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He whipped around and looked at her. “Does it matter?”
“Of course, it does.”
With a sardonic laugh, he put the helmet on his head and buckled it into place. “Yeah right, just like it mattered when you accepted your old job back without telling me.” Tugging his riding gloves on, he added, “Our relationship is clearly not on the level of either of us knowing what the other is doing.”
What the hell did that matter to him? He was leaving in eight days. “Why do you care? You won’t be around here, remember?”
Snapping the visor down so she could no longer see his eyes, he briefly closed them and wished this conversation never happened. But he could wish all he wanted because it had. Delivering the final blow to the discussion he said, “You’re right, there’s nothing holding me back here in Pearl Lake.” And with that, he walked out of the room leaving Desi staring off with tears in her eyes. A few moments later, she heard the rumble of his bike, then the squeal of tires as he gunned it down the road.
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DESI WAS HOT AND STEAMYand not in a good way. She turned to the wall of windows in the inn’s kitchen and opened them one by one.
It was the big day, Abbi, and Ben’s wedding, and she had been cooking nine turkeys a day for the past two days, from sunup to sundown. The family pitched in at different times, Mark, and Ava, with getting the birds cleaned up, Kim and Dean with making the tossed salads, and Luke and Lane helped peel sack after sack of potatoes. Desi, Brit, and Jasmine prepared the stuffing and the little things that needed doing. Thankfully she hadn’t the extra worry of setting the place settings up, Ben and Abbi took care of that along with his mom while his dad watched Annabelle.
She was still in shock that they could complete such a monumental task in such a short time. Luckily for her the inn had two ovens. One in the wall and the other free standing that was large enough to hold two roasters at a time. As soon as they were cooked, they were carved up and placed in glass dishes, bathing in their own juices. Once cooled, they were sealed and placed into the fridge here at the inn and at Ava and Mark’s house.
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THIS MORNING KIM ANDshe had transferred all the meat into metal inserts that were now waiting in the buffet table Dean had brought in specifically for this meal. The last two were in the oven and would be served to the head table and immediate family, she checked with Abbi and Ben of course and they agreed. Ben said that anyone who had invited themselves could eat off the bones as far as he was concerned.
She walked over to the buffet table to make sure there was enough water. Turning around, she glanced at the four industrial size pots of potatoes simmering on the stove and went over to check the flame on each burner. No way would there be scorched potatoes on her watch.
Taking a deep breath, she mentally went down the list of things that still needed to be done. The stuffing was currently on low in the wall oven. Wrapped in foil, she was able to place three pouches inside and the other two were wedged between the roasting pans in the other oven. Cans of cranberries needed to be opened and placed in bowls, corn had to be steamed, salads needing to be tossed and dinner rolls needed to be warmed. She couldn’t wait for this day to be over so she could go home, have a nice hot bath, then crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She was grateful though; the past few days kept her mind off Lane. If only it had kept her body from wanting him.
“Desi, it’s time!!”
She looked up to see Brit standing there with a huge grin on her face. The wedding was about to start.
“Okay I’ll be right there.” Truth be told she didn’t want to be anywhere near it. She didn’t want to see Lane along with Luke, walk their mother down the aisle.
Brit grabbed her by the arm and said, “C’mon, we can’t miss this!”
Taking off her apron, she sat it on the counter and said, “Fine let’s go.”
“Good lord, take that off,” Brit swiped the chef’s hat off her head that Kim insisted she wear, not because she was controlling but because she got a kick out of it.
Desi laughed, “Can you imagine me going out there with a two-foot hat on my head?!”
Together they walked arm and arm down the hall giggling their way to the front doors.
Once there, Desi froze, her breath caught in her throat at the sight before them the second they stepped outside.
The trees showing off their fall colours of reds and golds reflecting off the still waters of the lake, was a stunning backdrop. At the end of each row of seating, which were so jam packed with guests that some had no choice but to stand, was a bouquet of scarlet-coloured Chrysanthemums and baby’s breath, wrapped around the stems were gold leaves.
A pristine white carpet was laid between rows of seating for Abbi to walk down, and at the end of that carpet was Ben waiting for his bride. Handsome as all get out in his black tuxedo, he was joined by Mark, his best man followed by Dean and Tim who were groomsmen.
When Elanor Stanford, the villages own local busybody, began playing the wedding march on an organ that was set under a weeping willow tree, had all eyes turning towards the house... and Desi.
“What’re you doing?!” Brit exclaimed in a loud whisper as she yanked Desi by the hand and pulled her way off to the side. They still had a front row spot so to speak as they were standing not more than ten feet away from the double doors, but at least the guests could no longer see them for the eight-foot-high bush on the other side of the porch railing.
Just as they ducked out of sight, the guests let out a collective, “AWWW,” as Lucy and Molly came trotting out of the house.
Both dogs had little baskets slung over their backs and with every step they took down the carpet, a flutter of red rose petals spilled onto its surface. Greg, Ben’s dad, called the dogs to him, giving them a treat for a job well done, while Nancy, Ben’s mom, held Anabelle.
Brutus was next to come out, with a little black bowtie around his neck, carrying a pillow in his mouth that held the rings, he quickly went and sat at Ben’s feet.
Desi held her breath as Lane and Luke came out and walked to the side of the porch steps waiting for their mother to appear. Oh, how she wished Luke was the one facing her, but it wasn’t, it was Lane. Just looking at him dressed in his finery stole her breath away. And when he cast his eyes on her, she could tell he was thinking about undressing her with those baby blues.
