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“Maybe not now, but if we turn this into a tourist attraction, we’re going to need a caterer on the payroll. Sweet Eats, the caterer we normally use, has been inching up their prices lately, haven’t they, Kelly?”
“That’s true,” Kelly mused.
Sensing that Kelly was warming to the idea, Marley plunged on. “And after my last trip to Betsey’s, I wouldn’t order anything there if it was the last cake on earth.” Marley got up again, standing behind the back of the couch. “We could transform Something Borrowed from a simple bridesmaid-for-hire business to a complete wedding service. And we’d pull in a lot more money keeping those services in house.”
Kelly seemed to be considering. “How are we going to convince the Kents to sell?”
Marley rubbed her hands together like a Disney villain. “Oh, I think Dustin is going to be more than happy to help us. Just leave him to me.”
Chapter 23
Once Marley was 99.9 percent sure that Kelly was on board, she dragged Rylie back to the car and over to Dustin’s place. Dustin lived in a gorgeous four-bedroom home on a lane with no close neighbors and surrounded by trees. Considering what an attention whore he was, Marley was surprised he lived so far out of town.
Rylie parked in his driveway and as they got out, she hissed, “Maybe we should have called.”
“Why?” Marley asked.
“What if he’s got company?”
“Please, I’m sure she can wait for the extreme disappointment he’s sure to give her.”
Rylie blushed hard in the porch light as Marley rang the bell.
Dustin answered the door in nothing but a pair of boxers and Marley almost rolled her eyes. Like he hadn’t looked out the window and known it was them.
“Ladies, what the hell are you doing here?”
“You need to put some clothes on before you open the door,” Rylie scolded.
Dustin flashed her a lopsided grin, his gaze lazily traveling over her from the top of her messy bun and down to the simple black ballet flats she was wearing. “Why is that, Rylie-cakes? Don’t you like what you see?”
Rylie appeared mortified, and Marley sighed loudly, trying to get the conversation on the right track. “We don’t have time for this. Let us in.”
Dustin folded his arms over his chest, still blocking the entryway. “I don’t know, I might be too tired for a three-way, although with a little creative convincing, I might be able to muster to-oomph!”
Rylie smacked him in the stomach with her purse, putting a halt to his suggestions. “Knock it off, you perv. This is business.”
Dustin rubbed his injured six pack with a frown. “What kind of business?”
“We want to buy Buzzard Gulch,” Marley said.
Dustin actually laughed at them. “And I want my own island with unlimited sushi and women. What’s your point?”
“God, you’re a pig,” Marley said.
Rylie jumped in. “We want to buy it so we can restore it. You probably know there was a fire there tonight?”
“So? That land is worth more than the two of you make in a year and it would cost about that to fix it. How are the two of you going to do all that?”
“It’s not just us. Kelly is going in with us.” Marley pretended to be studying her nails as she added casually, “Besides, you’re going to give us a screaming deal.”
“Oh, yeah? Why is that?”
“Because I know that Sonora taped your little tryst and she owes me,” Marley lied. “One call, and it gets leaked.” Giving him the full effect of her mock sympathy, she continued, “How do you think your mother would feel to watch another scandal unfold? I know what a stickler she is for propriety.”
Dustin’s expression darkened. “You’re bluffing.”
Turning to her friend innocently, she held her hand to her chest. “Rylie, am I bluffing?”
