by Kay Correll
“I’ll put the bags in the bedroom.”
She nodded and watched him roll the luggage cart into the adjoining room. This wedding was going to be more work for her than she’d planned. But that was okay. She was going to have the perfect wedding of her dreams.
Jamie left with the luggage cart and a promise to meet her in a couple of hours. She crossed over to the balcony again and stepped outside. The warm sea air washed over her with flashes of memories, reminding her why she’d picked Belle Island Inn for her wedding.
She still could remember all the little details of the day when she was fifteen—her last day on the island. She’d gone out to Lighthouse Point, firmly believing the local legend that wishes come true if you made a wish and threw a shell into the ocean at the point. She’d made her wish for a perfect, fairy-tale wedding, marrying the perfect prince charming. She remembered standing quietly at the edge of the ocean, closing her eyes, making her wish, and throwing her shell as far as she could into the ocean.
Now, all these years later, her wish was coming true. After months of planning, the day was finally coming. In five days her friends and family would fill the resort, and she and George would get married on the beach at sunset beside the sparkling waters of the gulf. It didn’t get much more romantic than that, as far as she was concerned.
The loss of a wedding coordinator was not going to derail her.
Her wedding was going to be special. Very special. And perfect.
Chapter 2
Jamie was not going to admit he was in over his head. He wasn’t. Somehow he was going to pull off this wedding. He was.
He sat down and looked at the pages and pages of Mandy’s notebook, all split into neat sections, checklists of things to be finished, calls to make. How the heck was he supposed to run a full inn at the same time he coordinated the wedding? As if to prove his point, he got called away from his desk at least a dozen times as he tried to work his way through Mandy’s notes.
If he could make this wedding go off without a hitch, it might lead to more weddings for the inn, his goal. He’d do anything and everything to increase the bottom line of the inn. His mother deserved at least that, if not more. He sighed and took out a yellow legal pad and started making his own to-do list from Mandy’s notebook.
At the sound of a knock at his office door, he looked up to see Cindy standing in front of him looking a bit less panicked than when he’d left her in her room. She’d changed into a sundress and sandals and pulled her hair back into a fancy braid. He remembered those braids so well from their shared childhood summers. She’d always tried to pull her hair back to keep it under control, but wisps and curls always managed to escape.
“Hi.” He put down his pen and stood up.
“You ready?” Cindy held her leather planner firmly in her hand.
“I held a table outside on the deck for us. I thought the least I could do is give you dinner while we work.”
“That’s sounds great.”
He led the way out to a table at the end of the outside dining deck and held the chair for Cindy, giving her the seat with the view of the ocean. She sat for a few moments, staring out at the sea, seemingly mesmerized with the playful seagulls diving for their dinner.
“It’s so pretty here. I’d forgotten just how beautiful it is.”
He turned and looked out at the view. It was beautiful. Most of the time he was too busy to appreciate it. “It is nice here. We should have sunset in about an hour or so. Comes kind of late this time of year.”
“Eight twenty-seven.”
Jamie laughed.
Cindy smiled. “Yes, I checked. I thought a sunset wedding would be romantic, but it seemed too late for the ceremony.”
“Well, that’s why we have the nice side area beside the inn set up for weddings and events. The shadow of the inn provides most of the shade, and we’ve built a large arbor for the wedding party to stand under that still allows a view of the ocean.”
“I saw it in the brochure. It looks really nice. When did you add that?”
“Just a couple of years ago. Trying to update the place a bit. Slowly rehabbing all the rooms. The suites are finished now. Still working on the other rooms.”
Jamie raised a hand to catch the waitress’s attention. A new hire named Alexis, or was it Allison? They’d hired a handful of new workers for the summer season.
The waitress came over and he glanced surreptitiously at her name tag. Alexis. “Cindy, what would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have an Abita Amber beer if you have that.”
“A beer drinker, huh?” He turned to Allison, no, Alexis. “Two Ambers, please.”
“I’m a beer drinker if Mother isn’t around. She doesn’t think it’s a proper drink for a woman. But out here on the beach, it just seems like the best choice.” Cindy sighed. “It will probably be my last beer for a long, long, time. George thinks expensive wine or name-brand liquor drinks are the drinks of choice. No use riling either of them.”
Jamie sat in silence. He knew Cindy had always tried to please her mother, not that he’d ever actually seen Cindy win her mother’s approval. But now it appeared it had spilled over to pleasing her fiancé.
“Anyway, you want to get started on the wedding details?” Cindy nodded toward the notebook sitting by his elbow.
“Sure, we’ll work for a bit while we have our drinks, then order dinner. Does that sound good?”
“Yes, a good plan.” Cindy opened her leather planner and took out a fountain pen.
A fountain pen. Who used those anymore? He watched her neatly write “to-do” across the top of a clean page in her notebook.
Ten minutes into their discussion he knew he was in way over his head, but he smiled and nodded and scribbled down notes. How the heck was he going to pull this off? His mother was off visiting her sister, but maybe he could call her to come back and help him. He hated to do that though, she hadn’t taken a vacation in so long and really needed one. He’d figure this out somehow. He had to.
They finished their list making and wedding talk, and he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to eat the dinner he’d ordered—not with the knot in his stomach from all his self-doubts.
Cindy attacked her chicken cordon bleu with a relish that seemed to imply she believed him when he said he had this all under control.
He was such a liar.
* * *
“The meal was delicious. Thank you.” Cindy pushed away from the table and stood up. “I think I’m going to take a short beach walk and try to walk off all the calories.”
“Want some company?”
She paused. “You sure you have the time?”
“I do.” Jamie waved over their waitress and asked her to put their notebooks inside in his office.
Cindy followed Jamie as he led the way down the steps from the dining deck to the pathway to the beach. They dropped their shoes by the path and headed across the sand. The sun was starting to set and the sky was washed in brilliant oranges. “I’d forgotten how beautiful the sunsets are here.”
“This one looks like it’s going to be a doozy.”
They walked along the water’s edge where the calm waves rolled in and over their feet, then rolled back out to sea. The sky’s colors deepened with an explosion of purples and yellows peeking through the orange.
Cindy reached down to scoop up a perfect white shell.
“I never did know you to be able to take a beach walk without doing a bit of shelling along the way.”
Cindy smiled at Jamie. “No, I don’t think I ever have. There’s just something about shells. Certain ones call to me to be picked up.”
“Did you ever go to the point by the lighthouse and make a wish there? You heard the Lighthouse Point legend didn’t you? That if you make a wish at Lighthouse Point and throw a shell into the ocean, your wish will come true.”
“How did that all come about, anyway?” Cindy didn’t really want to admit what her wish had been all those y
ears ago.
“Well, legend has it that it all started when one of the first settlers to the town lost her sea-faring husband. The woman went to the end of Lighthouse Point and wished for him to return. She carefully threw a shell into the ocean. Months later her husband returned. He’d been rescued by another ship and travelled back to her. So now people think that Lighthouse Point is kind of, I don’t know, magical? It’s a common occurrence to see people out there tossing their shells into the sea.”
“I never knew how the tradition started.”
“So, did you ever make a wish?”
“I…” Cindy hesitated. “Yes, I did.”
“So what did you wish?” Jamie stood facing her, watching her face.
“Well, it seems kind of silly, and it took a long time to come true, but I wished for the perfect wedding.”
Jamie grinned at her. “A Cinderella Dream Girl perfect wedding. I like that. Looks like your wish is coming true.”
“Well, except for little details like I have no wedding coordinator.” Cindy instantly felt guilty about her remark. Jamie was obviously doing everything in his power to fill in for the coordinator. She was sure he’d do a good job of it… right?
A rogue wave rushed into shore and she quickly sidestepped to keep it from splashing her dress. She misstepped and tumbled into Jamie. His strong arms caught her before she fell and made a complete fool of herself.
“You okay?” Jamie held onto her arm, steadying her.
“I’m fine. Nice catch.”
Jamie grinned at her. “Couldn’t have you plopping into the ocean now, could we?”
“I’m just hoping I can walk down the aisle without tripping on my wedding gown. I swear, I am so clumsy sometimes.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” But the doubt in Jamie’s eyes belied his words.
Memories flashed in her mind of prior visits to Belle Island. Jamie catching her as she tripped going up the deck stairs to the inn. Jamie reaching out to steady her as a wave washed over her while they were wading by Lighthouse Point—only that time he’d missed and she’d plunked unceremoniously into the water while fully dressed, including new, dry clean only, ridiculously expensive slacks her mother had bought for her. The time she’d stumbled and fallen against the dining table at the inn and flipped the table and all the food onto the floor, humiliating herself and acquiring a scolding from her mother and a look of disdain from her sister.
“I’m not sure about the being fine part. I have some ridiculously high heels that Vanessa insists I should wear, too. They are cute, but I’m afraid they might be a bit dangerous for me to wear.”
“Maybe you should switch to a flat shoe?” Jamie cocked an eyebrow.
“As if I could talk Vanessa into letting me do that.” Cindy took one more look at the sun as it slipped below the horizon. “I guess we should head back before it gets too dark.” She was having enough trouble walking when there was still light out. Cindy stood up straight and took her hand off Jamie’s arm, sure she could walk on her own now without making a fool of herself. Positively sure of it…
Chapter 3
Cindy sat on a rocking chair on the wide front porch of the inn. Her sister had texted her an hour ago saying she and their mother would arrive any minute. Cindy wasn’t really worried about the delay though, it was pretty much standard operating procedure with her mother. Always late. Maybe that was one of the reasons her mother liked George so much. He was always late, too.
Jamie came out on the porch with a tall glass of tea. “Sweet tea? Thought you might want this.”
“Thanks. That sounds wonderful.”
“I saw you come out here over an hour ago. It’s getting kind of hot, you want to come inside?”
“Those big paddle fans on the porch ceiling are moving the air around.”
“We had to replace the old ones and get them rewired. These do move a bit more air though.” Jamie glanced up at the fans. “It’s still awfully muggy out here.”
“I’m fine. I’m just waiting for Mother and Vanessa to show.” Cindy took a sip of the drink. “Oh, that’s good. I swear the inn has the best sweet tea ever.”
“You sure you don’t want to come in and wait?”
“No, I’ve just been making notes on things to check.” She nodded towards her planner.
“I’m really sorry about the wedding coordinator thing.”
“It’s not your fault, really. She got chicken pox. It happens. We’ll make do.” Cindy wanted to reassure Jamie, but she was hoping she was telling the truth.
A fancy red sports car pulled into the drive and Vanessa popped out of the driver’s seat and waved. “We’re here.”
Cindy set down the glass and her planner and walked down the stairs to the car. Her mother slid gracefully out of the low seat and handed Cindy a tote bag. “Here, take this for me.” Cindy grabbed the bag and another sack her mother handed her.
“We stopped at a shop on St. Armand’s Circle on the way through Sarasota. Bought a pair of shoes.” Her mother straightened, not a wrinkle in her clothes from the plane ride or the drive. “I’d forgotten how beastly hot it is down here. Let’s go in where it’s cooler.”
Vanessa looked around, not a strand of her perfectly dyed blonde hair out of place. “No valet parking?”
Cindy nodded over to a lot off to the side. “You can park over there.”
“I hope you arranged valet parking for the wedding. We don’t want the guests to be parking their own cars.” Her mother looked over at the sandy parking lot.
“Yes, that’s all taken care of.” Cindy made a mental note to make sure it had been taken care of.
“What about all of our things?”
Jamie came out to the car. “Here, I’ll take them for you.”
“Mother, Vanessa, this is Jamie. I don’t know if you remember him from when we used to come here.”
“Can’t say that I do, no.” Vanessa handed Jamie an armful of shopping bags.
Jamie juggled the bags and headed inside. He made four trips from the car to the lobby hauling in suitcases and assorted bags. Vanessa rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation and drove the car to a parking spot, leaving a trail of this-is-beneath-me-where-is-the-valet in her wake.
Cindy cringed at her sister’s attitude then watched while her mother scrutinized the weathered paint on the front porch with a critical eye. Determined not to let their negativity ruin things, she hurried after her mother and entered into the lobby.
“I have your rooms all ready for you.” Jamie stood behind the counter now, tapping on the keyboard of the computer and handing her mother a key. It occurred to Cindy at that very instant—how was he going to run the inn and stand in for the wedding coordinator? She fought off a rising panic.
As if her mother could read her mind, she turned to her and asked, “Have you met with the wedding coordinator yet? Everything going smoothly, I hope?”
“About that…” Cindy shifted from foot to foot.
“Don’t fidget, Cynthia.”
“Well, funny thing. The wedding coordinator came down with the chicken pox.”
Vanessa came up behind her. “Well, who is going to coordinate everything?”
“Jamie here has helped with other weddings. He’s going to coordinate everything. It’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t think so.” Her mother stood tall and snatched some papers from her expensive designer purse. “Our contract says we have a wedding coordinator with our wedding package. And, for that matter, if you look at the brochure it shows a pristinely painted front porch, too.” Her mother waved the pamphlet in front of all of them.
“With the hurricane that came through last fall, our building really took a beating. The paint’s a little worn, but that’s how it is when you live on the ocean. We’re scheduled to repaint this winter. Going to wait out this year’s hurricane season first.”
“That doesn’t help us now, does it?” Her mother sent Jamie one of her withering looks
that could make a rich CEO quake in his Italian leather shoes.
Jamie stood tall, unaffected by her look.
“Mother, really. I think the place looks charming,” Cindy intercepted her mother’s wrath.
“Well, we can’t have the wedding without a coordinator. Who does that?” Vanessa joined forces with their mother.
“We have everything worked out and under control.” Jamie patted the notebook on the counter. “Mandy left me all her notes, and she’s taken care of everything.”
Her mother let out a long sigh of disapproval. “I was afraid something like this would happen when you insisted on having the wedding down here in Florida. A destination wedding to Florida. In June. My goodness, the guests are going to melt.”
“Mother, really, everything is good. It’s all under control.” Cindy hid her look of desperation by ducking over and picking up one of Vanessa’s bags. “How about we go get you two settled into your rooms?”
“You’ll bring the rest of our things up, young man?” Her mother barely glanced at Jamie as she turned away.
“Yes, ma’am. Sure will.”
Cindy looked up to see Jamie with a courteous smile plastered on his face, but it didn’t fool her one bit. He was annoyed.
* * *
The morning hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. Cindy’s mother was totally irked with him, and he had to figure out a way to fix it. Jamie knew he was in trouble, but had no idea how to make things right. Master list of to-dos or not, he was only one person. He pulled the inn’s battered old van into a parking space on Seaside Boulevard near Flossie’s Florist Shop. No one named Flossie had owned the shop in years, but the name prevailed, owner after owner.
He needed to check on the floral order for the wedding, along with picking up an order of fresh flowers for the tables in the dining room. The inn would be full for the next few days with the wedding party and guests, and he wanted to make sure to make a good impression on everyone. They needed some good word-of-mouth referrals. He was determined to make the inn the destination for weddings and events in the area.
