Just One Kiss (18 page)

Pia offered a slight smile. “Right. We can bond.”

Patience let herself out, then walked down the stairs to the street. Whatever was going on with Pia, Patience hoped it got straightened out and soon. The poor woman sounded as if she couldn’t take on one more thing.

Patience walked back to her store and then paused in front of the big front window. The logo was beautiful in reds and yellows. The tables were in place, as were the hooks for the opening-day banner.

She’d done it, she thought happily. Tomorrow she would open her business. There was no going back now—just moving forward. As she unlocked the front door, she crossed the fingers of her free hand. For luck.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A
T
SEVEN
THAT
night, Patience stopped in front of her business and looked toward the dark windows. She didn’t see anything wrong. But Police Chief Barns had phoned a few minutes before to say there was a problem. Ava had said she would watch Lillie while Patience hurried over to check the business.

“Nothing bad,” she whispered, reaching for the front door. “Please, nothing bad.”

She used her key and opened the door, then flipped on the lights.

“Surprise!”

She jumped back and shrieked as over a dozen women gathered around. All her friends were there holding bottles of champagne and presents. Charlie; Heidi; Julia, Patience’s former boss; Dakota, Montana and Nevada; Annabelle; Isabel and even Felicia.

Charlie hugged her first. “Sorry to scare you, but we wanted this to be a surprise.”

Patience had trouble taking it all in. “You mean there’s no emergency?”

“Nope. I called Alice and she was happy to be part of the surprise. Your mom was in on it, too.”

Patience pressed a hand to her still-pounding heart. “She and I are going to have a talk about this when I get home.”

“Come on,” Isabel said, taking her arm and leading her forward. “We’re going to get you drunk.”

“I have to be up at three-thirty to be here at four in the morning. I don’t want a hangover.”

Isabel grinned. “Sure you do. The headache will distract you from any nerves you might have.”

Charlie and Nevada opened the bottles of champagne and poured. On the coffee bar were platters of appetizers along with a pitcher of what looked like herbal iced tea. No doubt for the recent moms and the mother-to-be. The tables had been dragged together with chairs pulled around.

When Annabelle came over to hug her, she smiled. “I can’t stay all that long because I’m between feedings, but I didn’t want to miss this.”

“I’m glad you came.”

“You’re going to do great. You’ll see. The whole town will support you.”

“I’m counting on that.”

“I swear, the second I’m done breast-feeding, I’m coming right here for coffee. I miss lattes and double shots and caffeine in general. I also miss wine. I’ll have to go somewhere else for that.”

Isabel and Charlie led Patience to one of the chairs. Glasses of champagne were handed out and the food passed around. Everyone settled in for a good gossip session.

Montana looked at Felicia. “Wow, you’re really gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” Felicia said. “I wasn’t born this way.”

Charlie chuckled. “It’s her way of saying not to hate her.”

“I’m more likely to make people uncomfortable than generate hatred,” Felicia said. “I am hoping you’ll like me, though.”

“Honesty,” Heidi said. “Impressive.”

“You’re not the only new girl in town,” Charity Golden said. “I heard a rumor that a woman was looking at retail space right next to the sporting-goods store.”

Charity would know, Patience thought. She was the city planner.

“Do you know what kind of store she’s opening?” Isabel asked.

“Afraid you’ll have gown competition?” Heidi sipped her herbal tea.

“No. Just curious.”

“I don’t think she said,” Charity admitted. “I didn’t see the paperwork for her business license.”

Charlie looked at Charity. “Tell your husband he needs to name his damn store.”

“It’s the sporting-goods store.”

“That’s what it is, not what it’s called.”

Charity laughed. “It’s what the sign says.”

“Right. Like there’s a big sign that says
library
in town, too, but it has a name.”

“I’ll tell him you’re concerned.”

Isabel got up and walked over to the sound-system controls tucked into the bookcase. She turned it on and quickly dialed in one of the local radio stations. An oldies song started to play.

“Tell us about the hunky bodyguards coming to Fool’s Gold,” Dakota said to Felicia. “With my brother being one of them, you’d think we’d know something, but he’s barely been in touch.”

Nevada nodded at her triplet. “I sent him an email the other day. I swear, his reply was the written equivalent of a grunt.”

“He’s okay, isn’t he?” Montana asked.

Felicia looked at the three sisters. “Last time I saw Ford, he was fine. I’m sure he’s busy wrapping up his time in the army. There’s a lot of paperwork and a process for soldiers to acclimate to civilian life.”

“He’s not emailing you, either, then,” Dakota said.

“Not very much. Justice corresponds with him regularly.”

“Did you want to go out with him?” Montana asked. “I’m only mentioning it because our mom is determined to get him married to someone local. So he’ll stay. We think it’s a good idea.”

“
We
do not,” Nevada said. She glared at her sisters. “
You
think it’s a good idea. I think we should leave the man alone. He’s plenty capable of getting his own girl. If you get in his face, he might just leave.”

Felicia stared at them with undisguised interest. “You disagree about what to do about Ford.”

Dakota nodded. “We disagree a lot. I’ve explained their lives would be better if they would simply listen to me, but what can I say? They only look smart.”

Montana rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.” She turned to Felicia. “She thinks she’s all that because she has a psychology degree.”

“Yet you’re genetically identical.”

Dakota shifted toward her. “I know. It’s fascinating, isn’t it? That when the cell divided in utero we were identical in every way possible. But over time, through random events, experiences, even minute biological differences, we’ve become completely different people.”

Nevada groaned. “Oh, please. We’re not that interesting.”

“Has anyone ever studied the three of you?” Felicia asked.

“No,” Montana said loudly. “And we’re not going to be studied now.” She softened her words with a quick pat on Felicia’s hand. “Maybe you should get some mice or something. You know, to keep you busy.”

Felicia nodded. “I had thought of getting a dog.”

Patience leaned back in her chair and sipped her champagne. This moment was exactly what she loved about her hometown. She was surrounded by her friends, having a great time, feeling supported and listening to some very bizarre conversation. Whatever people might say about small towns, life in Fool’s Gold was never boring.

Annabelle picked up her tea. “You never told us if there were any other guys coming.”

“Interested?” Heidi asked with a grin.

“You know my heart will always belong to Shane. And our baby. But now I’m curious.”

“There is a third partner,” Felicia said. “Angel.”

“Ooh,” the triplets said together.

“Angel, huh?” Charlie sniffed. “That means he’s nothing but trouble.”

“He’s a former sniper who went to work for a private company. I’ve known him for a while, but we’re not especially close.” Felicia paused. “There’s something about his eyes. With Justice and Ford, you know they’ve seen things. That they’re strong and capable. But with Angel...” She shrugged. “I don’t want to be fanciful.”

“Be fanciful,” Isabel said.

Felicia looked uncomfortable. “It’s like he’s been to the depths of hell. He’s very nice,” she added quickly.

“Right,” Charlie said. “In a ‘hey, I can kill you without blinking’ kind of way.”

Patience thought about the mysterious Angel. The men who served went places and did things the rest of them couldn’t begin to imagine. Justice must have dark memories in his past. Not just with his father, but while in the military. But when he was with her, he was tender and funny. He was perfect with her mother and with Lillie. Was it difficult for men like him to be back in the regular world?

She wanted to ask. Just as much, she wanted to see him. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left and wasn’t willing to ask Felicia if she’d gotten a call or a text. Still, he’d promised to come to the opening and she was going to trust him to be there.

On the radio, there was a second of silence, followed by a sexy voice.

“To a very special lady tonight, Patience McGraw, whose new business, Brew-haha, opens tomorrow. This one’s for you.”

The party went quiet as everyone paused to listen. The opening sounds of “Good Vibrations” spilled into the room. Patience laughed.

“I hope he’s right,” she said. “I need all the help I can get.” She glanced at Charlie. “Did you tell him about the party?”

“I might have mentioned it.”

Felicia leaned toward Patience. “That man on the radio. Who is he?”

“Gideon? Have you met him? He moved here last year and bought a couple of radio stations.”

“Gideon Boylan?”

“Yes.”

Felicia went pale. “Excuse me,” she said as she stood.

Patience half rose. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. My stomach’s been bothering me a little lately. I shouldn’t have had the champagne.”

“The bathrooms are back there,” Patience said as she pointed.

Felicia hurried off.

Patience wondered if she should go after her. She decided that some events should occur in private and that if Felicia wasn’t back in a few minutes, she would check on her.

Unless the problem wasn’t her stomach at all. Did Felicia have a past with Gideon?

The tall, dark-haired man was plenty appealing, she thought absently. He had the same dangerous aura about him as Justice, but with a couple of tattoos and an attitude that was far more Wolverine than James Bond. Patience would say that Justice fell into the James Bond category. She would bet he looked spectacular in a tux. Or without one.

She sipped her champagne and sighed. If he kept his word and returned for the opening, she would see him sometime in the next twenty-four hours. The thought of that got her nerves dancing nearly as much as the thought of opening her business.

* * *

“I
WOULD
die without you,” Patience told Melissa. “Seriously. I owe you.”

The teenager grinned. “You owe my mom. She said I could take the day off school. She thinks that being a part of a business from the first day is a good experience. You know how she gets.”

“As far as I’m concerned, Liz gets an award of some kind.” Patience took the latte Melissa had finished making and slid the mug across the counter. She smiled at the waiting customer. “Thanks so much for coming in today.”

Coach Green smiled back at her. “We’re all excited about your new store,” he told her. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

The coach turned away and joined the huge crowd filling her store. Her business had officially been open five hours and had been busy from 6:01 until right this second.

A steady stream of customers had flowed in, and many of them didn’t seem to want to leave. Her plan had been to offer samples as a way to entice people, but so far everyone was insisting on buying their drinks. She’d run out of pastries by eight, and they were working their way through a cookie supply she thought would last three days.

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was at noon. If the people already hanging out didn’t leave, they would have to hold the speeches outside.

A great problem to have, Patience thought as she worked her way through the crowd, greeting friends and keeping an eye out for tourists who might not understand why there was such a crush to get coffee.

She spotted a pretty blonde standing by the window. At first Patience thought she was staring out at the park, but as she got closer, she realized the woman was studying the window casings.

“Hi,” she said as she approached. “I’m Patience.”

“Noelle,” the blonde said with a warm smile. She was on the thin side, but tall, with delicate features and blue eyes. “Your store is beautiful. I love the old building, how you’ve retained some of the original features of construction while updating the look.”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

Noelle smiled. “I wish I did. I’m faking it.”

“You’re doing an excellent job.” Patience paused. “I haven’t seen you around town before. Are you visiting friends or family?”

“No. I don’t know a soul in the area. But I’m moving here.” Noelle squared her shoulders. “That sounded convincing, didn’t it? Hi, I’m Noelle, and I’m moving to a strange town where I don’t know anyone and opening a store when I’ve never worked in retail.” She flashed another smile. “Crazy, huh?”

“Maybe a little. But it also sounds exciting.”

“I’m ready for exciting,” Noelle told her. “Adventure. Grabbing at life with both hands. I’m looking at renting that store over there.” She pointed through the window to the space next to the sporting-goods store.

“For what it’s worth, I’m jumping in the deep end, too,” Patience said. “Last week I was doing hair at a salon. Now I’m opening this.”