Chapter 8
TALK ABOUT EMBARRASSING
“Did you back your car into something?” Clay asked her the following Saturday.
She arrived at the barn’s parking lot thirty minutes early for her meeting with new clients.
It was the first time she was going to sell the wedding venue and their plan offerings.
The past week she’d worked her butt off putting together a menu of themes and costs, what could be offered and then working out the prices with Brooke. That was to just get it started.
She’d have to meet more with Clay today on the costs for the bar and bottles he was going to produce.
“I didn’t,” she said. “Someone did that to my car.”
When she came out of school on Wednesday and noticed the large scratch from the passenger door to the bumper then what looked like a foot kicking a dent into her car, she’d been livid.
She had no clue when or where it happened, just that she noticed it that day.
Fredrick swore it wasn’t him, but he’d be stupid to admit to it too.
“You’re joking,” Clay said, squatting down and looking it over. “It’s like a knife scratch.”
“I thought it was a key.”
“No,” he said. “That’s the tip of a knife. A key would be thicker.”
“But there are two of them,” she argued, bending down next to him. She inhaled the scent of him before she could stop herself.
He caught her doing it and stood up.
Talk about embarrassing.
“Yeah,” he said, his finger tracing them both. “But they aren’t even. The spacing is off and not straight.”
She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t noticed that before. Or even now.
She was too busy following the movement of his finger.
“I didn’t notice.”
“Who did you piss off with your bubbly personality? Or did you trip into someone and give them a bruise? Maybe screamed too loudly when a fly zipped by your head?”
Her nose twitched. He wasn’t being funny. It was sarcastic.
She wouldn’t bite and play his game though.
“Not everyone is turned off by friendliness. Just you.”
“I’m not turned off,” he said.
“Please,” she said, waving her hand. “Crushing egos with sarcasm is your style.”
He stared her down again. Hard. She squirmed and wasn’t sure if it was because the heat in her body came from fear or arousal.
Maybe a combination of both.
How sad was that?!
“Take me as I am. I’m doing the same to you. You’re reading too much into it.”
“I don’t think I am,” she said, lifting her chin.
“Your car,” he said, pointing to it. “Do you know who did it?”
“I think my ex, but he says no.”
“What’s his name?” he asked.
“Fredrick Monroe. Why?”
He pulled his phone out and was typing into it. She wanted to know what he was doing, but he walked away from her and into the barn.
She ran to keep up with him.
“Don’t trip and fall before people get here,” he said over his shoulder. His phone went back into his pocket. Maybe he was only dealing with a text.
“You just walked away. I didn’t know what was going on.”
“Coming into the building. Don’t you have to show people samples of things or whatnot? Or was that to just bore me?”
“Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? Or is it the thought of two cheerful people that is setting you off?”
“Wow, you’ve got a spine.”
She put her hands on her hips. “What made you think I didn’t?”
“Because as a kid you always ran from me.”
She smiled. “You remember me now?”
“I wasn’t blocking you from my memory,” he said. “Just that you don’t look the same. You should have told me who you were.”
She paused for a minute. “Are you embarrassed that I didn’t and you weren’t that nice to me?”
He laughed. At least she thought it was a laugh. Maybe not. More like an annoyed sound. “I treated you the same as I would have anyone. I was in a hurry.”
“And what about now? Are you in a hurry again or just being rude on purpose?”
His jaw dropped. As if he hadn’t expected her to call him out on it.
“Hello. Is anyone here?”
“In here,” she said. “You must be Corrine and Michael?”
“That’s us,” Corrine said. “This place is beautiful. Oh, Michael, look at the views out those enormous doors.”
She wanted to finish this conversation with Clay, but it wasn’t the time.
A smile filled her face. “Isn’t it stunning?
Please, come in. I need to run and get my binders out of the car.
I came in so quickly. This is Clay Ridgeway.
I’m not sure where my manners are. I lost them for a moment.
” She turned to wrinkle her nose at Clay while Corrine was tugging on her fiancé’s arm in excitement. “I’m Meredith Banks.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Michael said. “Corrine is super excited to get married here. She’s had dreams of this country garden wedding idea in the spring. Me, I’m just letting her do her thing.”
“I’m going to let you in on a secret. It’s best to let the bride do it. It’s really all about her on that day.”
Clay snorted next to her.
“I’ve been told that too,” Michael said. “All I care about is that she’s happy and the bar is open.”
“Clay can talk to you about that,” she said, putting him on the spot. He wanted to be here while she did this, he could be part of it. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure,” Clay said. “Come this way.”
When Meredith returned with her binders, she moved to the side with Corrine. “Why don’t we take a seat? Let me know what you’re looking for on your day. How big or the number of guests do you plan? You said you were looking to be married in May?”
“Before Memorial Day. If you’ve got any dates open? I know it’s only nine months away or less, but I don’t want to wait another full year.”
“We have two dates open. The wedding venue part of the business is new and you’ve lucked out. The summer is filling up fast, along with next fall.”
Clay had downplayed so much of it, but he had twelve dates booked for next summer and fall already.
Thankfully, it was only a deposit and dates secured.
She’d had her work cut out for her last week contacting everyone and trying to find out if they were interested in her services.
Five took her up on it already for the summer and three for the fall.
“Wonderful,” Corrine said. “I thought being the spring, I’d love to do the rustic part of your theme. I wish there was more on the website.”
“We are working on it,” she said. She needed to get a lot of pictures for that to happen or put together ideas, but Reenie handled that and together they’d get it done.
For now, it only said their themes and what it entailed. Her binders had samples.
While she and Corrine went through all the details, Clay was talking with Michael. She saw they both had a glass of cider in their hands and she tried not to laugh that if he drank too much it upset his stomach.
Ford had to be busting on his brother’s butt to say that.
Forty minutes later, the couple had left after securing their date with a deposit. She’d be in contact with them next week to get started and contracts signed.
“That went well,” he said.
“It did. This is going to be my first from start to finish.” She was jumping in place. His eyes were wide.
“Are you okay?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m excited. Don’t you ever get excited about anything?”
“Not like that,” he said. He finished his glass.
“How come you didn’t offer me one?”
“Didn’t know you wanted it.”
“I told you I liked them all.”
“Thought you were only being nice.”
“Despite what you might think, I’m not nice to soothe your ego or kiss up. It’s just how I am.”
He turned and walked away from her again, but this time he went to the bar.
If her eyes followed his ass in those Levis that might have been made for him, she couldn’t be blamed.
Six foot plus of hotness with a shirt that was stretched across his chest and arms.
He might be tall, but he was all upper body in terms of muscle.
At least in her mind. It’s not like she could notice big bodybuilder thighs on him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Your face is red,” he said. “Which cider do you want?”
She moved behind the bar and looked at the taps, then pulled the glass out of his hand and filled it herself.
“I can serve myself,” she said. “And my face is red with excitement. You know. That thing you never experience.”
“Oh, I get excited,” he said, his voice low. He leaned closer to her. “You might not be able to handle it though.”
She coughed on the sip she’d taken, then was sucking in air so hard that he was pounding her on the back.
Yep. Real sexy move there.