Chapter Two #2
“At least in my journal if I can’t make or take that time for more. Ms. Bowie, if I could have some time now, or when you can spare it, I’d like to interview you for my assignment.”
Arden glanced at Zoey, who’d come over to join them.
“Go ahead. We’ve got a good twenty minutes.”
“Is that enough time, Danica?”
The girl lit up. “Twenty minutes would be super.”
“Let’s find a spot.”
It took less than five minutes for Arden to realize she’d enjoy this interview more, and find it more challenging, than she had her interview for the local paper with a professional journalist.
Dustin watched her from the stacks. Anger nearly choked him. She’d blown him off—again—and here she sat, giving some stupid kid the time that he was entitled to.
He got playing hard to get—women did that, a kind of power play. And to his mind they used that tactic when they wanted the guy to keep coming back, to push a little more.
It’s why she didn’t answer her phone when he called. Why she made excuses when he asked her out.
And all the while he gave her compliments on how she looked, on her stupid book.
He looked down at the book in his hand and had to fight the urge to crack the spine, tear out pages.
Instead, he rubbed the leather bracelet on his left wrist. A reminder to keep calm, carry on.
No, she just had a big heart, that’s all. A big, naive heart. She’d felt sorry for the kid—and the old bag had pushed the kid on her anyway. And the cousin, the whole wedding thing sucked up her time.
He could wait. He knew by the way she smiled at him she wanted him to wait.
Quitters don’t win. Take what you want or someone else will. How many times had his father said that to him? And Arden had said the same thing.
A marathon, he reminded himself. So he’d keep running. And when he reached the finish line, she’d belong to him as she was meant to.
Days rushed by. Fittings, seating arrangements, a party filled with women and margaritas, gifts arriving, a music list to help curate. Wedding favors, a rehearsal dinner.
Manis, pedis, hairstyling, makeup.
Then after the blur, Arden stood in her spring-green column, wearing the necklace with the interlocking rings Zoey had given her, and looked at her friend, her cousin, her sister, in her wedding gown.
Bridal white with its sparkling strapless bodice giving way to a full skirt of frothy layers, like flower petals, of silk and tulle. Rather than a veil, she’d crowned her upswept hair with the sparkle of a tiara.
Zoey’s mother’s eyes glistened with tears as Jen adjusted it.
“My baby, you’re so beautiful.”
“I feel beautiful, Mom.” Zoey wrapped around her. “I feel … everything. Thank you for being … for being Mom.”
“Okay, that one did it.” Jen turned away to grab tissues. On a watery laugh, Zoey turned to Arden.
“What do you think?”
“I think you look like a fairy tale. You look like happy ever after.”
“We’re going to have that. Boone and I are going to have that. Arden, I couldn’t have gotten here without you. All the work you did. The details you picked up so I didn’t have to.”
“Were genuinely a pleasure for me.”
“When you’re ready, I’ll do them for you.”
After a light knock, the wedding coordinator opened the door. “Now, there’s a breathtaking bride. Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready since he said: Hi, I’m Boone.”
“Then, Jen, your son’s waiting to escort you down and seat you.”
Jen laid her hands lightly on Zoey’s cheeks. “I love you, Zoey.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I’ll give you a minute. I’ll be back when it’s time.” The wedding coordinator closed the door.
Zoey said, “Here we are. I’m with my best friend in the last minutes before I become a married woman.”
“You’re not even a little nervous.”
“Not even a little. Just the next step—and, come on, let’s be honest, I look totally amazing.”
Arden laughed. “You really do.”
“So do you. I’m going to send you pictures from Hawaii. You send me some from New York.”
“You may be too busy to look at pictures from my three-day trip to New York next week.”
“No, I won’t. I’m never going to be too busy, and neither are you.” A little teary, Zoey reached out both hands, took Arden’s. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
She stood watching Zoey and the man she loved exchange vows, exchange rings, and felt content. The next step, she remembered. Just the next step. And the right turn on the path.
To make up for the time off for the wedding, and her upcoming trip to New York, Arden put in two full days at the bookstore.
After ringing sales, taking orders, stocking shelves, she figured she’d throw something together, quick and easy, for dinner, then squeeze in a couple of hours at the keyboard.
She still had to pack, but she’d take care of that after a full day of writing—after the gym. Then she’d will herself to get a good night’s sleep before she drove to the airport and flew to New York.
Water the plants before she left, she reminded herself, check the weather forecast one last time—pack an umbrella no matter what it said.
And going over her checklist, she all but ran into Dustin.
“Hi!” He put a hand on her arm when she pulled up short, and left it there. “Where were you?”
“Too many places, sorry.”
“Wedding planning?”
“What? Oh no, the newlyweds are enjoying sunshine and island breezes in Hawaii.”
“That’s great. I’ve always wanted to go there. Listen, since you’re not wedding planning, how about I buy you a cup of coffee?” He gestured, as they stood directly in front of the café.
She really wanted to just get home, but he had that hopeful smile on his face.
She’d probably looked the same way when she’d talked to one of the featured authors at Next Chapter.
And making another excuse felt rude, and a little mean.
Ten minutes, she thought. Fifteen tops. What could it hurt? And then she’d be done and guiltless.
“Sure, I’ve got a little time. Just a little.”
“Super!” He kept his hand on her arm as he turned to the café. “You keep really busy, don’t you?”
“I like busy. Still, the last few months have been packed.”
“You shouldn’t work so hard. Maybe it’s vacation time.”
“Actually, it’s not vacation so much, but I’m going to New York on Thursday, for a few days. I still have to pack and take care of loose ends, so just a quick coffee.”
“Exciting!” Inside, he steered her to a two-top, then put his hands on her shoulders.
She stiffened, started to turn.
“Let me help you off with your coat.”
She ordered herself to relax. “Thanks.”
As she sat, the server strolled over.
“Hi, Arden. We don’t see you in here much this time of day.”
“Hi, Macie. How are things?”
“Better than average, and I’ll take it. The usual?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Macie turned to Dustin. “What can I get you?”
Dustin didn’t spare the server a glance. “What’s the usual?” he asked Arden, but Macie answered.
“For Arden, that’s a café latte, heavy on the latte.”
“That sounds perfect. Make it two. You want a muffin or something?”
“No, just the coffee, thanks.”
“I’ll get that right out to you.”
“So, New York,” Dustin said as Macie walked away. “I guess it’s business.” He smiled. “Work, work, work.”
“Mostly. Some meetings. And my publisher actually managed to get me a signing at a downtown bookstore.”
His eyes widened. “A New York signing. Wow. That’s the big time.”
She laughed, relaxed as she decided he was just strangely starstruck.
“It’s a little independent on the Lower East Side, but it’s big time for me. Are you looking for that critique partner?”
“I’ve got some names, and I’m thinking about maybe hooking up online. I just have to get up the nerve to make contact. It feels … Well, it’s scary to think about showing my work to a stranger, you know?”
“I do know. But that’s the actual goal, isn’t it? For strangers to read your work.”
“Did you have that? I mean the critique group or partner?”
“I took writing courses in college, so I had professors and classmates.” She looked up as Macie came back with the drinks.
“Thanks, Macie.”
“All in a day’s. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I was really shy in school,” he told Arden. “My dad died when I was eight, so—”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, he was a firefighter, went down in the line. It was rough. My mom had to move for work. New place, new school, no dad. I guess I escaped into books. Then Mom got sick. I’d just turned thirteen when I lost her.”
Heartsick, knowing how that deep a loss felt, she reached over to take his hand.
His eyes, full of emotion, clung to hers as he clung to her hand.
“You understand. I read that you lost both your parents when you were fourteen. I guess that’s even harder, losing them both at once. You moved here, right? To live with your aunt and uncle?”
“Yes. Did you have someone?”
“Grandparents. They were great, but, you know, another new place, another new school. They did their best for me, and it couldn’t’ve been easy for them, at their age, right?”
He drank some latte, looking around at the other tables where people sat talking, or others worked on laptops, scrolled on their phones.
“Thinking about retiring, maybe getting an RV and traveling, and bam, you’ve got a teenager.
” He smiled a little. “A moody one, too, who just wanted to sit up in his room and read. They loved me, and made sure I knew it. They did their best. Then Gamma died when I was in college, so I came home. My grandfather needed help. They’d looked after me when I needed it, so I looked after him. ”
“I’m sure that meant a lot to him.”
“I think it did. I know it did,” Dustin corrected. “And to me. We had nearly five years, the Dubecki men, before he passed. Just a few months ago.”
“Oh. I thought I signed a book for your grandfather.”
He looked blank a moment. “Yeah, yeah. My other grandfather—my mom’s dad. He’s still around. A regular powerhouse, too. After Grandpa died, I thought about moving closer to him—we always got along great. But I wanted…”