“The one of your recent marriage,” she says easily. I feel my heart sink in my chest realizing that the entire town probably knew before she did. I don’t know how I failed to tell her before now.
“Oh,” I say, feeling a fresh wave of guilt crash into me. “Grams, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just?—”
She takes my hand and smiles at me. “I’m so happy for you and Nick. Carol and I always knew you two were meant to be together. When Joy told us that she saw you two together in the square and that you had gotten married, I almost didn’t believe it. But after speaking with Nick this morning?—”
“You spoke with Nick this morning?”
“I know that you two are happy and that’s all that matters,” she finishes, smiling softly at me again.
“We—we are happy, thank you Grams. And thank you for being so understanding.” My heart sighs a breath of relief seeing that she seems to be buying into the act.
“That’s why I invited him to join us here on Thanksgiving. Him and his parents, and Carol of course. It will be like a little family reunion and celebration all in one,” she says cheerfully.
My mouth falls open and I’m almost positive I feel my left eye begin to twitch.
“You did what?” I screech. The thought of having them all here at once and having to sell our fake marriage immediately sends me into a tizzy.
“I invited Nick and his family to join us for Thanksgiving. It’s the least I could do seeing as how you two ran off and got married without telling any of us what you were doing. It can be like a little wedding party. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
I have to remind myself to breathe. “Mmhmm,” I manage to get out.
“Oh, Noelle. I’m so happy for you,” she says, patting my hand again. “Nick is a wonderful man and is going to make a great partner to you and Holly House. Only a few more weeks now until it becomes yours.”
“I can’t wait.” The words come out forced. I feel like a horrible human being for lying to her but I remind myself that this is what I have to do in order to save the inn.
“Alright, well, I have to be going. Carol and I are working on organizing a real ceremony for the two of you that will take place in the spring once the weather warms up again. No sense in having a wedding when the sky is as gray as it is these days. Plus, the whole town will want to come so it will have to be outside. We’re thinking in the square with the flowering apple blossoms.”
“Wait, Grams, we don’t need a ceremony,” I try to stop her but she’s not listening. Ignoring me, she buttons her coat back up and waves a hand at me.
“I’ll fill you in on the details when there’s more to share. See you Thursday,” she calls out, slipping out of the front door.
“Grams, we don’t need a ceremony,” I try to say but she’s already gone.
I close my eyes and take a breath. I can’t let our grandmothers throw us a wedding ceremony when we’ll already be divorced by the time it’s supposed to take place. Standing in the hallway, I pull out my phone and dial a number I’ve had memorized since I was in tenth grade.
“Hey, you. This is a nice surprise,” Nick says with a warmth to his voice that does something to my insides.
Stay focused. Don’t get distracted.
“What did you tell my grandmother when you saw her this morning?” I bark over the line.
“Whoa, someone’s cranky. Do you need a snack? You usually get this way when you haven’t eaten in a while. Do you want me to bring you something? A coffee maybe?”
“A coffee does sound nice—wait, no. I don’t want you to bring me a coffee. I want you to tell me about the conversation you had with Grams this morning. When did you even see her?Whydid you see her?”
“Slow down there, sugar. I didn’t see her, she came looking for me. Both of our grandmothers did. I was happily hiding away in my cabin getting some work done when they showed up on my doorstep ready to talk about marriage arrangements and who’s living where,” he begins to explain.
“What?” I holler. A few guests turn to look at me and I quickly smile at them so they don’t feel threatened. I shuffle back to the desk to have this conversation somewhere a little more private.
“Then they started in on having a ceremony here in town and where we would spend the holidays,” he continues.
“To which you told them wasn’t any of their business and that we didn’t need a ceremony, right? Because we won’t still be married come spring, Nick. That’s the agreement.”
“You know as well as I do that when those two get together there’s no stopping them,” he answers. I know he’s right but still, he should have done something to slow them down. “They came to me, Noelle. I promise.”
“I know they did.” I sigh, feeling my shoulders relax. “I’m sorry for jumping down your throat.”
I hear him laugh on the other side of the phone.
