Her Unexpected Family (8 page)

“You made a difference, not just now...” he wrote on the card “...but for a long time to come. Look what you started! In deepest appreciation, Grant.”

He tucked the photo into the card and handed it to Chloe to be delivered with the bouquet. He used to send flowers to his mother several times a year. Thanking her made him feel good. She'd put her kids first, and Grant had appreciated that.

He missed her, still. Planning Christa's wedding wasn't just a gift for Christa, it was a salute to one of the strongest women he'd ever known, Dolores McCarthy. He got back to the office Monday afternoon just in time to answer the phone. “Grace Haven Highway, Grant speaking.”

“You never answer your own phone.” Emily's voice greeted him, light and friendly. He sank into his chair, instantly more relaxed.

“I would if I knew it was you calling.”

“Aww.” He'd surprised her.
Good.
“I just got the flowers, Grant. Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Do you see that picture? How happy my little girl looks? She's almost running now, Emily, and it hasn't been all that long. Dolly McCarthy, unleashed! It's amazing to see, and I wanted you to know how much it meant to me.”

“I'm so glad. And yes, the look on her face is priceless. Are you geared up for wedding gown shopping tomorrow?”

“With you? Yes.” She started to sputter, so he changed the subject. “Kimberly's reception was really nice. Thank you again for including us. I can't deny I was concerned about bringing the twin terrors to a formal affair.”

“They were wonderful. I'm glad you braved it. Mom and Dad were pleased, too.”

“Well, you did a great job, not just on that, but on everything. With your mom gone, you girls have really taken charge.”

“Kimberly, mostly.”

Grant disagreed quickly. “Kimberly isn't doing this alone. I saw the event calendar on your notebook, remember? To handle everything your mom had on the books, and the extras you girls pulled in, is kind of amazing, don't you think?”

“Well, I figured God put us in the right place at the right time. Who'd have thought Kimberly and Drew would be married now? Six months ago, it wasn't a blip on the radar, and now they're off on their honeymoon, which means I get to run the business and spoil their daughter, Amy, for a week.”

Grant laughed. “You're good with kids. I hadn't expected that.”

“I know what you expected.” Emily's voice went light but dry. “Total airhead, self-absorbed princess.”

“I was wrong. Beyond wrong. Possibly more wrong than any man should have the right to be. Forgive me?”

“Apology accepted. All is forgiven. Gotta go, much to do here without Kimberly. I'll see you tomorrow at ten.”

He'd be there, all right. Excited to see her, because she made him smile, made him laugh and wasn't afraid to call him on things. She made him want to be a better person, and that didn't just feel good. It felt wonderful.

Chapter Eight

“Y
ou've ruined everything.” Stella Yorkos stormed into Kate & Company just before four that afternoon, looking more like a bridezilla than any woman should. “I distinctly said I wanted three entrées for the shower, and look what you've sent out!” She waved the invitation toward Allison, then Emily.

Emily took the elaborate shower invite and the response card and frowned. “I'm not sure I understand the problem, Stella. There
are
three choices here, that you personally selected. ‘Salmon with maple-glazed pecan quinoa,' ‘Filet of beef with mushroom reduction' and ‘Chicken Marsala.'”

“It's not what's there,” Stella hissed and stabbed a finger toward the reply card. “There is no vegetarian entrée, and what kind of woman these days doesn't have a slew of friends who find eating anything with a face repugnant?”

Emily took a moment to breathe as she sorted this through. “Stella, you chose the dishes yourself. You approved the menu.”

“I assumed a vegan or vegetarian option was a given! How am I supposed to know these things? I'm a lawyer, not some stupid party planner who doesn't know enough to explain things thoroughly. And now it's spoiled, all spoiled because people will think I'm not smart enough to have recognized their needs at my shower!”

A swift-moving headache started somewhere around Emily's toes and raced upward. “This is fixable, Stella. I'll call Roselawn and arrange for them to have a vegetarian option available. They make an excellent eggplant Parmesan casserole, and a marvelous mushroom and potato stew. I'd be glad to find out other possibilities for you.”

“You don't get it.” Stella slapped her hand against the top of Allison's desk and took a step closer. “It doesn't matter that they have it and can provide it. What matters are the appearances of the situation, as if I wasn't savvy enough to anticipate what others want. My mother is fit to be tied, my aunt is thrilled that I've messed up because that makes her daughter's wedding shower nicer by comparison and why a party-planning place can't get a simple function right is beyond me. I am so tempted.” She pushed her face closer to Emily and scowled. “So very tempted to cancel everything and start over somewhere else. And don't spew your contract spiel with me. I'm a lawyer—I can wriggle out of that document in a heartbeat.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis. “You tell me here, right now, what you're going to do to make this right, or I'm walking out that door, and my shower and my wedding go with me.” She folded her arms tight across her chest and glowered, her right toe tapping an ominous beat against the tile floor.

What Emily wanted to do and what she could do were two very different things. She'd like to hand Stella the contract, wish her well and escort her out the door, but her father's pricey treatments in Houston might be the difference between life and death, and medical bills had to be paid.

Give her anything she wants.

Kimberly's words from the week before.

Emily looked at Allison. Allison lifted her shoulders, equally at odds. She turned back to Stella and lifted the response card. “First, I will resend the invitations at our expense.”

“And?”

“And Kate & Company will be glad to cover the cost of the additional entrée with Roselawn.”

“And?”

Nope, that was where Emily intended to draw the line. The large shower would cost a pretty penny this way, and they'd be kissing goodbye a good share of their profit. “And that's my offer.”

“That's it?”

Emily had been voted Miss Congeniality several times over the years. She didn't feel the least bit congenial right now. She felt like she wanted to pop someone in the jaw, and Stella would be smart to turn around and march out the door. “Take it or leave it.” Emily glanced at the wall calendar featuring one of their brides from the previous year. “We've got forty-eight hours. After that, cancelling Roselawn will cost me an additional fifteen percent, which means I need a decision by Wednesday at five.”

“I'll be in touch.” The bride turned on her heel and went out the door with the same hyped-up velocity she'd used coming in. Emily turned toward Allison, sank into the chair next to her desk and wanted to scream. She didn't. Instead she lifted the folder on Allison's desk, made a note and said, “Well. That was fun.”

Allison stared at the door, then turned. “Didn't you want to just smack her?”

“Desperately, but not because she was a total in-your-face jerk.”

“There was another reason?”

Emily shrugged. “When you do pageants, you have to deal with a lot of drama queens. The problem with this one and this scenario is that I couldn't handle it my way. I had to be nice. I had to schmooze her, and give in, even though it was her mistake. The fact is, we need the money. And that's a situation a lot of folks face every single day of their lives, isn't it? They do the job because they need the money. So.” She stood and picked up the folder for a late-afternoon client. “Now it's our turn.”

“That's a good point, but I still wanted to smack her.”

“I know.” Emily frowned at the door. “Mom would have handled her and had her eating out of her hands and paying the extra for the meal and the postage.”

“Kimberly would have kicked her.”

That made Emily laugh, but she sobered quickly. “Well, she told me to give Stella anything she wanted.” She moved toward the stairs, pretty sure she was about the worst party planner ever. “And that's exactly what I did, but I'm real sorry it came to that.”

Allison nodded. “Me, too, Emily. But luckily she's the exception in this business. Not the rule.”

Was she, Emily wondered? Or had she spotted Emily for a soft touch and behaved accordingly? And if that was the case, having Emily work with difficult clients was going to cost them a whole lot of money, and that spelled disaster. She spent the next two hours angry at herself for not seeing a better way to handle the situation and wishing she didn't have to confess the confrontation to Kimberly when she got back. Her sister had trusted her. She'd just blown that confidence out of the water.

Her office phone rang as she was finishing up the day. She hit Save on a spreadsheet as she reached for the phone. “Thank you for calling Kate & Company. This is Emily.”

“Emily, it's Noel Barrister.”

Noel Barrister, her former father-in-law and the president of Barrister's Department Stores. He was about the last person she'd expected to hear from, ever. “Noel.” She paused and inhaled slowly to calm the adrenaline rush. “This is a surprise.”

“I'm sure it is. Do you have a minute?”

She was meeting with a client about a lakeside retirement party in May, but that wasn't until five thirty. “As long as it's brief. I'm expecting a client.”
Breathe, Emily. Stay calm. Stay cool. They hung you out to dry because their son tossed you aside.

Her heart rate accelerated as memories flooded. She clamped the floodgates down and hauled in a breath.

“I have a business proposition for you. Something that I hope will tempt you back here, to us, but not in Philly. That would be awkward at best, and the last thing I want to make you feel is uncomfortable.”

This was quite a change from giving her a nicely padded buyout eighteen months ago, as he showed her to the door the very same day.

“I'd like to talk to you about the New York offices. That way you wouldn't be around Christopher, but you'd be back in the job you loved. A job you excelled at.”

And allow them the leverage to fire her again? What was Noel thinking? She
had
excelled at her job; she'd become noteworthy in the short years she'd worked for them, and she still got the boot when his son tossed her aside. “Noel, I don't have time for this right now, but I'm surprised you'd think I'd put myself back into a position where you can let me go with a snap of your fingers on the whim of your son. Why would a rational person do that?”

To his credit, he didn't get defensive. “I'll draw up a contract to ensure that will never happen again. I didn't appreciate what an asset you were to our company, Emily. It's not a mistake I plan to repeat. I'll call you when you have more time, but this will give you something to think about, a buyer's dream. New York City. Fashion Week. The garment district. Fifth Avenue. Just think about it. That's all I ask.” He hung up before she could say more.

Noel knew how to push the right buttons, but only a stupid person would trust a Barrister again. She shoved the matter aside as her clients walked in on the lower level. She'd had a rough run-in with her last client. She was determined to have this one go better. It did; the aging couple was charming, and the beautiful bouquet of flowers on her desk reminded her that she hadn't messed up Christa McCarthy's wedding.

Yet.

* * *

She walked into Caroline's Bridal the next morning, saw Grant and couldn't control the quick smile. “You beat me here.”

“Couldn't wait to see you.”

Oh, be still my heart.
He was not making it easy to take a firm step back. “If I didn't thank you for the flowers enough yesterday—” she walked right over and surprised him by giving him a hug “—thank you. They brighten the whole office. I love them.”

“It was the least I could do. I'm fairly stupid on a regular basis, so this could be the beginning of a trend. I do or say something foolish—”

“Or stubbornly dig your heels in,” she added, ever helpful.

“Or insist I'm right when I'm clearly in the wrong.” His smile deepened to a grin, and he brought one hand up, skimming her hair, her ear, her cheek. “Flowers are a great apology.”

They were a beautiful balm in so many ways, more so after her run-in with Stella. “They made me happy, Grant.”

“Well.” Warmth filled his gaze. Warmth and joy. “I'm glad, then.”

She stepped back as Caroline came toward the front of the cozy bridal store. “Of course, that doesn't mean I'm encouraging bad behavior.”

“That would be wrong.”

She laughed, and it felt good to laugh with a strong, solid, gentle man. “Yes, it would. Caroline, how are you doing?”

“I'm good, most days, but—” She held out her hands to Emily and frowned. “This arthritis, it is bad now, so bad.” She raised her shoulders in a shrug, but her expression indicated she couldn't really shrug this off. “I think the time is near when Caroline's Bridal will become Caroline's retirement. But that is not why you came today.” She motioned to the right. “I did as you asked and pulled some gowns, distinct styles from various manufacturers, but I'm going to make a suggestion.”

“I'm all ears.”

“Good!” She led them toward the bridal rooms. “Christa sent her measurements, her picture and her preferences, what she thinks she likes.” She turned to face Emily. “I think it would be good if you were to try on the dresses for her.”

“Me?” Emily squawked. “Oh, Caroline, I don't know.”

“Well you're here, it's not like I hire models and there's no way that Janet or I can squeeze into any gown Christa might like.”

“Well, I—”

Caroline faced her with a frank expression. “If I can give away the gown...”

Ugh. She was right; it shouldn't be a big deal. Emily had modeled before, lots of times in her pageant years. But this was beyond awkward. To try on wedding gowns, in front of Grant?

Her mouth went dry, a silly reaction she needed to get under control. This wasn't about her or her attraction to the handsome highway department supervisor. This was about a dress for a woman serving her country. “Of course I'll do it. It's a great idea, actually.”

She didn't look at Grant. She didn't have to. His quiet approval of the situation rang loud and clear when he patted her shoulder.

“Janet will help you in and out of the dresses—my fingers don't have the dexterity to do buttons and lace-up backs anymore. Let's get the first one on because Christa's feed should be coming through in about two minutes. You never know how long an overseas connection might last. When my Justin was deployed, those minutes went all too fast.”

“I bet they did.” Grant's empathy drew Caroline's smile as Emily entered one of the bridal dressing rooms.

No biggie.
She repeated the mantra as Janet zipped her into a simple, formal, strapless gown of cascading chiffon. She walked out of the bridal room, pretending to be casual.

Grant's mouth dropped open.

Emily considered that a win.

She arched a smile his way as she stepped onto the six-inch-high riser in front of a triple mirror just as Christa's voice came through the speaker. “Hey, guys. I'm here.”

“Christa.” Grant caught sight of her on the screen and looked so excited to see her. He grinned and waved, clearly delighted. “Hey, kid, I miss you!”

“Me, too. A lot,” she admitted. “I've got to talk to you, Grant. Tonight, okay? I'm on night duty, so I'll call after the kids are in bed.”

“Sure, we can go over everything.”

“Perfect.” Something in Christa's face said it wasn't perfect, but then Janet fussed with the camera shot to make sure Christa got the best angle on the gowns and the hint of concern disappeared. “This is so nice of you guys. Caroline, Emily, Janet.” Christa waved as she spotted them in her laptop screen. “Thank you!”

“You're welcome. Our pleasure,” Janet assured her in a too-loud voice, as if the laptop microphone might need help.

“All right, all right, I don't trust these connections, so you two talk while we change Emily in a minute. Christa, hello!” Caroline waved like a crazy woman, right at the camera. “Emily has agreed to try on the gowns, so this first one...” Emily turned, walked, turned and moved as Caroline explained the gown's style, flow and movement. She repeated this with the next six dresses. A fairy-tale-styled gown with gossamer puffed organza sleeves. A mermaid dress, in lace, figure-fitting and snug. Grant's eyes lit up when she walked out wearing that.