The Sparkling One

“Am I?”

Pathetically, she wanted him to be telling the truth. Right. Because she was exactly Zach’s type. Not.

“You can’t use sex to get what you want from me,” she told him.

“What can I use it for?”

She ignored him, grabbed her suitcase, and stalked out of the house.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he called after her.

“Go to hell.”

He laughed. “I had a good time, too, Katie.”

She fumed all the way to the car. When she was inside, she put the key in the ignition. The man made her insane.

She couldn’t wait to see him again.

Seed pearls multiplied in the night. At least that was Katie’s conclusion Tuesday morning when she dumped out bags of them onto the dining room table at the hacienda. Along with the seed pearls were tiny beads and stacks of lace appliques.

Four pairs of eyes turned accusingly from her to Mia. The eighteen-year-old shrugged.

“So the dress has a lot of lace. It’s gonna be beautiful.”

Grandma Tessa fingered the stack of lace, then glared at her granddaughter. “We’ll be beading for months. My fingers will fall off.”

Mia remained uncowed. “I’m your favorite. You love me. You want my dress to be beautiful.”

Grandma Tessa smiled. “You girls are all my favorite, but yes, I do want you to have the most beautiful dress ever. Who needs fingers, right?”

Mia laughed and hugged her. “I knew you’d understand.”

Francesca wasn’t so easily swayed. “How will we get the blood out?”

Katie grinned. Francesca had many wonderful qualities, but she couldn’t sew for spit, and whenever she sewed there were always drops of red scattered on the delicate fabric. It was amazing that she hadn’t bled to death when she’d taken a quilting class a couple of years ago. But then Francesca was a hobby junky. If there was a craft/cooking/decorating class within a fifty-mile radius, she had taken it.

“I can get it out. Don’t worry about it.”

Katie glanced at her watch and frowned. Brenna was late. Maybe traffic had been bad up from the city.

“Let’s get started,” Katie said. “I’ll show Brenna the design when she gets here.”

She opened the sketch pad, exposing the drawing she’d done of Mia’s dress.

“It’s beautiful,” Grammy M said. “So delicate. Just perfect for you, Mia.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Their mother fingered the stack of lace flowers. “I love how you’ve scattered the lace over the dress.”

Even Francesca had to admit that the gown was lovely, before grumbling about the amount of work they were all going to have to do.

Mia, knowing her family, ignored the teasing and discussed hairstyles and shoes instead.

Katie reached for the first lace applique. “It’s pretty simple,” she said. “Outline the flower in seed pearls. Fill in the petals with beads. I did one over the weekend. It took me about four hours.”

Four hours she’d spent not thinking about how complicated Zach was and how much she hated that she’d enjoyed their kiss.

Silence descended. Francesca blinked first. “For one flower? How many are there?”

“About sixty or seventy for the skirt, a hundred and fifty for the hem, twenty-five or so for the bodice.”

“Then we’d better get started,” Colleen said, reaching for several lengths of seed pearls and bags of beads.

Just then Brenna burst into the room. Katie turned to chastise her for being late, but the stark expression on her sister’s face stopped her before she could start.

Their mother moved toward her. “Brenna, honey, what’s wrong?”

Tears pooled in Brenna’s dark eyes, then trickled down her cheeks. “Jeff l-left me,” she managed as a sob caught at her throat. “This morning. H-he says he wants a d-divorce.”

7

By the time everyone stopped talking and Grammy M had prepared tea, Brenna’s sobs had settled into hiccups. The seven women huddled together in the living room, with Brenna sitting in the center of the green sofa by the window, flanked by her mother and Grandma Tessa. Katie sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Francesca next to her. They each held one of their sister’s hands. Mia and Grammy M hovered.

Katie felt sick to her stomach. How could this have happened? Brenna and Jeff were always so happy.

“Tell us what’s going on,” their mother said firmly. “Start at the beginning.”

“I don’t know when it started,” Brenna said, then pulled her hands free and clutched at the crumpled tissues on her lap. “I thought everything was great. I didn’t know-”

She squeezed her eyes shut, but that didn’t stop a tear from trickling out of each corner. She brushed them away impatiently.

She swallowed. “Jeff’s been working long hours, but he always does. His practice is new and he has to make rounds at the hospital. I never suspected…”

Katie gasped. No! She refused to believe it. Bad enough for Jeff to want a divorce.

“Another woman?” she asked in disbelief.

Brenna nodded and dropped her chin to her chest. “He says he’s loved her for a l-long time.”

Katie turned toward Francesca, who looked as heart-sick as she felt. Tears filled Francesca’s eyes.

“This can’t be happening,” Francesca whispered.

“It is,” Brenna said with a sob. “It hurts too much not to be real.”

Katie pressed a hand to her stomach. “Who is she?”

Brenna glanced at her, then shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. He didn’t say much, except…” Her voice thickened. “She’s a lot younger. Like twenty.”

Brenna sprang to her feet and slipped out from between the sofa and coffee table. She paced the length of the room, still twisting the tissues in her hands.

“I can’t believe it. I just can’t. I gave up everything for him. I loved the winery. I’m the only one of the four of us who gave a damn about it, and I walked away because of him. I worked hard, I supported him and cared about him, and he left me.”

Grandma Tessa half rose to her feet, but for once she didn’t chastise her granddaughter for her language. “Brenna, it wasn’t like that. You were getting married. Jeff was going into medical school. Supporting your husband the way you did is a sign of a loving wife.”

Brenna brushed away more tears and shook her head. “It’s the sign of a fool. I can’t believe I was such an idiot. I sacrificed my whole life for him and he walked out on me for a younger woman. I’m a twenty-seven-year-old cliche.”

She crumbled into a wing chair. The Grands and Mom headed to her side. Katie shared a glance with Francesca. Neither of them knew what to say. Katie had friends who had divorced, but that was different. Friends weren’t family. Friends’ husbands weren’t Jeff.

Francesca sucked in a breath. “We loved him like a brother,” she murmured. “We joked with him and confided in him. He betrayed us all.”

Katie nodded, but couldn’t speak. She felt as if she were going to throw up.

Grandma Tessa stroked Brenna’s hair. “I know it sounds like the end of the world, but it isn’t,” she murmured. “Married couples sometimes say horrible things to each other. Or do horrible things. Occasionally men stray. Time heals-we forgive.”

Brenna made a sound that was either a strangled sob or a very scary laugh. “Don’t get your hopes up, Grandma