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Maren nods. “You’re looking at it. Apparently it’s leftovers from another wedding they’re having in the ballroom at the Club today. Marianne gave us instructions to hang it, but . . .”
“It’s not going as well as we’d hoped.” Tuck wipes his brow.
I tug my lips to the side as I survey the room. My eyes catch on the sad-looking flowers, which Mom and Lady are busy setting out on the kitchen island.
The florist went heavy on the snapdragons and zinnias. They’re pretty, but their long, tubular stems mean they easily (and quite literally) get bent out of shape.
Unless, of course, you hang them upside-down from those stems. The vision hits me, fully-formed and so beautiful I literally suck in a breath. I saw it done once in a magazine. A wedding in the Hamptons, I think. No clue if it would work here. But if it did, it could be spectacular, and just the sort of dramatic visual we need to distract from the unfinished ceiling.
“I have an idea,” I say, grabbing onto Riley’s arm.
A spark ignites in his eyes. “Listen up, y’all.”
My heart flutters. God, I love how he takes me and my ideas so seriously.
I love how he creates space for me. Makes me feel like I can breathe again.
“I’m going to need those Christmas lights and some wire. Lots and lots of wire.”
The ZZ-top looking guy raises his hand. “Would fishin’ line work?”
“That’ll do.”
“I think I know where you’re going with this.” Maren’s eyes slide from the flowers to the organza and back again. “I’ll find scissors. And an extra ladder.”
“I’ve got the measuring tape!” Mrs. Dixon appears, holding said measuring tape above her head.
Riley pinches my ass. “I got whatever you need, Legs.”
“Sounds kinky.” Abel crosses the room, an enormous length of PVC pipe slung over his shoulder. “Water should be on in twenty.”
“Yay for toilets!” Marsha says.
I look at Riley. He looks back and smiles. “If all else fails, at least we have that.”
I smile too.
Then we get to work.
twenty-six
Riley
Dancing Queen
Goldie takes one step into the room and bursts into tears.
Tears that quickly become loud, heaving sobs.
“Oh my God, y’all.” She puts a hand on her chest. “This is—I have no words.”
I catch Lu’s eye as she curls an arm around Goldie’s middle and pulls her in for a side hug. A tear slips down Lu’s cheek, and all of a sudden I’m sniffling too.
I’m in good company, though, because Coop’s actively wiping his eyes beside me. To be fair, I think he’s been crying since he and Goldie had their “first look” a few minutes ago in the front hallway. They both look like a million bucks. Goldie’s in an elegant, curve-hugging ivory dress that shows off the barest hint of a baby bump, and Coop is wearing a classic black tuxedo that matches my own.
“Y’all.” He swallows. Grabs onto my shoulder. “Y’all.”
“We’re good.” Lu grins. “We know.”
Goldie gestures to the makeshift ceiling that floats over the open portion of the house’s first floor. “Just—how?”
I discreetly roll my left shoulder back. My arms are killing me. “Took a village.”
Rain pelts the two stories of windows on the far wall, but you wouldn’t know it thanks to the “sky” of flowers, fairy lights, and swags of organza that hangs above our heads. It makes what was a big, empty space this morning feel intimate and beautiful.
No wonder, considering there’s an entire botanical garden hanging from a grid of miles of fishing line. Took Woody, Tuck and me a solid two hours to construct the damn thing. Lu led a team of ladies behind us, all of them working feverishly to tie stem after stem of flowers and greenery to the grid.
After Abel cleared the mess that was the house’s front yard, he helped us with the lighting, hauling in a portable generator. We plugged in as many strands of white lights as we could find and threaded them through the grid, allowing the ends to dangle alongside the flowers.
The expression on Lu’s face as she surveys her work—it’s pride.
As it should be. Her vision is what helped us make magic out of a hot mess. Marianne and her crew helped out too, of course. She made the call to mix up table shapes so we could fit as many as possible into the front foyer and dining room. With Mrs. Wade’s help and some candles snagged from Marsha Marsha Marsha, Marianne reworked the table settings. Since Lu used most of the flowers for the ceiling, Marianne ended up setting the tables with a mishmash of what Mom and Marsha had available at the shop: planters of preserved moss, plus antique silver and brass votives, which now flicker with candles.
“Riley means that literally.” Lu guides Goldie further into the room. “I think every single person in Harbor Village pitched in today.”
