Flirting with Forever

Book 3: Everson, Texas

by Molly Cannon

Genres: Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

"A story full of warmth, wit and charm." -- Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author, on Ain't Misbehaving "Sweet, sassy, and oh, my yes - sexy! Molly Cannon's debut Ain't Misbehaving is delicious fun! If you like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Kristan Higgins, you'll love Molly Cannon."-Mariah Stewart, New York Times bestselling author Something old and something new . . . Flying is Theo Jacobson's passion. Soaring above the clouds, he's on to the next adventure . . . and the next woman. So when he comes home to Everson, Texas, for his big brother's wedding, it's nothing but a pit stop. He'll act as best man, cover the family business while the happy couple honeymoons, and be on his way before the champagne goes flat. But all that changes when he comes face-to-face with the wedding planner-the very same woman who broke his heart without a backward glance years ago. Irene Cornwell started I Do I Do with a wing and a prayer. Now, with two weddings under her belt, it's a piece of cake . . . until Theo lands back in town. Just seeing his twinkling blue eyes and infuriatingly sexy smile turns her world upside down. For the sake of her business, she proposes an uneasy truce. But when the wedding is over-all bets are off!

Release date: April 29, 2014

Publisher: Forever

Print pages: 400

Sample

She hadn’t bothered with a bathing suit.

Irene floated in her swimming pool, letting the hot Texas sun lull her into a lethargic daydream state. She closed her eyes and listened idly to the chirping birds and the chattering squirrels. Peace and quiet.

Exactly what she needed.

No one could see her way up here at her hillside home. The front of the house looked down on the small town of Everson. She could stand on her front porch and watch the traffic move through the streets, but the back of her house was completely private, backing up to an undeveloped area of small hills and trees. No, she was quite safely out of view, drifting languidly in her own private world.

The rumbling sound of a small plane overhead disturbed her tranquillity. As she shaded her eyes it flew closer and then buzzed directly overhead. She made no attempt to cover herself. In fact, she was tempted to sit up and wave. She had never been known for her modesty, and if some bozo pilot was out for a joyride, he might as well enjoy a cheap thrill. But she didn’t react at all, instead deciding she wasn’t going to let the uninvited visitor ruin her day. She watched as the plane tilted its wings, in a way of a greeting, it seemed, and then circled around heading in the direction of the small airfield on the outskirts of town.

In a flash she realized exactly who was flying that noisy, intrusive airplane. Theo Jacobson. She knew he was coming back to town. According to his brother Jake, he was due back in town for the wedding sometime this week. It was just like him to make a splashy return, arriving like some winged warrior mocking her from on high.

Good, she thought defiantly. Let him have a good look. He should get an undisguised eyeful of the woman he hadn’t wanted all those years ago. The woman he hadn’t bothered to acknowledge since. He’d broken her heart and never looked back. A big fluffy cloud wafted by, momentarily covering the sun. She trailed a hand through the relaxing water, but it suddenly felt too cold. She slipped off the float and pulled herself from the pool. A terry cloth robe lay draped across a lounge chair, and she picked it up, wrapping it around her chilly body. With one more look at the now empty blue sky, she opened the back door and went inside her house.



“Welcome to the Rise-N-Shine. My name is Nell, and I’ll be your server today.”

Theo looked up at the waitress standing by the booth at the back of the local diner. She was willowy and tall with a ponytail of thick, red hair trailing down her back. Her expression was carefully polite.

“Well, hello, Nell.” He added a smile to soften the impact of his wild and woolly appearance. He knew he must look like a grizzled mountain man who’d just stumbled back into town after a long, cold winter’s hibernation. That wasn’t too far from the truth. His full, dark beard and unruly mess of long, black hair were a testament to the untamed months he’d just spent running backcountry tours up in Alaska. As soon as he’d landed he had called his brother to let him know he’d arrived and then called Everson’s only taxi to take him into town. He was starving, so he’d had Bo Birdwell drop him at the diner. Later this afternoon he’d meet up with Jake and Marla Jean.

The smile must have helped because the waitress smiled back. “Are you ready to order?”

“Sure, I’ll have the meat loaf and mashed potatoes. And a side of mustard greens.” He took a quick glance at the menu and then refocused his blue eyes on her again. “And I think I’ll try some of that peach pie, too. What do you think?”

“Good choice. My mom makes the best meat loaf in the world, and her peach pie is my personal favorite.”

“Okay, then. That’s good enough for me. I’m hungry enough to eat a bear. So, Bertie’s your mother?” He nodded toward the Rise-N-Shine’s owner loudly holding court at the front counter.

“She sure is. And I was just telling her we should add bear to the menu.” They both laughed in the way people do when they’re flirting rather than because something is actually funny. Still smiling, she asked coyly, “Are you new in town?”

He soaked up her interest and winked. “Actually, I’m just passing through. I’ll be here for a week or two, and then I’m taking off again to parts unknown.” He gestured out the window indicating the far horizon.

She peered out the window and then looked back at him. Moving closer, she said, “Parts unknown. That sounds mighty adventurous.”

He leaned closer, too, like he had secrets to share. “It certainly can be, Nell. I’m Theo Jacobson by the way.”

Her eyes widened. “Jacobson? Wait a minute. As in Jake Jacobson?”

He grinned like she’d won the grand prize. “The very one. He’s my big brother. I’m here for his wedding.”

She held the order pad against her breast as she studied him more closely. “I knew you looked familiar. Underneath all that hair, that is.”

“So you know Jake?” He wasn’t surprised. Everson was a small town after all.

“Of course. And Marla Jean, too.” She gave his shaggy head of hair another once-over. “Maybe you should stop off at her place for a haircut.”

His future sister-in-law owned the local barbershop. “Are you suggesting I look uncivilized?” He leaned back in the booth with an unrepentant grin.

She raised her eyebrows, fully flirting now. “Uncivilized isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Theo Jacobson. I was just thinking you might be worth asking out if I could see what you look like under all that shaggy growth.”

“Are all the women around these parts as bold as you, Nell?”

She laughed. “Hold your horses, mister. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I haven’t asked you out yet, have I? And I better go put in your order.” She winked and turned to go.

He watched her walk back toward the front of the diner, taking his time, admiring the way her waitress uniform skimmed tightly over her perky, little butt. This visit to Everson might turn out to be a lot more fun than he’d expected.

Nell was pretty damn cute, and he wouldn’t mind spending some time getting to know her better while he was in Everson. He wouldn’t mind that one little bit. After all, he was here to have a good time. Enjoy the wedding. Help Jake with some jobs. Keep it all easy and uncomplicated.

But Jake had already complicated this visit when he’d said he wanted Theo to stay on after the wedding. He was offering him a full-time job and a place to settle down with family close at hand. Theo had to admit he’d been tempted, which surprised him. Since leaving the Navy, he’d never stayed in one place for long. He always had one foot out the door, but this time he hadn’t turned his brother down flat out. He’d actually promised to give the idea some thought. But still, the odds were pretty good that he’d be moving on when the time came.

Which was why he’d been out of his mind to buzz Irene Cornwell’s house on the way into town. Because he certainly didn’t plan to spend the short time he was here reflecting on the time in his life that included her. Some things were better left in the past where they belonged. But the last time he was in town she’d ignored him completely, didn’t even give him the passing courtesy she would extend to a stranger, and he could admit he’d let it get under his skin. It chafed, and festered, and bugged the hell out of him. He was determined not to let her get away with doing it again. Not that he expected her to run and jump into his arms. He didn’t want that, either. A simple hello or nod of the head would do.

But the image of her floating buck naked in her swimming pool would be hard to forget. As soon as he’d spotted her, he reacted with something close to physical pain and an old, ancient longing that he thought had died out a long time ago. His body didn’t seem to get the message that she was off-limits now.



“Well, well. If it isn’t the best man.”

As Theo made his way through the gate and into the backyard of the Hazelnut Inn, a soft, feminine voice hit him like a nasty punch to the gut. A voice that had haunted his dreams for years, a voice he’d recognize anywhere. Irene Cornwell. He must have been thinking about her so much that she’d materialized right in front of him like a magic trick gone wrong. Shit. Irene Cornwell. Fully clothed as well. Double shit. And she was actually speaking to him as well. Mission accomplished. He could check that off his list. Not just a hello or a nod of her head, but an entire sentence. For some reason it didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like he’d jumped out of his airplane without a parachute. Free-falling, waiting for the painful impact that was sure to follow. But he wasn’t about to let her see him sweat, so he slapped a cocky grin on his face and said, “Well, if it isn’t Irene Cornwell! How the heck have you been, Ree?”

She sat at an outside patio table with a thick file folder open in front of her and a pair of big, black-framed sunglasses shoved on top of her head. Her long, dark hair was caught up in a messy bun that he guessed was her attempt at looking serious. He allowed himself a minute to stare. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but he would be careful to keep that opinion strictly to himself. Seeing her from a distance had been bad enough. But now, here she was close enough to touch. He was determined not to even consider that idea. Not even if someone offered him a ten-foot pole.

Her bright smile turned brittle. “No one calls me Ree anymore, Theodore. And I’m fine, thanks.”

He laughed, thinking how easy it was to get a rise from her. “Well, no one but you ever called me Theodore, and that was only when you were mad at me. I hope you’re still not mad at me after all this time?”

“Don’t be silly.” She waved her hand as if she thought he was being ridiculous. “Of course not.”

He dropped into the chair across from her. “I’m glad to hear that. And this is great. We’re actually sitting here having a conversation. Last time I was in Everson you pretended I didn’t exist.” He kept smiling like he was tickled pink by their unexpected reunion.

Her chin lifted regally. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He didn’t push it when she changed the subject. “Jake will be glad you made it home for the wedding.”

He looked at his watch. “Yeah, I’m supposed to meet him and Marla Jean here at four.”

She nodded at the back door of the Inn. “They’re inside talking to Etta about the food for the wedding reception, but they should be out any minute. We need to finish going over the details of the ceremony.”

“We?” He couldn’t think of any reason she’d be involved in the wedding.

She closed the folder on the table and held out her hands in a “look at me” gesture. “Haven’t you heard? I’m their wedding planner.”

An involuntary bark of laughter escaped his throat. But she looked completely serious, so he asked, “You? A wedding planner? Since when?” Even to his own ears it sounded like he was accusing her of some sinister crime.

She crossed her long legs to one side. “Actually, it’s a fairly recent development. It came to me in a flash. When the Inn opened and I found out Etta planned to hold weddings here, I thought it sounded like something I’d be good at doing.”

“You don’t say? You don’t need the money, do you? So what? You just happened to have some extra time on your hands?” He didn’t try to hide his skepticism.

“Something like that.” She stuck out her chin, looking like she was ready to engage in a battle over the subject. “Why do you find that so peculiar?”

“No reason. Don’t go getting all defensive, Ree. Forget I said anything.” He shrugged as if it didn’t really concern him.

He could tell she wasn’t ready to forget it, though. “I’m not defensive, but you obviously have a strong opinion on the subject. So, please share. I’m simply dying to hear what you have to say.”

Theo knew he’d be smart to keep his mouth shut, but he plunged ahead anyway. “Okay, and don’t take this the wrong way, but it seems to me that a certain respect for the institution of marriage should be necessary in order to do a good job as a wedding planner.”

The look she gave him clearly let him know his sarcasm had been noted. “Okay, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ll have you know my respect for the institution of marriage has increased by leaps and bounds since you knew me, Theo. Besides, you remember how I love a good party. A wedding and the reception aren’t that much different.”

He was about to stick his foot further into his mouth by saying that her feelings about marriage must have improved once he was out of the picture, but he was saved when he spotted Jake and Marla Jean coming out the back door and he stood up from the table. They were talking about the advantages of a sit-down dinner versus the simplicity of a buffet.

Marla Jean was saying, “I don’t want people to think we’re being cheap, Jake.”

“No one will think we’re cheap. But a buffet is less stressful. Less waitstaff to hire. People can help themselves,” Jake said. “Don’t you agree, Irene?”

Before the words were completely out of his mouth, Marla Jean spotted Theo. She ran toward him in a full sprint and jumped into his arms. “Theo, you’re actually here. Oh, Jake, look, it’s Theo.”

Theo laughed as he caught her in midjump and spun her around. “That’s the way I like to be greeted. You sure you’re marrying the right brother, Marla Jean?”

Jake reached the two of them just as Theo set Marla Jean’s feet on the ground. “Take your hands off my future wife, little brother.”

Theo turned and grabbed Jake in a bear hug. “I’m glad she’s going to make an honest man out of you, Jake. It’s about time.” His big brother meant the world to him. While Theo was growing up, Jake had been the one person he could count on for love and to support him with no questions asked. Seeing him happily married to Marla Jean was a cause for real celebration.

“Now that you’re here everything is going to be absolutely perfect,” Marla Jean said.

“Once Jake asked me to be his best man, you know nothing could have kept me away,” Theo assured her.

“With all the stops you had along the way, we weren’t sure exactly when you’d get here, though. I was so happy when Jake told me you landed this morning. I couldn’t believe it when he said you were flying your own plane all the way from Alaska.”

“Oh, really? You flew in this morning?” Irene asked from her patio chair. “I think I saw your plane.”

Theo smiled widely. So she realized it was him flying over her house. “It’s a nice view from up there.”

He watched her chin jut out as she declared, “Nice? I’ve heard it’s nothing short of spectacular.”

Marla Jean turned to Irene. “Have you met Theo, Irene?”

“As a matter of fact, Theo and I are old friends.” Irene stood up and walked over to the group.

Jake looked at Theo in surprise. “Is that so? How come I didn’t know that?”

“Old friends.” Such a catchall phrase, such a generic, inadequate term for what they’d been. But now was not the time or place to squabble over how to define their past. “Yeah, Ree and I go way back. You remember when I got that job working at the Piggly Wiggly after school? Ree was a checker while I was a lowly grocery sacker.”

Jake looked from one to the other. “That grocery store was over in Derbyville. You lived in Derbyville, Irene? I never realized that, either.”

She nodded. “I grew up there. But I couldn’t wait to escape to the big city. I moved to Dallas right after high school.”

Jake narrowed his eyes like he was sensing a deeper undercurrent. “And so did Theo.”

Theo nodded. “Yep. That was a long time ago, though. A lot of water under the bridge.”

“In all your visits you never mentioned you knew Irene,” Jake said suspiciously.

Theo wished they would all just drop the subject. He glanced at Ree, who seemed completely unmoved by the conversation. On the other hand, he felt as if he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, scrabbling to get his feet back on solid ground. “It just never came up, and, well, our paths haven’t crossed much since those days.”

Marla Jean swatted Jake’s arm. “Quit being so nosy, Jake.”

Theo smiled at Marla Jean gratefully. “Yeah, Jake, we all have a few secrets in our deep, dark past.” He was talking to Jake, but he looked directly at Irene while he spoke.

Irene met his eyes and lifted her chin as if she was ready to challenge any version of things he might offer. Abruptly, she turned and marched back to the patio table. She grabbed the wedding folder and announced, “I hate to interrupt this walk down memory lane, folks, but we should head over to the pavilion and walk through the ceremony. We have a lot of ground to cover before it starts getting dark.” She started off down the backyard path without waiting to see if they would follow.

“We’re coming.” Marla Jean grabbed Jake’s hand, and they bounded after her like puppies let off their leashes. Theo found their enthusiasm for the upcoming wedding to be downright heartwarming. He planned to concentrate on their happiness while he was here and, as much as possible, ignore the woman who had broken his heart without a backward glance all those years ago. That might have been easier to do if the recent picture of her wet, naked body hadn’t been seared permanently into his brain.



And Jake didn’t want a bachelor party at all, but my big brother is insisting,” Marla Jean explained. “Linc said even though Theo was the best man, as Jake’s lifelong best friend he was taking charge of the party. And he wouldn’t listen to any arguments against it. So there will be a bachelor party, but I told him if Jake was a minute late for the ceremony he’d have to answer to me.”

Irene nodded and smiled patiently while Marla Jean carried on about this newest wrinkle of possible trouble. The wedding was only five days away now, and all of their careful planning was practically finished. At this point Marla Jean just needed someone to listen while she tried to anticipate anything that could possibly throw a monkey wrench into things. Like her big brother Linc, for instance. He was happily married and a soon-to-be new father, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t miss a chance to show Jake a good time on the eve of the wedding.

“Theo will be there. He’ll watch out for him, right?” Irene threw that out as reassurance, and it seemed to do the trick.

“You’re right, and Linc has to answer to Dinah, too. She does a good job of keeping him in line. Especially now that she’s pregnant.”

Irene laughed and looked over the checklist for Marla Jean’s wedding. It promised to be simple and tasteful—a chock-full-of-love affair. Not that most weddings didn’t start out chock-full of love, she supposed, but sometimes in the middle of haggling and hammering out all the details, harmony seemed to fly out the window. And in Irene’s opinion a lot of those marriages would be plagued by the same problems after the ceremony was said and done.

Her very first adventure into the wonderful world of wedding planning had been the ceremony and reception she’d arranged for Beulah Cross and Noah Nelson. Theirs was a late-in-life marriage, but the utter sweetness of the couple and the obvious love they shared had brought tears to her eyes. It had spoiled her. The affair had gone off without a hitch. No fussing or fighting. No last-minute snafus. A real heartwarming success.

So she’d been supremely confident when she’d tackled the Mullins-Pickering nuptials next. What a mistake. It had been nothing but squabbling and backbiting and carrying on about every little detail. Talk about a nightmare. Bridesmaids rebelling at the last minute, refusing to wear their pink and purple dresses, the groom’s father showing up drunk, and the band they’d booked veering from the agreed-upon playlist to show off their original math rock compositions. But in the end, she thought with some pride, she’d managed it. She’d learned she could be tough with people if she had to be. And when all was said and done, it had been a beautiful wedding. Most importantly Brenda and Eddie had never turned on each other throughout the turmoil, so she gave their probability of longtime happiness a better-than-average chance of success as well.

But Marla Jean and Jake’s engagement had been the thing that originally inspired this new venture of hers in the first place. They’d been the first to agree to use her services, and their seal of approval had pointed more business her way. It was a fledgling venture, but it surprised her just how much she enjoyed it.

Marla Jean and Jake’s ceremony and reception were going to be a piece of cake. The happy couple had decided on only one attendant each. Marla Jean’s hugely pregnant sister-in-law Dinah was her matron of honor. Jake’s brother Theo was his best man.

Theo. She had to brace herself just thinking his name.

She tried unsuccessfully to concentrate on what Marla Jean was saying. When she’d first corralled Marla Jean at the Inn’s Valentine’s Dinner and convinced her she would be the perfect person to plan her wedding, she hadn’t been thinking about Theo or how since he was Jake’s brother he would most likely and in all probability be a part of the wedding party. Or maybe subconsciously she’d been fulfilling a long-buried wish. A chance to not just see Theo again, but a reason to interact with him.

Marla Jean regained Irene’s attention when she clapped her hands declaring, “I’m delighted to report that my mother has finally stopped giving me a hard time about wearing my cowboy boots under my wedding dress.”

Irene shouldn’t have been letting her mind wander while Marla Jean had been babbling happily along, jumping from subject to subject without rhyme or reason. She refocused on what her client was saying. “Oh, really? What made her change her mind?”

Marla Jean’s mom Bitsy had been a big help with everything during the planning process. The cowboy boots had been the one sticking point for her. She’d been absolutely appalled at the idea, and she hadn’t minded telling her daughter loudly and often that she thought Marla Jean should wear something more delicate and feminine under her beautiful white dress. These kinds of skirmishes popped up with every wedding Irene had planned so far. It amazed her how seemingly simple things could get blown way out of proportion. Helping negotiate these battles was part of the job, and she was good at it. But Marla Jean didn’t need her help.

“I told her Jake really wanted me to wear them, and when I started to tell her the fantasy he had about taking them off, that stopped her in her tracks. She squealed and started shushing me. Then she threw her hands up and said, ‘Okay, Marla Jean, wear the silly boots, for Pete’s sake.’ ”

Irene laughed. “Your poor mother. She’ll have that image in her head forever.”

“Serves her right.” Marla Jean laughed, too, enjoying her small victory.

They were sitting in Irene’s newly opened office of I Do, I Do. Her wedding planning business now had an official address, a storefront located right on the town square on Main Street in Everson, Texas. She was nestled in between the Three Sisters Bookstore on her right and the Everson Daily newspaper office on her left. Her space had been a dress shop in another life and now needed some shelves and display cases where she could feature some wedding-type froufrou decorations that would lend the impression that she knew what the heck she was doing.

Because she didn’t. Not really. She’d been flying by the seat of her pants up until now. Brazenly faking her way through two weddings with the help of the Internet and every bridal book she could get her hands on. Marla Jean and Jake’s would be her third. Today they were finalizing the table placement around the dance floor. But for a few minor details it was all decided. White tablecloths with burlap runners. Centerpieces made from logs sliced into rough rounds would hold burlap-wrapped candles and pale green mason jars filled with white flowers. Instead of renting dishes, they purchased from thrift stores mismatched plates that would be stacked at the front of the buffet. The reception would be fun and down-to-earth.

From the start Marla Jean had been ever conscious about this being her second go-round at marriage. So now she bent over backward to approach this wedding in a mature, responsible way. Irene understood and appreciated her need to keep things low-key, but she’d finally told her that it was Jake’s first wedding, and if the fates were smiling, it would be Marla Jean’s last. She told her she should forget about what anyone else thought. If her choices made her happy, then everyone else could go screw themselves. Recently Marla Jean had confided that that was the minute she knew she’d made the right choice in wedding planners.

The two women had been acquaintances but never particular friends before. But this experience had forged a strong bond that would last long after the ceremony was over and done with. Irene cherished the idea. After all these years she still didn’t have many women friends in town. For the most part everyone treated her with polite civility, but a few made no bones about what they thought of her.

Those few still treated her like an outsider and considered her a greedy, gold-digging opportunist because of marrying a wealthy man three times her age. But they were wrong about her. Her marriage to Sven might not have been typical, but it was full of love, and she missed him every single day.

Sometimes she wondered if that hadn’t played a part in her decision to take up wedding planning. She certainly didn’t need the money. But weddings in a small town like Everson were a big deal, and it was an innocuous way to insert herself into the middle of these social occasions that made up the heart and soul of small-town life.

“I’m supposed to meet Jake and Theo for lunch. You should join us,” Marla Jean said as she gathered her purse and stood.

Irene kept her expression neutral, though her pulse kicked up again at the mention of Theo’s name. “Than. . .