The comment grated. “Jordan,” Kelly said sweetly, “could I see you in the living room?”
She noticed when she finally had him alone that his eyes were sparkling with pure mischief.
“A problem, sweet pea?”
“If your mother does not back off, I swear to you that I’m going to wear jeans for this wedding and serve lemonade and store-bought cookies.”
Jordan pulled her against him. “Sounds perfect to me.”
She studied him intently, not sure whether she could trust the dead-serious note in his voice. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Actually, I’d rather like to see the governor’s face as he sips lemonade and munches a handful of Oreo cookies. He’d probably prefer it over the rubber chicken and hard little peas he usually gets.”
Kelly sighed. “He might be perfectly content, but your mother’s likely to flip out.”
“Sweetheart, it’s our wedding. The details are entirely up to you. Just tell me what time you want me here and I’ll show up. I could care less about the rest.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Any idea how many people your mother has invited?”
“Nope,” he admitted.
“Maybe I’d better ask that before I get too independent here,” she said, calmer now that she knew Jordan was in her corner no matter what she decided.
She went back to the kitchen where she found her future mother-in-law tsk-tsking at the size of the stove and refrigerator.
“Kelly, I think it’s time for new appliances, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed without hesitation. Her parents had bought the current ones years ago and they were clearly on their last legs. “But I thought fixing the roof and painting were more important.”
The concept of budgetary constraint was clearly beyond Mary’s comprehension. “Yes, but this is something you can’t put off. I can’t possibly have the caterer do anything the least bit elaborate without a decent stove or refrigerator.” She jotted a note to herself. “I’ll take care of it this afternoon. Do you want white again?”
Kelly moved in front of her. “No new stove and no new refrigerator,” she said quietly, even though her stomach was churning and her blood was heating to a boil. “This is a wedding, not a home show.”
“But what about hot hors d’oeuvres? And your freezer won’t even hold a spare pint of ice cream, much less the ice sculpture I’ve ordered.”
“It’s ninety degrees outside. Why would you order an ice sculpture in the first place?”
Mary Adams stopped in her tracks and stared. “You intend for everyone to eat outside? My dear, people will be perspiring,” she declared as if that were the worse tragedy that could possibly befall anyone. “You simply cannot ask them to deal with all the dust, to say nothing of this sweltering hot weather. Their clothes will be ruined.”
“How many people have you invited?” Kelly countered.
Mary avoided looking her in the eye. “Just a few. You did say you wanted it kept small.”
“How many?”
“A hundred, more or less.”
Kelly gulped. It was even worse than she’d suspected. “That’s what you consider small?”
Mary seemed oblivious to Kelly’s distress. “Of course, given Jordan’s status, there are business considerations, as well as old friends and family,” she informed her future daughter-in-law. “I cut it as best I could.”
Kelly had guessed the number would be half that high, which was precisely why she’d considered the possibility of an outdoor celebration. This clinched it.
“I see,” she said, rather proud of how calm she managed to sound. “And where do you expect these hundred people to fit inside the house? If you think it would be stifling outside, imagine them all crammed in here without air-conditioning.”
“Without air-conditioning?” Mary sank down onto a kitchen chair. “Oh, my, I suppose that is a problem, isn’t it?” She fanned herself with her little leather notebook. “Darling! Jordan, come in here at once!”
Jordan, who’d apparently taken refuge in the living room rather than get caught between his mother and his bride, came into the kitchen. He glanced warily from his mother to Kelly and back again. “What now?”
“I really think there is only one thing to be done,” his mother said briskly, clearly recovered from her momentary shock. “We will have to move the wedding to White Pines.”
“Absolutely not!” Kelly insisted, just as Jordan hurriedly said after one glance at her face, “Now, Mother, let’s not be hasty.”
Mary scowled at the pair of them. “Well, I simply don’t know what else to do,” she said in that haughty tone Kelly knew she could come to hate. She gestured around her. “This house is simply not big enough or equipped for a wedding. White Pines has all of the latest, industrial-size appliances and the staff is used to dealing with caterers and a large number of guests. This is the most important day of your life, after all. It should be something to remember.”
“It’s the most important day of our lives,” Kelly said, her voice tight.
Jordan clearly heard the stress in her tone, because he hurried his mother out of the kitchen. “Mother, let me discuss this with Kelly and we’ll get back to you.”
Kelly could hear his mother protesting even as she was hustled away.
“Jordan, the wedding is in three days,” Mary complained. “You can’t possibly wait another moment before deciding.”
“We’re waiting, Mother. I’ll be in touch.”
Kelly thought the screen door slammed rather emphatically behind her. She was resting her head on top of her folded arms when Jordan returned to the kitchen and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.
“Don’t get fainthearted now,” he murmured.
She looked up at him and tried to blink back tears. The most incredible day of her life was going to turn into a nightmare. It was on a fast track to calamity and she could see no way to stop it.
“Jordan, I do not want to get married at White Pines,” she said emphatically. “I do not want to wear a dress your mother has picked out. I do not want a swarm of caterers and strangers around us.”
He sat down opposite her and
