He took it and thanked her. “I don’t think I’ve had one of these in like twenty years,” he replied, looking at the package in his hand.
“As you shouldn’t,” Charlotte said. “They’ll rot every single part of your body.”
“Except for your heart,” Everett said teasingly.
There: he had done it again. He had tugged at something inside of Charlotte’s mind, something that told her, This guy is different. This guy has the potential to be something more.
Shoot.
Rachel and Charlotte watched as Everett struggled with the silver packaging. Finally, impatient, Rachel grabbed the package and yanked it off, passing a full pastry to him.
“Thanks. I guess it’s too early for me to do anything,” he said with a laugh.
Charlotte poured him a cup of coffee. He thanked her and perched at the edge of the stool near the side of the kitchen. His dark brown curls shook around his ears and into his eyes. It was ultimate bedhead.
He looked adorable, though.
“What are your plans this morning?” Charlotte asked brightly. Outside, the sun brimmed over the horizon line and cast the snow in its first glittering light.
“Well, I guess I had better go back to the Inn, shower, and change out of these clothes,” Everett said. “Seems like a pretty good place to begin.”
“Makes sense,” Charlotte said.
“And then I guess I plan to meet you guys back at the mansion around, what, noon?”
“We plan to start decorating around then, so that’s perfect,” Charlotte affirmed.
“You gonna put me to work?” he asked, chuckling.
“Absolutely. It’ll be like day one, but ten times better. We’re pulling out all the stops. Which reminds me...” Charlotte furrowed her brow, remembering Claire. “Claire needs our help this morning, probably as soon as we can get to the flower shop. Rachel?”
“I’m on it!” Rachel cried. She finished the rest of her Pop-Tart, spun on her heel, and hustled back toward the bathroom. In just a few seconds, they heard the sound of the shower.
“Guess that’s my cue,” Everett said. He saluted her with the Pop-Tart and said, “Thanks for breakfast.”
“Breakfast of champions, right?” Charlotte said. She couldn’t help but grin to herself.
“That’s what I always say.”
Charlotte and Rachel dragged themselves out of the house around forty-five minutes later and marched the rest of the way to Claire’s flower shop. When they creaked open the door, they heard Claire’s voice toward the back. They burst forward and found her surrounded in another heap of flowers, her cheeks blotchy.
“I can’t find the lily of the valley,” she said. “I thought I had it. I...”
“It’s over here, Mom!” Abby called from the far end of the room, where she was actually hidden by another few boxes of flowers.
“It’s like heaven in here,” Charlotte said.
“I don’t know if that’s how I would put it,” Claire said.
“What can we do?” Charlotte demanded.
Claire put the girls to work over the next few hours, arranging the boutonniere and the bouquets carefully. “I’ve already sent a few vans of flowers over to the mansion itself. The staff should be half-way through decorating by now,” Claire affirmed.
“I think I want to get over there to check-in,” Charlotte said. “I’m getting nervous and want to make sure the ballroom is set up, not to mention the dining hall.”
“That dining hall is immaculate,” Claire said, clucking her tongue. “I don’t think I’d seen it before yesterday when we started to set up.”
“It is, isn’t it? Fit for a princess like Ursula.”
“What are you talking about? Ursula is a queen,” Claire said, rolling her eyes.
“Maybe she’ll be better behaved today,” Rachel said doubtfully.
“Maybe,” Charlotte said.
Claire gave her a funny look as Abby, Rachel, and Gail took a load of flowers out to the van.
“What’s been going on with you and that photographer by the way?” she asked.
Charlotte shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
“You know. He seems to watch out for you. He’s always looking for you. I don’t know. People have been talking.”
“There’s always gossip going around this family, isn’t there?” Charlotte said. “But no. Sorry to disappoint. I’m just glad to have a rational photographer in the mix. Plus, he works for Wedding Today, which means there’s a chance we could work together in the future.”
“Oh. So you’re networking,” Claire said, arching an eyebrow at her cousin.
“I can hear from your tone that you’re teasing me, and I want you to know that I don’t appreciate it,” Charlotte retorted with her hands on her hips.
As Abby, Gail, and Rachel returned from outside, Abby called out, “Apparently, that hot photographer slept at Rachel’s house last night!”
Claire’s jaw dropped. “Charlotte!”
“He slept on the couch!” Charlotte blared. “It was cold out and it just kind of happened.”
But there was no getting that glint out of Claire’s eyes. Charlotte grumbled to herself and gave Rachel a slightly dirty look. “Thanks for getting me in trouble,” she muttered as she walked past. “Claire won’t let me live this one down.”
WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT the mansion, they parked the van along the far side, closer to the Nantucket Sound. Charlotte crunched out across the snow and gazed out across the waters. They seemed darker, more secretive, and somehow more sinister than they normally did. Sometimes, she had a hard time looking out over them, as her mind always went there.
That storm, creeping in, taking over Jason’s boat...
She shook her long locks and turned around to spot Lola driving up with Christine and Zach in tow. The next car delivered Audrey, Amanda, and Susan. Charlotte waved hello and pointed toward the double-wide and two-story-tall doors, which Claire and the girls had already propped open.
“Just head that way. Claire will put you to work,” she said.
That moment, a taxi pulled up. A dark boot cut out and onto the snowy pavement below. That voice: gritty and so masculine, it sent chills up and down her spine.
“Hey there,” Everett said after he had paid. As the taxi skidded out of the parking lot, he lifted his camera and said, “Do you mind? You look great
