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“Whatever works for you.” Caitie shrugged. “I assume you’ve agreed on a budget?”
“Yep.” Lucas nodded. “And if you have any questions, I’m only a phone call away.”
“No problem. You can go.” Caitie grinned. “Let the adults get on with organizing things.”
“Okay, little sister.” He winked at her, walking over to give her a hug. “Thanks for everything. Seriously. You’ve made two people very happy.”
“We’ll see,” Caitie said. She still wasn’t sure she could pull this off. Organizing a wedding in a little over two months was no small feat. Doing it mostly from the other side of the country was going to take a miracle. “Enjoy the surf.” She stood to pour herself another cup of coffee. “You want a top off?” she asked Ember. “I think we’re both going to need a major caffeine injection.”
* * *
After Ember left later that morning, Caitie spent the day researching locations and calling to make enquiries about hosting a Christmas wedding at their venues. By the time evening came around, the exhaustion she’d woken up with was making every muscle in her body ache. And she didn’t want to think about all the business emails piling up in her inbox.
There was only one thing she could do to manage this all. She’d have to extend her stay. It made sense to work from Angel Sands for the next week until she found Ember and Lucas a venue. After that, she could return to New York and help them organize things remotely. But until they had somewhere to hold the wedding, nothing else could happen.
“You’re staying until next weekend?” Harper inquired when Caitie called to tell her she wouldn’t be returning to New York the next day. “Well that’s one for the books. I thought you couldn’t wait to get out of California. Are you thinking of moving back? Should I call some contacts in L.A.?”
Harper often talked about them both moving to California. As a costume designer, it was a choice between working at theaters in New York, or costume departments in Hollywood studios.
Caitie flicked the phone to speaker and laid it on the table, lifting her hands to rub her tired eyes. “I have a meeting in L.A. on Thursday, so I would have been flying back here, anyway. I decided it would be easier to work from Angel Sands rather than New York for the rest of the week. Don’t start packing our bags yet.”
“Spoilsport,” Harper said cheerfully. “I guess I’ll be wearing the same old winter clothes. Back to the drab blacks and greys.”
“You never wear black. And anyway, it’s hardly winter in New York. It’s been pretty warm for October.”
“It’ll be cold soon enough. And then you’ll have to listen to me moan every night.”
“Nothing new there. I’ve been listening to you complain about the weather for the past eight years.”
“So do us both a favor and let’s move to California. I promise not to complain about the beautiful, year-round sun and alarming lack of rain.”
Caitie laughed. “You’ll find something else to moan about.”
“Of course I will. But for once it won’t be about the New York winters.”
“You know, there’s nothing stopping you from moving to L.A. without me.” Caitie’s tone was teasing, but saying those words made her stomach feel weird. As though she’d gone for days without eating.
There was a pause, followed by a full-on Harper sigh. “I can’t believe you said that. We’re the two musketeers, dude. I’m not moving to L.A. without you. If you insist on living in this miserable, cold, wet city for the rest of your life, that’s where I’m staying. You need me to make sure you don’t work too hard and nag you to get some rest.”
Even though her abdomen still felt tight, Caitie smiled. Was she being selfish wanting to stay in New York, far away from the sea and sand of California? They’d probably both be better off work wise if they moved here. Especially if she got the new contract in L.A.. “Well, since you’re not here, it looks like I’m going to be working all night. I’ve got meetings to move and a submission to get in. Not to mention the small problem of finding a wedding venue on short notice.”
“Well, good luck with that, honey. I’ll be putting my feet up and binge watching some TV. And because I know you’re so sorry for making me stay in New York, I’ll also be helping myself to your secret stash of chocolate.”
“You don’t know where I hide it.” Caitie grinned.
“Of course I do. I know all your secrets, sweetie. But like all the others, I’ll take this one to the grave.”
“If you eat all my chocolate, you’ll be going there sooner than you think,” Caitie warned. “Just keep your hands off the Swiss stuff.”
“I’ll do my best. But remember, I’m drowning my sorrows because I have to live in this frozen hellhole of a city forever. So you may have to buy me chocolate for the rest of my life so I can cope with the misery.” Another dramatic sigh. “Especially the Swiss stuff.”
“Goodbye, Harper.” Caitie’s voice was firm. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“You’d better. Otherwise I’ll eat the Belgian stuff, too.”
It was an hour later when Lucas stopped back at their parents’ house, his hair wet from hours spent in the surf. He smelled of saltwater and sunscreen. His skin was warm and brown from an afternoon at the beach, and he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, Ember tells me you’re staying for a while.” He attempted to grab Caitie and pull her close. When she dodged his grasp, he shook his wet hair at her, the same annoying way he used to when they were kids.
