“Good point. Right.”
“As for the cake being dropped, isn’t the pastry chef at the Inn doing the cake?”
“Yes.”
“And the reception is right there at the Inn?”
“Yes, but-”
“I think they’ll know how to get the cake from their kitchen into their ballroom. They’ve probably done it before. Like maybe once or twice a week for the past million years.”
“Another good point.” Mia nodded. “You’re very good at this.”
“Now, on to the tripping-up-the-aisle thing.” Vanessa rolled down the window to better view the shorebirds that gathered on the tiny tufts of land surrounding the Bay Bridge. The sun had begun to set and the light dancing off the bridge momentarily dazzled her. “You were successful in talking both brothers into giving you away, correct?”
“Correct.”
“One on each side, right?”
“Right.” Mia’s face brightened. “Oh. Right. One on each side.”
“Twice the security.”
“Mind if I call when the next round of anxiety strikes?”
“That’s what I’m here for. You just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”
“Well, there is one thing.” Mia glanced over at Vanessa. “There is something that I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s about my brother Grady.”
Vanessa motioned with one hand for Mia to continue, trying to project Sure, Mia, anything you need, rather than the uh-oh that was causing an ice-cream-type freeze to her brain.
“Grady is such a loner, and you’re so outgoing and you know everyone in St. Dennis and he’s going to be here for the entire week. I was wondering if maybe you wouldn’t mind taking him under your wing, so to speak. You know, sit with him at the rehearsal dinner, make him get up and dance at the reception a time or two. Maybe show him around town, give him the tour.”
“Sure.” Vanessa hoped her smile looked sincere so that Mia wouldn’t suspect that the last thing she wanted to do at her brother’s wedding was to be saddled with a reclusive stranger. “I’d be happy to.”
Mia breathed a long sigh. “Thank you, Ness. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I worry so much about him, and he’ll be the only one in my family who’ll be without a significant other at the wedding. Everyone else is married or engaged or in a totally committed relationship. I had visions of Grady holing up in his room at the Inn and only coming out when his presence was mandatory.”
“Not to worry. We’ll find things for him to do.” Things a guy like him might find exciting, like, oh, picking up litter on Charles Street. Counting the gumballs in the containers on the counter at the drugstore. Watching the pedestrians cross at the corner. Cool, fun stuff like that.
“You know, he’s really a terrific guy and he’s had such a hard time of things these past few years. I just hate the thought of him not having a good time, or, you know, feeling left out of things because he’s by himself and-”
“Relax.” Vanessa patted Mia on the arm. “He’ll be fine. Cross my heart. I’m sure we can find ways to keep him busy.”
I may want to slit my throat from sheer boredom before the week’s over, but I will see to it that Mountain Man has a full dance card.
The bridal salon where Mia found her dress was in a newly renovated two-story house right outside of Annapolis. There was parking at the door and a hostess who showed Vanessa to a lovely white damask sofa, then served her tea and small cakes while Mia tried on her dress for the last time before taking it home. Vanessa had never seen so many beautiful and expensive designer gowns in one place before, and she couldn’t stop herself from going to the racks and thumbing through the dresses. Lace, satin, satin and lace, chiffon-there were gowns for all seasons and every time of day or night, from the most casual morning ceremony to the most lavish black-tie affair. The variety alone took Vanessa’s breath away. She stopped to admire a strapless gown of pure white chiffon that had huge fabric flowers trailing down the back and another at the waist in the front.
“That would be absolutely drop-dead stunning on you.” A saleswoman appeared at her elbow. “Would you like to try it on?”
“No! I mean, I’m not looking for… that is, I’m just waiting for my brother’s fiancée. She’s here to pick up her gown.”
“Oh, so sorry.” The saleswoman smiled. “That dress is a favorite of mine, and when I saw you looking at it, I couldn’t help but think how perfect it would be on you.”
“Well, perhaps in another life.” Vanessa backed away from the rack and returned to her seat, where she sipped her tea and nibbled on her tea cakes and fought back the waves of regret that washed over her.
“Ness, what do you think?” Mia stepped out from the dressing area. “Do you think it’s all right?”
“All right?” Vanessa stood and clapped her hands in glee. “All right? It’s magnificent. Perfect. You look… perfect. Gorgeous. We should probably add a tank of oxygen to that list of yours. My brother is going to have trouble breathing when he sees you walking up the aisle.”
“Oh God, I hope so.” Mia fussed with the skirt. “Otherwise, what would be the point of all this?”
“True. Now turn.” Vanessa motioned with her hand, and Mia pivoted slowly. “It’s perfect, Mia. Everything about it, from that soft off-the-shoulder neckline to the full skirt. And that fabric is to die for… silk as thin as a sheet of tissue paper.” She found herself tearing up. “You are going to be one stunning bride, girl.”
“Thank you,” Mia whispered, a bit teary-eyed herself.
“It is gorgeous on her, isn’t it?” The saleswoman beamed and fussed with the row of covered buttons that ran down the back of the dress. “I swear, when I see a bride in a dress that looks as if it had been designed just for her, it makes my day. And this gown was certainly made with a figure like yours in mind, Mia.”
“I knew it was the one the first time I saw it.” Mia smiled and turned just a bit to see the back in the three-way mirror, where she met Vanessa’s eyes. “I wanted a dress that would knock Beck’s socks off.”
“That’s the very least it will do,” Vanessa assured her.
Mia returned to the dressing room to change, the saleswoman disappearing with her behind the curtain to assist. When she emerged with the gown in hand, she turned to Vanessa and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to take another look at that dress? You never know…”
“Trust me,” Vanessa told the saleswoman. “I know. Never is the operative word there.”
Mia’s dress was carefully slipped onto a form, then tucked into its garment bag. The saleswoman accompanied Mia and Vanessa to the car, and gently secured it in the backseat. She hugged Mia and made her promise to send pictures of the big day.
Mia slid behind the wheel and eased her new Malibu into traffic.
“For the longest time, it seemed as if the wedding would never get here. Now it’s eight days away and I can’t believe it’s going by so quickly. I don’t know how I’ll get everything finished in time.” Mia shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to bake cookies for the favors instead of buying something.”
“You were thinking it was your mother’s favorite cookie recipe,” Vanessa reminded her, “and that would be one way of having her there with you.”
“She always made them for family occasions. She always let us help, all four of us. I just don’t know how we’ll get them done.”
“We’re going to bake on Thursday next week, and we’ll box the cookies and tie pretty ribbons around them on Friday. All will be done on time, so relax.”
Mia grinned sheepishly. “You’re probably so tired of hearing about this wedding, the flowers and the invitations and the seating chart and the favors and everything else. Since you’ve been through it all yourself, I guess it’s old hat to you.”