Blueprints: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online Page A

thought that was Priority Number One once the taping was done.”
    “No,” Jamie corrected, half-wondering if Brad had called Caroline to see how she was doing and mentioned his frustration, “wrist surgery was. You’re key to my wedding plans. I can’t go looking at venues with you laid up.”
    Caroline’s phone cooed like the dove in the maple. “That’s the hardware store. I gave them a tone because they call so much. They open early.” She touched IGNORE.
    “Maybe it’s something important.”
    “Nothing’s more important than this. Tell me what’s going on with Brad.”

 
    three
    Caroline liked Brad. He was a sweet guy who was a good lawyer and had a solid future with MacAfee Homes, which meant that Jamie would be taken care of whether she chose to work or not. And he loved Jamie. Caroline didn’t doubt that. Other things, yes. But not that.
    Unfortunately, she couldn’t discuss those other doubts. For one thing, they were vague, more a niggling in the back of her mind than anything concrete. For another, expressing them might hurt her relationship with her daughter. Besides, Caroline didn’t need to love Brad. Maybe all they needed was an easy rapport.
    Jamie started the swing with her heel. “It started innocently enough. He said kind of what you just did about my needing to pick a date. When he kept pushing, I lost it a little. I feel like he’s harping on it.”
    “Maybe he feels like you’re avoiding it.”
    “That’s what he said, and he started looking all wounded and dejected, which upsets me every time, because I know where it’s coming from. He was a lonely little boy whose parents were always there but never there . He never felt loved.” She watched a robin fly in and perch on the corner rail.
    “She has a nest in the Andromeda,” Caroline explained and, fully prepared to protect four helpless hatchlings, eyed Master. But the cat remained blissfully asleep under Jamie’s touch. “Go on,” she urged.
    “He’s such a nice person.”
    “So are you.”
    Jamie put her thumb to the underside of her ring. “I don’t feel like it right now. I feel like a traitor.” Her eyes shot to Caroline’s.
    Caroline wasn’t about to judge her daughter. “Sweet people can approach things differently.”
    “Maybe.” She focused on finger-combing Master’s fur. “He says it’s a matter of priorities and that if I love him, the wedding would be at the top of my list. But picking a venue isn’t easy. Dad is adamant about it being a big wedding, which limits our options. I have to speak with people at each of the venues, but I just can’t do it right now. That’s driving Brad nuts.”
    “He’s afraid you’ll get away.”
    “I’m not going anywhere,” she protested, still stroking the cat. “I keep telling him that. I text him all the time. I share my thoughts and show him my designs and ask his opinion, because I care what he thinks, and we talk about his work, too. I make his favorite dinner—well, pick it up at Whole Foods, but he’s good with that.” Her eyes rose. “Then he says, You’re too old to be afraid to commit . Me, afraid to commit, like he has no idea where I’m coming from?”
    Apparently not, Caroline mused. Jamie had learned commitment with a tennis racquet in her hand, playing at five, competing at eight. She had given her all to coaches, team sponsors, and opponents, and after discovering architecture in college had attacked that with the same fervor. Advanced courses, summer seminars, internships—she had front-loaded on all counts.
    “Have I ever been afraid to commit, Mom?”
    “No, baby.”
    “If I haven’t had time to plan a wedding, it isn’t because I’m afraid to commit but because I’m busy, and as for the too-old part, I’m only twenty-nine. I don’t call that too old for much. How old is too old?”
    Certainly not twenty-nine, Caroline knew. Women were getting married later and later, in part to establish careers, in part to be make