Chocolate for Two (11 page)

We both looked back at his parents. I was waiting for his mom to say something, and I think Jake was too.

But she didn’t.

After the toast, Jake went inside to use the bathroom, and I took the opportunity to take a little walk. I was feeling drained and wanted a few moments to myself. I set my empty water glass on a table, and when I didn’t think anyone would notice, I quietly headed toward the tent exit.

I was nearly there when I felt a hand on my arm.

“Waverly, it’s so lovely to meet you.”

Damn.

I turned to find an older woman standing next to me. She was wearing yet another pastel pantsuit, decorated with yet another gold brooch. She was carrying a small dog in her purse, an animal so tiny that for a brief moment I thought it might be a hamster.

“It’s lovely to be met.” I smiled and held out my hand.

“I’m Doris Baker. My husband and I live just down the street. This little darling is Olive.”

I saluted the miniature dog. “It’s nice to meet you, Olive.”

Doris smiled. “I can’t tell you how excited our little community is about your wedding.”

“I can’t say there’s much of a wedding in the works just yet, but I’m certainly excited about the engagement, that’s for sure. Isn’t this a lovely party?”

“You’re going to be just a vision in white, that’s for sure. And with a hunk like Jake on your arm? The two of you are quite the beautiful couple.” She winked.

“Thank you.” I could feel my eyes brighten at the thought of Jake on my arm.

“Have you been out to see the Breakers yet?” she asked.

“The Breakers?”

She nodded. “Ava told me she was able to book it for Presidents’ Day weekend. That’s quite a coup.”

My jaw dropped.

“I’m sorry?”

“The Breakers Hotel, hon. Have you been to see it yet? If not, you’re in for a treat.”

Her voice trailed off, or at least I stopped listening.

What?

His mom has been telling people the date
and
location of our wedding?

I put my hand on her arm. “I hate to be rude, Doris, but I really must visit the ladies’ room. I’m so sorry.”

She shooed me away. “You go on now, hon. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

“It was so nice to meet you.” I gave her a polite hug and hoped she couldn’t discern the confusion on my face. I exited the tent, but instead of turning toward the house, I walked across the lawn, toward the water.

Now I really needed some time alone.

I didn’t want to be, but I was…angry.

How could she do that?

This is
my
wedding, not hers.

Suddenly I missed having a mother of my own.

I walked across what felt like a football field, until I finally reached the far edge of the backyard, the water rippling gently against the shore. To the left was a picturesque white gazebo, to the right a wooden dock extending over the rocks. A small speedboat was tethered to the end of it.

“Wow,” I whispered. The scene was tranquil, peaceful, beautiful.

I was struck by how different this view was from that of Andie’s living room. It couldn’t have been more different, but it was just as stunning in its own way.

I lost track of time as I stood there, trying to stay calm, trying to believe that Jake’s mom’s wasn’t intentionally trying to hijack our wedding.

Don’t be upset.

You don’t have to do things her way.

Jake will stand up for you.

The sound of a man’s voice startled me.

“Why, hello there. What are you doing down here all by yourself?”

I turned around and saw Jake’s dad standing about ten feet away, a cigar in one hand.

“Oh, hi, Mr. McIntyre. I was just, um, taking a little breather.”
Please don’t ask me what’s wrong.

If he knew I was upset, he didn’t let on. “I don’t blame you one bit, young lady. That’s a lot of people to handle at once. Why do you think I came down here myself? You stole my idea.”

I laughed and looked out over the water.

“Quite a view, isn’t it?” he said.

“Mesmerizing.” I gave a slight nod toward the end of the dock. “Is that your boat?”

“Sure is. Would you like to see it?”

“I’d love to.”
Anything to keep me away from the party a few more minutes.

When we reached the end of the dock, he smiled and held out his arm game-show style.

“Waverly, meet my pride and joy.” The boat had a mahogany finish and pristine white leather seats. The back of it said
THE MCMILLAN
.

The McMillan?

Why does that name sound familiar?

“What does the name mean?” I squinted at it as I tried to remember where I’d heard it before.

He took a puff of his cigar. “It stands for Father McMillan.”

I stiffened. Something Jake’s mom had said the night before came rushing back:
Father McMillan has already agreed to perform the ceremony.

Before I could speak, Jake’s dad continued. “He officiated our wedding nearly forty years ago…and later…he helped us through a difficult time.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say, so all I said was, “Oh.”

Jake’s dad picked up a rock from the deck and skipped it out into the water. “Father McMillan married me and Ava back when we were barely out of college.” He gave me a knowing smile. “Of course, that seems way too young to get married
now
, but it was a different time then…”

I nodded.

He tossed another rock into the water. “Before Ava had Jake, she became extremely ill. Did Jake ever tell you that?”

The hair on my neck stood up.
Jake’s mom nearly died?
He had never told me that. I wanted to know more but knew it wasn’t my place to ask, at least right now, so I just shook my head. “No,” I whispered.

“It was touch and go for a while there, and Father McMillan, well, I guess you could say he helped us…keep it together. We were practically babies ourselves back then, you know. And we already had Brett and Natalie, who were both just toddlers. It was a rough time, and we leaned on him a lot.”

I didn’t reply, knowing he had more to say.

Jake’s dad bent down to pick up another rock from the deck. “Granted, I’m far from what you’d call religious, unlike Ava, who grew up very Catholic, but I’ll always be grateful to that man.”

I offered a weak smile.

“He officiated Brett and Natalie’s weddings, and he baptized all three of our kids, and now their kids. That’s why Ava is so devoted to him. He’s a good man. He would have been here tonight, but he’s a bit under the weather. He’s nearly eighty now.”

He tossed the rock into the water and nodded toward the house. “Should we get back? The belle of the ball can’t be gone for too long before people start asking questions.”

I smiled, suddenly feeling like I was going to cry. “Good point. Let’s go, then.”

“Waverly?”

I froze.
Please don’t ask me what’s wrong
. “Yes?”

“Last night, when Ava talked about your wedding, about having it here in Florida…”

I nodded.

He cleared his throat. “I just want to make it clear that we would never want to push you into anything you’re not comfortable with. I know Ava can be a bit much sometimes, but her heart is in the right place, I promise you that. And at the end of the day, it’s
your
wedding, not ours. Okay?”

I glanced at the boat. What had he called it? His pride and joy? And he’d named it after the aging, ailing pastor who had baptized his three children and officiated two of their weddings?

I looked back at him, sincerity written all over his kind face, and thought of everything mean I’d said to Jake about his mom.

I suddenly felt like a huge bitch.

When we were finally alone in the rental car a couple hours later, I turned to face Jake.

“Hey Mr. Secretive, were you ever planning to tell me that your family is loaded?”

He laughed and turned the key in the ignition. “
Loaded
is a relative term.”

I gently slapped his arm. “Spare me. I’ve never seen so much gold in one place. It was like the
Pirates of the Caribbean
ride in there.”

“You were great. Everyone loved you.”

“You think so?”

He nodded. “I know so.”

“They’re all sort of blending together in a huge pastel memory right now, but overall I think your parents’ friends are pretty nice. Actually, I was sort of surprised at how nice they all were.”

“They’re good people. Some of them are a little over-the-top, but underneath the glitz, they’re good people. My parents are pretty selective when it comes to their friends.”

I bit my lip. I wanted to talk to him about my conversation with his dad down by the dock, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

Jake looked over at me. “I had no idea so many of them watched
Love, Wendy
. They were quite taken by you.”

I smoothed my hair with my hand. “I know! Can you believe that one lady asked me for my autograph? That was nutty.”

“Irma from down the street?
She’s
nutty. I think she has like a hundred finches in her house.”

“Hey now, don’t be dissing my fans. It’s the Irmas out there who pay my rent.”

“What did it feel like to be recognized by complete strangers?”

I looked out the window at the shadowy scenery passing by. I thought for a moment, then turned to him.

“It’s hard to explain. On the one hand it’s fun because they seem to like me and are so friendly, but then I realize they don’t really know me—the
real
me—at all, and then the whole interaction feels sort of fake. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. “A little. NBA players say similar things.”

“I’m not complaining…I mean, it’s nice to be recognized and appreciated for what I do, but at the same time it’s just…
odd.
I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m sorry.”

He reached over and interlaced his hand with mine. “It’s okay, you don’t have to describe it. Not everything has to have a perfect answer.”

You’re my perfect answer
, I thought.

I squeezed his hand. “Thanks for tonight.”

“Thanks? Why are you thanking
me
?”

“You knew I was nervous, like really nervous, especially at the beginning, but you didn’t tease me about it.”

“I like to think I know where to draw the line on teasing.”

I nodded and pretended to paint a line in the air. “You definitely know where to draw that line. I wish I had your intuition.”

“My mom was pretty great tonight, wasn’t she?”

I put down my imaginary paintbrush and smiled. “Actually,
yes
. That was the nicest she’s ever been to me. I wonder what happened?”

He laughed. “I told you she’s not that bad.”

A vision of Jake’s mom in the hospital years ago, close to death, his dad and Father McMillan at her side, flitted across my brain. I pulled my hand away from Jake’s and looked out the window, suddenly afraid I was going to cry.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“I’m fine.” I nodded but didn’t look at him. I could feel a few tears run down my cheeks.

“Waverly, what’s wrong?”

I didn’t reply.

He reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Waverly?”

I wiped a tear from my cheek, then turned to face him. I cleared my throat.

“What time do we have to leave for the Heat game tomorrow?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe around one?”

I took a deep breath.

“Do you think…do you think we could go see the Breakers Hotel on the way?”

Jake’s mom was over the moon when he called her the next morning.

“No promises, but we’d like to have a look,” he said into the phone.

Brief pause.

“That should work. Okay, we’ll be there at eleven thirty. Bye, Mom.”

He hung up the phone and looked at me. “They have brunch plans so can’t meet us, but my mom’s going to make a few calls and get us a private tour.”

I bit my lip. “She knows we’re not committing to anything, right? That I just want to take a look at it?”

He nodded. “She knows.”