Page 32 of Blue Jean Summer

“We need to set a date.”

Although we weren’t in the line of sight from the house anymore, Catherine still kept her hand in mine. I tightened my hold and stroked my thumb across the back of her hand.

“Hallie and I were talking about the wedding being the first weekend in June.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “That’s in…”

“A little over two weeks. You said you needed it soon, right?”

I raked my free hand through my hair. “I don’t know anything about wedding planning, but two weeks seems a little fast. I don’t even know where we’d get married. I hadn’t quite gotten that far.”

“Why not here?” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on inviting many people.”

I chuckled as we crested a hill, then began to descend. The thick tree line that shrouded the pond came into view. “I guess you’re right.”

Catherine picked up the hem of her dress so it wouldn’t snag in the brambles as we crept through the mess of blackberry bushes. Those berries had given me more than a few stomachaches as a kid.

The trees and bushes closed around us as we broke through the thickets and sank into our own little world by the pond.

“I haven’t been down here in ages,” Catherine said as we neared the water’s edge. “Your granddad used to let the kids from the high school have a party down here once a summer.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I remember those. He kept it going after I was grown.”

The pond was completely hidden from the naked eye. The water was clear and cool, streaming down from the mountains, pooling on the estate and slicing through the valley.

“So,” I said. “A wedding at the estate.”

Catherine nodded. “Something small. We can invite the bigwigs who would expect to come to a Wilder wedding. Hallie’s got a caterer lined up. Honestly, with the roses in bloom, we don’t need much in the way of decorations. People would kill to get married out here.”

“Two weeks.” I scratched at the stubble on my jaw. “Doesn’t finding a dress take months? Years?”

She shrugged. “It’s not like it’s my forever wedding. I have plenty of white evening gowns from pageants that can work in a pinch.”

I watched as she neared the edge of the pond, dipped her toes in, then quickly jumped back.

“Cold?” I guessed.

Catherine laughed as her toes curled, trying to ward away the chill. “So cold!”

I chuckled. “Some things never change.” I smoothed my thumb across the back of her hand. “Take my credit card. Steal Hallie. Drive up to DC or go to Richmond. Find a dress you like.”

“You and offering your credit card,” she said with a lighthearted laugh. “One of these days I’m going to take you up on it and spend your fortune.”

“Of that I have no doubt. I’m just going back and forth on whether you’ll spend it on our wedding or this project of yours.”

She tipped her chin up. “Definitely the initiative.”

My eyes locked on her lips. I couldn’t resist how soft they looked. The slight sheen that danced in the glimmers of sunlight that broke through the tree cover.

Catherine studied my mouth and swallowed.

“You know,” I said, licking my lips. “At some point…we do have to kiss.” My heart tumbled in my chest as I waited for her reaction.

“On the wedding day,” she said, her gaze never breaking.

I stepped closer. “Right. It…probably shouldn’t look like we’ve never kissed before.”

“Right…” The word was carried on a featherlight exhale. “We should…practice.”