Sweet on You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 4) (24 page)

Jacob and Molly said goodbye to the happy couple. After they’d left, the silence inside Jacob’s home was uncomfortable. He didn’t know where to start, what to say to the woman who’d spun him in circles and left him unsteady on his feet.

Molly’s gaze connected with his, then quickly moved away. “It was a nice thing you did for Doug.”

Jacob frowned.

“The ramp to the front door,” Molly explained. “I don’t know how you did it in such a short time, but it was a fine idea.”

“Alex organized a contractor to build it while I was in New York. Even if they’d been married by the lake, Doug would have needed easier access to the house.”

Molly nodded, then took a deep breath. “What were you wanting to discuss?”

Jacob’s nerves were getting the better of him. He needed to do something, move around, run for cover. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Molly looked confused. “Tea?”

“I bought some of the breakfast tea that you like.”

Molly looked at him for so long that he thought she was going to say no. “Thank you. Tea would be grand.”

“You can sit in the living room if you like? I’ll put the kettle on.”

“Wait a while, Jacob. Is it a cup of tea you’d be wanting, or is there something more?”

He knew there would always be something more with Molly. She made him want to be a better person. He didn’t want to disappoint her, or disappoint himself.

He pulled a chair out from the dining room table and sat down. “I wanted to tell you in person that what happened in New York wasn’t real. I don’t know why Sonia kissed me. I had no idea she’d be at the restaurant, or that she’d do something so stupid.”

Molly walked slowly across the room and sat opposite him. “You don’t need to tell me you’re sorry. You can live your life as you please.”

“Don’t do that.”

Molly frowned. “Don’t do what?”

“Don’t put a wall between us. I’m not your ex-husband, Molly. You can trust me.”

“I know you’re not Rowan. But when I saw the photo, I felt as though I’d been stabbed in the chest. It brought back so many unhappy memories that I didn’t know what to believe.”

“You can believe in us. I care about you. I want to be more than your friend.” Jacob didn’t know what he could say or do to show her how he felt about her.

“You’re going to New York soon. I don’t belong in a big city, not anymore. There’s no point being more than friends.”

“Why can’t you see what’s in front of you? I love you. I want you to be part of my life.”

Molly’s face turned white. “Love is an easy word to say, Jacob Green. It takes a lot more to make it real. I’ll not be moving to New York and twisting myself into knots over a man again. I have a career I’m proud of and friends that mean the world to me. That’s all I need.”

She tilted her head at a stubborn angle and glared at him, daring him to disagree with her.

He wanted so badly to show her how wrong she was. He wanted to be part of her life, to share the exciting and not so exciting times. He wanted her to know how important she was to him, but she wasn’t going to listen. Nothing he could say today would change her mind.

“Think about what I’ve said, Molly. If you want to talk about it after Marsha and Doug’s wedding, I’ll be waiting.”

“There’s no point. I’ll not be changing my mind.” Molly’s eyes clouded with sadness and regret. “I’ve built a life I’m proud of, Jacob. I can’t be the woman you need, not now, and maybe never.”

She picked up her jacket and headed toward the front door. “Thank you for the offer of tea, but I’ll be leaving now. You’re a fine man, Jacob, but not the man for me.”

She opened the door and pulled it closed behind her.

Jacob dropped his head into his hands. He’d known that she wasn’t happy. What he’d underestimated was how hurt she was. The photograph of Sonia kissing him wasn’t the problem. The problem was him. Molly couldn’t see a future for them, and that hurt more than anything else.

He thought about Marsha and Doug and the issues they’d worked through. It made everything else seem insignificant. But to Molly, being independent and protecting herself from getting hurt was important.

He tried to think of something he could have said to make her believe that he was the man for her. But it was hopeless. Molly didn’t want anything to do with him.

And then he thought of the one thing that might make her change her mind. Help was one phone call and one big favor away. All he had to do was convince John Fletcher to sponsor the new exhibition space at the Emerson Center.

If he could help Molly fast-track her career, she might be more inclined to live in New York. And if he thought really hard, he knew there must be other people that could help launch her career. He just needed to be careful. If she found out what he was doing, she wouldn’t speak to him again.

But she wasn’t speaking to him now, so the chance of that making a difference wasn’t high.

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled his cell phone out. If he was going to salvage any kind of relationship with Molly, he had to do it now.

He just hoped that one day she’d forgive him enough to fall in love with him.

***

Molly took a dress off a hanger and passed it to Ruby, one of three women who’d arrived at The Bridesmaids Club. “This should look lovely on you.”

Ruby held the dress in front of her and sighed. “They’re all so pretty. I wish I had another sister getting married.”

Charlotte, one of her sisters and the bride-to-be, smiled. “One wedding a year is more than enough. You’ll be getting married yourself, one day. Then you can tell me how much you enjoyed being the bride instead of the bridesmaid.”

Rachel crawled out from under a rack of dresses with a shoe box tucked under her arm. “How many sisters do you have?”

Ruby picked up the silk shawl that she’d left on the back of a chair. “Six sisters and two brothers. Four of my sisters are already married.”

Charlotte watched another sister, Antoinette, walk out of the changing room. “Ooh, I like that dress.”

Antoinette twirled in front of the mirror. Soft turquoise silk fluttered around her legs, settling in a gentle swish against her skin.

Ruby stared at her sister. “It’s beautiful. That’s the one.”

“And here are the shoes,” Rachel added. “I hope they fit.”

Antoinette looked at the end of the box and smiled. “I think they might.” She opened the box and slipped her foot inside one of turquoise shoes. “I feel like Cinderella,” she whispered.

“You look like Cinderella,” Ruby said proudly. “I always thought that out of all of us, you’d find your Prince Charming first.”

Antoinette looked insulted. “Because of how I look?”

“No, because you’ve had more boyfriends than the rest of us. Charlotte had to find her Prince Charming in Vietnam.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Vietnam,” Charlotte said. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and showed Molly a photo of a man on an elephant. “Joe was working with a power company in Hanoi. He only had another three months left on his contract, so he decided to see some tourist sites before he left. We met in Chiang Mai at the Elephant Nature Park.”

She flicked to the next photo and Molly laughed. “Is that elephant doing what I think it is?”

Charlotte grinned. “That was Joe’s first kiss from an elephant.”

“He gets plenty more from Charlotte,” Ruby teased. “They’re just as slobbery, too.”

Charlotte pointed toward the changing room. “Are you going to try that dress on or stand there insulting me?”

“Keep insulting her,” Antoinette said. “At least that way she won’t have time to worry about the wedding.”

“What would you be worried about?” Molly asked. Charlotte and her two sisters had been a delight to help. They’d brought muffins and cake with them, and made coffee and tea for everyone. They were such happy women that Molly didn’t think anything would have worried them for long.

Charlotte sighed. “Getting married is a big step. Despite what my wonderful sisters have said, it’s something that none of us take lightly. It took a long time to work out that Joe was the man for me.”

Ruby came out of the changing room. “What do you think?” She turned in a slow circle, giving everyone time to adjust to seeing her in a dress.

“It’s a huge improvement over your jeans and sweater,” Charlotte said. “You look as pretty as a picture. I like it.”

Antoinette walked over to Ruby and gently touched the organza skirt of her dress. “You look beautiful. It’s perfect, just the way it is.”

Charlotte grinned at her sisters. “I think we have two winners.”

Rachel looked between Ruby and Antoinette. “You both look beautiful. If you’d like to keep the shoes and shawl, you’re more than welcome.”

“Really?” Ruby wrapped the shawl around her shoulders. Little gold beads, stitched along the hem, sparkled beneath the pendant lights. “I thought you might need the shawl for another dress?”

“It will help keep you a little warmer. You might want to find a cape to take with you, too.”

Charlotte was getting married in mid-November. Montana would be knee-deep in snow and as cold as a block of ice.

“I hope Joe doesn’t mind extreme weather,” Molly said. “It can be a cruel climate if you’re not used to it.”

“Joe’s from Florida,” Charlotte said as her two sisters went back into the changing room. “They get plenty of sunshine in Orlando, but no snow.”

“He’s moving here after you’re married?” Molly asked.

“He’s here now,” Charlotte said. “We’re living in Bozeman for the next twelve months, then we’ll see what happens. I have a very close family. I didn’t think I could live anywhere else, but at the end of the day, I love Joe. I can always come back to Montana to visit my family.”

Molly picked up her glass of water and took a sip. “What if he’d decided that he didn’t want to live in Montana?”

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. “It would have been hard to get used to, but I would have gone with him. He’s on a really good income and it makes sense to save like crazy until we can afford a home. We made a deal that once we were ready to have a family, we’d come back to Bozeman. I guess it’s all about compromise.”

Rachel poured herself a cup of coffee. “And finding the right man.”

Charlotte grinned. “There’s that, too. Joe is amazing…”

Ruby and Antoinette came out of the changing room. After one look at their sister, they started groaning.

“She’s talking about Joe again, isn’t she?” Ruby asked. “Whenever she gets that dreamy look on her face, Joe has usually put it there.”

Charlotte shook her head. “I do not look dreamy. But even if I do, I’ve got a good reason.”

Antoinette patted her sister’s shoulder. “Of course you do. Now let’s leave Molly and Rachel to enjoy the rest of their day.”

Ruby put the dress she’d chosen on the back of a chair and hugged Molly tight. “Thank you for sharing these dresses with us. We’ll bring them straight back after Charlotte’s wedding.”

“Keep them,” Molly said. “We have trouble finding room for all of the new dresses that arrive.”

Antoinette frowned at the dress in her hands. “Are you sure? We really don’t mind bringing them back.”

“We’re sure.” Rachel gave Charlotte and her two sisters a hug. “All the best for the wedding.”

Ruby, Charlotte, and Antoinette left The Bridesmaids Club with grins on their faces and arms full of dresses, shoes, and a shawl.

“That was one of the nicest fittings we’ve had.” Molly put another pair of shoes away and straightened a dress on a rack.

“Is everything all right?” Rachel asked. “You seem a little sad.”

Molly didn’t know what to say. Most mornings she woke up in a happy mood, looking forward to a new day. Since she’d told Jacob that she didn’t want anything to do with him, she’d felt terrible. “I had a conversation with Jacob that didn’t go too well.”

“Was it about the photo in the paper?”

“A little. Maybe a lot. It wasn’t so much what was in the paper. Jacob told me what happened and I believe him.” Molly sat on a sofa overlooking Tess and Logan’s front yard. The loft above their garage made the perfect space for The Bridesmaids Club headquarters. With a separate entrance and more room than they’d imagined, they’d been able to help lots of women find the dress of their dreams.

After the last week, Molly was beginning to feel that dreams were severely overrated.

“So what’s the problem?” Rachel sat beside her.

“When I saw the photo of Jacob, it brought back memories of Rowan. I never thought I’d get that sick feeling in my stomach again. I guess it takes longer than I thought to learn to trust someone.”

“Jacob is a good guy.”

Molly nodded. “My heart knows that, but my head is taking a while to catch up.”

“Well while it’s catching up, you can help me with the letters that arrived this week. We’ve got three sets of bridesmaids who’d like to make appointments to see us.” Rachel walked across to a folder she’d left on the small kitchen counter. “I’ll be pleased when Tess gets back from her honeymoon. Another pair of hands makes all the difference.”