Christmas from the Heart Read online

  “Sorry. It’s just that I didn’t think you felt that way about him.”

  “I was wrong. I do.”

  “Livi, are you sure? I want you to be ecstatically happy.”

  “I am,” Livi assured her. “I’m really excited.” Yes, she was. Well, as excited as a woman who was marrying a man she’d known for years could be.

  “Because you don’t have to rush into anything, you know.”

  “Who’s rushing? It’s past time,” Livi said.

  “Okay, so give me deets. When did it happen and how?”

  “Just last night. He had the waitress stick the ring in my cheesecake.” Maybe not the most original idea in the world, but it had been cute.

  “Good thing you didn’t swallow it,” Terryl joked. “I always wonder with those kinds of proposals how it is the woman doesn’t crack a tooth or choke to death. So, have you set a date?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Well, let me know when you do. Just don’t set it in August. I’m pretty sure we’ll be busy having a kid then.”

  “I’ll make sure we work around the baby,” Livi promised.

  “Get married, then hurry up and get pregnant so our kids can play together,” Terryl said.

  Marriage, kids—it was all going to be so perfect.

  And she and Morris were already comfortable together, already like an old married couple, she thought later as he and her father watched the game and devoured salsa and chips while she surfed the internet. Yep, a nice homey life. Perfect.

  Of course, Morris stayed all day. They ate chili with her father, they watched a movie on TV in the evening. And, after her father went to bed, they went at it on the living room couch. She put a halt to things before they could start shedding clothes.

  “Not here in the living room with my dad right upstairs,” she scolded. “Anyway, I want to wait until our wedding night.”

  He heaved a sigh. “Jeez, Liv, I’ve been waiting for years.”

  “So a little longer won’t hurt.”

  He frowned. “Okay, then let’s set a date right now. What about next month?”

  “Morris, I can’t plan a wedding that fast.”

  He looked disappointed. “Oh. Okay, then, spring.”

  “That’s still too soon.”

  “Summer.”

  “David and Terryl are having a baby in the summer.”

  “They’re not taking all summer to have it,” Morris said. “How about June?”

  “The weather’s so iffy in June. Christmas might be nice,” she mused.

  “Christmas! That’s almost a year away. You’re killin’ me here, Liv.”

  “Okay, not Christmas. Anyway, we’d be too busy with Christmas from the Heart. How about September? Our weather’s always nice then. We can have fall colors.”

  “I don’t care if we have polka dots. I just want you to pick a date.”

  “Okay, September,” she said. “The weekend after Labor Day.”

  “Weekend after Labor Day,” he repeated, happy she’d made a decision. “I hate to wait that long but if that’s how long you need, I will. Man, this is gonna be great,” he said, and kissed her.

  Yes, it was, and she could hardly wait to start planning her wedding.

  She walked him to the door and sent him off with one last kiss, then went upstairs to bed. She snuggled under the covers and let her thoughts spin in whatever happy direction they chose. Location. Well, the wedding at church for sure. They could have the reception at the community hall. Or maybe they could have a destination wedding. Hawaii. What would Morris think of that? He wasn’t big into traveling, but who didn’t like Hawaii? No, they’d better stick to the hall so everyone on the guest list could afford to come. They could fix it up cute. And there was plenty of room there. Cake. They had to have a traditional cake. But maybe a cookie bar, too. What could her colors be? She preferred spring colors to fall, but oh well. White roses were available any time of year. And her bridesmaids didn’t have to dress in fall colors. They could wear any color they wanted. It was going to be a beautiful wedding. Beautiful...

  Her eyes drifted shut and the dream began. There she was in her wedding dress, ready to walk down the aisle. But she wasn’t in church. She was in some small wedding chapel in Vegas. Bettina had already gone down the aisle and so had Terryl, and Kate was making her way down.

  “All right,” said the wedding planner, who was dressed like a showgirl, complete with a fancy headdress. “It’s your turn now.”

  “I’m so happy,” Livi said, and sneezed.

  “I think you’re allergic to chrysanthemums,” said the wedding planner.

  “I hate mums,” she said. “Why am I carrying these?”

  “Because you’re having a fall wedding and these are what your groom wanted. Go on, now, get down there. We’ve got another wedding here in half an hour.”

  And so down she went. Morris stood at the altar waiting for her with Tom and Danny and Livi’s brother, David, standing next to him. And there was the minister, an Elvis impersonator. “Love me tender,” he crooned as she made her way toward her groom.

  “Look how pretty she is,” someone whispered. That was when Livi realized that all the guests weren’t people—they were giant frozen turkeys wearing dresses and black tuxedos. “Wouldn’t Guy love this?” one of them whispered.

  “Yeah,” his turkey friend whispered back. “But she was smart to dump him. I don’t care how many of us he bought. He just wanted to get in her pants.”

  On the other side of the aisle another turkey asked his companion, “Where are they spending their honeymoon?”

  “Paris Las Vegas, of course. She always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.”

  Livi whirled around and yelled, “You turkeys shut up!”

  She blinked awake with a start, then scowled. What was that about?

  Her subconscious, needling her, of course. Maybe her subconscious hadn’t noticed that she’d heard nothing from Guy Hightower since his ignoble departure from Pine River. Christmas past. She had her future to think about.

  * * *

  “Thanks, Jack,” Guy said as he slipped his Visa card into the leather sleeve sitting on the table next to him at Cutters. “Glad you could work this into your schedule.”

  The view and the food, not to mention the price, which proclaimed, “You’re worth spending money on,” made it the perfect restaurant for business lunches. Not that this lunch with the owner of a high-end clothing chain had anything to do with Hightower business. It was about the business of life, and it was one of many Guy had scheduled over the last couple of weeks.

  The other man smiled. “This is the most expensive free lunch I’ve had in a while.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll get you off Santa’s naughty list,” Guy teased. Maybe if he hosted enough of these lunches it would get him off, too.

  He left the restaurant and walked back to the Hightower building. The rest of his schedule bulged with phone conferences and meetings, the most difficult one looming at the end of the day. He kept everything compartmentalized, though, maintaining his focus.

  Finally his last spreadsheet was in order, his report finished. He left his office and walked down the hall to Mike’s office, where he and Bryan were waiting. They weren’t going to like this.

  * * *

  Tillie and her daughters, who had been informed of Joe Ford’s perfidy, were happy to offer Livi congratulations on her engagement when she popped in to purchase some of Tillie’s fancy chocolate strawberry tea.

  “Sometimes the best man is right there under your nose all along,” Tillie said.

  She was right.

  “He’s a good guy,” said Jean.

  Yes, he was.

  “I’m so excited for you,” Carol Klaussen said when Livi stopped by the bakery on her lunch break to check out cakes. “
When are you getting married?”

  “The weekend after Labor Day,” said Livi.

  “Oh, all those pretty fall colors.”

  “I was thinking maybe white and crimson for the cake.”

  “Or, since we’re surrounded by forest, what about a woodland design? I saw something online I’m dying to try.” Carol opened her laptop and brought up a page with a three-tiered cake with a hand-painted wooden design in the frosting. It came complete with a heart carved into the wood and inside the heart the couple’s initials. Purple wildflowers and petite birds finished the look.

  “I love it,” said Livi. Simple and sweet, like her love for Morris. “I think he’ll like it, too. I’ll bring him in later to check it out.”

  She ran by the grocery store on her way home from work to pick up a few items, and Suz, the checker, was quick to spot her ring. “Ooh, congratulations. Who’s the lucky man?”

  “Morris Bentley.”

  “Aww, Morris. He’s a sweetie.”

  “Yes, he is,” Livi agreed.

  At least her personal life was on track. “You have to find some more big donors,” Kate informed her as they went over the Christmas from the Heart books.

  “I know,” Livi said with a sigh. “I sure don’t move in the right circles.”

  “You know someone who does, and he owes you. Big-time.”

  Kate didn’t have to drop the name. Livi knew exactly who she was talking about. “Oh no. I don’t want to ever talk to that man again.” And he obviously didn’t want to talk to her, either.

  “I’m not saying you have to call his office and have a heart-to-heart. But you could shoot off a professional email. In fact, why don’t you send it to the CSR director. She can be the middle person. He’ll still get the request and the guilt trip, and we’ll get money.” When Livi hesitated, she added, “You know, it doesn’t matter how you feel about the man. You love this nonprofit and we need money.”

  “You’re right,” Livi said with a sigh. And that afternoon, before leaving the office, she drafted an email.

  From: Olivia Berg, Director, Christmas from the Heart

  Date: 1-8-20

  To: Ms. Marla Thompson, CSR Director, Hightower Enterprises

  Subject: A New Year and New Needs

  Dear Ms. Thompson,

  I’m sure everyone at Hightower Enterprises is looking forward to a banner year. We here at Christmas from the Heart are also looking forward to a good year, and hoping to help even more people than we have in the past. Even though your company wasn’t able to give last year I’m hoping we can count on you for this coming one.

  Best,

  Olivia Berg

  Christmas from the Heart

  Giving from the heart makes all the difference

  There. Done. At least Guy Hightower had met some of the people they helped. He now knew the work they were doing. He may have been a cowardly liar but he wasn’t completely heartless.

  Morris came over for dinner that night and convinced her father to play cards with them. Oh yes, Morris had so been the right choice. And later, when he kissed her—okay, so it wasn’t the kind of set-your-panties-on-fire kiss she’d experienced with a certain deceiver, but it was filled with love—she knew she’d made a wise decision to get practical and get engaged to Morris.

  Her dream that night confirmed it. There she was, in the church, floating down the aisle, surrounded by friends and family, not a turkey in the bunch. Kate and Terryl and Bettina, her bridesmaids, were all up at the altar, smiling fondly at her as she came forward on her father’s arm. She was in a gorgeous gown fit for a Disney Princess’s wedding and it swished and rustled as she walked. The church was filled with roses and gardenias and pink satin ribbons and candles. The music sounded like an angel choir singing. And there went Carol Klaussen, staggering under the weight of her wedding cake. It wasn’t the one she’d fallen in love with when she’d stopped in at the bakery. No, this was an edifice of a cake, and it was shaped to look like the Eiffel Tower.

  “He’s taking her there on their honeymoon,” whispered Tillie to Suz, the grocery checker. “She always wanted to see the world.”

  “She made the right decision,” Suz whispered back.

  “Yes, she did,” agreed Tillie’s daughter Jean, who was sitting on the other side of Tillie along with Annette.

  A voice called down from heaven, “I’m so happy for you, daughter. You’re going to have a wonderful life.”

  The heavens opened and light streamed down on her. She stopped and twirled around in delight, the skirt of her wedding gown billowing out around her. “Everything’s perfect.”

  Yes, it was, and she awoke with a smile on her face.

  “I had the best dream,” she greeted Bettina when she walked into the office the next day. “I was at my wedding and it was gorgeous.”

  “What did your gown look like?” Bettina asked.

  “Pearls and sequins and gobs of lace. And a long train, removable for dancing.”

  “Of course.”

  “And you all looked so beautiful in your dresses.”

  “Of course,” Bettina said again with a grin. “And what were the guys wearing?”

  “The guys?”

  “Morris and the groomsmen?”

  “Morris?” Livi blinked. “I...didn’t see him.”

  “He wasn’t at the altar?”

  Livi shook her head. Where had Morris been? Everyone else in town had been there, even the grocery checker.

  “Well, it was only a dream.”

  “With no groom. What would someone who interpreted dreams have to say about that?”

  “That in a wedding it’s all about the bride. You’re already planning it and you’re playing it out in your head, seeing how you like the flowers and the gown.”

  Of course. That was it. “You’re probably right,” Livi said.

  “Or else it means,” Bettina began with a worried expression.

  “I’m sure it means just what you said it did,” Livi said before Bettina could complete her thought, and settled at her computer to check her emails.

  Here was one from Marla Thompson at Hightower Enterprises. Livi read it, her brows pulling together.

  Thanks for getting in touch with me. I trust that you, also, had a great holiday. I hope we’ll be able to contribute to your worthy cause this year. The company is still doing some restructuring but I will certainly make our new CFO aware of your organization once we have one in place.

  New CFO? Where was the old one?

  Livi quickly emailed back.

  Guy Hightower is no longer your CFO?

  The reply came a couple of hours later.

  Mr. Hightower has moved on.

  Moved on? Moved where? What happened to him?

  As if it mattered. Who cared where Guy Hightower had gone? Not her. She was moving on, herself. Yes, she had definitely made the right decision when she said she’d marry Morris.

  Where had Guy Hightower gone?

  18

  Livi checked a number of wedding venues to see if she could find something that might feel a little more special than the community center. She did find a place in Icicle Falls. Primrose Haus was a charming old Victorian with beautiful grounds. It was a little pricey but it looked worth every penny.

  Except she didn’t have that many pennies to spend.

  “Don’t worry about the cost,” her father said. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do. I have some money put by.”

  “I don’t want to eat up your savings,” she protested.

  “I only have one daughter,” he replied. “I want this to be special for you, Snowflake.”

  “Hey, it’s your day. Do what you want,” Morris said when she showed him the pictures online.

  “You don’t sound all that enth
used,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I don’t get why the reception has to be so fancy.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with wanting something fancy,” she argued.

  “I guess.”

  “Honestly, Morris. You could show a little more enthusiasm.”

  “I am enthusiastic. About marrying you. The rest is just trimmings. Why does everything have to be such a big deal with you, Liv?”

  “Everything? This is our wedding, Morris. It should be a big deal.”

  “Okay, I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant why do we have to pretend we’re rich? Who do we need to impress?”

  “You think I’m trying to impress people?” Livi asked in a small voice. He made her sound so shallow when all she wanted was to have a pretty storybook wedding. Surely it wasn’t wrong to want one special moment in her life.

  “Are you? I’m trying to be practical here. The community center is easy for everyone to get to and plenty big.”

  That it was. A drafty old lodge that had been around for generations. Nothing special.

  “But do what you want,” Morris finished. Be shallow and superficial.

  Livi decided to be practical. Streamers and balloons and some flowers and the community center could be spruced up.

  It also wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. In fact, Elsa Olsen, who ran the Pine River Park Department, had offered it to her for free. “Anything for you, Livi, you know that,” she said.

  “It was the smartest decision,” she said the next day when she and Kate sat at their usual table in Tillie’s Teapot.

  “You should have the reception where you really want it,” Kate argued. “Don’t just settle.”

  “I’m not settling. I’m being practical.”

  “Are you sure you’re not settling...for everything?”

  Livi didn’t bother to pretend she didn’t know what her friend was talking about. They’d had this conversation more than once since she got engaged.

  “I’m happy, Kate. I really am.” In the end, it had turned out that Morris was the man for her.

  “Where are you going on your honeymoon?”

  “We haven’t decided yet.”