“Delightful. Just delightful.”
The woman turned to me and smiled. “And who’s your date?”
Mrs. Gardner giggled. “This is Mr. Ryan Woods. He’s my next-door neighbor. Ryan, this is Mia Devine. She’s Stella’s cousin on her father’s side and proprietress of this beautiful place.”
The woman, a petite, striking brunette, held out her hand. “It’s Mia Fournier now, actually. My husband Lucas and I own Abelard. Welcome.”
I shook her hand. “Thank you.”
“Ryan works at Cloverleigh, over near me,” said Mrs. Gardner proudly, almost like I was one of her grandchildren.
Mia looked impressed. “We love Cloverleigh. The inn there is one of our favorite romantic spots to get away, and the food is delicious. My husband is friends with the winemaker there, Henry DeSantis.”
I nodded. “I work with Henry a lot.”
She smiled. “How nice. Well, the family and wedding party are all hiding away in rooms around the house. Would you like to join them or be seated?”
Mrs. Gardner gripped my elbow again. “Mr. Woods is going to escort me to my seat right before the ceremony.”
“Fantastic,” Mia said. “So I’ll have Skylar, my assistant, show you to one of the family rooms where you can wait. She’s actually in charge of coordinating everything today so I can sit back and enjoy.” She checked a delicate gold watch on her wrist. “It won’t be too long now. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“Perfect.” Mrs. Gardner nodded. “Thank you, dear.”
Mia called out to Skylar, a pretty blonde dressed in a gray skirt and jacket carrying a clipboard. She smiled and led us through a set of double doors into a library, where a few other people stood around with glasses of champagne. The three men all wore dark charcoal gray suits with wine-colored ties and boutonnieres. They were older, in their fifties or sixties maybe, so I didn’t think they were groomsmen. Probably family, I thought, my stress level rising. One of them might be Stella’s dad. Was her mother here too? My own necktie felt tight.
I looked at the two women, who were both wearing long dresses and wrist corsages, and stood talking in a corner. One had short gray hair and one wore her hair up, a golden blond like Stella. I stopped walking, but Mrs. Gardner pulled me along like a reluctant, oversized toddler.
“Come here, dear. I want to introduce you to my daughter. Stella’s mother.”
My blood went icy as we approached the two women. I couldn’t speak.
“Valerie, dear, I’d like you to meet someone,” Mrs. Gardner said.
The blond woman turned to face me, and I saw the resemblance right away. She was tall and slender like Stella, with the same blue eyes and wide smile. “Hello,” she said, clearly surprised. She glanced at her mother and then back at me with a wink. “Who’s this, Mom? Do you have a boyfriend I don’t know about?”
Mrs. Gardner laughed and patted my arm before letting go of me. “This is Ryan Woods. He’s my neighbor. Mr. Woods, this is my daughter, Valerie.”
Recognition lit up Valerie’s face. “You’re the one who’s always taking care of things for Mom!” She clasped my hand in both of hers. “We can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, wondering if Stella had said anything about me.
“It’s something to us, and we appreciate it.” She squeezed my hand and let it go, then gestured to the gray-haired woman. “This is the groom’s mother, Karen Pearson. Karen, I think you met my mother last night, and this is Ryan.”
“Nice to meet you.” Karen looked very nervous and clutched a purse in front of her stomach in one hand and a full glass of champagne in the other.
Valerie put an arm around her. “Karen and I are trying to drown our nerves with a little bubbly. Would you like some?”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Gardner. “That sounds lovely.”
“No, thank you.” I wasn’t a huge fan of champagne, and I felt like I needed to stay sharp anyway. I could not fuck this up.
Valerie motioned to a server carrying a tray of full champagne glasses and then touched my arm. “Did you get a chance to meet Emme and Stella when they were visiting last month?”
“Uh, yes.” My voice came out scratchy, and I cleared my throat.
“Oh, good. Then it won’t be too terrible to sit through the wedding. Nothing worse than having to attend one of these things when you have no idea who anyone is.” She smiled again, and it was clear she had Stella’s way of putting people at ease.
“Mr. Woods took a little shine to our Stella, I daresay,” teased Mrs. Gardner.
Was it wrong to have a quick murderous thought about an old lady?
“Really,” said Valerie, her smile deepening. “How nice. Would you like to meet her father?”
“Um …” What I really wanted to do was run my ass off right back to the truck, but I forced myself to nod, praying her dad wasn’t some macho asshole with strong opinions about the war. All I knew from Stella was that her parents were divorced, and her father had remarried. “Okay.”
She led me over to the three men in charcoal suits. “Gentleman, I’d like to introduce you to Ryan Woods. He brought Ruthie here today. Lives next door to her.”
I was grateful she hadn’t said anything about Stella. “Hi,” I said, offering my hand to the guy on my left, a trim, silver-haired fifty-something with Stella’s dimpled chin. He had to be her father.
“Good to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand. “I’m John, the bride’s father, and this is my husband, Roberto.” He gestured to the tall Hispanic man on his left, who seemed a little younger with a more athletic build and a sharper jaw.
It surprised me, since Stella hadn’t mentioned her dad had married a man the second time around, but I did my best to keep a neutral expression as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The third guy turned out to be Valerie’s boyfriend Phil, a little older, a little heavier set, with glasses, salt and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. I forgot his name immediately. Actually, I forgot all of their names immediately. My nerves were getting worse by the moment. Would I see her before the ceremony? Or would our first glimpse of each other in weeks be as she walked past me down the aisle?
I felt a tug on my arm. “Excuse me, gentlemen.” It was Mrs. Gardner. “Could I steal my neighbor away for a moment?”
Everyone nodded and she pulled me aside. “How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.” I tugged at my collar. “It feels a little warm in here.”
She smiled knowingly. “You’re doing fine. We have about ten minutes. Would you like to see Stella before we’re seated?”
I did, but the thought of having to say everything I wanted to tell her in ten minutes made me light-headed. “I don’t know. Should I? It’s not much time, and I—”
“It’s plenty of time,” she said, dragging me out the double doors and into the front hall again. “You wait right here. Excuse me, young lady!”
The woman with the clipboard who’d shown us into the library, Mia’s assistant—I forgot her name too—turned and smiled as Mrs. Gardner approached. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to speak with one of the bridesmaids. My granddaughter Stella,” she said. “Would that be possible?”
“Certainly. The bridal party is in a room upstairs.” She glanced at the staircase and back at the elderly woman in front of her. “I’ll go get her for you.”
“Perfect. Oh, I’d like to speak to her in private. Is there a quiet room we could use?”
“Sure.” She looked around and pointed toward the back of the house. “The kitchen is actually empty right now. The caterers are set up in a tent. Will that work?”
“Yes. Thank you, dear. What was your name again?”
“Skylar.”
“Thank you, Skylar.” She waited for Skylar to head up the stairs and hurried back over to me. “Head right through there,” she said, pointing toward the hall leading to the kitchen. “I’m going to disappear.”
The woman turned to me and smiled. “And who’s your date?”
Mrs. Gardner giggled. “This is Mr. Ryan Woods. He’s my next-door neighbor. Ryan, this is Mia Devine. She’s Stella’s cousin on her father’s side and proprietress of this beautiful place.”
The woman, a petite, striking brunette, held out her hand. “It’s Mia Fournier now, actually. My husband Lucas and I own Abelard. Welcome.”
I shook her hand. “Thank you.”
“Ryan works at Cloverleigh, over near me,” said Mrs. Gardner proudly, almost like I was one of her grandchildren.
Mia looked impressed. “We love Cloverleigh. The inn there is one of our favorite romantic spots to get away, and the food is delicious. My husband is friends with the winemaker there, Henry DeSantis.”
I nodded. “I work with Henry a lot.”
She smiled. “How nice. Well, the family and wedding party are all hiding away in rooms around the house. Would you like to join them or be seated?”
Mrs. Gardner gripped my elbow again. “Mr. Woods is going to escort me to my seat right before the ceremony.”
“Fantastic,” Mia said. “So I’ll have Skylar, my assistant, show you to one of the family rooms where you can wait. She’s actually in charge of coordinating everything today so I can sit back and enjoy.” She checked a delicate gold watch on her wrist. “It won’t be too long now. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“Perfect.” Mrs. Gardner nodded. “Thank you, dear.”
Mia called out to Skylar, a pretty blonde dressed in a gray skirt and jacket carrying a clipboard. She smiled and led us through a set of double doors into a library, where a few other people stood around with glasses of champagne. The three men all wore dark charcoal gray suits with wine-colored ties and boutonnieres. They were older, in their fifties or sixties maybe, so I didn’t think they were groomsmen. Probably family, I thought, my stress level rising. One of them might be Stella’s dad. Was her mother here too? My own necktie felt tight.
I looked at the two women, who were both wearing long dresses and wrist corsages, and stood talking in a corner. One had short gray hair and one wore her hair up, a golden blond like Stella. I stopped walking, but Mrs. Gardner pulled me along like a reluctant, oversized toddler.
“Come here, dear. I want to introduce you to my daughter. Stella’s mother.”
My blood went icy as we approached the two women. I couldn’t speak.
“Valerie, dear, I’d like you to meet someone,” Mrs. Gardner said.
The blond woman turned to face me, and I saw the resemblance right away. She was tall and slender like Stella, with the same blue eyes and wide smile. “Hello,” she said, clearly surprised. She glanced at her mother and then back at me with a wink. “Who’s this, Mom? Do you have a boyfriend I don’t know about?”
Mrs. Gardner laughed and patted my arm before letting go of me. “This is Ryan Woods. He’s my neighbor. Mr. Woods, this is my daughter, Valerie.”
Recognition lit up Valerie’s face. “You’re the one who’s always taking care of things for Mom!” She clasped my hand in both of hers. “We can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, wondering if Stella had said anything about me.
“It’s something to us, and we appreciate it.” She squeezed my hand and let it go, then gestured to the gray-haired woman. “This is the groom’s mother, Karen Pearson. Karen, I think you met my mother last night, and this is Ryan.”
“Nice to meet you.” Karen looked very nervous and clutched a purse in front of her stomach in one hand and a full glass of champagne in the other.
Valerie put an arm around her. “Karen and I are trying to drown our nerves with a little bubbly. Would you like some?”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Gardner. “That sounds lovely.”
“No, thank you.” I wasn’t a huge fan of champagne, and I felt like I needed to stay sharp anyway. I could not fuck this up.
Valerie motioned to a server carrying a tray of full champagne glasses and then touched my arm. “Did you get a chance to meet Emme and Stella when they were visiting last month?”
“Uh, yes.” My voice came out scratchy, and I cleared my throat.
“Oh, good. Then it won’t be too terrible to sit through the wedding. Nothing worse than having to attend one of these things when you have no idea who anyone is.” She smiled again, and it was clear she had Stella’s way of putting people at ease.
“Mr. Woods took a little shine to our Stella, I daresay,” teased Mrs. Gardner.
Was it wrong to have a quick murderous thought about an old lady?
“Really,” said Valerie, her smile deepening. “How nice. Would you like to meet her father?”
“Um …” What I really wanted to do was run my ass off right back to the truck, but I forced myself to nod, praying her dad wasn’t some macho asshole with strong opinions about the war. All I knew from Stella was that her parents were divorced, and her father had remarried. “Okay.”
She led me over to the three men in charcoal suits. “Gentleman, I’d like to introduce you to Ryan Woods. He brought Ruthie here today. Lives next door to her.”
I was grateful she hadn’t said anything about Stella. “Hi,” I said, offering my hand to the guy on my left, a trim, silver-haired fifty-something with Stella’s dimpled chin. He had to be her father.
“Good to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand. “I’m John, the bride’s father, and this is my husband, Roberto.” He gestured to the tall Hispanic man on his left, who seemed a little younger with a more athletic build and a sharper jaw.
It surprised me, since Stella hadn’t mentioned her dad had married a man the second time around, but I did my best to keep a neutral expression as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The third guy turned out to be Valerie’s boyfriend Phil, a little older, a little heavier set, with glasses, salt and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. I forgot his name immediately. Actually, I forgot all of their names immediately. My nerves were getting worse by the moment. Would I see her before the ceremony? Or would our first glimpse of each other in weeks be as she walked past me down the aisle?
I felt a tug on my arm. “Excuse me, gentlemen.” It was Mrs. Gardner. “Could I steal my neighbor away for a moment?”
Everyone nodded and she pulled me aside. “How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.” I tugged at my collar. “It feels a little warm in here.”
She smiled knowingly. “You’re doing fine. We have about ten minutes. Would you like to see Stella before we’re seated?”
I did, but the thought of having to say everything I wanted to tell her in ten minutes made me light-headed. “I don’t know. Should I? It’s not much time, and I—”
“It’s plenty of time,” she said, dragging me out the double doors and into the front hall again. “You wait right here. Excuse me, young lady!”
The woman with the clipboard who’d shown us into the library, Mia’s assistant—I forgot her name too—turned and smiled as Mrs. Gardner approached. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to speak with one of the bridesmaids. My granddaughter Stella,” she said. “Would that be possible?”
“Certainly. The bridal party is in a room upstairs.” She glanced at the staircase and back at the elderly woman in front of her. “I’ll go get her for you.”
“Perfect. Oh, I’d like to speak to her in private. Is there a quiet room we could use?”
“Sure.” She looked around and pointed toward the back of the house. “The kitchen is actually empty right now. The caterers are set up in a tent. Will that work?”
“Yes. Thank you, dear. What was your name again?”
“Skylar.”
“Thank you, Skylar.” She waited for Skylar to head up the stairs and hurried back over to me. “Head right through there,” she said, pointing toward the hall leading to the kitchen. “I’m going to disappear.”
