Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(79)

While Aidan tore lettuce into bite-sized pieces and then washed them, she sliced baguettes into thin, even slices. She applied olive oil, then slid giant baking sheets into the new oven. Every five minutes, Aidan dutifully stirred the chicken.

About an hour before guests were due to arrive, she heard a voice from the front of the tea shop.

“Hey, it’s me. Anyone here?” Madeline walked into the kitchen. “There you are. I came by early to see how I could help.” She hugged Shelby, then walked to the sink and washed her hands. “How about if I start setting the tables?”

Only a few days ago Madeline had spearheaded the intervention that Shelby still found unsettling. She didn’t blame her friends for trying to help. She just wished she could convince them there wasn’t a problem. There was also the concern that her friends were upset with her for not agreeing with them.

She should have known better, she told herself happily as Madeline wiped her hands on a towel and smiled.

“So, what are your instructions?”

“We’re serving everyone buffet style,” she said. “We’ll use the two sideboards by the door for the bar and the ones in the back for the food.”

“So plates and flatware on them?”

“Yes. Bowls, too.”

“I’m on it.”

Time passed quickly. Madeline prepared the buffet line, Aidan stirred and made the salad and Shelby took care of everything else. Bailey and her husband, Kenny, arrived a few minutes early. Kenny immediately began opening bottles of wine and champagne while Bailey put the beer on ice. Amber and her husband arrived right after. Tom carried in a large box with a dozen or so small centerpieces.

“Our housewarming gift to you,” Amber said as they hugged. “I can’t tell you how beautiful everything looks.”

By six thirty, the party was in full swing. Starr and a couple of her friends circulated with plates of crostini. The chicken was bubbling hot and ready to be put out on the buffet. Once she got the cheddar bacon biscuits ready to bake, Aidan had chased her out of the kitchen to go mingle with her friends.

“I’ll handle this,” he told her.

Shelby walked out into the tea shop and watched while the people she cared most about laughed and talked.

Two years ago, she’d been in Colorado with her dying mother. She’d been dodging her father’s fists and so alone and scared. The feeling of having nowhere to turn, no safe place to be, had only gotten worse after Kipling had been injured.

Then two men had shown up at her doorstep and changed everything. Her mother had passed in peace and Shelby had moved to Fool’s Gold.

Two years ago she would never have believed she could be happy ever again. She never would have thought she would find her way to owning a business like this. She was truly blessed and so grateful.

Kipling stepped to the center of the room and held up his glass of champagne. “If I could have your attention, please,” he said. “I’d like to propose a toast. To my baby sister, Shelby.”

“To Shelby.”

Everyone raised their glasses to her. Shelby turned in a slow circle and saw the many people who made up the fabric of her life. And Aidan, who stood by the door to the kitchen. He held his glass high. When she looked at him, he winked. And everything about her world felt exactly right.

*

MARGARET WAS A TALL, willowy blonde with a warm, easy smile and the physique of a professional athlete. Aidan remembered the first time he’d met her. She’d come to Fool’s Gold for a hiking weekend—the most challenging trip his company offered. The rest of the group had been unable to keep up with them and by the morning of the second day, it was just him and Margaret. After long days of hiking and climbing, they’d found fun ways to fill the night.

She’d been one of the few “tourists” he’d kept in touch with. She’d married a few years back. When she’d mentioned she was going to be in the area, he’d agreed to meet her for dinner.

“I can’t believe how the town’s grown,” she said as she sat across from him at Angelo’s, where they’d scored an outdoor table. “The festivals seem to be the same, but the number of people coming to town has grown. I didn’t think I would be able to book a room for the night.”

The evening was warm. Under other circumstances, it might even be romantic—but not tonight. Not when he wasn’t with Shelby.

The server returned with the bottle of wine Aidan had ordered. When they each had a glass, Aidan turned his attention back to Margaret.

“How are things?”

“Good. Busy. The kids are growing so fast. My oldest is nearly four. The baby’s just two. It’s crazy.”

“But happy.”

“It is. I’ve just gone back to work full-time.” She waved to the sidewalk just beyond the restaurant patio. “There’s some travel, which is hard. I want to be home with my kids. At the same time I also want to be working.”

“A dilemma most working mothers face,” he pointed out. “It often takes both parents working to support a family these days, but leaving every morning is difficult.”

She studied him. “Yes, and why do you know that?”

“It’s not a secret.”

“It’s not something I would expect an unmarried guy with no children to have thought about.” Her gaze narrowed. “What’s different?”