Alice grinned. “You mean Eastshore Isle, or this diner in particular?”
I blinked innocently. “If I say both, will you tell me about that drink I saw advertised on the sign outside?”
“Yes.”
So I nodded as if that had been my intention all along. “Both, of course, Alice! The Diner is an integral part of this island’s dining experience!”
The older woman snorted, but then chuckled and pulled out her pad of paper. “Want to try Deb’sMistletoe Mistake? It tastes like the best kind of bad idea.”
Wrinkling my nose, I slouched in the booth as I tugged my hat from my hair. “Um, why is it a mistake?”
“Because she meant to make a peppermint cocoa, grabbed the cherry syrup instead, and accidentally invented theMistletoe Mistake. It’s like a chocolate-covered cordial cherry—heavy on the cherry flavoring—that wasjust lightly kissed by a candy cane.” Alice waggled her brows. “You’ll love it, I promise.”
My brows had gone up.
That sounded… Well look, I was going to try it,obviously, because Deb’s specialty drinks had never steered me wrong.Tastes like the best kind of bad ideawas an amazing selling point, honestly. “I’ll take a medium, please.” Then I nodded across the booth to the empty spot. “I don’t know what Riven will want.”
“No prob, hon.” She straightened away from the booth, making a note on her pad. “I’ll get this out to you and check with her.”
As she bustled away, I tucked my gloves and hat into the pockets of my coat and shrugged out of it. Maybe Ididhave thin skin when it came to the weather around here—it’s not like Eastshore Isle got snow or anything, but I thought it was quite chilly. Which was okay. I was tired of living somewhere that didn’t experienceanychanges in the seasons.
When I checked my phone, I saw that I was still a few minutes early for our meeting, and I flipped open the binder to find the pages I wanted to show Riven. I might be the only wedding planner I knew who still preferred paper pages and printed photos—and fabric swatches!—to digital. Ethan used to always scoff at my binders, calling them old-fashioned…while he had a nifty tablet he’d use to impress clients.
Sighing, I pushed away thoughts of him and turned to stare out the window. He’d broken up with me this time last year, but we’d tried to keep our company going after that. A futile attempt, it turned out.
“Hi!” Riven called breathlessly as she hurried up to slide onto the bench across from me. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?”
“I ordered a hot cocoa, what do you want?”
My little sister winced—did she look more frazzled than usual?—then shook her head. “Let’s just see what you’ve got planned.”
Shrugging, I flipped the binder around and started my spiel about rentals and cake tasting. We’d planned this meeting deliberately to get out of Mom’s house, so I could be sure this was allRiven’spreferences and not our mother’s.
I loved Mom, and I loved that I could come back and stay with her when I visited—now that my little sister wasn’t living there any longer, there was more space—but shedidtend to take charge. Riven once told me I got my planning gene from Mom, and I could see that.
Riven let me get about ten minutes into it, nodding along, before she interrupted me. “Honestly, I have no opinions about what kind of chairs.” She grinned to let me know there were no hard feelings. “I told Abydos he was in charge of choosing the cake—which probably means he’s going to have his assistant Sylvik do it—and I trust you on these other small decisions.”
“What kind of china you want at the reception isnota small decision,” I huffed.
“It is when you’re only inviting like thirty people and the reception is in your dining room,” she shot back. “You hired enough help to set up the extra tables and serve the food, right? I’ll handle the menu?—”
Oh Lord. “You can’t cater your own wedding!”
“Watch me.” Riven’s grin was a challenge. “Mom said she’d help, and I’ll arrange it all. You just make sure the dining room is set up for the guests—and no, I don’t care about which chairs you rent.” She flipped back to the front page. “Honestly, the only thing I’m pretty definite on are the colors, and even then I could be talked out of it.”
“No,” I sighed, tapping the inspiration photos I’d printed out. “Hunter green and white, with pops of red? It’s a gorgeous combination and will be perfect for a New Year’s Eve wedding. I was thinking we should add some silver?”
“Oooh, I like it.” Riven closed her hand over mine. “See? This is why you’re the badass wedding planner. Make it happen, Brooke.”
I snorted but turned my hand in hers so I could squeeze her fingers. “You’re sure? You want to just…give me carte blanche?”
“One hundred percent.” I could see the sincerity in her eyes, hear it in her voice. “You know I’m not fussy, and I trust you.”
“You’re right, you’re not fussy.” In deference to the chilly weather, my little sister had donned a hoodie over her regular uniform of T-shirt and yoga pants, her only adornment the simple gold band around her ring finger. “Well…Icanplan the wedding, if you want.”
I’d done it often enough, Lord knew.
“Thank you!” She sighed in relief. “Honestly, as long as Abydos is there, I don’t care about anything else.”
