I chuckled. “Hooking up with guys, yes. But dating them? Hell no. It’s a minefield.”
“Just be careful,” Branson said.
“I know. I won’t fuck up your wedding plans.”
“No.” He clamped his hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t about my wedding or the fact Silas is our planner. I realize I made it all about that when Silas quit, and I’m sorry about that. This is about you. I don’t want this mine blowing up in your face.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “But the fact is, I’ve already stepped on the mine. The only thing to do now is wait and see how it plays out.”
I just hoped I was in one piece when the smoke cleared.
CHAPTER 17
Silas
“How areyour weddings plans going, Silas?” Carol Ann asked during our Monday staff meeting. “The Rafferty/Tate wedding is next week, isn’t it? The Kennedy wedding is only a week after. That’s a lot to handle.”
I straightened in my seat. “Everything is going great.”
Heidi snorted.
I shot her a glare as Carol Ann raised an eyebrow in question.
“We hit a snag on the Kennedy-Larkin rehearsal dinner, but Noel Grisold has agreed to save my bacon. We’ve already printed corrected invitations. It’s all under control.”
Carol Ann frowned. “What happened there?”
“I dropped the ball by not?—”
Heidi blew a raspberry. “Wrong. The Grand View messed up, not you.”
“Not this again.” Carol Ann sighed. “I thought they’d gotten their ducks in a row.” She pursed her lips. “I think it’sabout time I call and put them on notice. We’ll start looking for other venues.”
“What venues?” I said. “They know we’ve got limited options.”
“Well, maybe I’ll bring up the Grisold farm,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “An acclaimed chef and a gorgeous setting? Once they get those renovations done to accommodate larger parties, they’ll be an easy choice for our couples. Grand View needs to step up if they don’t want to be left out in the cold.”
Heidi smirked. “Remind me not to get on your wrong side.”
I hesitated. “Just go easy on Nadia. It’s not her fault. She tries to cover for Eric, but he’s the owner’s nephew. You know how it is.”
Carol Ann grimaced. “I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes, but we’ve given them all the grace we can. Don’t worry, Silas. She’ll understand. If anything, it may give her the leverage she needs to make a real change.”
I’d just have to trust Carol Ann on that. This was her business, and I wasn’t going to tell her how to run it.
My phone vibrated on the table. I flipped it over to check and saw Darling Dish on the phone display.
“I should take this real quick. It’s the caterer for both my weddings.”
“Go ahead. Heidi call fill me in on anything we haven’t covered.”
I picked up my phone and stood. “This is Silas.”
“Silas, hi. This is Marissa. Sorry to bother you, but I need to have a quick pow-wow about the menu for the Kennedy wedding.”
“Okay, I thought we were all set on that.”
“Well, there’s been a bit of confusion on our end. We’vegot the menu you and Miss Kennedy signed off on, but Mrs. Kennedy just showed up with some requests she is quite emphatic about.”
