Special Order Groom

“Well, maybe I should go tell the bride—I mean, the belle of the ball—how nice she looks.”

“No!” The line of cucumbers she’d been nervously slicing fanned into disorder as her head jerked up. “I mean, don’t go just yet.”

Grabbing a cracker off the round plate, he popped it into his mouth, trying to figure out what Bess really wanted. After a second, he had it. “I get it. You don’t want me around Crystal. Why didn’t I see that?”

“Not necessarily, Mitch,” Bess said, her tone lacking conviction. “We let you have half an hour with her while the band was unloading and the guests arrived.”

“Oh, I see. And now I shouldn’t monopolize her because the other guys need a shot at her, right?”

Bess pursed her lips. “Any person who is being honored with a party in his or her honor makes certain every one of the guests has a moment of his or her time,” she informed him huffily.

“And technically, I’m not a party guest.”

“No, technically you’ve already had your moment with Crystal this evening,” Bess reminded him. “This isn’t personal, Mitch, it’s simply good etiquette. Besides, I haven’t seen you in ages. I didn’t even know you were in town until…until we saw you at Crystal’s shop.”

He tapped the older woman lightly on the hand, which had ceased chopping the cucumbers. “You’ve chosen bachelors number one, two and three. I’m not part of the equation.”

Bess sighed and shoved the vegetables into a bowl. “I’m not matchmaking, Mitch. If I were, I’d make certain any good male with decent financial prospects was within reach of Crystal. I’m keeping you in here with me because you’re trouble.”

“Why am I trouble?”

She smacked the knife down onto the counter. “I may be old, Mitch McStern, and I may not have a medical degree, but anyone with two eyes in their head could see the fit Crystal was in when she returned from your house. Why, she practically flew in here like demons were after her! And,” she said, wagging a finger at him, “don’t think I didn’t notice that Crystal’s lip gloss was on your lips when you came rushing over to attend to her faint.”

He rubbed quickly at his lips, but they felt the same as always.

“I thought so,” Bess said softly. “Guilty, Mitch, guilty.” She took a deep breath. “You understand that you can’t play with her heart now, don’t you, honey? There’s no way I can allow it. If her father was alive, I’d have him speak to you, but as it’s just me and you’ve brought up the subject, I’ll have to be blunt. Your senior year romance put Crystal off dating for a long time. She never did let her heart go into anything after that. Now she lives other people’s dreams. This time,” Bess said, tapping Mitch on the chest, “you stay away. Please. She shouldn’t have to lose another thirteen years of herself just because you’ve blown back into town.”

“Bess, it was your—”

“I’m sorry, Mitch.” Her large hazel eyes filled with tears. “You say I’m husband-hunting for Crystal. I say, you’re right. Is that so wrong, Mitch?” She swallowed, her lips moving convulsively. “She is the child of my heart, my only child. Is it so wrong that I want to see her happily married like her father and I were? Is it wrong to want that for my daughter, my only child, the light of my existence? Did you ever think about her name, Mitch? Crystal Star. Some people might think that was silly. Some might think it was hoity-toity.” She exhaled, shaking her head. “In my eyes, she is as beautiful as crystal, as radiant and special as a mystical star.” A measure of time passed before she spoke again. “I’ve been patient with Crystal all these years, knowing her heart was shattered. But a mother sometimes has to provide the nudge. I don’t think I’d be doing my duty by my daughter if I didn’t act in her best interests. She’s thirty years old tonight, Mitch. If I could put it in a box, I’d give my only child lifelong happiness for her birthday—and true love. Can you offer her that?”

They stared at each other for a long time. Bess’s gaze didn’t falter. Mitch shook his head.

“I’m glad we had this talk,” he said.

“So am I.” Bess went back to arranging a tray. “I don’t need you out there making the other guys suffer by comparison.”

Mitch grinned at her. “Give me the knife. I’ll practice my surgical skills on those cherry tomatoes.”

She sniffed and scooted knife and tomatoes his way. “I’ve got enough vegetables set back for canning that I can keep you in here chopping all night.”

He laughed out loud. “I might as well stick around and see which sheikh Crystal chooses.”

“Don’t interfere,” Bess said, pointing her finger at him again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he agreed, pointing right back at her, imitating her bantam stance.

Bess sighed, but it was rueful. “The day I laid eyes on you when you first moved here, I knew you were trouble, Mitch McStern. I said, that boy’s gonna be a real heartbreaker.”

“No, ma’am,” he assured her. “I’m a heart-fixer. Says so on my medical degrees.”

“We’ve already had enough excitement this evening with Crystal fainting. You just sit in here, son, before you get my blood pressure up so high I end up busting a valve.”

“I’d fix it,” he assured her, his eyes twinkling.

“The last thing I’d ever want you doing is messing around in my chest cavity,” Bess stated. “Just sit right there where I can keep my eyes on you, and maybe the rest of this evening won’t end up being a disaster!”

CRYSTAL DUTIFULLY DANCED with Frankie a second time, promising herself that since she’d now given each of the football legends a second dance, she would make herself go over and say hello to Mr. and Mrs. McStern. Mitch’s parents talked and laughed with another couple from Lover’s Valley as they watched the slow-circling couples move around the floor. Obviously the McSterns were having a good time, so Crystal tried not to feel guilty that she hadn’t gone over to them. Mrs. McStern had been concerned enough to call for help when Crystal fainted—and even if she had summoned the man responsible for Crystal’s attack of lightheadedness, Crystal owed her thanks. After this dance I will do it, and just hope Mitch doesn’t try to talk to me when I do.

Of course, he hadn’t made much effort so far to get within a foot of her. Maybe dancing with the birthday girl was a pleasure he was willing to forego since he’d already had the pleasure of kissing her spineless. When Crystal had danced with Lincoln, she’d kept her body turned just enough that he couldn’t rush for yardage past the scrimmage line of her waist. Hampering Barney from holding her so tightly that everyone would assume an engagement was in the offing was a feat, but she managed it. Now, she had to deal with Frankie.

During all this nearly body-bruising physical maneuvering, somehow her eyes kept seeking out Mitch on the stool in the kitchen, keeping her mother company. She didn’t mean for her gaze to wander to him, but when she began to develop a headache from her body being moved one way while her eyes went another, she forced herself to quit surreptitiously glancing his way. Even though she told herself he didn’t notice her furtive assessment of him, her feelings were somehow hurt that he paid more attention to wheedling snacks out of her mother than to her. The way he’d kissed her had put zing into her heartbeat for the night. I’m still not over him, Crystal realized sadly.

It depressed her, all the more so because he never looked her way. Frankie slid his hand too near the curve of the wow!-red skirt, which fell in a pleat over her posterior so nicely. A seamstress like Crystal couldn’t fail to appreciate the craftsmanship of the dress, but she absentmindedly ground the red high heel Aunt Elle had insisted she wear onto his toe. He gasped in pain but she merely smiled, her expression innocent.

“Good thing there’s a doc in the house,” Frankie wheezed tightly.

Her smile evaporated. “You won’t need one if you stop trying to get into the end zone, Frankie.”

“Dang, Crystal, how can I help it when you’re just about the only unmarried woman in Lover’s Valley who doesn’t have horse teeth or a backside broad as a barn?”

“That’s not nice,” she reprimanded him. “For one thing, it’s a prejudicial view, and for another, all those women are high school acquaintances of ours and very sweet.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “But I don’t want to marry a gal who has a great personality. I want to marry a gal that looks like a firecracker in a red dress!”

She eyed him narrowly. If she looked like such a pyrotechnic explosive, why wasn’t Mitch blown away? “I think you should reconsider your play options.”

He looked at her earnestly. “Truly, Crystal, you’re the only woman in Lover’s Valley who is single of her own hardheaded choosing. And ain’t you ever heard heartbreak is attractive on a woman? Makes a guy just wanna cuddle her and hold her tight,” he said, crushing her to him, “and protect her from all the mean old tackles in life!”

She ground her teeth to hold back her reply while she counted slowly to ten, mentally composing herself. The gentler-version reply never formed in her mind as the room suddenly went silent except for the soft orchestral strains from the band.

Kathryn “the Prom Queen” Vincent walked into the great room. She was just as petite as ever, her smile still cheesily bright, ever the cheerleader. But the size of her stomach wasn’t hidden by the elegant black dress she wore.

She was heavily pregnant, and she was alone.

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