Love in Bloom (Haven #2)

1. Chapter 1

Friday, Labor Day Weekend

M iller took a long swig of his Kaliber non-alcoholic beer and grabbed a few onion rings from the basket Parker had just set down on the table. His appointment calendar at work was full for the next two weeks, and his billable hours had increased over last month, the sixteenth month in a row. The partners at Anderson, Anderson a very solid, warm arm. She’d been in the man’s presence for less than five minutes and she could barely form a coherent thought, let alone keep her hands to herself. Wren seriously worried about her immunity; smart, good-looking, and considerate would be fatal to her system. As a booster shot, she remembered her soon-to-be-ex-husband and scooted to the very edge of their seat.

“OK.” Miller put his arm around the back of their chair again and glanced at her. “Looks like Will’s headed this way. Let’s see if we can get you some answers.” He turned back to the table and bellowed, “Will, where’s Emily?”

Six pairs of eyes turned to the burly, blond man as he settled into his chair. Will leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. Wren thought he was enjoying the attention too much, but she didn’t blame him. It must be hard fitting into this group of slightly older overachievers.

“Last I saw of her, she and Jackson were heading to a board of directors meeting with some out-of-towners.”

“Any idea who they were?” Parker asked.

“No clue. The time was blocked out on his calendar starting at three o’clock, but no attendees were listed.”

“I know his parents and sister are booked into the hotel as well as the owner of Chance Resorts and his sons,” Krista said. Knowing who the hotel guests were was one of the perks of her job.

“So, let me get this straight. Jackson had a board meeting scheduled at three o’clock possibly with the owners of Chance Resorts,” Parker said, the reporter in him looking for clarification. Krista and Will looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.

Wren noticed the other men exchange speculative looks with each other.

“What was his mood like today?” Parker asked.

“I didn’t see him that much, but he seemed kind of jittery yet super chill at the same time.” Will shrugged.

“If the meeting was at three, they’d be done by now and Emily should be answering her phone, right?” Wren asked Miller. Her growing concern for Emily temporarily overcame her need to keep him at arm’s length, figuratively, if not literally.

“Unless Jackson had a private meeting with Emily afterwards,” Miller said to the group, looking at Parker and Croix with a sly grin.

“Damn! Do you think our plan worked?” Croix asked Parker.

“What do you mean our plan? It was my plan. I started it,” Parker bragged.

“What plan and why wasn’t I included?” Will sounded mad and hurt, like a tired preschooler who’d missed his nap.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Will. You were too close to the action to know, but you served a critical role in feeding us intel. You did good.” Miller raised his bottle. Parker and Croix joined in the salute to Will.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but you boys better start explaining. Right. Now.” Krista squinted at Croix and even Wren felt threatened.

“Ask nicely,” Croix insisted.

“Please,” Krista said after a long-suffering sigh.

Croix grinned and pointed at Parker. “You tell her. It was your plan, after all.”

So, Parker began the story. He told them all how earlier in the summer, he, Croix, and Miller had joked about dating Emily. After seeing Jackson’s reaction to this, he suspected Jackson’s feelings toward Emily were serious. But Jackson was too stupid to figure it out for himself and too stuck on seeing her only as a friend. They’d decided to date Emily to make Jackson jealous, and they’d also asked other men in Haven to show interest in Emily to increase the pressure. Moving Jackson was like moving a stubborn ass.

“Not that spending time with Emily was a hardship,” Parker clarified, when Wren gave him a disgusted look. “I enjoyed our day together. She’s a great person, but not meant for my to-death-do-us-part.”

“Same here. She can’t take a fish off a hook or pee outdoors.” Croix shook his head in disbelief.

“I don’t think many women have that skill set,” Rica pointed out.

“Krista does,” Croix bragged.

“Hard to believe I’m still single, isn’t it?” Krista asked no one in particular.

“Anyway,” Parker interjected, “I’m betting our boy finally came to his senses and told Emily how he feels.”

“Which is?” Rica sounded impatient and Wren didn’t blame her. This story was taking way too long.

“That he loves her.”

“Then the next question is, what’s Emily going to say?” Miller looked at the three women.

They breathed a collective sigh of relief. It looked like Emily and Jackson would get their happily-ever-after, after all.

Wren toyed with her wine glass, processing it all. She was happy for Emily, but she wondered how long the happiness would last. Over forty percent of marriages ended in divorce. Maybe since her marriage was one of them, Emily would be with the other sixty percent. She wanted the best for her friend, but she of all people knew that sometimes the best turned into the worst. Rica and Krista wore hopeful, dreamy looks on their faces, and Wren even saw Krista dab the corner of her eye with a napkin.

“Aw, man, I hate wearing a tux and those shoes hurt,” Croix complained when he finally heard what wasn’t being said.

“Before we start celebrating, I’ll see if I can get a hold of Jackson.” Miller stood and Wren couldn’t stop herself from watching him walk toward the back where it would be quieter.

Wren felt a mixture of relief and loss after he left, and she didn’t like it. Not one little bit. She didn’t realize she’d been relaxing on him until he’d moved. He’d served as her own personal recliner.

Miller Lynch was a dangerous man. Not in a criminal way, but in a he-has-the-potential-to-steal-everything-she’s-worked-so-hard-for way.

Wren didn’t know him that well. She’d made it a practice to avoid him as much as possible. But she knew the type. Heck, she’d married the type. Intelligent, attractive, successful, crazy ambitious. In their group of friends, everyone knew Miller had one goal: to make partner by the age of thirty-one. She’d already helped one man make that goal and she’d lost herself in the process. No. No way. She’d worked too hard and come too far to lose herself again. She wasn’t going down that road again, no matter how tempting it may be.

Wren played with the ring on her middle right finger trying to decide what to do. If she stayed, she’d be forced to spend more time with Miller, but if she left, she wouldn’t find out about Emily, and she’d be going home to an empty, lonely apartment. Lonely, but safe. She politely covered a yawn with her left hand. That does it, Wren decided . Let’s go while the going’s good. She drained the last of her Riesling, told Rica and Krista to text her with an update, said her goodbyes to the men, and skedaddled before Trouble returned.