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“I just need to fix my makeup.”
In the bathroom, Haley wiped trails of mascara from her face with a dampened tissue. She was still patting dry her cheeks when someone rapped on the door.
“Sweetie, are you all right?” Trina pushed open the door and stuck her head inside. “Amy said she was sorry to hear the news. She canceled the cake order. Too bad the bridal shop won’t be able to do that for the dress.”
“Oh.” Haley closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I hadn’t even thought about that yet.” What she would do with a silk bridal gown with an empire waist, she had no idea. Maybe make white silk bathroom curtains?
“Matthew said he was sorry, too.”
Haley lowered her hand and opened her eyes, her cheeks growing warm. “That was nice of him.”
Her mother studied her face as if deciding whether to tell her more. Haley would have assured her that nothing could surprise her now, but then Trina spoke again.
“Matthew also told me to tell you if there’s anything he can do to help, you should just ask.”
Matthew Warren jumped at the sound of the doorbell, narrowly missing slicing his finger in the same julienne style as the carrots on his mother’s cutting board.
“I’ll get it.” Four-year-old Elizabeth climbed down from the stool where she’d been helping by playing in the sudsy dishwater. She raced across the room.
Matthew caught his daughter before she reached the swinging kitchen door and hoisted her into his arms. “I don’t think so, young lady. You know only grown-ups are supposed to answer the door. What if it’s a stranger?”
“Those aren’t strangers,” his mother supplied, patting her short silver hair. “They’re our guests.”
“Well, about that…” He glanced at the kitchen door, feeling the same nervous tension he experienced whenever he met new clients at his law practice. “Did I mention that this dinner is a bad idea?”
“About five times now.”
“Haley’s probably still reeling from the news. I doubt she’s in the mood for socializing.”
“Maybe not.”
“And Elizabeth and I shouldn’t be here, either. I have things I need to do. If I don’t find a new sitter by Monday…”
Amy Warren stopped, planting her hands on her hips. “Matthew, we still have to eat.”
The bell rang again. It was an unnecessary interruption to the dispute since Matthew had already lost.
“Daddy! The door.” Elizabeth wiggled out of his arms and then grabbed his hand, pulling him from the kitchen.
“Coming,” he called out as they hurried down the hall.
Tonight’s dinner was still a bad idea, in his opinion. The whole thing felt like an ambush. He shouldn’t have offered his help to Haley, either, when he was dealing with enough of his own problems. His mother’s stubbornness over her dinner party irritated him, but everything had bugged him today since he’d made the mistake of answering his mother’s cell phone while on his lunch hour.
In the foyer, he hesitated. He had no reason to be nervous. It had all happened a long time ago, and even then it hadn’t been a big deal. Anyway, Haley probably had bigger things on her mind today than her adolescent crush that had ended in an embarrassing rejection. Shaking his head, he opened the door.
Trina Scott stood on the stoop, her gloved hand poised to knock. “Oh, there you are. I thought you were going to let us freeze out here.”
Behind her, the older two Scott sisters stood in their heavy coats, their arms laden with food.
“Sorry about that,” he said.
Elizabeth squeezed in front of him as he pushed open the storm door to let them inside. “Hi, Grandma Trina. Daddy and Grammy were arguing in the kitchen.”
“Really?” Trina lifted an eyebrow as she leaned in to hug Matthew and then dropped a kiss on Elizabeth’s head. She turned to her daughters. “Elizabeth needed something to call me, so Amy thought ‘Grandma Trina’ would be nice.”
Matthew turned to the other women. “Hey, Jenna. Hey, Caroline. Where’s Haley?”
Just as he spoke her name, the fourth guest appeared behind them, her face peering out from the hood of her parka. She opened the door and stepped inside.
“Hi, Haley. It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has.”
Haley flicked her gaze his way as she removed her coat and handed it to him. She looked different, but he should have expected that. People tended to change after nine years. Her hair was blonder than he had remembered, and though she used to wear it long like her sisters, she’d cut it in a sassy shag style that reached just to her chin. It suited her, he decided.
“Who’s she, Daddy?”
Matthew glanced down at the child tugging his arm and then looked back to Haley. “I guess you two haven’t met.” Of course, they hadn’t. Her sisters had helped their mother move back to Markston a year before and had visited a few times since, but until now, Haley hadn’t made the trip.
Instead of answering him, Haley crouched in front of his daughter and extended her hand. “Hello. I’m Haley.”
“Call her Miss Haley,” Matthew instructed.
Though the child could sometimes be shy with strangers, she bravely shot out her hand. “I’m Elizabeth.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Elizabeth.” Haley shook the child’s tiny hand.
Elizabeth tilted her head to the side and studied the woman still crouched before her. “You’re pretty.”
“Thanks. So are you.” Haley stood again and toyed with the belt of her sweater.
Leave it to a four-year-old to state the obvious. Haley was an attractive woman, just like her sisters. Though “little Haley” had been a cute kid, the twenty-three-year-old had come into her own look as the rest of her face had finally caught up to those huge, bright blue eyes. The pretty, high cheekbones and generous lips were clearly Scott family traits.
Matthew stopped himself. What was he doing? He had no business noticing women. Particularly someone like Haley Scott. Someone like…
He looked away from her but not before she glanced back and caught him studying her. The color spreading on her cheeks suggested that she’d mistaken his curiosity for pity. Of course, she would think that on a day like today.
“So…” Caroline cast a frown his way. “Where’s everyone else?”
“It’s just us, I’m afraid,” Amy Warren said as she emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
“The guys aren’t here?” Jenna looked disappointed. She and Dylan had always been the closest among the Warren-Scott children, but even they had lost contact over the last few years.
Amy Warren shook her head. “Dylan’s at an optometry meeting in Chicago, and Logan has a date.”
She cast a glance Matthew’s way as if daring him to contradict his youngest brother’s story. Somehow Matthew managed to keep a straight face. There were few nights when Logan didn’t have a date, but none that couldn’t have been rescheduled. Matthew had a better excuse than either of his brothers for not coming tonight—a child-care crisis—but, as usual, he was present and accounted for. Just once, he wished he could share the freedom from obligation his brothers enjoyed.
Trina Scott crossed the room to hug her best friend. “Thank you for inviting us.” Like the elephant in the living room, she avoided mentioning the reason her daughters were in town in the first place.
“Here, let me take some of that food for you.” Matthew reached for the casserole dish in Jenna’s arms.
“Elizabeth will show us where the kitchen is,” Jenna told him, though they could have found it blindfolded.
Elizabeth led Jenna and Caroline down the hall. Caught in some hushed conversation, the two mothers headed in the same direction, leaving Matthew and Haley standing alone in the entry. Haley had moved away from the door and was staring at a photo collage on the wall.
“We had a lot of good times back then,” she said when he stood next to her.
“The best.”
As Matthew tried to come up with something comforting to say, the impulse to touch her shoulder surprised him. Even if she’d had a lousy day, Haley was a grown woman now. She could take care of herself. His knight-in-shining-armor gear fit uncomfortably, and he doubted she would appreciate his need to protect, anyway.
At the sound of someone clearing her throat, Matthew glanced back at his mother and Mrs. Scott.
“What are you two just standing there for?” Amy asked. “Now get in the kitchen and help, or it’ll be midnight before we eat.”
“Many hands make light work,” Trina added.
Her comment made him smile. How many times had Mrs. Scott or his mother said those same words while they were all staying at the beach condo in Hilton Head or in that mountain rental in Gatlinburg?
“After you, ladies.” Matthew gestured gallantly.
“Just make sure you’re right behind us,” Trina said.
When he and Haley were alone again, Matthew paused, searching for the right words. Something wise, he hoped. Something that would make her feel better. But when he peeked at her, Haley was watching him.
The side of her mouth lifted. “You heard them. Now get to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted, but he must have failed to hide his surprise that she’d played along with the old family game because Haley crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m not made of blown glass, you know.”
“Never said you were.”
“Then stop looking at me like I’m about to shatter.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
She waved away his apology before he could finish it. “Forget it. I’m getting used to it. Everyone I’ve talked to today…even mom’s new neighbors—they all feel sorry for me. It’s a real blast.”
“I can imagine.”
“I always wondered what it would be like to be a celebrity.” She moved her head back and forth, as if weighing her opinion. “It has a downside. Anyway, we’d better get in there before they send a search party.”
Haley started down the hall, Matthew falling into step behind her. Outside the swinging kitchen door, he gave in to the earlier temptation and rested a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn’t shake away his hand.
“I’m sorry about…everything that happened,” he said.
“Yeah, me, too. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
She had to be speaking of today and the loss of the person she’d cared about enough to consider making her husband. Matthew understood that. The hurt he’d played a part in had been a long time ago and nothing compared to what she’d experienced today.
Still, he’d been apologizing for both.
Chapter Two
As Haley scanned the length of the Warren family’s formal dining table, she felt warm for the first time all day. Yes, a few of the maple dining chairs were empty, and a pint-size newcomer sat cross-legged in another, but the place offered the same comfort she had remembered.
She’d always loved coming here, hearing her mother and Mrs. Warren tell the same stories that never lost their sparkle. There was stability in the sameness, comfort in the familiarity.
Even seeing Matthew again hadn’t felt as awkward as she’d expected, so her excuse for staying away from Scott-Warren gatherings seemed silly now. Matthew had always been a decent boy, the one who’d insisted that she and Logan be allowed to play board games with the older kids. She should have known he wouldn’t grow into the type of man who would embarrass her over the past. That sweet little girl across the table, the one with two sandy-brown braids and caramel-colored eyes that mirrored her father’s, reminded her that Matthew had more important things on his mind these days.
Though Matthew had changed some since the last time she’d seen him, she still would have recognized that baby face anywhere. At twenty-eight, he’d filled out his lanky frame, and the peach fuzz that used to dust his upper lip and chin had been replaced by a five o’clock shadow, two shades darker than his hair. He probably chose those mod-shaped glasses rather than contacts to make him look older.
“Remember the time that Haley fed soap shavings to Logan’s fish?” Mrs. Warren was saying when Haley returned to the conversation.
“Poor Crunch,” Caroline said and made a sad face.
“Am I ever going to live that down?” Haley frowned. “Who names a fish Crunch anyway?”
Seated next to her father, Elizabeth looked up from the pile of peas she was scattering on her plate. “Miss Haley killed Crunch?”
Everyone laughed at the horror in the child’s voice before her grandma explained that Crunch had survived his sudsy ordeal. “You and Logan always were like oil and water whenever you were together.”
“Didn’t bode well for your old matchmaking scheme,” Caroline chimed. She must have realized it was poor timing for one of her dry side comments because she met Haley’s gaze and winced.
Trina and Amy missed that exchange as they grinned at each other across the table.
“Wow, the plan,” Trina said, shaking her head. “We haven’t talked about that in years.”
“Matched sets!” The two mothers exclaimed the words in unison, and with equally precise timing, the three Scott sisters and the lone Warren brother groaned.
Haley rolled her eyes. She should have known that even on a day like today the two moms would reminisce about their silly idea to arrange marriages among their six children. Their plan had been a running family joke, but it was far less funny today.
“It was worth a try, anyway,” Amy said. “Since your mother and I were pregnant together for at least a few months three different times, and she had the girls while I had the boys, we figured we might have a shot for at least one proper matchup.”
“God made it easy by giving us even pairs,” Trina supplied. “Two oldest, two middle and two youngest.”
“I sure messed that up then, didn’t I?”
This wasn’t the first sardonic comment Matthew had made tonight, but this time he didn’t get a laugh. Jenna cleared her throat, while the others took renewed interest in their food. Even living in Michigan, Haley had heard all about Matthew’s brief marriage to his college girlfriend who deserted him and their infant daughter.
“Messed up what, Daddy?”
“Just a game,” he assured her. “Now eat your peas.”
Amy tugged one of her granddaughter’s braids. “Sure, it was just a game.” She looked farther down the table to her son. “But two moms could dream, couldn’t they?”
“Moms never stop dreaming,” Trina said. The meaningful look she gave first to Matthew and then Caroline left no doubt that she hadn’t given up on their matchmaking plan, especially where those two were concerned. Caroline’s cheeks were pink as she concentrated too intently on her roast beef.
