They’d chosen a spot half hidden from the rest of the inn behind a huge display of poinsettias built into the shape of a Christmas tree. There were lots of little nooks around the resort hotel since it had been built as an Adirondack great camp originally, and the main building maintained numerous porches and alcoves. Here they could look out a wide picture window down onto the lake where a few skaters still took advantage of the lights to spin around the ice.
Kiersten had been thrilled to see her, insisting they enjoy a drink by themselves before heading back to Yuletide. The bride-to-be glowed with happiness and good health even after her eight-hour shift in the spa. With no makeup and her blonde hair knotted in a messy bun, she resembled an advertisement for her facials, her skin pink-cheeked and flawless. She wore rose-colored scrubs from the spa and still managed to look as lovely as any woman in the place. Skiers, hotel guests and local visitors mingled in the nearby bar, the sounds a pleasant din in the background while Ella Fitzgerald crooned a seasonal tune over the sound system near them.
Gavin’s parting words chased around Rachel’s mind.
“I do have holiday spirit,” she grumbled mostly to herself before sipping carefully at the hot drink.
She’d recapped her ride over to the inn with Gavin Blake, while carefully not mentioning that he’d invited her to Kiersten and Luke’s bridal party welcome dinner tomorrow. She wasn’t sure she wanted Kiersten to know about that ahead of time in case the bride-to-be needed plausible deniability when the whole escapade backfired.
“Actually, you told me that you’re allergic to Christmas,” Kiersten reminded her helpfully as she sipped her own mystery green protein drink from an insulated silver travel mug. “Remember?”
Leave it to friends to call you on your every contradiction.
“I was generalizing. What I meant was that I’m allergic to all things related to Yuletide.” She used her cinnamon stick to swirl the drink. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on, by the way. This is delicious.”
“I know exactly what I’m missing out on.” Kiersten pointed at her with the straw built into her cup of healthful shake. “I gained eight pounds after I started working here because they serve free cookies at tea time. Everything they make is amazing.”
“Eight pounds?” Rachel shook her head. “You wear it well.”
“Hardly. I lost the weight I gained after I picked out my bridal dress.” She grinned happily, chewing on her straw. “It’s so pretty I started drinking these hideous weight-loss shakes just to be fabulous for the gown.”
“That’s a good endorsement for a gown.” Rachel hadn’t thought about her design work for at least a few hours today—longer than she’d probably gone in the last five years without thinking about it. “If my clothing designs could have inspired weight loss, just think how popular my work might have been.”
She didn’t have the drive or the financial backing to build her own design house the way she once dreamed. But she had an online store where she custom-designed clothes for a small client base.
“You just haven’t found your niche yet,” the bride-to-be assured her, upbeat and confident in Rachel as always. “It will happen. Have you ever considered wedding dresses?”
“Not my thing.” She liked the vibrant flow of colors around her, the energy they brought to design. “Too white.”
“How about bridesmaid dresses? There’s obviously a market for good apparel there since everyone jokes about how bad bridesmaid dresses are. And I had a hard time finding anything too.” She hesitated, her gaze turning wary. “I hate that you’re not in the wedding. I should have just insisted and informed my future mother-in-law that you were going to be in the bridal party.”
“Too much drama.” Rachel shuddered. “I’m glad you didn’t make a stand with her over something like that. Save your battles for important things. Future offspring, maybe.”
Kiersten frowned, sighing out her exasperation. “You’re my friend, though. And it’s my wedding day, not hers. I should have stood up for you.”
Rachel set down her mug on the cocktail table nearby, wondering if now maybe she should tell Kiersten about her plans to attend at least one of the pre-wedding festivities. Maybe it would be better to warn her.
“Actually, Gavin made the same sort of comment on the way over here—about how he wished he’d stood up for me eight years ago on that day I’d rather forget.”
“Really?” Kiersten set her shake down and leaned forward in her rocking chair, her messy bun listing to one side. “Do tell. Did he say it in a way that made you think he wished you’d repeat that kiss from eight years ago?”
“No!” That was the problem with close friends. They had way too much dirt on you. “Of course not. He was just saying he felt bad that I didn’t feel comfortable in Yuletide.” She shrugged, downplaying it. But then she realized that wouldn’t be useful when it came to warning Kiersten she might crash the welcome dinner. “Although. Erm…”
“Did he already kiss you?” Kiersten pressed, her overly romantic brain treading down all the wrong paths.
“No!” Her voice went a little crackly just thinking about it though. “I just wanted to warn you that he had an idea for making amends.” She should have just said no and let Kiersten have her party. “He thinks if he brings me to your welcome dinner—as his date—that he’ll somehow buff away the rough edges of my standing in town.”
For a moment, Kiersten said nothing. Rachel’s stomach dropped. But before she could rush a retraction, Kiersten’s face lit up.
“I think he’s right. Everyone adores Gavin. Even my future in-laws, and they don’t like anyone.” Kiersten reached for her drink again, sipping thoughtfully for a moment. “I’d like to tell Luke ahead of time. Just so—you know. He’s ready.”
“It’s going to be a big headache for him with his parents, isn’t it? And with your mother.” Rachel recalled Katie Garrett’s trembling pom-pom collar and jingling elf bells as she’d battled her indignation last night. “My God, Kiersten. Your mother warned me not to stir up trouble for you.”
“No.” Kiersten set her drink down so hard some sloshed up through the straw, not that she noticed. “This is long overdue. We’ve let the whole thing take on a life of its own. We need to reclaim you.”
Doubts niggled. “If Luke doesn’t want me there—”
“I want you there. And that will be enough for Luke.” Kiersten spoke with the absolute authority of a woman who is well loved by her groom-to-be.
Rachel just hoped she knew enough about the whole dicey Harris-Chambers relations to understand what she was talking about. But she sure wouldn’t gainsay the bride when she was feeling emphatic.
“Okay.” Rachel realized she had just committed herself to facing down a lot of demons. With Gavin Blake at her side. She couldn’t deny that last part made her feel a little fizzy inside, in a good way. “As long as you’re sure.”
“I’m positive. And the party is at my house, so you have to sneak upstairs with me at some point and tell me honestly what you think of the bridesmaid dresses.”