“Thank you, Essie. I’ve put you on the calendar. I’ll get there a bit early so I can figure out where to greet the attendees. Got to maintain the guise of a fundraiser after all,” Phineas added.
Standing in the ballroom before the event, Essie turned in a circle. Tiffanie had outdone herself with the heart-shaped, red-rose decorations that fragranced the room and added splashes of color. Sara had set up the champagne fountain and would pour bottles of the sparkling wine in right before the guests arrived. And on theopposite side of the table was one for chocolate. Essie couldn’t wait to try that vat of deliciousness. And the cake! It was absolutely gorgeous.
“You’ve outdone yourself, Little girl,” Zander complimented Essie, sending a thrill of delight through her.
“The party came together beautifully. Mark Cunningham was a dream to work with in the planning stages. He knew exactly what he wanted. I just had to find the right people to make the pieces come together.”
Essie breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. “I have to admit. An engagement is such a special event. I wanted this to be perfect for Mark’s girlfriend. As young children, girls dream of the proposal and their weddings all their lives.”
“My bet is that the bride-to-be will think this is everything she ever dreamed of,” Zander said.
“I hope so. The ballroom is so romantic. I don’t know if I can host anything in the ballroom without twinkling lights now,” Essie said.
“You could make that the ballroom’s signature feature. Always plan to have the extra illumination,” Zander suggested.
“What a perfect idea! Our signature feature,” she repeated. Essie loved that thought. “I’m going to do that.”
“Isn’t this the ideal setting to celebrate romance?” a familiar deep voice said from behind them.
Essie spun around, holding out her hand to shake the handsome man’s. “Phineas Green. I would recognize your voice anywhere. This is my friend, Zander Templeton.” She didn’t really know how to best introduce him. Zander was so much more, but she wanted to remain professional.
“Zander. I’m glad to see you again,” Phineas said, shaking Zander’s hand as well.
“Phineas. Thanks for coming tonight,” Zander said with a welcoming smile.
“Of course. A fundraiser for the library will get me to a party any day.”
“Have you met each other?” Essie asked, glancing back and forth between the two men. That look they exchanged…. What did that mean?
“Yes. We went to school together. Zander was on every sports team, and I held down the academic ones. We collaborated on the trivia squad. No one could beat us. You can celebrate being in the presence of Zander and me, the undefeated kings of knowledge that everyone googles today,” Phineas explained with a laugh.
“I should have guessed. Zander is a social butterfly,” Essie said, nudging Zander.
“I know a lot of people. Phineas is one of those I enjoy running into,” Zander joked.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Phineas said and nodded at the doorway where people entered. “Your real guests are arriving.”
“We’ll send them your way to support the library,” Essie promised.
“Thank you, Essie,” Phineas responded.
Over the next several minutes, people streamed into the ballroom. Instant oohs and aahs filled the room as they took in the decorations. Soon, everyone had a glass of champagne in their hands as they stood chatting happily with friends and new acquaintances. Essie was pleased to see the chocolate fountain was extremely popular. She made a mental note to offer the dessert treat at other events.
“Essie! The ballroom is absolutely lovely,” Tiffanie said, looking stronger than she had for weeks.
Immediately, Essie glanced at Ivan to double-check her impression. He nodded and added, “You’ve got this ballroom decorating technique down now.”
“Thank you. I decided to make the lighting my special touch for events. Those twinkling bulbs add such a perfect flair to the room.”
“What a great idea,” Tiffanie said. “Go mingle. Get a few more dates filled in on your calendar.”
“Thank you, Tiffanie. Ivan. I’m so glad you could make it tonight.”
“We wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Ivan said.
That statement struck Essie as weird. Ivan didn’t seem to be a huge reader. Did he frequent the library a lot? To read romance novels? She opened her mouth to ask, but a fuzzy tail wrapped around her leg, distracting her. Essie glanced down. “Marmalade? What are you doing in here?”
The orange tabby always made himself at home in the mansion and on the grounds, but until now, Marmalade had shied away from large gatherings of people. Afraid someone might be allergic, Essie coaxed the cat toward the doorway. Marmalade had other ideas. He flopped onto the floor and rolled onto his back to get belly rubs.
