Ain't She Sweet (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #2) - Whitney Dineen Page 0,99
his story. I don’t want to be intrusive, but he should know he’s being scoped out by the women of Spartan.
After Cheryl heads toward the dance floor, Rachel comes over. “Everything has turned out perfectly, hasn’t it?”
I put my arm around my new friend. “In large part, thanks to you.” I ask, “Do you really think you’re going to move here?”
She nods her head. “I do. I don’t know what kind of job I’ll get, but I do know that I’m ready for a change. I’m tired of tabloid journalism and, truth be told, I’m tired of the sun shining all the time. That must sound nuts, huh?”
“Not to me,” I tell her. “I love the seasons. I used to wake up in LA and think, not another beautiful day!”
“I’m heading home tomorrow to give notice on my apartment,” she tells me. “I hope to line one up here before I go.”
“Don’t rush. I think you should come here and stay at my place until you can find something you like.”
She gives me a hug. “Thank you, Tara. Thank you so much for everything.”
James joins us just as Lou Bega’s voice booms over the sound system singing “Mambo Number 5.” He pulls me out on the dance floor for a spin. We swing around in a display of pure joy. It feels like all of the molecules of my body break apart and float effortlessly through the air.
Toward the end of the song, James pulls me in and presses his lips to my ear. He improvises his own lyrics. “A little bit of Tara in my life, a lot of love and no more strife. We’re going to dance and have some fun, and who knows maybe soon be one.”
I feel so totally and completely happy in this moment, I can barely contain myself. I’m no longer hiding out or worried what people will think when they find out who I am. I’m in the arms of a man I can see spending a lot of time with, maybe all of my time. My mom is moving to Spartan, along with Rachel and Claire; everything's coming up roses.
I’m not sure what to feel about Romaine other than to say I think he’s dodged a bullet not marrying Cash tonight. I know there’s another woman out there who would be way more suited to him.
I look across the room and see my mom and Ruby with their heads together. They seem to be in deep discussion over something. I’m glad for my mom that she has a built-in friend in James’s mom. I just wish I knew what they were saying that has them all worked up.
Chapter Fifty-Four
The Moms
“I absolutely don’t agree,” Gwen tells Ruby. “Claire just broke up with her boyfriend. I don’t think we should try to set her up with anyone until she has a chance to settle in here.”
“I don’t know. She and Geoffrey have this sort of tension going on between them. I think they might just be perfect for each other,” Ruby decides.
“What about Rachel?” Gwen asks. “She’s moving to Spartan, too. Maybe she’s Geoffrey’s soulmate.”
“Hmm,” Ruby considers the idea of the reporter and her chef. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see when they both move here. But I tell you this, Gwen, Geoffrey is my next project. That man’s been alone since he’s worked here, and I think it’s high time for him to find love.”
“Well, if anyone can help him, you can. You’ve already got two wins under your belt.”
Ruby’s eyes glint with determination. “Yes, I do. But being that I don’t know Geoffrey’s mom, I’m thinking that maybe you could help me with this one.”
“I don’t see why not,” Gwen tells her friend. “I’d like everyone to be as happy as I am right now.”
Ruby feels a small pang in her heart. If she and Tom can’t be together, the least she can do is help other people find the same kind of joy that she spent most of her adult life feeling.
Later that night, after Tara’s party is over, Ruby lies in bed and talks to her husband. I have so many ideas, Tom. But the first thing I want to do is to put our new event planner in charge of orchestrating a ‘singles mixer’. There are a lot of lonely people in this world and I seem to have a knack of helping them find each other.