Page 11 of Kiss the Bride

“You don’t miss it—the stage? The limelight?” As a kid, she must have known she was talented. She hadn’t let it go to her head, though, until high school. That’s when she’d started running with the drama crowd. Their main purpose, as far as he could tell, was stroking one another’s egos. He’d steered clear of her after that. Now, he was having trouble reconciling the diva he hadn’t liked very much with the woman who’d swapped an acting career for one in a back office.

“Not so much,” she answered, her tone matter-of-fact. “Four years at Julliard and two more as a broke, struggling, would-be actress—it kind of drove the point home, you know? Besides, Jason and I, we’ve put together a little act portraying Captain Thaddeus and Mary. We perform it for weddings and receptions. We sing, we dance. It’s a ton of fun, and it means so much to the brides and grooms and their families. That’s been enough to satisfy my creative side.”

He brought the front legs of his chair down, his thoughts racing. With an elfin face surrounded by rich, red curls, Evelyn possessed a rare beauty. As for talent, he had no doubt hers would take her as far as she wanted to go. And if entertaining wedding guests made her happy, he certainly wasn’t going to argue. As her friend—or someone who wanted to be—he’d support whatever decisions she made.

Right now, though, they needed to focus on the matter at hand. He leaned forward. “I have quite a bit of work ahead of me if I’m going to make the Boat Works look its best by Monday. Can we talk about Wedding-in-a-Week for a little bit?” Across the table, Evelyn’s lips thinned.

“What is it?” He’d seen that expression before. It usually meant trouble.

“Well, it’s that name. ‘The Boat Works,’” she said, surrounding the words in air quotes. “Are you married to it?”

“You don’t like it?” The building at the marina had always been known as Farley’s Boat Works. He hadn’t seen any need to change it.

“I’d think something with a little more pizzazz would be nice. Maybe Harbor Weddings. Or Sea View Ceremonies. Oh, I know! What about Waterfront Weddings?”

“But what if people want to hold other events there? Retirement or birthday parties. Town meetings.” Ryan scratched his head. The handcrafted sign proclaiming to one and all that the Boat Works was open for business lay on sawhorses in his workroom. He’d planned to hang it this evening.

“You think no one orders birthday bouquets from Forget Me Knot Flowers? Or Favors Galore never provides gift bags for retirement parties? Every business in town advertises their connection to weddings. It’s what we do. Why mess with a good thing?” Evelyn sipped the last of her tea.

He’d wanted her opinion, hadn’t he? Now that he had it, he should probably trust her intuition. “Waterfront Weddings has a nice ring to it,” he conceded. Daring to let her see how much he wanted to win, he let hope fill his eyes. “It’d look nice splashed across an article in Weddings Today.”

“It’s a nice name.” Even as she said the words, Evelyn’s eyebrows drew together. She spoke through lips that had firmed. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up about any Wedding-in-a-Week article, if I were you.”

“I wouldn’t count it out,” he shot back. The Boat Works, or whatever he ended up calling it, might not have all the charm of a centuries-old home, but the building was part of the history of Heart’s Landing. It was also a beautiful place to get married, even if he did say so himself.

“Look.” Evelyn straightened. “Heart’s Landing has played host to the Wedding-in-a-Week contest for the last ten years. Ever since we were named America’s Top Wedding Destination. The winning couples have run the gamut. Their weddings have, too. Some brides have walked down the aisle on their own. Others had six attendants. We’ve thrown receptions for anywhere from ten to two hundred guests. There’ve been stately affairs. One was a circus—I kid you not, trapeze artists and everything. But no matter what kind of wedding they wanted, every one of those couples had one thing in common. They all chose to get married at the Captain’s Cottage. Every. Single. Time.”

Ryan stiffened. His entire future might rest on the publicity that came from having the couple pick his venue. “There’s always a first time.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Evelyn said lightly. Pushing away from the table, she rose. “I’m just saying.”

He’d almost forgotten how competitive she could be. When they were kids, she’d insisted on doing whatever he and Jason did, going wherever they’d gone. Despite the difference in their ages, she’d matched them step for step as they’d raced through the halls of the Captain’s Cottage. Stacking his coffee cup and saucer atop his dessert plate, he challenged, “Why don’t we do exactly that?”

Evelyn’s head tilted. “Do what, exactly?”

“How about a friendly little wager?”

“Depends.” She rocked on her heels. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Mimicking her tone, he cupped his chin. “Dinner at Bow Tie Pasta, and the loser picks up the tab?” Sooner or later, everyone in Heart’s Landing dined at the Italian restaurant on Bridal Carriage Way. As wagers went, it made the perfect bet. However, the slight cooling of Evelyn’s demeanor told him he’d said something wrong. Pretty sure he knew what it was, he corrected, “For the winner … and the date of their choice.”

Immediately, her face softened. “Now you’re talking.” She grinned. “You’d better save your pennies. You know I’ll order the lamb.”

Some things never changed. Not at all surprising that she’d pick the slow-braised lamb … the most expensive item on the menu. Ryan licked his lips. “Yum. My favorite. I might need a double order.”

“You’d have to win first. And you won’t.”

“I guess we’ll see about that.” He flashed her enough of a smile to confirm their friendly rivalry before he sobered. “All kidding aside, this stays between us, right?”

“Afraid your reputation will suffer when you lose?”

“I’m serious.” He pulled himself erect and peered down at her. “Because it’s Heart’s Landing.”

Evelyn shook her head even as her lips quirked into a smile. She gave a stage-worthy flick of her wrist. “Just as long as you know I’m looking forward to lamb for dinner.” With a saucy swing in her step, she headed for the door.

Watching her go, Ryan allowed himself a wistful smile. He’d been right after all—she had someone special in her life and he, not Ryan, was the one she intended to take to dinner at Bow Tie Pasta. Which was okay, because he didn’t want anything more from her than friendship. That and making sure she didn’t win their little wager. His smile shifted into a genuine grin.

Going toe-to-toe with her in the competition was going to be fun.

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