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  “Mama wants it to be a church,” Rafael said.

  “The Catholic church?” Pepper asked. Lisa was about as Protestant as a girl could get.

  “Mama’s approved the nondenominational church in town,” Rafael said. “She’s a sucker for that steeple.”

  Lisa smiled and hugged herself around the middle. “I adore that steeple, and the church is so old-fashioned and perfect. It’s exactly the type of church I dreamed about getting married in when I was a little girl.”

  “No, you didn’t. It doesn’t look anything like the little white church you picked out,” Pepper said. Why was her friend acquiescing? Was it to please Rafael? Because if that was the case, then she needed to give Lisa a good talking-to. Everyone knew the wedding was for the bride. The groom’s or his mother’s wishes were not even allowed into the discussion.

  “It’s close enough.” Lisa spoke quickly, as though the wedding was of no real significance. “Jackson and Maggie are members at the steeple church, so they already talked to the pastor and he’s agreed to marry us. We have to become members too, which isn’t a problem. We need a church.”

  “He has us down for December twenty-second.” Rafael’s brown eyes sparkled, as if this was the best idea for a wedding in the history of man. “And Zane’s reserved one of the private rooms at the brewery for the reception.”

  “The brewery?” Pepper’s stomach tensed. What the heck? The industrial-style building with the exposed beams and tall ceilings was fine for a brewery, but for her friend’s wedding reception? No. This wasn’t right. Plus, the room was too small. They’d only get about twenty people in there. Mostly, though, this was not what her friend had wanted. Not before Rafael and his mama.

  Lisa knew her too well. “I know what you’re thinking. Too small. Not fancy enough.”

  Pepper blew a stray curl from her forehead. “For starters.”

  “We want this to be a small affair. Just family and close friends,” Lisa said. “The brewery’s perfect. We’ll have a nice sit-down meal. A few toasts and then we’re off to our honeymoon.”

  “But what about dancing?” Pepper asked.

  “I don’t dance.” Rafael plunged his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts.

  “Well, Lisa dances. She loves to dance,” Pepper blurted out before she could stop herself.

  “I’ve danced enough in my lifetime,” Lisa said with an evasive shrug of her shoulders.

  “Wait a damn minute. None of this is what you wanted,” Pepper said. “You wanted a wedding in the mountains. With snow.”

  “You did?” Rafael stared at his fiancée as if he’d never seen her before. “You’ve never mentioned that.”

  “She most certainly did. I wanted a castle in France and she wanted a mountain wedding.” Pepper wasn’t about to let this go. Her friend would have the wedding of her dreams if it was the last thing Pepper ever did.

  Lisa’s gaze was on Rafael. “It was just a whim after a few glasses of wine one night. We saw this magazine article about a little town in Colorado. It was a fanciful notion, that’s all.”

  “She had the article stuck on the refrigerator for years,” Pepper said.

  “Tell me more,” Rafael said to Lisa. “Please.”

  Lisa’s cheeks now matched her pink neck. “It was a little white church with a red door.”

  “She loved that red door,” Pepper said.

  “It was nothing, really,” Lisa said.

  “Tell him about the lodge and sleigh rides.” Pepper paced between Lisa and Rafael, her low sandals clicking on the hardwood floor.

  “There was a lodge there, like something out of the 1940s, with high beams and quaint little rooms.” Lisa’s expression softened. “Couples rented the entire thing out and had whole wedding weekends. There were sleigh rides and bonfires in a fire pit. I imagined the sleigh taking me from the church to the lodge. It was stupid.”

  “And she’d have a white faux-fur coat over her dress,” Pepper said. “And when she arrived at the entrance to the lodge, her groom would pick her up and carry her inside, so she didn’t wreck her shoes in the snow.”

  Lisa shook her head. “Seriously, it was just an immature notion. The wedding will be much better in Cliffside Bay than some place we’ve never been to. Photo shoots can make a place look way better than it really is. And this was at least five years ago. The lodge could’ve gone out of business for all we know.”

  “Doubtful,” Pepper said. “And the town was built around tourism. You can bet everything’s quaint and pretty.”

  “Think of how pretty Cliffside Bay is at Christmas,” Lisa said. “With all the lights in the trees.”

  “I’m pretty sure there won’t be sleigh rides in Cliffside Bay,” Pepper said.

  “I’m not a gambling man, but I would bet on that,” Rafael said gently as he crossed the room to sit next to Lisa. He tilted her chin upward until she met his eyes. “Tell me the truth. Is this what you want?”

  Lisa managed to shrug even with Rafael’s hands on her shoulders. “We already agreed. It’s not about us. This wedding is for your mom.”

  “Bullshit. The wedding is about you two.” Pepper moved the fruit bowl from one end of the counter to the other before realizing Rafael wouldn’t like that, and returned it to the original spot. “For heaven’s sake, Lisa, for once in your life do something for yourself.”

  Rafael hadn’t taken his eyes off Lisa. “Sweetheart, she’s right. I’m sorry if I made you think my mother’s feelings were more important than yours. I thought you wanted something quick and dirty.”

  “I want to marry you. The wedding is not the main thing. The next fifty years is what I care about,” Lisa said.

  Rafael took Lisa’s hands. “Although I appreciate that sentiment, that isn’t really the point. I want you to have the wedding you imagined. I’ll do anything to make you happy. You know that. If you want a wedding in the church with the little red door, I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen.”

  Lisa shook her head. “Even if I still wanted this, it’s not realistic. I’m on set for Indigo Road for the next month. I don’t have time to plan a remote wedding.”

  “Then I’ll do it,” Pepper said. “Every bit.” It wasn’t as if she had anything else going on that mattered. “I’ll go there and arrange the whole thing.”

  “Everything for the holiday will be booked,” Lisa said. “It’s October already.”

  “I know you hate this kind of thing,” Pepper said. “But you’re one of the biggest movie stars in the country right now. I’m pretty sure they can make it happen for you.”

  Lisa waved her hands in front of her chest. “No way. Not if it means someone else’s wedding gets pushed aside.”

  “Let me look into it. That’s all I ask,” Pepper said. “I need an excuse to get away. I’m going crazy waiting to hear from my agent about work I’m not going to get.”

  “The mountain air will be good for you, Pepper,” Rafael said. “A change of perspective is always good.”

  She looked at him, surprised he intuited what she’d been thinking. “I agree.” She glanced back at Lisa. “I’ve been feeling really sorry for myself for months. It’ll be good for me to focus on something else.” Truthfully, she was quite sick of herself.

  For the next few minutes, they talked about numbers. They wanted to keep it small, so the guest list was around thirty. Which meant they’d need accommodations of at least fifteen rooms and a facility that could handle a small reception with a sit-down meal.

  “There’s one other thing,” Lisa said.

  “What is it? I’ll make it happen,” Pepper said. She hadn’t felt this energized since filming the horror flick.

  Lisa tucked her hair behind her shell-like ears. “It’s just that…” Her voice tightened in a very nontheatrical way.

  Rafael cleared his throat. “I’m going to ask Stone to be my best man.”

  Pepper arranged her face into her best fake smile. “That’s great. It’ll be fun to
hang out with him during all the festivities.” If the groomsmen outfits included shirts, she should be fine.

  Rafael’s face washed with relief. “Good. I wasn’t sure how you felt about him.”

  Pepper inwardly winced with guilt. They’d been worried to tell her about Stone, which was unacceptable. “Stone’s a great guy.”

  “He is?” Lisa asked. “I mean, I know he is, but I thought you…well, never mind.”

  “Maybe I’ll ask him to help me throw an engagement party,” Pepper said.

  The joy on Lisa’s face heightened the guilt. What kind of friend was she to make Lisa worry over this?

  “I’ve been unfair to Stone,” Pepper said. “It’s just my baggage.” My triggers. “Don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  Lisa jumped up from the table and gave Pepper a tight hug. “Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry about everything,” Pepper whispered before letting go and moving over to stand against the sink.

  Rafael glanced at his watch. “I need to pop next door for a moment.” He kissed Lisa on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon to get the chicken ready.”

  For a man who said he didn’t dance, Rafael rushed out of the kitchen with a move just shy of an échappé.

  Lisa opened the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of water. “Is therapy helping?” she asked.

  Pepper leaned against the sink. “Cora’s really in my face. Which is what I need. I finally told her about what happened to me.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I told her something else, too. You were right about Stone. I have a thing for him, which has made me act like a child.”

  Lisa’s mouth dropped open, then shut just as quickly. “I knew it.”

  “Fine. You were right. About him and therapy.”

  “What’re you going to do about Stone?” Lisa asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe say yes the next time he asks me out.”

  “The next time? Spill it.”

  “Well, it started when I saved his life.” She told Lisa about pulling him out of the way of the car and their conversation afterward. “I totally blurted out that I was in therapy, which made me feel like a complete fool. But then he said he used to go and it really helped him.”

  “The man is full of surprises,” Lisa said.

  “He really is. Anyway, I am truly sorry. About our fight and how I’ve been to Stone.”

  Lisa cocked her head to the side and smiled her sweet, kind smile that made a person feel like the most important person in the world. “We’re all a work in progress. No matter what, I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Even when I’m a pain in the butt?”

  “Even then.”

  Chapter 7

  Stone

  * * *

  Stone’s hair was still damp from his recent shower when he heard a knock on the door. He yelled out to Trey, who was in the kitchen making their contribution to Group Dinner. “I’ll get it.”

  “Good. I’m elbow-deep in biscuit dough and mint leaves.”

  Biscuits? When had he learned how to make biscuits? And how did they go with mint?

  Stone crossed the room and yanked open the door. It was Rafael.

  “Hey, man, come on in,” Stone said. “You want a beer?”

  “Sure. That’d be great.”

  “Wait here. I’ll grab us a couple. Trey’s in the kitchen making biscuits.”

  Rafael blinked, then laughed. “Trey knows how to make biscuits?”

  “He’s been keeping things from us.”

  Trey looked up when he came into the kitchen. He wore an apron over his nicely draped jeans and ruby-red shirt. Trey—always dressed like he was going to the country club.

  “Hey, man, Rafael’s here for a beer. You want one?”

  Trey looked up from his task of painstakingly plucking mint leaves from their stems. “Sure. I’m almost done here.”

  Stone peeked at the oven. Sure enough, a pan of biscuits. In their oven. Weird.

  Stone fetched three beers from the refrigerator and twisted the tops off before setting one on the counter next to Trey’s bowl of watermelon chunks sprinkled with feta cheese. “Interesting salad,” Stone said. Watermelon and cheese together?

  “Your sister gave me the recipe.”

  “Really? She never made that for me,” Stone said.

  “She found it on that food channel show we watch together.”

  Oh, brother.

  He took the beers out to the living room. Rafael had turned on the football game between Cleveland and Minneapolis. “You come over to watch the game?” Stone asked as he handed Rafael a beer. He was always happy to watch football on Monday nights with Rafael. Trey wasn’t that interested. He was more a soccer fan, which Stone found boring. How many times could they run down the field and not score a goal?

  “Nah, I came to ask you a question. Lisa and I set a date for the wedding. December twenty-second.”

  “Congratulations. That’s great, man.”

  “Thanks. And I was wondering if you’d be my best man.”

  Stone did a double take. “Me? Really?”

  “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have.”

  “Dude, I’m touched.” He was. Although they hadn’t known each other long, they’d formed a deep bond. “I’d be honored.”

  “You’ve been a good friend to me,” Rafael said. “And Lisa’s grown really fond of you and Trey since we all moved in here.”

  “She’s the best.”

  “Yes, she is.” Rafael was squirming like a kid in church.

  “Something worrying you?”

  “What? No. Well, kind of. I just found out Lisa wants a whole different wedding than I thought. Pepper told me Lisa always wanted a mountain wedding with snow and sleigh rides and a church with a red door.”

  He didn’t exactly follow, but he nodded as if he did. “That doesn’t sound much like a wedding in Cliffside Bay.”

  “Not much, no.”

  “What’re we going to do about it?” Stone asked.

  “Pepper offered to go scout out this little town they read about years ago. There’s a white church with a red door and a lodge. If we can get it booked, I think we should do it there.”

  “Yeah, man. A girl should have the exact wedding she wants.”

  “I agree. Which has me worried. Lisa was just going along with whatever Mama suggested. I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but Mama’s personality is big enough to fill a stadium, and Lisa adores her.”

  “Lisa’s a people pleaser,” Stone said. “I get it.” He would have done the same thing in her shoes. Mama Soto was interested in the lives of the residents of the Victorian. They all wanted to please her because she was so good to them. All it took was a bowl of cereal for dinner and Mama Soto was all up in their face about proper nutrition and eating like a man, not a boy. She was the mother they all wished they had, including Lisa. “Lisa cares more about making you and Mama Soto happy than any church with a red door,” Stone said.

  “What makes me happy is for her to have what she wants.”

  “Well, then, I guess we’re glad we have Pepper Shaker around to shake things up.” If only she wanted to shake things up with him.

  Chapter 8

  Pepper

  * * *

  As predicted, Pepper ended up next to Stone at Group Dinner. They were on one end of the long table, inches from each other on the bench. She was so close to him that she could feel the heat from his body. With his left hand, he lifted a beer to his mouth. She’d noticed he was left-handed before. His right arm, browned from the sun, rested in his lap.

  He took up more than his share of the bench. His two thighs equaled three of hers put together. Any time she happened to glance downward, she found herself staring at his tanned and muscular thighs displayed in yet another pair of board shorts. At least he had his shirt on.

  He smelled of sunshine and soap with a hint of shaving cream. A small amount of the cream remained just belo
w his left ear. She wanted to wipe it away for him. No, that would not be a good way to break the tension between them. Or would it? Should she lean over and tell him?

  He turned to look at her, moving his entire large torso in her direction. “Are you staring at me because I’m beautiful or is there something on my face?”

  She flushed with heat. “Yes. There.” She pointed to the spot next to his ear. “It’s shaving cream, maybe?”

  He swiped at his face with a napkin. “Thank you. I often miss that spot.”

  “No problem.” Pepper made herself busy rearranging her silverware.

  “I told you we’d sit together tonight,” Stone said.

  “Don’t get a big head over it.”

  He grinned. “No scarf tonight?”

  She touched the top of her head. “No. My hair decided to behave today.”

  “I liked it. For the record.”

  While everyone wandered over to take a seat, she smoothed her hand over the slick tabletop, admiring the wood. Lisa had told her Stone made it from boards he’d rescued from an old barn. He’d put it together using only tongue and groove instead of nails or glue. Even her unpracticed eye could see the care he’d taken in choosing the refurbished wood and how it went together. He’d made benches instead of chairs. Which was why she was now seated inches from him.

  “Did you know I made this table?” Stone asked, leaning close.

  “I heard something about it.” God, could she sound any more like a thirteen-year-old girl? “I always meant to tell you how much I like it.” There she went again, fawning like a silly girl with a crush. She was a silly girl with a crush.

  “It was fun to make. I’ll make you one if you want.”

  She smiled. “I need a home first.”

  “Any luck with that?”

  “Not really. There are so few rentals. And I’m not exactly gainfully employed. At this rate I’ll be living with Maggie and Jackson until I’m fifty.”