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“All right.” Bea left with Lauren, and when she arrived back at the office, she found Grant kicked back in his chair, his feet up on his desk and his phone at his ear.
“…know that, Julie.”
His twin sister. Bea put her purse on her desk and moved over to Grant. His eyes met hers, and he put his feet down. “I have to go,” he said. “I’ll call you back.” He tossed his phone onto his desk just as Bea slid onto his lap. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing,” she said, but she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. “I just missed you,” she murmured against his lips.
He matched her stroke for stroke, sending desire through Bea from head to toe. “You were gone for an hour,” he whispered as he moved his mouth to her neck.
Grant didn’t wear a tie to work, but Bea fiddled with the buttons on his polo as she said, “Shelby has debate practice after school.”
“You want to play hooky?”
“Mm, yes, I think I do.”
Grant brought his mouth back to hers for another sizzling kiss, all the answer she needed to whether or not he’d take her home and make love to her.
21
Bessie Clifton wasn’t sure if the bride was supposed to stop and pick up her own refreshments for her wedding, but she’d also made all the bread she and Oliver would be serving at their celebration later today too.
She also didn’t care what was traditional or not. She and Oliver had planned the wedding they wanted to have, and the only person Bessie had considered more than herself was Wyn.
For her daughter was also engaged, and they’d be back for some nuptials for her and Douglas come September. She had taken longer to accept the diamond, though Bessie suspected Wyn had been in love with Douglas for about the same time Bessie had been in love with Oliver.
She’d just needed extra time to make sure things were really right, and Bessie wouldn’t fault her for that. She’d been through a lot with her ex-boyfriend before they’d moved to Hilton Head, and Douglas had been the first man she’d dated since that break-up.
She hurried out of the back of the shop, pushing the cart of bread in front of her. Wyn herself got out of the car and opened the back hatch. “Got it all?”
“Yes,” Bessie said. “They’d just finished slicing it, so we should be good to go.”
Wyn had packed the butters and jams last night, and they waited in three coolers they’d already loaded into the SUV. Wyn helped load the three dozen loaves of bread into the back of the cart, and Bessie pushed the cart back inside. “Bye, Hillie!” she called.
“I’ll see you there,” her assistant baker called, and Bessie hurried back out to the car. Wyn drove them through the streets of Hilton Head, which would be bustling with tourists in only a couple of weeks, once school got out and families started to travel for the summer.
As Wyn drove by a store that had a little bit of everything for rock bottom prices, she looked over to her daughter. “Do you think we have enough toasters?”
“Yes,” her daughter said decisively. “Mom, we have thirteen toasters.”
“Feels like an unlucky number,” Bessie murmured. She hadn’t invited very many people to the wedding. Her friends in the Supper Club. All of her employees. Wyn and Douglas. Her side of the guest list had actually been quite small, as she had two sisters who would be coming by themselves, along with her parents.
But Oliver? The man had owned a smoothie shop on the island for thirteen years now. He seemed to know every other small business owner, every local resident, everyone. He had brothers and their families, as well as his daddy coming in from Alabama.
It was his first marriage, and while he’d told her he’d do big or small, she’d sensed he wanted a big celebration where he could invite anyone he wanted. No restrictions.
So Bessie had done a little researching, and she’d found a great wedding venue that hadn’t cost her an arm and a leg the way Lauren’s nuptials had. Cass had gotten married at the Country Club, but she was currently in the middle of remodeling that facility now, and it sat a bit out of Bessie’s price range anyway.
She’d booked The Oaks Overlook, which boasted ten acres of emerald green grass, trees, bushes, and meticulously sculpted flowerbeds for outdoor weddings. They had an altar spot right on the edge of a low cliff, with the ocean sashaying ashore below, with spectacular views any time of day.
They had two indoor chapels, and a variety of décor options for anything indoor or outdoor. Bessie had been overwhelmed at their binder of options, but she’d sat down with Joy, who spoke a love language in binders, and they’d gone through things pretty quickly.
Joy had a way of helping Bessie eliminate the things she didn’t like easily, and that had only left her a few choices.
She’d gone with an evening wedding, since neither she nor Oliver wanted to be too formal and serve dinner. In fact, her off-the-cuff idea of a toast and bread bar with smoothies was exactly what guests would get.
Oh, and the cake. She’d splurged on the cake, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself. She loved sweets, and both she and Oliver had agreed on the delectable, light-as-clouds, white wedding cake with a light, vanilla frosting and an orange curd filling.
It was sweet, smooth, with a bite of tartness that had make her eyes widen and brighten upon first bite. And when she’d seen the same look on Oliver’s face… She’d splurged on the cake.
