CHAPTER ONE
“Gotcha,”Wendy murmured, pulling a beautiful long string of pearls from the display case. Back home, today would be reserved just for the brides’ maids. Not that she was complaining.
Okay, maybe she was complaining a little bit.
Montana was different from Georgia in every sense of the word. And it was the little things she missed. Like the fact Miss Annabelle Tucker was always asked to bring paper plates to the potlucks. Or the taste of Elizabeth Maury’s sweet tea.
Wendy shook her head slightly. She didn’t know what it was about weddings that got her acting nostalgic all of a sudden. Maybe it was the fact that she’d missed out on most of the fun when her best friend got married a couple years ago.
Olivia had certainly upgraded when she’d married Benjamin. The ridiculous man she’d dated while in college was everything but a gentleman. Of course, at one point they’d all fallen prey to his charm. Looking back now, they could all see that Tripp wasnothing but a cocky player who loved nothing more than to toy with girls’ hearts.
She let out a huff as she rounded the antique shop counter and headed for the door. With a flick of her wrist, she closed up shop for the afternoon. Then she locked the door. As she headed toward the back to grab her purse, the phone in her office rang.
For a split second, she considered letting it go to voicemail, then she thought better of it. With hurried steps she crossed the room and picked up the phone. “Horseshoe Antiques, how can I help you?”
“Hey, so my mother was in the store last week and she saw a piece you have.”
Wendy rolled her eyes. There were lots of pieces on the floor. He was going to have to narrow it down a bit. Heaving a sigh and pushing her frustration and impatience to the side, she forced a smile so it would translate to her voice. “Can you describe the piece for me?”
“Yeah, it’s an end table.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “How about size. Color. Type of wood?”
“Mmm. Let me look.” He shuffled on the other end.
Look? Did that mean he had a picture?”
“Yeah, so it’s?—”
“You have a picture?” She never liked to interrupt anyone—least of all a customer, but she was already late for this wedding luncheon as it was.
“I do,” the man confirmed.
“Will you send it to my cell phone?” She prattled off the number and in moments the picture came through.
“I know it’s in rough shape,” the man hedged. “Do you by chance know anyone who can restore it?”
Wendy was already scribbling the word ‘hold’ onto a post-it note as she pinned the phone between her ear and her shoulder. “Yes, I have a guy who can do that for you. It’ll cost extra though. And you’ll need to send me a deposit.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Great,” she chirped. She took his payment then wrote down the address for delivery. “I’m not sure what the timeline for restoration will be, but I can reach out and let you know?—”
“That won’t be necessary. It’s not for any special event. I just wanted to get her something nice.”
“How sweet,” she murmured. Then her eyes snagged on the time. “Well, I have everything covered. Thank you for calling Horseshoe Antiques. Have a wonderful day!” She hung up and snatched her purse from the desk again just as her cell phone rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, she tossed her head back with a groan. Then she swiped across the screen to answer and placed the phone to her ear. “I’m on my way now,” she murmured before Serenity had a chance to chew her out for her tardiness.
“If being part of the bridal party is too much?—”
“You know it isn’t,” Wendy argued. “I’m literally in the car and?—”
“You’re still at the shop, aren’t you?”
Wendy flushed. “No.”
Her friend sighed but it was laced with amusement. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to be part of this wedding. It’s a big ask. We turned it into such an affair…”
