Page 54 of Dreaming of You

"There's a conference room?" She realized she hadn't really looked at his office since the first day when he'd still been remodeling.

He led her out of his office and through the reception area to a small conference room. He flipped on the lights and moved over to a fridge. "I have beer, white wine, and soda."

"A beer sounds good," she said, setting the bag of food on the table, as she took off her coat and sat down.

Barrett came back with two beers and a couple of paper plates, then took the seat across from her.

She started opening containers. "I hope you like what I ordered. I have chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, egg rolls, rice, and Kung Pao chicken."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you were going to eat all this yourself?"

"Well, not in one sitting, but Chinese food is always good the next day. Help yourself." As he put some pork on his plate, she said, "Shari told me she was meeting with you about a possible divorce. I was really surprised that her marital problems had gotten to that point. I guess I haven't been paying attention."

"I'm sure you saw what she wanted you to see."

"Maybe. Or I wasn't paying enough attention. Shari was afraid to ruin my record of happy brides and lasting marriages. I mentioned that you'd suggested out-of-this-world weddings contributed to divorce."

"That was a generalization," he admitted.

"Of course it was. I know it wasn't the wedding that caused their problems. I'm just sorry she didn't feel like she could tell me."

"She told you now."

"Do you think there's any chance they can work things out?"

"I don't know. That's on them."

"But you'd encourage it, right?"

"I always do. I prefer my clients come to me when they've exhausted all possibility of reconciliation. Then they are much more focused in their thinking. By the way, this is good," he added, as he scooped up another bite of chicken chow mein. "Where's the restaurant?"

"About three blocks down the street. I know all the best take-out places on Union Street, if you're interested."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Where was your other office?"

"Downtown, near Union Square."

"And a pipe broke?"

"Yes. It flooded the entire floor. Then more problems were discovered, so there's a lot of remodeling going on."

"But you'll go back."

"It was a good location. Better parking than around here, but I have to admit this old house is growing on me. Aside from the parade of brides and their mothers going up and down the stairs."

"It hasn't been that bad."

He grinned. "No, it hasn't. So, what do you have going on this weekend?"

"I have a backyard wedding tomorrow. It's an older couple—one a widower, the other a divorcee, so it's a second wedding. They're so happy and chill that it's been really easy to plan. It's going to be a short ceremony followed by a beautiful lunch and then they're off to Bali."

"That sounds like a decent plan."

"They definitely wanted something intimate and personal."

"I'm surprised they hired a planner."

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