Page 27 of Searching for Love

Avery chuckled, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she answered. “Not bad, but what about Lucas’s Cantina?”

Lucas laughed, shaking his head in mock disbelief.

“That sounds like a place where I’d serenade customers with my terrible guitar playing.”

“You didn’t gain any musical talent from your grandfather?” she asked, leaning on the counter.

“Nope. Not that he didn’t try to teach me.” He rolled his eyes. “After which he quickly told me to stick with cooking.”

She laughed. Their banter was interrupted when his cousin Robin strolled into the kitchen. The woman looked even more uncomfortable today than she had on the beach.

“When are you due again?” she asked her.

“Not soon enough.” She laughed. “Hopefully, I’ll pop before your brother and Hannah’s wedding.”

Avery had liked Robin and her sister, Kara, instantly when they moved to town. Robin’s warm smile easily lit up any room that she was in.

“How’s it going in here?” Robin asked, leaning on the countertop next to her cousin’s shoulder to look into a pan. “That smells amazing.”

“Dinner will be ready right on time.” He nudged her with his shoulder playfully then handed her an empanada that had been cooling on a dish.

Robin took it happily and nibbled on it as her gaze swept over the array of dishes already laid out on the countertops under the warmers.

“This all looks so amazing. You two make a great team.” She motioned with an empanada between Avery and Lucas.

“That’s why I hired her,” Lucas joked. “I can spot a keeper.” He winked at Avery over his shoulder.

Just then Wyatt and Hannah stepped into the kitchen arm in arm, laughing at something together.

Her brother looked giddy to have Hannah beside him.

Avery was thankful that he’d stopped being such an idiot and had finally come home to the one woman who had always loved him. The only one she had ever wanted to call her sister. Hannah was not only her best friend but her soul sister. Even if her brother hadn’t gotten his butt in gear last year, Avery would have always thought of Hannah that way.

Seeing the couple’s eyes light up at the sight and smell of the feast before them, a burst of pride rushed through her for Lucas.

“Wow, Lucas, this looks amazing,” Wyatt said moving forward.

“Nope,” Robin moved forward, blocking them. “You two are out here until everything is ready.”

“I can’t believe you’re cooking all of this for us tonight just for a dry run,” Hannah called over her shoulder as Robin nudged them back out the doors, no doubt to one of the tables she had set up for them in the large barn.

Sunset Weddings, or Sunset Venue as it was now called, had opened a while back after Robin and Kara moved into town. They’d purchased the massive barn structure along with a small cottage that sat just down a pathway. The first thing they’d done was turn the barn into a wedding and event venue. The remodeled barn was a marvel and one of the most romantic spots on the West Coast.

In the past years, there had been more weddings and parties in this old, renovated barn than there had been in the past fifty years in Pride put together.

People came from out of the country to get married there.

“It’s the least I could do for the happy couple who might officially hire me to cater their wedding,” Lucas said under his breath when they were alone again. “If I don’t burn anything that is.”

Avery chuckled. “Trust me. You’ve got this.”

When Lucas added the final touches to each dish, what was laid out before them was nothing short of a culinary masterpiece.

Avery helped Lucas carefully cover each brightly colored dish with a warming lid. Then they loaded them onto several large trays. It took them each two trips to carry everything out to her brother and Hannah, who were sitting at a small round table in the center of the massive barn.

Avery knew that the space would be transformed into a magical setting for Hannah and Wyatt’s wedding dinner. She’d witnessed the alterations to the barn for many events. For weddings or wedding receptions, dim soft-white string lights would hang from the rafters, giving the entire space a romantic atmosphere. There would be large round tables covered in soft-colored tablecloths with unique floral centerpieces. Flowers would adorn every corner, flooding the barn with sweet scents.

For birthday parties, the white lights would be replaced with colored ones. White tablecloths would be changed out for whatever color the birthday party planner requested. Balloons and streamers would hang from above or float freely everywhere.