Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Brooke
“Welcome to Debbie’s Diner!” three different voices called out as I pushed open the door to the neat little restaurant on Sea Cucumber Street.
It was one of my favorite places to eat on the island, mainly thanks to how cheerful all the employees were, each trying to outdo the other when it came to the guests.
That, and their hot cocoa.
I was a sucker for their cocoa.
“Hi Alice,” I responded, slipping into my booth and plopping my binder on the table. “What’s new?”
“Oh, we’re busy as ever,” the older woman announced good-naturedly as she leaned a hip against the back of the booth across from me. “Since the mayor approved the allowance of some of those new condos as short-term rentals, we’ve been seeing more tourists.”
My brows rose as I began to pull off my gloves, finger by finger. “Even in the dead of winter?”
Chuckling, the waitress glanced around. “Honey, this is the South. You only think it’s cold because you’ve gotten used to that Southern California climate.
We get a lot of Northerners coming down here around this time to enjoy the weather.
Sakkara’s plan means Eastshore won’t completely turn into a tourist town, but we still get some new customers. ”
“And I’ll bet once they come here, they keep coming back.”
Alice grinned. “You mean Eastshore Isle, or this diner in particular?”
I blinked innocently. “If I say both, will you tell me about that drink I saw advertised on the sign outside?”
“Yes.”
So I nodded as if that had been my intention all along. “Both, of course, Alice! The Diner is an integral part of this island’s dining experience!”
The older woman snorted, but then chuckled and pulled out her pad of paper. “Want to try Deb’s Mistletoe Mistake? It tastes like the best kind of bad idea.”
Wrinkling my nose, I slouched in the booth as I tugged my hat from my hair. “Um, why is it a mistake?”
“Because she meant to make a peppermint cocoa, grabbed the cherry syrup instead, and accidentally invented the Mistletoe Mistake. It’s like a chocolate-covered cordial cherry—heavy on the cherry flavoring—that was just lightly kissed by a candy cane.
” Alice waggled her brows. “You’ll love it, I promise. ”
My brows had gone up.
That sounded… Well look, I was going to try it, obviously, because Deb’s specialty drinks had never steered me wrong.
Tastes like the best kind of bad idea was an amazing selling point, honestly.
“I’ll take a medium, please.” Then I nodded across the booth to the empty spot. “I don’t know what Riven will want.”
“No prob, hon.” She straightened away from the booth, making a note on her pad. “I’ll get this out to you and check with her.”
As she bustled away, I tucked my gloves and hat into the pockets of my coat and shrugged out of it.
Maybe I did have thin skin when it came to the weather around here—it’s not like Eastshore Isle got snow or anything, but I thought it was quite chilly.
Which was okay. I was tired of living somewhere that didn’t experience any changes in the seasons.
When I checked my phone, I saw that I was still a few minutes early for our meeting, and I flipped open the binder to find the pages I wanted to show Riven.
I might be the only wedding planner I knew who still preferred paper pages and printed photos—and fabric swatches!
—to digital. Ethan used to always scoff at my binders, calling them old-fashioned…
while he had a nifty tablet he’d use to impress clients.
Sighing, I pushed away thoughts of him and turned to stare out the window. He’d broken up with me this time last year, but we’d tried to keep our company going after that. A futile attempt, it turned out.
“Hi!” Riven called breathlessly as she hurried up to slide onto the bench across from me. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”
“I ordered a hot cocoa, what do you want?”
My little sister winced—did she look more frazzled than usual?—then shook her head. “Let’s just see what you’ve got planned.”
Shrugging, I flipped the binder around and started my spiel about rentals and cake tasting. We’d planned this meeting deliberately to get out of Mom’s house, so I could be sure this was all Riven’s preferences and not our mother’s.
I loved Mom, and I loved that I could come back and stay with her when I visited—now that my little sister wasn’t living there any longer, there was more space—but she did tend to take charge. Riven once told me I got my planning gene from Mom, and I could see that.
Riven let me get about ten minutes into it, nodding along, before she interrupted me.
“Honestly, I have no opinions about what kind of chairs.” She grinned to let me know there were no hard feelings.
“I told Abydos he was in charge of choosing the cake—which probably means he’s going to have his assistant Sylvik do it—and I trust you on these other small decisions. ”
“What kind of china you want at the reception is not a small decision,” I huffed.
“It is when you’re only inviting like thirty people and the reception is in your dining room,” she shot back. “You hired enough help to set up the extra tables and serve the food, right? I’ll handle the menu—”
Oh Lord. “You can’t cater your own wedding!”
“Watch me.” Riven’s grin was a challenge.
“Mom said she’d help, and I’ll arrange it all.
You just make sure the dining room is set up for the guests—and no, I don’t care about which chairs you rent.
” She flipped back to the front page. “Honestly, the only thing I’m pretty definite on are the colors, and even then I could be talked out of it. ”
“No,” I sighed, tapping the inspiration photos I’d printed out. “Hunter green and white, with pops of red? It’s a gorgeous combination and will be perfect for a New Year’s Eve wedding. I was thinking we should add some silver?”
“Oooh, I like it.” Riven closed her hand over mine. “See? This is why you’re the badass wedding planner. Make it happen, Brooke.”
I snorted but turned my hand in hers so I could squeeze her fingers. “You’re sure? You want to just…give me carte blanche?”
“One hundred percent.” I could see the sincerity in her eyes, hear it in her voice. “You know I’m not fussy, and I trust you.”
“You’re right, you’re not fussy.” In deference to the chilly weather, my little sister had donned a hoodie over her regular uniform of T-shirt and yoga pants, her only adornment the simple gold band around her ring finger. “Well…I can plan the wedding, if you want.”
I’d done it often enough, Lord knew.
“Thank you!” She sighed in relief. “Honestly, as long as Abydos is there, I don’t care about anything else.”
I awwww’d obediently.
I’d heard similar sentiments a hundred times over the years, but it really was sweet to see how much my sister was in love with her fiancé.
I’d met the guy, of course, and even before then, I’d known who he was: the reclusive owner of Vengeance, Inc—now Radiance, Inc—was a mystery the media had loved to talk about.
Now that I knew him in person, I saw that most of the rumors were false.
He was scarred and brutal when it came to getting what he wanted, but he was also smart and deeply devoted to my sister, so how could I not like him?
So I flipped modes—and pages—and started to list everything we needed decisions on by Christmas, making sure Riven was fine with me choosing for her. She was remarkably chill—easily the best bride I’d ever worked with—and I was confident I could put together something she’d be happy with—
“Here’s your cocoa, honey,” Alice announced, bustling up. “Sorry, we got busy, so this one’s on the house. You want anything?” she asked Riven, as I objected.
“You don’t have to do that, Alice—”
“Oh, just enjoy the Mistletoe Mistake,” Alice scolded, then waved as she hurried off.
“Mistletoe mistake?” Riven asked as I studied the drink. The glass mug showed off the deep red swirls, and the white whipped cream was sprinkled with crushed peppermint. I had to admit it looked festive. I took a sip.
“Oh!” My brows rose in surprised delight. “This does work.”
Riven made a give it here gesture as she leaned across the table. I obediently passed her my drink, and she tasted it.
“Oh wow!” Her eyes sparkled. “Cherry and…mint? I wouldn’t have put them together in a hot chocolate, but it works.”
“It definitely works. Give it back.”
She was chuckling as she pushed the mug across the table, but her laughter turned to a greeting. I followed her gaze…and my breathing stopped.
It was him.
The well-dressed orc I’d dropped a tree on top of—he was wearing another polo shirt that stretched across his chest, did he not know it was December?—was strolling toward us. When he met my eyes, I saw his grin grow and felt my cheeks—and maybe something lower—heating in response.
“Sylvik!” Riven stood up, nudged him toward her bench, then slid in beside him. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” he murmured, but his gaze hadn’t left mine.
“Brooke, this is Sylvik, Abydos’s incredibly competent and organized assistant. He basically keeps us all in line. Sylvik, this is my sister, Brooke Starr.”
When he murmured, “Delighted,” I was certain I could feel that low rumble in my core.
As for me, I managed to croak, “Hi,” as if I hadn’t humiliated myself in front of him only the other day. As if I hadn’t thought of him at least once an hour since then.
Riven gestured proudly to me. “Brooke has a hot-shot wedding planning business out in L.A. She’s taking a little break here on Eastshore to plan our wedding.”
Sylvik’s gaze was strangely intense as he settled across from me. “So you’ll be returning to the west coast in the new year?”
Um. Would I? “I-I haven’t decided yet.” I didn’t exactly have a company to return to, but I did have dozens of contacts and connections, so I could start up another company.
Without Ethan.