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She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back, she gazed into his eyes. “Thank you. You’re the best.”
“And about last night—”
“Andrew, please, not now. I just can’t do this right now. I need to get through this wedding.” Her eyes pleaded with him. When he remained quiet, she said, “Please say you understand.”
A moment of silence stretched out. He nodded. “I do. Take care of the wedding and then we’ll talk.”
“Thank you.”
And then they parted ways. She had work to do. Lots of work. But she found that her focus wasn’t solely on her work but rather she was distracted by Andrew and how things had changed so much for them. Was it possible they had a future together?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Daysranintoeachother.
Sleep was a luxury.
But Clara refused to complain. She just had to get through this rough patch, and things would get better. She hoped.
She’d gone over her proposal to buy the chapel at least a dozen times. There were graphics. There was a slideshow presentation. And there was an entire printout of everything.
It was now or never. Clara’s insides shivered with nerves. She questioned whether this was good enough or if she should have added something else. But she could keep second-guessing herself for the next year. In the end, nothing was ever perfect. And no matter how hard she tried, she’d inevitably forget to include something. But she would be there to answer any questions and that would work. Wouldn’t it?
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this nervous. Wait. Yes, she did. It was when she’d applied for a business loan to open her wedding business.
She tried to tell herself this was no different. It was just a business acquisition. Nothing more. Oh, who was she kidding? It was a lot more than that.
She’d fallen in love with the little chapel. Its location overlooking the beach and ocean was spectacular. Its small size made it cozy. The woodwork was stunning. And all of the large glass windows made it almost feel like you were standing outside. She could even imagine herself getting married there some day. Not that love or marriage was on her very long to-do list. But it never hurt to dream.
Friday morning, Clara drew in a deep calming breath as she pulled into the parking lot of the wedding chapel. She’d called Mabel early that morning and asked if it’d be all right if she stopped by. She knew time was running out to make her pitch. She just hoped Mabel hadn’t already signed an agreement with someone already.
As she walked over to Mabel’s house, her knees felt like gelatin. She told herself to get a grip. After all, this was sweet Mabel she was going to speak with, not some boardroom of suits with serious looks pasted on their faces. No matter the outcome, Mabel would be kind.
As Mabel greeted her at the door and showed her to the kitchen, Clara tried to convince herself that this was just like any other conversation with tea and cookies, Mabel’s favorites.
And so Clara set up her laptop and talked through the presentation, explaining each graphic and chart. Mabel leaned in close, taking in all of Clara’s hard work. But she had no idea what Mabel was thinking. Clara had a feeling the sweet woman would hand out the same compliments whether she was interested in the proposition or not.
When the presentation ended, Mabel asked, “Did you do all of those pictures yourself?”
“I did. I took a graphics class in college. I really enjoyed it.”
“But not as much as you enjoy planning weddings?”
“No. Not that much.” Clara turned to the final page. It was the image of a bronze historical placard with the name of the Seabreeze Wedding Chapel on it. “I’ve been in contact with the historical society and the chapel qualifies. However, if it is listed, the owner must maintain its historical integrity. So that would mean updates would have to go through an approval process.”
Mabel arched a brow. “Will that be a problem for you?”
Clara shook her head. “It’ll be more complicated, but I think it would be worth the effort. I love the chapel just the way it is. It has an originality that can’t be found these days.”
Mabel sat back and sipped at her tea, which she’d poured for both of them partway through the presentation. “You’ve certainly put a lot of thought into your presentation. I’m impressed. And you have one last wedding scheduled for the chapel?”
“Yes. It’s in a week. But it could be a lot more if I were to make it part of a regular wedding package.”
Mabel nodded. “I do see the appeal.”
“But there’s one other thing.”
“What’s that, dear?”
