Page 65 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“I know Brody isn’t very close with his dad, and Melinda might not want him there…”
“That’s true.”
“ButIwant him there.”
“Why?” Lauren asked, baffled, given what she’d heard about the man.
“He was absent most of the time, but whenever hewasthere, he was always kind to me. I know it isn’t my place to make judgments, but I feel like he was given a poor hand in life. I’d like to invite him.”
“You don’t want to have any tension on your big day, though,” Lauren warned. “Should we check with Brody and Melinda first to get a read on their feelings about having him there?”
Stephanie sighed. “Probably, but I do want to invite him. The gesture is important to me.”
“I think you need to explain it to Brody and his mom.”
“Okay. I’ll call Brody now and see what he says.”
SEVENTEEN
The main doors to the Tide and Swallow were propped open, letting in the humid, salty morning air. Cass had called Lauren early this morning in a frenzy, thrilled beyond belief to have secured a full delivery of in-stock items from the local furniture store. She couldn’t believe her good fortune. So now, the delivery guys were hauling the new furniture across the room while Cass directed them where to put each piece.
Lauren had opted to wait until the fall for the kitchen remodel, when she was also planning to design the glassed porch out back. That left only the exterior painting for now, which was partially done and should be finished by next week. Half of the parking lot had been roped off to prepare for the new pavement. She’d decided to only fix the worst cracks, since the pavement guys had told her that curing an entirely new lot might take two weeks. With the outside nearly finished, she ordered all the slipcovers for every suite, and put in an order including rush delivery with a local company for seventy-five new comforters for the single and double bedrooms.
Stephanie and Mitchell’s wedding flowers had been ordered, the officiant paid and completely reserved, and a string quartet booked that luckily had a single cancellation that day—everything was coming together beautifully.
Dave and his crew were busy outside, filming the wedding party as they all arrived and checked in to the inn. Lauren sat back in the new desk chair and fiddled with her bracelet. Was it good luck after all? She never imagined she could plan a wedding and shoot a pilot in the amount of time she’d been given, yet somehow it had all happened. And she felt that she’d definitely found her place there in the Outer Banks and at the inn. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so productive, as if she were really making a difference.
“Knock, knock,” Stephanie said at the door.
Lauren stood up and went around to the other side of the office desk.
“Mary said I’d find you in here.”
“Morning,” Lauren said.
Stephanie came in and dropped down into the chair across from the desk. “Brody and Melinda have both agreed to let me invite Chuck.”
“They have?”
“Yep.” Stephanie folded her arms and slumped back happily. “I was so worried, but they said that it’s really up to me. I doubt he’ll come anyway, but I got his address from Melinda. Can we get an invitation out to him?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper with his address, sliding it across the table.
“Of course.” Lauren opened her email and requested one final invitation, typing in Chuck’s address in Boston.
“I also stopped by because I was wondering if you’d go with me to my final dress fitting today. It’s in twenty minutes.” She sat up, scooting to the edge of the chair. “It would be nice to have you there to give the final approval.”
Stephanie had been the biggest surprise of all. They’d fallen into a friendship easier than Lauren had with anyone else in her life—even Andy. She hadn’t felt this close to any of her former clients, but Stephanie just had that way about her. “Of course,” she said. “Let me make sure that it’s all right if I leave Mary.”
“I beat you to it,” Stephanie said with a grin. “I asked if she’d mind if I stole you away and she said she’s fine. And the film crew is coming.”
Lauren clicked off the light in the office. “I’ll just get my purse.”
* * *
“Are you ready?” Stephanie called from behind the pink velvet curtain of the dressing area in the small bridal shop in town.
Lauren sat on the tufted bench, facing the platform in front of a large, three-way mirror, the portable stage lights for filming set up just out of view. A crew member, dressed in a T-shirt and black jeans squatted down next to her, the camera on his shoulder as he zoomed in on Lauren’s face and then focused toward the closed curtain.
“Ready,” Lauren called.
