Jaycee laughed. “Eh, they won’t even notice I’m gone. What’s up?”
“Well, I was just wondering what the schedule actually is. I mean, now that we’ve decided to do the television thing and all. How long does all of that take to get going? Will we be working next week or next month or in six months?”
“You know, honestly, that really is a good question.” Jaycee’s gaze slipped back to the others and she lifted her chin. In seconds Derek was coming across to join them, and Dani wished with everything in her she hadn’t asked.
“It’s not even midnight,” Derek said, nodding to Jaden with a grin. “She is out.”
Jaycee held her hand out for his, and he took it though he was still just standing by her chair. “Dani’s wondering about the schedule, when they’ll get started, how long it will be.”
Really and truly, Dani wished she could take back the last five minutes. The gowns. The wedding. Any other topic so she wouldn’t have asked that stupid question.
“Well.” Derek grabbed another chair and sat on it backward. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk with Caleb yet, and we’re headed back to California to talk through the details with Brent on Monday.” Reaching over, he took Jaycee’s hand, but I’m really thinking probably the first of February we’ll be able to put a schedule together and get going.”
Dani sat up.
“I know that seems like a long time,” Derek said. “But we’ve got to figure out the parameters of the show, get a camera crew and a construction crew put together. Of course, Caleb’s out for this week, so that puts us another week out at least.”
Her gaze slipped over to Caleb and Rachel, snuggling together as they slow danced, lost in being so in love. Her heart hitched at the question of if that was how she had looked with Eric at their wedding. Probably. And that did no good thing for her heart because what had once seemed so right and so real had turned into something she didn’t want to admit but lived every day.
“So it’s going to be the end of next before we even get going on the preliminaries.” Derek sat for a second. “Oh. Did Jaycee tell you about our house?”
“She… she did. But I…”
“We probably won’t be here as much as we like,” Derek continued right over her protest. “We’ve got our own show to work on. I think we’re going to Missouri next?” He looked at Jaycee.
“Mississippi.”
He laughed and tipped his head. “Geography. Not my strong suit.”
Shell-shocked, Dani nodded.
“Anyway. We’ll be here, there, and everywhere through most of this, so if you all want to stay there, you are more than welcome to.”
“Th-thanks.”
“Guys,” the tall guy named Luke said, coming over. “I think they’re getting ready to leave. Did you have the birdseed?”
Jaycee jumped to her feet. “It’s in the kitchen. I’ll get it.”
“Great.”
Derek stood and smiled down at Dani. “We’ll talk soon.”
She just nodded, always feeling one step behind everything here. “Just when you get a chance.”
“Thanks so much for doing this,” Caleb said to Eric as he held out his hand to shake Eric’s even as his other arm stayed around his bride.
“Happy to do it.” Eric shook Caleb’s hand. “It’s been an honor.”
Caleb took a breath. “Oh, and I was going to tell you, we’ll be back by Thursday so…”
However, Eric stopped him with a grin and upheld hand. “Hold up. Just stop right there. There will be plenty of time to talk shop when you two get back. Greg and I have already decided to meet next weekend, but don’t hurry back on our account. We’re just going to be hashing some things out to figure out how we’re going to do this without the thing collapsing around us. But right now, you’ve got way more exciting things to worry about.”
From the kitchen Luke and Jaycee appeared and started handing little bundles out to the gathered guests.
“I think that’s our cue,” Rachel said, tipping her head that direction and gazing up at her new husband. He grinned down at her and kissed her with a peck.
Then he turned back to Eric and shook his hand once more. “Duty calls.”
With a grin, Eric picked up the camera. “One for the road?”
“Absolutely.” And without missing a beat, Caleb kissed Rachel just for the camera.
Because Jaden was sleeping, Dani didn’t follow them outside for the shower of birdseed though she heard most of it. In minutes everyone sans the bride and groom made their way back into the little hall.
“Guess it’s time to clean this place up,” Sage said, clearly taking control of the project. “Pastor Steve, do we need to set all the tables back up?”
“No. No need for that, the boys can come over and get it done tomorrow.”
“Great. Then everyone pitch a few things, we can sweep and mop and get on home.”
Watching because she couldn’t help it, Dani marveled at the easy way they all jumped in to help. In a way it was surreal because they were all dressed in formal gowns and tuxes, dumping drinks and bringing out the mop.
From the door, Eric walked back in checking the viewer on his camera. It was strange how a shimmer of hope that he would come her way glinted through her. Not that it would be any different if he did. Maybe it was the magic of the evening, the love of Caleb and Rachel, the happiness of the others. Whatever it was, one small fairy-tale-believing part of her wished to join in on it for even the briefest of moments.
However, before Eric even finished with the camera, Gregory strode over to him and they had a brief conversation. When Eric smiled at the older man, Dani couldn’t help but remember how much she had liked that smile, fallen in love with it even. She had forgotten how handsome he was, how easy to like he was. Looking down, she ran her hand over Jaden’s shoulder. How had life turned out so very different than her college-girl fantasies?
“Great,” Eric said, and Dani’s gaze slipped back up to him.
She felt so trapped, over here, unable to be a part of the excitement of his life. Then, before she had a chance to process those thoughts, he strode her direction.
“You about ready?” he asked with no fanfare whatsoever.
“Oh. Yeah. A-are you?”
He took the camera strap from around him, turned to the action, and snapped one more picture. With a quick look at it and a smile, he nodded and sighed before heading for the equipment bag. “Yeah. It’s going to be a long two hours back. We’d better make tracks.”
In no time they had said good-bye to everyone, and with two trips to the SUV to take the equipment and Jaden, they got in on their sides and clicked on the seatbelts.
“Well, that was fun,” Eric said as he started the vehicle. He glanced over at her. “Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to come back next Saturday. Greg wants to meet for a while.”
“Oh.” Her surprise jumped into the syllable. “Okay.”
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want,” he said quickly. “I’m sure we’ll just be doing some measuring and starting on the plans.”
Why she wanted to cry so badly, Dani had no idea. She had wanted Eric to be a part of the project, had wanted him to at least be all right with it. Now that he was, why did it feel like he was leaving her behind for a party he wanted to be with more than her? However, she managed a smile as they headed out into the night. “Sounds great.”
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Mirror Mirror {Kindle Unlimited} Sage Wentworth has a life others can only dream of living. But secrets of the past have a way of making themselves not stay secrets. Begin the incredible journey of “The Grace Series” with Mirror Mirror.
When I’m Weak {Kindle Unlimited} Jaycee Lawrence has never done any job halfway. Now working with America’s top television remodeler, she does her job and the jobs of everyone else as well. Not wanting to let Derek West down while guarding her heart from his heart-throb ways. But when Derek realizes how indispensable she has become to him, will he be able to keep himself from falling in love with the woman he thought was just his assistant?
A Love Like This {Kindle Unlimited} Called on by his boss to fix a house that is practically falling down around the owner, Caleb James is just the man for the job. Never one to give up on a project just because it’s difficult, he soon finds the “project” he’s working on is not the house at all but the young widow and mother who is one fray away from giving up completely. Can Caleb’s patient renovation bring her back from the brink?
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And The Greatest of These is Love {Kindle Unlimited} Andrew Clark is at the top of his game when a one-off story changes his life forever.
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Eternity
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Reflections On Life I
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Coming Undone
To Protect & Serve
White Knight
For Real
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A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe with her various Internet and writing endeavors.
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A Moment Like This: A Contemporary Christian Romance Prequel Novella (The Grace Series Book 4) Page 21