An Island Christmas Read Online Free Page B

like.”
    Felicia grinned. “True.”
    “And as much as I like your mother, she’s not the one I’m marrying.” Archie nuzzled Felicia’s neck, kissing her ear, her cheek, her lips …
    “Stop that!” Felicia demanded, rolling away from her gorgeous fiancé. “I’m trying to talk about our wedding. Who knows when we’ll see my parents again? It will be years, probably, before you have to put on a button-down shirt.” She sat up. “We are going to settle this matter before the football game starts.”
    “You really ask a lot of a guy,” Archie muttered. “All right, which shirt do you want me to try on?”
    Felicia handed him a navy-blue-and-white-checked flannel shirt that she knew would bring out the solar flare blue of his eyes. She had already unbuttoned it for him; Archie hated fumbling with tiny things like buttons.
    Archie put on the shirt. He surveyed himself in the mirror. “It fits,” he admitted grudgingly.
    “Now try this,” Felicia suggested as she handed him a navy blue blazer.
    “I already have a blazer.”
    “I know you do. It’s at least eight years old and has been in the storage unit the entire time. I doubt if it even fits you anymore, never mind the problem of trying to find it among all those boxes. We are almost done here, Archie.”
    Archie pulled the blazer on over the flannel shirt. It was barely big enough for him but there was no time now for her to return it for a larger size and Felicia wasn’t sure there was a larger size. As long as Archie didn’t do anything more strenuous than lift a glass to his lips, the seams should hold.
    “Whoa, you look gorgeous,” said Felicia.
    “I feel like a rhino in a straitjacket.” Archie took off the blazer and began to unbutton his shirt so quickly he nearly ripped the fabric. “Are you through with me now?”
    “Yes. But I want to warn you: when we’re on Nantucket there will be times when I will choose your clothes for you.”
    Archie pulled on his chinos and a clean hunter green T-shirt. “Fine. What about you? Did you order yourself a couple of dresses for this all-important impression-making occasion?”
    “Actually, I did. I also bought a pair of shoes.” Digging through the piles of clothing bags on the bed, Felicia took out a pair of black high heels.
    Archie smiled. “You can model those for me later,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
    “You see,” she smirked. “Clothes do make a difference.”
    Archie left the room and went into the kitchen to start putting together the snacks. People would be arriving soon. Felicia’s best friend, Brianne, was coming with her husband and bringing the navy blue dress coat she was loaning Felicia for this trip. Felicia had plenty of coldweather gear, but nothing her mother would want her to wear out to dinner.
    Picking up a dark blue corduroy dress, Felicia held it against her and looked in the mirror. She would wear the pearls her parents gave her when she graduated from high school; that should please them. She could trust Lauren to add any necessary feminine touches like lipstick, blush, or one of their grandmothers’ Christmas brooches.
    Suddenly Felicia sank down onto the bed, burying her face in the corduroy dress. More than any other holiday, Christmas was a time for remembering. Like a set of Russian dolls, a large one opening to show a smaller one inside, the ornaments on a Christmas tree reflected images of past Christmases. A memory of her grandmother holding Lauren’s firstborn baby at their mother’s house one Christmas filled Felicia with joy and sorrow. That grandmother, like her other grandmother, had since passed away. Lauren had their brooches and other jewelry, assuring Felicia that when she was ready for them, she could have her pick.
    Five years ago Felicia hadn’t wanted frivolous jewelry, and she hadn’t wanted children. She had wanted to hike the world with Archie, climbing difficult trails, swimming across blue lagoons, and seeing sights few other