Marry Me At Christmas

“What do you use it for?”

“I haven’t decided. I knew I didn’t need a place to house livestock.”

“No desire to raise horses and cows?”

“Not this week. You’ll probably want to come take a look at it.”

Go to his house? Or his barn, but still. They were on the same property. She hoped she looked normal as she nodded and made a note. “That’s a good idea. We can discuss decorations and table linens. I’ve already reserved the tables and chairs. I was worried they would all be set aside for other events. I wasn’t sure if you had enough dishes and glasses, so I reserved those, as well.”

“Good thinking.” Concern drew his brows together. “I hadn’t realized there was so much to organize. I’m glad we’re working on this together.”

His words made her tingle all over. Star power, she told herself. Nothing more than star power.

* * *

Madeline wrapped up her meeting with Jonny, then collected her handbag and walked toward the other side of the store. While wedding gowns would always be a part of Paper Moon, the retail clothing addition was doing well. Madeline found Isabel sorting through a shipment of handbags.

Her business partner, a tall, curvy blonde, smiled. “Is it time for lunch? Thank goodness. This has been one of those mornings. Only half of what I ordered got delivered and there was nearly a fistfight between two tourists who wanted the same jacket in the same size. I was afraid I was going to have to call for backup.”

“You know where to find me,” Madeline told her. “Rosalind is here most days, too. Between the three of us, we should be able to wrestle any unruly shopper into submission.”

Isabel laughed. “Thank you for that. I feel better.”

The words were appropriate, but there was something about the way Isabel said them. “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“I’m not sure.” There was something, Madeline thought, studying her friend. She just couldn’t figure out what.

“You’re feeling okay?” she asked.

Isabel had recently announced she was pregnant. As far as Madeline knew, everything was progressing normally.

Isabel put a hand on her belly. “Everything is going along as it should,” she said firmly. “I’m healthy. Not to worry.” She started for the back. “Give me one second and we’ll head to Jo’s.”

Two minutes later they were walking to Jo’s Bar, where they would meet their friends for lunch. The air was crisp. The first snow had already fallen and pretty much gone away. There were still a few piles left from clearing the sidewalks, but little else. Still, plenty more was on the way. While the first few snowfalls were always exciting, by month two of shoveling, Madeline knew she would be ready for spring. Still, it would be wonderful to have a white Christmas.

They ducked into Jo’s Bar. The place catered to women and was decorated with flattering paint colors, good lighting. There were plenty of healthy choices on the menu. Today the TVs were tuned to either a shopping channel or a show on HGTV.

Madeline saw that Shelby and Destiny had already claimed a table. She waved at her friends, then led the way over.

“Hey, you,” Shelby said, coming to her feet and hugging Madeline. She greeted Isabel, then moved so Madeline could say hi to a more-pregnant-by-the-day Destiny.

“You’re growing,” Madeline said with a laugh. “And glowing. Isabel, this is in your future.”

“If only,” Isabel said with a sigh. “I’ll never look that good when I’m six months along.”

“Don’t be too nice to me,” Destiny told them. “I’m very hormonal these days. I’ll start crying.”

“We don’t want that,” Shelby, a petite blonde, told her teasingly.

The two women smiled at each other. While Shelby and Madeline were close, Shelby and Destiny were sisters-in-law. Destiny had married Shelby’s brother—former Olympic skier Kipling Gilmore—the previous summer. No one had known they were even seeing each other until the surprise wedding. Talk about keeping a secret.

Something Madeline was finally experiencing herself, she thought happily. Not that working for Jonny Blaze was as exciting as an illicit romance, but still. She knew that she was going to have to tell Isabel—what with her having to be gone from the shop from time to time. But that was for later. Right now she was keeping the information to herself. Mostly because she and Jonny hadn’t discussed if it was public or not. Until she confirmed that he was okay with her mentioning it to her business partner, she wasn’t saying a word.

The door opened and Patience, Taryn and Consuelo walked in. Or rather Taryn and Consuelo walked. Patience waddled, with her second child due the first week of January. The three women headed to their table.

Madeline loved her lunches out with her friends. The number and faces were always changing, but they had friendship in common. Today’s group was eclectic, as always. Patience owned Brew-haha, the local coffee shop in town, Phoebe was a recent transplant from LA who was now a rancher’s wife, Taryn ran a PR firm and Consuelo was an instructor at the bodyguard school.

Isabel looked at Taryn and shook her head. “I see you’re back to your skinny self. Didn’t you just have a baby last Tuesday?”

“I had Bryce in July,” the violet-eyed brunette said with a grimace. “And I’ve been sweating in the gym every day for the past four months. I’ve had to lift weights. It’s awful. So you don’t get to be mad at me. I’ve earned my way back into my clothes.”

Isabel stuck out her tongue and the rest of the women laughed.

“It feels good to be back to where I was,” Taryn said.

Destiny rested her hand on her growing belly. “I look forward to it.”

“Sing it, sister,” Patience said.

Madeline was sure most women would agree with them, but she had to admit to a little disappointment. It seemed to her that having a baby should be transformative. That you shouldn’t just slip back into your old life. Although she doubted carrying around an extra five or ten pounds was the right way to mark the occasion. She just knew that if she was lucky enough to fall in love and get married and have kids, she wanted the experience to change her.

Jo came by and took their orders. Conversation flowed easily. Phoebe mentioned hearing from Maya and Del, who were in China. That was followed by everyone admitting they had no idea how the Chinese celebrated the holidays, or if they did at all.

As people talked, Madeline became aware of Isabel fidgeting in her seat. She leaned close to her business partner.

“I know I keep asking this, but are you okay?”

Isabel surprised her by hugging her. “You’re a good person, you know that, right?”

Madeline studied her. “Are you crying?”

“What Destiny has is contagious.” Isabel cleared her throat, then sighed. “I have an announcement.”

The table quieted. Isabel looked at them all. “I’m pregnant.”

Consuelo frowned. “Did you hit your head? Do you have a concussion? We all know you’re pregnant. If you hadn’t told me, I’d still know. Ford tells me every single day. If I didn’t like you so much, I would kill him because he’s annoying.”

A statement that from anyone else might be cause for alarm, but was exactly how Consuelo thought and talked.

Isabel seemed to brace herself. “I didn’t hit my head. It’s just... I had my ultrasound and...” She held up her hand. “I’m fine. I’m doing well. Too well. Because... I’m having triplets.”

There was a moment of silence followed by loud cheers and calls of congratulations.

Madeline took in the news. She knew Isabel’s husband, Ford, had triplet sisters, so it wasn’t a complete surprise that she would be having multiples. It was just, well, Madeline had thought they were friends. That working together had brought them closer. Even though she’d asked, Isabel hadn’t told her the news privately.

Madeline reminded herself that the information was Isabel’s to share and she shouldn’t take the slight personally. It was just—