Another round of exchanged glances, all of them leaving Sherilyn out in the cold.
"Emma Rae!" Sherilyn reached across the table and s.n.a.t.c.hed up Emma"s hand by the wrist. "What is going on?"
All three of the women replied at the same time. Knowingly, almost smugly. "After care."
"Huh?"
"After care," Emma repeated. "That"s what"s going on with Andy."
She looked at Fee, who nodded. Then to Pearl, who shrugged. Then back to Emma. "I don"t understand."
"Pearl taught me about it," she replied. "It really helped in bringing Jackson up to speed."
"Knowing and understanding is half the battle," Pearl disclosed.
"It"s apparently very common," Fee rea.s.sured her. "Although Peter has never been afflicted. I"m not sure why. Of course, there"s a lot I"m not sure of lately . . ."
"It"s because he"s a freak, Fiona," Emma giggled. "Peter fell immediately in love with you, and he never looked back. He"s a freak."
"Or maybe it"s because I"m just THAT awesome?" Fee suggested, and Pearl rolled her eyes.
"Wait! Just wait a minute," Sherilyn objected. "What is it? What"s after care?"
"It"s that cyclical thing all guys go through-" Emma began, but Fee interrupted her.
"Most guys."
"Okay. Most guys go through it," Emma conceded, "where they have a little buyer"s remorse."
"You mean about the house?"
"No."
"About this house," Fee accentuated, using both hands to outline Sherilyn, from top to bottom.
"Tell her, Pearl," Emma suggested, and Pearl straightened, taking on the aura of a professor stepping up to the front of a cla.s.sroom.
"It"s like this. He let you know he was attracted, and he proposed. You made all these plans, moved across the country, everything moved so fast, and now he has a couple of minutes to really think about what"s happened. He"s let you crack his sh.e.l.l."
"And men do not like their sh.e.l.ls cracked," Fee added, and Sherilyn almost wanted to laugh out loud at the sudden wideeyed, serious nature of her new friend.
"Right," Pearl continued. "He starts to realize that his soft underbelly is all exposed. He begins to think about everything that"s going to mean, how you"re going to start expecting things. a.s.suming things."
It started to sink in, and Sherilyn sighed as she leaned back into her chair. She felt pretty certain that she knew the feeling better than anyone else in that room. "Buyer"s remorse."
"Exactly."
"So it"s over."
"No!" Emma interrupted, and she took Sherilyn by the hand. The look she gave her took on an intimate quality that set Sherilyn"s pulse to racing. "It doesn"t have to be over. It"s a natural feeling for men. It"s just a phase. Every guy . . . Sorry, most guys . . . go through it. But it does not mean he"s going to walk away."
Fee grinned triumphantly.
"It"s very important how you handle it, though," Pearl told her. "You have to stand up straight and tall, and don"t let him know it matters to you either way."
"But," she said, and her eyes misted over with tears. She sniffed them back before continuing. "But it does matter."
"We know that, and you know that," Fee coached her with a tender caress to her shoulder. "But Andy doesn"t have to know that we know."
Emma gave her a rea.s.suring nod. "It"ll be okay. I promise. Deep breaths."
Fee leaned toward her, and arched one eyebrow over the top of her dark, square gla.s.ses. "Never let him see you sweat."
Easy for you to say, Sherilyn thought, wiping her moist palms on the linen napkin in her lap. The past began to encroach, suffocating her a bit, and she felt slightly dizzy.
"Em," she whispered. "What if it"s payback?"
"It"s not."
"Payback? For what?" Fee interrupted.
"Never mind," Emma said, and she shook Sherilyn"s shoulder. "Stay focused. Here and now, Sher. Just stay in the here and now."
"Hey!" Sherilyn exclaimed, turning toward Emma. She paused, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Any news on my dress?"
Emma grimaced, contorting her face into a cringe. "Yeah. About that."
"No."
"If you have a receipt, William can file a claim for reimburs.e.m.e.nt, but . . . I"m so sorry. They can"t locate it."
Sherilyn groaned and dropped her face into both hands. "Of course they can"t."
Andy walked the second floor hallway toward Room 210 with all the enthusiasm of a ten-year-old being sent to the princ.i.p.al"s office. He"d made a complete fool of himself earlier in the day, and he dreaded looking into Sherilyn"s eyes again now with no idea what to expect.
"Hi! Come on in. I"m just finishing my hair. It"s a gorgeous evening. Sit out on the balcony if you feel like enjoying it. I"ll be ready in just a couple of minutes."
Andy stood in the doorway and scratched his neck as Sherilyn flashed her gorgeous smile and disappeared around the corner.
"How was the traffic?" she called out to him. "Emma says rush hour lasts well past seven on this side of Atlanta."
"Uh, yeah," he replied as he walked in a little further and closed the door behind him. "It wasn"t too bad coming from Marietta." He slowly folded in half and sat on the edge of the queen-sized bed, fiddling with the cuff of his suit coat.
"Oh, good."
When he looked up, Andy nearly gasped. He didn"t think he"d ever seen Sherilyn look as stunning as she did just then. The captivating thing about her, the thing that set her apart from any other woman he"d ever known, was that she genuinely had no idea how beautiful she really was. Her hair glistened like spun silk with abundant, full layers falling well past her shoulders. Her astonishing, sparkling eyes drew him in as she smiled, carelessly poking a rhinestone earring into place as she did.
"You look dreamy," she told him. "I"ve always loved that charcoal suit."
She turned and faced her reflection in the mirror over the writing desk, smoothing the front of her simple tailored green dress, and turning a few of the emerald beads around the slightly scooped neckline. Andy enjoyed watching her, and he was almost sorry when she caught him doing it.
"What?" she asked innocently. "Do I look all right?"
"You look perfect," he replied.
Andy rose from the bed and took a couple of steps toward her. She turned around to face him, and he pulled her into his arms.
"About today," he said softly, pausing to breathe in the distant citrus fragrance of her hair.
"There"s no need to even talk about it," she said, squeezing his arm before she pulled away. "It just wasn"t the right house. We"ll find one. There"s no rush."
"Well, I thought-"
"Come on. Let"s head downstairs. Emma and Jackson will already be waiting."
They stepped onto the gla.s.s-enclosed elevator, and Sherilyn slipped her arm through his. "I just know you"re going to love them as much as I do."
Ten minutes into the smoked salmon bruschetta appetizers, Andy knew she"d been right. He and Sherilyn hadn"t had much opportunity to spend time with other couples, and Emma Rae and Jackson seemed like a perfect fit, both for each other and as the couple across the table from Andy and Sherilyn. They were personable and comfortable to be with, and Emma brought out a relaxed, familiar disposition in Sherilyn that he"d often imagined he might glimpse only in the company of the family she didn"t have. He figured Emma was as close to family as there was going to be, and he liked the effect.
After they"d chatted about Anton Morelli"s exquisite menu, Sherilyn decided on the pumpkin ravioli while Emma ordered grilled salmon with pear vinegar. Jackson and Andy both played it predictable with the prime rib.
"So can I a.s.sume that it"s official?" Jackson asked Sherilyn. "You"re starting to work on Monday morning?"
"Absolutely," she nodded. "I"m so grateful for the opportunity."
"We both are," Andy added.
"I can"t believe I get to work with my girl again, Jackson!" Emma exclaimed, leaning against him for a quick shoulder b.u.mp. "It"s going to be so much fun."
"Have you had the time to make any wedding plans?" Jackson asked, and Andy"s stomach clenched slightly.
"Oh, no," Sherilyn was quick to answer. "We"re toying with the idea of a small ceremony here at the hotel, but we haven"t chosen a date or set anything in stone."
Jackson chuckled. "You may be the calmest bride I"ve ever met."
Emma and Sherilyn exchanged flickering smiles.
"Well, there"s no big rush to the altar or anything," she replied. "Andy and I have known each other for only a few months. We"re taking our time."
We are?
Andy tried not to reveal his confusion, but when had he and Sherilyn ever taken their time to do anything? They"d met and become engaged in record time, and two weeks later they were each packing up their Chicago homes to move back to Atlanta so Andy could accept the job at the Sports Injury Center.
Taking our time!
"I know how I feel about Andy, and how he feels about me. I don"t need a wedding ceremony to prove what I already know."
Jackson shook his head before raising his gla.s.s. "Impressive. Here"s to solid relationships. May G.o.d bless the world with more of them."
The Top 5 Bridal Flowers 1. Roses Roses have long been the stuff that romance and fairy tales are made of; they are the quintessential wedding flower. Each color has a special meaning (for instance, red signifies pa.s.sion while white speaks of purity and innocence), and the specific types of roses are as varied as the color spectrum.
2. Calla Lilies An elegant, trumpet-shaped blossom symbolizes "magnificent beauty." The calla lily is most often seen in ivory hues; however, it is also grown in colors such as pink, purple, yellow, and orange.
3. Tulips Tulips represent lasting and consuming love, and they are grown in a variety of shades, from barely-there pastel to vibrant and bold. There are three main types of tulips, all of which can be used in bouquets, centerpieces, and/or eye-catching arrangements.
4. Peonies The peony is a strong, full blossom with a distinctive fragrance and bright, showy color. Primarily available from late spring until early summer, peonies can also be imported during autumn months.
5. Gardenias The sultry fragrance of the gardenia is its most well-known feature. The ivory petals are extremely fragile and bruise easily; however, the blossom is surrounded by large, waxy dark green leaves.
5.
When you said you didn"t need a wedding to tell you what you already know, I seriously think Andy threw up a little."
Sherilyn chuckled as she swiped a layer of gloss over her lips.
"You played that so cool, Sher. I"m proud of you."
"You don"t think it was sort of dishonest? I mean . . . What goes around sure does come back around, doesn"t it, Em?"
"Sherilyn, you and Andy are meant for each other. He"s not going anywhere."
She sighed as Emma gave her a loose embrace.
"How about Jackson?" Sherilyn said as she dabbed at the corner of her eye with a tissue. In a deep, preacher-on-thepulpit voice, she mimicked him. "May the Lord G.o.d above bless this planet with more rock-solid relationships like ours!"
Emma poked her elbow into Sherilyn"s side. "Cut it out. Jackson already has a notch on his husband belt. He"s got to work up to the next one at his own pace."
Sherilyn slipped the tube of gloss into her bag and leaned on the counter. "How long ago did his wife pa.s.s away?"
"It"s been a few years now. But he had a hard time thinking about moving on in the beginning."
"He must have loved her very much."
Emma nodded. "Whatever time he needs, that"s how much time I"ll give him."
Sherilyn tapped her heart with the palm of her hand. "I"m happy for you, Em."
They shared a quick embrace before making their way back to the table where a hurricane-force wind of a man stood over Jackson and Andy.
"Chef Morelli," Emma whispered as they moved closer.
"You"re kidding."