Page 36 of The Wedding Toast
“It’s going to be a busy couple of days for them, but they don’t seem to mind.”
“I know Ollie and Reaves don’t mind pitching in,” said Bentley.
Jacob checked his watch.“Are you going to stick around until your mom lands?”
Bentley pursed his lips.“I’ll have to check and see if they’ve even taken off yet.”
Jacob took his phone out of his pocket and checked the flight tracker app.“Looks like they’ll be here in about half an hour.”
“Then yes,” said Bentley.“Although … I’ll only be saying hello to them.It’s not like they’re coming back to the house.”
“How do you feel about the way it’s all worked out?”Jacob asked.
“A little strange, but it’s all good,” said Bentley.
When she’d still lived in Napa, Bentley’s mom, Alexandria – now known as Ria – had lived on the DuPont estate.Since she’d moved to Summer Lake to be with her new partner, Russ, Bentley and Alyssa had made the estate their home.Bentley’s sister, Willow, now lived here on the Jacobs estate with Slade.And his youngest sister Tori, lived in Summer Lake with Jacob’s younger brother Xander.
Ria had declared, when she was invited to the wedding, that she and Russ would be staying with Madeleine and Cole Hamilton Senior – Smoke’s parents.
Jacob grasped his friend’s shoulder.“I like it for you.Your mom’s told you that she’s not going to interfere.You’re the CEO of the company.It makes sense that she’s not just going to stride back in and take over the house again.And it’s not just the house now – it’s your home with Alyssa.”
Bentley smiled.“It is, yeah.And you’re right, but it still feels strange.”
Jacob smiled.“You’ll get used to it.”
“I will.And you said that Xander and Tori aren’t staying here?”
“No.Xander doesn’t feel any more at home here than Tori does at your place.And besides, with Becca’s family here, and people coming and going all the time, neither of them would be comfortable.”
“I offered them a cottage,” said Bentley, “but they said no.I don’t even know where they’ve ended up staying.Do you?”
“Xander said they rented an Airbnb,” Jacob chuckled.
Bentley laughed with him.“That sounds about right for the two of them.Does Xander still have a car here?”
“He does,” said Jacob.
“Wait – you don’t mean his old Impala, do you?He’s not going to drive that around town, is he?I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Jacob laughed.“No, it’s still here, but he left his truck behind when he and Tori moved to the lake.It’s still out in the garage, along with the Impala and everything else.”
Bentley grinned at him.“Does Becca have any idea yet about what’s been going on in the garage?”
“Not a clue.Or at least if she does, she’s doing a very good job of hiding it.And you know her – I don’t think she’d be able to do that.”
“Neither do I,” said Bentley.“She’s too straightforward.”
“Do you want to come up to the house while we wait for your mom and the others to arrive?Becca’s there with her friend Callie.”
“Sure,” said Bentley.“Are Chuck and Darlene around?I really like them.You lucked out with your new in-laws.”
Jacob nodded happily.“I’m not sure if they’ll be at the house.Well, Darlene will probably be in the kitchen with Elena.Those two get along like a house on fire.I’m not so sure about Chuck.I think it all gets to be a bit much for him, but he enjoys hanging out with Walt, and between them they’ve made sure that the wedding is going to be everything I hoped it would.”
Bentley glanced over at the cornflowers that lined the driveways – even over here by the offices.“I have to ask – are you going to be sick of the sight of cornflowers by the time this is all over?”
Jacob laughed.“I can see why you’d think so, but no.I still love them.They make Becca happy, and that’s all that counts.”
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