by Tracy Ewens
“You mean Paige isn’t at the table.”
She looked at him, her eyes uncertain, and then her shoulders rolled back as if she was preparing for something. “Yes, that’s what I mean. She’s my life and this feels strange. I mean it feels, it felt—”
Travis smiled and knew he wasn’t helping her find her words, so he took her hands across the table. “Let’s try this one step at a time. This is our first morning, I’d like another one sometime when it works for you, but again, Kenna, your world is still your world. I don’t want to mess with that.” He squeezed her hands and she was right, the whole thing was weird because his words sounded good, but he could see she wasn’t buying it. Her order was being toppled, he was shifting her normal and as much as he didn’t want to hurt her, the urge to love her was becoming too damn strong.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next week flew by in a blur of last-minute catering details. As Kenna helped load the last of the prep work onto one of the trucks, she decided she would take the Depression glass and the punch bowl over in her car. In less than eight hours, Grady and Kate would be married, and Kenna was the one with butterflies.
She felt his now-familiar hand at her back and the warmth of Travis’s body as he stopped behind her and spoke into her neck. “In case today’s a complete disaster, I wanted to kiss you one last time as a successful and employed chef.” His lips touched her skin, and Kenna laughed.
“Yeah? Well, today better not be even a little disaster. We’ve triple checked everything and I can’t imagine anything—”
He pulled her over to the side of the truck and wrapped her in his arms. “It was a joke. A reason to touch you because it never seems to be enough.”
He kissed her, and Makenna almost dropped her clipboard. One touch of his tongue and somehow all the details could wait, and when his hands slid into her hair, the whole damn wedding could wait. She knew all about needing more and was so grateful Gracie was now almost a week past her due date. Paige had insisted on going up each night after school and last night, according to her Donk, she fell asleep in the barn. Kenna missed her daughter being home at night, but what was supposed to be one night with Travis had turned into four, and Kenna still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to introduce him into their life. It was good that Paige was still watching Gracie because it gave Kenna more time to try to sort things out.
The horn of one of the trucks sounded, and Travis pulled back from the kiss to touch her face, as he always did. It was kind of like he was checking to make sure she was real.
“All right. Showtime.” He kissed her gently again. “I’ll see you there.”
She was pretty sure she actually sighed as her mind returned to the clipboard now dangling from her hand.
“Right, I’ll be there in a couple of hours. I want to finish going over everything with Sage. Last time I checked, she was rolling her eyes at the fill-in bartender we got so she could do my job tonight.”
“Yeah, even though we spent last week with Larry going over the menu, I’m pretty sure he’s praying people only order pizza all day. At least Logan will be here through lunch.” He smiled. “I’m sure they’ll all be fine holding down the fort. It’s one night. I’ve got Todd with me, so we know the place won’t burn down.”
“Right. I’m trying not to think about it. I can only focus on this wedding right now. How are you always so calm?”
“It’s all an act, or it’s that I woke up with you in my bed again this morning, so not much else matters.”
She blushed. “Oh, really? Well, two hundred fifty guests aren’t going to care about that.” She laughed. “Get going.”
Travis pulled away and turned to leave but turned back. “Hey, by the way, about those heels. Any chance you have multiple pairs of those, too?”
His eyebrows wiggled up and down. Kenna realized he was happy. Sure, Travis was always casual and relaxed, but this was different. He seemed almost youthful and happy. She was part of that, and the thought almost knocked her over.
He was still standing waiting for an answer, so she shook her head and looked around to make sure the entire staff hadn’t just heard them. “You’re impossible. I have one pair of heels, well, one pair of black heels.”
Travis stood still, waiting.
“Fine, I have several pairs of heels. We’ll do a shoe tour later, much later.”
“Yeah, we will,” Travis said with an enthusiasm that had her already feeling naked.
She hit his back with the clipboard. “Now go or it’s Crocs and cotton unicorn underwear for you from now on.”
He laughed, leaned in to steal one more kiss, and was gone.
Kenna stood watching all three trucks pull out of the parking lot on their way to the Wayfarers Chapel grounds. Sexy, that’s how he made her feel, she thought, holding the clipboard to her chest as the truck disappeared into Saturday morning traffic. When she was younger, she was more insecure and not quite sure what to do with herself as a woman. But with Travis, she was almost flirty and that was fun, Kenna decided. Maybe she’d needed some fun for a while now. Smiling, still standing in the morning air, she brushed her hair off her face and turned to get back to work.
Travis was stupid happy. He should have known he would never stand a chance once he allowed himself to want her. She was more than he ever imagined, and he was certain she was going to bring him to his knees. But right now, he needed to focus.
He’d never seen anything quite like the Wayfarers Chapel or the two acres of incredible redwood forest he was now marveling at from under the tent of their temporary kitchen. So far, everything had gone smoothly: warmer drawers were working, hot things would be hot, and cold things would be cold. That was half the battle with cooking. Since the first moment he stepped into a kitchen in high school, Travis knew this was his thing, what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Everything since that moment had been an adventure, an ever-changing set of challenges and milestones he wouldn’t alter for anything in the world. Contrary to his family’s ignorant beliefs, being a chef was never boring and rarely involved a hair net. He was about to serve a wedding in a huge white tent under the stars. Travis recorded the moment in his mind and then got to work.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Grady Malendar and Katherine Galloway were married just after sunset on Saturday evening at the Wayfarers Chapel on the edge of the California coast. Peter Everoad was Grady’s best man, as Grady had been for him several months before when Peter had married Samantha Cathner at the Huntington Library. Kate’s best friend Reagan, wearing a floral halter dress, was her maid of honor. The ceremony was by candlelight under the open-glass canopy of the chapel. Guests, only the one hundred that would fit in the small chapel, much to the chagrin of the senator and his wife, were tucked in among the grove of redwood trees. Kenna stood outside between the chapel and the huge billowing tent that had been set up for the reception to follow. The Wayfarers Chapel didn’t normally have wedding receptions on their adjacent grounds, but ever since the media revealed that Grady was the head of the Roads Foundation, which had provided funding for some much-needed repairs at the chapel a few years ago, they made an exception. Kate and Grady were careful to leave the smallest footprint on the grounds.
Makenna watched as the happy couple kissed and were presented with thundering applause from their closest friends and family. That was her cue; they had exactly ten minutes, according to Sloan, before the guests would start filing into the tent and forty-five before the wedding party would make their entrance. Everything was timed, which appealed to Makenna’s love of specifics, but the wedding was so whimsical, she found it difficult to turn away from the closest she’d ever come to a real-life fairy tale.
The warmth under the white sailcloth tent supported by wood beams stood in contrast to the chill of the night air. Rustic metal lamps hung throughout the hundreds of wooden seats padded with small cushions, casting a glow that Makenna had only ever seen in magazines. As she instructed their sta
ff to begin lighting the table candles, she reviewed everything one last time before walking over to check on the two bartenders Sage had hired for the wedding. They weren’t Sage, but seemed to know what they were doing.
Makenna clasped her hands together, filled with nerves and excitement as she looked toward the parking area, which was beginning to fill with car headlights as guests who were not able to fit into the chapel began arriving for the reception. Senator and Mrs. Malendar, along with Police Chief and Mrs. Flanagan, Kate’s parents, had made their way to the end of a path that joined the parking area and the reception tent. Lit by tiny candles, from a distance, the path looked like hundreds of fireflies, flickering along a dark evening under a gorgeous full moon. Makenna couldn’t help but think that Paige would have definitely loved this magical forest.
Kenna had never really been one of those women who swooned over weddings, but she loved this one. It seemed like more than a wedding. Maybe that was the couple getting married, their energy, or maybe it was the location, she wasn’t sure, but she was aware that this was special.
Guests began arriving and leaving their coats with the two women working a makeshift coatroom that looked like a small cabin made of branches. The buzz of voices began to fill the tent and the band, a jazz quartet with a huge bass, started playing in the corner. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
She looked over toward the catering tent just as their servers, dressed in linen slacks and vests, began filing out with trays. The Yard was certainly representing itself well so far and even though Logan rarely thought about advertising, Makenna recognized that they couldn’t buy exposure like this.
As if her mind had conjured him up, Makenna glanced toward the entrance just as Logan and Kara made their way into the tent. Her brother wore dark slacks and a tweed blazer with a matching vest and an open collar; he looked so relaxed that it almost took her breath away. There was no question that the source of his smile, the one that emanated from him lately, was laughing and holding his arm. Kara Malendar’s dark golden hair fell across her shoulders in loose natural curls, and she wore a rust-colored dress that looked like silk and matched one of the darker shades in Logan’s jacket.
“Looking good, sis. I see we haven’t burned the tent down yet, so that’s a positive.”
“So far, so good,” Makenna said as she leaned in to kiss them both on the cheek. “You two look incredible.”
“Thank you,” Kara said. “It was a really wonderful wedding. I think it's the best I’ve ever been to. That may have something to do with the groom being my brother, but still.” She smiled. “Did you notice they kissed throughout and held hands?” Kara sighed and Logan shook his head good-naturedly.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He leaned in and kissed her.
“Well, you two enjoy. We’ve got this,” she said in a way she hoped would allow her brother to continue enjoying himself even once his food began circulating.
He nodded then led Kara over to the bartender as the one with a shamrock tattoo on his wrist was twisting the top off of sparkling water for a glowingly pregnant Samantha Everoad. Makenna stepped outside and turned toward the catering tent. She could hear Travis’s voice calling out directions as she approached. The table of appetizers was being cleared according to a text she received from one of the waitstaff. They were on schedule. She peeked in and even though she’d seen them swamped at the restaurant before, she had never seen so much food.
Huge platters of roasted ham, surrounded by colorful vegetables, beautiful fish, and lettuce were served on cream-colored serving dishes that were made for this kind of event. Travis was spooning dressing into a serving boat, his eyes intently scanning the plates of food as they were carried out. He looked so intense, almost serious, and Makenna caught a glimpse of the importance of his work. Since she’d known him, Travis was synonymous with casual, relaxed, fun, but the guy she saw in front of her was something else altogether. He had something to lose, something to prove, and Makenna discovered one more layer to love.
Peter Everoad gave a toast that made just about everyone cry, and then Kate’s friend Reagan gave another toast that spoke to a side of Kate not many people knew. She was hilarious and clearly loved her dear friend. After Makenna helped one of the servers find more olive oil for the tables and relieved one of the bartenders for a much-needed bathroom break, she grabbed a glass of champagne and walked outside for a breather.
About an hour later, linens were wrinkled, ties were undone, and everyone was well fed. Travis took a deep breath of satisfaction. Other than Todd dropping an entire bowl of smashed potatoes on the grass, everything went off without a hitch. Kate and Grady cut their cake, and rather than feeding it to each other, they used the opportunity to serve each of their guests a piece. Travis thought that was a great touch and decided if he hadn’t already liked Kate and Grady, their wedding would have convinced him.
The Yard staff had survived serving their first wedding, and almost everything would now be handed over to the cleanup crew. Once things were cleared, Travis would send out the coffee and set up the cereal bar, complete with just about every sugary cereal he’d ever heard of, a special request from Grady for his new wife.
Looking out over all of the people now dancing and celebrating, Travis was reminded again why he loved to cook. Food brought people together; it allowed them to connect and share around a table. Nothing, in his view of family and friendship, was more important. He wiped his hands and went to look for Makenna.
“Do you like weddings?” he asked, coming up behind her as she stood just outside the tent. He slid his arms around her waist and noticed her pulse quicken as he kissed her shoulder.
“I like this.” Her voice was thick with emotion as they watched Kate and Grady dancing to a slow lilting song. “I haven’t been to many weddings. I don’t have one of my own to use as a reference, and I’m not sure if all weddings are like this, but whatever you want to call this, I love it.”
“I’d rather have a tiny wedding and a happy marriage.”
“Can’t you have both?” She put her hands over his, and he noticed she was cold.
“I’m sure some people do, but I’ve been to my fair share of big flashy weddings and most of them are bullshit—for show. This is definitely not like most weddings. See the way he’s looking at her? They could be in the middle of a grocery store and they’d probably still have that. This is not a normal wedding,” he said, realizing he sounded jaded. Some things never really went away, did they?
“You’re a real romantic, huh?” She looked over her shoulder at him.
“I can be, but the big show always seems like too much work. At least in my opinion.”
“The big show?” She laughed. “And since when are you afraid of hard work?”
“I’m not afraid. Wow, how did we get on this again?”
“You asked me if I liked weddings. I said I liked this and you went all wedding Grinch right before my very eyes.” She laughed and handed her empty champagne glass to one of the servers cleaning up in preparation for coffee and tea. Travis needed to get back to work, but she kissed him and he decided he had a few more minutes.
“I didn’t mean to be a Grinch. I’m just not a fan of phony,” he said, watching Grady dance with his mother.
“I can understand that, but there’s also nothing wrong with working at something, making it special.”
“I guess.”
“You don’t agree?”
“I like simple.”
“Simple meaning minimum effort?”
“What are we talking about here?” Shit! Maybe it was time to go back to work.
“I’m just trying to understand.”
Travis laughed. “Understand what? Life doesn’t have to be complicated, Kenna.”
“Really? I don’t find anything about life to be simple.”
“Why do I feel like I came over here to kiss you under the stars and you’re feeling me out, and not in a good way?”
/> Makenna sighed and pulled him back in close to her. “I’m not meaning to. Maybe the champagne is bringing out my questions. I find myself wanting to understand a lot of things lately.”
“Like?”
“Like . . . if I make things too complicated or if you don’t make them complicated enough? I wonder why this thing between us seems so easy when there’s no possible way it can be. I’m trying to figure out a whole slew of new feelings I haven’t had in a while. Some of them I’m not sure I’ve ever felt. You appear to fit perfectly into my world right now, but things are rarely simple for long. It’s been my experience that I always need to prepare for complicated.”
“Okay. I think I can understand all of that, but let’s not make ourselves crazy. How about you stand here looking beautiful and I get back to the tent so we can finish up this wedding?”
She smiled and kissed him, and Travis walked back to work as simple actually vanished right before his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The wedding had been a huge success, with write-ups in just about every major national newspaper. Kenna had been so busy making sure they didn’t screw things up that she sort of forgot the celebrity of the couple they were celebrating. She’d hoped for word-of-mouth exposure and expected local media attention, but what followed the wedding far surpassed her expectations. Phones were ringing and her e-mail was packed with well wishes, requests for interviews from bridal magazines, and inquiries about future catering. The week had been a whirlwind, and the Rye family Wednesday meeting was consumed with celebration and Logan obsessing about keeping things small and limiting what they did so it would stay within their vision. They’d spent Thursday and Friday working out menu changes and finalizing the garden expansion.
By early Friday evening, Makenna was packed and ready to head to the farm to pick up Paige. Gracie finally had her babies, so they would probably be spending the weekend up there while Paige played big sister to Gracie’s three new additions. It looked like they would be having Paige’s birthday up there after all. Kenna threw her bag over her shoulder and left Paige’s lunch box on the kitchen counter on purpose.