Wilde Magic (Wilde Women Book 3) (35 page)

Was there anything quite as cringe-worthy as an older brother’s knowing smirk? Probably not.

“Anyway. Met a girl. Fucked it up. End of story.”

“Welcome to the club, buddy!” Jax crowed with a hearty smack on Cal’s back. “I sense there’s more but you’re not ready to give it up. That’s cool, man. I get it.”

“Can we just concentrate on you? Please.”

“Sure.” Jax tossed him a set of keys. “Front and back doors. Garage opener on the kitchen counter. If it snows, there’s a shovel by the back door.” He handed him a piece of paper. “Here’s the address for Wilde House. Put it in your GPS. You’ve got two hours,” he said after a glance at his watch. “Everyone’s gathering at six thirty. I’ll be the one outside in the thirty-degree weather, manning the grill.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. My baby mommy wants red meat on the grill. The bloodier, the better.”

“Uh, who’s everyone?” he thought to ask after an emotional bro hug when Jax was half out the door.

“Our folks, her folks and sisters, you and me. The posy is in the frig—don’t forget to bring it. Oh, and nice job on the necklace. You’ll score major brownie points with everyone! See ya’, Cal. Glad you’re here, man.”

And then he was out the door leaving Cal alone in a strange town in the middle of nowhere. Not that he was complaining. The solitude was gonna do him some good. Help him figure out what the hell he did next.

Exhausted didn’t come anywhere close to describing how she felt. Huddled with Rhiann in the second row of a big SUV, while Brynn and their mother sat up front happily nattering on and on about the wedding, Charlie couldn’t work up the energy to participate in any meaningful way. Mostly, she and Rhi fist bumped and thumbs-upped through the whole drive.

It had been a hell of a day so far. Their joyful little caravan—it had been way too long since they were all together—got an early start on their excursion to Philadelphia. The unbridled excitement in the car as they made their way from Brynn’s quaint community along the Delaware River into the City of Brotherly Love. There they met up with Nana and boy, did things ever get interesting after that!

Like General Patton marshaling his troops, she marched them with brutal efficiency through a whirlwind shopping spree at several high-end and very exclusive stores. Brynn, who needed an old-fashioned trousseau like she needed a cement truck, graciously acquiesced and let their formidable grandmother go full tilt.

Same for her and Rhi. By the time they’d shopped, eaten lunch and shopped some more, there were enough packages in the rear of the car—and even more to be delivered—to fill their closets with no problem.

And through the entire high-energy shop-till-you-drop adventure, Nana watched Charlie like a hawk. But instead of the expected ocular pat-down she knew was inevitable, there was a worrisome assessment that felt like an invasive ultra-sound it was so thorough.

Somehow, though, she wasn’t subjected to a third degree. Hallelujah! But she wasn’t stupid. Eventually, she was going to find herself on Nana’s radar and then the full weight and fearsome authority of Bryanna Charles Baron-Wilde would be set loose on her.
Aaiee
! Nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Brynn turned in her seat and looked at Charlie. “My hunky fiancé will be doing the honors tonight. Grill master,” she chuckled. Holding up her phone, Charlie could see they’d been texting. “He wants to know if either of you two have any preferences.”

“Oh my!” Darcy Baron-Wilde trilled with obvious happiness. “You girls are in for a treat. Jackson’s just like Daddy when it comes to his grill. Right, sweetie?”

Brynn’s happy laugh filled Charlie with warmth. It must be awesome to feel the way her sister felt. “He’s like the captain of an airplane when he’s grilling. Everything has to be just so. It’s a science, he insists.” And then she rolled her eyes.

“When they came to Happy Valley for a visit,” their mom exclaimed, “he and Daddy whipped up a grilled surf and turf you wouldn’t believe!”

That got Rhiann’s attention. “Was there lobster involved and I wasn’t invited?”

“Well, honey,” Mom chuckled. “When it’s your turn to bring a man home, we can have lobster, okay?”

Charlie felt Rhiann go still. She felt bad for her sister. Imaging any scenario involving Liam and Rhiann together was like a trip to fantasyland. Theirs was such a tiny and exclusive bridge, but with so much rushing water.

She understood her sister’s angst. Loving someone you couldn’t have—no matter how much time went by—just couldn’t be easy. Charlie swallowed the emotion she couldn’t control. Would she be like Rhi in the years to come? Always wondering about that one guy? The one who broke your heart that you loved anyway?

They were pulling into the long curved driveway leading to Wilde House. All around them, a fresh layer of snow lent a romantic touch to the scenery. Charlie was delighted for Brynn. A Christmas wedding. Swoon …

“Oh hey, everybody! Looks like Bob and Kate are already here. Fantastic! I can’t wait for you to meet Jax’s mom. Ladies, she is awesome!”

Their mom laughed as she parked the car. “Does that mean my friends are finally cool in your eyes?”

“Yeah,” Brynn pithily drawled. “Don’t be too proud of your bad self. I heard that if Jax and I didn’t click, you guys were ready to throw Rhiann at Jax’s brother.”

“What?” Rhi shrieked. “Mom. Seriously?”

“Now, sweetie. Relax. You could do worse, you know. Maybe give the guy a chance? He’s a real looker like his brother.”

Muttering darkly, Rhi grumbled, “Oh for God’s sake. Somebody make them stop.”

She was swinging out of the SUV when she heard Brynn giggle and tell Rhiann, “Don’t worry. You’re safe. Jax says Caleb likes ‘em blonde. And with a monster rack. Not too unlike our little sister.”

She immediately face planted in the snow bank on the side of the driveway.

“Charlize!” her mom wailed. “Honey. Are you all right?” Six hands hauled Charlie’s butt out of the snow. “What happened?”

“I slipped, Mom. That’s all,” she snapped irritably. Both of her sisters wore expressions bordering on astonishment. She never, ever used a tone like that with her mom. Dammit.

“Sorry.” Muttering, she swept out of her mother’s concerned grasp and stomped to the house. Just a coincidence. Had to be.

Once all the stuff was hauled into the house and introductions made, Charlie excused herself so she could change. Her excursion into the snow bank left her covered in cold, damp spots. Getting warm was a priority so she didn’t get sick.

Rhiann shooed her toward the garage. “I’ll hold down the fort till you get back. Dress warm. They’ve got outdoor heaters on the patio but it’s still damn cold when you’re outside.”

G
AH! SHE REALLY NEEDED TO
quit talking to herself if she didn’t want people to think she was unhinged—or a ditzy blonde. Still, that didn’t stop Charlie from kvetching and complaining about the weather and how damn cold it is as she carefully picked her way along the shoveled walkway between the old garage and Wilde House.

“Snow. I forgot. Pretty but deadly. And a giant pain in the ass.”

Dressed in every warm thing she had, Charlie stomped her feet outside the mudroom door and kicked off the snow on her boots before going inside. There, she found her mom, Kate Merrill, Rhiann and Brynn working like a team of veteran chefs in a communal kitchen.

“Charlie!” her mom called out as she stepped into their midst. “That was quick, honey. Oh. Would you grab that tray of biscuits and bring ‘em over here? They need to be covered until everything else is ready.”

Her dad hurried in next, having come from the French doors off the patio. “Yo! Mrs!” He crowed. “We need a couple of cold ones out here.”

“What’s wrong with the ones in the cooler?”

He laughed. “We used them to draw filthy pictures in the snow. Just hand me another six pack if you ladies plan on eating this century.”

Jax appeared and stuck his face in the middle of the exchange. “Baby,” he said to Brynn. “Next time we do this, I’m thinking a beer ball or half-a-keg. Our dads think they’re excused from the concept of moderation.”

Kate threw her arm around Charlie’s mom. “Nothing ever changes, huh?”

The kitchen was bustling like a five-star restaurant. God, she missed this. Her mom and dad had always been hilarious but add their old friends and a happy occasion, and it was like Woodstock and a Disney Cruise all rolled into one.

Brynn was wearing an expression of total contentment as she raced around giving directions. Charlie had to laugh. Did her big sister know how much like Nana she was? The similarities were mindboggling now that she gave it some thought.

Rhiann was doing her usual shtick. With a mouth that knew no bounds and recognized very few filters, she kept up a running commentary with questions, smart remarks and some truly awful jokes. She was the family emcee. The Ryan Seacrest of Happy Valley.

A very ungracious thought popped into her mind—she was going to personally kick Liam Ashforth’s fucking ass if he screwed with her sister in any way. Karma be damned. She’d take the hit because nobody messed with a Wilde woman.

Charlie snapped out of it when Brynn threw a kitchen towel at her and said, “Here. Tuck this into your jeans for an apron. It might get messy. And then grab two sixers from the back of the pantry and take them out to the men. Oh, and tell Jax to add another steak. The bump is exceptionally hungry tonight.”

This was the good stuff. Family. Ringing laughter. Hugs. Smiles. There was so much happiness in the air she could almost taste it. Thinking of the snowflakes making her sister’s romantic Christmas wedding a winter wonderland, she wanted to stick out her tongue and catch as much of the amazing energy showering these moments as she could. Days like this didn’t come around often. Maybe she’d offer a toast at dinner. Something from her hippy-girl knapsack about planets aligning and the universe smiling on all of them. Being around so much love—she definitely felt the magical energy.

Charlie banished the heartbreak and lingering doubts she couldn’t entirely shake off. What’s done is done. Ty was a shadow in her past. A big one, true. But if it was supposed to be more, the universe she’d just acknowledged as a partner in Brynn’s fairy tale might have been less harsh and maybe, just maybe left the door open just a smidge. As it stood now, she’d moved on and was sure he had too.

Took her a couple of tries to get the side towel just right so it was more apron than hanging diaper. The beer was on a low shelf—just where Brynn said, in the back of the pantry. There were choices so she squatted down and surveyed the situation. Take them two of the same or different ones?
Hmmm.

Deciding variety was the best course, Charlie pulled out some no-nonsense Heineken—her parents were old school—and an interesting six pack of something called Mad Elf Ale. Seasonal, right?

Swinging a sixer in each hand, she made her way through the kitchen like a pinball shot from the start. There was so much activity she didn’t understand how Brynn was so cool. Cutting around the kitchen island, she sidestepped Kate Merrill and what looked like a salad bowl large enough for an entire team. Scooting to avoid colliding with Rhi, who was juggling plates and utensils, Charlie felt pretty awesome for having averted potential kitchen catastrophes. She was good like that. Good at anticipating disaster and swerving at the last second to dodge a pile-up. Even a metaphorical one.