She would simply tell Troy’s family something had comeup, plans had changed and her date hadn’t been able to come after all. She could leave it at that without having to muddle the situation further.
“I’m sure you have a million things you would rather do than take a woman you barely know to the wedding of a couple of strangers.”
“At least a million.”
“I mean,Idon’t even want to go and I know both the bride and the groom.”
“So why are you? Seems like a whole lot of unnecessary stress. If I were you, I would find any excuse I could not to put myself through it.”
She didn’t tell him how very tempting she found that idea of avoiding all of it.
She couldn’t, though. Any more than she could avoid shoveling snow when it stormed. Some things had to be faced, like it or not.
“My ex and I might not be together anymore but he is still Lydia’s father. His family will always be connected to her. I can’t miss celebrating the wedding of her aunt, who happens also to be a good friend, simply because I’m uncomfortable.”
“Many people would take the easier road.”
Sometimes she really wished her parents had raised children who could take the easier road, instead of those who always had to choose the right one.
“If I allowed my comfort level to dictate every decision in my life, I would never leave my house. I would be inside right now on my sofa, watching Hallmark movies and eating Christmas cookies.”
He was quiet as she shoveled. When he looked at her, she thought she saw a note of approval in his expression. “True enough. Too many people avoid anything in life they find hard.”
“I don’t want to go to Kristine’s wedding. That’s not alie. But I have every intention of going and being polite and eating substandard banquet food. Who knows? I might even dance. Because it’s the right thing to do and I want to teach my daughter by example that doing the right thing is important, even when it’s hard.”
He gave her an inscrutable look then returned to shoveling. “Maybe having a plus-one would ease the discomfort a little. If things get awkward with your ex or his family, you can always talk to me.”
She stared. Was he actually considering taking her?
“Why would you possibly agree to this? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your willingness. I’m only trying to understand why.”
After a moment, he inclined his head toward his niece. “Audrey is pretty persuasive. She is convinced I owe you for taking her in after the accident, as well as for giving Kim time off to go to rehab. She basically thinks you’re a saint. I believe she said you were next level, which I assume is a compliment. She thinks that the least I can do is take you to a wedding to repay you for what you’ve done to help our family.”
“Ha. I’m far from a saint. And I only did what any other friend would do. You’re under absolutely no obligation to put yourself through this level of misery.”
He set his shovel in the snow and leaned on the handle to study her, the moonlight catching silvery glints in his hair.
“What if we made a bargain?”
She rested her own shovel and gazed at him, suddenly suspicious. “What sort of bargain?”
What could she possibly have to offer a man like Lieutenant Commander Ryan Caldwell?
“You need a date to your ex-sister-in-law’s wedding. I need help throwing together a decent Christmas for Audrey. I have no idea where to start.”
“I thought Kim expected to be home before Christmas.”
“She hopes so, but I don’t know when that might be. Even if she is, I don’t think it’s fair to expect her to manage Christmas when she’s straight out of rehab. I would like to have as much done for her as possible so she doesn’t have to think about any details, and she can simply enjoy the time together with Audrey.”
That was surprisingly insightful, coming from a tough, intimidating man like Ryan.
“What did you have in mind?”
“The usual. Gifts. Decorations. Cookies, maybe. I would like Kim’s place to feel like yours does.”
He gestured to the window where her tree gleamed. Her house did look festive, she had to admit, with lights glowing in each of the windows and the front porch adorned with greenery and branches from the red-twigged dogwoods that grew along her fence line.
“We can help each other out,” Ryan said. “I’ll go with you as your plus-one to the wedding. Even better, I’ll pretend to be madly in love with you, to show your stupid ex-husband everything he’s missing out on.”
