Page 22 of A Winter's Wedding

“That’s right,” he said. “What else?”

“I’ll have the Fiore Borghese and a glass of wine. Whatever you think goes best,” America said.

“And any drink for you?”

“Water,” Leo said and turned his attention back to his beautiful wife. “I shouldn’t drink tonight. We’ll have to make up some time tomorrow if you still want to try to get all the way to Buffalo. We can’t pick up the Rover until seven. It’s going to be another really long day.”

“I know,” she said and swirled the white wine around in her oversized glass. “But I really want to be there for Carol’s dress fitting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. I told her I would try my best to get there. She’s never been a maid of honor, and probably figured at her age, she never would get the opportunity. But I couldn’t get married without her by my side.”

“We owe her a lot. If it wasn’t for her and Pa, I don’t know if we’d be getting married.”

“Got married,” she reminded him. “But I know what you mean. Those two are quite the pair. It’s such a shame what happened with her father when he split them up back in high school. Who knows? Maybe they’d be the ones getting married.”

Leo chuckled at the idea, until it sank in. “You know, I’ve never thought of it before, but there is something between them, isn’t there?”

“You never noticed how Pa always goes out of his way to find reasons to be near her, even if the pretense is something they can battle over? Or the way she looks at his bum every time he walks away from her?” America giggled.

Leo snapped his fingers. “Or how he’s always offering her rides even if he’s not actually going that way? I don’t know how I was so blind to it. I suppose that since I’ve known them, they were always just Pa and Carol, the town rivals. But maybe they’ve been more all along, and no one sees it.”

“I did.” America raised a brow as their food came out. Rich spices and tangy tomato-scented steam filled the air around them. “Let’s dig in.”

“Happy to. This looks incredible. Thanks for suggesting Italian, I think I needed comfort food.”

“Thanks for finding this place. It’s sort of reminds me of The Foundry.”

Leo looked around at a the lavishly appointed space that wasn’t overly fancy yet still inviting. The dark woodwork and leather furniture provided a cozy feel to the space, even the bulkhead hanging down from the ceiling around the bar provided a sense of privacy and relaxation. He made a note to incorporate more private eating nooks in thecucinawhenever they made it back to Christmas Cove.

America smiled as she shoveled another bite of pasta into her mouth, and all seemed right again in Leo’s world. He only hoped he could get America back to Christmas Cove on time, and unscathed.

Chapter13

Morning came again. America rolled over to an empty bed and ran her hand along the still warm white sheets where Leo had slept. But wherever he was, he hadn’t been gone for long. She craned her head off the pillow enough to see the low-lit digital clock on the far side of the dark hotel room. “Not even six,” she said and buried her head under the covers. Her phone had other ideas about letting her sleep and buzzed. She supposed her day was beginning whether she was ready for it or not. Reaching to the bedside table, she turned the screen over. It was Leo.

“Oh, good. You’re up,” he said without waiting for her to greet him. “I need you to get dressed in something warm and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes. I already grabbed all the bags but yours, so just bring it down with you.”

“Is something the matter? I thought we couldn’t get the car until seven.” America rubbed sleep from her eyes.

“Nothing is wrong. But I’m up to something.” His grin was evident in his tone. “See you in a few.”

At least America had perfected the messy bun, red lipstick look. Getting dressed in a pair of black leggings and oversized white knit sweater, she threw on her coat and tossed the rest of her things in the small suitcase. She had exactly one clean outfit left, but the pencil skirt and red turtleneck wouldn’t keep her very warm, nor was it ideal for sitting in a car all day. If all went well, they’d be in Buffalo by tonight and she could find somewhere to do a load of laundry.

America rolled her suitcase to the door and flipped on the lights for one more check of the room. She spotted her phone charger and skipped around to the space between the two queen size beds where it was plugged in, even though they had slept side by side in just one of the beds.

Leo had been incredibly patient with her. She had built up their perfect wedding night in her head, but her expectations had been utterly dashed by the surprise marriage. With everything feeling out of her control, she just didn’t feel ready to give herself fully yet.

Outside, Leo waited in the little car parked underneath the lobby portico with a boyish grin on his face. He got out of the car and opened the trunk, waving her over. Her body hesitated to move out from the comforting warmth of the lobby air. The automatic doors slid open and the frigid mist pierced her face like millions of tiny razor blades. It was so cold, even the car exhaust was condensing into a great white plume behind the vehicle before dispersing in the breeze.

Running across the drive, she tossed her bag in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat all in one breath. “It’s freezing. I guess this is the storm that canceled our flights?”

After closing his own door, Leo kissed her cheek and put the car into gear. “It looks like we missed the worst of it. I think we’ve been trailing behind the tail end this whole time. Should be hitting the Cove anytime now.”

“Should we call Grant and Thandie and see if they need anything?” Grant and Thandie were the directors at The Foundry but had become close friends over the last several months since coming to town. She was just as concerned about their safety as she was about the business.

“There’s nothing we can really do from here. I trust them to take care of whatever it is.” Leo pulled onto the highway onramp and quickly brought the car up to speed. The bright streetlights created a faint halo in the fog and daylight was just beginning to turn the horizon a greenish-blue.

“Now that you got me out of bed so early, what are you up to? I have to know.”

Leo used his fingers to mime zipping his mouth closed. But he couldn’t keep himself from grinning ear to ear. Whatever he had planned, he seemed pleased with himself.

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