Clay poured more wine for Alice. She swirled the liquid around in her glass.
“I’ll have to tell Erin how good this cabernet is,” Alice said. “What did you think of it, Jason?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
“You should tell her, too,” Alice said. “I know how much the Bellinis love feedback on the wine.”
“I don’t think she wants to hear anything from me right now.”
“Uh-oh.” Alice gave him a concerned look. “What’s going on?”
“Let’s just say she’s not currently speaking to me and leave it at that.”
Alice frowned and laid her glass on the table. “Okay, buddy. Spill.”
He shook his head. “Kind of personal stuff, Alice.”
“Personal . . . Are you two dating?” She looked from Jason to Clay. Clay shrugged.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t know a thing.”
So she looked back at Jason.
“I don’t know. It’s not really dating. She wanted to use me for a revenge fling after Owen dumped her. And I’ve been resistant to that and she’s kind of pissed at me about it.”
“I see.” Alice took another sip of wine. “Probably because she feels like you’re rejecting her just like Owen did.”
“I’m not rejecting her. I . . .” He wasn’t about to get into a discussion about his feelings for Erin. “I don’t know. I screwed up, did something stupid, said some things I shouldn’t have said, and she stormed out of my house a couple of days ago.”
“And then what happened?” Alice asked.
“Nothing. I haven’t talked to her since then.”
Clay shook his head. “Man, you are so dumb.”
He looked at Clay. “What?”
“You. Dumbass. Go talk to her. Fix it.”
“I thought I’d give her time to calm down.”
Alice laughed. “We don’t calm down, idiot. We just keep thinking about what you said, which makes us even more angry. Clay is right. Go see her and fix what you broke.”
He scrunched his nose, trying to figure out how to prove them wrong. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized they were right. He had to talk to Erin, and the sooner the better.
Because she’d been damn angry that night. And now that a few days had gone by? She’d had a lot of time to think about what he’d said. She was probably really pissed now.
CHAPTER
thirteen
IF WE MOVE this here,” Erin said, looking over the master schedule with her sisters, “couldn’t we fit the Richardson/Evans wedding in on that Friday?”
Honor’s brows wrinkled as she studied the schedule. “I think so, which would actually work out perfectly because it’ll free up the third Saturday in July for the McKesson/Bainbridge wedding.”
Brenna looked up at her. “Wait. Aren’t they next June?”
Honor shrugged. “They want to move up.”
“By almost a year?” Erin asked.
“Yes.” Honor stared at her sisters. “Is that a problem?”
Erin rubbed the side of her temple. “Any change in the schedule is a problem. Swapping dates on two already scheduled weddings? That’s a double problem. What about caterers and cakes and music and guests and all that?”
“I’ll handle it,” Honor said. “Don’t I always handle it?”
The one thing Erin didn’t like was a change in the schedule. She needed balance and order in her life—especially her work life. When a wedding went on the schedule, it tended to stay there. Change meant an upset in her plan, reordering things. She stared at her spreadsheet, her calendar, her planner, and thought of everything that would have to be redone. It made her twitchy.
“Erin,” Honor said, her gaze gentle. “I’ve got this. Trust me.”
“I assume we’re not also adding to the guest list?” Brenna asked.
“Guest lists aren’t changing at all, so the wine orders will remain the same.”
Brenna shrugged. “Then it sounds fine to me, and I’m happy we can accommodate everyone. I’m out. Just send me an e-mail so I can change it on my schedule.”
“Will do,” Honor said, still keeping her attention focused on Erin.
“All right,” Erin said, holding up her hands. “We’ll make it work.” They were in the business of making brides happy. And if changing wedding dates fit into their schedules? That’s what they’d do.
Honor grinned. “Awesome. Thanks. After I confirm everything with both groups, I’ll e-mail you the details, because I know you like to have everything in writing.”
“You do that.”
Honor got up, then paused. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You seem . . . tense. More tense than normal.”
“I am not tense. I’m busy. We’re entering our busiest season of the year.”
“Of course. But, I know this is also tough for you right now. If you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you.”
There were so many things on her mind right now she wouldn’t even know where to begin. And one of those things was Jason, who was a good friend of the Bellini family. She wasn’t sure she wanted to open that particular can with one of her sisters. “I’m good. But thanks for asking, Honor.”
“Anytime.”
After Honor left, Erin plugged in the tentative changes on her calendar, making sure she made notes about the shuffling in wedding dates. She’d wait for the e-mail to come through from Honor before she made official additions and changes in her planner and calendar.
As the wedding coordinator, she knew Honor would handle all the rearranging with the caterers and cake decorators and everyone else. It was Erin’s responsibility to make sure dates stayed clear and budgets stayed on track. So once the dates were firm, she’d assess everything and figure it all out to see if any changes needed to be made, and work with her sisters to come up with a final budget for each wedding.
She pushed back from her desk, needing a break. Some fresh air would help to clear her head. She looked at her phone. It was after six and she’d eaten lunch with the family at one. Some food would probably help. Maybe after
