Bayside Evenings

by Stacy Claflin

  "I told you. Sarah will send everyone's measurements. It's no big deal."

  "But we need you to be here. We need to schedule at least one day for you to come out before the wedding."

  "Talk to Sarah. I gotta go."

  The screen went blank.

  Dakota threw her head back. "Can you believe her?"

  "Her reputation does precede her."

  "I'm beginning to wonder if this is worth it." She put her face in her palms.

  "What do you mean?" Clay snuck a piece of vanilla cake Charlotte hadn't wanted him to taste. "At least the cake is picked out. You'll have her measurements. I'm sure the tailor can work with that."

  "Up to a point."

  "Look, I'll drive them up to her, if I have to."

  She looked at him with an expression mixed with gratitude and disbelief. "You'd do that?"

  "Why not?"

  Dakota shook her head. "Thanks, but it wouldn't work. The tailor would never go with you."

  "Surely one of Charlotte's people could help fit it, right?"

  "Maybe. I hope it doesn't come down to that. I'll call Sarah after lunch and see if I can schedule something. You'd think that coming down here just once wouldn't be such a big deal. I mean, she did choose to have her wedding down here. She had to know she couldn't just show up on the wedding day."

  Clay snorted.

  "What?"

  "I'm sure that's exactly what she was thinking."

  Dakota let out a long, slow breath and ran her hands through her hair. "You're probably right."

  He stood up and covered the remaining cake. "Let's go for that ride and get your mind off everything. I find that there's nothing like speeding through the fresh air to lift my mood."

  She nodded, but didn't move.

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "I just hope this works out. I've never had a wedding like this before. Sure, people from out of town have had their weddings here, but it's never been like this. It's like…" She frowned. "I don't know. It's just so stressful. I don't feel like I'm in charge."

  Clay felt bad for her. He also wasn't quite sure what to do with such vulnerability. "Well, don't let her run the show. What would you do if she wasn't Charlotte Pemberley?"

  Dakota sighed. "I would have already had an agreement to follow our typical schedule—which includes actually showing up. But maybe this is good. What if remotely planning weddings is the future? My clients seem to be coming from farther and farther away."

  He nodded. "Okay, so this is a test. What we need to do is make a list of what works and what doesn't. Then after this wedding—which as you said, will bump your clientele into a new stratosphere—you'll be able to set the rules. This is showing you how far you're willing to go for clients."

  Her pretty green eyes lit up. "You know, you're right. I shouldn't let this get to me. Trust me, I'm not usually like this."

  "Most people aren't like her, and I'll do whatever I can to help."

  She stared at him like he was a hero.

  The back of Clay's neck felt engulfed in flames. He cleared his throat. "How about that ride?"

  Seven

  Dakota studied the shiny red Ducati with admiration. "You've really taken good care of it."

  "I do my best." He handed her a helmet from a storage box on the back.

  She slid it on and secured it, finding her stress from dealing with Charlotte already melting away.

  He put on his helmet and locked the box. "All ready?"

  "Yeah." Her heart sped up. She wasn't sure if it was from the prospect of riding such a beautiful bike or riding it with Clay.

  "Okay." He climbed on and started it. It sounded so smooth.

  Dakota climbed on and wrapped her arms around him. The smell of his leathers and aftershave engulfed her. She took a deep breath, enjoying the moment. It had been a while since she'd ridden, and even longer since she'd had her arms around a guy she actually liked.

  Business and pleasure.

  She shook her head. It was just a ride.

  "You okay?" Clay asked over the sounds of the engine.

  "Great."

  "Okay. Hold on."

  Dakota tightened her grip just slightly and he pulled out of the spot and headed for the main road. As the wind whipped in her face and she held onto Clay, she knew this was exactly what she needed.

  They headed for the bay, and the air seemed especially refreshing as they blew by the water. She leaned closer against Clay and watched the few people at the beach. This time of year, it tended to be pretty sparse, but there were always a few beachcombers. Kids always seemed to build sandcastles, no matter how chilly the air was, and joggers loved the trail.

  At a stoplight, he turned his head. "You want to stop somewhere for lunch?"

  "I didn't bring my purse."

  "My treat."

  Dakota laughed. "Well, if you insist."

  He hit the gas again and then turned off on a side road, shaded by all the trees.

  She only knew of one place to eat down this way. A little burger shack that served the greasiest food she'd ever eaten, and right then, it sounded perfect.

  Clay pulled into the parking lot. "Hope you don't mind burgers."

  She climbed off. "Not at all. My family used to eat here once in a while, and us kids always loved it."

  He got off and removed his helmet. "I love little Mom and Pop places like this." He ruffled his hair and smiled, his dimple appearing.

  Dakota turned away, not sure she trusted herself. She found herself wanting to run her hands through his hair. Instead, she pulled off her helmet, set it on the seat, and combed her fingers through her tangled hair.

  Clay locked up the helmets and then they went inside.

  She could smell and feel the grease in the air. Now as an adult, she understood why her parents had insisted on only coming here once in a while. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, only a little more tattered. All the seats had a red and white checkered pattern and pictures of Enchantment Bay from the fifties and sixties hung on the wall just where she remembered them.

  They ordered burgers and fries.

  "You want a shake?" Clay asked.

  "Oh, I forgot all about those." Dakota had loved them as a girl. "I'll have a blueberry one."

  The young girl behind the counter shook her head. "Chocolate or vanilla. That's it."

  Dakota frowned. When had they gotten rid of the fun flavors?

  "Vanilla for me," Clay said. "I've had enough chocolate for today." He turned to Dakota and winked.

  Her breath caught. What was he doing to her? She cleared her throat. "Vanilla for me, too."

  A few minutes later, they sat at a booth overlooking the parking lot.

  "Thanks for spotting me," Dakota said and picked up her burger. Grease practically dripped from it onto the tinfoil wrapper.

  "It was the least I could do."

  They joked about Charlotte as they ate the meal.

  "Have you ever video-called anyone while in a tanning booth?" Clay asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

  She shook her head. "I don't even go tanning."

  "How about mud masks?"

  "Not for anyone to see."

  "I guess that's the difference between celebrities and us common folk."

  Dakota smiled. "Must be. So, where are you from?"

  "I grew up in a small town near Denver—trust me, you've never heard of it. The average person from Denver hasn't, either."

  She sipped her shake. "How'd you end up here?"

  He paused. "Trying to find myself, I guess. I enjoyed my time in college not far away and it's close enough to Portland for me. Being a small town guy at heart, I didn't want to be anywhere too busy."

  "Makes sense, but I'm probably biased."

  Clay smiled again and held her gaze.

  She studied his eyes. They were such a dark shade of blue, and she loved that they almost seemed purple—just like she'd noticed the first time she saw him. She could get lost in thos
e eyes if she wasn't careful.

  This was dangerous territory. He was an employee—her assistant. Allowing herself to fall for him wasn't just taboo, it was bad business. She hadn't gotten to where she was by making dumb decisions.

  Why did this wonderfully sweet and gorgeous man have to be a working relationship? She really did have the worst luck with men.

  The door opened, sending a gust of wind on them. A group of loud teenagers came inside, joking with one another.

  Clay sat back and glanced over at them.

  Dakota took a deep breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it.

  "You ready?" he asked. "I really need to call my buddy. He can help with that computer program I was telling you about."

  She blinked a few times. "Of course. And I need to call Sarah. We've got to get Charlotte down here."

  "Let's go, then." He grabbed the trash and carried it to the garbage bins.

  Dakota watched him and sighed.

  He wanted to run his own business, right? Maybe once he got the ball rolling for that, dating would be a possibility.

  No. Stop thinking like that.

  Clay came over and held out his hand.

  Flustered, she took it and let him help her up. His grip was so strong, but his skin so smooth and soft. Not rough, like she'd expected. Her face warmed. She glanced to the side. "Thanks again."

  "My pleasure. You're fun to talk to."

  Dakota looked at him, surprised. She smiled and before she had time to process a fleeting thought, her mouth blurted it out. "Can you take a picture of me on the bike? I want to send it to my cousin. He'll be so jealous."

  "I can do one better than that." They went outside and Clay turned to a guy about to walk inside. "Will you take our picture?"

  The back of Dakota's neck heated, but was thrilled by his suggestion.

  Clay handed his phone to the guy and motioned for Dakota to sit first. "Make it look like you're driving. Really get your cousin green with envy."

  "Okay." She climbed on. Clay sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. It felt so good… so right. She pressed her back against him and smiled for the picture.

  The guy handed the phone to Clay. "I got a few. Will these do?"

  "Perfect." Clay showed her the images. "What do you think?"

  They were suitable for framing. "Cruz will definitely be jealous." She looked at the guy. "Thank you."

  "No problem." He walked away.

  Dakota's heart swelled to twice the size as she stared at the picture on the screen.

  Clay slid his finger around the screen, keeping himself wrapped around her. "Just sent them to you. So, do you want to drive back? You know, since you're already in the position."

  Her mouth gaped. "You'd let me?"

  "You do know how to drive one, right?"

  "Of course."

  "Well, you're going to need a story to go with the pictures." He reached around to the back and pulled out the helmets.

  The ride back to The Chateau went by in a blur. She loved the feel of driving the Ducati and also being so close to Clay. With every moment that passed, it became easier to ignore her rule about mixing business with pleasure.

  Once back at work, Dakota grabbed her handbag and excused herself from the office. She sat in an empty conference room and caught her breath.

  She could still feel Clay's hand holding hers. The scent of his aftershave and jacket lingered. Oh, and those almost-purple eyes… She leaned her head back against the chair.

  More than anything, she needed to find a way to keep things professional. She couldn't risk anything going wrong with Charlotte's wedding. It needed to be perfect so she would rave about it to all her friends.

  Dakota closed her eyes. She wasn't sure how she would pull it all together, but if she needed to rely on Marina and Aria more than Clay, she would. It might be a good idea, in fact. Pull them in.

  Once her heart rate returned to normal, she pulled out her phone and found the texts from Clay with the photos. She stared at them, feeling her insides turning into mush.

  Knock, knock.

  She opened her eyes and spun around toward the door.

  Marcel came in. "Are you busy?"

  Dakota quickly saved the photos to her phone and then sent them to Cruz. "I know it doesn't look like it, but yes." She glanced back at the picture on her screen and sighed.

  "When you have time, I need you to look at some pictures of the courtyard for the website."

  Dakota glanced up at Marcel. "I thought the website was done."

  "Mostly, but I thought it would be a good idea to get pictures of every season. I got some pictures the other morning when there was a light dusting of snow."

  "Can you email them to me? I've got some calls to make."

  "Sure thing. Anything I can help with?"

  "Not unless you can get Charlotte Pemberley from Seattle to here."

  His eyes lit up. "Oh, I can be very persuasive with those types. My sister was star of the drama club. I know how to talk so they'll listen."

  "Really?"

  Marcel held out his hand. "Hand me your phone, darling."

  What could it hurt? She dug into her purse, found the phone, and then pulled up Charlotte's number.

  He took the phone and gave Dakota a knowing look. Then he straightened his back and shook his shoulders. "Yes, is this Charlotte?" He paused, nodding. "My name is Marcel, and I'm Dakota Hunter's personal assistant… No, her other one… Actually, I'm better looking than the other one."

  Dakota cracked a smile.

  "Well, sweetheart, I have to level with you on something… Mmm hmm… Okay, this will only take a minute, but it's important. We need you down here stat to…" He glanced at Dakota.

  "Get fitted for the dress," she whispered.

  "For you to try on the dress. The designer is in a tailspin, honey. Seriously, I've never seen him so worked up. He keeps raving about how he gets to work with the Charlotte Pemberley. He wants to get your dress perfect, but he can't do it unless you're here. Measurements aren't enough. He needs a warm body."

  Marcel winked at Dakota.

  "You can't do any sooner than Friday?" he asked. "Well, I suppose that'll have to do, then. We'll see you then. Buh-bye." He ended the call and handed the phone to Dakota. "She'll be here Friday after dinner. I hope that works."

  Dakota's mouth dropped. "How on earth…?"

  "Like I told you, I know how to appeal to those types. If there's anything else you need from her, I suggest you get it all prepared for then. I doubt you'll get that princess back down here twice before the ceremony."

  "Thank you."

  "My pleasure. Now if you can look over those pictures by tonight…"

  "You've got it."

  "Thanks so much." Marcel gave a little nod and left the conference room.

  As soon as he disappeared, reality hit Dakota. Charlotte would actually be there in a few days. She needed to pull everything together to make the most of the visit. She would need flower samples, cake samples—to make sure she actually liked the one she'd chosen, and the list went on.

  She opened the notes app on her phone and filled it as quickly as she could. Then she stared at the list, trying to think of anything she'd forgotten. The list was already astronomically long. Hopefully, she would be able to fit it all into Charlotte's schedule.

  A text came in. It was from Sarah.

  Hugh will make it Friday.

  Dakota sighed in relief. She'd forgotten to tell Marcel that Hugh needed to be there for the tux fitting.

  Perfect. Tell him tux fitting.

  Got it. See you then.

  She smiled. Maybe everything would actually work out.

  Eight

  Clay's phone rang. He glanced down to see it was Lauryn.

  "Do you want to get that?" Andy asked.

  "I can call her back. What else do you need?"

  Andy glanced around Dakota's office and then at the computer screen. "Nothing, really. Now
that you've shown me everything, I just need to set up the program. I already have one that's really similar, so this shouldn't take too long."

  "Thanks. This is not only going to make my boss's life easier, but mine, too."

  Andy chuckled. "You don't have to tell me. Well, I'm going to get to work." He started clacking away at the keyboard.

  "Guess that's my cue." Clay headed out into the quiet hall. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought that he and his friend were the only two in the building, though it wasn't that far off. It was pretty late in the evening, and Dakota had already left for the night.

  He found an empty office and called Lauryn back.

  "Where are you?" she asked.

  "Working late."

  "You are?" She sounded proud. "That's great. It must be going well."

  "It is. Andy's helping me with a program that'll make it even better."

  "Who?" she asked. "Never mind. Tell me all about it."

  He told her how he was working with Andy on improving the entire office. "Oh, and you'll never guess who I got to talk to."

  "I don't know."

  "Charlotte Pemberley." He grinned, waiting for her response.

  "The reality star?"

  "Yeah, she's having her wedding here."

  "Huh." There was no emotion behind Lauryn's voice.

  Clay couldn't tell what she was thinking. "If you come down on Friday, maybe you could meet her."

  "That would be… interesting. Does she live up to her reputation?"

  "She's an original one. That's for sure."

  "You really want me to drive to Enchantment Bay again?" she whined. "I drove last week."

  "Well, I could ride up there, but how often do you get the chance to meet someone famous?"

  Lauryn sighed. "Can't I meet her next week?"

  "She's only going to be here this Friday. It was hard enough to get her to agree to that."

  "What's the address?" She sounded annoyed, but Clay ignored the fact.

  "You'll come? Hold on, and I'll text the information." He put the call on hold and texted her the address to The Chateau and directions to the tailor since he didn't remember the address. Then he went back to the call. "Did you get it?"

  "Yes. Does this mean you'll drive up for the next two weekends?"

  "Sure, if I'm free."