Page 44 of Making Waves
Huh? Jane opened her eyes and peeked in. Where were the shells that she’d lined up on the vanity? And the dozens of starfish she’d stood upright on the shelves? Had Andie overheard Marilyn taking about dust and clutter and rushed in to remove them?
Marilyn opened each stall door, nodding her approval. Finally she turned to Jane.
“I suppose this will suffice.” She glanced out the window. “Courtney should be here soon, and we’ll have to show it all to her, but I wanted to have a look at things beforehand so I could try to rectify any shortcomings before she saw them. I don't want my little girl to be disappointed.”
“Of course.” Jane felt bad for Courtney to have such a meddling mother, though it was nice that Marilyn didn't want her daughter to suffer any disappointment on her big day.
Marilyn led the way outside. She paused at the garden, her gaze resting on the large area to the side where the tent would be set up.
“What about the dance floor?” She narrowed her eyes at Jane as if eager to discover a flaw with the plan.
“That will be set up under the tent. We have a gorgeous wooden floor that will be perfect.”
“Oh, well I suppose I can wait to see—”
“Woof!”
Cooper came bounding toward them, his leash trailing from his collar.
Marilyn’s eyes widened as the dog brushed past her on his way to Jane’s side. He pushed his head under Jane’s hand as she grabbed for his leash.
“Is that creature yours?”
“Well, yes... but—”
Andie came around the side of the house, juggling a handful of shells and starfish. That explained where the shells from the bathroom had gone. “Sorry. I had my hands full, and the leash slipped out.”
Cooper strained to sniff at Marilyn, and she jumped back. Jane tugged on the leash to rein him in.
“I certainly hopethat’snot going to be here for the wedding!” Marilyn pointed at Cooper.
Apparently Cooper didn’t register Marilyn’s dislike for him because he wagged his tail and strained to get at her even harder.
“He won’t be at the wedding. We’ll keep him inside.”
“Oh no. This won’t do. Not at all. I think—”
“Hey! Mom!”
All three of them swiveled toward the driveway on the other side of the garden, where a young woman waved cheerily. She started toward them, her long honey-blond hair bouncing like in a shampoo commercial as she hurried across the garden. At least she had normal taste in clothes, judging by her plain tan shirt and khaki capris.
Jane’s stomach twisted as Courtney hurried toward them. What if their bridezilla hated dogs as much as her mother did?
James woke up determined to get Maxi back. Jane’s invitation to the wedding had provided him an opportunity. Sally had said he’d have to get out of his comfort zone, and he knew exactly what to do.
“We’ll show her how much we love her, right, Picasso?”
Picasso simply slitted one eye open from his position atop the cashmere sweater vest that James had placed on the bed.
After the hairball incident, James had no desire to wear that sweater again. It didn’t go with his new less-fussy look anyway. He’d hand-washed it and then given it to Picasso to lie on. The cat seemed pleased.
James felt nervous about his plan. He’d definitely be out of his comfort zone, but he knew it was something Maxi wanted. And he’d worked hard to gain the new skill that would hopefully prove to her that he had changed and was willing to work toward their relationship. Now if she just didn’t show up at the wedding with another date, everything might just work out.
He got his most impressive dress shoes out of the closet and started to polish them. He still had a lot of work to do to perfect his plan and only one day in which to do it.
Jane had expected Courtney to be a sourpuss like her mother, but she actually seemed rather cheery as she approached the group. On the other hand, she was happy to see her mother, which Jane took as a bad sign because if the two of them were anything alike, she was in for a rough road ahead.
“Great to see you, dear!” Marilyn hugged Courtney and then air-kissed her cheek.
