Chapter 10
HARPER
“Do you want to stop for breakfast?” Harper asked as she got into the car.
“I don’t think we have time.” Theo glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
“What do you mean? Do you have to get back to work?” Harper was disappointed, but she couldn’t honestly claim surprise.
She had blocked off the whole day for this, but of course Theo wouldn’t have done the same.
Even though this outing had been his idea, she could never expect to lay claim to a whole day with him.
But to her surprise, he shook his head. “It isn’t that,” he said. “It’s just that we have an appointment we need to keep. We’re expected at nine thirty.”
“Can we call them and tell them we’re going to be a little late?”
“No, I don’t think this is the kind of place that will hold an appointment. We were lucky to get it at all on short notice. Although you shouldn’t act like you realize that when we get there. You need to act like they’re lucky to have us there,” he said.
“You want me to be rude to these people?” She raised her eyebrows.
“I want you to act like you’re someone important,” he clarified. “That’s the only way they’re going to take us seriously. This is a fancy place we’re going to look at.”
“What is it?”
“The Crystal Ballroom.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “I’ve heard of it,” she said. “Don’t they have film premieres there?
“I don’t know. Do they?”
“When they shot that movie here last year, the one that ended up getting the Oscar nomination, I know there was a wrap party at the Crystal Ballroom,” Harper said. “Tara and I went downtown and hung around outside, hoping to see some celebrities. I didn’t realize anyone could book that space.”
“You can book anything if you have enough money,” Theo said.
“But this is why we need them to think we’re important.
You see what I mean? I think we got this appointment because they think I’ll be bringing in big sports stars and throwing a high-profile party.
Now, I’m sure my money will be good enough for them when they find out what’s really going on, but we need a foot in the door.
So, just act important when we get in there. ”
“I have no idea how to act important,” Harper said.
“And are you sure this is a good idea? I don’t want to book a venue under false pretenses.
If we do that, the people there might not like us very much, and something like that could ruin the wedding.
We don’t want to have to be looking over our shoulders all day when we should be celebrating.
We don’t want to be wondering if the staff spat in our food or something. ”
“No one is going to spit in our food. And besides, I haven’t lied about us,” Theo said, maneuvering his car onto the interstate. “I said there might be some high-profile guests, that’s all, and I didn’t clarify what kind of event we were planning.”
“You don’t see that as misleading?”
“We’ll let them know today that it’s a wedding we’re planning,” he said evenly. “And as far as distinguished guests… well, that’s just a matter of opinion, isn’t it? I think any friend of my brother’s is a distinguished guest.”
“You know perfectly well that’s not what the people at the Crystal Ballroom thought you meant when you said that.”
“All right, maybe it isn’t, but I didn’t promise them anything,” Theo said. “And besides, don’t you want to have the wedding at the Crystal Ballroom? Don’t you think it would be the perfect venue?”
“I don’t know,” Harper said.
“You don’t know?”
“What’s so perfect about it? I mean, I’ve never even been there before. I’m sure it’s beautiful, but why is it the right place for this wedding?”
“It’s the nicest place in all of Houston!
” He threw up a hand, and she was grateful that he kept the other one on the wheel.
“You accuse me one minute of being too coldhearted and not caring about my brother’s wedding, but when I go out of my way to do something special, that isn’t right either. There’s really no making you happy.”
“Don’t ask me to believe that anything you’re doing has been with the goal of making me happy,” Harper said.
“You’re not interested in making me happy.
And you shouldn’t be. But did you really think that your brother would be that interested in the Crystal Ballroom as a venue?
I mean, if that’s what he wants, if there’s some reason, just tell me.
I don’t know him as well as you do. Maybe he really loves that place.
Maybe your family did things there when you were younger. ”
“Not everything about this wedding is going to connect to our childhood,” Theo said. “I picked out a nice place. Can we at least look at it before you start denouncing the whole idea?”
Harper was hit with a pang of guilt. He was right. She was being negative, and this was the first time he had taken any initiative regarding this wedding. She should be supporting the fact that he was making an effort to get involved, not running him down for it. “I’m sorry,” she said.
He glanced over at her. “You’re sorry?”
“I am.”
“Just like that. You’re… what, admitting I was right?”
“Don’t push it. I’m admitting I was too hasty,” she said. “Let’s go to the Crystal Ballroom and have a look at the place. Maybe it’s as nice as you say, and we’ll both agree that it’s the right place for the wedding.”
“Okay, then.”
“But promise me one thing?”
“What?”
“That we’ll at least look at my suggestion too before we make a final decision about what we want to do?”
He glanced at her.
“I’m taking this seriously,” she assured him. “I’m going into it with an open mind. I promise I’m going to consider this venue. I just want you to consider my venue too. And you’re the one who said we should each pick a place.”
He nodded. “All right,” he said. “We’ll look at both of them, and then we’ll come to a consensus. Together.”
But Harper had the feeling that he had already decided in his own mind which of the options he was going to favor.
“Mr. Davenport? My name is Genevieve Wallace. We spoke on the phone.”
“Of course.” Theo extended his hand to shake with the woman who had come out to greet the pair of them.
She was immaculately dressed in a fitted suit with a pencil skirt.
Her makeup was flawless, and not one hair was out of place in her tidy bun.
Harper admired her acrylic nails. She had always respected professional women who could keep their nails done like that — she herself would never have been able to do it.
The woman turned her attention to Harper. “And we haven’t been introduced,” she said. “Genevieve Wallace. I’m the events coordinator here.”
“Harper Martin. I’m in events planning myself.”
“Oh! I should give you my card before you leave today.”
“Thank you for seeing us on short notice, Ms. Wallace,” Theo said.
“Of course. Why don’t you two step inside, and you can tell me a little more about your event. Is this a sports banquet?”
“It’s actually a wedding,” Harper said quickly, not fully trusting Theo to come through with the truth, even though he had said he would.
“A wedding! How lovely! We do plenty of weddings,” Ms. Wallace said. “How long have the two of you been together?”
Theo made a strange sound in the back of his throat.
“Not our wedding,” Harper said quickly. “We’re the best man and the maid of honor. We’re here on behalf of the bride and groom.”
“Yes, they’re very busy people,” Theo spoke up.
He sounded a little choked, as if he hadn’t quite gotten over the misunderstanding.
Harper found herself looking forward to the moment when they got out of here and she would be able to tease him a little about it.
It was funny that they’d been mistaken for the couple getting married, but Theo looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon.
Ms. Wallace was nearly bouncing on her toes. “They’re too busy to come and look at the space themselves? They must be… very important people.”
She was trying to get them to drop a hint, Harper thought.
She was probably envisioning celebrities, and, of course, the bride and groom weren’t special in that way.
But Theo only said, “Yes, I think that’s fair to say,” and gave Harper a meaningful look, letting her know that she ought to keep her mouth shut.
Harper was tempted not to cooperate, to just tell Ms. Wallace that the wedding was that of two ordinary people.
But she restrained herself. There was no point in doing anything that would cause an argument right now.
She could debate these choices with Theo later.
But he had to know that she wasn’t going to feel good about choosing this venue if they had to mislead the events coordinator in order to do it.
“Follow me,” Ms. Wallace said. “I’ll show you the ballroom, and then we can take a tour of the grounds.
I think you’ll like it. And when we come back in, we can sit at the table there and go through the book, and I’ll show you both some of the events we’ve had here in the past. I think you’ll find it’s ideal for whatever you’re planning.
Do you know what date you’re looking at? ”
Harper gave the date of the wedding. This was something that couldn’t be negotiated, since the invitations had already gone out, and she found herself hoping — though she knew she shouldn’t — that this venue wouldn’t be available on the day in question.
Maybe they would be forced to move on without her having to argue with Theo.
But Ms. Wallace smiled. “You’re in luck,” she said. “We usually book up months in advance, but we’ve had a cancelation. I can put a hold on that date for you as long as you can let me know within forty-eight hours whether you intend to book.”
“Yes, I think we can do that,” Theo said, and Harper nodded too. It was a fair thing to ask.
And the space was beautiful. As they took the tour, she found herself genuinely admiring it.
It would be a beautiful place to host an event, and when Ms. Wallace offered her card, Harper took it, thinking that she would almost certainly recommend this venue to her clients in the future.
Remarkable parties — legendary parties — could be thrown here.
But this wasn’t the right place for Tara’s wedding.
It had no character. It looked as if it had been copied out of a magazine. It was impossible to imagine her lively, energetic best friend dancing in this ballroom — this was a place for people who cared more for formality than frivolity. This was not the right place.
She thanked Ms. Wallace when the tour was over and followed Theo back out to the car. “We have time for lunch,” she told him. “I didn’t have to make an appointment at the place I want us to look at, we can just turn uo. So, we can get something to eat first, if you’re hungry.”
“All right,” he said. “But tell me what you thought about this place.”
She nodded. “We can discuss over lunch.”
“You still want to visit yours?”
She looked at him. “You thought I’d see this place and be so enamored that I’d say we didn’t have to look at anything else?”
He grinned. “I thought there was a chance.”
“I didn’t hate it,” she admitted. “But I do want to show you the place I have in mind. I think you’re really going to like it. And we have a bit of a drive ahead of us, so let’s stop somewhere and grab sandwiches before we get on the road.”