Chapter 5 #2
“Right. I still need to know what to do about the first-look area. Then you can go.”
“Just to clarify, I can go whenever I choose to go. I’m doing you a favor.”
I let out a sardonic chuckle. “Damn expensive favor, but fine. Let’s do this so we can be done. What would you suggest?”
She paced toward the far end, her arms crossed, fist on her chin.
I watched her, taking in her fit body, the curves of her hips, the slight messiness of the long ponytail going down her back.
Her body had matured since high school, filled out to be more womanly, alluring.
She was admittedly a beautiful woman on the outside, but I was not affected by her looks.
“For couples who want a special first-look location,” she said from the other end of the barn, “we could make sort of a backdrop along this wall here.”
I couldn’t help noticing she used the word we, as if she and I were in this together, which we absolutely were not.
Not if I could help it. And that was the quandary, wasn’t it?
I wasn’t aware of other event planners in Dragonfly Lake who weren’t affiliated with a specific venue like the Marks.
She was it until you got to Nashville. So if I wanted to get wedding business, I might need Magnolia’s referrals.
“What kind of a backdrop?” I asked as I walked that way.
“One of the other barns I just started working with has a wall of greenery and floral arrangements that makes a gorgeous background. I was thinking of something with rustic wood in a neutral color with string lights, some flowers, possibly even a sign with the bride and groom’s name and the date.”
“You work with another barn? For weddings?” When I’d gotten this idea months ago, I’d searched online for similar venues in the area and hadn’t found any. If there was a competitor out there, I wanted to know about it.
“Yes,” she said nonchalantly. “And I’m meeting with a third one next week. It’s smaller than yours but has an upper level too. Anyway, outdoors is really preferred for the first look when the weather’s nice. You’ll want to consider that once you get the inside done.”
Hell. Two competitors I hadn’t known about? All my dad’s naysaying rattled through my head, chipping away at my confidence. Was I making a mistake? This wasn’t a small commitment, financially and otherwise.
If Magnolia was in fact the only planner in Dragonfly Lake and possibly even in Runner and the surrounding area, and she recommended these other two barns before mine—because why would she recommend mine when we couldn’t stand each other and didn’t like working together?
—this endeavor could crash and burn fast.
Fuck.
Insecurity rushed over me like a tidal wave. What the hell did I know about event hosting?
I had vague plans to hire someone to run the event business if it got to be too much work, but if Magnolia avoided recommending my barn, would I even get business?
I peered up at the dramatic rafters I’d been in awe of since I was a kid. This might be an old barn, but the architecture was cool as hell. I believed in my bones it would make a spectacular place for weddings and receptions.
I knew lots of people in town, got along with most of them. I could get a marketing expert to help me promote my barn. I could reach out to wedding planners in Nashville, start making connections in the industry just like Magnolia was.
With a nod, I calmed myself down. I did not need Magnolia James for this to work.
I took out my phone and added a reminder to research other planners in the state and start reaching out.
I wasn’t going to fail. My stakes were too high.
As I stuck my phone back in my pocket, Magnolia walked back toward this end of the barn, still taking in the space, her mind clearly spinning with ideas. If we were on better terms, I’d have loved to be in on those ideas.
Her phone rang as she came closer, and she took it out of a pocket in her vest and checked the screen. She frowned.
“I need to take this in case it’s business,” she said.
I nodded and turned my attention to measuring and taking notes based on what we’d discussed. Her idea for separate storage was admittedly a decent one.
Though I had no interest in her life, I couldn’t help tuning in to her phone call, particularly when she sucked in her breath a few seconds after saying hello. The look on her face gripped me, though I couldn’t quite decipher it. Shock? Confusion? Distress?
“I’m here,” she said in between long pauses. Then she turned her back to me and said, “I think it’s safe to say you don’t know a thing about me.” She added a series of mm-hmms, yeses, a no, and then, “Look, I’m working right now and can’t talk. Can I call you back at this number?”
After ending the call, Magnolia seemed to wilt, her back still to me. I wasn’t sure she remembered I was nearby.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
She straightened, verifying my suspicions that she’d forgotten where she was.
“That was my mother,” she said, turning but not looking at me. If I wasn’t mistaken, she’d gone pale.
I didn’t have anything good to say about Bianca James. Magnolia hadn’t talked a lot about her parents back when we were close, but I’d learned enough to think they were both assholes. I couldn’t fathom a mother who just up and left her family without explanation.
“She wants to meet,” Magnolia said.
“Meet?” I asked, unsure what she meant. Meet me? Meet Magnolia? Had she not seen her daughter lately?
“She wants to talk.”
“How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”
Magnolia finally made eye contact with me. “Eighteen years.”
“You never heard from her after she left?”
Magnolia pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I tried to reach out to her twice. She never responded.” She inhaled deeply, her chest rising with it, and I scolded myself for noticing.
What the fuck was wrong with that woman? Leaving her teenage daughter was bad, but I’d always figured she’d come back around or at least caught up with Magnolia if it was her husband she was escaping.
An expression flickered over Magnolia’s features, and I saw a hint of vulnerability. Just for a second. Just enough to send me back nearly two decades to when we’d been…involved.
My hatred began a slow melt, or at least a softening. I knew from experience how tough losing your mom was. My mom’s death had hit me hard, still hit hard even though it’d been years. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like knowing your mother chose to disappear from your life.
“Are you going to meet with her?” I asked. I might not like her, but I couldn’t help feeling a smidgeon of empathy for her.
“I…don’t know.” She shook her head, seeming to come back to the here and now. Her tone returned to chilly and businesslike. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.” She checked the time on her phone. “It hasn’t been quite an hour. Don’t you want to get every bit of your money’s worth from me?”
Annnnd any sympathy I’d felt crumbled at the snark in her tone.
“I got what I need,” I said. “Send me a bill for the full hour. Thanks for your help.”
With her jaw tight, body stiff, she nodded once, then walked out of the barn without another word.