From One Way Back to Me #3
I was thankful that the kitchen was on the other side of the library and front area, where most of the guests were if they weren’t out on one of the tours of the area and city that Elliott had arranged for them.
That was the whole point of this retreat.
They could come visit, and could relax, or we could set them up on a tour of downtown San Antonio, or Canyon Lake, or any of the other places that were nearby.
And yet, Tony had just thrown a wrench into all of that. I didn’t know what was worse, the smell of burning, Tony leaving, the water in the basement that wasn’t truly a basement, or the fact that I was going to smell like charred food and wet jeans when I went to go meet this wedding planner.
“You’re going to need to hire a new cook,” Everett whispered.
I looked at my brother, at the man who did his best to make sure we didn’t go bankrupt, and I wanted to just grumble. “I figured.”
“I can help for now, but you know I’m only part-time. I can’t stay away from my twins for too long,” Sandy said as she came forward to take the pan off the stove. “I wish I could do full time, but this is all I can do for now.”
Sandy had come back from maternity leave after we had already opened the retreat.
She had been on with the former owners and was brilliant.
But she had a right to be a mom and not want to work full time.
I understood that, and I knew that Sandy didn’t want to handle a whole kitchen by herself. She liked her position as a sous chef.
I was going to have to figure out what to do. Again.
“I’ll get it done,” I said while rubbing my temples.
“You know what we need to do,” Everett whispered, and I shook my head.
“He’ll kill us.”
“Maybe, but it’ll be worth it in the end. And speaking of, don’t you have that interview soon? Or do you want me to take it?” His gaze tracked to my jeans.
I shook my head. “No, help Sandy.”
Everett winced. “Just because I know how to slice an onion, it doesn’t mean I’m good at cooking.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say you could slice an onion? Get to it,” Sandy put in with a smile, pointing at the sink. “Wash those hands.”
“I cannot believe I just said that out loud. I just stepped right into it,” Everett said with a sigh. “Go to the interview. You know what to ask.”
“I do. And I hope we don’t get screwed this time.”
“You know, if we’re lucky, we’ll get someone as good as Roy’s wedding planner, or at least that woman that we met. You know who she is.” Everett grinned like a cat with the canary.
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t bring her up.”
“Oh, I can’t help it. A single dance, and you were drawn to her.”
“What dance? You know what? No, I don’t have time. We have to work on lunch and dinner. Tell me while you work,” Sandy added with a wink.
Everett leaned toward her as he washed his hands. “Well, you see, there was this dance, and he met the perfect woman, and then she got engaged.”
Sandy’s eyes widened. “Engaged? How did that happen? She was dating someone else?” she asked as she looked at me.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “It was at Roy’s place when we were looking at the venue to see if we wanted to buy the retreat here.
” I sighed, I knew if I just let it all out, she would move on from this conversation, and I would never have to deal with it again.
“Somehow, I ended up at a wedding there, caught the garter. This woman caught the bouquet, and she happened to be the wedding planner. We danced, we laughed, and as she walked away, her boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed.”
“No way!” She leaned forward with a fierce look on her face, her eyes bright. “What did she say?”
“I have no clue. I left.” I ignored whatever feeling might want to show up at that thought.
Everett gave me a glance, and I shook my head.
“Enough of that. Yes, the wedding that she did was great, but I honestly have no idea who she is, and she has a job. She doesn’t need to work here.
” And I didn’t know what I would do if I saw her again or had to work with her.
There had been such an intense connection that I knew it would be awkward as hell.
But thankfully, she had her own business and wasn’t going to come to the Wilder Retreat for a job.
I left Sandy and Everett on their own, knowing that they were capable, at least for now. And I knew who we would have to hire if she said yes, and if my other brother didn’t kill me first.
I washed my hands in the sink on the way out, grateful that at least I looked somewhat decent, if not a little disheveled, and made my way out front, hoping that the wedding planner who came in through the doors would be the one that would stick.
Because we needed some good luck. After the day we’ve had, we needed some good luck.
I turned the corner and nearly tripped over my feet.
Because, of course, fate was this way.
It was her.
Of all the wedding planners from all the wedding venues, it was her.
In the mood to read another family saga? Meet the Wilder Brothers in One Way Back to Me!