SHE OWED RYANCaldwell far more than the paltry afternoon she had spent helping him decorate his sister’s house.
He was the perfect plus-one. All afternoon, through the ceremony and the photographs and congratulations, he had chatted easily with Troy’s family and friends. He was polite, interested, attentive to her and to Lydia.
She caught more than one person of her acquaintance watching them with interest. If she wasn’t mistaken, a couple of Troy’s younger female cousins looked almost giddy as they chatted with him.
She couldn’t really blame them. Ryan was impossible to resist.
When the wedding party moved to the historic reception venue across the street from the church, he helped her move the floral sprays at the end of each pew across to the reception, where she used them to adorn the walkway into the elegant building.
And he helped her keep track of Lydia whenever Holly was distracted speaking to someone else she knew.
Now they sat at one of the tables—decorated with more of Holly’s flowers—that were staged around the dance floor in the large reception hall.
“I want to dance, Mama,” Lydia said as the floor began to fill up.
“Let’s go.” Ryan stood and reached for her hand.
As he led Lydia out to the dance floor, Holly knew she wasn’t the only one sighing at the sight of the big, tough guy and the five-year-old girl in the red velvet dress and floral coronet.
“Someone seems to be having a wonderful time.” Stacy, Troy’s older sister, nodded her head to Ryan and Lydia as she eased her bulky frame into one of the empty seats at the table.
“Lydia loves a good party,” Holly said with a smile. “I think she takes after her father in that respect.”
Why wouldn’t Lydia be having a wonderful time, when she currently had the full attention of a man like Ryan Caldwell? Anyone would feel the same.Hollyfelt the same. The event she had been dreading was being filled with moments she knew would become cherished memories.
“I have been nominated by the aunties to tell you they—we—all approve of your Lieutenant Commander Caldwell.”
She started to automatically reply he wasn’therLieutenant Commander Caldwell, then remembered she and Ryan were both pretending otherwise.
“Okay,” she said instead.
“He’s exactly the kind of man you deserve, Hol. Considerate, polite, attentive. And gorgeous. You really hit the jackpot.”
Holly smiled, though she felt a sharp little pang somewhere in the vicinity of her heart. If only their relationship could be more than make-believe.
“Ryan is definitely all those things,” she said.
“You guys are really cute together,” Stacy said. “I see the way he looks at you. Reminds me of when Paul and I were falling in love.”
Holly wondered if the expression she tried to don now appeared besotted or merely dyspeptic. “The early days of a relationship are exciting, aren’t they?”
“With a man like that, I imagine every day of a relationship would be exciting,” Stacy said.
Oh, Holly could imagine it too, entirely too clearly.
“Also, everyone is raving about the flowers. I can’t tell you how many comments I’ve received about how beautiful they are.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“I’ve been telling anyone who will listen they should go to Evergreen and Ivy for all their floral needs.”
“Thanks for the plug. I need all the business I can find.”
The two of them chatted for a few more moments about the trip Stacy and her family planned between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to visit family in California and, of course, hit the beach and Disneyland.
Stacy was telling her about the perfect vacation rental she had found in Anaheim when Ryan and Lydia returned to the table.
“Hi, Aunt Stacy,” Lydia said cheerfully, wiping a drooping curl away from her forehead.
