“We were actually kind of hoping you could join us,” Sage said. “If you can spare the time?”
“Oh, I’dloveto,” Mal said happily. “Lunch rush won’t be for another hour or so.”
She grabbed a few menus and started to hand them over, but Hailey shook her head.
“I’ll have whatever is quick and easy so we can chat,” she told Mal.
“Well, I know Sage loves a quick and easy meal,” Mal laughed. “Hang on, girls. I’ll whip something up and be right back.”
“Great choice,” Sage said quietly to Hailey. “When Malwhips something up,it’s always way better than the menu stuff. I think she likes thinking outside the box. Oh, would you look at that.”
Sage was looking out the big window, and when Hailey followed her gaze she saw the sweetest sight—awoman walking with a handsome man in a cowboy hat, both of them carrying bags and packages, and both wearing big smiles on their faces.
“I did the flowers for their wedding last year,” Sage said with a smile. “There’s nothing like wedding flowers.”
“Are weddings your favorite?” Hailey asked her.
“Definitely,” Sage said. “I love all my work, but weddings are just magical.”
“Amen to that,” Mal said, coming out of the back with a big wooden tray as Hailey felt all her dreams starting to come together.
Could it really be this easy to assemble a team?
Mal set down the tray and Hailey barely held in a groan of appreciation.
“What did I tell you?” Sage asked, gazing rapturously down at the array of cheeses, meats, grapes, hunks of rustic-looking bread, and sweet and savory filled croissant halves. “This is the best.”
“Wow,” Hailey said. “You justwhipped this up?”
“The bread and croissants were freshly baked this morning,” Mal said, shrugging like the little slice of heaven she had just laid in front of them was no big deal. “And I stock nice cheeses and meats whenever the Co-op Grocer gets a shipment from one of the local farms.”
“And you like working weddings?” Hailey asked.
“I sure do,” Mal said. “Though I don’t get the chance as often as I’d like. The bigger outfits can be more competitive on price. And I try to source locally, so my supply isn’t as consistent or easy to plan.”
“But it’s curated,” Sage put in. “It’s special.”
“It sure is,” Hailey said around a bite of fresh breadwith a bit of brie. “I’d love to talk to you about catering a local event I’m planning.”
“Hailey just bought Wright Farm,” Sage told Mal. “She’s going to turn it into an event venue.”
“I’m going to have a small opening event for local friends, once things are more or less ready,” Hailey said. “Nothing too fancy.”
“I’m on it,” Mal said before Hailey even had the chance to ask. “We can put our heads together after lunch. I can work within whatever budget you set and we’ll come up with something great.”
“Thank you so much,” Hailey said. “I hope you two don’t mind, but I may have had a bit of an ulterior motive today in stopping by.”
“Well, you’re hiring us both for your event,” Sage laughed. “So I think you’re entitled to ask a favor.”
Mal nodded, a smile lighting up her green eyes again.
“Well, you probably figured out that I’m asking you two to cater and do flowers because when I open up I’ll want local vendors I can personally recommend,” Hailey said. “I guess you could say I’m taking you for a test drive.”
“Works for me,” Mal said.
“I’m just hoping that when you attend, you’ll be doing the same with me,” Hailey told them. “If you have someone looking to plan an event and they don’t have a venue yet, and if you like what you see and think it could be a match, maybe you could include Wright Farm on your list of possible spots?”
“Of course we will,” Sage said right away. “I’ve alwaysloved that place, and I can tell already that you’re going to do something special with it.”
