14. Maureen
Chapter fourteen
Maureen
B y eight o’clock, the party was winding down. Guests still danced and picked at their plates, but the atmosphere remained decidedly low-key. The outdoor space heaters were no joke. Even with the December air and snow piled along the edges of the backyard, most folks had discarded scarves, hats, gloves, and even coats.
James danced with Mrs. Allen. I walked over to where the bride-to-be watched the scene fondly.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Marley asked me after a moment, pointing subtly toward our little sister. Miranda sat on a bench near the slider, her head resting against Leo’s shoulder. He swung his arm around and pulled her against his side, giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead.
“I think she’s fine. Looks like Leo’s taking care of her.”
“You think something’s going on there?” Marley’s gaze turned inquisitive. “More than just future in-laws type of stuff?”
“Maybe,” I conceded. “But probably they’re just good friends. They are a lot alike.”
“True.”
We watched Leo coax Miranda into a smile as he waved an arm to the guests at large—apparently reminding her again that the snafu with the glasses hadn’t been a big deal, that the toasts and cake-cutting had eventually gone off without further incident.
I sighed softly under my breath. Thinking of the toasts brought Will’s to mind. I couldn’t get it out of my head in the hour since he’d said the words.
“Congratulations to my good friend James and the love of his life, Marley. It might have taken them a while to admit they’re perfect for one another, but now that they have, I’m sure they’ll have a lifetime of joy. Sometimes, the happiest destinations are at the end of the roughest roads. Cheers!”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out his words had been at least partially directed at me, even if no one else realized it.
Leo pulled Miranda onto the dance floor. She giggled as they executed a very uncoordinated head-bopping movement to the beat of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” It was odd how Miranda had been so hard on herself earlier. She wasn’t normally high-strung. Something seemed to have changed over the past few months.
“What about you?” Marley’s voice pierced the night air.
“Hmm?” I replied absently, my attention still focused on the dancing.
“I saw you talking to Will earlier. Looked like you were getting along.” She elbowed me playfully.
My heart rate increased even as my tone stayed even. “Obviously, we were talking. He’s a groomsman. I’m a bridesmaid. We have shit to discuss.”
I turned my head away, unable to stop a small half smile from forming as I pictured Will and I having heated debates about flower arrangements and wedding favors.
“I hate when you call yourself a bridesmaid,” Marley said. “You’re more like a second-in-command maid of honor.”
I barked a laugh. “That’s not a thing, Marls. But don’t worry, I’m totally fine letting Miranda have the glory of holding your flowers.”
Marley laughed and picked at some lint on her sweater. After a few minutes, she returned to what was apparently her new favorite topic. “So…how do you like Will?”
I huffed irritably. “Still on this? What do you mean ‘how do I like him’? He’s James’s friend. He’s fine.”
“Like, he’s fine, or he’s fiiiiiiiiine ?” Marley waggled her brows.
“Jesus. Are you Oscar with his bone? He’s plain old fine. And I told you yesterday to stop playing matchmaker.” I shook my ponytail behind my shoulder. “He’s your good friend, not mine. To me, he’s just a dude I make small talk with sometimes because we have mutuals.” Was she buying this steaming pile of horseshit?
Marley went back to picking at her lint. “I’m just saying, if you got to know him better, you’d probably like him. You have a lot in common.”
Oh, sis, if you only knew.
I needed to get Marley off this topic, and the best way to do that meant bringing up the one subject I knew would distract her.
“So, I noticed Kasen didn’t make it here tonight?”
Marley frowned at the mention of her ex. “Yeah. He’s supportive and everything, and we’re trying to be friends. But I get how it might be a little much for him to come to something like this.”
“Maybe he’ll come to the wedding,” I said. I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Kasen. He’d been like family when he dated my sister, and I hoped he’d find his own happy ending.
“Maybe,” Marley mused. “I’d like that.”
We hummed softly with the Christmas tunes playing over the speaker, waving as more of the guests departed. There hadn’t been an end time on the invitation because Coleman Creek didn’t operate like that. Fingers crossed, the stragglers would clear out by midnight.
Will sat at one of the round tables with Travis, Vivienne, and their kids. They all held playing cards, engaged in an intense game of Go Fish. I watched Will offer Connor a fist bump, stopping about an inch short of actually touching the boy’s hand, respecting his sensory issues. Seeing Connor’s wide smile in return made my heart stutter.
When Will caught my gaze on them, his eyes softened. He gestured to Scarlett. The table was too far away for me to hear him, so he mouthed exaggeratedly, “She’s kicking my ass.”
I shook my head, grinning.
“Marley?” I asked.
“Yeah?”
“What did you mean when you said Will and I have a lot in common?”
She sat up triumphantly. “I knew it! You’re interested in him.”
I glowered at her. “I promise you I’m not. Just curious.”
“If you say so. But since you asked, I’ve gotten to spend more time with Will over the past year, and you’re just very similar in your approach to things. Like how it’s obvious why Miranda and Leo are friends. And how James and I are sort of evenly matched. Will’s creative, like you, and he’s witty, always with the sarcastic comebacks. He doesn’t suffer fools. But then he can also be really sweet and take care of people, like he did for James at the reunion. Or like he’s doing for the Bloxhams right now.”
The air swirled in my lungs. She was describing the Will I’d gotten to know five years ago over endless hours of coffee and carbs. Billy. Would my curiosity to find out how that man had turned into Rosalyn’s fiancé, William, eventually outweigh my instinct for self-preservation? Should I take him up on his suggestion to spend some time together? To Marley, this was all straightforward, but to me, the Will she described still felt like an enigma. I knew there was much more to him than she had ever seen.
“Maybe we’re a bit alike,” I conceded, since my sister expected a reply.
“More than a little.”
I scooted closer to her. “Do you know what happened to his hand? His, uh, fingers?”
Marley’s features tightened. “No. I only know he had an accident. I don’t know when or what it was. He once told James he never goes bike riding, so maybe it has something to do with that. Whatever happened, he’s so adept with only the three fingers, I never notice.”
“Same.”
James came over to pull Marley to the dance floor. With both my sisters occupied, I figured I could slip away and start cleaning up inside.
I found Vivienne in the kitchen, wrapping some of the food and getting the first load of dishes started.
“Didn’t I just see you outside?” I asked.
“I was, but Travis and the kids were doing fine without me. Katy was in here a minute ago, but she needed to get her babies home, so I volunteered to keep the process moving along so she wouldn’t feel bad.”
I pulled on an apron and tied it behind my waist. “I’d love to get everything done without Marley having to lift a finger.”
“Agreed.”
We worked side by side for a while, hand-washing plates and organizing the casserole dishes neighbors would come by to pick up over the next few days. Vivienne monitored her family through the laundry room window.
“Will has been great with the kids tonight,” she remarked. “Especially considering he hasn’t met them before. Connor never takes to new adults like this. And when Scarlett got squirmy during the toasts, Will found one of James’s puzzle books and spent half an hour with her doing Christmas word searches.”
Ugh. I needed fewer people telling me what a great guy Will was. It messed with my head.
As did Will walking into the kitchen twenty minutes later, looking chivalrous and adorable with a sleeping Scarlett in his arms. “Out like a light,” he whispered to Vivienne. “Travis said to tell you he’s rounding up the other three to get them into the car, but he’s fine if you want to stay.”
Vivienne ran a gentle finger along Scarlett’s cheek. “Honestly, I’m beat too.” She turned to me. “You okay if I take off?”
“No problem. We’re almost done here, anyway.”
She tsked cheerfully. “Well, I know that’s not true, but I appreciate you saying it.”
Vivienne reached to take her daughter from Will. Scarlett barely stirred, flopping across her mother’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Don’t worry about the rest of the mess,” Will said. “I can help Maureen.” He looked over to see if I would object, but I nodded my head at him. There were still a lot of dishes, and I’d need to tackle the patio once the guests departed.
“Be careful outside,” I warned Vivienne. “It’s really slippery, especially now that the sun’s fully gone.”
After the Bloxhams departed, I handed Will a heavy dutch oven. “Here you go. Have fun scraping off the last of Mr. Lemon’s tuna noodle casserole.” He pulled up his sleeves and made a show of wrinkling his nose but didn’t complain as he stood over the sink and began scrubbing.
We worked for a few minutes in silence. I stood next to him while he washed and I dried.
“So here we are again in the kitchen.” Will spoke lightly, but I heard the edge in it.
“Hmm.”
“It seems like we’re doing okay, you know, being normal around each other.”
“Uh-huh.”
The sounds from the party melted into the background. I sucked in my lower lip and tried not to notice his forearms flexing as he worked. Tried not to think of how endearing it had been to see him playing Go Fish with Connor. “Normal” wasn’t the word I’d use to describe the way I felt around him.
Will’s breath made waves in the steam rising from the hot water. Placing the sponge on the counter ledge, he turned off the tap and ran an arm across his damp forehead. He wiped his hands on a dish towel.
“Maureen—”
Our hips brushed as he turned to face me.
I flinched at the contact.
“Listen, Will. It's cool that we’ve made some progress here—” Twisting to look at him, I moved a finger back and forth between us like a seesaw. “Except you need to remember that, like, twenty-four hours ago, I seriously still hated you.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “But you don’t hate me now?”
Slowly, I exhaled, speaking with more confidence than I felt. “I’m…conflicted. But one thing I’m sure of is I don’t have the capacity to put a label on this right now, other than ‘not hate.’ My career is in limbo, if you hadn’t noticed. Plus, the holidays. And not having a permanent place to live. So please don’t add to my load by saying anything else about wanting to spend some time together , alright?”
Will winced. “I’m not trying to push you. I promise.” He blew out his own loud breath. “You can do what you want with it… Do nothing with it. I just needed to put it out there—” He gazed at me intently, our chests inches apart. “Make sure you…had the information.”
He paused, the silence deafening.
My breath hitched as hooded gray eyes bored into mine.
His nostrils flared. Other than that, he didn’t move. Warmth radiated from him, the walls of the kitchen our cocoon. I blinked slowly, understanding the next play was mine. He wouldn’t take it from me. Not this time. I knew what I needed to do.
Get away. Protect yourself.
I took a small, infinitesimal step…
Toward Will.
My eyes drifted to the tick of his pulse beating a visible symphony in his throat. He swallowed.
Finally, cautiously, his hand crawled through the air near the side of my face.
When I didn’t flinch or pull away, he grew braver. He pinched my ponytail between the thumb and pointer of his right hand, giving me a close-up view of his missing fingers. As his palm trailed back down my cheek, just barely touching—the contact couldn’t even be called a graze—I had to close my eyes against the tidal wave of sensation. I shouldn’t want this, yet my body said otherwise.
“It’s okay,” he said hoarsely. “I know it’s kind of gross.”
Huh? My hazy brain required a few seconds to sort out his words. What was gross?
He started to pull his hand away.
Wait. Did he think I’d closed my eyes because of his fingers? I forced my lids open and peered at him through my lashes. I saw the dart of insecurity in his expression.
“Oh no, Will. Never that,” I whispered. Instinctively, I reached up and put my hand on the outside of his, pushing his palm back against my face. With purpose. I turned my nose to press into the center of it, feeling its heat even as I registered the jagged silvery scar tissue. “You’re beautiful.”
My words were quiet, but their effect was immediate. His features clouded as he scraped his thumb along mine, mimicking our actions from earlier tonight. He moved his hands to lace his fingers behind my head. With our near-equal heights, the action brought us face-to-face. I stared into his tender gaze. The raw desire I saw reflected there forced caution to the back of my mind. I licked my lips, and my palms drifted to his lean hips.
He inhaled sharply, resting his forehead against mine. “Goddamn, Maureen. Tell me this means you want to start over.”
The distinct sound of a boot sole squeaking against the hardwoods reverberated like a cannon shot.
“Oh shit! Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to, uh, interrupt.” The abrupt sentiment came from Leo, standing slack-jawed on the edge of the kitchen, carving himself into the moment with the subtlety of a chainsaw.
Will and I jerked back from one another.
Oh my god. What had Leo just caught us doing?
“You’re not interrupting.” Will recovered faster than me. “Maureen and I were just talking.” He looked pointedly at the other man. “And I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone else.”
“No problem.” Leo put his hands up and walked backward out of the kitchen. “I never saw a thing.”
My body trembled as Will and I found ourselves alone again. Jesus. What if that had been Miranda who’d caught us? Or Marley? While I trusted Leo not to say anything, his seeing me with my arms around Will made the situation real. Made my weakness for Will real. I wasn’t ready.
“Don’t worry. He won’t say anything.” Will squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Now, where were we?”
“Nowhere, Will. We were absolutely nowhere.”
I untied my apron, threw it on the counter, and ran out of the kitchen.