“Not enough people falling out of love?” She met his sidelong glance and managed to suppress a grin.
“Believe it or not, I’m trying to help people.” He glanced at her, and despite her reservation, she shrugged.
“But to answer your question, I’m branching out into other towns. Blue Harbor is small. There are only so many people who could ever require my services.”
She nodded, understanding the need to expand the scope of marketing. “Several of my customers come from Pine Falls, especially for big events. But the deliveries for everyday celebrations are usually people in Blue Harbor.”
“Any idea who is doing the flowers for tonight’s wedding?” he asked.
“No, but I’ll admit I’m curious. Almost as curious to know how it is you managed to get a plus one so close to the wedding. The bride and groom don’t mind?”
He gave her a little wince. “They didn’t do a table chart.”
She gasped, unsure what was more horrifying, that guests would be left to sit wherever they could find a chair or that she was essentially crashing the party.
“Please tell me you told them I was coming.” Her next sentence would be to tell him to turn the car around, or to let her out at the corner. She could walk back.
He laughed then, a long and throaty laugh that made her start to snicker, even though she didn’t see what was so funny.
“Oh, you should have seen the look on your face!” He wiped his eyes at the next intersection, still chuckling.
Her gaze hooded. “I see that weddings and marriage are all fun and games to you.”
He made a big show of sobering his expression. “And they are clearly serious business to you!” He shook his head. “Aren’t weddings supposed to be fun?”
“That’s an interesting comment coming from you. I seem to recall you saying that you’d rather be home than sitting at a reception table, toasting to the happy couple.”
He gave her a wry look. “I meant that the wedding is the fun part.”
“Let me guess,” she said drolly. “It’s what comes afterward that is less fun.”
He held up a palm. “You said it, not me.”
She could only shake her head. “They do know I’m coming?”
“Yes, they know you’re coming. My mother, on the other hand…” His brows shot up, and now it was her turn to laugh. She looked through the window as they came to the park, just at the edge of town. It was another outdoor wedding, and while the sky had been overcast that morning, the rain had held off so far.
A string quartet could be heard as they walked across the grass to where the guests were already seated for the ceremony. Gabby watched Mrs. Monroe’s eyes widen when she saw Doug and then Gabby, but Doug’s expression remained unchanged when he dropped into the seat behind his parents and said, “Mom, you remember my friend Gabby Conway.”
Carol’s smile was even larger than it had been when she’d thanked Gabby for the birthday arrangement. “Of course, Gabby, so nice to see you here!”
It was painfully obvious that there was much more that Mrs. Monroe wanted to say, but she pinched her lips firmly. “It seems that we’re often at the same places these days.” Here her eyes drifted to her son.
Doug remained expressionless as he pulled the ribbon from the program and unrolled it.
“Yes, well, it is wedding season,” Gabby said with a smile. “I have a wedding booked nearly every weekend through September, I think.”
“Oh, this is the last one for us,” Carol said. She again glanced at Doug, who pretended to be extremely engrossed in the music and reading selections for tonight’s ceremony. “Isn’t your uncle getting married soon?”
“Next weekend,” Gabby confirmed. And it couldn’t come soon enough. All week she’d been fielding calls from her cousins about Candy’s latest demands and ideas, and with mild reluctance, had agreed to attend the last fitting for their bridesmaid dresses this coming week. She supposed Brooke wouldn’t mind the buffer, either. Every time Candy walked into Something Blue, she spotted a new gown that made her doubt her own. But then, Gabby understood. She couldn’t step into her sister’s boutique without wanting to try every dress on, too.
The music swelled, signaling the start of the ceremony, and Mrs. Monroe fell quiet as everyone turned to watch. The mother of the groom was first down the aisle, dressed in a lovely peach dress that rustled in the breeze, led to her seat by the groom’s brother. Gabby caught Carol’s look of longing before she relaxed back against her chair.
Gabby slid a discreet look at Doug, who gave her a subtle but conspiratorial wink as they stood for the bride. Gabby didn’t know her—the family was from a neighboring town—and just for tonight, she felt like she could relax into the event, and not fret over the flowers or the weather or the fear of disappointing the bride.
She glanced at Doug and they exchanged a small smile.
And just for a moment, Gabby almost forgot that this wasn’t a real date.
“Well, I can tell you didn’t do the flowers,” Doug whispered to Gabby as they walked down the slope to the tent where the reception was being held next to the duck pond.
She looked up at him in surprise, her green eyes flashing as her grin turned wary. “And how is that?”
He jutted his chin to the tables, where large vases held flowers that he could never name, well, maybe aside from the roses. “These have a lot of greenery, whereas your arrangements always show off the flowers themselves.”
“I can’t believe you noticed that,” she said softly.
His stare bore down on hers. “I notice a lot of things about you.”
Her cheeks turned pink when she blinked, and he cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders and looking away. He thrust his hands in his pockets, focusing on the party they were joining. “Makes it easier to tease you.”
She gave
