Page 24 of The Last Bachelor Dragon

“But I need to finish my dress, Max and I are getting married,” Nora said. “I thought you knew.”

“Oh, I finished the dress. You can try it on later,” Marie said, waving her hand in the air. “Today, we’re celebrating my boys finding the perfect women for them.”

The backroom had been transformed. All the sewing machines were gone, the scraps were all tucked away, and in the center of the room, the big table was draped with a white cloth. Every surface was covered with food, from delectable little sweets to savory finger food, and her stomach began to growl.

“Marie, this is wonderful. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble,” she said, giving her a hug. “But I’m glad that you did.”

When the women were all seated around the table, they passed the food, poured tea or coffee into delicate cups, then sat back to enjoy the feast. It wasn’t long before the conversation turned to the island, and she listened, completely enthralled by the other women’s stories, as the food on the table slowly disappeared. Juliet was the last one to speak, and when she was finished, she turned to Nora, with a look of regret on her face.

“You know the rest of the story, you were there,” she said. “I’m sorry about what my brother did to you. I can’t help but feel like I was to blame in some way.”

“Juliet, it wasn’t your fault, I fell for his lies,” she said. “I was desperate. That job, that apartment, they weren’t exactlypleasant. I was looking for a way out, and I only have myself to blame. You’ve been a good friend since it happened, and don’t forget I got Max out of all this. That’s a pretty big reward.”

“Oh, I’m so relieved, my brother…” her words trailed off, and she took a deep breath. “Never mind, we’re supposed to be celebrating.”

“It’s okay to be sad, too,” she said, reaching out and taking Juliet’s hand. “You’ve lost someone close to you, even if he wasn’t who you thought he was, he was your brother. You must have loved him a lot.”

“He was the most important person in my life for a long time,” Juliet said. “Right now, it still feels like there’s a big empty place inside me, but I know time will heal it, I just have to be patient.”

“We’re all here for you,” Stella said. “Any time you need to talk, you’ve got seven pairs of willing ears to listen.”

“The eight of us have to stick together,” Eden said, smiling at them all. “You know what they say, there’s strength in numbers.”

CHAPTER 16

***MAX***

Max walked along the trail to Nora’s cabin, worried that her time with the other women hadn’t gone well and that she was hiding from him because she was afraid that he’d be disappointed. As important as it was to him that she liked his friend’s wives, they'd figure it out if it wasn’t meant to be. She was more important to him than anyone. When he walked up to the cabin, Nora was sitting on the porch in the rocking chair, her feet up on the railing, eyes closed, and he wondered if she was asleep.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him when he put his foot on the first step of the porch. “I could feel you coming,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s a strange feeling, but I think I like it.”

“What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?” he asked, coming up the steps and giving her a kiss before sitting down. “I thought you’d all be sitting at Marie’s gossiping.”

“We weren’t gossiping,” she said, giving him a dirty look. “The girls were just catching me up on everything that’shappened. I’m still trying to make it all seem real, and I just needed a few minutes of quiet to think.”

“Am I intruding?” he said, starting to get up. “I could leave you alone for a while.”

Nora put her hand on his arm. “Don’t go, I want you to stay,” she said, smiling at him. “I always feel better when I’m with you, steadier somehow.”

“It’s the bond. We’re stronger when we’re together,” he said, relaxing back in the chair. “Speaking of bonds, we should really talk about the wedding. I was thinking tomorrow at sunset would be perfect. What do you think?”

“What do I think?” she asked, grinning at him. “I bet there’s not a woman in the world who wouldn’t love to get married at sunset in front of a waterfall.”

“So, I take it that’s a yes,” he said, returning her grin. “Now come over here so we can celebrate.”

Their celebration had to be moved into the cabin only a few minutes later, and it was dinner time before they emerged again. Max was carrying Nora’s few belongings as they made their way to his cabin. There didn’t seem to be any reason for Nora not to move in right away; they’d be married the next day, and he didn’t want to be separated from her for even a night.

He was smiling as they walked up to his cabin. “I forgot to tell you that I have a little surprise for you,” he said, opening the door and letting her go in first. “It’s in the bedroom at the end of the hallway--our bedroom.”

She smiled up at him. “I like the sound of that,” she said. “But you didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Get used to it, I like to spoil the people I care about,” he said, then gave her a gentle push toward the hallway. “Go on, go look.”

Nora didn’t make it past the door before she stopped and gasped, then turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Max,this can’t all be for me,” she said. “It’s too much, I don’t need all this.”

“You don’t have to keep it all,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “But you might change your mind when you see what’s in those boxes.”

He watched amused as Nora carefully opened one package after another, sighing with each new discovery, before slipping the lid back on. It amazed him that someone who came from so much money was so unspoiled, and when Nora rushed over to him and gave him a grateful hug, he was the one thanking the universe for giving him such a special woman.

---