Page 6 of Best Man
“Bothsisters! What a blast from the past!” Eugene said. “We were starting to wonder if you’d ever come back to see us again, Piper.”
“Of course I came back!” Piper said sweetly. “How have you been, Eugene?”
He frowned and clutched at his chest. “Heartbroken! And I have been, ever since the day you left us for the big city.”
“Aw.” Piper laughed. “What can I say? I had to see what the rest of the world had to offer.”
“Heard you did pretty good for yourself, too!” Eugene took a step back to admire her and whistled a couple notes. “And look at the woman you’ve become. You aregorgeous.”
“Thank you, Eugene,” Piper demurred. She’d always been too polite with the customers, and since she hadn’t worked the booth in, oh,ten years,she’d grown even softer.
“In fact, may I ask what you’re doing tonight?” Eugene asked with a wiggle in his eyebrows.
Paulina came to her sister’s rescue. “Cut it out, Gene! Don’t you know Piper’s getting married tomorrow? She’s about to be a married woman and you can’t flirt with her like that.”
Eugene chuckled. He enjoyed Paulina’s rather prickly handling of him. “Is that right?” he asked. “You’re marrying the hockey player? Ol’ what’s-his-name?”
“Jax Cameron,” Piper said, beaming.
“Well, congratulations! And where’s the wedding at?”
“At the new house we built on the farm,” she said.
“Wow. Isn’t that something.” He glanced at Piper’s left hand and suddenly looked puzzled. “He didn’t buy you a ring? What’s wrong with that boy?”
Paulina butted in again. “Jax bought her a rock so big she kept piercing the tomatoes when she handled them, so I made her leave it at home. Now what can we sell you, Gene?”
With his attention successfully directed towards the produce, Eugene picked out his order: some zucchini, a few cucumbers, four plump green tomatoes for frying, and a small head of purple cabbage. He turned his leer to Paulina while the girls worked. “And what about you?”
“Whataboutme?” Paulina asked incredulously as she hastily bagged his order.
“When are you going tosnag yourself a hockey player?”
“Ha. Good one.” She handed the plastic bag over. “That’ll be eleven dollars.”
“I’m not joking,” he said as he passed her the money. “I bet your sister could set you up with one, you know.”
Paulina’s face soured into a portrait of revolt. She loved Jaxlike a brother and all—but there was no way inhellshe had the patience to date a professional athlete herself. It had taken Jaxwhat,five yearsbefore hefinallyopened his eyes and realized he and Piper were perfect for each other?Dude … c’mon!Call her stubborn all you want, fine, but she didn’t have time to play those games.
“No thanks! Not interested!” Paulina tucked the cash into her apron.“See you next week, I hope?” she asked, earning a nod. “Good. Now get outta here!”
Eugene wandered off with an ornery snicker and the next customer stepped up.
3
Niko
A layer of cotton-wisp clouds gave way, revealing a horizon rimmed by craggy mountains. It was a bright and sunny day in Montana, just southwest of Glacier National Park. The scenery outside the cabin windows drew every eyeball away from phones, magazines, and card games. Even Katerina watched their slow descent over the vast expanse of Lake Flathead’s glistening blue waters.
“Wow, that’s beautiful,” she admitted.
The Gulfstream gently touched down at a private Kalispell airport just minutes later, its tires kissing the runway without a bump. The plane taxied fifty yards and came to a stop, its jet engines winding down.
Niko was the last one to get on the plane and the last to get off, just like on the ice. He shook the pilot’s hand on his way out. “Thank you, Captain. Very nice job. That landing was butter smooth.”
The pilot chuckled. “Thank you, Mr. Nikolaev. Have a great time at the wedding.”
Outside, Jax was greeting the wedding party with hugs and making small talk. The groom turned his head just in time to see Niko come trotting down the stairs.
