The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires Book 5) (19 page)

Madlyn looked thoughtful. “If you ask me, she needs another target. I mean, if her father will only let her hang out with certain people, then her friends will have to help her find someone he’ll approve of.”

Maria tilted her head. “You are very wise, Madlyn. I think that is what Ray is hoping to do, eventually. I gave him the names of two different families. One in Britain and the other in Germany. Both have ties to royalty. I thought that might appeal to the Vann family.”

Madlyn’s eyes widened. “Golly. No kidding?”

Kirby flashed a crooked smile. “Don’t go filling her head with thoughts of royalty, Maria. I just got her to say yes to my marriage proposal.”

Maria laughed softly. “I don’t think you have any worries about that. I see how she looks at you.”

Madlyn blushed.

The rest of the lunch was very pleasant. The group lingered over coffee. Vicky asked the question foremost on her mind. “Do you have a date yet?”

Madlyn and Kirby exchanged loving looks. “We think we should get married sooner rather than later.”

“But what about your parents? I thought you wanted them to come home for your wedding someday?”

Madlyn reached for Kirby’s hand. “We sort of have a personal reason for not wanting to wait. It’s silly, but—”

Kirby broke in, “I’m the culprit. I don’t want to give her time to change her mind. Or to meet any of Maria’s royal friends.”

Everyone laughed.

Kirby added, “As for Madlyn’s parents, I thought we might honeymoon in Italy.”

Madlyn’s chin dropped.

“Wonderful,” said Jason. “A great choice. Vicky and I finally got to take our honeymoon at our castle in Spain.”

Kirby lifted his coffee cup. “Here’s to castles in Spain.”

Vicky gave her husband a playful punch in the arm. “It’s old and made of sandstone and filled with antiques. We entertained family there, and then we all retired to a hotel at night.”

Jason grinned.

Maria said, “They are doing renovations. It will be lovely by next summer.”

A cockatiel shrieked.

“Sorry,” said Kirby, pulling out his phone. “That’s Brewster’s ringtone.”

From the doorway came Brewster’s voice. “Actually, that is Pearl in the flesh.”

Madlyn and Kirby turned to see Brewster holding a birdcage aloft.

“Brew!” Kirby got up and gave his friend a hug. “I thought you were leaving Pearl in New York.”

“I’ve always wanted to book a first class passage for Pearl, and I figured now I can afford it. She charmed the flight attendants and had the captain teaching her new words.” He smiled at Madlyn. “Hello, Miss Lake. So good to see you. And Mrs. Darby, I can never thank you enough for sending a town car.”

Another pleasant hour passed as Kirby gave Brewster the good news, and everyone caught up on the events of the day.

As the last of the coffee was consumed, Kirby shook his head. “I just can’t figure out how Vanessa learned where I was.”

Brewster cleared his throat. “She learned it from me. My apologies. She caught me off guard. I thought it was you on the phone, and I asked a question about Eagle’s Toe.”

Kirby clapped Brewster on the shoulder. “No problem. Everything turned out for the best. But when we get home, I will insist on programming ringtones into your phone.”

“Quite.”

Kirby thanked Vicky and Jason for their hospitality, ending with, “I have a few details to attend to in town, and Madlyn and I can give Brewster a ride to the Cattleman’s Inn.”

Madlyn said softly to Vicky, “I hope Vanessa is okay.”

“We’ll make sure of that,” Vicky assured her. “Don’t worry. She’ll head home happy tomorrow.” She leaned close and whispered, “And after that, we can figure out the details regarding an imminent wedding.”

Once Brewster, Pearl, and all the luggage were safely ensconced in Kirby’s rental car, Madlyn asked, “What details do you have to attend to?”

“You’ll see.”

“You said you ruined the surprise, so I figured we could talk about it now.”

“Oh, that. Yes, you already know I was planning to propose. It’ll be fun to see how that works out. It’s too late to cancel it now. But there are still a couple of little details for me to handle.” He turned to the back seat where Brewster was busily checking his phone messages. “Is everything ready?”

Brewster gave him an impish smile. “As ready as it’ll ever be.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

K
irby dropped Madlyn at her house so she could change and freshen up for their evening at the Christmas festival.

“We’ll be back to pick you up in an hour,” Kirby said, lingering over a parting kiss. “Is it okay if Brewster comes along? I’ve reserved two tables, one for us and one for Brewster.”

“Oh, he can sit with us.”

Kirby gave her another quick kiss. “He’ll groan every time we look at each other.”

Madlyn laughed. “Okay. Separate tables. Don’t be long.”

Kirby and Brewster drove off. Madlyn’s blood was racing from Kirby’s kisses, and she tore through the house, pulling clothes out of the closet, trying to decide what to wear. An intimate dinner together? Well, sort of. With Brewster at the next table? Not really. A fun Christmas festival? What would she wear if she were going alone? Ugh, no, not that.

She finally settled on a long skirt with subtle greens and blues and a white blouse under a tunic-length pastel green sweater. Her pale-blue down jacket would also go along, in case they wanted to do some strolling up and down the street of shops. Everyone was staying open until eleven to allow the revelers to do some Christmas shopping.

She thought about putting her hair up, but decided to give it free rein. After all, Kirby loved her hair, and she loved it when he touched it. She double-checked the house, made sure everything was okay, then sat down on the living room sofa to wait.

She’d barely got settled when the outdoor lights came on. Remembering her unexpected guest of the night before, she looked through the peephole.

“Mina!” She opened the door wide. “I’m so glad to see you. I have such wonderful news. Come in. What are you doing here? Isn’t the shop going crazy?”

Mina’s eyes were bright and her cheeks were pink with the late afternoon chill. She was wearing a long black velvet dress over red boots. A bright red shawl was wrapped around her shoulders. As Madlyn closed the front door, Mina held up her cell phone.

“I got a text message from your young man asking me to come to your house. He said it was very important.”

“And the shop? One of us should be there.”

Mina hunched her shoulders then relaxed. “You’ve hired some very skilled help for our Christmas season. The big challenge will be deciding whom we have to let go in January. But for now, everything is fine. So here I am. Do you know what’s going on?”

“I thought I did, but now I’m as confused as you are.”

Someone rapped softly on the door. Madlyn checked the peephole again. “They’re here.” She opened the door. Kirby pulled her into an embrace and a quick kiss.

“You look amazing. That goes for both of you. Mina, I’d like you to meet my friend Brewster.”

Brewster stepped inside, looking a bit flustered at the sight of the two women. “Hello.”

“No Pearl?” asked Madlyn.

Brewster wagged a finger. “Not tonight. She’s exhausted from traveling. I’ve fed her and covered her cage. When I left, she was sound asleep.”

Mina’s brow furrowed in a question. “Pearl?”

“Remember, Mina? I told you about Brewster’s cockatiel.”

“Oh, the bird. Yes, you did.” She laughed in spite of herself.

Brewster gave a long-suffering sigh.

Kirby said, “Shall we go?”

The new little restaurant next to The Muffin Man didn’t even have a real sign yet, but the bell on the door jangled pleasantly when Kirby opened it. Inside, the decor was rustic mining-town Colorado. The menus offered three dinner selections — grilled sirloin, broiled chicken, or almond-crusted salmon — each served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. The desserts had their own menu.

A pleasantly plump middle-aged woman greeted them. “Welcome to the Itty Bitty!”

Madlyn and Mina chorused, “Mrs. McAvoy.”

Mina said, “This is wonderful. When did it all happen?”

“Reese asked me what I wanted for Christmas. With all that construction and the shops going into the Cattleman’s Inn, I felt out of place. He didn’t really need me over there anymore. Oh, he let me do anything I wanted, but what I really wanted was to build another little business into something successful. Now that the Cattleman’s is bustling, Reese is in his element. But this—” She spread her arms and took in the twelve tables, ten of which were already filled. “—this is my element. I even stole one of the cooks from Il Vaccaro.”

Mina was delighted. “Wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

“And just as you requested, Mr. Banks, I have two tables waiting for your party by the window.”

Kirby gave Madlyn the chair that faced down the street toward Mina’s Boutique. Then he peered through the glass. Chagrined, he settled into his own chair. “It’s just as well I didn’t wait for my proposal,” he said. “With all that bunting over the street, we can’t really see much of Mina’s building anyway.” He covered his mouth as if he’d said something wrong, then lifted his glass of water to take a sip. He finished with, “We’ll walk down there later, and you can see my so-called surprised spelled out in Christmas lights on the side of the building.”

“What does it say?”

He held up his hands to frame the imaginary scene. “Marry me, Madz.”

Madlyn clapped her hands. “Perfect.” She reached across the table and laced her fingers with his. “We’re going to have a lifetime of romantic moments, right? Why don’t we ask if we can move Mina and Brewster’s table next to ours?”

The pleasure on Kirby’s face was endearing. Less than a minute later, the two small tables were side by side. Mina sat next to Madlyn, with Brewster next to Kirby. They ordered their food from a young waitress. Then Kirby and Brewster exchanged glances.

Kirby cleared his throat. “Mina, did Madlyn fill you in on our afternoon?”

“Not yet. We haven’t had time to talk.”

“Madz? Do you want to do the honors?”

Madlyn was bursting with excitement. “Kirby and I are engaged.”

Mina’s eyes filled with tears. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.” She gave Madlyn a hug, then dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Darn it. I’m such a weepy old woman these days.”

Madlyn said, “You’re not old. We’re girls. We’re allowed to cry when we’re happy.”

Kirby and Brewster were wearing twin smiles.

Madlyn eyed them suspiciously. “Okay, you two. What’s up?”

Brewster turned a hand over as if giving Kirby the floor.

Kirby made a show of spreading his napkin over his lap. “Well, here goes. Brewster and I have been looking into some local real estate. Earlier today, I had a cursory appraisal done on the building where Mina’s Boutique is located.” He looked at Mina. “You told me last night that the owner had doubled his price when you tried to make a serious offer. Well, the appraiser sent Brewster his opinion, and it turns out that your building isn’t up to code any more. In fact, if your town council requests status for the old part of town as a national historical monument, the owner’s troubles grow even larger. Not only would he need to bring the building up to code, but he’d have to do it within special guidelines. Brewster?” He turned the floor over.

Brewster looked extremely pleased with himself. “Yes. Well. Long story short, our people talked to the owner’s people, and he’s now more than ready to sell at below his original asking price.”

Mina looked from one to the other. “You mean he’ll sell to me?” Now she looked distressed. “But I don’t have my funding lined up.”

“Yes, you do.” Kirby was calm.

“I do?”

Kirby and Brewster nodded.

“Us,” said Brewster. “We’re your funding source.”

Kirby said, “We’ll buy the building, and you can rent to own. Of course, we’ll need someone to oversee the improvements and that sort of thing. If you’re interested, we’ll cut your payments in half in exchange for providing that service.”

Mina was stunned. “You mean I’ll finally own the building?”

Kirby and Brewster nodded eagerly.

Mina’s tears flowed again. “How can I ever thank you?”

Kirby tilted his head boyishly. “You can let your shop manager have some time off for her honeymoon.”

EPILOGUE

Florence, Italy

January 25

M
adlyn walked up behind Kirby as he feasted his eyes on the view from their terrace. She slipped her arms around him and murmured, “Say it again.”

“Firenze.”

“Again.”

“Firenze.”

“The real name of Florence is so beautiful. And I love it when you speak Italian.”

“Firenze, Firenze, Firenze.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, and she smiled as well. “Grazie.”

“Oh, very nice. See? You’re picking up some of the language.”

“One word.”

Kirby chuckled and turned to wrap his arms around her. “Your father seemed to get a kick out of me talking to everyone in the restaurant.”

Madlyn hummed with pleasure. “He was very impressed. Also, I don’t know if you know this, but when you arranged for them to use FaceTime to virtually attend our wedding, he was over the moon.”

“I’m not sure your mother likes me.”

“That’s an act. She’s trying to pretend she’s not impressed. She has to do the opposite of what my dad does, and he was very impressed.”

“If you say so. I’d hate to have your mother plotting against me. I think she was ready to give up her apartment in trade for our little hotel room.”

“Little? This suite is almost as big as my house in Eagle’s Toe.”

“You like it? I wanted you to be comfortable.” He nuzzled her neck.

“It’s a beautiful view,” murmured Madz, shivering beneath the whisper touch of his lips. “So am I a complete ugly American for wanting to go home?”

Kirby kissed her neck, then straightened up. “Not at all. Next time, we’ll come in the summer. Sightseeing is more fun then.”

“I didn’t mind the temperature. I like it cooler when I’m hiking marathons.”