Page 8 of Kiss the Bride

“Just that they deserve the very best we can provide.” She couldn’t fault him for his curiosity. She’d like to know more, too. She dabbed at her lips with a napkin and told him what she could. “Every couple has their own special story. Maybe the bride has recovered from a major illness and can’t afford the wedding of her dreams. Or the groom was in an accident. One year, the couple came from an area that’d been devastated by a hurricane. The church where they’d planned to get married had been destroyed.”

“Man, that’s rough.” Sympathy swam in Ryan’s eyes. He clucked his tongue.

“It’s not always a hardship, though,” she hurried to add. “No matter what the circumstances, weddings are happy occasions. They deserve celebrating.”

For the Wedding-in-a-Week couples, the town pulled out all the stops. Only a true Heart’s Landing Bride received more attention. Those were so rare, she’d only met one in all the time she’d worked at the Captain’s Cottage. At that, her chest tightened the tiniest bit. She’d love to identify a true Heart’s Landing Bride one day, the way Denise had discovered Jenny at I Do Cakes. She sighed dreamily.

“Um, you were saying?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else there for a minute.” Shaking herself, Evelyn hauled her thoughts back to the present. “Now, where was I?”

“Other winners of the Wedding-in-a-Week contest?” Ryan prompted.

“Right!” She’d give him one thing: Ryan had always been able to keep his wits about him. She shook aside the thought and focused on the contest. “Our lovebirds last year were childhood sweethearts who’d drifted apart after high school. He went off to college. She took a gap year to travel. They fell in love with other people, got married, and raised families. Thirty years later and on their own again, they both showed up at their high school reunion. They reconnected and discovered they’d been given a second chance at love.” She swiped a sudden dampness from her cheek. Love, that was what Heart’s Landing was all about. Her voice hoarse, she added, “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when they walked down the aisle.”

“I hated to miss their wedding. I was on a buying trip, trying to find replacement lumber for the Boat Works. When I got back, it was the talk of Heart’s Landing for weeks.”

“About that.” She pushed her scone from one edge of the plate to the other. Now that Ryan had opened the door, it was time for a little information-gathering of her own. “What on Earth made you buy a derelict place like the Boat Works?”

“Do I sense a bit of skepticism in your tone?”

He tilted his head, and she felt a sudden urge to brush away the few strands of blond hair that spilled onto his forehead. Which was ridiculous. They’d drifted so far apart over the years, she barely knew the man. She busied herself with her fork. “It’s a surprise, that’s all.”

“The building had good bones, a ton of natural light, great potential. Besides, Heart’s Landing needed a waterfront venue.”

“To compete with the Captain’s Cottage.” She tsked. “Are you trying to put us out of business?”

“What?” A shadow fell over Ryan’s face. His eyes darkened. “You know me better than that.”

“Do I?” she challenged. She used to think she did, but years had passed since she and Ryan had done more than exchange casual greetings.

“Of course you do.” He nudged her elbow with his own. “The Cottage is steeped in history. It has elegant surroundings. It’s the premier place to get married in Heart’s Landing. It always will be. The Boat Works doesn’t offer the same experience at all. But …” He hesitated.

“But?” It was her turn to prompt.

“Some brides want something a little more down-to-earth. They can have that with the Boat Works. Being on the water is another huge plus.”

“Hmph.” She softened, wanting to believe him. That still didn’t explain how he’d carried off all the repairs without anyone being the wiser. “I couldn’t figure out why the town wasn’t buzzing with news about your plans. I guess, what with your dad and your brothers pitching in, word just hasn’t gotten around yet. You must’ve remodeled the whole thing in record time.”

“No.” Ryan’s forehead wrinkled. His lips turned down at the corners. “I’m on my own with this one.” He wolfed down another bite of brownie.

Evelyn took a beat to study him while he ate. There was more to that story, she was sure of it. Whatever it was, he wasn’t in the mood to share. She toyed with her scone. “Well, you always did have a thing for old buildings.” Letting him off the hook for now, she reached for memories of long-ago summers, when they’d spent days on end together. “You practically rebuilt the old tree house you and Jason discovered in the woods out back.” Her cousin had been all for tearing it down, but Ryan had insisted on patching the holes in the floor and replacing the broken rungs in the ladder.

“I’m surprised you remembered,” he said, his voice low.

“It’d be hard to forget. You turned it into a great fort. I was so jealous whenever you and Jason spent the night out there. But Mama said I was too young.” She laughed.

“You were two years younger,” he chided.

“And yet I won every race.”

“That’s not the way I remember it,” Ryan sputtered.

“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one,” she conceded. “But you were always repairing something. Remember that red wagon you and Jason used to haul your gear around? The slats kept coming off, and all our stuff would tumble out. You fixed it more than once. Then you and Jason would load it up and take off again.”

“Seems to me you rode in it a time or two.”

“Yes, well.” She cleared her throat, determined not to let the conversation veer too far off track. “So you rebuilt the Boat Works on your own? I’ve only been inside the place once. When we were in middle school, Chuck Middleton bet me a dollar I’d be too chicken to crawl in through that broken window in the back.”

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