Second Chance Girl
Page 15

“The flowerpot is cake,” Silver explained. “The fondant icing can be in any color so it coordinates. The same with the flower meringue.”
Carol had never seen anything like it. Judging from everyone else’s look of surprise, they hadn’t, either.
“You could put these on the table,” Pallas breathed. “They’d be decorations and dessert. Tell me you have contact information.”
Silver pulled a business card out of her jeans pocket and handed it over. “Now let’s find out how great this cake tastes.”
She picked up a knife. Carol reached for small plates only to see movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a tail-wagging beagle racing toward them.
“Sophie,” she called as she rose and walked toward the bounding dog. “What are you doing out here?”
Sophie rushed toward her, then stopped at her feet. Carol crouched down and petted her. “Are you all by yourself? Where’s Mathias?” She scanned the area but didn’t see him anywhere. How on earth had Sophie ended up here?
“Did she escape?” Natalie asked with a sigh. “She’s good at that. Yesterday I couldn’t find her for nearly an hour. It turned out she’d crawled into an empty cabinet in the lunchroom and was curled up there, sleeping.”
“I don’t know where she came from,” Carol admitted. “Our fencing is designed to keep our grazing animals in, not small dogs out.” Sophie could have easily slipped through the slats or ducked under one of the gates. The bigger question was how she got out of Mathias’s place. That had to have been her starting point. There was no way she could have made it all the way here from town.
“Come sit by me,” Carol told the beagle as she returned to her chair.
Sophie followed her happily, then flopped at her feet. Carol kept her in place with bits of chicken and cheese. She kept trying Mathias on his cell only to be sent directly to voice mail.
Lunch broke up about twenty minutes later. They all helped with cleanup. Carol herded Sophie to her car, then stored the extra food in her trunk. No way she could trust the dog in the same space as leftovers. She doubted there was a plastic container made that was Sophie-proof.
“We’ll stop by my place first,” she told her canine passenger as they started down the road. “I need to put the rest of the lunch away, then we’ll head over to Mathias’s place and figure out how you got out. After that I have a meeting.”
Actually a teleconference with Maya to help plan her wedding.
“Let’s see, if you’re Elaine’s little girl and Maya is marrying one of her sons, then she’s your what? Aunt-in-law? Sister-in-law?”
Sophie barked and Carol laughed. “Yes, family relationships are complicated.”
So were boy-girl ones, she thought as she drove toward her house. If only Mathias were slightly less attractive. Or not so interested in sexy bridesmaids. If only she were special enough to capture his attention with wild plumage or gorgeous fur.
She paused, realizing she’d slipped into an animal metaphor, which was okay, as long both she and Mathias were animals in that metaphor. Because if she walked in wearing feathers or some kind of animal skin she was pretty sure he wouldn’t think she was much more than frighteningly insane. Still, it would be nice to be one of those sultry, sophisticated types he seemed to favor instead of just herself.
She pulled into her driveway and quickly unloaded the leftovers, then continued her journey to his place. Sophie jumped out of the car and led the way to the front door.
Carol knocked but there was no answer. She tried the knob and it turned easily, so she let the dog in and followed Sophie.
“Mathias, it’s Carol. I brought your dog back.”
There was no answer, but that was hardly a surprise. The house was huge and Mathias could be anywhere.
Sophie barked, then started down the hall. Carol went with her, through the kitchen and out toward the sunroom where she knew he often sketched.
Sure enough he sat at a big drafting table by the window overlooking the animal preserve.
She took a moment to study his broad shoulders and short, dark hair. He had a pad of paper in front of him. His hand moved, creating more quickly than the eye could follow.
“Hey, Sophie,” he said absently, reaching down to rub her ears. “You just wake up?”
“No, she just got home.”
Mathias turned to stare at her. “Carol. Hi. Did I know you were stopping by?”
“I’m not stopping by. I’m returning your dog. She was out on the savanna.”
He dropped the pencil and frowned. “She couldn’t be. She’s been here with me. We came back here and I let her out to do her thing, then closed the back door.” The frown deepened as he stood. “I know I made sure the door latched.”
They walked to the back of the house where a door stood open. Mathias closed it and checked the lock, then turned to Sophie.
“Now you’re scaring me.”
She wagged her tail.
“Maybe she’s like those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park,” Carol teased. “She’s learning how to open doors.”
“This dog is going to take over the world.” He glanced at his watch. “Come on. We have a meeting at Weddings Out of the Box. I’ll drive.”
Because they were going together? Maybe on the way he would turn to her and express his undying lust. They could pull to the side of the road and...
Carol held in a groan. The side of the road? That wasn’t exactly romantic. She couldn’t even fantasize creatively.
“I have no idea why you want me at the meeting,” she said as he clipped a leash onto Sophie’s collar and led the way to his car. “You’re creative enough for ten people. As for the female point of view, Pallas and Violet will both be there. You really don’t need me.”
Mathias held open the passenger door. For a second, when their eyes met, she would have sworn she saw...something. A flash of...
No, she told herself firmly. That was just wishful thinking. Mathias was a charming, sexy lover of one-night stands with beautiful, sexy, out-of-town bridesmaids. To believe anything else was to be a fool.
“You’ll be the voice of reason,” he told her.
“Great. I’m the stern, maiden aunt. How wonderful.”
She snapped her seat belt into place, then patted her lap for Sophie to sit on her. The beagle obliged, then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, as if saying she was liked. Not exactly a declaration a girl could dream about, but at least beagle love didn’t ever break your heart.
CHAPTER SIX
“I’M THE MATURE voice of reason,” Carol said drily as she sat next to Violet in Pallas’s office at Weddings Out of the Box. “I’m not sure why anyone thinks that’s necessary. I’m here to help with Maya and Del’s wedding, but now I have a purpose.”
“Because you didn’t before?” Violet asked with a laugh.
Violet had come prepared with pen and paper. Unlike her sister, Violet was in on the meeting to offer creative suggestions. Pallas was terrified at the thought of putting on a wedding for her soon-to-be in-laws—especially on short notice. While she was happy to support her friend, Violet honestly didn’t get the problem. Pallas had organized dozens and dozens of weddings and they’d all been lovely events. There was no reason to think Maya’s was going to be different.
Mathias, brother of the groom, was also in on the planning meeting. Pallas typed on her computer and seconds later a pretty, green-eyed blonde appeared on the screen.