A Fool's Gold Wedding - Susan Mallery Page 0,21

this.”

“You’re spending a lot of time with her.”

“I am. She’s very enjoyable company. I’m helping with the wedding.”

“I heard. You’re going to paint votives today.”

Joaquin knew Simon was trying to get a point across, but he had no idea what it was.

“And you still want in the program?”

“Yes.”

Simon closed the folder. “Let me be clear. Abby is family. I love her as if she were my own daughter. Don’t hurt her.”

“I would never do that.”

Simon studied him. “I recognize a bit of myself in you, Joaquin, and because of that, I’m going to give you some free advice. It’s easy to overlook things when they turn up without warning. Especially when they’re not part of your plan. Be careful not to dismiss something simply because it’s not what you were looking for.”

Joaquin had no idea what he was talking about. “Thank you for telling me that. May I reapply to the program?”

Simon sighed. “We’ll discuss that after the wedding. Between now and then, tell Abby the truth. All of it. If you don’t, I will, and I will not make you look like a hero if I do so.”

Tell Abby what? His shoulders slumped. “You mean tell her that I came here under false pretenses.”

“And that you used her to get to me.”

He started to protest it hadn’t been like that, only he knew it had been. He’d used her because he had assumed she wouldn’t matter. But he’d been wrong about that, just like he’d been wrong about so many things.

“Everything is different now. I like her. I want to be with her and get to know her.”

Simon’s sharp gaze never wavered. “Tell her or I will,” he repeated.

Joaquin nodded. “I’ll do it.”

He rose and let himself out. Once he was by his car, he looked back at the building, then around at the town. He would tell Abby. All of it. She would understand. Maybe not at first, but when he explained himself, she would get it and everything would be fine. She was the kind of person who understood, who accepted. He was counting on that and her.

* * *

FRIDAY AFTERNOON JOAQUIN left to spend the weekend with his brother in San Francisco. Abby knew it was good for them to have time together. They would go to a Giants game Saturday night and hang out in the city. Sibling bonding was important. She was superexcited that Melissa was coming home, so it was an excellent plan. Only she couldn’t seem to shake the sense that she was going to miss him.

“It’s just two days,” she pointed out to herself as she tried to get interested in the book she was reading. Or not reading.

She glanced at her watch. He had been gone all of two hours. Why was she feeling so restless?

She had no answer. Rather than sit staring at words that didn’t make sense, she went back inside and headed to her room. She’d been meaning to go through her clothes and figure out what she would need for school. She wanted a simple wardrobe of easy-to-clean outfits that allowed her to sit on the floor with the kids without flashing anyone anything. So longer, full skirts and lots of tailored pants with fun tops. She’d been collecting seasonally printed shirts and sweaters, but she would need more than that.

Three hours later, she had sorted, cataloged and made a couple of lists. She was feeling pretty smug about the whole thing when she heard her sister’s voice.

“Where are you hiding, Abby?”

She raced out of her bedroom and met her sister in the kitchen. They hugged.

“You’re back!” Abby said. “How was traffic?”

“Not too bad.” Melissa shrugged out of her suit jacket and kicked off her heels. “I’ve been so busy all week,” she said. “Trying to get ahead so I won’t feel guilty when we’re on our honeymoon.”

“No feeling guilty,” Abby told her, collecting her sister’s small suitcase. “You’re getting married. You’re allowed to go away.”

“I know, but work is important. I’m nearly where I wanted to be, so that’s good.” She smiled. “Now I have to shift gears and get into wedding mode. How have you been?”

“Great. Busy. The place cards are done, the birdseed holders are done and the votives are painted.” She didn’t mention her special project, but it was done, too. The graphics company had finished printing all the giant cards. Abby had picked them up that morning and was stashing them in Joaquin’s hotel room so no one would see them.

Melissa

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