Page 2 of The Other Plan

After the sting subsided, I planted my hands on my hips and surveyed the property. “Okay, we have lights up. The cocktail bar is stocked and ready for my sister to serve tonight. You’ve got cocktail tables on the beach, candle bags are ready to be lit... and you’re in charge of lighting them. Let’s not screw that up this time.” My eyebrow rose with the accusation.

“Once.” He lifted his finger. “One time I forgot to light the candle bags at a wedding.”

“Well, let’s not make it twice,” I teased. “You know Aunt Tilly expects perfection.”

“’Tis always better to dazzle than disgust,’” he singsonged, reciting her motto.

She used those words whenever you asked her about anything. Wondering what to wear to a party? Was it casual or fancy? She’d remind you that you’re better off overdressed than under. Should I plan a casual luncheon or upscale? Dazzle. Always dazzle. And Aunt Tilly lived by that law and would probably keel over dead if any of us saw her without her hair done and her makeup flawlessly applied over her aged skin.

“Dazzle!” I laughed, hoisting up my hands and giving him spirit fingers. “We gonna dazzle!”

Cameron joined me in the spirit fingers for a few moments before we burst out laughing.

“We got this, Jenna. Day one is going to kickstart this wedding week with a bang.”

That was the other thing about the Bronson family weddings. It wasn’t a wedding day. It was always a wedding week. Seven days of family activities all leading up to the big event, starting with the welcome reception tonight. This event featured cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres for the immediate family and wedding party, as well as any wedding guests who were up in Fish Creek already. We expected about fifty guests tonight, nothing compared to the three-hundred-fifty coming to the big affair that would take place back here at the family beach home.

I gave him a nod of confidence. “We’ve got this. Why don’t you check in with the caterer and make sure they didn’t forget the pear, brie, and pecan bites? You know how much Aunt Tilly and Lydia love those.”

“They would kill us if we didn’t have those. Like, call the cops because we got our throats slit, and we’re bleeding out on the beach.” Cameron bulged his brown eyes then slid his thumb across his throat. “Dead.”

“So, let’s make sure we don’t die tonight.” I gave him a little push toward the catering kitchen set up in a tent behind the house.

“See you soon, boo.” He air-kissed me and then strode across the yard on his long legs.

“Okay. Beach bonfire pit is ready,” I whispered to myself as I started going through the checklist. “Lights up. Catering done. Bar stocked. Glassware polished. Musicians ready.”

“Jenna, dear!” Lydia’s voice carried over the lawn and stopped my mental checklist.

I turned to see her coming toward me as she cut through the garden. Aunt Tilly walked beside her, their arms linked together as they waved. Both women wore elegance like they’d been born with it. And they had. Aunt Tilly was actually Grandma Tilly, but she refused to be aged that way, so she required everyone in the family to refer to her as Aunt Tilly. She’d been born into oil money. Her husband, Linus, had come from megabucks himself. And Lydia was their only daughter and the mother to the bride of this week’s wedding. Her husband, Alfred, was also an heir, helping the family’s fortune only grow with each generation.

A gust of wind wafted across the bay, and both women grabbed onto their oversized hats to keep them from blowing away. Their soft pink dresses, though not matching, complimented each other perfectly and solidified how much they looked like mother and daughter. Aunt Tilly, now in her eighties, had finally embraced her silver hair, but Lydia, in her late fifties, still had hers kept up in a soft blonde that matched her mother’s shoulder-length style.

“You two look beautiful!” I called to them as they approached.

“Don’t we?” Aunt Tilly smiled as she shook her full hips. “’Tis always better to dazzle than disgust!”

I smiled at her comment and nodded. “Well, you are simply dazzling. Both of you.”

“Thank you, Jenna,” Lydia said as she arrived, then each woman kissed me on the cheek. “Everything is looking gorgeous. I can envision it after sunset, and it’s going to be just perfect with all the lights.”

“They will be beautiful. And the candle path to the beach bonfire is going to be amazing as well. Just you wait.”

“Valentina and Eric are going to swoon over this, and they should be here in a few minutes with the wedding party. Everyone rode up from the airport together and settled into their rooms.”

“I hope they enjoyed the welcome gift bags,” I said. “Cameron put them in all the rooms this morning. You really gave them such lovely gifts.”

“We want every person in this wedding to feel special. And tonight will be the ideal welcome dinner to greet them. And the weather tonight is just perfect, isn’t it?” Aunt Tilly waved a hand up at the clear June sky unmarred by even a single cloud.

“Everything is perfect. Do you two need anything?” Another soft gust of wind blew in and pushed a piece of my dark brown hair into my eyes, so I tucked it behind my ear.

Aunt Tilly glanced over her shoulder then leaned in. “I just want to make sure you set aside an extra tray of those pear, brie, and pecan bites for Lydia and me. Last time, the guests ate all of them and we only got one each. One.” She huffed.

“You’ve got it. Cameron is checking to make sure the caterers will have them ready, and I’ll make sure you get a separate tray hidden just for the two of you. I’ll hide them in the guest house kitchen. I’ll instruct the servers to sneak them out to you anytime you give them a wink, or you can just sneak in there yourself whenever you want.”

“Ooh!” Aunt Tilly laughed. “It feels so scandalous—our own little secret stash. Like an hors d’oeuvres speakeasy!”

Her tittering laugh caused me to join her. “You are the scandalous Bronson beauties.”