Ashley turns the truck into the driveway of an older brick bungalow. The giant evergreen on the front lawn is draped in Christmas lights and could pass for the annual holiday tree downtown. We follow the large candy canes that line the path to the front door.
Ashley rings the doorbell as I try to stay a respectable distance away—a friend zone between us.
A woman in her forties opens the door. She’s dressed in jeans and a red sweater, hair pulled back, with a green apron that saysResting Grinch Faceon it.
“Hey, Ashley, come on in. I was sorry to hear that your sister and her fiancé won’t be able to make it tonight.” Anna backs away from the door, and Ashley and I step inside.
“Their loss is our gain. This is the best part of being able to do all this wedding stuff for her.”
She smiles at Ashley and turns her attention to me. “And who do we have here?”
“I’m Carter. The best man.”
Anna takes my offered hand. “Good to meet you. Well, come on in, you guys. I’m just putting the final touches on the appetizers and salads.”
She leads us toward the back of her home. The house is decorated more for someone twenty years her senior, but it has a cozy, lived-in feeling.
I’d assumed we were heading to the kitchen, but we bypass it, and she leads us out the back door and into a small building behind her house. Even from outside, I catch a scent of something cooking, and whatever it is smells delicious—my mouth waters. Once we’re inside, I’m surprised to find a modern, somewhat industrial kitchen.
“Wow, I feel like I just walked into a five-star restaurant’s kitchen.”
Anna turns and smiles at me with pride gleaming. “I added this onto the house about five years ago. It lets me get things done more efficiently and gives me room to hire a few people to help with prep when I have a big event booked. Plus…” She gestures behind where Ashley and I stand side by side. “It allows me to host potential clients without making them feel awkward because they’re sitting at my kitchen table, watching me run around prepping their food.”
I turn and see a doorway, so I walk toward it. It’s a decent-sized room with pictures on the wall of different meals I’m assuming Anna has created. There’s a table in the center of the room and big windows along one wall that look out over the backyard. The darkness outside prohibits me from seeing much, but I can make out a forest in the not-too-far distance, so I’m sure the view is killer in the daylight.
“You two can hang your coats on the hooks on the wall. Have a seat, and I’ll bring the first course out shortly.”
Ashley and I do as instructed and take seats across from each other at the table.
I struggle to strip my gaze away from her thin gray sweater and the way it hugs the curves of her chest. I tell myself it’s just because I’m a man, and she’s a woman. I’d notice it regardlessof who was sitting across from me. It’s only an observation. It doesn’t mean I like it.
Liar.
I lean over the table a bit and keep my voice down. “I don’t know what she’s making, but it smells good. I feel like Steph and Doug did us a favor putting this one on our plates.” I realize what I just said and chuckle. “No pun intended.”
She smiles with an amused expression. I’m relieved to find that we seem to be back in the space we were in before things got weird again. I hope we can stay here this time.
“I told Steph that a tasting wasn’t necessary, but she insisted.”
“Do you think we’re going to be able to get everything done?” I lean back in my seat.
“I don’t see why not. Have you heard from either of them?”
I shake my head. “Doug isn’t much of a phone talker. I figured you might have heard from Steph.”
“Steph’s probably just busy on set.” Her words don’t match her tone. “I’m starting to wonder if the most challenging part of having this wedding is going to be getting the bride and groom here.”
Without thinking, I reach to take her hand to reassure her, but I stop myself, pulling my hand back and resting it on my thigh. “Don’t worry, they’ll be here. There’s no way they’re going to miss their own wedding.”
Anna walks in carrying our first course, and although I want to continue having Ashley to myself, whatever Anna is bringing smells so good, so I’ll forgive her. “All right, you two, we’re going to start with the three appetizers and salad that the bride and groom picked. If there’s something you don’t like, or you don’t think is working, let me know. We can either scrap the dish altogether and pick something else, or I can make some adjustments to the recipe.”
“It all looks and smells wonderful,” Ashley says when Anna sets the tray on the table.
“Anna, I have a feeling I’m going to be asking you to marry me by the time the night is through.” I sit up straighter, starving since I skipped dinner.
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, Carter, I’ve been happily married for twenty years.”
“The good ones are always taken.”
