Chapter Four
Celine had walked into the boutique just as they’d finished fitting Emilie and Desiree. The gown Aylin had designed for Mom had fit like a glove since she’d already known her measurements. Designing the gown had been one of the first things Aylin had done after learning two weeks earlier about Dad’s plans for Rafe and Camille to remarry in Crystal Rock on Christmas day.
Hopefully, the assault on the Broussard family was finished, Dad had said. First, in a highly suspicious incident, Alex had gone missing in action in Afghanistan but was later discovered alive—not because someone hadn’t tried to eliminate him, but because of mistaken identity. Then Ash had proved to be responsible for kidnapping Gray’s son Joey after seducing his first wife. Rafe’s wife Camille had been stalked, while her sister Emilie, who just happened to be the love of Gray’s life, had been brutally assaulted by Ash, they’d recently discovered. Ash had even focused his attention on Desiree for a while. And then there’d been numerous attempts on Dad’s life as well as on Gray’s and Desiree’s husband Marc’s. Even Celine had gone in hiding so that no one knew she’d been pregnant when Alex disappeared.
All because Ash’s birth father had been killed as a leader of Isis in Turkey. Not only Ash, but his uncle, sought revenge since Broussard Industries had been responsible for manufacturing the newly designed cutting-edge weaponry behind the assault of that particular terrorist cell. Aylin assumed they’d used some kind of drone.
There was more to the story than even that, Aylin had been told. Funds were being syphoned from the company and defective parts had been produced for military contracts, along with numerous other problems. But Dad had sat down with them all after Ash’s last attempt to wreak havoc to try and explain the situation. There’d been a bomb planted at the central manufacturing plant in New Orleans, where not only were the business offices located, but thousands of employees worked. It had been set to go off during the hub of activity on Monday morning, one month earlier.
Somehow, it had been detected and disarmed, although Aylin didn’t know the details about how.
But Ash had somehow disappeared when they’d attempted to take him into custody.
Realizing that Aylin was the only family member who’d been left unscathed, Dad had felt that it was important for Aylin to be told the truth. Everyone was keeping a watchful eye on her, even though they couldn’t imagine why Ash would bother causing any trouble for her since she was the only family member who didn’t have any direct connection to the business. She had no interest in learning the ropes.
But there were so many horrific things that Ash was responsible for, the entire family decided that they couldn’t afford to take any chances.
Aylin was starting to feel confined. At least she was able to roam around inside the Inn on her own because of all the security, but she’d sure like to get out for a while and maybe go for a walk and see the sights. Supposedly, there was ice skating nearby. She’d love to know what it was like to skate outdoors on an actual body of ice rather than the rink that they visited at home.
It didn’t matter so much right now, since everyone seemed to approve of the work she’d done with the gowns. She had plenty of things to do for the next few days. But maybe everyone would ease up a little after the wedding.
“Now that we’re through this phase of the fitting, why don’t we all have lunch in the restaurant?” Desiree suggested after Celine returned to the fitting room to change back into her slacks and sweater.
“I’ll need to come back to work on the wedding gown after we eat,” Aylin said.
Rene smiled at Aylin. “Go and get recharged. Take your time, and I’ll see you in about an hour or two. I’ve got an additional sales clerk coming in this afternoon because sometimes we get busy before the charity event that’s taking place tomorrow. You’d be surprised at how many guests don’t realize that it’s a formal affair and have nothing to wear. That’s actually why we began stocking menswear here at the boutique as well once we expanded.”
“Aylin. I feel guilty about leaving you here sewing while Marc and I go visit our nephews over at Celene and Alex’s house this afternoon,” Desiree said, frowning.
Aylin grinned. “I’ll be fine. I’ll grab my iPod from my room and get absorbed in my work while I listen to some music.”
“She definitely gets absorbed,” Rene agreed. “I wish that everyone who worked for me could be even half as enthused as Aylin.”
Celine walked out from the dressing room. “Come on ladies. Lunch is on me since I probably held all of you up by arriving so late.”
“Everyone had plenty to do,” Aylin said reassuringly. “You came just in time. Now all we have left are the alterations. I even talked to Mom and Dad about ordering your flowers Camille, and went over everything with the flower shop owner in town via Facetime. Maybe you’d like to stop by the flower shop while you’re doing your shopping this afternoon, to check everything out and give your approval. The place is called Sander’s Floral, and it’s located in the mall downtown.”
Celine smiled. “I recommended the place since I know the owner. They do a terrific business in town as well as here at the Inn.”
“Is there anything that you haven’t thought of, Aylin?” Camille asked, definitely taken aback. “I’ll bet everything you’ve chosen is perfect. But yes we can stop by there this afternoon to make sure that nothing was forgotten.”
“I’m just glad there were fresh flowers available for your wedding,” Rene admitted as everyone began gathering their belongings to depart. “Between the charity event and the holiday, there’s usually a shortage—especially with holiday-themed flowers such as red roses and rubrum lilies.”
“I think the manager said something about Danielle Loughlin putting in a word for us,” Aylin admitted.
“No wonder.” Rene smiled, turning to Camille. “Have you met Danielle? She and her husband Jake own the Inn.”
“No. I’m sure that Mom and Dad have, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to book our suite here at the Inn during the holidays—especially with that huge charity event going on tomorrow.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of her because she was popular way before your time, but Danielle’s maiden name is Reardon, and she was once a Grammy winning vocalist. She still performs occasionally at the charity events.”
Aylin’s eyes went wide. “Wait a minute. Is Eve Loughlin her daughter? I saw them perform together about five years ago when Eve had a concert in New Orleans.”
“She is,” Rene answered smiling. “I think that Eve Loughlin might even be here tomorrow.”
When Aylin’s jaw dropped, Desiree began laughing and soon everyone else joined in.
“Music used to be Aylin’s first love,” Desiree admitted. “Although it looks like clothing design has taken over.”
Aylin scrunched her nose, staring at Desiree. “Because I’m a terrible singer. I’ve always been so jealous of you and Marc, watching the two of you performing. It always looks so easy for both of you. You sound so good together too.”
“You and your husband are performers?” Rene asked. “Maybe you should add your name to Danielle’s list for tomorrow since you’re staying here at the Inn anyway. They’re always looking for additional entertainers for the charity event because it’s so close to Christmas and so many people have plans.”
“Our vocals aren’t even close to the caliber of the people performing tomorrow,” Desiree observed.
“Don’t you dare say that,” Aylin said firmly, stomping her foot. “Marc’s band won a major competition a few years ago and all of you performed with some pretty big names. They still go on tour too, even though they don’t do it full time.”
Rene winked at Aylin. Even though Desiree was trying to drop the subject, Aylin had a feeling that Danielle Loughlin was going to hear about Marc and Desiree anyway. Rene’s shop seemed to be a pit stop for all the Inn’s employees throughout the day, Aylin had noticed.
“Why don’t we plan on your next fitting the day after tomorrow on Christmas Eve morning?” Rene suggested. “Then we’ll have another twenty-four hours to correct anything we might have missed.”
“We’ll be here. Thank you so much, Rene,” Celine said as everyone filed through the doorway to exit the shop.
Lagging behind, Aylin reached for her purse, giving Rene a wide smile as she rushed to catch up. “See you later.”
“I’ll be here,” Rene answered, smiling.