Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Audrey smoothed down the front of her black dress, turning back and forth in front of the mirror a few times.
The dress was knee-length, with an elegant square neckline, and she’d paired it with a simple pearl necklace and glossy black heels.
Her curly hair, which she normally allowed to toss around her shoulders, was pinned back with a gold hair clip.
She sighed, biting her lip as she inspected her reflection. Ordinarily, she would have seen herself looking so elegant and simply felt delighted and excited to go out. That evening, however, she felt jittery, and she found herself questioning everything about her outfit.
Does this make me look respectable? she wondered. Does it say, “I would never let my boyfriend judge a contest unfairly in my favor?”
She laughed a moment later, since the thought had been absurd.
Of course no dress had that much power. Still, she wanted to wear something that gave a good impression.
It was the night of the contest, and the winners would be announced at a ceremony at the Bluewater Bistro.
She knew that if The Birchwood House won the competition, there would be rumors that Evan had judged unfairly, and people would whisper that he’d been helping the hotel out because he’d wanted it to win the competition.
Her heart felt heavy at the thought of those things happening, but she still wanted to win the competition.
She sighed, wishing that article had never been published in the Coral Sands newspaper.
She would have been nervous about the outcome of the contest even without the speculation that Evan was going to be a biased judge.
Now, her jitters made her feel as though her stomach was riding some invisible rollercoaster, and she didn’t know when it was going to suddenly drop and make her insides do another jump of nervousness.
She was inspecting her outfit one more time, wondering if she should choose a dress with an even longer skirt, when the front doorbell rang.
Her heart skipped a beat, since she knew that meant that Evan was there to pick her up.
She was excited to see him, but at the same time his arrival increased her nervousness about the competition.
She grabbed her beaded clutch purse—a beautiful, handmade accessory that she only used on special occasions—and hurried down the staircase of The Birchwood House.
She could see Evan standing behind the front door through the stained glass that surrounded it like a kind of frame.
She smiled, since even through the colors and patterns of the glass she could see that he was wearing a suit.
He always looked particularly handsome to her when he was wearing a suit.
“Hi,” she said, a little breathlessly, as she swung the front door open. “Sorry, I was upstairs. I guess Mom and Michelle are still getting ready also.”
“Wow,” he said, staring at her. “You look amazing. And don’t worry about it. I was only waiting a few seconds.”
They shared a kiss, and even though it was sweet, Audrey’s heart panged with worry as they were pulling away from it.
“I feel terrible even thinking this,” she said, clutching her purse tightly, “but do you think it’s wise for us to arrive at the restaurant together? Won’t that make people gossip even more?”
Evan took her in his arms and gave her another kiss. “We’re a couple,” he said gently. “We’re not going to act like we’re not. Let people say what they’re going to say.”
“Okay.” She smiled at him, feeling her heart hammer in her chest, but feeling grateful for the way his strong arms were holding her tightly.
“Audrey? Are you ready to go?” Elaine called from upstairs.
“I’m down here, Mom!” Audrey called back. “Evan just got here.”
Elaine descended the staircase a moment later. She was wearing a burgundy pantsuit with white flats and her own set of pearls. She looked stylish and elegant, and Audrey’s heart caught in her throat as she thought about how much she loved her mother and how proud she was of her.
“Coming!” Michelle called from upstairs, even though no one had been pestering her. Audrey and Elaine chuckled. Michelle appeared a moment later, wearing a dark green dress with short sleeves and a full skirt.
“You look gorgeous, honey,” Audrey told her, as soon as Michelle reached the bottom of the staircase. She hugged her daughter tightly.
It doesn’t matter what other people say, Audrey thought. I know what a good job we’ve done together, turning the mansion into a hotel. Whatever happens, I’m incredibly proud of us, and I’m so grateful that I get to spend my days working with my two favorite women.
“We should get going,” Evan said, glancing at his watch. “I want to get there early, and I’m sure you all do as well.”
“Yes,” Audrey said, although the reality was, she felt so nervous that part of her wanted to arrive late—after everything had already gotten started—so that she could stay in the back of the crowd and mostly go unnoticed.
Then she reminded herself that she hadn’t gotten all dressed up just to hide under a rock.
She was going to go to the contest’s award ceremony with her head held high and a smile on her face.
All four of them got into Evan’s car and they drove to the Bluewater Bistro. The ceremony was going to take place on the rear deck of the restaurant, which overlooked the ocean and had been strung with twinkling lights.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Michelle whispered to Audrey as they walked up. “You can already tell it’s going to be an amazing sunset.”
Audrey nodded, noticing the way the western sky was beginning to flush with pink and gold. She took a deep breath of the fragrant sea breeze, and a wave of relaxation swept over her. Worrying about other people’s opinions wasn’t worth her energy, certainly not in the grand scheme of things.
The party that was gathered on the deck was animated.
People were dressed in their best clothes, and everyone looked elegant.
There was an almost electric feeling of anticipation in the air, and Audrey felt a thrill go through her.
She couldn’t help hoping that The Birchwood House would win the contest, even though the rumors made things complicated.
Audrey, Evan, Elaine, and Michelle began to mill around the party, sampling hors d’oeuvres and sipping from tall, thin flutes of champagne.
As Audrey gazed around the deck, she noticed Jill, the owner of Whiskers and Wags, give her a bit of a cold look from across the party.
Audrey swallowed, feeling a sudden impulse to step away from Evan.
But she didn’t, and instead she smiled at Jill and carried on as if nothing was the matter.
It wasn’t long before the chairman stepped up to a podium that had been equipped with a small microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, smiling broadly. “May I have your attention, please.”
There was a rustling of murmurs and then the party fell silent. Audrey took a deep breath, and beside her, Evan squeezed her hand.
The chairman addressed the crowd, announcing that he would call up each of the business owners who had entered the contest one by one so that they could make a short speech.
Audrey’s heart jumped into her throat when she heard the words, since she didn’t feel at all prepared to make a speech.
Elaine, however, rose to the occasion effortlessly.
“I’ll do it,” she whispered to Audrey with a smile. “I like making speeches.”
Audrey smiled gratefully at her mother, thinking to herself that Elaine was as classy as a queen.
The chairman called the names of local business owners one by one, and they went up to the podium to make short speeches.
When it was Elaine’s turn, she stepped regally up to the microphone and looked out across the crowd with a radiant smile.
“Good evening, everyone,” Elaine said, her tone resonant and serene.
“It’s so wonderful to see all of your familiar faces here in one place.
I’m speaking for The Birchwood House, which I co-own with my daughter Audrey and granddaughter Michelle.
Working together has been incredibly sweet.
We’re also business partners with Townsend’s Bakery, which makes our lives even sweeter.
” Elaine delivered her cheesy joke with the perfect amount of cheerful self-awareness, and the crowd laughed appreciatively.
“We’re beyond excited to be able to serve Coral Sands and the tourists who come here.
We want to open our home to anyone who needs a place to stay, or who simply wants to get away from their regular life for a while.
The Birchwood House has been a part of Coral Sands almost since the very beginning of our town, and I couldn’t be happier to be involved in continuing its legacy.
My daughter and granddaughter have been working tirelessly to make the hotel the best place it can be.
We’ve spent countless hours cleaning and making repairs, designing bedrooms, and planning our breakfast menus.
It’s been like living in a wonderful dream, and I can’t wait to see that dream come true after our grand opening. Thank you all.”
The crowd applauded, and it seemed to Audrey that they were applauding more loudly for Elaine than they had for the other business owners. She scanned the faces in the crowd, and she noticed Shep Townsend looking at Elaine with shining eyes.
He really admires her, Audrey realized, almost shocked by the look on Shep’s face. She’d never seen him look so warmly at anyone or anything before. And even after she barged into his kitchen like that! I wonder if there’s something brewing there?
The thought of a romance between her mother and Shep Townsend made Audrey grin uncontrollably.
“What is it?” Evan asked her in a whisper, noticing her gleeful expression.
She shook her head. “I’ll tell you later,” she whispered back.