The Perfect Arrangement (13 page)

I sat in a white plastic chair while George finished his cake beside me. It had been a gorgeous wedding. I wrapped one leg over the other, folded my hands over my knee, and watched everyone on the dance floor. The bride and the groom. Bridget's parents and her grandparents. My stepsisters and their husbands. Jeanine and the date she'd brought with her from Green Bay. Phil Nixon and Fern Halloway. Wayne and Sandy Sawyer. Their nephew Jake and his wife, Emma—she was Baxter's vet, and they were the town sweethearts. A whole floor of people who loved each other enough to take a risk.

George set his plastic fork on his plate, stood slowly, and held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

I hesitated, wondering . . .

At what point in my life had I stopped dancing? Was it after my mother died? Or maybe after that, when my father followed? I guess it didn't matter when. What mattered was that I'd stopped. Somewhere along the way, I decided to stay off the dance floor. To watch instead. Maybe Rachel was right. Maybe it was time to get off the sidelines. To stop watching and start experiencing. I looked up into George's eyes, proof that living life meant pain would be inevitable. But maybe all the pain would be worth the
life
I'd experience along the way.

I took George's hand. He wrapped my arm around his elbow. The two of us made our way onto the floor and began swaying to Ben E. King's “Stand by Me.”

“So whatever happened to your beau?”

“My beau?”

“The one that had love blossoming. Did you decide he was worth the risk?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“It didn't work out.”

“That's too bad. What was his name?”

“Nate Gallagher.”

“Now there's a fine Irish name.”

“His mother is Italian.” I sighed. “Honestly, George, he was too good to be true.”

“We all are in the beginning.” The two of us shuffled back and forth, old George feeling frail in my arms. How much longer until he no longer came into my shop every Monday morning? “The good stuff comes when you decide to stick around long enough to learn each other's faults. That's what true love is all about.”

“Hey now, I thought you said you loved Sylvia at first sight. You couldn't have known her faults then.”

“I did love her right away, but it wasn't
true
love yet. It wasn't that deep-down, feel-it-in-your-bones kind of love. That kind's a lot messier. A lot better too. And it only comes with commitment and time.” George's swaying slowed. Something behind me had caught his attention.

“Well, I wish I could have had some more time with Nate.”

“There's a wish I think I can grant.” He gave a nod over my shoulder.

I turned around and my breath hitched.

It was Nate. He stood behind me looking absolutely disheveled. Windblown hair, skewed tie, shirt front slightly
untucked. He was even a little out of breath, like he'd run all the way from Yooperland. And absolutely, irresistibly adorable.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

George patted my hand and slipped away.

“I didn't get your voice mail until this afternoon.” He tugged at his tie. “And I must say, it absolutely confused me.”

He came all this way to say that my message confused him? “I don't understand . . .”

“I never got an e-mail from you. I was waiting on one. Hoping for one. But after what happened, I was determined not to pressure you. I mean, it seemed pretty clear to me that you weren't very interested last Saturday.”

I shook my head. He couldn't be more wrong. “Nate . . .”

“But I never got one. No e-mail in my inbox. And then you left that message alluding to an email, and I was absolutely confused.” Nate pushed his fingers through his hair. “So I checked, and somehow your e-mail went to my spam folder. Maybe it was the lame subject line.”

“Hey, now.”

He smiled. “As soon as I read it, I grabbed my keys and hit the road. Then I got here and realized two things. I'd forgotten my stupid flip phone at home, and I had no idea where the reception was.”

I cupped my hand over my mouth.

“I walked around town square asking anyone I could find, until someone finally led me here. To you.”

“Stand by Me” gave way to another song—“I've Got You under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra. More people joined the dance floor, pushing Nate and I together.

“Since I came all this way”—he spread his hand on the small of my back and drew me closer—“would you let me have at least one dance?”

I slipped my hand in his, smiling so wide I wasn't sure I'd ever stop. His nearness made my insides tingle. I felt so light I thought I might float right off the dance floor. And oh my goodness, his cologne. Seriously, what was it called—heaven in a bottle?

“So, twenty-four.” He flung me out, then pulled me back in again. “Any more guesses?”

“Number of cats you'd like to own someday?”

His chest rumbled with laughter.

“Am I at least getting close?”

“Not by a long shot.” We swayed to the beat, his tempo flawless. “You were right, what you said on the phone. This could be complicated.”

I held my breath.

“But I have to say, Amelia, I'd rather have a complicated relationship with you than an uncomplicated relationship with anybody else.”

The words were too good to be true.
He
was too good to be true. And he really was. Of course he had flaws. Real flaws (not the charming ones he admitted to in his e-mails), the kind that might really, as Frank Sinatra sang, get under my skin someday. I couldn't wait to get to know what they were.

“Hey,” he murmured into my hair.

“Hey, what?”

“Cinderella's finally dancing at the ball.”

Our pacing slowed, no longer in tune with Frank's beat.

Nate drew my body to his, slid his broad hands up my
ribcage, and kissed me in the middle of the dance floor at my baby brother's wedding. A fire-in-my-belly, light-headed, world-spinning, weak-in-the-knees kiss. The kind fairy tales were made of. I clasped my fingers around Nate Gallagher's neck and kissed him right back.

1. Who was your favorite character and why?

2. Amelia has dealt with some pretty significant losses, and yet she says her life isn't tragic. Could you say the same thing if you were her? Are you more likely to focus on the good or the bad?

3. Who are you more like—Amelia, or her best friend, Rachel? How so?

4. Amelia feels very protective of her brother, William. Is there anybody in your life you feel extra protective of? Why?

5. Do you think William's fiancée, Bridget, was being honest? Do you think Nate's advice to let it go and respect William's wishes was good advice? Why or why not?

6. George tells Amelia that love is a risk, it's just a matter of who you're going to take the risk with. How do you know when somebody is worth the risk?

7. Just for fun—what do you think the 24 stands for?

Award-winning author, Katie Ganshert
graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in education and worked as a fifth grade teacher for several years before staying home to write full-time. She was born and raised in the Midwest, where she lives with her family. When she's not busy penning novels or spending time with her people, she enjoys drinking coffee with friends, reading great literature, and eating copious amounts of dark chocolate.

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