You Say It First
Page 50

“Only with a paint gun.” Taylor waved her hand. “The zebra thing was no big deal and the DJ was Catherine’s fault. It’s important to vet people and read reviews.” She beamed. “I read all about you online. You have some excellent referrals. I was able to friend a couple of them on Facebook and then talk to them. Everybody loves you. They think you do excellent work for the price. You handle details and make sure it all comes out perfectly.”
Unexpected praise, Pallas thought, hoping she didn’t blush. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome.” Taylor pulled a folder out of her large Michael Kors tote. “Jake and I want an under-the-sea wedding.”
Pallas stared at the picture of the mermaid-styled wedding gown and seashell dinnerware. She was less sure about the dress style on Taylor’s somewhat short, round body type.
“Have you already tried on dresses?”
“Yes, and I’m so close to picking the one I want. It’s fantastic.” Taylor’s happy smile returned. “Jake and I met by the beach. We were in a skin diving class together. I took one look at him and just knew.” She sighed. “We’re going to honeymoon in Hawaii.”
“That will be lovely. So, um, under the sea. You do realize Happily Inc is in the desert, right?”
Taylor laughed. “Of course. We love that it’s centrally located for our families and friends, with plenty of hotel space.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Jake is going to be a pirate. We’re so excited. Could you get us a parrot to ride on his shoulder?”
Pallas’s first instinct was to say no. No to the parrot, no to the under-the-sea theme, no to everything. Which was, she told herself, a reaction to Nova having to cancel her wedding. It had nothing to do with adorable Taylor and her slightly strange ideas.
This was what she wanted, Pallas reminded herself. A chance to try something different. If she and her team could create an alien world, why couldn’t they come up with an under-the-sea theme?
“Tell me what you had in mind,” she said as she pulled out a pad of paper.
“We want our colors to reflect the ocean. Aqua, blue, sea green. I wish there was a way to make it feel like we were underwater. I guess big fish tanks would be expensive, huh?”
“More than that, one of the things you like about the ocean is the freedom it represents. The sea seems endless. Fish in a tank are the opposite of that.” Pallas pressed her lips together. She had no idea where that had come from.
Taylor’s brown eyes widened. “You’re good,” she breathed.
“Thanks. We can’t be in the ocean, but maybe we can create the illusion of being under the sea.” She stood and crossed to the bookcase on the far wall. “I have some pictures that show what I mean.”
She returned to her desk and flipped through the pictures. “This,” she said, pointing. One of her brides had asked for sheers to be put around the courtyard. “See how they’re lit?”
“It’s beautiful,” Taylor said, sounding doubtful.
“I have the white sheers. Imagine if we backlit them with blues and greens. As they moved in the breeze, they could really look like water. Maybe we could look at Mylar streamers to hang down in front of the sheers.” She drew on the pad to illustrate what she meant. “We could pick plants that had an ocean grass or seaweed kind of feel and put them around the edges by the sheers.”
“Oh, I like that a lot!”
“Me, too. You know, it would be relatively easy to expand this theme. I’d say go with white linens. They’re the least expensive and give us a perfect backdrop. Shells on the table, small message in a bottle kind of decorations instead of name cards.” She caught her breath. “Oh, wow. What if you did larger message in a bottle for the invitations? They’d be harder to mail, but it might be worth it. There are shell combs for the bridesmaids’ hair.”
She flipped through the photo album and stopped on another page. “Silver, our resident bartender, does these fun Jell-O shots.” She pointed to a picture. “I’ll bet she could do a custom color to match everything else.”
“I’d love that.”
“And for a centerpiece, if you want to do something different, what about treasure chests? We could use glass beads and little starfishes, along with flowers. It could be unique and pretty and—”
Taylor flung herself at Pallas and burst into tears. “Thank you so much. I’ve wanted a mermaid wedding since I was four years old. I’ve been to so many other venues and everyone else told me my idea was unworkable and silly. You’re making my wedding dreams come true.”
Pallas hugged her back. “I’m so glad you think so. I really like your idea, Taylor. Why don’t I put together a proposal, listing all my ideas, and you and Jake can look it over? Then we can meet again in person or have a conference call.”
Taylor released her and wiped the tears off her face. “I would love that. Thank you. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
Pallas was feeling a little giddy herself. She got Taylor’s contact information and promised to have the proposal to her by the end of the week.
This was why she did what she did, she reminded herself when Taylor had left. To make people happy on one of the most important days in their lives. Somehow she’d let herself lose a little of the magic, but she was getting it back bit by bit.
She made a few more notes, then went in search of Nick. She’d seen his truck pull up as Taylor had arrived and guessed he was here to work on the panels. It was warm these days—maybe he’d taken off his shirt.
She was still grinning when she walked around the corner and saw him bent over the huge carved wood panel. Then he straightened and she gasped as she saw a big bandage on his arm. The center was red from blood—as if the wound had taken a long time to stop bleeding.
“What did you do?” she asked as she ran over to him. “Are you okay? Should you see a doctor?”
He turned and frowned. “What are you talking about? I’m fine.”
She reached for the bandage, but stopped herself before touching it, only to see about a half-dozen small burns between his forearms and the hem of his T-shirt.
“What happened?”
He touched his fingers to her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“You look like you’ve been in a battle. Did your stove explode or something?”
He laughed. “Mathias and I have been working with metal. It’s not going well, but I’m fine. It’s been fun, but if we want to continue, we’re going to need some training.”
“And fire protection,” she said, lightly tracing the burns. “Did you put anything on these?”
“Yes.”
She glared at him. “You’re lying. You didn’t do anything.”
His mouth turned up. “I put a bandage on the cut.”
“When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?”
“A couple of years ago.”
She put her hands on her hips. “For real?”
“Yes, I swear.” He drew her close and kissed her. “But it’s nice that you worry about me.”
“Someone has to,” she grumbled. “You were really having fun while setting fire to yourself.”
“We all find our thrill in different ways. You’re one of my favorite ways.”