“I don’t know. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, but I suppose I could send some feelers out.” Jane sat back and sipped her drink, her mind reeling with possibilities. How much profit could a wedding bring in? She pushed down a wave of panic at the thought of taking on something so big. If this would help her save Tides, she’d have to step out of her comfort zone.
Chapter 9
The next morning, Jane woke to an email at the business address for Tides. She had a booking! She hadn’t even put any of Tammi’s suggestions into play, and already things were looking up.
She called the number in the email and talked to a pleasant man named Chandler Vanbeck. He was an art appraiser coming to town to scope locations for a new art gallery. He’d seen Tides on a previous trip. Jane happily booked him for the week and went downstairs.
Mrs. Weatherlee was seated in the dining room with her breakfast, and Jane swung in to exchange some pleasantries then went outside. She wanted to take a walk on the beach and think about the opportunities she’d talked about with Maxi and Claire at Splash. Walking on the beach always helped her think things through.
She’d lain awake for most of the night, going back and forth on the idea of weddings. What if she booked a wedding and failed? It would be a risk, but it would bring in the most money and could be the thing that saved Tides. Of course, there was no guarantee that anyone would want to book the inn for a wedding. Maybe it would be better if she focused on smaller events like a wine tasting or clambake.
She slipped off her sandals and let the sand warm the bottoms of her feet as she walked down to the surf. She missed her sister. Even though they weren’t close now, it would be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Of course, she had Claire and Maxi, and they cared about her more than Andie did, it seemed. But Tides wasn’t their family inn, it wasn’t a part of them, and only Andie would know exactly how it felt to weigh these decisions. But maybe Andie didn’t care about their family legacy like Jane did. Andie still hadn’t returned her last call.
The freezing water of the Atlantic turned Jane’s toes numb even in the heat of summer as she splashed in the froth at the waves’ edge. She headed toward the north end of the beach, keeping her eye out for Cooper and Mike.
A ding from her phone signaled that she’d received an email on the Tides business account.
Another booking? She looked at her phone eagerly only to be disappointed. It was one of the web designers, this one replying to say that they were booked for four months. Shoot! Hopefully the third time would be the charm. She needed a website desperately, according to Tammi.
Her hopes dampened, she turned back. She didn’t have time for a long walk, and she wanted to get started on researching what types of events she could have so she could get the ball rolling on setting them up. Would the efforts be a waste without a website? Claire had given her three names, and two were booked solid. She should probably look for more designers just in case the third was booked up too.
Her phone plinked, signaling a text message.
It was Andrea. She was flying in today, and she’d be here in the late afternoon. Jane hadn’t expected her to come at all. And now she’d be coming to see Tides was run-down and had no guests. Suddenly the state of Tides felt like a reflection on Jane. Like she’d somehow fallen down on the job and was responsible for ruining the family business.
She started walking with purpose, suddenly realizing that more than anything she wanted to prove that she could revive Tides. As she walked back, she googled “niche weddings” and found the magazine Maxi had told her about. There was a form where you could apply to be listed as a niche wedding venue.
Squinting at the screen, she thumbed in the information. It asked for the usual basic info but also wanted to know anything that made the venue special or unique. Jane figured an old home with a gorgeous view of the ocean right on the beach was pretty special, so she took a picture of Tides, angling it to show off the wide porch and avoid the overgrown gardens. Then she turned and snapped a photo of the ocean. Later on she could add pictures of the guest rooms and dining room. None of these pictures were truly unique, though. What could she offer to make someone’s wedding different? A thought occurred. She had one more photo she could add, and she was sure no other wedding venue would have anything like it.Thatphoto she could only get at Sandcastles.
Her thumb hovered over the submit button for a few seconds, then she pressed it. Maybe she could make this work after all.
Sandcastles was bustling with customers, and Claire was behind the counter cashing out a woman who was buying two boxes full of pastries when Jane arrived.
“I see business is good,” Jane said.
“Yeah.” Claire secured a strand of auburn hair into the clip on the back of her head. “I was afraid people would forget about this place when we were closed to repair the pipes, but I guess they didn’t.”
“I told you they wouldn’t. Your stuff is too good to forget about.” Jane glanced over at the case where Claire kept her signature sandcastle cakes. “Speaking of which, if I’m going to do weddings, I was thinking to make them really beachy. Maybe a lobster bake on the beach, and I thought that including your sandcastle cakes for the wedding cake would be something really unique. Would you make them for the weddings?”
“You decided to do weddings! That’s great.” Claire slipped out from behind the counter and walked over to the case with Jane. “Of course I’ll make them.”
“Good, I was thinking about taking a picture of one to submit to that magazine Maxi talked about.” Jane held up her phone.
“Let me find a spot that will look good in a photo.” Claire turned slowly. “How about this table in front of the window?”
“Perfect.”
They took the cake out and arranged it on the table. Harry and Bert, well-known regulars at Sandcastles, were seated beside the table, having their usual coffee and reading the paper.
“What’s this about weddings? Are you having one at Tides?” Harry winked at Bert. “I hope Claire and Rob decided to get married?”
Claire blushed and swatted at Harry. “No. Jane is offering weddings at the inn.”
Claire might have protested, but Jane could see she kind of liked the idea of marrying Rob. Of course, it was way too soon, but maybe someday she would be hosting Claire’s wedding. It warmed her heart to see her friend so happy.
“Oh, that’s a great idea. Such a pretty spot,” Bert said.
“Who doesn’t love a beach wedding?” Harry added.
