The Bookstore at Holiday Bay: Once Upon a Mystery by Kathi Daley

Author:Kathi Daley [Daley, Kathi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathi Daley Books
Published: 2023-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Velma wandered in just after noon. She apologized for being so late and explained that she’d ended up overdoing it a bit the previous evening, which had made it difficult to get out of bed this morning.

“I’m getting too old for this,” she mumbled as she placed a filter in the coffee maker and began scooping in deep rich grounds.

“By this, do you mean late nights or too much wine?” I asked.

“Both.” She reached up and plucked a mug from the rack. “I’m not usually much of a drinker, but somehow things got away from me last night. It was our first dinner party since the fire, and folks wanted to both offer condolences on the loss of the diner and congratulations on my marriage to Royce and my partnership with you at the bookstore.”

“It seemed to me that there were a lot more people in attendance than you’d initially anticipated.”

“A lot more,” she agreed as she poured coffee into the mug. “Not that I blame Royce. I know how it is. You invite one person, but you know that the person you just invited will likely mention the dinner to a mutual friend or neighbor, so you invite the friend or neighbor as well. It doesn’t take long for things to get completely out of control. Besides, this was the first dinner Royce and I had hosted since getting hitched. I guess the impromptu BBQ ended up being a second reception for those we didn’t invite to the first one, which, as you know, was very small.”

Velma and Royce hadn’t wanted a big to-do when they finally decided to get hitched. Pastor Noah Daniels from the local church married them on the oceanfront roof of the Bistro. Shelby had decided to close the Bistro that Sunday, so the entire Bistro staff had been invited to attend. Abby and Georgia, along with the rest of the Inn at Holiday Bay crew, Marnie, Cricket, Colt, Tanner Peyton, a few others, and me were in attendance. Given the fact that Velma was one of those locals who seemed to know everyone, it wasn’t surprising that the casual cookout Royce had planned had turned into something more.

“I think it’s nice that the friends you weren’t able to invite to the wedding were able to celebrate with you now that you’re back in town.” I nodded toward the closed sign on the door. “I was going to be open today but decided to stay closed. Toby and I have been working on shelving all the inventory we found in the backroom. Now that we have committed to a fairly major remodel as opposed to the tiny remodel we began with, I wanted to get the place cleaned up.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I had no idea that Vanessa was such a pack rat.”

“She always kept the retail part of the bookstore looking clutter-free, but there was a lot stuffed into the rooms in the back,” Velma agreed. “It will be nice to have everything freshened up a bit.

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