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“I never thought I’d be the sentimental sort,” Valerie admitted sheepishly, “but I actually want a large fancy wedding. Colby loves me enough to agree, as long as I organize it quickly. Once that man makes a decision, there’s no holding him back.”

Steffie smiled to herself. Dr. Colby Winston was in for a real surprise. Valerie was talented enough in the organizational department to manage the United Nations. If he gave her a month to arrange their wedding, she’d do a beautiful job of it with time to spare.

A wedding so soon meant the family was about to be caught up in a whirlwind of activity, but that suited Steffie. It was time for them to celebrate. The grieving, the anxiety, were over.

“You’ve been seeing a lot of Charles lately, haven’t you?” Norah asked, looking expectantly at Steffie. “Do you think we could make this a double wedding?”

Valerie smiled broadly at Steffie, as though she’d be in favor of the idea, too.

“I haven’t been seeing that much of Charles,” Steffie answered, thrusting out her chin. She realized she sounded defensive. “Well, I—I suppose we have been together quite a bit lately, but there’s certainly never been any talk of marriage.”

“I’ve always liked Charles,” Norah said, studying Steffie closely. “I mean, I could go for this guy, given the least bit of encouragement. First Valerie falls in love and now you. You know, it’s a little unfair. I’m the one who lives at home and you two fly in and within a few weeks nab the two most eligible men in town.”

“Me?” Steffie argued. “You make it sound like a done deal. Trust me, it isn’t.”

“You’re in love with him,” Valerie said quietly. “Aren’t you?”

Steffie didn’t reply. She was unwilling to openly admit her feelings for Charles. It would be so easy to fool herself into believing he held the same tenderness for her. But he’d never said so, and other than a few shared kisses he hadn’t given her any indication he cared.

But he had, something inside her said.

Steffie refused to listen. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, forget that she’d made a fool of herself over him, not once but three times. Because she’d cared, and he hadn’t.

“I don’t know how Charles feels about me,” Steffie said in a soft steady voice.

“You’re joking!” Norah exclaimed.

And Valerie added, “Steffie, it’s obvious how he feels.”

Steffie discounted their assurances with a shrug. “For all I know, he could be hanging around me in order to get close to Norah.”

“Charles? No way.” Both Valerie and Norah burst into loud peals of laughter.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t mind me dating him?” Norah teased, winking at Valerie.

“Feel free.” In fact, Steffie would throttle Norah if she went within ten feet of Charles, though she could hardly say so.

“I hope you’re joking,” Norah said, shaking her head. “I should’ve seen what was going on a long time ago. I don’t know how I could’ve been so dense. Charles and Dad became friends shortly after you left—good friends.”

“That doesn’t mean a thing,” Steffie insisted. She didn’t need anyone else building up her hopes, and although her sisters meant well, their encouragement would only make her disappointment harder to bear.

“It wouldn’t mean much if Charles hadn’t made a point of asking about you every time he stopped by,” Norah was saying. “I have to hand it to the guy, though—he was always subtle about his questions.”

“Now that you mention it, whenever I talked to Charles, Steffie’s name cropped up in the conversation,” Valerie reported thoughtfully. “I should have guessed myself.”

“You were too involved with Colby to see anything else,” Norah teased and then sighed. She crossed her arms and rested them atop her bent knees. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you two, but I wish I’d fall in love. Don’t you think it’s my turn?”

“Aren’t you leaping to conclusions here?” Steffie asked. She wasn’t exactly sporting an engagement ring the way Valerie was. She and Charles hadn’t arrived at that stage of commitment—and probably never would. Besides, her past mistakes with him had been the result of leaping to certain incorrect conclusions about his feelings, and she wasn’t ready for a repeat performance.

* * *

Steffie didn’t see Charles again until Tuesday afternoon. She wasn’t surprised not to hear from him, knowing how involved he was with the production of the paper during the first part of every week.

Valerie and Steffie had driven into town to visit The Petal Pusher, the local flower shop. Valerie had decided on a spring color theme for her wedding and had already chosen material for Steffie’s and Norah’s gowns in a pale shade of green and a delicate rose.

Valerie angled the car into the slot closest to the flower shop. Since the newspaper office was almost directly across the street, it was natural for her to glance curiously in that direction.

“You haven’t talked to Charles in a couple of days, have you?”