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“No,” I answered without even looking at him.
“What do you mean, no? I’m your best friend.”
Turning to look at him, I smiled. “Exactly. You’re my best friend, not Greg’s. Now, his best friend will be there.”
Hollie giggled, then covered her mouth with her hand and tried to look as if she was reading something in her notes.
“Anyway, back to the party,” I said.
Hollie cleared her throat and nodded. “You said Greg wants it to be held in the family barn. If I remember, the walls in the barn are wide, wooden planks, right?”
Greg and Janet had met in that barn when Wendy had brought her over seven months ago to ride horses. They had hit it off, even though they had known each other from school. They spent the entire afternoon talking. So, it was only fitting that he would ask her to marry him there and then have the celebration afterward.
“Yes, they are.”
She smiled and my chest felt tight. It was a genuine smile. One that wasn’t laced with sarcasm or anything like that. I had to fight the urge to rub at the ache. It wasn’t very often she gave me a genuine smile, and I found I wanted to make her give me another one.
“Okay, so, for the dessert table, I was thinking we can hang up a sign that says, ‘falling in love,’ and use some old wooden crates and such for décor.”
I nodded.
“Then, down the middle of the barn, we can have two long tables—that should be enough for that many guests. It will be dressed more in an elegant fashion but still sticking with the Halloween theme. I’m thinking, rose gold candelabras with some greener and fall flowers. Black glasses for wine and for soft drinks or water. Rose gold plates with black silverware. Black napkins draped over the plates, and if you want to do name plates, we could do printed ones and wrap them around the silverware, or we could paint the names on little pumpkins that will sit on the table.”
She looked up from what she was reading. “How does that sound so far?”
“Umm…”
“Freaking amazing. How will you get all this stuff?” Shawn asked.
She blushed and I hated that he had made that color appear on those beautiful cheeks of hers.
“I have a warehouse where I’ve bought things over the years. I pretty much have everything for fall and Halloween parties since I do them so often. I just need to make sure, if I’m doing more than one Halloween party, I don’t commit the same items to two different parties. I have a pretty good system laid out. And I’m the only one who does the decorating, so there is no risk of things being double booked.”
“That’s amazing, Hollie. You’ve certainly worked hard at building your business,” Shawn stated.
Smiling once again, she replied, “Thank you, Shawn.”
I cleared my throat, and they both turned to look at me. “If you two are done…?”
Hollie’s smile faded and a pained look crossed her face. I instantly felt like a jerk. “We’ll have a drink area as well. Maybe even make a few little potions.”
“Potions? What kind of potions?” I asked.
She laughed. “Regular drinks, like tea or sangria, and just name them something cute. Like ‘Dracula’s blood’ for the sangria.”
“I like that idea, and I think Greg and Janet will really love it,” I said with a smile. This time, when Hollie grinned, it was directed at me.
She turned the page of the notebook and read over something before she spoke again. “I’m thinking to separate the two areas. What we can do is put up a curtain across the barn if that’s possible.”
“It’s possible.”
“Great!” she said as she moved in her seat some. The waitress walked up and apologized for not getting over sooner. She asked Shawn and me if we wanted something other than water, then took our drink orders, and the three of us ordered lunch.
“Okay, now for the engagement area. We want it to be a bit more romantic and lighter on the Halloween theme. I mean, if that’s okay with you?”
Reaching for another scallop, I nodded. “I trust your judgment.”
Hollie paused for a moment, and our eyes met. She seemed surprised, shocked even. “You do?”
