double-checked, and the lease she signed doesn’t allow pets other than cats, birds, or fish.”
“Too bad. He’s so cute.”
“Yep. But he needs a family with kids who’ll play with him every day. I might get a cat, just for the companionship. They sleep twenty hours a day, so it wouldn’t care that I’m hardly ever home.” She crouched down as the puppy came up the steps, and scooped him into her arms. He lavished her chin, jaw, and neck with kisses.
“I know it’s getting late, but I hoped you might want to talk.” Anne held open the door.
Wariness settled over Meredith. She trusted Anne implicitly, but how much should she tell her cousin about Major?
“Come in. I’ll put some coffee on.” Meredith deposited the puppy on the floor, washed her hands, and put on a pot of decaf dark roast. They talked about Anne’s wedding plans while the coffee brewed and Meredith fed the dog.
Finally, both cradling Meredith’s favorite large green mugs in their hands, they settled in the living room.
“So tell me what’s going on.”
“It was nothing. We were just talking.”
Anne frowned then seemed to understand. “No, we’ll get to that in a minute. I mean what’s this about your going out on a date for the first time in ten years and not telling me?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you. There’s been so much going on in my life the last week, I kind of lost track of what day it is.”
“You know I want all the details: who is he, where’d you meet him? Is he the ‘friend’ you went to the Savoy with Friday night?”
Meredith told Anne everything. She even pulled up Ward’s company Web site to show Anne his picture. Anne seemed duly impressed, but grew silent when they returned to the living room from the second bedroom/office.
“What about Major?” Anne asked.
“What about him?” Meredith picked at a loose thread in the arm of her sofa.
“You’ve been in love with Major for a very long time.”
Meredith got up and went back into the office for a pair of scissors to take care of that pesky thread.
“I didn’t really allow myself to recognize it until last year when we were all working on Cliff ’s wedding reception. I guess being in love myself made me finally recognize it in you.”
Meredith really didn’t want to delve into the whys and wherefores of her feelings for Major, but if anyone could understand falling in love with someone who didn’t return the feelings, it would be Anne. At least, Meredith hadn’t been in Anne’s position—having to cancel a wedding two days before it took place because the groom chose his career over her. But look how that had turned out for Anne in the long run.
“Yes.” Meredith’s voice came out wispy. She took a swig of coffee to try to clear away the nervous dryness. “Yes, I have been in love with him for a long time. At least, I thought I was.”
“Is that what I interrupted tonight?”
Meredith shook her head. “No. I almost made the mistake of telling him but chickened out at the last minute. Which was a good thing, because he told me that he’s happy that I’ve started to have a personal life, that I’ve met someone.”
“Hmm.” Anne’s mouth twisted to the side. “Looked to me like he was about to kiss you when I walked up. Do you think maybe he was just trying to hide his own feelings for you because you have started seeing someone else? That maybe he’s realized he could possibly lose you to someone else?”
“I doubt it. We’ve known each other for eight years. If he were interested in me, he’d have told me long before now.” Meredith stopped toying with the scissors and put them on the coffee table.
“Mere, I’ve known him a lot longer than you, and one thing I do know about Major is that he has a really hard time opening up and letting people in. There are things I still don’t know about his family and his upbringing.”
Meredith’s interest piqued. “What do you know?”
“Just that he was raised by a single mom, but that on a couple of occasions he was in a foster home. I think the only reason he told me that much is because he knew I’d lost my parents and had been raised by a foster family—even if they are blood relatives. I don’t even know if his mom is still alive.”
“She is. I heard Forbes ask about her several months ago.” Mentally, she made a note to ask her brother about Major’s family.
“So can you see why he might not feel like he can express his feelings to you? He got comfortable with the way things were—he knew you’d always be there, that because you gave your full attention to the job, it was like you were giving your full attention to him.”
“I think you’re reading too much into it.” Meredith put her head down on the arm of the sofa. “As far as I’m concerned, Major and I are friends and work colleagues and nothing more. I made a New Year’s resolution to get over this crush on him and move on.”
Anne sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. “If you think that’s the best course of action, I’ll support you wholeheartedly.”
Meredith pushed herself upright again. “Anne, I’m thirty-four years old—I’ll be thirty-five in four months. I want to get married. I’m tired of being alone. I’m afraid that if I don’t do something now, I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”
Anne smiled. “I know exactly how you feel. Of course, I was pushing thirty-six by the time I met George.”
“And you had already started trying to meet someone—you were letting Jenn and Forbes set you up on blind dates and introduce you to people.”
“Is that what you want—do you want them to start setting you up? Because I’m sure they’d be only too happy.” Anne’s expression of apprehension was so comical, Meredith had to laugh.
“I don’t know about the blind date thing. Especially when it comes to who Jenn might pick out for me. And Forbes is the
“I’m right there with you on that one.” Anne picked up her mug, looked into it, and set it down again. “I’ll keep on the lookout for you. Oh, George’s brother, Henry, will be coming to town in a few weeks for a short visit— to get fitted for his tux and meet the family—and it’s usually customary for the maid of honor and best man to spend some time getting to know each other. Plus, when we go out while he’s here, it’ll be nice to have a foursome so Henry doesn’t feel like a third wheel.”
“As long as it’s not the week of the HEARTS banquet, I’ll be more than happy to accommodate you.”
“No—not that week. I have a huge wedding Valentine’s Day. I think it’s the week after that.” Anne stood and stretched, then carried her coffee cup into the kitchen.
Meredith followed her. “When does George get back from Paris?”
“Not soon enough. He flies into New Orleans next Wednesday, and I’m driving down to meet him—I have a couple of vendors down there I’d like to talk to face-to-face for this Valentine’s wedding. We’ll spend a few hours down there and then drive back—should be back in time for church that evening.”
“That’ll make for a long day for you.”
“I know, but it’ll be worth it once George is with me.”
A pang of envy ripped through Meredith’s soul at the contentment in her cousin’s voice. Yes, coming clean with Anne had been the right thing to do—because now she had the person who specialized in Happy Endings on her side.
Chapter 15
“Come on, push it. Push it. Push it!”
