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MADISON LEIGH
“Always a bridal planner,never a bride, am I right?” Aunt Edna chucks me hard on the arm, sending drops of bubbly flying over the side of my champagne flute.
So original.
Like I’ve never heardthatone before. I swear my mother has the phrase as my ring tone on her cell.
“Funny.” I shoot Aunt Edna a wry smile, trying to take the lame joke in stride and chalking it up to an occupational hazard. “So Charity—what do you think about the champagne? Do you prefer the Mumm or the Veuve?”
My cousin Charity squints at the two flutes she’s holding, both almost empty.
“Honestly, I’m not really sure. Can I try them again?”
I hold back a sigh, refilling her flutes and silently willing her to pick one already. We’ve been going at this cake-and-champagne tasting for over an hour and I only slotted forty-five minutes for the activity. At this rate, she’s going to miss her wedding date.
Charity takes a long slug of the Mumm, smacking her lips together. She follows it up immediately with the Veuve without even cleansing her palette.
Super. The bride’s sloshed.
“How about we go with the Mumm?” I scribble a note in my day planner, making the executive decision for the group.
“I think I like the Veuve more.” Charity swirls the golden liquid in the glass, then chugs the rest of the champagne in one gulp.
“Okay. Veuve it is.” I erase my note, replacing it with the update. “Last thing before you go—the cocktail napkins came in.”
I rifle through the box on the floor, grabbing one of the blush napkins from the stack and handing it across the table to Charity.
She bursts into a girlish giggle, a pink flush blooming on her chest. “#cavity. I love it!”
Aunt Edna snatches at the paper square featuring a large white tooth and their ‘ship name’ in script. Her ruddy face breaks into a wide grin.
“That’s absolutely bril, Charity! Did Cavill come up with that? Such a clever man.” Her auburn head bobs up and down with glee and wonder at the amazing man that is Cavill Peterkin.
Not sure I’d go that far, but who am I to argue with clients, even if they are related to me?
When Cavill pitched the ship name to me at their initial wedding consult, I thought he was joking. No way did he really want his wedding to be one—branded, and two—associated with something so ridiculous, so on-the-nose as#cavity.
Apparently I was wrong.
He was dead serious.
“I’m Magnolia Point’s premier dentist. It’s practically fate that I fell for sweet Charity here.” He flung his arm around my cousin, dropping a sloppy kiss on her lips as I stifled my laugh. “Of course I want our ship name to be#cavity.Isn’t that hilarious?”
But here we are, a few days from the wedding, branded cocktail napkins in hand. Along with the wedding invitations and acceptance cards, programs, table numbers, photo display, and the gift table, all proudly bearing#cavity.
“Beyond sweet, Charity. Y’all are too cute for words.” Aunt Edna beams at her daughter and I swear to goodness, my teeth ache at the amount of saccharin dripping in her tone.
“Glad you love them.” I tuck the napkin back into the cellophane packaging for safekeeping until the big day.“Anything else, ladies? I have another appointment coming up.” I glance down at my watch, tapping the glass face for good measure.
They’re my last clients of the day, but no need to share that little tidbit. I do have another appointment—a hot date with aSay Yes to the Dressrerun and some Chinese takeout.
“When do you need the final headcount?” Charity tips her blonde head to the side, pupils wide in her crystalline blue eyes.
“I can get the final number at the bridal brunch, that’ll be fine.”
“Perfect. And you have everything set up for that over at the Magnolia Point Club, right?” Aunt Edna peers at me over her tortoiseshell glasses.
