A Valentine's Proposal--A Clean Romance, page 6
“Why not give her the ring some other time than Christmas?”
Dave shook his head. “We talked about it. We can’t afford to spend a lot, so the ring is our Christmas present to each other.”
“Then why are you asking if you need to get her something else?”
“Because I think she’s going to get me something else, and then I’ll look like a jerk if I didn’t do the same.”
Nelson wiped down his countertop. He’d just finished his dinner when Dave stopped by. The neatness he’d had to incorporate into his work spilled over into his personal life. He liked things clean and put away.
“Well, since the ring is a piece of jewelry that she wears, not you, that seems more like a present for her anyway. But if you really want to cover your bases, get her something.”
Dave slapped a hand down on the freshly wiped countertop. “But if she didn’t get me something, she’s going to be mad. It’ll make her look bad, and like I’m not listening to her.”
Nelson nudged his hand away and rewiped the spot on the countertop.
“You didn’t let me finish. You get her something, but don’t put it under the tree. You keep it hidden away somewhere and pull it out if needed.”
Dave frowned. “Okay, but what if she didn’t get me anything? I return it? What if she finds out about that?”
It was a small town. News usually worked its way around.
Nelson lifted a finger. “No, you save it for the next time you’re supposed to give her something. Like Valentine’s Day.”
Dave pumped his fist.
“Genius, man. You are a freaking genius.”
Nelson thought of the work he’d done to get his veterinary degree. The animals he’d saved. And Dave was impressed with a bit of gift-giving chicanery. People were weird.
* * *
“THANKS FOR INVITING me to join you,” Mariah said, looking at Jaycee driving the vehicle, and then Rachel in the back seat of Jaycee’s car.
Jaycee shot a look at Rachel. Mariah held in a smile.
She’d been pleased when the two women had invited her to join them for darts night. There were a limited number of women her age in town, and fewer were single women. She’d been working hard, but it was nice to take a break.
Not to mention that she was good at darts. Darts were a staple at so many places around the globe.
The whole town was buzzing with the plans for Valentine’s Day. And Jaycee was dating someone, so Mariah suspected Jaycee had a plan she wanted the Romance Committee to assist with.
It didn’t hurt that Jaycee had long dark hair offset by golden skin and would look fantastic in promotional materials.
Mariah needed a couple more good events. Her grandfather had promised to provide publicity, if she gave him something worth publicizing. So far everyone who’d approached her wanted a romantic dinner or getaway. Which was fine, but not really the kind of big thing they needed to kick-start their plan for Carter’s Crossing.
The vow renewal was sweet, but they also needed to appeal to a younger age demographic. A dinner date was nice, but currently, what Carter’s Crossing had to offer along that line wasn’t going to bring people in from the city.
She needed something big. Something splashy.
She hoped Jaycee had something more like that in mind.
“Go on, tell her,” Rachel said to Jaycee.
“Okay, I hate feeling like I’m using you, but I am glad you’re coming along with us tonight because this is the first time I’ve joined Dave and—”
“Jaycee, cut to the chase!” Rachel shoved Jaycee’s shoulder.
“Dave and I are getting engaged this Christmas.”
Mariah waited. A Christmas engagement was not a Valentine’s Day event.
“We know we want to get married, but we don’t have a lot of cash right now. We’re getting the ring for Christmas—that’s all we’re doing for gifts, because we’re saving up for a house, and the business...”
Rachel poked her friend again. “Come on, Jaycee. Get to the point. She doesn’t need to know all these details right now.”
Jaycee huffed a breath as she turned into the parking lot of a brightly lit pub called the Goat and Barley. She pulled the car into an open slot, and then turned to Mariah.
“We’re doing everything low-key, because of money, but I would love to have a big engagement party, so that everyone knows. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day. I wondered if the Romance Committee might make an engagement party one of their events.”
Okay, this was much more what Mariah needed. If she and Abigail could come up with a big enough venue, they could probably get by without professional catering, if they found a good band, and made it mostly about the entertainment. Wait, what about a skating party? Bonfires, a dance...
She realized Jaycee and Rachel were waiting to hear her response.
“Sorry, guys, my brain started firing. This might be just what we need. Do you have anything in mind? Would you want to have the proposal then, too?”
Jaycee shook her head. “Nothing in mind, just having everyone come to celebrate. I don’t think Dave’s mom approves, so maybe a party will get her on board. And no, I’m not waiting a minute longer than I have to for that ring. If we could afford it now, I’d be wearing it already.”
Mariah could believe it. Jaycee’s smile, the glow in her dark eyes, the way her fingers were tapping on the steering wheel: everything said she was happy and excited and in love.
Rachel looked just as thrilled for her friend.
Mariah wanted to throw Jaycee and her fiancé a party. She wanted to give them a chance to enjoy themselves with the support of their community, especially if his family wasn’t completely on board.
She held up one gloved hand. “It’s not my decision alone. And there are things to work out. But it sounds like a great idea to me.”
“Yay!” Jaycee and Rachel high-fived.
“Don’t say anything till I’ve talked to Abigail, okay?”
Jaycee pouted. “I have to tell Dave.”
Mariah frowned at her. “Can he keep a secret?”
“Of course he can.”
Mariah wasn’t reassured by the doubtful look on Rachel’s face.
Before she could suggest leaving Dave out of the loop, Jaycee squealed. “There they are!”
She flung her door open and raced to meet her Dave. Mariah watched her as she threw herself into the arms of an attractive blond man who got out of the driver’s side of a pickup truck, and then stopped, halfway out of the car.
Dave wasn’t alone. And she knew the guy he was with.
Rachel spoke from behind her. “That’s Dave, in case you didn’t guess. And you know Nelson, right? He’s Abigail’s grandson. You must have run into him at her place.”
Mariah pasted on a smile. It became a lot more genuine when she saw Nelson spot her, and frown. Oh, this was going to be a fun night.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE FIVE OF them entered the Goat and Barley. They found a table, and Nelson avoided Mariah, sitting by Rachel. She nudged him with her shoulder.
“You playing darts?” She was holding back a grin, brown eyes sparkling.
Nelson had done complicated surgery on expensive thoroughbreds without making a wrong move, but he couldn’t hit a bull’s-eye to save himself. It didn’t stop him from trying most nights.
Not tonight, though. He didn’t need Mariah getting the best of him. Not when he was absolutely, one hundred percent certain she was a ringer. And no one else caught it.
He was certain when she shrugged and admitted she had played before, while not claiming any special skill. He was certain when Dave offered to play for the next round of drinks. He thought of warning Dave but decided to let him find out what Mariah was really like.
After this, Dave might listen to him if the time came to warn him about something more serious. He wished he’d had someone to talk to when he’d been up to his eyeballs in wedding plans. Someone other than Sherry Anstruthers.
Mariah and Rachel teamed up against Dave and Jaycee. Rachel was almost as bad as Nelson was, but Nelson still would have bet his money on that team. And he was right. Mariah was an ace.
Dave bought the next round when they returned to the table. He was laughing, and making Mariah promise to play with him against the Oak Hill guys.
Nelson was quiet, watching Mariah charm his friends.
Dave shot him glances, and Rachel poked him in the ribs, both concerned with his uncharacteristically quiet behavior. He ignored them and took a break to hit up the men’s room.
He took his time, trying to work out a plan of action.
This engagement party had raised all his suspicions. Jaycee blurted out that Mariah was going to throw an engagement party for Dave and her as soon as they’d met in the parking lot.
Dave was obviously surprised by the news. Jaycee had never been much for big parties, so obviously this was Mariah’s idea. She needed more events for her Valentine’s Day plans, so she’d roped Jaycee into it. He didn’t know how she’d done it, or what she’d promised, but he knew how bad things like that could get. He’d been through this before.
He wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t shared all the details about the disastrous end to his wedding, and he didn’t want to do so now. But he’d have to explain his problem with Mariah. He could see the worry on his friends’ faces.
His reticence had probably contributed to the town’s belief that he was still wounded from his aborted wedding ceremony. The truth was that he hadn’t wanted anyone to know what a jerk he’d been. He’d hoped to avoid that. Rachel was the only one who knew most of the details, and she still didn’t understand.
Why did his grandmother have to decide to make the town a wedding destination—no, a romance destination?
He stopped at the bar to get the next round. Rachel slipped into the seat beside him, strands of her long brown hair falling from her ponytail.
“What’s up, Nelson?”
He turned to her, waiting for their drinks.
“Is it the wedding planner thing? Too soon?”
He crossed his arms. He knew exactly what everyone believed the problem was. That he was upset because of Mariah’s job. Well, he was, but not the way they thought.
“It’s been three years, Rachel. I’m over it.”
He could see she didn’t believe him. “I’m over being upset about it. But what happened was the result of a bad decision I made, based on bad advice I got. And that bad advice I got was from Mariah’s boss.”
Rachel’s mouth dropped.
“Does she, I mean, does your grandmother—”
“Grandmother thinks Mariah deserves a chance. But I’m a little...skeptical.”
Rachel’s brows lowered. “I’m sorry, Nelson. I had no idea. Would you rather leave now?”
Part of him did. But he couldn’t tell Rachel he didn’t want to leave Mariah alone with Dave and Jaycee. Even he could see that would sound a little...paranoid, at best.
But Rachel hadn’t been through what he’d been through. He was the one who’d gotten too wrapped up in plans, and he was the one who’d been advised by Mariah’s boss that he was right, and that Zoey just had nerves.
He hadn’t understood that Sherry’s primary interest wasn’t in making their wedding day something they’d always look back on and remember with happiness and joy. Sherry had been interested in her fees, her reputation and impressing the next potential client.
Nelson had been stupid and had made the wrong decision. He’d made it because he’d put his goals ahead of what Zoey wanted and needed. He didn’t exempt himself from that. But he’d trusted Sherry and relied on her advice, not his own instincts. He thought they both bore blame.
He didn’t think every wedding planner was evil. He wasn’t that stupid. But he knew, absolutely, that Sherry was selfish and greedy. He’d heard Mariah say she’d learned everything from that same Sherry.
His grandmother thought Mariah deserved a chance. Nelson wasn’t sure he agreed, but he’d promised not to interfere. And he wouldn’t, unless Mariah’s schemes were going to hurt people he cared about.
He finally told Rachel he was happy to stay. When she looked skeptical, he explained, “I need to do this, Rach. It’s come to my attention that the people in this town think I missed that last wedding because I couldn’t face it, not that Sparky really had colic.”
Rachel looked guilty, and he shook his head.
“You, too? My horse was sick. I swear. But if I run away every time Mariah is around, those rumors are going to continue. I don’t like her, but I’m not afraid of her. I’ll stay and hang out with my friends.”
Rachel chewed on her lip, but she didn’t get a chance to respond before their drinks were slapped down on the bar top.
Nelson led the way back to their table, happy to see that Mariah had vanished.
It was too much to hope that she’d left, but at least he could enjoy his friends’ company without her. Then he saw who she was talking to.
Harvey. Judy’s Harvey.
It was a small town, but couldn’t she insert herself into the life of someone other than the people he hung out with and worked with? Was it too much to ask?
* * *
MARIAH WASN’T SURPRISED when a stranger asked if he could talk to her. It hadn’t taken long to discover that she was known to everyone, and everyone knew why she was there.
This time the young man, named Harvey, had a good idea for her. He wasn’t the first to approach her, but his idea was one she could work with.
She sympathized with the many people who’d been undergoing financial hardship and wanted to take their partners out for a dinner on Valentine’s Day, but that wasn’t what they needed right now as a Valentine’s promotion.
She let Abigail know about all these requests, and each time she could see Abigail take that responsibility on her own shoulders.
Mariah was impressed by how hard Abigail was working to keep the town alive. And Mariah wanted to help. She was learning to like these people.
She caught a glare from Nelson.
Most of these people.
She wanted this romance plan to work, and to bring life and prosperity back to Carter’s Crossing. She needed something better than a dinner out to promote the town. And Harvey had something better.
He wanted to propose to his girlfriend.
These days people didn’t just go down on one knee or have a ring show up in a dessert to ask someone to marry them. Proposals had become elaborate, complicated and sometimes expensive. And often went viral.
A proposal that took advantage of what Carter’s Crossing had to offer, things that other places didn’t, was exactly the kind of event she needed.
Mariah didn’t remember hearing about a Harvey when the committee had gone over the dating prospects in town, so she wasn’t sure if she’d missed it, or this was one they didn’t know about. In any case, she’d happily help Harvey with his proposal.
As always, she cautioned, “It’s not just my decision in this. But it sounds really promising. I’d have to get approval, but assuming I did—”
Harvey had an anxious look on his face. “I want to surprise her. I don’t want her to hear about it from someone else.”
Mariah nodded. It was a valid concern, from her short experience in Carter’s Crossing.
“I’ll just talk to Abigail for now. But I can’t approve this on my own.”
“It’s okay if Mrs. Carter knows. She’ll be careful. But a lot of people talk in this town.”
That was the truth.
“Assuming this all works out, what kind of proposal were you thinking of?”
Harvey chewed on a cuticle.
“I want something special. I want her to be able to tell all her friends about it. I want to show her that she’s special.”
That was sweet. And perfect.
“Why don’t you tell me about her, what makes her so special and what it is that’s special between the two of you? What you have in common that other people don’t? We want it to be something unique, but also something she loves.”
“Sure.” Harvey stopped chewing. “Her name is Judy, and she’s beautiful. She works at the veterinary clinic.”
Mariah closed her eyes. No. Way. Another chance to bump into Nelson Carter? The man made a face like he’d sucked on lemons every time he saw her.
It was annoying. And provoking. And puzzling.
She’d decided she should avoid him as much as possible. And now she had two events that were going to impinge on him. She’d noticed his reaction when Jaycee blurted out about the engagement party. It hadn’t exactly been a happy face.
And now a proposal for someone who worked for Nelson. Was this town really that small?
Harvey had stopped.
“Sorry, you were saying Judy works at the vet clinic?”
He nodded. “She’s wonderful with animals. Loves them all, and they love her. She can’t have a pet at home, because her sister is allergic, but once we get married, we can buy a house and have as many animals as she wants.”
Harvey might not be the handsomest man in Carter’s Crossing, but he was in the running for sweetest, Mariah thought.
“So are animals the bond that brought you together?”
His eyes widened. “Oh, no. Not that. We’re both big fans of The Walking Dead. We love that show. We dress up for Halloween, and go to cons together...in fact, that’s what I’d like to have for the proposal. Can we do a Walking Dead one?”
Mariah blinked, and blinked again. A zombie proposal.
Yeah, that wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
* * *
THE PROBLEM WITH small towns was that avoiding someone was almost impossible. Well, there were other problems, but this was the one troubling him now. In theory, a wedding or romance planner and a vet shouldn’t cross paths often. But the odds were not shaking out in his favor.
