He handed the microphone back to the DJ and hopped off the stage. On his way over to me, as the music started, he took his key to the valet key cabinet and handed it to Miss Crossley. Before he could take another step, I rushed toward him, and he caught me in his arms.
I think maybe a couple of people were clapping. Maybe everybody was clapping. But I didn’t hear them or the music, I was so happy.
We danced for a minute, and then I said, “Why isn’t anyone else dancing? It’s not our wedding. I feel like we’re onstage. Everyone’s watching us.”
“See? I told you privacy wasn’t all bad—”
“But it’s okay,” I said.
“Okay. Yeah, it is,” Hayden said, smoothing my hair. “But still. You want to get out of here?” he whispered in my ear.
“Do I ever,” I said. “But I’ve got this tray of melting sorbet—”
“Got it,” Hayden said. He grabbed the tray off the table where I’d left it and we quickly handed out dishes. Then we headed for the exit, and as we were walking out, C. Q. Wallace was lingering near the open doorway. “C. Q. helped me with the speech,” Hayden explained.
“You mangled it, but oh well,” C. Q. commented with a smile. “Now where’s that wedding cake?” He moved past us into the dining room.
Hayden and I laughed and ran out onto the porch together, holding hands. I knew exactly where we were heading.
“You know, you could sell that piece of paper on eBay,” I told him as I hopped off the boardwalk. I slipped off my shoes and left them in the sand. “Except that I’m not going to let you, because I’m going to save it.”
“So how have you been?” Hayden asked as we walked toward the water.
“Fine. Bored. You?” I asked. “How was the visit at home?”
“We got some stuff sorted out. And I told them all about you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did. They’ll be here next week to visit,” Hayden said. “You can try to talk Grace out of her gothness.”
“What? No way. I want her to like me,” I said.
We stopped at the water’s edge. We were both still wearing our catering uniforms. “So,” Hayden said.
“So.”
“Same as usual?” he asked.
“With a twist,” I said. I reached up and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a kiss.
Then, when he was really getting into it, I broke away and sprinted into the water.
“Hey! No fair!” He rushed in after me, diving under a big wave that was about to break. Hayden came up for air and dove again, this time tugging at my ankle. I held my breath and went underwater, too, and just as I did, my pager started to buzz. Underwater. Completely submerged. I pulled it out of my pocket to show Hayden, and he smiled, little air bubbles coming out of his mouth.
Miss Crossley wouldn’t believe me even if I told her the truth about where I’d been when she paged me. So I wouldn’t bother to tell her. Besides, it had to stop beeping soon. Right?
About the Author
CATHERINE CLARK is the author of TRUTH OR DAIRY, FROZEN RODEO, THE ALISON RULES, MAINE SQUEEZE, and ICING ON THE LAKE. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can visit her online at www.catherineclark.com.
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Also by CATHERINE CLARK
Icing on the Lake
The Alison Rules
Maine Squeeze
Frozen Rodeo
Wurst Case Scenario
Truth or Dairy
Credits
Cover art © 2007 by Sasha Illingworth
Cover design by Andrea Vandergrift
Copyright
SO INN LOVE. Copyright © 2007 by Catherine Clark. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195743-7
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About the Publisher
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
About the Author
Other Books by Catherine Clark
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
So Inn Love Page 18