Page 15 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“You didn’t need to arrange for someone to take me out.” She curled her legs underneath her and held the mug with both hands.
“I know, but if you’re going to spend a considerable amount of time here, I want you to feel comfortable.”
If she only knew how difficult a task that was…
“I don’t need anyone taking me on dates to feel more comfortable,” Lauren said, allowing a small smile.
“Ah, I wouldn’t call it a date around Brody.” The woman chuckled. “Brody Harrison doesn’t date.”
“No?” she asked, recalling the flirty blonde and then Molly’s inside joke with him at dinner. “Women seem to like him.”
“He’d be the catch of the century if he let anyone in.” Mary shook her head. “The ladies do love him, don’t they?”
Lauren didn’t want to admit how handsome he was or how kind he’d been in taking her out and asking for that table away from everyone just to give her a calmer place to eat. “Why doesn’t he date?” she asked, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her.
“I asked him once, and he just shrugged, as if the mere idea were preposterous. I wonder, though, if his parents’ splitting up has anything to do with it. They had a rocky marriage.”
“Oh.” She didn’t ask any more questions, not wanting to pry too far into Brody’s life. Regardless of his reasoning, the idea that Brody wasn’t looking for anything did make her feel better about spending time with him. So he didn’t like to date; that made two of them.
“I actually stopped by your suite in a work capacity,” Mary said. “I was talking with Brody’s mother, Melinda, and she tells me that she’s heard you know a thing or two about planning weddings.”
Great. “I suppose Brody mentioned it to her.”
Mary tilted her cane a bit, leaning it against the chair to keep it upright. “I had no idea I was in the presence of a celebrity.”
Lauren shook her head uncomfortably.
“Do you mind grabbing my calendar?”
Lauren got up and retrieved the spiral-bound book, bringing it over to Mary.
“Thank you.” Mary opened the book and began flipping pages to the current month of August. Her attention on the calendar in front of her, she continued, “Brody has a friend named Stephanie—”
Lauren perked up at the mention of the familiar name. “Stephanie?”
“Yes, Stephanie Clark. She also knows about your wedding planning skills, and after hearing that you’ll be working here for the next six weeks, she and her fiancé would like to up the date and move their wedding here to the inn. That’s fantastic, since we could use the money.”
Lauren could hardly get a breath in. Flashes of the woman, dressed in white, walking down the aisle toward her soulmate slashed through her thoughts, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to survive that happening in reality.
“They originally decided to get married a few months from now, but since you’re here, they’re willing to make a change. And most of her wedding party didn’t expect to travel for the wedding, so she has to plan around their schedules.” Mary’s eyes remained on the book that was sprawled over her lap. “She wantsyouto plan it.”
If the mere request weren’t enough to worry Lauren, six weeks or less would have her scrambling on a good day.
Mary scrolled a finger down the page. “I knew I had a few dates available for an event that big, but I needed my calendar to give her a concrete answer.” She tapped one of the boxes. “We might be able to fit it in on the week of the seventeenth.”
“The seventeenth?” Lauren leaned over Mary’s shoulder, clawing through her anxiety. The weddings she’d planned with Andy at Sugar and Lace had been many, many months in the making. “That’s in less than two weeks,” she said, her words coming out a little more incredulous than she’d have liked. She composed herself. “I usually require nearly a year to plan a wedding.”
“I can let her know that,” Mary said as she seemed to notice that there was more than concern about the wedding date in Lauren’s answer. “It could be great business for the inn, though. Maybe we can speak more about it later today.” Mary set the calendar on the coffee table, put her cane out in front of her, and hoisted herself up to a standing position. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay.” Lauren led her to the door, seeing her out.
Just as she’d said goodbye, her phone began to ring. She loped back across the room quickly, grabbing it and seeing her friend’s name. “Hey, Andy,” she said.
“Hey, Dave is freaking out and wants both of us on the show,” Andy replied with no pleasantries. “I cannot change his mind.”
Lauren fell onto the sofa and pulled a faded pillow into her lap, feeling like she was under water. She knew the TV producer would struggle with this. “Well, he can’t ask that of me. I don’t even own the company anymore. Plus, you brought all the banter anyway.”
“He says you’re the face of the show.”
