Chapter Eight

“All right, I will draw up the contract and send it your way. As soon as that’s taken care of and everything is signed, we can start planning your special day.” Tori stood from her chair opposite the young couple on the couch.

It was the third meeting she’d had this week, each with a new couple and each one ending in a contract. Despite being in town only a couple of weeks, her business was really kicking off. Thanks to her mother’s impeccable reputation, they were filling their calendar.

Looked like Tori would be getting that new copier even sooner than she’d planned. Lettie would be thrilled.

Chloe and Zach stood from the white sofa. “Thank you, Tori.” Chloe clasped her hands in front of her chest. “We can’t wait to work with you.”

“I know exactly how you feel. I’m excited to work with you both too.”

“Wonderful. I mean we just loved what your mother did for my sister.”

Her smile slipped for just a second before she pulled it back up. “That’s always nice to hear.” Of course, it would be even nicer to find a client who wanted to hire her for her talent alone and not for her mother’s reputation or her firm’s big name. She wasn’t stupid. She knew it would take time to showcase her skills and prove herself as Lynn Morris’s successor, but that day felt further away with each crestfallen bride-to-be who found Tori in her mother’s place.

“It was great to meet you both. I’ll get the contract to you by five o’clock this evening.”

The bell dinged, and they waved one final time before stepping out onto the sidewalk. Tori fell into her desk chair, placing her notes for the contract on a stack of papers almost as thick as her playbook next to it. One drop in a sea of things she still needed to do, and she felt like she’d already been swimming for hours.

She grabbed her purse from underneath her desk. “I’m going on a lunch run. Any preferences?”

“Only if you can make it come with an attractive Latin man,” Lettie mused from behind her computer where she was currently hard at work scheduling the company’s social media posts.

“That would be a no. Deb, want anything specific?”

“Hmm…I’m down for whatever,” she yelled from the back storage room. “Just make sure it’s low-carb and low-fat. And no bread. Nothing with cheese…or dressing or condiments or anything like that. But anything else sounds good.”

So a head of lettuce then. “Great. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Outside, the sun overhead instantly warmed her AC-chilled arms. There was a light, salty breeze coming off the ocean less than a mile away that kept the heat of the sun just a notch below becoming unbearable with each step. It felt just like the spring break trips she used to take to Jekyll and Tybee and Savannah with her mom.

Tori felt a dull tug from somewhere inside her chest. It had been weeks since her mom and Frank left for Europe, and she’d only managed to talk to her twice in that span. She was used to going several days between phone calls, especially when she was busy during wedding season, but this was different.

It had been almost a week since her meeting with Georgina Bedland, and she still had no idea how she was going to win this gig. She’d been going through her extensive playbook for days working on different ideas but had yet to come up with anything grand enough to wow them. And anything she presented to them not only had to be huge, it had to be absolutely perfect.

Despite the business name, perfection was not so easy to come by. She’d hoped that the fresh air and sunshine and observing the locals and tourists traipsing in and out of the various shops and boutiques along the downtown strip would distract her enough to get her creative juices flowing.

She came up on McCluskey’s, the soup and sandwich place Danica and Collin had recommended. A quick glance through the window showed that the line wasn’t all that long. An older man held the door for her, and she pulled her wallet from her bag as she ventured toward the counter.

A man stood behind it, mid- to late-twenties by her guess, with shoulder-length, light blond hair and a sleeve of tattoos she could have sworn she’d seen before on his left arm spreading up beneath his black short-sleeve shirt with McCluskey’s scrawled across it. He gave Tori a curt nod. “What can I get for you?”

“One turkey sandwich, a grilled chicken salad with no dressing, and…” She glanced around, her voice lowering uncertainly. “One of Andrew’s lasagnas?”

His eyebrows rose, the corner of his lips lifting in a smirk. “I’m impressed. Newbies don’t usually know about the off-menu items.”

“What makes you so sure I’m a newbie?”

“For one, it’s a small t—”

“Right, right. A small town where everybody knows everybody.” She couldn’t wait for the day when she no longer felt like an intruder in the close-knit community. “Two?”

He chuckled. “Two, I saw you at the wedding last weekend. Wasn’t long before word spread about who you are.”

“You were at the wedding?” She still couldn’t place him.

He put one hand to his ear while the other pantomimed spinning a record.

“Of course. You were the DJ.”

“My name’s Reese.” He pulled out a card from his jeans pocket and handed it to her. “I do all kinds of events. And I’m in a band. We do live gigs too. So if you ever need someone for your weddings…”

“I’ll keep you in mind.”

His thousand-watt grin was blinding. “Cool, thanks.” He pointed at the register. “This for here or to-go?”

“To-go, please.”

“So that’s a sandwich, a salad, and one of Andrew’s famous lasagnas,” he confirmed, then in a hushed, conspiratorial whisper, he added, “Don’t worry, you won’t regret it.”

“Thank you.” She quickly paid with her card before stepping to the side to get out of the way for the next customer while she waited, allowing herself a second to check out his business card.

She already had a list of bands and DJs a mile long in her playbook that she used frequently while in Atlanta. Still, it couldn’t hurt to have a local option if she was ever in a tight spot. And even if that never worked out…

She cast an appreciative glance at the man behind the counter. She may not be in the right mental space for guys at the moment, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help out a friend. He wasn’t Latin, but he was certainly attractive and definitely a man, hitting a solid two out of three on Lettie’s checklist. Not bad. Maybe she’d send her friend out for the sandwiches next time.

“Almost got it.” An elderly woman stood at the drink machine, a tray of food in one hand while the other tried to wrestle a plastic lid onto her drink cup. Her tray tilted, her plates of food seconds from sliding off and crashing to the floor.

Tori managed to save it.

“Here, let me help you with this.”

The woman blinked up at her before offering a kind smile. “Oh, thank you, sweet pea.” She shook her head, laughing to herself as she managed to get the lid on her drink with two hands. “I worked as a waitress for nearly fifty years, and all I’ve got to show for it now are two bad wrists, arthritis, and a disturbing amount of knowledge about shoe orthotics. Not that that impresses anyone anymore these days.”

Tori grinned. “I waited tables for a while when I was a teenager. Longest four months of my life. Trust me, I’m thoroughly impressed.”

“If only my hotshot CEO of a son could have heard that.”

Tori nodded down at the tray and the woman’s drink cup. “Why don’t you show me where you’re sitting, and I’ll help you carry all this over.”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” She grabbed her cup, and Tori followed until she sat down at a table in the corner. Tori set the tray of what looked like a large tuna melt, mixed fruit, chicken tenders, a basket overflowing with fries drizzled with ketchup, and a stack of at least six chocolate chip cookies.

“I know what you’re thinking. How in the world is this bag of bones going to eat all this?”

Tori’s nose scrunched, and she felt caught. “It does seem like a lot of food.” And this woman was such a tiny, delicate-looking thing. It was a wonder she’d been able to hold the heavy tray at all.

“I’m meeting my grandson here for lunch. I went ahead and ordered all his favorites. We try to have lunch together once a week, just the two of us.”

“Ah.” That explained the chicken tenders, pre-ketchuped fries, and half a dozen cookies. This grandmother clearly loved to spoil that little man of hers. “I bet he’s a very sweet boy.”

“Oh, my Bear really is. And he’s a good listener, too, kind and considerate. And a real looker. I bet you and he would really hit it off.”

“Um…okay.” Tori didn’t know kids that well, but it was a strange way to describe a little boy to a complete stranger. “I’m sure you’re right.”

She beamed as she caught sight of something past Tori. “Oh, perfect timing. Here he comes now.”

Tori turned, expecting to see a sweet little boy. Her jaw almost hit the floor when she spotted a full-grown Wyatt Rhoades coming through the door in yet another T-shirt, button-up combo and faded jeans. One glance at the older woman and Tori had no doubts they were both staring at the same person.

“That’s your grandson?” She really couldn’t catch a break, could she?

“Bear, there you are!”

Tori spun away from him, looking for any kind of escape route before things could get even more awkward than they already were. She’d just spotted the sign pointing to the ladies’ room when the woman’s surprisingly firm grip caught hold of her arm. “Wyatt, this is…oh, well I didn’t even catch your name, sweetheart.”

So close. Tori grimaced before turning slowly back to face Wyatt. Their eyes met, his growing round for only a second before the expression of shock was replaced by a tiny smirk. He let out a short chuckle. “I really should stop being surprised every time we run into each other like this.”

His grandmother’s gaze darted between them. “You two know each other?”

He nodded. “This is Tori Schaefer, Lynn Morris’s daughter. She just moved to town to take over Planned to Perfection. Tori, this is my grandmother, Gwen Rhoades.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Rhoades.”

His grandmother’s eyes lit up. “Tori? As in that Tori?”

Wait a minute. Had he told his grandmother about that night? About her? She couldn’t tell whether her face was flushing from flattery or embarrassment.

Wyatt’s eyes rounded, the tips of his ears turning bright red. “Could you not say it like that, Gammie?” he admonished, and Tori had to grin. Was it cuter that he called his grandmother Gammie or that he did it without a hint of mortification?

“Don’t be ashamed, Bear. She’s lovely,” Gammie assured him as if Tori weren’t standing right there. “You’d have to be an idiot not to like her. And your grandmother didn’t raise an idiot, did she?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“And such a sweet thing too. I knew the instant she walked in what a great match she would be for my Bear. And then she offered to help carry my tray—”

“Oh, Gammie. Not again.”

Her gaze floated around the room. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said with a look of complete innocence Tori didn’t understand. She had no idea what they were going on about, but judging by Wyatt’s furrowed brow, he wasn’t buying it.

“Stop trying to set me up with women, Gammie. Otherwise people around here will start thinking I need my grandmother’s help just to get a date.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She shook her head. “We all figured that out years ago.”

Tori bit down on a sharp laugh. He’d told her that night on the beach that his grandmother was lively, but that had been an understatement. She was quickly becoming a fan of Gammie Rhoades.

“Tori.” Reese stood behind the counter, a large paper bag in his hand.

“That’s my order,” she said. “I should get out of your way so you two can enjoy your meal.”

“Nonsense. Come and join us. I’m dying to hear all about Bedland Shores’s new mystery woman.” The hopeful glint in Gammie’s eye was almost too much. Thank goodness Tori had a real excuse or she wasn’t sure she would have been able to turn her down.

“I’d love to, but I really can’t stay. I stepped out for only a minute to grab some lunch for everyone at the office.”

Gammie’s face fell. “Then at least let Wyatt walk you back. You can never be too careful through these downtown streets these days.”

“Oh no, please. I don’t want to ruin your lunch.”

“Who’s ruining it? I may be old, but I’m not that old. I’ll still be here when he gets back.” She stole a French fry from his plate. “Though I won’t make the same promises for his food.”

“He really doesn’t have to—”

Gammie held up a hand. “I insist. Take it from an old, wise woman. Life is too short to turn down a handsome man when he offers to escort you home.”

Tori wanted to argue that Wyatt hadn’t technically been the one to offer, but he shook his head beside her before she could get the words out.

“You might as well give in now. There’s no arguing with her once she’s pulled out the elderly wisdom card.”

She sagged, not sure what else to do at this point. “Okay. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll be right back,” Wyatt said as he went to grab the bag of food and exchange a few words with Reese.

Gammie took her hand, squeezed it, and let go. “It was lovely to meet you, Tori. I hope I’ll be seeing you a lot more in the future.”

“It was nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Rhoades.”

“Oh no, I insist you call me Gammie.”

“But—”

“Hey.” Wyatt reappeared at her side. “What did I tell you about arguing with her?”

Gammie shrugged. “It’s true. You don’t stand a chance against me.”

Tori decided to let it go for now. She had no more fight left in her at the moment, and even if she did, this was one of those pick-your-battle moments. “Fine. It was nice to meet you, Gammie.”

“Goodbye, sweet pea. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again soon,” she said with a wink.

Wyatt held out the bag and put it in her hands. “You ready to go?”

She nodded.

“Great.” He set his hands on her shoulders and ushered her quickly toward the door.