Page 47 of Save the Date
“That’s all the stuff you’ll need for the boutonnieres,” she said. “Get started on those, and I’ll run over to Breitmueller’s to pick up the rest of Maya’s order. You can make the bouquets when I get back, and I’ll start on the table arrangements.” She looked around the workroom. “Did you pick up the Mason jars?”
“And the raffia, and the Twizzlers,” Bert said. “So, you’re really going to plunk red licorice sticks in those flower arrangements?”
“Along with red striped Pixy Stix,” Cara said. “They’re the bride and groom’s favorite candies. They’re Maya’s colors. And they’re cheap.”
“I guess,” Bert said, looking dubious.
“You mark my word. By tomorrow morning, those Mason-jar arrangements with Twizzlers and Pixy Stix are going to be all over Instagram and Pinterest.”
***
Cara was at the wholesale house, watching her sales rep total her tab, carefully adding up each item with her pocket calculator. Even an innocent ten-dollar overcharge could throw Maya’s tiny budget out of whack.
Without warning, Cullen Kane sidled over. He was wearing a loose-fitting blue linen shirt and white jeans, with a cluster of silver and leather bracelets on his right wrist. Cara, on the other hand, was wearing a faded orange sundress and rubber flip-flops.
He stood a little too close, invading her personal space.
“Hi there,” Cara said, taking a half step backward. “How are you?”
“Fine. But not as fine as you, apparently. Congratulations. I hear you’re doing the Trapnell wedding.”
She blinked. “Where’d you hear that? I just signed the contract last night.”
“Patricia’s a dear friend,” Cullen said. “We talk every night. I don’t mind telling you I was a little surprised. She felt badly about it, but it’s not as if I need the work.”
“Of course not,” Cara said.
Cullen came even closer. He smelled like Clinique moisturizer. He was so close she could see that he was actually wearing guyliner. Skillfully applied, yes, but it was still eyeliner.
“Any guesses why Brooke got her way and hired you?” he asked.
“Because it’s her wedding, and I’m good at what I do?”
“Don’t be naïve,” he snapped. “Brookie is still pissed off that Gordon left Marie for Patricia. She can’t get it into her head that after years of being trapped in a loveless marriage, Gordon actually had the balls to be with a real woman.”
“A real woman named Patricia.”
“Exactly. Yes, Patricia. Who in no way broke up that marriage. Anyway, it’s been ages, but Marie still can’t deal, which means that her daughter can’t deal. And Brookie, PS, doesn’t actually give a rat’s ass about flowers, or any of this. So she’s torturing Gordon with all this wedding crap, just to get back at him. It’s all about retaliation with that girl.”
“Thanks for the backgrounder,” Cara said. “Or, at least, your theory of the background.”
“And I hear you’ve now signed on as wedding planner too. Quite a coup. Let me ask. Have you ever actually planned an entire wedding before?”
She felt her face grow hot. “Obviously.”
“A wedding with a two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar budget? With a high-profile client like the Trapnells and Strayhorns? Were you aware that Patricia’s been in contact withTown and Countryto have the wedding covered by them?”
Cara’s mouth went dry. Patricia hadn’t bothered to mention she was angling for a glossy society-magazine story about her stepdaughter’s wedding, but she shouldn’t have been surprised. The woman was dying for attention.
“As far as I’m concerned, all my weddings are high-profile,” Cara said. “All my brides are incredibly special to me, and I try to give each one exactly the day of their dreams. No matter what the budget.”
“How sweet,” Cullen purred. He glanced over at the table where her order had been assembled.
Cara’s buckets held bunches of cheerful Shasta daisies, red zinnias, yellow gerbera daisies, and Queen Anne’s lace. A grand total of $867, by her calculator.
“Looks like you’re doing a children’s birthday party,” he observed. “Let me guess. Circus theme?”
She chose to ignore the taunt. Instead she pointed at the masses of flowers covering the counter next to hers. It was piled high with exotic flowers, all in vivid tropical shades of orange, purples, hot pinks, and lime green.
