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The bracelet burst with color, bold jewel-toned stones, each a small, perfect rose.
"But you don't wear flowers. "
Surprise and delight clear on her face, she looked up. "I will now. It's b
eautiful. Just beautiful. " She took it out, laid it across her wrist. "I'm dazzled. "
"I know the feeling. Here, the jeweler showed me how it works. The clasp slides in here, so you don't see it. "
"Thank you. It's . . . Oh, look at my hands. "
He took them, stained and scratched from her work, and brought them to his lips. "I do. A lot. "
"I snap at you, and you give me flowers. " She slid into his arms. "I'll have to snap at you more often. " On a sigh, she closed her eyes. "The rain's stopped," she murmured, then leaned back. "I need to clean up a little, then go help with tonight's rehearsal. But after, we could have a drink, maybe something to eat out on the patio. If you want to stay. "
"I want to stay. " A sudden intensity darkened his eyes as they roamed her face. "Emma. I don't think I've told you enough that I care about you. "
"I know you do. " She rose up to kiss him softly. "I know. "
L ATER, WHEN SHE'D LEFT FOR THE MAIN HOUSE, HE ROOTED through her supplies and found what he needed to toss a quick meal together. It wasn't as if he couldn't cook when he needed to, he thought. Or that he expected her to cook for him when they stayed in. As they did more often, he realized.
He could even put a pretty damn good meal together, the benefit of once dating a sous chef. A little garlic and olive oil, some herbs and chopped tomatoes and they'd have some pasta. No big deal. He'd made her breakfast before, hadn't he?
Once.
Why did he suddenly feel he was taking advantage of her, taking her for granted, the way he'd often thought others did?
He knew why. He knew exactly why, he admitted as he minced and chopped. The look on her face when their eyes had met in the mirror, just that split second of hurt before irritation had smothered it.
I'm not practicing.
He had been thinking of the flowers, the bracelet. But she hadn't been completely wrong in her instincts. On some level he had been . . . uneasy. Or . . . hell if he knew. But the sight of her holding the bouquet had given him a - jolt, he admitted. Just for a second.
And he'd hurt her, bruised her feelings. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt her. She'd forgiven him, or let it go, or pushed it aside. Not because of the bracelet, he thought. She wasn't the type to angle for gifts, or to sulk over a slight.
She was . . . Emma.
Maybe he had taken her for granted here and there. That would stop now that he recognized it. He'd be more careful, that was all. Just because they'd been seeing each other for . . . The shock had him nicking his thumb. Seven weeks. No, nearly eight, which was the same thing as two months. And that was practically an entire season.
A quarter of a year.
It had been a very long time since he'd been able to measure the time in months he'd been exclusively with one woman.
In a couple of weeks they'd have been together throughout spring, and starting into summer. And he was okay with it, he realized. More than okay with it.
There was no one else he wanted to be with.
It felt good. Whatever the hell it meant, it felt good to know she'd come back soon and they'd share a meal out on her patio.
He poured himself a glass of wine as he began to saute garlic. "Here's to the rest of the spring," he said, lifting his glass, "and right through summer. "
"R ED ALERT!" ATOP THE LADDER, HER HANDS FULL OF DELICATE garlands, Emma craned her neck to read the display on the beeper hooked to her pants. "Crap. Crap. Red alert. Beach, you'll need to finish the garland. Tiff, swags. Tink, ride herd. "
As she scrambled down, Jack stepped forward to spot her. "Careful. It's not a national emergency. "
"It is when Parker issues a red. Come with me. Sometimes an extra pair of hands, especially male, can come in handy. If it's just a girl thing, maybe you could come back, help cover chairs. Damn it. I was on schedule. "
"You'll make it. "
She moved like lightning, across the terrace, up the steps - that still needed to be dressed - and through the door to the corridor outside the Bride's Suite.
Straight into hysteria.
The small mob of people crammed the hall, all in various states of dress. Voices pitched toward the register only dogs could hear. Tears flowed like wine.
In the midst, Parker stood like a cool island in stormy seas. But Emma recognized the fraying of desperation around the edges.
"Everyone, everyone! Everything is going to be fine. But you have to calm down, and listen. Please, Mrs. Carstairs, please sit down here. Sit down now, take a breath. "
"But my baby, my baby. "
Carter nudged his way forward - a brave soul - and took the weeping woman by the arm. "Here now, have a seat. "
"Something has to be done. Something has to be done. "
Emma recognized the mother of the bride. She wasn't crying - yet - but her face approached the color of ripe beets. Even as Emma moved in to take her, or whoever needed it most, off Parker's hands, a shrill whistle cut the air into shocked silence.
"Okay, everybody, just stop!" Laurel ordered. She wore a white bib apron smeared with what looked to be raspberry sauce.
Parker plowed into the opening. "Mr. Carstairs, why don't you sit down with your wife a moment?
Groom, if you and your party would go back to your suite, Carter will give you a hand. Mrs. Princeton, Laurel's going to take you and your husband downstairs. You'll have some tea. Give me fifteen minutes. Jack, could you go with Laurel? We'll bring Mr. and Mrs. Carstairs some tea up here. "
"Any chance of scotch?" Mr. Princeton asked.
"Absolutely. Just tell Jack what you'd like. Emma, I could use you in the Bride's Suite. Fifteen minutes, everyone. Just stay calm. "
"What's the story?" Emma demanded.
"Quick update. Two of the bridesmaids are severely hung-over, and one was puking heroically in the bathroom moments ago. MOG had a meltdown when she went in to see her son in the Groom's Suite, which annoyed MOB - they don't get along particularly well. Words were exchanged, tempers flared, and continued to flare as the women battled their way to the Bride's Suite. The drama apparently sent the MOH, who's eight months pregnant, into labor. "
"Oh my God. She's in labor? Now?"
"It's Braxton Hicks. " Parker's face was a study of sheer determination and unassailable will. "It's going to be Braxton Hicks. Her husband called the doctor, and the MOH convinced him to let us time the contractions for now. Mac and the bride and the rest of the party, not currently puking or moaning, are with her. She and the bride are the only ones keeping their heads. Besides Mac. So. "
Parker sucked in a breath, opened the door of the Bride's Suite. The MOH lay propped on the little sofa, pale, but apparently calm with the bride - a hairdresser's cape over her corset and garters - kneeling beside her. Across the room, Mac offered a cool compress to a bridesmaid.
"How are you doing?" Parker asked as she moved briskly toward the pregnant woman. "Do you want your husband?"
"No. Let him stay with Pete. I'm okay, really. Haven't had anything in the last ten minutes. "
"Nearly twelve now," the bride told her and held up the stopwatch.
"Maggie, I'm so sorry. "
"Stop saying that. " The bride gave her friend a shoulder rub. "Everything's going to be fine. "
"You should finish getting your hair and your makeup. You should - "
"It can wait. Everything can just wait. "
"Actually, it's a good idea," Parker said in a tone that managed to be brisk, businesslike, and cheerful all at once. "If you're not comfortable here, Jeannie, we can move you to my room. It's quieter. "
"No, I'm fine here, really. And I'd like to watch. I think he's gone back to sleep. " She patted the mound of her belly. "Honestly. Jan's in worse shape than I am. "
"I'm an idiot. " The attendant with the pale green complexion closed her eyes. "Maggie, just shoot me. "
"I'm going to have some tea and toast sent up. It
should help. Meanwhile, Emma and Mac are here to help out. I'll be back in two minutes. Any more contractions," Parker said quietly to Emma, "beep me. "
"Believe it. Come on, Maggie, let's make you gorgeous. " She drew Maggie to her feet, passed her to the hairdresser. With the stopwatch in hand, Emma settled down by the expectant mother. "So, Jeannie, it's a boy?"
"Yes, our first. I've got another four weeks. I had a checkup Thursday. Everything's fine. We're fine. How's my mother?"
It took Emma a moment to remember Jeannie was the groom's sister. "She's fine. Excited and emotional, of course, but - "
"She's a wreck. " Jeannie laughed. "One look at Pete in his tux and she dissolved. We heard the wails in here. "
"Which, of course, set my mother off," Maggie said from the salon chair. "Then they're at each other like pit bulls. Jan's tossing it in the bathroom and Shannon's curled in a ball. "
"Better now. " Shannon, a little brunette currently sipping what looked like ginger ale, waved from her own chair.
"Chrissy's good, so she took the kids outside for just a bit. She should be back by now. "
Judging things were under control in this area, Emma glanced at Maggie. "Looks like we've cleared the fifteen-minute mark on baby. If Shannon's up to it, she can take over the timer, and I can go find Chrissy and the kids. Bridesmaid, flower girl, ring bearer?"
"Please. Thanks so much. This is all just crazy. "
"We've had crazier. " She gave the stopwatch to Shannon, took one more look at Jeannie. The color was back in her cheeks. If anything, she looked serene. "Mac, you've got the fort?"
"No problem. Hey, let's take some pictures!"
"You're a cruel woman," Jan muttered.
Emma dashed out. She spotted the MOG on the terrace, sobbing into a tissue while her husband patted her shoulder and said, "Come on, Edie. For God's sake. "
She detoured and headed for the main stairs. Parker was already charging back up. "Status?"
"I think we're down to yellow status. No more contractions, one hangover well on the mend, the other - hard to tell. The bride's in hair, and I'm off to round up the last attendant and the kids. "
"In the kitchen having cookies and milk. If you could take the FG and RB, send the BA up. Mrs. G's putting tea and toast together. I want to check on the groom, and let the expectant daddy know everything's okay. "
"On my way. The MOG's on the terrace, wildly weeping. "
Parker set her jaw. "I'll deal with her. "
"Good luck. " Emma hurried down, swung toward the kitchen just as Jack came in from the direction of the Grand Hall.
"Please tell me there's not a woman delivering a baby upstairs. "
"That crisis, it seems, has passed. "
"Well, thank you, Jesus. "
"POB?"
"Huh?"
"Parents of Bride?"
"Carter's got them. It seems he teaches a nephew. And the mom's repairing her makeup or something. "
"Good. I've got to get the last BA, send her up and take over with the FG and RB. "
His brow furrowed, then he gave up on the code. "Whatever you say. "
Pausing, Emma considered him. "You're pretty good with kids, as I recall. "
"I'm okay. They're just short. "
"If you can take the RB - the boy, he's five - and entertain him for about fifteen minutes, it would help. You can deliver him to the Groom's Suite as soon as we get the all clear. I'll take the girl up, help get her dressed. " She glanced at her beeper with some trepidation when it signaled. Then blew out a breath.
"Yellow and holding. Good. "
"Don't these kids have parents?" he asked as he followed her toward the kitchen.
"Yes, and both are in the wedding party. They're brother and sister, twins. The BA with them is Mom. The dad's a groomsman, so you can take the RB up in ten or fifteen. Just give everything a few more minutes to smooth out. Once I get the FG settled, I need to get back out and finish dressing the outside areas. So - "
She broke off, fixed a big, happy smile on her face before she pushed into the kitchen. In an hour, the bride and attendants were beautified, the groom and his men polished. While Mac organized the separate parties for formal photos, and Parker kept the respective mothers at a distance, Emma finished the outside decor.
"Want a job?" she asked Jack as he helped cover the last row of chairs.
"So absolutely not. I don't know how you do this every weekend. "
She attached cones holding the palest of pink peonies to selected chairs. "It's never boring. Tink, I've got to run home and change. Guests are arriving. "
"We're good here. "
"Parker estimates we'll only be about ten minutes late, which is a miracle. There's food for all of you in the kitchen when we're done. I'm back in fifteen. Jack, go have a drink. "
"I plan to. "
She was back in twelve, having traded her work clothes for a quiet black suit. She pinned boutonnieres while Parker's voice sounded in her headset. "We're a go in the Bride's Suite. Cuing music. Ushers to start escort. "
She listened to the countdown as she brushed lapels, joked with the groom. She spotted Parker arranging the parents, and Mac getting into position for shots. She took a moment, just one, to admire the view outside. The crisp white covers on the chairs served as a perfect backdrop for the flowers. All the greens and pinks, from the palest to the deepest, blooming against the shimmer of tulle and lace.
Then the moment was over as the groom took his place, and the mothers - one teary, the other maybe just a little tipsy on scotch - were escorted to their seats.
She turned to gather the bouquets and pass them out as Parker lined up the ladies.
"You all look so beautiful. Still holding, Jeannie?"
"He's awake, but behaving. "
"Maggie, you're just stunning. "
"Oh, don't. " The bride waved a hand in front of her face. "I didn't think I'd get all choked up, but I'm right on the edge. I'm about to give my new mother-in-law a run for her money. "
"One breath in, one breath out," Parker ordered. "Slow and easy. "
"Okay. Okay. Parker, if I ever need to wage war, you're my general. Emma, the flowers are . . . Breathe in, breathe out. Daddy. "
"Don't you start. " He gave her hand a squeeze. "Do you want me to walk you down while I'm blubbering like a baby?"
"Here now. " Parker reached under the veil, gently dabbed at Maggie's eyes. "Head up, and smile. Okay, number one, you're on. "
"See you on the other side, Mags. " Jan, still a bit pale but beaming, started her walk.
"And two . . . Go. "
With her job done for the moment, Emma stepped back while Parker ran the show.
"Have to admit," Jack said from beside her, "I didn't think you were going to pull this one off. Not this smooth. I'm not only impressed, I'm very nearly awestruck. "
"We've had a lot worse than this. "
"Uh-oh," he said when her eyes filled.
"I know. Sometimes they just hit me. I think it was the way the bride handled herself - crisis by crisis - then started to crumble at her big moment. But she's holding on. Just look at that smile. And look at him look at her. " She sighed. "Sometimes they just hit me," she repeated.
"I think you've earned this. " Jack held out a glass of wine.
"Oh boy, have I. Thanks. "
She hooked her arm through his, tipped her head toward his shoulder. And watched the wedding.
