“I have been eagerly waiting for this store to open since the moment I heard about it!” The woman flashed her a big smile, and Brooke relaxed.
“When is your big day?” she asked the woman.
“Late July.” The woman gave her another smile. “After the Cherry Festival, mind you, because there is no way that I’m going to miss that event, even for my honeymoon. You’ll be invited, of course.”
Brooke blinked as it all clicked. This was Candy! Of course, she would be the first one in her shop if she was as eager as her cousins claimed her to be. Still, Brooke couldn’t help but feel a little deflated that the first customer was someone she was going to be related to, meaning the visit fell under family support.
“You’re marrying my Uncle Dennis!” She was everything that Britt and her sisters had claimed her to be. And more.
Candy thrust out her hand so that Brooke could admire the diamond engagement ring. She was slightly taken aback, only to realize that this was probably something she should get used to. Her customers would be engaged, eager to share their happiness. It was the most blissful period of their life.
At least, it had been for her. After that, well, reality set in. And fast.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, admiring the stone. She couldn’t help but also notice Candy’s bright pink painted nails, which also matched the polish on her toes peeking out of her open-toed shoes. She didn’t need to ask what color theme Candy had chosen for her big day. It was fairly obvious. Still, she wanted to make conversation. And get to know her new aunt.
“Do you have much planned?”
Candy’s eyes burst open and she rolled back her head, laughing so loudly and with such unabashed energy that Brooke couldn’t help but join in, even though she suspected she was the brunt of the joke.
“Oh, honey, I have an entire binder busting open with ideas. I’ve only been planning my wedding since I was ten!”
First marriage then. Even though it wasn’t Dennis’s, Brooke felt it was safe to assume that Candy would want the biggest, whitest dress she could find. With a veil and a train. And a garter.
Possibly, she’d try to get Uncle Dennis to play that little game where he removed it with his teeth while everyone stood in a circle, watching. Brooke could only hope that there would be an open bar.
Candy pulled her tote from her shoulder and fished out a large binder. She hadn’t been joking or exaggerating. Brooke blinked in surprise at the heft of the thing.
“That’s impressive!” She could immediately tell that if Candy was organized like her, they would get along fine. Brooke couldn’t go anywhere without her planner these days. She loved nothing more than sitting down to it each night and outlining her following day. It eased her mind. Calmed her.
Some might say it gave her a false sense of security.
“Oh, this is nothing. This binder here is just for my dress ideas,” Candy said. “You should see my floral binder. I’m going over to see Gabby if I have time before I’m needed back at the café.”
Brooke could only assume that she would be hearing about it from her sister, and soon.
“Amelia mentioned that you work for her.” Brooke left off the part that Amelia had also mentioned on Saturday night that she sometimes needed to send Candy on long errands, just to get a moment’s peace. No doubt Candy’s wedding planning was coming in handy lately.
Sure enough, Candy beamed. “And she has been so generous when it comes to me needing time for this wedding!”
“I can see you’ve thought it all out.” Brooke eyed the binder, wondered what could be in there.
“I must have a thousand ideas,” Candy said gaily. “I want it to be perfect.”
Brooke felt her smile slip. Perfect set the bar high—both for a dress and a marriage.
She swallowed hard, and said a little weakly, “Well, we could sit down and you can show me? Or maybe if you look around, something will jump out at you?”
Candy walked over to the sitting area that Brooke had set up and dropped her binder onto the white marble coffee table with a thud. The thing weighed so much that Brooke took a subtle peek to make sure no damage had been made to her new purchase. Instead of sitting down on one of the blush-colored velvet chairs that Brooke had ordered for the shop, Candy scurried over to another rack of dresses.
“Oh, it’s so hard to choose! They’re all so wonderful. Everyone in your family told me how talented you were, but this has exceeded my expectations!”
Brooke felt her cheeks flush at the compliment, which she took as sincere, even if Candy was technically family. Almost.
“It’s been a life’s dream, honestly,” she admitted. Not the wedding dress part, technically, that had come later. But being in full control of her creativity had always been the dream.
Being back in Blue Harbor had not, she thought, inhaling a sigh. But as she’d learned over the years, nothing ever went completely as planned.
“You don’t miss New York?” Candy asked as she absentmindedly sifted through a rack of dresses.
Brooke considered that for a moment. Once, she couldn’t get to New York fast enough. Once, that had been her life’s dream, to live in the big city, to be a part of the fashion industry, to be right in the pack, at the center of the action.
It was all she’d wanted. More than anything.
More, she thought looking back, than Kyle.
