Jane spent the next few hours rearranging tables; tacking up soft, flowing, sheer drapes; and strategically placing pillows Maxi had picked up from the fabric store. Maxi instructed, and Jane took the pictures.
Shane and Sally were just starting on the arbor and dance floor, so she couldn’t take pictures of those for a few days, but Jane wanted to get back to the client right away. She could send more pictures later.
By the time she was done, it was almost time for Mike to come and pick up Cooper. She took the laptop to the kitchen to organize the pictures and call the lobster-bake company and tent-rental place for quotes so that she could send that along with the pictures to the client.
She had to take all the expenses into consideration, but how much should she tack on for using Tides as the venue? Ten percent? Twenty? She had no idea what was reasonable but knew that wedding venues charged a high fee. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a lot of time for research. She wanted the client to know that she was going to answer promptly and also really wanted to get that deposit in so that she could use it to pay the food-service people, who probably would not deliver food this week if she didn’t pay.
She did her best and sent the email off with her fingers crossed. Part of her was terrified they would say yes, but the other part was getting a little excited about the wedding. It was all overshadowed by worry for her sister and Maxi.
Jane had no idea what the Richhaven job was but could guess it was something important. Andie had acted like the news that someone else had secured it was nothing, but Jane could tell her sister was pretty shaken about it. She’d wanted to go to the garden and see if she needed to talk about it, but she wasn’t sure what to say or even if her efforts would be welcome. It wasn’t like they’d had any heart-to-hearts in the last twenty years.
Jane had been surprised by Andie’s offer to help with the wedding. She hadn’t known what to say. Was Andie planning on staying longer? She did seem serious about the garden, but Jane still wasn’t sure whether she wanted to open her heart to letting her sister in only to be abandoned again.
And Maxi… why had she asked about seeing James with Sandee? Jane tried to remember exactly what she’d seen at the cottage that morning. She’d really only seen a glimpse and couldn’t be absolutely certain that it had been James. The last thing she wanted was to jump to conclusions and cause a problem between James and Maxi.
Woof!
Cooper rushed to the back door, signaling Mike’s arrival.
“Hey, boy, are you ready to go for a ride?” Mike asked.
Cooper spun in circles.
Jane laughed. “I guess you said the magic word.”
“He does love rides.” Mike clicked the leash to Cooper’s collar, but instead of heading right to the door, he lingered at the end of the table.
“Have a good visit with your grandfather. Andie is there visiting my mom, so you might run into her,” Jane said.
“I will.” Mike still lingered, then at Jane’s questioning look said, “I was thinking when we get back, maybe you and I could take Cooper for a walk on the beach together. Since he’s been staying at Tides, I haven’t had much of a chance to walk him, and I noticed that you like to walk on the beach, too, so…”
Jane had been so busy with the wedding she’d forgotten that a big dog like Cooper needed exercise. Just another thing to learn about having a dog. “That sounds like a good idea. I should be done with my work by then.”
Cooper wagged his tail faster, glancing between Mike and Jane as if he knew what they were talking about.
“Should I message you when I leave Tall Pines?” Mike pulled out his phone, and Jane realized they didn’t even have each other’s numbers.
“Right. Good idea.” They exchanged contact info. It made Jane feel as if their relationship was taking a turn. Now Mike wasn’t just some guy she ran into on the beach and hired to make her website. He was becoming a friend.
“Okay, it’s a plan, then.” Mike’s eyes met hers, and Jane felt a little flutter in her stomach. As he left, Jane wondered if the walk was about more than just getting exercise for Cooper. Had Mike just asked her on some sort of date?
Shane and Sally had been working outside for hours, trying to finish the arbor and dance floor so Jane could take pictures. Jane decided to take them some lemonade and check on their progress.
Sally gulped down half the glass. “Thanks. It’s hot out here.”
Shane was a little more polite with his. He took a few sips and gestured to the work. “What do you think?”
Jane wasn’t sure what she thought. All she saw were a few boards and part of a trellis. “I guess it’s good progress.”
“Yeah, the dance floor will go here.” Sally picked up a stick and drew two very long lines in the sand. “Is that big enough?”
Jane nodded.
“And the arbor will be at the edge of the garden so that you can train the rosebushes to grow up it.” Shane turned toward the ocean.
“And then when the bride and groom stand under it, they’ll be facing the ocean, and the guests could be seated in folding chairs in the garden.” Sally chugged the rest of her lemonade and then burped.
“Sounds wonderful,” Jane said.
Sally smiled proudly. “Thanks. And then we can…” Sally paused midsentence, her gaze drifting past Jane’s shoulder. She pulled a face. “Ugh.”
Jane turned to see Sandee Harris stomping up the beach toward them.
“What’s going on up here?” Sandee demanded.
“We’re building a dance floor and an arbor for the new wedding venue,” Sally said.
Sandee raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Wedding? You’re having weddings here? You have to have permits for that, you know.”
“I know.” With all the excitement, Jane had forgotten about permits, but she wasn’t about to tell Sandee that. She made a mental note to check into permits.
“And if you’re doing anything on the beach, you need a special variance,” Sandee said.
Jane crossed her arms over her chest. “That won’t be a problem.”
“How many guests?” Sandee asked.
“Small weddings, around fifty.”
Sandee assessed the inn with narrowed eyes. “How many bathrooms do you have in there?”
“Each room has its own bathroom. My grandparents had it renovated that way for guest convenience decades ago.”
Sandee clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and looked at Jane as if she’d just said something very stupid. “Not the guest rooms, the public space. If you’re going to have weddings with fifty people, you’ll need three bathrooms in the public areas of the venue.”
Was that true? Jane jerked her gaze toward the house. “We only have one…”
“Well, that’s going to be a problem.” Sandee’s voice held an air of superiority that grated on Jane. “And you won’t be able to add more until the town meeting the middle of next month.”
Jane’s hopes plummeted. The wedding was before that.
“I suppose you could always bring in porta potties.” Sandee wrinkled her nose, indicating her opinion of porta potties. “Well, good luck.” She flounced off back toward the ocean, leaving them all staring after her.
Sally made a face at Sandee. “Don’t listen to her. She’s a killjoy.”
But Jane was already starting to panic. She couldn’t use porta potties—the client had specifically stated she didn’t want that. Jane could’ve kicked herself. Why hadn’t she thought about the bathroom situation?
The inn had ten rooms. If ten couples stayed here, that would be almost half the guests that would have their own private bathrooms. Would that waive the three-bathroom rule if several of them had their own? Would ten couples from the wedding even stay at the inn?
“Look, I wouldn’t put much stock in what Sandee says,” Shane said soothingly. “But even so, maybe you should go down to the town offices tomorrow and find out what the real story is.”
Jane’s phone pinged, and she pulled it out to see a text from her bank. “The wedding client made a deposit. I guess we’re having a wedding.”
“Holy smokes.” Sally picked up her hammer and nails and headed toward the arbor. “We better get cracking. We only have a few weeks to get this place in shape.”
Only a few weeks to line up caterers, tents, tables, flowers, and lord knew what else. Jane rushed back to her computer and got to work, assuring herself that the toilet situation was only a minor worry. Sandee probably just made all that up because she was mad that Jane didn’t list Tides with her. At least now that she had some money, she could pay the food service. Of course, she’d need some to use for a deposit for the caterer and tent rental, but hopefully there would be some left she could funnel toward other bills. And if some of those wedding guests booked rooms, she’d get a small deposit and know that more was coming.
She was more than ready to take a break when Mike showed up with Cooper. As they set off down the beach, Jane was surprised to discover how much she’d been looking forward to their walk. She was really starting to get attached to Cooper, and Mike was good company.
They walked at a slow pace, and the conversation with simple and easy, like old friends’. Just friends, of course. Jane was sure that’s all Mike was interested in. She actually felt embarrassed that the thought that he might have been asking her on a date had even crossed her mind. What was she thinking? She was old enough to be his… older sister. And that’s probably exactly how he thought of her.
She glanced over at him as they walked. Sure, he was attractive, and she liked that he was tall—not many men were taller than her—but Mike didn’t live here. He would be going back to Seattle, probably sooner rather than later. Jane had had enough of people that she cared about leaving her. She didn’t want to get attached to someone else who would only be around for a short while. But being just friends while he was here couldn’t be a bad thing, and besides, it was better for Cooper to have Mike around.
Mike watched Cooper bound after the piece of driftwood he’d just tossed. The sea air was invigorating, the sun warm on his back, the water cold on his feet, and the company enchanting.
He and Jane walked along the edge of the surf, letting the water rush over their feet and up to their ankles. A shell caught his eye, and he bent to pick it up. It was a somewhat unusual shell—a squat brown-and-white spiral with a wide opening.
“Look at this. A basket whelk.” He held the shell out in his palm.
“You know what that is?” Jane seemed surprised. “Most people just call that a snail shell.”
“I’ve been interested in shells since I was a kid. I even found a fully intact purple dog whelk once when I was visiting Gramps years ago.”
Jane glanced out into the ocean. “There used to be a lot more shells when we were kids. I used to comb the beach religiously for them every day. I got pretty good at identifying them.”
“Me too,” Mike said. “It’s kind of sad that there’s not as many shells anymore. Where do you think they’ve all gone? And the sea glass too. There used to be tons of it in all different colors.”
“I remember.” Jane bent and picked something out of the surf. She held it out in the palm of her hand. It was a smooth, round shell in a bland beige, just shy of being luminescent. “What’s this one?”
Mike took it from her and turned it over in his hand. There were several types of shells that were similar in shape and size and color, but Mike knew the subtle differences. “That’s easy—this is a Northern moon snail.”
Jane laughed. “I guess I can’t trip you up.”
“Nope.” Mike handed the shell back to her, noticing how her nose crinkled and her blue eyes lit up when she laughed. She seemed less stressed than usual. Maybe it was being out at the beach, but he liked to think it had something to do with him. Probably more to do with Cooper, though.
As they sauntered along the edge of the beach, he resisted the urge to grab her hand. He wasn’t sure if that would be welcome. He thought it might be, but he didn’t want to do anything to ruin their blossoming friendship.
Cooper ran up and dropped a stick at their feet then proceeded to shake his wet coat, spraying drops of saltwater everywhere.
“Look out!” Jane and Mike both held up their hands, and Mike stepped in front of her to try to shield her from the onslaught.
It didn’t work, and they were both covered with droplets. Jane didn’t get mad, like some other girls he knew. She didn’t whine about her hair or makeup being ruined. She simply laughed and rubbed Cooper’s neck.
“You know, Cooper has a way of making one forget about their troubles. He lives in the moment and always has fun,” Jane said.
“That’s not a bad way to be,” Mike said. “So, what’s going on with the wedding at Tides?”
“Didn’t I tell you? They sent in their deposit.”
“That’s great!” Mike glanced at Jane, but instead of looking happy about the wedding, she looked tense. “You don’t seem very happy about that.”
Jane sighed. “The truth is I’m a little worried about it. I’ve never taken on anything this big, and there may be a snag with permits.”
“What kind of snag?”
Jane waved her hand dismissively. “Something about the bathrooms, but the person who mentioned that isn’t exactly reliable. I’ll know more when I talk to the people at the town hall. It’s probably nothing.”
“I’m sure that whatever it is, you can handle it.”
Jane smiled and glanced at him. “I appreciate your confidence in me, but you don’t know me that well. I like to stay in my comfort zone, so this is all scary territory for me.”
“I know enough to know that you’re confident and capable. You’re going to do fine. And besides, sometimes it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, don’t you think?”
Jane hesitated for a minute, as if thinking it over. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”
Mike decided to steer the conversation toward something that would give Jane a positive outlook on the wedding. “I’m going to have your website finished tonight.”
“Already? That’s great! I don’t feel like I paid you enough for that, though,” Jane said.
“You might want to wait until you see it before you say that. I’ll come over for breakfast tomorrow and walk you through it. You might decide it’s not worth a few breakfasts.”
Jane laughed. “I doubt that.”
“Besides, you’re keeping Cooper, and that’s worth a lot. You know what it would cost to put him in the kennel?”
Jane glanced at Cooper. “Having him around is my pleasure. But you can still come for breakfast every day for as long as you’re in Lobster Bay. I owe you at least that much.”
Mike glanced over and tried to read her face, but she was looking away from him toward the ocean. Did she really want him to come for payment, or did she like his company? “Home-cooked breakfasts are always welcome, but you don’t need to do that. Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. We have plenty of food.”
“Okay, then I guess I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Jane smiled and tossed a piece of driftwood for Cooper. “Cooper will be very happy about that.”