By the time Sophie and Mia arrived at the manor the next morning, Sophie was fifteen minutes late for her meeting with the Widow’s Club and local business owners. Given the amount of sleep she’d gotten, she shouldn’t have bothered to put her head on the pillow. Liam’s accusations, his anger, and his warning played over in her head the entire night. She didn’t think anyone could make her feel worse than she already did, but Liam managed to.
He’d accused her of being selfish. Selfish because she’d forced her daughter to live in near poverty instead of in the lap of luxury her father could provide. Maybe the accusations wouldn’t have hurt so much if they hadn’t come from Liam. A man who’d ignited a spark, a hope, the nugget of a dream in a woman who’d thought she’d given up on them.
She only hoped their afternoon together hadn’t sparked one in her daughter. But there’d already been signs that it had. She’d caught Mia listening at the adjoining door in the bathroom last night and this morning. Liam had hidden his anger from Mia when he’d walked them back to the apartment, but he hadn’t stuck around to help as he’d promised. Sophie was glad he hadn’t. If she never saw him again, it would be too soon.
“Good morning, miss,” Jasper said when he met them in the vestibule. Sophie blinked. Other than looking down his nose at her, the stern-faced older man had barely acknowledged her arrival in the past. She glanced over her shoulder, positive someone had come in behind her. There was no one but them. The older man smiled at Mia. “How are you this morning, Miss Mia?”
Sophie pinched herself to make sure she was actually awake. She knew she must be because Mia’s hand was in hers and her daughter was mouthing, Good. She knew for certain she was awake when Mia mouthed, Liam.
Sophie prayed he wasn’t there, terrified of the nightmare that would unfold if he was. She had no idea if he’d follow through on his threat and tell Michael. She prayed Liam’s friendship with her brother would make him think twice.
“As I understand it, Master Liam is staying at the firehouse.” As though sensing Mia’s disappointment, Jasper added, “I’m sure you’ll see him before he returns to Boston.” He glanced at Sophie and cleared his throat. “I hope I haven’t overstepped, miss, but I thought perhaps you wouldn’t have had the time to buy Miss Mia suitable outerwear.” He reached behind him for a large box. Sophie recognized the logo. Guppies was a high-end children’s clothing store in town. One Sophie could only dream of shopping in for Mia’s clothing.
Ashamed she didn’t have the money to provide a new snowsuit for her daughter, Sophie opened her mouth to protest. She’d hoped the cold weather would hold off until she received her first paycheck. It hadn’t. She’d dressed Mia in the red velvet coat and her blue rubber boots to make the trek through the snow this morning. When Sophie looked into the older man’s eyes and saw only compassion and not judgment, she swallowed her pride and smiled. “That was thoughtful. Thank you. Thank you very much. What do you say to Jasper, Mia?”
Her daughter was too busy opening the box—revealing a gorgeous, puffy pink jacket, a pair of pink snow pants, and furry winter boots that matched the trim on the jacket’s hood—to say anything. She held up each item to show Sophie, her eyes shining with excitement.
“They’re so beautiful, baby.” Sophie was surprised she could get the words past the lump in her throat. “Thank Jasper for your—” She broke off when Mia launched herself at the older man and hugged his legs. Her face tipped up, she mouthed her thanks. Over and over again.
Sophie pressed her lips together to hold back a laugh at the uncomfortable expression on Jasper’s face. He awkwardly patted Mia’s head. “You’re most welcome, Miss Mia. There’s a hat, mittens, and scarf under the tissue paper.” He turned to Sophie when her daughter let him go to lift the pink paper from the box. “Mrs. Fitzgerald’s granddaughter Brie is managing the shop. If you’re not happy with anything or something doesn’t fit, she said to let her know, and she’ll take care of it.”
“I have a feeling Mia wouldn’t let me take anything back even if I wanted to.” She nodded at her daughter, who’d already taken off her coat and rubber boots and was pulling on the snow pants. Sophie wanted Jasper to understand just how much his thoughtful gesture meant to her daughter. She lowered her voice and shared, “Mia’s never had anything brand-new before. I hope you know how much we both appreciate what you’ve done.”
He gave her a brisk nod. “Quite. If you’d like, I can take Miss Mia with me when I shovel the walkways.”
Mia, who’d overheard his offer, pulled the pink knit hat on her head at the same time nodding enthusiastically.
“She’ll be in good hands, miss. I’ll watch her like a hawk.”
Sophie ignored the anxious flutter in her stomach. There wasn’t much the older man missed at Greystone, so she knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her daughter. “Thank you. I’m sure she’d love that. Mia, listen to Jasper.”
Jasper reached behind him and then handed Sophie a clipboard. “I’ve taken the liberty of making you a list of the most reliable vendors, highlighting the ones I’d advise you to stay clear of.”
She reached in her purse for her glasses and put them on to scan the precise and detailed list. “This is perfect, Jasper. Thank you.”
He nodded. “You’ll be pleased to know that Miss Adams’s grandmother booked twelve rooms from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth. She also blocked the remaining rooms from the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth. She’s couriered the deposit.”
“I can’t tell you how much I needed some good news today. We might just pull this off after all, Jasper.”
“I see no reason why we won’t. But if I may make a suggestion…”
“Please do.” From the very beginning, she’d hoped to win the older man’s grudging support, but his acceptance of her as a member of the team was more than she’d dreamed possible. So much more that she felt like she’d stepped into an alternate universe.
“I would suggest the possibility of a morning or afternoon wedding to Miss Adams. That way the guests won’t miss out on their own holiday celebrations. If you mention that it is an accepted tradition among the British royals, Miss Adams may be more amicable to the idea.”
“I didn’t like having to ask the staff to work late on Christmas Eve, and a morning or afternoon wedding would solve that problem. And I think you’ve given me the perfect way to sell Bethany on the idea. I take it you’ve spent some time with her.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Quite.” He looked down at Mia, who tugged on his hand. “Unless there’s anything else, we’ll take our leave. The Widow’s Club and business owners are waiting for you in the dining room.”
Sophie gave her daughter a quick kiss, thanked Jasper again, and headed for the meeting.
Kitty emerged from the room, smiling when she caught sight of Sophie. “There you are, my dear. I was getting worried about you.” The older woman’s forehead creased. “Is everything all right? You don’t look well.”
“Sorry, I’m late. I didn’t get much sleep last night. But Jasper just gave me some wonderful news. Did you hear?”
Kitty looped her arm through Sophie’s. “Yes, and you don’t have to pretend with me. I know this is difficult for you. But we’re going to do everything we can to make it as easy as possible.”
Sophie froze. “I don’t understand—”
“I overheard Rosa talking about it with some of the Widow’s Club. I’d forgotten you dated Michael. Don’t mind me saying so, but I always thought you and Liam…” She waved her hand. “It’s neither here nor there. We’ll find you a nice young man to get your mind off Michael.”
“I’m not sure what my grandmother said, but my mind isn’t on—”
Kitty continued as though Sophie hadn’t spoken. “Now that we’ve solved that problem, I think we may have a bigger one. Your grandmother went quiet when she caught me listening in, but she can’t fool me. She’s up to something. I’m afraid she might try to sabotage the wedding.”
“I’ll speak to her, Kitty. But she knows what’s at stake and how important the wedding is to Greystone’s future. She wants the manor to stay in the family as much as we do.”
“Oh, yes, I know that, my dear. Everyone in that room does.” She wrinkled her nose. “Except Hazel and Paige. It’s just that your grandmother’s plan to save the manor and ours are at cross-purposes. She wants a wedding all right. Only with a different bride. You.”
All Sophie wanted was twenty minutes, even fifteen would have been great, to savor Jasper’s good news. After yesterday, she didn’t think it was too much to ask. But thanks to her grandmother, she was lucky if she got two.
“Don’t worry, Kitty. I’ll take care of my grandmother. And just so you know, I have no romantic interest in Michael. None whatsoever. I want his and Bethany’s wedding to be as perfect as you do.”
“It’s for the best, my dear. It truly is. I’m something of a matchmaker, you know. You and Michael, you’re not a good fit. Now you and Liam—”
“Trust me. Liam and I aren’t a good fit either. And I’m honestly not looking for a relationship right now. I have to focus all my energy on Greystone. And Mia, of course.”
“You’re right. We can’t have anything distracting you from the job at hand. Leave your grandmother to me. Since Colleen’s passed, the Widow’s Club’s loyalties have been divided. Half want me to take over, the other half your grandmother, but I’m gaining momentum.”
If Kitty was trying to make Sophie feel better, it wasn’t working. “We should probably focus on the meeting for now. Is there anything I need to know? Jasper gave me a list of reliable vendors.” Sophie raised the clipboard.
Kitty angled her head to look at the list. “Hmm, I wonder why he highlighted Charlie Angel’s name. He owns the Salty Dog, you know. He’s not what I’d call reliable. Truth be told, he’s something of a scoundrel. Rumor has it he’s into something illegal.” Far from looking scandalized, Kitty looked intrigued.
“Sorry, I forgot to mention the highlighted names are the ones to avoid.”
“I should have realized Jasper would never recommend Charlie. They have a long-standing feud.”
“There seems to be a lot of those in town.” Sophie prayed that, once her secret was revealed, she wouldn’t start another one.
Kitty gave her an impish grin. “Yes, it’s quite fun. There’s never a dull moment in Harmony Harbor.”
After her conversation with Kitty, the meeting went much better than Sophie expected. Though the divide between the members of the Widow’s Club was somewhat worrisome. Half of the women sat with Rosa on one side of the room, the other half with Kitty. Anytime Rosa or Kitty offered a suggestion, her supporters cheered while her opponents booed.
However, Sophie’s biggest concern, at least for now, was Helga. The sandwiches she’d served were unpalatable at best. And Ava, whom Sophie had asked to assist in the kitchen today, was nowhere in sight. Sophie drew her gaze from the kitchen door as Dana Templeton approached.
Sophie smiled. Although she wasn’t exactly sure why, she felt sorry for the beautiful redhead. She seemed incredibly lonely and sad.
Dana gave her a small smile in return. “If you need any help, Sophie, you can add me to your list.” Her well-modulated voice bespoke wealth and privilege. Everything about her did, from her conservative, tailored clothing, to her hair and manicure.
“I’d love to have your help, Dana. I was at Mistletoe Cottage yesterday. You did an incredible job. Are you an interior designer?”
“Thank you. No, I’m…I’m not qualified to do anything really.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. It takes more than just a good eye and exquisite taste to do what you did.” She studied the woman, getting the sense that Dana was carrying a heavy burden. As a woman who knew the feeling only too well, Sophie was moved to try and help. At the very least, offer her friendship. “If you have the time and are interested, I could really use an assistant. Something of an event planner. There’s not a lot of money in the budget, but I’ll speak to Mr. Wilcox and Kitty about working out an arrangement for free room and board.” Now that Sophie had made the offer, she really hoped Dana would take the job. Because the more she thought about it, adding wedding planner to the already overlong list of things she needed to accomplish in the next few weeks was overwhelming.
“Money isn’t an issue, Sophie. I have all the time in the world too. I’d be more than happy to be your assistant.”
“Change of plans, you’re no longer my assistant. You’re the official event planner-slash-wedding coordinator. And it’s only fair that you be compensated. I have a meeting with Kitty and Mr. Wilcox this week.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Please say you’ll take the job. I”—she glanced at the women clustered into small groups talking before turning back to Dana—“I have some personal issues I have to deal with in the next few days, and I’m afraid they might complicate my interactions with Bethany and Michael.”
“I need something to keep myself occupied, Sophie. I’m more than happy to take the job. If you can give me an idea what you had in mind, I can get started right away.”
“That would be great. Why don’t we go to the study and we can look at what I have so far? Then we’ll set you up in an office of your own,” Sophie said as she gathered her things.
“I just have to get something from my room. I’ll meet you in your office.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Sophie went to each group of women to say her goodbyes before heading to the study. A pretty blonde caught up to her as she left the dining room.
“Sophie, I’m Brie Fitzgerald. I’m managing Guppies for my grandmother.” The woman offered her hand. “I just wanted to check and make sure everything fit.”
“Yes, perfectly. My daughter loved everything.”
Brie smiled. “I’m sure Jasper was relieved. It took him two hours to find what he wanted. It had to be the best.”
Once again Sophie was touched by the thought and care he’d taken to choose Mia’s snowsuit. “It was very kind of him.”
“Our holiday wear just came in. We’re hosting an event to reveal the line to our customers next weekend. Be sure to stop by with your daughter.” Something caught her attention, and she smiled and waved. “I see someone I know. Nice meeting you, Sophie. I’ll e-mail you an invitation to the event.”
“Nice meeting you, too, Brie. Thanks for the…” Sophie didn’t bother finishing the sentence because Brie was already halfway across the lobby. Curious to see who put the flirty smile on the woman’s face, Sophie glanced at the entrance. The man the manager of Guppies was obviously anxious to see, and interested in, was none other than Liam Gallagher—looking ridiculously hot in his firefighter’s uniform.
Liam kept his smile in place and returned the blonde’s wave. He’d always had a good head for names, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the name of the pretty woman walking his way. Probably because he was focused on Sophie and caught the moment her eyes lifted in his direction. Saw the panic come over her face. She looked exhausted. No doubt his threat had kept her up last night. She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gotten any sleep. When he wasn’t responding to calls—there’d been two minor pileups and a chimney fire—he’d been thinking of Sophie. Sophie and Michael. At least they’d distracted Liam from his own problems. He’d been fine for the first two calls, but had another flashback when they’d responded to the chimney fire.
Sophie backtracked and took the back hall. He didn’t blame her for wanting to avoid him. He’d been angry yesterday. For the most part, in his opinion, rightly so. He’d been angry on his cousin’s behalf and Mia’s. They both deserved to know the truth. Part of his anger was fueled by jealousy too. He was jealous that Mia and Sophie would now be tied to his cousin forever. They’d share a bond and connection that Liam never would. One that he’d finally admitted to himself that maybe, just maybe, he wanted. Or at the very least thought he might. That’s why the news had hit him so hard and he’d said things he regretted. He planned to apologize to her and withdraw his threat. He still expected her to tell his cousin, but it would be on her timeline, not his.
He smiled at the blonde when she reached him. He’d met her when her nephew and niece escaped from the house up the street to get an early start trick-or-treating. The little boy had been dressed as a fireman. “Hey there, how’s your nephew?”
“Still wearing his uniform around the house.” She grinned. “You don’t remember my name, do you?”
“Sure I do. Bad habit, I always call pretty women there.”
“I’ll put you out of your misery, but only because you complimented me. It’s Brie.”
He leaned back and gave her a distracted smile. He had a clear line of sight to the study. He had a feeling that’s where Sophie was headed. “I won’t forget again. Have you taken your nephew for a visit to the station yet?”
“No, but now that you’re working there, I’ll be sure to bring him by. Maybe we can grab that coffee.”
“I’m just helping my dad out for a couple days. I’m heading back to Boston Friday.” He glanced toward the study again. Sophie was there and caught his eye then quickly looked away. “Brie, I have something I need to do.”
“No problem. How about—”
Liam heard Sophie cry out as she opened the door to the study. He ran toward her, belatedly realizing he’d cut off Brie. “Sorry, another time,” he called over his shoulder.
“Soph, what’s…What the hell happened in here?” It looked like a tornado had blown through the study. Papers were strewn from one end of the room to the other. All the desk drawers were pulled out, two of them lying on the floor.
“I don’t know. It looks like someone broke in. Maybe they were looking for Colleen’s…” As though just realizing who she was talking to, her expression closed off, and she gestured to the door. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Look, I know you’re mad, Soph. But—”
“You don’t know anything about me, Liam Gallagher. So just get your sanctimonious self out of here and leave me alone. Go back to your girlfriend.”
She turned away from him and put her purse and leather portfolio on the corner of the desk. He shut the door, crossed his arms, and leaned against it. She looked over her shoulder. “I said—”
“I heard what you said. Maybe I overreacted yesterday. It was a shock. I’m not going to tell Michael. You can do it when you’re ready. But, Soph, you have to tell him.”
She bent over to pick up some papers. “Are you expecting me to thank you? Because if you are, you can forget about it. After what you said to me...” She whirled around and threw a fistful of papers at him. “I didn’t deserve that, Liam. I’m a good mother. I did the best I could. Maura would have taken my daughter from me or insisted that I give her up. The Michael I knew then, the Michael he used to be, would have given in to her and you know it.”
“Calm down.” He moved cautiously toward her. “I should have given you a chance to explain. Will you tell me now?”
She moved away from him. “No, you lost your chance. I have a meeting with Dana in a few minutes. I have to clean this up.”
“It’ll go faster if you let me help.”
“Fine.” She turned away to clear off the top of the desk. “Just put them in a pile here, and I’ll organize them later.”
“Soph?”
“What?”
“Brie isn’t my girlfriend,” he said, crouching to pick up a file folder filled with documents.
“And I’m supposed to care, why?”
“I didn’t want you to think I was seeing someone when I’ve been making out with you.”
“Please, we didn’t make out.”
He gathered the papers into a pile and straightened to put them on the desk. One fell off. “Really? Maybe you’d like to clue me in to exactly what we were doing then.” He scooped the paper off the floor, briefly scanning the document as he returned it to the top of the pile. No, couldn’t be. He rubbed his eyes and read the names on the birth certificate again, mother and daughter, the date of birth. His knees went weak.
“What’s wrong with you? What are you looking at?”
He raised his gaze to hers. “When was Mia conceived?”
“None of your damn business. Just get out—”
“Sophie, tell me when Mia was conceived,” he said through clenched teeth.
“July twenty-eighth. The night of the party at Greystone, okay?”
“Where?”
“Oh my God, I don’t know why you think this is any of your—”
His jaw pulsated from clenching it so tight. “Either you tell me or I ask Michael.”
She glared at him. “Kismet Cove. Happy now?”
Afraid his legs were going to give out, he pulled the chair over to sit down. He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out a rough rasp. “Mia isn’t Michael’s, Sophie. She’s mine.”