“Mmm.” Maggie nodded. “She loves to cook, and baked these for Christmas. She brought some with her for us.”
“That was thoughtful of her.” Hannah smiled. “So, she’s here already, too. I’m eager to meet her.”
“Yes, she’s here in Deadwood. Karla and her husband, Ben, and the baby.” Maggie laughed. “Matter of fact, the whole gang’s here.”
“Gang?” Hannah lifted one perfectly arched brow.
“Yes, Mitch’s family,” Maggie explained. “They arrived in dribbles and drips over the past two days…”
“Dribbles and drips,” Hannah interrupted, laughing. “Your Pennsylvania Dutch country origins are showing.”
“Whatever.” Maggie shrugged. “Anyway, they’re here. Mitch’s parents, two brothers, one alone, one with his family, and his sister. You’ll meet them Friday evening at the rehearsal, and get to know them a little at dinner afterward.”
“Dinner?” Hannah swept the room with a skeptical glance. “Where?”
“Mitch made arrangements for dinner at the Bullock Hotel.”
“Oh.” Naturally, Hannah hadn’t a clue where the Bullock Hotel might be located, but it didn’t matter. “And is that when I’ll meet your Mitch?” Now, that did matter, a lot. She had witnessed the hurt and humiliation inflicted on Maggie by her former fiancé. Hannah had never been able to bring herself to trust or like the too-smooth Todd. Subsequently, to her dismay, her suspicions about him had proved correct.
“No.” Maggie shook her head. “You’ll meet Mitch tonight. He’s going to stop by later. Though he’s eager to meet you-I’ve told him so much about you-he wanted to give us some time alone together, to catch up.” Her eyes softened. “He’s so considerate.”
Hmm, I’ll be the judge of that, Hannah mused. But it sure sounded like Maggie did have it bad. “How does it really feel? Being in love, I mean?”
“All the things I mentioned before…and perhaps a little scary, too.”
“Scary?” Hannah was at once alert, her protective instincts quivering. Was this Mitch Grainger a bully? She couldn’t imagine her independent friend falling for a man who would intimidate her, but then again, Maggie had been about to marry that deceitful jerk Todd.
“Well, maybe not exactly scary,” Maggie said, after giving it some thought. “It’s all so new and sudden, and almost too exciting, too thrilling. You know how love is.”
Whoa, Hannah thought, serious stuff here… Too exciting? Too thrilling? Now she really couldn’t wait to meet the man. “Actually, no,” she admitted, wryly. “I don’t know.”
Maggie blinked in astonishment. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’ve never been in love? What about that guy you dated in college?”
“Oh, I thought I was in love,” Hannah said. “Turned out it was a combination of chemistry and itchy hormones, commonly called lust.” Her tone was dry, her smile self derisive.
“But…since then…?” Maggie persisted.
“Nope.” Hannah swallowed the last of the chocolate; it had gone as cold as her love life…or lack of same. “There were a couple of infatuations, some sexual activity, but not much. There was one brief and I thought promising relationship I never told you about. But it really never got off square one, so to speak.” She shrugged. “Nothing even remotely resembling what you’ve described.”
“Oh, too bad. All this time we’ve known each other, and I never knew, never even guessed…you’ve always been so closemouthed about your personal life.”
Hannah laughed. “That’s because I didn’t have one, at least nothing that warranted discussion.”
“I never imagined…” Maggie sighed, then brightened. “Oh, I can’t wait for you to fall in love someday, experience this excitingly scary champagne-bubbly feeling.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” Hannah slowly moved her head back and forth.
“Not want to?” Maggie exclaimed, surprised. “But…why not?”
“Because…” Hannah hesitated, carefully choosing her words so as not to offend her friend by voicing doubt. “I don’t think I want to expose myself to that degree.”
“Expose yourself?” Maggie frowned in confusion. “I don’t get your point. Expose yourself to what?”
“That sort of emotional vulnerability,” she said.
Maggie’s amusement showed with her easy laughter. “You’re wacko…you know that? Don’t you realize that if I’m emotionally vulnerable, stands to reason Mitch is, too?”
“I suppose so,” Hannah murmured. But is he? She kept the question and her doubts to herself. She had always considered herself a pretty good judge of character, and she had been right about Todd.
Wait and see, she told herself, lifting an eyebrow in question when Maggie, suddenly frowning, nibbled on her lower lip in consternation.
“Is something wrong?”
Maggie lifted her shoulders in an indecisive shrug. “Not really…it’s just…”
“Just?” Hannah prompted.
Maggie sighed. “Well, I think maybe I should give you a heads-up on the best man, Mitch’s brother, Justin.”
“A heads-up?” Hannah grinned. “Why, is he some kind of ogre or monster?”
Maggie grinned back. “No, of course not. It’s just…well…he’s different, a little rough around the edges, not nearly as polished as Mitch or their oldest brother, Adam.”
“Like, crude?” Hannah raised an eyebrow.
“No, no.” Maggie shook her head. “Just a little brusque. I understand he is something of a loner, thinks women are good for one thing only.”
“I don’t think I need ask what the one thing might be,” Hannah drawled. A thought occurred that brought a glint of anger into her eyes. “Was this ‘loner’ brusque and perhaps a little rude to you?”
“Heavens no!” Maggie exclaimed on a laugh. “Actually, he was quite civil, really very nice.”
“Then, how do you know that he-”
Maggie interrupted. “Because Mitch gave me a heads-up.” She laughed. “He told me I should tell him at once if Justin said one word out of line.” Her laugh turned to a giggle. “Mitch said if he did, he’d mop the casino floor with him. Which, after I met him, I thought was hilarious.”
Thoroughly confused, Hannah was about to demand a fuller explanation when Maggie glanced at the clock, pushed her chair away from the table and stood.
“I think I’d better get dinner started,” Maggie said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry. And I told Mitch we’d have coffee and dessert with him.”
“Okay. I’ll help,” Hannah said, stretching as she stood.
“But…you’re my guest,” Maggie protested. “The first one I’ve had in this apartment.”
“Guest, shmest,” Hannah retorted. “I’m not a guest, I’m a friend…your best friend. Right?”
“Right.” Maggie gave a vigorous nod, then qualified, “After Mitch, of course.”
Oh, brother, Hannah thought. “Oh, of course,” she agreed with a smile, skirting around the table. “What’s on the menu?”
“Pasta.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “What else?” Being Maggie’s second-best friend, she was well aware of her passion for past dishes. “What kind?”
“Penne with snow peas, baby carrots, walnuts and a light oil-balsamic-vinegar sauce.”
“Yummy.” Hannah’s mouth watered. “And dessert?”
“A surprise.” Maggie’s eyes gleamed.
“Oh, come on,” Hannah groused, grinning.
Maggie shook her head. “All I’ll tell you is that Karla showed me how to make it.” Her eyes now sparkled with a teasing light. “And it’s a delight,” she finished on a suspicious-sounding giggle.
After their fabulous meal, Hannah leaned back in her chair. “That was wonderful,” she said, sighing with repletion.
“Thanks.” Maggie arched an eyebrow as she rose to start clearing the table. “How’s the career progressing?”