Reservations for Two by Kristine Raymond

Author:Kristine Raymond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Valentine's Day, second chance love, romance, florist, Italian restaurant, betrayal, Small-town romance, Hallmark
Publisher: Me, Myself, & I Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“You look stunning, Monica! Joe is a lucky man!”

Monica grimaced, regarding her reflection critically. “You think it’s alright?”

“Are you kidding me? All brides should look as beautiful.” Madison smiled up at her friend from the settee where she was resting before the ceremony. The women were getting ready in the bridal room of Celebration’s non-denominational church, making last-minute adjustments to their attire before the ceremony began. “Would your maid-of-honor lie to you?”

“I guess not,” Monica conceded, fussing with her skirt. She turned to her daughter. “What do you think, sweetie?”

“You look like a princess, Mommy!” Kimber gushed, enthralled by the pageantry.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I feel like a princess.”

“Does that make Joe your Prince Charming?”

“I guess it does.”

Kimber thought this over carefully, applying six-year-old logic to the scenario. “I hope he doesn’t turn into a frog.”

Monica laughed. “If he does, I’ll be sure to kiss him and turn him back.”

Satisfied with her mother’s reply, Kimber scampered out of the room in search of her soon-to-be cousins. The girls were more intrigued by the gifts – oohing and aahing over each brightly wrapped present as it was placed on the reception table – than they were their roles as bridesmaids in the wedding.

“Speaking of Prince Charming; how’s Loren?” Monica asked casually once her daughter was out of earshot. She already knew from Joe that Madison hadn’t spoken to the best man since the night after the accident, but she was curious what her friend would say.

“I imagine you’d know better than I would. Didn’t he throw Joe a bachelor party last weekend?”

“If you call drinking beer and shooting pool at Deuce’s a bachelor party. And stop avoiding the question. What’s going on between you two? I thought you were getting along.”

“We are. Getting along, I mean.” Avoiding Monica’s pointed stare, Madison adjusted her sling, careful not to dislodge the baby’s breath that decorated it.

Monica wasn’t buying it. “Really? Doesn’t that necessitate being in contact with one another? From what I hear, you’ve gone out of your way to avoid Loren since the accident. You don’t blame him, do you?”

“No! Of course not! It wasn’t his fault.”

“So why are you ignoring him?”

“I’m not. I’ve been busy getting ready for the wedding.” Truth be told, she was avoiding him. Loren had called her the morning after he drove her home from the hospital, but she hadn’t answered, letting it go through to voicemail. And she’d been dodging all his other attempts to make contact since then. She knew she was being petty, but she had only to look at the earring she’d hung from her vanity mirror to justify her actions.

Evading Monica’s pointed stare, she glanced at the clock. “Do we have to get into this now? You’re getting married in a few minutes. Let’s concentrate on your happily-ever-after, okay?”

“Madison–”

A tap on the door interrupted any further conversation. “Come in.”

Joe’s parents entered the room. “Oh, my, don’t you look beautiful! Doesn’t she look beautiful, dear?” Fran looked to her husband for confirmation.

“She does at that,” Bill answered, kissing Monica’s cheek lightly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.