Page 61 of Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Olive shook her head. “Ignore her. Is that our order?”

Still reeling from the self-admission of her feelings for Del, it took Cassie a moment to process the question. She glanced down at the box she’d set on the counter the moment the Blithe sisters had started talking about the sex appeal of the Jackson brothers—ew, again.

“Yes, it is,” she said.

“Wonderful. I have a display for them right up front. I’m sure they’ll sell out in no time. Like always.”

“Good thing you have your own money.” Apple pointed one boney finger. “Never depend on a man for your livelihood. He’ll up and leave you high and dry, and you’ll have to go into business with your sister who is so damn sunny even rainbows tell her to tone it down.”

A sigh came from the other woman. “I’m standing right here, Apple.”

“I know. I’m bitchy, not senile.”

“Don’t pay her any attention,” Olive said. “You and Del will be happy for many years to come. I know it.”

As much as Cassie disliked Apple’s pessimism, Olive was wrong. She and Del wouldn’t live happily ever after, and it shouldn’t hurt so much to know that.

So why did it?

“Thanks, I have to run now. Let me know when you need another order.”

“We will, dear. And we’ll be looking forward to attending the nuptials.”

“Yeah, can’t wait to see party-boy Del sweat like a sinner in church when he realizes he’s tied himself down to one woman forever. Better get a prenup so the man can’t steal what’s yours!”

“Quit, Crab Apple.”

“Stuff it, Sunshine.”

Cassie hurried out of the shop, the entire exchange with the sisters ringing in her head. But what the women said dug in like a bad splinter she couldn’t remove. They expected to be invited to the wedding. She and Del had planned on having a small ceremony with just his family. She didn’t want to drag the whole town into this, but it looked like they might have to.

Stupid small-town expectations.

The town of Kismet only had about four thousand full-time residents, so most people knew each other, and everyone nosed in on everyone else’s business. Of course, the people she dealt with on a regular basis, like the Blithe sisters, would expect an invitation. Pulling out her phone, she quickly hit the speed-dial—yes, the man had somehow managed to get on her speed-dial—for Del.

“Hey, Sassy. I was just—”

“We have to invite the town!”

“What?”

She hurried down the sidewalk at a quick pace, her heart pounding in her chest. “Olive and Apple expect to be invited to the wedding, and if we invite them we have to invite all the shop owners on Goldmine street or people will feel hurt and left out and that might cause bad business for me and the distillery. And if we invite the shop owners we have to invite the workers and their families, and then they’ll tell everyone else, so we’ll have to invite the whole damn town or people will talk and get upset and—dammit Del, this is not funny!”

His soft chuckle coming over the line grated on her last nerve. This was serious, how could he just laugh it off? Kismet was so small, things like not inviting people to an important event could ruin you. Everyone helped everyone else. The town ran on small businesses and tourist dollars. If the townsfolk felt slighted, they might drive tourists away from the distillery and stop selling her jewelry in their shops.

She could recover. She had her trust fund, and while most of it went to the charities she supported, she had a little safety net socked away for a rainy day. But she didn’t want anything to hurt Del and Jack’s.

“It’s kind of funny,” he said.

Did the man have no self-preservation? “And how exactly is it funny?”

“Well, the other day at the LollyPop Shoppe, Fannie demanded the same thing. An invite to the wedding.”

“You see!” She groaned, stopping at the end of the sidewalk to slump down on the small bench by the creek. Unfortunately, the peaceful place did nothing to help her anxious mood. “Everyone is finding out about it, and everyone will want to come.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

She rubbed a hand across the growing ache at her temple. The man could truly be an idiot at times. “Yes, because we wanted to keep this small. Family only. We agreed not to put it on display since it isn’t…” But she couldn’t finish the statement.

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