic splattered with different shades of paint. Another worker in coveralls, with long, greasy hair, dug through a toolbox while sucking on a candy cane.
Duke left the keys with Steve and escaped as fast as he could.
Once outside, he took his time walking the few blocks over to the small family jewelry store. The breeze off the ice-covered lake might be cold, but it helped clear the smell and awful music from his head.
It didn’t last long.
As soon as Duke opened the door, a mechanical toy reindeer on the glass jewelry counter started singing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” The overpowering cinnamon air freshener gave him an instant headache. He introduced himself to a middle-aged woman in a festive red sweater.
“Ah, yes. Boone said you were stopping in this morning.” The jeweler handed over the velvet box. “We spent a lot of time with the couple finding the right one. We custom ordered the white gold setting for the solitaire. One full carat. Just gorgeous. And now it’s soldered to the wedding band.”
Like he cared.
The jeweler didn’t seem to mind that Duke failed to respond. “Vivien has good taste. I trust you’ll take good care of it.”
“Of course.”
“While you’re here, is there anything we can interest you in? A diamond necklace for a special woman in your life, perhaps? It would make a great stocking stuffer.”
“No.” The last thing he’d bought in a jewelry store for a woman had had to be returned a month later.
Thanks for that lovely reminder.
He quickly stuffed the box with the ring in his inner coat pocket and made a break for fresh air once again.
With time to kill, he found a decent cup of joe at the Java Cup and sat by the window overlooking the frozen bay. Breathing in a welcome aroma of fresh ground coffee, he settled in with a discarded newspaper. After catching up on the local news, he streamed some football bowl game coverage on his phone.
His headache slowly faded.
Sure beat decorating with holly and mistletoe or whatever else a Christmas wedding entailed.
He finally walked back to Jared’s and picked up the sparkling clean Mustang. This time the only sounds were the guys working on cars. Thankfully the paint fumes had dispersed. One more errand and he was done.
Duke drove to the Black Spruce. The plain white lights and Christmas tree on the porch wasn’t too obnoxious as far as Christmas decorations went. He’d met Megan and Cole Barrett before when he came up for a guys’ canoe trip. Seemed like a nice couple. This should be a painless, quick stop.
“Duke, come on in! I just got back from Wilder House, and the sitter had to run.” Megan waved him in with one hand while cradling a baby wrapped in a blue blanket in the other. “I heard you picked up the ring. Can I see it?”
He dug into his pocket and opened the box to display the white gold set, a band of smaller diamonds circling the one carat center solitaire. Megan fawned over the cut and clarity, all the while rocking back and forth in a motherly sway while the baby slept.
The little guy sighed in his sleep. Megan responded with a kiss on his dewy head. A mix of bitter memories and broken dreams rushed back.
First the jewelry store and now this. Talk about the tormenting of Christmases past and Christmases that would never be. “So, you have a couple of tuxes I can take off your hands?”
“Oh, yes. In here.” She handed him the ring box, which he quickly stuffed in his pocket, and led him to a hall closet. Two black garment bags hung on the bar. “Here you go. With everything Boone has to remember, why don’t you hold on to these and just bring them to Wilder House on Saturday.”
“Sure.” Duke took the hangers. The sound of boys laughing and running down the hall came toward him.
“Josh, Tiago, the baby is sleeping. Not so loud, huh?” Megan said.
Two boys on the cusp of the teenage years swept past, their snow gear leaving a wet trail. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Boys, I tell you.” She shook her head, but anyone could see she reveled in being a mom. “They’ve already been sledding and built a snow fort this morning.”
The hangers grew heavy in Duke’s grip and the air too warm. “I’d better drop these off and get out of your way.” After a quick goodbye, he carefully laid the garment bags on the back seat and took off his coat, tossing it on the passenger side of the Mustang. He’d stand longer sucking in cold air and cooling off if it wouldn’t look so weird to see a guy standing in the middle of the driveway for that long.
Instead, he got in the driver’s seat once more and ran his hands over the smooth steering wheel. “I’ll tell you what—if you were mine, you would be the only girl in my life. And that would be just fine with me. Now, let’s get out of here.”
He’d had more than enough Christmas cheer for one day.
WEDNESDAY, 11:51 A.M.
Deep Haven was everything Vivien had said it would be and more. When Zuri arrived yesterday, Evergreen Resort was downright magical with its little log cabins covered in sparkling white snow and guarded by pine trees, the winding paths tying everything together. The wedding venue—cutest little place called Wilder House—was now swathed in twinkle lights, tulle, and evergreen boughs thanks to everyone who’d shown up in crazy Christmas sweaters to decorate. It was better than a cheesy holiday movie.
The only things missing were the grinch and the bride. The two people Zuri was supposed to be helping.
Since neither was anywhere to be found, Zuri took over the upstairs bathroom of the old Victorian, where she instead coached bridesmaid Beth Strauss on the finer points of creating a smoky eye and put the finishing touches on her wedding updo with a spritz of her favorite tropical-scented hair spray.
“How do you like it?” Zuri spun the bridesmaid around to face the large mirror.
The shy woman blushed as she took in the loose braids gathered back into a cascade of curls and the sultry eye makeup. “I love it. I can’t believe that’s me.”
“Of course it’s you. I simply emphasized the beautiful features you already had, girlfriend. The silver necklaces and earrings will pull the whole look together when you put on that dress.”
The dress that hung on the door of the bathroom for inspiration. Vivien had chosen a sleeveless, slate-blue chiffon gown. The filmy dress with the ruched top and sweetheart neckline was absolutely gorgeous. Not that Zuri would ever wear it. She didn’t do sleeveless anything.
But all four of Vivien’s bridesmaids would be stunning.
And the transformation of sweet, down-to-earth Beth would certainly turn heads. Zuri could see the confidence rising in her new friend already as she studied herself in the mirror. After hearing that Beth had broken up with her own fiancé a few months ago, Zuri had decided the girl deserved a little pampering.
“My pale, Minnesota skin doesn’t look so washed out with that bronzer you brushed on.” Beth turned her face side to side, checking out Zuri’s handiwork. “Now I won’t be so worried about standing next to a beautifully tanned Amelia when she gets back from Florida with her family.”
“If they get back. While decorating, I overheard people mention they were having a hard time finding flights. As it was, I barely made it out of New York City yesterday.” Zuri gathered her brushes and clips, sliding them in their case.