Page 96 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

Jane stopped talking and came over to us.

“I’m Caro’s matron of honor,” she said, her eyes tearing up.

Touched by Caro’s sweet gesture, Rhonda and I led them out the door.

We stayed with them as they made their way to the house. One last time, we wanted to make sure everything was the way Caro wanted it.

When Caro walked in and saw the flowers and the chairs arranged in a circle before the fireplace, she clasped her hands. “Oh my! This is beautiful! I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

“Has Henry seen this?” I asked.

Caro shook her head. “I don’t think so. He, Slade, and Amelia should be arriving any minute, which is why I need to hide in the bedroom to change.”

“Okay, we’ll leave you to it,” I said, and Rhonda and I left.

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“I’m going home to change,” said Rhonda. “Then Will and I’ll return and make sure both musicians have arrived.”

“Okay, I’ll change and hurry back to make sure Amelia, Slade, and Henry have settled in.”

Excited about the wedding, I hurried home and changed out of work clothes into a brown linen dress. The wedding was to be a simple one with the men wearing sports coats and slacks, no ties.

After making sure Robbie was fine at Liz’s house, Vaughn and I left for the wedding. He was used to my leaving his side to take care of the supervision of affairs like this. I hoped this would be a positive time for him to chat with Will.

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Vaughn and I arrivedat the house to find two Secret Service people protecting it. Amelia went nowhere without them. One was an older gentleman; the other a young woman. Rhonda and I had seen and talked to them before.

“Looks like a nice day for a wedding, after all,” said Vaughn.

They both continued to scan the area.

Inside, Amelia was talking to Caro’s mother. Each time I saw her, I was reminded of Amelia’s struggles to succeed in the political arena. She could’ve become jaded or bitter but instead had chosen to remain a lovely, approachable woman who knew how to get things done.

“Hello, Ann. How are you?” Amelia said, coming over to give me a quick hug.

I hugged her back, hoping she didn’t have more people she wanted to send to Rhonda and me at the hotel.

As if sensing my feelings, Amelia said, “No more special requests for you. For now.”

I chuckled. An excellent politician, she’d always leave the door open to another one. “How do you feel about Henry and Slade both falling in love with women they met here at the hotel?”

“You know how much I love this hotel. It seems appropriate somehow. I’m very glad, though, that they’ll continue to work for me.”

“Yes, both Caro and Amy will be moving to D.C.”

Rhonda joined us. “Hello, Madame Vice-President. It’s a pleasure to see you here.”

“I’m delighted as always,” Amelia said, hugging Rhonda. “It’s always marvelous to see two of my favorite women. And today is a special one for Henry and Caro. Henry introduced me to Caro on Facetime right after Caro returned to Pennsylvania.”

“Sweet of him,” I said, noting more guests were arriving. I left Amelia’s side to greet them.

The bride and groom’s parents arrived, along with Henry’s younger brother, who looked remarkably like Henry, and his date, a pretty, young Asian woman.

At a signal from Rhonda, the guitar player Caro had hired for the ceremony started playing. People hurried to their seats. Amelia took her place in front of the fireplace. Henry and his younger brother joined her, wearing tan slacks, white shirts, and navy blazers.

I noted the way Slade and Amy were smiling at one another and felt that they, too, would find happiness together. Carl, standing next to Amy, suddenly smiled, and I glanced over to where Jane and Caro were making their entrance.

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