Colleen sat in the window seat of the study, anxiously waiting for the meeting to start. There was big news in the making for the manor, but from the woebegone expressions on Sophie’s, Ava’s, and Lexi’s faces, it wasn’t of the positive kind. “Go on, get on with it. If it’s like the past three days, Olivia will be another hour—”
The door swung open. “Where is she? Have you seen her?”
The women stared at Olivia. The only reason Colleen could be sure it was Olivia was because of her voice and the color of her hair. Her eyes and nose were peeking through the electrified strands. It looked like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket.
Colleen wondered if that was what the god-awful shriek she’d heard earlier had been about. Ever since the wild child had arrived, the racket started up like clockwork at the butt crack of dawn.
Who needed a rooster or an alarm clock when they had the wild child? As Colleen understood it, George didn’t like to get the nits picked out of her hair. Colleen supposed it was a kindness Lexi had done for the guests when she’d insisted Olivia and the wild child move into Colleen’s suite of rooms in the tower. At least the bone-chilling screams were muffled.
“Olivia, come and sit down. You look like you’re about to collapse. I’ll go find the demon spawn,” Lexi said, and got up from her chair. She lifted a shoulder at Ava’s and Sophie’s horrified looks. “What can I say? I got cancer and lost my filter.”
“You never had a filter, hardass. But she’s a little girl who lost her mama and papa. Show some compassion,” Ava said.
“No, don’t. It makes me feel better knowing it’s not just me,” Olivia said, limping to the wingback chair near the window. She had one pink high heel on, the other off. Though she supposed the one dangling from Olivia’s fingertip no longer qualified as a high heel because it was missing its heel. The way her sundress was slipping down her shoulder, it appeared to be missing something too. Maybe a button. The usually put-together Olivia was a hot mess.
“Here, let me get you a coffee,” Ava said, half standing to reach the tray Jasper always prepared for their meetings. “Cream and one sugar?”
“Make it four sugars, thanks, and if there’s whiskey anywhere in this room, add a shot or two.” She pushed her hair from her face. It stood up like a rooster’s tail. “Make it three.”
“Umm, Olivia, you’re not serious about the whiskey, are you? Because Finn—” Ava broke off as she glanced at Olivia and did a double take. “You have a black cross on your forehead.”
“A black cross on my forehead.” Olivia nodded and kept nodding. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. She must have done it while I was sleeping. Around the same time she put this goop in my hair and sawed into my heel just deep enough that it didn’t break off until I started walking and fell and nearly broke my neck. She’s diabolically devious. I think she’s possessed.”
“What did I tell you? Total demon spawn. And no judgment on my part—she’d drive me to drink too—but just how drunk were you that you slept through her pranks?” Lexi asked, standing by the door.
Olivia covered her face. “Oh God, I wish it was because I was drunk. I can’t…”
Lexi cleared her throat and coughed. It was an odd cough. It almost sounded like she was saying Olivia’s…Colleen cast a glance in Lexi’s direction and grimaced. This wasn’t good. Where was Simon when she needed him? From where she sat in the window seat behind Olivia, Colleen tried to tap the back of her head with her foot to get her attention. It went through it.
Olivia kept digging her hole deeper. “…tell you how much I wanted a drink. A lovely glass of wine or two or three…”
Ava and Sophie fake-laughed. “Olivia, you’re so funny. Ha! Ha! You, the responsible one. You would never drink when you—” Ava sighed when Olivia talked right over her.
“I’m like that woman from the Christmas Jammies family video. Did you see the one they made for Thanksgiving last year?” she asked, and then started singing something about wanting a Chard-a-nay-nay.
“Hey, wino, you got a visitor.” Lexi shook her head, obviously not impressed that Olivia hadn’t clued in at their attempts to warn her they had company.
Colleen’s great-grandson looked about as unhappy with Olivia as Lexi was.
Finn leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised at Olivia.
She straightened, glanced his way, and rolled her eyes. “It’s not what you think, so take a chill pill.”
“Great, now instead of talking like a sixty-five-year-old, you’re talking like you’re twelve.” He pushed off the door frame and walked across the room to take the coffee from Ava.
“Eight,” Sophie said. “It’s Mia’s new favorite expression.”
“I wouldn’t want a drink if George was like Mia. Mia’s an angel. I wish a little of Mia would rub off on George.”
Finn sniffed the coffee and handed it to Olivia. He angled his head. “Nice do. The cross is a good look on you too. So, where is Picasso?”
“I don’t know. Probably up in a tree eating her nits.”
Lexi guffawed, and Ava showered the desk with a mouthful of coffee.
Finn tried to keep a straight face, but Colleen caught the glint of amusement in his eyes. “That’s not nice.”
Olivia’s face fell, and her bottom lip quivered. “I know. I’m a horrible person. But I’m trying so hard and she hates me and says mean things and does even meaner things to me.” She lifted her gaze to Finn. “And it’s hard because I’ll turn around, and for one minute, I think it’s Cooper and I forget he’s gone and it hurts so bad when I realize it’s George that I can’t breathe. And then she’ll give me a look like Nathan used to or she’ll use one of his expressions and I…” Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know why I thought I could do this.”
Colleen reached over to pat Olivia’s shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself now. Your grief was so big and all-consuming it terrified you, girlie. So bit by bit, piece by piece, you buried it. But until you’ve faced it head-on, you can’t heal, you can’t become whole and move on. You’ll not say out loud what you’re feeling in your heart, and I can’t say I blame you.” In Olivia’s shoes, Colleen would have felt much the same. The child was as difficult as the situation.
“But as much as the child doesn’t like you, you don’t like her. She senses how you feel, you know. Once you’re honest with yourself, you’ll come to terms with your hurt and anger. Until you do, no good will come from keeping it buried. And mark my words, there is good to come from it. For the both of you. And for the man crouched at your side right now.”
Colleen turned a fond eye on Finn. “Oh yes, laddie, you judge Olivia for not dealing with her grief when you’ve done the same. Just like your brothers.”
Colleen watched as the girls joined Finn in comforting Olivia and lifting her spirits. That’s what life was all about, friends and family looking out for…
A streak of movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned to look out the window. If her heart were still beating, it would have stopped. “For the love of all that’s holy, you little hoyden, get out of the gardens!” she yelled at George. She flapped her arms in hopes of drawing Finn’s or the girls’ attention before the wild child picked every flower from the garden. Olivia had spent the better part of yesterday planting the beds with pink and white tulips for the weekend’s wedding.
Lexi rubbed her arms. “Anyone else feel a draft?”
“Maybe the window’s…” Sophie’s jaw dropped, and she started making choking sounds while stabbing her finger at the glass.
“Soph, what’s…Oh, hell. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Finn sprinted for the door. “Just keep Liv away from the Chard-a-nay-nay.”
Olivia felt reasonably human again when she returned to the study three hours later. A thorough scrub in a hot shower had taken care of the goop in her hair and the black marker on her face. George hadn’t had enough time to damage Olivia’s entire collection of shoes or wardrobe, so she was now attired in a bubble-gum-pink sleeveless dress and heels. She probably should have chosen another dress. It was the exact color of half the tulips George had beheaded. Tulips that Olivia had sweated and toiled over when she planted them in their perfect patterns the day before.
She wasn’t buying George’s excuse, which Finn had relayed to Olivia with a flicker of amusement in his warm, blue eyes, that the flowers were too pretty to be sitting in the dirt. But nor was she about to call out a five-year-old for lying, especially after the horrible things Olivia had said earlier.
Sophie looked up from where she sat behind her desk in the study and pushed her glasses on top of her head. “You look better, but how are you really feeling?”
“If you mean have I recovered from my meltdown, the answer is yes. I’m good, thanks. I’m just sorry you guys had to witness it.”
“Olivia, come on. We’re your friends. We know how tough this has been on you. The last thing you need is to be worrying…Sorry,” Sophie apologized when her cell phone rang and she picked it up.
Olivia had a fairly good idea what her friend had been about to say. But it didn’t change the fact that Olivia had lost control, and she simply did not lose control in public. Ever. Well, apparently, this was the new version of herself because she’d publicly lost control several times in the past ten days. Though the public part of it was mostly limited to an audience of one—Finn.
She could only imagine what he thought of her ode to Chardonnay. It seemed she couldn’t be within six feet of the man without making a complete and utter fool of herself. Which led to the question: Why did she ask him…? All right, so she had pleaded with him—again—to move into the manor. She knew why, of course. George actually liked and listened to Finn. Come to think of it, George liked and listened to quite a few people. She was the only one the little girl couldn’t stand. The only human, that is. Olivia had noticed she wasn’t overly fond of Simon either.
She glanced to where the black cat lay curled on the window seat soaking up the sun and walked over to check on the garden. Finn, with the help of his brothers and father, saved what flowers they could and planted the flats of tulips that In Bloom, the local floral shop and nursery, had delivered two hours before. George, according to Finn, had supervised. It was also his opinion that George hadn’t maliciously murdered the flowers; she was bored and should be in school.
Maybe he was right. Her late father’s favorite quote had been “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” Olivia thought the devil had had quite enough fun in George’s mind today. There she was doing it again, thinking the worst of the child. It was as if she did it on purpose. Focusing on all the reasons the little girl was unlovable so George didn’t find a way into Olivia’s heart.
Olivia pushed the thought aside to lean across the window seat and check out the newly planted tulips, shivering when a cold sensation crawled up her spine, goose bumps rising on her arms and neck. She rubbed her arms. It was like the sunshine didn’t penetrate the glass on this side of the window, leaving it surprisingly cold.
“That was Liam,” Sophie said as she hung up the phone. “He wanted you to know everything’s fine and that George seems to be enjoying herself. She’s caught four fish. With her bare hands.”
Olivia laughed, positive Liam was teasing. “Your husband’s a godsend. George actually stopped snarling at me when I told her Liam was taking her fishing.”
Sophie grinned. “Then you’ll be happy to know he plans on taking her fishing twice a week. He’s signing her up as his partner for the fishing competition in June.”
“Wow, she must have gotten the crazy out of her system with me and the garden. I’m so glad she’s behaving for him. There must be something about the Gallagher men. She’s well behaved for Finn too.”
Lexi, who must have caught the last part of the conversation as she walked in, said, “Doesn’t matter if they’re young or old, all females are putty in the experienced hands of the Gallagher men.”
The look Lexi gave Olivia seemed to say, You know what I’m talking about, girlfriend. She needed to correct the impression. Fast. She knew only too well what happened when the women of Harmony Harbor went into matchmaking mode. Heck, she’d done the same. That group mentality kind of took hold, and you didn’t know when to stop. “Not all of us,” Olivia said firmly.
“Of course you’re not affected, Sweet Cheeks.” Lexi laughed and took a seat. She looked around. “Where’s Ava and Kitty?”
“Ava got a call from Griffin to meet him at the lighthouse. She should be back any minute. And Kitty has a lunch date at the Yacht Club.”
Ava walked in, groaning at the news. “Do not tell me she’s going out with Dr. Bishop?”
Sophie wrinkled her nose and nodded. “Just pray that it’s quiet at the club this afternoon and Nonna doesn’t get wind of what’s going on.”
“Why? Does Rosa like Dr. Bishop too?” Olivia asked.
“Every woman over a certain age likes Dr. Bishop. And now that Finn’s working at the clinic and he has more time on his hands, the good doctor has decided dating is his new hobby. Auntie Rosa and Kitty’s feud has the potential to spread,” Ava said.
“Great. As if we don’t have enough going on.” Sophie sighed and glanced at Lexi. “You wanna do the honors and tell Olivia what Byron told you?”
“Yes, do share your pillow talk with Byron.” Ava chuckled into her coffee cup.
“Pillow talk? You and Byron? How did I not know this? No one tells me—” Olivia began, even though she knew that if she’d missed anything over the past ten days, it was her own fault.
“Mouse is just trying to be funny. Which she isn’t. I’m not dating Bryon. We went out for coffee a couple of times. That’s—”
Ava grinned and started moving her shoulders. “She really, really likes him. She thinks he’s sexy. She thinks—”
Lexi narrowed her eyes at Ava. “You and Griff watched Miss Congeniality without me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, after you put us off for the third time because you were pillow talking with Byron and getting the inside scoop on the Marquis’s upcoming plans.”
Sophie did a face-plant on her desk. “Yeah, their plans to put us out of business,” she said, her voice muffled in the stack of papers.
“Sophie, your baby hormones are making you pessimistic. It’ll be fine. The Marquis can’t compete with our location, and what bride-to-be doesn’t want to have their wedding at a castle?” Ava asked.
“A bride who wants the ultimate spa package,” Sophie said.
“The Marquis is putting in a spa?” It was an excellent idea. There wasn’t a bride who hadn’t asked Olivia about spa services. Plus it’s something all their guests would enjoy.
“Yep.” Lexi pulled out her phone and turned it to Olivia. “It’s all hush-hush, but they’re planning on opening in the fall.”
“Wow. It looks”—Olivia glanced at Sophie—“nice?”
“Admit it, it’s state-of-the-art. They even have flotation devices. I want to go,” Sophie grumbled, rubbing her baby bump.
“There’s no reason we can’t put in a spa. And it’ll be just as wonderful as theirs. Maybe not so modern and sleek though.” The more Olivia thought about it, the more excited she got. This is exactly what she needed. She had to keep busy. She felt better already. “I’ll start sourcing products from around here. Maybe we can even have our own line of—”
“Hold up.” Sophie waved her hands. “We can’t afford it. Even if we could, where would—”
“It wouldn’t cost as much as you think. The family rarely uses the cottages, and you only rent them out during the summer. So why not turn one of them into a spa? We can bring your mom on as a consultant, Sophie. She’s quite knowledgeable about this sort of thing, and that’ll keep her busy and out of your hair. I’ll come up with a preliminary budget for you by Monday, and we’ll go from there.” She looked at the three women staring at her like she was possessed. “I need a project like this right now, okay? I have everything organized for the upcoming events, so this won’t take time away from anything.”
“Umm, what about George?” Sophie asked.
“Right, George,” Olivia said, sounding a little disappointed even to her own ears. And that was the thing—she was failing miserably as a stepmother, but she knew how to make a project like this succeed. “Wait. She starts school on Monday, so it’s fine.” She felt like cheering.
“I don’t think you realize how tight our budget is, Olivia. And with the Marquis set to start advertising the spa for fall bookings, I have to adjust my income projections for the last quarter.”
“Look, you know who I am, so obviously you know I have money.”
Lexi snorted. “Money? You were listed in the top ten of Boston’s wealthiest women last year.”
“Yes, along with two of my cousins. And we didn’t have much to do with it. Our grandfather and fathers deserve the credit. But the one thing my grandfather and father taught me was to follow my instincts. I truly believe a spa would be good for business and the financial outlay will be minimal. Let me do this for the manor, for all of you. If it wasn’t for Colleen and Kitty, I don’t know how I would have survived those first few months. If it makes you feel better, instead of just financing the spa, I’ll be the majority shareholder.”
Sophie tapped her pen against the files on her desk. “But it’s part of the estate. If we can’t get the rest of the Gallagher great-grandchildren to agree to keep it in the family, you’ll lose your investment.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Olivia said.
“Why don’t you just buy the rest of the great-grandchildren out? That’ll at least be something we don’t have to worry—”
Sophie’s eyes went wide, and she cut off Lexi. “We can’t ask Olivia to do that.”
“Why not? She’s rich, and she loves the manor. It seems like a perfectly reasonable solution to me.”
Olivia smiled at Sophie and Ava, who were sharing I-can’t-believe-she-just-said-that looks. “I do have money, Lexi. But a lot of it’s tied up in investments and the foundation. And like my grandfather and father, I’m careful with my money. That’s not to say I don’t think Greystone is a good investment, I do. But Colleen knew who I was, and she never broached the subject of me buying the manor. I don’t think her plan was only about keeping Greystone and the estate in the family. It’s just my opinion, but I believe this has as much to do with bringing the Gallagher family together again and bringing them home to Harmony Harbor. It’s working so far. Liam and Griffin wouldn’t be here without Colleen and her will.”
“Hmm, you might be right. Oh well, it was worth a shot. So looks like we have to marry Finn off.” Lexi looked at Olivia. “Any thoughts on who would be his perfect match?”
Before Olivia could disabuse Lexi of the idea that she was his match, Sophie said, “If Jasper has his way, that would be you, Lex.”
Olivia blinked, looking from Sophie to Lexi, who waved her hand and laughed. “Get out of here. There’s no way—”
Olivia didn’t know why she was relieved to hear Lexi’s response, but there was no denying that it was relief that erased the uncomfortable tension that had tightened her chest.
“I can’t believe you haven’t noticed how Jasper goes on about Finn when you’re around.” Ava mimicked the older man’s stiff upper-crust voice. “Did you notice how wonderful Master Finn is with baby Gabriel, miss? He’s a fine doctor. One of the best. It would be good to have a doctor around, not just for you but for the wee one, too, don’t you think?”
Lexi made a face and rubbed her forehead as though she couldn’t believe she’d missed it. Or maybe she was reacting to Ava’s creepy older man’s voice.
Ava continued. “He’s always been very popular with the ladies. I wouldn’t wait if I were you, miss.”
Lexi scowled at Ava. “Jasper did not say that.”
Ava laughed. “No, that was me. But it’s true. There’s been standing room only at the clinic since he started.”
Their conversation shouldn’t bother her. Olivia wasn’t interested in Finn or any other man. Relationships and marriage were the last thing on her mind. Once was enough, thank you very much. Obviously, she needed to build a stronger case because the uncomfortable weight in her chest had returned. She had the answer. Finn was too young for her. Better yet, he was a doctor. She had that T-shirt too.
But when neither objection produced the desired result, she brought in the big guns. The man had flagged her as a drug addict, and no doubt thought she ranked right up there with Lady Tremaine—the evil stepmother in Cinderella. Even that didn’t seem to help, she thought with a disheartened sigh. It was probably because of his pretty-boy looks.
No, she reluctantly admitted to herself. It had nothing to do with his looks and everything to do with how kind and supportive he’d been the day George arrived. All right, fine, he was ridiculously handsome too. She had to change the subject. “So, about the spa, are we all agreed? I’ll do some research this weekend and get back to you with the preliminary numbers on Monday?”
She glanced at Ava, who was looking at her while nodding. Olivia frowned. “What is it?”
“You paid for the ballroom renovation, didn’t you?” Ava wagged her finger at Olivia. “No, don’t try and deny it. I bet you’re my fairy godmother too.”
“I’m not sure what you mean by your fairy godmother, but I did pay for the ballroom reno, and it brought me a great deal of pleasure to see it restored to its former beauty. So don’t even think of giving me grief.”
“Giving you grief? We should have a parade in your honor. Look what you’ve done for all of us.”
“Sophie’s right. Without you stepping in for me, Olivia, who knows where I’d be. And knowing I’m the reason Stanley was able to track you down…It means a lot to me.” Lexi leaned over and hugged her. Sophie’s and Ava’s eyes filled with tears, as did Olivia’s. And not just because Lexi wasn’t known for public displays of affection. It was because Olivia was grateful for them too.
Feeling a little emotional herself, Colleen got up from the window seat. Since Olivia had arrived at Greystone, all she’d done was make life better for everyone at the manor and in Harmony Harbor. And none of them had known just how much or how deeply she’d been hurting at the time. They still didn’t. Olivia hadn’t told them everything.
Sophie sniffed and furtively swiped at her cheek. “So, what did you mean by Olivia acting as your fairy godmother, Ava?”
“That’s why Griffin called. Someone left a wedding card at the lighthouse for us while we were away. Inside was a gift card for ten thousand dollars to cover the renovations that Chase Halloran is doing, and it was signed your fairy godmother.”
“It wasn’t from me,” Olivia said.
Lexi snorted. “Don’t look at me, Mouse. I love you guys but I don’t have that kind of coin.”
Colleen smiled and left them to their guessing game. She knew exactly who Ava’s fairy godmother was. They’d all find out soon enough.
Colleen walked toward the door, stopping to give a fond pat to Olivia’s cheek. “If it’s the last thing I do, you’ll find your happy here, my girl. I promise you that.”
Walking through the door, she shuddered at the odd sensation that traveled up her spine. The only time that happened was when she walked through someone. Sure enough, a woman with silver-streaked dark hair stood with her ear pressed to the study door. “Now, what would you be about?” Colleen murmured.
It was the recent hire. Ivy, she thought her name was. When the fortysomething woman wasn’t helping out at events, she worked in housekeeping. Colleen looked around for a service cart. There was none to be found.
The woman straightened, her dark eyes narrowed. She headed down the hall, glancing over her shoulder before she slipped into the library. Colleen followed her inside. The woman stuck her head out in the hall to take another quick look before closing the door with her hip. She removed a cell phone and folded piece of paper from the pocket of her black uniform. Smoothing the paper on a bookshelf, she punched a number into her phone, impatiently tapping her black work shoe against the hardwood floor while waiting for someone to pick up.
As soon as a voice came over the line, she launched right in. “You said you had a plan in play to force the Gallaghers to sell before the end of the year. Tell me it wasn’t the spa at the Marquis.” The woman ran the tip of her tongue over her teeth while the other person spoke.
There was something familiar about this Ivy, but Colleen couldn’t quite place her.
“Yeah, well, I’m telling you it ain’t going to work, Ms. Townsend. They’re building one of their own, and the woman who is bankrolling it is probably richer than your boss. So tell me how you’re going to get me my money now?” While the person on the other end of the line spoke, the woman once again ran her tongue over her front teeth. She made a sucking sound that caused Colleen’s hair to stand on end. She knew the woman. She was sure of it.
Ivy shook her head. Not at Colleen but at Paige Townsend, the local Realtor who represented the corporation trying to buy the estate and manor out from under them. They wanted to tear down Greystone and build high-end condos.
Ivy rolled her dark, blue-shadowed eyes. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Here’s the new deal. I’m on the inside, and I’m going to make Ms. Richy Rich Davenport go away. And you’re gonna up your game to get them all on board to sell because, in case you’ve forgotten, you can’t sell Old Lady O’Hurley’s place for me till you do. It’s only a matter of time before her kids come snooping around wanting a piece of what’s mine.”
Colleen gasped. Now she knew why the woman seemed familiar. She’d worked as a paid companion for Colleen’s old friend Patty O’Hurley. The Gallaghers and O’Hurleys went way back. The family had lived a couple of miles up the road for as long as Colleen could remember. Their Victorian was built on a half acre of Gallagher land just up from the cottages.
There was a story there, a reason why the O’Hurleys had been leased the land; Colleen just couldn’t remember it at the moment. Her memory wasn’t what it used to be. She had an uncomfortable feeling there was much more she had to remember. Something about Patty’s last visit to the manor.
Feeling in need of an ally, Colleen called to the only one who could hear her. “Simon!” she yelled, and then scowled. “A lot of good that’ll do you. He can’t walk through doors,” she told herself. The threat against Olivia had obviously rattled her.
“Don’t worry about it. I have a plan,” Ivy was saying into the phone. “And since it’s my plan, and I’ll be doing all the work, I’d say that makes us equal partners, wouldn’t you, Paige? Fifty-fifty seems fair. You do that,” she said, and disconnected.
At the sound of scratching on the door, the woman smoothed her uniform and pasted a genial smile on her face before opening it. When she saw that it was Simon, she dropped the act, pushing him away with her foot. “Stay away from me, flea bag.”
“Mind her and do as she says, Simon. There’s something not quite right about that one. Come on, we have to find Jasper. We’re going to need his help to protect Olivia. She’s in trouble, Simon. Serious, serious trouble.”