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Chapter Six
Abbey stood outside the entry doors of Cassie and Jake’s banquet room at Cucina Antonetti’s. She was still irritated after her heated conversation with Luke in church after the ceremony. Why did he continue to push her? She had made herself perfectly clear. She wasn’t interested in being Luke’s plaything for the weekend. It hurt her to know that he thought so little of her. That he thought she’d help him cheat on his famous girlfriend. She had no intention of becoming tabloid news.
Abbey’s phone chimed inside her evening bag with another text message. Her stomach clenched. Besides Luke being an ass, Tom Murphy wouldn’t stop texting her, begging her to let him attend the wedding to make Luke jealous. Playing those kinds of games didn’t interest her at all.
So far her reboot weekend was off to a terrible start. Not wanting to deal with Tom’s barrage of texts which she would not read for at least the rest of the weekend, she stepped into their banquet room.
She smiled as she looked around the room. The room’s dark hardwood floors and wood-paneled walls gleamed. The matching wood bar appeared well stocked, with the bartender doing a last-minute inventory. Cassie and Jake opted for an unlimited open bar, which Abbey knew would be would be well frequented throughout the night.
The room was filled with tables of eight that were draped in bright white tablecloths and napkins with printed dinner menus on top of each place setting. The chairs were covered in white satin covers with cornflower-blue bows tied around the middle of the chair backs. The florist and her assistants were finishing up by putting the white and cornflower-blue centerpieces at each table. The long rectangular head table with large captain’s chairs for the bride and groom had a gorgeous elongated centerpiece that coordinated with the smaller guest table centerpieces.
Abbey went to her chair at the head table, placed her evening bag on the seat, and sighed. Another one of Luke’s bright ideas was to have Leah and Heath sit next to Cassie and the two of them sit next to Jake. Young Amy was sitting with her parents. Abbey took a deep breath and rolled her neck. It would be all right. After dinner was over, she could ditch Luke and kick her reboot weekend into high gear.
Cassie stood in the entryway, smiling as she inspected the room. Abbey went over to her and smiled back. “It looks amazing doesn’t it?”
Cassie’s eyes glistened and she nodded. “Yes, it’s even better than I imagined it.”
Abbey heard her phone chime again and growled. She’d just turn the damn thing off after they sat down to dinner.
Cassie gave Abbey a sidelong glance. “Everything all right? Jake told me about your argument with Luke in church after the ceremony.”
Abbey should have known Jake would tell Cassie about their argument. They told each other everything. There was a time when Luke and Abbey shared everything too. It felt like a lifetime ago.
“It’s not just Luke. Tom Murphy’s insisting on being my date to your wedding to make Luke jealous. I’ve been telling him no all day, but he won’t let up. What if he shows up and makes a scene?” That last thing Abbey needed was to bring that kind of drama to her sister’s wedding. She also wasn’t sure about Tom’s true intentions. Now that Abbey was no longer working at OSG, she didn’t want Tom to think he could pursue her. She wasn’t interested in any way. The thought of being with Tom Murphy made her shudder. Man-whore.
Cassie’s brows went up and her eyes danced with excitement. “Tom Murphy’s cute. Why not have him be your plus one? We have plenty of room for another person. Reboot weekend, remember?”
Abbey shook her head. Absolutely not. “No way, not Tom. That’s just disgusting, no matter how cute he is. He pounces on anything with a vag,” she explained.
Cassie laughed, causing Abbey to laugh a little too. “Well, that’s what you’re looking for this weekend, right? Just some fun, not a marriage proposal. Tom’s perfect for that, don’t you think?”
Technically, yes, Tom would be perfect for Abbey’s reboot weekend. He was all about having fun. But they worked together, used to anyway. She knew too much when it came to Tom. He was a total pig and although he was attractive, she wasn’t attracted to him at all. Which meant he couldn’t be her plus one.
“Oh yeah, he’s all about fun. Maybe too much fun. But I’m not attracted to him, Cassie. So no, I’m not inviting him.”
Hannah Hailey and her assistant dashed into the banquet room and did a scan of the setup. Her assistant straightened the table place cards, brushing lint from the table they were arranged on. Hannah moved the wedding card holder on the gift table and sprinkled white and cornflower-blue rose petals on top of it. She quickly sprinkled rose petals on the on the place card table.
“Would you like petals on the head table too?” Hannah asked Cassie.
Abbey and Cassie both turned to look at the head table. The head table centerpiece was set along the front edge of the table and was about half of the length of the table itself. Other than the place settings, there were no other decorations. Rose petals would make a lovely finishing touch.
Cassie looked at Abbey and she nodded. “Yes, I think petals on our table would look so pretty. Thanks, Hannah.”
Hannah sprinkled petals along the head table and took another quick look around the room. She nodded to herself, seeming pleased with the arrangements for the night. She came to Cassie and Abbey and smiled brightly. “I think everything is set and ready to go.”
“Thank you for everything, Hannah, and your mother too, of course.” Cassie and Hannah hugged briefly. “And you and your assistant are staying for dinner, right? I’m sure you noticed your table place card. It’s a shame your mother isn’t available.”
“Yes, I’m staying. Thank you for the invitation. I love the food at Antonetti’s! My assistant can’t. He and his boyfriend have another commitment. As for my mother, she’s already back at the office working on another event. She normally doesn’t attend events we plan.” Hannah frowned for a quick moment then replaced her frown with a happy smile.
Maybe mother and daughter don’t get along so well, Abbey wondered. How sad since Hannah had worked her ass off today. She agreed with Cassie. Hannah should stay and celebrate all her hard work.
Cassie nodded. “I’m glad at least you’re staying then. I have you seated with Pastor Jenkins, his wife and a few others. I think you’ll enjoy yourself tonight.”
“I know I will. I’m going to check in with Carlo Antonetti about the food real quick, then I’ll be ready to relax.” Hannah dashed off. If anyone needed to relax, it was Hannah. Abbey didn’t know how she did it. She and her mother had been going full steam all day.
Cassie leaned in to Abbey. “Apparently from what Jake said, there are sparks flying between our Hannah and Rocco. I already had them sitting at the same table but this just got much more fun.”
Abbey shook her head at her sister. She wasn’t surprised though. Cassie was happy and in love and she wanted everyone else to be too. Thoughts of love brought her own thoughts back to Luke. How she wished her heart would get on board and move on.The hole Luke put there when he’d betrayed her was still there. She hoped her reboot weekend would be a turning point to get on with her life where Luke was concerned.
