A Wedding on the Beach by Holly Chamberlin

Author:Holly Chamberlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2019-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 46

Bess was in the den the next morning after breakfast while the others were enjoying the good weather. She was due to FaceTime with Kara in a few minutes. Until then she was tapping a pencil against the edge of the desk in what was even to her an annoying tattoo.

Not much about this reunion was going as she had hoped it would, not with tempers flaring, people taking offense where none was meant, partners criticizing each other face-to-face. What must Nathan think of her friends? They certainly weren’t matching the description Bess had painted for him. They were showing themselves not as a harmonious unit but as a divisive, bad-tempered lot. The charms Bess had selected to give to her friends the night of the wedding were decorated with the image of an anchor. The anchor symbolized stability, trust, and assurance. How did that symbol reflect some of the behavior she had witnessed these past few days?

Bess looked at her computer screen. Time for Kara. Bess was looking forward to getting her assistant’s impression of the favors she had ordered for the wedding. Each guest would receive a small, rectangular box made of naturally weathered wood. Inside the box, he would find a bar of soap made by two sisters who worked from their home in nearby Biddeford. It was, Bess thought, a gift both practical and attractive.

“Your favors arrived,” Kara informed her boss. Her tone was wry.

Kara showed Bess four glass coasters with the names BETTANY AND NED inscribed in red glitter across each.

“Have you ever seen anything so tacky and impractical?” she asked with a laugh. “How do you balance a glass on a lump of glitter? Good news is that the soaps you ordered from Reverie are here and they’re lovely.”

“Those aren’t even our names!” Bess cried, horrified.

“It was obviously just a mix-up in mailing,” Kara said easily. “Some spacey assistant put the wrong address on the wrong box, nothing more.”

“But this is a disaster!” A storm to shake up our complacency . . .

“Look, Bess, relax.” Kara spoke sharply. “It’s just a mix-up. The wooden boxes are already on the way. Now, I’m ending the call and when I next touch base all will be well. Goodbye.”

The screen went blank. Bess realized that she was breathing heavily. She knew she was overreacting—the problem really wasn’t a problem at all—but . . .

Bess heard the front door open and footsteps cross the foyer. She wanted to see a friendly face. She hurried from the den to find that the friendly face belonged to Chuck. He was carrying a bag from the local bookstore.

“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately. “You look agitated.”

Bess told him about the glittery coasters. “Kara said she’s handled it, but . . .”

“Pre-wedding jitters take all forms,” Chuck said. “Come on, let’s go sit out on the back porch. It’s too nice a day to be inside.”

When they were settled side by side in two of the white wicker chairs, Bess turned to her friend.

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