5. Winnie

winnie

. . .

I texted Ellie and told her I was running late and not to pick me up until fifteen minutes after seven.

It was a lie, but I knew Dex and the girls would be gone by then, and I couldn’t risk running into them outside.

I was mortified by what had happened earlier.

Mortified and sore—I had a bruise on my ass the size of Texas.

When I saw her pull up, I said one last prayer I could make it to her car unseen, pulled my straw beach hat lower on my head, put on my darkest sunglasses, and opened the front door. When I was sure the coast was clear, I yanked it shut behind me and dashed for her white Honda without lifting my chin from my chest.

Throwing myself into the passenger seat, I pulled the door shut and hunched down. “Twenty-four Maple Lane! And step on it!”

“Calm down, we’re not even that late. And why are you wearing that hat?”

“I’ll explain in a minute.” I winced as I shifted on the seat to buckle my seatbelt. “Ouch.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m injured.”

“From what?”

I slunk down farther in the seat. “Just drive, okay? I’ll tell you about it once we’re out of the parking lot.”

She did as I asked. “Okay, we’re out of the lot. Now what the hell happened?”

I lifted my head up just enough to peer out the passenger window. Satisfied I’d made my escape, I sat up straight. “I fell off a suitcase.”

“Why were you on a suitcase?”

“I was trying to disconnect the ridiculously sensitive smoke detector in my bedroom, which goes off sometimes when I take a shower because of the steam.”

“Don’t you have a stepladder?”

“It was downstairs, and I was naked and soaking wet.”

She laughed. “Oh, you’d already gotten in the shower?”

“Yes.” I took off the hat, tossed it in the back seat, and fluffed my hair. “But I haven’t even gotten to the worst part yet.”

“Worse than falling off the suitcase?”

“Much worse.” I shuddered. “Dex saw it happen.”

“Who’s Dex?”

“My new neighbor.”

“The hot firefighter?” Her voice rose in surprise.

“Yes.” I pictured him standing there in my bedroom doorway, his dark eyes on my naked body, his jaw practically on his chest.

“And why was he in your bedroom?”

“Apparently he heard the smoke alarm through the wall and came to see if I was okay.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus. Why didn’t you grab a towel?”

“I did! But it was more like a hand towel.”

Ellie laughed. “So he could see?—”

“Everything,” I confirmed, slinking down in my seat again. “He saw everything. They all did.”

“Who’s they?”

“His little girls were there too.”

“Well, so what?” Ellie shrugged. “He’s a first responder. That’s practically like a doctor, Win. Those guys are used to that stuff. And his daughters are just kids.”

“There’s more.”

We pulled up at a red light and she looked over at me. “More?”

“After I went down on my ass, hand towel flying, all my bits on display, I was so desperate to get to safety that I crawled to the bathroom.”

Ellie burst out laughing, banging the heel of one hand on the steering wheel. “Just like stop, drop, and roll! I bet he was impressed!”

“Stop making fun of me, this is serious! I’ve never been so traumatized in my entire life. I have to move now.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake—you do not have to move, Winnie.” The light turned green and we moved forward again. “The guy was probably just as embarrassed as you were.”

“Maybe. But he’s gotta think I’m a total idiot. After I barricaded myself in the bathroom, he stayed for a minute to reconnect the alarm and ask if I was okay.” I cringed and shook my head. “I just kept saying, ‘I’m fine!’ like a crazy parrot and wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.”

“Stop being so dramatic. So the guy saw you naked—who cares?”

“Naked and crawling on the floor,” I reminded her.

“Fine. Naked and crawling on the floor. It’s traumatizing right now, but it’s a great story and someday you guys will be able to laugh about it.”

“Like you’re able to laugh about finding the box of sex toys under your parents’ bed when you were sixteen?”

“NO. That was a whole other level of trauma.” Ellie shuddered. “I can’t even believe you just brought that up.”

“Oh, come on. It was funny.”

“Winnie, there was a whip in that box! And a blindfold!”

“I know.” Distracted for a moment, I shook my head. “I still can’t imagine your parents?—”

“Please stop talking.”

I laughed. “Sorry.”

“I wonder if he went home and told his wife he just saw the new neighbor lady naked.”

“Oh! Turns out, there is no wife.”

She glanced at me. “I thought you saw her.”

“That was his sister. He’s a single dad—only two of those kids were his. Hallie and Luna.” I cringed again. “The ones who saw me naked.”

“A hot single dad, huh?” Ellie was clearly intrigued. “And he’s right next door. Imagine that.”

“Actually, I don’t know that he’s single. Just that he’s not married. He might have a girlfriend.”

“And he might not.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” I told her, even though I’d already had plenty of ideas about the hot single dad next door, who’d only moved in like six hours ago.

“But I like ideas,” Ellie said, pulling up in front of my Aunt April and Uncle Tyler’s house.

“You just want to win the bet,” I said. “But I told you—I am the boss of my feelings, and I’m off romance until Thanksgiving.”

“Christmas,” she said with a grin. “You changed it to Christmas, remember?”

“Right. Christmas.”

“Remind me whose house this is,” she said as we turned up the driveway. “I get all your aunts and uncles confused.”

“April and Tyler Shaw—they’re Chip’s biological parents. They had him when they were super young and gave him up for adoption, but they reconnected when he was like eighteen. I grew up calling him my cousin.”

“April is one of your mom’s sisters, right?” We went up the porch steps and knocked on the door.

“Right.” While we waited for someone to answer, I thought about my new neighbor again. “I forgot to mention that before the whole wet and naked debacle, I went over to his house to drop something off and heard him yelling at his ex-wife.”

“She was there?” Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.

“No—on the phone. Something about being able to handle anything except her trying to butt into his time with the girls. Gave me flashbacks of hearing my dad on the phone with Carla when I was a kid.” Carla was my biological mom, but she’d moved to Georgia before I was even out of diapers, and growing up, I’d only seen her about once a year.

“Huh. I wonder how recent their divorce was.”

“I wonder when I’ll be able to face him again without wanting to die. How long do you think it’ll be before he forgets he saw me naked?”

She laughed. “ Cherie , you’re twenty-two and you’ve got a kick-ass bod. He will never forget he saw you naked.”

Unfortunately, my cousin Frankie, who’s fourteen, pulled the door open right then and caught the end of Ellie’s sentence. Her brown eyes widened. “Who saw you naked?”

“No one,” I said, giving Frankie a hug and Ellie a look to keep her silent.

“Come on, who?” My cousin looked back and forth between Ellie and me eagerly. Ellie zipped her lips and threw away the key.

I sighed. “This hot guy who moved in next door to me,” I said as we went inside. “I accidentally set off the smoke detector in my house, and?—”

But then I lost track of my thoughts, because right there in the living room was Dex, looking less sweaty but just as gorgeous as he had this afternoon. Hallie and Luna hung off him like monkeys, like they were begging for something he’d already said no to.

Dex and I locked eyes, and I couldn’t speak. My entire body was flushed with heat, and I knew my face had to be crimson.

“Winnie!” The girls spotted me and came racing over. “What are you doing here?”

“Um—I was invited.” Tearing my eyes from Dex, I looked down at them and tried to smile, but my heart continued to race. “This is my aunt and uncle’s house, and the party is for my cousin Chip. What are you two doing here?”

“Chip is Daddy’s friend from high school,” Hallie said. “They played baseball together.”

“Really?” Over their heads, I met Dex’s eyes again and smiled weakly. “Small world.”

He nodded, looking like he had no idea what to say.

Chip entered the room and handed Dex a beer. “Here you go. Should take the edge off moving day.”

Dex grabbed it and tipped it back immediately, taking a few long swallows, while Chip noticed me standing there.

“Winnie, hey!” Coming forward, he gave me a hug. “Long time, no see.”

Rising on tiptoe to hug my tall, handsome cousin, I struggled to get my wits back. “Great to see you, Chip. And congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thanks. I need to introduce you to Mariah—April kidnapped her for a minute, but I’m about to steal her back.”

Letting go of Chip, I tried to act like an adult. “Remember my friend Ellie?”

“I think so.” Chip smiled warmly and shook Ellie’s hand. “Glad you could make it.”

“My pleasure,” she said. “Congratulations.”

“This is my friend Dexter Matthews.” Chip put a hand on Dex’s broad shoulder before gesturing to the two girls. “And these are his daughters, Hallie and Luna. Guys, this is my cousin Winnie and her friend Ellie.”

“Oh, we already know Winnie,” Hallie informed him.

“You do?” Chip grinned down at her in surprise.

“Yes, she lives next door,” said Luna excitedly, bouncing up and down. “We saw her bum today!”

Record scratch.

Horrible silence.

Chip looked confused. “Her what?”

“Her bum.” Luna patted her own backside while I held my breath and tried to make myself disappear. “We saw it when we were in her bedroom today.”

“Luna!” Hallie elbowed her sister. “Daddy told us in the car not to tell that story tonight. You’re gonna get us in trouble and then we can’t go swimming tomorrow.”

“I for got .” Luna rubbed her shoulder and looked up at Dex. “Sorry, Daddy.”

Dex struggled for words and came up with, “Fucking hell, Luna.”

“Boy, I could really use a glass of wine,” Ellie said brightly, putting her hand through my arm. “How about you, Win?”

“Yes, please,” I squeaked.

Chip looked relieved to exit the room and the conversation. “Come with me. There’s a bar set up in the kitchen, and that’s where April and Mariah are too. I’ll introduce you.”

Although part of me was tempted to make a run for the door, I let Ellie commandeer me, and we followed Chip out of the room. Before I could stop myself, I glanced over my shoulder to see if Dex was still standing there.

He was, and he was looking at my butt.

But as soon as he realized he’d been caught doing it, he turned around and walked in the other direction.

The large rectangular kitchen table was laden with dishes and platters and multi-tiered serving stands of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, but my eyes went straight to the bottles of wine lined up on the island.

It was self-serve, so while Chip went to drag Mariah away from April, Ellie chose a rosé for us and poured two glasses. She handed me one. “Here. This will help.”

Grateful, I took a few sips. “Thanks. But I think I have to leave after this drink. Will you go get my disguise from the back seat of your car?”

She laughed. “Will you stop? It’s fine. It’s hilarious, actually. I don’t know who was more embarrassed, you or Dex.”

“Me.” I took another swallow.

“You were right about him, by the way. The guy is gorgeous. And built.” She sipped her wine. “Doesn’t smile or talk much, but with that jaw and those shoulders, does it really matter?”

“Stop.”

“Maybe you should ask to see his bum, just to even the score.”

“No!”

“Why not? I bet it’s a nice bum.”

“You’re not helping, Ellie.”

Thankfully, Chip appeared with a beautiful young woman at his side I knew immediately was his fiancée, since not only was he holding her hand, but he was staring at her with the biggest puppy-dog eyes I’d ever seen. “Mariah, this is my cousin Winifred and her friend Ellie,” he told her.

“Hello,” I said, holding out my hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and shook my hand, then she bit her lip. “You’re...Frannie’s daughter? One of Mack’s girls?”

I smiled, impressed. “Very good.”

She blushed a little as she laughed. “I’m trying. Chip went through all the family names on the drive here from the airport?—”

“She took notes,” Chip said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “And studied them like there was going to be a quiz later.”

“I did,” Mariah admitted. “But it’s really nice to put faces to the names. There are so many of you!”

Ellie held out her hand. “Don’t worry—I’m not a family member, so you don’t have to memorize me. But congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you so much.” Mariah smiled at Ellie. “Do you live in the area?”

“Ellie’s family owns Abelard Vineyards on Old Mission Peninsula,” I said. “It’s really beautiful—you should visit if you have the time.”

“Too bad our new restaurant isn’t open quite yet,” Ellie said. “You could come for dinner.”

Mariah, who didn’t appear to be much older than Ellie and me, looked up at Chip. “I really wish we had more time here. We just have the one night.”

“We’ll come back, babe.” He kissed her forehead. “Promise.” To us, he said, “Mariah’s family is from Michigan too, a little south of here.”

“I grew up in Bellamy Creek,” Mariah said.

“Oh, I know that area!” Ellie nodded enthusiastically. “It’s such a cute town. About two hours from here, right?”

Mariah nodded and smiled. “Yes.”

“Is your family here tonight?” I asked.

“No, we visited my family a few weeks ago, and we do want everyone to get together soon, but since Chip’s extended family is pretty big, I sort of wanted the chance to meet everyone first without having to make tons of introductions.” Mariah smiled at me. “I just met your mom and dad. They’re so nice—everyone is,” she said, laughing. “I just want to keep all the names straight.”

“You’re doing fine. Can I get you another glass of wine?” Chip asked his fiancée.

“Yes. I set my glass down somewhere outside—I think at Mack and Frannie’s table,” Mariah said.

“I’ll find it. Be right back.”

Mariah watched him walk away so adoringly, Ellie and I exchanged a private look of mock disgust.

“When will you get married?” I asked her. “Have you guys decided yet or is it too soon to ask?”

She laughed. “If it was up to Chip, we’d be married already—he does not care about having a big fancy wedding.”

“Most guys probably don’t,” Ellie said with a smile. “We do a lot of weddings at Abelard, and I had to meet with a couple today about theirs, and the dude could not have cared less about any of it. Meanwhile, the bride was like, ‘That’s not quite the right shade of ivory I want for the linens. Do you have anything closer to ecru? Perhaps more of a creme brulée?’”

Mariah laughed. “That will not be me. I don’t have the whole thing visualized in my mind or anything—and it doesn’t have to be huge. I’d like something intimate, just family and close friends. We’re sort of limited by the baseball calendar as to when we can do it, so we’re thinking maybe February.”

“This February?” I asked in surprise.

She nodded. “I know it’s only six months away, and most brides plan ahead at least a year, but I’m hoping we can pull something off.”

“I’m sure you can,” Ellie said confidently. “And I bet you’ll have an easier time finding a venue in the winter.”

“April said I should talk to Millie about Cloverleigh Farms.” Mariah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You should,” I agreed. “I saw her car on the street, so she’s here somewhere. And if Cloverleigh is all booked up during that time, check out Abelard. It’s not far from here, and it’s gorgeous. Cloverleigh is more American rustic chic, but Abelard is vintage south of France.” I kissed my fingertips. “ Très belle .”

“That sounds beautiful. So you’re a wedding planner?” Mariah asked Ellie.

“No, I work for the winery. My mother is who you want—her name is Mia Fournier. She’s the manager at Abelard and coordinates all the weddings.”

“Thanks,” Mariah said. “Next time we’re here, I’ll definitely check it out.”

Chip returned with a full glass of white wine, handing it to Mariah. “How’s it going?”

“Great,” she said. “We’re talking about the wedding.”

He looked at us. “I voted for Vegas with an Elvis impersonator officiating, but I don’t think I’m going to get my way.”

I gave his chest a playful shove. “You’re not.”

He grinned. “I’m gonna grab another beer and check on Dex since he doesn’t really know anyone else here.”

“He knows Winnie,” said Ellie. “He’s seen a lot of her lately.”

I gave her a murderous look.

“That’s so crazy that he moved in next door to you.” Chip hesitated. “And I wasn’t going to ask, but what was that about them.. . being in your bedroom today?”

Sighing, I took another long sip of wine and told them the story. By the time I got to the part where Luna announced to the living room that they saw my bum today, Mariah was wiping tears. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. That fall must have hurt.”

“My pride took the bigger bruise,” I said, “but I’ll be okay. The wine is helping.”

“I’ll get you another glass.” Chip took my empty glass and headed for the island. A moment later, he came back with it and took off in search of Dex.

Ellie and I chatted with Mariah for a few more minutes, asking her about her job with the White Sox. “I’m in media relations,” she said, “which basically means I’m a liaison between the team and the press.”

“Do you like it?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah, I do. I’ve always loved sports, and at one point, I thought about broadcast journalism, but turns out I like being behind the scenes.” She shrugged. “I could always try broadcasting in the future, but I guess it depends where Chip and I end up.”

“Is he planning on staying in the game for a while?” I wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Mariah said. “Pitching is really hard on the body. Most pitchers retire before age thirty. Chip is thirty-four, so he’s like a grandpa.” She laughed.

“You’ll keep him young,” I told her with a smile.

“That’s what I always say!”

“How old are you?” Ellie asked.

“I’m twenty-four.” Mariah glanced over at Chip and grinned. “People are always teasing him about robbing the cradle.”

“A ten-year gap isn’t too crazy,” Ellie said. “That’s like your dad and stepmom, right, Win?”

I nodded. “Yep. And they’ve been together for eighteen years.”

Mariah smiled. “Good to know.”

“Maybe he’ll retire and you guys could move up here,” Ellie said.

“We’ve actually talked about that.” She lowered her voice. “Although he doesn’t want me to say anything to anyone, because he hasn’t made a decision. But we want kids pretty soon after we’re married, and I’d like to be closer to home once that happens. Family is really important to me.”

Even though I was happy for Mariah and Chip, I felt a momentary twinge of envy—how exciting to be planning a future together, and thinking about a family of their own. I knew most people my age put those things off until they were closer to thirty or even older, but I’d always imagined myself as a young wife and mom. I had a lot of love and energy to give, and it made me happy to give it, so why keep it to myself? I just needed to find the right person to share it with.

After Christmas, of course.

Chip approached with a beer in his hand but no Dex by his side.

“Did you lose your friend?” Mariah asked.

“I did. He just texted me.” Chip frowned. “Apparently one of the girls is allergic to tree nuts and ate something that gave her a reaction.”

I gasped. “Oh no—it’s Luna! Was she okay?”

“He said she’s fine, but he needed to get her home and give her some medication.”

“Poor thing,” Ellie said.

“Are they coming back?” I asked.

“He said they might,” Chip replied. “He just needs to see how she’s doing in half an hour or so. I hope they do.”

I nodded, concerned for the little girl. “Me too.”

We moved out to the patio, where I said hello to my dad and Frannie, my sister Millie, and lots of other relatives and family friends. I felt sorry for Mariah as she made the rounds with Chip because I knew she was frantically trying to remember everyone’s names.

Every now and again, I scanned the crowd, looking for Dex and the girls, but they never returned. I couldn’t stop thinking about Luna and wondering if she was okay.

When Ellie dropped me off around ten-thirty that night, I wondered if it was too late to knock on their door and check in on her. I didn’t have Dex’s number or anything, or else I’d have sent a quick text.

In the end, I decided against knocking, since I didn’t see any lights on in their front windows. Instead, I waved goodbye to Ellie and let myself in, ditching my high, block-heeled sandals by the front door.

In the kitchen, Piglet came wandering out from her hiding spot seeking attention, and I bent down to give her some. “What do you think, time for bed?” I asked her, scratching behind her ears.

But I wasn’t tired yet, so I grabbed a spoon and the remains of my Frosty, and went out to the patio. I had a small table, two chairs, and a few potted plants out there, which I realized I’d forgotten to water the past few days.

Setting the cup on the table, I lit my citronella candle to keep the mosquitoes away and went back inside to fill the plastic pitcher under my sink. Back on the patio again, I began pouring water into one of the pots. “I’m sorry, kids,” I said to my plants. “I forgot to feed you, didn’t I?”

“Happens to me all the time,” said a deep voice to my left.