Page 20 of A Winter's Wedding

She nodded and watched him dive in. “I just hope they get back in time for their own wedding, you know?”

It was his turn to nod, seeing how his mouth was full.

Alfonso clapped and came to the table. A wide grin pulled his chipmunk cheeks and exposed a thin ribbon of white teeth between his lips. “So? Tell Alfonso.”

Edwin dabbed the gravy from his lips with a black napkin and smiled with his eyes. He looked like a happy man. “I really like the stew. And the fig jam was really nice.”

“I thought it was all delightful. The crab was my favorite, and I think America will really love it all,” Carol said and stood, her chair screeching on the floor. “I don’t know how you did it, but you somehow combined the local ingredients with the personality of the couple. Bravo, Alfonso.”

A blush splashed across his cheeks, and he looked down. Taking her hands in his, he kissed the back of both. “Much to do before Saturday.” The man gathered the dirty dishes and made for thecucina, leaving Carol and Edwin alone again.

“I appreciate you doing this with me. It was…” she paused for too long, though she knew what she wanted to say, she debated saying that she enjoyed his company.

“I had a nice time too,” Edwin said as though he read her mind. “Can I walk you out? Maybe give you a lift back into town?”

Despite her knee-jerk reaction to deny his request, she leaned into the moment, and leaned into the warm fuzzy feeling she had when he looked at her that way. “Alright. You can drive me home.”

At that, he smiled and took her arm through the crook of his elbow.

“But no funny business,” she added with a dramatized severity in her voice.

All she got in response was a wink and a smirk. Edwin was trouble, she was sure of it now.

Chapter12

Out of frustration, Leo kicked the remnants of the blown-out back tire of the overpriced rental.Who rents a Range Rover for a cross country trip?he thought. He checked the location of the VIP roadside assistant that came with the hefty price tag, and he was only a few minutes out. There was one benefit of getting a flat in a big city; fast service and plenty of street lights.

As though he hadn’t had enough weighing on him trying to deliver his precious cargo to the second wedding of her dreams, he now had a very real concern about them getting back to Christmas Cove in time at all. Although Leo typically let things roll off his shoulders, there was so much pressure he had put on himself to get back home as fast as possible. The more he tried making things perfect, the more fate seemed to laugh in his face. And now the shredded remnants of black rubber mocked his efforts to get them home.

The trip hadn’t been bad exactly, just long. Last night, laying under the stars with America snuggled up against him, he had wished for a sign that all would be right. He wished that no matter how rocky or unconventional a start they had to their marriage, they would love each other for better or worse, the way his parents had. It was hard to argue with America’s assurance that they would look back on this time with joy. But a dark hole of cynicism was doing its best to lie to him, and he feared that if one more thing went wrong, he would want to call the whole thing off.

Before he completely fell into self-despair, the tow truck, and another rental car pulled onto the shoulder as cars buzzed by on the freeway. In the light of the headlamps, he exchanged the keys with the tow truck driver. A representative from the rental company handed over the key to a replacement car.

“Your vehicle will be ready for pick up at seven. The address is in the app along with a voucher for dinner,” the rental car rep explained. “If you have any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out. My contact info is in the app too.”

Leo shook the man’s hand. “Are you sure we can’t just take this car the rest of the way?”

“I’m afraid we don’t have any vehicles available for out of region drop off.”

“Figured I’d ask. Thank you for your quick response. We need to get back on the road tonight if we’re gonna?—”

The man chuckled without humor. “No, Mr. Thorpe, you misunderstand me. Your vehicle will be available by seven tomorrow morning, seeing how late it is. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“I guess that will have to be fine. Thanks again,” Leo said, and watched the man climb into the front seat of the tow truck.

America had stayed inside the Range Rover where it was warm, while he handled his frustrations out in the cold by kicking every rock and piece of debris off of the highway shoulder. With an adjusted attitude, he opened her door and helped her down from the front seat. “Looks like we’re staying in St. Louis tonight,” Leo said. “I know it’s not ideal, but we we’re only planning to drive another hour tonight.”

“This trip feels like the longest… I mean, it’s been fun but?—”

With one hand braced on the doorframe beside America’s head, he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “I know you’re antsy to get home. So am I.”

“Can’t we just catch a flight? Surely there’s something from here that can get us home sooner.”

“I thought that too,” Leo said and clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth while he considered the option to fly again. Numbers ran through his mind; time and expenses. “Even if we can book a flight, I don’t know if we can afford to eat the extra cost. You know how much it costs for last minute flights.”

“Let’s look anyway,” America said with a bright tone. “You never know.”

Leo had already opened the browser on his phone while America finished her sentence. His eyes squinted as the results populated the screen, and he blinked thinking he misread the numerals. “Twenty-six hundred dollars?”

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