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Hearing Alec Sullivan’s voice behind her, Maren sent a reproving glare at Aiden before turning around.
Just what she wanted Alec to hear!
Alec closed the inside door to the mudroom and pulled off his hat, his piercing blue eyes locked on her even as he ran his fingers through his hair. The barest hint of a grin threatened to curve one side of his mouth.
“At least that’s my understanding,” he said, moving his gaze off Maren. He smiled and inclined his head at Aiden. “Step one: identify-slash-find-slash-locate a boyfriend. Step two: convince him he’s the one. Step three: upgrade boyfriend to groom. Simple, really.”
“Ah, the old relationship flowchart,” said Aiden, who evidently didn’t mind mocking Maren to her face or in the company of a stranger. “Or, there’s always the effectiveBoyfriend Wantedsign. Forget the Vacancy notice.” He slanted another mischievous grin at Maren. “Or maybe you could have like a lemonade stand, but for selling yourself as a girlfriend.Freshly Squeezed Romance, Limited Time Offer.”
“Are you done?” She asked Aiden, her withering glower apparently useless.
With her cheeks flaming red once again, she didn’t dare face Alec but then was saved from having to do so—even as he came to stand at the counter next to Aiden—by her phone coming to life on the counter, ringing and vibrating at the same time.
And normally she wouldn’t have answered it in front of guests, but it was Jasmine. She tapped the screen to take the call and put the speaker on.
“There’s the happy bride,” she greeted. “Aiden’s here and you’re on speaker.”
Without a greeting or any preamble, Jasmine whined, “They’ve just announced a driving ban.”
Maren winced, even as she was, frankly, a little surprised it had taken this long.
“Oh, no! Jasmine, I’m so sorry,” she commiserated. “Okay, but wait. We don’t need to panic yet. You don’t technically or officially need the rehearsal dinner tonight. As long as they lift the ban by tomorrow, as long as the storm moves out as they predict, all is well. The wedding can still happen.” But she grimaced, supposing this might be a long shot. So far, the storm had exceeded the expectations of the local and national meteorologists, as the band of snow seemed not to be moving but hovering directly overhead.
“But Maren,” said Jasmine. “I feel so bad for all the money you’ve probably put out for the rehearsal dinner. That’s such a waste.”
“Jasmine,” Maren said firmly, “the rehearsal dinner was my gift to you. And that is the least of your worries—not your worry at all, in fact. Let’s just figure out how to make the wedding actually happen tomorrow. The Harbor View is still good to go for the ceremony and reception, right?”
“As of right now, yes,” came the reply followed by a huge and vocal sigh, which settled heavily inside the kitchen. “But then I just found out that the town was using the banquet hall’s huge parking lot as a dumping ground until the big trucks can get down from Buffalo so I’m not sure about access or parking.”
“Hi Jasmine,” Aiden called out into the dispirited silence that followed.
“Hi Aiden,” came the glum reply.
***
The phonewason speaker sotechnically, it wasn’t eavesdropping, but Alec did pay a fair amount of attention to the conversation, even as he retreated from the counter and washed his hands in the sink. He held up his wet hands, much like a surgeon about to enter the OR, while looking for a towel. He found it draped over Maren’s shoulder and helped himself to the end of it hanging down her back.
He couldn’t help but steal glances at her profile while she sorted pastries into baskets and continued speaking with the bride. While her focus on those tasks seemed unwavering, he knew she wasn’t oblivious to his proximity. He thought he sensed a slight stiffening in her posture, but was unsure if he should read that as sparked awareness or cringing displeasure. Based on the intensity of their ‘moment’ earlier, he was betting on the former.
Certainly, his awareness of her was greater now, and he found himself captivated by the subtle details of her profile that made her uniquely alluring—the curve of her jawline, the sweep of her cheekbones, the gentle slope of her nose, those freckles. Her auburn hair, slightly mussed—possibly from her hat and hood of an hour ago—fell loosely around her shoulders while one section was raised as if teased on the crown of her head.
Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Alec finished drying his hands and dropped the towel back on to her shoulder. He returned to the end of the counter and met the watchful gaze of the kid who’d been playfully pestering Maren when Alec had come in.
You’ll need a boyfriend first if you expect to have any chance of a wedding.
Very interesting, but something that would have to wait until later for him to examine. At the very least, though, the kid’s teasing revealed that Maren was single, after all.
While the phone call continued, Alec met the kid’s curious stare and stuck out his hand, introducing himself quietly. “Alec Sullivan.”
“Aiden Abelstad.”
“Is that Alec?” was called from the phone. “Hi, Alec! It’s Jasmine. Oh, my gosh. Liam has told me so much about you. He’s so thrilled you made it here.”
She giggled a bit. And while he was prepared to find fault with her, and possibly ulterior motives for her want of this hasty wedding, he had to admit her laugh wasn’t one of those false, cloying giggles but sounded...fine, as far as giggles from strangers over a phone went, he guessed.
“Hi, Jasmine,” he called down to the phone. “Nice to meet you. Sorry about the weather.”
“Ugh, I told Liam I wanted to wait at least until spring,” she said, surprising Alec with this bit of information. “Anyway, Alec, Liam said there were about six other people he wouldn’t cry over if they somehow missed the wedding, but he would have been super bummed, he said, if you hadn’t been able to make it, so I’m thrilled that you’re here. Welcome to Willowbrook. I hope—well, actually, I have every confidence—that Maren is taking very good care of you. Oh, gosh, that sounded—earmuffs, Aiden,” she directed impishly. “That sounded suggestive. But you know what I mean.”
