A Ring For Christmas: A Bride by Christmas / Christmas Lullaby / Mistletoe Manoeuvres

“What about your family, Maggie?”

She frowned. “We’re…” She mumbled something that wasn’t quite clear.

“Pardon me?” Luke said, frowning.

“Never mind,” she said quickly. “Well, I have my work cut out for me, don’t I? And the first order of business is choosing colors for a Christmas wedding.”

“I’ll leave you to get started on the plans,” Luke said, “but I’ll be in touch very soon. Goodbye for now, Maggie, and thank you.”

“Oh, I thank you, Luke. Goodbye.”

As Luke closed the door behind him, Maggie sank onto the love seat and drew a steadying breath as she continued to digest all that had just happened. Then she shifted her gaze to the center of the table that held the albums.

It had been her plan when she’d opened Roses and Wishes, she thought, to always have a vase of roses, her very favorite flower, right there in that spot. She soon realized, however, that the budget would not allow for such an extravagance.

Roses. She would carry…No, no, Precious would carry a bouquet of red roses with baby’s breath and Christmas greenery all tied together with one red and one white satin ribbon.

She’d named her fledgling business Roses and Wishes because it held a secret meaning for her. Her wishes were simple but not hers to have. A husband, children, a home. Life with a man who loved her as much as she loved him.

Roses. She’d be a bride who carried roses down the aisle and later grew them in the garden behind the home she shared with her family.

Roses and Wishes. She’d wanted that name where she could see it, her attempt to find fulfillment in helping brides make their wishes come true. Well, this time she got to go one step further. She had chosen roses for the bridal bouquet. Gorgeous, fragrant red roses.

Maggie smiled and leaned her head back on the back of the love seat.

The colors must be chosen for this Christmas wedding, she mused. Well, it really wasn’t that difficult. Red roses. And the attendants would wear rich forestgreen satin dresses with shoes to match. They would carry bouquets of red and white baby carnations.

The taper candles that would be used to light the one signifying a single entity would be white and the center candle would be red.

And her dress? It would be white as freshly fallen snow, simple but elegant, with a train and a frothy veil—a veil that Luke would lift at the proper moment to kiss his bride and…

“No,” Maggie said, jumping to her feet. “Stop it right now. Back up and get it right, Maggie Jenkins.”

Precious’s dress. Precious’s veil. Clyde’s kiss for his new wife. This was Precious and Clyde’s wedding she was coordinating.

“Thank you,” she said, dropping back down on the love seat. “That’s better. Don’t make that mistake again, Ms. Jenkins. Not once in the months ahead while you tend to the details, details, details.”

As Luke maneuvered his SUV through the heavy Phoenix traffic, he made no attempt to curb the wide smile on his face.

He’d done it, he thought, tapping his fingertip on the steering wheel. He’d set his brilliant plan in motion and it had worked, it had actually worked. Maggie was now committed to coordinating a fantastic wedding for his imaginary cousin Clyde and the ever-famous Precious. Man, he really should have given thought to names for the bride and groom before he’d gone to Roses and Wishes. Oh, well.

Back to The Plan. Maggie would create the wedding of her dreams. Her dreams. And if everything went as he hoped and prayed, that wedding would actually take place. Maggie Jenkins would marry Luke St. John at some point during the Christmas holidays.

Of course, there was a long way to go before that ceremony happened. Maggie had to fall in love with him, just as he had with her. She was attracted to him, unsettled by him, was feeling something for him already, he was sure of that.

She had to fall in love with him and trust him enough to be willing to allow him to crumble into dust those protective walls she’d constructed around herself, so he could reach out and take her into his arms…forever.

Yeah, he had his tasks cut out for him, but Maggie was worth fighting for and he intended to win. He had to win.

Luke frowned as he suddenly recalled Maggie’s strange response when the conversation had centered on all the happy marriages in his family. He’d asked about her family and—what had she said? She’d sort of mumbled a word and he just wasn’t sure what it had been. When he’d pressed, she’d quickly changed the subject.

“Damn,” Luke said, smacking the steering wheel with the heel of one hand.

Maybe it was an important clue about Maggie’s aversion to getting married, to being determined to plan weddings for other people but never for herself.

He’d said…then she’d said…Oh, hell, what had Maggie said?

Chapter Six

That evening Maggie and her best friend Patty sat on the floor in Maggie’s minuscule living room eating takeout pizza, sipping sodas and going through a tower of bride magazines page by page.

The two had been friends since elementary school and now, at twenty-five years old, neither could imagine dealing with the ups and downs of life without the other’s support.

Patty taught first grade at the same school she and Maggie had attended. Patty’s parents had been killed in an automobile accident five years before, so now every spare cent she had went toward putting her younger brother through college.

“Look at this,” Patty said, tapping one fingertip on a page of the magazine in front of her. “Tiny Christmas balls nestled in the bridesmaids’ bouquets. Do you like that idea?”

Maggie wrinkled her nose. “It’s a bit much, I think. I don’t want to overdo the Christmas theme.” She laughed. “After all, this is a wedding, hon, not an office party.”

“True,” Patty said, turning the page. “Forget the icky ornaments.” She took another bite of pizza and looked at Maggie. “It’s so strange to be sitting here doing this, Maggie. I get so caught up in it, I have to keep reminding myself that we’re not really planning your wedding.”

“I know,” Maggie said, sighing, “but this is the closest we’ll ever get to actually doing that, so enjoy.”

“Don’t get me started on that subject,” Patty said, shaking her head. “The fact that you won’t even consider the possibility of falling in love and getting married because—”

“Patty.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up.” Patty paused. “This whole project is weird. Who ever heard of a bride who didn’t give a damn about the plans for her own wedding? Are you sure this Precious person is playing with a full deck?”

Maggie shrugged. “Luke said Precious would just as soon get married wearing jeans at a courthouse. This production is to satisfy the mothers. Mothers I don’t have to deal with, which is a blessing. This will be the wedding of…well, my dreams. Roses and wishes and…Anyway, I intend to thoroughly go for it because nothing like this will ever happen again. The only person I have to report to is Luke.”

“Luke St. John,” Patty said wistfully. “I’ve seen his picture in the newspaper. He is so gorgeous, he’s hot! To think that you actually danced with him at his brother’s wedding reception.” She stared into space. “To be held in the arms of Luke St. John must have been heaven on earth.”

“Close, very close,” Maggie said, nodding. “He’s a marvelous dancer, made me feel like I was floating on a cloud and…” Sudden heat stained her cheeks a pretty pink. “Forget that. Do you think having the bridesmaids wearing green is corny? Maybe I should start over in my mind and not address the Christmas thing at all.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Patty said. “People will expect a festive touch. Besides, it’s what you want. Right?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then it’s settled. Stay with the Christmas theme, but don’t go over the top. What did your sister say about all this?”

“Janet said it was nuts,” Maggie said, smiling, “but that she’d be delighted to be fitted for a beautiful dress even if she doesn’t get to actually wear it anywhere. As a single mom with three kids, she said they don’t provide fittings—la-di-da—in the thrift shops where she buys her clothes.”

“How funny.” Patty laughed, then frowned. “What was your mom’s reaction? She must think Precious has a screw loose.”

“She didn’t dwell on Precious’s mind-set,” Maggie said. “Eat that last piece of pizza. I’m stuffed.”

“No problem,” she said, reaching for the slice. “So what did your mom focus on about this crazy situation?”