“That’s significant in terms of conferences and weddings,” Presley says. She’s met Jack several times. He doesn’t seem the type to make such a promise without being certain he can deliver.
Stella joins them with her laptop. Her eyes travel the table. “Where’s Cecily? Has anyone seen her today?”
“Here I am.” Cecily appears in the doorway with a dining cart loaded with coffee carafes, china mugs, and a plastic-wrapped platter. “I hope you brought your appetites. I’ve been experimenting again. I made some sausage and cheddar biscuits. And I brought coffee.”
Cecily is transferring the platter from the cart to the table when Presley spies a diamond engagement ring on her left hand.“
“Cecily—” Presley starts, but Stella beats her to it. “What’s that on your finger?”
Cecily’s grin spreads from ear to ear. “Lyle proposed last night.” Snatching a napkin from the tray, she dabs at her eyes. “I haven’t stopped crying since. I’m just so happy. If it’s okay with you, Stella, we’d like to get married here.” Sniff. “At the inn.” Another sniff. “At Christmas.”
“Yes! Of course! But why so soon?” Stella furrows her brow. “Are you pregnant, Cecily?”
Cecily laughs as she shakes her head. “I wanna marry him before he changes his mind.”
Stella rolls her eyes. “As if that would ever happen. Lyle adores you.”
Cecily holds her ring out in front of her. “He does, doesn’t he?” Stuffing the napkin in her apron pocket, she goes about pouring coffee for everyone. “Anyway, I haven’t seen my family in over a year. They’re all coming for the wedding. Will you plan my wedding, Presley? Mom and I have already discussed budgets. We can afford nice but not fancy.”
“It would be my pleasure. You can do a super nice Christmas wedding on a budget with all the poinsettias and trees and wreaths. You should book your rooms now, though.” Presley looks across the table at Naomi. “And remember, your guests get a 10 percent discount.”
“Ten percent?” Stella says in a tone of outrage. “We can do better than that for Cecily. We’ll double the discount for your family and throw in a suite in the carriage house for your parents for free.”
Presley can almost see the steam puffing out of Naomi’s ears, and she’s ever so tempted to stick her tongue out at her.
Leaning over, Cecily wraps her arm around Stella’s neck from behind. “You’re the best,” she says, kissing her cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re quite welcome. I’m happy for you.” Presley detects something hidden beneath Stella’s smile. Is she envious that Cecily is getting married at Christmas? She spots a diamond ring on Stella’s hand. Where did that come from? What happened to her silicone band? Presley won’t say anything now, for fear of spoiling Cecily’s big moment, but the ring is gorgeous.
The meeting goes on longer than expected. When Lucy excuses herself a few minutes before twelve, Stella realizes the time and announces the meeting adjourned. Presley is on the way to her office, when Everett catches up with her.
Placing a hand at the small of her back, he leans down and whispers in her ear. “Last night was fun. Can we do it again tonight?”
She laughs. “On three conditions.” She ticks them off on her fingers. “One, you sing to me. Two, you come in through the door and not the window. And three, we start earlier so we can get some sleep.”
“Deal. I’ll even buy dinner.”
“From Jameson’s? You big spender, you.”
“Not from Jameson’s. I was thinking pizza,” he says with a twinkle in his electric blue eyes. Given the opportunity, Everett would eat pizza three meals a day.
“Why don’t I cook for us? Do you like chicken parmesan?”
“It’s one of my favorites.” When they stop outside her office door, Everett glances down the hall in both directions as though making sure the coast is clear. “I’m dying to kiss you right now. But if I know Naomi, she’s watching.”
Whatever secret he’s keeping, Naomi knows something about it. And how does the friend from Atlanta fit in? While she’s tempted to question him about it, now is not the time or the place. And she’d rather wait for him to tell her when he’s ready.
She puckers her lips, kissing the air. “We’ll save the real kissing for later.”
18
Stella
After the others leave, as we clear the conference table of dirty dishes, I press Cecily for the details about Lyle’s proposal.
A dreamy expression settles on her face when she says, “He was so romantic about it. He was waiting for me after work last night. We drove to an overlook in the mountains. I’ve never been up there at night. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I wish you could’ve seen it, Stella. The stars were bright and the lights from town twinkled. The air was balmy; we didn’t even need our coats. Lyle spread out a blanket on the ground, and we drank champagne, and he popped the question.”
I’m hanging on her every word. “And then what?”
Cecily giggles. “We hurried back to my apartment to call our parents. Of course, my parents already knew. Lyle had spoken to my dad on the phone earlier in the day to ask his permission.”
My arms break out in goose bumps. “I’m so happy for you, Cecily. I know this is what you wanted.”
“You have no idea. Can you believe it, Stella? We’re both getting married.” Her gaze shifts to my left hand, and her blue eyes grow wide at the sight of my engagement ring. “When did you get that?”
Self-consciously, I cover the sparkling diamond with my right hand. “Jack gave it to me last week.”
Cecily appears wounded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I let out a sigh. I don’t like keeping secrets from my best friend. But she’s been so out of sorts lately, and I’ve been . . . I don’t know what I’ve been. “The same reason I didn’t tell you Jack bought the manor house.”
“Get out of town!
