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  “Don’t get me wrong. She’s a sweetheart. We all love her to death, but…” Mildred took a breath. “She said she was planning a small wedding. Fifty people, she said. With only four weeks’ notice, that was hard enough, but we did it. Everything was settled, including some of the prettiest floral arrangements I’ve ever designed. Hydrangeas and roses. It would have been lovely.” Mildred gave her head a sad shake.

  “Then, with no warning, her guest list jumped to two-fifty,” Alicia put in. “I could hardly object, since she’d rented the entire cottage for the weekend. But honestly, who does that?”

  JoJo jumped in before Alicia finished. “We couldn’t let a true Heart’s Landing bride down, so we did our best. But there were problems, added expenses. I had to bring in an extra photographer.”

  Mildred picked up the thread of conversation. “I called every florist within three states. There just aren’t enough hydrangeas available this time of year.”

  Alexis frowned. “My distributor didn’t have that much wine in stock.”

  “My pastry and sous chefs are pulling their hair out,” Janet added quietly.

  “I understand.” He’d had his share of difficulties with Jenny’s order, too. “A cake for fifty on short notice is bad enough, but two-fifty? I’ll be piping the icing right up to the start of the ceremony.” Uncertain whether the coffee or the thought of Jenny walking down the aisle caused his throat to tighten, he rubbed his neck.

  “To her credit, she’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” Ashley pointed out.

  “And she’s willing to compromise,” Alexis chimed in.

  “Freesia and garden roses instead of hydrangeas.” Mildred’s displeasure showed in a glum nod.

  “When we couldn’t get enough chardonnay, she chose a nice moscato,” Alexis said. “Instead of plated service, we’ll set things up buffet-style. That’ll save both time and money.”

  “Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Not sure where his friends were going with this conversation, Nick blew on his coffee and waited.

  “She’s almost too accommodating,” Alexis pointed out. “Most brides at least quibble over substitutions.”

  Ashley recited a few of the more memorable moments. “Some do a lot more than that. We’ve all dealt with bridal tears after a well-meaning father poured the wrong champagne for the first toast, or the butterflies released after the reception had a different shade of blue wings than she expected.”

  Around the room, heads bobbed.

  Nick took a careful sip. He’d had a similar experience when Jenny had stopped by to review his ideas for her larger wedding cake. His first design had been a tower. The second, a multi-tiered layout. The difference was so great, he’d expected her to object. When she’d only shrugged aside his concerns, her reaction had left him scratching his head. “At least everything’s resolved now.”

  “You’d think so.” Mildred glanced up from the hands she’d folded in her lap. “But she called me at home last night. Now she wants to change the entire color scheme. Two weeks before the wedding.”

  “She what?” Nick pushed himself away from the wall. “I just saw her yesterday afternoon. She didn’t say a thing.” His gaze circled the room. The stricken faces of his friends and coworkers stared back at him.

  “None of the flowers I’ve ordered will work now.” Mildred’s voice shook.

  “I’ll have to get new table linens.” Alicia’s frown deepened.

  Ashley leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “We had to cancel our orders for gift bags and tissue and get replacements.”

  Mildred cleared her throat. “Never in the history of Heart’s Landing have we failed to come through for one of our brides. Some have stretched us to our limits, but none as far as this one. I’m telling you, Nick, this is the last straw. We’ll do what we can to accommodate this new color scheme, but nothing more. She can’t make another change. Not one.”

  In a tone he’d never heard JoJo use before, his cousin said, “You’ve got to take her in hand.”

  “Me?” Coffee sloshed over the rim of his cup. He pressed his back against the wall. “Why me?”

  “You found her,” Janet pointed out. The others in the room murmured their agreement. “You’re the one who identified her as a true Heart’s Landing Bride. She’s your responsibility.”

  “We can’t afford to mess this up, Nick. We promise a perfect wedding for every bride who comes here. That goes double for someone like Jenny. Only, she has to do her part. You’ve got to make sure she does.”

  The need to defend Jenny coursed through him as he mopped the floor with a napkin he grabbed from a table dispenser. “You know it’s not entirely her fault.” He pitched the damp paper into a nearby trash can. “Her fiancé’s mother invited those extra people to the wedding. The groom is the one who insists that nothing but the best will do.” From what he knew of Jenny, none of the pomp and extravagance were her idea.

  “Then, she needs to stiffen her spine and tell them to back off,” insisted Alicia. “What kind of marriage will the girl have if she constantly gives in to everyone else’s demands?”

  What kind indeed?

  “Look, Nick, you’re the only one here who has some sway with her. We need you to take her under your wing, so to speak. Talk her out of making any new changes before her big day.”

  “If you don’t,” Janet warned, “we’ll end up disappointing her. Then, whether her demands were unrealistic or not, it won’t matter. Word will spread. I don’t have to tell you what it’ll do to us if our image gets tarnished.”

  One way or another, the livelihood of every person in Heart’s Landing depended on the town’s A+ reputation. He had to do his part to protect it.

  Nick lowered his coffee cup to the table and pulled himself erect. “I’ll do the best I can,” he promised.

  Roy lingered behind when the others filed through the door. “You got a sec?” the videographer asked.

  “Just about that long,” Nick answered. He’d already had a hectic schedule before his friends had dropped this new responsibility in his lap.

  “Well, I was thinking about when my sister got married last year. The closer we got to the big day, the more harried she was. I don’t know if she’d have made it, except my brother-in-law made her get away from it all for a day or two. They took a break from the wedding stuff and spent the weekend in Newport.”

  Nick’s eyebrows rose. A wry grimace twisted his lips. “You aren’t seriously suggesting I whisk Jenny off on a weekend getaway, are you?” His friends and fellow business owners already held him accountable for their wayward bride. They’d run him out of town on a rail if he ran off with her.

  “Nah. Nothing like that.” Roy punched Nick’s arm. “But you could take her sight-seeing. There are plenty of historic places around here.”

  Nick rubbed his chin. Roy’s suggestion was worth considering. “I’ll come up with something,” he said, wondering how he’d gotten himself into this mess and, better still, how he’d get out of it.

  Just exactly how was he supposed to keep his distance from Jenny when he’d promised to take the wishy-washy bride-to-be under his wing?

  Chapter Ten

  People moved through the hallway outside Jenny’s door, their footsteps clattering on the hardwood floors. Laughter punctuated the low murmur of conversation that drifted up the stairs from the lobby where guests gathered for an early evening wedding. Late arrivals added to the volume until, finally, doors opened and closed. Gravel crunched beneath shoes and high heels as the party moved around the house to the parking lot. Standing at her window, Jenny caught snatches of banter while the departing group piled into waiting cars. Another round of doors slammed. Engines revved. And then they were gone, off to the wedding that had been the main subject of conversation around the breakfast table this morning.

  Her stomach issued a low gr
umble. Not that the hunger surprised her. Nervous about having to break the distressing news of Kay’s latest round of changes to her friends in town, she’d only downed a couple of cups of coffee before heading out this morning. Lunchtime had come and gone before she’d visited half the shops, where her excuse for switching colors sounded thin, even to her. With no other option, she’d kept at it. By the time she’d convinced the last store owner to adjust their order, Open signs were being flipped to Closed, and doors were being locked from one end of Bridal Carriage to the other.

  Her shoulders slumped, she’d picked her slow way along the emptying sidewalks to her temporary home. Her spirits had plummeted lower still when she reached the bed and breakfast and spotted the group gathering in the lobby. Unable to think about anyone’s wedding—and certainly not the one she was planning—she’d rushed upstairs. No sooner had she reached her room, though, when her stomach sent up a protest.

  Too late, she realized she’d spent the entire day rushing from one place to another without a single break. She hadn’t even stopped by I Do Cakes to see Nick and have her daily cupcake.

  Nick.

  What would he think of her when he found out the real reason she’d come to Heart’s Landing? Would he understand her need for subterfuge? Would everyone else? For what had to be the hundredth time, she sighed. She’d told herself over and over that once everyone learned Karolyn Karter was the real bride, they’d be so excited they’d forgive her for misleading them. She crossed her fingers and hoped she was right about that.

  However the future played out, though, food was her immediate priority. She needed to make some plans for dinner. Unfortunately, dining anywhere within a five-mile radius was out of the question. The odds were too high that she’d run into Mildred or Alicia or any of the dozen other shop owners whose paths she’d crossed today. She supposed she could drive to a nearby town and grab a bite, but that idea didn’t hold much appeal, either. She liked it here. She wanted to stay here.

  She really did, didn’t she?

  Startled by the sudden realization of how much Heart’s Landing had come to feel like home in such a short time, she rubbed her eyes. But her thoughts didn’t change. The idea that if it was up to her, she’d stay here forever, wrapped around her like a warm shawl.

  She glanced out the window at garden behind the bed and breakfast. Slowly, she shook her head. Moving here wasn’t in the cards. She’d need a job, and her cousin’s indecisiveness had tainted her. Thanks to Kay’s insistence on changing everything from the size of the wedding to the color of the napkins, she doubted anyone in town believed she could make a decision and stick to it. Who would hire someone that weak?

  Besides, she didn’t have much of a resume. She’d had one job—as Kay’s personal assistant—since college. She doubted many people here needed one of those. As for her dream of opening her own event planning business, that was only a pipe dream. Without the cachet of Kay’s name to back her up, how was she supposed to strike out on her own?

  She brushed a sudden dampness from her eyes. She needed to forget the idea of moving to Heart’s Landing. Her life, her job was in L.A.

  Which still left the matter of her empty stomach. Resigned to ordering in a pizza, she thumbed through a phone directory she’d found in the nightstand. Number in hand, she reached for her phone. She’d barely picked it up when a soft chime signaled an incoming call. Her hand froze.

  Was it Kay again with more suggestions that sounded more like marching orders?

  Her heart thudded. She couldn’t, simply couldn’t, alter the plans for the wedding one more time. Not only would shop owners all over town revolt, but disaster—which had held off so far—was sure to strike if anything else changed. Holding her breath, barely daring to breathe, she refused to budge until the phone stopped bleating.

  When the last chime finally faded, her chest expanded. The welcome feeling of relief didn’t last long. Before she had a chance to place her order for a veggie pizza, the phone shimmied to the beat of an incoming text. Her lips pursed. She squeezed her eyes shut.

  When she opened them, the I Do Cakes icon on her screen put her worries on a temporary hold. Nick was in the lobby. He wondered if she could meet him downstairs. Suddenly, the need to fill her empty stomach didn’t seem quite so pressing.

  Be right down, she texted back, doing her best to deny the shiver of anticipation that danced across her midsection.

  She brushed a hand over her wrinkled pencil skirt and frowned. The idea of appearing rumpled and worn out when Nick saw her held as much appeal as a cup of lukewarm coffee. As quickly as she could, she stepped into slim-fitting jeans and tugged her favorite T-shirt over her head. She ran a brush through her hair, then captured the unruly mess into a ponytail and checked her reflection in the full-length mirror. She still looked like someone who’d spent the day putting out fires, but she’d managed to hide some of her defeat behind a bit of blush and a dab of lip gloss. For now, it would have to do. Seconds later, her sandals made slapping noises on the treads as she hustled down the stairs to the spot where Nick stood talking with Marybeth.

  “Hey,” he said, his smile widening as he noticed her approach

  “Hey, yourself. I didn’t know you were stopping by. Did I forget we were meeting tonight?” Even as she said the words, she knew she hadn’t. She might have trouble remembering every detail of her fake fiancé’s bio, but she’d never forget a date with Nick, no matter how impromptu. Being around him made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, a feeling she liked a lot more than she had any right to.

  But why was that?

  Sure, he’d been blessed with movie-star good looks—dark, wavy hair that ended just below a chiseled jaw, deep-set eyes and broad shoulders. But, living in Hollywood, she’d grown used to seeing handsome men wherever she went. No, her attraction to him went more than skin deep. He made her feel good about herself. Not only that, but he’d offered her his friendship, and, at the rate problems were mounting around Kay’s wedding, she needed all the friends she could get.

  “You didn’t come by the bakery this afternoon, so I thought I’d bring you a treat.” He held out a dome-shaped container.

  Her stomach gurgled happily. “You don’t know how much I need this. Thanks.”

  “Can’t have you wasting away before your big day, can we?”

  At Nick’s innocent reminder of the impending nuptials—and the secrets she’d been keeping since she’d arrived in town—her temporary good mood plummeted. “I guess not,” she murmured. It was bad enough that she had to hide the truth from everyone else. Keeping it from him was killing her.

  “Heart’s Landing is lucky to have you, Nick,” Marybeth interrupted. “You take such good care of our guests. Here”—she held out her hand for the box—“let me dish that up for you. How about some coffee or tea to go with it?”

  “Thanks. That’d be nice. Tea for me, if you don’t mind.” Hoping she didn’t come across as desperate for company as she felt, Jenny raised her eyes to meet Nick’s. “Can you stay for a bit?”

  “Why not?” A lock of dark hair fell onto Nick’s forehead. He brushed it back. “If you don’t mind, Marybeth, I’ll take a cup of tea, too.”

  Without another word, Marybeth darted into the kitchen.

  Alone with Nick, Jenny shifted her weight from one foot to the other. At last, she led them to a pair of matching overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. As she crossed the room that had been so crowded earlier she said, “You should have been here twenty minutes ago. It was standing room only in here.”

  “The Smith wedding.” Nick dropped down on a chair across from her.

  Her brow furrowed. “You didn’t have to be there?” From what he’d told her during their tasting, he usually handled I Do Cake’s deliveries and stayed through the reception.

  “Not this time. They didn’t want a cake.”

  “No?” Jenny tucked
her feet under her. “Who does that?”

  “It takes all kinds.” Nick crossed his ankles. “Some people just don’t like it.”

  “They obviously haven’t had yours,” she interjected.

  “There is that,” Nick agreed with a slow smile. “It doesn’t happen often, but some brides serve a traditional dessert or pie instead. At one reception, the family constructed a wall covered with pegs. No one could figure out what it was for until one of the groomsmen showed up with boxes and boxes of donuts. He hung three or four from every post and let the guests grab them as they walked by.”

  “Oh, no, they didn’t.” At the thought of guests simply helping themselves, Jenny gave her head a firm shake. “I won’t be doing that at my wedding.”

  Or Karolyn’s, either.

  “Too many sticky fingers for me.” Nick gave an exaggerated shudder.

  She laughed, finally at ease for the first time all day. Nick filled her in on the happenings at the bakery—a tasting that had gone particularly well that morning, a new bread recipe Jimmy planned to try. As if she didn’t want to intrude, Marybeth stopped by long enough to settle a tray of tea things on the table between them and left. Jenny filled their cups while Nick finished telling a funny story about his apprentice. While he took his first sip, she eyed the yellow cupcake on her plate. Lemon wasn’t her favorite, but with her stomach issuing strict orders to stop being picky and feed it, she forked up a small bite. Like fresh-squeezed citrus on a summer day, flavor burst onto her tongue and dissolved, leaving behind the memory of tart sweetness.

  “This is the best,” she said, forking up another bite.

  Across from her, Nick acknowledged the praise by crossing one leg over the other. “Glad you like it.”

  All too soon, she stared down at the empty plate and wished for more.

  Nick, who’d fallen silent while she ate, cleared his throat. “I heard you stopped by Forget Me Knot this morning. Mildred said something about wanting different flowers for the wedding?”