The Reluctant Bride Read online

  The Reluctant Bride

  Lorraine Bartlett

  The Reluctant Bride

  by

  Lorraine Bartlett

  * * *

  Copyright © 2019 by Lorraine Bartlett. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  * * *

  ALSO BY LORRAINE BARTLETT

  The Victoria Square Mysteries

  A Crafty Killing

  The Walled Flower

  One Hot Murder

  Dead, Bath and Beyond (with Laurie Cass)

  Yule Be Dead (with Gayle Leeson)

  Murder, Ink (with Gayle Leeson)

  Recipes To Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook

  * * *

  Life On Victoria Square (A companion series to the Victoria Square Mysteries)

  Carving Out A Path

  A Basket Full of Bargains

  The Broken Teacup

  It’s Tutu Much

  The Reluctant Bride

  * * *

  The Lotus Bay Mysteries

  Panty Raid (A Tori Cannon-Kathy Grant mini mystery)

  With Baited Breath

  Christmas At Swans Nest

  A Reel Catch

  * * *

  Blythe Cove Manor

  A Dream Weekend

  A Final Gift

  An Unexpected Visitor

  Grape Expectations

  * * *

  Tales of Telenia (adventure-fantasy)

  THRESHOLD

  JOURNEY

  TREACHERY

  * * *

  Short Stories

  Love & Murder: A Bargain-Priced Collection of Short Stories

  Happy Holidays? (A Collection of Christmas Stories)

  An Unconditional Love

  Love Heals

  Blue Christmas

  Prisoner of Love

  We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert

  Created with Vellum

  Acknowledgments

  My thanks to go my team of proofreaders: Amy Connolly, Linda Kuzminczuk, and Pam Priest.

  * * *

  Cover by Wicked Smart Designs

  Contents

  Visit Victoria Square

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Don’t Miss …

  About the Author

  Also by Lorraine Bartlett

  Visit Victoria Square

  You know about Victoria Square thanks to the Victoria Square Mysteries. Artisans Alley takes center stage in those books, but the merchants—and their businesses—are just as interesting. They all have stories to tell … and that’s what the Life on Victoria Square companion series is all about.

  So settle back and really get to know the merchants. Learn about their lives, and how life on Victoria Square affects them. It might just make a profound impression on you, too!

  * * *

  SPOILER ALERT: These stories take place after the 4th novel in the series, Dead, Bath and Beyond.

  Description

  The Reluctant Bride

  Don Parsons and Nick Ferrell bought a ramshackle Victorian spinster and plan to transform her into a Painted Lady. Weddings and other parties are a part of their business plan. They’ll be hosting a small ceremony and reception for bride-to-be Lauren Washborne … except she doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic about her upcoming nuptials. Don wants to know why—but Nick is against the idea. Will Lauren have a chance to live happily ever after, or will her suitor be left at the altar?

  Chapter 1

  Nick Farrall never envisioned getting married. When he was a young man, it just wasn’t in the cards. Okay, when he was a young man it wasn’t legal to get married, but that was beside the point. He just never met the right one … until he met Don Parsons. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was friendship at first meeting. When speaking about marriage, Nick’s aunt had always insisted that friendship was the most important part of any relationship. With friendship first, a couple could overcome whatever came their way.

  Nick’s own wedding had been a small affair. Just a few invited friends gathered at Boston City Hall to witness the event. He hadn’t given weddings much of a thought until he and Don bought the old Webster Mansion on Victoria Square in the Western New York village of McKinlay Mill. Now renamed Sassy Sally’s, after his late aunt, Nick was much more interested in weddings. In fact, his was now a commercial interest. Weddings, engagement parties, showers, and other life-affirming events were to be a big part of Sassy Sally’s guest experience.

  The ink on the deed had barely dried when Marsha Washborne contacted him.

  “Nick, darling! Is it true you and dear Don are opening a bed and breakfast in that vintage home on Victoria Square?”

  “It certainly is.”

  “When—when?”

  “The first week in November.”

  “That’s absolutely perfect! My darling girl, Lauren, just got engaged and we’ve been looking for the perfect venue. She’s not at all a flashy sort of girl, as you may well remember, and an intimate setting for a few friends and family would be perfect for the wedding. Can we come and look at the house?”

  “It’s got a long way to go before it’ll be finished, but sure—come on over and I’ll be glad to give you the fifty-cent tour.” They made arrangements for Marsha and Lauren to visit later that week. As Nick hung up the phone, he wondered why Marsha insisted on calling her thirty-something daughter a girl.

  * * *

  Don Parsons glanced at his watch and then around him in Sassy Sally’s front parlor. No doubt about it, the place was a wreck. He glanced at his partner in business and in life. “Are you sure you want a potential client to see the place as is?”

  “I did warn her,” Nick said.

  The sound of reciprocating saws and hammering sounded from above. Was there any way they could have a coherent conversation with potential customers with all that racket going on?

  A charcoal gray Lexus pulled up beside one of the workmen’s pickups parked outside and a silver-haired woman dressed in clothes too warm for late summer exited from the driver’s side of the car while her much younger, but dowdy companion exited the passenger side. The younger woman might have looked pretty if her posture was better and she did something with her hair. A little makeup wouldn’t have hurt, either.

  “Put on your best smile, because we’ve got to make our first sale today,” Nick told Don.

  Don merely shrugged while Nick opened the front door to greet their guests on the still-rickety front porch. Yeah—the place still needed a lot of work. Don stepped forward to join the group.

  “And of course, the house will be painted and decorated with loads of autumn charm come opening day,” Nick was saying. “Oh, and this is my husband, Don.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Lauren, the bride-to-be, said and gave him a shy wave.

  “Come on inside and I’ll give you a tour of what will be the public rooms,” Nick said.

  “What about the boudoir?” Marsha asked coyly. “Lauren and Jay simply must have the best on their wedding night.”

  “Mother,” Lauren insisted, a blush bringing some much-needed color to her cheeks.

  “The workmen are up there right now. I’m afraid it’s a construction site, so we can’t let yo
u up there, but we’ve had drawings made to give you an idea of what you can expect come opening day,” Don assured her.

  Nick didn’t have a degree in interior design, but he was a gifted artist and his renderings had been praised by those who’d seen them. Of course, at that time, they’d barely bought a stick of furniture and everything he’d drawn was a figment of Nick’s imagination, but it was time to sell Sassy Sally’s to their first customer and Don was up for the job.

  Throughout the makeshift tour, Marsha was totally enthralled with cries of “it’ll be perfect” and “I can see everything finished in my mind’s eye.” Lauren, however, looked doubtful and Don couldn’t really blame her. But if nothing else, the public areas would be finished by their open date, even if some of the bedrooms and baths weren’t.

  “So what do you think, soon-to-be Mrs. Jay Martin?” Marsha asked her daughter.

  Lauren frowned. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to take Jay’s name.”

  “Why on earth not?” Marsha asked, sounding chagrined.

  “Because that wouldn’t be who I am,” Lauren protested. “I’ve always been a Washborne.”

  “Well, I didn’t flinch at taking your father’s name.”

  “And I like to think I’d be honoring him by keeping it,” Lauren insisted.

  Marsha scowled. “You didn’t answer my question. What do you think about having the wedding here at Sassy Sally’s?”

  Lauren shrugged. “I guess it’s okay.”

  Don’t sound so enthusiastic, Don thought gloomily and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

  “We’ll be doing lots of weddings, engagement, and baby showers. Next summer, we’ll open our gazebo as a fabulous outdoor venue. We’re already working with a landscape architect to develop gardens. The roses are going in next week. It should be beautiful come June and July,” Nick promised.

  “Well, I’m getting married in November,” Lauren groused.

  “Her fiancé chose the date,” Marsha said confidentially. “Something about taxes or finances—whatever.”

  “From what I’ve read, those who marry in November are the happiest couples,” Nick reported.

  “They are?” Don asked.

  “Yeah. Somebody did a study on it,” Nick said confidently.

  Don scrutinized the bride to be. By the looks of it, she seemed pretty miserable about the whole idea of marriage.

  He remembered a conversation he’d had with Nick’s Aunt Sally when the plan to start a B&B had begun to form and their income projections had included weddings. She’d had loads to say on the subject. “November is a bad month for weddings—especially in the east,” she’d warned, sounding ominous despite her charming southern drawl. She’d cited the possibility of inclement weather but didn’t seem to have much else to say on the subject.

  The weather was a consideration, and since Don had never lived in Western New York before, he wasn’t sure what to expect come the fall—apart from colorful foliage and lots of apples. McKinlay Mill was located in the core of apple country, surrounded by thousands and thousands of acres of orchards. Other than that, Don still had a lot to learn about the area around Nick’s hometown.

  Marsha looked at her daughter with exasperation. “We’ve just about run out of places to pick from. It’s going to be Sassy Sally’s or the courthouse at this rate.”

  “The Rochester City Hall Atrium is beautiful,” Nick said. “You could be married there and have your reception somewhere else.”

  Don wanted to poke him for not adding, “preferably here.” But then Nick had known the mother of the bride for most of his life and Don knew Nick wasn’t about to push her.

  “What are your ideas for the reception?” Nick asked.

  It was Marsha who answered. “Jay is an important man. While the affair might be small, it must be dignified. Not only is he an exceptionally successful businessman and quite the catch, but he’s as handsome as all get out.”

  Lauren’s attention seemed focused on her brown sensible flats. She said nothing.

  “So, what do you think, Lauren?” Don asked.

  Lauren shrugged. “Okay. We can have the ceremony and reception here. We’re only inviting thirty people. Can you accommodate that many?”

  “Not a problem,” Don said. It was time to nail down this reluctant bride. “We should schedule a time to sit down and iron out all the details.”

  “Fabulous!” Marsha gushed. “This is so exciting! I can’t believe it; my baby girl is finally getting married. It’ll be the happiest day of my life.”

  Unfortunately, Marsha didn’t live to see it.

  Chapter 2

  It was a week later when Nick Farrell got the call from Lauren.

  “It was sudden for me and peaceful for her,” she said and gave a weary sigh. “Poor mother had a weak heart and died in her sleep.”

  “What happened?” Nick asked anxiously.

  “I didn’t hear from her for a day or two and she didn’t answer my calls. I found her just yesterday. The funeral is on Friday. Can you come?”

  “Of course, Don and I will be there.”

  “We don’t have much other family,” Lauren said sadly. “Just a couple of mother’s cousins in Pennsylvania. I don’t even know if they’ll be arriving for the service—they wanted to think it over before committing. A lot of mother’s friends have passed on as well.”

  “I’m so sorry. Your mother was such a good friend to my Aunt Sally. This is devastating for me, as well. I can’t imagine how bad it is for you.”

  “Yeah,” Lauren said, but somehow there didn’t seem to be all that much emotion behind the word. Instead, she sounded beaten.

  Lauren gave Nick the time and location of the service and again he promised that he and Don would show up.

  And they did.

  Just the two of them … and Lauren.

  “Where’s your fiancé, Jay?” Don asked, looking around the empty visitation room, where a blue porcelain urn stood on a table, along with poster boards filled with pictures of Marsha—from the cradle until…well, not the grave, but just the week before she’d died. Ironically enough, the most recent shot was a selfie she had taken at Sassy Sally’s.

  “He had to work.”

  “Did he go on a business trip out of town?” Nick asked.

  Lauren shook her head sadly. “No, but he said he couldn’t get away.”

  “Not even for a couple of hours?” Don asked skeptically.

  Again Lauren shook her head.

  The funeral director approached and looked at his watch. “Do you think there will be any others attending?”

  Lauren shook her head sadly.

  “I can do an abbreviated service—or none at all, if that’s what you wish.”

  “No, my mother deserves a better send off.”

  “We’d like to hear the entire service,” Nick said and put a brotherly arm around Lauren’s shoulder. She looked up and gave him a weak smile of thanks.

  The three mourners sat in the chairs in front of the urn and the funeral director began to speak. “Dear friends and family of Marsha Washborne. We’re gathered here to celebrate a life well lived….”

  * * *

  More than a month passed after Marsha’s funeral, and the work at Sassy Sally’s continued on schedule. There was a hiccup when the fledgling B&B’s insurance provider was found dead in one of the finished guest bathrooms. He’d promised to find the guys a discounted luxury yacht if he could stay at the inn for a few days. After his death, work on the inn continued for another few weeks. And thanks to Nick’s and Don’s friend, Katie Bonner—who not only ran the Square’s anchor, Artisans Alley, but was the head of the Merchants Association—the man’s killer had been tossed in jail. Unfortunately, that person was also responsible for the majority of work going on at Sassy Sally’s and the B&B’s opening was suddenly in limbo.

  “I don’t know about you, but I can barely hammer a nail to hang a picture,” Don said.

  “It’s not my forte
, either,” Nick agreed.

  And once again, Katie came up with a partial answer. “Last year, I met a man who wasn’t physically able to work on his home. I suggested he contact the local high school’s industrial arts teacher. The students helped him get his house in shape. They can’t do restoration work, but they might be able to help with some of the minor jobs you need to get done.”

  And they did. But it was another full month before Don was able to nail down a contractor who could finish the job. “We can still pull Lauren’s wedding off. We’ve got the honeymoon suite completed along with the parlor and dining room. We can suspend work for a couple of days and hold off our grand opening until after Christmas since we haven’t yet booked anyone else. How’re plans with Lauren coming along?”

  “She hasn’t been super attentive when it comes to answering my calls,” Nick admitted.

  “Why don’t you give her a call now?”

  Nick shrugged and picked up his cell phone, tapping Lauren’s name on his contact list. He turned on the speaker so Don could listen in.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Lauren, it’s Nick Farrell. I haven’t heard from you in a couple of weeks and we need to finalize the details for your wedding next week.”

  “Oh yeah. I guess I forgot about it.”

  “You forgot your own wedding?”

  “Well, I’ve been busy.”

  “Is there any chance we can get together in the next day or so to tie up all the loose ends?”

  “Um, okay. I can come to see you tomorrow night after work. Would that be all right?”