Carter sipped his own drink then turned his attention to the stairs as Brandy's parents stepped up to address the attendees.
"Thank you all for coming," Brandy's father said. "We're so glad you could join us. Thank you, Liz and Allie, for helping to put this whole thing together, and the Davenports, for hosting."
Everyone applauded lightly, and then Brandy and Fernando hugged the Davenports and Allie.
"Allie sure has ingratiated herself into the town," Walter said, coming up behind Jack and Carter. "And apparently you two are an item now?"
"Excuse me?" Jack said.
"Come now, Jack. She's clearly competent." Walter raised his glass as he caught Allie's eye. "Allie!"
She gave a small smile and walked over to them.
"I heard you've been working on some interesting projects," Walter said, shaking her hand.
"Yes, mainly looking at standardizing the overseeing of safety procedures."
"Because of that Halcion Drone accident," Carter added.
"Terrible business," Walter said. "I'm glad you're taking charge of that, and of this wedding. I hear Liz was in a bit over her head."
"It’s a series of big parties," Allie said. "I've been in the service industry for a while, so this is nothing new. It's pretty standard, just higher end."
There was a moment of silence, and Carter resisted the urge to bounce up and down.
"I know we started off on the wrong foot," Walter said finally.
"That was my fault," Allie said smoothly.
"It was Carter's fault," Grant announced, appearing behind Carter and clasping his shoulder.
Carter made a face, and Allie smiled at him.
"Don't be too hard on him," she said.
"You wrecked a priceless car and almost killed my son," Jack spat.
"Jack," Walter growled at his brother, "it was an accident. Let it go."
"It shows poor judgment."
Carter felt sick. He wondered if Allie would throw him under the bus.
"I’m sorry about your car, Mr. Holbrook," she said, leveling her gaze at Walter. "I'll pay you back for it."
Carter knew that meant thathewould pay his uncle back for it.
"No need. The trucking company's insurance is going to settle with us," Walter said. "Besides, the fact that you're helping Brandy is probably payment enough. She used to work for me, and it didn't end so well. I've always felt a bit bad about it, to be honest."
Jack stalked away in the middle of the conversation, and Walter grimaced and finished off his drink then smiled as Mrs. Burbank walked over to them.
"Is that your girlfriend, Carter?" she asked.
Carter could smell the alcohol on her breath. Clearly, Mrs. Burbank had been enjoying the signature drinks.
"Yes," he said. "Yes, she is."
Grant smirked at him.
