Authors: Mariah Stewart
If Vanessa had intended to wound, she’d hit the mark.
“You don’t know everything, missy,” Maggie snapped.
“I know that there was never a time in my life, growing up, when there wasn’t one man leaving and another coming in to take his place.”
“Is that really what you remember, when you look back on your childhood?” Maggie appeared surprised.
Vanessa nodded.
“Oh, honey …” Maggie moved toward her daughter, but Vanessa stepped back, both hands up as if to ward off her mother.
“It’s a little late, Maggie,” Vanessa told her. “Besides, that’s a conversation for another day.”
“All right.” Maggie nodded. “We’ll talk about something a little less … charged.” She appeared to think for a moment, then said, “So, I guess you were surprised to hear from Shannon.”
“Who?”
“Shannon. Your best friend from high school.”
“Maggie, I didn’t have any friends in high school.”
“Of course you did, honey. Don’t be silly. Why else would she have called to get your address so that she could get in touch about the reunion?”
“What reunion?” Vanessa frowned. “Who wanted my address?”
“Haven’t you been paying any attention? Shannon called about your high school reunion.”
“Shannon who?”
“I don’t know.” Maggie’s exasperation was evident. “She was your friend.”
“I don’t know anyone named Shannon, and I cannot imagine that anyone I went to high school with would give a rat’s ass whether I showed up at a reunion or not.”
“So, I guess that means you haven’t heard from her.”
“I haven’t heard from her or anyone else.” Vanessa rubbed her temples. The headache had all the makings of a monster.
Please
, she begged the tiny man she imagined was responsible for all the pounding inside her head.
Please go away. Not tonight …
“That’s strange, because she called over a week ago, and seemed so eager to get in touch. She was so interested in hearing about where you lived and what you were doing these days. I’m really surprised that you haven’t heard from her.”
“Well, if I ever do, I suppose the mystery will be solved.”
The band started up again, and Vanessa watched Steffie lead a tall, ruggedly handsome man onto the dance floor, and she wondered if this was the enigmatic Wade MacGregor.
Steffie does look fabulous in that dress
, Vanessa thought.
I’m going to have to tell her …
“… but I’m not sure that I want to do that,” Maggie was saying.
“Not sure you want to do what?” Vanessa tuned back in.
“I’m not sure I want to stay in St. Dennis for a few more days.”
“Why would you?”
“Hal said he had some things he wanted to talk over with me.” Maggie’s eyes took on a soft shine. “You know, he’s still the most wonderful man I have ever—”
“Uh-uh.” Vanessa took her mother by the hand. “Please, don’t get involved with him, don’t get his hopes up. Don’t get him tangled up with you again after all these years. Leave him alone, Maggie.”
Maggie looked as if she’d been slapped. She backed away from Vanessa, and walked through the dancers toward the opposite side of the tent.
“Was it something you said?” Grady handed Vanessa a glass, and poured from the bottle he’d managed to talk one of the waiters out of.
“I’m afraid so.” Vanessa bit the inside of her bottom lip and wondered if she should have just kept her mouth shut and let Hal take care of himself.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Maybe later.” She took a sip of champagne and stood, slipping her arm through his. “Right now, it looks as if Mia and Beck are about to cut the cake. Let’s go watch.”
And after that, she thought as they joined the bride and groom at the cake station, they’ll leave.
And then, so will we …
Everything about the evening was perfect.
The moon was high and cast golden shadows on the Bay. There was music outside the tent as well as within: the gentle lapping of the water upon the sandy shore, the soft call of an owl, the hush of the breeze playing through the reeds at the far end of the lawn.
If I were ever to believe in romance, which I most certainly do not
, Vanessa mused as she and Grady strolled through the Inn’s lobby into the night air,
I almost could believe tonight
.
Hand in hand, Vanessa and Grady walked with their hips lightly touching as they descended the front steps.
“The car’s at the far side of the lot. I’ll run and get it,” Grady told her. “I’ll be right back.”
She opened her mouth to say she didn’t mind the walk, when she saw Steffie flying up the circular drive as if in a royal snit. Seeing Vanessa, she stormed toward the steps.
“You are not going to believe this.” Steffie was wild-eyed.
“That ass Wade MacGregor, with whom I thought I was having the perfect evening, walks me outside, and of course I’m thinking, ‘Yay, big night ahead.’ But it turns out he’s walking me to my car and he tells me he has a plane to catch, but it was sure nice seeing me and catching up and maybe we’ll run into each other the next time he’s in town.”
“Oh, Stef …” Vanessa began, hoping to spare Grady the full Steffie blowout.
“No, no. I’m not finished. That was just the first part.” Steffie was on a roll. There’d be no stopping her now. “So I say, well, don’t let me keep you from your flight, and I stomp off to get into my car, and there are four cars parked behind me. Not one, but
four
boneheaded fools who think it’s okay to block someone in have parked behind me. I can’t even make a grand exit and blow cinders all over his car as I do wheelies and screech by him in a cloud of exhaust. Then Tina calls to tell me she can’t lock up because she just realized I forgot to leave her the key.”
Steffie blew out a long, angry breath.
“Why don’t you go in and see if someone can give you a hand finding out who owns the cars that are blocking you?” Vanessa suggested. “Write down the license-plate numbers and ask the band to announce it.”
Steffie waved a piece of paper. “I did that. It’s going to take forever, though. Want to bet that at least two of these blockheads are in the bar, drunk, and at least one of them is in the restroom? I told Tina I’d be there fifteen minutes ago.”
“I can’t help you with the guy, but I can drive you to your place so you can lock up,” Grady offered.
“By the time we bring you back, the cars may have been moved.”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all. We were just on our way out. You two wait here,” Grady told them.
“Wow. He is really hot,” Steffie told Vanessa when Grady disappeared into the lot. “And nice. Hot
and
nice. I’m having serious envy here. I’m really sorry you saw him first.”
“I’m not.” Vanessa grinned.
“What happened to ‘I’m not interested in finding anyone, I don’t want another guy in my life’ … I can’t recall your exact words, by virtue of the amount of champagne I drank tonight, but I definitely remember you saying you were not interested.”
“That was then,” Vanessa said. “Besides, it’s just for tonight. He’s leaving tomorrow. I probably won’t even see him again unless Beck and Mia have a baby and he comes to the christening.”
“What is it with these guys who blast out of here like St. Dennis is the Village of the Damned?”
“He’s made plans to do something.” Vanessa shrugged. “And that’s fine. He doesn’t have to stick around. I was serious when I said I don’t want anyone in my life. I just want someone for tonight.” She watched the car approaching, the headlights flashing across the grass.
“God, Ness, you are the very soul of romance.”
“Well, not just any someone. Him. I want him. Which doesn’t necessarily mean I want to keep him.”
“Can I have him when you’re done with him?” Steffie stage-whispered when the car stopped in front
of the Inn and Grady got out to open the car doors for the two women.
“Awww,” Steffie sighed as she got into the backseat. “I love it when a guy does that.”
Grady got back behind the wheel and started out of the lot.
“Well, at least you’ll get to try Mocha Berry Vanessa,” Steffie said, and poked Vanessa’s arm to get her attention. “I did tell you that I named a newly created special flavor in your honor?”
“Grady told me.” Vanessa turned in the front passenger seat and looked around the headrest to Steffie. “And I am honored.”
“You should be. It’s pretty terrific, if I do say so myself. Right, Grady?”
Grady nodded. “It’s very good, Steffie.”
“Yeah, it’s been pretty popular,” Steffie went on. “I think I’ll keep it on the board for a while.”
They merged onto the main road and headed toward the center of town.
“Hey, Ness, did I tell you I saw Candice coming out of Sips this afternoon?”
“Candice who was in my shop this week and put that white eyelet number aside?”
“Uh-huh. I’m certain it was her.”
“Oh, good. Maybe she stopped in and picked up that dress after all. I left it in the back room over the weekend, just in case she didn’t get a chance to come in yesterday.” Vanessa smiled in the dark. “I hope she did. It looked really nice on her, and she looked like someone who needed something pretty and new.”
“That could have something to do with the company she keeps. The guy she was with today …”
Steffie shuddered. “Let’s just say he didn’t look like a very nice guy.” She paused. “Then again, he probably didn’t dump her after a few hours of playing cozy at a friend’s wedding, either. God, men are so annoying.” She paused again. “Present company excluded, of course.”
Grady looked at Steffie through the rearview mirror. “I guess it depends on who you talk to. I admit to having been called annoying a time or two. Actually, I’ve been called much worse than that.”
“Not by me,” Steffie told him. “I think you’re a prince.”
Grady laughed and made the left onto Kelly’s Point Road, which, except for the occasional streetlamp, was dark until they approached the municipal building, which was well illuminated. The reserved parking spots for the police cruisers were all filled.
“So do you think there’s anyone actually on duty tonight?” Steffie asked as they drove past. “I could swear I saw the entire police force at the wedding.”
“You did. Beck wanted everyone to come, but obviously they couldn’t all attend at the same time. So the night shift came early, for the ceremony and the cocktail hour, though of course they weren’t drinking anything stronger than club soda. The day shift came for dinner and dancing after the night shift clocked in.”
“Nice. Oh, Grady, turn left here into the parking lot and drive all the way down to the end,” Steffie instructed. “Go all the way to the back corner.”
“Why all the way down there?” Vanessa asked. “That’s the darkest corner of the lot.”
“Yeah, but it’s right behind my shop, see? We can
go right down that path to my back door.” Steffie opened the car door as Grady came to a stop. “And there’s some light down there. See? Over the door?”
“I hope you don’t park down here when you’re working alone at night.” Vanessa frowned her disapproval.
“It’s not that far.” Steffie set off for the shop. “Looks like there are still some customers. Come on, you two. Yours is on the house.”
“You up for some Mocha Berry Vanessa?” Grady asked.
“Sure.” Vanessa got out of the car and waited for him. “I swear she must have cat eyes. I don’t know how she can see where she’s going.”
He held out his hand for her and they stumbled along together in the dark over the uneven ground. Little pieces of crushed shell from the parking lot lodged in her instep and she stopped and took off her shoes.
“You know, everyone thinks that crushed shells in the parking lots is so atmospheric, so in keeping with the whole beachy-bay thing,” Vanessa grumbled. “I think it’s one big pain in the butt.”
They reached the back door and Vanessa put her shoes back on before they went inside. Steffie had tossed an apron over her beautiful dress and was serving the few late customers who’d wandered in.
“Tina, go latch the front door after these customers leave and tell anyone else who might wander up that we’re closed. Oh, and put the ‘Closed’ sign on,” Steffie told her employee. She rang up the customers and scooped up two dishes of ice cream, which she handed to Grady and Vanessa.
“Here you go, with my thanks for the ride. I really appreciate it, Grady,” Steffie told him.
“You had to get a ride from the Inn?” Tina latched the door behind the last two customers. “What happened to your car?”
“I got blocked in.”
“So do you need a ride back?” Tina asked. “I go right by there on my way home. I don’t mind taking you.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Steffie turned to Grady and Vanessa. “I guess you guys are free to go to … wherever it was you were headed when I so rudely interrupted.”
Vanessa nodded. “Great. But you’re going to close up right now, right?”
“We are. I’m just going to do a quick count and I’ll take the receipts with me, drop them off at the bank in the morning.” Stef smiled. “You’re free to go. Dismissed. With my eternal thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Grady said as he made his way to the door.
“Great ice cream, Stef,” Vanessa told her.
“Oh, you like it?” Steffie grinned.
“I do. We’re doing brunch tomorrow around eleven at Let’s Do Brunch. Meet us there, if you’re up,” Vanessa suggested.
“I’ll be awake. And I might just take you up on that if my Sunday-morning help arrives on time.” Steffie opened the cash register and began to count. “Tina, lock the back door behind them, please.”
“See you.” Grady waved and held the door for Vanessa. Once outside, they heard the lock snap with
a click. “Want to walk down to the dock? The Bay looks pretty with the moon on the water.”
“Sure.”
They walked around the building to the boardwalk that led to the water.
“It’s really quiet down here,” he observed.
“Most of the boats have already been brought in and tied up,” she replied. “There’s not much activity this time of night. Once in a while, some kids—teenagers—gather over there to just hang out at the little park”—she pointed to some vague spot well beyond One Scoop or Two—“but that’s about it. And around the bend there is Captain Walt’s, but they probably don’t have much of a crowd tonight. Walt and Rexana were still on the dance floor with most of the rest of St. Dennis when we left the wedding.”