Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold #19)(30)

“Oh, my God!” she shrieked. “You’re... You’re...”

He knew what was coming next. She would scream his name and everyone around them would turn and stare. Then people would move close. A few would ask questions while others wanted autographs. The crowd would get bigger and he would have to leave.

Why hadn’t he grabbed a baseball cap on his way out? It wasn’t the perfect disguise, but it helped. Honest to God, he’d totally forgotten he might cause a problem. Because usually in Fool’s Gold, he didn’t.

Madeline stepped in front of him and laughed. “He looks like a young Matthew McConaughey, right? We get that all the time. It’s really fun. We have a jar where we put five dollars every time it happens.” She glanced at him. “Looks like we’re that much closer to our trip to New York, honey. Isn’t it great?”

The girl stared at Madeline as if she were insane, but when she looked back at him, she was less confident.

“Matthew McConaughey? I was going to say Jonny Blaze.”

Madeline frowned. “Seriously?” She turned to Jonny. “Wow, I don’t see it. Well, darn. If you’re saying Jonny Blaze, I guess we don’t get the five dollars in the jar, after all. Unless we include all celebrities. What do you think?”

The girl handed him his change and Madeline the bag of fudge. “Have a nice day,” she said pointedly, and looked past them to the customers still in line.

He grabbed Madeline’s hand and pulled her away.

“She dismissed us,” Madeline said. “I’m shocked. How could she not have an opinion on our New York travel jar?”

He pulled her to the side of the aisle. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. A little misdirection never hurt anyone. I learned it from my brother. Just one of the things he taught me when he came home on vacation.”

Jonny put his arm around her. He wanted to do more but there were too many people around.

“He was a good older brother,” he said, mostly to distract himself.

“He was. And thankfully gone when I started dating. Otherwise, he would have terrified any date I had. Were you like that with Ginger?”

“I didn’t have to be. She didn’t date much in high school, and by the time she got to college, she was sensible about guys. I met a few when I visited her in San Francisco and I liked them all.”

“What’s Oliver like?”

“Nerdy, but in a good way. Crazy about her.” He smiled. “He came to ask my permission to propose to Ginger. The poor kid was trembling and sweating. I felt sorry for him, but I made him work for it. They’re going to be good together.”

“She’ll be here in a couple of days. I’m excited to meet her.”

He was looking forward to it, as well. He wanted to know what his sister thought of Madeline.

“I’m going to grill her about your romantic past,” she teased.

“You can read all about it online.”

“I don’t think so. Those would be the public relationships. I’m guessing there are some others that no one knows about.” She turned to him. “I was kidding. You know that, right? I would never ask Ginger about your love life.”

“You didn’t even tell your business partner you were helping me,” he reminded her. “I know you’re joking.”

They walked through the crowd to the booths with jewelry displays. Madeline pointed. “Jenel’s Gems is a store in town. She has beautiful pieces. You’ll want to look at her things for sure.”

As they made their way to that display, he spotted a necklace of enamel daisies. The piece was large and gaudy and yet there was something about it.

“For Annelise?” Madeline asked.

“No. I—” He touched the necklace. “I knew a girl who loved daisies.” He lowered his arm. “You’re right. The significant relationships aren’t online. When I was in high school I had a thing for this girl. Kristen. She was beautiful, but aloof. For a year I tried to get close and she wouldn’t have anything to do with me.”

“What changed her mind?”

“I don’t know. Over the summer between our junior and senior year, I kept going by her house. One day she invited me in. She sat me down and told me she had cancer. Something with her blood.”

He knew the medical terms and the details, but they wouldn’t mean anything to Madeline. He remembered how dispassionate Kristen had been as she’d spoken. As if she were talking about someone else.

Madeline stared at him. “She was sick?”

“She was dying. She told me she only had a few months left and I wouldn’t be able to handle it. So there wasn’t going to be a relationship ever and I should leave.”

He remembered the shock. How he’d been unable to process the information.

“I went back the next day and the next. She finally agreed to see me. We started dating. We had a year. I was there when she died.”

He remembered everything about those last weeks, that last day. How her parents had cried, how he’d held her hand and heard her take her last breath. He’d been devastated. Knowing what was going to happen and having it happen weren’t the same thing.

Madeline squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. You’ve had a lot of loss in your life.”