Divided Hearts (17 page)

Faye forced her focus back to the child in front of her, offering a warm smile. “You’ll still look like a princess, I’m sure.”

Sienna returned a shy smile, before wandering away to play with the dolls she’d left on the sofa.

“She’s been helping me with the centrepieces outside,” Laurel said. “I think she’s losing interest.”

“I can help you,” Faye offered.

Mary’s hand curled around her arm. “Not a chance. I need you in the kitchen to peel potatoes.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Faye agreed, following her into the kitchen. “Where’s the groom, anyway?”

“Upstairs on the phone, making final arrangements with the caterer.”

“I keep trying to think of what we’ve forgotten,” Faye said. Finding a bowl of red potatoes and a peeler on the table, so she grabbed one of the potatoes and began shaving off the peel in long strokes. “But I think everything’s in place. Flowers, photographer, musicians, minister. All we need to do is coordinate and get ourselves ready.”

“It’ll be a beautiful ceremony,” Mary remarked, lifting a bag of carrots out of the fridge.

“It’ll be perfect.”

“You don’t look very excited.” Pulling a handful of carrots out of the bag, Mary glanced up briefly.

Faye lifted one shoulder noncommittally. “I suppose I’m tired and a bit stressed, with all the preparations.”

Mary eyed her skeptically through her lenses, her mouth pressed tight. “I suspect you’re also not as thrilled as you might be at your best friend’s wedding.”

Faye stiffened, her hand suspending in mid-peel. “Of course I’m happy for her.”

“I don’t mind telling you, I have my doubts,” Mary went on quietly, laying the carrots onto a cutting board on the opposite side of the table. “Simon doesn’t love that girl. They may believe they’re doing the right thing, but I’m afraid they won’t be happy together in the long run.”

The admission surprised Faye, but at the same time Mary’s honesty offered license to voice her own misgivings. She glanced around before replying, but Laurel was still in the back yard, and Sienna had taken her dolls out to join her parents. “I have the same fear.”

The older woman gave a resigned shrug. “But it’s what Simon wants, so I’ll support it as best I can. And I shall do my best to make his wedding day as wonderful as it can be.” She paused, her gaze settling on Faye’s, brows drawn together. “But I am worried about you, as well.”

“Why?” Faye bent her head as she continued peeling, both surprised and touched at Mary’s concern, whatever the reason.

Mary reached over to cup Faye’s chin in her hand, lifting Faye’s face to look into her eyes. “I see you’re hurting. You do love my son, don’t you?”

Dropping her hands to the table, Faye blinked at her, once again taken aback. She managed a small smile; she could hardly admit on the eve of the wedding that she was in love with her best friend’s groom. “I’ll be all right.”

Releasing Faye’s face, Mary nodded curtly, taking the words as confirmation of her suspicions. “Take heart, dear. Things have a way of working out for the best. It hurts now, but you’ll meet someone else soon enough, and you’ll forget all about this.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Faye said, though she had no such certainty. She was so tired of people telling her that she’d fall in love with someone else. There was no one else she wanted.

* * *

Once the lamb was in the oven and the vegetables were steaming, Laurel and Todd came inside to help set the table before the guests arrived.

“You go and rest for a bit,” Mary ordered, when Faye offered to help. “The guests will be here soon, and there’s nothing more to be done at the moment.”

“All right,” Faye agreed. Too warm from being near the hot oven and stove, she glanced over at the open patio door, the curtains stirring in the breeze, and decided to step outside.

The yard looked neat, the grass having been mowed short and the hedges recently trimmed. The hydrangeas were in full bloom, adding splashes of vibrant colour to the verdant setting.

She spotted Simon by the arbutus tree, gazing out toward the bay, his hands resting in his pockets. In profile, his expression looked soberly reflective, his brows drawn low, as the gentle ocean breeze lifted his dark-blond hair off his shoulders.

Hearing her footfalls on the patio, he turned, his mouth curving upward as his eyes found hers. Faye stood motionless as their gazes locked in wordless greeting, sudden goose bumps pricking her arms.

“So this is it,” he said at last. “My last night as a bachelor.”

“It seems so.” In her head Faye couldn’t help adding the detail that it would be his last night alone in his bed; tomorrow night Jenna would join him, and every night thereafter. Jenna would be the one to enjoy his deep, languid kisses, and his tender, electrifying caresses in the dark…
Stop thinking about that, Faye!
A sour feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, as tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. She fought to push the thoughts aside. “Are you nervous?” she asked.

Simon drew a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I don’t know. I can’t quite believe it. Tomorrow I’ll have a family.”

Faye offered a nod and a slight smile, pressing her lips together so he would not see them trembling. His words echoed Jenna’s sentiments; she and Simon had both chosen to come together as a family. Faye could hardly blame them, but her own misery was nearly unbearable.

“You were right, you know,” Simon added, taking a step closer to her. “About me. How I want to have my family together so I can have control over all the pieces of my life. But … is it so wrong of me to want that, Faye?” He held her gaze, the pale afternoon light softening the vivid blue of his eyes.

She shook her head. She understood that he was determined not to do to Hannah what his father had done to him and Laurel, and she could hardly blame him for that. “No, it’s not wrong. You’re a good man, Simon. Jenna’s a lucky girl. Hannah, too.” Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, she tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “And you might not have been so wrong about me. I have to let go of them.”

“I had no right to say that to you, after everything you’ve done for them.”

“I know you were trying to be helpful, not to hurt me.” Faye twisted her hands together anxiously; the last time she was alone with Simon, they shared a toe-tingling kiss from which she’d needed a tremendous amount of resolve to extract herself, and his pull on her feminine senses had not diminished one bit.

Hearing a sudden swell of voices inside, she glanced back at the house, recognizing a vivacious laugh that rose over the chatter. “I think your bride is here.”

Simon took another cautious step closer. “Will you be all right?”

When she turned back to look at him, his eyes remained fixed on her face, the tenderness in them both startling her and stirring her heart. Taking a step back, she exhaled a sharp breath, her pulse throbbing in her ears. She could tell him she wasn’t all right at all—that her love for him gripped her soul with anguishing tenacity, and that she wanted nothing more than to fold herself into his arms and keep him with her, only for herself. But it was too late for that, and the words would only hurt them both.

“Of course,” she said instead, widening her smile. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

Chapter Fourteen

Gripping her mother’s arm, Jenna stepped carefully across the sand, her chin lifted in determination. Although the irregular surface was difficult for her to negotiate on legs that were still unsteady, she’d insisted on sticking to their plan to wed on the beach, without the aid of her crutches.

Standing by the minister, Todd on his right side, Simon watched his bride approach. Faye waited on the opposite side, holding Sienna’s hand, while Mary looked on from her appointed spot facing her son, little Hannah in her arms.

Jenna released Carole’s arm as she took her place beside her groom, looking up at him almost bashfully from under her lashes as she turned to face him.

“Perfect,” Reverend Hempsall smiled approvingly at the wedding party arranged neatly around him. “Things should go swimmingly tomorrow. Try not to be nervous. There will be a lot more people here, but they all love you and will be here to support you. So try to relax and enjoy the moment.”

“As long as I don’t lose my footing and fall flat on my face in the sand,” Jenna muttered with a cheeky grin, eliciting a ripple of laughter among the attendants.

“Then we shall brush you off and keep going,” the minister replied good-naturedly. “Not to worry, I’m sure you will take your groom’s breath away no matter the manner of your entrance.”

Faye couldn’t help but cast a quick glance at Simon, seeing his mouth twitch into a tight smile at the minister’s remark. His expression was largely inscrutable, his features rigid.

In contrast, Jenna looked remarkably relaxed, her hands clasped in front of her as the minister ran quickly through the main points of the ceremony.

“And at this point you’ll say your vows,” Faye heard Reverend Hempsall say, and realized her thoughts had been drifting.

While the bride and groom went over their vows, Hannah became restless in Mary’s arms and began gabbling loudly, pointing out boats sailing past in the bay. As Simon glanced over at his daughter, his expression softened, a warmer smile touching his lips. She was the reason he was here, and it was as though her presence eased any lingering doubts he might have about his decision to marry Jenna.

Then he turned his head and the sun touched his face, making his eyes glow like sapphires. As he caught Faye’s eye, his expression shifted again, his gaze intent and vibrant as the rolling sea behind him. Her pulse quickened at once, making her heart trip and then throb heavily.

Her face growing warm, Faye shifted her gaze, letting it settle on the distant boats that had so enthralled Hannah.

“All we have left now is the kiss,” Reverend Hempsall told the bride and groom, drawing Simon’s attention abruptly back to the task at hand—just as the minister added with a sly wink, “but save that for tomorrow.”

Back at the house, Jenna pulled Faye aside as the others began taking their places at the dinner table.

“I have a new dress, my grandmother’s antique silver earrings, a blue garter,” Jenna said, counting out the points on her fingers. “I need something borrowed. Have you got that locket with you?”

Faye blinked in surprise. “You want to borrow it?”

“If you don’t mind. It goes with the earrings, and it’ll look perfect with the neckline of my dress.” Jenna’s grin widened. “And I’ll have a picture of my two favourite girls right next to my heart when I get married.”

Faye’s heart lurched; she had slipped the locket into her purse that morning, though she wasn’t sure why, since she hadn’t planned on wearing it. Feeling a sudden surge of possessiveness for the locket, she briefly considered telling Jenna she didn’t have it; now that Jenna was going to have Simon for herself, did she need to take this one thing Faye had left of the brief time that he was hers?

“Sure, of course you can wear it,” Faye said instead, realizing the irrationality of her reluctance. After all, if she was going to let go, she might as well start with this one small thing.

“I’m curious, though,” Jenna said. “You said you got it from the Easter bunny. What did you mean by that?”

“It was an Easter present.” There seemed no alternative but to tell the truth. “From Simon.”

Jenna looked at her sharply, her brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t sure what you’d think. But it was just a thank-you gift,” Faye added quickly, “for bringing Hannah to visit.”

Jenna lifted her shoulders, her look of unease softening, though her smile had faded. “He’s a thoughtful guy.” She glanced at her groom, who was speaking with his sister by the dinner table, paying no attention to the bride and her maid of honour chatting in the opposite corner of the room.

“You can keep it if you want to,” Faye added, eager to dispel any suspicion that Simon’s gift meant anything more to Faye than a simple thank-you gift, though it pained her to think of parting with it.

“Thanks,” Jenna said, her expression brightening a bit, “but I can’t do that. It’s something borrowed. It’d be bad luck.”

* * *

Faye and Jenna returned from the hair salon to find Simon’s understated living room transformed into a paradise of white lilies, filling the house with their fresh, sweet scent. Garlands woven with flowers had been wound up the staircase banister and laid across the fireplace; candles were set on every surface, ready to set the house aglow as evening fell.

Laurel smiled at the two women as they came in, giving a “thumbs-up” to their hair-dos before returning to her task of positioning floral arrangements by the French doors leading out to the patio. The chairs and tables had been set up outside for the reception, the tablecloth edges lifting only slightly in the breeze.

“Simon isn’t around, is he?” Jenna asked fretfully, glancing around. “He can’t see me yet.”

“Not to worry, Todd took him somewhere for lunch,” Faye assured her.