Hold Me (Ribbon Ridge #7)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

E mily had put out a spectacular salad bar for all of the women, and after they’d stuffed themselves, they moved into the great room. Two stories tall, it featured windows overlooking the pool and backyard, a massive fireplace, and was currently sporting two long worktables in the middle of the room.

Chairs were set at intervals around the table. Sara had set up stations earlier. There were bottles to put labels on, little boxes that needed ribbons, and several canisters of long, finger-thick pretzels next to a stack of plastic bags and ribbons, candles, and pint glasses etched with Sara’s and Dylan’s names as well as the wedding date.

“These have to be the craziest favors I’ve ever seen,” Bex said, laughing.

Alaina Pierce, the superstar actress who’d needed no introduction when Bex had met her last night at the bachelorette party, rolled her eyes. “Right? I feel like a slacker now. But that’s what happens when you have a shotgun wedding, I guess.” She rubbed her hand over her curved, but still small, belly and winked.

Bex knew it hadn’t been that sort of wedding—Alaina and Evan loved each other and while the baby hadn’t been planned, he or she was very wanted. It was the opposite of what had happened to Bex and Hayden, and Bex couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. No, it was more than that. She hadn’t wanted that baby, not then, but she would’ve had it anyway. And for the first time, she realized she wouldn’t have regretted it. Maybe it was being back here, seeing Hayden again, but the loss felt somehow magnified.

She took a deep breath and told herself to suck it up. It was natural to think of what might have been when faced with your ex and a pregnant woman. Wasn’t it?

Sara went to stand at the end of the tables. “Let me explain the tasks and then you can pick which one you want to do. Except the ribbons on the chocolates. No one ties a ribbon like my mom. Mom, you’re doing those.”

Emily chuckled as she took the chair at the opposite end. “Happy to, dear.”

Sara smiled at her. “Thanks, Mom.” Sara walked over to the chair on Emily’s left. “This person is going to put the labels on the cider. Bex, Dad made special batches of beer and cider, because I don’t really like beer, if you remember.”

“I do,” Bex murmured. She knew so much about this family. But it had been five years, and she was no longer the close-knit almost-member she’d once been. No one would recall precisely what Bex knew and didn’t know, and she didn’t expect anyone to. The other women in the room— they were the Archer women. Bex was just an old friend and now an employee. She’d expected a little awkwardness, but she hadn’t been prepared for the baby thing or for how she’d felt when she’d seen Hayden. That afternoon things had seemed charged between them, but maybe that had just been her perspective.

Sara moved on down to the center of the table. “And this is for labeling the beer.” She took a few more steps. “Here are the pint glasses.” She held them up. “Aren’t they cool? Each basket gets two. Whoever sits here will slide them into Bubble Wrap sleeves.” Sara circled to the other side of the tables. “Next come the pretzels. This is a two-person station. One will put five pretzel sticks in each plastic bag and the other will tie it with a ribbon.”

“I don’t know if I want that job,” Alaina said. “I’m worried your bow standards are too high.”

This was met with laugher, and Sara grinned. “These will only require a simple bow, like tying your shoes.”

“Which I won’t be able to do in a few months.” Alaina glanced past her barely showing tummy at her feet.

“You have plenty of sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law-to-be to help you,” Emily said, smiling. “Not to mention a mother-in-law.”

Bex’s heart twisted, and she internally chided herself. She had to find a way to be here without thinking of the past or what might have been. She walked toward the table. “What’s next?”

“The last job is putting stickers on the lids of the candles.”

Bex looked at the circles printed in navy blue, sage, and pink. They were decorated with a twirling vine and said, “Thank you for sharing our day. Love, Sara and Dylan.” Adorable.

Chloe, Derek’s wife, and the artistic director for the Archer pubs and The Alex, glanced around the table. “That’s only seven stations, and there are eight of us.”

“I’m going to start assembling as you finish the items.” Sara gestured toward several boxes, one of which was open to reveal the baskets. “How do you guys want to decide what to do?”

“I’m taking candle stickers,” Alaina said. “No bows for me, thanks.”

“I’ll do the bows,” Bex offered, which put her next to Alaina. She’d been intimidated by her last night—it was hard not to be when she’d starred in some of Bex’s all-time favorite movies—but now she just seemed like another one of the gang.

Maggie took the chair to Bex’s right. “I’ll take the pretzels.”

The other three went to the opposite side of the table, where Aubrey took the glasses, Tori went for the beer, and Chloe claimed the cider.

Everyone sat and started in on the tasks. “This is going to be such a fun wedding,” Chloe said.

Maggie handed a bag of pretzels to Bex for tying. “Yours was pretty awesome last summer.”

Chloe smiled at her and nodded. “That was your first event as an Archer significant other. Good times.”

“Yeah, after Kyle sprung her on us at your rehearsal dinner,” Tori said. She looked at Bex. “That could’ve been a major disaster.”

“Wait, I don’t think I know this story,” Alaina said. “What happened?”

Sara answered. “You know that Maggie had been Alex’s therapist, right?” At Alaina’s nod, she continued. “She was sort of persona non grata around here since, you know, she’d failed to see that Alex was suicidal.” She gave Maggie a warm, sympathetic look. “But Alex fooled even those of us who knew him best, so poor Maggie hadn’t stood a chance.”

“But what happened at the rehearsal dinner?” Alaina pressed. She grinned at Bex. “Sorry, I love a juicy story, so long as it’s not about me in a tabloid.”

Everyone laughed, and Tori finished the story. “Kyle had been seeing Maggie in secret—something Sara might be familiar with.” She coughed and gave her sister a pointed look. Sara blushed, and Bex knew it was because she and Dylan had carried on a secret friends-with-benefits relationship for a while before finally going public. Much had been made of that at last night’s party.

“Anyway,” Tori went on, “we had no idea he was seeing Maggie, and then he up and brought her to the rehearsal dinner, shocking the hell out of everyone in the process.”

“Don’t forget the part where he told us he was a gambling addict,” Chloe said, her blonde brows arched.

“Yeah, that, too,” Tori said. “It was an eventful night.” She gave Chloe a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault, and not yours either.” Chloe looked at Maggie. “I remember thinking how happy I was to be joining such a wonderfully close and supportive family. I didn’t have that.” She smiled at everyone around the table, and Emily blew her a kiss.

Bex hadn’t had that either. She could’ve, but she’d walked away. It had seemed the right decision at the time, and she didn’t want to regret that choice, but damn, it was hard with all of the love and camaraderie in the room. They were an amazing family, and she wasn’t a part of it. Nor would she ever be.

The conversation turned as Maggie asked Tori how her new house was coming.

“The foundation’s dry,” Tori said. “They’re due to start framing tomorrow.”

Bex looked over at Tori. “Did you design it?”

Tori nodded. “We’re pretty excited. So are Sean’s folks. They can’t wait to come visit from England. We’re looking forward to having them here for a month or so.”

“Sounds fun.” For them maybe. Whenever Bex had thought of her parents commingling with the Archers, she’d practically broken out in hives. The Archers were so well-adjusted and normal . And her parents were so . . . not . She couldn’t imagine the level of awkwardness that would’ve ensued, and she didn’t want to. Thankfully her mother had never wanted to visit her in Ribbon Ridge, and Dad preferred to be a homebody.

Maggie shuddered. “Sure, if your parents aren’t weird like mine.”

Bex instantly felt a connection to Kyle’s fiancée. “What’s wrong with your parents?”

Maggie gave her a gimlet eye. “What isn’t wrong with them?” She shook her head and smiled. “That’s not fair or true. They’re good people. Loving. They’re just . . . odd. They have an open marriage and have since I was a kid. It was a strange way to grow up.”

“But you had love,” Aubrey said. “As opposed to the cold fish I grew up with.” She grimaced as she slid a glass into its Bubble Wrap.

Another kindred spirit, Bex thought. Maybe cold wasn’t the best word to describe her mother. No, absent or oblivious were both more apropos.

Maggie passed off another bag of pretzels. “True. And as weird as they are, I wouldn’t trade them.”

Bex wasn’t sure she’d trade hers either. As self-absorbed as her mother was and as distracted as her father was, Bex had enjoyed a freedom most kids would’ve killed for. Which wasn’t to say it had been the best upbringing. It was, however, the only one she had.

“I can beat all of you,” Alaina said, arching a brow to the table at large. “Raise your hand if your dad was a felon.” She paused. “Anyone? No? How about a mother who was literally once a crackwhore?”

Bex stopped in the middle of tying a bow and looked at Alaina. She couldn’t recall if this information was common knowledge—given that most of Alaina’s life was plastered in the media it probably was—but Bex hadn’t known that about her. “Yikes, that couldn’t have been easy.”

“Especially when you throw in my pastor grandfather, who we might as well nickname Grampa Judgy.”

Bex winced. Alaina might have a seemingly perfect life, but you never really knew the truth behind someone’s facade.

“Sorry we can’t contribute to this pity-fest, but we have the best parents ever,” Tori said, smiling, in a clear attempt to lighten the mood. Not that it had turned dark, but Bex didn’t know these people well enough to say for sure.

Emily’s mouth quirked into a satisfied smile as she focused on tying a bow. “I can’t disagree there.” She set the box of chocolates in her done pile and glanced around the table. “And I certainly hit the jackpot when it came to children and children-in-law.” Her gaze hit Bex last before going back to the task in front of her.

Bex didn’t for a minute think that short look meant to include Bex in anything. She and Hayden had never even been engaged, no matter how much they’d all expected that to happen.

Emily wrapped another pink-and-navy-striped bow around a box of chocolates. “If Bex and Hayden had gotten married, everyone here would be an Archer or Archer-to-be.”

Every muscle in Bex’s body tensed, but she tried not to show any reaction. She calmly tied the ribbon around the bag, ignoring the surreptitious glances sent her way.

Alaina slid her an inquisitive glance. “I didn’t realize you guys were that serious.”

“Yeah, for a while.”

Alaina’s eyes flickered with something—understanding maybe. “That was a long time ago, right?”

“Five years.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any awkwardness,” Emily said.

Bex chanced looking at her and was relieved to find that her gaze was sympathetic. “It’s fine. That was a long time ago.”

Bex realized she was the lone single woman in the room. Which was fine with her. Her relationships since Hayden had been . . . short. Granted, she’d moved around enough to make a long-term relationship difficult, but it hadn’t been a challenge to keep things casual. In hindsight, she realized that not one of the men she’d dated had held a candle to Hayden. Had she subconsciously compared them all with him?

Tori’s forehead puckered slightly as she slapped another label on a beer bottle. “Anyone know anything about the girl he’s seeing in France?”

Bex messed up her bow and had to start over. He was seeing someone? She felt like she’d been kicked in the gut, which was stupid.

“They’re not serious in the slightest,” Emily said. “Otherwise she would’ve come.”

Sara gathered items and arranged them in a basket. She was way behind the rest of them, but when they were all done, they could pitch in and help with the overall packaging. “Are they even seeing each other, really?” she asked, glancing at Tori. “I thought they were just friends—they work together after all.”

“Well, not together-together,” Tori said. “I don’t think they interact much at work. But yeah, I guess they’re maybe just friends. I was sort of hoping he might be dating her. He could use a girlfriend.”

Tori tossed Bex an apologetic look, and Bex responded with a nonverbal “it’s okay” smile. Except her insides were twisting into knots.

Chloe glanced around the table. “Why aren’t we drinking? Or are we still feeling the effects of last night?” She chuckled.

Alaina waved a hand in between stickers. “Don’t mind me. I’m just suffering the effects of this.” She glanced down at her belly then smiled. “Not that I mind.”

This was met with laughter around the table.

“Beer or wine?” Tori asked, standing.

The consensus seemed to be wine, so Tori went downstairs to grab a couple of bottles from the Archers’ impressive cellar.

When Tori returned, she wasn’t alone. A pack of testosterone trailed behind her, led by Kyle.

“What are we drinking to?” he asked, going directly to Maggie then leaning down and kissing her cheek. “Hey, babe.”

He was followed by Liam, Evan, and two men Bex had met that morning at breakfast—Sean Hennessy, Tori’s husband, and Dylan Westcott, Sara’s fiancé. Hayden brought up the rear. All the men went to their significant others and greeted them with a kiss or a caress, or both. She and Hayden sat and stood there awkwardly. Or maybe the awkward was all her.

“You need wineglasses.” Hayden turned back and went into the kitchen. Sean went with him, and a moment later they returned with stemware.

Liam shook his head. “Oh, we’re going to need more than that. Come on, Derek.” He and Derek left, presumably to fetch more of everything.

Evan stood next to Alaina’s chair and massaged her shoulders. “Can I get you anything?”

She pointed to the table. “I’ve got my water bottle.”

He smiled down at her. “Never without it.”

They were a striking couple, and obviously very in love. They all were. It made Bex feel . . . lonely.

Crap, what had she done agreeing to move to Ribbon Ridge? She’d expected a little weirdness, but not this total assault of nostalgia. Or maybe it was more than that. Maybe it was regret.

Would she do things differently now? She wasn’t sure.

She’d already wanted to leave Ribbon Ridge before she’d even learned she was pregnant. Then she’d felt trapped, her future completely decided for her. When she’d miscarried, that weight had been lifted. Suddenly the dreams she’d had—of running her own brewery and spreading her wings—had become possible again, and she hadn’t been able to get out fast enough. She’d felt like she’d dodged a bullet, but now she had to wonder if she hadn’t lost something else entirely.

Sara stood next to Dylan, who had his arm around her waist and had pulled her tight against him so he could kiss her temple. “If you guys are going to hang out, you have to help,” she said.

Dylan loosened his hold on her. “Put us to work.”

She did just that and when Liam and Derek returned, they had double the hands completing the tasks.

Hayden stood near the doorway as all the other men went to help their significant others. His choices were to help Bex or his mother tie bows. Bex sensed his uncertainty. He likely knew his mother didn’t need help—or more accurately that Sara wouldn’t allow him to help her. Which meant he could help Bex, and she didn’t think he wanted to do that, so she rescued him by saying, “Hayden, you could help Sara and Dylan with the basket assembly.”

“Good idea.”

Bex stood, intent on grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen. She passed Hayden on her way and got a whiff of his shower gel for her trouble. She closed her eyes briefly, recalling the scent of Hayden. That smell aroused so many memories, so much joy.

She swallowed and reminded herself they were as dead as disco. Why then, did she feel like a junior high kid with her first crush? Because she’d either never gotten over Hayden Archer or her feelings had been rekindled in a huge way. Whatever the reason, she was completely screwed.