Page 42 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Claire

Weak sunlight, mostly obscured by the gray clouds that blanketed the sky, filtered through the guest bedroom window, where I was hunched over my laptop.

After my meeting with Andrew and the new designer, Gina, yesterday, I was given additional research tasks to help while she got acclimated to her new job.

Digging into the history of a certain building, viewing it through the eyes of the community as it was today and how it would have been in the past, was a part of the job that I loved.

And I was good at it. That was why Andrew kept assigning me all of the research tasks.

But I still had my own project to manage as well.

I was getting all the research done today; that way, when I got back to Calla Bay, I could put all my focus on the Delano Library.

The hours whizzed by as I found myself down rabbit hole after rabbit hole.

A knock sounded at the door, pulling me from my recent trip.

“Come in,” I called .

Leon opened the door, looking more relaxed than usual in a pair of dress pants, button-down, and suit jacket, but no tie.

“Ms. DeLuca, your mother is requesting your presence in the den.”

“Thanks, Leon. I’ll be right down.”

I saved my notes and made my way downstairs, finding my mother already scowling.

“Hey, Mom,” I said.

She raised a single manicured finger, asking me to wait. I hadn’t noticed she had her phone to her ear when I walked in.

“I requested ivory chair coverings, not off-white. If I wanted to do all of the work myself, I wouldn’t be paying you to do it,” she said into the phone. “As interesting as that is, I expect ivory chair coverings by tonight.”

She put her phone down and sat back in her chair.

“I know what you’re thinking, and no, if I had been softer with her, I wouldn’t be getting the proper chair coverings.”

“I didn’t say a word.”

“I can see it written all over your face.”

That was interesting. It wasn’t a comment I was used to hearing, having spent so much of my life keeping my perpetual smile in place. I fixed my face into a mask of disinterest.

“We have to go by the venue this afternoon to oversee the setup for tomorrow’s gala,” she said.

“We do?” I asked. I knew that the annual leukemia research fundraising dinner was tomorrow night, but between my mother, her event coordinator Jackie, and the hotel’s event team, I was sure they had it covered.

“Yes, Claire. We do. This event is important to me, and I want to make sure everything is done properly. You’re here. You’re available. Is there something else that’s so important you can’t take a few hours out of your busy schedule to help put this event on?”

“Of course not. I’m happy to help,” I said. It was obviously a great cause, and I really didn’t mind helping. But it would have been nice to be asked instead of told for a change.

“Good. You’ll see firsthand what it takes to coordinate something like this for when you start hosting your own events one day.”

“Mom, please listen to me. I respect all the work you do to plan and host these events, but I don’t have that kind of free time since I’m working all day.” One day… maybe one day, she would really hear me.

My mother waved her hand away, dismissing my comments.

“I don’t know why you insist on having that career.

The man works you to the bone, taking you away from home for months at a time, and pays you a pittance.

If you insist on having a career, you should have finished law school like your father wanted. ”

“I don’t want to be a lawyer though. I want to bring new life to old buildings and preserve their history,” I sighed. “I don’t want to go over this again, Mom. Can we talk about something else?”

“Are you and that boy an item now?”

Okay, maybe I should have stuck with the career conversation. There was no way my mother would understand, and certainly not support, my relationship with Reid.

“He’s not a boy, Mother.” My tone was harsher than I intended, and I had to close my eyes and take a deep, centering breath before continuing. My mother’s eyes were on me when I looked up. Her lips pulled into a small smirk as she raised her brow at me.

“I apologize. You and the young man are an item, then.”

“It’s complicated,” I responded lamely. “My contract with the Delano Library is coming to an end. Andrew’s already talking about my next on-site placement, as long as he’s satisfied with how the library turns out.

I can’t imagine him being anything less than stunned by what we’ve accomplished.

All that to say, Reid and I are just temporary.

” I shrugged and tried to mask the melancholy I felt at that thought.

I caught a look passing across her face, but it disappeared just as fast. Saving me from any further interrogation, my father walked into the room.

“Thomas, is the Drumhellers’ son still in town?” The Drumhellers’ son was thirty-five years old and divorced—meaning single. “Should we expect him at the dinner tomorrow night?”

I had to fight to keep my eyes from rolling at her obvious interference.

“I wouldn’t have a clue. I don’t keep track of other people’s children, Melanie.”

Considering he had yet to acknowledge me being in the room, his own daughter, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that he paid no mind to other people’s children.

“Hey, Dad,” I said brightly.

“Claire,” he responded, completely devoid of emotion.

I kept my smile on my face, but I didn’t miss the expression that passed over my mother’s face again. I would hesitate to call it wistful, although that was how it appeared. I had to wonder if this life, the one that she wanted for me so desperately, had turned out the way she had hoped.

I went back to the room to work on my research until it was time to go. My phone buzzed on the bed next to me. A text from Reid had come through, with a second one following right behind.

Reid: Hope you’re having a good weekend.

Reid: I miss you.

A wide grin split my face. Just seeing his name made my insides feel gooey and warm.

Me: I miss you, too. My mom’s roped me into some event planning and a dinner engagement, so my weekend is turning out to be the opposite of fun. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.

Reid and I had been spending every waking—and sleeping—minute together for weeks. I thought that being away from him this weekend would be good for us, but it just made me realize how much I missed him. How much I was going to miss him when our work at the library was finished.

I cleared my head and finished what I was working on, sending the notes off to Andrew and Gina before heading into the den to meet my mother.

“We need to get over to the venue to oversee the setup. If I don’t have ivory-colored chair covers…” She trailed off.

I followed her out to the car that Leon had pulled up to the front of the house. The gray skies had officially switched over to a light rain. I pulled my trench coat around myself, protecting my shirt from getting wet.

The hall was a hive of activity from the moment we arrived. Floors were being swept, tables were being repositioned into a different arrangement, and decorations and signage were being put into place.

My mother went in search of her actual event coordinator assistant, so I tried to see what was still needing to get done.

“Do you know where the tablecloths are?” I asked one of the helpers. She was wearing a pair of pink corduroy overalls and a long-sleeved crop top, her hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. And she looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“Oh, uh… I’ll get right on them.” She looked back and forth between me and the floral arrangement she was working on that would flank the doors as guests arrived.

“I didn’t mean for you to stop what you’re doing. If you could just point me in the right direction, I’ll get started on them.”

She was clearly uncomfortable with me helping, but what else was I here for if not to help get everything set up. After I told her for the third time that really, I didn’t mind at all, she finally caved.

“Follow me. I’ll show you where everything is.” Her tentative smile indicated that she was still unsure about my involvement.

In the back room, boxes and boxes of supplies cluttered the floor. Besides the tablecloths, a host of centerpieces, napkins, dinner plates, glasses, and additional table decorations were packed away, waiting to be utilized.

“Oh, wow,” I said, trying to tamp down my surprise at how much work still needed to be done.

“I guess there was a misunderstanding about what the hotel’s event coordinator was responsible for and what was the host’s event planner’s responsibility,” she said, her shoulder rising in a small shrug.

“Okay, not a problem. Thank you. I’ll get started on these,” I told her .

For each table, I put together a box with all the necessary components to keep organized. After I had six boxes put together, I took them into the main room and dropped them off at the tables, one by one.

I started putting together the first table. Tablecloth, a wreath in the middle of the table, a tall floral centerpiece, seven candles inside hurricane vases spread out around the table, and then finally, the plates, cutlery, and glasses. When I finished the first table, I moved on to the next.

I was halfway through the second table when the woman from earlier came up to me.

“Thank you so much. What can I do to help?” she asked.

“If you’re all done with the door arrangements, could you start making additional boxes like this for the other tables? It helps to bring everything out at once rather than running back and forth.”

“Of course, Ms. DeLuca. I’m on it.” She nodded sagely and ran off to the back.

Ugh. I hadn’t realized that she knew who I was, but that did explain her hesitation earlier. In her mind, it was probably like having the guests start helping.