“What about dancing and mingling with guests? Or do we stay off in the background?”
“You should look happy to be there, and yes, that includes talking to people and accepting a dance or two as long as you’re not needed elsewhere.”
For whatever reason, Jay seemed more relaxed spouting information, so she continued to question him. It was better to stick to work-related topics anyway.
“Tell me about the place we’re going to now.”
“We call it Las Palmas. It’s one of the two banquet halls we own. The Yellow Rose is the other one.” He reached over and tapped on his maps. “Our locations are marked. Zoom out so you can see them all.”
“Four?”
“Yep. The two banquet halls, the castle, and the barn.”
“Marlise showed me pictures of the barn. It’s beautiful inside all decorated. She said it’s almost as popular as the castle.”
He nodded. “I prefer it. The couples who choose it tend to be more laid back.”
“So, this couple we’re meeting, is it their wedding this weekend?”
“Yep, on Saturday. Betty and George are both widowed and in their seventies, but they want a big ceremony with all their family and friends. They learned a swing dance routine, and that’s what they want to practice with the band today.”
“That’s so sweet.” She couldn’t help giving an excited clap. All of this would someday become routine, as he’d warned, but how could she not be pumped about a first day like the one he’d just described?
“Yep. Very sweet.” Though the way he said it wasn’t sweet at all.
And just like that, her excitement was suddenly an embarrassment. She squeezed her hands together in her lap. How were they supposed to work together?
***
Jay tried not to scowl. Rebecca had never preferred sweet. She’d wanted a take-charge, totally-not-sweet kind of guy. Like Patrick. Yeah, she hadn’t ended up marrying him, but she’d pursued that kind of relationship with single-minded determination until she caught him cheating. Guys like Patrick were never satisfied with what they had. How did she not see that to begin with?
Nice guys finished last. Rich guys finished first. Cliché or not, it was true. It wasn’t until the business took off and Jay started driving nice cars that women even noticed him. But they liked the idea of being with someone like him more than the reality he presented. His work hours and emotional distance ended things pretty quickly. And now he didn’t bother trying to date at all.
When would he be able to let go of this bitterness inside of him? He glanced over at Rebecca. Yep, he’d definitely hurt her feelings.
He reached over and patted her hand. “Almost there.”
She looked down at her hand where he’d touched her and then up at him, confusion and hurt in her blue eyes.
“Becca, I’m sorry. This is weird for me. We used to be so close. But now…”
“I get it.” She rubbed her arms, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but in his car with him.
“I want you to succeed here, and I’ll do my best to help you.”
She nodded, though he wasn’t sure she believed him. He hadn’t exactly been friendly so far. The banquet hall was up ahead on the right, and he turned into the lot and parked in front.
Good. No one was here waiting on them. He needed to unlock the doors and flip on all the lights.
They both jumped out and he grabbed his work keys from his pocket. “We’ll get you a set. Do not misplace them, and definitely don’t lie about misplacing them if you do. Both banquet halls use a fob to open, so if you were to lose your keys we’d immediately deactivate your set.” He showed her where to wave the fob, and the door immediately unlocked.
He pulled open the heavy door and kicked down the doorstop so they could leave it open for the arriving couple and the band. Then he went through, systematically flipping on lights and trying to ignore the fact that Rebecca was silently trailing his every move. A memory of playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark flitted across the stage of his mind and he tried to force it out. Rebecca had always been an unimaginative hider, and so, after a while, she’d started following him and squeezing into his hiding spots with him. He’d pretended to be bothered by it.
“Hellooo!” Betty’s cheerful voice echoed from the front, and he let out a sigh of relief. They were no longer alone.
Everything about Betty screamed a zest for life and a total denial of her true age. He bit back a laugh when he walked into the entry hall and saw her gigantic tortoise shell sunglasses and a polka dot scarf tied around her platinum blonde hair.
She tottered toward him on four-inch wedges, her weird short pants billowing around her legs like a skirt. “George is coming in a minute. I can’t tell you how excited I am to show you our dance moves, Jay-Jay.”
