she’d overacted the night before, she was still part of the same play, Maggie walked over to Nick and kissed him goodbye. To her surprise he took her face in his hands and kissed her back. His mouth was warm and gentle and she felt something unfurl inside her.
Maybe I’m still a little drunk, she thought as she eased away.
She wondered what he’d been about to say before Rosie had turned up.
Rosie rolled her eyes. “You guys! The rest of us have a lot to live up to.”
Maggie headed for the door without looking at Nick.
Was she giving Rosie a false impression of marriage by not being honest?
No. She was doing the right thing. This was about Rosie and Dan, not her.
Maggie stepped out of the tree house after her daughter. Last night she’d viewed the forest and the night sky through an alcohol-induced haze, but today her vision was as clear as the perfect blue sky. Fresh snow dusted the trees and she felt the cold air freeze her cheeks. The first thing she noticed was how calm and peaceful it was. She stood still for a moment, enclosed by the forest, listening to the crack of branches and the soft thud of snow. She saw a pond, frozen over and framed by conifers on one side and tall aspen trees on the other.
Catherine was waiting outside Snowfall Lodge, slim and elegant in jeans, a coat with a fur trim and a pair of oversize shades.
Maggie hadn’t expected her to be so casually dressed and instantly felt a little better, even though Catherine looked as if she’d spent half her life in the gym and made jeans look like a high fashion choice.
Still, at least she wasn’t carrying a planner.
Rosie made the introductions quickly and Maggie climbed into the car next to her daughter’s soon-to-be mother-in-law. The jeans almost cut her in two at the waist. Maybe she should ask if she could lie across the back seat.
“I apologize for not joining you for dinner last night.”
“Not a problem! That flight is a killer. I’m probably supposed to commiserate that the airline lost your baggage, but honestly it’s a great excuse to shop.” Catherine simmered with energy and made Maggie even more aware of her throbbing head and the fuzzy feeling that Nick had told her was jet lag.
“I’m not a very happy flier.”
“Me neither. My best friend on a flight is alcohol.”
Maggie laughed. Maybe she and Catherine had more in common than she thought. “Do you travel much?”
“I used to. When I was building the business I used to go to all the big wedding shows, but now we have so many word-of-mouth recommendations we can barely keep up, so my work is fairly local. Most of my suppliers are right here in the valley. I use a photographer who has a gallery in town, a local florist, and there’s a bridal shop run by a designer who decided she preferred our mountains to the glitter of Manhattan. She has the most exquisite dress for Rosie, I can’t wait for you to see it.”
“It’s generous of you to have given Rosie so much support.”
“I adore Rosie. She’s so warm and genuine. The moment Dan introduced her I was thinking let her be The One. The whole family is thrilled by everything that’s happened. Aren’t you?”
Was she thrilled? “Dan seems delightful,” she said diplomatically. She still wasn’t entirely sure what she’d said to him the night before. “But it has all happened rather fast.”
“I know. When Dan proposed at Thanksgiving, I almost cried.”
Maggie had almost cried, too, although she suspected it would have been a different sort of crying. “So it was a shock to you?”
“You have no idea. It was always going to be a special gathering because Rosie was with us, but I never imagined how special. So romantic and meaningful, because my Dan is not impulsive. Is Rosie?”
Yes, Maggie thought. Changes her mind with the wind. “They do seem very much in love.”
Did they? She couldn’t remember much about that either, but it felt like the right thing to say.
How had Rosie seemed this morning? Pretty normal, although again Maggie had been focusing more on behaving like one half of a couple who were in love. And who was she to judge? She hadn’t been able to keep her own marriage going. Even if she was being generous to herself, she had to be at least fifty percent responsible.