Andrea shook her head. “There’s no point telling him you’ll pay for it. I’ve already tried, and he won’t listen. The county’s paying for the Christmas tree for the regional Christmas Carol Competition. That’s happening nine days after your event in The Fairy Forest, so it’s all taken care of. If we need other decorations for the gala, Mabel and Allan Terry are happy to source them through their contacts at the general store. But I really feel that what we’ve got here will be enough.”
On their way out of the storage area, Daniella picked up a box and smiled. “I have a toddler’s christening here tomorrow. These decorations will look super sweet with the others I’ve already put aside.”
Jackie closed the doors behind them. “I’m amazed by what you do here.”
“It’s nothing you haven’t done.”
Jackie knew it was much more than she’d ever managed but, with a little help from the bank, she could make more of a difference, too.
As they walked around the main event room discussing seating arrangements and how best to make use of the decorations, Jackie made notes on her phone and breathed a sigh of relief. With Daniella’s help, organizing the gala wouldn’t be such a daunting process.
“Let’s talk entertainment,” Daniella suggested, bringing Jackie back to the task at hand. “I was thinking we could ask the local Christmas carol group to perform. Mila Butler, Steven and Bailey’s daughter, might want to sing, too.”
Jackie had heard Mila sing a few months ago. She had the voice of an angel and, if she sang at the gala, it’d be fantastic. “I’ll ask her dad first. She might already have a performance booked. What about Willow? Wouldn’t it be amazing if she could perform as well?”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll reach out to her,” Daniella replied, already making a note in her planner.
The conversation shifted to catering, and Daniella pulled out a list of caterers she’d used in the past. “Aidan said there’d be about 240 guests,” she said, scanning the list. “I have a preferred caterer, but if they can’t do what we want, there are other companies that could help. We can meet another day to look at each menu, if that suits you better.”
Jackie checked her watch and nodded. “Paris and I are having dinner with Andrea and her parents tonight, so leaving the catering issue for another day sounds perfect. How does four-thirty on Monday sound?”
Daniella looked at Monday’s schedule. “That’d be perfect. The after-school fairy program finishes at four-fifteen and I don’t have anything else booked. I saw Andrea and her mom yesterday. They came to have a look around The Fairy Forest.”
Jackie slid her phone into her pocket. “Was Andrea’s mom impressed?”
“That’d be an understatement. She said if she lived in Sapphire Bay, she’d volunteer to help me.”
Having met Andrea’s mom a couple of times, Jackie knew exactly how excited she’d have been. “Wait until she sees the room on Saturday. Andrea and David’s wedding will be stunning.”
“That’s what I’m hoping, too. But it doesn’t matter how many events I’ve organized, I need to be super careful nothing goes wrong.”
“And if it does,” Jackie added, “find a solution fast.”
“That’s exactly right.” Daniella tapped her pen against her chin. “I can’t think of any other questions I have for you. I’ll type up what we discussed and email you everything. Is there anything else you need from me?”
Jackie looked through the project plan. “Not at the moment. If I think of anything, I’ll send you an email and we can discuss it on Monday.”
“That sounds great.” Daniella looked around the room and sighed. “When you see this room on Saturday, it’ll be transformed into the most incredible wedding venue you could imagine.”
“How will you set everything up in time?”
Daniella picked up her wand and waved it in the air. “I have a special group of construction fairies to help me. All I need is a little pixie dust to make them appear.”
Jackie almost asked Daniella if she had some extra pixie dust to spare. By December 6, she might need some.
CHAPTER7
Aidan was sitting at his desk, reviewing some reports from his team back in Manhattan, when the door to his temporary office burst open.
David rushed in and took a deep breath. “Thank goodness you’re here. I tried calling your phone, but you didn’t answer.”
“I leave it off when I come into work before everyone else. I get a lot more done that way. Is everything all right?”
David gripped the back of the visitor’s chair. “Mike was in a car accident last night on his way to the airport. He can’t make it to the wedding. Would you be my second groomsman instead?”
Aidan blinked in surprise. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fractured his right tibia and broken two ribs. I don’t know when he’ll be out of the hospital, but his wife’s keeping me up to date.”
