Page 63 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“That’s perfect. I’d like to do all of it. I want the space to compete with larger, more prominent hotels and venues.”
“What’s your budget?”
Lauren considered the money in her bank account, none of it doing anything to help anyone, sitting there. “Whatever it takes. Let’s make it perfect,” she said. The sparkle in Dave’s eye was undeniable, and she knew that this was his climax footage. “How soon can you have it done?”
“I’ve got a big team. It’ll only take us a couple of days.”
“Wonderful.”
Stephanie peeked her head out of the dining room. “Hey, Lauren, can I grab you before we leave?”
“Of course.”
While Cass alternated between scratching down notes and sketches and stretching her tape measure across various surfaces, Lauren met Stephanie in the middle of the room. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to get your opinion on something.” Stephanie turned so that her back was to the camera, but the man only moved around her to zero in on her face. She eyed him, unsure of something.
“Everything okay?”
Stephanie leaned in closely and whispered, “I’d like to ask Chuck Harrison to attend the wedding.”
“Brody’s dad?”
She nodded, turning her back to the crew. “Think we could talk about it… later?”
“Absolutely. I’ll call you tonight.”
“Okay.”
Mitchell walked into the room with a cardboard box of cake. “She let us take some samples home with us,” he said with a devious grin.
Lauren laughed. “See you all tomorrow.”
As they walked out of the main room, she wondered what could be behind Stephanie’s request.
* * *
“I’ve put one of the staff on lunch duty and I’m taking some chicken salad to Joe,” Mary said, with a plastic sack hanging from her elbow as she stopped in the front entryway where Lauren had been refilling the water service for the guests. “Want to go with me?”
Joe’s behavior toward Lauren yesterday had her curious. “I’d love to.”
“Wonderful. In case you did, I had the chef make enough chicken salad for us all.”
“Always one step ahead.” Lauren offered her arm. “I’ll drive.”
The two of them walked out to the parking lot and climbed into Lauren’s car. Then they headed to the hospital in the nearby village of Nags Head.
Lauren was excited to talk to Joe, wondering if he’d remember seeing her yesterday. When they walked in, and she spied the same wide-eyed look spread across his face when he saw her, she thought she had her answer, and she couldn’t deny the bubble of curiosity that he might somehow know her mom. But she pushed it away. How could he?
“Hello,” Mary said, setting the sack down on the small table next to his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than yesterday.”
“Well, you’re making jokes, so that’s a start.” Mary patted his leg. “I brought you some lunch.”
“Thank God for that,” Joe said, his attention still on Lauren. “I could do with some home cooking. Who’d you bring with you?”
“I’m Lauren,” she said, taking a step toward him.
