She’d been shocked to see him at the Purple Blueberry, but why didn’t he stay? She didn’t buy his story that he was on his way somewhere else and saw her so stopped in.
He’d looked good in more casual attire. Maxi suspected that Jane and Claire had had something to do with that. Had they been coaching him? She wouldn’t have a chance to ask them today. She had to finish the painting and wasn’t allowing herself to do anything else until she did.
The thought of James going to all that effort for her warmed her heart. Should she call him? No, that would be a distraction from her task of painting. And besides, she was a little nervous now because he’d left so abruptly. Maybe he’d decided that hanging out with the artsy crowd and frequenting places like the Purple Blueberry really wasn’t his thing. If that were the case, did that mean they couldn’t be together? Maxi didn’t want to give up her new life, but she also didn’t want to give up James.
Mew!
Rembrandt was sitting at the slider, looking inside. He probably wanted to graze at his food bowl. She’d never seen a cat eat so much!
She opened the slider, and he scooted inside. Then she turned to the painting and picked up the brush. She’d told Chandler she would drop the paintings off this afternoon. She’d better get those final touches in soon so it would have time to dry.
Jane watched as Andie pushed the centerpiece a smidge to the left. They were out on the back deck of Tides, setting up the table-scape for the reception so they could have something to show Courtney and her mother. They weren’t arriving for another day, but Jane didn’t want to leave it to the last minute.
Jane and Andie had been moving things around, standing back. Moving more things. Cooper was apparently uninterested, lying on the edge of the deck near the railing, the ocean breeze ruffling his golden fur.
Andie stepped back and tilted her head as she assessed the arrangement. “There, I think that’s perfect.”
The table did look perfect with the backdrop of the ocean, the crisp white cloth, sparkling cut crystal wine glasses, white porcelain gold-rimmed dinner plates, and the white flower centerpiece with blue ribbon.
“I agree,” Jane said, glad that all the moving about was done. She honestly didn’t see how moving the knife one millimeter to the left made a big difference, but Andie knew more about this stuff than she did, so she’d deferred to her sister’s expertise.
“We just need the candles,” Andie said.
“Maxi is bringing those tomorrow morning.” Jane glanced over toward the area where the tent would be set up on the morning of the wedding. Since the wedding was an evening affair, the tent rental place had advised they do the setup that morning instead of the day before.
Andie put her arm around Jane’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
“I suppose. It’s just that Courtney is so picky.” Jane’s gaze drifted to the bathhouse, with its quaint sailboat shutters and colorful window boxes. Andie had loaded them with flowers, and they’d spruce up the inside of the bathhouse with giant conch shells, starfish, and sea glass on the towel shelves and vanities. Her gaze drifted to the arbor. “Did you figure out a method for the roses?”
“Sally had a hard time figuring what to do, but in the end, we figured it out. She said Shane would have been better at it, but he was busy.”
Jane flicked her gaze to her sister, to something unreadable reflected in her hazel eyes. “Disappointed?”
Andie blushed and looked away. “No, of course not. Sally did a great job. It’s going to look fantastic.”
“I’m sure it is.” Jane decided to press her luck. Andie was opening up lately, and she felt like she could get more personal. “So what happened with you and Shane back then? I was too young and self-involved to pay attention. He seems like a really nice guy. And not too hard on the eyes either.”
Andie laughed. “He did age well. I guess our lives just weren’t heading in the same direction. He was going into the navy, and I wanted to be in the city.” She avoided eye contact, looking out at the ocean.
“Seems like maybe now your lives are different. Maybe you're going in the same direction,” Jane said softly.
Andie pursed her lips as if she was ready to protest, but then her face softened. Her expression turned teasing. “So, tell me how the condo shopping went with Mike.”
Now it was Jane’s turn to blush. “I liked the last one we looked at today. It was just on the edge of town in Boulder Hills. The development is pretty, lots of nice landscaping.”
“Is that where the old Swenson farm used to be?”
Jane nodded. While she hated the idea that an old farm was no longer in existence, they had made a nice neighborhood out of it.
“Did Mike like it?”
“I think so. He seemed more interested in finding out if I liked it.”
Andie smirked. “Of course he did.”
Jane frowned. “Why?”
Andie shook her head. “Sis, I think I need to take you under my wing in the relationship department. You’re kind of naive. Mike wants you to like it because he’s hoping you’ll spend a lot of time there.”
