Forever in Good Hope Page 16

  “I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I’d moved away.” Lindsay’s tone turned pensive. “Though I admit I never did give it serious thought.”

  “Your mother probably would have tracked you down and dragged you back.” Fin spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. Everyone knew she was Anita’s favorite child.

  Lindsay’s lips quirked. “There’s no probably about it.”

  “I hear you and our hunky pastor are an item.” Prim’s hazel eyes sparkled. “He’s a real cutie.”

  “You’re dating Dan Marshall?” Fin couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice.

  This time it was Lindsay’s turn to go for nonchalant. “He asked me to be his date for Marigold’s wedding. We’ve been seeing each other since. Dan is a nice guy. We have a lot in common.”

  Something in the way Lindsay said the words reminded Fin of how she spoke of Xander. He’s a nice guy, she’d say, then add, we have a lot in common.

  There was no reason to expect to see a flush in Lindsay’s cheeks or hear an excited tremor in her voice. No reason to expect it at all. After all, practical trumped romantic any day.

  Ami waddled, er, sauntered, into the room.

  “I feel the need to sit for a few minutes and that lovely swing on the porch is calling my name.” Ami glanced at Lindsay. “Would you mind if I borrowed my sisters for a few minutes?”

  “Not at all.” Lindsay looked up from the bouquet she was still fussing over. “I’m good here.”

  “I can’t sit long.” Fin offered Ami an apologetic look when the three Bloom sisters settled themselves on the swing. “It’s my party—”

  “Which means you can do whatever you want.” As Ami adjusted her dress, Fin found her gaze drawn to her sister’s belly. She’d never paid much attention to pregnant women. In Hollywood, unless currently en vogue, pregnancy was often regarded as something to get over quickly with the goal of regaining the prebaby figure as soon as possible.

  Even in the soft twilight, Ami positively glowed. Her summer dress, the color of freshly mown grass, flattered her very-pregnant figure.

  Fin felt an odd tightening in her throat. “You look incredible.”

  “I feel like a beached whale.” Ami’s quick smile said she was loving every minute of her whale time.

  “I’m happy Ruby was able to get everything arranged so quickly.” Ami patted Fin’s arm. “My OB says the baby could come any day, and I’d have hated to miss this.”

  Prim’s eyes took on a faraway look. “I remember those last few weeks before the twins were born. Rory and I were so excited and yet scared, too. Everything in our lives was about to change.”

  “How’s Beck holding up?” Fin asked. They were all aware that Beck’s first wife had been seven months pregnant when she and their unborn baby had died in a car accident.

  “We’re both feeling confident.” If there was anything worrying Ami, it didn’t show. “We’ve been visualizing an easy delivery and a healthy baby.”

  Unexpected tears stung the backs of Fin’s eyes.

  “I could get used to this.” Jeremy’s voice, filled with good humor, sounded from the steps to the porch. “Coming home to three gorgeous women waiting for me on the porch.”

  Fin jumped up. “We were taking a break.”

  Before she could say more, he climbed the steps and crossed to press his mouth to hers in a sweet kiss. “None more gorgeous than you, Finley.”

  Though she thought Jeremy was laying it on a little thick, Fin couldn’t stop the rush of pleasure that swamped her. But was it really necessary to lean into him and rest her head against his shoulder?

  Ami rose to her feet with surprising ease. “Prim and I are going to take a short walk, then get back to work.”

  “Thanks for coming and helping. I—”

  “That’s what family does,” Prim interrupted him. “Marigold would be here, but she already had a full day of appointments.”

  Fin smiled. “I’m just happy her and Cade are able to come this evening.”

  “Well,” Ami looped her arm through Prim’s, “we’re off to walk.”

  “Just don’t walk so much the baby decides to make an appearance this afternoon,” Fin warned.

  Ami only laughed. “Your mouth, God’s ear.”

  Feeling more than a little off balance, Fin stepped inside with Jeremy and made a sweeping gesture with one hand. “What do you think?”

  His hand, warm and firm, remained on her shoulder as he surveyed the parlor. “It looks amazing. You always did have a talent for entertaining.”

  “If you’re talking about my father’s party a couple years back, my sisters did most of the work.”

  His eyes never left hers, and Fin found herself lost in the liquid blue depths. It was as if the world had suddenly shrunk in around them.

  “Actually.” He paused and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with one finger. “I was referring to the one you threw for your parents when you were seventeen. The one for their anniversary.”

  “Oh.” Recalling that night brought a tightness to Fin’s chest.

  “I remember that party. It was right before the car accident.” Lindsay, who’d been surveying the mantel, crossed over and moved a mason jar an inch to the right. “Your mother was going through chemo. You single-handedly pulled the event together.”

  “My sisters helped—” Fin began, but Lindsay interrupted.

  “You did it, Fin. Credit where credit is due.” Lindsay’s gray-blue eyes turned soft with the memory. “It was wonderful and meant so much to them.”

  “We all needed a boost.” Fin hadn’t been certain if a party was the answer to the family turmoil, but she hadn’t known how else to help.

  For the first time in her life, Steve and Sarah Bloom had been totally absorbed in their own struggles. Understandable, given the circumstances, but they’d always been her anchor. Ironic that she’d been cast adrift just when she’d needed them most.

  She hadn’t even had her sisters to lean on. Ami, always so solid, had taken their mother’s diagnosis extra hard and floundered. Prim and Marigold had been too young. Because of his tenuous home situation, even Jeremy had been distant.

  Fin had hoped being busy would keep her mind off what had happened in Milwaukee. That part of the plan had failed miserably.

  “Your mother and dad were so happy that night.” Lindsay slid the rustic mason jar filled with a formal flower arrangement of coral and white back to its original spot. “It seemed as if everything in the Bloom household was back to normal.”

  Normal hadn’t lasted. There had been Ami’s accident a couple of weeks later. Then Fin’s breakup with Jeremy . . .

  Fin took a breath to steady herself. When she looked up, she found Jeremy’s eyes on her.

  “You’ve always been strong.”

  “Spoken like a man in love.” Lindsay spoke before Fin could respond. Her eyes held a hint of envy. “But I agree. Fin handles whatever life tosses her way.”

  Out of necessity, Fin thought. Who would pick up the pieces, if not her?

  Jeremy glanced around the room. “What can I do to help?”

  “Everything is under control.” Fin was relieved to once again focus on the here and now. “The Muddy Boots catering staff should be showing up with the food any minute. The alcohol has been delivered, and the bartenders and servers should arrive around six.”

  “Sounds as if everything is under control.” His gaze searched hers, and what he found there must have reassured him, because he nodded. “I’ll go keep Grandma Ruby company.”

  “She’s not here,” Fin called to his retreating back.

  Jeremy spun around. “Where is she?”

  “Gladys took her out for a drive.” Fin smiled reassuringly. “She offered to stay and help, but I worried she might be too tired to enjoy the party.”

  “Ruby listens to Fin,” Lindsay told Jeremy. “I swear she already thinks of her as family.”

  “Yes, well.” Fin cleared her throat, mad
e a show of pulling out her phone and checking it, although the grandfather clock less than ten feet away could have given her the time. “I’m going to call Create Events. They’re doing the decorations for the party. I expected them thirty minutes ago.”

  “I’ll take care of that task.” Jeremy lifted a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “It’s my engagement party, too.”

  Fin hesitated only a second. “Thank you.”

  His eyes never left hers. “Anytime.”

  When he strode out of the room, Lindsay sighed. “He’s a great guy.”

  Yes, Fin concurred. Jeremy was wonderful.

  And, for the next few weeks, he was all hers.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Ed and Cheryl should be here.” Ruby’s voice held a hint of censure.

  Though his grandmother usually refrained from criticizing her son and daughter-in-law, it was obvious she’d expected them to come running when they heard about the engagement party.

  “They had the trip to Capri planned for months.” Jeremy was secretly relieved his parents hadn’t canceled their European vacation.

  “You’re their only child.” Ruby’s jaw set in a hard line. “You only get engaged once.”

  “Engagements are broken every day.” Jeremy kept his tone light.

  “Not if you’ve chosen the right person.” Ruby’s gaze shifted to Fin, who was currently on the dance floor with her father. “Delphinium and you are meant to be together for eternity.”

  The flowery words might have made Jeremy smile if they didn’t so closely match how he felt.

  His grandmother placed a hand on his arm. “The way you feel about her shows.”

  Jeremy stilled, hoping that wasn’t true. For now he was keeping his feelings for Fin on a need-to-know basis. And Fin didn’t need to know. Not yet. He wouldn’t scare her off by pushing too hard or fast.

  He gave his grandmother’s arm a squeeze. “I’m going to grab another dance with my fiancée before the band takes a break.”

  The band consisted of four talented musicians and their female lead singer. A popular local group for wedding receptions, they played everything from current hits to the big band sounds of the forties.

  Jeremy stepped onto the dance floor that had been set up in the back parlor and tapped Steve on the shoulder.

  Fin’s father turned and his smile dimmed. Jeremy understood. Steve wanted the best for all his daughters. The high school teacher obviously still worried that when the engagement ended, his daughter’s reputation would be sullied.

  Jeremy stood by his promise. He would do whatever it took to keep Fin from being hurt. But he knew to a protective father, those were only words.

  “May I cut in?” Jeremy held out his hand.

  “I believe that can be arranged.” Fin’s bright smile arrowed straight to his heart. She brushed a kiss against her father’s cheek. “Let’s do this again very soon.”

  “Count on it.” Steve shifted his gaze to Jeremy. “I’m entrusting my girl to your care.”

  Fin moved into his arms, her laugh breathless. “Dad can be a bit old-fashioned.”

  “You’re safe with me.”

  “But are you safe with me?” Fin’s eyes glittered like emeralds, and Jeremy wondered how much she’d had to drink. “That’s the question.”

  The band launched into “My Girl” by the Temptations. Instead of moving to the music, Fin stiffened in his arms.

  He gently stroked her back. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.” This time the bright smile she flashed didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Tell me.” Jeremy kept his tone low and soft, encouraging confidences.

  “This was my mom and dad’s song.” She kept her gaze on the band. “I can see them dancing to it.”

  He tugged her closer. “Sounds like a happy memory.”

  “A bittersweet one.” Fin rested her head against his shirtfront. “All I can think is she should be here now, dancing with Dad, surrounded by her children and friends.”

  “That would be nice.” From the second Sarah Bloom had handed him a cookie when he was five, Jeremy had fallen for her. She’d had Marigold’s bright blue eyes and Prim’s strawberry blonde hair. Ami had gotten her sweet temperament, while Fin’s strong will was classic Sarah.

  “You love my daughter.” Jeremy recalled how her bony fingers had gripped his hand one day when he’d stopped over. “Promise me you’ll take care of Fin. Make sure she’s happy.”

  Guilt, hot and swift, swept through Jeremy. At that time he and Fin hadn’t been a couple for years. But he’d made the promise, then forgotten about it. Fin had been in LA and, from all reports, was happy there.

  The lyrics of the song washed over Jeremy as they danced. I don’t need no money, fortune or fame . . .

  The songwriter nailed it. Nothing mattered without the one you loved by your side.

  Jeremy realized he wouldn’t give up. Couldn’t give up. He would fight for Fin, for them. Not because of a promise made to a dying mother. Or because his grandmother was convinced Rakes married their first loves.

  He would fight for Fin because she was the woman he loved. No one, especially not some Pompous Ass Hollywood director, could love her as much as he did.

  Fin might not realize she was engaged to the wrong man, but she would soon realize there was only one man for her.

  That man was Jeremy Rakes.

  “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” Fin slanted a sideways glance at Jeremy as they walked, fingers entwined, toward the bedroom.

  He paused when they reached the door and turned to face her. There had been so many people, so much activity, that it had been difficult to keep track of Fin.

  Each time his gaze had searched the room and settled on her, she’d been laughing or talking with someone different. Even though her entire family had been there, she’d seemed determined to make all the guests feel welcome.

  Her ability to make a person feel special had always been one of her many strengths.

  Without giving himself a chance to reconsider, Jeremy swept her into his arms. He began to dance with her, humming a tune he hadn’t been able to get out of his head.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” Fin asked, even as she swayed back and forth with him.

  Though the hall didn’t give them much room to move, it was enough. Especially since he held her extra close. “I would think it’d be obvious. We’re dancing.”

  He dipped her low and she laughed.

  “The tune is one we danced to earlier.” Jeremy’s heart swelled with emotion as he recalled the lyrics.

  “I like it.” Fin threaded her fingers through his hair. “And I like you, my temporary fiancé.”

  “Good to know.” Somehow he managed to keep his tone light, even as the words “they can’t take that away from me” ran through his head.

  As Fin continued to thread her fingers through his hair, the words changed to “they can’t take you away from me.”

  “The party was a blast. How could it not be?” She leaned back in his arms. “You and I have so many friends in common. It was like one big reunion.”

  Now that the house was empty save for Ruby, who’d gone up to bed a few minutes ago, Jeremy brought up the name of the man he’d avoided mentioning all evening. “Is it like that with you and Xander?”

  Confusion clouded her eyes. “What are you asking?”

  How things stood between her and Pompous Ass should be none of his business. “Do you have a lot of mutual friends?”

  He half expected her to toss off some answer that said nothing, or maybe make a joke. Instead, her brows drew together as if carefully considering the question. “I’d say most of the people we socialize with are his friends. A few have become mine. I don’t have that much in common with them.”

  Jeremy wasn’t certain if she was speaking about the friends or Xander. “What about the film industry? You have that in common.”

  “In a way.” The tiny little pucker remain
ed between her brows. “But the development company I work for is more on the fringes of the industry, while Xan and his friends are in the trenches.”

  A knot formed in Jeremy’s stomach. She had a pet name for the guy.

  Xan.

  Jeremy wasn’t sure what he planned to say next, because when she stroked his arm, it short-circuited his brain.

  Not only did she look terrific, she smelled unbelievable. The pleasant, citrusy scent, either perfume or shampoo, had caught his attention several times tonight when she’d stepped close.

  The party had been enjoyable, so much so that as he’d accepted congratulations, it had been easy to forget that their engagement was a sham. Jeremy wondered if it had been the same for Fin. If not, she was one heck of an actress.

  He forced his attention back to the conversation, to her remark about Xander and his friends. “What do your friends think about you two getting married?”

  “They don’t know. It happened so quickly.” She waved a vague hand. “I’m sure he’s waiting for me to return so we can tell them together.”

  “Will they be surprised?”

  “Some will be.” Fin spoke in an offhand tone that he guessed was anything but offhand.

  Jeremy suddenly recalled Marigold’s remark about Fin planning to break up with him. He was beginning to get a good picture of the state of Fin’s relationship with the Pompous Ass. “Answer a question for me.”

  Fin smiled. “Anything.”

  “Are we going to stand out in the hall all night?” He reached around her and flung open the door to their bedroom. “Or step inside and get comfortable?”

  Fin opened the bedroom door. The sight of the vase of daisies on the mantel brought a smile to her lips.

  The sitting room off Jeremy’s master suite had begun to feel like a sanctuary. It was a place where she could slip off her shoes and prop her feet up on the ottoman. A place where makeup and hair didn’t matter. Heck, where even clothes didn’t matter.

  Not that she would ever run around naked in Jeremy’s presence, but the cotton pajamas she’d borrowed from Ami would work just fine. “I’m going to—”