Page 21 of Tempt Me

“Who?” Lucille looks over to where I’m pointing at the nameCharlotte Perezscrawled out in elegant calligraphy.

“Charlotte. She’s my maid of honor so she should be at my family’s table.”

Lucille wrinkles her nose. “Ah. Yes. The kindergarten teacher, right?”

“Right,” I say. Lucille reluctantly moves Charlotte to the table with my parents and Grace. I notice the tables with my other friends from town: Linda May, Joni Lewis—who runs Magnolia’s Petals—along with Dev and his husband Reggie, the Cochran siblings, Sheriff Briggs and his son Cody…all of them are at the very back of the room.

“I think Everton is the perfect spot for this wedding,” Lucille says. “I can already picture it—the ceremony among the vines, then drinks on the veranda of the lodge. Dinner inside, white linen tablecloths, silver settings…have you thought about what your signature flowers are going to be?”

I shake my head. I figure I’ll just ask Joni for her opinion.

Lucille sits back in her chair and primps her perfect, dark blonde curls. She wears a sleek mauve pantsuit with a large pearl necklace and matching studs, her makeup immaculate.

“Luke has been very clear about how much this town means to you,” Lucille says, patting my hand. The words themselves are kind, but there’s a tinge of condescension behind them. “And you know, we got a great deal on the rental. After that awful incident with Marion, they still need all the business they can get.”

I have to bite my cheek to keep from saying something sharp. That awful incident? Someonedied—someone’s mother, someone’s daughter, someone’s wife. I take a deep breath in and remind myself I’m not marrying Lucille.

As if on cue, my husband-to-be enters the parlor. “How are the plans coming along?”

Luke is tall, with thick brown hair that curls a bit at the ends. His eyes are the color of milk chocolate, and he smiles easily, always with a hint of mischief. He spends a lot of time in the gym and has the body to show for it. His white polo hugs his biceps and is tucked into his khakis over the flat planes of his stomach.

Luke brings me a sense of calm, like the surface of the bay on a clear day. Nothing like the storm-tossed seas of Caden Everton that kept me up all night.

Lucille lights up at the sight of her son. “Very well, darling,” she says, walking over to him. “We’re just finalizing the seating arrangements.”

I stand as well, smiling, and Luke gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey babe,” Luke says.

“How was golf?” I ask.

Luke groans and rolls his eyes. “Dad hammered me. Again.”

“You need to practice your putting game!” Luke’s father calls from another room.

Luke chuckles good-naturedly and wraps his arm around my waist. “Got your swimsuit?”

I tug at the bikini string peeking out from beneath my tank top.

“Perfect,” Luke says. “I’ll go change. Dad called down to the marina on the way here, so everything’s ready for us.”

“Sounds great,” I say.

We say our goodbyes to Luke’s parents and get into his Range Rover to head to the marina. Once we are happily ensconced on two lounge chairs on the sundeck, the captain takes us out into the bay and then into Long Island Sound. The wind whips through my hair and the sun shines warmly in a sky dotted with fleecy white clouds. I feel my mind scrubbed clean, like I’ve left all my worries behind—Caden’s arrival, the new wedding venue, the seating chart…even things I’m excited about, like my wedding dress seem to fade as I gaze out toward the open ocean.

There’s a loud pop and I jump. Luke has opened a bottle of champagne, and it fizzes as he pours two flutes and hands one to me.

“To us,” Luke says, and we clink. The bubbles tickle my nose as I drink. “Can you believe we’re getting married in two months?”

“No,” I say honestly. “It feels like we only just met.”

“It does, doesn’t it.” He leans back in his chair. “What a crazy day that was.”

I laugh. “It was crazy forme,that’s for sure. Joni asked me to look after Magnolia’s Petals for her but I don’t know a carnation from a calla lily. I was so scared someone was going to need something and I wouldn’t have the first clue what to do. And then you walked in.”

“In search of the finest bouquet of roses Magnolia Bay had to offer,” Luke says, sweeping his arms out wide. “Little did I know there would be an even more beautiful rose in the store behind the counter.”

“You are so cheesy, you know that?”

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