Wyatt had been giving that some thought the last few days.
“About that...” He stepped closer and took her hand, running his thumb along the soft skin on the back of it. “I’d like to have you along, but I don’t know about the nights, Gracie. The camping.”
Understanding dawned on her face. “Things have changed a little since last time.”
“We’ve definitely crossed a certain line. And as much as I might want to share a sleeping bag with you, it’s probably not the smartest idea.”
“Did I say you could share my sleeping bag?” she teased. “But yeah, you’re right. We’ll have to work around that somehow, the overnight part.”
He stepped closer and set his hands gently at her waist. “Let’s practice the frontal hold.”
“Is that a thing?”
“It’s a very good thing.” He pulled her closer until their faces were inches apart. He took in the beautiful planes, the perfect little nose, the lush lips, slightly parted and ready for him.
“Would now be a good time for me to practice that knee move?”
“Only if you want me to stop.”
“Hmm.” Grace stretched toward him like a flower toward the sun. “Never mind.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The next week passed in a blur. It was a good thing they’d hired Miss Della’s granddaughter, Jada, to help out around the inn because the wedding preparations ended up absorbing extra time. The bridal party had one more dress fitting. There were extra errands and last-minute glitches. Grace and Molly pitched in wherever they could to take the stress off Levi and Mia.
On Tuesday evening Grace slipped away to practice the defense moves with Wyatt at the gym. As promised, he didn’t take it easy on her. He was formidably strong and difficult to escape. She was worried about hurting his shoulder, but he insisted he was fine. As they executed the moves he was very encouraging, always praising her efforts.
She had the moves down, and he continually pushed her to use all her strength, to be bold and aggressive. He even had her shouting as she went through the motions. She felt silly at first, but something about using her voice freed her up to be more forceful. Their demonstration gathered a small crowd, and afterward several people expressed interest in learning self-defense.
Unfortunately, due to the wedding preparations, Grace had to call off the hike with Wyatt on Thursday. He went on without her, leaving Wednesday morning. She spent the day transporting tables andchairs from the church and stringing white twinkle lights on the back patio with Mia and Molly.
Mia and Levi could’ve easily afforded to hire out the grunt work, but the more people involved in the wedding, the likelier that the news would leak. Grace didn’t really mind. They were used to pulling their own weight around here, and their small circle of friends were pitching in.
They’d had some good news this week. Two brothers from Chicago were interested in seeing the inn. Grace had been emailing them all week, answering questions. One of them was an accountant, so Levi sent them the financials. After they had a couple days to review them, they wanted a tour as soon as possible. There would be no time before the wedding, so Grace had set it up for next week.
On Friday, they turned on the No Vacancy sign. They’d blocked out Friday through Sunday to give them privacy for the wedding—Wyatt being the sole exception.
Mia’s best friend, Brooke, arrived on Friday, and that night they went through a brief rehearsal. Miss Della topped it off with a big dinner, complete with all of Levi’s favorite foods and Mia’s favorite dessert—crème brûlée. There was much love and laughter as they gathered around the table to celebrate the upcoming nuptials.
Saturday dawned clear and sunny. The weather forecasted a beautiful day with a high temperature of seventy-eight. Levi and Mia decided to shun the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride on the day of the wedding. The logistics were too difficult, given the secrecy and need for all hands on deck.
They waited until afternoon to set up the backyard, as the property was visible from the lake. Throughout the afternoon Levi and Mia could be found off to the side, whispering into each other’s ears or canoodling in various nooks and crannies in the house and backyard.
“Get a room,” Grace called as she passed with another armful of chairs. “Or better yet, grab a few chairs.”
They didn’t even respond.
Mia’s family arrived by floatplane midafternoon, and by four o’clock the girls were upstairs getting ready, a trusted photographer documenting the occasion. Their nails had been done earlier, and they had three hours to get ready for the sunset service.
The bridal party took over the suite, and the men crammed into Levi’s room downstairs. Brooke had worked as a makeup artist, so she had the very easy task of making Mia beautiful.
Molly dressed early and hovered around Mia, bringing drinks, adjusting the room temperature, and otherwise fluttering about like a fairy godmother. Grace’s dress fit her perfectly, and her heels didn’t even squeeze her toes.
“It’s a mystery to me why you don’t wear dresses every day,” Molly said when Grace emerged from the bathroom.
“There are women in Hollywood who’d kill for those legs,” Mia said. “The single men are going to be all over you tonight.”
“They won’t be able to take their eyes off you long enough to notice anyone else,” Grace said.
