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Terri was already talking as she pushed open the door to Nothin’ But Knit on Monday morning. “What should we donate as a prize for the grand opening celebration? You know, it’s only five days away. We need to offer something good, something to really get our shop on people’s minds, make them want to come visit.”
Jade raised one hand to her temple. “Terri. It’s not even nine-thirty, and you sound buzzed. Have you been drinking?”
“Only coffee. I walked around the building with Greta at eight, and she told me the café is being super generous. Get this: they’re offering one winner a giant punch card allowing the person to get one cup of coffee and one pastry free of charge once a week for a year. Isn’t that fantastic?”
“Yeah. Sounds nice.”
“But that’s not all. They’re also providing a gift basket with some freshly baked goodies.” Terri licked her lips. “I’d be thrilled to win either prize.”
“Wait,” said Jade. “You’re actually planning on playing bingo at the grand opening celebration?”
“Of course! And you will too once you see some of the prizes you could win. Justin and his group are in.”
Jade closed her eyes. “Are you for real right now? How have you gone from wallflower to budding rose overnight? Or wait—maybe you woke up thirty years older.”
“Ha ha. I’m putting myself out there, and I like it. You could be a budding flower if you weren’t such a stick in the mud. Now, back to our prize. What do you say to a gift basket filled with yarn, knitting needles, maybe a small loom, and a certificate entitling the winner to a free beginners’ knitting class?”
“That sounds like kind of a lot.”
“Jade, we’re going to look stingy if we don’t do something as nice as the other shops. Plus, it’ll be a tax write-off.”
“What if the person who wins the prize is an avid knitter?”
“Then she—or he—can gift the course to someone else…a daughter or granddaughter, maybe.”
Jade still hesitated.
“Look, if you don’t want to participate, I’ll buy the stuff from our store myself and put the basket together.”
“No, I was just thinking. Geez! Some of us obviously haven’t had anywhere near the amount of caffeine you’ve had this morning,” said Jade. “Of course, Nothin’ But Knit will offer a wonderful gift basket. We’ll put it together later today, all right?”
“Great. I have to run and tell Greta to add it to the list of prizes we’re presenting to Sandra. Be back soon.”
Mocha wound around Jade’s ankles. She picked up the cat, nuzzled his fur, and asked, “Do you think I’m a stick in the mud?”
He gave a shortened meow that Jade could’ve sworn sounded like, “Yeah.”
* * *
Millie was having a leisurely brunch while watching a documentary about Queen Victoria when Greta arrived.
“Ooh, I love Queen Victoria,” said Greta. “She’s pretty as a little doll, and did you know she’s dating Albert in real life? I think that’s the most romantic thing. Don’t you?”
“I do.” Millie decided not to tell Greta the show she was watching wasn’t the BBC drama. She turned off the television. “So, how’s the party planning going?”
“It’s much better. Terri even walked with me this morning, so we could talk some more. We met Kelsey while we were walking. She looked cute as could be—she was wearing those tight-as-hide britches the young people exercise in and a sports bra, and she was carrying little hand weights. She didn’t have time to stop and talk with us, but she waved. And Terri gave her an enthusiastic wave back. I believe that one’s starting to come out of her shell a tad.”
“I’m glad. I wish Jade would. She’s so far back in her shell, we’re gonna have to stick a cattle prod in there to make her come out.”
“She and Caleb didn’t hit it off?” Greta asked.
“They started to. At dinner last night, I saw some real progress. But by the time we got back here, Jade had closed herself off from him again.” She shook her head. “The boy is going to give up on her, and I don’t blame him.”
“What’s the matter with her anyway? I’ve seen that Caleb. He’s a handsome boy…well built, doesn’t appear to be afraid of hard work. Why wouldn’t she like him?”
Millie shrugged. “I believe some boy broke her heart back in high school or something.”
“Oh, fiddlesticks. That was ages ago. She needs to let past hurts go and—”
“And go looking for new hurts?” Millie asked, with a grin.
“Well…yeah. She might never skin her knee or break a nail if she stays in that shell all the time, but she’ll never really live either.”
Millie nodded her agreement. Greta was an expert in living. She hadn’t always been. Greta and Millie had been friends ever since Greta and her husband Ray had moved into Millie’s neighborhood a decade ago. Then Ray had died just over a year ago, and Greta had seemed determined to spend as much of the rest of her life as possible in that two-bedroom ranch home.
When she’d visit Greta, Millie could see how apathetic and depressed her friend had become. One day she’d said, “Hey, will you do me a favor and go with me to see these micro-apartments at that new retail and residential center?”
Greta had agreed to go…for Millie.
Millie’s only intention had been to get Greta out of the house for the day, but she’d fallen in love with the micro-apartments and with the whole idea of the Kinsey Falls Living and Retail Community Center. And Greta had too. They made their plans to get side-by-side apartments.
Having something to look forward to reenergized Greta. One of the first things she did was go to the salon and have her long dull gray hair transformed into the auburn, purple-highlighted bob she now sported. She took carloads of…stuff…to the charitable donation box or to the garbage dump.
At first, Millie was afraid her friend was having some sort of breakdown, but then she realized it was a breakthrough. Greta had lost her only child in an accident more than twenty years ago. And even though Ray had been a good husband, he could be controlling at times. He was the one who’d never wanted her to change her hairstyle. He was the one who’d never wanted to get rid of anything. Greta saw her opportunity to wipe the slate clean, and she took it. Millie admired her for that.
Millie and her husband Frank had lived in a slightly larger home, but they’d lived well within their means. Rather than spending money on a larger home and the fanciest furnishings, Frank took two weeks off in the early fall each year, and the couple traveled. Millie couldn’t think of anywhere she’d wanted to go that she’d never been.
Frank had been gone for five years. It had been sudden—a massive heart attack while he was playing racquetball. It’s how he would’ve wanted to go, she guessed. But losing him was the hardest thing she’d ever been through, and she couldn’t imagine ever taking another trip anywhere without him.
As much as Millie would like to give herself credit for helping Greta find a renewed interest in life after Ray had died, she had to admit that it had been Greta who’d helped her through those darkest days. Fiona and Jade had their own grief to deal with, and Millie had always put on a brave face when they were around. It was Greta who dropped in to make sure Millie was eating, who made Millie laugh with fond remembrances of events the two couples had enjoyed together, and who held Millie’s hand and wept with her.
Friends like Greta were harder to find that a diamond ring in a gumball machine. Millie believed Jade and Terri had that kind of friendship. At least, she hoped they did. She wanted Jade to have a good friend to grow old with. Of course, she wanted Jade to have a wonderful man to grow old with too. And right now, she couldn’t think of a better candidate for the job than Caleb Young.
* * *
Jade had just rung up a customer’s purchase that afternoon when she spotted Caleb going upstairs with a small wrapped gift. She accepted payment, trying to concentrate on counting out the money while watching to see where Caleb was going. Luckily, the woman had given her exact change.
“Thank you so much. Have a great day!” Jade said. “Terri, I’ll be right back.”
She sprinted out the door and up the stairs. She was winded when she reached the top. Caleb was almost to Millie’s door.
“Hey!” she called. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m going to see your grandmother. What are you doing—stair sprints?”
“Something like that.”
He raised his brows and nodded. “Something like that, huh? I’m guessing you saw me and raced up here because you don’t trust me and because you correctly assumed I was going to see Millie.”
“What’s in the box?”
“An engagement ring.” He resumed walked toward Millie’s apartment.
“It is not!” She had to take double steps to keep up with his long strides.
“Yep. I’m going to be your step-granddad.”
“You are not!”
He merely shrugged and kept walking.
Jade latched onto his arm. “Tell me the truth.”
He turned, looked down at her, smirked, and said, “No.”
“You’re infuriating!”
“I’ll make you a deal. If you’ll go to dinner with me this evening, I’ll tell you what’s in the box.”
She pressed her lips together. “You wouldn’t be asking me to dinner if you were getting engaged to my grandmother, so…” She tried to mimic his smirk. “No.”
“Maybe I’m simply hedging my bets. If one beautiful woman tells me no, another might say yes.”
Jade stared at him. There was a hint of a smile playing around his mouth. She knew he wasn’t going to propose to her grandmother. But what if he was playing with Millie’s heart? Taking advantage of her generosity?
He shrugged and walked away.
A brunette with bouncy chestnut-colored curls and bouncy everything else sashayed down the hallway in a sports bra and yoga pants. Jade recognized her as the girl who thought Justin was so sweet for being kind to Greta.
“Hi, Caleb.” The brunette’s voice sounded almost like a purr.
“Hi, Kelsey. What’re you doing on this side of the hall?”
“I took Greta some hibiscus tea before my next yoga class.” She ran a well-manicured pink nail over the hand in which Caleb held the gift box. “And what are you doing on this side of the hall?”
“Delivering a package.”
Kelsey wet her lips. “Aren’t you sweet?”
“As chocolate.”
Jade was sick of the smoldering. “Excuse us. We were having a discussion.”
“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to step on any toes,” said Kelsey.
“Never,” said Caleb, with a wink.
She smiled. “Hope to see you later. You really should take one of my classes, Caleb. You’d like it.”
As Kelsey walked away, Caleb said to Jade, “I thought our discussion was over. I asked you out, and you turned me down. What’s left to discuss?”
“Fine. I’ll go out with you.”
“Don’t do me any favors,” he said.
Her mind immediately flashed back to standing in that high school hallway. “I’m…I’m sorry. If you’ve withdrawn the invitation, then I understand.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. I was rude, and I apologize.”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking,” Caleb said. “Are you sure you’d like to go out with me? Or were you just reacting to—” He grinned.
Jade could feel her face flush as she anticipated his next words. Kelsey flirting with me.
“—to really wanting to know what’s in this box?”
A relieved laugh bubbled up out of her throat. “I’m sure I’d like to go out with you, and I’d really like to know what’s in that box.”
“Then come with me.” He held out his free hand, and Jade hesitated only a second before slipping hers into it.
They walked to Millie’s door, and Caleb rang the doorbell.
“Excuse me,” he said to Jade, before letting go of her hand and dropping to one knee. “Presentation is part of the gift.”
When Millie opened the door, Caleb raised the package up over his head. “Madam, I present you with this humble token of my admiration.”
Millie laughed and clapped. “Oh, my goodness! I should be recording this moment for posterity!”
“I am,” said Jade.
Both Millie and Caleb seemed surprised to see her recording them on her phone.
“Oh, Jade, cut that thing off. I was only kidding! And, Caleb, get up and get in here before you raise a ruckus.”
“I love raising ruckuses,” he said. “Ruckuses are the easiest things to raise. You never have to feed or groom them, you—”
Millie grabbed his arm and yanked him inside. Jade laughed and put the phone back into her pocket as she followed.
“I can hardly wait to see what that is,” Jade said, nodding toward the box.
“Nothing doing,” said Millie. “This is my present.”
“Sorry. I did kinda tell her she could find out what’s in the box.”
“Then I’ll call you and tell you all about it later,” Millie teased Jade.
“Grandma!”
“Fine. Get in here and sit down.” Millie led the way into the kitchen. “May I get either of you something to drink?”
“No. I have to get back to work,” said Jade. She pointedly looked at Millie’s clock.
“I only had to work half a day,” said Caleb.
Jade pierced him with a look.
“Would you please open the gift?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Millie. “I’ll open it before my granddaughter has a conniption.”
“Conniptions aren’t as nice as ruckuses. Much harder to deal with.” His attempt to look innocent made Jade roll her eyes.
“So very true.” Millie slowly undid the paper. Then she lifted the lid, squealed with delight, and lifted a furry stuffed animal out of the box. “It’s Perry!” She laughed and hugged the creature to her. “Oh, Caleb, thank you! I love it!”
“You’re welcome.”
“It is pretty cute,” said Jade. She kissed Millie’s cheek. “I really do need to get back. Terri will think I’ve deserted her.”
“I’ll pick you up at the store at five-thirty,” said Caleb.
She nodded, ducked her head, and hurried out of the apartment.
What in the world had she just agreed to—and why? Had she merely reacted to Kelsey’s flirting and taken Caleb up on his offer before he decided he’d prefer to go out with the yoga teacher? Jade had raced up those stairs because she hadn’t trusted Caleb not to be trying to take advantage of her grandmother. That hadn’t changed simply because he’d taken her hand and asked her to dinner, had it? She had to be stronger than that, or else she and Millie were both in danger of being taken in by a handsome face and a little flattery.
By the time Jade made it back downstairs, she’d convinced herself that she was going out with Caleb to see what she could learn about him. If he was a smooth-talking grifter, surely Jade would know it before the night was over. Right?