Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Noelle

T he day speeds by in a blur. I see Nick in passing several times, but we don't have time to talk. Even with the kinder, gentler version of Holly running the show, two o'clock is here before I know it. The Candlelight Chapel bell chimes the hour just as I put the star-shaped piece of pineapple atop the fruit Christmas tree I've created on a silver platter. Then I look down at my casual clothes.

"I need to change," I tell the closest Jolly, who turns out to be a Field.

Rosemary looks up from the vegetable Christmas tree she's arranging on an identical platter. She places a black olive with precision, then unties her apron.

"I'll walk you back to the guest house. Then we'll come back here and I'll change. Holly said the doors open at two, but people don't show up in force until closer to the happy hour."

"That's right. These first few hours will mostly be families with little ones. So Ivy and Sage will be busy with the arts and crafts, but otherwise the crowd should be light."

"Perfect. Let's go now before someone can give us another job."

I give her an apologetic smile. "I hate to ask, but all the clothes Holly pulled together for me are pretty casual. So, unless I'm going to wear the Mrs. Claus dress, I need to borrow something else. Sorry."

"Please don't apologize. It's not your fault there's a psycho out there looking for you."

Isn't it, though?

I brush the thought away and say, "You're right."

She grins. "Anyway, you're in luck. Sage always tells us that you redheads have special color concerns when it comes to your wardrobe. I have no clue if that's true, but she packed at least four dresses so she'd have options for today. Let's find her before the arts and crafts start and get you even more gorgeous."

We head into the family's living area and find Sage in the hall bathroom doing her makeup elbow to elbow with Ivy. They're wearing adorable sundresses. Sage's is, well, sage green with tiny silver polka-dots. The green definitely complements her copper-colored hair. Ivy's is red- and white-striped with fun bows on the pockets. When Rosemary announces that it's time for my makeover, they both squeal and drop their lip glosses.

Ten minutes later, I'm wearing a beautiful emerald green sleeveless shantung silk dress that fits me like a glove. While Ivy curls my hair into wavy face-framing tendrils, Sage is giving me a smoky eye.

Merry pops her head into the bathroom. "Whoa, Dad's gonna die when he sees you. You look hot." She holds up a pair of silver sandals with a kitten heel. "I think these will fit you."

"Thanks."

She puts them down in front of me, and I step into them carefully so as to avoid a hot curling iron to the neck or a mascara wand to the eyeball. Female beauty can be a real minefield. But, let's face it, it can also be a ridiculous amount of fun—especially, when you've got good friends to get ready with. And I realize that even though all these women are twenty-some years younger than me, I consider them friends.

"The shoe fits," I announce.

"Then I guess you'll wear it," Merry says with a grin. Then she frowns at my toes. "There's a fun pearl nail polish in the other bathroom if you want to do your toes."

"Thanks. I love that jumpsuit on you."

Merry gives us a twirl and the wide, flowing legs of her deep red jumpsuit flare out. "Me, too. I learned the hard way that catering in a dress sucks peppermint balls."

"You can say that again," Rosemary says as she reappears, wearing a similar jumpsuit. Hers is classic black, and she's tied a red and white sash around the waist for a splash of color. She's braided her long blonde hair into an updo.

I swipe a lipstick over my mouth and we all spill out into the hallway, where we run into Holly, who's wearing a silver sheath dress and red stilettos that make my feet ache just from looking at them, and Thyme, adorable in a one-shoulder maxi dress with a diagonal stripe in muted greens and reds.

"Group picture before we start mingling!" Holly announces.

We all gather in the family room, and Holly starts messing with the timer on her camera.

"Wait. Where's your dad?" I say.

She frowns and puts down the digital camera. "I'll find him."

She rushes out of the living room and returns a moment later with Nick in tow. He does a double take. "Wow, you all look gorgeous."

"Thanks, Dad. Now squeeze in, please." Holly sets the timer and runs to stand next to Rosemary while Nick wedges himself into the picture beside me.

"You look particularly gorgeous," he whispers into my hair.

"You don't look half-bad yourself," I whisper back. It's true. He's wearing tan linen pants and a forest green linen shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows.

"Smile!" Holly orders.

We smile. And smile. And smile some more while her camera clicks wildly on the mantle. When it finally stops, she grabs it and turns back to us. "Okay, let's do this."

As the Jolly and Field women disperse, Nick and I hang back. Once we're alone in the living room, he backs me up to the wall and drops a trail of kisses along my neck. I wet my lips and pull his head back to nibble on his ear.

"Mmm," I say. "Wonder what boxers you're wearing now? "

"Santa wearing a Hawaiian shirt and grilling shrimp on the barbie."

"No, you're not."

"There's only one way to find out." He raises an eyebrow.

I give him a slow smile. "Later?"

"Later." He swallows hard and backs out of the room without taking his eyes off me.

I glance down at my toes and decide Merry's right. They could use a quick coat of polish. So instead of following the others, I head back to the living quarters to grab the nail polish.

I grab it from the counter in the second bathroom and sit on the edge of the bathtub to give my toenails a coat of pearly white. Then I return the cap to the bottle, check my hair in the mirror, and go out into the hallway.

A door slams somewhere in the private wing. I frown. Nobody should be back here. I almost go to investigate the noise, but I remember my promise to Nick and what happens to characters who are TSTL and stop myself. Instead, I continue on my path back to the inn.

As I'm congratulating myself on my good judgment, I walk past the bathroom where Ivy, Sage, and I got ready, and a flash of red on the mirror catches my eye. I walk inside and stare in horror at the lipsticked letters scrawled over the glass. Puttana.

No, no, no. He's here. Dante is in the house.

My pulse thrums against my throat as I scrabble in the pocket of my borrowed dress for my phone to text Nick.

He's here .

My hands shake as I press send. I'm about to slip the phone back into my pocket when it's slapped out of my hand and hits the bathroom tile. I turn to see him lunging forward from behind the shower curtain. I open my mouth to scream, and he clamps a hand over my mouth. He drags me out of the bathroom and down the hall to the side exit.

I flail and thrash, fighting hard. Sensei Adam says, in the event of an abduction, to do whatever it takes to avoid being taken to a second location. I kick and wriggle, trying to get leverage to bite Dante's hand the way I did Nick's. But he's moving fast and I can't get a good angle.

Then he grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls me to the right, fast. An instant later, he pushes me left. My head bounces off the corner of the opposite wall and darkness creeps into the edges of my vision like someone applied a vignette filter. The darkness grows and grows, and then it's all I see as I slide to the floor.