Chapter Twenty

Tori sat at her desk, a mess of papers from her playbook scattered over every surface as she scribbled furiously by the light of her desk lamp. A soft knock sounded on the glass door, followed by the tinkle of a bell, but she was too engrossed to look up to see who it was. There was only one person she cared whether they came through that door, and he’d better not have the nerve to face her now.

“Tori?” Lettie’s soft voice was inches above her bent head. “What are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.”

“I’m working.”

“On what?” She gingerly picked up one of the papers at the edge of the desk. “The Bedland wedding? Honey, you know you’ve already won that one, right? You don’t have to work so hard to impress them.”

Tori snorted.

“What is all this anyway?”

She glanced up, ignoring the worry in Lettie’s eyes. “I get it now. I was thinking too small before. I need to go bigger.”

“How big are we talking here exactly?” She squinted at another paper. “Is that an order for an eight-foot ice sculpture of the bride and groom?”

“Yup.” She’d found a guy in Atlanta who could do it. He hadn’t been too happy about the late-night phone call, but he’d shut up when she told him how much she was willing to pay.

“Okay. Stop, stop, stop.” Lettie grabbed Tori by the arms and dragged her over to the white sofa by the window. “What is going on right now? What happened?”

Tori collapsed into the cushions. She busied herself by picking invisible lint off her shirt. The blue one she’d spent an hour picking out hoping it would enhance the color of her eyes at the movie tonight.

Lettie sat with as much patience as a kindergarten teacher silently waiting out a child’s temper tantrum.

“I didn’t win the Bedland gig,” Tori finally said.

“What? Of course you did. They signed the contract.”

She launched into the story of overhearing Collin at the theater. “They went with me in the end, but they really wanted Wyatt.”

Lettie’s face scrunched. “Why would they do that?”

She stared down at her shirt again. “I think Wyatt told them to.”

“But why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, Lettie. I was just as surprised by it as you are.” More so, she was willing to bet.

“Did you ask him about it?”

She frowned. “No, I was too busy yelling at him.”

Lettie sat back, crossing her arms. “Well, there must be a mistake. Maybe you heard Collin wrong.”

“It was pretty clear.”

“Then someone else must have told them to do it.”

“Who else would it be?”

“I’m not sure, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would do something underhanded like that.”

Tori wouldn’t have thought so either, but she’d seen firsthand how elaborate his stories could get, how far he strayed from the truth just to make it more interesting. How was she supposed to trust anything he said now? “How can you be so sure? You don’t even know him.”

“I know you like him, and that alone speaks volumes.”

She really did like him. That was why it hurt so much that he’d betray her like this. He was her first friend in Bedland Shores. Her only friend aside from Lettie and Deb. If only he were here with another one of those hugs…

Great. She already missed him, and she wasn’t even done being mad at him yet. How did that even make sense? She whimpered, dropping her head in her hands.

“Maybe you should talk to him,” Lettie offered.

And risk hearing more of his stories? That she’d earned this wedding on her own? How was she supposed to know if she was on the right track with this wedding if all he did was patronize her? He’d left her second-guessing everything she’d done so far—hence the ice sculpture and all the other ridiculous orders currently sitting on her desk.

She’d known getting involved with him in any way would be a bad idea, but she hadn’t listened. And now she was paying the price.

“Even if he did do it, I bet he had a good reason.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side? You know, talking about how stupid his hair is or something?”

“Only if I thought it would actually make you feel better. But I’m not sure that’s the case.”

“I don’t think anything will make me feel better right now, but it’s still worth a shot.” She frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re all right. Maybe I’m not as good as I thought. If it’s not Wyatt outshining me, it’s my mother. Even when she’s not here, I’m constantly being compared to her.”

“Now you listen to me, missy. Your wedding, and this is still your wedding no matter how you came by it, is going to be beautiful. Not because of who your mother is or ten-foot ice or the troupe of acrobats you’ve no doubt already booked. But because you know the difference between extravagant and gaudy, which all of that”—she pointed toward the desk—“definitely is.”

She took Tori’s hands in hers. “I know I’m new to this whole wedding thing, but I have never seen anyone as devoted and passionate about her job as you are. You are the best person for this wedding, hands down. And if Danica Bedland can’t see that, then you’re just going to have to show her.”

Tori smiled, her best friend’s words of encouragement just enough to ease some of the heaviness in her heart. “Thank you, Lettie.” She opened her arms and held her tightly. “And thank you for coming to check on me.” She pulled away, taking in Lettie’s black hair in an updo and strapless pink dress and heels. “By the way, why are you here checking on me?”

“Oh, I was out with Reese and saw the light on, so I asked him to drop me off here.”

“Don’t tell me I ruined your date.”

Lettie waved her hands in front of her. “Nothing was ruined. The date was already over, and he was just taking me back home. Which is exactly where you should be heading right now. You need rest. And no offense, but you look kind of terrible.” She wiped at Tori’s tired, wet eyes.

She sniffed. “What about the ice sculpture? I need to cancel it.”

“You can do it tomorrow, along with all the other panic orders that can wait until morning. And after, you and I are taking Deb shopping.”

“We are?”

“Yes, we are. Because you are in need of some serious girl time, Deb is in need of clothes without shoulder pads, and I…well, I just like shopping. For now, you are going to go home and sleep and not think about this wedding or Wyatt or his stupid T-shirts. I mean seriously, what kind of grown man dresses like that?”

Tori grinned because Lettie was dead wrong. That did make her feel better. “Thanks, Let.”

“Anytime. Now let me clean up this mess and then you can give me a lift home.”

For once, Tori let her friend take control while she sat motionless on the sofa. Lettie was right. She still needed rest and very possibly a girls’ day. But what she needed more were answers, and there was only one person who could give them to her.