For now, she would just have to ask Grace for more hours at Main Street Books. Surely Grace might need some time off in the coming weeks to plan her wedding. She was admittedly overwhelmed with all the details. Some time to focus on her upcoming nuptials might help… both of them.
Jane let a sigh roll through her shoulders. That was exactly how she would frame it. Not as a favor, not a cause for alarm, but as a suggestion that she take some of the burden off her older sister… while helping herself in the meantime. After all, as Rosemary had pointed out, the winter dance session might fare better than fall, and there was still the hope that an opportunity to perform in The Nutcracker would lure the children back to the studio. It was a temporary setback, and if not… Her heart began to pound. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it. She’d learned over the past year not to get ahead of herself when she could avoid it; it only led to more stress, and she had enough to deal with at the moment.
Like Adam getting remarried, and Sophie being his flower girl and sister to his mistress’s baby.
Jane closed her eyes and leaned back against the smooth leather headrest. She’d been sitting in the car outside Rosemary and Thyme for a good ten minutes, strumming up the energy to put on a smile and join the girls for more wedding planning fun, wanting more than anything to know her heart was in it. She was happy for Grace—of course she was—but now, she couldn’t stop thinking that Kristy and Adam must be excitedly planning their wedding, too. No doubt Kristy was thumbing through bridal magazines, shopping for her dress, contemplating lace or satin. She didn’t even want to know what the ring looked like. To think of Adam—her husband!—going to a store and selecting a ring for another woman… Well, it was downright inconceivable. Jane was certain he’d gone with something bigger and showier this time around, not like the chip of a diamond she had sitting at the bottom of her nightstand drawer at home.
Before she could continue down this path of self-destruction, which would soon end with a pajama party, a spoon, a half gallon of vanilla ice cream, and a jar of peanut butter, Jane opened the door and hurried to the set of heavy double iron doors. It was Saturday night, and she’d already spent enough time worrying over things that were out of her control.
Inside, the restaurant was warm and lively—a sharp contrast to Main Street at this hour. An inviting fire crackled in the hearth, and groups of women and a few couples sipped wine on the sofas and club chairs Anna had arranged in the lobby. Jane craned her neck deeper into the dining room looking for her sisters and friends, breathing in the smells of warm fresh bread and garlic. Already the buzz was having an effect on her mood, and she chastised herself for sitting in the car feeling sorry for herself when she could have been inside, enjoying the fun and forgetting about her troubles.
Ivy Birch, Grace’s best friend, spotted her first and waved her over to where Grace, Ivy, and Kara Hastings, Luke’s middle sister, were already through the better part of a bottle of wine. Grace happily poured the rest in a glass for Jane as she dropped into an empty chair and began unwrapping her scarf.
“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip. “Is Anna able to join us?” She glanced toward the kitchen, hoping their middle sister would be able to get a break for a night. She’d thought Anna had worked hard running Fireside back when she was all on her own, but the success of her café was nothing compared to the popularity of the new establishment. They had a wait list two weeks out, but that didn’t stop people from lining up for a spot at the bar night after night, hoping for a chance to try the chef’s special.
“I’m right here,” Anna said, pulling out the chair beside her. Her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes bright, and her smile positively radiant. Hard work had always suited Anna, but Jane suspected being back together with Mark had more than a little something to do with her sister’s sudden glow.
“Busy night,” Jane commented.
Anna shook her blond hair from its ponytail and took a long sip of water. “Which is why unfortunately I can’t stay for long. We have another round of reservations in an hour. I’m sorry, Grace,” she said, as she reached for the bread basket.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up more at the cake tasting next week.”
Anna grinned and sat a little straighter. “I hope you’ll like what I came up with.”
“And I hope you like the bridesmaid dresses.” Grace laughed, but her brow furrowed as she glanced around the table. They’d all seen the first four dresses, each later frantically calling the others to question the off-the-shoulder number with the enormous bow on the left hip, or, the following week, the empire waist cocktail frock cut in such an unfortunate way that they’d all appeared to be at least five months pregnant.
From under the table Jane felt Anna take her hand and squeeze it tight as Grace flipped through a magazine and stopped at her page marker. She turned the spread to them, and looked up.
Silence stretched as the four women stared at the dress they would most likely be wearing down the aisle, for most of Briar Creek to see.
“Well?”
Jane’s shoulders relaxed as she studied the simple, strapless crimson taffeta gown with the A-line skirt to the ankle.
“It will look stunning with the bouquet we decided on,” Ivy said.
“Oh… about that.” Grace bit down on a nail as Ivy’s mouth gaped.
“Don’t tell me you’re changing your mind again.”
“No,” Grace said hesitantly. “I just… thought maybe we could add some purple in there, too. I still go back and forth on whether I should do a plum-colored dress for Sophie.”
“So long as it’s not blue, and velvet, I don’t care what color the flower girl dress is,” Jane remarked. She reached for her wineglass and took a long sip. It was only once she’d set it down that she realized all eyes had shifted to her.
Darn it. She hadn’t wanted to make this night about her. There would be plenty of time to fill the women in about Adam’s latest blow, but not now. Tonight was supposed to be about Grace, about her wedding. About escaping reality and focusing on the fantasy. Wasn’t that what a wedding was? It was the fairy-tale moment. It was hardly the same as a happily ever after.
“Long story,” she said, forcing a laugh. Grace’s smile turned sad, and Jane yanked open the menu with a newfound sense of purpose. She decided on one of Mark’s seasonal specials—butternut squash gnocchi in a sage butter sauce—which she knew was paired with Anna’s apple crisp cheesecake for dessert. Normally, and especially now that she was back in the dance studio, she watched her figure, but tonight she was too exhausted to bother, and something about being here, in a bustling restaurant with some of her favorite people in Briar Creek, helped put things in perspective again. Had thin thighs and a tight waist kept her husband from wandering astray? Nope!
“So, how was class today?” Anna sipped her wine, looking at her expectantly.
“Oh… I didn’t have any classes today.” Jane was happy for the darkness of the room. If her sister saw the heat in her cheeks, she’d be onto her in a second. As it was, Jane struggled to make eye contact. She reached for another slice of bread.
As expected, Anna frowned. “But it’s Saturday. You always have classes on Saturday.”
“Rosemary isn’t offering the same classes this session,” Jane replied in what she hoped was a breezy tone. “By the way, your scones were a big hit today.”
Anna did a poor job of masking how pleased this made her. Though she now exclusively ran Rosemary and Thyme and provided pastries for the bookstore, she remained a financially invested partner in the family’s business.
“Henry commented on them, actually,” Jane said. He’d been back again that morning, causing her to almost spill a pot of coffee when he slipped her a smile from across the room.
“Henry Birch? Adam’s—” Anna stopped herself, then leaned across the table. “Ivy, you didn’t tell us your brother was in town.”
Ivy looked up from her conversation with Kara and Grace, a strange expression darkening her features. “Oh. We’ve all been so busy with Grace’s wedding. I guess I forgot.”
“How long is he in town?” Anna pressed.
Yes, Ivy, how long? Jane held her breath, wondering why she suddenly felt so nervous. What did she care how long Henry stuck around? Because he was hot, she admitted. And because somehow she hadn’t noticed how hot before.
“I don’t know, really.” Ivy shrugged, and Jane felt her heart skip a beat. That was hardly the same as tomorrow or next week. “He’s rarely in one place for long,” Ivy finished.
Of course. He was a travel writer. And he hadn’t made it back to Briar Creek in years, not even for his mother’s burial this past summer. There hadn’t been a service, and Ivy claimed she was fine handling things on her own, given everything, but Jane still wondered how Henry could have stayed away.
Well, it was none of her business. He was back now, maybe because he had been kept away over the summer. And soon, he’d be gone again. There was no sense in wishing he would stick around for longer, and it didn’t matter if he did. He was Adam’s friend at the end of the day, and like so many things, their divorce had split more than just the two of them.
A waiter appeared with another bottle of wine and a cheer went up at the table. Soon, Jane was caught up in the chatter again, and she didn’t even give Henry another thought until they’d stood to leave and she heard the rich, booming laugh that always brought a smile to her lips. She scanned the room looking for him, anticipating going up to him, maybe saying hello, perhaps having a drink… He was sitting on a bar stool, his back slightly hunched, his broad, strong shoulders defined by the thin material of his green sweater. He turned slightly, his gaze drifting in her direction, and she was just lifting her hand to wave in case he caught her eye when her smile froze.
He wasn’t alone. And the person he was laughing with was her ex-husband.
The bartender cleared the half-empty glasses from the end of the gleaming mahogany bar and lifted his chin at Henry. “What will it be?”
“Just a club soda,” he replied evenly.
“Still drinking those, I see,” Adam said, taking a long sip of his beer.
Henry took his drink and plucked the cocktail straw from the glass. “Yep. Some things don’t change.”
“But some things do,” Adam countered. He looked at Henry squarely. “I don’t know if you heard that Jane and I split up.”
“Ivy mentioned it.” He decided to leave out the part about running into Jane, or learning about the remarriage. If Adam wanted to tell him, he would.
“Marriage is hard,” Adam said.
“You don’t need to tell me that,” Henry remarked, taking a sip of his soda. He shook his head, thinking of the brief time in his life he’d spent with Caroline: their whirlwind courtship, their wedding day—everything felt possible then.
“I can’t really believe I’m about to do it again,” Adam said, meeting Henry’s gaze from the corner of his eye. His jaw pulsed. “Kristy’s pregnant. She wanted to get married. Insisted, actually.” He took another sip of his beer.
“Ah.” So there it was. He wondered if Jane knew this part—if it would matter to her if she did. She’d seemed a little down during their conversation the other day, and Henry had left the bookstore a few hours later with half a mind to go over to Adam’s house, grab him by the collar, and give him a piece of his mind, the way he’d wanted to so many times before.
He pushed aside the guilt he felt for reaching out to Adam. Adam’s relationship with Jane aside, there was a bond between them that couldn’t be overlooked.
Their meals arrived, and Henry eagerly bit into his burger. “It’s hard to picture you as a father of two,” he mused aloud. The Adam he knew liked to have a good time. Henry had told himself that Adam was getting it out of his system before the wedding day—after all, who couldn’t love Jane Madison with her bright eyes and that sweet smile?—but he’d clearly overestimated his friend’s intentions.
“I love being a father,” Adam said, suddenly smiling. “It’s probably the reason I stuck things out with Jane as long as I did.” He studied the beer in his glass, then tipped it back.
“You married young.” Henry could give him that much. Hell, he could make the same poor excuse for himself. He’d met and married Caroline within the span of ten months. Proposed to her after only three. Looking back, he wondered if he would have latched on to anyone who’d passed through his life at the time. He was looking for a life raft. Looking for an escape. For a sense of simplicity and security he’d never known.
He was looking for what his best friend had found.
And then thrown away.
He took another sip of his soda, thinking of the way Jane looked at the bookstore this morning. Her ash brown hair had been pulled up in a ponytail, revealing that long, graceful dancer’s neck. She’d come over to his table, given his mug a refill, and asked politely about his work, but she was still guarded. Her eyes were hesitant, her smile a little less warm than the one she gave the other patrons. She didn’t linger. And damn it if he hadn’t wished she had.
Sitting here with the man who’d cheated on her, he supposed he couldn’t blame her.
“Well, live and learn. I’m determined to do it right this time,” Adam said. “I owe my kids that much.”
A part of Henry didn’t want to hear this. He wanted to give Adam a good punch in the face instead for not giving Jane the fair chance he was giving Kristy. But the other part of him understood, or was trying to at least.
Good people could do bad things, he told himself. It was a mantra he’d repeated many times over the years. Then it was about his mother. Lately, it was about himself.
“So when’s the wedding?” Henry asked. It was just meant to be idle conversation, but the look in Adam’s face told him he’d hit a nerve.
“Four weeks from now. If you’re in town, I’d love you to be there. Kristy didn’t want to wait or do it over the holidays and… there’s a chance I might be taking a job out of state.”
“Anywhere interesting?”
“Denver,” Adam replied.
“Good city. Good skiing, too, if you can handle the powder instead of the ice.” Henry grinned.
Adam hesitated, seeming to want to tell Henry something, but finished the last of his beer instead. The white froth coated the glass, pooling at the bottom when he slid it across the smooth bar. “Do me a favor and keep it to yourself, just until everything’s settled. There are still… a few details to work out.”
“Not a problem. You know me. I hate gossip.” If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear the voices over the din of the restaurant, the gossip that trailed in his mother’s wake. There was no escaping it in Briar Creek.
He turned away, back to his food. Soon enough, this would be over. He’d be gone. And all these people would fade away again. The way he needed them to.