Love of a Rockstar (27 page)

Satisfied she’d gotten her point across, Camille leaned back in the armchair. Everything she said was true, but she wasn’t Nil’s father. Luke was. At the end of the day, he should have held my hand while I welcomed our baby girl into the world. Heated words weren’t going to help her see my side though.

I took a deep breath. “Camille, I love you, but you had no right to make that decision behind my back.”

Her mouth turned down at the corners. “I was doing what was best for you.”

Camille was stubborn as a mule when it came to admitting she was wrong. Just like I was. However, this was a fight I didn’t want to see ruin our friendship.

I kneeled down in front of her and took her hands into mine. “In your eyes, you were, but you never gave me the decision to say otherwise.”

“You were in labor. Nobody makes logical decisions while they are trying to push a baby out.”

“Camille, you are grasping at straws. Just admit you were wrong.”

Like a fish gasping for air, she opened her mouth then closed it. A laugh rose out of my throat when I saw what a struggle she was having saying those three little words. Finally, when I was about to give up, she admitted to her wrong doings in one single breath. “It was presumptuous of me to think I knew best.” Camille arched an eyebrow. “Happy?”

“Very,” I said.

On the verge of rising to my feet, she gripped my upper arm. Defiance blazed in her eyes. “You should thank me, though. The man he was then wasn’t the kind of man you wanted to marry.” She released my arm with a sheepish smile. “You deserve the best and I wanted to make sure you got that.”

Any ill feelings I had toward her vanished. Camille always meant well, even if she was a major pain in my ass sometimes. To show her that everything was fine between us, I extended an olive branch.

“Do you want to a bowl of ice cream?” I asked.

“Only if it’s strawberry.”

My face twisted into mock outrage. “Strawberry ice cream is for the devil. We only eat chocolate in this house.”

We stared at each other for a second before bursting out laughing. Our friendship was restored. Giggling, I hoisted her out of the armchair and we walked arm in arm to the kitchen. Camille took her customary seat at the dining room table while I grabbed a tub of rocky road and two spoons.

“Do you want a bowl?” I questioned.

She looked at me as if I asked if she wanted to eat with a rock. “Since when do we have manners?”

I took a seat next to her and pulled off the frostbitten top. “You’re right. It was a silly question”

The hours passed by in a blur as we filled each other in on the latest happenings. Camille was now happily dating barista boy and got free gourmet coffee the mornings he stayed over, which was often. According to her, he had magic hands. I told her the tale of Finn and Luke’s fight on the front yard, and how my grandma was getting hitched tomorrow to a cowboy.

Camille almost choked on her spoon. “Seriously? When did Grandma D get so unpredictable?”

“The day she met Ted, I guess.” I recalled how she got stars in her eyes when she talked about him. “She is completely head over heels in love.”

Quietness spilled around us as I absorbed the fact Doris would have a new life tomorrow. One completely different from the one she shared with my grandfather. Kitten heels replaced with mud boots, and paved roadways swapped with gravel roads. I sincerely hoped she lived out her days, blissfully happy. My grandmother deserved the best.

Camille scooped out a chunk. “Speaking of love, it was pretty brutal to reject Luke on stage like that.”

I winced. “I know but I felt it was the right decision at the time.”

“And now?” she asked.

“Now I feel like I can’t live another day without becoming Mrs. McHenry.”

My anxiety soared at the idea of calling Luke to tell him I wanted to marry him. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I’d said no. How wishy-washy was I to retract my previous answer? Marriage is one area you shouldn’t be wishy-washy on.

“What’s wrong?” Camille asked.

Yanked from my thoughts, I looked over at her. “Nothing. Why?”

“You’re rubbing your bare ring finger.”

Unbeknownst to me, my hands betrayed my true emotions. I stopped fiddling with and heaved a sigh of disquietude. “Do you think it’s a bad omen I said no to Luke at first?”

“No. It’s smart you listened to your head first, your heart second.”

“You sound like my mother,”

She wagged a chocolate covered spoon at me. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Your mother is a smart cookie.”

“She is and if anybody has sound advice on marriage, it’s my mother.”

“Right? Everybody is getting divorced these days. Your parents are practically an anomaly.” Camille gave me an encouraging grin. “Don’t worry. You and Luke are one of those annoying couples who we will die hands clasped together,
Notebook
style.”

“Awesome,” I said sarcastically.

She removed the melted ice cream from the dining room table and threw out the container. “I’ll wash these spoons off while you go call Luke.”

I shook my head. “It’s too late.”

“He’s a musician, Marlene. Midnight is like 10 a.m. for him.”

Knowing she was right, I sulked off to grab my phone and walked outside to the front porch for privacy. My hands shook as I punched in his number. Disappointment ran through my veins when his voicemail answered. I would rather tell him voice-to-voice, or even better, in person.

“Hey, it’s me. I got your present. And Luke? There is no other man I would rather be tied to. You and Nil are my everything.”

THE NEXT MORNING, light streamed in through my windows, waking me from a restless slumber. I immediately grabbed my cell phone and checked to see if I had gotten any messages from Luke. To my displeasure, I hadn’t.

“Ugh,” I said.

Throwing the pillow over my head, I shut my eyes and wished I could fall back asleep until Luke called. Otherwise this was going to be a long day. A few seconds later, the familiar sound of tiny footprints padded toward my bedroom. I sunk below the duvet cover and prayed my daughter would leave me alone in peace. No such luck. The sheets were tugged away from my body, leaving me exposed.

“Mommy, I can see you,” she giggled.

I peeked out from underneath the pillow as she crawled onto my mattress. “I thought I was invisible,” I said.

“No, only people with magical powers are invisible.”

Despite the fact my body brimmed with unease about Luke’s response, I was happy Nil had returned to her usual cheery self. Four year olds had miraculous resilience. Throwing the pillow off to the side, I swung my legs to the floor. My grandmother’s wedding was in five hours, and there was a lot to get done.

I held out my hand to Nil. “Are you excited about being a flower girl?”

She jumped off the bed with my help. “Yes! And you know what?”

“What?”

“I get to wear a flower crown like a princess.”

“Along with your cowboy boots,” I said.

Nil’s face beamed with joy. “I am going to be beautiful.” An unpleasant thought took hold of her mind and she frowned. “I wish daddy was here, so that he could be my prince.”

I recalled Luke’s labored gait as he walked away from us yesterday. It looked as if he were walking through quicksand.

“Remember what he said?” I asked.

“No.”

I glanced at the two charms around her neck. “That as long as you wear your necklace, he will never be far from your heart.”

She grasped the elephant in her palm and nodded, but I could tell she was still sad. To distract her from the black cloud hanging over our heads, my face broke into a silly expression.

“Do you think grandma would mind if I looked like this?” I stuck out my tongue.

Nil snickered. “Yes.”

When I saw the light come back into her eyes, I weaved my fingers into hers. “Come on. Let’s get you ready for your debut.”

MY GRANDMA WASN’T kidding when she said Ted lived on a ranch. As I turned onto the gravel road, there was rolling pasture as far as the eye could see. He had to have at least fifty acres to his name. Up ahead, I spotted a farmhouse with a wraparound porch painted bright red. Quaint was the perfect word to describe it.

“Where are we?” Nil asked with awe.

My poor deprived daughter had never seen the country before. She was city girl through and through.

“We are on Ted’s ranch,” I responded.

“Why does he have so many animals?”

“Because he uses them for various purposes, like milk.”

Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw her process what I told her with a thoughtful expression. While I never pegged my grandmother as the country type, I could understand why she wanted to live out here. There weren’t any car horns blaring or people rushing to get to their nine-to-five jobs. There was only the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. It was peaceful.

Pulling into the driveway, my grandmother opened the screen door and walked out to greet us. An apron was tied around her waist. Before I had a chance to turn off the engine, Nil was already out of the door.

“Don’t tell me you’re baking for your own wedding,” I said as stepped out into the brisk winter air.

She shrugged. “Just a couple of pies, nothing fancy.”

I ducked my head into the rear passenger seat and grabbed Nil and my coats. Why my grandmother couldn’t wait to get married when it wasn’t below thirty degrees, I didn’t know. I slipped into my black parka as I approached Doris. Nil, enchanted by the roosters, was off to the side of the driveway; her hand cautiously out in front of her as she approached them.

“Be careful,” I warned her.

When I got in a few feet from my grandmother, she wiped her hands on her apron and avoided my gaze. “Would you like some tea?”

“Would like I some tea?” I repeated baffled. “Isn’t today your wedding? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

She waved away my questions with a flick of her wrist. “Nonsense. I have time.”

I studied her demeanor with a careful eye. She looked like a bride with pre-wedding jitters, but I had a feeling there was more to the story.

“Grandma, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Grandma…” I drawled out. “You are a horrible liar.”

She blew out a breath and called out behind her. “The jig is up. You better come on out.”

My brows drew together; convinced my grandmother had lost her marbles. “Maybe you should take a seat. All this excitement isn’t good for you.”

An enigmatic smile broke across her face. “I am fine, child. I’ll see you inside.”

“I don’t like surprises,” I yelled after her as she disappeared into the house.

“But you’re so fun to surprise.”

Turning around, my mouth hung open in disbelief. “No,” I uttered. “You’re not real.” I squeezed my eyes shut and reopened them.

Luke’s blue eyes twinkled in the sun, highlighting his tea colored skin. A five-piece suit hugged his upper torso and defined the cut of his waist.

“Baby, I am as real as the earth,” he said.

Nil ran toward Luke, her scream echoing in the still country air. He dropped to his knees and opened his arms. As she smacked into him, she knocked them off their feet. They tumbled to the gravel driveway in a heap.

“Daddy, you came!” Nil cried out.

So it wasn’t a mirage. Luke was really here at my grandmother’s house, handsome as a prince. “Well, I do declare,” I muttered in disbelief.

Luke extracted Nil’s arms from around his neck and plucked her off his lap. Struggling to his feet, he dusted the dirt off his pants. “You sure have a lot of strength for a little girl.”

Nil puffed out her chest with pride. “Mama said I am like Mighty Mouse.”

“That’s an accurate description.” His eyes flicked to my face then back to Nil’s. “Can you go help your grandmother in the kitchen for a bit?”

“Only if you promise not to leave again.”

Luke held out his pinky as a promise. Nil hooked her finger around his and they shook on it. Satisfied, she sprinted into the house without a second look. I could learn a thing or two about trust from Nil. Despite the fact Luke broke her heart yesterday, she still had faith in him he wouldn’t did it again.