Cowboy’s Christmas Bridesmaid (Trinity Falls: Icicle Christmas #8)

7. Valentina

7

VALENTINA

L ater that night, Valentina stood in Natalie Cassidy’s kitchen, watching Natalie pour mugs of hot apple cider from the urn on the counter.

Tonight was supposed to be a dress fitting for all the bridesmaids in Emma’s wedding. But it was clear that trying on dresses was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Instead, they were all laughing and chatting about work and family, and all the things going on in town for the holiday. It seemed like everyone had a pet project or a favorite gathering this time of year.

Emma was there with them, looking relaxed and happy in spite of how quickly her wedding was coming up.

She’s marrying a kind man who adores her , Valentina reminded herself. From all she knew about Emma, Valentina guessed that she probably didn’t care about little things at the wedding ceremony not being perfect, because she was just so happy that she was going to be Sebastian Radcliffe’s wife and Wes’s stepmom at the end of it.

Melody Davis was another person at the gathering that Valentina already knew a little bit through Emma. Melody was on the quiet side, but Valentina could tell right away why Emma had been friends with her since high school, and why she had chosen her as a bridesmaid. Melody was good-natured and had a surprisingly great sense of humor for someone so introverted.

Tonight, it was clear that Melody was more comfortable when she was among her inner circle. She was laughing like a hyena at a funny story Natalie had shared about her daughter, Rumor, who was now in kindergarten. Valentina felt a moment of gratitude to be included with all of these wonder women.

“Well, at least they know now to tell the kids they have to let the paint dry first,” Natalie finished, smiling as her friends laughed.

Natalie adored Rumor and Wyatt, her husband Shane’s kids. It was easy to forget that she was a stepmom, like Emma would soon be.

Maybe that’s what it would be like to be Zeke’s stepmom, she found herself thinking unexpectedly.

Wild ideas like that one had been popping into her head ever since their meeting this morning. She knew she should be ashamed of herself. Poor Tanner Williams was just trying to work on a project, and for some reason she was weaving fairy tales for herself about him and his adorable son.

“What are you thinking about?” Emma asked .

Valentina looked up and realized Emma was talking to her.

“Oh, just work stuff,” she said, wondering how silly she looked.

“Didn’t you have a meeting with Tanner Williams this morning?” Emma asked. “Baz said you really liked him.”

“He’s a smart guy,” Valentina said a little too quickly. “That’s all. I just liked his plans.”

She didn’t realize how defensive she was being until the others went silent, letting her words hang in the air an extra moment.

Natalie and Melody exchanged a glance, and Emma just nodded at Valentina, looking like she was going to erupt in giggles any second.

“Hello ,” Alice Cassidy’s voice came from the center hall. “ I brought over a few things. I could use a hand, sweetheart. ”

Valentina thanked her lucky stars as everyone’s attention turned to Natalie’s mother-in-law’s arrival.

“He’s really nice,” Melody said softly as the others headed down the hallway to greet Alice and help with whatever she had brought. “Not to say that you’re interested, but if you were, you could do a whole lot worse than Tanner Williams.”

“Is that so?” Valentina said lightly.

She wanted nothing more than to pin Melody to the wall and interrogate her. After all, Melody had grown up in Trinity Falls, and that meant she had known Tanner since they were all kids. But Valentina had to at least pretend to be an adult and not some lovesick teenager with a crush.

“He thinks things through,” Melody said thoughtfully. “He always has. And he hasn’t dated since his divorce, even though it was forever ago. He puts his little boy first. So if he likes you, it really means something.”

“Well, he doesn’t like me,” Valentina said, feeling a little down about it, but glad Melody had been honest with her. “We had a nice meeting today, and Zeke was with him. I kind of hit it off with Zeke is all.”

“Well, that might just be the way to his heart,” Melody said with a half-smile. “Who knows?”

“Here we go,” Alice said happily as she came into the kitchen, a cloud of pretty, emerald-green dresses in her arms. “I’ve got my sewing basket on the porch, so if anything needs any taking in or letting out, we’re all set.”

“And she brought so much food,” Natalie called from the hallway.

“Just some gingerbread and a little supper,” Alice said. “Dining room table okay for the dresses, dear?”

“Yes, thank you,” Natalie told her as she came in, holding a cardboard box with a slow cooker crock in it. “And if there’s corned beef and cabbage in here, I’m going to cry with joy.”

“Grab your tissues then,” Alice said, laughing.

“If you feed us too much, you’ll need to let out all the dresses,” Melody teased.

“You’ll be eating well at the wedding too,” Alice said briskly. “We want these dresses built with room for feasting.”

“I think I love everything about your wedding, Emma,” Valentina decided out loud, wrapping an arm around her new friend’s shoulders .

“If a good meal makes you feel that way, then you were made for this town,” Emma said, laughing. “Come on, everyone, let’s try on these dresses. I want to see all my princesses looking the part.”

Valentina tried to hide her smile at the thought that Emma had no idea how much they would look like princesses when they rode up on horseback. But that idea also made her nervous, since she still had to find time to learn how to ride.

The trouble was that the only two places to learn to ride in town were the Williams Estate, where Emma was the instructor, and Cassidy Farm. But Valentina had already told Natalie Cassidy that she could ride.

I’m not going to worry about it today, she told herself.

After all, she had made her way through Wharton and been hired by Sebastian Radcliffe. Surely she could do what every ten-year old child in summer camp did and sit on the back of a horse for a few minutes.

“Oh, wow,” Natalie sighed appreciatively, holding up her dress for everyone to see.

It was clear that Emma wasn’t one of those brides who wanted to outshine her bridesmaids. The beautiful emerald-green gown was nearly identical to the ones Valentina and the others would wear, with an embroidered bodice and a skirt that flowed down in what looked like miles of ballerina tulle.

Alice Cassidy smiled over the crew of girls as they all exclaimed over the dresses. Her chestnut brown hair with the streaks of gray was pulled back in a bun, and she wore a simple red dress with a pretty apron on top. The whole house was starting to smell heavenly from the crock she had brought.

Even though it was different in so many ways, something about the situation felt like home to Valentina, and she was momentarily frozen, soaking it in as she remembered family get-togethers with her parents and grandmother, neighbors stopping by with their favorite dishes, and everyone talking and laughing together.

Belatedly, she realized Alice was observing her with a furrow in her brow. She had been caught daydreaming twice in one evening.

“Did you really make these dresses yourself?” Valentina asked her. “They’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Alice said, beaming. “I loved every minute of it. My grandchildren mostly like store-bought clothing these days, so when I whip things up for them, they have to be simple. It was a pleasure to make something so fanciful for a change.”

“I can’t wait to try mine on,” Valentina told her.

A few minutes later, she was in a guest room up on the third floor of the house, looking at herself in the mirror.

The pretty bodice fit perfectly, and she couldn’t help spinning around and watching the tulle lift and swirl with her, feeling a bit like a little girl playing dress-up.

When she stopped spinning and spotted the smile on her face, she couldn’t help feeling that the whole dress design had been made just for her.

Maybe one day Alice Cassidy could make my wedding gown…

That thought had come unbidden, and she shook her head at her own nonsense before putting her regular clothes back on and heading into the hallway.

She was the first bridesmaid down the stairs. But before she could make it into the dining room to thank Alice and let her know it was a perfect fit, she bumped into Emma in the center hall. She had a gingerbread man in one hand, and she grabbed Valentina by the elbow with the other.

“What’s up?” Valentina whispered, as Emma dragged her into the front parlor, where Shane and Natalie’s Christmas tree twinkled with pretty lights that illuminated the kids’ many homemade ornaments.

“I know I kind of put you on the spot earlier about my cousin Tanner,” Emma said quietly. “I really did just mean to ask you about work, but I can’t stop thinking about you and him now.”

Me neither, Valentina thought to herself.

“I actually think you two could be perfect together,” Emma went on, keeping her voice low enough Valentina didn’t worry about them being overheard. “I’m not saying it to pressure you, and I get that he already has a kid and that means… well, it complicates things. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve obviously known him all my life and he’s a great guy—steady, kind, and fun. You could be good for each other.”

“Oh, wow,” Valentina said, feeling flustered. Suddenly, all she wanted was to admit her feelings to Emma.

But the truth was that it would be terrible to get tangled up over a guy when she was so close to achieving all her career goals. Her father had given up so much to give her this chance…

“It means the world to me that you think I have something to offer your cousin,” she said carefully. “But I’m so busy with work. I know you understand, since you’re engaged to Mr. Radcliffe.”

“Why don’t you ever call him Baz?” Emma demanded. “I know he’s asked you to.”

Valentina bit her lip and tried to come up with an answer.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted after a moment. “But I want to be respectful. I want us both to remember what our purpose is here. Just because we’re out in the fresh air, and he’s chopping wood and going on hikes, doesn’t mean I can get lazy when it comes to doing everything I can to safeguard his investments.”

“Oh, Valentina,” Emma said, her face falling. “Baz knows that. You’re the most loyal person in the world. But you’re also like family to us. You know that, right?”

Like family to us was a phrase Valentina had heard before in her life. Unfortunately, it hadn’t carried much weight in the long run. But she smiled and gave Emma a quick hug, knowing that her friend meant what she said.

“Thank you,” she told her. “I’ll think about it.”

“Think about Tanner, too,” Emma whispered in her ear as she hugged her close.

Valentina nodded, and she knew she would. But she also knew she wouldn’t let herself do anything more than that.

After all, she had worked her whole life to leave her mark on the world and make her parents’ sacrifices worthwhile. She couldn’t just let herself get stuck in the first little town where she found someone she liked .

“ Dinner, ” Natalie called out as she came down the stairs.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Emma said, letting go of Valentina. “Hey, you know Caroline and Winona couldn’t make it tonight. I’m seeing Winona tomorrow. But is there any chance you’d be able to bring Caroline her dress to try on? I wouldn’t ask, but I know your place is right across from the library.”

“Of course,” Valentina told her, happy to finally have Emma ask for something she could enthusiastically agree to. “I’ll go over to the library first thing tomorrow.”

And by then, all these silly thoughts will be out of my head for good.