Chapter 21
Chapter 21
IT WAS THE MORNING of Cassie and Will’s wedding, and Cassie and we three bridesmaids were getting ready in a suite at The Windsor Inn. It was a former stately home that had been made into a hotel and wedding venue, with its English country garden charm and beautiful setting. Their wedding was to be held outside on the rolling lawn in a perfectly romantic setting, followed by a reception in a large, elegantly decorated marquee.
Today, however, it wasn’t looking set to be quite so perfectly romantic.
It was raining. No, scratch that—it was pouring. Monsoon-like. And it didn’t show signs of stopping any time soon.
“Go away, rain!” Cassie stood in a fluffy white hotel robe, her arms crossed, glaring out the window at the dark rain clouds.
“I’m not sure that approach is going to work, Cassie,” Marissa said from her comfy chair by the coffee table, laden with tubes of makeup.
“Don’t worry. Rain is good luck on your wedding day, right, Bailey?” Paige sat in a dining chair, looking up at the ceiling as the makeup artist applied eyeliner to her lower lids.
I had no clue whether rain was good luck or bad luck or any type of luck on a wedding day, but Cassie didn’t need to hear that. “Totally good luck.”
“It’s meant to get worse before it gets better,” Justine, the makeup artist, announced. “I heard it on the radio on my way here. Rain, gale force winds, thunder and lightning. The works.”
She so wasn’t helping.
Cassie groaned. “Are you freaking kidding me?” She plunked herself down on the sofa, her bottom lip protruding. “This wedding is a disaster!”
“No, it’s not. I’m sure the hotel has back-up options for this sort of thing,” Paige said, her gaze still on the ceiling.
“Exactly,” I echoed. “This is Auckland. Four seasons in one day, right?”
Cassie shrugged, tugging at the soft waves the hairdresser had perfected only an hour before. “I guess.”
“We just have to wait and see what happens with the rain. The wedding’s not for another three hours, anyway,” Marissa said from her spot on the sofa. “If it’s got to be somewhere else, then it’s got to be somewhere else.”
Marissa was ever the pragmatist.
There was a loud rap on the door.
“I’ll get it.” I sprang up from my seat, padded across the plush-carpeted floor, and pulled the door open.
Tania, the wedding coordinator, in her sensible gray pantsuit and tight bun, bustled past me and into the suite, a worried look on her face. “Ladies. Things are not looking good out there.”
Cassie wrapped her arms around her body. “Tell me something we don’t know, Tania.”
“Well, the All Blacks team has just been announced for the summer tour.” Tania’s eyes darted around us all.
And . . . crickets.
Tania laughed. “You asked me to tell you something you didn’t know. Sorry, silly joke. Trying to lighten the mood. And I am a big rugby fan.”
“Good to know.” Marissa shot me a look.
Cassie simply blinked at her. I could only imagine what was running through her mind right about now.
“So. Here’s the deal. The hotel can rearrange the marquee to accommodate the wedding service. They just need to get the go-ahead from you and Will. I’ve just been to see the guys. Will was, ah, still getting dressed.” She grinned, blushing. “He was in his boxers, actually. Does he work out?”
My brows sprung up. First a joke about rugby and now she was lusting after the groom? Where did Cassie and Will find this wedding planner?
Cassie ignored the question. I mean, how would you respond to that, anyway? “What did Will want to do about the ceremony?”
As if by cosmic coincidence, Cassie’s phone on the coffee table began to ring. I picked it up and glanced at the screen. “It’s Will.”
She walked over to me, her brows knitted together as she regarded the phone. “I know it’s bad luck to see the groom on the day of your wedding, but is it bad luck to talk to him, too?”
“I don’t think that’s a thing.” Marissa shook her head.
“Definitely not a thing,” Tania confirmed—although I’m not sure anyone was listening to a word she had to say after her previous comments.
Paige and I both agreed, and the makeup artist shrugged, pleading ignorance of such things.
Wise move.
“I’m gonna answer it.” Cassie took the phone from me and swiped to answer. “Hey, honey.”
We all watched as she paced the room, listening to whatever it was her soon-to-be husband was saying. “Right . . . okay . . . I know, it sucks . . . damn rain . . . I love you, too.”
“Well?” I was as impatient as everyone else in the room to know what he’d said.
“He’s not thrilled about it, but having the ceremony in the marquee looks like it’s our only option.” She slumped down on the sofa next to me, staring into space. “It’s not going to be the way we envisioned it.”
“Oh, Cassie. It’ll still be wonderful.” I rubbed her arm.
“Totally. And the rain will only add to the drama.” Paige smiled at Cassie, her makeup complete.
“Wise choice,” Tania said. “I’ll go and get onto organizing it. You stay here, relaxed, getting ready. I’ll check back in later. I might drop by the guys once more. You know, to see if everything’s okay with them.”
She bustled out of the room and closed the door behind herself.
“Where did you find that one?” Marissa asked Cassie. “A Justin Bieber concert? She’s got to be about thirteen.”
“At least we know she’s a big rugby fan,” I added with a smile.
Cassie let out a sigh. “She’s Will’s distant cousin by marriage. Someone’s married to someone, and she’s their daughter. Something like that. It’s kinda complicated. She’s not done a wedding before, and we said we’d let her plan ours so she got some experience for her C.V.”
“She hasn’t done a wedding before? You don’t say.” Marissa’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“She’s been fine. I’ve really been doing most of the work. She’s kind of been tagging along for the ride, more than anything.”
“Well, as long as she doesn’t need to be back for study hall,” Marissa said with a laugh.
“Not helping.” Cassie glared at her.
“Right, you’re next.” Justine pointed at Marissa. Paige stood up and Justine patted the empty seat.
She’d done my makeup straight after Cassie’s so I could be ready to greet our catering staff when they arrived. Jason—of the “I’m Dan’s doppelg?nger” fame—was scheduled with a few of others, and Sophie had stepped up to help us out as well. Plus, we had hired some chefs to prepare the food we couldn’t do beforehand. It was more than a little challenging to be a supportive and present part of the bridal party and run the catering at the same time. But Paige and I adored Cassie and Will and wanted to do whatever we could to make their day as special as it could be.
Paige moved over to the window, and Marissa took her seat.
My phone beeped in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who it was. Ryan’s name flashed on the screen.
I’ll keep my distance today, you don’t have to worry.
My throat tightened. I hadn’t seen or heard from Ryan since that early morning in the alley outside the café. He’d respected my need for distance, and I was grateful to him.
But no matter how I’d tried, I hadn’t been able to get him out of my head—or my heart.
My guilt over Dan had reached Biblical proportions.
Ryan was one of the wedding guests, so even if I wanted to avoid him, that wasn’t going to happen today. I’d heard he and Will had become golfing buddies, and Cassie had known him for years.
I typed out a message, pausing before I hit send.
You don’t need to do that.
My thumb hovered over the “send” button. Instead of pressing it, I deleted the sentence and re-typed.
Thanks.
My phone made that whooshing sound as the text was sent. I held it against my tummy, surprised when it beeped once more. I turned the screen over to look at the message, half hoping it was Ryan, changing his mind, telling me he wasn’t going to keep his distance.
Telling me he knew we were meant to be together.
It wasn’t from Ryan. It was from Meredith.
Everything’s set. I’ll see you on Saturday. 11am.
My chest tightened. Saturday was the twenty-sixth, three years since Dan had passed away.
Three years since my life had changed irrevocably.
Last year Meredith, Josh, and I, along with Dan’s father, George, commemorated Dan’s short life by each releasing a balloon at the beach where we’d scattered his ashes. The beach he’d loved as a kid. This year we planned to do the same once more.
I sent a quick reply.
Thanks. See you then.
I turned my phone over and placed it on the coffee table. I knew Saturday would be incredibly hard, for me as well as for Dan’s family. But it felt vital to do, vital not to forget him. Because we could never do that.
“Oh, my gosh. You guys!” Paige was standing at the window, her mouth dropped open as her eyes darted around the room.
“What is it?” Cassie’s voice was tinged with panic.
“You’ve got to see. Come, quick.”
Cassie, Marissa, Justine, and I rushed over to the large window.
I looked down to the lawn below. “What?”
Paige pointed over to the far corner of the lawn, where the marquee for the wedding was pitched, set against a line of elegant column trees. Only, instead of a large, elegant marquee capable of holding one-hundred and twenty guests, standing proud, white against the green grass, there was now a soggy, lumpy, white mess. One end was still upright, the other totally collapsed.
“The marquee’s fallen down ?” I uttered, barely believing my eyes.
It was official. This wedding was a disaster-in-the-making.
My mind instantly darted to the tables and the work Paige, Sophie, and I had put into setting them up early this morning. I heaved a sigh of relief that the food and the cake weren’t due to be delivered for another hour or so.
“What are we going to do?” Cassie’s face was aghast.
“Don’t worry. We’ll work something out, right, girls?” Paige’s eyes flashed to mine.
“Totally.” I sounded a gazillion percent more certain than I was. “We’ll come up with something.”
I looked at Paige and Marissa and mouthed “what?” They both shrugged, shaking their heads.
Cassie was still examining at the mess of the marquee on the lawn. She rubbed her neck, shaking her head. “I can’t get married. I can’t get married.”
And then it hit me.
I gestured to Paige to follow me to the other side of the room, and we moved away from Cassie, leaving her with Marissa and Justine, all three still gazing at the shocking sight outside.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Paige said in hushed tones.
“If you’re thinking we should have the wedding at the Cozy Cottage, then yes, totally.”
Paige’s face lit up, a smile forming on her pretty face. “You know what? I think Cassie would love that. The café has been such a big part of her life.”
“It’s not exactly the perfect romantic setting she was going for, but I’m not sure we have a lot of other options right now.”
“Do you think we can fit one-hundred-and-fifty guests, though?”
I thought of our Cozy Cottage Jams and how we rearranged the tables to fit more people in. But it didn’t come close to one-hundred-and-fifty.
Then, I remembered something I’d seen at Addison’s old florist shop and a seed of an idea began to grow. “You know how there are those double wooden doors behind where we put the stage on a Friday night?”
Paige nodded. “I’ve always wondered about those.”
“Well, they lead through to that florist shop that used to be next door, Addison’s old place. She told me her shop and our café used to be a restaurant back in the day.”
“And you’re telling me this now why?”
“The shop is still up for sublease. I can contact Addi and ask her if we can rent it for the evening. It’s got a beautiful courtyard out back, and we can open the doors from the café. It’ll almost be like one big room.”
Paige’s face lit up. “That could actually work. Is it a covered courtyard?”
“Yup. The perfect place for a wedding ceremony.” I grinned, thinking about the special feeling the courtyard had given me when Addi had shown it to me. “We’ll need to organize more tables and chairs, but I think it could work.”
Paige pulled me in for a quick hug. “Bailey, you’re a genius.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Extremely intelligent, maybe?” I winked, and Paige laughed. “First thing I need to do before we say anything to Cassie is find out if we can rent that space.”
“Do you know how to get hold of Addison?”
“Just leave it to me.”
I collected my phone from the table and scrolled through my contacts. I knew Addi was in Florida, and I had no clue what time of day or night it was there, but this was an emergency. Although I didn’t know her well, something told me she’d be happy to help us out.
The phone rang only a couple of times before she answered. “Bailey? Oh, my gosh. How are you?”
“I’m great, thanks. Look, we’re in a bit of a jam here, and I was wondering if you could help us out?”
“Anything.”
I explained what had happened and asked if we could use her old shop. She agreed in a heartbeat, insisting we have the place for free for the night and telling me where to collect the keys.
“That courtyard would be perfect for the ceremony,” she said.
“I know, although it’s not big enough to fit all the guests.”
“Just as long as you have the bride and groom there, right?”
“Exactly.”
I hung up from Addi and beamed at Paige. “We’re on.”
“Addison’s a total life saver.”
“I know, right? Remind me to bake her a huge cake next time she’s back in New Zealand. Okay, let’s think this through. The place has been closed all day, so you and I will need to get there with Sophie and the rest of the catering staff a-sap to set up.”
Paige nodded. “I’ll need to get on the phone right now to let them know. It’s a good thirty-minute drive here from the city.”
“Yes, good. I’ll pack up my stuff and head straight back to the café to get things started.”
“Aren’t we forgetting one important detail?” Paige looked across the room at Cassie. She was still standing at the window, Marissa consoling her.
“Gotcha.” I smiled. “One rather important detail.”
We approached the window, excited we had the means to save the day.
“Cassie?” My voice was gentle.
She turned to look at us, her cheeks wet with tears.
I couldn’t help the smile from bursting onto my face. “We’ve got an idea.”