Chapter 9
Cassie hadn’t slept much after her conversation with Molly the previous night.
She was trying to help Molly get through this, but everything she did seemed to be wrong.
It was times like this she missed her mom the most. She would’ve known exactly what to do to make Molly feel better. She always did.
Her parents had been gone eighteen years and in many ways it still felt like yesterday.
The smell of bacon caught Cassie’s attention and lured her to the kitchen. “It smells good in here,” she said, seeing Molly at the stove and Digit on the island keeping her company.
Molly turned with a pan of bacon in her hands, then slid a couple of pieces onto a plate of scrambled eggs. “Hey, I wanted to apologize for last night.” She slid the plate and a mug of coffee over to Cassie and put the pan back on the stove.
“You didn’t have to do that, but I do appreciate it.” Cassie smiled. She usually grabbed a yogurt for breakfast, but the smell of bacon made her realize how hungry she was. “Join me?” She nodded toward the kitchen table.
“Sure.” Molly grabbed the other plate and her coffee and followed her to the table.
“Besides, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have gone to Eva’s. I just didn’t know what else to do.” She took a bite of bacon, the salty goodness reminding her of weekends when her mom used to make a huge breakfast for the family. “God, this is so good.”
Molly chuckled. “I’m glad you like it. And you helping with the weddings means everything to me. I couldn’t get through this without you.” She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. “I want you to know how grateful I am for everything.”
“That’s what sisters do,” Cassie said, getting up and hugging Molly. Digit interrupted their moment with meows as he rubbed against Molly’s leg.
Cassie sat back down to eat while Molly wiped the tears from her eyes. “Digit is a very attentive support cat.”
“Oh, I know. He hasn’t slept with me once since you got here.” Cassie ate a forkful of eggs, tamping down the mild sense of loneliness from Digit’s absence at night. But she knew Molly needed him more right now.
Molly frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to uproot your life.”
Cassie waved her off. “Please. I’ve enjoyed having you here. Though, of course, I wish it were under different circumstances. And Drea’s been helping with the wedding details.”
A twinkle entered Molly’s brown eyes. “Drea?”
Cassie shook her head. “Nope, not like that. She’s just my coworker. I don’t think she even likes me.”
“She must like you enough to help you.” There was still a hint of hope in Molly’s voice.
Cassie paused for a moment to think. Why was Drea so invested in helping her? “I think she pities me or something. Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
Thankfully, Molly left the comment alone and sipped her coffee.
Over the past few weeks, Cassie had mostly dealt with the final touches for a couple of already-planned weddings. Besides a few craft sessions, which Drea had helped with, Cassie’s main role was coordinating all the moving pieces to make sure the weddings went off without a hitch.
Molly had been focusing on several parties and upcoming holiday events, and Cassie had no idea how Molly had managed to keep track of so many details and clients without any help.
Thankfully, they were both good at organizing things.
Cassie understood why Molly needed to step away from the weddings while she dealt with her own heartache.
Beyond the stress and demands of the clients, the whole wedding experience was romance on steroids.
If Cassie had recently ended a relationship she’d spent her whole adult life in, she wouldn’t have been able to sit through all those promises of forever either.
This coming weekend’s wedding was one Cassie had been working on the past few weeks.
She was excited to see it all come together since she had had more of a hand in planning this one than any of the others.
The young couple, in their mid-twenties, had met abroad during college and realized they were both from Louisiana.
Luckily, the families were kind and supportive, not pushy or demanding like the first two clients Cassie had helped.
They also didn’t have a lot of money, so Cassie had tried to find ways to make the bride’s vision a reality without breaking the bank.
“Everything’s okay with the Pearson-Lamay wedding?” Molly asked, as if reading Cassie’s mind.
Cassie smiled, thinking about Drea helping her make table settings and painting the couple’s initials on the cloth napkins, so in her element. “I think I’ve got it all under control.”
“Shit!” Cassie said as she got off the phone with the florist, her anxiety rising.
Drea looked up from where she was kneeling on the ground painting a sign for the soon-to-be-married couple to go over the barn where the reception would be held. “What is it?”
The view of Drea holding a paintbrush in a form-fitting black Henley nearly jarred the sense of panic from Cassie. Nearly. “The cold snap this week froze the dahlias that were the centerpiece of the flower arrangements.”
Drea grimaced. “Do you know any other florists?”
“No.” Cassie sighed, trying hard to push the fear of failure from her mind and focus on a solution. “I need to call Molly. I’ll be right back.”
After Cassie called Molly and they both made several calls to other florists in the area, Molly found one with just enough dahlias for the wedding.
With the crisis behind her, Cassie headed back to Drea, finding her putting the final touches on the sign. “Hey, that looks so good,” Cassie said, peering over Drea’s shoulder. “Has anyone ever told you you might have a future with this art stuff?”
Drea sat back on her heels, taking in her work, then looked up at Cassie. “Now that you mention it, maybe once or twice.” The grin on her face made Cassie forget the wedding. “Did you figure out the flower issue?”
“Yes! Crisis averted. Thankfully, Molly knows a lot of people in this town.” Cassie checked her watch. “The guests should start arriving in two hours. Want some help putting that up?”
Drea grabbed the sign and headed for the barn. She was already climbing a ladder by the time Cassie caught up. “Let me know if this looks straight,” Drea said over her shoulder.
Cassie waited until Drea had the sign in position. “A little left and down.”
Drea shifted the sign slightly. “How ’bout now?”
Cassie tilted her head from side to side. “I think that’s it.”
Drea glanced down at her. “Can you hold it and I’ll screw it in?”
Cassie looked around and grabbed a step ladder nearby. She set it up next to Drea’s ladder and climbed up to where she could reach the bottom of the sign.
Drea grabbed the drill off the top of her ladder and reached up to secure three screws across the top of the sign.
Cassie looked up, coming face-to-face with Drea’s taut stomach peeking out from under her shirt.
She quickly averted her eyes, then snuck another peek .
. . or two. Apparently Drea was as sexy underneath her clothes as with them on.
Though that wasn’t really news, merely the first time Cassie had seen it, and the view didn’t disappoint.
She blinked hard, trying to shake the image from her mind.
She was not going to be just another girl drooling over Drea. NOLA was full of them already.
The drill went silent. “Think I got it,” Drea said, starting to climb down the ladder.
“Mmhmm.” Cassie gave her a thumbs-up without looking and climbed down a couple of steps before hopping to the ground.
Drea stood at one of the tall tables surrounding the dance floor and waited for Cassie.
Laura and Nick, the bride and groom, had invited Drea and Cassie to stay for the reception as a thank you for all of the extra tasks they had done to make the wedding and reception come together.
So after everything was set up and the guests had started arriving, Drea had gone home to change.
A gathering by the door caught Drea’s attention.
The crowd of family thinned out a little to reveal Laura and her mom hugging Cassie.
Cassie spotted Drea and headed in her direction.
The light pink V-neck dress with three-quarter-length sleeves wasn’t fancy, but on Cassie it stopped the room. Or more to the point, Drea’s heartbeat.
“Hey,” Cassie said, beaming.
“Hey.” Drea glanced at Cassie’s dress again. “You look nice.”
Cassie looked down at her dress. “It’s all I had. It’s a little plain, but oh well.”
“No, it’s good. You look good.” What was happening? When did she start channeling the flirtation skills of a five-year-old?
Cassie’s eyes traveled down Drea’s body and Drea felt the heat of it. “You look . . . good too.”
Drea suppressed a shiver at Cassie’s visible appreciation. “Can I get you a drink?” Drea nodded toward the bar.
“Sure, an iced tea.” Cassie rested her forearms on the table.
“Long Island?”
Cassie started to reply but saw the smirk on Drea’s face and smiled.
As Drea headed back to the table with the drinks, the bluegrass band played a catchy tune and a bunch of people began to dance. She handed the drink to Cassie.
“Thank you.” Cassie took a sip, then grabbed a sugar packet from the glass dispenser in the middle of the table, and emptied it into her glass. She took another sip and nodded at the taste.
The process struck Drea as pretty adorable. She sipped her whiskey and tried not to focus on the thought of Cassie as adorable, or hot, or anything else swirling in her mind.
“I never asked you. How was your Halloween?” Cassie asked.
Drea moved her head from side to side, remembering the events of Thursday night.
Her mind quickly bypassed the memories of the ball and went instead to the adventure afterward.
While she had never been one to sleep and tell, her inner voice warned not to say anything to Cassie, which was new. “It had its moments. How about yours?”