“Do you think we’re being too accommodating for this wedding?” Jane asked as they turned down School Street toward the section of stores off main where the small fabric shop was located.
“No. This wedding is important—critical, even. We need to get the good reviews from it. Plus I think that’s the way it goes with customers. And really, she hasn’t been asking fortoomuch. It’s all easy fixes.”
Jane sighed. “I suppose so. She seems sort of entitled when we talk on the phone.”
“Yeah, wait until she actually gets here.” Andie knew from dealing with clients on antique estates that they could be a little over the top. Would she even be here when the bride arrived? Some of the guests had booked rooms starting the day before the wedding, but that was still a week away. She couldn’t leave Jane to deal with that all by herself, so of course she’d be staying at least that long.
“The thought of all the guests and the wedding coordination almost has me breaking out in hives. I hate dealing with the people. You’re much better at that than I am.” Jane shot a hopeful sideways glance in Andie’s direction.
Andie laughed. “I’ll deal with the check-ins, and you can hide in the kitchen with your spreadsheets and accounting formulas. On the bright side, the inn is fully booked, and we’re getting reservations for after the wedding too.”
“Someone even inquired about a fall wedding.”
“See, things are picking up!”
“Mrs. Weatherlee is checking out tomorrow.”
“She is? I’m going to miss her. Seems like she’s been there forever.”
“I know, right? But we can use the room for the wedding guests. I had to turn a few away because we’re booked.”
Andie slowed. “Oh, that’s great we’re booked, but I just realized that I’m taking up a room that a paying guest could have.”
Andie was staying in the old room she’d always stayed in as a kid when their grandparents ran the inn. When she’d arrived, the inn had only one guest, and she’d thought nothing of taking up a room.
She couldn’t find a more permanent place, though, as she’d have to sign a lease. “I’m sorry. I never considered that. I could book into a hotel or Airbnb.”
Jane made a face. “Don’t be silly. You’re helping me out a ton. It’s only one room.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Of course. I need my sister staying with me.”
Andie glanced away. She didn’t want to see that Jane looked happy at having Andie stay with her, because it made it that much harder to think about leaving. She glanced at the traffic moving slowly down the street. It was peak summer season, and tourists flocked to town, jamming up the narrow roads and causing traffic to the beach to come to a standstill. The coastal town had been designed for fishermen, not tourists, but that was part of its appeal.
She spotted Mustangs, Toyotas, even a cute white-and-red Mini Cooper, but no black truck like her ex Shane Flannery drove. Not that she was looking for him. What they’d had was over and done with decades ago. She’d moved on. But ever since she’d run into him doing repair work at Tides, thoughts of him kept randomly cropping up. Probably guilt over the immature way she’d broken things off back in high school. Probably better if she didn’t run into him again.
Taking her mind off the traffic—and Shane—she looked at the swatch again. “I was thinking maybe we should get Maxi to help with the centerpieces. She might have some good ideas.” Andie had worked with Maxi on the bathhouse they’d had to build at Tides in order to get permits for the wedding and had enjoyed the collaboration. Maxi was smart and had a good eye for design and style.Unlike Jane, Andie thought, eyeing her sister’s simple gray T-shirt and faded jean shorts. Jane was plain vanilla.
“That’s a great idea. I think Maxi needs to keep busy. She’s a recent empty nester.” Jane’s voice held undertones of a possible other reason Maxi might need to keep busy.
“Yeah, I got a sense that things were a little off at home when I worked with her on the bathrooms.”
“You could say that. I think Maxi is really taking the change to heart, and well... to tell the truth, I’m afraid she might do something drastic.”
Andie was surprised. “Like what?”
Jane lowered her voice. “She just rented a cottage on the beach. Said it could be for an art studio, but I wonder...”
“She is a good artist.” Andie had seen some of Maxi's napkin sketches, and they were quite good. But she wondered about the cottage rental too. Jane made it sound like she thought Maxi might be making too much of her marital troubles, but Jane didn’t have any experience with that sort of thing. While Andie had never been married, she had plenty of experience with what happened when relationships soured. If Maxi was going as far as to rent a cottage, there might be more to the situation than Jane knew.
Andie had been too ashamed to admit to her sister that for the past few years, she’d been having an affair with a married man. Of course, Doug had said he was separated, but Andie had discovered that wasn’t exactly the truth. It was good luck for Andie that he’d moved on. She wasn’t even upset that he hadn’t messaged or called her since she’d been in Lobster Bay.
But from that experience, she knew the signs of cheaters. And if Maxi was doing something drastic, like moving out of her house, then Andie thought she might suspect her husband was one. Maybe she was too embarrassed to tell Jane, or maybe she had only suspicions and not positive proof. Either way, Andie felt the bond with Maxi tighten. If Maxi was going through something like that, then Andie wanted to be there to support her.
Chapter Two
Hailey wasn’t kidding when she’d said the cottage was run-down. The small hundred-year-old structure was covered in cedar shingles turned gray from years of sunshine and salty sea air. The blue shutters were present but faded.
