“No, I’d rather take it inside,” he said. “I’ll stick it out of the way in a closet.”
That seemed reasonable.
Soon enough, they were shaking hands with Zelda’s special friend Stephen Windsor, a handsome businessman from Lexington, South Carolina. They had met when he visited Savannah on business. Stephen looked to be about six foot four. He had dark hair graying at the temples. He could have been Pierce Brosnan’s stand-in, if he was looking for that kind of work. According to Zelda, he was a self-made man.
“It was love at first sight,” Stephen said, placing a kiss on Zelda’s temple. Her mother blushed a pretty shade of pink. She was absolutely glowing tonight, like Kate had never seen her before.
“Elle and Kate,” Jane said. “Can you please come help me in the kitchen?”
Jane’s eyes sparkled as she gave a quick jerk of her head, indicating that it was time for a sisterly summit. No one except the three of them would have noticed. It was that secret language of sisters that allowed the three of them to decode the subtext when others weren’t the wiser.
“What do you think?” Jane asked, once they had made it through the butler’s pantry and were safely tucked behind the kitchen doors, where something smelled delicious. Apparently, coq au vin was on the menu tonight. Jane had mentioned that she and Liam had prepared it earlier today. She went to a large pot on the stove and stirred it.
“I love him,” Elle said.
“I want to love him, but—” Kate said.
Elle made a face and waved away Kate’s words as if they smelled. “I had a chance to spend some time with him this afternoon and he is a fantastic guy. He really is. I just love him and there’s no disputing that Mom is so happy.”
“I just hope he doesn’t hurt her,” Kate said.
“Okay, Eeyore.” Jane rolled her eyes. “This is a happy night. Please check your negativity at the door.”
Kate’s thoughts skittered back to the envelope that Aidan had tucked beneath the visor. Then she remembered how happy her mother had looked. The way she and Stephen looked at each other.
Jane was right. If their mother was happy, she needed to be happy for her.
“Kate, are you in here?” Gigi’s voice preceded her into the kitchen. “Oh, there you are. Girls, please come out to the dining room. Your mother has an announcement.”
The sisters looked at each other.
Surely it wasn’t what they were thinking? Could it be? Stephen and Zelda had only known each other a couple of months. If they were announcing their engagement, things were moving a little fast.
“I hope this won’t take too long, because I need to prep the potatoes and green beans.”
“That can wait a moment,” Gigi said. “We need you.”
“What’s going on, Gigi?” Kate asked.
Gigi smiled a knowing smile before she sashayed out of the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Kate looked at Elle. If anyone would have a hint about what was going on, it would be Elle. Because of the art classes she taught at the inn, she was around their mother more than Kate and Jane.
Jane must’ve been on the same wavelength. “What do you know?” She directed the question to Elle, who shrugged. “I have no idea what’s going on. Let’s go find out.”
The sisters made their way out of the kitchen, through the butler’s pantry and back to the dining room where everyone had gathered. Aidan, Daniel and Liam were filling glasses with champagne and handing them out.
Aidan walked over with two flutes—one with sparkling white grape juice, the other with champagne—and handed the grape juice to Kate, standing next to her.
Uh-oh. Champagne meant news and it was usually of the relationship variety.
She hoped her mother wasn’t making a colossal mistake by rushing things before she really got to know Stephen. Anyone could be on their best behavior, present their best self over eight weeks...especially when it was a long-distance relationship.
“May I have everyone’s attention, please?” Zelda said. Everyone in the room quieted down and turned their gazes to her. “Thank you so much for making time to come tonight and meet Stephen. You’re definitely going to be seeing more of him as he explores business ventures in this area.” Zelda rose up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Stephen’s cheek.
Oookay, here we go.
“But right now, we have something else to celebrate.” Zelda’s gaze fell on Kate and Aidan. “Aidan doesn’t know I’m doing this, and I hope it is okay. But even if it isn’t, I’m just too excited to keep this to myself much longer.”
“Zelda?” Aidan shook his head. “Is now the best time?”
Zelda didn’t answer. She turned around and picked up the cardboard tube that looked suspiciously like the one Aidan had carried in his briefcase tonight. Kate had been so busy meeting Stephen and saying hello to everyone else that she hadn’t noticed him give it to Zelda—or where he had put his briefcase for that matter.
Kate shot Aidan an inquisitive look and whispered, “What’s going on?”
Zelda brandished the tube like a scepter. “Kate and Aidan, everything has been so crazy since we returned from Vegas, I haven’t had a chance to give you a wedding gift.”
A wedding gift?
“Aidan helped me with this,” Zelda said. “So it will be a surprise for you, but not so much for him, though he will benefit from it as much as you will, because it will bring goodwill and prosperity to your marriage and allow you more time to stay home with that baby.”
Kate laughed.
