He studied me. “You’re sure?”
“You want to do that?” I asked his daughter.
She nodded fervently. “Please, Daddy?”
“I should be able to get back here to get her before we officially open up.”
“That’s fine. We can talk weddings, right, Addie?”
“Right.” Her eyes sparkled.
Luke met my gaze as if searching for a sign that I was really okay with this. I gave him a subtle nod.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes, doodlebug.” He kissed the top of his daughter’s head, then caught my hand briefly and squeezed. It was a fleeting touch that made me want more. More time with him, more touching. But for now I could hang out with Addie and maybe even come up with new ideas for Presley.
“Text me if you need anything in the meantime,” he told me, then jogged out of the barn.
Addie looked up at me expectantly.
“So,” I said, nervous again. “Twinkle lights. The trick is to use just the right amount—not too many and not too few.”
“So that’s how come you want them on every other beam instead of every one?” she asked.
“Exactly. Let’s go to the other end, and I’ll tell you our plans for Miss Presley’s wedding.”
We started across the wood floors, with Addie at my side. I was surprised to feel her take my hand in her small one. When I glanced down and smiled, she said, “It’s kind of scary in here at night.”
“It’ll be much better when it’s full of happy people celebrating a wedding, don’t you think?”
She thought about that for a second. “Yeah.”
I hadn’t bargained for a scared little girl and once again, or maybe still, felt out of my element. I’d spent a lot of time during my childhood alone and scared, particularly during storms. It always helped me when I had something to distract me, so that’s what I set out to do for Addie.
“Miss Presley’s wedding is going to be on Christmas Eve, and it’s going to be beautiful,” I told her. “It’ll be a small wedding party, with two bridesmaids and two groomsmen.”
“How many flower girls?”
“Three. I bet you know Mr. West’s girls: Nova, Scarlet, and Sienna?”
She nodded. “They’re the flower girls?” There was some low-key awe in her voice.
“They’re the flower girls. I believe they’ll be wearing sparkly silver dresses.”
“Wow,” she said in a hushed voice.
“The bridesmaids are wearing dark green, the color of Christmas trees.”
“That will be beautiful,” she said.
When we got to the wide end of the barn, I explained my idea for clusters of real trees with twinkle lights. We agreed that the windows should be outlined in twinkle lights as well.
I told her about the arch her dad planned to build and how that would be the spot where Presley and West exchanged their vows.
“Will it have twinkle lights too?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I was thinking bunches of white flowers. I want it to be pretty, but I don’t want lights to take away from the bride and groom.”
“Miss Presley’s so pretty,” she said.
