Juliette wasted no time. She started at the beginning and told Anne-Sophie all about how Aidan Gallagher wanted totear the place down in favor of chain hotels and a strand of condominiums. She discussed the layout of the beach house, their plans to morph it into a boutique, high-end wedding venue. The renovations were coming along and would hopefully be finished before the end of spring. The decor had already been ordered, and they’d even made plans to pave the driveway, giving guests easier access to both the venue and the beach, while offering a more polished look. It was going to be fantastic.
They were going to save Brock’s family beach house. All they needed was to lock in an influential wedding to launch their marketing campaign, and someone to run it on the inside.
“You know, you’d be really awesome at this sort of thing.” Juliette eyed her sister over the rim of her coffee cup.
“What, like a wedding planner?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t think so.” Anne-Sophie laughed and shook her head. She stared at the half-eaten bagel on her plate.
“What do you think about helping me get the first wedding in the books?” Juliette asked, hoping she wasn’t being overly rash. She had only just reconciled with her sister, and already she was asking for another favor. Picking her up early from Brock’s to avoid a walk of shame was number one.
Anne-Sophie tilted her head, intrigued. She ran the tips of her fingers along the simple gold chain hanging from her neck. “Who’d you have in mind?”
“Charity Rhodes.”
“I mean, I do have an in with her,” Anne-Sophie considered her words. “But I’m not her best friend.”
“You don’t have to be,” Juliette put in quickly. “She’s got money. She’s got influence. She’s the perfect bride. And you said so yourself, her wedding is supposed to be the event of the season. With Mama doing the flowers and Adrienne as thephotographer, it would only make sense for her to have her wedding here. She just needs some convincing.”
“All valid points,” Anne-Sophie mused.
Juliette finished off the rest of her churro pancakes. The sweet cinnamon sugar melted across her tongue, leaving her fully satisfied. Another tiny white lie she told herself. Brock took the cake on that one. “Who is Charity marrying, anyway?”
“Some rich boy from the city.” Anne-Sophie shrugged and cut off another chunk of her bagel. “They’ve known each other since they were kids, but I haven’t actually caught his name.”
Juliette frowned. “Weren’t you there when she announced her engagement?”
“Yes. But I didn’t say I was paying attention.” A rosy shade of pink crept into Anne-Sophie’s cheeks. “Besides, she was mostly just showing off her ring. I’m sure we could Google him if we really need to find out.”
“Of course.”
Just then, Erin walked in. Juliette would’ve known it was her by the tinkling sound of the bracelets stacked along her wrists. Today she was in black leggings with a jade sweater, and for once there was no splattering of clay marring her fabulous wardrobe choices.
She glanced over at them and waved. “It’s nice to see you two aren’t killing each other.”
Juliette winced. “I am so sorry about last night.”
“Me too,” Anne-Sophie chimed, ducking her head. For a moment, it reminded Juliette of when they were younger, when she would always try to cover for her baby sister so Sophie never got in trouble.
“It’s totally fine. You might be surprised to hear this, but it’s not the first time a clay fight has broken out at my shop.” She flashed another of her blinding smiles. “The last one involved two elderly ladies. And let’s just say the clay was already dry.”
“Oh no!” Anne-Sophie gasped. “There must have been shattered bowls and vases everywhere.”
Erin winked, and her blue eyes lit with mischief. “There’s a reason I uphold a very firm ‘you break it, you buy it’ policy.”
“Oh!” Juliette dug through the contents of her bag and pulled out her phone. “I wanted to show you. I drew up some ideas for the commissions we discussed. Would it be okay if I texted them to you? At least until we grab that coffee?”
“Absolutely.” Erin smiled easily. “I’d love to check them out.”
“Great, I’ll send them now.”
“Sounds good.” She nodded toward the counter for to-go orders. “I’ve got to pick up my breakfast. I’ll see the two of you later.”
Erin waved and as soon as she was out of earshot, Anne-Sophie leaned across the table.
“So,” she drawled. “You’re really serious about this wedding venue business?”
