All of Me (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1) (12 page)

Molly had finished taking the last photo of the dresses at eight-thirty last night. Within an hour, everyone had gone home. But Tess’ mind hadn’t stopped working over-time. It had been close to eleven o’clock before she’d finally fallen asleep.

Logan and Molly were coming back this afternoon to capture the moment Connie decided which dresses she’d take. Sally had parent teacher meetings and couldn’t make it. Annie was practicing for her bowling tournament.

Tess planned on having a long hot bath after everyone left, then heading straight to bed. She needed a decent night’s sleep, otherwise she’d have to do something crazy, like close the café and take a vacation.

She added chocolate chips to the second cookie mixture and rolled the dough into balls. If she didn’t bake for a living, it would have been therapeutic, but all she could think about were the other things she needed to do tomorrow. Maybe she needed a vacation more than she thought she did. While her imagination ran over the possibilities of where she’d go, someone knocked on her back door.

Tess wiped her hands on a dishcloth and went to see who it was. Molly stood at the top of the stairs with Logan a few steps below her.

“Look who I found in the parking lot?” Molly smiled at Logan, then looked at Tess. “Are you ready for Connie’s visit?”

Tess moved out of the way so they could come inside. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I was going to make a cup of coffee. Would you like one?”

Logan put a pen and notebook on the kitchen counter. “I can make it. You’re busy baking.”

“It’s okay. I can do it.” Tess was happy to make them a drink, but Logan was already pulling mugs out of the pantry.

“I know how to make coffee. Go back to your cookies.”

“Make a cup for me,” Molly said as she checked her camera.

Tess moved back to her cookie dough, finished rolling the balls, then put them in the oven. Logan left a hot mug of coffee beside her.

She didn’t know what it was about him, but she could feel his eyes following her around the kitchen. It was as if she had a radar attached to her body whenever he was in the same room as her. It didn’t feel uncomfortable, it just felt strange. She was used to people watching her. Used to people taking notice of what she did and how she did it. But she wasn’t used to Logan.

Today he was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and black dress shoes. He’d rolled the sleeves on his shirt past his elbows and undone the top two buttons at his neck. He looked rumpled and sexy - two things that were guaranteed to make her heart flutter.

“Hard day at the office?” she asked.

“Long day at the office. Have you heard from Connie?”

Tess sipped her mug of coffee. “She called me at lunchtime to make sure it’s still okay to meet us here.”

Molly checked the time. “She shouldn’t be far away.”

Tess watched Logan closely. He still looked tired, as though he’d had even less sleep than she had.

He ran his hand across his jaw and frowned. “I had a shave.”

“But no sleep,” Tess added. She took her cookie jar out of the pantry and held it out to Logan and Molly. “This is my four o’clock pick-me-up treat. Rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, cranberries, dates, sliced almonds and maple syrup.”

Molly looked in the jar and took out one of the nut and fruit bars. “Yummy. Can you email me the recipe?”

“Sure. I can send it to you too, Logan?”

“These taste great, but I’d never get around to baking them. Can I put an order in at the café and freeze them?”

Tess thought about the ingredients. “I can’t see why not. I’ll experiment and let you know.”

Someone knocked on the back door. Molly jumped off the sofa and headed toward the door. “That will be Connie.” She introduced herself to Connie and her sister, and brought them into the living room.

Tess put the lid on her cookie jar and turned to the two women. “Hi. Are you ready to see the dresses?”

Connie nodded. “I’m so excited. I couldn’t sleep last night.” She remembered her sister standing beside her and did some hurried introductions.

Tess smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Denise.” Connie’s sister sent them all a wide smile. She looked so much like Connie that they could have passed for twins.

“What you’re doing for Connie is amazing,” Denise said. “We don’t know how to thank you.”

“We’re just happy we can do something for you. Did you bring your bridesmaids’ measurements?”

Denise opened her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here they are.”

Molly picked up her camera. “Do you mind if I take a few photographs? Logan and I would like to do a follow-up story for his newspaper.”

Connie looked at her sister. “I don’t mind. I’d like everyone to know what you’re doing for us.”

Denise nodded. “I feel the same.”

“That’s great,” Tess said. “Let’s get started. I’ll take you through to my spare bedroom. If you want to bring anything out to the living room, that’s fine.” She walked into the bedroom and tried to imagine what it must be like for Connie.

Connie had told her she’d spent months with her bridesmaids choosing a dress design that would suit her three sisters and best friend. She’d started a special savings account with her fiancé and paid for the dresses out of that. They’d wanted their families to enjoy the wedding, but after the burglary they’d needed to scale everything back. Replacing some of the other things the thieves had stolen had been more important.

“Have the police found any of your belongings?” Molly asked.

Connie shook her head. “Not yet. I’m not feeling too positive about them finding anything.”

Tess opened the double doors to her spare bedroom closet. Because the rooms inside the apartment were huge, her grandpa had added extra large closets when he’d built them into each room. Little did he know that fifty years after he’d put them in, his granddaughter would be filling one of them with bridesmaids’ dresses. Her grandma would have been proud.

“Oh, wow.”
Connie’s mouth dropped open and Denise had tears in her eyes.

“They’re beautiful,” Denise said as she pulled the first dress out. “Are you sure you want to give us four dresses? We could bring them back when we’ve finished with them?”

Tess saw Molly lower her camera. “We’ve got twenty-two dresses for you to look through. Whatever you choose are yours to keep.”

Connie looked at one of the red dresses Sally had picked up yesterday.

“That’s the only style there are four of,” Tess said as the timer on the oven started beeping. “I need to check the cookies. If you’ve got any questions, just ask Molly or Logan.”

Connie pulled another dress out of the closet and sighed. “They’re all so pretty.”

Tess smiled as she hurried out of the room. What they were doing for Connie made her feel just as happy as the smell coming from the kitchen. She opened the oven door and pulled the baking sheet out. The cookies were golden brown and filled with gooey chocolate.

“Are they okay?” Logan leaned against the counter and watched her move the cookies onto a plate.

“They’re fine. Do you want to try one?”

Logan grinned. “I’m going to be ten pounds heavier by the end of the week if I keep eating your baking.” He took a cookie off the plate and took a bite. “Delicious.”

Tess laughed. “You don’t seem too distraught about gaining weight.”

“I’ll run an extra mile tomorrow morning.”

“You can’t run an extra mile. You’re already running too much.”

Logan looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Are you worried about me?”

She was, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “I’m worried about me. If you start running any earlier, I’m going to have to start baking at three o’clock in the morning to get your muffins ready.”

“You don’t have to do that. I mean…I like it when I find the muffins, but you don’t need to do it.”

“Someone has to look after you.”

Logan leaned over the counter and tapped the end of her nose. “That’s what moms are for.”

Tess supposed he was right. But she’d never had a mom that cared, so the concept was foreign to her. “If I were your mom, Logan Allen, I’d be visiting Montana to keep an eye on you.”

“She is.”

Tess stared at him. “Your mom’s coming to Bozeman? When?”

“Next week.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your sister’s phone call to her, would it?”

Logan shook his head. “I cleared that up. Jacqui and mom know you’re not my girlfriend.”

“Good.” It
was
good, Tess thought. Very good. “Are you going to take your mom on a sightseeing tour?”

“She visited me a few months ago, so we’ve covered most sights around Bozeman. We didn’t get to see Old Faithful last time, so I thought we’d head to Yellowstone National Park.”

“There are some pretty waterfalls not far from Old Faithful. Your mom might like to see those as well.”

“I was wondering…you know…if you’d like to meet her. I’ve told her all about The Bridesmaids Club and she thinks it’s a great idea.”

Tess wasn’t sure meeting Logan’s mom was a good idea. “What exactly did you tell your mom about me?”

“I told her you own the best café in town, you feed people who need a helping hand, and take pity on hungry runners. Was that okay?”

“You know about our after-hours café?” Tess thought Pastor Steven, his wife, and Annie were the only people who knew about her other job. She was beginning to appreciate just how hard it was to keep a secret in Bozeman. Which made her even more worried about her past.

“I’ve helped serve dinner once or twice at Pastor Steven’s Church. I recognized some of the dishes. You’re not giving them leftovers are you?”

Tess turned the oven off and poured herself a glass of water. “I started giving the Lighthouse Café the food we didn’t sell during the day. And then I saw how much everyone appreciated what I was doing. So I started making extra food. It evolved from there.”

“How many people do you make meals for?”

Tess looked down at the counter. She didn’t like talking about what she did. It wasn’t as if it was such a big deal. She liked helping people.

“How many, Tess?”

“In between serving our customers, Annie and I make enough food for about thirty dinners each night. We freeze what isn’t needed and use it on the nights when the Lighthouse is bursting at the seams.”

“It’s no wonder you’re exhausted,” Logan scowled at her.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to the people you’re helping. What else do you do?”

Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Tess looked around the kitchen. She had enough dough left over for another batch of cookies. She took a baking sheet out of a cupboard and started rolling the dough into balls.

“I’ll find out sooner or later. I’m a reporter, remember. I have my sources.”

“Pastor Steven and his wife won’t talk, so you’ll have to dig a lot deeper to get anywhere near the truth.”

Logan had a gleam in his eyes that didn’t look good for Tess. He saw her as a challenge, a rock to flip over and look under. Except there wasn’t anything remotely interesting under her rock that needed exploring. She’d found what made her happy and that’s all that mattered.

“Why do you do it?” he asked.

Tess wondered if Connie and her sister were done choosing their dresses. She needed to be there, show solidarity toward their cause. “I’ll go and see how Connie’s doing.” She smiled sweetly at Logan and hoped he got the point.

He smiled back. He’d gotten the point all right, and he was going to ignore it. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

“You can sleep in the spare bedroom. There’s an extra duvet in the hall closet.” She walked across the living room, ignoring the grin plastered across his face.

“I snore.”

Tess turned around. He still looked as though he had no intention of leaving her apartment. “I’m sure you’ve got worse flaws than a snoring problem.”

“Aren’t you lucky? You’ll be able to experience them first hand.”

Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. Logan did. She walked into her spare bedroom and saw Connie’s sister. Denise was wearing one of the red dresses.

“You look beautiful,” Tess said. “Do you like it?”

Denise turned in front of the full-length mirror Tess had found in a store in Paris. “It’s elegant and pretty. I’ve checked the sizes of the other dresses and I think they’ll fit.” She glanced at Connie. “What do you think?”

Connie’s eyes filled with tears. “I think it’s incredible. The dress you’re wearing looks even prettier than the ones we bought.”

Molly snapped more pictures. “You’ll be the belle of the bridal season. It’s a fine dress for a bridesmaid.”

“It sounds like we have a winner?” Tess watched Connie’s face.

“We do.” Connie wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to use the four red dresses.”

Tess hugged Connie’s shoulders. “Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you found something you like.”