by Kay Correll
“Well, you can ask the guests to spread out their showers, or realize you’re going to have angry guests that are going to have to take cold showers.” Harry slapped Jamie on the back. “Cheer up, old man. It could have been that the whole water heater system had gone out. I’ve turned the temperature up to the max allowed, that might help some.”
“I guess there is that one bright thought, it wasn’t replacing this one and adding a new one.”
“You’ve done a lot with the inn so far since you took it over. These things take time.”
“I’m worried that we’re running out of time.” Jamie tried to push back the wave of discouragement. No time for a pity party now. There was a wedding to pull off. Even if it involved cold showers for everyone.
“Wish I could help you with that.” Harry picked up the toolbox.
“Wish you could, too. But thanks for the help on the water heater. Sorry to pull you away from your Friday plans.”
Harry laughed. “My hot Friday plans involve a cold beer and doing some more work on that cottage I’m rehabbing.”
“Right now, that sounds like a perfect way to spend the evening.” Jamie picked up the other toolbox, followed his friend out to the parking lot, and helped him load up his truck.
“Thanks again.” Jamie shook his friend’s hand. “I owe you.”
“And I’m keeping score.” Harry winked and climbed in his truck. “Call me when you get a night off. We’ll go grab a drink.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.” Jamie waved to his friend as he pulled away.
He walked back inside and overheard a couple at the front desk. “There is no hot water. How are we supposed to get ready for tonight?”
“We’re working on it right now. I’m sure it will be fixed soon.” His mother was patiently soothing the guests. “Here, have a complimentary glass of Champagne.”
His mother looked up as he came up to the desk. “And?”
“Harry said it looks like we just ran out of hot water. We’re going to need to put in a second system if we’re going to have events with this many people getting ready at the same time.”
“That’s not good.” His mother’s forehead wrinkled with concern. “We don’t have that budgeted at all.”
“That’s just what I said to Harry. We’ll have to look over the budget and see what we can put off, so we can add the new water system.” Jamie looked over at the dining room where it was beginning to fill with early diners. “I better go in there and help with things. There should be more hot water soon. I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow when even more people are getting ready at once for the wedding.”
“Well, it is what it is, son. We’ll make do.”
Jamie didn’t like the feeling of defeat that was washing over him. This whole perfect wedding was turning into one disaster after the next.
* * *
Bella led the rehearsal for the wedding. The wedding party gathered around and she passed out glasses of Champagne for everyone to sip while she read through the timeline for the ceremony.
They did a quick run-through of which bridesmaid walked with which groomsman, and where the parents would sit.
“Okay, this is where you and your father walk down the aisle.” Bella nodded at Cindy.
Cindy didn’t know why she was so nervous. It was the rehearsal, not the real thing. Her father looked at her questioningly. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Cindy settled her hand on her father’s arm. They walked out the door and down the steps to the aisle between where the chairs would be set up tomorrow. Towards the arbor where George stood joking with his friends. He turned to see her right as she managed to catch her heel on something in the walkway and tumbled down to the sand.
She took a hard fall and the breath whooshed right out of her. Bella came rushing forward, and her father bent down over her. “Are you all right?” Her father’s voice broke through her concentration of trying to get a gasp of air.
She pushed up off the sand to her knees. Such a graceful entrance…
George strode down the aisle towards her, she could see his Italian leather shoes get buried in the sand as he walked.
She bet that annoyed him.
Then his leather-clad feet were right in front of her face. He reached a hand down for her, and she took it. He tugged her to her feet, and turned to his groomsmen. “I told you she fell hard for me.”
The men laughed and George leaned down close to her ear and whispered, “I hope you can manage to walk all the way down the aisle tomorrow without falling. Seriously, Cynthia, your constant clumsiness is embarrassing.”
The flush of heat flooded over her face. She could see her sister and mother standing by the arbor, Vanessa shaking her head in exasperation. She fought to get air back into her lungs.
“Are you okay?” Bella leaned close with an anxious look in her eyes.
“I’m… fine.” Cindy steadied herself, then withdrew her arm from George’s clasp. She dusted the sand from her dress and turned to her father. “Okay. Let’s go on.”
“It is hard walking on this sand, isn’t it?” Her father smiled at her. “I’ll make sure I keep better hold on you now. You just lean on me.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
She managed to walk the rest of the way to the arbor and stood by George while the minister ran through what he would be saying, in what order.
“You want to practice kissing the bride?” The minister winked at George.
George laughed, grinned at the groomsmen, and planted a long kiss on her lips. The longest kiss he’d given her since he showed up, she realized with a start, and it seemed to be all in show for his buddies.
George grasped her elbow and turned. “Let’s go all the way back inside without falling, shall we?”
She could hear the groomsmen laugh behind her back as she and George headed back inside. Her face flushed with embarrassment again.
As they walked inside the inn, Cindy turned to George. “I’m going to run and freshen up. I’ll be back in a minute.” She turned and hurried—carefully—down the hallway and pushed into the quiet sanctuary of the small library. She sank onto a settee and tried to catch her composure and recover from her total humiliation.
Chapter 15
Jamie watched Cindy slip away and followed her to the library. He’d seen her take the tumble down the aisle and had wanted to rush to her side. His mother had been standing next to him and had placed her hand on his arm and shook her head. He’d watched helplessly as that jerk fiancé of hers had made jokes at her expense.
He opened the door to the library and slipped inside. He knelt down before her and took her hand. “I saw what happened. Are you hurt?”
“Just my pride.”
“Ah, Cinderella Dream Girl. It was just a little tumble.”
“In front of everyone. I’m such a klutz. George is furious with me. I’m pretty sure he’s embarrassed to be marrying a woman who falls at every opportunity.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“Oh, Jamie. You know how I am. I’m constantly tripping. I’m not sophisticated and fashionable like most of the people who will be here at the wedding. George is probably regretting his decision to ask me to marry him.”
If only that were true and the jerk would back out of the wedding.
Wait, what?
He didn’t want Cindy to get hurt. But he didn’t want her to marry the man either. He wasn’t good enough for her. She deserved so much more.
“I think you are one of the most fascinating people I have ever met. You look beautiful in that dress you’re wearing tonight, by the way. I like your hair down like that, too.”
Cindy gave him a weak smile. “You’re just saying that to cheer me up.”
“Nope. Saying it because it’s the honest truth.”
“I know I said it before, but you’re a good friend, Jamie.”
“So are you, Dream Girl. So are you.” He stood up and reached a hand down for her. “You
ready to face the crowd again?”
“I think I am. Yes, I am.” Cindy smiled a genuine smile then, just for him, and it made his heart soar before he could even stop himself.
He purposely ignored his heart and walked her to the door of the library. “You have a good night. This should be a special time for you. Enjoy yourself.”
She nodded, slipped out the door, and headed down the hall. It didn’t escape his notice that her steps were hesitant.
He realized, even if he didn’t like to admit it, that he did want her to enjoy herself. He wanted her to have this special time, enjoy her wedding and the festivities around it.
If only it wasn’t with George.
* * *
Cindy crossed through the dining room and looked around at all the guests enjoying their meals. She realized she only knew a handful of the people there. Most were business associates of her father or George, even the people outside at the rehearsal dinner. How had it come to this? A handful of family members. Her cousins as bridesmaids. Where were her friends? Where were the people she knew?
She had a lot of acquaintances and people she crossed paths with over and over, but where were her true girlfriends? She’d lost contact with most of the women she’d hung out with in college. She’d never been that popular in high school, though she’d tried so hard to fit in. She’d thrown parties at the club, swim days at her parent’s pool, and had girls over to go riding. She was always invited to parties in high school, too. But she often thought it was more because of who her parents were, than that the girls really wanted her there.
A sadness seeped through her, which was silly considering she was getting ready to marry tomorrow. Perhaps all women reexamine their lives before taking such a big step.
She looked over at George, laughing with his friends from college and the friends he’d made in Lexington. She envied that, the easy way he made friends wherever he went. She’d just never been like that. She was always afraid that she didn’t quite fit in with any crowd.
George looked up right then and saw her staring at him. He gave her a little smile and raised his glass in a silent acknowledgement and turned back to his friends. Her cousins came bustling up to her.
“Did you just about die when you tripped?”
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall tomorrow, too?”
“Wonder what George thought? It was so embarrassing.”
“I would have wanted the earth to open and swallow me up if that happened to me.”
Cindy didn’t even bother to answer the questions. Her cousins had a way of yammering without really expecting an answer. Thankfully, they turned their conversation to talking about eligible bachelors attending the wedding.
She silently watched her cousins as they chattered away, and she realized she had only asked them to be in her wedding because they were the cousins closest to her in age. She didn’t even like them much. How was that for an ungenerous thought? They were self-absorbed and… well… shallow.
She’d thought that marrying George was going to be the magic key to acceptance from people in their world. But, she was beginning to realize, it wasn’t really going to make much difference. She was going to go from being invited to things because of her parents, to being invited to events because of George. She had to admit to herself, she did like going places with George. It was easy to go to things with George, the simple act of being on his arm had made her feel accepted and part of the crowd.
But look at her, at her very own rehearsal dinner. Reduced to standing alone and listening to her cousins go on and on and never including her in the conversation after their first recriminations about her fall.
Bella came outside and walked over to her. “You look so pretty tonight, Cindy. I like your hair like that.”
“Thank you.” Cindy reached up and touched the fancy comb in her hair.
“Things seem to be going well. Jamie just told me they’ll start serving the buffet in about five minutes. If you want to go get George, I thought it would be nice for the bride and groom to go first.”
“I’ll go get him.” Cindy crossed the distance, realizing the rehearsal dinner party had been going on for over an hour, and she and George hadn’t spoken a word. She touched his arm as she came up to stand beside him. He acknowledged her with a brief smile, but continued on with his story he was telling his buddies. When he came to a stopping point, after the requisite laughs from the groomsmen, Cindy interrupted, “The buffet is ready. We’re supposed to start the line.”
“Let’s get your parents to go with us, then we’ll start.”
That was nice of George to think to include her parents. He did think of little nice things like that quite often. She should appreciate the little things more, instead of focusing on imaginary problems and feeling sorry for herself.
They filled their plates with all kinds of tantalizing dishes. Local fish, fresh salad, hush puppies—she had insisted though her mother didn’t think they were fancy enough to serve—and tiny fruit tarts and chocolate bonbons for desert.
Cindy, George, and her parents crossed over to the table reserved for them. George pulled out her chair for her—see he did do the nice little gestures—and she moved to sit on the offered chair. Her heel caught on a board on the deck and she started to fall.
It all happened in slow motion, she swore it did.
She reached out a hand to steady herself and grasped at George’s arm… the one where he’d balanced his plate of food. Cindy went tumbling to the ground, along with her plate of food and George’s… which managed to spill all down his pants leg.
“Cynthia. Honestly.” Her mother’s voice drifted over, etched with embarrassment and recrimination.
The tears sprung up in Cindy’s eyes. Not again. Not like this.
Bella came rushing over. “Are you okay?”
Cindy nodded, unable to speak.
George stood in judgmental silence, glaring at the food dripping down his leg. “I’ll go change.” He walked away without so much as offering Cindy a hand.
Bella wrapped her arm around Cindy and helped her up. “Come with me.” Bella whispered in her ear. Cindy clung to the woman’s arm and followed her away from the table and the staring eyes. Bella paused for a moment and turned to her father. “Go ahead and get the guests started eating. We’ll be back soon.”
“She’s okay?” Her father’s voice held concern.
“I think so. We’ll just take a few minutes to pull ourselves together.”
Bella kept her arm around Cindy as she led her into the inn. “Let’s run up to your room and get you cleaned up.”
In the room, Cindy let the tears continue to fall, not even trying to stop them.
“It’s okay, you know. It was just a fall.”
“The second fall of the evening,” Cindy said between gulps of air.
“I wish I could make you feel better. Tell you it was okay. I know you’re embarrassed.” Bella went to the bathroom and came out with a wet towel. “I actually think George got the worst of it. Let me see if I can get that spot out of your dress.”
“George is furious with me.”
“Well, it’s kind of silly to be mad at someone because they tripped, isn’t it?”
“He says I’m always a klutz and doing things that embarrass him. I can’t believe I fell again.” Cindy’s heart pounded in her chest, her face burned in embarrassment, and she didn’t think she could go down there and face everyone again. Ever again.
* * *
Later that evening, Cindy sat on the cool sand and gazed out at the ocean. She picked up handfuls of sand and let the grains sift between her fingers. Moonlight spilled across the ocean, dancing across the waves. She was almost certain most people didn't spend the night before their wedding sitting all alone on the beach.
The ocean breeze cooled the streaks of tears trailing down her cheeks. She couldn't believe how the rehearsal dinner had turned out. It was nothing like she’d planned. Nothing like she’d dreamed.
>
She’d tripped down the aisle. She’d dumped a plate of food all down George’s pants. He was mad at her and didn’t even try to disguise it. Her mother’s eyes had shone with barely disguised disgust. She was positive everyone at the rehearsal was laughing at her or pitying her. It was not exactly what she expected from her perfect wedding.
She wondered if she would even be able to walk down the aisle tomorrow without tripping. She knew all eyes would be on her. They were probably even taking bets on whether she could make it down to the arbor without tripping. She dashed away the tears on her face, not liking the pity party she was having but unable to pull herself out of it.
She had to admit that it hurt the way George had treated her. Instead of being supportive, he'd made fun of her. Instead of helping, he’d stepped away to change clothes.
She dug her heels into the sand and repeatedly pushed them away, digging troughs in the sand. She plucked up a lone shell and turned it over and over in her palm, admiring the perfect edges, and wondering how long it had been in the sea. If she hadn’t picked it up, how long would it be until it was ground into grains of sand? With one last look at the tiny shell, she tossed it into the sea.
She heard the scrunch of sand as someone approached. She hoped whoever it was walked right past without saying a word. She didn't feel like being friendly. But the footsteps stopped right beside her and Jamie dropped down on the beach.
"Hey, Dream Girl. Here we meet again." Jamie covered her hand with his own.
Her hand lingered in a sandwich between the cool sand beneath it, and the warmth of Jamie’s hand above it. "Hi" She didn't really feel like talking yet, but it was nice to have Jamie by her side.
"I hear you had kind of a rough evening.”
"You could say that." Cindy laughed bitterly "I managed to fall twice. George is furious with me. My mother thinks I made a fool of myself and she's probably right. Vanessa keeps saying I'm lucky George doesn't walk away.”