Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
I swallowed hard. “She is.”
“See? You’ll be fine. Now be a dear and help me down from here.” She looked out the passenger window. “I could possibly make the leap but I might not stick the landing.”
“Don’t move.” I jumped out of the truck and hurried around to the passenger side. The Marine in me wanted to assess this new setting, scope out the people arriving, look for the entrances and exits, but I kept my focus on the ground. I didn’t want Stella to see me yet.
I opened the passenger door and helped Mrs. Gardner down, making sure she was safely on the walkway to the front door. “I’ll just go park the car in the lot,” I said.
She tightened her hold on my elbow. “Oh, no. You’ll stay right here with me. You agreed to be my escort and I need someone to walk me down the aisle. They’re seating me special, you know.”
I cringed, making her laugh.
She patted my arm. “Don’t look so scared, Mr. Woods. After all the brave things you’ve done in your life, this will be a piece of cake.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I locked the truck and led her into the house. My pulse was racing, and my skin was hot beneath my clothes.
In the front entrance hall, a woman in a black dress kissed Mrs. Gardner lightly on both cheeks. “Hello,” she said warmly. “How are you feeling today?”
“Delightful. Just delightful.”
The woman turned to me and smiled. “And who’s your date?”
Mrs. Gardner giggled. “This is Mr. Ryan Woods. He’s my next-door neighbor. Ryan, this is Mia Devine. She’s Stella’s cousin on her father’s side and proprietress of this beautiful place.”
The woman, a petite, striking brunette, held out her hand. “It’s Mia Fournier now, actually. My husband Lucas and I own Abelard. Welcome.”
I shook her hand. “Thank you.”
“Ryan works at Cloverleigh, over near me,” said Mrs. Gardner proudly, almost like I was one of her grandchildren.
Mia looked impressed. “We love Cloverleigh. The inn there is one of our favorite romantic spots to get away, and the food is delicious. My husband is friends with the winemaker there, Henry DeSantis.”
I nodded. “I work with Henry a lot.”
She smiled. “How nice. Well, the family and wedding party are all hiding away in rooms around the house. Would you like to join them or be seated?”
Mrs. Gardner gripped my elbow again. “Mr. Woods is going to escort me to my seat right before the ceremony.”
“Fantastic,” Mia said. “So I’ll have Skylar, my assistant, show you to one of the family rooms where you can wait. She’s actually in charge of coordinating everything today so I can sit back and enjoy.” She checked a delicate gold watch on her wrist. “It won’t be too long now. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“Perfect.” Mrs. Gardner nodded. “Thank you, dear.”
Mia called out to Skylar, a pretty blonde dressed in a gray skirt and jacket carrying a clipboard. She smiled and led us through a set of double doors into a library, where a few other people stood around with glasses of champagne. The three men all wore dark charcoal gray suits with wine-colored ties and boutonnieres. They were older, in their fifties or sixties maybe, so I didn’t think they were groomsmen. Probably family, I thought, my stress level rising. One of them might be Stella’s dad. Was her mother here too? My own necktie felt tight.
I looked at the two women, who were both wearing long dresses and wrist corsages, and stood talking in a corner. One had short gray hair and one wore her hair up, a golden blond like Stella. I stopped walking, but Mrs. Gardner pulled me along like a reluctant, oversized toddler.
“Come here, dear. I want to introduce you to my daughter. Stella’s mother.”
My blood went icy as we approached the two women. I couldn’t speak.
“Valerie, dear, I’d like you to meet someone,” Mrs. Gardner said.
The blond woman turned to face me, and I saw the resemblance right away. She was tall and slender like Stella, with the same blue eyes and wide smile. “Hello,” she said, clearly surprised. She glanced at her mother and then back at me with a wink. “Who’s this, Mom? Do you have a boyfriend I don’t know about?”
Mrs. Gardner laughed and patted my arm before letting go of me. “This is Ryan Woods. He’s my neighbor. Mr. Woods, this is my daughter, Valerie.”
Recognition lit up Valerie’s face. “You’re the one who’s always taking care of things for Mom!” She clasped my hand in both of hers. “We can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, wondering if Stella had said anything about me.
“It’s something to us, and we appreciate it.” She squeezed my hand and let it go, then gestured to the gray-haired woman. “This is the groom’s mother, Karen Pearson. Karen, I think you met my mother last night, and this is Ryan.”