Page 3 of Seductive Nights

"That he is. Okay, so we're getting married at the end of the month, and we're gonna have it here."

"Excellent. So, are you here to make plans?"

Quinn started laughing and held his hands out in front of him. "Oh no, I wouldn't dare. I'm gonna let Hanna come in and talk to you about all that. I just told her I'd see if you had the date open here before we moved any further."

Jace grabbed his appointment book and flipped it to the end of the month. "What's the date?"

They looked over the book together. Quinn pointed to the last Thursday of the month.

"You want to get married on a Thursday?" Jace asked.

"Well, I believe you have live music here on Fridays and Saturdays, so yes, we're thinking Thursday."

"Okay, but a lot of people work during the day and aren't gonna be able to make it, so why don't you think about Sunday afternoon?"

Quinn's lips pursed a moment. "Okay, let me ask Hanna about Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, why don't you put those two days on your calendar, and I'll let you know when you can clear one of them?"

Jace chuckled. He marked Quinn and Hanna on both Thursday and Sunday and set his pencil down. "Okay, I'm going to call Margo Price's office and see about getting an offer made. Why don't you hop skip over to Margo Price's office and tell her that your good friend, Jace Marriott, is eager to make an offer on that thrift shop, in case she doesn't know who I am?”

Quinn laughed. "Oh, I think everybody knows who you are, but I'll absolutely do that for you. Let me just finish my coffee."

3

Margo woke and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Six o'clock in the morning. She'd slept four hours. They'd gotten home late last night after Logan's passing. They had a glass of wine to take the edge off, and she climbed into bed exhausted at two. Her sisters were in the spare bedrooms, hopefully getting some much-needed rest. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about all that had to be done. Logan would never be here again.

Though truth be told, in recent years, he'd been away more than he'd been home. He fancied himself as a real estate agent for the entire state. He was flying down to Miami often and sometimes then up to Tallahassee brokering deals. Though he hadn't gained many new listings, he was trying. She admired him for that.

Giving herself a couple more minutes, she sat upright, rubbed her fingers around her eyes, and took a deep breath before standing.

Slowly making her way to the door, she straightened the pajamas she wore. The tank top and shorts had been a gift from Logan last year. Before opening the door and letting the day begin, she took a deep breath to steady her emotions. She silently padded down the hallway. The house was quiet right now. Her sisters, who needed as much sleep as she did, were thankfully still sleeping.

Grateful that, out of habit, she'd put the coffee pot timer on and that it was now fully brewed. She made herself a cup of coffee and decided to sit outside on the deck. It was warm already this morning. The thermometer said it was seventy. It was going to be a hot one today, near ninety-seven, if the weatherman was correct.

Silently sliding the patio door open, she stepped outside and braced herself for the humidity that hit her full force. She sat in her favorite chair, one of the teal Adirondack chairs facing her flowerbeds. Logan's favorite had been the orange chair to her right. Sipping her coffee, she absently watched the butterflies gracefully landing on the flowers.

Her mind only allowed her a few moments of tranquility before the barrage of appointments hit. They had an appointment at the funeral home today to make arrangements. She'd probably need to go to the bank and figure out what had to be done with the business accounts. Maybe that could wait until next week. Grateful that her home was paid for, and she paid the bills regularly as opposed to Logan. She knew things here would be fine. Lonely, probably, but financially, she was fine. She took another sip of her coffee when she heard the patio door slide open slowly. Turning her head, she saw her oldest sister, Carley, standing in the doorway.

"Just checking to see if you had a cup of coffee. I'll bring mine out in a minute."

Margo nodded, took another sip from her cup, and waited. Carley stepped out of the house, and the cool air from the air conditioner swept out and touched her before the door closed. Carley sat in the chair next to her. Logan's chair.

"Did you sleep?" Carly asked.

"Not much. Four hours I'm guessing. How about you?"

Carley shrugged. "About the same."

She nodded her head. "I was just thinking about all the things we're going to have to do today."

"Yeah, that's what woke me up, too."

"Never dreamed I'd be in this situation. At least not when I was only 43 forty three."

"Well, I guess we never know, right?"

"Right? Guess we never do."

Carley took another sip, opened her mouth to say something, and then thought better of it and closed her mouth.

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