Chapter Sixteen

“Hold. The. Phone. And bring in the smelling salts! Is that her?”

“Titi Clarita! Nobody’s uses—” Meredith peered out the guest cottage window to see what her aunt was goggling at and she felt faint herself. There she was: Olivia. Gliding almost seemingly on air across the lawn in a long, flowing sundress that reached down to her narrow ankles. The sheer dress had short, ruffled sleeves made of some gauzy fabric, and it sheathed an inner slip dress with spaghetti straps. She was tall and lithe, with auburn-colored hair cascading down her back beneath a straw sun hat with a pink ribbon around its brim.

In other words, she was a vision of loveliness in a sun-kissed palette of pastels.

Meredith’s stomach sank.

She did not look—at all—like a park ranger, or a whole lot like that DMV pic, either.

Olivia reached for Grandmother Margaret with outstretched arms. Grandpa Chad stepped up for his hug next, and their happy chatter tumbled down the hill.

This is worse than I thought! Meredith sucked in a breath. No. Better. Better for Derrick. Olivia was a dream come true.

“You didn’t say she was gorgeous,” Clarita said, standing beside her.

Meredith swallowed hard. “That’s because I didn’t know.”

“Can you imagine their babies?” Clarita gasped. “Model material, all.”

But Meredith didn’t care to imagine those babies. She thought of Derrick’s cradle, and the love he’d put into it. Someday, he might build one to keep. For a child of his own. Meredith’s stomach soured and she clutched it.

Clarita scanned her eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“My stomach’s just a little off. Probably nerves.”

“But you’ve made plenty of matches before! Unless”—Clarita folded her arms in front of her—“you’re having second thoughts about this whole deal.”

“No, I’m not.” Meredith squared her shoulders, which she couldn’t help but think made her feel like a linebacker in comparison to waif-like Olivia. The woman was completely devoid of hips. “It’s just opening day jitters.”

“I would have thought you’d have had those when you showed up at Derrick’s?”

“That was different. I’d planned out what I was going to say.”

“Don’t you have a plan now?”

“Yeah, but it’s not all down to me. So much depends on Derrick and…her.” She opened the refrigerator door, locating a bottle of sparkling water. She poured herself a glass, hoping it would soothe her queasy stomach. “Want some?”

“No, thank you. I hear we’re having cocktails at the main house.”

Meredith peeked out the window again to see Sofia and William had joined the group. Sofia passed baby Julia to Olivia and Olivia held her naturally, not in the stiff, uncomfortable manner Meredith might have expected from someone so…coiffed. “I wonder where Derrick is?”

“I was just about to ask you,” Clarita said.

“Oh wait,” Meredith said, standing up on her tiptoes for a better view. “Here he comes!”

…

Derrick felt like someone had shoved a big ball of cotton into his mouth and his throat went sandpaper dry. It was really her—Olivia—in all her stunning beauty. She passed Julia back to Sofia and grinned, fine lines forming at the corners of her pretty green eyes. Her features had matured in a manner that suited her. Her skin took on a light golden hue, a testament to time spent working outdoors.

“There you are.” Her smile glistened. “Your grandpa said you were hiding in the house.”

“Olivia, hey!” He cleared his throat because that came out scratchy. “Long time—”

“No see!” she replied, wrapping her slender arms around him. She tugged him into an embrace, her grasp strong and steady. She was not the willowy flower she’d once been. This Olivia worked out and had the lean strength to prove it.

Derrick caught the others’ eyes on them, although they were clearly pretending not to look.

“Refreshments back in the house,” Grandmother Margaret declared, heading that way.

“Yes, we’ll see you there,” Grandpa Chad said.

Sofia held Julia and she and William followed along. “So glad that you’re here,” Sofia whispered to Olivia when she passed by her.

Derrick pulled out of her embrace, but she clung to the tops of his arms.

“Derrick Albright,” she said. “I can hardly believe it’s you. It’s been years.”

“Ten, to be exact.”

“That would be ten this August,” she corrected. She playfully rolled her eyes. “Not that I’m counting.”

“Me, neither.” Derrick noted that the others had gone inside. But where was Meredith? She’d left to retrieve her aunt from the guesthouse fifteen minutes ago. He cast a quick glance toward the rose garden and the path that lay beyond it. When he didn’t see her, he forced his gaze back on Olivia.

She watched him in a peculiar way, like she was trying to guess what he was thinking.

He stared at her, at a loss for words. Then Meredith’s advice came back to him. “Well, this is awkward.” He forced a laugh.

Olivia squeezed his biceps harder. “Not as much as it should be, though, right?” She finally let him go with two solid pats on his arms. “You’re looking good, Derrick,” she said, tilting her chin. “Time’s been good to you.”

He swallowed hard. “Same.”

“Hi there! You must be Olivia!” Meredith emerged from beside a blooming bed of dark red roses with her Titi Clarita beside her.

Olivia beheld her curiously.

She held out her hand and Olivia shook it. “Meredith Galanes. Nice to meet you. This is my aunt, Clarita Rincón.”

Clarita shook hands with Olivia, too, who said, “Great to meet you both.”

“Meredith is an old friend of mine,” Derrick explained.

“Not that old,” Meredith inserted. “Just a year!”

“That’s right. I…she…we…” Derrick verbally stumbled. “Met at my brother’s wedding last June.”

“That would have been Brent’s?” Olivia questioned.

Meredith nodded. “That’s right. I was the maid of honor.”

“The best friend of the bride.” Clarita frowned. “Sort of.”

Olivia shot Clarita a puzzled look and Derrick stepped in. “Anyway, that’s how we met and then Meredith came up this summer to—”

“Enroll in the boat school!” Meredith ad-libbed.

Clarita and Derrick gaped at her.

He scratched his head. “That’s right. Of course. The only thing was, Meredith didn’t realize it would be closed these two weeks.”

“Your pre-summer break?” Olivia surmised.

Derrick nodded. “Yeah.”

“And so.” Meredith heaved a breath. “He asked me to stay.”

“Not stay, stay,” Derrick said.

“On the pull-out,” Meredith added. “We’re honestly just friends.”

Olivia appeared as if she was about to get whiplash staring back and forth between the two of them. “I…see.” She surveyed Clarita. “So did you come up for the boat school, too?”

“No. Only the captains.” Meredith elbowed her, then she said, “And! To keep my niece company. Such a shame she got her enrollment date mixed up.” Her frown became a grin. “But then, look at this happy outcome! The two of us got asked to the party.”

“Oh ah, yes,” Olivia said. “I was so happy to get invited, too.”

“Meredith is a matchmaker,” Clarita proudly informed Olivia.

Olivia perked up. “Is that right? What fun! Do you have a business or a blog or—”

“A television show,” Derrick supplied. “In Boston.”

“Sweet!” Olivia smiled. “Match up any celebrity couples?”

“Er, not yet,” Meredith answered. Derrick guessed that could happen in the future, once she hit it big.

“Maybe we should go in the house?” Clarita said. “I hear they’re serving cocktails.”

A stiff drink sounded like a good idea to Derrick right about now. Meredith enrolled in boat school? Seriously? Luckily, Olivia didn’t seem to think too much about that. All her attention was on him. She glanced at him and her green eyes sparkled.

“Still drinking Old Fashioneds?” Olivia nudged him as they walked along and the back of his neck warmed. She was probably being friendly, not flirty. But then her eyes danced, and he wasn’t sure.

“I take my Bourbon straight-up now,” he told her. “On the rocks.”

“That sounds like a grown-up drink.”

“It is.” Derrick paused to hold open the back door from the wraparound porch that led into the den. Olivia entered ahead of him with Clarita, then Meredith following.

“Seems to be going good,” Meredith said in hushed tones. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

And he would, too. If Derrick could only figure out what that was. He felt like he was just muddling along, fumbling his way through this. Although Olivia did seem pleased to see him. He was sure he’d be just as pleased once the awkwardness wore off. She still seemed like the same Olivia. Only better, or at least he hoped.

Grandpa Chad called Clarita and Meredith into the library, wanting to show them something. Clarita had asked about reading Maritime ghost stories and he’d assembled a collection of tomes from his shelves.

“I found one for you, too,” Derrick heard his grandpa say, clearly speaking to Meredith. “Match Made in Heaven. It’s a volume about historical romances that were all professionally arranged. I thought you might enjoy it.”

Their chatter faded as Olivia caught his attention. “Is she always like that?”

“Who?”

“Your friend, Meredith? So…on edge?”

“Well, no.” He sank his hands into his pockets. “Maybe just a little nervous about meeting you somehow.”

“Me?” Olivia tipped up her chin with the look of utmost innocence. At one time he’d been entranced by the color of her eyes. He’d even written poetry about them—embarrassingly horrible poetry back in college—though he’d never let Mer know that after going to great lengths to assure her he wasn’t a romantic guy. Which he wasn’t. Anymore. Olivia still had pretty eyes, though. He wasn’t sure if they were entrancing, but he’d probably believe that again given time.

“She, um, knows we have a past,” he explained.

“It was a marriage, Derrick.”

“Yeah, that.” His shoulders sagged. “Mer worried it—”

“Mer?” she asked, stopping him.

He laughed. “Yeah. It’s just what I call her.”

“How charming.”

“Not…not really. It’s all on friendly terms.”

“So you and she have said.” Olivia viewed him oddly. “It’s okay if you and Meredith are involved. I mean, it would be natural and wouldn’t surprise me.”

“We aren’t.”

She lifted an eyebrow.

“Are you involved? With someone?”

Color dusted her cheeks. “What?”

“I mean, I’d like to talk—later,” he said awkwardly, because this was awkward. No doubt about it. One hundred percent. “I mean if you would?”

“Oh. Um, sure,” she said, looking kind of uncertain about it.

“Who’d like white wine?” Grandmother Margaret asked, stepping from the kitchen. She held two chilled goblets in her hands. “We have other choices in the kitchen. Derrick,” she said, “help yourself to something from the bar.”

The woman didn’t miss a thing. A stiff drink was exactly what he needed. “Thanks, Grandmother.” He nodded and headed across the room, while Olivia accepted one of the wineglasses.

“This is such a pretty place,” Olivia said, glancing around. “And the view is just as gorgeous as I remember.”

Derrick turned a fraction of a second sooner than she suspected, catching Olivia’s eyes on him. She pivoted toward the window, pointing to a sailboat on the waves. “So lovely! It never ceases to amaze me.”

Grandmother Margaret shot a look at Derrick and then at her. “Yes.” She took a sip of wine, joining Olivia near the window. “It’s delightful having you back in the house.”

“I was really touched when Sofia called.”

“She’s missed your friendship quite badly,” Margaret whispered just as William entered the den.

“Sofia’s laying Julia down upstairs,” he said. “She’s just finished with her bath.”

“Did you leave the bedroom window open so we can keep an ear out from the porch?” Margaret asked him.

“Yeah, but I also have this.” He patted the walkie-talkie type contraption strapped to his belt that Derrick recognized as a baby monitor.

He studied Derrick’s drink and the wineglasses in the women’s hands. “I think I’ll pour myself a glass of red and grab some sparkling water for Sofia.”

Margaret turned to Olivia. “How about we head on outside and you can tell everyone what you’ve been up to?” She glanced around the room. “Derrick, can you help Meredith and Clarita to some drinks and let them know where we are? There are more glasses in the kitchen.”

…

Grandpa Chad stacked another book on the load in Clarita’s arms. They sagged under the weight.

“I’m sure that’s probably enough,” Meredith said, holding her one little book.

“Ah yes!” Clarita agreed. “Plenty of spooky stories to keep me up at night, thanks.”

Chad ducked behind the doorway and out of view from the den. “So how do you think it’s going?” he asked quietly. “Between my grandson and Olivia?”

“Well, uh.” Meredith licked her lips. “She’s only just gotten here.”

“And looks very lovely,” Clarita put in.

“She always was a looker, that Olivia,” Grandpa Chad said. “She had a kindness about her, too.”

“Oh, really?” Meredith knew she should feel pleased and not disappointed by this, but she wasn’t. Not completely.

“Heart of gold.” Chad motioned Meredith and Clarita closer. “Used to foster rescue kittens. Adult cats, too. Puppies and dogs. I believe rabbits, at one point, she told us.”

“Rabbits?”

Grandpa Chad nodded. “Olivia’s like a regular…who’s-it? The woman who talked to the animals?”

“Doolittle?” Clarita asked. “No, he was a doctor, a man.”

“Not Doolittle.” Chad shook his head. “The one who lived in the woods with all the dwarves?”

“Snow White?” Meredith asked weakly. What? Now I’m competing with Disney Princesses? No. Not competing! Where was her head?

“Oh! Well, that’s…awesome,” Meredith said, regrouping. “And great information to have. Thanks so much for sharing it, Chad.”

The older man nodded. “There was not one thing wrong with that girl besides her age and immaturity. Derrick had those problems, too. Now that they’re past them…” He smiled. “There could be a happier ending in store.”

“Could be!” Meredith agreed.

“He’s a very eligible bachelor, your grandson,” Clarita said. “It’s amazing he wasn’t snatched up earlier.”

Chad confided behind the back of his hand. “Oh, there’ve been plenty of single ladies trying, believe me. But the lad’s heart wasn’t in it. Now we all know why.”

Derrick appeared in the doorway to the library. “Grandmother Margaret wanted me to find you and let you know we’ve moved onto the porch. Can I get you ladies a drink?”

“I’d love a glass of wine,” Meredith said. “Red, please.”

“I’ll take the same.” Clarita nodded, her arms heavy with books. Grandpa Chad relieved her of them.

“Here, dear, let me take these for you and set them on a side table in the den. That way you’ll remember to take them to the carriage house later.” Clarita thanked him, tittering on about which book she’d read first, and followed Chad out of the library.

Then it was just Derrick and Meredith. “Wow,” she said, beaming up at him with the most pleasant smile she could muster. “Olivia seems great.”

“Yeah.” He shifted on his feet. “Are you all right?”

“Me? Mmm-hmm, yeah. Why?”

“You just seem…not sure.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Really, really good! You?”

He rubbed his cheek. “I’m good, too.”

“And happy?”

He stared down into her eyes, then he blinked. “Happy? Yeah, of course. This is…great. Thanks for arranging it.”

She nudged him playfully. “It’s only going to get greater.”

He touched her arm and her pulse fluttered. “Mer,” he whispered. “About Olivia…” He leaned closer and she stared up into his dreamy blue eyes.

“Huh?”

“She keeps looking at me. Like…differently. I’m not sure what she’s thinking. Is she interested, or? Maybe just trying to figure me out?”

“You mean you can’t tell?” she teased. “Considering all your experience with women?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t experienced this one in a decade.”

She lightly shoved his arm. “Derrick, it’s still so early,” she said in low tones. “So hard to say.”

“What?” He grinned. “Come on, Mer.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname but truthfully it was growing on her. He wasn’t nearly as awful as she used to think. He actually had a few positive personality traits.

“We’re a team here,” he said. “I value your opinion.”

She arched her eyebrows at him. That was a first.

He chuckled at her reaction. “You’re a matchmaker, right? Maybe you have a feeling?”

She had a feeling all right and she wasn’t liking it at all. The feeling that Olivia was beyond-belief-perfect and that no single guy on earth could resist falling for her, especially a guy who’d spent the past decade pining for her. “I think…yeah. Things are going well. But, Derrick,” she whispered. “Let’s give this a little more time, okay?”

“Oh, right. Sure.” He glanced toward the den and the bar. “I’d better go and grab that wine for you and your aunt. See you on the porch?”

“Yeah. Good.”

…

“Olivia!” Sofia said once they’d all made it outside. “I want to hear all about you. I can’t believe you’re a park ranger now. That’s exciting.”

“Yeah, it is,” Olivia said. “And perfect for me. I get to spend lots of time outdoors.”

Meredith could just see her now, talking to deer, black bears, and rabbits.

“That’s a far cry from where you started, dear,” Margaret said. “With law and at Sofia and Sally’s practice.”

“That’s true.” Olivia gazed out at the horizon before answering. “But, let’s say life had other plans.” She turned to William and Sofia. “What about you guys? Did you ever buy that cute bungalow you wanted?”

“We did,” William replied.

Sofia smiled beside him, sipping from her bubbly water. “Bought and renovated. It looks really super. We’d love for you to visit sometime.”

Olivia’s eyes glistened and Meredith could tell she was touched. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot. Thanks, guys.”

“Derrick’s been busy,” Grandpa Chad hastened to add. “He was promoted to lead instructor at the boat school, and then just last fall became its director.”

“How fab,” Olivia said.

“He’s very talented,” Meredith added. She glanced at Derrick whose forehead rose, like he wondered what she was doing. “He’s working on a couple of amazing projects right now.”

“At the boat school?” William asked him.

“No,” Derrick said. “Home projects.” He shot Meredith a silencing look, but she hadn’t intended to blab anything. She was just talking him up in front of Olivia, which was part of her job. Although sort of a stinky one at the moment. Derrick didn’t need any talking up. If he did, then Olivia probably didn’t deserve him. Still, she wanted to help.

“They’re top-secret,” she reported, as if she was in the know. Because she actually was. For whatever reason, she found it gratifying that she knew something that Olivia didn’t. She certainly couldn’t talk to animals. When she’d commanded her ex-Uncle Raul’s bulldog to sit, he’d only stared at her.

Olivia giggled like she was remembering something. “Ooh, Derrick was always really great at keeping secrets.” She stared at him. “Like about our crazy elopement.”

“That was crazy,” he said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

Meredith begrudgingly continued her role in helping things along. That’s what professionals did. Some days your heart was in your work more than others, but dedicated matchmakers soldiered on.

“Bet those were good times,” she said sunnily to Olivia and Derrick. “Back in the day.”

Olivia looked wistful a moment. “Yeah.”

Derrick shook his head. “When we weren’t fighting and tearing each other’s hair out.”

“You were such a stubborn guy,” Olivia said, teasing. “I was always butting heads with you.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who inspired the headbutting as far as I recall.”

“Not so. That was you.”

Meredith watched with a keen eye. There was still tension between them. Maybe some low-lying heat, too.

Good. This was good.

So why did Meredith feel so terrible inside. What on earth was wrong with her?

“Yeah.” He exhaled, apparently mulling over the happy memories. About fighting, apparently. “I guess we were a pair.”

Olivia let out a peal of laughter that resonated toward the waves, and Meredith’s knee started bouncing. Oh nooo… Even her laugh was pitch perfect. Musical. Like it’d come off a soundtrack somewhere.

“Oh, Derrick.” The woman giggled in a ridiculously beautiful way. It sounded like champagne bubbles of joy floating up toward the ceiling. “Those definitely were the days.” She cheerily studied the rest of them, then gratefully changed the subject. “When does Sally get here?”

“Tomorrow,” Margaret said. “Just in time for the baby shower.”

Sofia stuttered with surprise. “Baby what?”

“It’s just a little fun time that Sally has planned for you,” Grandmother Margaret said.

“A hen party sounds fine,” Grandpa Chad said. He nodded at his grandsons. “Maybe you boys and I can go out on my boat.”

“Not so fast, darling.” Margaret leaned toward him. “The men are invited, too.”

William sank down in his chair. “Oh boy.”

Clarita appeared caught in the middle. “Don’t mind me. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way in the guesthouse.”

“Nonsense,” Margaret said. “You and Meredith must be there. Brent and Hope are arriving at four.”

Derrick appeared pumped to learn his brother and his wife would get there a day early. “That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see them.”

“Yeah,” Meredith said. “Me, too.” While she’d kept up a ton with Jackie, who lived in Boston, she hadn’t seen Hope since last year.

“I always loved Brent,” Olivia said. “So stable. And shrewd. Nobody could ever pull anything off on him!” She stared at the pale faces around her and everyone who had frozen in place. “What is it? What did I say?”

Next, she misjudged her mistake. “Oh no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like I was playing favorites. Naturally, William,” she said, addressing him, “I’ve always had the greatest respect for you. Loved Sally, too. So much sass! And well…” She glanced helplessly at Chad and Margaret. “Pretty much all of you.”

Meredith sighed. “The Albrights are pretty easy to love,” she said mistakenly out loud. Her face burned hot and she avoided Derrick’s gaze as Titi Clarita gave her the side-eye.

“Thanks, Meredith,” Margaret said warmly, accepting the compliment like the gracious hostess she was. She tried soothing Olivia next. “And it’s no problem, sweetheart. About Brent. We know what you meant.”

“Oh, um…good.” Olivia drained her wine, appearing very intent on her toenail polish, which was expertly applied.

Where had she found a salon out in the wilderness?

…

Dinnertime was pleasant enough, but it mainly centered on Olivia. How did she like her job as a ranger?

Loved it. It was such a “natural” fit. Ha-ha-ha!

Meredith had wanted to hold her head at the laughter.

Fortunately, she’d restrained herself.

What made her go in that direction?

She’d always been a fan of the outdoors. That answer had caused Derrick to wince a little, but he’d covered it quickly.

“Can I get anyone more coffee?” he asked, standing to refill his cup.

“I’ll take some, thank you,” Clarita said.

Meredith decided she’d better not. She was already jittery enough. Olivia sat next to Derrick and Grandpa Chad was to her left. Meredith was on Derrick’s other side near Grandmother Margaret and Sofia. William and Clarita were across the way.

Meredith picked up her fork to savor her last bite of strawberry cheesecake. Grandmother Margaret was a baking fiend in the kitchen. It was no wonder that Grandpa Chad stayed a little thick around the middle. Margaret managed to stay slim, though. Maybe because she never stayed seated for long. “Julia seems to be sleeping like a lamb.”

“Shh,” Sofia smiled softly. “Don’t jinx it.”

The next instant, a sputtering cry broke out on William’s monitor. He’d laid it on the sideboard and reached for it behind him. “No truer words.”

Margaret shook her head. “Oh dear.”

“Babies that age never sleep for long. At least our Parker didn’t,” Chad volunteered.

“I’m sorry that he and Mom will miss the fun and games tomorrow,” Derrick said. “Your folks, too, Sofia.”

“My folks can probably do without the fun and games this time,” Sofia said.

“This time?” Clarita questioned.

“There were quite a few party games leading up to our wedding.” Sofia giggled like she hadn’t minded. “Sort of like the ones we played on the boat?”

Meredith chuckled at the memory of the rowdy bachelorette party. “Oh.”

“My folks were a little thrown off guard.” Sofia pulled a face. “They’re very serious.”

“But terrific people,” Grandpa Chad said, finishing his dessert.

Julia’s whimper became a whine and Sofia turned to William. He’d already stood up. “I’ll get her.” He exchanged a knowing look with his wife and rolled his eyes toward Olivia. “You probably want to stay and visit for a while.”

Sofia nodded her thanks, addressing Olivia. “I was thinking you and I could take a walk after dinner? Before it gets too dark out.”

“That would be great,” Olivia said.

Derrick shot a questioning look at Meredith and she kicked him under the table. Olivia getting in good again with the family would work well for everyone. Besides that, it wasn’t like he was needing to work too hard to recapture Olivia’s interest. The woman’s interest in the youngest Albright brother was written all over her face.