Page 38 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

“Brandi, I’m not in charge. We’re equals.

I took the lead only because you didn’t seem interested in learning, and because of my experience.

This here,” she gestured to the food. “It’s not a life or death decision.

The wrong answer here isn’t going to cave in the walls or cause an earthquake. Can we have pie?”

“What if Eulalee wanted it for something?”

Wendy repeated the question back to her.

“We make another?”

“Works for me. Only not we. You. I can’t cook.” Wendy hefted the tray from her cousin and set it on the coffee table.

“Eulalee can teach us,” her cousin said. “She’s already taught me so much.”

“You’ve been taking cooking lessons?”

“Yes. Cooking lessons.” Brandi ducked her head and cut the first piece.

Activity stopped when Rob crossed the threshold to the parlor, then resumed at a heightened pace.

Wendy’s skin prickled with the awareness and a low flame filled her belly at his hot, heated stare.

And in the presence of her cousin, her friends, and leftover peach pie, she rose from her seat to kiss him at the parlor’s entrance.

“Hi,” she said.

“My, look at the time. I’m off to bed.” Jordan stood up and stretched. “So is Sebastien.”

“But pie.” He pointed to the dish.

Brandi picked up the tray. “I forgot a knife. Come with me to the dining room.”

Within seconds, Wendy and Rob were alone in the parlor.

“I promise that was completely spontaneous,” she said.

“I’m beginning to like your friends more and more.” Rob wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close to his body.

***

Wendy scanned the ornate ketubah before placing it on the Queen Anne desk in the library.

Though she couldn’t read any of the Hebrew, the traditional marriage contract was a work of art, bordered with jewel-colored patterns and swirling letters.

Pearl had chuckled over the language when she handed Wendy the parchment last night, saying the legal and moral commitment of marriage in the Jewish religion had been modernized and changed for two women.

Wendy lined up the three pens that were on the desk, making sure their tips were even, ready for the witnesses and Rabbi to sign.

She stepped away from the desk, then went back and flicked her finger against the pens. They rolled out of alignment, but the world didn’t end. Perfect.

Jordan had been a machine the last two days, divvying up the tasks based on each person’s strength to make the wedding happen.

Even Rob’s brother had gotten in on the action, helping make the chuppah stable, being a flower stand for Brandi, and doing anything that needed to be done.

His only request had been fresh pots of coffee every hour.

Anthon the chef was with Eulalee in the kitchen, chopping and slicing and simmering as she ordered him around.

“Hey, Wendy.” Brandi stood in the doorframe, a light sheen of sweat covering her skin.

Her Fountenoy Hall polo was untucked and her knees were outlined in dirt.

“Just wanted to check in and let you know everything was fine. Sebastien and I are about to finish decorating that trellis thing with the flowers.”

“The chuppah.”

“Right. Dr. Rob said he’d help position it. Eulalee confirmed the food would be ready on time, the cake is cooling and will then be frosted, and all the chairs have been lined up outside. I think we’re good to go.”

“Great. Thanks.”

In deference to Brandi’s argument that Wendy didn’t give her enough trust, she stayed far away from her cousin and Sebastien when she took one last look at the grassy area in front of the Hall.

The white chairs lay in sharp rows, their decorative orange bows fluttering in the mild breeze.

The chuppah loomed behind the small table that would hold the wine and glasses.

The flowers were the perfect backdrop. Rob stood with Sebastien, who laughed at something Rob had said and gave him a quick punch in the arm.

A deep yearning tightened her chest at the picture-perfect scene, but she stopped herself from rubbing it away and let it happen.

Tonight. She would ask him tonight to not let this thing between them end when he finished his assignment.

Together they could find the promise of romance and blend their lives.

A cloud of dust swirled on the driveway and she tamped down a flicker of annoyance at the vehicle.

It was either a late delivery or super-early guests, and she wanted to be able to greet whoever it was.

When the car got closer, she recognized the silver and blue color of Tina’s Mercedes.

She stopped next to the No Parking sign.

Why was she there? They hadn’t been in as much contact since she gave away Wendy’s project. Her boss should have been happy she quit. Wendy’s body stiffened as if bracing for a disaster.

She glanced over at Rob. He stood by the chuppah with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the woman’s progress.

“Hi.” Tina offered her half a smile and gestured to the cozy scene. “This is pretty impressive, having an event like this during the week. I didn’t realize you’d be busy.”

“Hi, Tina. Is everything okay?”

Her former boss cast a sidelong glance at Rob, who hadn’t moved, but had been joined by Sebastien with an identical pose, with Massimo and Lo?c behind them. “Can we go inside?”

Wendy shrugged and tossed Rob a quick smile, then led the way up the stairs. Once the wooden door closed behind them, Pearl’s mother called down from the second floor. “Wendy, do you have any extra safety pins?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right up.” She turned back to Tina. “I’m really busy.”

“I’ll wait. However long it takes.”

Wendy gave a curt nod and strode down the runners in the lobby on her way to the laundry room.

She grabbed a handful of safety pins, then took the back staircase to the second floor to deliver them to Southern Belle.

The room was filled with laughing women and tulle lying on every available surface.

Pearl stood in front of the large mirror and offered Wendy a nervous laugh.

“I think I lost some weight in the past couple of weeks. If I don’t pin up my dress, I’ll be flashing our guests. ”

“You look beautiful.”

“Yeah?” She beamed at her reflection. “Yeah. I do.”

If Wendy didn’t get rid of Tina, she was going to look like hell when the wedding started. She marched down the blue-carpeted staircase and checked her phone. “I can give you two minutes.”

“Great. Look. I’m sorry how things turned out.”

Hearing her project given away generalized as a thing made Wendy’s mouth tighten.

“I didn’t expect you to quit. We had great ideas in store for you.”

Again, nothing concrete. And it would have been nice if they had shared. “ This is something I had to do, Tina.”

“Greg isn’t functioning at the level we’d hoped. Terre Haute isn’t the same since you’ve been gone. You’ve definitely proven your worth. Take a promotion. You’ll have your own staff, can run your own projects.”

Her breath lodged in her throat while shock froze her blood.

Was her boss really offering her everything she’d been working toward for years?

Logic urged her to say yes before Tina could change her mind, but an image of Rob naked in her bed and giving her a sexy grin melted away all practical reasoning.

It wasn’t just that. She and Brandi were really finding their rhythm, and she owed it to her cousin to try. Now wasn’t the time to go back to how she was. “I have to go.”

The woman crossed the lobby and sat down on the chaise lounge. “I’m not leaving until you say yes.”

Where was this devotion when Wendy was putting in sixty-hour work weeks?

She had just enough time to run upstairs to change out of her sweat-soaked clothes and shower before dashing outside to greet the Rabbi and guests.

Rob joined her minutes later and she reveled in the support he showed just by being there, by dressing for the occasion.

Gone was the casual hotness of the boy-next-door jeans and t-shirt.

He had reverted back into sexy college professor in a dark gray sport suit that showed a confidence and style that was hotter than any designer duds on a buff male model.

She couldn’t wait to peel it off him.

He stood by her side, one warm hand resting low on her back. His thumb traced small circles, the gentle pressure an echo of the longing in her heart. “You need anything? Like unwanted guests escorted off the property?”

She laughed and leaned into him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Brandi started the music and opened the front door where the brides stood, both dressed in white and sharing a look so raw with love and passion that Wendy’s eyes filled with tears.

The couple separated to walk down the different staircases and met again at the end of the aisle, reaching out to each other even before they stood side by side.

The guests rose as the women processed toward the Rabbi, some already reaching for tissues.

“Friends and loved ones,” the Rabbi began. “We are gathered here today to witness the commitment of Jennifer Owens and Pearl Ardsmore…”

This is what it could be. Fountenoy Hall.

A lawn full of family watching two people join together amid beautiful scenery, under the watchful gaze of a house that had stood witness to so many lives, where generations of Claytons had lived and loved and laughed in its halls.

How had she ever thought of leaving all this to return to Steward’s?

She couldn’t give it up, not even for her list of goals.

She reached out. Rob immediately clasped her hand and brought it up to his mouth, then kissed her knuckles, slowly, with a tenderness that left her weakened.

Wind brushed the branches in the trees, rippling the flowers in the chuppah and lifting the brides’ veils. Pearl sneezed. And sneezed again.

And again.

“Baby, are you okay?” Jennifer asked. Pearl gasped for breath and dropped her bouquet.

What the hell was going on? Wendy tugged on Rob’s hand and scurried around the chairs with him amid the murmurs of concern and surprise from the guests.

Pearl waved a hand and backed away from the Rabbi. “The flowers,” she managed to pant out in between sneezing and gasping.

Oh, God. Her allergies. Wendy herself had emailed Brandi the list of flowers to avoid. Her cousin must have messed up.

Again.

Damn it, Wendy should have listened to her instincts and double-checked Brandi’s work. She had wanted to trust her cousin, to let her prove herself, but not at the expense of turning a wedding into a disaster.

Pearl’s mom grabbed an inhaler out of her purse and handed it to her daughter. Jordan put her arm around the woman and ushered her to the house. “Let’s get you inside. ”

With Pearl in Jordan’s more-than-capable hands, Wendy dodged around helpful attendees and zeroed in on the other bride.

Jennifer was frantically pawing through the greenery that decorated the chuppah.

Petals and leaves flew around her as she wrenched the offending blooms out of Brandi’s crafted design.

She fell to her knees, still yanking and pulling at the flowers.

“No peonies. No lilacs. Especially not hidden behind magnolias leaves!” She wrenched at a vine as she rose, her dress ruined by the dirt.

A collective gasp rose from the wedding guests as the chuppah swayed with the force of her pull.

Wendy dashed forward, but she was too far away to make the distance in heels.

Even those twenty-yard sprints drills from college wouldn’t have been enough to help her reach the woman before the structure crashed on top of her.

Rob rushed into the wood so it fell sideways. The carefully constructed piece fell apart, crushed under his weight. Wendy stopped short, breathing again only when he sat up and looked unharmed.

Jennifer seemed not to notice how close she’d come to getting a concussion and waved the offending flora. “Were you trying to make me a widow on my wedding day?”

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Owens.”

“Do you think an apology,” her voice dripped venom on the word, “is going to help? Everything is ruined. Ruined!” She threw the flowers at Wendy and stormed toward the house.

“We’ll sue. That’s what we’ll do. Intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The cost of our dresses. And… and… anything else I can think of. ”

The Rabbi looked to Wendy and Rob and adjusted his yarmulke. “I’ll go with her.”

There was nothing Wendy could say or do that would make the situation any better, short of letting Jennifer strangle her cousin.

Who was nowhere to be found. Who last week had so much wanted to be a part of how Fountenoy Hall worked.

Who had never stuck around to face the consequences of her actions .

“Distinguished guests, please help yourself to the refreshments in the lobby.” Wendy stood alone in front. “We’ll be with you in a moment.”