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“I’ve got it, Maddie.” Stef came up behind her and wrapped his long arms around the bucket. “Inside or outside?”
“Thanks.” Maddie glanced at me for confirmation.
“How about we put them all in the shade near the tree for now? We’ll assemble them outside then decorate everywhere.”
“On it.” Stef trudged up the hill to where the tent was still set up.
Maddie handed off another bucket to the other guy from the kitchen. He didn’t talk much, but he was always happy to help. He followed Stef up the hill, leaving us with the two smaller white pails.
“We had a late addition. Since it’s so hot, Mason hired this cute thing called The Boozie Bus. It does both alcoholic and virgin drinks. Mason had a few of the guys bring over some picnic tables so people can spread out.”
“Good idea. Makes the oak tree more of a focal point for pictures and videos when it gets dark.”
“Exactly. Mason also brought a truck full of sparklers for tonight.”
A little pang of hurt hit me. He hadn’t mentioned that to me. In fact, he’d said very little to me since the almost kiss.
Maybe Gillian was right about Mason being sensitive about the fraternization thing. I didn’t want to ruin anything we had going on because there had been a buzz between us for a nanosecond.
Dammit, I could control myself.
I scanned the busy dock. A mix of people from the restaurant and some catering people I didn’t know were hauling in chairs and tables. I spotted Lucky talking with Mason on the second level deck.
Gillian was hovering close to Mason. She was wearing a slinky black tank dress with a slash of magenta across her impressive chest. The only time my tits were impressive were when I needed to use my pump for milk for bean.
And now my cute navy dress with little daisies felt too simple. The empire cut felt maternity-ish. It wasn’t a maternity dress, but it did flatter my still-recovering body. Before bean, I’d worn tight little dresses just like that.
Except for the breasts part.
I’d never had those. Being a card-carrying member of itty bitty titty committee had never bothered me before. I knew I had great legs and an even better ass. At least that part hadn’t changed much with Adriana.
And that didn’t freaking matter. What the hell was wrong with me?
Who cared if he found me attractive or if Gillian tried to get his attention? I was here to plan and execute the best engagement party I could. Full stop.
That also meant I had quite a few flowers to arrange, and the day wasn’t getting any shorter.
“Ready to show off your flower skills?” I asked Maddie.
“Ready and willing.”
“One last thing.”
She grinned at me. “What’s that?”
“Tell me you have coffee made somewhere.”
Maddie snickered. “Thermos is waiting under the tent. I made some cold brew last night for us.”
“Goddess.”
We waddled up the hill with our buckets and ended up laughing at all the bloom shrapnel around us as we finally got down to work.
Suddenly, music filtered out of the barge. The kind that would keep our hips swaying and our hands moving. We sang along to some old Journey classics as we filled jar after jar with peach, cream, and deep purple blooms.
It took a little longer than I was hoping, but we decorated the oak with flowers, even hung a few from chains to frame the tulle arbor we made as a backdrop for photos with friends and family.
We added fat cabbage roses and dahlias with sprigs of the deep purple wispy fan leaves to a few of the mason jars that lined the dock leading to the barge. Then we started the process of decorating inside the boat.
