38. London
Taran and I walked into the hotel’s stylish breakfast room the next morning and spotted Cammie and Nee already at a table.
Despite the sensory overload of the huge crystal chandelier in the center of the room, the autumnal mulberry wallpaper, crystal wall sconces, and floral arrangements on every table, I zoned in on Nee.
Trepidation followed me as we walked toward the table where she sat with Cammie.
Last night I’d tossed and turned for a while until physical exhaustion finally dragged me into sleep.
Taran and I had taken turns getting ready in the bathroom this morning and I felt guilty for how quiet and tense I was.
I was absolutely ruining this weekend for her.
Cammie saw us before we reached the table. She stood abruptly. “You’re going to sit here with Tierney and I’m going to sit on the other side of the room with Taran.”
I gaped at her, somewhat stunned. Though, to be fair, it was more surprising it had taken this long for Cammie to say something about the situation. She wasn’t exactly known for reserving her opinions.
“I love you both.” Cammie glanced between me and Nee.
“But Taran deserves the best engagement and wedding journey any bride has ever had. Ever. As her soon-to-be sister-in-law, I intend to protect her experience, even if it means pissing you two off. You are going to have breakfast together and hash out whatever this disagreement is between you before it turns into a proper rammy and ruins everything.”
I had no idea what a proper rammy was, but I could guess. My gaze moved to Nee who glowered at me. She gestured impatiently for me to take a seat.
“Good.” Cammie nodded and joined a somewhat amused Taran. I watched them cross the breakfast room, indeed finding a table as far away from us as possible.
Stomach fluttering with nerves, I sat opposite Nee and forced myself to meet her gaze. “I’m so mad at Murray for telling you something that I would have told you, eventually.”
My best friend huffed. “Would you have, though? I think that’s why he told me because he knew you have this fucked-up notion of owing me.”
I scowled. “It wasn’t up to him to make that decision for me. And it’s about loyalty, Nee. You deserve my loyalty.”
“I deserve your goddamn honesty.”
“What did he say to you?”
Nee sat back in her chair, arms crossed defensively over her chest. Before she could respond, a server appeared to take our order. I just picked the first thing I saw on the menu.
Once the young woman had left, Nee continued, “I bumped into Murray at the harbor and asked him what he thought of me proposing a fine dining experience to you for the B and B. He told me to ask you. He was weird about it, which got my Spidey senses tingling. I pushed. He clearly didn’t want to lie, and that’s when I read between the lines that you weren’t happy working at my guest house. He didn’t deny it.”
This new information was confusing. “So … Murray didn’t, like, make a point of telling you?”
“No. Not at all. He suggested I talk to you. Because you should have been the one to tell me you’re not happy working for me.”
At her hurt tone, I winced. “Nee … it’s not that I’m not content. I’m just … truthfully, it’s not what I want long term, but I also don’t know what I want. I thought I wanted to be a chef, but now I think it just made me feel closer to the one relative who gave a shit about me.”
Understanding dawned. “Your nana.”
I nodded. “I liked working in a kitchen with a team. It was busy and social, and we felt like a family.”
Nee’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh.”
Shrugging sheepishly, I admitted, “It’s not the same at the B and B. I love being near you, but we’re not in the kitchen together. I’m in there alone most of the time. And to be honest, the hours are kind of a pain in the ass.”
My best friend snorted. “Oh, I know.”
I leaned forward. “But Nee, I am so grateful for everything you and this job have given me. Working at the B and B literally saved my life.”
She reached out to take my hand, squeezing it tight between her cool fingers. “That doesn’t mean it now gets to become an anchor holding you down. Spoon, I just want the best for you. I can find seasonal chefs to take over at the B and B.”
“I don’t even know what I want to do with my life, though. I’d be walking away from a job to do what?” I shrugged helplessly.
She squeezed my hand tighter. “To find yourself.”
“That’s a luxury.”
“Well, you deserve a little luxury. And you married into money, Spoon,” she teased. “You can take the time to figure it out.”
“I didn’t marry him for that.”
Nee frowned. “I’m teasing. What … wait, did you have a falling-out with Murray over this?”
I slumped back in my chair. “I thought he’d approached you and was being controlling because it’s what he wanted. I …” Guilt suffused me as I remembered the hurt look on his face before he jumped in his car to race away from me. “I accused him of being like Nick.”
There was no denying the shock on Nee’s face.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?”
Nee grimaced. “Murray is so not Nick. And what he did came from a place of love. Of wanting the best for you. Hand on heart, I recognized that fully in my encounter with him. At no point did I feel like he was being manipulative or controlling or trying to, like, alienate us. That was not what happened.”
Tears burned my eyes not just at my screw-up but at Nee’s complete understanding of my fears. “I messed up, Nee.”
She reached for me again, expression bright with sympathy. “And you’ll fix it. When we get home, you and Murray can sit down, and you can both apologize and just put it behind you.”
“What if he doesn’t forgive me? I’ve never seen him like that. He literally jumped in his car and ran away from me.”
Nee huffed. “Ramsay has done that more than once. I’ve been so hormonal lately.
That part has hit sooner than I thought it would.
Anyway, a week ago, I accused him of not wanting to have the baby because he wouldn’t discuss adding an extension to the house.
Ramsay just walked out. Got in his car and left the entire island to get away from me.
But only to calm down so he didn’t upset his pregnant wife by arguing with her. It’s not the first time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And you know what, in the moment I thought I’d really messed up and hurt him. It turns out that he was trying to hide the fact that he’s building a house at the other end of Stòr.”
I gasped. “No way? How is that possible without everyone knowing?”
She beamed. “It’s one of those prefabricated ones.
Anyway, he wanted planning permission in principle to go through first before telling me in case it didn’t work out.
But that was taking longer than he’d hoped.
It came through a few days after our argument and now, we’re going to work on tweaking the plans together.
Once those have gone through submission, his company will lay the foundations and then this prefab kit building company will put up the frame.
It might not be ready now in time for the baby coming, but he’s going to try like hell to make it happen. ”
Joy for my friend was a pleasant ache in my chest. “I’m over the moon for you.”
Nee grinned, her happiness practically spilling out of her like stardust. “My point is that Murray probably just needed a minute to cool down.”
“I hope you’re right. He hasn’t called or texted me.”
“Maybe he’s giving you space.” Tierney’s gaze moved up behind me.
Then I heard Cammie say, “All this hand-holding is a good sign?”
“Yes.” Nee patted the seat beside her. “Come back and sit with us.”
“That was fast.” Cammie squeezed my shoulder. “Knew you two couldn’t stay mad at each other for long.”
Taran and Cammie settled beside us just in time for our breakfast to arrive. As we ate, we explained what had happened. Taran and Cammie were in complete agreement about Murray, which made me feel even more terrible for having jumped to the worst conclusion.
However, for Taran’s sake, I attempted to push those worries to the back of my mind.
We had three bridal store appointments today, and our first stop was just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel.
My period was heavy this morning and I had cramps, and I really wasn’t looking forward to trying on dresses.
For Taran, I downed a couple of ibuprofen and fought through the overall yuckiness.
If I could do a twelve-hour shift in a hot, busy kitchen with a head chef barking at me while my insides cramped and my head throbbed, I could do this.
Thankfully, the fun morning with my friends distracted me from my monthly female torment.
I was swept up in supporting Taran as she tried on lots of different dresses.
Taran could be decisive, so when she walked out in a strapless ivory gown that fitted to the curves of her body before flaring out at the knee, I could tell by her expression that it was the one.
The lace and pearl train were the only embellished part of the dress.
Cammie got choked up at the sight of her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
“This is it? We found it already?” Taran searched for reassurance as she studied herself in the mirror.
“It’s perfect,” Nee insisted. “It’s so you. Classic, elegant, but sexy too. Yes, yes, yes.”
She looked at me. “London?”
“You are so beautiful. Quinn is going to cry when you walk down the aisle toward him in this.”
Cammie huffed. “Please, he’s going to cry no matter what she’s wearing.”
Taran let out a pleased chuckle as she turned back to the mirror. Then suddenly her eyes welled with her own tears. “I can’t believe I’m finally marrying him.”
At the sound of her sob, we all descended on her, pulling her into the circle of our embrace. I was pretty sure the bridal store owner and her assistant thought we were crazy.
But they didn’t know this wedding was over twenty years in the making.
“Oh goodness, I haven’t stained the dress, have I?” Taran whispered frantically as we pulled back.
“No, you’re fine.”