Page 12 of Summer Savory

Chapter Nine

Nora

For the first time in weeks, I went to bed alone. I cried myself to sleep and was still crying when I woke the next morning. My eyes were nearly swollen shut, and I had to figure out something to do quickly. There was a wedding in a few hours, and I couldn’t let my personal life distract me from work.

The kitchen was abuzz with excitement, and I was grateful we’d completed our list the day before. The last wedding we had at the resort was a catastrophe because we were short-handed and got behind. We spent the entire day playing catch up. I vowed then we’d never do that again. So, despite my personal anguish, I was determined that we would not repeat those mistakes.

“Didn’t expect to see you so early this morning,” Dawn said. “We’ve got it all under control if you want to spend some time with Reese today. Doesn’t he leave in a few hours?”

“Nonsense,” I said, sounding just like my father. “I can’t think about that right now, and I don’t want to talk about it either. There’s too much to do to worry about that.”

“But--”

“But nothing! I mean it. Work talk only. Now, tell me anything you know that might be slightly off schedule. Do we need to pull people off of other projects to work on anything else?”

After the planning session with Dawn, I could focus on a few tasks before the heartache sank back in. The walls closed in around me, and I was certain I was suffocating. But, I tried to remember that it was for the best and that our relationship, no matter how beautiful, was doomed from the beginning. We lived in two different worlds, and I didn’t think they were compatible. The bright lights of Paris were a far cry from the mountain wilderness I called home.

The afternoon wedding went off without a hitch. Well, so to speak, and the party lasted until early evening. We were busy cleaning up and assessing the success of another well-planned event when I heard the explosions. Fireworks were unexpected, and I almost dropped the tray I was carrying. “What the hell?” I exclaimed.

“Nora! You’d better come quickly! We need you!” Dawn called out as she ran past me.

“What’s going on? I don’t remember seeing fireworks on the schedule. Besides, haven’t all the guests dispersed by now?”

“Yes, but that means nothing. You must come see this!” Dawn insisted.

Against my better judgment, I followed her outside to see what was happening. I looked to the sky in awe at fireworks filling the sky.

But that wasn’t what caught my attention. Reese stood a few feet outside the building, surrounded by his family. Dawn grabbed my hand and said, “Come on, Nora. I think we have everything worked out for you. You’re going to love this.”

Reese looked at me with apprehension, not sure what I was going to do. I wasn’t sure about that either. He was holding some papers in one hand and a ring box in the other. The sight of both of them made me nervous. “What’s going on here, Reese?” I asked.

“Don’t be mad, baby. It’s all going to make sense in just a minute.” He got down on one knee, opened the ring box, and presented it to me with tears in his eyes. “You’ve made me the happiest man on the face of the planet, and I don’t want our journey to end here. I’m tired of living in Europe, but I didn’t realize it until I met you. I’ve wanted a home, and you are the center of that for me. I spoke with my agent, and she’s convinced she can find work for me here, maybe New York, maybe elsewhere. We’re not sure. Maybe I won’t even work any longer. I’ve made enough money doing that, and I don’t need more. I need nothing but you.”

“You’re crazy! You know that, don’t you?”

“Crazy for you, baby. What do you say? Will you marry me?”

---