Page 40 of Christmas at the Ranch
Samantha said goodbye and hung up. The snow had stopped and the forest was perfectly still.
She stood up and walked to the closet. The ranch may look like the setting for a fairy tale, but instead it felt like a bad dream.
There was nothing she could do but get dressed and go down to dinner.
Chapter Ten
Samantha stopped typing and glanced up absently from her laptop. Sloane Parker is at a Christmas ball at the InterContinental Carlton Cannes Hotel. Sloane knows she looks stunning: she’s wearing a gown from Isabel Marant, the hot French designer. She isn’t interested in the appraising glances from men. She’s at the ball for one reason: to save her dear friend, the French agent Claire de Salle, from the clutches of a notorious arms dealer.
Sloane and Claire teamed up two years ago on the French Riviera. Together they infiltrated a terrorist cell that was operating out of a château in Cap Ferrat. It was only when the last terrorist had been deported, and Phineas and Yves Manon, the head of the French DGSE, called to congratulate them, that they relaxed.
Now Claire is in trouble and Sloane has to help her. The arms dealer, Baron Von Drusen, is making his way across the dance floor. Claire doesn’t pay any attention. Instead, she gazes dreamily at the man she is dancing with: the handsome race car driver Oliver Stanton. Men are Claire’s Achilles’ heel and she can’t help falling in love with every charismatic man she meets.
There is a Rolls-Royce and a driver downstairs waiting to whiskClaire to safety. Sloane notices the way Claire is looking at Oliver and knows Claire won’t leave without him. What Claire doesn’t know is that Sloane and Oliver were recently lovers.
Sloane whispers in Claire’s ear and Claire glances at the baron. Then Claire takes Oliver’s hand and leads him off the dance floor. Sloane turns and purposely bumps into the baron, spilling champagne over his tuxedo. By the time the baron has mopped it up and Sloane has prettily insisted on getting him another glass, Claire and Oliver are in the car on the way to the nearest helicopter pad.
Samantha closed the laptop and sighed. That was the wonderful thing about Sloane, she never let romance control her life. Men came and went, but her work and her female friendships lasted forever. Samantha’s closest friend from high school, Jessica, was a nurse in Philadelphia and the mother of twin girls, but they still found time to FaceTime once a month. And Whitney, her best friend from college, moved with her boyfriend to Oregon two years ago, but whenever Whitney visited New York, Samantha insisted Whitney stay at her apartment.
Last night’s dinner had been almost impossible to sit through.
Beatrix had appeared at the dining table looking every inch the bride. She wore a glittering silver gown and her skin was burnished gold, as if she’d spent the day lying on the beach instead of recovering from a twisted ankle. Her hair was coiled into a braid and she didn’t wear jewelry except for the diamond engagement ring.
When she made her announcement about the wedding, the whole table erupted into applause. Arthur looked happier than when the company had three books onThe New York TimesBest Seller list. Only Drew seemed dismayed. Samantha glanced at hispale cheeks, the way his jaw dropped, and was sure he was going to protest.
Then Beatrix kissed him deeply in front of everyone. By the time they parted, Drew’s expression changed. A smile was fixed to his face and he made a speech saying how lucky he was that Beatrix didn’t have her heart set on a wedding at the Plaza in New York. The guests laughed and the champagne started flowing. Samantha had more glasses than she could remember. There was no other way to get through the night without giving in to the pain in her own chest.
She couldn’t ignore the way Drew made her feel any longer. All night she lay awake, trying to make excuses for herself. It was Christmas and it was normal to want to share it with someone. Drew was the only person besides Charlie who knew she wasn’t like Sloane Parker. He had been so kind to her on the plane and she was grateful.
This was different. It felt as if she had known Drew forever, and yet there was a new kind of thrill. Like waiting for the review of her latest Sloane book when the reviewer already sent her publicist an e-mail thanking them for an advance copy, and saying it was the best thing she’d written.
In half an hour, Samantha was meeting Beatrix to go bridal shopping. There was nothing she could do except count the minutes until New Year’s Eve. Then she’d pack her suitcase and board the flight back to New York. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t run into Drew and Beatrix until next year’s company Christmas party. Beatrix would probably be pregnant, and Samantha would stand at the bar with Charlie and Emily, getting drunk on eggnog. When Drew and Beatrix came over to say hello, she’d manage to congratulate them without it hurting her heart.
Samantha placed the laptop on the bedside table and slipped on her jacket.
Right now, she had to keep her promise to Beatrix. If Sloane Parker could give up Oliver Stanton without a backward glance, Samantha could put aside her feelings and be a good friend.
“I’m so glad we did this,” Beatrix gushed, bouncing her shopping bags. “If we were in Manhattan, we’d be trampled at the after-Christmas sales, and it would be almost impossible to get an Uber. Shopping in Jackson Hole is much more fun. All the stores are on one street and the shopkeepers are so accommodating. Hank at the hat store was so sweet,” she said happily to Samantha. “Usually it takes six weeks for a custom order, but Drew and Arthur’s cowboy hats will be ready on New Year’s Eve.” Her eyes sparkled. “Drew is going to be surprised. This is so much better than a pair of cuff links or a gold watch as a gift.”
Drew had been right. Beatrix was wonderful at negotiating with vendors. At Jackson Cake Company, she convinced the owner to make a huckleberry cupcake tree even though huckleberries were out of season. And at Teton Tailoring, she begged the seamstress to put aside her other work and alter the three-piece suit she’d found in Arthur’s closet. Drew was taller than Arthur and the pants might be a little short, but the jacket and waist would fit perfectly.
Everything about Beatrix was bright and bouncy. Her smile was as blinding as the fresh snow, and her diamond ring glittered in the sun. Samantha couldn’t help feeling like the wallflower at a school dance. But just when she wished she was back at the ranch, Beatrix declared she couldn’t make a decision without her. Samantha was drawn in to a debate on whether Beatrix should wear opaque or sheer stockings, and by the time they left the store—with threepairs of the sexiest stockings Samantha had ever owned that Beatrix bought her as a thank-you—Samantha admitted she was having a good time.
“Look at those turquoise earrings.” Beatrix pointed to a display in a gift shop window. “They’d be perfect as something blue.”
It was only when they entered the store that Samantha realized they were in the souvenir shop where Marigold worked.
Marigold was standing behind the cash register. She smiled when she recognized Samantha.
“Samantha, what a lovely surprise.” Marigold walked over to them.
“This is Beatrix,” Samantha introduced them. “She’s looking for a pair of earrings.”
“I don’t have to look any further,” Beatrix announced. “I’m getting married on New Year’s Eve and these are perfect.”
“A winter wedding,” Marigold said, taking the earrings from the window. “How lovely.”
Samantha wondered grudgingly why everyone loved winter weddings. She’d always imagined getting married on a tropical beach. She’d be barefoot in a long white dress and the groom would wear all white, with the pants rolled up so they didn’t get wet. The guests would drink out of hollowed-out coconuts and a canoe would be waiting to take them on their honeymoon.
