No Place Like You Read online

  “Thanks,” Faith called from behind the screen. Leah left Mina and Lou to do whatever Faith might need them to and headed for the front door, expecting it to be Ivy—her fellow bridesmaid—who still hadn’t arrived for this bit of female bonding. But instead of Ivy, Stella stood on the doorstep, her arms full of a giant bakery box in her trademark pink and white stripes. Behind her stood Anna Leighson, who ran one of the spas on the island.

  “Hi,” Stella said brightly. She lifted the bakery box. “I’ve got a delivery.”

  “Was Faith expecting you?” Leah asked. Faith hadn’t said anything about more food arriving. After all, Lou had brought a mountain of food, and Faith had drinks covered. They had very nice French Champagne along with equally fancy sodas and sparkling water for Mina, who didn’t drink, and canapés and fruit platters and cookies enough for a whole squad of bridesmaids.

  Stella shook her head. “This is a surprise.”

  “A surprise?” Leah asked. “Organized by who?” She’d hung out with the Harpers long enough over the years to know that sometimes Blacklight fans came in the less-than-desirable variety. Every so often one of them decided to play a prank or send a parcel that was kind of creepy. The letters and parcels were almost always stopped by the security team before they got anywhere near the Harper house, but deliveries from people on-island had made it through a couple of times before. Like the time a hundred pizzas had been ordered for the house. Leo at the pizzeria hadn’t questioned it, and to be fair to him, Grey had been known to throw parties that would need a hundred pizzas. It wasn’t until he had driven all the way out to the Harper house to deliver them that everyone had figured out it was a prank. Faith had sent the pizzas down to the search-and-rescue team and the doctor at the clinic and the fire station and the police department, so they hadn’t gone to waste. And she’d paid Leo. But that didn’t mean she had forgotten. Neither had Leah. She lifted an eyebrow at Stella—who also knew the score.

  “He wanted it to be a surprise,” Stella said, looking defensive.

  “He? Caleb?” Leah asked. It would be just like Caleb to want to surprise Faith like this. He’d been banished to hang out with Will and Stefan down at Salt Devil for the afternoon with firm instructions not to return until summoned. Zach and Eli were supposed to join them. Presumably they’d do whatever the male equivalent of pre-wedding bonding was. Only with far less tulle and satin and intimidating dress designers. Probably watch baseball, shoot pool, and drink beer. Guys had it easy.

  Stella shook her head. “No, Zach.”

  Zach? Leah couldn’t help a stab of surprise. Zach was sending Faith goodies for her wedding-dress fitting? She wasn’t quite sure why she was so surprised. Except, somehow, it didn’t quite seem like him. Though, maybe she was being unfair. Since he’d been back on the island, he’d been on his best behavior when it came to his sisters. “You sure about that?” she asked.

  Stella nodded. “He came into the store himself. He was very particular about the order.” She looked over her shoulder at Anna, who nodded agreement.

  “Me too,” Anna said. “He came to the spa as well.”

  Now there was something she’d never pictured. Zach Harper in the spa? She pictured him wearing only a towel … then lying naked on a massage table, all oiled up and gleaming. Then she wrenched her thoughts back to the present, trying not to blush. Okay. Zach had sent goodies. Who was she to argue? He was trying to do something nice for Faith and it would be nice if the two of them could get back to the kind of relationship they’d had before it had all gone wrong when Grey had gotten sick.

  She stepped back out of the way. “Come on in,” she said and gestured down the hallway. “Everyone’s in the family room.” Stella had been to the house before, but she couldn’t remember if Anna had. “Down the hall then right then first door on the left.

  Stella nodded. “I know the way. Here, you take this box.” She held it out to Leah. “I’ve got a couple more in the car.”

  “I guess overcatering runs in the family,” Leah said, accepting the box. She resisted the temptation to open it and see what Zach had sent. It was Faith’s surprise, not hers.

  “I tried to tell him he was ordering too much,” Stella said. “But I couldn’t talk him out of it.” She turned and headed back outside.

  Leah nodded at Anna. “Come on, let’s go. What’s Zach got you doing?”

  Anna patted the big bag on her shoulder—some sort of complicated-looking black metal case that Leah would’ve guessed held some sort of music equipment, except that as far as she knew, Anna didn’t have a musical bone in her body.

  “Manicures for whoever wants one,” Anna said. “I can do pedicures too.”

  “Cool,” Leah said. “Sounds fun. But you’ll probably have to hang around until Faith finishes with the whole dress bit.”

  Anna nodded. “Absolutely. Wedding dresses and nail polish definitely don’t mix.” They’d reached the back room. Faith hadn’t emerged from behind the screen. Leah remembered her own wedding-dress fittings. They’d seemed to take forever. And her dress wasn’t anywhere near as elaborate as the one Faith had chosen. They were going to be here a while.

  “Zach sent goodies,” she announced. “Anna is here to make us all gorgeous, and Stella is following with diabetes in a box.”

  Mina grinned at Anna. “Zach sent you?”

  Anna nodded. “Is there somewhere I can set up?”

  Lou stood, smiling at Anna. “Sure,” she said. “We’ll clear off one of the tables for you.”

  Mina jumped up and followed Lou over to one of the tables to clear the platters of food and pull up a couple of chairs. By the time everything was organized. Stella had ferried her other two bakery boxes into the room as well and started laying out platters of exquisitely decorated cupcakes and other goodies. She was almost done when Ivy came wandering down the hall as well.

  “Sorry I’m late. Got held up with a client.” She surveyed the room, taking in Stella and Anna, and then tilted her head at Leah. “Looks like quite the party.” She straightened, her purple-streaked black bob falling neatly back into place. The streaks matched the color of the tiny aliens dotted over the fabric of her sundress.

  “Courtesy of Zach,” Leah said. “Apparently he thought we needed the full girly bonding experience.”

  “Well, I’m not going to argue with him. This week has been crazy. Some girl time sounds perfect to me,” Ivy said. She flopped down onto one of the armchairs and started unlacing her Doc Martens. Then she looked around. “Faith? Where are you?”

  “Behind the screen.” Faith’s voice drifted out. “Being tortured into underwear that I swear contravenes the Geneva convention.”

  Ivy snorted. “You’re the one who wanted the full-disaster wedding. No complaining if your uber-frock needs scaffolding.”

  “I do not need scaffolding,” Faith said indignantly. “And if I’m only going to do this marriage thing once, then I’m doing it right.”

  Ivy shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.” She pulled off her boots and then sat back into the armchair, sticking her legs out and wriggling her toes happily.

  “You need a hand, honey?” Lou asked, pausing from her examination of Stella’s platters to twist her head toward the screen. Stella, Leah thought, looked vaguely nervous at the scrutiny. Rightly so. Lou was one of the best bakers on the island.

  “No, Mom,” Faith said. “I think we’ve got it under control.” She sounded kind of breathless. More sounds of rustling came from behind the screen, followed by a muffled “Ow!”

  By the time the cupcakes were set out and Anna had set up rows of polishes and hand bowls and clippers and all the things that went into a manicure, Faith still hadn’t emerged.

  “Are you being sewn into that dress inch by inch?” Leah called, good-naturedly. Stella’s cupcakes, topped with little fondant decorations of hearts and tennis balls and guitars and tiny brides and grooms, looked delicious. But she could hardly eat one before Faith had seen them.


  Instead she topped up her champagne.

  “Just a few more minutes,” came the serene voice of Elise Ng, the dress designer. There was more rustling. Leah remembered the dress as being spectacular, but from the amount of rustling going on, it sounded like it should be adorning a Disney princess, not Faith.

  “There,” Elise said, sounding approving. “You can go out and show off now.”

  “Finally,” Ivy called and everyone laughed. But the laughter turned into “oohs” and “aahs” as Faith walked out from behind the screen.

  “Oh, honey, you look beautiful.” Lou pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and started dabbing at her eyes.

  “Mom!” Faith said. “Don’t cry, you’ll make me cry.” She smiled at Lou, but the expression was a little wobbly. But tears or no tears, Lou was right. In yards of creamy white silk, set off by subtle hints of gold embroidery, Faith looked like a goddess.

  “No tears,” Elise said, from where she was smoothing the short train at the back of the dress. “Tears spoil silk.” She straightened and studied Faith, dark eyes narrowed as though looking for any imperfections in her creation. Apparently there were none, because she smiled and faded back behind the screen.

  “I’m allowed to cry,” Lou said. “I cried when I saw Mina in her dress. And Leah. And I’m not going to stop now.”

  Leah exchanged a look with Mina, who simply tilted her glass of soda at her. Then Mina turned back to her sister and widened the smile on her face. Leah did the same. Faith looked beautiful and Leah was happy for her—over the moon for her—but with her standing there looking so happy it was hard not to think about her own wedding. And the aftermath. The sting of it was unexpected. And for Mina, even though she now had Will, it had to be even worse. Weddings. Tough sometimes. And, maybe, just maybe, she might contemplate doing it all over again. But it would take one hell of a guy to convince her.

  “Who wants a cupcake?” she said brightly, then downed half her glass of champagne.

  Faith turned to look at Stella’s handiwork. “Oh.” Her expression went even wobblier. “Oh, Stella, they’re so adorable. Look at the little tennis balls. Zach did this?”

  “He wanted them to have things to do with you and Caleb,” Stella said, nodding. “He had a list.”

  “A list?” Faith bit her lip. “He made a list?” She looked at Lou. “I should have invited him.”

  “He’s fine, hanging out with the guys,” Leah said, then kicked herself as Mina lifted an eyebrow at her. Luckily Lou was too preoccupied with Faith to notice. Zach hadn’t said he’d told Lou. Besides Mina, Ivy shook her head—Leah had told her about Zach last night—but didn’t say anything.

  “I want to show him my dress.”

  “We could Skype him. Or FaceTime him,” Ivy offered. “What kind of phone does he have?”

  Faith lost her wobbly look, a smile lighting her face. “Great idea!”

  “He’s with Caleb,” Mina said. “Do you want Caleb to see the dress?”

  Faith turned to Leah. “You call him. Tell him to leave the guys for a bit and then we’ll show him.”

  This time Lou turned and give Leah a look. Damn. Busted again.

  She went to grab her phone off the counter and called Zach as instructed. He picked up and she explained what was happening. He looked kind of surprised but pleased that Faith wanted to show him the dress, and Leah was treated to a lightning-fast view of the inside of Salt Devil as Zach walked off the deck where the guys were sitting and into the depths of the bar.

  “All clear,” he said. “No groom in sight.”

  He meant Caleb. She knew that. But she couldn’t help thinking it was also a reminder. Zach wasn’t hers. Not for long, at least. “Good,” she said and handed the phone to Faith.

  * * *

  “This is good,” Zach said when he and Leah were settled on the patio behind the guesthouse, watching the sun starting to set over the ocean. The big house had a view of part of the patio so up until now, they’d avoided sitting out. But now that Faith and Mina—courtesy of a slightly weird conversation he’d had with Mina a few days ago—knew about him and Leah there was no need to stay inside.

  Leah smiled at him. “Yes, it is. And sorry I wasn’t very hungry. I ate too many of Stella’s cupcakes.” Her smile widened. “That was very nice of you, by the way, sending those. And Anna.” She lifted her leg and waggled her foot at him. “Don’t my toes look nice?”

  “Your toes always look nice,” he said. Though he had to admit the deep red color on her toes was hot. Especially displayed on the end of her long tanned legs clad in nothing but cut-offs. “And it was nothing.”

  “It wasn’t nothing, it was thoughtful.” Leah frowned at him. “Faith was really happy.”

  “I know, we FaceTimed, remember?” He wondered exactly how much champagne the girls had drunk over the afternoon. Leah didn’t seem tipsy, but she was definitely … relaxed.

  “Of course I do.” She rolled her eyes at him. “But I wanted to make sure you knew.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “I guess the next big get-together will be for you.”

  “Why?”

  “Hello? Fourth of July in a couple of weeks, it’s your birthday.”

  “Oh. That.” She hitched a shoulder, turned her gaze back out to sea.

  “Not ‘Oh, that.’ It’s your birthday.”

  She looked back at him, looking faintly surprised, as though she didn’t quite know why he was mentioning it. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not like I’m turning thirty. Not yet.”

  “Still, it’s your birthday. Don’t you want a party?” Leah and Faith had always loved their birthdays when they’d been teens. There’d been plenty of parties. And excitement about presents. And endless teen-girl talk about what to wear and who to invite. Birthdays had definitely been big. And Sal and Caterina had loved throwing parties for their kids. In the Santelli household, birthdays were definitely not something to be shrugged off. So what had happened? Had Joey Nelson somehow destroyed Leah’s love of birthdays? Or was this a weird post-divorce thing? Screw that shit if it was. Leah deserved to be spoiled a little. Maybe he should ask Faith what was going on.

  “I’ll have a family lunch. It’s Fourth of July. Everyone’s busy with tourists that weekend and it’s too much trouble to organize something. Plus there’s pre-CloudFest craziness and the wedding as well this year. I only do parties for the big numbers.”

  “So, what, you haven’t had a party since your twenty-first birthday?” That was just sad.

  “Not a big one, no. Get-togethers with friends a few times. No big deal.”

  “And what if I want to spoil you?” he said.

  “You can take me to watch the fireworks down at the harbor.”

  “I have a better idea,” he said. “How about we take advantage of the fact that everyone else will be down there, and you come here and let me make you dinner. We could have a picnic. I’m sure Mina will be working at search and rescue and Faith and Caleb will go down to the harbor. We can have the place to ourselves. We could surf maybe—go ’round to Shane’s maybe—then come back here for dinner.”

  “Will there be cake?”

  “As much as you like.”

  “Surf and cake and you,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s a date.”

  * * *

  “You want to throw Leah a surprise party?” Faith stared at Zach like he’d announced he just wanted to fly to the moon.

  “Yes,” he said. “I do.” He’d been thinking about it all weekend. Couldn’t quite shake the idea that something was off about Leah’s lack of enthusiasm for her birthday. He’d even climbed out of bed early on a Monday morning to come talk to Faith at the Harper Inc. offices to talk about it.

  Faith got up, came around her desk, and closed the office door. Leaned against it, still looking confused. “Leah said that you and she were just a short-term thing.”

  The bluntness of it stung a little. Faith didn’t sound mad about it, just matter of fact. Like it was obv
ious that he could never be a long-term prospect. He squared his shoulders. “Don’t see how that’s got anything to do with throwing her a birthday party.”

  Faith came back to her desk and sat. “Throwing someone a party is a very boyfriend kind of thing to do.”

  “Leah and I are friends. We’ve known each other a long time.”

  Faith leaned back in her chair. “Does she even want a party?”

  “She deserves one,” Zach said. “I asked her what she was doing for her birthday and she kind of shrugged it off. Like she thought it wasn’t a big deal. She used to love her birthday. What gives?”

  For a moment he thought Faith wasn’t going to answer, but then she leaned forward again. She reached for a pen, twirled it between her fingers. “She’s been quieter the last couple of years, I’ll admit.”

  “Since her divorce?”

  “Since Joey left, yes.”

  “And when exactly did he leave?”

  Faith shook her head. “I don’t remember the exact date … late June though.

  “So just before her birthday?” Jesus. From what he’d heard, the divorce had been a mutual thing but asking for a divorce just before your wife’s birthday seemed stone cold.

  “Yes.” Faith pulled a face. “Joey never did have great timing.”

  “That’s enough to take the shine off, I’d say,” Zach said. His hand clenched briefly, picturing Joey Fucking Nelson. He shook out his fingers. It was doubtful that him punching Leah’s ex was going to improve her views on her birthday. He needed to give her good memories, not more hassle.

  “Yes,” Faith said. “We had a girl’s lunch last year … but I don’t remember the year before.”

  “Which means maybe she did nothing.”

  Faith nodded, looking guilty.

  “So it’s time to change it up,” Zach said.

  “Do you want to have it at the house?”

  He shook his head. “I want it to be a surprise. She might notice if we have caterers or whatever arriving at the house.”

  “Caterers? How big is this party going to be?”