Back on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #4)(30)
“I know.”
“She and Reese love you like a daughter.”
“I think the world of them, too.” Love wasn’t a word that came easily to her, but Alix did love the Donovans. They’d done more for her than her own parents even knew how to do.
Tammie Lee took a delicate sip of her Diet Coke before she spoke again. “As I said, Jacqueline can get a bit carried away and while her intentions might be the best, I’m not sure she always makes the right choices for you.”
“What now?” Alix asked wearily. “What did she do?”
Tammie Lee released a long breath. “You might want to check on your flower order,” she said in a low voice.
Alix nodded. She’d chosen white daisies for her wedding bouquet. Daisies appealed to her in their utter simplicity and unpretentiousness. But when she’d mentioned her choice to Jacqueline, her friend had cringed visibly and stated that roses were more traditional. The bridesmaids’ flowers had been discussed, too, and Jacqueline had overruled Alix’s preference there, as well. Alix had tried to insist, but apparently Jacqueline hadn’t been able to accept her decision, after all.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Alix said. As soon as she could, she’d go to Susannah’s Garden and change the flower order back to white daisies.
An hour later, Alix met Jordan on the Seattle waterfront. He was standing near the ferry dock when she joined him for their afternoon date. Because of the wedding, neither of them had extra money for frivolous things like dinners out. A movie was a rare treat these days. Since the ferry was relatively cheap, they’d decided to ride it to Bremerton, where they’d explore the newly renovated waterfront.
“Hi,” Jordan said, greeting her with a fervent hug. They attracted a bit of attention. Alix was used to that. Jordan was clean-cut in crisp jeans and a shirt with a button-down collar and a light jacket. She hadn’t altered her own dress style and wore mostly jeans, black leather and of course her combat boots. The two of them looked about as different as it was possible for any two people to look. It never bothered her and apparently her fashion choices hadn’t distressed him, either.
They walked onto the ferry for the early-afternoon trip, moving inside when it began to rain. Jordan purchased them each a cup of coffee, which they drank gazing out at Seattle, rapidly disappearing into the foggy distance.
“How’d the fitting go?” Jordan asked. He put his coffee on the table in front of them and held her hand.
“All right, I guess.” Alix noticed a seagull flying outside the ferry window. She longed to tell Jordan how beautiful the dress was and how pretty she felt wearing it, but she didn’t. The thought of talking about this made her feel shy. Like a young, inexperienced girl—the virgin bride she wasn’t. Instead, she drew his attention to the seagull that was keeping pace with the ferry.
“Would you like to start moving your stuff over to my place?” Jordan asked a moment later. They’d decided his tiny apartment would be their first home.
The question surprised her. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?” The wedding was almost three months away. They had plenty of time to arrange all that. Besides, everything she owned could be transported in a single load. Well, maybe two.
Jordan stared down at their clasped hands. “I can hardly wait to be married to you.”
“Me, neither.” Happiness like this was foreign to Alix and sometimes it made her uncomfortable. For most of her life, happiness had been fleeting. She’d learned that the minute anything good came along, someone or something would take it away from her. She still believed that. It was a bad habit she was working hard to break, this attitude of waiting for the negative, expecting it.
Jordan slid his arm around her shoulders and she nestled against him. “You know, if we saved ten percent from each of our paychecks, within a couple of years we’d have enough to make a down payment on a house.”
“You want to buy a house?” Alix asked, her head spinning at the very idea.
“Don’t you?” He sounded surprised.
“I guess,” she answered with a shrug. “I hadn’t given it any thought.”
“With our budget, the house’ll have to be small. Seattle real estate’s pretty pricey.”
“I’ve never lived in a house I owned,” she said breathlessly. The concept was an unfamiliar one. Living in a place without a landlord who’d be responsible for its care and upkeep. Not that any landlord she’d ever had came around to fix whatever went wrong. Except for the Donovans, but that wasn’t really a landlord-tenant relationship.
“How does that seem to you?” Jordan asked.
“Good.” Actually it was better than good. It was…thrilling. Never in her whole life had Alix thought she’d own a real home. Then again, she’d never dreamed she’d marry Jordan Turner, either.
His parents’ place was provided by his father’s church in the nearby town of Burien, but Jordan, as youth pastor at the Free Methodist Church off Blossom Street, only got a small housing allowance.
“Eventually, we’re going to need more than two bedrooms,” she said casually, thinking they’d be having children someday. She’d like two, maybe three, if Jordan agreed. She didn’t have much confidence in her ability to be a mother, but she already knew that love could compensate for a lot.