Page 14 of I'll Be There
“We’re nearly to three hundred now,” Mona said.
Liza winced. “And that doesn’t include, oh shoot—”
“Who else did you invite?” Grace had lost a little of her cheery smile, probably due to the wrangling for new venues—any venue, really, that might hold Liza’s popularity.
“Well, there were the ladies from the Rose Garden Society—and the Blue Monkeys of course,”
“They’re playing at the reception. They don’t count,” Grace said.
“They still need to eat!”
Grace ran a hand across her forehead. “Okay, there’s the big equipment shed outside town. Or the barn at the old Wilder place, aka, Casper and Raina’s big project.”
Casper had finally decided where to spend the millions he’d earned by tracking down the missing treasure of Thor and Aggie Wilder. He’d purchased their historical homestead and was in the middle of rejuvenating it, giving the farmhouse new life with his growing family—himself, Raina, and baby Layla.
Raina made a face. “The barn is filled with hay and old manure and the smells of nature. I don’t think...”
“How about the indoor skating rink?” Mona said. “The ice is drained for the season and it’s just sitting empty. We could bring in some pine trees, add twinkle lights—”
“We have two days. And yeah, I can call around and find more tables, more china, but...we have to keep this simple.”
Liza grabbed a pillow from the sofa. Held it to her face to keep from screaming.
The room went quiet.
She took a breath. Looked up at her compatriots. “Okay, I’m trying not to freak out, but does anyone else feel like we’re in over our heads here? Really, Conner was right. We should have eloped. This is a disaster.”
Grace sank down in front of her. “Calm down. No, you shouldn’t have eloped. You might need to learn how to say no, and I hereby forbid you from invitinganyoneelse, but this is not a disaster. This is the most amazing day of your life. I promise, this is the worst of our problems, and we are going to figure it out.” She stood up and glanced at Mona. “I like the skating rink idea. I’m going there to check it out.”
Raina had just come from the kitchen carrying the watermelon salad. She plunked it down on the coffee table. Sat on the couch and began to pick out the grapes.
Liza picked up her phone. Conner had texted four hours ago—four.
“He’s fine,” Mona said, straightening her stack of RSVPs. “Final number, three hundred sixty-four. I think you can officially say that this is the biggest wedding Deep Haven has ever seen.”
Liza reached for the pillow again.
“Liza!” Grace’s voice came from outside. The door squealed on the hinges as she opened it. “It just came!”
Liza lowered the pillow to see Grace holding a plastic-wrapped gown, the hanger high above her head, the bulk of the gown folded over her arm. “The delivery guy just dropped it off.”
Her dress.
She’d had it designed, ordered it online to save money.
Grace brought it inside and hung it on the doorframe of the guest room. Liza got up as Grace unzipped the plastic and opened it.
Tulle and organza spilled out, a fluff of elegance and celebration and—
Wait. No. “This can’t be right.” Liza picked up the train. “It’s...it’s the wrong color. It’s not white, it’s—”
“It’s not brown,” Raina said. “It’s...um, a sort of yellow?”
Silence.
Grace fingered the fabric. “What color did you ask for?”
“Cream. Like, as in...I don’t know, off white, or even just...you know.Cream. Like you put in your coffee.” Liza pressed a hand to her mouth even as Mona pulled the plastic free from the rest of the dress. The light caught the heavily beaded, strapless bodice cut in a sweetheart neckline. A satin belt circled the bodice, and attached to that, a flower fashioned from the stiff organza. A short, gauzy jacket hung on a separate hanger.
