Saved by the Bride

chapter Ten

“Nicole said your meeting with the brides went well.”

Annika looked up from her sketch of the monogram she’d been toying with for Jessica’s wedding and smiled. When hunger had finally driven them from the air mattress, they’d enjoyed a meal together before Finn had been caught up on a work call. Annika had unpacked her pens and ink, lit citronella candles along the veranda and made herself comfortable on the glider swing. Now Finn stood before her holding two glasses of wine.

“Both brides were lovely. I’m still a bit stunned we’ve got two weddings booked and for me, it’s going to involve at least one day, possibly two, spent in Duluth sorting out the invitations.”

“Why?” He set the glasses down on a low table and sat down next to her, the swing moving gently under his weight.

“Jessica, one of the brides-to-be, wanted the print on her invitations to be raised so I need to use a—”

“Thermography machine.”

She blinked at him—twice—stunned that he knew exactly what she needed. “Yes, but how do you know that?”

He gave her a bemused look. “Annika, exactly what do you think AKP does?”

“Recycles paper.” At least that was what most of the correspondence she’d dealt with had been about.

“Recycling’s one part of the business and the new plant in Mexico’s been my focus while Sean’s been taking care of the packaging side. But AKP is all about paper.” His eyes lit up with a glow of pride. “All kinds of paper. We supply companies with everything from pulp to triple crown stock and I bet we make the paper you use for your invitations.”

She immediately thought of the quality paper used for Bridey’s engagement party invitation. “And that’s how you know about thermography.”

“Yep. My grandfather and Sean insisted we spend time working in all areas of the company. I started off in the boutique paper area and I’ve used a thermography machine.”

Finn was full of surprises. “So you know how fiddly it is. I have to quickly calligraphy one invitation at a time in sticky ink, immediately apply the gold powder and then run it through the machine. That’s why it’s going to take two long days. Longer if the humidity is high.”

“I need you here.”

The softly spoken words made her stomach flip but when she looked at him she could only see the astute businessman. “I can go up on the weekend.”

“What if you rented the machine from AKP? We can write that into the contract and you can set up a studio in the warehouse rent-free.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’d do that?”

He shrugged. “I told Nicole I’d support Weddings That WOW with some office equipment and this is all part of that.”

Of course it was. This wasn’t personal at all—just business, and she’d do well to remember to keep the two very separate. She pulled up the inexperienced businesswoman within and started haggling. “I’ll need fans for the temperature control.”

“Okay. That won’t pull much power.” He pulled out his phone and started typing a text message. “I can have the machine here in the morning. But we need to have a schedule.” He hit Send and turned to her—the quintessential businessman on an organizational roll. “I need you in the office every morning and you can do your studio work in the afternoons. We’ll leave the truck at the Whitetail dock and you use the boat to travel back and forth because it’s a lot quicker, especially if I need you back here urgently for something.”

“Like transposing conference calls?”

But her teasing reference to his made-up call earlier in the day didn’t elicit a smile or even a delicious twinkle in those dark and enigmatic eyes. With a jolt she realized he was serious. Of course he was—he was talking about business.

His phone beeped with a return message. “By the way, your new phone’s arriving in the morning and your first job is to synchronize our electronic diaries. I need to be able to contact you as necessary and you need to have the phone with you and turned on at all times.”

A ripple of irritation shot through her. “Is that in the contract?”

“Damn straight.”

She crossed her arms and tried not to raise her voice. “So I can’t ever turn my phone off.”

“It can be off when mine’s off.” For the first time in the conversation, he smiled and treacherously divine dimples carved into his cheeks.

She tried to ignore the sweep of heat that whooshed to her toes at his smile. “Oh, right, so that’s never.”

His eyes burned bright with the same spark of need she knew lit her own. Holding her gaze, he pressed the off button on his phone and slowly laid it down on the side table.

She watched mesmerized. She’d never known an everyday action to be so erotic. His arms reached for her at the same moment she moved into his lap. Yet again, they didn’t make it to the bed.

* * *

Bridey had three yellow legal pads on the kitchen table, along with copies of almost every wedding magazine that had been published this month and her laptop was open displaying photographs of wedding cakes. Every day for two weeks she’d been compiling lists upon lists for the wedding and sending Hank emails filled with pictures.

Her father strolled in and gave her shoulder a squeeze as he glanced at the organized piles. “Ah, wedding planning. Having fun, Baby-girl?”

She leaned into her father’s hand and rubbed her temples. “There are so many decisions to make and get right. Which cake do you prefer?” She pointed to a more traditional nine-tier cake with a matching cascade of sugar-flower roses and calla lilies that wound around the tiers. The only color was the yellow stamen of the lilies which gleamed gold against the elegant ivory. The other cake could have been mistaken for a basket filled with a mass of spring flowers.

“Honey, it’s your wedding so it’s up to you. Choose whatever makes you happy and I’ll be there to give you away and to pay the bill.”

“Yes, but do you have an opinion?”

“As long as they both taste like cake, that’s enough for me.” He kissed the top of her head and walked into the kitchen.

She tried not to sigh. She should have known better than to ask her father. Although he’d been married three times the weddings had always been arranged by the brides or, in the case of his marriage to her mother, hastily organized by the bride’s parents. Finn had been born seven months later.

Her wedding to Hank and their marriage was going to be very different, starting with Hank being involved in every step of the wedding planning. That had been part of her plan for this vacation. But Hank was in Chicago and had been for almost two weeks and she was here. He wasn’t responding to her emails about wedding venues or cakes or boutonnieres. When she tried to talk to him about it on the phone he usually sounded so tired that she hadn’t pushed him for any opinions, but she was starting to get anxious about it. She wanted his input. She didn’t want to make any mistakes in the planning because everything had to be perfect. If the wedding was perfect then their marriage would be perfect. But so far the planning of the wedding wasn’t going to plan.

Snapping down the lid of her laptop, she also snapped down her disappointment.

So organize the other part of the plan.

Bridey was her father’s “Baby-girl,” no matter that she was twenty-nine, and her father usually gave her what she wanted—within reason. He’d always been generous with gifts for both her and Finn, although she suspected they came with some of his guilt attached. Growing up, Finn had hated the gifts and had returned many. Bridey had always loved pretty things and felt no compunction in accepting them. As a result, her relationship with her father had fared better than Finn’s. In the last couple of years, she’d taken to inviting Sean to her guest speaker gigs at local colleges and most times he’d attended and had then taken her out for dinner afterward. Had she ever been asked the question, she’d probably say that right now their relationship was the closest it had ever been.

“Daddy.”

“Yes.” Sean poured himself a glass of iced water from the dispenser in the door of the fridge.

“Do you remember the zip line?”

He smiled. “You used to scream like a banshee every time you rode it and then you’d swim back to shore and do it all over again.”

“I was thinking maybe Logan might get a kick out of something like that.”

Sean sipped his water and Bridey held her breath while silently willing him with a chant of please, please, please.

He put the glass down. “That’s not a bad idea, B.”

Yes! Bridey pulled a brochure out of the back of her diary that she’d carefully placed there a month ago. “Here’s the number of a company that installs them. When you call, ask for Jeff.”

Sean rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “Actually, Bridey, I don’t need the number. The zip line is just the sort of project I’ve been looking for.”

Bridey started. “You’re going to build it?”

He laughed at her surprise. “Honey, I did engineering at college.”

The loud whirring noise of the helicopter cut off her reply. “Do you and Dana have guests for the weekend?”

“Not that I know about.”

Dana came in from the garden, her brows drawn down. “Sean, have you forgotten to tell me something?”

Sean smiled at his wife before kissing her on the cheek. “I’m in the clear this time. Besides, I promised you this summer is about us, not work.”

Dana touched Sean’s cheek and exchanged a smile with him that made Bridey feel like an outsider. She loved that her father was happy and unlike Sean’s second wife, she really liked Dana a lot, but a tiny part of her still ached for the family she’d lost when her parents had separated. She knew it was silly because Dana was a much better fit for Sean than Kathleen had ever been, but it was moments like this that made Bridey feel she didn’t have a family as such, more a collections of parts. Parts that never came together to form a whole unit.

She quickly gathered her stuff and stacked it on a side table.

Dana turned away from Sean and spoke to Bridey. “Oh, have you made your cake decision already? I thought we might have coffee and a browse together.”

Bridey appreciated Dana’s interest but the thought of more wedding talk combined with the possibility of Kathleen finding out, suddenly intensified her headache and the one person she needed to be interested in the wedding wasn’t returning her emails and texts. “I need some fresh air. I think I’ll go for a swim before spending some time with Mom.”

“Another time then. Esther’s doing a potluck supper tonight and I thought we could serve ourselves from seven. Kathleen’s very welcome.”

Her father sighed. “You know she won’t come.”

Dana’s chin tilted up sharply. “I know no such thing. Bridey, it would be great if you could encourage her to come. I’ve texted Finn but I haven’t heard back.”

“I think my son might be otherwise occupied.”

Bridey heard her father’s tone and did a double take. “What has he said?”

“To me? Nothing at all. This is Finn we’re talking about. I’m just saying he’s a man sharing a two-roomed cabin with a leggy blonde. He’d have to be made of stone not to be somewhat occupied.”

“But he didn’t want Annika at the cabin. In fact he tried to get Mom to— Oh.” Bridey smiled as realization dawned. Finn always kept his private life very, very private and she might have just stumbled onto a bargaining chip to get her brother to start attending some family gatherings. “Dana, I’m pretty sure Finn will be there tonight and I’ll do my best to bring Kathleen.”

She let herself out, enjoying the feel of the soft, warm grass tickling her bare feet as she walked down toward the beach. Her father’s words kept turning over in her mind and she decided she might just kayak over to the island as she did from time to time. Of course while she was there, she’d have to call into the cabin and say hello, because not to do so would be plain rude.

Lost in her scheming, she didn’t hear anything other than her own thoughts so when a pair of arms covered in blond hair grabbed her around the waist and swung her up and off the ground, she screamed. It took less than five seconds for her to recognize the strong hands with their neatly trimmed nails and for her brain to decode the familiar earthy scent tinged with a slight tang of oil.

She squealed with sheer joy. “Hank.”

Holding her tightly, he let her feet touch the ground and then he spun her around in his arms, never losing contact. Behind his dark-rimmed glasses he looked bone-tired, but his honey-brown eyes smiled down at her. “Bridey.”

His lips brushed hers lightly, making her body sing, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to feel his strength against her skin. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

His fingers gently rubbed her neck. “I hitched a ride on the helicopter along with some gear for Finn.”

She gave a tiny jump of delight and kissed him hard before catching his hand and pulling him toward the tree house. “Our vacation starts now and we’re starting it horizontal.”

He laughed and tugged her back toward him, while at the same time glancing around the wide expanse of grass as if he was looking for someone. “Where is everybody?”

“Around. Out. I don’t know. Does it matter?” She’d missed him so much and all she wanted to do was strip him bare, touch him all over, hold him and make wild and unrestrained love. Right now. She counter-tugged but Hank had stopped walking, his feet wide apart and firmly planted on the grass.

“We’re not having sex in the tree house during daylight hours and risking scarring Logan for life.” He slid his palms against her cheeks and traced the jet lines of her brow with his thumbs. “Before we do anything, I should go meet your parents.”

She shook her head, not wanting to share him with anyone. “Later.”

He matched her head shake with one of his own. “No, now. I’m a guest in their house.”

Her frustration built. She hadn’t seen him in two weeks and their phone calls had been short, and now his unfamiliar air of distraction had her on edge. “You’re not a guest. You’re not an employee. You’re my fiancé.”

A muscle in his cheek twitched and an intransigent look entered his eyes. “Actually, I’m all three.”

“Hank, please.” They had this argument every time he arrived at the lake or her father’s house in Chicago. Usually, she kissed him until he smiled, but today unease scuttled through her, underlining the fact she’d proposed to him. She’d driven the marriage carriage right up to his door. “You’re marrying me, not my father.”

“That doesn’t negate common courtesy, Bridey. I should make my presence known to them seeing as I’m here for the weekend.”

Her loop-the-loop of excitement violently crash-landed into a landfill of disappointment. “Just the weekend?” She couldn’t stop the moan in her voice. “No, it has to be longer. For once I’ve got the whole family together and you’re supposed to be here with me too. We’ve got wedding decisions to make, like the venue.” Her voice rose as the long to-do list scrolled in her head. “And Monday is the cutoff date for the Newberry Library, which I love but it’s probably going to be too small. The InterContinental is tempting but Mom’s pushing for the Museum of Contemporary Art and—”

He kissed her quickly on the mouth and then said in his calm and quiet way, “It’s all going to be fine. We’ve got an entire weekend.”

Breathing deeply, she absorbed the serenity he always gave her and laid her head on his shoulder. “So we’ve got until Monday morning.”

He pressed his lips to her hair. “Sunday afternoon.”

She jerked back so fast she wrenched her neck and the pain intensified the moment she saw his resigned yet determined expression.

“Bridey, I was lucky to even get this weekend. The testing on the new number four went well but full production starts Monday. I have to be there at 7:00 a.m.” He kissed her on her eyebrow. “Don’t let that spoil the time we’ve got.”

He wrapped his arms around her again and his eyes darkened to burnished amber. “Come nightfall, when you and I are alone in the guest cottage, I promise I’ll make it up to you not only in the best way I know how, but how you like it best.”

Guest cottage. She almost sobbed. “Mom’s in the cottage.”

Hank paled. “And your room’s between your parents’ and your little brother’s.” He swung away from her. “Bridey, not only do I have to work with your brother and your father, I have to face them at breakfast.”

That was code for “you’re noisy” and “I’m not sleeping with you in a bedroom surrounded by your family.” Her plans for the perfect summer took another hit.

She heard the distinctive throb of the motorboat and saw Annika throw the rope toward the bollard and miss as Finn maneuvered the vessel parallel to the dock. She also saw his gaze on Annika’s behind as she fished the rope out of the water, and the smile he gave her when she finally got the rope in place.

Her big brother who hated vacationing at the lake had got lucky. Damn it, she was engaged and if anyone should be guaranteed to get lucky it was her. The moment Logan was safely tucked up in bed she and Hank had a date in the tree house.

* * *

Finn gripped the longneck bottle of beer and wondered if a Friday night could possibly go any slower. His plans for the evening had involved him and Annika in the spa bath with champagne and watching the sunset before moving into his bed to do more than just sleep. He couldn’t quite believe that for three nights they’d only slept in his bed. They’d had sex on the air mattress, outside on the veranda, on a rug in the woods with the fresh scent of pine around them, and this morning, somewhere between coffee and toast, they’d had sex against the kitchen counter. But in bed they’d only talked and spooned. He wasn’t used to having a woman in his bed all night but surprisingly, he’d slept and slept well.

But his bed plans had been stymied the moment Bridey had met them on the dock. While he’d been pulling up the outboard, Annika hadn’t waited for him to help her out of the boat and she’d tripped and sprawled front-first onto the dock. Hank had helped her to her feet and Bridey had issued the dinner invitation on the spot. Annika, being Annika, had accepted immediately. That left Finn with the choice of spending time alone at the cabin, time with his mother who’d furiously declined the dinner invitation and had insisted on being “left alone to heal,” or time with the rest of his family. He’d chosen dinner as the lesser of the evils.

His father wandered over with a beer in one hand and a fistful of peanuts in the other. “I’m guessing Hank’s presence here tonight means things are under control with number four?”

“They’re improving. Monday will be the real test.”

“Everything else going smoothly?”

“Yes.” He studied his father’s summer-tanned face but couldn’t read it. “Do you want me to email you a full report before Monday?”

“No, thanks.” Sean took a pull on his beer. “Smooth is good. It means you can work summer hours.”

He heard Annika’s laughter from across the terrace and thought about all the many and varied ways they could while away Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. “This weekend anyway. I’m not holding my breath about next week.”

Sean gave an understanding nod. “Seeing as you have time this weekend, how about you help me build a zip line?”

His response to the unexpected question was instant and automatic. “I don’t think so, Dad.”

If Sean had anticipated his refusal, he didn’t show it. “Hank’s offered.”

This didn’t surprise Finn in the least. “Of course he’s offered. It’s the sort of thing future sons-in-law do.”

Sean shrugged but the rolling motion said he didn’t agree. “Bridey thought Logan would enjoy the zip line as much as the two of you did when you were kids.”

“I’m sure he will.” It didn’t mean he had to be part of the build. Memories crowded him and he took a long pull of his beer. “It’s a shame Grandpa isn’t around to give you construction tips.” He started to move away but Sean’s reply stalled him.

“You might surprise yourself and enjoy it.”

“And pigs might fly.”

He made a beeline for Annika, but was thwarted by Hank, who wanted to update him on work, and then Esther rang a small dinner bell, asking everyone to be seated. Before he could reach Annika, Hank was pulling out a seat for her and Logan had snuck onto the chair next to hers. Bridey grabbed his arm so he missed rounding the table before Hank sat down on the other side of Annika.

Finn seated his sister and took the chair opposite Annika, as Dana sat next to him and Sean seated himself at the head of the table. Esther quietly removed the extra place setting that had been laid out for Kathleen and returned to the kitchen. At least one thing had gone his way this evening. He could be polite for an hour and survive the meal. Had Kathleen come, things would have been very different. Her presence and tart response to questions was the one thing that might have had him feeling almost sorry for his father.

Platters of food were passed up and down the long table as the family-style meal commenced, and for a minute or two all that could be heard was the scrape of serving spoons against china, and the murmured requests to pass particular dishes. The fish cakes were the most popular followed by the potato-and-cheese bake. Dana picked up her fork. “Did anyone see how enormous the moon was last night?”

“It’s a blue moon.” Annika broke open a crusty dinner roll and spread it with butter.

“No it’s not. It’s white,” Logan corrected her with eight-year-old logic.

Most of the adults laughed but not Annika. Instead she met Logan’s serious gaze and proceeded to explain—in terms a young boy could understand—about moon cycles and why it was called a blue moon.

Hank, who was usually quiet at family gatherings, said, “My dad used to take us camping on a full moon. It was like trying to sleep with the light on.”

Logan’s head swung around to Hank. “Awesome. I’d love to sleep in a tent.”

Hank glanced up at Dana and Sean, his expression slightly cautious but mostly obliging and respectful. “Maybe we could if it was okay with your parents.”

Bridey stiffened in her chair. “We don’t have a tent, Hank.”

Annika leaned slightly in front of Logan and spoke directly to Hank. “I’ve got an air mattress and a sleeping bag. It’s a glorious night and if you can rustle up another bag, you guys could camp out on the island. I used to camp out with my brother.”

Finn shot her a look he hoped said, “What in the hell are you doing?” but if Annika saw it she chose to ignore it.

Sean took a second serving of the creamy potato bake. “We’ve got plenty of sleeping mats and bags in the storeroom.”

Logan’s face was a wreath of smiles. “Can I, Mom? Can I camp out with Hank on the island?”

A hint of a frown hovered on Dana’s forehead as her gaze moved between Hank and Bridey. “Are you sure you want to do this on your weekend, Hank?”

“Sure.” He nodded and a lock of blond hair fell over the rim of his glasses. “I’ve had my nose in a temperamental machine for two weeks so it’ll be great to spend a night out in the fresh air.” He put his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “What do you think, buddy? Do you want to sleep under the stars?”

Logan let out a whoop of delight.

Bridey choked on a mouthful of chicken and Finn hit her firmly on the back. “You okay, sis?”

Nodding, she gulped down some water as Hank’s hand reached across the table and covered hers. “Coming with us, Bridey? It’ll be fun.”

Finn saw the tight edges of his sister’s smile and he knew that Hank was in serious trouble for planning a campout on his first night back. If this camping expedition was taking place on the island then he’d make sure it was as far away from the cabin as possible so as not to disturb him and Annika. “Hank, there’s a pretty beach on the north side which would be perfect for a small fire and toasting s’mores.”

Bridey tapped the base of her wineglass with her finger as if she was tapping out a code for those who could decipher it. “It sounds like something out of the Boy Scout handbook. Seeing as us girls are lacking the right equipment, we’ll stay here and do girl stuff while all the boys go. Dad and Finn, you need to join in too.”

Traitor! Finn couldn’t believe that in her frustration with Hank, Bridey was taking him down with her. None of them was going to get any sex tonight. He immediately weighed in with, “I don’t think that’s—” but his words were drowned out by those of his father, Dana and Annika who readily agreed with the plan.

All eyes turned to him, including Annika’s penetrating blue-blue gaze that saw more than he thought he’d ever exposed. Normally, nothing would induce him to spend time with his father and little brother, let alone a night camping out. Normally, he’d push back his chair, throw down his napkin and say, “No way,” but if he did that now it would leave him dealing with Annika. An Annika asking hard questions and he knew she wouldn’t be distracted by anything. Not even sex. He was not having that sort of conversation with her.

He swallowed a sigh. If he had to spend a night with Sean and Logan then at least he had Hank as a buffer. “I’ll bring the marshmallows.”